The Nicene Creed

The Text

God the Father

We believe in one God,
The Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

God the Son

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.

God the Holy Spirit

And we believe in The Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life.
He proceeds from the Father and the Son[1],
and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.
He spoke through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic[2] 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 Text in Greek (the Original Language)

Πιστεύομεν εἰς ἕνα Θεὸν Πατέρα παντοκράτορα ποιητὴν οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς ὁρατῶν τε πάντων καὶ ἀοράτων.
καὶ εἰς ἕνα Κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν
τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸν Μονογενῆ,
τὸν ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς γεννηθέντα πρὸ πάντων τῶν αἰώνων,
Φῶς ἐκ Φωτός,
Θεὸν ἀληθινὸν ἐκ Θεοῦ ἀληθινοῦ,
γεννηθέντα οὐ ποιηθέντα,
ὁμοούσιον τῷ Πατρί,
δι’ οὗ τὰ πάντα ἐγένετο·
τὸν δι’ ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους καὶ διὰ τὴν
ἡμετέραν σωτηρίαν κατελθόντα ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν,
καὶ σαρκωθέντα ἐκ Πνεύματος Ἁγίου καὶ Μαρίας τῆς Παρθένου,
καὶ ἐνανθρωπήσαντα,
σταυρωθέντα τε ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἐπὶ Ποντίου Πιλάτου,
καὶ παθόντα, καὶ ταφέντα,
καὶ ἀναστάντα τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρα κατὰ τὰς γραφὰς,
καὶ ἀνελθόντα εἰς τοὺς οὐρανούς,
καὶ καθεζόμενον ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ Πατρός,
καὶ πάλιν ἐρχόμενον μετὰ δόξης κρῖναι ζῶντας καὶ νεκρούς.
οὗ τῆς βασιλείας οὐκ ἔσται τέλος
καὶ εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον, τὸ Κύριον καὶ Ζωοποιόν,
τὸ ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐκπορευόμενον,
τῷ σὺν Πατρί καὶ Υἱῷ συμπροσκυνούμενον καὶ συνδοξαζόμενον,
τὸ λαλῆσαν διὰ τῶν προφητῶν-
εἰς μίαν, ἁγίαν καθολικὴν καὶ ἀποστολικὴν ἐκκλησίαν·
ὁμολογούμεν ὲν βάπτισμα εἰς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν·
προσδοκοῦμεν ἀνάστασιν νεκρῶν,
καὶ ζωὴν τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος. ἀμήν.

The Text in Latin

Credimus in unum Deum,
Patrem omnipotentem,
factorem coeli et terrae, visibilium omnium et
invisibilium,
et in unum Dominum Jesum Christum,
Filium Dei unicum,
de Patre natum ante omnia saecula;
Deum verum de Deo vero;
natum, non factum;
ejusdemque substantiae qua Pater est;
per quem omnia facta sunt;
qui propter nos homines et propter nostram salutem
descendit,
incarnatus est de Spiritu sancto, in Maria virgine homo
factus,
crucifixus pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato, sepultus,
resurrexit tertia die,
ascendit ad coelos,
sedet ad dexteram Patris;
inde venturus est cum gloria judicare vivos ac mortuos,
cujus regni non erit finis.
Et in Spiritum sanctum, Dominum ac vivificatorem
a Patre procedentem,
qui cum Patre et Filio adoratur et glorificatur,
qui locutus est per Prophetas;
in unam catholicam atque apostolicam Ecclesiam.
Confitemur unum baptismum in remissionem
peccatorum;
speramus resurrectionem mortuorum,
vitam futuri saeculi. Amen.


History

What we call the Nicene Creed today is actually the 2nd version. The original Nicene Creed was first adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325. What we call the Nicene Creed today was adopted in 381 at the First Council of Constantinople and is an amendment of the original Nicene Creed.

Commentary

The Text With Commentary

My commentary is in blue text.

God the Father

God the Son

  • And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
  • the only Son of God,
  • begotten from the Father before all ages,
    • Psalm 2.7, John 1.14, John 3.16, Romans 1.4, Acts 13.33, Hebrews 1.5 , Hebrews 5.5
    • Like a human father and son, Jesus, the Son, is begotten by the Father. However, unlike humans, He is begotten before all ages, in other words, before time began. From this we learn that while there are many similarities, the relationship between the heavenly Father and the heavenly Son are utterly different from the relationship between human fathers and human sons. The Son is certainly begotten by the Father, but this does not make the Son any less than the Father. It doesn't make His than the Father. It doesn't make Him less God
  • God from God,
    • Some translations will render this as God of God. I'm not certain if there is a significant difference in meaning here between from and of.
    • This phrase was not in the original Greek version from the Councile of Constantinople in 381. It was added to the Latin version used in the western church. Mos western Christians are familiar with it, while Eastern Orthodox Christians are not.
    • Jesus is God and He is also from God.
    • John 1.1, John 8.58, John 14:7-11, John 17.5, John 17:20-24
  • 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.
    • Why did Jesus have to suffer?
      • Jesus needed to suffer so that he would fulfill the prophecies.
      • So that Jesus, though He was innocent might be condemned by an earthly judge
      • Because God is righteous judge and He must be satisfied. True justice means that sin must be held accountable.
  • the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.
    • This is quoted directly from 1 Corinthians 15.4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
      • The word again is not in 1 Cor 15.4, nor is it in the original Greek of the Nicene Creed.
    • Jesus rising from the dead is not some spiritual or metaphorical truth. It is a literal, historical truth.
    • In 1 Corinthians 15.14 If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith also is in vain.
    • Christianity through the doctrine of the resurrection is the only religion which solves the problem of Death.
      • 2 Timothy 1.10 but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the Good News.
      • Hebrews 2.14 Since then the children have shared in flesh and blood, he also himself in the same way partook of the same, that through death he might bring to nothing him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
      • Christ has conquered death and through Him, we also may have our death conquered.
    • The resurrection also teaches us that Christ is alive today. He is the head of the Church today.
      • Acts 17.31 because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained; of which he has given assurance to all men, in that he has raised him from the dead."
      • Revelation 1.18 and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever. Amen. I have the keys of Death and of Hades.
      • The skeptic and sinner loves to point out hypocrisy in the church and the preacher, but on judgment day they will not face the church. They will face Jesus Himself.
  • 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.

God the Holy Spirit

  • And we believe in The Holy Spirit,
  • the Lord, the giver of life.
  • He proceeds from the Father and the Son,
    • John 14.17, John 16.14, John 20.22
    • John 15.26 "When the Counselor [The Holy Spirit] has come, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will testify about me.
  • 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.

Footnotes


  1. The Eastern Orthodox church teaches He proceeds from the Father and does not include the Son. (This is called the Filioque clause.) ↩︎

  2. Here, catholic does not mean Roman Catholic. It means universal, meaning God's church, anywhere in the world. ↩︎

The Nicene Creed
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On this page
The Text
God the Father
God the Son
God the Holy Spirit
The Text in Greek (the Original Language)
The Text in Latin
History
Commentary
The Text With Commentary
God the Father
God the Son
God the Holy Spirit
Footnotes