1. Introduction
The
word ‘Creed’ comes from the Latin credo meaning ‘I believe’. In other
words, a Creed is summary statement of one’s personal 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 Church, Protestantism, and Eastern Orthodoxy. 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 urges 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 book is to expound the
teachings of the three major ecumenical Creeds and the Chalcedonian definition
of the hypostatic union. Given that there is some overlap between each Creed,
some repetition may be inevitable, though I have tried to keep this to a
minimum. The text of each Creed and of the Chalcedonian definition has been
drawn from Chad Van Dixhoorn’s excellent book Creeds, Confessions, and
Catechisms: A Reader’s Edition (Wheaton, IL, 2022).
2. 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 heaven, 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.
Introduction
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 – 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 of 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 or Redeemer.
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 the
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, our Sanctifier. 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.
3. 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, God of God, Light of Light, very
God or very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by
whom all things were made. Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down
from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was
made man; and was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered, and was
buried, and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and
ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and he shall
come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall
have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, 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 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 as J. B. Phillips famously said,
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. And this cause is God”. The cosmological 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, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not
made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.
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 Spirit
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] And was
crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried; and the
third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven,
and sits on the right hand of the Father.
As was already mentioned
in our chapter on the Apostles’ Creed, 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] And shall
come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead; 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 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 splendour 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 Spirit, 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 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. As Jesus famously said, “Suffer
little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the
kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 19:14).
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 Nicene 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.
4.
The Athanasian Creed
Whoever
desires to be saved should above all hold to the catholic faith. Anyone who
does not keep it whole and unbroken will doubtless perish eternally. Now this
is the catholic faith: that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in unity,
neither confounding their persons nor dividing the essence. For the person of
the Father is a distinct person, the person of the Son is another, and that of
the Holy Spirit still another. But the divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit is one, the glory equal, the majesty coeternal. Such as the Father is,
such is the Son and such is the Holy Spirit. The Father is uncreated, the Son
is uncreated, the Holy Spirit is uncreated. The Father is immeasurable, the Son
is immeasurable, the Holy Spirit is immeasurable. The Father is eternal, the
Son is eternal, the Holy Spirit is eternal. And yet there are not three eternal
beings; there is but one eternal being. So too there are not three uncreated or
immeasurable beings; there is but one uncreated and immeasurable being.
Similarly, the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, and the Holy Spirit is
almighty. Yet there are not three almighty beings; there is but one almighty
being. Thus, the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. Yet
there are not three gods; there is but one God. Thus the Father is Lord, the
Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord. Yet there are not three lords; there is
but one Lord. Just as Christian truth compels us to confess each person
individually as both God and Lord, so catholic religion forbids us to say that
there are three gods or lords. The Father was neither made nor created nor
begotten from anyone. The Son was neither made nor created; he was begotten
from the Father alone. The Holy Spirit was neither made nor created nor begotten;
he proceeds from the Father and the Son. Accordingly, there is one Father, not
three fathers; there is one Son, not three sons; there is one Holy Spirit, not
three holy spirits. None in this Trinity is before or after, none is greater or
smaller; in their entirety the three persons are coeternal and coequal with
each other. So in everything, as was said earlier, the unity in Trinity, and
the Trinity in unity, is to be worshipped. Anyone who desires to be saved
should think thus about the Trinity. But it is necessary for eternal salvation
that one also believe in the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ faithfully. Now
this is the true faith: that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ,
God’s Son, is both God and man, equally. He is God from the essence of the
Father, begotten before time; and he is man from the essence of his mother,
born in time; completely God, completely man, with a rational soul and human
flesh; equal to the Father as regards divinity, less than the Father as regards
humanity. Although he is God and man, yet Christ is not two, but one. He is
one, however, not by his divinity being turned into flesh, but by God’s taking
humanity to himself. He is one, certainly not by the blending of his essence,
but by the unity of his person. For just as one man is both rational and flesh,
so too the one Christ is both God and man. He suffered for our salvation; he
descended to hell; he arose from the dead on the third day; he ascended to
heaven; he is seated at the Father’s right hand; from there he will come to
judge the living and the dead. At his coming all people will arise bodily and
give an account of their own deeds. Those who have done good will enter eternal
life, and those who have done evil will enter eternal fire. This is the
catholic faith: that one cannot be saved without believing it firmly and
faithfully.
