'I Believe': A Brief Exposition of the Apostles' Creed

What is a Creed? 
The word ‘creed’ comes from the Latin credo meaning ‘I believe’. In other words, a creed is summary statement of one’s theological beliefs. It is effectively saying: ‘This is what I believe …’. These creeds are ecumenical in that they are held to be authoritative by the catholic church including the Roman Catholic Church, Protestant churches, and the Eastern Orthodox Church. In other words, they are universal documents considered to be authoritative by all major branches of the Christian church. The ecumenical creeds refer to three major documents in particular including the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed, as well as the related statement known as the Chalcedonian definition on the hypostatic union. The Eastern Orthodox Church only considers the Nicene Creed to be authoritative making it different from other branches and denominations of Christianity which generally accept all three statements of belief. The purpose of a creed is to be a yardstick of theological understanding. It encapsulates the essence of orthodoxy or ‘right belief’.

While not a comprehensive statement of faith as with confessional documents of Reformed and Lutheran churches, creeds enable the laity without extensive theological training to recognise correct doctrine and to be able to spot deviations from the creedal statements. In other words, creeds assist the laity in recognising truth which is ultimately based on the Bible and interpreted in the Christian tradition. It is for this reason that the creeds are sometimes known as teaching the regula fidei or ‘rule of faith’. The church father Irenaeus of Lyons (c.130 – c.200) in The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching urgers readers to hold the rule of faith without deviation. This rule of faith is expressed across three main article or points which are essential to all three creedal documents:

This then is the order of the rule of our faith: God, the Father, not made, not material, invisible; one God, the creator of all things: this is the first point of our faith. The second point is: The Word of God, Son of God, Christ Jesus our Lord, who was manifested to the prophets according to the form of their prophesying and according to the method of the dispensation of the Father through whom all things were made; who also at the end of the times, to complete and gather up all things, was made man among men, visible and tangible, in order to abolish death and show forth life and produce a community of union between God and man. And the third point is: The Holy Spirit, through whom the prophets prophesied, and the fathers learned the things of God, and the righteous were led forth into the way of righteousness; and who in the end of the times was poured out in a new way a upon mankind in all the earth, renewing man unto God.

It is immediately obvious that this summary of the rule of faith by Irenaeus is similar to the statements found in the ecumenical creeds. This idea of a rule of faith goes back to the Apostle Paul and his summary of the good news about Jesus Christ in his first letter to the Corinthians:

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures: And that he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once … After that, he was seen of James; then all of the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time (1 Corinthians 15:3–8).

The quotation from Irenaeus and the words of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians encapsulate the essence of the Christian religion. They show us that God is a Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that these three are one God, equal in power and in glory. And they teach us that Christ is fully God and fully human in one remarkable person who was made incarnate for us, who died upon the cross for our sins, was raised for our justification, and who was seen alive by many eyewitnesses. These concepts get to the heart of the Christian faith. The creeds are like a river: shallow enough for a lamb to wade, but deep enough for an elephant to swim. There are great treasures to be found in correctly interpreting the creeds and commenting upon their contents for all Christians from the newly baptised beginner to the adept theologian or professor. The aim of this short exposition is to explore the major doctrines of Apostles' Creed and its relation to the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. The text used for the creed below has been drawn from Chad Van Dixhoorn’s excellent book Creeds, Confessions, and Catechisms: A Reader’s Edition (Wheaton, IL, 2022).

The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only-begotten Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, 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 haven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty: from there he shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.

The title of this creed is something of a misnomer. It was not actually written by the Apostles, but by the early Church Fathers. It was developed in various forms within the first few centuries of the early church. It is a work of patrology and not inspired Scripture. It is however a summary of the apostolic teaching of the New Testament and therefore considered to be a trustworthy guide to sound doctrine. It condenses the message of the evangelists and the apostles into summary statements which form the theological ‘common places’ (loci communes) upon which to build our understanding of Christian doctrine – the structure of dogmatics. John Calvin, for example, famously structured The Institutes of the Christian Religion (1559) around the framework of the Apostles’ Creed. The symbol of faith is designed to help us structure our thoughts about God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Church, salvation, and the second coming. The creeds and confessions are not holy and infallible Scripture, but they are helps and tools for understanding and interpreting the Bible. They are theological handmaidens which assist us in the work of doing theology. They are also liturgical aids to worship – both individual and corporate.

The articles of faith in the Apostles’ Creed are divided into three main parts: God the Father and our creation, God the Son and our redemption, and God the Holy Spirit and our sanctification. This threefold Trinitarian structure lies at the heart of Christian dogmatics. The Creed therefore reminds us that we worship one God in Trinity. These three distinct persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) are one true and eternal God, the same in substance, equal in power and in glory. Our faith is wholly Trinitarian. As Herman Bavinck famously said: ‘The essence of the Christian religion consists in the reality that the creation of the Father, ruined by sin, is restored in the death of the Son of God, and recreated by the grace of the Holy Spirit into a kingdom of God’.  I would like us to think of the articles of the creed in the light of Scripture under three headings following the Triune pattern or structure.  

1] Firstly, we learn that God the Father is our Creator or Maker. He is the first cause of all reality. According to the creed, he is ‘the Father almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth’. In other words, he is the origin of all creation in the sense that he has made all things, and he cares for all of creation according to His wise and loving providence. The Psalmist says, ‘The Lord is good to all; and his tender mercies are over all his works’ (Psalm 145:9). The Lord God, though utterly transcendent, cares for all his creatures great and small, even as a human father cares for his children. Though utterly transcendent and ‘above’ creation, God is also immanent and present with creation in every part. He is also in a very special sense the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ who is Emmanuel (or ‘God with us’) – not by creation, but eternal generation. In other words, the Son is eternally begotten of the Father, coequal and coeternal with him. The Lord Christ has always been the Son of God from depths of eternity past – as the creed says, eternally begotten of the Father before all worlds were made. There was never a time when he was not ontologically the Son of God. He was not created like human beings and angels, rather he is eternally God of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity, and the eternal Son of the Father’s love. Jesus says, ‘I and my Father are one’ (John 10:30). ‘He that hath seen me hath seen the Father’ (John 14:9). At his baptism, God the Father spoke from heaven saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’ (Matthew 3:17). Incredibly, as Christians, we are considered to be sons and daughters by adoption. We are not ontologically the children of God in the same way as Christ, but we are adopted members of the divine family (1 John 3: 1–2) and partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). We may approach God as ‘our Father’ in prayer as Jesus taught us. Not only does God love us as he loves all creation, but he loves us as his chosen people in Christ. We are loved not merely as creatures, but as redeemed sons of God and heirs of Christ Jesus. Those who are united to Christ by faith are adopted as children of God. John says in the prologue to His gospel, ‘But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God’ (John 1:12). Those who believe on the Lord Jesus are born of God, they are the children of God, and they are joint heirs with Christ Jesus. As Paul says to the Romans, ‘And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together’ (Romans 8:17). Similarly, to the Galatians he says, ‘For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus’ (Galatians 3:26).

Not only is our God a wise, loving, and kind Father, but he is also ‘almighty’. He is omnipotent or all powerful. He says, ‘Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?’ (Jeremiah 32:27). Jeremiah says, ‘Thou has made the heavens and the earth by thy great power and outstretched arm, there is nothing too hard for thee’ (Jeremiah 32:17). Job confesses to the Lord God, ‘I know that thou canst do everything, and that no thought can be withholden from thee’ (Job 42:2). The Lord God ‘And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?’ (Daniel 4:35). ‘Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places’ (Psalm 135:6). By his great power, the Lord spoke light particles into being, he created this vast universe out of nothing (ex nihilo), he fashioned countless great and ponderous worlds, myriads of stars and galaxies, and brought forth the plants, and the animals, and all living things out the land and sea. He formed man of the dust of the earth after his own image and likeness, and breathed into His nostrils the breath of life (Genesis 1). According to Herman Bavinck, ‘Everything in nature speaks of God. The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. God’s voice is in the great waters. That voice that breaks the cedars; it rumbles in the thunder and howls in the hurricane. The light is his garment, the heavens his curtain, the clouds his chariot’ (Herman Bavinck).

The physical sciences only begin to grasp at the mysteries of creation. There is so much to learn and discover about God’s universe. Christians should not fear science. There is no fact in all creation which cannot be fully explained in the light of Christian doctrine. Science helps us to understand how things work – the physics, the biology, and the chemistry, whereas theology answers the teleological question as to why things exist. Science explains the mechanics behind creation and the laws of nature. But at the back of all these natural, proximate, and scientific causes, God governs and sustains all things invisibly by His holy, wise, and loving providence. There is not a single atom in this vast universe outside of His sovereign control. He holds all things in the palm of His hand. ‘All that is and happens is, in a very real sense, a work of God and … a revelation of His attributes and perfections … Creating, sustaining, and governing together form one single mighty ongoing revelation of God’ (Herman Bavinck). As Paul says to the Romans, ‘For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse’ (Romans 1:20). ‘He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion’ (Jeremiah 51:15).

