“Who, for us and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made man.” Jesus was in heaven before being born, so he “came down from heaven.” Why? “For us and for our salvation.” Humanity could be saved in no other way, but…

“And I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages; Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made; being of one essence with the Father, by whom all things were made.” One Lord Jesus Christ. “One” means there is no other Christ….

Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. This seems straightforward. God created the universe. But visible and invisible may have been included to make sure we understand that God created the spiritual realm. The Gnostics This was added to the creed to contradict many Gnostic groups who thought that the…

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…