Suggestions for Members of a Group Study
Getting the Most Out of Apostles’ Creed
It is difficult to explain Christianity to an outsider if you haven’t thought about it much yourself. Christians do indeed trust in God—but we believe certain quite definite things about him and about the impact this belief must have on us as believers. The Apostles’ Creed is an ideal starting point for this vital process of consolidating your grasp of the faith.
For more than a thousand years, Christians in western Europe knew the Apostles’ Creed only in Latin. Its opening words are Credo in Deum, “I believe in God.” The English word creed derives from that word credo. It is an attempt to summarize the main points of what Christians believe. It is not exhaustive, nor is it meant to be.
The earliest Christian creed seems to have been simply “Jesus is Lord.” Anyone who made this declaration was regarded as a Christian. For someone to confess that “Jesus Christ is Lord” is to declare that Jesus is the Lord of his or her life. To recognize that Jesus is Lord is to seek to do his will.
As time went on, however, it became necessary to explain what Christians believed in more detail. The full implications of declaring that “Jesus is Lord” needed to be teased out. What did Christians believe about God? About Jesus? About the Holy Spirit? By the fourth century, the Apostles’ Creed as we now know it had assumed a more or less fixed form; what variations did exist were slight, and these were finally eliminated in the seventh century. The Apostles’ Creed is a splendid summary of the apostolic teaching concerning the gospel, even though it was not actually written by the apostles.
The Apostles’ Creed was not the only creed to come into existence in the period of the early church. However, it is the oldest and simplest creed of the church. All Christian traditions recognize its authority and its importance as a standard of doctrine. To study the Apostles’ Creed is to investigate a central element of our common Christian heritage. It is an affirmation of the basic beliefs that unite Christians throughout the world and across the centuries.
The Christian creeds had their origins as a profession or confession of faith made by converts at their baptism. Since then, they have served other purposes—for example, as a test of orthodoxy for Christian leaders or as an act of praise in Christian worship. In our own day and age the creeds serve three main purposes.
First, a creed provides a brief summary of the Christian faith. You do not become a Christian by reciting a creed; rather, the creed provides a useful summary of the main points of your faith. Certain Christian teachings are not dealt with in the creed. For example, in the Apostles’ Creed there is no section that states “I believe in Scripture.” The importance of the Bible is assumed throughout; indeed, most of the creed can be shown to consist of direct quotations from Scripture.
Second, a creed allows us to recognize and avoid inadequate or incomplete versions of Christianity. By providing a balanced and biblical approach to the Christian faith, tried and tested by believers down through the centuries, the creed allows us to recognize deficient versions of the gospel.
Third, a creed emphasizes that to believe is to belong. To become a Christian is to enter a community of faith whose existence stretches right back to the upper room in which Jesus met with his disciples. By putting your faith in Jesus Christ, you have become a member of his body, the church, which uses this creed to express its faith.
Many people have found their faith immeasurably strengthened and matured by being forced to think through areas of faith they would not have explored without the Apostles’ Creed. See the creed as an invitation to explore and discover areas of the gospel that otherwise you might miss or overlook.
Think of how many others have recited these words at their baptism through the centuries. Think of how many others have found in the Apostles’ Creed a statement of their personal faith. You share that faith, and you can share the same words that they have used to express it.
Suggestions for Individual Study
1. As you begin each study, pray that God will speak to you through his Word.
2. Read the introduction to the study and respond to the personal reflection question or exercise. This is designed to help you focus on God and on the theme of the study.
3. Each study deals with a particular passage so that you can delve into the author’s meaning in that context. Read and reread the passage to be studied. The questions are written using the language of the New International Version, so you may wish to use that version of the Bible. The New Revised Standard Version is also recommended.
4. This is an inductive Bible study, designed to help you discover for yourself what Scripture is saying. The study includes three types of questions. Observation questions ask about the basic facts: who, what, when, where and how. Interpretation questions delve into the meaning of the passage. Application questions help you discover the implications of the text for growing in Christ. These three keys unlock the treasures of Scripture.
Write your answers to the questions in the spaces provided or in a personal journal. Writing can bring clarity and deeper understanding of yourself and of God’s Word.
5. It might be good to have a Bible dictionary handy. Use it to look up any unfamiliar words, names or places.
6. Use the prayer suggestion to guide you in thanking God for what you have learned and to pray about the applications that have come to mind.
7. You may want to go on to the suggestion under “Now or Later,” or you may want to use that idea for your next study.
Suggestions for Members of a Group Study
1. Come to the study prepared. Follow the suggestions for individual study mentioned above. You will find that careful preparation will greatly enrich your time spent in group discussion.
2. Be willing to participate in the discussion. The leader of your group will not be lecturing. Instead, he or she will be encouraging the members of the group to discuss what they have learned. The leader will be asking the questions that are found in this guide.
3. Stick to the topic being discussed. Your answers should be based on the verses that are the focus of the discussion and not on outside authorities such as commentaries or speakers. These studies focus on a particular passage of Scripture. Only rarely should you refer to other portions of the Bible. This allows for everyone to participate in in-depth study on equal ground.
4. Be sensitive to the other members of the group. Listen attentively when they describe what they have learned. You may be surprised by their insights! Each question assumes a variety of answers. Many questions do not have “right” answers, particularly questions that aim at meaning or application. Instead the questions push us to explore the passage more thoroughly.
When possible, link what you say to the comments of others. Also, be affirming whenever you can. This will encourage some of the more hesitant members of the group to participate.
5. Be careful not to dominate the discussion. We are sometimes so eager to express our thoughts that we leave too little opportunity for others to respond. By all means participate! But allow others to also.
6. Expect God to teach you through the passage being discussed and through the other members of the group. Pray that you will have an enjoyable and profitable time together, but also that as a result of the study you will find ways that you can take action individually and/or as a group.
7. Remember that anything said in the group is considered confidential and should not be discussed outside the group unless specific permission is given to do so.
8. If you are the group leader, you will find additional suggestions at the back of the guide.