August 21, 2024
Nicene Creed
The most important question in the Bible comes from the mouth of Jesus in Matthew 16:15. He states, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter gave the correct and model answer when he replied (in Matthew 16:16), “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” This answer remains true today, however, this answer became a little more complicated as church history progressed. What does a person mean when they say, “Son?” Is this a created Son, or an eternal Son that coexisted with the Father?”
The church has worshipped Jesus as the Son of God since its inception. However, a controversy came to a head in the 4th century, which was then addressed at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. The problem centered around the teaching of Arius concerning Jesus. He argued that the Word was not God and not co-eternal with the Father, but rather was the first creature God created. His teaching may be summarized in the catchy tune sung by his followers, “There was a time when the Son was not.”1 Eusebius of Caesarea records the details of an estimated 300 bishops gathered, with many having been tortured and imprisoned for their faith. Arius was not personally allowed to present his doctrine, as he was not a bishop, but rather was represented by the bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia.
When Eusebius of Nicomedia presented Arius’ doctrine of the Son of God, he was overwhelmingly and vehemently rejected. Church historian Justo Gonzales informs us that the bishops responded with yelling, “You lie,” “Blasphemy,” and “Heresy.” He states, “Eusebius of Nicomedia was shouted down, and...his speech was snatched from his hand, torn to shreds, and trampled underfoot. The mood of the majority had now changed. Earlier they hoped to deal with the issues at stake through negotiation and compromise, without condemning any doctrine, now they were convinced that they had to reject Arianism in the clearest possible way.”
To protect the truth of Jesus as the eternal Word and Son of God, and to reject Arianism, the church summarized Scripture into what is commonly known as the Nicene Creed.<2up>2
We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father [the only-begotten; that is, of the essence of the Father, 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 [both in heaven and on earth];
Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down and was incarnate and was made man; He suffered, and the third day He rose again, ascended into heaven; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. And in the Holy Ghost.
When the creed declares Jesus as “being of one substance with the Father,” it uses the Greek word homoousios. This word is key as it declares that Jesus is of the same divine substance as the Father, and is just as divine as He is. The Word is not a created being nor lesser in nature than the Father.
The Nicene Creed helps us to answer the most important question in the Bible, “But who do you say that I am?” It helps to clarify the biblical teaching that Jesus is the Son of God, being of the same substance as the Father. He is God in His being! However, He is distinct, not another God to be sure, but something unique in the reality of God. Edmund P. Clowney gives a beautiful summary when he speaks of the Word as “God’s eternal fellow,” yet “God’s own Self.”3
The Nicene Creed also reminds us that the church has already dealt with this issue. Thus, when the Jehovah’s Witnesses try to explain to you their version of Jesus, which is very similar to Arius, you can stand fast in the biblical and historical truth of the true Jesus Christ.
Pastor Sean
1D.A. Carson says concerning John 1:1, “Stretch our imagination backward as we will, we can find no point in time where we may agree with Arius, who, speaking of the Word, said, ‘There was once when he was not.’ See D. A. Carson, The Gospel according to John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans, 1991), 114, Logos.
2“The text of the original Nicene Creed is as follows. Square brackets indicate portions that were later removed or rewritten by the Council of Constantinople [in 381] (Schaff, “Nicene Creed,” 28–29):” See Elliot Ritzema, “Nicene Creed,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016), Logos.
3Edmund P. Clowney states, “‘The Word was with God, God’s eternal Fellow; the Word was God, God’s own Self.’” See D. A. Carson, The Gospel according to John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans, 1991), 117, Logos, citing Edmund P. Clowney, “A Biblical Theology of Prayer”, in D. A. Carson (ed.), Teach Us to Pray: Prayer in the Bible and the World (Paternoster/Baker, 1990).
Sources
Carson, D. A. The Gospel according to John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary. Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans, 1991.
Cross F. L. and Elizabeth A. Livingstone, eds., The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Gonzales, Justo L. The Story of Christianity, Volume 1: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation. HarperSanFrancisco, 1984.
Ritzema, Elliot. “Nicene Creed,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016.