Exploring the Creeds (Part 1)
Why were the ecumenical creeds and councils necessary?
The early church found itself in an evolving political and ecclesiastical landscape. The church was relatively new within the Roman Empire and the world. Unlike Judaism, Christianity was forming its foundational beliefs and dogmas while spreading among the nations. Judaism had a long interpretive tradition from a primarily homogenous group. In contrast, the early church spread not only from Jews converting to Christianity but also from Greeks, Romans, Africans, and more. Though most think of the ecumenical creeds when the term creed is used, creedal language is found in the New Testament and the Old such as Deut. 6:4, John 1:1, 1 Cor. 8:6, and 1 Cor. 15:3-4.[1] The second and third centuries saw the continued tradition of creed writing, which primarily focused on the dual natures of Christ and his life on earth in addition to the unity of the godhead.[2] The importance of creeds to the early church cannot be overstated. They were used for catechism, baptism, and liturgically.
Since Emporer Constantine’s conversion in A.D. 312, he sought to bring leading Bishops together to answer the defining questions of the day regarding the faith. For the Christian faith to grow in acceptance, it was critical for clear statements of belief. Two questions loomed large over the church at this time: (1) the nature of Christ and (2) The nature and relationship within the Godhead. The robust debate took place in A.D. 325 and A.D. 451 at the councils of Nicaea I and Chalcedon, producing the Creed of Nicaea and Chalcedonian Definition, respectively. These councils and subsequent creeds are foundational to Christian belief and theology, which are as important today as they were 1700 years ago.
Creeds were not a new concept to the church brought about under theological crises in A.D. 325 and A.D. 451. Instead, Mark Noll points out that creeds were a “decisive means that stabilized the church was the development of short statements of belief summarizing Christian teaching and introducing inquirers to the faith.”[3] These early creeds were used for baptism and catechizing new believers to the essential beliefs to the faith in easily summary statements.
The nature of Christ, which was discussed at the Council of Nicaea I, is a concept that one can have difficulty understanding. How can Jesus be man and God? Was Jesus created as Arius taught? How does that balance with texts like John 1 that say Jesus was “in the beginning?” These questions and more were answered at Nicaea as the ecumenical council declared two core principles:
(1) “Christ was true God from true God. Jesus himself was God in the same sense that the Father was God.”[4]
(2) “Christ was consubstantial [of one substance] with the Father.”[5] Astonishingly, among the 318 bishops convening at Nicaea, only three, including Arius, voted against the creed.[6]
The Chalcedonian Definition further tackled the question of Christ’s nature by defining Jesus as truly man and truly God. Christ has a dual nature that is neither mixed nor one dominant over the other. The statement is definitive and instructive for the Christian. The definition informs the believer that “Christians can live in the world and also for the glory of God—the fact of one “person” can coexist with the fact of two “natures”—because it really happened, as the apostle John wrote, that “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14).”[7]
These creeds are essential for the church today as Trinitarian controversies continue. One of the most popular Systematic Theologies is written by Wayne Grudem, who suggests that the Son is eternally subordinate to the Father. The doctrine of eternal subordination purports that the Son and Spirit are not equal but are naturally obedient to the Father as if their wills and desires are competing within the Godhead. This doctrine is contrary to the Nicene Creed and Chalcedonian Definition. It has been used as justification for complementarianism, which is a doctrine that stands on its own without the errant view of Grudem and others.
Consider the Advent Christian Church; though it’s trended towards an orthodox Christology over the last few decades, the early work of the ecumenical creeds is still viewed with skepticism despite the near-universal acceptance of other evangelical and mainline bodies.
The doctrines defined at Nicaea and Chalcedon impact today’s church as much as the time they were written. Central to the Christian faith is Christ and the Trinitarian nature of God. Though each person has their role in creation, salvation, and sanctification, they are of the same will, purpose, and essence.
Let’s stand in thankfulness for the work done by our Christian forbears and early Church Fathers. They’ve handed down priceless heirlooms born out of the careful study and thoughtful discussion in the early hours of our faith’s birth. Rejection of the creeds is to purposefully separate oneself from foundational Christian orthodoxy carried forward from the days before the legalization of Christianity.
The Nicene Creed
We believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
begotten from the Father before all ages,
God from God,
Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made;
of the same essence as the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,
and was made human.
He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered and was buried.
The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again with glory
to judge the living and the dead.
His kingdom will never end.
And we believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life.
He proceeds from the Father and the Son,
and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.
He spoke through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.
We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look forward to the resurrection of the dead,
and to life in the world to come. Amen.
The Chalcedonian Definition
We, then, following the holy Fathers, all with one consent, teach men to confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man, of a reasonable [rational] soul and body; consubstantial [co-essential] with the Father according to the Godhead, and consubstantial with us according to the Manhood; in all things like unto us, without sin; begotten before all ages of the Father according to the Godhead, and in these latter days, for us and for our salvation, born of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, according to the Manhood; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, only begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably; the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved, and concurring in one Person and one Subsistence, not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son, and only begotten, God the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ; as the prophets from the beginning [have declared] concerning Him, and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself has taught us, and the Creed of the holy Fathers has handed down to us.
[1] Donald Fairbairn and Ryan M. Reeves, The Story of Creeds and Confessions: Tracing the Development of the Christian Faith(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2019), 21-26.
[2] Ibid., 26.
[3] Mark A. Noll, Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity, Third Edition. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2012), 32.
[4] Mark A. Noll, Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity, Third Edition. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2012), 48.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Donald Fairbairn and Ryan M. Reeves, The Story of Creeds and Confessions: Tracing the Development of the Christian Faith(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2019), 58.
[7] Mark A. Noll, Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity, Third Edition. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2012), 75.