Introduction
The
Athanasian Creed was probably not written by the church father Athanasius,
though it arguably reflects his theology concerning the Holy Trinity and the
hypostatic union in the person of Jesus Christ. The Creed opens by arguing that
it is necessary to hold the doctrines of the catholic or universal faith particularly
of the Holy Trinity and the incarnation in order to be saved: ‘Whoever desires
to be saved should above all hold to the catholic faith. Anyone who does not
keep it whole and unbroken will doubtless perish eternally’. This does not necessarily
mean that a believer must be able to perfectly articulate the doctrines as we
might expect of a theologian or Christian pastor, so long as the essence of the
creedal statement is received by a living faith. We are not saved by how much
or how well we can articulate theology – an erroneous viewpoint known as
doctrinal regeneration. We are saved by faith in Christ who is the redeemer of
God’s elect. While some basic knowledge is necessary for salvation, the principal
concern of Scripture is that we lay hold of Christ and believe his word for
salvation.
There is a very real danger of eternal
damnation for those who reject the principles of the catholic or universal
faith, as the opening ‘damnatory clauses’ teach. We must remember that it was
gentle Jesus, meek and mild, who described hell as a place of ‘outer darkness’ where
there will be ‘weeping and gnashing of teeth’ (Matthew 8:12, 22:13; 25:30), and
where ‘their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched’ (Mark 9:48; cf.
Isaiah 66:24). He also speaks of hell as a place of ‘everlasting fire, prepared
for the devil and his angels’ (Matthew 25:41). Similarly, the apostle John,
often known as the apostle of love, refers to the doctrine of hell as a place
of eternal punishment for the reprobate, the devil, and all the fallen angels (Revelation
14:11; 20:10). All of this should impress upon us the seriousness of receiving
the articles of the Creed by faith. The whole purpose of the Christian faith is
to redeem us from the curse of a broken law that we might not come under the
damnation or anathema of a holy and righteous God. The doctrine of the Trinity lies
at the heart of the Athanasian Creed and its message of good news and hope for
humankind. According to the Creed, there are three persons in the Godhead: God
the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. These three distinct persons
are one God, equal in majesty, in power, and in glory. The diagram shown below
is known as the ‘shield of the Trinity’ (or Scutum Fidei) and usefully illustrates the key
doctrines of the Athanasian Creed: the Father is God, the Son is God, and the
Holy Spirit is God, each person is fully and truly God. However, the Father is
not the Son, the Son is not the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is not the
Father, since they are each distinct persons, yet there is only one God.
(Figure 1: The Shield of the Trinity)
While
no diagram of the Trinity is going to perfectly capture the mystery at the
heart of the doctrine of the Trinity, it nonetheless helpfully illustrates the
key doctrines of the Athanasian Creed. The Creed argues that the attributes of
God – such as his uncreated nature, his immensity, his eternity, his
omnipotence, and his sovereignty – are shared by each of the three persons. The
Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated, the Holy Spirit is uncreated, yet
there is only one uncreated being. The Father is immense, the Son is immense,
and the Holy Spirit is immense, yet there is only one immense being. The Father
is eternal, the Son is eternal, and the Holy Spirit is eternal, yet there is
only one eternal being. The Father is omnipotent, the Son is omnipotent, and
the Holy Spirit is omnipotent, yet there is only one omnipotent being. The
Father is sovereign, the Son is sovereign, and the Holy Spirit is sovereign,
yet there is only one sovereign being. Each of the three persons participate
fully in every attribute we ascribe to God. They are coequal in aseity,
immensity, eternity, omnipotence, and sovereignty. God the Son is just as
powerful and as glorious as God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit is just as
glorious and as powerful as the Father and the Son.