As Christians, we have a duty to care for God’s creation as his appointed stewards. We are called to cherish and look after all that He has made. This would include tackling pollution and climate change in our advanced industrial societies. It is a bad theology which says God has no care for this present world or that is only concerned with the spiritual aspect of human beings. He is not merely interested in saving souls, but in redeeming the entire cosmos. God sent His Son to save this world – not only the people, but everything in creation: ‘And, having made peace through the blood of his Cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven’ (Colossians 1:20). God has purposed to redeem human beings in their totality of body and soul with all their capacities and powers; to redeem not only individual, isolated human beings, but humanity as a community, a kingdom, as a glorious city of God. And the goal is not only to redeem humanity, but all creation – to wrestle heaven and earth from the power of sin and dominion of Satan, and to cause the glory of God to shine forth from every creature. Sin has spoiled and destroyed everything in humanity: intellect, will, affections. It has also spoiled the earth and brough the curse of a broken law upon creation. It is fitting therefore that God has purposed to redeem and regenerate the whole person and the whole cosmos for the sake of his glory and the honour of his name. According to the apostle Paul, ‘So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption’ (1 Corinthians 15:42). Christ will redeem not only our souls, but also our bodies. He will recreate the cosmos especially for us: ‘Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness’ (2 Peter 3:13). And one day ‘the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God’ (Romans 8:21).

Theology is application. As the Puritan theologian William Ames argued in his seminal work The Marrow of Theology (1642), theology is the doctrine of living for God and for his glory. Let us therefore worship God as our Creator and love Him as our Father. And let us look after the world He has given us. Let us care for and love all the creatures, great and small, all the plants and animals, and the environment he has trusted to our stewardship and care. Sin has ruined this world. It pollutes, it corrupts, it destroys. We, however, are called to be salt and light in world and to be a shining city set upon a hill – a light to the nations. Christians are called to be an example to the world of all that is true, good, and beautiful. We are to reflect the beauty and glory if Christ. Let us therefore be mindful of the pitiful condition of lost humanity in a fallen world, broken by sin, and desire to win sinners of mankind lost for the glory of God in preparation for the coming of a new world of love and righteousness. And let us live for God’s glory in this present world, and enjoy His wonderful creation, and all that he gives us from His bountiful hand. ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein’ (Psalm 24:1).

2] Secondly, we learn that Jesus Christ is our Saviour. The Son of God is called Jesus because he shall save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). The same Jesus means ‘Jehovah saves’ or ‘YHWH saves’. Salvation should not be sought and cannot be found in anyone else. As the apostles taught, ‘Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved’ (Acts 14:12). ‘Christ’ is not Jesus’ surname, but His title. It means ‘the anointed one’ or the promised Messiah whom the Jews had anticipated from the promises in the Psalms and the Prophets which speak of his coming onto the world to redeem lost humankind. The Lord Christ was ordained by God the Father and anointed with the Holy Spirit to be our prophet, priest and King. This is known as the threefold office of Christ reflected the three anointed offices in the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible. As our prophet, the Lord Christ reveals, by His Word and Spirit, the will of God for our salvation. As our only high priest, he has delivered us by His sacrifice for sin upon the Cross and his work of atonement, and He continually pleads our cause and makes intercession for us before the Father’s throne. And, as our eternal King, he governs, guards us, and keeps us – protecting us for the day when we will be presented faultless in his righteousness before the throne of heaven.

We are followers of Jesus Christ. This is what it means to confess the creed. We take his name to ourselves and are called Christians or disciples of Christ. We are to be imitators of Christ and reflect something of his beauty, loveliness, and glory in our lives. By faith, we share in his anointing, participate in his death, live in his resurrection, and attain through him the forgiveness of sin and the redemption of our bodies. We confess His name – ‘I believe in Jesus Christ’. We strive to live for His glory and honour after the pattern He has given us in the gospels and epistles of the New Testament. And one day, we will reign with him over all creation as heirs of Christ in world of love and righteousness, without end.  Though we will be like Christ, changed from glory into glory, yet he will always be pre-eminent. Though we are considered heirs, Christ will always remain ontologically separated from us. He is the ‘only begotten Son’ as the creed says. He alone is the eternal, natural Son of God. We are children by adoption, received by grace, through faith, to praise of His glory. But he is inherently the Son of God in his own person and nature, full of grace and truth. He is ‘Christ Jesus, our Lord’ – the brightest and the best, the king of the ages, the bright-morning star, and in all things preeminent. He has bought us not with gold or silver, but with his precious blood which he shed freely upon the Cross. He has set us free from the tyranny of the devil. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and brought us into the very kingdom of his marvellous light. And He has bought us, body and soul, with his own blood to be His very own treasured possession for the glory and honour of God the Father. He is our Lord and Redeemer. To echo the words of the Heidelberg catechism, our only comfort in life and in death is to know that we are not our own, but belong, both body and soul, to our faithful Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who has fully paid for all our sin with His precious blood, and has set us free from grip of sin, and the power of death, and the tyranny of the devil. We belong to Him and are brought into a loving personal relationship with him by faith. As Solomon says, ‘He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love … My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies’ (Songs of Solomon 2: 4, 16).  

The creed says that Jesus, the eternal Son of God, ‘was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary’. He took to Himself a true body through the working of the Holy Spirit. He was conceived miraculously in the womb of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, and assumed for our sake a true human nature, yet without sin. John says, ‘And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth’ (John 1:14). The eternal Son of God, while remaining eternally divine, became a man of true body and reasonable soul. There was no subtraction of deity in the incarnation, only the addition of frail humanity. He who eternally existed with the Father, assumed true human nature and became a man of flesh and blood. He is now very God of very God and truly man consubstantial with us according to his humanity in one remarkable person whom we call the God-man (theanthropos). He is God and so mighty to save us. He is man and so fit to represent us before the throne of heaven and empathise with us according to our humanity.

We are told that he ‘suffered’. Jesus suffered as real man. He knew all the hardships of this life – poverty, temptation, the scorn of men, the angst of Gethsemane, the agony of the Cross. He suffered physically the beatings of Roman soldiers, the crown of thorns, the nails in his hands and feet, and the slow and painful asphyxiation of the Cross. He suffered emotionally – the mocking of the crowds, the tears of his mother, the abandonment of his friends. He suffered spiritually and psychologically. Christ sustained in His body and soul the wrath of God against the sin of all humankind, and by his suffering, he makes atonement for sin in order that He might deliver us, body and soul, from eternal condemnation and obtain everlasting salvation for all who call upon His name. His substitutionary atonement upon the Cross is the bedrock of Christian dogmatics. As the hymnwriter says, God forbid that I should glory, save in the death of Christ my God (Isaac Watts).

He suffered ‘under Pontius Pilate’. Some have wondered why this phrase is included in the creed. It is actually a very important point to make. Christ suffered in the reality of history – at a particular point in space and time – when Pilate was the Roman Governor of Judea. The creed is emphasising the historicity of these events. Christ Jesus did not die in Narnia or Middle Earth or in some other world of fantasy. He died in the reality of human history at the hands of Roman soldiers under the authority of the Roman Governor. It reminds us that his life, death, and resurrection are historical events which really happened in space and time. The narratives of the gospels are eye-witness accounts of Christ life, death, resurrection – carefully documented and copied with over 5,000 manuscripts in Greek and with around 25,000 manuscripts if we include Latin, Coptic, Syriac, and Aramaic copies. In fact, there is more textual evidence for his life, ministry, and resurrection of Jesus Christ than there is for the life of any other person in classical antiquity such as Plato, Aristotle, Julius Caesar, or Homer. Even without the extant manuscript copies, the Church fathers quote so extensively from the writings of the evangelists and the apostles that it would be more than possible to put together the entire New Testament from their writings alone. And almost all scholars are agreed, including secular academic historians, that the New Testament was completed within 70 to 100 years after the death of Christ. One remarkable example of this historicity is the John Rylands Papyri, a fragment of John’s Gospel held at Manchester University, which dates to the year 125 A.D. around thirty years after the gospel was believed to have been written. In other words, Christ suffered and died in the reality of geography and history – in space and in time – and the New Testament manuscripts testify to this historical reality.

