This passage of scripture came to me when I did my Morning Prayer a few days ago. It spoke deeply to my heart so I copied it for this brief blog.
"The
life and death of each of us has its influence on others; if we live,
we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord, so that alive
or dead we belong to the Lord. This explains why Christ both died and
came to life: it was so that he might be Lord both of the dead and of
the living." (Romans 14:7-9)
I have often wondered why in the Apostle Creed it is an important teaching of the church that Christ "descended into hell". Is it because "it was so that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living"?
I believe in God,
the Father Almighty,
Creator 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;
on the third day He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from there He will 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.
Amen.
The Christian Reformed Church has almost the same creed - except that it made a remark that the word Catholic meant "*that is, the true Christian church of all times and all places". The Anglican Church of Canada also has the same creed except "He descended into hell" is replaced by "He descended to the dead". The United Methodist Church has both a Traditional version (using "He descended into hell") and an Ecumenical version (which uses "He descended to the dead"). The difference between these two expressions may reflect whether the church actually believes in the existence of a "Hell" after one's death?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church has a lot to say about this. "that Jesus, like all men, experienced death and in his soul joined the others in the realm of the dead. But he descended there as Savior, proclaiming the Good News to the spirits imprisoned there". "Scripture calls the abode of the dead, to which the dead Christ went down, "hell" - Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek - because those who are there are deprived of the vision of God. Such is the case for all the dead, whether evil or righteous, while they await the Redeemer: which does not mean that their lot is identical, as Jesus shows through the parable of the poor man Lazarus who was received into "Abraham's bosom": "It is precisely these holy souls, who awaited their Savior in Abraham's bosom, whom Christ the Lord delivered when he descended into hell." Jesus did not descend into hell to deliver the damned, nor to destroy the hell of damnation, but to free the just who had gone before him." ..."The descent into hell brings the Gospel message of salvation to complete fulfillment. This is the last phase of Jesus' messianic mission, a phase which is condensed in time but vast in its real significance: the spread of Christ's redemptive work to all men of all times and all places, for all who are saved have been made sharers in the redemption... Christ went down into the depths of death so that "the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live."... Jesus, "the Author of life", by dying destroyed "him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and [delivered] all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage."... Henceforth the risen Christ holds "the keys of Death and Hades", so that "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth."
So in St. Paul's writing in Roman 14, he made clear that "The life and death of each of us has its influence on others; if we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord, so that alive or dead we belong to the Lord.". This is the most liberating thing I have learned since becoming a Catholic!! That's why St Paul, after teaching about the Resurrection of the Body (1 Corinthians 15), burst into this amazing proclammation, recalling what these scriptures had predicted:
“Death has been swallowed up in victory.” (Isaiah 25:8)
and,
“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?” (Hosea13:14)
And St. Paul concluded:
"The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
And the application is this:
"Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain."
I have often wondered why in the Apostle Creed it is an important teaching of the church that Christ "descended into hell". Is it because "it was so that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living"?
I believe in God,
the Father Almighty,
Creator 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;
on the third day He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from there He will 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.
Amen.
The Christian Reformed Church has almost the same creed - except that it made a remark that the word Catholic meant "*that is, the true Christian church of all times and all places". The Anglican Church of Canada also has the same creed except "He descended into hell" is replaced by "He descended to the dead". The United Methodist Church has both a Traditional version (using "He descended into hell") and an Ecumenical version (which uses "He descended to the dead"). The difference between these two expressions may reflect whether the church actually believes in the existence of a "Hell" after one's death?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church has a lot to say about this. "that Jesus, like all men, experienced death and in his soul joined the others in the realm of the dead. But he descended there as Savior, proclaiming the Good News to the spirits imprisoned there". "Scripture calls the abode of the dead, to which the dead Christ went down, "hell" - Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek - because those who are there are deprived of the vision of God. Such is the case for all the dead, whether evil or righteous, while they await the Redeemer: which does not mean that their lot is identical, as Jesus shows through the parable of the poor man Lazarus who was received into "Abraham's bosom": "It is precisely these holy souls, who awaited their Savior in Abraham's bosom, whom Christ the Lord delivered when he descended into hell." Jesus did not descend into hell to deliver the damned, nor to destroy the hell of damnation, but to free the just who had gone before him." ..."The descent into hell brings the Gospel message of salvation to complete fulfillment. This is the last phase of Jesus' messianic mission, a phase which is condensed in time but vast in its real significance: the spread of Christ's redemptive work to all men of all times and all places, for all who are saved have been made sharers in the redemption... Christ went down into the depths of death so that "the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live."... Jesus, "the Author of life", by dying destroyed "him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and [delivered] all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage."... Henceforth the risen Christ holds "the keys of Death and Hades", so that "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth."
So in St. Paul's writing in Roman 14, he made clear that "The life and death of each of us has its influence on others; if we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord, so that alive or dead we belong to the Lord.". This is the most liberating thing I have learned since becoming a Catholic!! That's why St Paul, after teaching about the Resurrection of the Body (1 Corinthians 15), burst into this amazing proclammation, recalling what these scriptures had predicted:
“Death has been swallowed up in victory.” (Isaiah 25:8)
and,
“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?” (Hosea13:14)
And St. Paul concluded:
"The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
And the application is this:
"Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain."
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