This is the Presbyterian Brief Statement of Faith which is found
in the Presbyterian
Book of Confessions.
It is reprinted here in its entirety, with excerpts from its Preface. We have provided two versions
of the statement - one without citations and one with citations - because the citations are so
numerous.
Preface
In 1983 the two largest Presbyterian churches in the United States reunited.
The Plan for Reunion called for the preparation of a brief statement of the
Reformed faith for possible inclusion in the Book of Confessions. This
statement is therefore not intended to stand alone, apart from the other
confessions of our church. It does not pretend to be a complete list of all our
beliefs, nor does it explain any of them in detail. It is designed to be
confessed by the whole congregation in the setting of public worship, and it
may also serve pastors and teachers as an aid to Christian instruction. It
celebrates our rediscovery that for all our undoubted diversity, we are bound
together by a common faith and a common task.
The Brief Statement of Faith is distinctive in several respects.
Unlike the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds, which move directly from Jesus' birth
to his death, the statement emphasizes the significance of Jesus' ministry in
Judea and Galilee. The Brief Statement of Faith emphasizes
gender-inclusiveness. It underscores the role of both men and women in God's
covenant, uses feminine as well as masculine imagery of God, and affirms
ordination of both women and men. The statement also expresses concern for the
integrity of God's creation.
The Statement
In life and in death we belong to God.
Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God,
- and the communion of the Holy Spirit,
we trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel,
whom alone we worship and serve.
We trust in Jesus Christ, Fully human, fully God.
Jesus proclaimed the reign of God:
preaching good news to the poor
- and release to the captives,
teaching by word and deed
- and blessing the children,
healing the sick
- and binding up the brokenhearted,
eating with outcasts,
forgiving sinners,
and calling all to repent and believe the gospel.
Unjustly condemned for blasphemy and sedition,
Jesus was crucified,
suffering the depths of human pain
and giving his life for the sins of the world.
God raised Jesus from the dead,
vindicating his sinless life,
breaking the power of sin and evil,
delivering us from death to life eternal.
We trust in God, whom Jesus called Abba, Father.
In sovereign love God created the world good
and makes everyone equally in God's image
- male and female, of every race and people,
to live as one community.
But we rebel against God; we hide from our Creator.
Ignoring God's commandments,
we violate the image of God in others and ourselves,
accept lies as truth,
exploit neighbor and nature,
and threaten death to the planet entrusted to our care.
We deserve God's condemnation.
Yet God acts with justice and mercy to redeem creation.
In everlasting love,
the God of Abraham and Sarah chose a covenant people
- to bless all families of the earth.
Hearing their cry,
God delivered the children of Israel
- from the house of bondage.
Loving us still,
God makes us heirs with Christ of the covenant.
Like a mother who will not forsake her nursing child,
like a father who runs to welcome the prodigal home,
God is faithful still.
We trust in God the Holy Spirit, everywhere the giver and renewer of life.
The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith,
sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor,
and binds us together with all believers
in the one body of Christ, the church.
The same Spirit
who inspired the prophets and apostles
rules our faith and life in Christ through Scripture,
engages us through the Word proclaimed,
claims us in the waters of baptism,
feeds us with the bread of life and the cup of salvation,
and calls women and men to all ministries of the church.
In a broken and fearful world
the Spirit gives us courage
to pray without ceasing,
to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior,
to unmask idolatries in church and culture,
to hear the voices of peoples long silenced,
and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace.
In gratitude to God, empowered by the Spirit,
we strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks
- and to live holy and joyful lives,
even as we watch for God's new heaven and new earth,
- praying, "Come, Lord Jesus!"
With believers in every time and place,
we rejoice that nothing in life or in death
can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Statement, with citations
In life and in death we belong to God. (Deut 7:6-11; Ps 100; 139:1-12; Is 43:1-9; Jer 31;
Rom 8:31-39; 14:7-9; 2 Cor 5:1-5)
Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God,
- and the communion of the Holy Spirit,
we trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel,
whom alone we worship and serve.
