‘I BELIEVE IN ONE GOD’ - NICENE CREED

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE NICENE CREED INTRO HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE NICENE CREED A council of Christian bishops was convened by the Roman Emperor Constantine in Nicea (now Iznik, Turkey) in AD 325. Mainly a response to the false teaching of Arius, a presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arius maintained that Jesus was not equal in rank to God the Father * Modern counterpart of Arianism:  Jehovah Witnesses

Also the Nicene creed rejected the teachings of Sabellius (3rd C heresy) - Sabellius preserves singular unity of God by teaching that God went through different modes of manifestation. * Modern counterpart of Sabellianism:  Oneness Pentecostal   Bottom line: Both Arianism and Sabellinism subscribe to the concept of ONE GOD, ONE PERSON. So Sabellius believes the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit as ‘one and the same Person’ throughout eternity. The Father is the Holy Spirit who became the Son when he was Virgin born….

* What are the modern heresies floating around today? One example: Monophysitism

* Note: The Biblical doctrine of the Trinity however states that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are 3 distinct and different Persons within the one Godhead. In other words, we believe in one God, consisting of 3 Persons who are co-eternal and co-equal. See Matthew 28:19: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”,   

2. THE NECESSITY FOR A CREED What is a creed? Derived from the Latin "credo, I believe". Therefore a statement of belief in a set of Biblical truths.   What is its nature? Essentially a summary or concise statement of doctrines formulated and accepted by a church.

What is its purpose? To state and affirm Biblical truths To set up a doctrinal standard for Christian belief To counter heresies or false teachings

MESSAGE We shall consider the following issues: A/ WHAT IS THE THEOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF ‘I BELIEVE IN ONE GOD’?

An exposition of this statement below: 1.  ‘I BELIEVE’ IS AN AFFIRMATIVE STATEMENT   Scripture requires us to affirm the right doctrine or teaching to be saved.

Example: 1 John 5:13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. * Believing in Jesus is a pre-requisite for receiving eternal life.

Application:  Have you and I believed in the words of Jesus in John 5:24? Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

B/ ‘I BELIEVE IN ONE GOD’ This statement has several ramifications, namely it contradicts 1. ‘ATHEISM’ with its doctrine of ‘no God’ - Atheists are people who deny the existence of God 2. POLYTHEISM with its doctrine of many separate gods - Polytheists are people who worship multiple gods

3. TRITHEISM with its doctrine of 3 different Gods co-existing together. Examples:  the Egyptian triad of Osiris, Isis and Horus, which is somewhat analogous to the human family with father, mother and child;   the Hindu triad of Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva.

Diagram of the Holy Trinity

Application:  Are you and I aware how radically different is the Christian conception of the Triune God?

C/ ‘I BELIEVE IN ONE GOD’ – WHICH GOD? A need to spell out which God we are referring to.   Scripture always talks about the Creator God, and not just any God.

See Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Thus a rejection of pantheism Pantheism is the view that God is everything and everyone and that everyone and everything is God. Pantheism is similar to polytheism (the belief in many gods), but goes beyond polytheism to teach that everything is God. A tree is God, a rock is God, an animal is God, the sky is God, the sun is God, you are God, etc. Pantheism is the supposition behind many cults and religions (e.g., Hinduism and Buddhism to an extent, the various unity and unification cults, and “mother nature” worshippers). From www.gotquestions.org

See Acts 17:22-26  So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,[c] 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 

‘In him we live and move and have our being’; See Acts 17:22-26  26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for ‘In him we live and move and have our being’;

* What is so unique about the Creator God? He is both transcendent and immanent:   1. Transcendent See Acts 17:24-25  being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,[c] 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything

See Acts 17:27-28 Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; 2. Immanent

CONCLUSION How does our belief in one God impact our Christian living? See Ephesians 4:1-5: I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

CONCLUSION How does our belief in one God impact our Christian living? See Ephesians 4:1-5: 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

CONCLUSION 20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who How does our belief in one God impact our Christian living? See John 17:20-23   20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 

CONCLUSION How does our belief in one God impact our Christian living? See John 17:20-23 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.