But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved). Ephesians 2:4-5
heheh I have this debate with Ryan several times a year. I love the Creed as is, and that might affect my reading of it, I'll give fair warning. BUT I do think that saying "he descended into Hell" captures and conveys perfectly what our Lord experienced on the Cross. Hell. Descent; absolute, complete lowering in God's eyes. Becoming filth. No one could ever sink lower.
So I love singing and saying that line of the Creed. Especially to Rich Mullins' tune... I guess you might come up with an alternative succinct phrase like "He experienced the pain of Hell." or "He experienced the full wrath of God and His displeasure, being absolutely forsaken by His mercy and kindness"... but that sounds an awful lot like just saying "He descended into Hell." ;)
Good thoughts, Christina, and I agree with your interpretation. The problem with the phrase and where it is located in the creed is that most people interpret it as a reference to the verse in Peter about Jesus visiting the souls in prison between his death and resurrection. Bad theology. So that phrase should either be changed or moved.
heheh I have this debate with Ryan several times a year. I love the Creed as is, and that might affect my reading of it, I'll give fair warning. BUT I do think that saying "he descended into Hell" captures and conveys perfectly what our Lord experienced on the Cross. Hell. Descent; absolute, complete lowering in God's eyes. Becoming filth. No one could ever sink lower.
ReplyDeleteSo I love singing and saying that line of the Creed. Especially to Rich Mullins' tune... I guess you might come up with an alternative succinct phrase like "He experienced the pain of Hell." or "He experienced the full wrath of God and His displeasure, being absolutely forsaken by His mercy and kindness"... but that sounds an awful lot like just saying "He descended into Hell." ;)
Good thoughts, Christina, and I agree with your interpretation. The problem with the phrase and where it is located in the creed is that most people interpret it as a reference to the verse in Peter about Jesus visiting the souls in prison between his death and resurrection. Bad theology. So that phrase should either be changed or moved.
ReplyDelete