Theological Term of the Week: Nicene Creed

Nicene Creed
A statement of the orthodox faith of the early Christian church, first adopted at the Council of Nicaea (325 A.D.) in response to the Arian heresy, which denied the full deity of Jesus Christ. The Nicene Creed was later revised at the Second Ecumenical Council at Constantinople (381 A.D.) as a response to the Macedonian or Pneumatomachian heresy, which denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit.

• Text of the Nicene Creed as it is recited today:

We believe in one God,
      the Father almighty,
      maker of heaven and earth,
      of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
      the only Son of God,
      begotten from the Father before all ages,
           God from God,
           Light from Light,
           true God from true God,
      begotten, not made;
      of the same essence as the Father.
      Through him all things were made.
      For us and for our salvation
           he came down from heaven;
           he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,
           and was made human.
           He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate;
           he suffered and was buried.
           The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.
           He ascended to heaven
           and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
           He will come again with glory
           to judge the living and the dead.
           His kingdom will never end.

And we believe in the Holy Spirit,
      the Lord, the giver of life.
      He proceeds from the Father [and the Son],
      and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.
      He spoke through the prophets.
      We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.
      We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
      We look forward to the resurrection of the dead,
      and to life in the world to come. Amen.

• From A Summary of Christian History by Robert A Baker and John M. Landers, page 62:

After preliminary matter had been addressed [at the Council of Nicea], a confession of faith by Arious was presented. It defined the nature of Christ as being different from that of God and viewed Christ as a created being, greater than humans and worthy of worship but less than God. The council promptly and vehemently rejected this creed. Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea offered a creed that he said had been used previously in his church. The wording of this creed was ambiguous. When the orthodox party saw that the Arians were willing to accept the creed of Eusebius, they led a movement to reject it because if was not explicit enough. Athanasius, a young deacon from the church in Alexandria and the champion of the orthodox view, presented [what we know as the Nicene Creed] to the council.

Learn more:

1. Simply Put: The Nicene Creed
2. Paul Levy: The Nicene Creed
3. Gavin Ortland: The Nicene Creed: Every Word Explained (video)
4. Kevin DeYoung: Six Lessons We Learn from the Nicene Creed
5. Kevin DeYoung: The Nicene Creed: We Believe

Related terms:

• Apostles’ Creed
• Arianism
• Athanasian Creed
• Chalcedonian Definition
• filoque

Filed under Creeds and Confessions

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