One of the greatest mysteries in our faith is the Trinity. It is difficult to understand and difficult to explain. We say that we believe in one God. We also say that God is three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. So is God one or three? How can he be both one God and three persons? Can’t we just simplify it and say “We believe in one God. That’s all.”?
The purpose of my sermon today is not to explain the Trinity in a way that will fully satisfy you. For me, too, the Trinity is difficult to understand with my limited human experience and difficult to discuss with my limited human words.
What I want to do today is share with one of the ways that the Trinity has been described and summarized. It is the Nicene Creed.
Most of you are familiar with the Apostles’ Creed, which we recite every month before taking Holy Communion. Written in AD 325, the Nicene Creed is similar to the Apostles’ Creed but more detailed and used by more denominations. The Nicene Creed was written to clarify the identity of Jesus when his divinity was challenged by theologians during the early part of church history.
Together with the Apostles’ Creed, it is one of the oldest statements of Christian faith. Actually this year, 2025, is the Nicene Creed’s 1700th anniversary. This celebration is one reason I am speaking about the Nicene Creed. But the bigger reason is that the Trinity is an essential belief for Christians, and this creed has been used for many centuries as a summary of what the Trinity is.
Starting today, I am giving a few sermons about how the Nicene Creed summarizes the identity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. For today, I want to do 2 things: First, tell the story of how the Nicene Creed was created. And second, share reasons why the Nicene Creed (and other creeds) matter to us as Christians in the 21st century. In future sermons, I would like to talk in more detail about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—most likely one sermon for each person of God.
The Nicene Creed
Before I begin, let’s pray. Then, I would like us to stand and recite the Nicene Creed together.
I believe in one God,
the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
and of all things visible and invisible;
And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only-begotten Son of God,
begotten of his Father before all worlds,
God of God, Light of Light,
very God of very God,
begotten, not made,
being of one substance with the Father;
by whom all things were made;
who for us men and for our salvation
came down from heaven,
and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary,
and was made man;
and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered and was buried;
and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures,
and ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of the Father;
and he shall come again, with glory,
to judge both the quick and the dead;
whose kingdom shall have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Ghost the Lord, and Giver of Life,
who proceedeth from the Father and the Son;
who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped
and glorified;
who spake by the Prophets.
And I believe one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church;
I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins;
and I look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
How can God be one and three?
Let’s start with a bit of history. From the very beginning of Christianity, Christians worshipped Jesus as divine. For example, when the apostle Thomas met the resurrected Jesus, Thomas did not just call him “Master” or “Teacher”, but “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).
To many of his fellow Jews, this was shocking. Because the religion of the Jews was monotheistic. They had always declared that there is only one God, since the time of Moses.
The early Christians—who were Jews—believed Jesus was God, while saying at the same time that there is only one God. They believed the Father was fully God, Jesus the Son is fully God, and the Holy Spirit is fully God. Doesn’t that sound like three gods? How can God be one and three at the same time?
This mystery led many early theologians to search for faithful language. One of the earliest was the 2nd century theologian Tertullian, who coined the word “Trinity.” He taught that God is one divine substance in three distinct persons. All equally divine, all distinct, yet united as one God. He didn’t solve the mystery, but he at least gave us helpful terms we still use today.
Other theologians proposed ideas that the Church today considers heresy. For example, Sabellius in the 3rd century taught that God was just one person who took three different forms—like an actor switching between three masks. Sometimes Father, sometimes Son, sometimes Spirit. But this perspective erases the relationship between the three persons of God that we see in Scripture.
And then came Arius, a theologian in the 4th century.
This happened just after Emperor Constantine had legalized Christianity. Arius, a minister in Alexandria, Egypt, wanted to protect the idea of God the Father’s majesty. He thought: If Jesus is fully God, he thought, then God must be weak—because Jesus suffered, grew tired, and even died. So Arius taught that the Son was not equal to the Father. The Son was exalted but still just a creature that the Father made. Greater than humans but less than God. “There was a time,” Arius said, “when the Son did not exist.” Arius even wrote hymns to spread his popular teaching, and people sang them in the streets of Alexandria.
Arius’ teaching, however, contradicts what is found in Scripture—which I won’t go into detail today. He built his theology on one verse—Colossians 1:15,“Jesus is the firstborn of all creation”—while ignoring other passages that clearly speak of Christ’s divinity.
Heresy often focuses on one part of Scripture while neglecting another part, twisting truth out of balance. Heresy may begin with good intentions but ends up leading people away from the heart of the gospel. Arius wanted to safeguard a truth about God the Father, but ended up sacrificing a truth about the Son.
The Council of Nicaea and the myth of Constantine
Anyway, Arius’s controversy spread across the Roman Empire, confusing and dividing believers. Emperor Constantine wanted peace and unity, so he called a council of bishops to discuss this controversy. Over 300 bishops met in the city of Nicaea in AD 325.
Their goal was not to invent new doctrines but to clarify the truth already taught in Scripture. After intense debate, the bishops rejected Arius’s teaching and concluded that the Son is truly God. Their declarations became part of the Nicene Creed we have today. 56 years later, the Nicene Creed was expanded to affirm the full divinity of the Holy Spirit.
Books and movies sometimes claim that Emperor Constantine used the Council of Nicaea to invent Christianity. They say Constantine chose the books of the Bible and “made Jesus into God.” This common myth is false for three reasons.
Firstly, Constantine was actually sympathetic towards Arius and his followers. And, his son Emperor Constantius later promoted the teachings of Arius. So, imperial politics did not always favour the view that Jesus is fully God and fully man.