Christ is not a merely brute fact, however. He is not an isolated fact, neither is he an uninterpreted fact. The facts recorded in the New Testament hold great significance for Christians. They are theological facts. They hold deep theological meaning and spiritual purposes for humanity. Jesus was crucified for sins not His own. He died for others. He shouldered the curse of human sin to procure the redemption of lost humanity. Paul interprets the theological significance of the history for us: ‘Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree’ (Galatians 3:13).  Jesus died to satisfy the justice of God – to pay the debt of human sin, to make expiation and atonement for the sins of the world, even to suffer the wrath, curse, and judgement of God as a substitute for sinners of lost mankind. This known as the doctrine of penal substitution. The Lord Christ suffered unspeakable anguish, and pain, even the terrors of that infernal world, that He might deliver us from sin, death, and hell. He was, according to the words of the creed, ‘crucified, dead, buried’. He truly died upon the Cross for human sin, and was buried, and his tomb was sealed with a great stone and guarded by Roman soldiers. His burial testifies that he really died and remained under the power of death for a season. He suffered the reality of hell for our sakes. He ‘descended into hell’. But, as we know, he didn’t stay dead. He’s alive. He is risen. According to the creed, ‘the third day he rose again’. By His resurrection, He has overcome death and has obtained righteousness and everlasting life for all who trust in Him. Theologically speaking, his resurrection is a type of our regeneration – also known as the new birth – or the life of God in the soul of man; and it is also a guarantee of our physical, bodily resurrection and the glorious life of the world to come.

According to the creed, ‘He ascended into heaven’. While his disciples watched, he was taken up into glory, and remains at the right hand of God, interceding on our behalf, until He comes again with glory to judge the living and the dead. He is our advocate in heaven. He represents us a real man and intercessor before the throne of God. Therefore, we seek not earthly treasures where moth and rust destroy, but the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Here he reigns as King of all creation, as head of the Church, and as Lord and Saviour of lost mankind. And by His power and authority at God’s right hand, he defends us and keeps us safe from the powers of the devil, from death, and judgement due to sin. He reigns as King. He is the lion of the tribe of Judah, the captain of our salvation, and he is enthroned in glory at the right hand of God. C. S. Lewis says of Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia (1949–56) – and Aslan being a picture of Christ – that ‘Aslan is a lion – the Lion, the great Lion’. ‘Oh! I’d thought He was a man. Is he – quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion’. ‘Safe, who said anything about safe? Of course, He isn’t safe. But He is good. He’s the King, I tell you’. The Lord Christ is majestic, glorious, transcendent, and powerful. He’s a Lion. He’s not safe, but he is good. He is kind and kingly. He is our shepherd-king of love, much as David was the shepherd-king of Israel. And we may freely come to Him in prayer and faith and open our hearts before Him, knowing that he loves us, and will keep us and defend us from all our enemies including the world, the flesh, and the devil.

3] Thirdly, we learn of the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit, along with the Father and the Son, is eternal God – co-equal with them in power and in glory. He is not an impersonal force such as the mysterious energy you might find in the Star Wars movies. He’s not the life-spirit of nature as in Pantheistic naturalism. He is a divine person, the third member of the Holy Trinity. He comforts us. He is our paraclete. He assures us that we are children of God. He dwells in the hearts of believers by faith who experience him as the life of God in the soul of man. That is what Christians mean by the new birth, that the Lord and Giver of life indwells us and lives within our hearts by faith. He helps us to pray when we do not know what to say. He intercedes from our hearts with groanings too deep for words. He gives life, and being, and power, and continual existence to ‘the holy catholic church’,  energising and revitalising the church at every moment. When the creed uses the term catholic, it does not mean Roman Catholicism by this, but catholic with a small ‘c’, which refers to the ecumenical catholicity of all Christianity and the church universal. Protestants as much as Catholics believe in the articles of the creed. These are the doctrines common to all true Christians everywhere. There are millions upon millions of Christians in the world with the Spirit of Christ dwelling in their hearts. These are our brothers and sisters. By the Holy Spirit, we participate in union and fellowship with each other and with the church universal. We are one body, with one Lord, one hope, one faith, one baptism (Ephesians 4: 4–5). The Spirit of Christ brings life to a community of people, chosen by grace, united in faith, to the glory and praise of God. And by faith, we are living members of this community – this glorious city of God, the church universal, and we always will be. The Spirit of Christ will never let us go. He takes the work of Christ and applies it effectually, graciously, lovingly, irresistibly, and eternally to our hearts.

He brings us into fellowship with God and with the church universal – ‘the communion of the saints’. He enables us to participate in ‘The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost’ (2 Corinthians 13:14). We have a personal love relationship with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Christianity is not a list of rules or a set of meetings as such. Fellowship does not consist in merely having cups of tea and biscuits after the Sunday service. It is a relationship of love, a sweet communion, with God and with His children – ‘the saints’. Every one of us who belongs to the Spirit of Christ is a saint and a child of God. The Spirit sanctifies us. He makes a holy people, set apart for the glory of God, as his beloved children. Believers one and all are members of this community and share in Christ and all His treasures, gifts, and benefits. And the Spirit of Christ has given to each one of us different spiritual gifts to serve Him in the church. Gifts of hospitality, teaching, exhortation, giving generously, showing mercy and encouragement, giving wisdom, knowledge, and discernment to the church, offering practical helps and administration, doing evangelism, pastoral care, leadership, and preaching. The Spirit gives all manner of gifts to the body of Christ, and we must each use what the Spirit of God has given us to glorify Christ and edify the church. We should not bury our talents in the sand. Each member should consider it a duty and privilege to use these gifts readily, joyfully, and willingly for the service and enrichment of the body of Christ. 

The creed refers to the ‘forgiveness of sins’. The Holy Spirit applies the work of salvation to us. In other words, he effectually causes us to be born again or regenerate. He creates faith and repentance in our hearts. He sanctifies us and makes us Holy. The fruit of the Holy Spirit should be evident in our hearts: ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law’ (Galatians 5:22–23). He gives us inward assurances of salvation and persuades us that we are God’s children. He leads us to home to glory, and one day He will restore our mortal bodies, and in glorification make us as beautiful as Christ in his risen glory and splendour. As the creed says, we believe in ‘the resurrection of the body’. Not only will my soul be taken immediately after this life into heaven in the intermediate state, but also my body will be raised by the power of the Spirit of Christ, reunited with my soul, and made like unto Christ’s glorious body. The resurrection is physically and bodily. Finally, the Spirit takes us into the ‘life everlasting’ – the glorious life of the world to come, a new heaven and a new earth wherein righteousness dwells. And there, in a world of love and holiness, we shall see Jesus Christ – the Lamb that was slain from before the foundation of the world – and give Him all the glory, love, and praise, world without end. Amen.

References and Recommended Reading

Bray, G. L., Creeds, Councils, and Christ (Leicester, 1984).

Dixhoorn, Chad Van, Creeds, Confessions, Catechisms: A Reader’s Edition (Wheaton, IL, 2022).

Fairbairn, Donald A., and Ryan M. Reeves, The Story of Creeds and Confessions: Tracing the Development of the Christian Faith (Grand Rapids, 2019).

Fesko, J. V., The Need for Creeds Today: Confessional Faith in a Faithless Age (Grand Rapids, 2020).

Kelly, J. N. D., Early Christian Creeds (London, 1972).

Packer, J. I., Affirming the Apostles’ Creed (Wheaton, IL, 2008).  

Pelikan, Jaroslav, and Valerie Hotchkiss R., Creeds and Confession of Faith in the Christian Tradition (New Haven, 2003).

Trueman, Carl R., Crisis of Confidence: Reclaiming the Historic Faith in a Culture Consumed with Individualism and Identity (Wheaton, IL, 2024).

Trueman, Carl R., The Creedal Imperative (Wheaton, IL, 2012). 

‘Begotten, Not Made’: The Theology of the Nicene Creed

The Nicene Creed

We 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 the Father before all worlds, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten not made, consubstantial 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 Ghost and of the Virgin Mary, and was made man. He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried, and the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He shall come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead, and whose Kingdom shall have no end. And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And in one holy catholic and apostolic Church; we acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the glorious life of the world to come. Amen.

Introduction

The Nicene Creed—more fully known as the Nicene–Constantinopolitan Creed—stands as one of the central and defining statements of Christian orthodoxy. First formulated at the Council of Nicaea in AD 325 and later expanded at the Council of Constantinople in AD 381, it forms, together with the Apostles’ Creed and the Athanasian Creed, the doctrinal foundation of historic Christian belief. The term creed derives from the Latin credo, meaning “I believe.” A creed, therefore, is an authoritative summary of essential Christian doctrine, developed within the life of the Church and confessed by the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic community of faith (cf. Ephesians 4:4–6). These statements are known as the “ecumenical creeds” because of their universal scope and their acceptance across the vast majority of Catholic, Protestant, and Eastern Orthodox traditions.

