Question. Rehearse thy belief.
Answer. I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord. Which was conceived by the holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary. Suffered under Pontius Pilate was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into Hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into Heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence shall he come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the holy Ghost. The holy catholic Church. The Communion of Saints. The forgiveness of sins. The resurrection of the body. And the life everlasting. Amen.
Question. Into how many parts do you divide this whole Confession of faith?
Answer. Into four principal parts. In the first, is treated of God the Father and the creation of all things. In the second, of His Son Jesus Christ, which part contains the whole sum of the redemption of man. In the third, of the Holy Ghost. In the fourth, of the Church and of the benefits of God toward the Church.
Question. Go forward then to declare to me these four parts in order: and first, in the very beginning of the Creed, what do you mean by this word, Belief?
Answer. I mean thereby that I have a true and living faith—that is to say, a Christian man’s faith—in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost; and that I do, by this form of confession, testify and approve the same faith.
Scripture Reference: Matt. 10:32 and 28:19; John 1:12-13; Rom. 1:17 and 10:9; Gal. 3:26; Heb. 4:14
Question: Tell me as plainly as you can, what that same living, true, and Christian faith is?
Answer. Faith is a sure knowledge of the Fatherly good will of God toward us through Christ, and a trust in the same goodness, as it is witnessed in the Gospel; which faith has joined with it an effort toward godly living—that is, to obey the will of God the Father.
Scripture Reference: John 1:12-13; Rom. 8:1, 14, 38-39; Col. 2:2-3; Heb. 10:22-23 and 11:1; Psalm 1:3; Matt. 7:17-18 and 13:23; Gal. 5:6; 1 Pet. 1:13-15