by The Nicene Creed has had a significant influence on Protestant traditions, theological principles, and key doctrines. What started as a meeting of bishops to refute heresy, turned out to be the Nicene Creed that impacted multiple levels of the formation of Protestantism. The Council of Nicaea in 325 was the first creed to be officially recognized by an ecumenical council.[1] While Protestants are sola scriptura with the Bible as ultimate authority, the creeds set out the beliefs of Christianity.[2] It stands as a foundational document that addresses theological controversies and established orthodoxy. In examining the influence of the Nicene Creed on Protestantism, several insights emerge.
Once the Nicene Creed is read and understood, some key assertions are identified and easily connected to monotheism, the doctrine of the trinity, Christology, and the unity of the church. Research of the works from influential Protestant reformers exhibit Nicene Theology and they refer to it directly. The Nicene Creed is embedded within Protestant traditions and training that starts with the youth and continues into seminary and theological debates with the Nicene Creed as the foundational basis of understanding and agreement.
Historical Context, The Creed, and Key Assertions
In 325 AD, Emperor Constantine the Great, convened over three hundred bishops from across the Christian world to Nicaea in response to the Arian controversy which was a theological dispute centered around the nature of Jesus Christ. The heresy was the belief that Jesus, as the Son of God, was a created being and subordinate to the Father. The goal was to affirm orthodox Christian beliefs and establish a unified understanding of the relationship between God the Father and Jesus Christ. The outcome was the Nicene Creed, or the Creed of Nicaea. In 318, further amendments were made to the Nicene Creed concerning the Holy Spirit by affirming the divinity and role of the Holy Spirit within the Trinity.
The outcome has been referred to different names such as the Nicene Creed, the Creed of Nicaea, and the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed. All of them refer to the same creed that originated in the Council of Nicaea in 325 (See Appendix A) where many of the bishops participated and of most of them agreed to swear to the Nicene Creed.[3] The Nicene Creed leaves a legacy that continues to shape Christian theology and practices today.
The Nicene Creed from the Council of Constantinople in 381
The text of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed is as follows. Italics indicate additions made to the creed of 325, and the Western addition of “and the son” is in brackets:[4]
We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made;
Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; he was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried, and the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; from thence he shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.
And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father [and the Son], who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets.
In one holy catholic and apostolic Church; we acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.[5]
Key Assertions and Biblical Support
There were many outcomes from the productive councils and on June 19, 325, the Nicene Creed affirmed that the Son shared the Father’s divine nature. The participants in the debate included church bishops and other Christian thinkers of nonepiscopal rank.[6] The Nicene Creed has several key assertions that were agreed upon by the councils. The Nicene Creed was more explicit than the Apostle’s Creed regarding the statement of the Christ and the Holy Ghost and provided the needed clarification to combat the heresies of the Nicene Age. It is used today to combat those same heresies which invariable reoccur in differing forms.[7]
The first assertion is that Christ is true God from true God where Jesus himself is God in the same sense that the Father is God. The supporting Bible passages include, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.He was in the beginning with God.All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:1-3, New King James Version) and “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col 2:9).
The second is that Christ is consubstantial [of one substance] with the Father.[8] Biblical support includes, “I and My Father are one” (John 10:30) and “who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God” (Phil 2:6). Another assertion includes Christ being begotten, not made as He was never formed as all other things and persons had been created but is from eternity the Son of God. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
A different assertion is that Christ became human ‘for us humans and for our salvation’ which summarizes that Christ could not have brought salvation to his people if Christ were only a creature. Humanity cannot pull itself up to God as salvation was of God.[9] “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Heb 2:14-15). The last assertion is the unity of the Church as it stresses the importance of doctrinal unity. “so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another” (Heb 12:5).
