Week 2: We Believe in One God… Father and Son

This week, we begin exploring the content of the Nicene Creed itself. And fittingly, it starts not with us, but with God. The Creed opens with an uncompromising declaration:

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.

These ancient lines anchor our faith in the Triune God who reveals Himself in Scripture: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Creed begins by reminding us that our faith is not merely in a moral code, a set of principles, or a religious tradition… it is in a living, personal, eternal God.

One God, the Father Almighty

This line is drawn from countless texts in Scripture: Genesis 1:1, Ephesians 4:6, and 1 Corinthians 8:6, among others. Christians confess that there is one God, not many, and this God is not remote or unknowable, but a Father. He is all-powerful ("almighty"), and He is the Maker of everything, seen and unseen. He is the Creator, not a part of creation. In a world increasingly drawn to impersonal spirituality or pantheism, we hold fast to a God who is distinct from creation, yet intimately involved with it.

This also reminds us of our place in the world: we are creatures, not creators. We are dependent on God, not autonomous. This is both humbling and freeing. Humbling, because we are not at the center of the universe. Freeing, because we do not have to bear the weight of being our own gods.

One Lord Jesus Christ

The Creed then turns to the Son, "one Lord Jesus Christ." Notice that He is called Lord, the same title used for God in the Old Testament. Jesus is not a prophet only, or a teacher only, He is divine. He is the eternal Son, "begotten, not made," meaning that He is not a created being, but eternally generated from the Father. "God from God, Light from Light", these poetic phrases emphasize that Jesus shares the same divine nature as the Father.

To be a Christian is to believe that Jesus is truly God and truly man. He is not a second-tier deity. He is "true God from true God." This is why we worship Him. This is why we trust Him. And this is why we follow Him.

The Creed’s language, which is borrowed and shaped from Scripture, safeguards the mystery of the Incarnation (God becoming man) while defending the full deity of Christ. In a time when some doubted or denied that Jesus was fully God, the Church stood firm. So must we.

Next week we’ll continue with what the Creed says about Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and return, and what it means for the Church and for the world.

Let these truths ground your faith today. You do not trust in vague religion. You trust in the Triune God, the Father who made you, and the Son who saved you.