The Holy Church, Forgiveness, and Resurrection

“The holy church; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of this flesh.” It does not say, “In the holy church,” nor “In the forgiveness of sins,” nor “In the resurrection of the flesh.” For if the word “in” had been added, it would have had the same force as in the articles before it. As it is, in the clauses that declare our faith about the Godhead we say, “In God the Father,” and “In Jesus Christ his Son,” and “In the Holy Spirit.” But in the rest, where we speak not of the Godhead but of created things and mysteries, the word “in” is not added. We do not say, “We believe in the holy church,” but “We believe the holy church,” not as God, but as the church gathered together to God. And we believe that there is “forgiveness of sins”; we do not say, “We believe in the forgiveness of sins.” And we believe that there will be a “resurrection of the flesh”; we do not say, “We believe in the resurrection of the flesh.” So by this little word of one syllable the Creator is set apart from his creatures, and the things of God are separated from the things of men. [a]

This, then, is the Holy Spirit, who in the Old Testament inspired the Law and the Prophets, and in the New the Gospels and the Letters. That is why the apostle says, “All Scripture, inspired by God, is useful for instruction.” And so it seems right at this point to list, as we have learned them from the tradition of the fathers, the books of the New and of the Old Testament which, according to the tradition of our forefathers, are believed to have been inspired by the Holy Spirit and have been handed down to the churches of Christ.