(Ex 20:3-6; Deut 6:4-9; 11:16; 2 Kings 19:14-22;
Ps 56:3-4; 62:1-8; 71:22-24; 103; Is 10:20; 12:5-6;
17:7-8; 43:14-15; 54:5; Jer 17:5-8; 25:5-6; Dan 3:28;
Mt 28:16-20; Jn 3:16; 14:8-17; Acts 2:41-42; 27:21-26;
1 Cor 8:1-6; 2 Cor 13:14; Eph 2:8-10; 1 Pet 1:2-9)
We trust in Jesus Christ, Fully human, fully God. (Ps 86:1-2; Is 12:2; Mt 1:18-25; 11:27; Mk 8:27-30; 14:61-62;
Lk 2:1-52; Jn 1:1-18; 5:1-18; 7:25-31; 10:30-39;
Gal 4:1-7; Phil 2:5-11; Col 1:15-20; 2:8-10;
Heb 1; 2:14-18; 4:14-15; 5:7-10; 13:8; 1 Jn 1:1-2)
and giving his life for the sins of the world. (Ps 22; 88:1-9; Is 52:13-53:12; Mt 27:27-31, 39-50;
Mk 15:16-20, 29-37; Lk 23:11, 39-46; Mk 8:31-35; 10:45; Lk 22:39-46;
Jn 1:29-34; 3:16-18; 10:7-18; 19:28-37; Rom 5; 2 Cor 5:17-21;
1 Tim 2:5-6; Heb 2; 5:7-10; 9:11-22; 1 Pet 2:21-24; 3:18;
1 Jn 2:1-2; 4:9-10; Rev 5)
God raised Jesus from the dead,
vindicating his sinless life, (Ps 24:4-5; 26:1; 37:5-6; Is 50:4-9; Mt 27:3-4; 28:1-17; Mk 16:1-8;
Lk 24:1-47; Jn 20-21; Acts 2:22-36 (32); 17:16-34;
Rom 1:1-7; 1 Cor 15:3-57; 1 Tim 3:14-16)
breaking the power of sin and evil,
delivering us from death to life eternal. (Ps 49:13-15; Is 25:6-8; Dan 12:2-3; Jn 3:16-18; 5:19-24; 11:17-27;
Rom 4:24-25; 5:1-21; 6:1-23; 8:1-11; 1 Cor 15:20-28; Eph 2:1-7;
Col 1:9-14; 2:8-15; 1 Thess 4:13-18; 2 Tim 1:10; Heb 13:20-21;
Rev 21:3-4)
We trust in God, whom Jesus called Abba, Father. (2 Kings 18:5-6; Ps 28:6-7; 71:5-6; Prov 3:5-8; Mt 6:25-34; Mk 14:32-36;
Lk 11:2-4; Rom 8:12-17; Gal 4:1-7)
In sovereign love God created the world good (Gen 1:1-25; Ps 33:1-9; 104; Is 40:21-28; Jn 1:1-5;
Col 1:15-20; 1 Tim 4:4)
and makes everyone equally in God's image
- male and female, of every race and people,
to live as one community. (Gen 1:26-2:25; 5:1-32 (esp. 1-5, 32); 10:32-11:1;
Lev 19:9-18; Ps 22:25-31; 67; 133; Is 56:3-8; 66:18-21; Mic 4:1-4;
Lk 10:29-37; Acts 17:22-28; Eph 1:9-10; Rev 7:9-12; 22:1-2)
But we rebel against God; we hide from our Creator. (Gen 3:1-24; 4:1-6; Ex 3:6; 4:1-17; Judg 11:29-40; 1 Sam 10:20-24;
Ps 2:1-3; 14:1-4; Is 1:1-6; Jer 5:20-25; 23:24; Jon 1:1-4;
Mt 5:14-16; Mk 4:21-23; Lk 8:16-18; Mt 19:16-22; 25:14-30 (esp. 18, 24-25);
Lk 8:43-48; 10:38-42 (Martha); Rom 1:16-3:26; Heb 4:13; Rev 2-3; 6:12-17)
Ignoring God's commandments, (Gen 1:28; 2:15-16; Ex 20:1-17; 21:1-23:19; Lev 19:1-37; Deut 6:4-9; 10:19;
Neh 7:73b-8:18; Ps 119:169-176; Amos 5:24; Mic 6:8;
Mt 5:17-6:21; 7:12; 22:34-40; Jn 13:34; 14:15; 15:12-17;
Rom 13:8-10; 1 Cor 8; 1 Jn 2:3-11)
we violate the image of God in others and ourselves, (Gen 1:27; 4:8; 6:11-12; 16; 21:9-21; Judg 19; 2 Sam 11; 13:1-20; 18:5-15;
