Sermon Tone Analysis

As most of you know, I’ve been preaching a series of doctrinal messages based on The Apostles’ Creed.

In the this creed we discover what our spiritual forefathers believed to be the non-negotiable biblical truths that every Christian must believe if they are to truly to be called a believer.

[Play Video]

Now, some of you astute listeners – especially some of you like myself who grew up in a different denomination that regularly repeated the Apostles’ Creed – know that this particular video left out a phrase.

That phrase is: He descended into hell, and in most versions of the creed it follows, suffered under Pointius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.

Thus the creed, as historically read, says:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,

the Creator of heaven and earth,

and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived of 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 arose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven

and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,

whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and life everlasting.

This morning I want to preach on this middle section of the Creed: Jesus Descended, Jesus Arose, and Jesus Ascended.

The text I’ve chosen this morning refers to all three events.

!

I. JESUS DESCENDED

#. the Apostles’ Creed declares that Jesus descended into Hell

#.

Whoa – now what is this all about?

#. for many, if not most of you, this may be something you’ve never heard of before

#. this part of the Creed is included because of how the Church Fathers interpreted 1 Peter 3:18-19 and several other passages in both the Old and New Testaments

#. they must have thought it significant or they would not have included it in the fundamental doctrines they thought were important for Christians to believe

!! A. A CONTROVERSIAL STATEMENT

#. the very moment we say the words, He descended into hell a host of questions arise:

#. what does the phrase mean?

#. why is it in the Creed?

#. is it biblical?

#. do we really believe it?

#.

He descended into hell is the strangest and most controversial part of the Apostles’ Creed

#. some denominations that regularly repeat the Creed each Sunday in their worship have left out the phrase completely – as the video rendition did this morning

#.

some have rewritten the phrase to read, He descended into Hades

#. this is a more literal rendition of the Greek word that the Early Church Fathers used

#.

Hades translates the Hebrew word Sheol and simply referred to the place of the dead

#. in Old Testament thought everyone – good or bad, righteous or unrighteous, believer or unbeliever, Jew or Gentile – went to Sheol where they awaited the final judgement of God

#. it was at this final judgement that God would reward the righteous and punish the unrighteous

#. some have modified the phrase even further to read, He descended to the grave

#. the word Hades is also frequently translated as grave in the Old Testament, an example being the 16th Psalm which is a Messianic Psalm

* "Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay."

(Psalm 16:9-10)

#. the word grave in this passage is the Hebrew word Sheol

#. this is how we vocalize it when we repeat the Apostles’ Creed during the Lord’s Supper service

#. the debate over the phrase and the interpretation of 1 Peter 3:18-19 have been going on for nearly 1800 years

#. over the centuries four major interpretations of the passage have been advanced by theologians

#.

I do not intend to bore you with a treatise on those four views

#. suffice it to say that we cannot and should not be dogmatic about it’s meaning

!! B. A COMPLETE DEATH

#. let me tell you what I believe is the principle meaning of the phrase He descended into hell

#.

I believe that the grave is the best of the three renditions of this part of the Apostles’ Creed

#. to that end, I believe the phrase means that Jesus’ death was complete to the point of the separation of His body and His spirit just as ours will be when we die

#. when you look at the context of the Apostles’ Creed this makes perfect sense

#. we believe and confess that Jesus was crucified, died, and was buried

#. descending to the habitation of the dead is the logical next step

#.

Jesus died and returned to His Father in Heaven

* "Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me." (John 7:33)

#. above all, the Creed is attempting to drive home the point that Jesus really, really was dead

#. some of you may say, “Well, what’s the big deal, doesn’t everyone believe that?”

#. um ... have you ever read the DaVinci Code?

* ILLUS.

A lot of you – especially our young people – have seen a move called The Princess Bride.

There is a scene in the movie where the handsome prince has apparently died.

But then he is taken to Mad Max, a local magician who assures his friends that the hero is not really dead.

He’s only /“mostly dead.”/

That was good news for the hero because there is a huge difference between /“mostly dead”/ and /“totally dead.”/

#. but when Jesus died, he was totally dead

* ILLUS.

Nineteen hundred years ago, the church had to deal with false stories and rumors that Jesus did not really die on the cross – that He just fainted away from loss of blood, and in the coolness of the tomb He revived, escaped the tomb, and claimed a resurrection had taken place.

That false story has never died which is why the Apostles’ Creed is relevant for us to study.

#. in order to become a sympathetic mediator, Jesus suffered the sting of death just as you and I do

!! C. A CONQUERING PROCLAMATION

#. the question naturally arises, what happened to Jesus’ spirit between his death at 3:00 pm on Friday and His resurrection shortly after sunrise on Sunday morning?

#.

I believe three events took place

#.

First, Jesus ushered the dying thief into Paradise

* /"One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ?

Save yourself and us!”

But the other criminal rebuked him.

“Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence?

We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve.

But this man has done nothing wrong.”

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”/

(Luke 23:39-43)

#. virtually everywhere the word Paradise is used in the New Testament, it refers to Heaven

#.

Paradise is where the righteous dead go after death

#.

I can’t think of a better word to describe Heaven!

* ILLUS.

One commentator, writing on Jesus’ response to the thief says: You will be with Me—Wow, what company!

You will be with me today—Wow, what speed!

You will be with Me in Paradise—Wow, what happiness!

#.

Second, Jesus prepared Heaven for the Elect

* /"Do not let your hearts be troubled.

Trust in God; trust also in me.