WE BELIEVE

 

June 4, 2025

Ephesians 4:3–5

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit... one Lord, one faith, one baptism. 

The Nicene Creed

We believe in one God,

      the Father almighty,

      maker of heaven and earth,

      of all things visible and invisible.

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.

And we believe in the Holy Spirit,

      the Lord, the giver of life.

      He proceeds from the Father and the Son,

      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.

When the Nicene Creed begins with "We believe," it reminds us that our faith is not simply a private experience, but that it is a shared confession, handed down and affirmed by believers across the world and throughout history. The year 2025, is the 1700th anniversary of this key historic creed. 

The word creed comes from the Latin "credo", meaning “I believe.” By definition a creed is "a formal statement of belief. It expresses the core convictions of a religious community, with to the point and memorable language."

In the Christian Faith, a creed functions with four main purposes:

Defines essential beliefs – for example: the nature of God, Jesus, and salvation.
Unites believers – by articulating a shared confession of faith that transcends historical periods.
Guards against false teaching – by clarifying what is right belief based on the scriptures.
Teaches new believers – serving as a tool for discipleship and  community life.

The early 4th century, was a time when false teachings threatened to pull the early church apart, the Church was divided by a serious theological controversy: Was Jesus truly God, or was He merely the greatest of created beings?  The stakes were high. To resolve this, the Emperor Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325. There, over 300 church leaders gathered, "not to invent doctrine, but to define and defend the apostolic faith passed down from the apostles themselves."

The outcome was a unified declaration of core beliefs. The Nicene Creed speaks not just to the clarity of belief but also to spiritual unity. As our Bible reading above reminds us "there is one body and one Spirit... one Lord, one faith, one baptism." When we recite the Nicene creed, we are spiritually linked with millions of fellow believers around the world and down through the centuries. Each time we say, “We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ...,” we declare our common hope and the unshakable foundation of our saving hope in Jesus. We are not alone in our faith. We stand with a great cloud of witnesses, past and present. We affirm that we are part of one body, proclaiming one faith in one Lord.

Why is this unity important?

Remember what Jesus prayed in John 17? He prayed "that all of them (his followers then and now) may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one, I in them and you in me, so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

Why is this unity important? WITNESS to the world!!

Let's Pray

Lord, thank You for the gift of faith, passed down through generations. Help me to live in a way that honors this confession and unites me with others in love and truth. Strengthen Your Church through the bond of unity and peace. Amen.