An Exposition of the Apostles' Creed

33 Pages·2015·0.29 MB·English

An Exposition of the
Apostles’ Creed
CLASSIC REFORMED THEOLOGY
General Editor
R. Scott Clark, Westminster Seminary California
Editorial Board
Joel R. Beeke, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary
J. Mark Beach, Mid America Reformed Seminary
W. Robert Godfrey, Westminster Seminary California
Michael S. Horton, Westminster Seminary California
Joel E. Kim, Westminster Seminary California
Herman Selderhuis, Theologische Universiteit Apeldoorn
Paul R. Schaefer, Grove City College
Carl R. Trueman, Westminster Theological Seminary
Volume 1. William Ames, A Sketch of the Christian’s Catechism, translated by Todd
M. Rester, and introduced by Joel R. Beeke and Todd M. Rester
Volume 2. Caspar Olevianus, An Exposition of the Apostles’ Creed, translated by Lyle
D. Bierma, and introduced by R. Scott Clark
An Exposition of the
Apostles’ Creed
or the Articles of the Faith,
in which the main points of the gracious eternal covenant between
God and believers are briefly and clearly treated.
Drawn from the catechetical sermons of
Caspar Olevianus of Trier
Caspar Olevianus

Translated by Lyle D. Bierma
Introduced by R. Scott Clark

REFORMATION HERITAGE BOOKS
Grand Rapids, Michigan
2009
An Exposition of the Apostles’ Creed
© 2009 by Classic Reformed Theology
Published by
Reformation Heritage Books
2965 Leonard St., NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49525
616-977-0599 / Fax: [phone]
e-mail: [email protected]
website: www.heritagebooks.org

All Scripture quotations are translated from the original Latin text.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Olevian, Caspar, 1536-1587.
[Expositio symbolici apostolici. English]
An exposition of the Apostles’ Creed : the articles of the faith, in which the main
points of the gracious eternal covenant between God and believers are briefly and
clearly treated / Caspar Olevianus ; translated by Lyle D. Bierma ; introduced by R.
Scott Clark.
p. cm. — (Classic reformed theology ; v. 2)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-60178-074-4 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Apostles’ Creed. 2. Reformed Church—Catechisms—Early works to 1800.
3. Reformed Church—Doctrines—Early works to 1800. I. Title.
BT993.3.O4413 2009
238’.11--dc22
2009042302
_____________________________________________________________________________
For additional Reformed literature, both new and used, request a free
book list from Reformation Heritage Books at the above address.
Contents

Series Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Biographical and Historical Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
An Exposition of the Apostles’ Creed
Letter to Prince Frederick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Letter to the Reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
The Articles of Faith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
The Division of the Creed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
The First Part of the Creed
I Believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth . . 23
I Believe in God the Father, in His only begotten Son,
and in the Holy Spirit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
God the Father . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Almighty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Creator of Heaven and Earth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
The Second Part of the Creed
And in Jesus Christ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Christ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
His only begotten Son . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Our Lord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Suffered under Pontius Pilate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Was Crucified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Died . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Was Buried . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
He Descended into Hell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
The Third Day He Rose Again from the Dead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
vi A SKETCH OF THE CHRISTIAN’S CATECHISM
He Ascended into Heaven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
He is Seated at the Right Hand of God the Father Almighty . . . . . . . . 107
From there He Will Come to Judge the Living and the Dead . . . . . . . . 116
The Third Part of the Creed
I Believe in the Holy Spirit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
The Fourth Part of the Creed
I Believe in the Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints . . . . 129
The Communion of Saints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
I Believe in…the Forgiveness of Sins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
The Resurrection of the Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
And the Life Everlasting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Scripture Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Series Preface
There are at least three reasons why classic Reformed theology ought to be
studied and thus why this series of critical English translations should exist.
First, Reformed orthodoxy forms the intellectual background of modern
theology which can only be understood properly in light of its reaction to and
rejection of Protestant orthodoxy. Second, Reformed orthodoxy obviously
merits attention by those who identify with the Reformed confession; it is
their heritage and thus shapes their theology, piety, and practice whether they
realize it. Third, despite the disdain, disregard, and distortion which Reformed
orthodoxy suffered during the Enlightenments in Europe, Britain, and North
America, contemporary scholarship has shown that, whatever one’s view of the
theology, piety, and practice of orthodoxy, on purely historical grounds it must
be regarded as a vital intellectual and spiritual movement and thus a fascinating
and important subject for continued study.
We call this series “Classic Reformed Theology” because, by definition,
a period is classical when it defines an approach to a discipline. During the
period of Protestant orthodoxy, Reformed theology reached its highest degree
of definition and precision. It was then that the most important Reformed
confessions were formed, and the Reformed churches took the form they have
today. For these reasons, it is more than surprising to realize that much of the
most important literature from this period has been almost entirely ignored
since mid-eighteenth century. As difficult as it may be for those in other fields
to understand, the list of scholars who have extensive, firsthand knowledge of
some of the most important primary texts in the study of Reformed orthodoxy
(e.g., the major works of Olevianus, Polanus, Voetius, Cocceius, Heidegger, and
van Mastricht, to name but a few) can be counted easily. Further, few of the texts
from this period, even some of the most important texts, have been published
in modern critical editions. Thus, until recently, even those with the ability and
will to read the texts from the classical period of Reformed orthodoxy could do
so only with difficulty since some of these texts are difficult to locate outside of a
few libraries in Europe and Great Britain. Technological developments in recent
years, however, are beginning to make these works more widely available to the
viii A SKETCH OF THE CHRISTIAN’S CATECHISM
academic community. Coinciding with the development of technology has been
a growing interest in classic Reformed theology.
Finally, a word about the plan for this series. First, the series seeks to produce
and provide critical English translations of some of the more important but
generally neglected texts of the orthodox period. The series does not intend to
be exhaustive, nor will it be repetitive of critical translations already available.
Most of the texts appearing in this series will be translated for the first time.
It is the sincere hope of the editor and the board that at least one volume shall
appear annually.
Acknowledgments
The editor thanks the members of the editorial board for their guidance, skill,
and scholarship; the publisher for undertaking this series; and especially Jay T.
Collier, Director of Publishing, for his tireless and outstanding work toward
bringing this series from conception to reality.
Thanks are also due to my colleague, the Rev. Mr. Daniel Hyde, and to
my research assistant, Thomas E. I. Whittaker, for their assistance with the
introductory essay. Gratitude is also extended to Greg Bailey for his editorial
labors on this volume.