Influences on Protestantism
Influential Protestant Reformers
Protestantism was heavily influenced by individuals who rose to prominence and became recognized as leading interpreters of its traditions. In the formative phase of Protestantism, theologians such as Martin Luther (Lutheran), John Calvin (Presbyterian and United Church of Christ), and Thomas Cranmer (Anglican) played leading roles in shaping and articulating the ideas of the emergent Protestant groupings.[10] Not only were these people theologians, but they were also preachers who influenced the teachings within Protestantism. The sermon is a means to make connections with issues of spirituality and ethics. The preachers shaped Protestantism’s sense of identity and advancing theological agendas.[11]
In 2014, a research project ranked Martin Luther number five out of 518 notable people in the category of religion who made significant contributions prior to 1950.[12] Lutheranism was born from Martin Luther and was the first Protestant religion. Before Luther became a reformer of the church, he was a reformer of theology and religious practice with a goal to teach people the Christianity was about trusting God and loving others instead of earning a ticket to heaven.[13] Luther stated, “I teach that people should put their trust in nothing but Jesus Christ alone, not in prayers, merits, or their own deeds.”[14] Luther was credited for being one of the initiating people of the Protestant Reformation by writing the ninety-five these dated October 31, 1517 because he felt people were being given false assurance that indulgences would save them. The invention of the printing press aided in the acceleration of the reformation and the distribution of Luther’s documents. Luther also pushed for a “different kind of preaching” from the Summary Instruction of the Catholics with preaching the gospel that Jesus commanded to be preached (Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, Christocentric, Simple to Understand). Luther authored his own commentary supporting the Nicene Creed. Luther writes,
I believe not only that Jesus Christ is the true and only Son of God, begotten from eternity in one eternal, divine nature and substance; but also that all things are made subject to Him by His Father, and that in His humanity He is made Lord of me and of all things which, in His divinity, He, with the Father, has created.[15]
John Calvin was significant to the Protestant Reformation as he became one of the most influential theologians creating Calvinism which spread across Europe reinforcing the reformations break from the Catholic Church because of his unbending conviction of his rightness.[16] Geneva was an educational center that had its teachings spread from Poland and Hungary in the east, to British Isles in the west which subsequently spread out to puritan New England and America.[17]
Within John’s writing of the Institutes of the Christian Religion, he asserts the Nicene’s Creed’s understanding of God as three persons in one essence in which the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit eternally co-exist and are consubstantial. John writes,
But since the Father, although distinguished by his own peculiar property, hath expressed himself entirely in his Son, it is with the greatest reason asserted that he had made his hypostasis conspicuous in him…there is in the Father a proper hypostasis, which is conspicuous in the Son. And thence also we easily infer the hypostasis of the Son, which distinguishes him from the Father. The same reasoning is applicable to the Holy Spirit.[18]
He also aligns with the Nicene Creed and explains how Christ is true God of true God, “For unless Christ had the same corporeal nature with us, there would be no force in the argument which Paul so vehemently urges, that if Christ be risen from the dead, then we shall also rise; that if we rise not, neither is Christ risen.”[19]
Thomas Cranmer was the sixty-eighth Archbishop of Canterbury during the English Reformation and helped shape the development of Anglicanism which is a distinct Protestant group formed during the 16th century in England.[20] He authored the Book of Common Prayer which has the Nicene Creed recited during worship services. Providing direction of the order steps regarding communion, Cranmer writes, “After the Creed ended, shall follow the Sermon or Homily.”[21] The directions for morning and evening prayer state, “Then shall be said the Creed, by the Minister and the people, standing.”[22] All of this reinforces the Nicene Creed’s assertions regarding the nature of Christ and being consubstantial with the Father. Cranmer also wrote this statement, “The three Creeds, Nicene Creed, Athanasius’ Creed, and that which is commonly called the Apostles’ Creed, ought thoroughly to be received: for they may be proved by most certain warrants of holy Scripture.”[23]
Affirmation of Core Protestant Doctrines
The key assertions of the Nicene Creed can be found in numerous Protestant doctrines including monotheism, the Trinity, the divinity of Christ, and the unity of the Church. The doctrines are deeply rooted in Scripture and articulated in the Nicene Creed as a framework for understanding Christ. Noll states, “The doctrinal issue at Nicaea was absolutely critical because it centered not only on who Jesus was in his person but also on who Jesus was in his work as Savior.”[24]
Monotheism contains three elements around God’s existence, supremacy, and His uniqueness. God is an incorporeal spirit that is distinct from the natural world, and anything governed by those laws. God created everything and has unsurpassed power over all of it. God is one and has no parts.[25] The opening section of the Nicene Creed aligns with Monotheism as it states, “We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.”
