Online Christian Theological Virtual Library
Sponsored by Northwestern Theological Seminary
Online Library Article
Return to Library Article Directory
A
Short History of Creeds and Confessions
by A. A. Hodge
IT is asserted in the first chapter of this Confession [The Westminster
Confession of Faith], and vindicated in this exposition that the Scriptures of
the Old and New Testaments, having been given by inspiration of God, are for man
in his present state the only and the all-sufficient rule of faith and practice.
All that man is to believe concerning God, and the entire duty which God
requires of man, are revealed therein, and are to be believed and obeyed because
contained therein, because it is the word of God. This divine word, therefore,
is the only standard of doctrine which has intrinsic authority binding the
conscience of men. And all other standards are of value or authority only in
proportion as they teach what the Scriptures teach.
While, however, the Scriptures are from God, the understanding of them belongs
to the part of men. Men must interpret to the best of their ability each
particular part of Scripture separately, and then combine all that the
Scriptures teach upon every subject into a consistent whole, and then adjust
their teachings upon different subjects in mutual consistency as parts of a
harmonious system. Every student of the Bible must do this, and all make it
obvious that they do it by the terms they use in their prayers and religious
discourse, whether they admit or deny the propriety of human creeds and
confessions. If they refuse the assistance afforded by the statements of
doctrine slowly elaborated and defined by the Church, they must make out their
own creed by their own unaided wisdom. The real question is not, as often
pretended, between the word of God and the creed of man, but between the tried
and proved faith of the collective body of God's people, and the private
judgment and the unassisted wisdom of the repudiator of creeds.
As we would have anticipated, it is a matter of fact that the Church has
advanced very gradually in this work of the accurate interpretation of Scripture
and definition of the great doctrines which compose the system of truth it
reveals. The attention of the Church has been specially directed to the study of
one doctrine in one age, and of another doctrine in another age. And as she has
thus gradually advanced in the clear discrimination of gospel truth, she has at
different periods set down an accurate statement of the results of her new
attainments in a Creed or Confession of Faith, for the purpose of preservation
and popular instruction. In the mean time, heretics spring up on all occasions,
who pervert the Scriptures, who exaggerate certain aspects of the truth and deny
others equally essential, and thus in effect turn the truth of God into a lie.
The Church is forced, therefore, on the great principle of self-preservation, to
form such accurate definitions of every particular doctrine misrepresented as
shall include the whole truth and exclude all error, and to make such
comprehensive exhibitions of the system of revealed truth as a whole that no one
part shall be either unduly diminished or exaggerated, but the true proportion
of the whole be preserved. At the same time, provision must be made for
ecclesiastical discipline, and to secure the real co-operation of those who
profess to work together in the same cause, so that public teachers in the same
communion may not contradict one another, and the one pull down what the other
is striving to build up. Formularies must also be prepared, representing as far
as possible the common consent, and clothed with public authority, for the
instruction of the members of the Church, and especially of the children.
Creeds and Confessions, therefore, have been found necessary in all ages and
branches of the Church, and, when not abused, have been useful for the following
purposes: (1.) To mark, disseminate and preserve the attainments made in the
knowledge of Christian truth by any branch of the Church in any crisis of its
development. (2.) To discriminate the truth from the glosses of false teachers,
and to present it in its integrity and due proportions. (3.) To act as the basis
of ecclesiastical fellowship among those so nearly agreed as to be able to labor
together in harmony. (4.) To be used as instruments in the great work of popular
instruction.
It must be remembered, however, that the matter of these Creeds and Confessions
binds the consciences of men only so far as it is purely scriptural, and because
it is so; and as to the form in which that matter is stated, they bind those
only who have voluntarily subscribed the Confession, and because of that
subscription.
In all churches a distinction is made between the terms upon which private
members are admitted to membership, and the terms upon which office-bearers are
admitted to their sacred trusts of teaching and ruling. A Church has no right to
make anything a condition of membership which Christ has not made a condition of
salvation. The Church is Christ's fold. The sacraments are the seals of his
covenant. All have a right to claim admittance who make a credible profession of
the true religion - that is, who are presumptively the people of Christ. This
credible profession of course involves a competent knowledge of the fundamental
doctrine of Christianity - a declaration of personal faith in Christ and
consecration to his service, and a temper of mind and habit consistent
therewith. On the other hand, no man can be inducted into any office in any
Church who does not protest to believe in the truth and wisdom of the
constitution and laws which it will be his duty to conserve and administer.
Otherwise all harmony of sentiment and all efficient co-operation in action
would be impossible.
