We Believe: In Accordance with the Scriptures
At first glance, it’s easy to assume that the Nicene Creed’s phrase “in accordance with the Scriptures” refers to one or two Old Testament proof texts. After all, Paul uses this exact formula in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4:
Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures … he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4
But the phrase also echoes the words of Jesus himself. On the road to Emmaus, the risen Christ gently rebukes two confused disciples for being “slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.” Then, beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interprets the Scriptures as a unified witness to the Messiah who “had to suffer and enter into his glory” (Luke 24:25-27). Later, he tells the gathered disciples,
Sponsored
“Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead.”
Luke 24:46
What the Creed declares is that the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus were not accidents of history or theological improvisations. They were the outworking of God’s long-promised plan, revealed through the Scriptures of Israel and consciously embraced by Jesus himself. From the pierced figure in Zechariah—“They will look on me, the one they have pierced” (Zechariah 12:10)—to the righteous sufferer of Psalm 69, who is scorned and given vinegar to drink (Psalm 69:21), from the blood of the Passover lamb in Exodus (Exodus 12) to the vindicated Servant in Isaiah 50, the Old Testament offers a mosaic of hope, suffering, and vindication. In this light, the Scriptures become far more than background context. They are prophetic signposts pointing directly to the redemptive mission of Christ, who fulfilled them not just passively, but with deep self-awareness and divine intention.
The Embodiment of Israel
Yet Jesus’ life was not merely about checking off a list of fulfilled prophecies. It was the embodiment of Israel’s vocation and the climax of its covenant story. In him, the identity and mission of God’s people came into focus: he was the suffering servant, the faithful son, the anointed king, and the long-awaited redeemer. As the Word made flesh (John 1:14), Jesus didn’t just teach the Scriptures, he enacted them. He not only fulfilled Scripture, but he also read and lived it in a way that revealed its deepest intentions. To say he rose “in accordance with the Scriptures” is not merely to point to a set of ancient texts; it is to say that Jesus stepped into, inhabited, and brought to fulfillment the entire redemptive story written in the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms. In him, Israel’s story reaches its goal.
Jesus and Old Testament Typology
This idea runs all through the Gospels, where the Creed’s language is brought to life through the rich tapestry of typology. Typology refers to the people, events, and patterns in the Old Testament that foreshadowed Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Some of these connections are direct and explicit, such as Jonah’s three days in the belly of the fish (Matthew 12:40) prefigure Christ’s time in the tomb. As well as Hosea’s hopeful declaration—“on the third day he will raise us up” (Hosea 6:2)—takes on new depth in light of the resurrection, Isaiah’s Suffering Servant (Isaiah 53), pierced and despised yet ultimately vindicated, gives shape and meaning to the cross.
Other typologies are broader and more sweeping. Matthew presents Jesus as the new and greater Moses, delivering a new law from the mountain and leading a renewed people. Mark highlights Jesus as the Suffering Servant and a figure in the line of Elijah. Luke casts him as the true Prophet and Davidic King, inaugurating a new exodus of redemption. John reveals him as the eternal Word, the new Temple, and the source of divine wisdom and life. In all these ways, the early Church came to read the Old Testament not as a static or self-contained narrative, but as a living and forward-looking testimony.
The Creed Against Marcionism
This way of viewing Scripture mattered deeply in the early Church, especially as it confronted false teachings. One of the most influential and dangerous early heresies was Marcionism, which claimed that the God of the Old Testament was cruel and incompatible with the loving Father revealed by Jesus. Marcion rejected the Hebrew Scriptures entirely, severing Christianity from its Jewish roots.
The Nicene Creed stands in direct opposition to that view. By proclaiming that Christ died and rose “in accordance with the Scriptures,” it roots the gospel squarely within the covenantal story of Israel. And those of us who profess this Creed today continue to reject that heresy, and others like it, that would divide the Testaments, distort the character of God, or detach Jesus from the story of Israel. As Michael Bird puts it, “Jesus is the unifying thread and the supreme goal of Israel’s sacred literature.”
Scriptures as the Gospel’s Foundation
The Creed reminds us that the Scriptures of Israel are not obstacles to the gospel but its very foundation. To confess that Christ died and rose “in accordance with the Scriptures” is to proclaim that the God who raised Jesus from the dead is the same God who called Moses, liberated the Israelites, crowned David, and spoke through the prophets. There is no division in God’s character between Old and New. The same faithful, merciful, just, and loving God speaks across both Testaments with one redemptive voice. In this way, the Creed affirms not only the unity of Scripture but also the consistency of God’s self-revelation across the vast sweep of salvation history. The gospel is not a fresh invention; it is the fulfillment of ancient promises made to the patriarchs, to Israel, and to all creation.
Image: Still Life with Bible by Vincent van Gogh (1885), courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Digitally edited by Jacob Davis.
What Do Anglicans Believe about the Creeds and Holy Scripture?
From The ACNA Catechism The following is an excerpt from the Anglican Church in North America’s catechism, To Be a Christian: An Anglican Catechism (Crossway, 2020), pp. 29–35. You can download a PDF of the entire catechism here. The Apostles’ Creed and the Life of Faith All genuine Christians affirm that authentic Christianity is apostolic Christianity. Apostolic Christianity…
The Authority of Holy Scripture: A Rookie Anglican Guide
Anglicanism is deeply committed to the authority of Holy Scripture. It seeks both to uphold the authority of Scripture in doctrine and also to apply the authority of Scripture in practice. This double dynamic of orthodoxy (right belief) and orthopraxy (right practice) is reflected in Cranmer’s lovely Collect for the Second Sunday in Advent: Blessed…
