We just get started in talking about creeds. We start with talking about believing. And maybe we’re willing to take that tentative step in a swirl of distrust and uncertainty.  We are willing to say “I believe.” And immediately, options get narrower. Because when you believe, you have to start identifying what you believe.  And we can start feeling trapped.

In the creed we are looking at, the next step is “I believe in God…”

Suddenly there is an entity: God. As we keep reading, we’ll have to see what the modifiers are for God to see whether we are comfortable with this path. But you can’t walk through this creed, this statement of belief, this early version of what people who say that they are followers of Jesus have said, without saying “I believe in God.”

God suddenly isn’t optional. How I respond to God has options, of course, just as how I respond to you has options. I can ignore you or trust you or laugh at you or listen to you. But once I believe you exist, I must take your existence into account.

And if I decide you don’t exist, that doesn’t make you cease to exist. My disbelief in you may change how I interact with you but it doesn’t vanish you. And it certainly may change how I interact with you.

Eugene Peterson writes Hebrews 11:6 this way:

It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.

So the creed starts there. With God. It doesn’t provide much focus. It doesn’t  say what kind of God, whether there is personality or power or awareness. As beliefs go, it’s a start.