The original Synod of our American Presbyterian Church in the year 1729 solemnly
adopted the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms as the doctrinal
standards of the Church. The record is as follows:
'All the ministers of the Synod now present, which were eighteen in number,
except one, that declared himself not prepared, [but who gave his assent at the
next meeting], after proposing all the scruples any of them had to make against
any articles and expressions in the Confession of Faith, and Larger and Shorter
Catechisms of the Assembly of Divines at Westminster, have unanimously agreed in
the solution of those scruples, and in declaring the said Confession and
Catechisms to be the Confession of their Faith, except only some clauses in the
twentieth and twenty-third chapters, 'Concerning the Civil Magistrate.''
Again, in the year 1788, preparatory to the formation of the General Assembly,
'the Synod, having fully considered the draught of the Form of Government and
Discipline, did, on review of the whole, and hereby do, ratify and adopt the
same, as now altered and amended, as the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church
in America, and order the same to be considered and strictly observed as the
rule of their proceedings, 'by all the inferior judicatories belonging to the
body.
'The Synod, having now revised and corrected the draught of a Directory for
Worship, did approve and ratify the same, and do hereby appoint the same
Directory, as now amended, to be the Directory for the worship of God in the
Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. They also took into
consideration the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms, and, having made a
small amendment of the Larger, did approve and do hereby approve and ratify the
said Catechisms, as now agreed on, as the Catechisms of the Presbyterian Church
in the United States. And the Synod order that the Directory and Catechisms be
printed and bound up in the same volume with the Confession of Faith and the
Form of Government and Discipline; that the whole be considered as the standard
of our doctrine, government, discipline and worship, agreeably to the
resolutions of the Synod it their present session.'
What follows is a very brief and general history of the principal Creeds and
Confessions of the several branches of the Christian Church. In this statement
they are grouped according to the order of time and the churches which adhere to
them:
I.
The ancient Creeds, which express the common faith of the whole Church.
The Creeds formed before the Reformation are very few, relate to the fundamental
principles of Christianity, especially the Trinity and the Person of the
God-man, and are the common heritage of the whole Church.
1st. The Apostles' Creed. This was not written by the apostles, but was
gradually formed, by common consent, out of the Confessions adopted severally by
particular churches, and used in the reception of its members. It reached its
present form, and universal use among all the churches, about the close of the
second century. This Creed was appended to the Shorter Catechism, together with
the Lord's Prayer and Ten Commandments, in the first edition published by order
of Parliament, 'not as though it were composed by the apostles, or ought to be
esteemed canonical Scripture, . . . but because it is a brief sum of Christian
faith, agreeable to the Word of God, and anciently received in the churches of
Christ.' It was retained by the framers of our Constitution as part of the
Catechism.1 It is as follows:
'I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell (Hade's); the third day he rose again from the dead, he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the Holy Catholic Church; the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.'
2d. The Nicene Creed. This Creed is formed on the basis of the Apostles' Creed, the clauses relating to the consubstantial divinity of Christ being contributed by the great Council held in Nice in Bithynia, A.D. 325, and those relating to the divinity and personality of the Holy Ghost added by the Second Ecumenical Council, held at Constantinople, A.D.381; and the 'filioque' clause added by the Council of the Western Church, held at Toledo, Spain, A.D. 569. In its present form it is the Creed of the whole Christian Church, the Greek Church rejecting only the last added clause. It is as follows:
'I believe in one God, Maker of heaven and earth, and all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried; and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father. And he shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end. And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord the Giver of life, who proeeedeth from the Father and the Son (filioque), who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spake by the prophets. And I believe in one Catholic and Apostolic Church; I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.'
3d. As
subsequently heretical opinions sprang up in its bosom with respect to the
constitution of the person of Christ, the Church was forced to provide
additional definitions and muniments of the truth. One heretical tendency
culminated in Nestorianism, which maintains that the divine and human natures in
Christ constitute two persons. This was condemned by the Creed of the Council of
Ephesus, A.D. 431. The opposite heretical tendency culminated in Eutychianism,
which maintains that the divine and human natures are so united in Christ as to
form but one nature. This was condemned by the Council of Chalcedon, A.D. 451.
These Creeds, defining the faith of the Church as embracing two natures in
one person, are received and approved by the entire Church. They are
sufficiently quoted in the body of the following 'Commentary.'
4th. The Athanasian Creed. This Creed was evidently composed long after
the death of the great theologian whose name it bears, and after the
controversies closed and the definitions established by the above-mentioned
Councils of Ephesus and
Chalcedon.
