The fullness of God’s revelation is found in Jesus Christ, who not only fulfills the Scriptures, but is himself God’s Word, the living expression of God’s mind. The Scriptures testify about him, “In the beginning was the Word,” and “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” ( John 1:1, 14). Therefore, “ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.”
The Old Testament is to be read in the light of Christ, and the New Testament is to be read in light of God’s revelation to Israel. Thus the two form one Holy Scripture, which reveals the Person of Jesus Christ and his mighty works. As Saint Augustine says, “The New is in the Old concealed, the Old is in the New revealed.”
The thirty-nine books of the Old Testament and the twentyseven books of the New Testament together form the whole of Holy Scripture.
Holy Scripture is “God’s Word written” (Articles of Religion, 20), given by the Holy Spirit through prophets and apostles as the revelation of God and his acts in human history, and is therefore the Church’s final authority in all matters of faith and practice.
... if it manages to raise the visibility of Catechesis, I shall not complain.
22: Why do you receive and believe these creeds? 23: Why should you know these creeds? 24 What is the Apostles’ Creed?
This church believes the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed.
A creed is a statement of faith. The word “creed” comes from the Latin credo, which means “I believe.” The purpose of the creeds is to declare and safeguard for all generations essential truths about God, the Church, and the world, as revealed in Holy Scripture. Belief in the creeds signifies acceptance of God’s revealed truth and the intention to live by it. To reject any element of the creeds signifies a departure from the Christian faith.
The first Christians “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Following this pattern, I will be transformed within the life of the Church through reading Scripture and receiving the sacraments; worship and prayer; fellowship with God’s people and loving witness to the world.
