The Nicene Creed: The Foundation of Christian Belief

We say it all the time: “We don’t shape Jesus to fit our culture. We let Jesus shape us.” In a world filled with spiritual confusion and a thousand different opinions online, it’s more important than ever to understand what Christians have actually believed from the beginning. The Nicene Creed gives us language for that. It isn’t just old church history. It’s a living reminder of what has always been true about Jesus: He is fully God and fully human. It holds up not just in ancient Rome, but right now in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

The Nicene Creed doesn’t try to say everything. It says what must be said. It gives us the essential, non-negotiables that define our faith. And that matters, especially in a time when mystery makes people nervous and TikTok theology offers shortcuts that feel more comfortable. But some truths can’t be simplified without being distorted. From the very beginning, the church faced this exact problem. In Acts 15, the first church leaders didn’t just go with popular opinion. They gathered. They prayed. They asked how God had already revealed Himself. They affirmed what had always been true: that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus, not by legalism or tradition.

Fast forward to 325 AD, and history repeats. A preacher named Arius was claiming Jesus was created, not divine. It sounded logical and easier to explain. But easier doesn’t mean true. Church leaders gathered again, this time in Nicaea. They didn’t invent new doctrine. They looked back and reaffirmed what had always been taught: that Jesus is "God from God, light from light, true God from true God." They drew a line in the sand, not to exclude, but to protect what was core to the gospel. Because if Jesus is only divine, He can’t relate to us. And if He’s only human, He can’t save us. We need a Savior who knows our pain and still has the power to redeem it. The mystery of Jesus being fully God and fully human isn’t a problem to solve. It’s a truth to embrace.

We want to be thoughtful when we open our Bibles. That means we read Scripture through first-century eyes, not just through our own lens. We don’t ask, "What does this mean to me?" until we’ve asked, "What did this mean to them?" That kind of humility protects us from twisting the text to say what we want it to say. And it keeps us connected to the faith that has shaped the Church for two thousand years.

Here’s what this looks like in real life: Be cautious with teachings you’ve "never heard before." Evaluate what you believe by what the church has always believed. Don’t let fear of mystery push you toward convenient distortions. And when questions come, because they will, go back to the foundation. The truth hasn’t changed.

So this week, take some time to reflect. Are you letting culture or convenience shape your view of Jesus? Are you allowing mystery to lead you toward wonder and worship, or are you settling for simple but shallow explanations? Open the Nicene Creed. Read it slowly. Let its truths remind you who Jesus is. Not who we wish He was, but who He’s always been.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God. True God from true God, begotten, not made. That’s our foundation, and we’re standing on it together.

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