Ps 14:1-4; Is 1:12-23; 59:1-8;
Ezek 7:10-11; 45:9; Zeph 3:1-4; Mt 23:13-28; 25:31-46;
Lk 16:19-31; Rom 1:28-32; Eph 4:17-22;
Col 3:5-11; 2 Tim 3:1-9; Tit 1:15-16)
accept lies as truth, (Gen 2:16-17; 3:1-4; Job 13:1-12; Ps 4:2;
Is 5:20-21; 28:14-15; 59:3b, 12-15a; Jer 5:1-3; 14:13-14; Jn 8:42-45)
exploit neighbor and nature,
and threaten death to the planet entrusted to our care. (Gen 2:15; Ps 8; Is 5:7-8; 24:4-6; 33:7-9; Jer 2:7-8; 9:4-6;
Hos 4:1-3; Amos 2:6-8; Acts 16:16-24)
We deserve God's condemnation. (Gen 6:5-7; Deut 28:15-68; 30:15-20; 2 Sam 12:1-12;
Is 1:24-25; 5:9-10, 24-25; 28:16-22; 59:9-11, 15b-19;
Jer 2:9; 9:7-11; 14:15-16; Amos 2:13-16; Jn 3:16-21; Rom 5:18-21; 8:1-4)
Yet God acts with justice and mercy to redeem creation. (2 Chron 7:11-14; Ps 34:22; 51; 78:36-39; 103:1-14;
130; 145:8-9; Is 2:2-4; 6:5-7; 11:1-9; 30:18; 51:4-6;
Jer 31:20; Lam 3:22-33; Ezek 36:8-15; Hos 11:1-9; 14:4-8; Mt 1:18-21;
Lk 1:67-79; 15:1-7; Jn 3:16-17;
Rom 5:15-17; 8:18-25; Eph 2:4-7; 1 Pet 1:13-21)
In everlasting love,
the God of Abraham and Sarah chose a covenant people
- to bless all families of the earth.
(Gen 12:1-7; 15; 17:1-21; 18:1-15; 21:1-7; 28:10-17;
Deut 7:6-7; Neh 9:6-8; Ps 65:1-4; Is 41:8-10; 44:1-8; 51:1-2;
Jer 31:3, 31-34; Mt 9:9-13; 26:26-28; Rom 4:13-25; 11; 1 Cor 1:26-29;
Gal 3:6-9; Eph 1:3-10; 1 Thess 1; Heb 11:8-12; Jas 2:5; 1 Pet 2:9-10)
We trust in God the Holy Spirit, everywhere the giver and renewer of life. (Gen 1:1-2; Ps 23; 139:1-12; Ezek 37:1-14; Lk 1:26-35; Jn 3:1-15;
Acts 2:1-21; 10; Rom 8:1-11; 2 Cor 3)
The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith, (Gen 15:1-6; Hab 2:4; Rom 1:16-17; 3:21-28 (24-25); 4:1-5; 5:1-2;
Gal 3:1-14; Eph 2:8-9; Tit 3:3-7)
sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor,
and binds us together with all believers
in the one body of Christ, the church. (Lev 19:18; Deut 6:4-5; Mk 12:28-34; Lk 10:25-37; Jn 3:1-15;
Rom 8:26-27; 12; 13:8-10; 1 Cor 12:1-31 (esp. 13, 27); 13;
2 Cor 3:17-4:2; Gal 5; 6:1-10; Eph 2:11-22; 4:1-6; Phil 4:1-7;
Col 1:24; 3:12-17; 1 Pet 4:8-11; 1 Jn 4:19-5:5)
The same Spirit
who inspired the prophets and apostles (Num 11:24-30; Deut 18:15-22; 2 Chron 20:13-19; 24:20-22;
Ezek 3:22-27; 8:1-4; 11:5-12; 13:3; Mic 3:5-8; Mk 12:35-37; Jn 20:19-23;
Acts 1:1-9; 2:1-4; 9:17-19a; 1 Pet 1:10-11; 2 Pet 1:20-21)
rules our faith and life in Christ through Scripture,
engages us through the Word proclaimed, (2 Kings 22:8-13; 23:1-3; Ps 119:1-16; Zech 7:11-12;
Mt 5:17; Mk 13:9-11; Lk 24:13-27, 44; Jn 5:30-47; 16:13;
Acts 2:14-36; 4:13-20; 8:4-8; 9:17-22; 10:34-44; 13:4-5; 17:1-4;
Rom 15:17-21; Eph 2:19-3:6; 2 Tim 1:11-14; 3:14-17; Heb 1:1-4; 3:7-11;
