The second part of the Nicene Creed deals with the second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, and thus expounds on Christology - the study of the person of Jesus Christ. As in the first part, I have broken down the Creed line by line, and placed a one or two word summary next to it of the doctrine that line expounds on.
THE NICENE CREED - Part 2 - Christology
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,- Deity of Christ
the only Son of God - Trinity - Son
eternally begotten of the Father, - Christ the Eternal Son
God from God, Light from Light - In Relation to the Father
true God from true God, - Fully God
begotten, not made, - Not Part of Creation
of one Being with the Father - One in Essence (Substance)
through him all things were made. - Word (Logos) Creation
For us and for our salvation - Salvation (Soterology) - Personal
he came down from heaven, - Descension From Heaven
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary - The Incarnation and The Virgin Birth
and became truly human. - Humanity of Christ
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate - Crucifixion - Historical
he suffered death and was buried. - Actual Death & Burial
On the third day he rose again - Resurrection
in accordance with the Scriptures; - Prophetic Fulfillment
he ascended into heaven - Ascension
and is seated at the right hand of the Father. - Authority and Lordship of Christ
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, - The Return of Christ - Final Judgment (Eschatology)
and his kingdom will have no end. - Kingdom of God
Again, in a few short succinct statements, the Nicene Creed sets forth the words and works of Jesus Christ, and covers the essential doctrines all orthodox churches assert about such matters as His deity and humanity, the virgin birth, His eternal nature, the Incarnation, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, the Ascension, His return, and the Final Judgment.
On to Part 3 (which focuses on the role of the Holy Spirit)
Back to Part 1
6 comments:
Greetings Rudolf Rentzel
Unfortunately, this creed is not the creed of Jesus, nor of his disciples.
In contrast to the Nicene Creed:
Jesus solely identified the Father
as the only true GOD.
[John 17.3]
Paul & the early church concurred:
(1 Cor 8:4) ... that there is none other God but one.
(1 Cor 8:6) But to us there is but one God, the Father, ...
There is simply no talk of another who is God of God, true God of true God, begotten, not made, etc.
Rather, the creed of Jesus is the Shema, Deut 6.4ff
(Mark 12:28-32) And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is,
Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. 32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:
It ought to be obvious then, that neither Jesus nor the scribe, subscribed to the notions of
a God of God, true God of true God spoken of in the Nicene creed!
Therefore, I recommend this video:
The Human Jesus
Take a couple of hours to watch it; and prayerfully it will aid you in your quest for truth.
Yours In Messiah
Adam Pastor
While Jesus and the apostles did not expressly state the Nicene Creed, nor used the word Trinity, the overwhelming number of bishops gathered in Council at Nicene to determine this issue clearly saw the implied teaching of the Trinity in Scripture and the clear support of Scripture for the statements in the Creed.
Yes, Jesus prayed to His Father, the only true God. He did not thereby deny His own divinity, which He and the apostles clearly state elsewhere in Scripture.
When Paul refers to Jesus as Lord, it is a reference to his divinity. Lord is used throughout the Old Testament as one of the names of God, as occurs in the Shema which you refer to.
Most all English translations of the Creed use "God from God" rather than "God of God." In any event, it is not obvious that Jesus would reject this, since He taught that He was God.
I haven't yet watched the video you recommended. I will try to get to it.
Adam, that the New Testament describes Jesus as only human is an absurd assertion.
Does Paul in Col. 1:15-20 sound like he is describing a mere human? "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross."
You quoted 1 Cor. 8, but snipped the rest of the passage, "...from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist." Do all things and us exist through a merely human Jesus?
Another good way of reciting the creed is to post the scripture that accompanies it, in order to refute the kind of assertions that those who deny Jesus' divinity make (as in the above).
I Believe
Rom. 10:9, Jas 2:19, John 14:1
In one God,
Deut. 6:4, Is. 44:6
The Father
Is. 63:16, 2 Pet 1:17, Matt. 6:9
Almighty,
Gen. 17:1, Ps. 91:1, Rev. 4:8
Maker
Job 4:17, 35:10, Is. 17:7, 54:5
of heaven
Gen 1:1, 8
and earth
Ps. 104:5, Jer. 51:15
and of all things
Gen 1:31
visible and invisible.