The Nicene Creed has an emphasis on Christology, but it did lay the groundwork for the Trinity as it illustrates the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as distinct yet united persons within the Godhead. It declares that the Son is homoousios with the Father which is restating that the Father and the Son are one (homo) in being or substance (ousia). This protects divine simplicity and unity and rules out all forms of subordinationism that would be found in other religions that attempt to lessen Christ or elevate the Father.[26] The Nicene Creed was not focused on the Trinity, so it is not fully explained in it, but it does provide boundaries that support acceptable interpretations of the Scripture about the Trinity and the two natures of Christ.[27]
The Nicene Creed’s declaration of the divinity of Christ is central to Protestantism, so much that it is considered dogmatic by most Protestants knowing that Christ is fully God and fully human. Most of the Nicene Creed’s assertions are included in illuminating the nature of Christ and His importance with salvation including the incarnation of the Son by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary.
Nicene Creed in Protestant Statements and Liturgical Usage
Several Protestant denominations incorporate the Nicene Creed into their statements of faith and liturgical usage including Anglican (Episcopal), Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Methodist. These denominations not only recognize the Nicene Creed but also actively support and use its theological significance within their traditions. Nicene Christology upheld the principle that prayer, worship, preaching, the use of Scripture, and the sacraments all deserved a sphere of liberty.[28] There was a shift in hymns that appeared after 325 as they expressed an anti-Arian polemical source, which was previously unknown in the hymns used by the Christian community. Liderbach writes, “After the Council of Chalcedon, the hymns again returned to the identification of Christ as a dialectical tension between Christ as divine and Christ as human.”[29]
The Episcopal churches (Anglican) explicitly state the Nicene Creed as one of its foundational statements of faith and is recited regularly at worship services, especially during Holy Eucharist as it typically follows the reading of Scripture and the sermon. The Book of Common Prayer is part of the Episcopalians liturgy and theology. Some of them have retreat centers where there is a guided meditation session centered around the Nicene Creed.
Martin Luther authored The Augsburg Confession where he supports the Nicene Creed in a couple of the Articles. In Article I, Of God, Luther affirms the Nicene belief in the Trinity writing, “Our Churches, with common consent, do teach that the decree of the Council of Nicaea concerning the Unity of the Divine Essence and concerning the Three Persons, is true and to be believed without any doubting.”[30] In Article III, Of the Son of God, he elaborates on the Nicene understanding of Christ, “Also they teach that the Word, that is, the Son of God, did assume the human nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin Mary, so that there are two natures, the divine and the human, inseparably enjoined in one Person, one Christ, true God and true man.”[31] Article IX, Of Baptism, aligns with the Creed’s statement of one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins. Various Lutheran denominations incorporate the Nicene Creed into their official statements of faith. It is often recited during the worship services following the sermon but prior to the prayers of the people.
The Presbyterians acknowledge the Nicene Creed as one of the ecumenical creeds, but it is not contained in their Book of Confessions. The Methodist church uses the Book of Discipline which recognizes the Nicene Creed as a historic statement of faith which is used in worship and doctrine. Numerous denominations integrate the Nicene Creed into their worship services and teachings.
The Nicene Creed is used as a teaching tool to educate the youth and in seminary about important Christian doctrines. With the youth, it is sometimes broken up into different sessions so each key assertion can be discussed thoroughly exploring its meaning and significance to learn about the Trinity and the divinity of Christ. Within seminary, it is studied in the Systematic Theology course exploring its historic context, theological implications, and contemporary relevance to modern Protestantism. The Nicene Creed is not exhaustive in the theology, but it is foundational and is easily remembered and repeated so it can be delivered to the saints.[32]
Modern Music & Nicene Creed
The Nicene Creed continues to influence modern music and hymnody in numerous ways. Some are direct adaptations that use parts of it with their lyrics closely mirroring the statements from the Nicene Creed. Examples include “This I Believe (The Creed)” by Hillsong Worship and “Nicene Creed (We Believe)” by Graham Kendrick. Some of the songs incorporate phrases or concepts from the Nicene Creed into their lyrics while others resonate with the theological themes.
