The Apostles’ Creed: The Articles of FaithSample

Participation in the Church: Hebrews 10:25

When the creed says, “I believe in the holy ... church,” it emphasizes the importance of participating in the church. Of course, in the history of the Christian church, there have been many people who wanted to have God as their Father, Jesus as their Lord, and the Holy Spirit as their advocate, but who did not want to be part of the visible church, the gathered people of God. As we read in Hebrews 10:25:

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing (Hebrews 10:25).

Even in the first century, some professing believers wanted to avoid the gathered church as a place for worship, teaching and fellowship. But Scripture teaches that the church is important and necessary for Christians.

Of course, those who originally used the Apostles’ Creed were not like this. On the contrary, the creed was used particularly in church services. And it was affirmed by those who came to the church for baptism. They came to be joined to its numbers, to be included in its gatherings. This is the model that the creed puts forth for us to follow.

Even so, in the modern world we still encounter Christians who avoid the church. Perhaps it is because they dislike organized religion. Or maybe they have been mistreated by other Christians. Or perhaps they think that it is sufficient to read Christian books, watch Christian television, and use Christian websites.

But the Bible teaches Christians to form an actual, physical community, and it insists that this community is extremely important to every believer. It is not to be limited to spiritual fellowship, although it is true that Christians have spiritual communion with each other through Christ and his Spirit. Rather, our community is to be like a family or neighborhood. It is to consist of people who interact with each other face to face.