My jottings in case they are of any interest or use:
Nicene
Creed
Lent
Course 2025 – Session 2 (19/3/25)
Anything bugging you from last week?
Recap?
Possible Bible readings:
John 1:1-14
Hebrews 1-2
Today, the second of three main sections:
Trinitarian structure – God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit
This long central section of the creed
What does that tell us?
Also this was the controversial section at
Nicaea, especially on the nature of God the Son
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation he came
down from heaven,
was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and
the Virgin Mary
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under
Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the
Father.
He will come again in glory to judge
the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We’re not going to manage an exhaustive Bible
study on everything mentioned here tonight!
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
Lord
Jesus – (an ordinary name!) – Joshua – The
Lord Saves – He will save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21)
Christ (Greek); Hebrew (Messiah) = Anointed
one; prophets, priests and kings were anointed with olive oil in the Old
Testament – set apart as holy for a special purpose – the long-promised rescuer
king
the only Son of God,
Who else are sons of God?
How would you distinguish the way we are sons
of God from the way Jesus is Son of God?
Men and women sons and daughters of God by
adoption through faith
(sons also implied heirs)
Jesus The Son of God – Son of God by nature /
essence / being
(sons of God – angels)
(son of God – the OT King)
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
O Come All Ye Faithful:
“God of God, Light of Light,
lo, He abhors not the virgin's womb;
very God, begotten not created;”
begotten, not made,
Did Father Christmas (St Nicholas, Bishop of
Myra) slap / punch an Arian / the heretic Arius?!
(There is doubt over whether St Nicholas was there!)
Petrus
de Natalibus – 1370 bishop of Equilio (Jesolo) near
Venice, and died around 1400.
“It happened that saint Nicholas, now an old
man, was present at the Council of Nicaea, and out of jealousy of faith
struck a certain Arian in the jaw, on account of which it is recorded that he
was deprived of his mitre and pallium; on account of which he is often depicted
without a mitre.”
Obviously not physically begotten as God is
Spirit without body or parts (Article 1 of the 39 Articles of Religion of the C
of E - https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/book-common-prayer/articles-religion#I
– see also Article 2 on God the Son as very God and very man)
I. Of Faith in the Holy Trinity
There is but one living and true God,
ever- lasting, without body, parts, or passions; of infinite power, wisdom, and
goodness; the Maker, and Preserver of all things both visible and invisible.
And in unity of this Godhead there be three Persons, of one substance, power,
and eternity; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
II. Of the Word or Son of God, which
was made very Man
The Son, which is the Word of the Father,
begotten from everlasting of the Father, the very and eternal God, and of one
substance with the Father, took Man's nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin,
of her substance: so that two whole and perfect Natures, that is to say, the
Godhead and Manhood, were joined together in one Person, never to be divided,
whereof is one Christ, very God, and very Man; who truly suffered, was
crucified, dead, and buried, to reconcile his Father to us, and to be a sacrifice,
not only for original guilt, but also for all actual sins of men.
Eternally begotten – timelessly
“subsisting eternal relations of origin” –
they are always related as Father and Son
The Son is never without the Father and the
Father is never without the Son (in the bond of the Holy Spirit)
Ordered relationship, but all three persons
equally one God
(Remember what we said last time as the
Fatherhood of God as original and human fatherhood a created reflection of
that, rather than the other way round – Ephesians 3:15 – perhaps God made
fathers and sons to be a picture of his life)
(See also Athanasian Creed - https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/book-common-prayer/creed-s-athanasius
- not actually written by St Athanasius!)
The Son is all that the Father is except
Father and so on
(For us, sons come into being!)
The son not a creature – as the heretic Arius
seemed to teach
Arius said of the Son “there was when he was
not” – which is heresy!
of one Being with the Father;
homousios (Greek) – homo - same – ousia - substance
/ essence / being / nature
consubstantial (Latin)
Not that the Father and the Son are made out
of some third stuff which we call divine being!
Contrast homoiousios – like essence – similar
essence - only one “i”, one iota difference
Edward Gibbon: “The difference between
the Homoousion and the Homoiousion is almost
invisible to the nicest theological eye.” (Edward Gibbon, The Decline
and Fall of the Roman Empire (New York: Random House), vol. 1, ch.
xxi, n.155.)
Using a non-biblical or extra biblical (technical)
term – what do you think of that?
The thing is that the heretics quoted Bible
verses too and said they believed them
So the issue was how to put all the Bible
verses together
Everyone said they were committed to the
authority of the Bible
The debate was about what the Bible taught
This word aimed to rule out some
interpretations of Scripture as outside the Christian faith
Creeds are a summary of and therefore a guide
to reading Scripture – thought it is Scripture which is the ultimate authority
Creeds get their authority from being true and
faithful summaries of Scripture (which are ancient and widely shared). They are
in principle reformable by Scripture.
The Son really is God – as much as the Father
is God
The Son is God in the same way that the Father
is God – fully truly God – thought the Son is not the Father and the Father is
not the Son
The shield of the Trinity – trinity diagram - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity
Why does it matter that Jesus really really is
God?
Only as God could be perfectly reveal God
John 10:30 - I and the Father are one.
John 14:9 -
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
Only God could save
(Perhaps we might say the divine nature of the
Son gives infinite value to his atoning sacrifice?)
through him all things were made.
John 1:3
Colossians 1:15-17
Cf. The Father as creator
All creation through the Son
The Son as the agent of creation
A bit technical! “inseparable operation” /
“the external works of the Trinity are undivided” – “Because God is one, God’s
wisdom, love, and power are one. Therefore, the distinctions between the
persons of the Trinity in their external works are not distinctions of agency.
They are distinctions in mode of agency. The Father acts through the Son by the
Spirit. The Son acts from the Father through the Spirit. The Spirit acts from
the Father and the Son. But in each instance we are talking about one singular
divine agency because we are talking about three persons who are one undivided
God.” Scott R. Swain
-
https://credomag.com/article/the-undivided-trinity/
For us and for our salvation he came
down from heaven,
Salvation – a rescue mission – not just an
educational project or a few tips etc.
Hymn worthy!
From heaven you came helpless babe… (who was
also the eternal God!)
Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly
crown,
When Thou camest to earth for me;
Thou who wast rich beyond all measure…
was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and
the Virgin Mary
and was made man.
Incarnate – made flesh – Latin for flesh /
meat
For our sake he was crucified under
Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
For us – in our place, on our behalf
Try to imagine you’d never heard a Christian
creed before.
Might you find it surprising that it mentions Pontius Pilate?
What might the point of that be?
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
Come to the ascension day service at
Dallington on 29th May!
and is seated at the right hand of the
Father.
Christ’s ongoing intercession and mediation
for us
He will come again in glory to judge
the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
(cf. 1 Cor 15:28)
This final line specifically combats the
teaching of Marcellus of Ancyra who seems to have thought that when his mission
was finally accomplishes the Son would somehow be reabsorbed into God.
Do you think there is important stuff the
creed misses out?
* * *
Session (3) 9/4 – the remainder of the creed – Holy Spirit to end!
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