1 Pet 1:12; 2 Pet 1:16-19; 3:1-2; Rev 3:22)
claims us in the waters of baptism, (Mk 1:1-12; 6:30-52; Jn 1:19-34; 3:5; 7:37-39;
Acts 2:38-42; 8:26-39; 9:10-19; 10:44-11:18; Rom 6:1-4;
1 Cor 12:12-13; Gal 3:27-28; Eph 1:13-14;
Col 2:8-15; Tit 3:3-7; 1 Jn 5:6-8)
feeds us with the bread of life and the cup of salvation, (Ps 116:12-14 (13); Mt 26:17-29; Mk 14:22-25; Lk 22:14-20; 24:13-35;
Jn 6:22-59 (35, 48);
Acts 2:41-42; 1 Cor 10:16-17; 11:17-34; Heb 9:11-28)
and calls women and men to all ministries of the church. (Gen 1:26-27; Ex 15:1-21; Judg 4:4-10; 2 Kings 22:8-20;
Joel 2:28-32; Lk 1:46-55; 2:25-38; 8:1-3; 10:38-42; Jn 4:7-42; 20;
Acts 1:12-2:47; 13:1-4; 16:1-15; 18:24-28; Rom 16:1-16;
1 Cor 12:4-7; 2 Cor 4-5; Gal 3:27-29;
Eph 4:7-16; Phil 4:1-3; 1 Pet 2:9-10)
In a broken and fearful world
the Spirit gives us courage (Gen 15:1; Ps 23:1-4; 27:1-6; 46:1-3; Is 41:8-10; Hag 2:4-5;
Acts 4:13-31; Phil 1:19-20; 2 Cor 1:18-22)
to pray without ceasing, (Gen 18:16-33; 2 Sam 7:18-29; Dan 6; Mt 6:5-15; Mk 14:32-42;
Lk 18:1-8; Jn 17; Rom 12:12; Eph 6:18-20; Col 1:3-14; 4:2; 1
Thess 5:16-18 (17); Jas 5:13-18; Jude 20-21)
to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior, (Is 60:1-3; Mt 28:19-20; Lk 24:45-47; Acts 1:8; 9:27-29; 23:11;
Rom 1:1-6; 1 Thess 2:1-8; 2 Tim 1:8-14; 4:1-2)
to unmask idolatries in church and culture, (Ex 20:2-6; 1 Kings 18:21-39; Ps 115:1-11; Is 31:1-3; 44:6-20; Jer 7:1-20;
Zech 4:6; Mt 6:24; Lk 18:18-23; Acts 19:21-41; 1 Cor 8:1-6;
Phil 3:18-19; Col 3:5, 1 Jn 5:20-21)
to hear the voices of peoples long silenced, (Gen 41:1-45; Ruth 1-4; 1 Kings 12:1-20; Jer 36; Zeph 3:1-2; Mt 15:21-28;
Mk 5:15-20; 9:38-41; 16:9-11; Lk 7:36-50; 10:30-35;
Jn 4:27-30, 39; 20:11-18; Acts 24; 1 Cor 14:33b-35; 1 Tim 2:11-12)
and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace. (Lev 25:25-55; Deut 15:1-11; Ps 34:14; 72:1-4, 12-14; Is 58; Amos 5:11-24;
Mic 6:6-8; Mt 5:9; 25:31-46; Rom 14:17-19; Gal 5:13-26;
Heb 12:14; 13:1-3, 20-21; Jas 1:22-2:26)
In gratitude to God, empowered by the Spirit,
we strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks
- and to live holy and joyful lives, (Lev 19:1-4; Neh 7:73b-8:12; Ps 68:32-35; 96; 100; Mt 13:44;
Lk 9:23; 24:44-53; Jn 15:10-11; Acts 1:8; 13:52;
Rom 7:4-6; 12:1-3, 9-21; 15:13; 1 Cor 3:16-17; 13;
2 Cor 1:12; Eph 1:3-2:21; 1 Thess 1:4-8; 5:16-18; 1 Pet 1:13-16)
even as we watch for God's new heaven and new earth,
can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen. (Ps 27:1-10; 91; 118:1-6; 139:1-18; Is 25:6-9; Jn 3:16; Rom 8:31-39;
Eph 2:1-10; 2 Tim 2:8-13; Jas 1:12; 1 Pet 1:3-9; 1 Jn 4:7-21)
