Introduction
History
Development
Purpose
Scripture
Traditional Teachings
Apostles' Creed
Overview
God
Trinity
Persons
Church
Participation
Preservation
Salvation
Importance
Foundational
Standard
Logical Basis
Universal
New Testament
Church History
Present
Unifying
Conclusion
Logical Basis
The logical relationship between ideas is similar to the relationship between a river and its headwater or source. Logically basic ideas are like the river's headwater. They are the source of other ideas. And logically dependent ideas are like the river that naturally flows from that headwater. So, when we say that one idea serves as the logical basis for another, we mean that we can create a reasonable argument that moves from the logically basic idea to the establishment of other ideas that are logically dependent. For instance, the Apostles' Creed says very few things explicitly about God the Father. All it says is:
I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth.
But these doctrines form the logical basis for many other things we believe about the Father. For instance, on the basis that God is the maker of heaven and earth, we also rightly believe that he has authority over heaven and earth, and that the original creation was good, and that we can learn things about God by looking at the natural world.
We can illustrate the value of logically basic doctrines by looking at a tree. We might think of the ground itself as Scripture, with the tree of theology growing out of it. The trunk of the tree, and its major branches, represent the most basic doctrines. These are based on and dependent on Scripture alone. But as the major branches divide into more and smaller branches, they move to beliefs that logically flow from the larger branches. And as we look at the leaves on the tree, we are looking at ideas that depend on the smaller branches. When we picture it this way, the value of beginning with the Apostles' Creed becomes clear. We need to learn the big doctrines first, to get the shape of the tree in place, and firmly rooted in Scripture.
This does two things for us. First, it helps us see the relationship between the various different beliefs in our theological systems. And second, it helps us think about doctrines that are more remote from Scripture in ways that harmonize these less central ideas with our fundamental beliefs.
The doctrines in the Apostle's Creed crystallize the essence of Christian truth. The Apostle's Creed dates really from the second century; it took a number of forms in the second century, and finally took the form that we are used to. And there you have the Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There you have the incarnation and the atoning death and the triumphant resurrection and forthcoming return of the Lord Jesus. There you have the forgiveness of sins. There you have the reality of the church as the fellowship of those who are born again in Christ. And I think that there could be nothing really healthier in any church than periodically to work over the Apostles' Creed and highlight those doctrines. [Dr. J. I. Packer]
Now that we have looked at the importance of the Apostles' Creed in terms of its foundational nature, we are ready to describe the universal affirmation of its teachings.
Universal
One way that we judge the truth of facts is by looking at what different witnesses have to say. The more witnesses that point to the truth of an idea, the more likely we are to believe it. Well, the same thing is true in theology. As we try to determine what we should believe, it helps to know what other people throughout history have believed, as well as what people in the modern world believe. And when it comes to the Apostles' Creed, its doctrinal statements have always been affirmed by most Christians in most places.
We will explore the universal nature of the articles of faith in the Apostles' Creed in three historical periods. First, we will see that these beliefs are grounded in the New Testament. Second, we will see that they have been affirmed by most Christians throughout church history. And third, we will look at the ways they continue to characterize the church in the present. Let's begin with the New Testament, and its consistent affirmation of these doctrines.
New Testament
From the earliest days of the church, there have been disagreements over the teaching of Christ and of the apostles. Some of these disagreements have arisen outside the church, while others have come from within the church. For instance, Paul frequently wrote against the Jewish Christians who demanded that Gentile converts be circumcised, as in Galatians 5. And in 2 Peter 2, Peter warned that there would be false teachers in the church. The New Testament is full of examples of Jesus and the apostles correcting the mistaken ideas of various people.
And errors in the church are dangerous when critical beliefs are at stake. This is why Jesus and the authors of the New Testament were so concerned to correct errors on fundamental points of theology. And the remarkable thing is that as they offered their corrections, they agreed entirely with each other. Despite the many false teachings that existed in the church at this time, the New Testament exhibits unfailing doctrinal unity with itself.
The fact that the church established a canon made up of these books — which by the way took the church centuries actually to do, so it wasn't just a quick process — indicates that the considered judgment of the church is that there is a core of unity here. That's not a consideration that we can easily pass off, and as a matter of fact, that has been the judgment of scholars within the church over the last 2000 years. And yet, while we can talk about a core of unity between the New Testament documents, you do have to acknowledge that there are differences in perspective between them. I think the operative issue is that the differences of perspectives do not actually come down to a contradiction of doctrinal assertions. You get different perspectives, different emphasis, different ways of talking about the reality, different aspects of the reality. But, in my judgment at least, there is no blatant contradiction between the various books of the New Testament. [Dr. David Bauer]
In light of this unity, when the New Testament affirms the articles of faith listed in the Apostles' Creed, it is fair to say that it does so universally. It consistently argues for the divinity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, while at the same time insisting that there is only one God. The Gospels present the creedal facts of Christ's conception, birth, life, ministry, death, resurrection and ascension. And the books of the New Testament entirely support the creed's statements about the church and salvation.
Having looked at the New Testament, let's see how these beliefs have universally characterized Christianity throughout church history.
