THE NICENE CREED (1/2) - explained by an Orthodox Priest in Australia

00:10:58
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSrzlEHwZTs

Summary

TLDRThe video content reflects on the historical and theological context of the Nicene Creed, which emerged from the ecumenical councils' efforts to articulate the fundamental beliefs about Jesus Christ's divinity and the nature of God. It explains that belief in the Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – is central to Christian doctrine. The Creed was developed to clarify that Jesus was truly God, a response that has shaped Christian worship and theology for centuries. It draws on biblical evidence of the Trinity and discusses how the revelation of God's nature, as expressed in the Creed, surpasses human logic. The text also emphasizes that the Creed is a statement that not only informs believers intellectually but is meant to transform their lives, incorporating a unity of belief in a triune God and the anticipation of Jesus’s second coming. The Nicene Creed remains a vital element of Christian liturgy and identity, commemorating the Church Fathers' wisdom in formulating this fundamental expression of faith.

Takeaways

  • 🙏 The Nicene Creed is central to expressing Christian beliefs.
  • ✔️ The Creed affirms belief in one God, a Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
  • 📜 This doctrine was formulated during the ecumenical councils to address the divine nature of Jesus.
  • 📖 The Trinity appears throughout the scripture, confirming the unity of God.
  • 💡 Beliefs in the Creed are meant to transform believers' lives, not just inform them.
  • 🛤️ Understanding the Trinity goes beyond human comprehension, relying on divine revelation.
  • ❤️ The Creed illustrates God's love, having sent His Son for humanity's salvation.
  • 👥 Jesus's nature as fully God and fully human was essential for bridging God and humanity.
  • 🚀 The Creed shares that Jesus will return, emphasizing the eternal nature of His kingdom.
  • ✅ It emphasizes gratitude for the wisdom of the Church Fathers in preserving and articulating these beliefs.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    Throughout the seven ecumenical councils, the church has been addressing two key questions: 'Who is Jesus Christ?' and 'How do we express our belief in Him semantically?' The council discussed today especially focused on Jesus' divinity. This led to modifications in the local baptismal Creed, constructing over two-thirds of what we know as the Nicene Creed. The Nicene Creed emphasizes belief, deriving from a term that means to love or hold dear, not merely intellectual agreement. It asserts faith in one God in Trinity, revealed from the start of Genesis and highlighted in events like Jesus' baptism, emphasizing that faith is based on revelation, not just reason.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:58

    Analogies for the Trinity, such as the cloverleaf or the forms of water, though useful, often fall into heresy if taken too literally, demonstrating our limited understanding. The council also explored Jesus Christ's identity, affirming Him as God's eternal Son, necessary for humanity's salvation, bridging the divine and human. He fully embraced humanity, participating in its full nature, including death, before ascending to heaven. This act of divine love elevated human nature and assured eternal life with God. The Nicene Creed calls believers to understand its profound truths, feel gratitude for the church's founders, and rejoice in the steadfast love of our triune God.

Mind Map

Video Q&A

  • What are the primary questions the Church addressed through the ecumenical councils?

    The main questions were about the identity of Jesus Christ and how to correctly express the belief in Him.

  • What is the significance of the Nicene Creed?

    The Nicene Creed is a foundational statement of Christian faith, particularly expressing the belief in the Trinity and the nature of Jesus as truly God.

  • Why is belief in the Trinity important?

    Belief in the Trinity is crucial as it reflects the nature of God as revealed in the scriptures and is essential to understanding the unity and divinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

  • How does the Creed address the nature of Jesus Christ?

    The Creed affirms that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, not created but born, fully divine and human, and essential for salvation.

  • What does the analogy of the Trinity with physical objects mean?

    While analogies like leaves, H2O states, or components of a meal can help explain the Trinity, they often fall short and might be misleading or heretical, as they cannot fully capture God's mystery.

  • How is the Trinity reflected in the Bible?

    The Trinity is reflected in the Bible from Genesis to the baptism of Jesus, showing God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

  • Why is the understanding of the Trinity beyond full human comprehension?

    The complexity and divine nature of God exceed human logic and understanding, as humans struggle even to comprehend each other entirely.

