The Apostles’ Creed

1. The Apostles’ Creed 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.

2. The third day he rose again from the dead.    He ascended into heaven,     and sitteth on 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.

3. The Nicene Creed 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.

4. Through him all things were made.For us and for our salvation    he came down from heaven:by the power of the Holy Spirit    he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,    and was made man.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.

5. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,     who proceeds from the Father and the Son.     With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.     He 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. Amen.

6. 1 and 2 Peter

7. Unique ChristologyThis is a strange text and certainly a more obscure passage than any other passage in the NT” LutherThis is a strange text and certainly a more obscure passage than any other passage in the NT – Luther For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison,who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you—not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.

8. in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison • Preached to the souls in hell after his death (Clement and Origen) • Proclaimed to fallen angels through his ascension (1 Enoch)

9. Unique ChristologyThis is a strange text and certainly a more obscure passage than any other passage in the NT” LutherThis is a strange text and certainly a more obscure passage than any other passage in the NT – Luther For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison,who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you—not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.

10. Baptism • how? through the resurrection • What? not magic but an oath, a sacramentum • not just a nice addition • not works righteousness • Tangible - attests to the Incarnation • Communal • Effective?

11. World Destroyed by Fire? “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed. Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire? But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home. Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation.” 2 Peter 3:10-15 (2 Peter 3:10–15 NRSV)

12. Living in Light of Eschatology • All burned up? What does it matter? • v. 10 burned up or disclosed? (1 Cor 3:13–15) • What gets destroyed? The earth and its works (v. 10) the elements (v. 12) (Gal 4:3; Col 2:8, 20) • New heavens and new earth (v. 13) • Be in peace, spotless, and blameless (works do matter and will endure!) v. 14

13. False Teachers • secretly introduce destructive heresies 2:1 • follow their sensuality 2:2 • greed exploit you with false words 2:3 • revile angelic mysteries 2:10 • reviling where they have no knowledge 2:12 • revel in the day time 2:13 • carouse with you 2:13 • eyes full of adultery 2:14 • arrogant 2: 18 • entice by fleshly desires 2:18 • apostates 2:21

14. False Prophecy Today? • Harold Camping? May 21, 2011 • Mark Driscoll? The whole attempt to define the eternal relations in the immanent or ontological Trinity seems misguided. • First, God has given us no revelation of the nature of their eternal relations.  We should follow the command of the Bible: "The secret things belong to the LORD our God" and refuse to speculate. • Second, the Apostles' Creed defines the Son as "begotten, not made."  The point was that something begotten was of the same substance as the one who does the begetting.  But the term "begotten" could never be defined with any clarity, so it was of little use. • Third, begotten unavoidably implies a beginning of the one begotten.  That would certainly lend support to the the Arian heresy that the Son is a created being and not the Creator God. For these reasons it is best to omit the creedal terms "begotten" and "proceeds" from our definition of the Trinity.  Our authority is not in creeds but in Scripture.

15. Opponents in Jude licentiousness 1:4 dreaming 1:8 defile flesh 1:8 reject authority 1:8 reject angelic majesties - the law 1:8 feast with you without fear 1:12 speak arrogantly 1:16 for the sake of an advantage 1:16