The Nicene Creed was composed chiefly in response to the teachings of Arius, whose doctrine—known as Arianism—denied the full divinity of the Son of God. Arius taught that Jesus Christ was a created angelic being, distinct in essence from the Father and the Holy Spirit. In order to address the intense controversy surrounding Christ’s nature, Constantine the Great convened the Council of Nicaea, where Arianism was formally refuted and condemned as heresy. Theologically, the Nicene Creed is structured around the doctrine of the Holy Trinity: the confession that there is one God in three coequal and coeternal persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14). These three are one in power, glory, and divine essence (Deuteronomy 6:4; John 10:30). The original 325 AD formulation explicitly affirms that Jesus Christ is “begotten, not made” and “of one substance” (homoousios) with the Father—“very God of very God” (John 1:1; Hebrews 1:3).

In the sixth century, certain Latin‑speaking churches added the term filioque (“and the Son”) to the description of the Holy Spirit’s procession, asserting that the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son (John 15:26). This addition was received in the Western Church but rejected by the Eastern Orthodox Church, which maintains that the Spirit proceeds from the Father alone as the fons divinitatis (“fount of deity”). The dispute over the filioque clause became one of the principal factors contributing to the East–West Schism and remains a point of theological discussion to this day. The inclusion of the phrase “and the Son” was intended to safeguard the full deity of Christ, who is confessed as coequal and coeternal with the Father (John 5:23; Philippians 2:6).

The Nicene Creed is accepted by the overwhelming majority of orthodox Christians as an authoritative confession of faith. It is rejected, however, by certain non‑Trinitarian groups, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses and Latter‑day Saints. Historically, the Nicene Creed has also been known as the “symbol of faith,” reflecting its role as a unifying confessional document and a token of Christian identity throughout the world. As R. B. Kuiper observes, “The doctrine of the Trinity [taught by the symbol of faith] is basic to the Christian religion. It is no exaggeration to assert that the whole of Christianity stands or falls with it.” It is the distinguishing doctrine of the Christian faith and the foundation of its uniqueness. J. I. Packer similarly affirms, “The Trinity is the basis of the Gospel, and the Gospel is a declaration of the Trinity in action” (cf. John 3:16–17; Ephesians 1:3–14).

1.     We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

The first article of the Nicene Creed concerns the doctrine of God, known in dogmatics as theology proper. The word theology derives from the Greek theos (“God”) and logia (“the doctrine” or “study” of God). Although the Creed focuses specifically on the person of the Father as the “Maker of heaven and earth,” creation may rightly be described as the work of all three persons of the Godhead (cf. Genesis 1:1–2; John 1:1–3; Colossians 1:16). The Nicene Creed begins by affirming monotheism—the belief that God is one. While some religions, such as Hinduism, teach a plurality of gods and goddesses, and ancient Greek and Roman religions embraced polytheism, Christianity proclaims that there is only one God. The Shema prayer encapsulates the essence of Judeo‑Christian faith: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD” (Deuteronomy 6:4). Scripture repeatedly affirms this truth: “I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me” (Isaiah 45:5); “I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God” (Isaiah 44:6). The First Commandment likewise teaches exclusive devotion to the one true God: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). In the New Testament, Paul writes, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5).

These affirmations raise important questions about the essence of God. Scripture teaches that God is, by nature, a most pure and holy Spirit: “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). The Westminster Shorter Catechism famously defines God as “a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth” (Q&A 4). As Spirit, God does not possess a body and is not composed of parts; he is simple rather than composite. He exists beyond the limitations of the physical world. He is infinite—without boundaries or limits—and transcends space and time as Lord of heaven and earth (cf. 1 Kings 8:27; Psalm 139:7–10). He is eternal, existing outside of time, as a transtemporal being. In the words of the Psalmist, “Thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end” (Psalm 102:27). God has no beginning, middle, or end. He is unchanging, the same yesterday, today, and forever: “I am the LORD, I change not” (Malachi 3:6). As A. W. Pink observes, “God cannot change for the better, for He is perfect; and being perfect, He cannot change for the worse.” According to Stephen Charnock, the existence of God is the foundation of all religion. Scripture presupposes his existence from its opening words: “In the beginning God…” (Genesis 1:1). God is the great reality, an absolute personality, the Creator and Redeemer of humankind. He is infinitely wise and all‑knowing—omniscient (cf. Psalm 147:4–5). Isaac Watts captures this beautifully in poetic form: “He formed the stars, those heavenly flames, He counts their numbers, calls their names; His wisdom’s vast, and knows no bound, A deep where all our thoughts are drowned.”

God is also almighty—omnipotent. “There is power in God to lay prostrate the whole world … whenever it may please him” (John Calvin). Scripture declares, “I am the Almighty God” (Genesis 17:1). He is also holy: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:3). “No attribute of God is more dreadful to sinners than his holiness” (Matthew Henry). The Father is holy, the Son is holy, and the Spirit is holy (cf. Revelation 4:8; Acts 3:14). Holiness is the very “Godness” of God; even sinless angels veil their faces before him (Isaiah 6:2). The more we approach true holiness, the closer we come to divinity. To be holy is to be divine. As a person grows in holiness—meaning Christlikeness, moral purity, love, humility, and alignment with God’s will—they increasingly reflect the character of God. They do not become divine, but they participate more fully in God’s life and the divine nature.

God is also just—scrupulously fair in all his dealings with humanity. “Whenever you hear the glory of God mentioned, think also of his justice” (Calvin). He always does what is right (cf. Deuteronomy 32:4). Whatever God does is just by virtue of his perfect nature. Yet he is not only just; he is also good. “O taste and see that the LORD is good” (Psalm 34:8). When the Lord revealed himself to Moses, he proclaimed his goodness, mercy, and steadfast love (Exodus 34:6–7). Scripture also declares, “God is love” (1 John 4:8). Annie Johnson Flint expresses this truth memorably: “His love has no limits, His grace has no measure, His power no boundary known unto men; For out of His infinite riches in Jesus, He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.” Finally, God is faithful and true. “Nothing is deemed more precious by God than truth” (Calvin). He is the embodiment of truth. Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Contra postmodernism, if God exists, truth exists, for he is the truth. Objective reality is grounded in the character of God.

The Nicene Creed defines God as the Creator of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. Heaven may refer to the starry heavens above (Genesis 1:14–18) or the highest heaven where God dwells with his saints and angels (1 Kings 8:30; Hebrews 12:22). Earth encompasses everything beneath heaven. The visible includes what we can see, hear, smell, taste, and touch; the invisible includes the microscopically small and, more importantly, spiritual beings such as angels and demons (Hebrews 1:14; Ephesians 6:12). Christian theology teaches that God creates ex nihilo—“out of nothing.” He does not shape pre‑existing matter like a Platonic demiurge; rather, he brings all things into being by the power of his word: “For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast” (Psalm 33:9). “The creation is both a monument of God’s power and a looking glass in which we may see His wisdom” (Thomas Watson). “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1). Creation testifies to its Creator. Paul affirms this in Romans: “The invisible things of him… are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made” (Romans 1:20). The fingerprints of God are imprinted on creation, leaving humanity without excuse on the Day of Judgment.

Two philosophical arguments relate to the doctrine of creation. The first is the cosmological argument, which asks why the universe exists at all. It is often expressed as follows: “Everything that begins to exist has a cause. The universe began to exist. Therefore, the universe has a cause.” This argument appeals to common‑sense causation and is supported by scientific evidence suggesting a cosmic beginning (e.g. the Big Bang Theory). Yet it raises questions about whether the first cause must be divine or whether an infinite regress is impossible. The second argument is “from design,” also known as the teleological argument. Advocates of intelligent design argue that complexity, fine‑tuning, and order in the universe point to an intelligent designer. William Paley famously illustrated this with his watchmaker analogy in his book Natural Theology (1802). Modern versions of this argument note that physical constants are precisely calibrated for life; even minute changes would render the universe uninhabitable. Some argue that evolution by natural selection (as taught by Darwin in his book On the Origin of Species, 1859) explains biological complexity. Yet many theistic philosophers and Christian scientists accept progressive creationism, while also pointing to the irreducible complexity of biological systems such as molecular machines and mammalian cells. For example, the human cell is vastly more complex than Paley’s watch, yet we are asked to believe it arose by chance – this is something many Christians find difficult to accept. The telos of creation should evoke a sense of awe and wonder. This is what many Christians instinctively feel as they admire the beauty and intricacy of God’s creation. Creation should lead us to worship God in spirit and in truth. The hymnwriter captures this idea of Christian worship in a nutshell: “All creatures of our God and King, Lift up your voice and with us sing: Alleluia! Alleluia! Thou burning sun with golden beam, Thou silver moon with softer gleam, O praise Him, O praise Him, Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!”

