I remember the first time I was told that Jesus was created by God the Father in Genesis 1, when God created light on the first day. I was about 10 years old and didn’t know any better, so I believed it at the time. Little did I know that this was an ancient debate so intense that a council had to be called to resolve the conflict. The Council of Nicaea established Christian orthodoxy: that Jesus was begotten, but not created, by the Father, and is equal to Him. In this new series, we will be discussing theology basics by working through the Nicene Creed in celebration of its 1,700-year anniversary.
With that, I want to welcome you to my first post! I believe that every Christian has the right to learn theology, so my goal is to explain it in a simple way. I want you to know what you believe and why you believe it. My goal isn’t to persuade you to believe exactly what I believe. It’s to educate you to be able to engage in theological thought, conversation, and even debate. Understanding the core principles of Christianity—and why we believe them—is essential to your own faith and spiritual life.
Depending on the type of church you go to, you may have never even heard of a creed. A creed is a statement of beliefs, much like a “What We Believe” section on a church or ministry’s website. The two most well-known creeds in Christianity are the Apostle’s Creed and the Nicene Creed. These are statements of belief passed down from the early Christian churches that help define Christian orthodoxy.
The Nicene Creed was written at the Council of Nicaea in the year 325, which was attended by over 300 bishops from across the Roman empire. In the grand scheme of time, this was not long after the New Testament was written. What we might consider as basic theological tenets today were not yet established by the Christian community. Constantine requested the Nicene Council to resolve theological debate. At this time, there was no such thing as separation of church and state. Theology was political, and theological issues had a vast impact on society. Constantine’s order was designed to make peace, both politically and socially.
The main issue at hand was the nature of God: how do God the Father and Christ His Son relate to one another? Where did Jesus come from, and is what does it mean for Jesus to be God’s Son? Are the Father, Son, and Spirit three separate beings? Are they all one being? Are they possibly both at the same time? How do we understand Christ’s divinity and humanity? In particular, the goal for the first council was to reject Arianism, the beliefs of a man named Arius who argued that Jesus was created by God the Father.
It is important to note that the creed was expanded in 381 at the Council of Constantinople. This expansion added Trinitarian language, including the Holy Spirit’s equality with the Father and Son. It also included more information about Christ, such as His virgin birth and crucifixion.
To answer the question, “Why is the Nicene Creed important?”, we have to look at the essential doctrines of Christianity—many of which are clearly defined in the Creed itself. That definition has passed the test of time (1,700 years!) and has been useful to Christians for generations.
At the heart of it is this: the belief that Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully human. The only begotten Son of God came to earth, took on human flesh, physically died on the cross, and rose from the dead—defeating sin and death. The divine and human nature of Christ is essential to His role as Savior.
That is the Good News of the Gospel. The Nicene Creed helps us to clearly understand that Good News, what it means, and how we were saved by One who was fully God and fully Human.
In the next few weeks, we’ll be reviewing each section of the Nicene Creed and further diving into the theology behind them. If you’re interested, please consider subscribing so you don’t miss a post!
Sources used:
Emmons, D D. 2025. “CHURCH at a CROSSROADS: How the First Council of Nicaea Addressed One of History’s Most Dangerous Heresies.” The Priest 81 (2): 25–31. https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=c2052c36-9ee3-34ed-b4bf-5c0ee6888f38.
Keane, James T. 2025. “Nicaea and All That: Why a Council from 1,700 Years Ago Still Matters.” America, May 1. https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=31403685-a3f1-3e0e-b9f1-5de091244877.
Lyman, Rebecca. “The Theology of the Council of Nicaea.” In St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology, edited by Brendan N. Wolfe et al. University of St Andrews, 2022–. Article published April 25, 2024. https://www.saet.ac.uk/Christianity/TheTheologyoftheCouncilofNicaea.
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