The Athanasian Creed also explores the
doctrine of the hypostatic union or the union of the divine and human natures
in the singular person of Christ – more will be said about this ‘two natures,
one person’ doctrine when we come to consider the Chalcedonian Definition. While
remaining eternally God, the Lord Christ assumed human nature and became a man
of true body and reasonable soul. As the church fathers would say: ‘For that
which He has not assumed He has not healed; but that which is united to His
Godhead is also saved’ (St. Gregory of Nazianzus). In other words, Christ had
to assume human nature entirely in order to redeem lost humanity from sin. He
had to be a fully divine and a fully human redeemer. By uniting the divine
nature with the human nature, Christ has ennobled and dignified human nature,
lifting humanity above the angelic host, even toward being ‘partakers of the
divine nature’, as 2 Peter 1:4 argues. This is known in Eastern Orthodoxy as theosis
or divinization. It is generally understood in Western theology in terms of the
mystical union between believers and Christ and the communion and fellowship
enjoyed by Christians with the persons of the Godhead. The atoning work and
sacrifice of Christ is effectual precisely because Christ is a fully divine and
fully human redeemer. He suffered as the God-man. As Charles Wesley exclaimed, ‘Tis
mystery all! The immortal dies! Who can explore this strange design?’ The blood
he shed was human blood, and yet strangely divine. This is why we read in Acts
20:28 that God has purchased the church with ‘his own blood’. It should, however,
be made clear that this refers to the blood of Christ as the second person of
the Holy Trinity, and in the state of incarnation. We should not confuse the
persons of the Father and Son in the economy of the Trinity, lest we become
guilty of patripassianism or the idea that God the Father somehow suffered in
the work of atonement.
This chapter will explore some of the great mysteries of the Christian religion such as the doctrine of the Holy Trinity and the hypostatic union in the light of the Athanasian Creed. It will consider the historical context and origins of the Athanasian Creed, the structure and content of the Creed in its Trinitarian and Christological sections, the use of the Creed in combating theological error and heresy, its theological significance and use in liturgy, the common criticisms of the Creed within liberal Protestantism, and the contemporary relevance of the Creed to church and society. There are three major sections in this chapter: the first dealing with history, structure, and heresy; the second dealing with exposition and application; and the final considering the significance, criticism, and relevance of the Athanasian Creed.
A.
History,
Structure, and Heresy
Historically
speaking, the Athanasian Creed emerged against the background of theological
disputes in patristic theology during the fourth to the sixth centuries AD. The
major controversy during this period concerned the views of Arius who argued
that Jesus was not equal with God and that he had been created as an angelic
being at some point in the past – a viewpoint shared by modern day Jehovah’s
Witnesses. Athanasius of Alexandria famously defended the orthodox view of
Christ as the eternal Son of the Father who became incarnate to redeem lost
humankind. Although the Creed was attributed to Athanasius, it was likely
written sometime later in the Latin West, probably sometime during the fifth to
sixth centuries AD. It has played an important role in the liturgy of Western
Christianity, especially in the Roman Catholic Church and later in some
Protestant traditions, particularly within the Anglican communion. In terms of
the structure and content of the Creed, there are two key subsections: a
Trinitarian subsection (first half) and a Christological subsection (second
half). The first subsection emphasises the fact that Christians worship one God
in Trinity and Trinity in unity. This gets to the heart of the idea of the
Trinity in its liturgical or doxological use. The Trinity is fundamental to
orthodox Christian worship. The reason we worship Jesus Christ is because he is
the Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity. If he was not truly God,
then we would dare not worship him without bringing eternal damnation upon our
heads. The Creed emphases both the equality of the three persons and the
distinctions between them. Each person is fully and truly God, yet there is
only one God. This gets us right to the heart of the mystery of the Trinity:
God is both one and three. The emphasis of the Creed is on correct theological
wording of the doctrine of the Trinity to avoid the various heresies that have
arisen at various points in the history of the church. As already mentioned, the
heresy known as Arianism taught that Jesus was not fully God and had been
created at a point in time. In other words, according to Arianism, there was a
time when the Son was not. Orthodox Christianity argues that Jesus is fully
God, eternally begotten of the Father, and uncreated. He is ‘of one substance’
(homoousios) with the Father. Most importantly, the Son of God has always
existed from the depths of eternity past. There was never a time when he was
not. The first council of Nicaea condemned Arianism as heresy.