It is a grand and unique monument of the unchangeable faith of the whole Church
as to the great mysteries of godliness, the Trinity of Persons in the one God
and the duality of natures in the one Christ. It is too long to quote here in
full. What relates to the Person of the God-man is as follows:
'27. But it is necessary to eternal salvation that he should also faithfully believe in the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. 28. It is therefore true faith that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ is both God and man. 29. He is God; generated from eternity from the substance of the Father; man born in time from the substance of his Mother. 30. Perfect God, perfect man, subsisting of a rational soul and human flesh. 31. Equal to the Father in respect to his divinity, less than the Father in respect to his humanity. 32. Who, although he is God and man, is not two, but one Christ. 33. But two not from the conversion of divinity into flesh, but from the assumption of his humanity into God. 34. One not at all from confusion of substance, but from unity of Person. 35. For as rational soul and flesh is one man, so God and man is one Christ,' etc.
II. The
Creeds and Confessions of the different branches of the Church since the
Reformation.
1st. The Doctrinal Standards of the Church of Rome.
In order to oppose the progress of the Reformation, Pope Paul III. called the
last great ecumenical Council at
Trent
(1545-1563). The deliverances of this Council, entitled Canons and Decrees of
the Council of Trent, form the highest doctrinal rule known to that Church. The
decrees contain the positive statements of doctrine The canons explain the
decrees, distribute the matter under brief heads and condemn the opposing of
Protestant doctrine on each point.
The Roman Catechism, which explains and enforces the canons of the Council of
Trent, was prepared and promulgated by the authority of Pope Pius IV., AD. 1556.
The Tridentine Confession of Faith was also imposed upon all the priests and
candidates of the Romish Church and converts from other churches.
In addition to these, different papal bulls and some private writings have been
authoritatively set up as standards of the true faith by the authority of popes;
e.g., the Catechism of Bellarmine, A.D. 1603, and the bull Unigenitus of Clement
XI., 1711.
The theology taught in all these papal standards is Arminianism.
2d. The Doctrinal Standards of the Greek Church.
The ancient Church divided from causes primarily political and ecclesiastical,
secondarily doctrinal and ritual, into two great sections - the Eastern or Greek
Church, and the Western or Latin Church. This division began to culminate in the
seventh, and was consummated in the eleventh century. The Greek Church embraces
Greece,
the majority of the Christians of the
Turkish
Empire
and the great mass of the civilized inhabitants of Russia. All the Protestant
churches have originated through the Reformation from the Western or Roman
Church.
This Church arrogates to herself pre-eminently the title of the 'orthodox,'
because the original creeds defining the doctrine of the Trinity and the Person
of Christ, which have been mentioned above, were produced in the Eastern half of
the ancient Church, and hence are in a peculiar sense her inheritance. Greek
theology is very imperfectly developed beyond the ground covered by these
ancient creeds, which that Church magnifies and maintains with singular
tenacity.
They possess also a few confessions of more modern date, as 'The Orthodox
Confession' of Peter Mogilas, A.D. 1642, metropolitan bishop of Kiew, the
Confession of Gennadius, A.D. 1453.
3d. The Confessions of the
Lutheran
Church.
The entire Protestant world from the time of the Reformation has been divided
into two great families of churches - the LUTHERAN, including all those which
received their characteristic impress from the great man whose name they bear;
the REFORMED, including all those, on the other hand, which derived their
character from Calvin.
The Lutheran family of churches embraces all those Protestants of Germany and
the Baltic provinces of Russia who adhere to the Augsburg Confession, together
with the national churches of Denmark, of Norway and Sweden, and the large
denomination of that name in America.
Their Symbolical Books are:
1. The Augsburg Confession, the joint authors of which were Luther and Melancthon. Having been signed by the Protestant princes and leaders, it was presented to the emperor and imperial Diet in Augsburg A.D. 1530. It is the oldest Protestant confession, the ultimate basis of Lutheran theology, and the only universally accepted standard of the Lutheran churches.
2. The Apology (Defence) of the Augsburg Confession, prepared by Melanethon A.D. 1530, and subscribed by the Protestant theologians A.D. 1537 at Smalcald.
3. The Larger and Smaller Catechisms, prepared by Luther A.D. 1529, 'the first for the use of preachers and teachers, the last as a guide in the instruction of youth.'
4. The Articles of Smalcald, drawn up by Luther A.D. 1535, and subscribed by the evangelical theologians in February, A.D. 1537, at the place whose name they hear.
5. The Formula Concordiae (Form of Concord), prepared in A.D. 1577 by Andrea and others for the purpose of settling certain controversies which had sprung up in the Lutheran Church, especially
o concerning the relative activities of divine grace and the human will in regeneration,
o concerning the nature of the Lord's presence in the Eucharist.
