Confessions of Faith
- James Collazo
- Jan 15
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 17
Apostles' Creed
c. AD 150
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 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 catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
Nicene Creed
AD 325 & 381
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through him, all things were made. For us and our salvation, he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became truly human. For our sake, he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day, he rose again in accordance with the scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy, catholic, and apostolic church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.
Definition of Chalcedon
AD 451
Following the holy fathers, we teach with one voice that the Son of God and our Lord Jesus Christ is to be confessed as one and the same person, that he is perfect in Godhead and perfect in manhood, truly God and truly man, of a reasonable soul and body consisting of one substance with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood, like us in all respects, apart from sin.
Begotten of his Father before the ages as regards his Godhead, but in these last days born for us and for our salvation of the Virgin Mary, the God-bearer. This one and the same Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, must be confessed to be in two natures, without confusion, without changes, without division, not as parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son and only-begotten God the Word, our Lord Jesus Christ. Even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the creed of the fathers has been handed down to us.
Confession of First-Century Faith
AD 2019
We believe in one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom all things live, and in one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. We believe the Lord is one. We will love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and we will love our neighbor as ourselves. His commandments live in our hearts, guiding our thoughts and actions. We will teach them to our children, speak of them at home and abroad, rise with them, rest with them, and make them the rule of our lives and homes.
We believe that Christ died for our sins, that he was buried, and that he rose on the third day. He appeared to Peter, to the twelve, to more than five hundred at once, to James, to all the apostles, and last of all to Paul. He was revealed in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed in by the world, and taken up in glory.
We believe that, in Christ Jesus, we are all children of God by faith. Baptized into him and clothed with him, we are one—neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female. We belong to Christ; we are Abraham's offspring and heirs of the promise. By God's mercy, we share in the blessings of his covenant and live in unity with all God's people.
We believe there is one body and one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all, who is over all, through all, and in all. We stand by faith, united as one people under God's covenant promises, proclaiming the Lord's death whenever we eat this bread and drink this cup, until he comes.
* Based on 1 Cor. 8:6; Mark 12:29–31 (cf. Deut. 6:4–5; Lev. 19:18); 1 Cor. 15:3–8; 1 Tim. 3:16; Gal. 3:28–29; Rom. 9:8; Eph. 4:4–6; Rom. 11:11–20; 1 Cor. 11:26.
Bibliography
Bellinger, W. H., Jr., and Todd D. Still, eds. NRSV Baylor Annotated Study Bible. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2019.
The Book of Doctrines and Discipline of the Global Methodist Church. Lubbock, TX: Global Methodist Church, 2024.
Coogan, Michael D., Marc D. Brettler, Carol A. Newsom, and Pheme Perkins, eds. NRSV New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha. 5th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018.
Costa, Tony. Early Christian Creeds & Hymns—What the Earliest Christians Believed in Word and Song: An Exegetical and Theological Study. Studies in the Ancient Church. Peterborough, ON: H&E Publishing, 2021.