Another heresy about the Trinity is
known as modalism or Sabellianism. This heresy claims that the Father, the Son,
and the Spirit are not distinct persons, but are simply different or ‘modes’ or
‘roles’ which God assumes at different times. God is sometimes the Father,
sometimes the Son, and sometimes the Holy Spirit. Imagine an actor wearing
different masks or putting on different characters. Sometimes modalism has been
given historical or linear expression viewing the Father as the God during Old
Testament times, the Son as the God during the New Testament, and the Spirit as
God in the post-Pentecostal era or church age. Orthodox Christianity rejected this
idea and taught in line with the Athanasian Creed that the three persons are
really distinct persons, and not merely appearances. Another heresy known as partialism
taught that each person of the Trinity was only partly God. The Father is
one-third of God, the Son is one-third, and the Holy Spirit is one-third –
making one whole God. This heresy divides God into three parts much like you
would divide a pie into thirds. This is a misunderstanding of the Trinity. As
the Athanasian Creed teaches, each person is fully God, not a fraction of God,
and shares equally in all the attributes of the divine essence. Another heresy
views the Trinity as three separate Gods. This is known as Tritheism. The Athanasian
Creed, however, insists that there is only one God. Christianity is strictly
monotheistic. There is only one divine essence, not three separate beings or Gods.
A more subtle heresy is known as subordinationism. This claims that the Son and
the Spirit, though divine, are less divine or lower in rank than the Father.
Orthodox Christianity, as taught in the Athanasian Creed, teaches that the
three persons are ontologically coequal and coeternal, though some Christian traditions
recognise that there is economic subordination in the different roles assumed
by members of the Trinity. Adoptionism claims that Jesus is merely a human
being who was adopted by God as the Son at either his baptism or resurrection.
The Athanasian Creed, however, teaches that the Lord Christ is eternally
divine, and was not promoted to divinity at some point during his earthly
ministry. A less commonly known heresy is ‘pneumatomachianism’ which teaches
that the Holy Spirit is not fully God. This heresy was condemned at the First
Council of Constantinople which affirmed the full deity of the Holy Spirit. The
Athanasian Creed affirms that each person of the Trinity, including the Holy
Spirit, is fully and truly divine: ‘The divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit is one, the glory equal, the majesty coeternal’.
A more modern heresy associated with
Protestant liberalism is known as unitarianism or the teaching that God is one
person only, and not tripersonal as the Athanasian Creed teaches. For
unitarians, Jesus may be viewed as a great prophet or teacher, but not as one
who is coequal and coeternal with God. Some have argued that Jesus’ divinity,
if such a thing exists, takes the form of his ‘God-consciousness’ as someone who
is uniquely inspired or filled with the presence of God, but who is not
ontologically equal with Father as the Athanasian Creed teaches. This was the
view popularised by Friedrich Schleiermacher, often known as the ‘father of
modern liberal theology’. Western liberal theologians frequently take issue
with the harsh sounding ‘damnatory clauses’ at the opening of the Creed and are
generally uncomfortable with the exclusivist language used by the ecumenical Creeds.
It is common for those who deny the deity of Christ, to also deny the
exclusivist claims of the Christian Gospel. Conservative evangelical Christians
must insist that the Bible and the Creeds are exclusivist documents. Jesus
Christ as the eternal Son of God is the only way of salvation: ‘And there is
salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among
men by which we must be saved’ (Acts 4:12). The Christological section of the
Athanasian Creed argues that this same Jesus is a fully divine and fully human
saviour. The two natures (divine and human) are united in one person Jesus
Christ. More will be said concerning the hypostatic union in the person of
Christ when consideration is given to the definition of Chalcedon which deals
specifically with these themes.
B.
