Why Do We Have the Apostles’ Creed? 

By Ben Myers

 Far from a top-down decree, the Apostles’ Creed began as something far more radical—a grassroots baptismal vow that made and sustained disciples.

The Apostles’ creed comes from baptism. 

It is often said that creeds are political documents, the cunning invention of bishops and councils who are trying to enforce their own understanding of orthodoxy.  

In the case of the Apostles’ Creed, nothing could be further from the truth. 

It was not created by a council. 

It was not part of any deliberate theological strategy.  

It was a grassroots confession of faith.  

It was an indigenous form of the ancient church’s response to the risen Christ, who commanded his apostles to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt 28:19–20). 

Later generations of believers sometimes said that each of the twelve apostles had written one line of the creed—hence the name “Apostles’ Creed.” It is a charming legend that conveys a deep truth: that the baptismal confession is rooted in the faith of the apostles, and ultimately in the word of the risen Christ himself. 

How the Apostles’ Creed Discipled Christians 

By the second century, the basic form of the creed can be found in widely dispersed Christian communities. Irenaeus, a pastor in second-century Gaul, speaks of a threefold “rule” or “canon” that defines the faith of all Christians throughout the world: 

The church […] received from the apostles and their disciples the faith
in one God the Father Almighty, the creator of heaven and earth and the seas and all things that are in them;
and in the one Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was enfleshed for our salvation;
and in the Holy Spirit, who through the prophets preached the economies.⁽¹⁾

This rule of faith had two functions.  

The Apostles’ Creed as Catechesis: Forming the Christian Mind 

First, it was educational. 

In the period of preparation for baptism, new adherents to the Christian faith would memorize the creedal formula and would receive instruction in its meaning.  

The threefold confession of faith was to be written on the heart so that it could never be lost or forgotten. That way, all believers would have a basic guide to the interpretation of Scripture, and even illiterate believers would be able to retain the substance of the biblical story. They would see Scripture as a unified witness to one God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And they would see the created world as the domain of God’s activity: God creates our world, becomes incarnate in it, and will ultimately redeem it fully in the resurrection of the dead.  

That is how the Christian mind was formed by the ancient catechism.  

The Apostles’ Creed as Sacrament: Words That Do Something 

Second, it was sacramental. 

It was not only used as a catechism in preparation for baptism but was also part of the baptismal rite itself.  

A person becomes a disciple of Jesus and a member of his community by making the threefold pledge of allegiance. Baptism is a threefold immersion into the life of God.  

The creedal words are words of power. They are words that perform: like naming a yacht, or making a bet, or speaking a marriage vow. In baptism, something is brought into being as the words are spoken. It is the words, just as much as the water, that make a baptism. By these words a person becomes a disciple of Jesus and a member of his community.  

Essential Christian Doctrine and Pledge of Allegiance 

So the creed is both informative and performative, both educational and sacramental. It is a summary of Christian teaching as well as a solemn pledge of allegiance. These two functions of the creed can be distinguished but not separated. 

Catechesis is necessary so that we can make the baptismal declaration with understanding and with genuine commitment. And in turn the baptismal confession orders our thinking about God and the world. 

Even today the creed provides a framework—strong yet surprisingly flexible—for Christian thinking and Christian commitment. 

(1) Irenaeus, Against the Heresies 1.10.1.