While the Apostles’ Creed is important for the church due to its ancient roots and wide geographic use, it is not the only confession or creed of the church. Another prominent document that is viewed as an “ecumenical creed” in that it is upheld (and recited) in many churches is the Nicene Creed. This creed was written at a church council meeting (gathering of leaders from a variety of churches) that was held in AD 325 in the city of Nicea. This council met to discuss some controversial beliefs being spread during that time about the person of Jesus, and they wrote this creed to clarify what the church believes about Jesus. In many ways, it expands the Apostles’ Creed by adding more lines about Jesus to show that those who taught Jesus was lower than the Father were out of accord with the Christian faith (“begotten from the Father, only-begotten, that is, from the substance of the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, of one substance with the Father, through Whom all things came into being,things in heaven and things on earth, Who because of us men and because of our salvation came down, and became incarnate and became man”).

The writing of this creed did not put an end to debates and various teachings, so another council was held in AD 381 in the City of Constantinople. This council essentially revised the creed from AD 325 – with the AD 381 version being what is often called the Nicene Creed and recited in churches (it is easier to say Nicene Creed than Nicene-Constantinople Creed!). There were some minor tweaks to the wording about Jesus, with a key addition to this creed being its discussion of the Holy Spirit; this came about because of some theological debates at the time about the Holy Spirit. The 325 form of the creed, like the Apostles’ Creed, simply said, “I believe in the Holy Spirit.” The 381 version, however, says: “And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceedeth from the Father, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spake by the prophets.” Thus the Apostles’ and 325 Nicene Creeds affirm the centrality of belief in the Holy Spirit and a triune God, while the 381 Nicene-Constantinople articulates some important elements to know and believe about the Holy Spirit that it could be good to walk through. 

Lord 
We often call Jesus “Lord” (whether we say he is our Lord or the Lord Jesus), and we can think of God the Father as Lord. We also need to recognize the Holy Spirit is Lord – this means he is equal with the other persons. We are to obey the Spirit just as we are to obey the Father and the Son. When Ananias and Saphira lied in Acts 5, it is said they have lied to the Holy Spirit and to God (Acts 5:3-4) and they are struck dead! An additional element to think about with this title is that when Jesus was called Lord, it is recalling the imagery of God in the Old Testament; this is a reminder that the Spirit is God Himself as well.

Giver of Life
The Spirit is the giver of life in a couple of different ways — one way is His involvement in creation. While the Apostles’ Creed associates the work of creating with the Father, this creed connects Jesus and the Holy Spirit to this work as well. The Spirit is the one who breathed life into the first humans, and the Spirit is the one who breathes new life into people dead in their sin. As Jesus tells Nicodemus in John 3, we must be born again, and this new birth comes from the work of the Holy Spirit (also see John 6:63 and 2 Corinthians 3:6). The Spirit is what ultimately causes us to experience the things we read about in the creed and were accomplished by Christ – the forgiveness of sins, the communion of saints, and life everlasting. The Spirit gives life and should guide our lives – we should live by the Spirit (Galatians 35:25). 

Proceeds from the Father
The concept known as the “procession of the Holy Spirit” described here is both controversial and confusing. The controversy came about because the original form of the creed says “proceeds from the Father,” while a revised version that came to be used in western, Latin-speaking churches says “proceeds from the Father and the Son.”This difference would be a factor that led to the splitting off of the Western Church (from which we get the Roman Catholic Church as well as Protestant churches) and the Eastern Church (the various Orthodox churches). This controversy can seem odd to us today since we may not even understand what “proceed” means. In some ways, it connects back to the language about Jesus: the son is “Begotten, not made” (as you beget a person, you don’t make them!), so the Spirit is not made, but “proceeds” – this means the Spirit is divine and not a created entity below the Father and Son. The controversy arose as Jesus says in John 14:15 that he will ask the Father and he will send the Spirit to the disciples, while John 16:7 says that he sends the Spirit. This, and the idea that if the Spirit only proceeds from the Father, then makes the Son less and not equal; these are what lay behind this debate. I won’t dig deeper into other details or factors in this discussion as I think it goes beyond our purposes in this post. The bottom line is that it points to the eternity of the Spirit and his divinity.

With the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified
This statement reminds us that we are to worship Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All are equal and all are to be recognized; this equality is why we have the triune name of these equal persons (see Matthew 28:19 and 2 Corinthians 13:14). Some churches worship the Father and the Son, but forget about the Holy Spirit. We also have churches that worship and exalt the Spirit — but at the expense of the Father and Son. We are a jealous people and may get upset because we think people are playing favorites (if we are not the favorite). God is one that wants us to worship all three together — not because the members of the Trinity get jealous of each other, but because when we recognize and worship all three, we recognize who God really is and His tremendous power and love for us.

Spoke by the Prophets
While there are many aspects of the Spirit’s work that could be mentioned in the creed, what is highlighted here is that the Spirit is who moved the prophets for them to deliver us God’s Word. The creeds don’t often talk about the concept of revelation and inspiration (the idea that the Bible are God’s very words for us) because the concept was not as debated at the time as other issues (like the deity of the Son and the Spirit). This statement is a reminder that the church was united in the idea that the prophets of God were delivering God’s words since they were moved by the Holy Spirit. Every time we open up the Bible or say that the Bible is God’s Word, we need to remember the work of the Spirit, a work discussed in the Nicene-Constantinople creed 1640 years ago.

I Believe in the Holy Spirit
We may not proclaim all these truths about the Holy Spirit when we recite the Apostles’ Creed, but these are important truths we believe about the Holy Spirit and should keep in mind as we say the words, “I believe in the Holy Spirit.” Of course, the proof of what we believe is not in what we say, but in what we do. So the question is not simply whether or not we believe in the Holy Spirit and in His ability to do these things, but if we are experiencing the new life found in Christ that is given to us through the Spirit. 

Questions about the Bible or theology? Email them to Pastor Brian at Theology@WeAreFaith.org. You can also request to receive weekly emails with our blog posts by filling out the information on the right side.