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Nicene Creed
Nicene Creed
* The Profession of the Christian Faith
== Summary of professions: ==
·      The Father almighty
·      The Trinity
·      Christ & his mission of salvation
·      Immaculate conception and nature of Christ
·      Resurrection and Second Coming of Christ
·      Judgment
·      The workings & presence of the Holy Spirit
·      The Catholic Church, Baptism & Resurrection of the Dead
·      Heaven
The Nicene Creed
{| class="wikitable"
| colspan="2" |'''Part 1: The first divine Person and the wonderful  work of creation'''
|-
|'''''I believe in one God,'''''
'''''the Father almighty,'''''
'''''maker of heaven and earth,'''''
'''''of all things visible and invisible.'''''
|
•        “The faithful first profess their belief in  God” (CCC  199)
•        The confession of God's oneness, which has its  roots in the divine revelation of the Old Covenant, is inseparable from the  profession of God's existence and is equally fundamental. God is unique;  there is only one God: "The Christian faith confesses that God is one in  nature, substance and essence.“ (CCC  200)
|-
|'''''I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,'''''
'''''the Only Begotten Son of God,'''''
'''''born of the Father before all ages.'''''
'''''God from God, Light from Light, true God from true  God,'''''
'''''begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;'''''
'''''through him all things were made.'''''
|
•        Jesus affirms “the one Lord” (Mk 12:29-30) and also  that he himself is the Lord (Mk 12:35-37)
•        confession of Jesus as Lord (or of the Holy  Spirit) in no way contradicts belief in One God (CCC  202)
•        “He was in the beginning with God. (Jn 1:2)
•        Jesus Christ is true God and true man” (CCC  464)
•        “begotten not made” = the Son is of the Father  and not created; (CCC  465)
•        Jesus says, “No one knows the Son except the  Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the  Son chooses to reveal him” (Mt 11:27 from CCC  240)
•        “All things came to be through him, and  without him nothing came to be” (Jn 1:3)
|}
{| class="wikitable"
| colspan="2" |'''Part 2:  The  second divine Person and the mystery of his redemption of men'''
|-
|'''''For us men and for our salvation he came down from  heaven,'''''
'''''[bow during the next two lines:]'''''
'''''and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin  Mary,'''''
'''''and became man.'''''
|
•        The Good News: God has sent his Son (CCC  I, 2:2)
•        The Word became flesh so that thus we might  know God's love ...  "For God so  loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him  should not perish but have eternal life.“ (Jn 3:16 from CCC  458)
•        so that we may be "partakers of the  divine nature" (2 Pet  1:4 per CCC  460)
•        the Son of God assumed a human nature in order  to accomplish our salvation in it. (CCC  461)
•        “And being found in human form he humbled himself  and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross” (Phil 2:7-8 per CCC  461)
•        The Annunciation to Mary inaugurates "the  fullness of time", the time of the fulfillment of God's promises and  preparations. (CCC  484)
•        The Virgin Mary "cooperated through free  faith and obedience in human salvation" (LG 56). She uttered her yes  "in the name of all human nature" (St. Thomas Aquinas, STh III, 30,  1). By her obedience she became the new Eve, mother of the living. (CCC  511)
|-
|'''''For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,'''''
'''''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.'''''
|
•        For overview of Catholic belief in Christ, see  CCC  423
•        God's saving plan was accomplished "once  for all" by the redemptive death of his Son Jesus Christ. (CCC  571)
•        CHRIST'S REDEMPTIVE DEATH IN GOD'S PLAN OF  SALVATION (CCC  1, 2,4)
•        The Scriptures had foretold this divine plan  of salvation through the putting to death of "the righteous one, my  Servant" as a mystery of universal redemption, that is, as the ransom  that would free men from the slavery of sin.(CCC  601)
•        “Christ died and lived again, that he might be  Lord both of the dead and of the living.” (Rom 14:9, from CCC  668)
•        Christ is Lord of eternal life. Full right to  pass definitive judgment on the works and hearts of men belongs to him as  redeemer of the world. He "acquired" this right by his cross. The  Father has given "all judgment to the Son". Yet the Son did not  come to judge, but to save and to give the life he has in himself. By  rejecting grace in this life, one already judges oneself, receives according  to one's works, and can even condemn oneself for all eternity by rejecting  the Spirit of love. (CCC  679)
|}
{| class="wikitable"
| colspan="2" |'''Part 3: The third divine Person, the origin and  source of our sanctification'''
|-
|'''''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.'''''
