At a first reading the articles that come at the end of the Creed seem to be just isolated statements. In fact it is not difficult to discover a unifying principle. The final section of the Creed begins with the words, ‘I believe in the Holy Ghost’. This is the clue, because all the other articles express our belief in the fruits of the creative activity of the Holy Spirit. ‘The Catholic Church’ is the new community, which has corporate life in the Spirit: ‘remission of sins’ is effected through the Spirit; ‘the resurrection of the body’ is the crown, the final achievement of the working of the Spirit.

The first Christians were well aware of this and in consequence laid great emphasis on the relation between the Spirit and the Church, for they recognized that it is through the fruits of the Spirit that the Spirit itself is discerned.

St Gregory Nazianzen wrote, ‘The New Testament revealed the Son and implied the divinity of the Spirit. Today the Spirit dwells among us and makes himself more clearly known.’ It is by living in the Christian community that a man is brought to a closer knowledge of the Holy Spirit. ‘Dost thou believe in the Holy Spirit?’ ran the old baptismal question. It is in the Church, the creation of the Holy Spirit, that the Spirit is discovered.