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The Creeds and Confessions of the Lutheran Church

Introduction

  1. The three General or Ecumenical Creeds, which all Christians confess:
    1. The Apostles’ Creed (2nd century; see below.)
    2. The Nicene Creed (Fourth Century)
    3. The Athanasian Creed (Sixth Century)
  2. The six Lutheran Confessions, which distinguish the Lutheran Church from all other churches:
    1. The Augsburg Confession (1530)
    2. The Apology of the Augsburg Confession (1531)
    3. The Smalcald Articles (1537) – including the Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope
    4. The Small Catechism of Dr. Luther (1530)
    5. The Large Catechism of Dr. Luther (1530)
    6. The Formula of Concord (1580)

These six confessions, together with the three ecumenical creeds, form the Book of Concord, first published in 1580.

The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth,

And in Jesus Christ, His 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 into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from there He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.

The Nicene Creed

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible;

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God; Begotten, not made; Being of one substance with the Father, By Whom all things were made; Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, And was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures; And ascended into heaven, And is seated at the right hand of the Father; And He shall come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead; Whose kingdom shall have no end;

And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father and the Son; Who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified; Who spoke by the Prophets; And I believe one holy Christian and Apostolic Church; I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins; And I look for the resurrection of the dead; And the life of the world to come. Amen.

The Athanasian Creed

Whosoever will be saved, shall above all else, hold the catholic (universal, Christian) faith; Which faith except except it be kept whole and undefiled, without doubt one shall perish eternally.

And the true Christian faith is this, that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the Persons nor dividing the substance.

For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit; But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is all one, the glory equal, the majesty coeternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit: The Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated; the Father infinite, the Son infinite, and the Holy Spirit infinite; the Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal; And yet they are not three eternals, but one eternal; As there are not three uncreated nor three infinites, but one uncreated and one infinite; Likewise the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, and the Holy Spirit is almighty; And yet they are not three almighties, but one almighty; So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God; And yet they are not three gods, but one God; So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, and the Holy Spirit is Lord; And yet not three lords, but one Lord; For as we are compelled by the Christian truth to acknowledge every Person by Himself to be God and Lord, So are we forbidden by the true Christian faith to say, that there are three gods or three lords.

The Father is made of none, neither created nor begotten; The Son is of the Father alone, not made nor created, but begotten; The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son, neither made nor created nor begotten, but proceeding. So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits; And in this Trinity none is before or after other; none is greater or less than another; But all three Persons are coeternal together and coequal, so that in all things, as said before, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshiped. Whoever will be saved is compelled thus think of the Holy Trinity.

Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation that one also believe faithfully the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ; For the right faith is that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man; God of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and Man of the substance of His mother, born in the world; Perfect God and perfect Man, of a rational soul and human flesh subsisting; Equal to the Father as touching His Godhead and inferior to the Father as touching His manhood; Who, although He is God and Man, yet His is not two, but one Christ; One, not by changing of the Godhead into flesh, but by taking the manhood into God; One indeed; not by confusion of substance, but by oneness of Person; For just as the rational soul and flesh is one man, so God and Man is one Christ; Who suffered for our salvation; descended into hell; rose again the third day from the dead; He ascended into heaven; He is seated at the right hand of the Father, God Almighty; from there He shall come to judge the living and the dead; at whose coming all will rise again with their bodies and will give an account of their own works; And they that have done good will go into life everlasting; and they that have done evil into everlasting fire.

This is the catholic faith; whoever does not faithfully and firmly believe this cannot be saved.