Ecumenical Dialogue
The Nicene Creed serves as common ground for doctrinal agreement and theological understanding within the Protestant denominations. It fosters unity and cooperation between the denominations and can be explored through its historical foundation as the first ecumenical council, core Christian beliefs concerning the nature of God, the Trinity, Christology, and the church. It also serves as a symbolic expression of Christian unity among diversity. It also is a starting point for further ecumenical dialogue, cooperation, and a catalyst for collaboration.
Conclusion
The Nicene Creed refuted theological errors, clarified theological disputes, and condemned various heresies. The key assertions included affirmations of God, Christ’s divinity, consubstantiality with the Father, incarnation for human salvation, and the unity of the church. These assertions reinforced the doctrines of monotheism, the Trinity, the divinity of Christ, and the unity of the church.
The reformers of the Protestant Reformation relied heavily on the Nicene Creed and integrated it into their theological doctrines, preaching, and teaching. Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Thomas Cranmer played pivotal roles in shaping Protestant theology and traditions. Martin Luther emphasized salvation through faith in Christ alone and authored significant theological documents that supported the Nicene Creed’s assertions. John Calvin expounded on the Nicene concepts like the Trinity and Christ’s divinity in his writings. Thomas Cranmer was instrumental in the English Reformation as he integrated the Nicene Creed into Anglican liturgy and confirming its significance within Anglicanism.
As more Protestant denominations were created, the Nicene Creed was foundational in being part of their statements of faith, worship services, and theological education. With all this evidence, the conclusion is that the Nicene Creed has had a significant influence on Protestant traditions, theological principles, and key doctrines.
Notes from Professor: Shawn, this is a well written paper that accomplishes what you set out to do. Good work on that! Good use of the primary sources to show how Luther, Calvin, et al. used the Nicene creed. – Dr. Robert Olsen
Bibliography
Bailey, Andrew M. Monotheism and Human Nature. Elements in Religion and Monotheism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021.
Barry, John D., David Bomar, Derek R. Brown, Rachel Klippenstein, Douglas Mangum, Carrie Sinclair Wolcott, Lazarus Wentz, et al, eds. The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016.
Bingham, D. Jeffrey. Pocket History of the Church. The IVP Pocket Reference Series. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2002.
Brannon, Rick, ed., Historic Creeds and Confessions. Electronic ed. Oak Harbor, WA: Lexham Press, 1997.
Burn, A. E. The Nicene Creed. Edited by Leighton Pullan. Oxford Church Text Books. London: Rivingtons, 1909.
Calvin, Jean, and John Allen. Institutes of the Christian Religion: by John Calvin; Translated from the Original Latin, and Collated with the Author’s Last Edition in French, by John Allen, 5th ed. Vol. 1. Philadelphia: Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1844. Nineteenth Century Collections Online (accessed May 6, 2024). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CEPFJR273802517/NCCO?u=vic_liberty&sid=bookmark-NCCO&xid=a9dd8729&pg=117.
Carter, Craig A. “THE DECLINE OF NICENE ORTHODOXY.” First Things no. 1 (2022): 1-7, https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/decline-nicene-orthodoxy/docview/2629434383/se-2.
Cranmer, Thomas. The Book of the Common Prayer and the Administration of the Sacraments and other Rites and Ceremonies in the Church of England. London: LONDINI IN OFFICINA, 1549.
Hendrix, Scott H. Martin Luther: Visionary Reformer. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2015.
Historic Creeds and Confessions. Oak Harbor: Lexham Press, 1997.
Ketley, Joseph, ed. The Two Liturgies, A.D. 1549, and A.D. 1552: With Other Documents Set Forth by Authority in the Reign of King Edward VI. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1844.
