Historic Creeds is designed to guide you through three months of lectio divina passages that relate to each element of the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. I have selected 90 texts from Numbers through Revelation that are particularly well-suited to the process of sacred reading. These texts range from one to several verses, and they are arranged in biblical sequence to attune you to the flow of progressive revelation.
This is Part II: the Nicene Creed.
Part I: the Apostles Creed is available here, and
Part III: the Athanasian Creed is available here.
Kenneth Boa
Website: http://www.kenboa.org
Commentary: http://www.kenboa.org/blog
Follow: http://twitter.com/kennethboa
Connect on Facebook: Kenneth Boa
I believe in one God
The Lord my God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. (Deuteronomy 10:17-18)
the Father almighty,
You are the Lord, the God of our fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. This is Your name forever, the name by which You are to be remembered from generation to generation. (Exodus 3:15)
maker of heaven and earth,
You are worthy, our Lord and God,
To receive glory and honor and power,
For You created all things,
And by Your will they were created and have their being. (Revelation 4:11)
and of all things visible and invisible:
Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer,
Who formed you in the womb:
I am the Lord, who makes all things,
Who alone stretches out the heavens,
Who spread out the earth by Myself. (Isaiah 44:24)
And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
Heaven and earth will pass away, but the words of the Lord Jesus will never pass away. (Matthew 24:35; Luke 21:33)
the only-begotten Son of God,
No one has ever seen God, but the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, has made Him known. (John 1:18)
begotten of the Father before all worlds,
By this the love of God was manifested to us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:9-10)
God of God, Light of Light,
The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. (John 3:35)
very God of very God,
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)
begotten, not made,
Christ is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:15-17)
being of one substance with the Father,
In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. In Him all the fullness of the Godhead lives in bodily form. (Colossians 2:3, 9)
by whom all things were made;
There is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. (1 Corinthians 8:6)
who for us men and for our salvation
The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10)
came down from heaven,
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is My flesh, which I have given for the life of the world. (John 6:51)
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary,
Since God’s children have partaken of flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. (Hebrews 2:14-15)
and was made man,
Christ had to be made like His brothers in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted. (Hebrews 2:17-18)
and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate.
Christ is not weak in dealing with us, but is powerful among us. For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God. For we are weak in Him, yet by the power of God we will live with Him to serve others. (2 Corinthians 13:3-4)
He suffered and was buried,
In Christ you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism and raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. (Colossians 2:11-12)
and the third day He rose again
God raised Jesus from the dead, freeing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for Him to be held by it. (Acts 2:24)
according to the Scriptures,
Now to Him who is able to establish you by the gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret for long ages past, but now is manifested, and through the Scriptures of the prophets by the command of the eternal God, has been made known to all nations for obedience to the faith—to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen. (Romans 16:25-27)
and ascended into heaven,
God highly exalted Christ Jesus and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11)
and sitteth on the right hand of the Father.
God’s power toward us who believe is according to the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. (Ephesians 1:19-21)
And He shall come again with glory
We should not be ignorant about those who fall asleep or grieve like others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. According to the Lord’s own word, we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17)
to judge both the quick and the dead:
In the past God overlooked the times of ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent. For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given assurance of this to all people by raising Him from the dead. (Acts 17:30-31)
whose kingdom shall have no end.
All Your works will praise you, O Lord,
And Your saints will bless You.
They will speak of the glory of Your kingdom
And talk of Your power,
So that all people may know of Your mighty acts
And the glorious majesty of Your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And Your dominion endures through all generations. (Psalm 145:10-13)
And I believe in the Holy Spirit,
Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, You are there.
If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the furthest part of the sea,
Even there Your hand will lead me;
Your right hand will lay hold of me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will cover me,”
Even the night will be light around me.
The darkness is not dark to You,
And the night shines as the day;
Darkness and light are alike to You. (Psalm 139:7-12)
the Lord, the Giver of Life,
Jesus fulfilled the words of the prophet Isaiah:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are downtrodden,
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18-19)
who proceedeth from the Father and the Son,
It is for our good that You returned to the Father, because You have sent the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, to us. (John 16:7)
who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified;
Being built up in the most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. (Jude 20-21)
who spake by the prophets.
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
And I believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
Just as the body is one, but has many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ. (1 Corinthians 12:12)
I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins.
There is one body and one Spirit, just as we were called in one hope of our calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:4-6)
And I look for the resurrection of the dead,
I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:10-11)
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
When the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy. He saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:4-7)