Explanation of the Creed – Part 7
Explanation of the Creed – Part 7
To judge the living and the dead:
In the previous issue, we proved that the Lord Jesus Christ will come for judgment.
This judgment concerns both the living on earth at the time of His coming, and those who have died (passed away) before that coming.
Regarding those who have died, the Evangelist says:
“All who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation” (John 5:28–29).
As for the living, the righteous among them will be caught up into heaven.
St. Paul the Apostle says:
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17).
These living ones who are caught up will have their physical, material nature changed into a spiritual, incorruptible one.
The Apostle says:
“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” (1 Corinthians 15:51–53).
Therefore, the resurrection and the transformation precede the judgment. The Lord Jesus Christ comes for this judgment, and by His coming, the general resurrection takes place.
And what about the wicked who are alive at the coming of Christ?
St. Matthew the Evangelist says:
“So it will be at the end of this age: The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matthew 13:40–43).
And when the devil and the wicked are cast into the lake burning with fire and brimstone, the eternal kingdom of the Lord begins—with the angels and the righteous people.
Whose kingdom shall have no end:
Perhaps this phrase was taken from the words of the Archangel Gabriel about Christ in his announcement to the Virgin:
“…and of His kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:33).
It may also have been taken from the prophecy of Daniel, who said:
“I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13–14).
He also said: “His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom” (Daniel 7:27).
This eternal kingdom does not agree with those who say that the Lord Christ will reign on earth for a thousand years at the end of days.
For the kingdom of Christ is a spiritual and eternal kingdom—not limited by a number of years.
It is also a heavenly kingdom, not of this earth, for He said concerning this matter: “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36).
Thus, the Creed completes all that concerns the Son—His divinity, incarnation, crucifixion, sufferings, death, resurrection, ascension into heaven, and His second coming for judgment.
After that, it speaks of the third hypostasis, the Holy Spirit, saying:
Yes, we believe in the Holy Spirit:
Here, the Creed responds to the heresy of Macedonius, who denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit.
Since God is living, and He lives by His Spirit, then His Spirit is in Him from eternity—and we believe in Him:
The Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father:
The phrase “the Lord” affirms His divinity, and the phrase “the Giver of Life” clarifies His work. The final phrase explains His relationship with the Father in the Holy Trinity.
“The Giver of Life” means that He is the hypostasis of life in the Holy Trinity.
His procession from the Father is evident from the Lord’s words to His disciples:
“But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me” (John 15:26).
The sending is not the same as the procession.
The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father from eternity, but was sent by the Son to His disciples on the Day of Pentecost.
We worship and glorify Him with the Father and the Son:
That is, we offer Him worship and glorification of adoration, exactly as we offer to the Father and the Son—because He is equal with Them in divinity.
The Holy Trinity is worthy of worship and glorification—whether the Self (the Father), or the Mind and Wisdom (the Son), or the Spirit (the Holy Spirit).
Who spoke by the prophets:
Meaning, He is the source of inspiration.
“For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21).
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