Liderbach, Daniel. Christ in the Early Christian Hymns. New York; Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1998.
Luther, Martin. “Luther to Staupitz.” In WABr 1. March 31, 1518.
–––. Works of Martin Luther Vol. 2. Albany, OR: AGES Software, 1997.
McGrath, Alister. Christianity’s Dangerous Idea: The Protestant Revolution: A History from the Sixteenth Century to the Twenty-First. London: SPCK, 2007.
Mullett, Michael. John Calvin. New York, NY: Routledge, 2011.
Noll, Mark A. Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2012.
The Augsburg Confession. Champaign, Ill: Project Gutenberg, 1996. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1005600&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
Wabuda, Susana. Thomas Cranmer. 1st ed. London: Routledge, 2017. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315563633.
[1] Rick Brannan, Creeds, Confessions, and Catechisms: A Guide (Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2021), 1.
[2] Alister McGrath, Christianity’s Dangerous Idea: The Protestant Revolution: A History from the Sixteenth Century to the Twenty-First (London: SPCK, 2007), 234.
[3] Daniel Liderbach, Christ in the Early Christian Hymns (New York; Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1998), 95.
[4] Schaff, “Nicene Creed,” 28–29, lightly updated
[5] Elliot Ritzema, “Nicene Creed,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).
[6] D. Jeffrey Bingham, Pocket History of the Church, The IVP Pocket Reference Series (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2002), 47.
[7] Historic Creeds and Confessions, electronic ed. (Oak Harbor: Lexham Press, 1997), Nicene Creed.
[8] Mark A. Noll, Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2012), 48.
[9] Noll, Turning Points, 49.
[10] McGrath, Christianity’s Dangerous Idea, 236.
[11] McGrath, Christianity’s Dangerous Idea, 237.
[12] Scott H. Hendrix, Martin Luther: Visionary Reformer (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2015), ix.
[13] Ibid., 68.
[14] Martin Luther, “Luther to Staupitz,” in WABr 1 (March 31, 1518), 160.
[15] Martin Luther, “The Creed, And The Lord’s Prayer,” in Works of Martin Luther Vol. 2 trans. C.M. Jacobs (Albany, OR: AGES Software, 1997), 272.
[16] Michael Mullett, John Calvin (New York, NY: Routledge, 2011), i.
[17] Ibid., 242.
[18] Jean Calvin, and John Allen, Institutes of the Christian Religion: by John Calvin; Translated from the Original Latin, and Collated with the Author’s Last Edition in French, by John Allen (Philadelphia, PA: Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1844), 117.
[19] Ibid., 431.
[20] Susana Wabuda, Thomas Cranmer 1st ed. (London: Routledge, 2017), 1. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315563633.
[21] Thomas Cranmer, The Book of the Common Prayer and the Administration of the Sacraments and other Rites and Ceremonies in the Church of England (London: LONDINI IN OFFICINA, 1549), The Supper of the Lord and holy communion.
[22] Ibid., The Order Where Morning and Evening Prayer Shall Be Used and Said.
[23] Joseph Ketley, ed., The Two Liturgies, A.D. 1549, and A.D. 1552: With Other Documents Set Forth by Authority in the Reign of King Edward VI (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1844), 527.
[24] Noll, Turning Points, 44.
[25] Andrew M. Bailey, Monotheism and Human Nature Elements in Religion and Monotheism, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021), .
[26] Craig A. Carter, “THE DECLINE OF NICENE ORTHODOXY,” First Things no. 1 (2022): 2, https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/decline-nicene-orthodoxy/docview/2629434383/se-2.
[27] Bingham, Pocket History, 54.
[28] Noll, Turning Points, 54.
[29] Liderbach, Christ, 6.
[30] The Augsburg Confession Champaign, Ill: Project Gutenberg, 1996, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1005600&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
[31] The Augsburg Confession.
[32] A. E. Burn, The Nicene Creed, ed. Leighton Pullan, Oxford Church Text Books, (London: Rivingtons, 1909), 106.