This is the first of an 11 part series offering a commentary on the Nicene Creed. The original Nicene Creed was made by the first ecumenical council in Nicea (325) and the second ecumenical council in Constantinople (381). The third ecumenical council, held at Ephesus in 431, forbade the changing of this creed. I will be using the version on my website.
The Nicene Creed
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty,
I believe
Both the “I believe” and the “we believe” form of the creed is acceptable. Since my statement of faith is the original Nicene Creed, I use the “I believe” variant.
One God
The first thing expressed is the unity of God. God is one. Whole books could, and have, been written on this alone. The unity of the Godhead is an essential truth. God is non-dual. God is the One.
God
The term God is really like a blanket we throw over Ultimate Reality to give it shape. To be able to talk about the ineffable, the point to the invisible, to speak of the unspeakable. Words are merely like a finger pointing to the Moon.
The Father
God is our Father, both as our Source and our Caretaker. The masculine names and pronouns should not be taken literally. God is not a man, God is not male. God is also our Mother. The Holy Spirit in Hebrew is a feminine noun.
Almighty
God is Almighty. God is all-powerful, which is called omnipotence this is the perfect ability of God to do all things consistent with the divine character. God can do all things that can be done. God cannot do the logically impossible, like making a square circle.