Question
What do we believe by true faith?
Answer
Everything taught to us in the gospel. The Apostles’ Creed expresses what we believe in these words: We 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 Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. We 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.
Everything taught to us in the gospel. The Apostles’ Creed expresses what we believe in these words: We 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 Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. We 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.
We 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 Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius ilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. We 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.
Scripture
—Jude 1:3 (ESV)I…appeal…to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.
—Jude 1:3 (NIV)I…urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.
—Jude 1:3 (NLT)Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people.
Song
Video
Prayer
Adult
“Meet and just is it to worship Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Trinity consubstantial and undivided. Meet and just is it to hymn Thee, to bless Thee, to praise Thee, to thank Thee, to worship Thee in all places of Thy dominion. For Thou art God unspeakable, inconceivable, invisible, incomprehensible, always I AM, still I AM: Thou, and Thy Only-Begotten Son, and Thy Holy Spirit. Thou it was that from non-existence to existence broughtest us; and when we were fallen aside raisedst us again, and leftest nothing undone to bring us to heaven and bestow on us Thy kingdom to come. For all these things we thank Thee, and Thine Only Begotten Son, and Thy Holy Spirit, for all that we know, and for all that we do not know, of the seen and of the unseen benefits that are come upon us…. We also, O tender Lord, cry and say: Holy Thou art and All-holy, Thou and Thine Only-Begotten Son and Thy Holy Spirit. Holy Thou art and All-holy, and great is Thy glory: Who didst so love Thy world as to give Thine Only Begotten Son, that every one that believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life…. Remembering…all that came to pass for us, the Cross, the Tomb, the Resurrection on the third day, the Ascension into the heavens, the Throne at the right hand, the second and glorious Coming again…thee we hymn, thee we bless, to Thee do we give thanks, Lord our God. Amen.”
Footnote
John Chrysostom (347–407). Archbishop of Constantinople, John was born in Antioch. He was given the title Chrysostom which means “golden mouth” because of his eloquent preaching. He is recognized by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church as a saint and Doctor of the Church. Chrysostom is known for his Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (from which this prayer is taken), and his vast homiletical works including 67 homilies on Genesis, 90 on the Gospel of Matthew, and 88 on the Gospel of John.
Attribution
From The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom Archbishop of Constantinople (London: Joseph Masters, 1866), 61–63.
Child
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—you are our God who brought us from non-existence to existence. Tender Lord, you so loved the world that you gave your only Son, that everyone who believes in him will not perish, but will have everlasting life. Remembering everything that happened for us—the cross, the tomb, the resurrection on the third day, the ascension, the throne at the right hand—we rejoice, and praise, and give thanks to you, Lord our God. Great is your glory. Amen.
Attribution
Derived and adapted from John Chrysostom’s prayer in The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom Archbishop of Constantinople (London: Joseph Masters, 1866), 61–63.
“Meet and just is it to worship Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Trinity consubstantial and undivided. Meet and just is it to hymn Thee, to bless Thee, to praise Thee, to thank Thee, to worship Thee in all places of Thy dominion. For Thou art God unspeakable, inconceivable, invisible, incomprehensible, always I AM, still I AM: Thou, and Thy Only-Begotten Son, and Thy Holy Spirit. Thou it was that from non-existence to existence broughtest us; and when we were fallen aside raisedst us again, and leftest nothing undone to bring us to heaven and bestow on us Thy kingdom to come. For all these things we thank Thee, and Thine Only Begotten Son, and Thy Holy Spirit, for all that we know, and for all that we do not know, of the seen and of the unseen benefits that are come upon us…. We also, O tender Lord, cry and say: Holy Thou art and All-holy, Thou and Thine Only-Begotten Son and Thy Holy Spirit. Holy Thou art and All-holy, and great is Thy glory: Who didst so love Thy world as to give Thine Only Begotten Son, that every one that believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life…. Remembering…all that came to pass for us, the Cross, the Tomb, the Resurrection on the third day, the Ascension into the heavens, the Throne at the right hand, the second and glorious Coming again…thee we hymn, thee we bless, to Thee do we give thanks, Lord our God. Amen.”
Footnote
John Chrysostom (347–407). Archbishop of Constantinople, John was born in Antioch. He was given the title Chrysostom which means “golden mouth” because of his eloquent preaching. He is recognized by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church as a saint and Doctor of the Church. Chrysostom is known for his Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (from which this prayer is taken), and his vast homiletical works including 67 homilies on Genesis, 90 on the Gospel of Matthew, and 88 on the Gospel of John.
Attribution
From The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom Archbishop of Constantinople (London: Joseph Masters, 1866), 61–63.
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—you are our God who brought us from non-existence to existence. Tender Lord, you so loved the world that you gave your only Son, that everyone who believes in him will not perish, but will have everlasting life. Remembering everything that happened for us—the cross, the tomb, the resurrection on the third day, the ascension, the throne at the right hand—we rejoice, and praise, and give thanks to you, Lord our God. Great is your glory. Amen.
Attribution
Derived and adapted from John Chrysostom’s prayer in The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom Archbishop of Constantinople (London: Joseph Masters, 1866), 61–63.
Commentary
“But what is faith? Not an opinion, no more than it is a form of words; not any number of opinions put together, be they ever so true. A string of opinions is no more Christian faith, than a string of beads is Christian holiness. It is not an assent to any opinion, or any number of opinions. A man may assent to three, or three-and-twenty creeds: he may assent to all the Old and New Testament, (at least, as far as he understands them) and yet have no Christian faith at all…. Christian faith…is a divine evidence or conviction wrought in the heart, that God is reconciled to me through his Son; inseparably joined with a confidence in him, as a gracious reconciled Father, as for all things, so especially for all those good things which are invisible and eternal. To believe (in the Christian sense) is, then, to walk in the light of eternity; and to have a clear sight of, and confidence in, the Most High, reconciled to me through the Son of his love.”
Footnote
John Wesley (1703–1791). An English preacher and theologian, Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles, with founding the English Methodist movement. He travelled generally on horseback, preaching two or three times each day, and is said to have preached more than 40,000 sermons. He also was a noted hymn-writer.
Attribution
From “Letter to the Rev. Dr. Middleton” in The Works of the Reverend John Wesley, Volume 5 (New York: Emory & Waugh, 1831), 757.
Further Reading
“Apostles” in Concise Theology, by J. I. Packer.