2.     And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father; by whom all things were made.

Christology stands at the very heart of the Nicene Creed: “We believe … in one Lord Jesus Christ.” The New Testament describes Jesus as Lord (kyrios), the Greek equivalent of the divine name YHWH. In other words, Jesus is YHWH—he is God (cf. Philippians 2:11; Romans 10:9–13). As Oswald Chambers observes, “The characteristics of God Almighty are mirrored for us in Jesus Christ. Therefore, if we want to know what God is like we must study Jesus Christ.” This is because the Son is “the brightness of the Father’s glory and the express image of his person” (Hebrews 1:3). Ambrose of Milan explains: “As the print of the seal on the wax is the express image of the seal itself, so Christ is the express image—the perfect representation—of God.” Jesus is also YHWH in relation to salvation. He is Jehovah Jesus. His name means “YHWH saves” or “the LORD is salvation.” The angel declares to Joseph concerning Mary: “Thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). His title Christ (Christos) means “Messiah” or “Anointed One.” Jesus is the long‑awaited Messiah promised to Israel (cf. Psalm 2:2; John 1:41). As Messiah, he is anointed to the threefold office (munus triplex) of Prophet (munus propheticum), Priest (munus sacerdotale), and King (munus regium). The Heidelberg Catechism beautifully interprets the Messianic title in light of this threefold office: 

“Why is He called Christ, that is, Anointed? Because He is ordained of God the Father, and anointed with the Holy Ghost, to be our chief Prophet and Teacher, who fully reveals to us the secret counsel and will of God concerning our redemption; to be our only High Priest, who by the one sacrifice of His body has redeemed us, and who continually intercedes for us before the Father; and to be our eternal King, who governs us by His Word and Spirit, and who defends and preserves us in the salvation He has purchased for us.” 

Christ is our Prophet, revealing the Father to us by his Word and Spirit (John 1:18; 14:24). He is our High Priest, offering himself as the perfect sacrifice for sin and continually interceding for us (Hebrews 7:25; 9:11–14). He is our eternal King, ruling and defending his people (Psalm 2:6; Revelation 19:16).

The Creed further describes Jesus as “the only begotten Son of God,” echoing the famous words of John 3:16. It affirms that the Son is eternally begotten of the Father— “begotten before all worlds.” As J. A. Bengel notes, “He who sees the Son sees the Father in the face of Christ. The Son exactly represents and reflects the Father.” This eternal “begetting” does not imply that Christ had a beginning. Rather, it expresses the Son’s eternal relationship to the Father. He is “begotten, not made”—not a creature, as Arius taught, but the Father’s coequal and coeternal Son (cf. John 1:1–2; 5:26). The Creed poetically describes the Son as “Light of Light.” The Father is the fons divinitatis, the fount of deity within the Trinity—not in time, but in eternity. Just as light radiates from the sun, so the Son eternally radiates from the Father. The Son is the radiance of the Father’s glory (Hebrews 1:3). The light that shines from the sun is of the same nature as the sun itself; likewise, the Son shares the same divine essence as the Father. William Bridge captures this truth: “God is best known in Christ; the sun is not seen but by the light of the sun.” The Creed continues by arguing that Jesus is “very God of very God.” John’s Gospel opens with the majestic declaration: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1–3). Jesus Christ is eternal God—already existing from before the creation of the world (John 8:58; Genesis 1:1; Proverbs 8:22–31). He is the Logos, the divine Word who perfectly expresses God’s nature and character (Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3). He reveals the Father and his eternal purposes (John 1:18; 14:9). He was with the Father in a unique relationship from all eternity, distinct in person yet one in divine essence (John 17:5, 24). As such, he is the proper object of worship and adoration (John 20:28; Philippians 2:6; Revelation 5:12–14).

According to the Creed, the Son is consubstantial—“of one essence”—with God the Father. Jesus himself says, “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30). “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9). “He that seeth me seeth him that sent me” (John 12:45). He also declares that “the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do” (John 5:19). Paul affirms that Christ is “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). The writer to the Hebrews says he is “the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person” (Hebrews 1:3). The Creed concludes this section by affirming that Christ is the one “by whom all things were made.” He is the Creator of the entire universe, including angels, demons, and humanity (John 1:10; Colossians 1:16–17; Hebrews 1:2, 10–12). In other words, Christ is not a created being—as Arius claimed—but the Creator himself. All things were made by him, through him, and for him – to the praise of his eternal glory.

3.     Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost and of the Virgin Mary, and was made man.

The prologue to John’s Gospel expresses the mystery of the incarnation with striking clarity: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). These are words worthy of being written in gold. The Lord Jesus Christ truly became man—consubstantial with us according to his humanity. John’s language is deliberately down to earth: the eternal Word became flesh. He took on real human nature—meat, bone, blood, and sinew. He now possesses a human heart, a human brain, human organs, and a fully human physiology. He has a human mind, human emotions, and human affections. He is psychologically human in every way. He is “touched with the feeling of our infirmities,” being like us in every respect, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). He was born “in the likeness of sinful flesh” (Romans 8:3), yet remained himself personally sinless. Perfect God, perfect man. John Calvin captures this beautifully: “Christ voluntarily took upon himself everything that is inseparable from human nature.” He is at once very God of very God and truly man according to his human nature. He is God in the flesh—God veiled, as it were, under the covering of humanity. He is God incognito, as Luther famously taught.

The Creed gives the reason for the incarnation: “for us men and for our salvation.” Athanasius famously wrote, “Christ became what we are that He might make us what He is.” This Athanasian insight expresses the doctrine of theosis or divinization: what Christ has not assumed, he has not healed. Because he assumed the fullness of human nature, he is able to redeem humanity completely. By uniting human nature to his divine person, Christ ennobles and restores it, raising fallen humanity to communion with God and granting us adoption as sons and daughters of the Father (Galatians 4:4–7). Through union with Christ, believers become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). Christians are not merely called to follow God, but to be transformed into his likeness (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18) – to become imitators of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Given that Jesus Christ is truly man—with a true human heart—he is able to sympathize with us. Because he is truly God, he is mighty to save us. B. B. Warfield captures this dual truth magnificently: “The glory of the incarnation is that it presents to our adoring gaze not a humanized God or a deified man, but a true God‑man [Greek Theanthropos]—one who is all that God is and at the same time all that man is: one on whose almighty arm we can rest and to whose human sympathy we can appeal.” Christ remains fully human even now, after his ascension and during his heavenly session. Hebrews describes him as our Great High Priest who intercedes for us and who understands our weakness (Hebrews 4:14–16; 7:25). Jesus knows exactly what it is to be human. He understands our frailty, our temptations, our sorrows, and our limitations—yet he himself remained without sin.

Not only was Christ incarnate, but he was born of a virgin. Mary is known theologically as Theotokos—the “God‑bearer” or “mother of God.” She did not give birth to a mere human being, but to God the Son in human flesh (Luke 1:35). His humanity was taken from the Virgin Mary; his divinity is eternal, begotten of the Father before all ages. Thomas Watson writes, “As bread is made of wheat and wine is made of grapes, so Christ is made of a woman. His body was part of the flesh and substance of the virgin.” Jesus is fully God—consubstantial with the Father and the Spirit—and fully man, born of the Virgin Mary. These two natures exist in the one person of Christ “without confusion, without change, without division, and without separation,” as the Council of Chalcedon declared. The divine and human natures are not blended into a third thing, nor is Christ a hybrid being. There is no subtraction of divinity in the incarnation—only the addition of humanity. Jesus is not two persons or two Christs, but one person with two natures. These natures, once united, can never be divided. He is the God‑man for all eternity. The prophet Isaiah foretold the virgin birth centuries before its fulfilment: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). Mary was indeed a virgin when she conceived Jesus. She had never known a man. “Before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 1:18). The conception—not the birth—was miraculous. Jesus’ birth was entirely normal; his conception was entirely divine. Other passages affirm this truth (Matthew 1:22–25; Luke 1:26–27, 34–35). Jesus was conceived by the sovereign power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of a virgin—even Mary, the Mother of God. This mystery should evoke our deepest worship. Charles Wesley expressed it with poetic wonder: “Let earth and heaven combine, Angels and men agree, To praise in songs divine, The incarnate Deity, Our God contracted to a span, Incomprehensibly made man.”