Exposition
and Application
The
first article of the Athanasian Creed concerns the necessity of holding the
catholic faith for the redemption of the individual believer: ‘Whoever desires
to be saved should above all hold to the catholic faith …’. Salvation
necessitates holding true doctrinal beliefs about God, the Trinity, and the
person of Christ. This faith must be kept whole and uncorrupted. Rejection of
the catholic faith particularly in the form of heresy leads to eternal
condemnation in hell. It is deeply perilous to reject the articles of the Creed
and embrace heresy or unbelief. In other words, right belief and correct
doctrine matters and is significant for personal redemption. This is not to
argue in favour of doctrinal regeneration, but only to argue that some
foundational beliefs such as God as Trinity and Jesus Christ as fully God and
fully human are essential for eternal redemption. The first part of the Creed
concerns the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. There exists one God in Trinity and
Trinity in unity. God is one in terms of his essence or being – this is what
Christians mean by monotheism, the belief that there is only one God. Even so,
Christians insist that God exists as three persons: God the Father, God the
Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The Athanasian Creed rejects two errors at this
point: confounding the persons (as with modalism) and dividing the essence (as
with tritheism). The third article concerns the distinction of persons within
the Trinity: ‘The person of the Father is distinct … etc’. The Father is not
the Son (Father ≠ Son). The Son is not the Spirit (Son ≠ Spirit). The Spirit is
not the Father. (Spirit ≠ Father). These three persons are distinct
subsistences. The essence of God or his substance is what God is by
nature – one singular divine being. The subsistences (or hypostases/persons)
are who God is – namely three distinct persons (Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit). When theologians say there are three persons or subsistences in one
substance, they mean that there is only one God (one divine being or essence)
who exists as three distinct persons or subsistences. The fourth article
reminds us that ‘the divinity is one’. All three persons share equally in the divinity,
glory, and divine majesty of God. No one person is “more God” than another.
Each person is fully and truly God. However, there is only one God.
Each member of the Trinity fully
shares in the divine attributes. The Creed repeats itself for each person to
emphasise this fact. The Father is uncreated, immeasurable, eternal, almighty,
and sovereign. The Son is uncreated, immeasurable, eternal, almighty, and
sovereign. The Holy Spirit is uncreated, immeasurable, eternal, almighty, and
sovereign. The same principle would apply to every single attribute of God. The
Westminster Shorter Catechism famously defines God as ‘a spirit, infinite,
eternal, and unchangeable in his being wisdom, power, holiness, justice, and
truth’ (Q&A 4). Since each person is fully God, then each person shares
fully in the divine attributes. The Father is infinite, eternal, and
unchanging. The Son is infinite, eternal, and unchanging. The Spirit is
infinite, eternal, and unchanging. Yet there are not three infinite beings, but
one infinite being. There are not three eternals, but one eternal. There are
not three immutable beings, but one immutable being. There are not three Gods,
but one God only. The Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord;
yet there are not three Lords, but one Lord only. This sense of the oneness of
God protects the doctrine of monotheism, without compromising the distinctions
between the three persons.
However, there are certain ways of
describing the relations between the three persons of the Trinity. The Father
is neither made nor begotten as the fount of deity (fons divinitatis);
the Son is eternally begotten of the Father (monogenēs); and the Holy
Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, as per the filioque clause.
These relations describe the eternal origins of the three persons; they do not
imply subordination. In fact, they protect the coeternity of each member of the
Trinity. None is before or after. There is no hierarchy in divinity. No one
person is greater or lesser than another. All are coequal and coeternal. The
term perichoresis is sometimes used to describe the relations between
the members of the Holy Trinity. This describes the mutual indwelling and
interpenetration of the three persons within the Godhead. The late Timothy
Keller described this as a kind of ‘divine dance’ in which the three persons
participate. According to Keller, ‘each of the divine persons centres upon the
others ... that creates a dynamic, pulsating dance of joy and love’. The Father
glorifies the Son, the Son glorifies the Father, the Spirit glorifies the
Father and the Son. This circumincession, as the doctrine is sometimes known in
Western theology, takes place within the Trinity without confusion or loss of
distinct personhood. Each of the three persons is fully engaged in a
relationship of glorification and mutual love with the others. They are
distinct persons, but not separate beings. They are one God and indwell one
another in perfect harmony, unity, and love.
This idea is primarily associated with the classic theologian St John of
Damascus, but the roots of it go back further to the Cappadocian Fathers.