邏輯基礎
思想概念之間的邏輯關係與一條河流及其源頭之間的關係非常相似。邏輯基礎就像是一條河的源頭，他們是其他思想概念的源泉。有邏輯依賴關係的思想概念就像河流一樣，從源頭自然流淌下來，因此，我們說一個思想概念作為另外一個思想概念的 邏輯基礎，意思是我們能夠從邏輯基礎的概念衍生一個合理的論點，建立其他邏輯性依賴的思想概念。例如，使徒信經裡沒有很明確地提到有關聖父的很多東西，只是說，
「我信 上帝，全能的父， 創造天地的主。」
但是這些教義形成了我們對聖父很多其他信仰的邏輯基礎，例如，以 上帝是創造天地的主為基礎，我 們也能正確地相信他對天地有主權，而且起初的創造是好的，以及我們能夠透過自然界了解 上帝的事情。
我們可以透過觀看一棵樹來舉例說明邏輯基礎教義的價值，把地面本身想像成《聖經》，把樹想像成從此而生的神學，樹幹以及大的樹枝，代表最基本的教義。這些教義是單單基於《聖經》，單單依賴《聖經》，但是大的樹枝分成很多小的樹枝，這些小樹枝就是從大的樹枝順著邏輯而流淌出來的信仰。當我們看到樹葉時，就像看到依賴小樹枝而來的思想概念。我們用這樣的畫面來看時，從使徒信經開始的重要性就比較清楚了。我們需要首先了解大的教義，把樹的形狀固定下來，深深紮根於《聖經》裡面。
這對我們意味著兩件事情，第一，可以幫助我們看見我們神學系統中各種不同確信之間的關係；第二，可以幫助我們以這些次要的思想概念和我們的基要信仰相和諧一致的方式，來考量那些《聖經》非核心性的教義。
使徒信經中的教義清晰表達了基督徒真理的核心。它包含了三一真神，聖父、聖子和聖靈。使徒信經實際上起源於主後第二世紀，在那個時候以不同的形式出現，到最後形成了我們現在使用的形式。它包含了主耶穌的道成肉身，贖罪之死，復活得勝和將來再臨。它包含了罪得赦免。它包含由那些在基督裡被重生、組成彼此相交的教會現實。因此，我認為沒有任何的措施，會比定期的重溫和教導使徒信經，並突顯這些教義真理，更能夠使得教會健康穩固。（詹姆斯?巴克博士）
既然我們已經從使徒信經的基礎性查看了它重要性，下面我們準備討論信經教導得到普遍性的確認。
普遍性
判定真理事實的一個方式就是看不同的見證人怎麼說。越多的人證明一個思想的真理性，我們就越有可能相信。其實，神學中也是這樣，當我們試圖決定我們應該信什麼時，知道人們在整個歷史中所信仰的，以及現代人所信仰的是什麼會很有幫助。就使徒信經來說，其教義陳述已經被很多地方的大多數基督徒所確認。
我們要從三個歷史時期來探討使徒信經中信條的普遍性，首先，我們要看看這些信仰根植於新約《聖經》；第二，我們要看看這些信仰被整個教會歷史中的大多數基督徒所確認；第三，我們要看看現今他們繼續刻畫教會的特徵的方式。我們先從新約《聖經》開始，確認這些教義和它的一致性。
新約《聖經》
從教會的早期開始，對於基督和使徒的教導存在不同意見。這些不同的意見有些是從教會外部引起的，有些是從教會內部引起的。比如，保羅常常寫信反對有些猶太族的基督徒要求外邦信徒接受割禮，就像加拉太書5章記載的。在彼得後書2章，彼得警告說在教會中會有假師傅。新約《聖經》中充滿了耶穌和門徒糾正不同人錯誤思想的例子。
當主要的信仰遭到危機時，教會中的錯誤是非常危險的。這就是為什麼耶穌和新約的作者們非常在意更正基礎神學上的錯誤。顯著的事情是，他們所提供的更正，彼此之間完全相同。不管這個時候在教會出現多少假師傅，新約展示了教義上可靠的統一性。
教會確認這些書卷作為正典的過程，實際上花了多個世紀，而非是一個簡短的時期，這個事實表明教會在其判斷上具有相當程度的核心一致性。這不是一個我們可以輕而易舉就解決的問題，事實上，這是過去2000年來教會內部學者們斟酌了很久的問題。然而，在我們談論新約自身具有的核心一致性時，人們不得不承認新約內部存在著不同的視角。我認為它們之間的不同視角，實際上並不會產生各教義之間的彼此牴觸。你只是從新約裡得到從不同的角度，以不同的重點，按不同的方式來講論現實，和現實的不同層面而已。簡單說，在不同的新約書卷之間，我個人的判斷是它們至少沒有什麼顯著的相互牴觸。（大衛?鮑烏爾博士）
根據這種統一性，當新約《聖經》本身確認使徒信經中的信條時，就可以公正地說這種確認是普遍性的。一致公認聖父、聖子、聖靈的神性，同時又堅持只有一位 上帝。四福音書都表明了信經所列基督的感孕、降生、人生、事工、受死、復活以及升天的事實。新約全部的書卷都支持信經關於教會和救恩的陳述。
已經查看了新約《聖經》，讓我們看看這些信仰內容在整個教會歷史中已經普遍地刻畫出了基督徒的特色。