4.     He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried, and the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

Pontius Pilate is, at first glance, a strange name to encounter in a creed concerned with Christian theology. Yet his inclusion serves a vital purpose: it anchors the crucifixion of Christ in real history. Jesus was crucified in the concrete reality of space and time, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea from approximately 26–36 AD under Emperor Tiberius (42 BC–AD 37). The truths of Christianity are fundamentally rooted in history. These things really happened. We are dealing with facts. They are not timeless myths or abstract spiritual principles, but events that unfolded in the real world as surely as any other historical fact. Jesus Christ suffered—He suffered degradation at the hands of both Roman and Jewish authorities (Mark 15:15; John 19:1–16). He was crucified—nailed to a cross—for human sin (1 Peter 2:24). As John Calvin memorably wrote, “There is no tribunal so magnificent, no throne so stately, no show of triumph so distinguished, no chariot so elevated as is the gibbet on which Christ has subdued death and the devil.” He was buried; they laid Him in a tomb (Matthew 27:59–60). He died in the reality of history. But He did not remain dead. On the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3–8). The best news the world has ever heard came from a graveyard. As the hymnwriter Samuel Medley exults: “I know that my Redeemer lives! What joy the blest assurance gives! He lives, He lives, who once was dead; He lives, my everlasting Head!” Remember that these events took place while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea. We are dealing with history here, not legend, not myth. As A. W. Tozer insisted, “The resurrection of Christ and the fact of the empty tomb are not [just] part of the world’s complex and continuing mythologies. This is not a Santa Claus tale – it is history, and it is reality.” The Nicene Creed therefore anchors our redemption in the realm of fact, not in mythology, or legend. Pilate’s name safeguards the truth that Christ died at a particular time, in a particular place, within a particular political context. The Christian gospel insists that salvation is not merely a theological idea but an historical event.

Regarding His death, the Creed insists that it was “for us” (Romans 5:8; Galatians 2:20). In other words, it was a substitutionary death. Jesus died in our place; He was condemned in the sinner’s stead (Isaiah 53:5–6). The crucifixion was not accident or a tragedy—it was the intentional, vicarious, and salvific sacrifice of the Son of God for the salvation of the whole world (John 10:15–18). Theologians have called this a penal substitutionary sacrifice. This means that Christ bears our guilt and suffers our punishment (2 Corinthians 5:21). It is penal in terms of Christ suffering our punishment. It is substitutionary in the fact that Christ takes our place. This does not exclude other biblical motifs. In the Christus Victor model, Christ defeats sin, death, and the devil (Colossians 2:15). In terms of moral suasion, the atonement also has an impact upon us as we behold divine love and respond with repentance and faith (1 John 4:9–11). In summary, the cross is God’s self-giving love in action, whereby He assumes the guilt of our sin and suffers the penalty due to us, bringing full redemption, pardon, and forgiveness to God’s elect people (Ephesians 1:7). As Cecil Frances Alexander wrote: “He died that we might be forgiven, He died to make us good; that we might go at last to heaven, saved by His precious blood.”

The Creed affirms the reality of Jesus’s suffering to counter early heresies such as Docetism, which denied His true humanity. If Christ were not truly human, He could not truly suffer. But He did suffer—physically, emotionally, and spiritually (Hebrews 4:15; Matthew 26:38). He knows the depths of human pain. He has been there. He understands your reality in this broken world. There is a profound solidarity between Christ and the believer in human suffering. His burial confirms that Jesus did not merely appear to die. He did not swoon or faint. He was confirmed dead and was buried (John 19:33–42). He faced death—the great enemy of humanity—and endured it for us (1 Corinthians 15:26). His burial sets the stage for His resurrection and victory over sin, death, and hell. But Jesus Christ did not stay dead. Praise God! He is not dead! On the third day He rose again (Luke 24:7). His resurrection was a historical event, witnessed and proclaimed by His disciples; a theological event, in which the Father vindicated the Son (Romans 1:4); and an eschatological event as the first fruits of the new creation and of the future resurrection of God’s people (1 Corinthians 15:20–23). All of this was “according to the Scriptures,” meaning it fulfilled God’s long-promised plan of redemption stretching back to the protoevangelium of Genesis 3:15: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman…” The hymnwriter captures its essence: “Bruised was the dragon by the Son, Though two had wounds, there conquered One – and Jesus was His name” (William Williams, Pantycelyn).

Not only did Christ rise again—He also ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9–11). This was not His departure from humanity, for He sent the Holy Spirit to be with us (John 14:16–18), but His enthronement at the right hand of God. The ascension marks the transition from His earthly ministry (humiliation) to His heavenly kingship (exaltation). Jesus Christ is not an absent deity but an enthroned Saviour. He now sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty (Hebrews 1:3). The right hand of God signifies power, rule, and honour (Psalm 110:1). Christ reigns over all earthly powers (Ephesians 1:20–22). His work of atonement is finished—He has sat down. He intercedes continually as High Priest for His redeemed people (Hebrews 7:25). He pours out the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:33). He rules and reigns over all as sovereign Lord of heaven and earth. My friends, we live in the day of grace, in the light of the resurrection, Jesus is not dead – He is alive, and by His Spirit He effectually applies redemption to our hearts (Titus 3:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:3). “In His life Christ is an example showing us how to live; in His death, He is a sacrifice satisfying for our sins; in His resurrection, a conqueror; in His ascension, a king; [and] in His intercession, a [great] High Priest” (Martin Luther).

5.     From thence He shall come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead, and whose Kingdom shall have no end.

This article follows naturally from the previous one, showing its continuity with the theology already expounded. Jesus is said to come again “from thence”—that is, from the right hand of the Father (Acts 2:33; Hebrews 1:3). Though it has engendered much controversy, eschatology is an essential doctrine of the Christian faith. We must insist that Christ will come bodily a second time to judge the living and the dead (2 Timothy 4:1). The evangelical Bishop J. C. Ryle captures the contrast between Christ’s first advent (his humiliation) and His second advent (or exaltation) in a nutshell:

“The second coming of Christ shall be utterly unlike the first. He came the first time in weakness, a tender infant, born of a poor woman in the manger at Bethlehem, unnoticed, unhonoured, and scarcely known. He shall come the second time in royal dignity, with the armies of heaven around him, to be known, recognized, and feared, by all the tribes of the earth. He came the first time to suffer – to bear our sins, to be reckoned a curse, to be despised, rejected, unjustly condemned, and slain. He shall come a second time to reign – to put down every enemy beneath his feet, to take the kingdoms of this world for his inheritance, to rule them with righteousness, to judge all men, and to live forevermore.”

Christ will return from His present heavenly session to judge all humanity with justice and fairness. He will come from the right hand of God the Father Almighty, not from a place of obscurity or weakness as with his first advent. His second coming continues the theme of exaltation that includes His resurrection (Romans 1:4), ascension (Acts 1:9), and return in glory (Matthew 25:31) to judge the living and the dead. This means that Christ’s reign is ongoing—“already, but not yet”. He is already reigning in heaven at the right hand of God (1 Corinthians 15:25), but His Parousia is not yet fully accomplished. Christ will establish His kingdom throughout the world through the preaching of the Gospel (Matthew 24:14), through authentic revivals of religion as Jonathan Edwards famously taught, and through the establishment of His millennial kingdom on earth (Revelation 20:1–6) prior to his return. This belief in a post-millennial return of Christ was dubbed by Iain Murray as “the Puritan hope”, since many Puritan and Reformed divines believed that Christ would build His kingdom on earth spiritually through His reign in the hearts of His elect people prior to his bodily return in glory to judge the living and the dead. While you may differ with me on matters of eschatology, we can both agree to one certainty: Jesus is coming back with glory and power to judge all humanity.

Following the spiritual reign of Christ during the millennium, Jesus will return bodily to earth with glory. Where the first advent was marked by humility (Philippians 2:6–8), the second is marked by majesty (Revelation 19:11–16). His return will be: visible—not hidden, symbolic, or merely spiritual (Revelation 1:7); literal, physical, and bodily—from heaven to earth (Acts 1:11); majestic—displaying the splendor of the King (Titus 2:13); and vindicating—revealing who Christ is as the Lord of heaven and earth (Philippians 2:9–11). His return will not mark His abandonment of the world but the consummation of His redemptive work for the cosmos (Romans 8:19–23). He will restore all things and establish a new heaven and a new earth wherein righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1–5). The purpose of His second coming will be “to judge the living and the dead.” In this regard, judgment is an essential part of the Gospel message (Acts 17:31). You cannot preach heaven without hell. Jesus is a most righteous and holy Judge (John 5:22). One day, everyone’s deeds will be brought to light (Romans 2:16). We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10) and give an account for the way we have lived (Romans 14:12). Christ will judge fairly; none will go to everlasting perdition unjustly.

