The earliest New Testament confession of faith is “Jesus is Lord” (Romans 10.10). With these words on their lips the first Christians were baptised; and later with these words on their lips many Christians were martyred.
A longer and very early Christian confession of faith is found in 1 Corinthians 15.3-5, where the Apostle Paul quotes a form of words, possibly taught him by Ananias as he was prepared for baptism, which focusses on the death and resurrection of Jesus:
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas [Peter], then to the twelve.
In this week’s blog I want to focus on another early confession of faith quoted by the Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 3.16. Almost certainly this is either a hymn or a creed which was sung or recited in the worship of the early church. This may not be clear in our English versions, but it becomes apparent in the original Greek. We have here two couplets followed by a refrain, which ensures that each verse ends on a note of triumph. Here six important affirmations are made about Jesus:
He was revealed in flesh,
Vindicated in spirit,
Seen by angels.
He was proclaimed among Gentiles,
Believed in throughout the world,
Taken up in glory.
The first affirmation is that Jesus is God’s Son: “He was revealed in flesh”. Whereas we come into being when our parents made loved, Jesus was already in being before he entered his mother’s womb. Before time was, Jesus was. In a way which defies understanding, “He appeared in human form” (GNB).
The second affirmation is that Jesus rose from the dead: “He was vindicated in spirit”. As far as his contemporaries were concerned, Jesus ended as a failure on a Cross. But they were proved wrong. God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day, and in raising him from the dead by the power of his Spirit his claim to be God’s Son “was shown to be right” (GNB). The resurrection was the real moment of revelation when God’s initiative in the incarnation is at last seen to be vindicated.
The third affirmation is that Jesus is Lord of heaven and earth: “seen by angels”. The risen Lord became the ascended Lord. In ascending to his Father in glory he made known his victory over sin and death to the angelic powers. At the time of Jesus and the apostles the world was thought to be full of spirit powers, many of whom were hostile to God and his purposes. To them Jesus appeared after his resurrection in all his glory.
The fourth affirmation is that Jesus is the Saviour of the world: “proclaimed among Gentiles”. From the very beginning Jesus has been good news for all. The Jews of his day had been looking for a Messiah who would restore their nation to its former greatness, but Jesus broke the Messianic mould and came as the Saviour of the world.
The fifth affirmation is that Jesus is the Saviour of those who believe: “believed on throughout the world”. Faith is the catalyst which turns the potential into actuality. Salvation becomes a reality where men and women put their trust in Jesus as the Saviour of the world.
The sixth and final affirmation is that Jesus shares in the Father’s glory: “taken up in glory”. Some have thought this affirmation is out of place, for clearly the preaching and the believing took place before Jesus was taken up in glory. However, the emphasis here is not so much on the ascension as a past event, but a reminder that even now Jesus shares in his Father’s glory. The crucified and risen Lord sits at God’s right hand and enjoys a state of splendour far beyond our imagining.
This hymn or confession of faith is not a developed creed compared to the Apostles Creed or the Nicene Creed. The focus is very much on the triumph of the risen, ascended Lord. The Cross is not even mentioned. Nonetheless, this confession of faith already embraces “major elements of faith” (Thomas Oden). 1 Timothy 3.16 is an embryonic creed.