|•        "Holy Spirit" is the proper name of  the one whom we adore and glorify with the Father and the Son. The Church has  received this name from the Lord and professes it in the Baptism of her new  children. (CCC  691)
•        Through his grace, the Holy Spirit is the  first to awaken faith in us and to communicate to us the new life, which is  to "know the Father and the one whom he has sent, Jesus Christ. (CCC  684)
•        To believe in the Holy Spirit is to profess  that the Holy Spirit is one of the persons of the Holy Trinity,  consubstantial with the Father and the Son: "with the Father and the Son  he is worshipped and glorified.“ (CCC  685)
•        The mission of Christ and the Holy Spirit is  brought to completion in the Church, which is the Body of Christ and the  Temple of the Holy Spirit. (CCC  737)
•        For the symbols of the Holy Spirit see CCC  694-701
|-
|'''''I believe in one, holy, catholic and 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'''''
|•        To believe that the Church is "holy"  and "catholic," and that she is "one" and  "apostolic" (as the Nicene Creed adds), is inseparable from belief  in God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  (CCC  750)
•        The Church is both the means and the goal of  God's plan: prefigured in creation, prepared for in the Old Covenant, founded  by the words and actions of Jesus Christ, fulfilled by his redeeming cross  and his Resurrection, the Church has been manifested as the mystery of  salvation by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. (CCC  778)
•        Summary CCC  866-870:
•        The '''Church is one''': she acknowledges one  Lord, confesses one faith, is born of one Baptism, forms only one Body, is  given life by the one Spirit, for the sake of one hope...
•        '''The Church is holy''': the Most Holy God  is her author; Christ, her bridegroom, gave himself up to make her holy; the  Spirit of holiness gives her life. ... Her holiness shines in the saints; in  Mary she is already all-holy.
•        '''The Church is catholic''': she proclaims  the fullness of the faith. She bears in herself and administers the totality  of the means of salvation. She is sent out to all peoples. She speaks to all  men. She encompasses all times.
•        '''The Church is apostolic'''. She is built  on a lasting foundation: "the twelve apostles of the Lamb" (Rev 21:14). She is  indestructible (cf. Mt  16:18). She is upheld infallibly in the truth: Christ governs her through  Peter and the other apostles, who are present in their successors, the Pope  and the college of bishops.
•        Faith is necessary for salvation. The Lord  himself affirms: "'''He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but  he who does not believe will be condemned'''" (Mk 16:16 from CCC  183)
•        All the sacraments, and principally those of  Christian initiation, have as their goal the last Passover of the child of  God which, through death, leads him into the life of the Kingdom. Then what  he confessed in faith and hope will be fulfilled: "I look for the  resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.“ (CCC  1680)
|}
== Notes on the history of the Nicene Creed ==
·      The Nicene Creed is derived of the language adopted by the Church at the Councils of Nicea (325 AD) and Constantinople (381 AD)
·      the Councils were instrumental is affirming the Christian faith, especially against the heresies that distorted or denied the nature of God and Jesus Christ
·      The heresies corrected heterodox (different, incorrect) beliefs
·      The primary heretical (wrong) beliefs were based on misunderstandings of the Triune nature of God, i.e., the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
·      The primary proponent of the heresies that were corrected by the Councils was the gnostic heretic, “Arius,” whose followers were called “Arians” and his teachings “Arianism”.
·      St. Nicholas slapped Arius at the Council of Nicaea
{| class="wikitable"
| colspan="2" |'''Beliefs affirmed  by the Councils'''
(“orthodox” for “straight, right way” or “accepted”)
|'''Heretical  beliefs'''
(“heterodox” for “other,” “wrong teaching”)
|-
| colspan="2" |The Father is "maker  of heaven and earth, all things visible and invisible."
|That the earth is corrupt  and ungodly, and only heaven is divine. This “dualism” condemns what is of  the earth (“mortal”) and accepts only the heaven and the unseen as divine.
|-
| colspan="2" |The Lord Jesus Christ is  "born of the Father before all ages... begotten, not made,  consubstantial with the Father... and was incarnate of the Virgin Mary"
|Some heretics claimed that  Jesus was either
1)        not God; or
2)        not Man;
and  thereby not both
|-
| colspan="2" rowspan="2" |The Father, the Son and the  Holy Spirit are “from the substance of the Father“ (from Council of Nicaea of  325, meaning, the same, or “consubstantial”).
|Some heretics considered  Christ as a creation of God, not equal or “consubstantial” with the Father  and not having always existed with the Father.
|-
|Arius taught the Christ is  the Son of God but that he did not always exist.
|-
| colspan="2" |Affirms the Trinity, the  Father, Son and Holy Spirit
|Some heretics did not  recognize the Holy Spirit
|-
| rowspan="2" |Note:
| colspan="2" |If the Son and/or the Holy  Spirit are not of the “same substance” as the Father, then belief in the Son  and the Holy Spirit becomes polytheistic and allows for belief in other gods.
|-
| colspan="2" |“Strict” monotheistic  religions such as Judaism and Islam reject the divinity of Christ.
|-
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|}
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