Explanation of the Creed – Part 10
Explanation of the Creed – Part 10
And we confess one baptism:
The Christian Creed regards baptism as a great pillar of faith, placing it immediately after the doctrines of the Trinity and the Church. The oneness of baptism is taken from the Epistle to the Ephesians: “One Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Eph. 4:5).
It is natural that baptism be one, for it is a death with Christ (Rom. 6), and it is for the forgiveness of the original sin and all sins committed before baptism.
As for sins committed after baptism, they are forgiven through the Sacrament of Repentance.
Even if a person were to leave the Christian faith entirely for another religion, and then return to Christianity, his baptism is not repeated, for it is an indelible seal, by which one is born of water and the Spirit (John 3), and man is born only once.
For the forgiveness of sins:
The Creed explains that baptism is for the forgiveness of sins. This statement is taken from the words of the Apostle Peter to the Jews on the Day of Pentecost: “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins” (Acts 2:38).
This is also affirmed by the words of Saint Ananias to Saul of Tarsus (Saint Paul): “Brother Saul… why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins” (Acts 22:16).
Although the Apostle Paul believed and had seen the Lord Jesus Christ face to face, and although the Lord had chosen him to bear His name before nations and peoples, his previous sins had not yet been washed away, and he still needed baptism for the washing away of his sins.
And we look for the resurrection of the dead:
The Church believes in the resurrection of the dead and teaches that without it, our life on earth would have no purpose. As Saint Paul said: “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable” (1 Cor. 15:17).
The resurrection will take place at the Second Coming of Christ.
As the Gospel 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 judgment” (John 5:29).
Thus, the Second Coming of Christ, the resurrection, and the judgment are successive events.
The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is considered the firstfruits.
In the resurrection, we will rise in the likeness of His glorious body:
As Saint Paul explained in (1 Cor. 15:42–44): “So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.”
In the resurrection, the risen bodies will neither eat nor drink, nor hunger, nor grow weary, nor fall ill, nor decay, nor die. “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.”
And the life of the coming age:
This is life in the heavenly Jerusalem, the dwelling place of God with men, where “eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
This life in the age to come is eternal life.
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