NOTES for Ti1 3:16
When did the first creed appear in the Church? And what should count as one? Of course, in our present understanding, a creed is primarily a confession and a witness to the orthodoxy of the person who proclaims it. But was it always so?
The original meaning of the word "orthodoxy" is connected with the idea of correct views or, more precisely, correct opinions ("orthodoxy" literally means "right opinion"). It follows that, by proclaiming, for example, the Nicene Creed, we thereby declare that our opinions about certain foundational Christian matters are correct, that they do not differ from the opinions shared by all Christians or at least by the majority of them.
But what does God care about our opinions? On the way to the Kingdom, what matters is not opinions or theories, but actions; orthopraxy on this way is more important than orthodoxy. Differences of opinion on the overwhelming majority of theological problems, from the point of view of the Kingdom, are only ripples on the water; for the Kingdom only one distinction is essential: the distinction between sin and righteousness.
So then, are creeds unnecessary? They are, after all, needed: otherwise Paul would not have proclaimed his creed so decisively. But his creed has practical significance for spiritual life: it contains a brief witness to what forms the basis of the spiritual life of every Christian. And its main question, like the main question of any other creed, comes down to Who Jesus of Nazareth is for the one confessing it. It is the same question He asked Peter: who do people say that I am? And who do you say that I am? Here we are no longer dealing with opinions on abstract theological questions, but with the expression of a relationship to a concrete Person. A relationship that either opens the path to the Kingdom for the one who confesses, or closes it.