Ten-minute studies on short readings from the Large Catechism.
Let's do this.
Click on the link below and read the short assigned reading. Then, if you have time, check out what I have to say about it. If not, no problem. Just soak up the goodness of the LC.
The Apostles' Creed Article 3, Part 4: Click here and read 61 - the end of the Apostles' Creed section.
The basics:
- The congregation of the Christian Church on earth is appointed for the dispensing of the Holy Ghost and the Word. This is where He speaks and does everything.
- We believe He brings us to the Church by the Word, and through the same Word bestows, strengthens, and increases our faith.
- The Apostles' Creed surpasses and exceeds the wisdom, mind, and reason of all men.
- Beyond all He gives us on this earth through His creation, in the Apostles' Creed we learn of His gifts of His Son and the Holy Ghost.
- Our Lord Jesus Christ is a mirror of the paternal heart of the Father.
- These articles divide Christians from all other people upon earth. All those outside of Christians, whether heathen, Jews, or false Christians and hypocrites, may believe in one true God, yet they do not know what He thinks of them and cannot expect any love or blessing from Him. For they have not Christ, and are not favored by any gifts of the Holy Ghost.
- The Ten Commandments teach us what we ought to do. The Apostles' Creed teaches us what He does for us. The Ten Commandments are written on the hearts of all men. The Creed is beyond comprehension for all men, and must be taught by the Holy Ghost. The law makes no Christian, because we are not able to follow them. The doctrine of faith brings grace and makes us acceptable to God.
My thoughts today:
I have to confess there are many times I ramble off the Apostles' Creed without even realizing what I am saying. My family says it every night, we say it at two different churches every Sunday - it is pretty much just there in my brain somewhere. When it is time to say it, out it comes.
Some people may see this as just a silly thing. Why say it so often? Why repeat something every Sunday in church that you know most people are just saying from rote memory?
For anyone who thinks that, I am quite certain they have never had the experience of sitting next to an elderly, dementia or Alzheimer's stricken Christian with a background in repeating the Apostles' Creed thousands of times.
They might not be able to tell you their roommate's name. They may not remember their own spouse. They might not be able to recall the names of their children or grandchildren. They might not even know their own name.
But...
It brings tears to my eyes just thinking of the bedsides my family and I have sat by in the past two and a half years...
They have always remembered the Apostles' Creed. The words might be jumbled. They might accidentally slip into the Nicene Creed [but really, who doesn't do that...]. But when it is time to say it, out it comes.
Their eyes are closed, they breathe quick breaths between lines, and they recite that Apostles' Creed like they did so many times in their youth. This is the faith brought by the Holy Ghost. A faith that goes from womb to tomb, yet completely incomprehensible to the greatest of human minds. This isn't a faith they made for themselves. This is a faith given to them.
What makes Christians different?
We have the one true God who does everything for us. We don't work to earn His favor. We don't wonder what He thinks about us. We don't speak the Creed without the Holy Ghost doing it for and through us. We don't seek to explain away our faith by reason. We take God by His Word, and we repeat that Word over and over again. All the while, the Holy Ghost is sustaining and strengthening our faith.
May the Holy Ghost continue to sustain and strengthen the faith of all Christians, that we may boldy proclaim the words of the Apostles' Creed every chance we get.
