Nicene Creed: Forged in Controversy and Founded on God’s Word

1. Nicene Creed: Forged in Controversy and Founded on God’s Word

2. Nicene Creed

3. Purpose of Bible Study • Learn more about the history of the formation and the biblical basis for this creed of Christianity that is over 1600 years old • Understand better what we are saying when we say it

4. Standing on the shoulder of giants

5. Introduction • Why do we still use the Nicene Creed? • Connection to each other in worship • Connection to other Christians around the world • Connection to other Christians throughout the centuries • Confession of what we believe

6. Introduction • What would you do if someone denied what you believed? • Beat them up • Call them a liar • Examine the facts to see who is right • Defend what you believe • Have a meeting • All of the above?

7. Introduction • Nicene Creed: about power or something else? • The real Jesus asked, "Who do the crowds say I am?" (Luke 9:18) The survey results are still coming in and they are still wrong. The only way to change that is for the Church to answer Jesus' next question correctly, "But who do you say I am?" (Luke 9:20) • That's precisely the question the early church fathers endeavored to answer and the Church's answer is still found in the words of the Nicene Creed. (Waterstradt, Nicene Creed, 2) • Who is God? • Who is Jesus?

8. Introduction • Any reasons why it would be important to understand who Jesus is? • If you do not know who Jesus, how do you who your Savior is?

9. Introduction • What is a creed? • A statement of belief • Credo = I believe • Respond: “We have no need for creeds because we have the Bible.” • We would not, if people would only let the Bible speak for itself instead of putting their own thoughts into it • Read Acts 15 (first meeting of Christians to discuss an issue)

10. Introduction • It is the very nature of a Christian • To confess their faith (Matt 10:32; Lk 9:20; 1 Pt 3:15; Ps 116:10) • To associate with fellow-believers (Heb 10:23-25; 1 Jn 5:1; 1 Cor 1:10) • To withdraw from those who believe falsely (Matt 7:15; Rom 16:17; 2 Cor 6:14; Titus 3:9f; 1 Jn 4:1,6) • This is what the Nicene Creed does

11. Introduction • The purpose of a creed is to act as a yardstick of correct belief, or orthodoxy. The creeds of Christianity have been drawn up at times of conflict about doctrine: acceptance or rejection of a creed served to distinguish believers and deniers of a particular doctrine of set of doctrines. For that reason a creed was called in Greek a (symbolon), a word that meant half of a broken object which, when placed together with the other half, verified the bearer’s identity. The Greek word passed through Latin (symbolum) into English “symbol,” which only later took on the meaning of an outward sign of something.

12. Introduction

13. Background to Nicene Creed • The oldest Christian creed is the Apostles’ Creed • Christian writers in the second-century AD (100s) used phrases similar to the Apostles’ Creed, suggesting its early development • Ireneaus (d. 189) appealed to “the rule [canon] of truth,” calling it “the old tradition [something handed down] of the apostles”

14. Background to Nicene Creed • Tertullian (d. 220): “When we step into the water of Baptism, we confess the Christian faith according to the words of its rule [i.e. the rule of faith].” • The creed as it was used in Rome eventually became the fixed form so that it was also called the Old Roman Symbol

15. Background to Nicene Creed • In the first three centuries, the Christian Church found itself in a hostile environment. The separation from Judaism meant that Christianity was not an approved religion in the Roman Empire, which led to persecution. Sharing the Gospel (which came out of Hebrew thought and culture) with the Hellenistic world was a challenge. However, the greatest threat to the early Church was not from physical and political persecution. The greatest threat came from ideas that were in conflict with Scripture. The main, though not the only, representatives of those opposing ideas were Gnosticism and Arianism.

