Something was needed that would settle once and for all that the divinity of Jesus is the divinity of the Father, one and the same. God is God, in trinity. Because the council was primarily interested in discussing Jesus, the original form of the creed did not have much to say about the Holy Spirit. The creed was updated after the first Council of Constantinople to reflect the deity of the Holy Spirit.
However, there is a great deal that is said implicitly about his divinity. It is best to read the Nicene Creed as three articles. To the Holy Spirit, and to his activity, belong the holy catholic and apostolic church, its teaching, its confession, its sacraments, and its ultimate new birth into the resurrection of everlasting life. Put simply, the Holy Spirit is the one who leads the church in its worship and its confession of the triune God. Because it is recited in many churches every Sunday, the Nicene Creed is familiar to many Christians.
It describes the triune God, who turns toward humanity in the person of Jesus, the God-man who suffered, died, rose again, and ascended. Additionally, the creed goes on to express our future hope, the purpose of living the Christian life.
It is not that Christians are expected to have a perfectly precise Trinitarian theology to be considered orthodox, but since questions about the relationship between Jesus and God the Father are inevitable, they needed to be answered well. The Nicene Creed encapsulates what Scripture says about that relationship and acknowledges the mystery of it.
If Christianity had agreed with Arius that Jesus could be a lesser god—if it had failed to defend monotheism, if it had fallen into the trench of professing three unrelated deities—it may have dissolved into the religion of Rome and its pantheons of false gods. No mere man, nor half god, could possibly intervene to save fallen and sinful humanity, let alone restore all of creation.
Only the Creator can enter creation to fix its brokenness and redeem its original, latent purpose. Athanasius explored this truth in On the Incarnation , defending the claim that the Father and the Son share one common substance homoousios. Only the Creator can recreate. Only the Maker can remake. Only God can save us from our sins. Because the Father and the Son are one substance, we can also be assured that we actually know God in Jesus Christ.
Without confidence that Jesus is God, united in substance with the Father, we could not be sure that Jesus can speak for God, forgive sins for God, declare righteousness for God, or do anything to make us children of the Father. This post is adapted from material found in the Know the Creeds and Councils online course, taught by Justin Holcomb. Take a look at the free introductory video:.
The creed emphasizes the doctrine of the Trinity in response to the teachings of Arius, a clergyman who denied the divinity of the Son, the second member of the Trinity. This orthodox statement of faith is used by many denominations, including the RCA. El Credo Niceno. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became truly human. 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. It was then revised at the First Council of Constantinople in , and the updated form is indicated as the Nicene or the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed.
I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through Him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. This ecumenical council was the first effort to achieve agreement in the church through a meeting embodying all Christendom. Hosius of Corduba may have led over its discussions.
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