After discussing the doctrine of the
Trinity, the Athanasian Creed progresses to discuss the doctrine of the
incarnation and the hypostatic union. Belief in Christ, as with belief in the
Trinity, is necessary for eternal salvation. Jesus is fully God and fully man
in one person. He is not partly both, but completely both. He is God from the
essence of the Father – eternally begotten before all time and truly, fully,
and perfectly divine. He is a human being from the essence of his mother Mary,
the ‘Bearer of God’ (Theotokos). He is consubstantial with the Father
and the Spirit according to his divinity, but consubstantial with humanity
according to his incarnation. Jesus was born as a person in time, from the womb
of his mother Mary, the mother of God, and has a true human body and rational
soul. He is equal with the Father according to the divinity, but less than the
Father in accordance with his humanity. He voluntarily submitted himself to
become a man of true body and reasonable soul in accordance with the will of
his heavenly Father. This means that there is ontological equality between the
Father and the Son, but economic subordination in terms of assumed roles. Jesus
is one person with two natures. Not two persons, but one Christ. This rejects
the idea that there are two separate persons within Christ (a Christological
heresy known as Nestorianism) and affirms that there is one person with two
natures. This is known as the doctrine of the hypostatic union. This union does
not mean the divinity is transformed into human flesh. Neither does it mean
that there is a mixture or blending of the essences. On the contrary, it means
that God assumed humanity in the person of Christ. While remaining what he
eternally was (God), he became what he eternally was not (human). There was no
subtraction of deity, only the addition of humanity. The divine and human
natures remain distinct, and yet truly united in the singular person of Christ.
The Athanasian Creed goes onto affirm that the Lord Christ suffered, died, rose
of the third day, ascended into heaven, sits at the Father’s right hand, and
will come again to judge the living and the dead. This is the very lifeblood
and heart of the Gospel. The final article of the Athanasian Creed affirms that
at the second coming or return of Christ all humanity will be resurrected
bodily to answer for every sinful thought, word, and deed. The righteous will
be glorified and enjoy eternal life, while the wicked will be condemned to the
eternal fires of hell. The Creed ends by emphasising that these doctrines are
the catholic faith and reminds the reader that salvation depends on true faith
in a Triune God.
C.
Significance,
Criticism, and Relevance
In
terms of the theological significance of the Athanasian Creed, it remains one
of the clearest and most detailed confessions of Christian theology in Western
Christianity. Its teachings are the essence of Christian orthodoxy. It defends
the orthodox faith against heresy and error, particularly against early
theological controversies such as Arianism which denied the full deity of the
Son of God. In defining the full divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
the Creed helped to ringfence the boundaries of orthodox belief. It has
functioned as a protective boundary marker for true Christian identity and
sound doctrine throughout the Christian church. The Creed uses highly precise
theological language in explaining the doctrine of the Trinity and the
hypostatic union in the person of Jesus Christ. Though some have suggested that
the doctrinal precision risks making the Creed overly intellectual and
academic, the careful wording of the Creed protects against unorthodox belief
and doctrinal error, thereby strengthening faith. The Creed has been
particularly influential in Western theological development in terms of shaping
medieval theology and confessional standards in the era of Reformation
orthodoxy. Historically, it formed part of the liturgy of both Roman Catholic
and Protestant churches in the Western tradition and has been recited on major
feast days. Though it is used less commonly today, the essence of the Creed has
been incorporated into catechesis as part of the religious teaching and
instruction of the laity and young persons. It has been particularly
influential in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion. It must
be regarded as a foundational text for Western Christian identity. However, it
has been less influential in Eastern Orthodoxy. Despite its importance for
maintaining orthodoxy within Western Christianity, the Creed has faced quite
strong criticism, especially in theologically liberal circles. Some argue that
it is overly verbose, repetitive, and difficult to understand. Many take issue
with its condemnatory phrases (‘whosoever wishes to be saved …’). Some argue
that the creed is exclusivist and unduly harsh. The reality is that those who
emphatically deny or reject the teachings of the Athanasian Creed are putting
themselves at risk of eternal judgment and condemnation. The Creed is
exclusivist because the Bible is exclusivist. There is only one way to heaven
and life eternal and that is through faith in the God-man Christ Jesus. The
Lord Jesus himself said: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh
unto the Father, but by me’ (John 14:6). These truths can make teaching on the
Athanasian Creed challenging in modern pluralistic societies. It requires
courage and backbone to affirm that the Lord Christ is the only way of
salvation. In this regard, the Creed is a witness against the theological
laxity of Christians in the twenty-first century. In terms of its continued
relevance, the Creed offers a clear summary of classical Christian belief for
understanding the most important doctrines of Scripture such as theology proper
and doctrine Christ. The Creed serves as a shared doctrinal heritage in Western
ecumenical discussions and opens a way to dialogue with Christians of differing
traditions. It remains particularly important in Roman Catholicism,
Anglicanism, and some Lutheran churches. While less common, it has not been
entirely forgotten.
