"The Work of Christ" 5/13/25

Dear Brothers & Sisters,

I write to you this week about the final portion of the Athanasian Creed. The creed emphasizes 1) the doctrine of the Trinity 2) the doctrine of the Incarnation of Christ 3) the doctrine of the work of Christ (what Christ has done and is going to accomplish).

The doctrine of the work of Christ is laid out in the third part of the creed as follows:

"He suffered for our salvation; he descended to hell; he arose from the dead; he ascended to heaven; he is seated at the Father's right hand; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. At his coming all people will arise bodily and give an accounting of their own deeds. Those who have done good will enter eternal life, and those who have done evil will enter eternal fire."

Most of this statement is straightforward and comes directly from the testimony of the Word of God. 

Jesus 

1) Suffered for our Salvation (1 Peter 3:18)

2) Rose from the dead (Matt 28:6, 1 Cor. 15:4)

3) Ascended to heaven (Acts 1:9-11)

4) Sits at the Fathers right hand (Acts 7:56, Heb 1:3, 10:12)

5) is coming again to judge the living and the dead (Acts 10:42, 2 Corinthians 5:10, Romans 14:12, Revelation 20:12)

But there are a couple controversial statements to our ears today ... 

1) "descended to hell" This phrase (like much of this section) was borrowed from the Apostles Creed. Interestingly, the line "he descended to hell" does not appear in early copies of the apostles' creed. This does not automatically exclude the phrase, but it does indicate that it was not initially seen as important. 

So what does this phrase mean? And is it biblical? This is actually a difficult question, because depending on who you talk to (or which Christian theologian you read), this phrase means different things and different Bible passages are cited in support of their interpretation.

Some of these interpretations are:

1) the phrase reiterates that he was dead in the grave. 

2) he descended to the place of dead to proclaim victory over spirits in hell.

3) he came to bring the OT saints up from the grave to paradise.

4) the phrase emphasizes that he didn't just physically die but on the cross he suffered the agonies of the wrath of God.

5) One common view is that Jesus' suffered in hell for our sins, but this view finds no Biblical support. Jesus Christ Himself said "It is Finished" on the cross.

The truth is we don't know with any certainty what was originally meant by this phrase and so, in my opinion, it is unhelpful, because it means different things to different people.It is true that Jesus remained in the grave (view one)  and that he not only physically suffered on the cross but also endured the wrath of God (view four). If that is what a person/local church means when they recite those words they are affirming something that is true. However, these views are arguably not the most natural reading of the phrase "he descended into hell". A better way of communicating those ideas would be to say "he remained in the grave" or "he bore God's wrath on the cross". As for the view of "proclaiming victory to the spirits in prison" (view two), this is possible, but there is much debate about how to interpret the verses cited to support this view. At the end of the day, the diversity of views makes this a difficult point to rally around as believers. But we can all agree together that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again.

2) The phrase "those who have done good will enter eternal life" may be jarring to hear at first. Doesn't this contradict the gospel that we are saved by grace though faith in Christ? No, because this is a direct quote of Jesus' in John 5:28-29. The same Jesus who said (a moment earlier) "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life." (John 5:24). 

Jesus was not contradicting himself, but expressing the reality that those who believe in Jesus (and therefore do good as a result of their faith in Him) will enter eternal life. In the same way, Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8-10 "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,  not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." We might summarize this by saying that, "Our good works are not the reason we enter eternal life, but they are the evidence of true faith by which we are granted eternal life."

In conclusion, this phrase definitely needs to be understood in its context, but it completely agrees with the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

Returning to the main theme of this portion of the Athanasian creed, 

Q. Why is the work of Christ so important?

A. Apart from the fullness of Christ's work we would have an uncertain hope.

But, because of all He has done, we may be assured that He is able to complete the work He has begun in each of our lives, for He who promised is faithful. He will surely do it (1 Thessalonians 5:24).

Grace & Peace in Jesus,

Matt