This confession contains a more scientific and thoroughly developed statement of
the Lutheran doctrine than can be found in any other of their public symbols.
Its authority is, however, acknowledged only by the high Lutheran party; that
is, by that party in the Church which consistently carries the peculiarities of
Lutheran theology out to the most complete logical development.
4th. The
Confessions of the Reformed or Calvinistic churches.
The Reformed churches embrace all those churches of Germany which subscribe the
Heidelberg Catechism; the Protestant churches of Switzerland, France, Holland,
England and Scotland: the Independents and Baptists of England and America, and
the various branches of the Presbyterian Church in England and America.
The Reformed Confessions are very numerous, although they all substantially
agree as to the system of doctrine they teach. Those most generally received,
and regarded as of the highest symbolical authority as standards of the common
system, are the following:
1. The Second Helvetic Confession, prepared by Bullinger, A.D. 1564. 'It was adopted by all the Reformed churches in Switzerland, with the exception of Basle (which was content with its old symbol, the First Helvetic), and by the Reformed churches in Poland, Hungary, Scotland and France,'2 and has always been regarded as of the highest authority by all the Reformed churches.
2. The Heidelberg Catechism, prepared by Ursinus and Olevianus, A.D. 1562. It was established by civil authority, the doctrinal standard, as well as instrument of religious instruction for the churches of the Palatinate, a German State at that time including both banks of the Rhine. It was endorsed by the Synod of Dort, and is the Confession of Faith of the Reformed churches of Germany and Holland, and of the German and Dutch Reformed churches in America.
3. The Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England. These were originally drawn up by Cranmer and Ridley, A.D. 1551, and revised and reduced to the present number by the bishops, at the order of Queen Elizabeth, A.D. 1562. These Articles are Calvinistic in doctrine, and constitute the doctrinal standard of the Episcopal churches in England, Scotland, America and the Colonies.
4. The Canons of the Synod of Dort. This famous Synod was convened in Dort, Holland, by the authority of the States General, for the purpose of settling the questions brought into controversy by the disciples of Arminius. It held its sessions from November 13, A.D. 1618, to May 9, A.D. 1619. It consisted of pastors, elders and theological professors from the churches of Holland, and deputies from the churches of England, Scotland, Hesse, Bremen, the Palatinate and Switzerland; the French delegates having been prevented from being present by order of their king. The Canons of this Synod were received by all the Reformed churches as a true, accurate and eminently authoritative exhibition of the Calvinistic System of Theology. They constitute, in connection with the Heidelberg Catechism, the doctrinal Confession of the Reformed Church of Holland, and of the [Dutch] Reformed Church of America.
5. The Confession and Catechisms of the Westminster Assembly. A short account of the origin and constitution of this Assembly, and of the production and reception of its doctrinal deliverances, is presented in the next chapter. This is the common doctrinal standard of all the Presbyterian churches in the world of English and Scotch derivation. It is also of all Creeds the one most highly approved by all the bodies of Congregationalists in England and America. The Congregational Convention called by Cromwell to meet at Savoy, in London, A.D. 1658, declared their approval of the doctrinal part of the Confession and Catechisms of the Westminster Assembly, and conformed their own deliverance, the Savoy Confession, very nearly to it. Indeed, 'the difference between these two Confessions is so very small, that the modern Independents have in a manner laid aside the use of it (Savoy Conf.) in their families, and agreed with the Presbyterians in the use of the Assembly's Catechisms.'3
All the
Assemblies convened in
New England
for the purpose of settling the doctrinal basis of their churches have either
endorsed or explicitly adopted this Confession and these Catechisms as accurate
expositions of their own faith. This was done by the Synod which met at
Cambridge, Massachusetts, June, 1647, and again August, 1648, and prepared the
Cambridge Platform. And again by the Synod which sat in
Boston,
September, 1679, and May, 1680, and produced the Boston Confession. And again by
the Synod which met at
Saybrook,
Connecticut,
1708, and produced the Saybrook Platform.4
Endnotes
1 Assembly's Digest, p. 11.
2 Shedd's Hist. of Christian Doctrine.
3 Neal: Puritans, II. 178
4 Shedd's Hist. of Christian Doctrine
02/05/2008 07:17:59 -0800
Important Note: The material found in the NTSLibrary does not necessarily represent the views of Northwestern Theological Seminary or its members or affiliates. The information provided is based solely for the purpose of research and as a resource to students and guests of Northwestern Theological Seminary.
Copyright © 2005-2006 NTSLibrary. All rights reserved.
Online Theological Virtual Library
Northwestern Theological Seminary