"But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work"
2 Timothy 3:14-17
In this post I intend to look at the following ideas:-
- What is a creed and what is the history behind them?
- Where do the words come from?
- What do the weird bits mean?
We recite a creed every Sunday or whenever we celebrate communion. It is an integral part of church life. A lot of Christians know it off by heart and I suspect it is the most well known part of the service after the Lord's Prayer in many churches; but how many people know what it means?
The Creed began to be formed in the beginning of the 4th Century in the Council of Nicea and was finished was completed at the Council of Constantinople at the end of that century. The product of the first councils efforts was to produce a creed very similar to what we now call the apostles creed. It was in 381 that the creed we used today was formulated.
This is all very interesting but doesn't explain the need for a creed!
The dates give a clue as the need for a creed. We are now two hundred years after the death of Christ and people are starting to wonder about the exact nature of said Christ. Two hundred years is in the region of three to four generations, or three or four steps removed from the first Christians. For the first time there is serious debate as to what the Apostles taught. Many of the great voices of this time can say with certainty how they received their faith -
For example Gregory became a Christian because he spoke with Ignatius who had Cyprian who knew Peter - please note these names are meant as an example only
Through this I believe you can see that the Church's message was passed on very simply, but in a way that might be prone to the "Chinese whisper" problem. This is what the creeds set out to clarify - This is what the church believes. This is what the church has always believed. The creeds do not start the Christian church as a new institution, making a new religion, they just state what Christians have always believed. The first council of Nicea ended their creed with an anathema that states
"But those who say: 'There was a time when he was not;' and 'He was not
before he was made;' and 'He was made out of nothing,' or 'He is of
another substance' or 'essence,' or 'The Son of God is created,' or
'changeable,' or 'alterable'—they are condemned by the holy catholic and
apostolic Church."
In short the creed is a checklist detailing what you need to believe to be a Christian. The Creed deals with key issues of doctrine in five sections. Section one deals with the Father. It states that all creation is made through him, all that can be seen and unseen. There is nothing in this section that is hard to find in the bible. It is all to be found in the opening verses of Genesis. Biblically these are simple theological statements. The next section could be seen as more challenging!
There are several modern worship songs that seem to use the most obscure passages the writer can think of, and on the face of it section two does likewise. "We believe
in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only
Son of God" is nice and simple. There can be no arguments or brain scratching to its meaning! "Eternally
begotten of the Father, God from
God, Light from Light, true God
from true God, begotten,
not made" on the other hand is a bit more obscure.
Eternally begotten is easy; Jesus is God the Father's only son and will always be the only son. God will have no more sons. Then we hit the tricky bit good and proper. What on earth does God from God mean? My understanding is that it is a way of affirming Jesus' trinity status. Jesus is a God but he comes from God the father, who says I am the only god you should be worshipping. Jesus sates that he is God by this statement. This is strong stuff.
"Light from light" anyone?
God created light and he saw it was good, this is to be found in the opening verses of the bible. Light is always good in the bible, in fact Jesus is described as the light of the world. All goodness comes from God, who is without sin. Light gives life to creation and John says that Jesus is the source of this life. "Light from light" again affirms Jesus as being God.
What do we mean when we state "true God
from true God?"Jesus when speaking about himself prophesies his own death in terms that are more obvious with hindsight. It is, in my experience, rare for a man to say he will come back from the dead having been in a tomb for free days and do so. It is in his actions that Jesus proves that he is not a normal human being but in fact God in human flesh. He is the real deal and there is no pretence in him.
"Begotten not made"
Do we still use words like these. I only use the word begotten in church! Begotten means to be born and born legitimately. Jesus is not a son through adoption, he is truly the son of God. Jesus was around before creation as you will find in John 1. He has always existed and always will exist, whether creation as we know does or not.
This whole section we find affirms the divinity of Jesus Christ.
Section three is an affirmation and summary of the entirety of the New Testament, from Matthew to Revelation.
"For us and
for our salvation he came
down from heaven;
by the
power of the Holy Spirit
he became
incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was
made man."
