This is why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. – John 5:18

Each communion Sunday those of us worshiping together at LifePoint recite the Creed of Nicaea together as a profession of faith and an act of worship. I usually remind us all that it is one of the oldest ecumenical creeds and has been a part of the communion liturgy for 1,700 years. Here then, is a bit of history about the creed itself.

The church of Christ endured multiple waves of persecution during the first three centuries of its existence, instigated first and primarily by Jewish leaders, followed soon after by the Roman Empire (either in concerted and intentional acts of violence against the church or by simple indifference to local magistrates who acted out on their own to suppress the growing faith). With the conversion of the Roman Emperor Constantine in A.D. 312, state sanctioned persecution ended, and the church was set free to confront what had become a growing and significant problem—heretical teaching rooting itself within the church. In North Africa, a wayward bishop by the name of Arius had been promoting a concept that Jesus, although the highest of God’s creation, was nevertheless a created being, thus denying his divinity. “There was when the Son was not” was his teaching zinger (the saying was even turned into a little musical ditty for quick memorization). Although Constantine did not fully understand the particulars of the debate, he did not want to see disunity ravage a church that had endured so much for so many decades. “These questions are idle cobwebs of contention, spun by curious wits,” he said. It was time for action.

Constantine called a general council of the church, inviting 1,800 bishops from around the empire. Due to difficulty in travel in those days, less than 400 made the trip to the Asian city of Nicaea (soon to become part of the Turkish empire). There, Arius provided an official overview of his teaching to many bishops who still bore on their physical bodies the marks of persecution received in defense of the orthodox teaching that Jesus Christ is both God and Man. When Arius and his followers had finished, a well-known bishop named Alexander and his assistant, Athanasius, rebutted Arius and his teachings by emphasizing Scripture, plain reason, and historical orthodoxy that proved convincing to the council of bishops, which decided overwhelmingly against Arius and for the divinity of Jesus. As a result, a creed was drawn up—essentially a statement of faith—which confirmed the beliefs that were both essential and unique to Christianity. These are the teachings that had been taught by both Jesus and his apostles. The decision was announced on June 19, A.D. 325 (making 2025 the 1,700th anniversary of the creed). You know what the statement of faith said because you recite it with your brothers and sisters at LifePoint each communion Sunday, along with countless millions of other believers across the globe.

Creeds are not the Bible, nor do they hold the same authority as the Scriptures. But many of the creeds play an important role in both teaching and confirming the most important aspects of our faith in concise, accurate, and biblical terms that are easily memorized. This is precisely why they have been used to such positive effect throughout the ages.

Like almost every other good and profitable idea, teaching or concept, creeds can be abused. They can be elevated to canonical (biblical) status, and they can also be trivialized. If we are not careful, we can find ourselves reciting them vainly and repetitiously in a manner that does not honor God. Utilized carefully and respectfully, however, they can contribute greatly to both our understanding of the faith and our practice of it.

The divinity of Jesus is a primary matter as it relates to Christianity. In other words, to deny that Jesus is God is to deny the Christian faith. We believe and teach that Jesus is both Lord and Christ at LifePoint, and to this end we emphasize his divinity (without deemphasizing his humanity). We do so in cohort with the genuine church of Christ that has existed since Jesus established the church in and through the teaching of his apostles. We do so in unity with our brothers at Nicaea, and with our brothers and sisters in Christ these past 1,700 years.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Jym

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