The Nicene Creed
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried, and the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father. He will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who together with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And I believe one holy Christian* and apostolic Church; I acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins, and I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
*or the original text: And I believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
Why Such a Complicated Creed?
The nature of Christian faith from the New Testament is reasonably clear, and well reflected in the Apostles Creed, so why was this longer and complicated creed formulated? It seems to try to define the infinite nature of God in limited human terms.
The reason for it reads like a repeat of the Fall in the Garden of Eden from Genesis. Arius was the leader of a Christian community in the area of Alexandria, and he incorporated human philosphy to alter his teaching of the gospel. As his influence spread, the Council of Nicaea of AD 325 was called to decide on the doctrine, and the near-unanimous decision of the church (Arius and two Libyan bishops opposed it) was that his teaching is heresy, and that Jesus is truly divine, as was later recorded in this creed.
This was only the beginning of their attack on Christian belief. His influence continued to spread, and after the Roman emperor Constantine died, his son Constantius supported the Arians. A major rewrite of the biblical texts according to Arian philosophy was undertaken, with the copies of the older scriptures being destroyed. Although the Arians later lost their power within the empire, the tendency to stray from the original New Testament teachings has continued, and Arianism is now found in Unitarianism and the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and is supported by groups who strive to oppose Christianity by their version of the “history”. Unfortunately, many of the modern versions of the bible have used those rewrites of scripture as the “oldest manuscripts” – the undermining of belief can come from many directions.
So, although this creed is complicated, it provides an important barrier to attacks on Christian belief.
Only statements in the creed that are extra to the Apostles Creed will be looked at on this page.
Main Additional Elements
1. Divinity of Jesus
begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made;
The creed makes clear that Jesus is truly God, equally divine with the Father, and that Jesus was the creator of all. This reflects John’s gospel, where Jesus is described as “the Word”.
John 1:1-3, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”
2. Jesus came as a man
for our salvation came down from heaven, … and was made man
This makes two points:
- The truly divine and eternal Jesus came as a mere man, he was truly human;
- The purpose of his incarnation was to save us from our state of separation from God
3. Divinity of the Holy Spirit
Lord and giver of life, … proceeds from the Father and the Son, … together with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified
The Holy Spirt is truly divine, equal with the Father and Son.
4. Inspiration of the Holy Spirit
who spoke by the prophets
This states that it was the Holy Spirit who spoke to the prophets of old, who inspired them and gave them the words to reveal from God, and to record for us in the bible.
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