We believe that Jesus came down from heaven because we needed to be saved from our sins He was conceived in the womb of Mary, who was a virgin. By this act he became fully human yet fully god.
"For our
sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered
death and was buried.
On the
third day he rose again"
This is the heart of the Gospel message that Christ died that we may have a way of building a relationship with God. Because of Sin we could not have that relationship unless a sacrifice was made. Jesus has power over everything but submitted to earthly authorities. He was innocent but yet faced death for our sake, without fighting his destiny
"in
accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended
into heaven
and is
seated at the right hand of the Father."
Everything that Jesus did had been prophesied in the Old Testament. He has enabled culmination of the great plan that God has for humanity. Without Jesus nothing could work. After Jesus' earthly ministry was complete he ascended
"He will
come again in glory
to judge
the living and the dead,
and his
kingdom will have no end."
Have you read the book of Revelation? It is a challenge but worth it. It takes time and needs studying. This last section of Jesus acts as a summary of the book of Revelation. It is evidence of the hope we have for our future, but also reminds us that we will be judged for good or for bad.
"We believe
in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord,
the giver of life,"
The Holy Spirit gives life to the Church. It is the Holy Spirit who dwells amongst us as Christians. It is he who enables the work of Jesus to be carried out in our lives
"who
proceeds from the Father [and the Son],
who with
the Father and the Son"
The original version of the creed, as formulated in council states that the Spirit proceeds from the father which seems to be unambiguous and biblically accurate. I have put and the Son in brackets as it was added into the creed during the Sixth century and has not been formulated by an ecumenical council. Whether it is heretical or not can be said to be ambiguous, but I don't say it as a matter of principle. This small sub-sentence has lead to schism in the church.
"is
worshipped and glorified,
who has
spoken through the prophets."
As Jesus is a fulfilment of the prophets in the Old Testament, so too is the Holy Spirit. Peter speaks from the book of Joel on the day of Pentecost. Most of the Gospel can be cross referenced to the Old Testament.
"We believe
in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We
acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for
the resurrection of the dead,
and the
life of the world to come. Amen."
The last section is a summary of the future and hopes of the Church. We believe in the Church, that is the body of Christ. This is a institution not of human creation, but one that has been handed down through many generations of Christians through the ages. The church is a body that will never fail.
We preach that baptism is a sign that we have been forgiven, being a practical gesture of giving our lives to Christ and starting our lives afresh.
Through the Resurrection of Jesus we have hope for the future. On Judgement day all the dead will rise as Jesus comes back in Glory and so we look for the resurrection of the dead as a sign of that which is to come. We look forward to the joys of salvation in all it's fullness and to being with Christ in his Glory.
As can be seen, I hope, the creed is a summary of the bible. It dogmatises the faith by placing pointers to key bits of the bible. We are not Christians because we recite the creeds, but because we believe in what they preach. The guide us to the bible. It is our duty as Christians to study our faith and to find out where our texts come from. Our texts invariably lead us to the bible. The bible invariably leads us to the wonders of God.
The Nicene
Creed in full
We believe
in one God,
the Father,
the almighty,
maker of
heaven and earth,
of all that
is, seen and unseen.
We believe
in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only
Son of God,
eternally
begotten of the Father,
God from
God, Light from Light,
true God
from true God,
begotten,
not made,
of one
Being with the Father.
Through him
all things were made.
For us and
for our salvation
he came
down from heaven;
by the
power of the Holy Spirit
he became
incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was
made man.
For our
sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered
death and was buried.
On the
third day he rose again
in
accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended
into heaven
and is
seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will
come again in glory
to judge
the living and the dead,
and his
kingdom will have no end.
We believe
in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord,
the giver of life,
who
proceeds from the Father [and the Son],
who with
the Father and the Son
is
worshipped and glorified,
who has
spoken through the prophets.
We believe
in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We
acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for
the resurrection of the dead,
and the
life of the world to come. Amen.
Creed taken from the The Book of Common Prayer for use in the Church in Wales
