On the twelfth day of Christmas … twelve drummers drumming. This day’s gift in the song can stand for the twelve points of belief in the three articles of the Apostles’ Creed.
The word “creed” means “I believe.” David wrote, “O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise.” (Psalm 51:15 ESV). To make a public declaration of what you believe is also known as a confession. To speak the Apostles’ Creed, especially amongst fellow believers, is to publicly confess your faith in and to God.
The ecumenical (universal) creeds – Apostles’ Creed, Nicene Creed, and Athanasian Creed – are public confessions of the One True Faith in the One True Triune God and His works: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
The first article of the Apostles’ Creed attributes Creation to God the Father, the Almighty. The second article of the Apostles’ Creed attributes Salvation and Redemption to God the Son, Jesus Christ. The third article of the Apostles’ Creed attributes Sanctification and keeping us in the one true faith to God the Holy Spirit. However, all three Godhead Persons of the Holy Trinity are coequal and coeternal. The Holy Trinity is truly a mystery that we cannot fully understand, even though God has revealed His nature as such in His Word.
The Apostles’ Creed is as follows:
“I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.”
Twelve points of belief:
1) “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.”
The issue of believing in a god is not what the first article of the Apostles’ Creed is about. The belief that there is some sort of a god or gods is fairly common. The real matter is believing in the One True Triune God, and not in a different god or gods, no matter what they are. In the first article of the Apostles’ Creed, Christians publicly confess that God the Father Almighty is none other than He who created everything, known and unknown. He is our Almighty Father in heaven and He cares for and loves us more than Himself, giving His only Son to die for our sins.
2) “I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.”
3) “Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary.”
4) “Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.”
5) “He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead.”
6) “He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.”
7) “From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.”
In the second article of the Apostles’ Creed, Christians confess that Jesus Christ, the only Son of God and part of the One True Triune God, stepped down from His throne in heaven to live a humbled and perfect life (despite being tempted by the devil), to suffer and die on the cross in order to pay for the sins of the world, and then to rise victorious over sin, death, and the devil, once and for all. Christians believe that Jesus Christ fulfilled all the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament, such as being born to a virgin.
After we fell into sin in the Garden of Eden, a blood sacrifice was needed to atone for our transgressions against God. Jesus Christ was the last, perfect blood sacrifice for all our sins. Jesus is the unblemished, sacrificial Lamb of God, sent to wash us clean in His blood. We are blessed to know that Jesus is once more sitting at the right hand of God the Father in Heaven, ruling over all the universe and waiting for the time to come again to judge all the earth. We can be assured that because of Christ’s sacrifice for us, we will be with Him in Heaven for all eternity.
8) “I believe in the Holy Spirit.”
9) “The holy Christian Church, the communion of saints.”
10) “The forgiveness of sins.”
11) “The resurrection of the body.”
12) “And the life everlasting. Amen.”
The third article of the Apostles’ Creed confesses the Christian belief in God the Holy Spirit, who calls us into fellowship with the One True Triune God by the means of grace that God gives us through His Word and Sacraments. With God’s Word and His Sacraments, God keeps the entire Christian Church on earth in the One True Faith. The Holy Spirit sanctifies all believers.
The Holy Spirit reveals and preaches God’s Word into our hearts so we can accept His Word as truth, cling to that truth, and persevere in that truth. The Holy Spirit is constantly pursuing us all, believers and unbelievers alike. The Holy Spirit pours out the forgiveness of sins daily to those with repentant hearts so that on the Last Day, all faithful believers will rise from the dead and join all the past saints of Christ in heaven for all eternity with our glorified bodies. This daily forgiveness should inspire all Christians to daily give thanks to God, drown their sins in the waters of the Baptism, and live a servant’s life, modeled for us by Jesus Christ Himself.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Philip Frank
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”The Twelve Days of Christmas” song image in the corner is by Xavier Romero-Frias and used under Creative Commons license BY-SA 3.0.
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