The Biblical Basis of the Apostles’ Creed

The Apostles’ Creed is an ancient statement of faith that transcends denominational differences and highlights the core truths of faith that all Christians, no matter what denomination, believe in. This creed has stood the test of time, is easy to memorize and is used in churches worldwide.

The Apostles’ Creed:

I BELIEVE in God, the Father almighty,
 creator of heaven and earth.

I BELIEVE in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again,
he ascended into heaven,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and will come again
to judge the living 
and the dead.

I BELIEVE in the Holy Spirit,
the holy universal Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

The Apostles’ Creed unifies us all as believers; it helps us remember what Christians around the world believe and agree upon and equips us to fight the questions and challenges to our faith. Let’s take a look at the biblical passages that support each phrase of the Creed.

I believe (John 3)

John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” What makes believing in Jesus or any Bible truth different is that little word, “in.” To “believe in” means we put our trust in Jesus. We rely on Jesus; we count on him and count on truths found in the Bible. To “believe in” Jesus means trusting ourselves to him completely. To “believe in” what the Bible says means we rely on God’s Word so completely that we build our lives on its teachings.

in God, the Father (Psalm 103)

God is a loving Father. Psalm 103:8 says, “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.” And Jesus encourages us to see God as a Father who never fails us — a Father who takes care of us and gives us good gifts. Bible passages that picture God as Father include Psalm 103:8 – 18; Matthew 6:25 – 34; Matthew 7:7 – 11; Hebrews 12:5 – 11.

almighty (Psalm 89)

God is able do whatever he chooses any time, any place. A number of Bible passages show how powerful our God is. Like Psalm 89:5 – 13. Or Job 38 and 39, where God challenges Job to consider his greatness. One truly special passage in Isaiah 40 quotes God asking, “To whom will you compare me?” and points out that God not only created the universe but he sustains it. It is only “because of his great power and mighty strength” that not a star is missing from the heavens (Isaiah 40:25 – 26).

creator of heaven and earth. (Genesis 1)

Genesis 1 teaches that God created the universe. Life didn’t “just happen” as molecules bumped into each other.
• God created the universe from nothing. (Psalm 33:6, 8 – 9)
• Creation reminds you of the greatness of your God. (Isaiah 40:26, 28)
• You accept the evidence that God created the universe by faith. (Hebrews 11:3)

I believe in Jesus Christ, (Colossians 1)

The Bible says that Jesus is God. He was God from the beginning and he created all things. Here are some of the ways the Bible describes Jesus Christ before his birth:
• In the very beginning Jesus [called “the Word” in this passage] “was with God [the Father] and the Word was God” (John 1:1).
• Jesus is “the radiance of God’s [the Father’s] glory and the exact representation of his being” (Hebrews 1:3).
• Jesus is “in very nature God” (Philippians 2:6).
• Jesus created all things (Colossians 1:16).
• All God’s fullness dwells in Jesus (Colossians 1:19).
• Jesus sustains “all things by his powerful word.” Without Jesus the universe would dissolve (Hebrews 1:3).

his only Son, (John 1)

To say that Jesus is the “one and only Son” means no other person is God. Christians are adopted into God’s family as sons of God (Ephesians 1:5). But adoption doesn’t make us God. Only Jesus is God.

John 1:1 – 14 sums up what the Bible teaches and what Christians believe. Jesus existed as God with God the Father before the universe was created. And then “the Word [an expression identifying the Son of God before Jesus was born] became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” Jesus, the Son of God — God himself! — was born into our world and became a Son of Man — a true human being. As God and Man, Jesus lived here on our planet. He died on a cross to pay for our sins. Whoever believes in the one and only Son of God becomes a child of God and is welcomed into God’s family forever.

our Lord, (Romans 14)

When the first Christians said, “Jesus Christ in Lord” (Philippians 2:11), they meant several things. They meant that —
• Jesus has universal authority. He is seated at God’s right hand, “far above all rule and authority, power and dominion” (Ephesians 1:21).
• Jesus has complete authority, for all “angels, authorities and powers in submission to him” (1 Peter 3:22).
• Jesus has personal authority; Christ “died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living” (Romans 14:9).

