The Three Chief Symbols, Part 1

The first part of the Book of Concord has the title "The Three Chief Symbols." These symbols are the three ancient creeds of the church - the Apostle's Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. There are tons of great books written about these creeds so I'm not going to go into a great deal of detail about them. However there uses by the Lutheran Reformers is very important.

The Lutheran reformers went to great lengths to demonstrate that they were not breaking with the traditional faith of the church, only its excesses in structure, power, and tradition. In fact, Luther and the other reformers saw themselves as stripping away 1500 years of accumulated human tradition and returning to a more authentic Biblical faith. Think of it like striping off all that ugly paint people put on their beautiful oak woodwork during the ‘70s. (Lime green and orange! What were we thinking?) This stripping away of accumulated baggage is a never ending task and why some people like to say the reformation is never over because the Church is in constant need of reforming.

By including these three Creeds the Reformers were stating that the very foundations of Christianity are contained in them. If a person rejects these creeds and what they say they are rejecting the accepted and universal definition of what Christianity is. When this happens we do not even have a common place to begin our conversations about what differences we might have.

Preface to the Book of Concord, Part 2

In the past, as it is today, people tended to attack those they disagreed with by calumny. That’s a two-dollar word that simply means they seek to discredit their opponents by misrepresenting them and their position. Because of this the Preface warns us not “to argue from some other basis, but with ingenuous faith . . . stay with the plain words of Christ.” The most ingenious philosophical and theological arguments are no match for the plain truth of Scripture.

The compliers close the Preface with two warnings and an admonition.

False “teachings are contrary to the expressed Word of God and cannot coexist with it.” A church that is of two minds on central issues is no church at all. Central issues are issues that are clearly taught in Scripture and impact our eternal salvation. Church and congregational organization is not a central issue, how our sins are forgiven is.

The second warning is about our lives together as Christians. The “Word of his that alone brings salvation . . . tranquility and peace.” If we want peace there is only one place to find it - Scripture.

Their closing admonition states what they hope will be the effect of publishing the Lutheran Confessional documents contained in the Book of Concord. “If the current controversies about our Christian religion should continue or new ones arise, we shall see to it that they are settled and composed in timely fashion before they become dangerously widespread in order that all kinds of scandal might be obviated.” The way to avoid and settle these controversies is adherence to Scripture and interpreting Scripture through the teachings of the Lutheran Confessions.