In its earliest beginnings this creed was a much briefer Trinitarian baptismal formula:
“I believe in God the Father Almighty and in Christ Jesus His Son, our Lord, and in the Holy Spirit, the holy church, and the resurrection of the flesh.”
The wording developed gradually and was finalized in the eighth century.
The name affirms that this creed is a faithful expression of the apostles’ teachings. It contains the fundamental articles of Christian faith necessary to salvation (Demarest, 179).
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy Christian Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.
Note: When Jesus died, His soul went to Sheol (the Old Testament word for the place of the dead). The New Testament equivalent is Hades, which English speakers have mistakenly understood to be a reference to hell. Newer translations of the creed correct the text of the creed to say, “He went to the dead.”
(Spotlight 3, Lesson 4 in Doctrine 101: Learning about God)