Passages and symbols from the Bible
English Translation
St. John’s Creed
We believe that: God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth [John 4:23-24]
We believe that: God is light, and if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another [1 John 1:5, 7]
We believe that: God is love, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God [1 John 4:7]
We believe that: Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son [1 John 5:5, 11]
We believe that: He is the resurrection and the life, and the one who believes in Him will live, even though they die [John 11:25]
We believe that: We are the children of God, and He has given us of his Spirit [1 John 3:1, 4:13]
We believe that: If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all righteousness [1 John 1:9]
We believe that: The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
Amen
Bottom (Texts in bold correspond to red texts in the original):
Symbolism is always a tool used to preach the Christian faith. During the dark era when Christianity was persecuted by the Roman regime, the Church, in its primitive organization, received much encouragement and strength, thanks to its adroit use of the symbol of Resurrection and Eternal Life. A symbol is an amalgamation of an abstract concept and a visible sign. A sign reminds people of the concept it represents not because of its shape, but for the strength it intimates. In the past centuries, the Church had used symbols to help people, literate or illiterate, to comprehend and memorize the fundamental principles of the Christian belief. Symbols are also frequently used in the Bible. Now the symbols above will be explained below:
Anchor has the longest history among the symbols that represents the Savior, and had appeared since the Period of the Catacombs; its basis comes from Hebrews 6:19. It implies that Jesus is a reliable anchor. It is the symbol for the hope of eternal life and the Savior’s resurrection from the dead that gave people salvation from sins.
Descending Dove and Round Light with three lines symbolize the Holy Spirit, its basis is derived from Mark 1:10.
Light is a symbol of ancient Christianity; it originated from Jesus’s words in John 6:12*; it also represents knowledge, good deeds, and truth. The glowing light imitates the one(s) used in the catacombs. The letters XP on the lamp represent the Lord, which come from the first two letters of the word XPICTOC (Christ)**.
The Three Steps and the Cross symbolize faith, hope, love, as well as Christ. The first step represents love, the biggest of all morals; the second steps represents hope, as love is of no use in the absence of hope; the third step represents faith, and it follows closely to the cross, because faith is given to us by the Savior who was crucified on the cross.
The Circle is the symbol of the eternal existence of the God, because it neither has a starting point nor an end point, and at the same time means absolute completeness.
Lilly is the symbol of resurrection, by making us think of a bulb that decays in the soil, but then produces new a new stem and flower. Bright new life emerges from dark soil. The procedure of death and the liberation of new birth is inseparable, thus symbolizing the eternal life of the soul despite the death of the body.
Equilateral Triangle is the ancient symbol of Trinity. Even though its corners and sides correspond to each other respectively, they are different from one another; it has the meaning of unity, but also shows the separability of the three in Trinity.
Balance bears the meaning of justice and the Last Judgment, and the cross on the balance shows that the sins people have committed can be counterbalanced by the grace of Jesus’s salvation.
Intertwinement of Triangle and Circle shows the eternal existence of Trinity
*Should be John 8:12
**Greek χριστός
Simplified Transcription
圣约翰信经
我们相信上帝是灵凡拜祂的
必须用心灵和诚实拜祂
我们相信上帝是光我们若在光明中行
如同上帝在光明中就彼此相交
我们相信上帝是爱凡有爱心的都
是由上帝而生并且认识上帝
我们相信耶稣基督是上帝的儿子上帝
赐给我们永生这永生是在祂儿子里面
我们相信祂是复活和生命信祂
的人虽然死了也必复活
我们相信我们是上帝的儿女
上帝将他的灵赐给我们
我们相信我们若认自己的罪上帝是
信实的是公义的必要赦免我们的罪
洗净我们一切的不义
我们相信这世界和其上的情欲
都要过去唯独遵行上帝旨意的
是永远长存 阿门
(黑体为原文中红字) 底端:
象征 常为宣扬基督教信仰的工具。在基督教受罗马政权迫害的黑暗时代,初期的教会,因能善用复活及永生的象征,得到不少的鼓励与力量。
一个象征是一个抽象的观念与一个看得见的记号结合而成的。记号之所以能使人想起其所代表的观念,不是依靠像形而是借着暗示的力量。在过去的世纪中,教会曾利用象征帮助识字和不识字的人明了并牢记基督教信仰上的基本要素。圣经里面也常常利用象征。现在把上面的各个象征说明如下:
锚 是表示救主的象征历史最悠久者之一,在茔窟时期已开始使用;其根据是出在希伯来书第六章第十九节。它暗示耶稣是可靠的锚。它是盼望永生及救主以死与复活的功劳使世人由罪得救的象征。
降落的鸽子及三线的圆光 是表示圣灵,其根据是出在马可福音第一章第十节。
光 是一个古代基督教的象征;它的根据是出在约翰福音第六章第十二节中*耶稣所说的话;它同时也表示智识善行与真理。那盏发光的灯是仿造茔窟里所用的。灯上的XP是用以表示主的花字,是XPICTOC(基督)**这个字前面的两个字母。
三级台阶与十字架 是象征信望爱与基督:第一级台阶代表德中最大的爱;第二级代表望,没有望即有爱也没有益处;第三级代表信,它紧接着十字架,因为信是钉在十字架上的救主所赐给我们的。
圆形 是象征神的永存,因为它没有起点,也没有终点,同时又含有绝对全备的意思。
百合花 是复活的象征,它使我们想起一个球茎在地里腐烂后产生了新的球茎干叶及花。 灿烂的新生命是由黑暗的泥土中出现的。死的程序及新生的解放是不能分开的,因此象征肉体虽会死亡而灵魂却能得到永生。
等边三角形 是古代表示三位一体的象征。它的角和边虽一一相等,然又各有分别;它具有合一的意义,但又表示三位一体中的三位亦含有可分性。
天秤 含有正义及最后审判的意义,秤上的十字架表示世人的罪恶可以借着耶稣救赎的神恩抵消。
三角形与圆形交织 是表示三位一体永远长存。
*注:应为约翰福音第八章第十二节
**希腊语:χριστός