Today when Christians recite, “We believe . . . in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord,” the focus is on Christ’s personal authority. We’re saying that we acknowledge Jesus’ authority over our daily lives, and that we pledge to live our lives as he wants us to live them.

who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1)

The angel who appeared to Mary shocked her. He told the teenager that she was going to have a son. Mary said, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1: 34). Then the angel said something even more shocking. He told Mary that her child would be the “Son of God.”

God himself was going to take on human nature and be born as a human infant. He explained that God the Holy Spirit, rather than a man, would energize the egg in her womb, so the child she produced would be the Son of God.

This had never happened before and would never again. But don’t think it was impossible. After all, God did create Adam and Eve. There’s no reason to suppose that God the Holy Spirit couldn’t blend deity and humanity so that the child Jesus was both God and Man, united in a single person. In fact that’s what “conceived by the Holy Spirit” means. The Holy Spirit worked in Mary’s body to blend deity and humanity so that Jesus, the one and only Son of God, was conceived.

born of the virgin Mary (Isaiah 7)

730 years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah predicted, “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). For hundreds of years those who studied the Old Testament must have puzzled over this prediction. How could a virgin have a child? And then 730 years after Isaiah’s prophecy, it happened! An angel came to a teenage Jewish girl named Mary and told her she would have a child who would be the Son of God. She did, and today we celebrate Christmas to honor Jesus, God’s one and only Son, born of the virgin Mary.

suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, (Isaiah 53)

Historical records tell us that Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea for ten years. He reluctantly ordered the death of Jesus of Nazareth and Jesus did “suffer under Pontius Pilate” (see John 18:28 — 19:19). 700 years before Pilate became governor, the prophet Isaiah  described Jesus’ suffering:
• Jesus’ hands and feet were pierced (Isaiah 53:5)
• Jesus was hung on a cross between two criminals (Isaiah 53:9)
• Jesus was buried in a rich man’s tomb (Isaiah 53:9)

Isaiah also tells us why Jesus died. He took the punishment that you deserve so you could have peace with God (Isaiah 53:4 – 6).

died, and was buried; (Matthew 27)

No one said Jesus didn’t die. The chief priests paid the men who guarded Jesus’ tomb to say the disciples stole his body (Matthew 26:11-15). But they never suggested Jesus hadn’t been dead. The Roman soldier who thrust a spear into Jesus’ side knew he was dead (John 19:34). The Roman officer who reported to Pilate knew that Jesus was dead (Mark 15:44 – 45). Joseph and Nicodemus, who were members of the ruling council, wrapped Jesus’ dead body in strips of linen (Luke 23:50 – 53) knew he was dead. There were just too many witnesses who knew that Jesus was dead and buried for enemies to suggest that maybe he hadn’t died.

He was dead. He was buried in a tomb guarded by hired soldiers. Jesus died . . . because he had to die to save us from the consequences of our sin. And now he lives to give us power to overcome the temptations we face every day (Romans 6:1 – 14).

On the third day he rose again, (Luke 24)

The resurrection of Jesus is one of the clearest teachings of the bible. Many people witnessed it:
• Two disciples (Luke 24:13 – 31)
• The apostles (Luke 24:36 – 45)
• Several women (Matthew 28:8 – 10)
• Mary Magdalene (John 20:11 – 18)
• Paul (Acts 9:3 – 6)
• Stephen (Acts 7:55)
• Some 500 in Galilee (1 Corinthians 15:6)
• James (1 Corinthians 15:7)
• John (Revelation 1:10 – 18)

he ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of the Father (Hebrews 9)

The New Testament says 19 times that having returned to heaven, Jesus sits at God the Father’s right hand. It’s important because the Lord wants us to know that Jesus is God the Father’s “right hand man” — he has authority and influence. And the Lord wants us to know that Jesus is there for us. Because Jesus is at the Father’s right hand,
• He’s there to answer our prayers for mercy and help in time of need (Hebrews 4:14 – 16).
• He’s there to speak up in our defense when we sin (1 John 2:1).
• He’s there to pray for us (Romans 8:34).
• He’s there to ensure that we have the Holy Spirit to strengthen us (Acts 2:33-34).

