Nicene Creed

Nicene Creed  We believe in one God,      the Father almighty,      maker of heaven and earth,      of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ,      the only Son of God,      begotten from the Father before all ages,            God from God,            Light from Light,            true God from true God,      begotten, not made;      of the same essence as the Father.      Through him all things were made.      For us and for our salvation            he came down from heaven;            he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,            and was made human.            He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate;            he suffered and was buried.            The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.            He ascended to heaven            and is seated at the right hand of the Father.            He will come again with glory            to judge the living and the dead.            His kingdom will never end. And we believe in the Holy Spirit,      the Lord, the giver of life.      He proceeds from the Father and the Son,      and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.      He spoke through the prophets.      We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.      We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.      We look forward to the resurrection of the dead,      and to life in the world to come. Amen.  __________The Nicene Creed, also called the Nicaeno-Constantinopolitan Creed, is astatement of the orthodox faith of the early Christian church in opposition tocertain heresies, especially Arianism. These heresies, which disturbed thechurch during the fourth century, concerned the doctrine of the trinity and ofthe person of Christ. Both the Greek (Eastern) and the Latin (Western) churchheld this creed in honor, though with one important difference: the Westernchurch insisted on the inclusion of the phrase "and the Son" (known as the"filioque") in the article on the procession of the Holy Spirit; this phrasestill is repudiated by the Eastern Orthodox church. In its present form thiscreed goes back partially to the Council of Nicea (A.D. 325) with additions bythe Council of Constantinople (A.D. 381). It was accepted in its present format the Council of Chalcedon in 451, but the "filioque" phrase was not addeduntil 589. However, the creed is in substance an accurate and majesticformulation of the Nicene faith. This translation of the Greek text wasapproved by the CRC Synod of 1988.