Introduction
Certain passages in the New Testament (NT) are thought by scholars to be early hymns or creeds that came into being in the early church. I have several reasons that might explain why they think this:
- Early oral traditions would have appeared before the NT was written. Once the NT was being written, they became part of the NT.
- Truths were vital to remember in forming the Christian mindset in the early church and hymns and creeds were a great vehicle to accomplish that.
- There are some words or phrases that don’t seem to fit the rest of the author’s writings.
These passages include features of style such as: sentence structure; word choice; parallel statements; and in the case of praise hymns; the frequent use of pronouns; and, elevated prose. Our English translations don’t always capture the original Greek rhythm, but in some passages we can still see these patterns.
Merriam-Webster online defines a creed as, “a brief authoritative formula of religious belief,”1 and Cambridge dictionary says, “a set of beliefs that influences the way you live.”2 It is important to note that creeds and hymns can be authoritative and influence the way we live, but they should not stand alone apart from the Word of God.
Examples
Here are a few of the passages that some think are early hymns and creeds: John 1:1-18; Acts 13:29-31; Acts 13:36-37; 1 Corinthians 15:3-7; Ephesians 1:3-14; Ephesians 2:14-16; Philippians 2:6-11; Colossians 1:15-20; 1 Timothy 3:16; 2 Timothy 2:11-13; Hebrews 1:1-3; and, 1 Pet 2:21-25.
The first example I will give is from 1 Corinthians 15:3-7. In verse 3, Paul tells us that he received this text, and essentially all critical scholars today agree that this was a very early oral tradition not originally written by Paul. Some believe that Paul received this early creed as early as 2 or 3 years after the crucifixion, when he visited Peter and John in Jerusalem just after his conversion.
In his essay titled, The Case for Christ’s Resurrection, Gary Habermas observes, “The sentence structure, diction, verbal parallelism, the threefold sequence of ‘and that,’ as well as the presence of several non-Pauline words,” are evidence of an early oral creed.3
1 Corinthians 15:3-7
“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received,
that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
and that He was buried,
and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;
then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles;”
In these next two passages from 1st Timothy and 2nd Timothy, we can see the non-typical sentence structure, repeating phrases, and parallel statements as well.
1 Timothy 3:16:
“And by common confession great is the mystery of godliness:
He who was revealed in the flesh,
Was vindicated in the Spirit,
Beheld by angels,
Proclaimed among the nations,
Believed on in the world,
Taken up in glory.”
2 Timothy 2:11-13:
“It is a trustworthy statement:
For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him;
If we endure, we shall also reign with Him;
If we deny Him, He also will deny us;
If we are faithless, He remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself.”
This next passage is more complex and gives important theological truths linking Jesus to the creation and His exalted position:
Colossians 1:15:
“And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation.
For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created by Him and for Him.
And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything.
For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fulness to dwell in Him,
and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”
Earliest Preaching
Habermas also provides a list of passages from the book of Acts that contain creedal snippets from the earliest gospel preaching.4 These snippets are identified by their brevity and lack of theological complexity among other things, and focus on Christ’s resurrection. I will list parts of just a few of them:
- 3:13-16, “put to death the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, to which we are witnesses.”
- 4:8-10, “that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead,”
- 5:29-32, “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death… and we are witnesses of these things,”
- 10:39-43, “And we are witnesses of all the things He did… they also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross. God raised Him up on the third day,”
- 13:28-31, “But God raised Him from the dead; and for many days He appeared to those… who are now witnesses to the people.”
These brief statements focus mainly on three points: Jesus was crucified; raised from the dead; and, that there were witnesses to all of it. This is the core of the the gospel message. For more information, see my article, Jesus’ Resurrection from the Dead.
Conclusion
The early creeds and hymns played a part in forming the culture of the church and had the effect of helping believers resist worldly thinking. This is true for us today as well. The Scriptures are clear that Christians are still in the world, but not part of the culture of the world.5
For believers today, the equivalent of these creeds and hymns might be Scripture memory or Scripture songs. Our thinking needs a constant course correction to make sure we are thinking in a godly manner, and memorization is a great way to help us do that.
Whether it is creeds, hymns, memorization, or Scripture songs, we will benefit, as well as those around us, when we focus on getting the Word of God into our lives.
1 https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/creed 10/12/22
2 https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/creed 10/12/22
3 Gary R. Habermas, “The Case for Christ’s Resurrection,” in To Everyone an Answer, eds. Beckwith, Craig, Moreland, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004) 183.
4 Habermas, 186.
5 Jesus tells us in John 15:19: “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.”