Jesus Christ, as the God‑Man, is perfectly righteous and perfectly compassionate (Hebrews 4:15). Those who have loved Him in life will reign with Him in glory (2 Timothy 2:12). While those who have rejected Him in life will be rejected by Him in death (Matthew 7:23). Jesus is not an unsympathetic Judge: as a real man, He knows the human condition from within. He is also the One who bore judgment for His people (Isaiah 53:5–6). To borrow an idea from the Swiss Reformed theologian Karl Barth, Jesus was the “Judge judged in our place.” He knows what it is to come under the righteous indignation of a holy God, for He drank the cup of wrath of God to the dregs (Matthew 26:39; John 18:11). The phrase “the living and the dead” refers to all people universally—those who have died and those who are alive when Christ returns (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17). It speaks of equity: all will be measured by the same divine standard. It speaks of hope: wrongs will be righted, justice restored, and creation liberated from its bondage to corruption (Romans 8:21). Judgment is not merely punitive but also restorative. There is a new heaven and new earth awaiting those who have loved the Lord Jesus (Revelation 21:7). There is a heaven for believers, and a hell for the unrepentant and unregenerate (Matthew 25:46). Though it pains me even to mention it, Scripture nonetheless speaks of a place of outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:12), a lake of fire (Revelation 20:14–15), where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:48)—an eternal hell and final judgment for the reprobate, the devil, and all his angels (Revelation 20:10, 14–15). For the elect, there is eternal happiness with Christ in a kingdom that shall have no end (Luke 1:33).

The Nicene Creed reflects Daniel 7 and Luke 1:33 in its affirmation that the kingdom of the Son of God is an everlasting kingdom. It is unshakeable (Hebrews 12:28), universal—spanning heaven and earth (Psalm 103:19), and Life‑giving—marked by righteousness, peace, and joy (Romans 14:17). The tree of life will be there (Revelation 22:2), and the whole kingdom will be resplendent with holiness and everlasting joy. One hymnwriter says exquisitely: “The Lamb is all the glory in Immanuel’s land” (Anne Ross Cousin). Jesus is the heart of heaven. Those who have loved Jesus in life, will love him eternally in heaven. Frances Ridley Havergal beautifully expresses this eschatological hope: “Oh, the joy to see Thee reigning, Thee, my own beloved Lord! Every tongue Thy name confessing, Worship, honour, glory, blessing, Brought to Thee with glad accord—Thee, my Master and my Friend, Vindicated and enthroned, Unto earth’s remotest end, Glorified, adored, and owned!”

6.     And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets.

The Calvinistic Baptist preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon once remarked, “A dead creed is of no use; we must have our creed baptized with the Holy Ghost.” As we approach the doctrine of the Holy Spirit in the Nicene Creed, we must cultivate hearts that are receptive to the presence and work of the Holy Spirit. The true Christian is one born of the Spirit (John 3:5–8) and sanctified by the Spirit (1 Peter 1:2), whom the Lord Jesus sent into the world after His ascension (John 16:7). He is our Paraclete, our Comforter, Helper, and Friend in the work of the Gospel (John 14:16–17). The Nicene Creed reminds us that the Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force like gravity or electromagnetism. He is a divine Person. Scripture attributes to Him the qualities of personality such as intellect (1 Corinthians 2:10–11), will (1 Corinthians 12:11), emotion (Ephesians 4:30), and personal agency (Acts 13:2). To confess the Spirit is to confess the third Person of the Holy Trinity—fully and eternally God, yet personally distinct from the Father and the Son. The Creed describes the Spirit as “the Lord and Giver of Life.” In calling Him “Lord,” believers place Him unequivocally within the divine identity (2 Corinthians 3:17). Not only is He Lord, but He is also the Giver of Life, reflecting His role in creation, where He hovered over the waters and brought forth life (Genesis 1:2); in providence, where He sustains all living things (Psalm 104:30); and in redemption, where He regenerates and sanctifies God’s elect (Titus 3:5; Galatians 5:22–23). The Spirit gives life in every sphere—cosmic, ecclesial, and personal.

According to the Nicene Creed, the Holy Spirit “proceeds from the Father and the Son.” This refers to His timeless, personal origin within the Godhead. Just as the Son is eternally begotten of the Father, so the Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son (John 15:26; Galatians 4:6). There was never a time when God was without the Spirit, nor the Spirit without God. Procession is a relational, not a temporal, concept. It does not describe something that happened in the Spirit’s past, but who He eternally is in relation to the Father and the Son. Thus, the Spirit is coequal and coeternal with the Father and the Son. The Father is unbegotten; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son. Scripture reveals this much about the inner life of the Triune God, though we confess these things to be deeply mysterious. It is a wise saying of the Dutch Reformed: “The knowledge of God is the knowledge of a mystery” (Herman Bavinck). The Creed continues: “Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified.” Worship belongs to the Spirit because He is God. It is entirely appropriate for Christians to worship and glorify the Holy Spirit, though the ordinary pattern of prayer is to the Father, through the Son, in the power of the Spirit (Ephesians 2:18). The Spirit is not subordinate in essence; He is coequal in deity, coeternal in being, and shares the divine majesty with the Father and the Son (Matthew 28:19; Revelation 1:4). The Creed firmly rejects any form of subordinationism. The Holy Spirit is fully, truly, and eternally God, worthy of the Church’s worship, honour, and adoration.

The Creed also affirms that the Spirit “spoke by the prophets.” The Spirit is a speaking God—the divine author of Holy Scripture. The prophets of the Old Testament spoke as they were “carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). Jesus promised that the Spirit would guide the apostles into all truth (John 16:13). In other words, the entire biblical canon is the work of the Spirit of God. Paul writes to Timothy, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16). The Greek word theopneustos means “God‑breathed”—from Theos (God) and Pneuma (Spirit/Breath). Scripture is therefore the very breath of God the Holy Spirit. The words of the Bible are His words—His voice, His breath. Its authority derives from this divine origin. Spurgeon emphasised the necessity of the Spirit’s work in applying Scripture to the human heart: “Unless the Holy Spirit blesses the Word, we who preach the gospel are of all men most miserable … If the Holy Ghost does not regenerate them, we cannot … We might as well speak to the ear of a corpse.” The Spirit must effectually apply the Word of God to the souls of those who hear it. He must breathe life into dead sinners (Ezekiel 37:4–6). As Spurgeon said, “It were better to speak six words in the power of the Holy Ghost than to preach seventy years of sermons without the Spirit.” Only by the illumination of the Spirit of God can we rightly understand the Word of God (1 Corinthians 2:12–14). Only by His regenerating work can we see the kingdom of heaven (John 3:3–5). Only by His sanctifying power can we enter the holy place of God’s dwelling – for “without holiness no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).

7.     And in one holy catholic and apostolic Church; we acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the glorious life of the world to come. Amen.

The final article of the Nicene Creed gathers together several great theological themes: the identity of the Church, the importance of the sacraments, and the eschatological hope of all believers. It moves from the fellowship of the redeemed in the body of Christ, to the outward means of grace—such as baptism for the remission of sins—and finally to the consummation of all things at the end of the age. This section forms the Creed’s great doxological crescendo. The Creed begins by affirming that there is “One Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.” Outside of this Church there is no ordinary possibility of salvation. If we do not have the Church as our mother, we cannot have God as our Father – so St. Augustine famously argued. The two concepts (church + adoption) go hand in hand. This is not a sociological observation. The visible Church is divided into many denominations—Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant, along with Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Congregationalist, Pentecostal, and Charismatic traditions. Yet the invisible Church, the whole company of God’s elect, is perfectly united in Christ, regardless of visible distinctions. Christ has one body (Ephesians 4:4), one bride (Revelation 19:7), and one flock under one Shepherd (John 10:16). The unity of the Church is not grounded in human organisation but in the Triune God who calls, gathers, and sanctifies His people. “Rabbi” John Duncan, the 19th‑century Scottish Presbyterian theologian, captured this idea beautifully: “I am first a Christian, next a Catholic, then a Calvinist, fourth a Paedobaptist, and fifth a Presbyterian. I cannot reverse the order.” Our identity in Christ must come first; denominational distinctives follow afterwards.

The Church is holy because she belongs to a holy God (1 Peter 2:9), because she is sanctified by the Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:11), and because she is called to live in holiness (Ephesians 1:4). Her holiness is both positional (in Christ) and progressive (in sanctification). “Catholic” means universal—the Church of all times and all places. It is the global community of saints spanning every nation, kindred, people, and tongue (Revelation 7:9; 5:9). Therefore, there is no room for racism, xenophobia, or prejudice in the Church of God. The church is fundamentally a multicultural institution. She proclaims the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27) and makes disciples of all nations. She is not confined to any one culture, denomination, or historical period. The church is a globalised body of saints who love the Lord Jesus and confess his name. The Church is apostolic because she is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets (Ephesians 2:20), she preserves the apostolic faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 3), and continues the apostolic mission (Matthew 28:18–20). From a Protestant perspective, apostolicity is defined not by historical succession alone but by doctrinal fidelity to the teaching of the apostles in Scripture. The Church is essential to Christian life. As Franklin Clark Fry observed, “A person who says he believes in God but never goes to church is like one who says he believes in education but never goes to school.” We must make every effort to attend the means of grace, hear the Word of God preached, partake of the sacraments, participate in prayer, and come under the discipline of the Word.

