The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate;
was crucified, dead, and 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 catholic** church;the communion of saints;
the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.
* Westminster Larger Catechism, Question. 50. Wherein consisted Christ’s humiliation after his death? Answer. Christ’s humiliation after his death consisted in his being buried, and continuing in the state of the dead, and under the power of death till the third day; which hath been otherwise expressed in these words, He descended into hell.
** “Catholic” means universal; that is, there is one church across all times, places, and peoples per the Westminster Confession of Faith, 25.2 - The visible church, which is also catholic or universal under the gospel (not confined to one nation, as before under the law), consists of all those throughout the world that profess the true religion; and of their children: and is the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, the house and family of God, out of which there is no ordinary pos- sibility of salvation.