Why does the Creed mention the suffering of Christ?

The Creed does not mention Adam and Eve’s disobedience and their fall, but it does mention the Second Adam’s offering for the salvation of humanity. Christ’s Church is concerned with the salvation of humanity, the restoration of God’s image (or icon) in us through the suffering and crucifixion of the Master. “He came to His own and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11). The Creed furnishes no details about the service of the Lord Christ and His miracles but focuses on the world’s rejection of Him. For the purpose of the Creed is not to record the history of our Lord Jesus on earth, but to enflame our hearts with love towards God and people, so that we hasten to read the four gospels and the other books of the Holy Bible.

The word “suffered” summarizes all the events from His birth to His resurrection. He suffered as an infant when Herod sought to kill Him. He suffered even after His death, when the priests requested His tomb to be sealed and guarded lest His disciples steal His body and claim that He was risen. The apostle sums up the life of the Master thus: “For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted” (Heb. 2:18). The apostle Peter further clarifies this, saying that “Christ suffered for us in the flesh” (1 Pet. 4:1), so that the faithful might not fall into Gnosticism which portrays the Lord Christ as not being a true man. And the apostle Paul affirms that we are “heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together” (Rom. 8:17).