Faith Statements- Apostles' Creed- Article Two

I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

When we say “His only Son,” that means we as Christians believe Jesus is God’s only Son just as God says He is many times in the Bible.
Matthew 17:5
5 But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.”

When we say, “conceived by the Holy Spirit,” it means we as Christians believe God, as the Holy Spirit, formed Jesus in Mary, that she was indeed a virgin.
Luke 1:35
35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.

Jesus “suffered under Pontius Pilate.” Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea. He sentenced Jesus to be crucified, which is death on a cross.
John 19:1-3
19 Then Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. 2 The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him. 3 “Hail! King of the Jews!” they mocked, as they slapped him across the face.

“He rose again,” means as Christians, we believe God the Father, raised Jesus from death to life. Jesus proved this Himself by appearing to over 500 witnesses during the 40-day period between God raising Him from the dead and God lifting Him up to heaven.
Acts 1:8-11
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9 After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. 10 As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”

“Seated at the right hand of the Father” means seated on God’s throne in heaven.
Romans 8:34
34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

What does this mean?
I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father in eternity, and also true human being, born of the virgin Mary, is my Lord. He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned human being.

He has purchased and freed me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver but with his holy, precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death.

He has done all this in order that I may belong to him, live under his kingdom, and serve him in eternal righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as he is risen from the dead and lives and rules eternally. This is most certainly true.

Take a look at your Faith Statement booklet and high light the statements regarding what you find important about Jesus. Then summarize these statements with your own statement on Jesus.

Write down some questions you may have regarding Jesus and the Second Article of the Apostles' Creed.