5.
The Chalcedonian
Definition
Following
the saintly fathers, we all with one voice teach the confession of one and the
same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: the same perfect in divinity and perfect in
humanity, the same truly God and truly man, of rational soul and a body; consubstantial
with the Father as regards his divinity, and the same consubstantial with us as
regards his humanity; like us in all respects except for sin; begotten before
the ages from the Father as regards his divinity, and in the last days the same
for us and for our salvation from Mary, the virgin God-bearer, as regards his
humanity; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, only-begotten, acknowledged in
two natures which undergo no confusion, no change, no division, no separation;
at no point was the difference between the natures taken away through the
union, but rather the property of both natures is preserved and comes together
into a single person and single subsistent being; he is not parted or divided
into two persons, but is one and the same only-begotten Son, God, Word, Lord
Jesus Christ, just as the prophets taught from the beginning about him, and as
the Lord Jesus Christ himself instructed us, and as the Creed of the fathers
handed down to us.
Introduction
The
purpose and design of the Chalcedonian Definition was to protect against
theological heresy in the domain of Christology. The Council of Ephesus in 431 AD
voted to prevent the making of new creeds and regarded the three ecumenical
creeds as a sufficient summary of the Christian faith and the marrow of sound evangelical
theology. The Council of Chalcedon voted to reaffirm the Nicene Creed and to
offer clarification regarding its interpretation of Christology. The Creed confesses
Christ who is both God and man (two natures) in one person (Jesus Christ). It
also offers a series of denials concerning the hypostatic union that the two natures
of Christ undergo ‘no confusion, no change, no division, and no separation’. This
method of doing theology is known as ‘negative’ or ‘apophatic’ theology. As
Chad Van Dixhoorn comments, ‘Much of what we say about God – perhaps the best
of what we say about God – involves saying what he is not’. The Definition
of Chalcedon was primarily written to guard against heresies regarding the
deity and humanity of Christ. The major debates within patristic theology
centred on a key question: How can Jesus Christ be both fully God and fully
human in one person? It is perhaps the most important puzzle in Christian
theology. The Definition of Chalcedon was written to answer this question,
while retaining an element of divine mystery. The Definition was designed to
protect orthodoxy and rule out errors such as those that divide the
person of Christ or those that confuse his two natures (divine and
human). Christ is ‘one and the same Son … in two natures, without confusion,
without change, without division, and without separation’. These four key
phrases are crucial for protecting orthodox Christology. The two natures of
Christ are not mixed like wine and water (without confusion), they are not
altered in anyway (without change), they are not split into two separate
persons as when you mix oil and water (without division), and they are not
disconnected from each other into two persons (or without separation). The
apophatic theology of the Chalcedonian Definition protects the full deity of
Christ and his true humanity. This chapter will conclude with a consideration
of each of the major theological heresies concerning the person of Christ and
how the Definition of Chalcedon responds to each of these challenges.
Major
Christological Heresies
1.
Arianism
Arianism is the heresy which states that Jesus Christ is not fully God. Arians view Christ as the highest created spiritual being, but as one who is not divine. He may share a similar substance (homoiousios) with the Father, but not the same substance (homoousios) and thereby coequality in power and glory. The problem with this idea is that if Jesus is not truly God, then he cannot fully reveal God to humanity and serve as our redeemer. Only God is powerful enough to save humanity from sin, death, and hell. Chalcedon protects this teaching by affirming that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God who is consubstantial (homoousios) with the Father, as the First Council of Nicaea also affirmed. Jehovah’s Witnesses are considered by many to be modern day Arians since they deny the full deity of Christ.
2.
Adoptionism
This
heresy teaches that Jesus was merely ‘adopted’ as the Son of God either during
his baptism or when he was resurrected from the dead. This makes his divinity
accidental, rather than essential and eternal. Chalcedon rightly affirms that
Jesus Christ is one and the same Son from the depths of eternity past. He has
always been, is now, and forever shall be the eternal Son of God.