Ps. 89:11-12, Amos 4:13, Rev. 3:5, Col. 1:16
And in one Lord
Eph. 4:5
Jesus Christ,
Acts 10:36, 11:17, Rom. 1:7, 5:1, 1 Cor 1:2, 6:11, 2 Cor. 1:2, 8:9
Gal. 1:3, 6:14, Eph. 1:2, 3:11, Phil. 1:2, 3:20, Col. 1:3, 2:6, 1 Thes. 1:1, 5:9,
2 Thes. 1:1, 2:14, 1 Tim. 6:3, 14, 2 Tim. 1:2, Philemon 1:3, 25, Heb. 13:20,
Jas. 1:1, 2:1, 1 Pet. 1:3, 3:15, 2 Pet. 1:8, 14, Jude 17, 21, Rev. 22:20-21
the only-begotton,
John 1:18
Son of God,
Matt 3:17, John 3:16
Begotten of His Father,
Heb. 1:5
Before all worlds,
John 1:1, Col. 1:17, 1 John 1:1
begotten,
John 1:1, Heb. 1:5
Not Made,
Mic. 5:2, John 1:18, 17:5
Being of one substance with the Father,
John 10:30, 14:9
By whom all things were made;
1 Cor. 8:6, Col 1:16
Who for us men
Matt 20:28, John 10:10
and for our salvation
Matt 1:21, Luke 19:10
came down from heaven
Rom. 10:6, Eph. 4:10
and was incarnate
Col. 2:9
by the Holy Spirit
Matt 1:18
of the Virgin Mary
Luke 1:34-35
and was made man;
John 1:14
and was crucified
Matt. 20:19, John 19:18, Rom. 5:6, 8, 2 Cor. 13:4
also for us
Rom. 5:8, 2 Cor. 5:15
under Pontius Pilate.
Matt. 27:2, 26, 1 Tim 6:13
He suffered
1 Pet. 2:21, Heb. 2:10
and was buried.
Mark 15:46, 1 Cor. 15:4
And the third day
Matt. 27:63, 28:1, 1 Cor. 15:4
He rose again
Mark 16:6, 2 Tim. 2:8
according to the Scriptures
Ps. 16:10, Luke 24:25-27, 1 Cor. 15:4
and ascended
Luke 24:51, Acts 1:9
Into heaven
Mark 16:19, Acts 1:11
and sits at the right hand of the Father.
Ps. 110:1, Matt. 26:64, Acts 7:56, Heb. 1:3
And He will come again
Jn. 14:3, 1 Thes. 4:16
with glory
Matt. 16:27, 24:30, 25:31, 26:64, Mark. 8:38, Col. 3:4
to judge
Matt. 25:31-46, Acts 17:31
both the living and the dead,
Acts 10:42, 1 Pet. 4:5
whose kingdom
John 18:36, 2 Tim. 4:1, 18
will have no end.
Luke 1:33, Rev. 11:15, Ps. 145:13
And I believe in the Holy Spirit,
Matt. 28:19, Acts 13:2
The Lord
2 Cor. 3:17
And giver of life,
John 6:63, Rom. 7:6, 8:2, 2 Cor. 3:6
who proceeds from the father
John 14:16-17
and the Son,
John 15:26, Rom. 8:9, Gal. 4:6
Who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped
Luke 4:8, John 4:24
and glorified
John 4:24, 1 Tim. 1:17
Who spoke by the prophets.
1 Pet. 1:10-11, 2 Pet 1:21
And I believe in one
1 Cor. 10:16-17, 12:12-13
Holy
Eph. 3:16-17, 5:27, 1 Pet. 2:9
Catholic
1 Cor. 1:2
and Apostolic
Eph. 2:20, Rev. 21:14
Church,
Acts 20:28, Eph. 1:22-23, Col. 1:24, Heb. 12:23, 1 Pet. 2:9
I acknowledge one Baptism
John 3:5, Rom. 6:3, Eph. 4:5
For the remission of sins,
Acts 2:38, 1 Pet. 3:21, Tit. 3:5
And I look for the resurrection of the dead
1 Thes. 4:16, 1 Cor. 15:12-13, 16, 52
And the life of the world to come.
1 Cor 15:54-57, Rev. 22:5
Amen.
Ps. 41:13, 2 Cor. 1:20
Hi Matthew,
Who put together the supporting Scripture list you posted in your last comment?
http://cyberbrethren.com/2010/10/07/the-bible-summarized-in-only-a-few-words/
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