Nicene What?

 Welcome back!

As we start our conversation about what some call the Nicene Creed, I think it is important we cover a few important terms and concepts. Too often in religious discussions we just use terms thinking everyone knows what we are talking about and that they agree with what we think we're talking about. So, let's investigate a little and develop a common understanding of what it is we'll be discussing. In the future I hope to go into detail on the following topics, but for now we'll just try to develop a functioning vocabulary for the immediate future by working through a few questions:

What is a creed?

The Nicene Creed is a creed (obviously), so what does that mean? Well, the word creed comes from the Latin word credo which means I believe. So when we talk about creeds we are talking about some type of statement of beliefs. There is more to this but let's keep it simple for now.

OK, what is a Nicene?

Throughout Church History, when disagreements arose (especially when it involved some fundamental belief of Christians) and became widespread, large groups of church officials, thinkers, and sometimes civil leaders came together from throughout the known world to work through the issue. These gatherings were called councils. One of these was the Council of Nicaea, called in 325 CE to address controversies about the nature of God, more specifically the nature of the relationship between the Father and the Son (and the Holy Spirit, but that will be discussed more in a later council). The council met at the ancient Greek city of Nicaea so the Council of Nicaea is the church council that met in the city of Nicaea and the Nicene Creed is the accepted statement of belief that came out of the Council of Nicaea. (Note: Technically what we now call the Nicene Creed is really the result of not one but two councils, the Council of Nicaea and a later council called in 381 CE and held at Constantinople which expanded upon the original creed. For the sake of accuracy some people call the creed recited in most churches the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed but we'll stick with the more familiar and commonly used Nicene Creed).

 Why was this needed?

 Remember we said these councils were called when issues became big enough and involved some fundamental beliefs of Christians. In this case the Council of Nicaea and the later Council of Constantinople were called to address teachings that were growing within the church about the nature of God. To put it simply, the Bible often talks about God the Father, but it also makes references to Jesus as being God and having the attributes of God (such as John 1:1) as well as the Holy Spirit being God (see for example Acts 5:1-4). But what does this mean? Are there three Gods? The Bible seems to say no, there is but one God (Isaiah 45:5-6). Because of this, some people were starting to teach that only God the Father is the Eternal God and that Jesus and the Holy Spirit were created beings and thus subordinate to God the Father. For a group known as "Christians", this is a big deal. If Jesus Christ isn't God, how can he be trusted to deliver on the promises he made to his followers? And if our knowledge of God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit is built on what we are told in the Bible which explicitly says in the Older Testament that "the LORD along is God and there is no other" (1 Kings 8:60), how can they be the same God talked about in the Hebrew scriptures? Hopefully you can see the mess this can cause, so the Church needed to come together and if possible hash things out.

OK, but what's the big deal if people believe different things? 

Now this is a very good question if I must say so myself. Why is it a big deal whether some people believe that Jesus Christ is God or if he is an elevated angel or if he was simply a good man who tried to teach people a better way to live? This topic deserves a lot of digital ink, but for let's focus on two reasons. First, if Jesus is not God, then how can he claim to do the things he could and keep the promises he did? How could he be "the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25), promise one of the thieves on a cross next to him he would be in paradise (Luke 23:39-43), and how could it be said he atoned for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2)? Second, if Jesus is not God, why should we follow him and worship him? There are a lot of good people in this world, why not just pick one of them? After all, the things Jesus tells us to do are often not easy, things like loving not just your friends but your enemies as well (Luke 6:27-28) To use a couple of big words, the Nicene Creed is an attempt at framing belief in a manner that aligns with what the Bible would tell us about God. This is an example of orthodoxy, literally "right belief". But it really isn't enough to just believe correctly, your "right belief" should lead your to "right behavior". This "right behavior" is called orthopraxy. Our beliefs about the nature of God, who Jesus is, etc. should shape how we go about our lives and how we spend our time, our money, and use our abilities. So what we believe about the nature of God should affect how we live our lives and story we share with others through our words and actions.

There is much more to say about the Council of Nicea and the issues that prompted its assembly. I plan to cover it in more detail in the future, but if you can't wait here are two very good, accessible resources:

Holcomb, Justin S. Know the Creeds and Councils. Zondervan, 2014. (Amazon, B&N)

Fairbairn, Donald, and Ryan M. Reeves. The Story of Creeds and Confessions: Tracing the Development of the Christian Faith. Baker Academic, a Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2019. (Amazon, B&N)

 

 

In Christ,

 Michael