We take it for granted the Nicene Creed is a good thing. I challenge that assumption to build our faith and defeat ELB. More about its origin is in S6M2, but here is a summary. In 325 AD, a man named Árius was preaching that the Son, Jesus, was not self-existent but dependent on Mary for his creation and, therefore, not God. That was in direct contrast with the “Holy Three.”
I see this as the epitome of ELB and the enemy’s work. The history of that debate is interesting and continues today through the various forms of Unitarianism. I again remind the reader that my only critique is of ELB; I am not going downhill on any denomination; they all serve our Abba Father’s purpose.
In 325 AD, it seemed that Acts 15 held the path to a solution for the Arius problem, a council of elders and leaders. They missed the transition in our Abba Father’s plan from the apostles with miracle power to the Holy Spirit and the Scripture as the answer to theology questions. Instead, Emperor Constantine called the Council of Nicaea, controlled by ELB. They composed their own Scripture, named the Nicene Creed.
Today is almost two thousand years later, and we have the Scripture. Maybe it is worth another look. What would happen to Christianity if we replaced the Nicene Creed with the Scripture? It would become stronger. Starting with the virgin Mary in Luke 1:35, “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: wherefore also the holy thing which is begotten shall be called the Son of God.“
The phrase that has always jumped out at me is not “The Holy Spirit will come upon you,” It is, “and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee . . .” There is no question an incredible spirit wonder is happening. But what exactly is happening?
Is Luke 1:35 the starting point for Jesus, or is the Word, the Angel of the LORD, the pre-incarnate Jesus in the Old Testament, being transformed into a worthy sacrifice in the New Testament? That seems like a fair question, and the answer must include a trip through the Old Testament, where Jesus says he used to be, and decide if you disagree with who Jesus says he is. It’s that simple.
First, Jesus conquered death, and another transformation occurs; a new, eternal, heaven-worthy body is formed and ascends to be with our Abba Father! Was Jesus created or transformed in the New Testament? To me, it is clear he changed or transformed.
S4M2 presents the Angel of the LORD, the pre-incarnate Jesus. The key verse is John 8:56 where the Jews challenge Jesus in the temple. “Jesus replied, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it, and was glad.” John tells us Jesus was there with Abraham in the Old Testament. But not only that, Exodus 3:14 is the famous (through the Angel of the LORD) verse, “And He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I am hath sent me unto you.” Now, look at John 8:58, “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM.“
Now, the simple question is, how do we read John and not see that “the Word” always was?” In our Abba Father’s plan, Jesus always was and always will be. He appears as a spirit (the Word of the LORD), he appears as a spirit in human form (the Angel of the LORD), he appears as a human in human form (John 1:14 (“And the Word was made flesh“), and he appears as a transcended human, just as we will be when brought up in the rapture. All of this was known to the church leaders writing their own Scripture in 325 AD. And ELB won.
I suggest that creed was and still is the wrong response to the Arius problem, and we are paying for it today in weak faith and divisions in the body of Christ. The Nicene Creed was the wrong solution because it brought the debate directly into ELB with man’s words in the enemy’s world.
The church leaders could have defeated Arias with the words of the Scripture (letters at that time) and the Holy Spirit in our Abba Father’s world. And focus on the role of Jesus as the Savior and our role as the believer. But the Scripture as we know it was not recognized yet, which seems strange except for ELB. They should have used Paul’s letters to counter the preaching of Arius, not uninspired man’s words. That was wrong.
My interest here is a do-over to glorify our Abba Father, not to re-live the old and critique it in ELB. S6M2 provides more insight into Constantine. It does not matter what the early challenge was about; the glorifying response is the same for then and today, the Scripture. Let’s look at the creed as it stands today.
The Creed
(Creed) “I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of Heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ.”
(Comment) Our Abba Father’s doctrine is Ephesians 4:5-7, “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as also ye were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all.” These words, which were and are still more potent than any creed, were available in 325 AD. We should use them today because the teamwork concept is essential. The Scripture says our Abba Father manifested the world with the Word, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. In addition, the Nicene Creed states that the Father is the “maker of Heaven and earth.” Our Abba Father made the world through the Word and the Holy Spirit.
(Creed)”the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages.”
(Comment) John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten (monogenes) Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.” “Monogenes” means uniquely God’s son, not a “created” Son. The “born of the Father before all ages” is not the Scripture; the word “born” is not defendable.
(Creed) “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father . . .”
(Comment) That line makes no sense. No Scripture supports it; it is contrary to the Scripture. Scholars coined the word “consubstantial” to validate “the same essence.” But what does “one essence” even mean? The term replaced “One in being with the Father” in the original version, which is the heart of the 3-in-1 doctrine. We must challenge that fragile foundation and build our faith.
(Creed) “through him all things were made.”
(Comment) That line attempts to repair the weakness of the first line above, but the words of John 1:3 are more powerful, “All things were made through him; and without him was not anything made that hath been made.”
(Creed) “For us men and for our salvation . . .”
(Comment) Nowhere does the Scripture support “for us men . . .” A group of men wrote that line; “For us men” is very poor wording.
(Creed) “he came down from heaven,”
(Comment) The words of John 6:38 have more power, “For I am come down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” PS: If Jesus came down from Heaven, how could he have been created at birth?
(Creed) “and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.”
(Comment) The words of Luke 1:35 drive my bias here, “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: wherefore also the holy thing which is begotten shall be called the Son of God. . . .” Our Abba Father’s “power of the highest” was directly involved in the incarnation of Jesus.
(Creed) “For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,”
(Comment) While Pilate’s authority is true, the Sadducees and Pharisees were the ones threatened by Jesus and wanted him dead. We should not mask the true protagonists. Luke 23:4, “And Pilate said unto the chief priests and the multitudes, I find no fault in this man.”
(Creed) “he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day 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.”
(Comment) The last text is ok, but the Scripture is better. Mathew 27:50, “And Jesus cried again with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit.” Mathew 28:5-6, “But the Angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified He is not here; for he is risen, even as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” Acts 1:10, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven? this Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye beheld him going into heaven.” Mark 16:19, “So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken unto them, was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.” We can feel the power in the Scripture.
(Creed) I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.
(Comment) This phrase gives the impression that the Holy Spirit is “the Lord” and “proceeds from” is unclear what it means. I repeat Ephesians 4:5-7, “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as also ye were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all.” This is our Abba Father’s creed, and we should use it.
(Creed) I believe in one, holy,_________ apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins, and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen. (Comment) Different churches fill in the blank with their own reference, but Ephesians 4 is where our hearts should be. They wrote the creed for a purpose, but it creates the impression, especially today in our ELB sound bite world, that if we learn this creed, we are good to go. It reduces all of Jesus’ sacrifice to only three words, “for our sake.” Our life is all about glorifying our Abba Father, not ourselves.