  • What role does the concept of revelation play in understanding God?

    Revelation is fundamental, as it surpasses human reason, revealing the nature of God and informing believers of divine truths.

  • How did the Nicene Creed contribute to church unity?

    By defining essential aspects of belief, especially concerning Christ and the Trinity, it provided a unified foundation for Christian faith against heresies.

  • What is the anticipated significance of Jesus's second coming according to the Creed?

    The Creed assures believers that Jesus will return, which will be a crucial moment requiring a choice to be with God, highlighting the eternal nature of His reign.

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  • 00:00:00
    brothers and sisters throughout the
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    seven ecumenical councils there have
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    been two overriding questions that our
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    church has been grappling with who is
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    Jesus Christ and how do we express this
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    belief in Jesus Christ correctly the
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    council that we celebrate today tend to
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    deal with the specific question of was
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    Jesus truly God and in response the
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    thousands of the first ecumenical
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    council took a local baptismal Creed
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    made some edits and from here over two
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    thirds of the tree that we used today
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    was formed this is sometimes called the
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    symbol of faith of a statement of thanks
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    or more simply the Nicene Creed today it
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    produces to understand just what they
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    talk about
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    Trinity about the father and about son
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    now let's start with that word believes
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    it's a term that's often not fully
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    understood because we use it as similar
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    to other words like sorts things that
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    can be changed on a whim when belief
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    comes from a germanic compound meaning
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    to love or to hold dear if we deserve to
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    other languages the word Creed itself
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    comes from the Latin critter means
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    making credence tree or athlete by
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    sensing or I seem to be true or quite
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    simply I believe for this we see that it
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    is not enough to simply have
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    intellectual knowledge of the things
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    that we say to be believed in the least
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    rather must change our lives and so as
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    it says in the Creed we believe in one
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    God Father Son and Holy Spirit our
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    beliefs among God have been normalized
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    now modesty is after all account for
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    senior majority of the world's
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    population and at the time of the Creed
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    was composed his belief in one God was
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    so much a part of Christianity a
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    foundation of Christian beliefs and it
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    didn't meet defense in Makris it was
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    simply stated as obvious yet this is
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    still a necessary
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    to create against those who would call
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    us try theists because we hope that God
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    is Trinity some plankton we hold to this
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    belief that there is one God a Trinity
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    there is only one reason it's a very
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    simple reason we hold to this because it
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    had been revealed to us you think that
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    all the way back to the beginning all
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    the way back to the first book of
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    Genesis
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    using the knowledge that we have today
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    we can find the Trinity even here
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    those third three verses go like this in
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    the beginning God created the heaven and
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    the earth and the earth was without form
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    and void and darkness was upon the face
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    of the deep and the Spirit of God moved
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    upon the face of the waters and God said
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    let there be light and there was light
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    and so already here we can see that God
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    created me see here the father the maker
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    of heaven and earth the Spirit of God
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    moves across the face little deep we see
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    here the Holy Spirit and third God said
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    we see you the Word of God that is son
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    of God Jesus Christ and so we see that
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    even here even the start of our
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    scripture the Trinity is here we see the
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    Trinity throughout scripture but there
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    is no place more poignant normal
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    prominent than at the baptism of Jesus
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    Christ when Jesus was baptized the
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    father where the voice from heaven said
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    that this is my beloved son and the Holy
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    Spirit and Lymphoma done rested upon him
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    it is by revelation that we know that
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    God is Trinity it's certainly not my
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    reason it's by revelation that we know
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    that the father has gone to some his God
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    and the Holy Spirit is gone his by
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    revelation that we know that the father
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    is the source of the Godhead and that
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    from the stars of the son is begotten
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    and I'm from the father the Holy Spirit
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    proceeds all I've United in
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    similarity of their inner being which is
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    what we mean when we say that they are
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    of one essence while there are three
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    persons there is one God a Trinity
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    immunity and a unity in Trinity to
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    explain this it's common to bring up an
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    analogy at this point that there are
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    three Leafs of a long hollow that there
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    are three ingredients in the one cake
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    there are three items in the one
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    McDonald's meal that h2o can appear as
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    ice or water or vapor or that the Sun
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    consists of the star and the heater like
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    that emanate from it while each of these
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    analogies may be helpful push too far
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    each one of these actually constitutes a
