I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
And born of the Virgin Mary.
He 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.
I 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. Amen.
Yesterday we examined how Paul addressed the Athenians at the Areopagus and rebuked them for their idolatry. In Acts 17:30 he said; in the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. It has become quite common over the last 150 years for all evangelism to end with an invitation (an appeal). When Paul addressed the Athenians he argued quite differently. He did not invite them to believe. He issued a command. When we receive an invitation to a wedding it comes with a RSVP. Our response is optional and we can decline the invitation but when something is commanded of us we have no option. In Acts 17:31 Paul proceeded to say; for he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead. Who is that man? It is God’s Son. Yesterday we noticed how the Apostles Creed is structured in a Trinitarian manner. Today we move from the first person of the Trinity to the second.
I BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, HIS ONLY SON, OUR LORD – READ MARK 1:1-13
Our text today is helpful in that it addresses each of the aspects highlighted in the Creed.
1) I BELIEVE IN JESUS
In Mark 1:1, Mark gets straight to the point, the beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah. Of course Jesus is his human name and affirms that he is a man of history. The Creed will go on to say that he was born of the Virgin Mary and crucified under Pontius Pilate. He was a flesh and blood individual who existed in space and time. A man lived, suffered, died and rose again in real earthly history. These are facts of history.
2) I BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST
When Mark says in vrs 1 the beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah he is of course referring to the fact that Jesus is the Christ. Christ is not his surname! His surname would have been Bar Joseph. The word Christ refers to Jesus’ title. He is the anointed one, or as the Old Testament says – the Messiah. In vrs 9-13 of our text Jesus’ baptism is recorded. All three persons of the Trinity are present. The Father speaks, the Spirit descends and the Son is baptised. We could say that the Father anoints, the Son is anointed and the Spirit is the anointing. Jesus is anointed with the Spirit to empower him for his life’s work. Luke 4 records Jesus preaching at a synagogue in Nazareth. In vrs 18, 19 he quotes from Isaiah 61 to explain what the people were witnessing. “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” In the Old Testament three groups of people were anointed – prophets, priests and kings. You could have a king who was also a prophet (David for instance) and you could have a prophet who was also a priest (Ezekiel). But no one could be a king and a priest. No one could occupy all three offices. Until Jesus! He is prophet because he reveals God to us. He is priest in that he justifies us and makes us acceptable to God. But he is also king in sense that he changes us. Our anointed Saviour addresses our three biggest needs – our ignorance, guilt and unholiness.
3) I BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, HIS ONLY SON
In the very first verse of his gospel Mark says; the beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The name Jesus anchors him in history but the words “his only Son” refers to Jesus’ divine nature. Earthly rulers are sometimes described as “sons of the Most High” (Psalm 82:6) and so are angels (Job 1:6). However when the title “sons of God” is used of creatures, it is always used in the plural. When the title is used of the second Person of the Trinity it is used in the singular. He is the unique Son of God (only begotten Son John 3:16). He is not the Son of His Father in the sense that he had a beginning. There has never been a time in eternity when God has not been the Father and Jesus has not been the Son. The Jews understood that the title Son of God had divine implications. In Matthew 26:63 the authorities asked Jesus, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God. When Jesus replied in vrs 64; yes, it is as you say he was immediately accused of blasphemy. Why? They understood that the title Son of God was a divine title. A man once argued against the deity of Christ by saying “if it was true, it would have been stated in the clearest terms possible.” His Christian friend replied “what words do you think should be used to express it?” The man replied “I would say that Jesus Christ is the true God.” His friend replied by saying; “you have hit upon the very words of Scripture.” The apostle John, speaking about the Son says in 1 John 5:20 and we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
4) I BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, HIS ONLY SON, OUR LORD
Of course this is one of the most frequent titles for Jesus in the New Testament. Notice that in Mark 1:2, 3 two passages are quoted from the Old Testament. It is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way” – a voice of one calling in the desert, “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.” The first verse is a quote from Malachi 3:1 and the second is a quote from Isaiah 40:3. Mark simply follows an ancient convention to introduce citations from two sources with the most important source. In the East, a forerunner often went ahead of a very important dignitary. It was his job to smooth the road so that the dignitary would a smooth ride. The messenger in Mark 1 is of course John the Baptist and the one following him according to Isaiah 40 is the Lord himself. The Hebrew word used is YHWH, God’s covenant name. The implication is quite revolutionary. Who is Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God? He is God – YHWH.