Augustine in His Own Words
The Preacher
whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And how can people preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news of peace, the good gospel!' " (Rom 10:14–15; Is 52:7)51 So no one can be saved who does not invoke Him; and no one can invoke Him unless one first believes.52 Because of this, this is the order of things: first, what you are to believe; then, whom you are to call upon. Today you are to receive the Symbol of faith, the Creed, in which you express your belief. Eight days from now, you will then receive the [Lord's] Prayer, with which you are to call upon Him.53
(2) The Creed is the rule of faith, succinctly worded so as to instruct the mind without overburdening the memory. It is expressed in just a few words, but much instruction may be drawn from it. It is spoken of as a "symbol," a sort of password by which Christians can recognize one another. This, then, is what I will first briefly proclaim to you. Then, inasmuch as the Lord deems worthy to grant me to give, I will open it up for you in order that you come to understand what I want you to hold onto. Here now is the Creed: [Since the Creed was a carefully guarded secret, the stenographer who recorded this sermon did not transcribe Augustine's words as he recited the Creed out loud. Instead, he waited until Augustine had finished and then inserted into the manuscript the words: "And after the Creed:"]. It's not a lot—yet it is a lot. It's not a matter of you counting words, but weighing them.54
"I believe in God the Father Almighty." See how quickly it is said and how much it means! God exists and He is the Father: God, by His power; Father, by His goodness. How fortunate we are who have discovered that God is our Father! Let us, therefore, believe in Him, and let us promise ourselves all things from His mercy because He is all-powerful. That's the reason we believe in God the Father Almighty. Let no one say: "He is not able to forgive me my sins." How can the All-Powerful lack that power? But you say: "I have sinned much." I answer: But He is all-powerful. You insist: "I have committed sins of such a serious nature that I cannot be freed or cleansed from them." I reply: But He is all-powerful. Look at what you sang in the Psalm: "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and never forget all He has done for you. Who forgives all your iniquities? Who heals all your diseases?" (Ps 102:2–3). . . .
51. "Good news of peace, the good gospel!" (evangelizantium pacem, evangelizantium bona): Augustine has added to Paul's own quotation of Is 52:7, adding Second Isaiah's phrase about "peace."
52. "Invoke . . . believes": This opening echoes conf. 1.1 (see Chapter 1). 53. "Eight days from now . . . receive the Prayer": A similar ceremony of "handing down the Prayer" (traditio orationis) was held a week later. See s. 56 (below) for a sample of this.
54. This opening paragraph is missing from the Maurist version of s. 213; the translation here is based on s. Guelferbytanus 1 (MA 1:441–50); my trans.
(3) What comes next? "And in Jesus Christ." You say: "I believe in God the Father Almighty, and in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord." If only Son, then equal to the Father. If only Son, then of the same substance as the Father. If only Son, then all-powerful, just as the Father is. If only Son, then co-eternal with the Father. All this He is in Himself, and with Himself, and with the Father. What is He for our sake? What is He to us? "Who was born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary." Look, see who comes, to whom He comes, and how. Through the Virgin Mary—in whom not her husband but the Holy Spirit acted, making the chaste one fruitful and preserving her chastity intact. Thus the Lord Jesus Christ was clothed with human flesh. Thus He who made humanity was made human by taking upon Himself something He wasn't without losing what He was. For "the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us" (Jn 1:14). The Word was not changed into human flesh, but, remaining as Word, He assumed flesh. He who had always been invisible became visible when He wished it, and He "dwelt among us." What does "among us" mean? Among human beings. He became one of the multitude of humanity, the One who was the one and only-begotten of the Father. How is He an "only" for us? He is our only Savior. No one except Him is our Savior. And He is our only Redeemer. No one except Him has redeemed us, doing so not with gold or silver, but with His blood.
(4) Therefore, let us look at this transaction of His by which we were bought. These words were said in the Creed: "Born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary." What then did he undergo for us? These words follow: "Under Pontius Pilate, was crucified and buried." What? The only Son of God our Lord crucified? The only Son of God our Lord buried? The Man was crucified; God was not changed; God was not killed, and yet, in terms of His humanity, was killed. "For if they had known it," says the Apostle, "they would never have crucified the Lord of glory" (1 Cor 2:8). Paul both showed that Christ was the Lord of glory and confessed that He was crucified. Now if anyone should tear your tunic without harming your flesh, you wouldn't yell about your clothes: "You've torn my tunic." You'd say: "You've torn me up, ripped me to pieces, left me in shreds." You're still together, and yet you speak the truth, even though the one who harmed you tore away none of your flesh. So too was the Lord Jesus Christ crucified. He is the Lord. He is the only Son of the Father. He is our Savior. He is the Lord of glory. Yet He was crucified, but in the flesh, and buried in flesh alone. For there where He was buried and while He was buried, there was no soul there then. Flesh alone lay in the tomb. Still you confess: "Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, our Lord, born of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary." Who? Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, our Lord. "Under Pontius Pilate crucified." Who? Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, our
Lord. "And buried." Who? Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, our Lord. Flesh alone lies there, and you say: "Our Lord"? Yes, I say so, I say so emphatically. Because I look at the clothing, and I adore the One clothed. That flesh was his clothing, because "though He was in the form of God, He did not think being equal to God something to be clung to, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant," not losing the form of God, "being made in the likeness of humanity, and found in the garb of a human being" (Phil 2:6–7).
(5) Let us not despise flesh, for when it lay buried there, then He purchased us. How did He purchase us? Because His flesh did not always lie there: "He rose from the dead on the third day." That [phrase] follows in the Creed. When we acknowledge His Passion, we also confess His Resurrection. What did He do in the Passion? He taught us what we must endure. What did He do in the Resurrection? He showed us what we hope for. Here, it's work; there, it's reward; work in the Passion, reward in the Resurrection. . . .
(6) What then? "He will come to judge the living and the dead." Let us confess Him as Savior; let us not fear Him as Judge. The one who believes in Him now and who does His commands and who loves Him will not be afraid when He comes to judge the living and the dead. Not only are we unafraid, but we hope that He does come. What, after all, is more joyful for us than that someone whom we yearn for, whom we love, is coming? But we might be afraid because He's going to be our judge. Look, He will then be our judge; right now he's our advocate. Listen to John: "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us; if, however, we confess our sins," he says, "[God] is faithful and just; He forgives our sins and cleanses us of every wrongdoing. I write this to you that you not sin; and if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one; and He Himself is the expiation for our sins" (1 Jn 1:8–9, 2:1–2). If you were to have a case scheduled before some judge and you contacted a lawyer, you would be upheld, supported by the lawyer, and he would act on your case as best he could. And if, before he finished [preparing your case], you hear that he's going to come as the judge, how you would rejoice! For the very one who just a little while ago was your lawyer is now going to be your judge! Now [Christ] Himself pleads for us; He Himself intervenes on our behalf. We have Him as our lawyer, our advocate. Why should we fear Him as judge? No, because we have sent Him on ahead as our lawyer, we rest in the secure hope He will be our judge. . . .
(9) "In the forgiveness of sins." If this [forgiveness] were not in the Church, there would be no hope. If there were no remission of sins within the Church, there would be no hope of future life and of eternal liberation. We give thanks to God who gave this gift to His Church. Look, you are about to