Scholars have been trying to determine the dates that different New Testament books were written. Most scholars will tell you that the Gospels and Epistles were written within a few decades of the events they describe. However, some researchers have discovered that there are passages within these texts that could back to as early as 30 AD. There are statements of faith, or confessions of faith, also known as creeds that the 1st Century believers may have been reciting only months after the events they describe!
"For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve."
This passage is thought to be a pre-existing creed or confession that the Apostle Paul is quoting or alluding to. Scholars believe this for several reasons:
1. The language and style of this passage are different from the rest of Paul's writing in 1 Corinthians, suggesting that he is quoting someone else's words.
2. The use of the phrase "For what I received I passed on to you" indicates that Paul is passing on a tradition that was already established before he became a Christian.
3. The repetition of the phrase "according to the Scriptures" suggests that this statement was part of an early Christian confession that was grounded in the Jewish Scriptures.
4. The fact that Paul is quoting this statement in the context of an argument about the resurrection of the dead suggests that it was a widely accepted and important belief among early Christians.
Other examples of creedal or confessional statements in the New Testament include Philippians 2:6-11, Colossians 1:15-20, and 1 Timothy 3:16. These statements share similar characteristics with the 1 Corinthians 15 passage, and are believed to have also originated as early Christian confessions or creeds that were passed down and eventually incorporated into the New Testament writings.
The exact date of origin of the creedal statements in the New Testament is a matter of scholarly debate, but most scholars agree that they are among the earliest Christian beliefs and teachings. The creedal statement in 1 Corinthians 15:3-5, for example, is thought to date back to the first days of Christianity. Some scholars believe that this statement was formulated within the first few months after Jesus' death and Resurrection and quickly became a widely accepted Christian confession.
Similarly, the creedal statement in Philippians 2:6-11, which describes Christ's deity, death, Resurrection, and exaltation, is believed to have originated in the early Christian community. Overall, the early dates of these creedal statements suggest that they represent the earliest beliefs and teachings of the Christian faith, and that they were a central part of the early Christian community's understanding of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.
This is amazing information, because it puts the New Testament witness much closer to the events for which it witnesses. If the creedal statements in the New Testament are indeed from only a few months after the death of Jesus, this has significant implications for skeptics and those who doubt the historical accuracy of the New Testament:
Firstly, it demonstrates that the earliest Christians held a strong and consistent belief in the deity, death, and resurrection of Jesus, which was based on eyewitness testimony and firmly established within a short time after the events themselves. This gives more credibility to the New Testament accounts of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, and suggests that they are not merely later legends or myths that developed over time.
Secondly, it suggests that the early Christian community was united in its beliefs about Jesus, despite the diversity of backgrounds, cultures, and languages represented among its members. This challenges the notion that Christianity is a later invention or that it was based on a variety of different and conflicting beliefs.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, it raises the question of how such a powerful and transformative belief could have emerged and spread so quickly in the first century, without the support of political or institutional power. Consequently, this challenges the conventional wisdom that the Way Jesus preached is a purely human invention, and suggests that there may be something more profound and mysterious at work in the origins of the Christian faith. In other words, it originated from God, not from mankind (Acts 5:39)!
The scholar I learned about the early creeds from is Gary Habermas. Habermas has written extensively on the topic of early Christian beliefs and the Resurrection. Habermas is a philosopher, theologian, and New Testament scholar, and his work on the Resurrection has focused on the historical evidence for the event and its significance for Christian belief.
Some of Habermas' notable works include "The Resurrection of Jesus: An Apologetic", "The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus" (co-authored with Michael Licona), and "Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ". In these works, Habermas makes use of a wide range of historical and philosophical evidence to argue for the historical reality of the Resurrection and its central role in early Christian belief.
Habermas' work is respected within both the academic community and among Christian apologists, and his arguments have been influential in shaping contemporary discussions of the historical evidence for the resurrection.
If you’re interested in reading more about the origins Christianity, I recommend the following books by these authors:
N. T. Wright - "The New Testament and the People of God", "Jesus and the Victory of God", and "The Resurrection of the Son of God".
Richard Bauckham - "Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony" and "God Crucified: Monotheism and Christology in the New Testament".
Larry Hurtado - "Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity" and "How on Earth Did Jesus Become a God? Historical Questions about Earliest Devotion to Jesus."
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