Guard the Good Deposit

36 • Guard the Good Deposit: The Great Tradition for the Whole Church

Why Do We Need the Nicene Creed?

We need the Nicene Creed to help us make sense of the Bible. Let’s all admit it; the Bible is long and confusing. Christians have been trying to work out its meaning for centuries. With so many different parts, how does it all work together? We believe the Bible does present a unified message about who God is and what he is doing in the world. The Nicene Creed helps us see clearly the one message concerning the person and work of God in Scripture. It does this first by providing us with a portrait of the Triune God, so we can recognize him in the Scriptures. A portrait is a picture of a person. It is flat, and it does not move or speak. It gives a good sense of what the person looks like. No one, however, would confuse a portrait for the actual living breathing human being. In the same way, the Nicene Creed gives a quick portrait of God. It gives a good look at who he is. We only meet the true and living God, however, as we encounter him in the Scriptures and as we walk with him as a part of his Church. The portrait in the Nicene Creed helps us to see him accurately in all of Scripture. The God of creation, promise, judgment, and wrath is the God who became incarnate to die for our sins, and the God who lives in us today. The Nicene Creed gives us a snapshot of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit so we can recognize God from start to end.