16. Background to Nicene Creed • As the Church developed the Apostles' Creed into its present form, it was forced to wrestle with Gnosticism, a teaching which denied that Jesus was truly man. Nascent Gnosticism was already a concern in the days of the Apostles. The emphases of the Apostles' Creed reflect a concern with repudiating this error. Arianism arose in the 4th Century, and the Nicene Creed was the Church's response to this threat. (Waterstradt, 2)

17. Background to Nicene Creed • Athanasius (298-373) • Lived in Alexandria, Egypt, center of learning • Became very well-educated man • Deacon, bishop, and archbishop of Alexandria • “Athanasius against the world” • Would be exiled some 5 times during his life • “Pillar of the Church” – contemporary, Gregory of Nazianzus • One of the giant’s shoulders

18. Athanasius

19. Athanasius

20. Background to Nicene Creed • Emperor Constantine (272-337) • 312: Battle of Mulvian Bridge • Vision of cross of light “In this sign, you will conquer” • Supposed put Chi Rho sign on all the shields • Converted to Christianity • 313: Edict of Milan – legalizing Christianity • “One God one Lord, one faith, one church, one empire, one emperor” – Constantine’s motto

21. Constantine

22. Not this Constantine

23. Background to Nicene Creed • Arius of Alexandria (256-336) • 319: Arius, a presbyter (“elder”) • Taught “God begat him [the Son of God], and before he was begotten, he did not exist.” • Athanasius (newly ordained deacon at this time) said that the begetting = eternal relationship between God the Father and God the Son • Arius condemned by bishops of Egypt • Traveled to Nicomedia, in Asia Minor, near Bosporus • Wrote letters to bishops throughout the world, stating his heresy

24. Nicomedia

25. Nicomedia

26. Arius

27. Background to Nicene Creed • Though the Apostles’ Creed is considered a more ancient creed, the first fixed creed of the Christian Church was the Nicene Creed • Why the Nicene Creed? • Emperor Constantine convened the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea in 325 AD

28. Background to Nicene Creed 318(?) bishops present Constantine Arius Athanasius

29. Council of Nicaea • Emperor Constantine convened the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea in 325 AD • Mainly Eastern bishops (Greek speakers) • Arius was from the East • Western bishops not involved so far (Latin speakers)

31. Council of Nicaea • The point of controversy that prompted the calling of the Council at Nicaea was the person of Jesus and his relationship to God the Father • Arius apparently reacted to a sermon by his bishop. He understood his bishop to be arguing that the Father and the Son were one and the same, without distinction

32. Council of Nicaea • Arius argued that if the Son was “begotten by the Father,” it meant that there was a time when he did not exist. Therefore the Father and Son cannot be one and the same • Arius was denying that the Son of God is eternal • Arius countered by calling Jesus God’s “First Production,” the highest of all creatures

33. Arius’ heresy • There is one unoriginate being, God the Father • There are creatures which have been made • Creatures could not have been made by the Father, so a mediator was needed • The mediator was the Word, the Son • There was a time when he was not, he came to be • Therefore, there also was a time when God was not the Father

34. Council of Nicaea • Council lasted from end of May to end of July, 325 • Debate on the issue of Christ’s person is said to have lasted from May 20, 325 to June 19, 325 • At one point, Arius was allegedly slapped in the face by Nicholas of Myra, who was later canonized and became St. Nicholas (Santa Claus) • Nicene Creed, June 19, 325

35. Council of Nicaea

36. Council of Nicaea

37. Council of Nicaea • The main task of the Council was to formulate a creedal statement to express the consensus of the bishops. They first tried to find a formula from Holy Scripture that would express the full deity of the Son, equally with the Father. That effort failed because the Arians cheerfully agreed to all such formulations, having already interpreted them to fit their own views.

38. Council of Nicaea • Finally, the Greek word "homo-ousios" (meaning "of the same substance, or nature, or essence") was introduced chiefly because it was one word that could not be twisted to represent the Arian position. Some of the bishops present, although in complete disagreement with Arius, were reluctant to use a term not found in the Scriptures. But eventually they realized that the only alternative was a creed that both sides would sign, each understanding it in its own way. It was clear that the Church could not afford to leave the question of whether the Son is truly God or simply a god undecided so a majority of the Council moved to adopt a statement which is a shorter version of what we now call the Nicene Creed. In it they declared the Son to be "of one substance with the Father.”