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    heresy we simply don't have the
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    sufficient language of a sufficient
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    comprehension to understand God if it's
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    it's entirely logical and this should
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    not surprise us at all
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    we usually after all struggle to
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    understand other humans even those
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    closest to us no analogy will completely
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    explain the individuality of the persons
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    on one hand within the commonality or
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    communion of their godhood on the other
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    instead we simply rely on what has been
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    revealed to us surpassing all reason and
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    understanding can we simply bow before
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    the mystery of the Most High God when he
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    also the creator or the father they did
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    so in an environment where there was
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    little dissent there is enough to simply
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    States believe in him and you think our
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    belief in him as father something that
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    we can do because the Sun has always
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    existed and further we confess that
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    through Christ we can also call him
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    father being as we are the adopted
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    children of God but the real contention
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    of the council the next when talking
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    about Jesus Christ and so it is here
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    that there is the most detail addressing
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    this question who is Jesus Christ from
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    the Creed we believe that he is the son
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    of God and he was not a creation of the
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    Father
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    mother was born and that he has always
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    existed the father is the father because
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    of the Sun and bast also so we believe
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    that Christ came to save us it is here
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    whether rather it's the world because in
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    order for us to be saved it was
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    necessary that God work because only God
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    can do the work of salvation however in
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    order for Humanity to be saved the gap
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    between God and men has to be bridged
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    and so it was necessary for Christ to be
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    mercifully God and fully human all at
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    the same time with nothing deficient in
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    either his humanity or his divinity and
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    in accomplishing this Christ United
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    human nature with divine nature in his
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    person he United humanity and to energy
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    this was incredibly controversial a
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    dominant Greek philosophy of the day
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    held that God by nature would not demean
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    himself by descending Trish manatee who
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    after all would choose to go from what
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    is greater to what is lesser while this
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    is meant to be a rhetorical question is
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    nonetheless answered by what is perhaps
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    the most famous biblical course is it
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    because God so loved the world that He
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    gave His only begotten Son that
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    whosoever believeth in him should not
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    perish but have everlasting life
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    put simply God loved us too much to have
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    us be without him the Sun God become
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    each human didn't make him inferior
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    rather it elevated humanity had elevated
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    human nature the Creed confesses his
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    conception his crucifixion his burial
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    and all the muck all of the dirtiness
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    all of the banality that go with each of
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    these things the son of God participated
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    in the totality of human nature even
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    death
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    before writing from the death and
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    ascending to his rightful place at the
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    Father's right hand an event that we
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    celebrated only a few days ago and in
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    sending to heaven he took human nature
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    with him into the Godhead by this we can
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    confess along with one of the fathers of
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    the first ecumenical council Saint
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    Athanasius of Alexandria that God became
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    man that man might become divine in the
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    Creed we also hear that Jesus will
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    return in the second coming or rather to
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    emphasize that we don't believe this he
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    has abandoned us
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    that he will remain assess himself to us
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    once more in the atmosphere we don't
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    know when this second coming will be
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    only that it will be unexpected and that
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    it will force people into crisis point
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    that they will necessarily need to
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    choose whether it's being with God or
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    otherwise and finally in this section we
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    hear that the rule of God will not end
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    but then we will be with him forever
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    brothers and sisters we take in a flat
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    form of the Nicene Creed as it relates
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    to the Trinity and more specifically to
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    Christ and so as we sing it during the
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    liturgy ask you to do three things to be
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    aware that what you are confessing other
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    beliefs that will necessarily shape your
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    life to have gratitude for the Holy
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    Fathers of 90m who almost 1,700 years
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    ago took the time to formulate this
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    Creed for the benefit of the church
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    throughout the ages and lastly that you
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    rejoice in a lot of our triune God who
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    loved us so much that he did not stop
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    seeking for the salvation of humanity
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    until finally we were able to return to
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    him
Tags
  • Nicene Creed
  • Trinity
  • Jesus Christ
  • Christian Doctrine
  • Ecumenical Councils
  • Faith
  • Theology
  • Revelation
  • Salvation
  • Scripture