the Nicene Creed, part 2

what the creed proclaims about the Father and the Son

Sep 24, 2024

So, we’ve discussed the history of the Nicene Creed, but what is actually in it?

The Nicene Creed was built upon old baptismal creeds like the Apostles’ Creed. Since we have already discussed the teachings of the Apostles’ Creed, we’ll focus here on what is not in that creed.

First, the text of the creed, with the ideas (though not the exact words) of the Apostles’ Creed in bold:

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, visible and invisible.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only-begotten Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven,
was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.1

I have also created a document that shows the two creeds side by side for comparison.

Next, we’ll look at what this creed says that the Apostles’ Creed didn’t include.

what does it say about God the Father?

We have two additional claims about God the Father. First, he is one. This word points all the way back to the first Hebrew creed, found in Deuteronomy 6, known as the Shema: “Hear O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one.”2 The oneness of God has always been a cornerstone of the Jewish tradition that Christianity is rooted in.

Second, we add to the statement “maker of heaven and earth,” that he is also the maker “of all that is, visible and invisible.” The phrase “maker of heaven and earth” was generally used to mean everything, but the Nicene Creed leaves no room for misinterpretation. If it exists, whether you can see it or not, God made it.

what does it say about Jesus?

Here, of course, is where the Council of Nicaea added the most material. We start again with the addition of the word one: Jesus is our one and only Lord. The word “Lord” has special significance because it was the word that the Jews used in place of the name of God. But we could plausibly dismiss that, because the same word could be used for earthly lords as well. Perhaps the addition of one here was to emphasize that he is not one lord among many, but the One Lord: God.

Jesus’ deity

Next, the Creed says that he is “the only-begotten Son of God,” adding the word begotten. Here we come into full opposition with the Arian heresy, for the next line says “eternally begotten of the Father,” and three lines after that “begotten, not made.” Remember that the Arian heresy rested chiefly on the idea that Jesus was not God, but was instead God’s first and greatest creation. The creed very clearly rejects that idea: there was not a time when he was not.

The creed also describes his begotten-ness with these statements: “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God.” The Arians tried to square their beliefs with the simple statement that Jesus is God by claiming that he is not equal to God the Father, but he is a lowercase-g god, as angels and other divine beings are sometimes described (see Psalm 82). Recognizing Jesus’ divine nature does not necessarily equate him with God the Father. But the Council of Nicaea left no room for that equivocation: God from God means the word “God” in reference to Jesus is no different from the same word in reference to the Father.

substance

After “begotten, not made,” the creed says that Jesus is “of one being with the Father.” This line has been translated a few different ways. The traditional English version says “consubstantial with the Father,” which in more modern translations equates to “of the same substance.” This one Greek word, translated “of one being” in our text, can take you down a deep rabbit hole of theology. What is most important here is that the Arians were willing to say that Christ was of a similar substance with the Father, but not the same substance. Nicaea rejected that distinction. He is not like God. He is God.

Christ in creation

Another additional line tells us that “through” Jesus “all things were made.” Hebrews 1 tells us that God created the world “through” his Son. Arianism didn’t disagree with that; they considered Christ the Father’s first creation, and he took part in the Father’s subsequent creation.

This line from the creed, though, goes further than that. Not just the world, but “all things” were made through Jesus. John 1:3 puts it this way “All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.” But if Jesus was created, then this verse is false: Jesus can’t be a thing that was made and also the one through whom all that was made was made. He couldn’t be made through himself.

the incarnation

The Nicene statements on Jesus’ incarnation are not drastically different from the Apostles’ Creed. Both of them give us the very basics of Jesus’ life on earth: the virgin birth, his suffering and crucifixion under Pilate, and, of course, his resurrection. But while the Apostles’ Creed tells us what happened, I find it especially fascinating that the Nicene Creed includes why: “For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven,” and again, “for our sake he was crucified….” It’s a small addition, but a powerful one! Paul tells Timothy that God “Desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth,” and therefore he “gave himself as a ransom for all.”3

This section contains the only two elements where the Apostles’ Creed tells us something that the Nicene Creed doesn’t. First, while the Nicene says that Jesus “was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary,” the Apostles’ Creed specifies roles for each: “he was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.” Second, after Jesus’ death and burial, the Nicene does not include his descent to the dead. This line gives some people pause today, so it’s interesting that it’s not in the Nicene Creed. (Go read my explanation of it in the Apostles’ Creed Part 2 if you haven’t already.)

resurrection and return

The final words on Jesus include a claim that his resurrection was “in accordance with the Scriptures.” By the time of the Council of Nicaea, the New Testament as we know it today was solidly recognized; the Gospels and the letters of Paul, Peter, and the others were recognized as Scriptures. So we might think those are the Scriptures they are referring to.

But this was almost certainly a reference to Paul’s statement that Jesus was “raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,”4 Which of course was not a reference to the Gospels or Paul’s own letters! Instead, Paul was perhaps referring to Scriptures such as Hosea 6:2, Jonah 1:17, and Psalm 16:10, all considered prophecies of the Messiah’s resurrection.

Both creeds tell us that in the future Christ will “Come again,” but the Nicene adds that it will be “in glory,” and that “his kingdom will have no end.” I’m looking forward to that.

next time…

The next section, of course, goes into the person of the Holy Spirit and the church, but I want to give that section, as well as some parting thoughts on the Creed, a little more space.