39. Council of Nicaea • " At the end, there were only two holdouts, Secundus and Theonas of Egypt who had dissented from the earlier condemnation under Alexander. The party of Athanasius was overwhelmingly in the majority. The western, or Latin, half of the Empire was very sparsely represented, but it was solidly Athanasian, so that if its bishops had attended in force, the vote to accept the Council's wording of the Nicene Creed would have been still more lopsided. (Waterstradt, Nicene Creed, 3)

40. Council of Nicaea • Athanasius argued that our entire assurance of salvation is jeopardized if it rests in the hands of a Redeemer who is not true God. Insisting that Scripture shows the Son to be of the same nature as the Father, he exposed the fallacies of Arius with such skill that the Council not only condemned the latter’s heresy, excommunicating him and two diehard followers, but also expressed itself in a confession that sets forth the full divine majesty and glory of the Son, and does this in close connection with a singularly moving description of His redemptive work. The rejection of the opposite doctrine reflects an awareness of the part of the Nicene Fathers of the seriousness of the error with which they had been confronted. But it also emphasizes the note of strife and struggle. (Prof. Reim, Creeds, 9)

41. Council of Nicaea • The Council sided against Arius’ teachings, though Arianism did not quickly subside

42. Aftermath of Council of Nicaea • No sooner was the Council ended than its consensus began to fall apart. Constantine had expected that the result would be unity, but found that the Arians would not accept the Council's decision. Largely because of the political upheaval that threatened the empire, many of the orthodox bishops were prepared to look for a wording a little softer than that of Nicaea, something that sounded orthodox, but one that the Arians would accept. All sorts of compromise formulas were worked out, with all shades of variation from the formula of Nicaea.

43. Aftermath of Council of Nicaea • In 328, Alexander died, and Athanasius succeeded him as bishop of Alexandria. He refused to participate in these negotiations, suspecting (correctly, as it turned out) that once the orthodox party showed a willingness to compromise, they would end up giving away the store. He defended the full deity of Christ against emperors, magistrates, bishops, and theologians. For this, he was regarded as a trouble-maker by Constantine and his successors, and was banished from Alexandria a total of five times by various emperors.

44. Aftermath of Council of Nicaea • Eventually, Christians who believed in the Deity of Christ came to see that once they were prepared to abandon the Nicene formulation, they were on a slippery slope that led to regarding the Logos as nothing more than a high-ranking angel. The more the bishops experimented with other possible wordings, the clearer it became that only the Nicene formulation would preserve the Christian faith in any meaningful sense. Thus the Nicene Creed was re-affirmed at the Council of Constantinople in 381, a final triumph that Athanasius did not live to see (the wording of the Nicene Creed, as we have it today, was also settled at this Council).

45. Aftermath of Council of Nicaea • Of the two great enemies of biblical Christianity, Gnosticism and Arianism, Gnosticism has proved the longer lasting and greater threat. The Arian position has been revived in our own day primarily by the Watchtower Society, which explicitly hails Arius as a great witness to the truth; but Arianism has posed little threat to orthodoxy since the 5th Century. (Waterstradt, Nicene Creed, 3-4)

46. Aftermath of Council of Nicaea • 381: (May-July) Council of Constantinople • Reaffirmed original Nicene Creed • Composed own creed influenced by original Nicene Creed • More heresies had come up • More involving the Son of God • Also the role of the Holy Spirit • 150 bishops

47. Aftermath of Council of Nicaea • 451: (Oct 8 – Nov 1) Council of Chalcedon read • Creed of the 150 fathers (381 Nicene Creed) • Creed of the 318 fathers (325 Nicene Creed)

48. Aftermath of Council of Nicaea • Nicene Creed: most ecumenical of creeds • Accepted by Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Lutheran, and most Protestant churches.

49. Aftermath of Council of Nicaea • Apostles’ Creed • Used in connection to baptism • Which always applies to an individual • “I believe” • Nicene Creed • Used in connection with Lord’s Supper • An inherently shared action • “We believe”

50. Aftermath of Council of Nicaea • The Latin text says “Credo” (I believe), but the original Greek text says, “Pisteuomen” (“We believe”). • The Christian Worship translation is based on the original Greek text; The Lutheran Hymnal translation is based on the Latin text