Secondly, the New Testament books were already recognized by churches as Scripture long before Nicaea. So this council was not about deciding the Bible’s contents.
Lastly, the council did not “make Jesus into God.” Christians had worshiped Jesus as God from the very beginning of church history. The bishops at Nicaea were simply defending the faith handed down to them from the earliest disciples of Jesus.
Three reasons why the Creed matters
That’s all for today’s history lesson. Moving on: Why should we care about the Nicene Creed today? Let me give you three reasons. One, the creed teaches the faith. Two, it guards us from theological error. Three, it unites diverse Christians.
It teaches the faith
First, the Nicene Creed has always served as a tool for teaching the faith. It is a summary of basic biblical teaching. From the earliest centuries, it was used by churches to teach people who were preparing to be baptized.
Even for those of us who have been believers a long time, the Creed plays an important role. It reminds us of who God is.
You might think, “Why do we need to recite a creed every week? This is basic information that we already know. It’s like Sunday School level of information.” This is my answer: The reason we find it very “basic” is precisely because we have heard it repeated so much. And thanks to this repetition, we know what are fundamental Christian beliefs and what are not.
We know that it’s OK for us to disagree about worship styles, but disagreeing about the identity of God is a serious issue. Imagine if we stopped reciting creeds and stopped preaching the basics of the gospel because we thought “It’s too basic, everyone knows this already.” What would happen to the Church in 100 years, or even in 10 years?
There is a Latin phrase that says “lex credendi, lex orandi, lex vivendi.” It means what we believe shapes how we worship, and how we worship shapes how we live. For example, a worship service where most of the songs are only focused on ourselves, our feelings, will have a different effect than a service where the songs are more focused on God, his character and his actions.
The purpose of worship is not just a time to express our feelings to God or to feel his presence but for our lives to be shaped by the worship. This is why reciting the Apostles’ Creed or the Nicene Creed is a regular part of worship services in many denominations. The effect of reciting these creeds is that the repetition will, over time, shape and strengthen what our core beliefs are.
By the way, I read a heartwarming story by the American writer and pastor Eugene Peterson. There was a woman in his church whose husband was an atheist but willing to attend church with his wife. For months he stayed silent throughout the service. But gradually, something changed. One Sunday, Eugene noticed him whispering the first line of the Apostles’ Creed: “We believe in one God.” A few weeks later, he was speaking more lines aloud. Eventually, he was reciting the entire creed from beginning to end. Eugene asked him one day, “Do you actually believe what the creed says?” The man replied, “I do, and I think I am ready to be baptized.” Through encountering the creed, this man understood quickly what are the core beliefs of Christianity.
It protects us from theological error
Next, a second reason for why creeds are useful is that they help protect us from theological error. Like a guardrail on a mountain road, it keeps us from falling off the cliff into heresy.
The Nicene Creed guards us especially from two major errors: Arianism and Sabellianism.
- Arianism denies that the Son is fully God. Modern equivalents include groups like Jehovah’s Witnesses. Or, people who admire Jesus as a great teacher but deny His divinity. Unfortunately, if Jesus is not fully God, He cannot save us. I will explore this topic more in a future sermon.
- Sabellianism, meanwhile, denies any real distinction between Father, Son, and Spirit. Modern equivalents include groups like Oneness Pentecostal groups. Or, people who say that the Trinity is like H20. H20 has three forms: water, ice, and gas. Actually, many Christians use this analogy of water to explain God but, without them realizing it, this analogy is actually Sabellian. Because, if God is only “switching forms,” then he is not actually three persons but one person with three forms. And if he is one person with three forms, then there is no real love or communion between Father, Son, and Spirit. That erases an essential part of God’s identity which Scripture reveals.
If we ignore or misunderstand what the Bible teaches about God, we might end up worshiping a different god. And if we are not worshiping the God of the Bible, it will affect our salvation.
The Nicene Creed uses careful, precise language to describe the God of the Bible: “one God in three persons, equal in glory and majesty.”
It bonds Christians across time and denominations
Finally, the Nicene Creed connects us with Christians across centuries and traditions.
In spite of denominational differences that threaten Christian unity, this creed unites us in common belief. Groups who confess the Nicene Creed include Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Methodists, and many more. We may disagree about smaller issues, but in the creed have a united voice.
When we recite the Nicene Creed, we are not alone. We are standing with brothers and sisters from every continent and across 1,700 years of timespan.
Reciting these creeds is one way to connect us to believers of the past. One weakness of today’s evangelical churches is lack of knowledge about and connectedness to the long history of Christianity. It is good for us to know our history as Christians.
Conclusion
To summarize, the Nicene Creed—and other creeds—teach us core Christian beliefs, protect us from error, and unite us with believers across time and denominations.
It roots us in history and anchors us in Scripture. It is a faithful summary of the gospel, including the identity of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Without the Father sending the Son, there is no sacrifice for sins. Without the Son being fully God and fully man, there is no salvation or justice. Without the God the Holy Spirit, there is no new life for Christians. I hope to explore these ideas more in the next few months.
These are not easy ideas. I think that if someone wanted to invent a religion, they would not use an idea like the Trinity; I think they would invent something simpler! But this is the faith we have, that’s been passed down to us over the centuries. In the Christian faith, there is always something to ponder and question, something new to learn, and something that will remain mystery. Let’s pray.
Almighty God, you have revealed to your Church your eternal Being of glorious majesty and perfect love as one God in Trinity of Persons: Give us grace to continue steadfast in the confession of this faith, and constant in our worship of you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; for you live and reign, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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