The Creed next affirms “one baptism for the remission of sins,” echoing Paul’s words: “One Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5). Baptism is the outward sign of inward grace—the sacrament of initiation into the Church and the seal of union with Christ. It signifies the washing away of sins (Acts 22:16), union with Christ in His death and resurrection (Romans 6:3–4), the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38), and incorporation into the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13) As J. C. Ryle notes, “Baptism is an ordinance of great simplicity … The inward part, or thing signified, is that washing in the blood of Christ, and inward cleansing of the heart by the Holy Ghost, without which no one can be saved." However, baptism does not work regeneration ex opere operato, as Roman Catholics and some High Church Anglicans maintain. It is an outward sign of the Spirit’s inward work—a visible token of the forgiveness of sins through the blood of Christ. It is a sign of grace, not grace itself. It is properly and dutifully administered to children of the covenant in Reformed churches.

The Creed concludes with the Church’s eschatological hope: “We look for the resurrection of the dead and the glorious life of the world to come.” Christians do not hope to be disembodied souls forever, but embodied saints in a renewed creation. We believe in the resurrection of the body—a literal, physical resurrection from the grave. As Christ was raised bodily, so shall believers be raised and glorified with Him. This hope was proclaimed by the prophets (Daniel 12:2) in the Old Testament and by Jesus (John 5:28–29) and Paul (1 Corinthians 15:42–44) in the New Testament. According to the apostles and prophets, the resurrection will be physical or bodily — the body raised imperishable; personal — the same person with the same identity is restored and glorified; and corporate — in that all humanity will be summoned before Christ as the Judge of the whole earth. According to the Creed, death is not the end of all being; it is the last enemy to be destroyed (1 Corinthians 15:26). The Creed concludes with the hope of “the life of the world to come.” This is not an ethereal or disembodied existence but a renewed creation—a new heavens and new earth wherein righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1). It will shine with the radiance of God (Revelation 21:23), be free from death and sorrow (Revelation 21:4), and be filled with the glory of the Lamb (Revelation 22:3–4). It will be a place of rest, joy, and perfect peace—the full realisation of ‘shalom’ (Hebrews 4:9).

Conclusion

The Creed ends not with uncertainty, but with a loud “Amen!” – or “So let it be”. It is not merely an ancient formula from our patristic past but is a living and enduring confession that unites believers across all cultures, societies, centuries, and traditions. It certainly reflects the deep doctrinal awareness of the Church Fathers and the theological struggles of the early church in contending for the doctrine of the Trinity and the hypostatic union of the divine and human natures in the person of Christ. It offers a robust understanding of Christology and what it means to confess belief in a Triune God. Whether recited in a cathedral, a small gathering, or silently in prayer, the Creed speaks with a living voice and draws Christians back to the essential truths of the Gospel that transcend denominational barriers. To confess the Creed is to stand in continuity with generation upon generation of Christian believers engaging in a shared language of faith, grounding worship in robust theology, shaping ecclesiastical identity, and guarding the essential truths of the Gospel against error and heresy. The heart of the faith remains anchored in the same creedal confession: belief in God the Father Almighty, and in the Son Jesus Christ our Lord, and in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life – one God in three persons, forever. To whom be glory, honour, and dominion. World without end. Amen.

References & Recommended Reading

N.B. The theological works recommending in the following bibliography represent the best available literature to the Christian believer within the Protestant and Reformed Tradition. If you want to delve deeper into the theology of the Christian faith, I recommend you familiarize yourself with these particular works listed below – especially those highlighted with an asterisk.  

Allison, Greg R., Historical Theology: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine (Zondervan, 2011).

Barrett, Matthrew (ed.), On Classical Trinitarianism: Retrieving the Nicene Doctrine of the Triune God (IVP Academic, 2024).*

Barth, Karl, Dogmatics in Outline (SCM Press, 2001).

Barth, Karl, Evangelical Theology: An Introduction (Eerdmans, 1979).

Barth, Karl, The Epistle to the Romans (OUP, 1968).

Bavinck, Herman, Reformed Dogmatics (4 vols) (Baker Academic, 2003–08).*

Berkhof, Louis, Systematic Theology (Eerdmans, 1996).*

Bird, Michael F., Evangelical Theology: A Biblical and Systematic Introduction (Zondervan Academic, 2020).

Boettner, Loraine, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination (Presbyterian and Reformed, 1932).

Bray, Gerald, God is Love: A Biblical and Systematic Theology (Crossway, 2012).

Calvin, John, The Institutes of the Christian Religion (Hendrickson, 2008).*

Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology (Hendrickson, 1999).

Charnock, Stephen, The Existence and Attributes of God (2 vols) (Crossway, 2022).

Dabney, R. L. Systematic Theology (Banner of Truth, 1985).

Daniel Curt, The History and Theology of Calvinism (Evangelical Press, 2020).

Dixhoorn, Chad Van (ed.), Creeds, Confessions, & Catechisms: A Reader’s Edition (Crossway, 2022).*

Ericson, Millard J., Christian Theology (Baker Academic, 2013).

Frame, John, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief (Presbyterian and Reformed, 2013).

Genderen, J. Van, and Velema, W. H., Concise Reformed Dogmatics (Presbyterian and Reformed, 2008).

Grudem, Wayne, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (IVP, 2020).

Heppe, Heinrich, Reformed Dogmatics (Wakeman Classics, 2000).

Hoeksema, Herman, Reformed Dogmatics (2 vols) (Reformed Free Publishing Association, 2004–05).

Horton, Michael, The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way (Zondervan, 2011).*

Karkkainen, Veli-Matti, Christian Theology in the Pluralistic World: A Global Introduction (Eerdmans, 2019).

Letham, Robert, Systematic Theology (Crossway, 2019).*

Letham, Robert, The Holy Trinity: In Scripture, History, Theology, and Worship (Presbyterian and Reformed, 2004).

Lloyd-Jones, Martyn, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount (Eerdmans, 1959 – 60).

Machen, J. Gresham, Christianity and Liberalism (Macmillan, 1923).

Macleod, Donald, A Faith to Live By (Christian Focus, 1998).

McGrath, Alister E., and Matthew Thomas, Christian Theology: An Introduction (Wiley Blackwell, 2025).*

Milne, Bruce, Know the Truth: A Handbook of Christian Belief (IVP, 2009).

Muller, Richard A., Post-Reformation Reformed Dogmatics (4 vols) (Baker Academic, 2003–04).

Murray, Iain, The Puritan Hope: A Study of Revival and the Interpretation of Prophecy (Banner of Truth, 1975). 

Murray, John, Collected Writings (Banner of Truth, 1982).  

Murray, John, Redemption Accomplished and Applied (Eerdmans, 1955).

Needham, Nick, 2000 Years of Christ’s Power (5 vols) (Christian Focus, 1997–2021).

Packer, J. I., Fundamentalism and the Word of God (Eerdmans, 1958).

Packer, J. I., Knowing God (Hodder and Stoughton, 1973).

Pelikan, Jaroslav, The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine (5 vols) (University of Chicago Press, 1971–89).

Pink, A. W., The Sovereignty of God (Baker Book House, 1930).

Ryle, J. C., Holiness (James Clarke & Co., 1879).

Shedd, William G. T., Dogmatic Theology (Presbyterian and Reformed, 2003).

Stott, John, The Cross of Christ (IVP, 1986)

Thiselton, Anthony C., Systematic Theology (SPCK, 2015).

Turretin, Francis, Institutes of Elenctic Theology (Presbyterian and Reformed, 1992–97)

Van Til, Cornelius, An Introduction to Systematic Theology (Presbyterian and Reformed, 1997).

Vos, Geerhardus, Reformed Dogmatics: A System of Christian Theology (Lexham Press, 2012–16).

Watson, Thomas, A Body of Divinity (Banner of Truth, 1958).*

Webster, John, Kathryn Tanner, Iain Torrance (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Systematic Theology (OUP, 2007).

Whilhemus A Brakel, The Christian’s Reasonable Service (4 vols) (Reformation Heritage Books, 1992–95).*

Young, Edward J., Thy Word is Truth: Some Thoughts on the Biblical Doctrine of Inspiration (Banner of Truth, 1963).