3.
Docetism
Docetism
is the heresy which says that Jesus only appeared or seemed to be
human. It comes from the Greek verb δοκέω (dokeō), meaning ‘to seem’, ‘to
appear’, or ‘to seem to be’. This would make the incarnation, suffering, and
resurrection of Christ unrealities. They would only have seemed to have taken
place in history, rather than actually have taken place in a concrete and
physical human person. Chalcedon insists that Jesus Christ is truly man, with a
rational soul and a fully human body. He lived, died, and rose again in the
reality of space and time. Jesus was a real man.
4.
Apollinarianism
This
is the error which says that although Christ had a human body, he did not have
a human mind or soul (psyche). The eternal Logos replaced his
human mind with a divine mind. The problem with this error is that what is not
assumed is not healed. If Jesus did not assume a real human mind, then he is not
able to redeem the human mind from hell. In order to save the human psyche,
Jesus Christ himself had to ‘grow in wisdom and stature’ as the evangelist affirms
(Luke 2:52). He had to have a real human mind in order to bring about
psychological redemption and the salvation of the human mind. Chalcedon
protects the true humanity of Christ by affirming the realities of his human mind
and soul.
5.
Nestorianism
Nestorianism
teaches that Christ is effectively two persons – a divine person and a human
person – loosely united in Jesus Christ. The problem with this is that it
splits Jesus into two different acting subjects. Nestorius also denied that
Mary was the mother of God and argued that she was only the mother of Christ’s
human nature. He preferred the term Christotokos which means ‘Christ-bearer’,
rather than the orthodox view that Mary is Theotokos or ‘God-bearer’. According
to Chalcedon, Jesus is both God and man without division and without
separation. He is one person or hypostasis, rather than two. The Council of
Ephesus defended the idea that Mary is the mother of God because the one born
of her womb is God the Son incarnate.
6.
Eutychianism/Monophysitism
Eutychianism,
also known as Monophysitism, argues that Jesus Christ has only one nature in
which the divine consumes the human like a drop of vinegar in the ocean.
Christ’s humanity thereby becomes incomplete or absorbed into the divinity.
Chalcedon answered this objection by affirming the true humanity of Christ who
exists in two natures without confusion and without change. His humanity
remains genuinely human. He is the Word of God made flesh, as the beloved
disciple affirms (John 1: 14).
7.
Monothelitism
The
final error concerning the person of Christ is known as Monothelitism. This
heresy argues that while Jesus had two natures as Chalcedon affirmed, he only
possessed one will, a purely divine will. Orthodox Christianity affirmed that
Jesus has two wills: a divine will and a human will. The human will submits
voluntarily to the divine, or as Jesus said in Gethsemane: ‘Not my will, but
thine’ (Luke 22: 42). The major problem with this heresy is that it would
undermine the full humanity of Christ since all humans possess the capacity of
free will. This heresy was resolved at the later Third Council of
Constantinople which affirmed that Christ has two wills (a divine will and a
human will) which are harmonized and concordant in one perfect person.
6.
Conclusion
The
ecumenical creeds and the Definition of Chalcedon form the marrow of
evangelical theology. As previously mentioned, another book which used a
similar title to my own was written by the Puritan author Wiliams Ames
(1576–1633). His opening statement defined the marrow of theology as ‘the
doctrine or teaching of living to God’. In other words, theology is
application. While it is important to understand the place of the ecumenical
creeds academically and historically as we have tried to outline in this book,
it is also fundamental that we live by and according to the beliefs we profess.
Theology is praxis; and orthodoxy (‘right theology’) must lead to orthopraxy
(‘right practice’). Faith without works is dead (James 2:14–26). Let us learn
from the ecumenical creeds the great doctrines of the evangelical faith but let
us also remember to live according to the principles that Jesus Christ set down
in the Scripture that we should love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul,
mind, and strength, and that we should love our neighbours as we love
ourselves. May the Triune God of Holy Scripture be honoured, worshipped, and
enthroned in our hearts by faith, to whom be glory both now and forevermore, world
without end. Amen.
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