Hebrews 9:24 sums it up: Jesus “entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s [the Father’s] presence.”

and will come again (Mark 13)

The Bible says that Jesus will return to earth. What do we know about his coming?
• Jesus will come in power and glory (Mark 13:26).
• Jesus will come back in person (Acts 1:11).
• Christians will rise from the dead (1 Thessalonians 4:13 – 18).
• Jesus will punish those who do not know God (2 Thessalonians 1:8 – 9).

No one knows just when Jesus will return. But Jesus warned that he might return at any time! He urges you to “Be alert!” (Mark 13:33).

to judge the living and the dead. (Revelation 20)

In one of the earliest books of the Old Testament, God told Moses that, while he’s compassionate and gracious, he “does not leave the guilty unpunished” (Exodus 34:7). God is the moral judge of the universe, and he will punish sin. So we shouldn’t be surprised that the Bible says when Jesus returns, he will “pay back trouble to those who trouble you” (2 Thessalonians 1:6). Nor should we be surprised that unbelievers “will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord” (2 Thessalonians 1:9).

But Jesus loved us so much that he went to the cross to personally pay the penalty for our sins. He took the judgment our sins and wicked acts deserve. The sins of anyone who trusts Jesus as Savior have already been judged and punished, and they’re gone.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, (Acts 2)

On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the followers of Jesus (Acts 2:17). Jesus had told his disciples that the Spirit was “with” them and one day soon would be “in” them (John 14:17). Pentecost was the day the Holy Spirit came to live within those who trust Jesus.

Who is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit, like the Father and the Son, is God. Here are just a few things the Holy Spirit will do for you:
• When you pray, the Holy Spirit will pray with and for you (Romans 8:26).
• When you face temptation, the Holy Spirit will give you the strength to do what’s right (Romans 8:9 – 11).
• As you live a Christian life, the Holy Spirit will give you joy, peace, and many other blessings (Galatians 5:22 – 23).
• As you keep on living the Chris tian life, the Holy Spirit will transform you so that you become more and more like Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).

the holy universal Church, (1 Peter 1)

In the Apostles’ Creed and in the Bible we’re called a “holy”  people. Holy doesn’t mean that we’re a perfect  people. Holy means “to be set apart, to be different.”

the communion of saints, (Ephesians 2)

When Jesus died for our sins, he broke down the barriers that society puts up between groups of  people. He did it by making all Christians “fellow citizens with God’s  people and also members of his household” (Ephesians 19). “The communion of the saints” means that we’re now to emphasize what we have in common with other Christians, instead of following the world’s approach of emphasizing differences. We see a fellow brother or sister in Christ, someone to care about and to worship with, someone to draw close to and to be a friend.

the forgiveness of sins, (Jeremiah 31)

When Jesus died on the cross God kept his promise of a new covenant. The book of Hebrews assures us that Jesus’ death was a sacrifice for sins offered “for all time,” and that by “one sacrifice” Jesus did everything necessary to provide the forgiveness we need and perfect us for heaven (Hebrews 10:12,14). Because Jesus died for us, the sins of those who believe in him “have been forgiven” (Hebrews 10:18).

the resurrection of the body, (Daniel 12)

We’re promised that when Jesus returns, believers will be raised from the dead to meet Jesus in the air and will “be with the Lord forever” (1 Thessalonians 4:13 – 18). The Bible tells us that our resurrection bodies will be “raised in glory” and our weaknesses will be replaced with “power” (1 Corinthians 15). And the best news is that our resurrection bodies will “bear the image of the heavenly man.”

and the life everlasting. Amen. (Revelation 21)

We don’t know a lot about the eternal life that we’re promised in Jesus. What we do know is found in Revelation 21 and 22. God will be with us in a new heaven and earth he’ll create. There will be no more death or mourning or pain. The new universe God creates will be spectacularly beautiful, and there will be no evil or sin. We’ll serve God there. No one knows just how, but we won’t be inactive or bored. We’ll see God himself. And we will “reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 22:5).

Everlasting life will be filled with more beauty, more excitement, more satisfying things to do, more love and fulfillment, than anyone finds in this life. And the life God has planned for us to live will go on and on and on, forever.

Drawn from the NIV Teen Study Bible.