The Nicene Creed: A Scriptural, Historical, and Theological Commentary

by Jared Ortiz, Daniel A. Keating

Though the Nicene Creed is regularly recited in weekly church services, few understand its historical origins and connections to Scripture and key Christian doctrines.

This volume bridges the gap, providing an accessible introduction that explains how the Creed is anchored in the Bible and how it came to be written and confessed in the early history of the church. The authors show how the Creed reflects the purpose of God in salvation, especially in relation to Christians' divine adoption as sons and daughters, leading to glorification. Each chapter includes sidebars highlighting how the Creed has been received in the church's liturgy.

Professors, students, clergy, and religious educators will benefit from this illuminating and edifying guide to the Nicene Creed.

Genres: Theology, History, Religion

234 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 23, 2024

Reviews

[Samuel G. Parkison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Roman Catholic in its application points on Christian piety, but the general commentary on the Creed itself is truly “catholic,” and Protestants will therefore find much resonance.

[Casey Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by Roman Catholics, the book is helpful where it is helpful, and unhelpful where Roman distinctives appear. But on the Trinity it is most edifying and beneficial for the Christian soul.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent introduction to the Creed as the standard of Christian belief. Clear prose provide the theological and historical background to each line, with application and frequent sidebars featuring a diversity of voices from the early church. Highly recommended. Pairs great with "The Nicene Creed: An Introduction" by Phillip Cary.

[Douglas Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came to faith in an independent Pentecostal Church, and have been an active member and minister in Pentecostal churches ever since (close to 40 years now). I am grateful for the vibrancy and energy of the Christian stream that I am in, but I am also acutely aware of the impact of poor discipleship and the 'flakiness' of many who call themselves 'Christian'. In the last 20 years of my faith journey, I have become aware of and appreciative of the Great Tradition of the Church, and I am increasingly sure that the neglect and dismissal of the ancient creeds has weakened us.

The idea of making a common confession of faith is deeply countercultural to the modern Westerner. Having been immersed in a culture of expressive individualism, defining our truth, and radical independence, joining in unity with others around the world and throughout history in confessing the Creeds is revolutionary. It may be the medicine we need!

The authors, Ortiz and Keating, are Roman Catholic scholars, and as such, I did find some small points of difference between their position and that of the Protestant church. However, these points of difference should not be the focus; instead, the overall picture of agreement with the Nicene Creed itself is in full view. I particularly enjoyed the first chapter in which the authors explain and defend the reasonableness of faith. I found their arguments to be both logical and encouraging.

The description of this book says, "Professors, students, clergy, and religious educators will benefit from this illuminating and edifying guide to the Nicene Creed." I agree and add that it should be in every church library and read by everyone who wants a greater understanding of the orthodox Christian faith. I have benefited from reading this book and recommend it to all who long for a greater understanding of Christianity.

[Julia Shelburne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book analyzes the historical context and modern application of the Nicene Creed. The book is more academic in research and writing style, though anyone curious about the creed could benefit from such a thorough breakdown. Several parts of the book refer to aspects of Catholicism, but I did not find those parts to detract from the overall analysis. I especially appreciated learning about just how countercultural these words were for the early Christian church to proclaim as well as how the creed is a way to connect today’s diverse church.

Thank you NetGalley and Baker Publishing Group for this advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

[Kristjan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most of Christianity is considered to be a creedal religion, that is, governed by a specific statement of faith that members of a particular church must assent to (from the Latin credo meaning ‘I believe’). While not emphasized much, the Protestant tradition in which I grew up held to the 7th century Apostle’s Creed. Once I was confirmed into the Catholic faith, I became more aware of the Nicene Creed as well (Catholics pretty much recent one creed or another at the drop of a hat) … and I learned a lot about how these creeds came to be (predominately in response to various heresies that the early Church was struggling with), so I was extremely interest in this book to see if it confirmed what I already knew and if it presented anything new [to learn]. I am happy to report it delivered in spades.

The book is organized into six (6) chapters, each taking part of the Nicene Creed to examine (in broad strokes or themes). Each chapter begins with a general introduction of the over all theme or topic before it is further divided into sections that go into details on a phrase or statement within the chapter theme (such as what it means to say ‘I believe’ or say ‘one God’ et al). Included with the section header are references to the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Catholic Catechism (so obviously this is a very Catholic centric book). In addition, we get this section of the creed in three (3) languages (English, Latin and Greek). Each section generally has four (4) parts: A Theological Exposition to talk about the theology behind this part of the creed, A Witness to the Tradition that references early Church thinking about an element of this theology with source citations (this can repeated for different elements and/or viewpoints), Contemporary Issues that talk about current thinking and/or struggles with this element of the creed, and finally a part called Living the Mystery which talks about how the faithful should live out this part of the creed. There are a generally number of callouts/sidebars under the headed of Lex Orandi that review how a particular element is reflected within the liturgy as well. Finally at the end we get a straight up side buy side comparison of the different creeds, including the latin and greek versions plus a glossary of terms that is simply fantastic on its own … making this book incredibly well researched and organized; I highly recommended it.

The chapters and sections in this work are

Introduction

1. Belief
2. God the Father
3. God the Son Divine
4. God the Son Incarnate
5. God the Holy Spirit
6. Life in the Trinity

Appendix 1: Three Creeds Compared
Appendix 2: The Nicene Creed in Latin and Greek
Glossary

Some of the other points that really got my attention are:

Faced with these considerable deviations in teaching, the Church needed to find a way to communicate and confess effectively the true faith received from the apostles. One response was the development of what we call “the †rule of faith” (or “the rule of truth”)

In the early Church, the primary form of the creed used in catechesis and especially in baptism was interrogatory—that is, it was delivered through question and answer: Do you believe in God, the Father almighty?

Creeds used in preaching, teaching, and worship were typically declaratory in form—that is, they confessed the faith through a declaration of the truth: I believe in God, the Father almighty, and so on.

The Creed serves as a fixed rule of faith, a measuring stick of what we as Christians believe. It helps us to interpret the Scriptures we just heard, to confirm the orthodoxy of the sermon just preached, and to unite our minds and hearts in confession of what we believe.

The important thing was “orthopraxy.” It did not matter that Polycarp was not truly devoted to the pagan gods; it did not matter that his heart was not really in his action; what mattered was the action. Roman religion was civic religion, and participating was required for everyone.

In the first category were groups such as pagan polytheists, †Marcionite dualists, and Gnostic emanationists. In the second category were modalists, like Noetus and Sabellius, and subordinationists, like the Arians who inspired the Council of Nicaea.

Paternal imagery was common when treating the ruler of the city and the divine ruler of the cosmos. In the ancient world, fatherly rule was the primary model for rightly ordered monarchy, so it was natural to think of the chief god as father over the world. Zeus was considered the father of the gods and humans.

In Christian theological terminology, to be “father” means “to pass on a nature” (this definition fits human as well as divine begetting). The Father is God; therefore, the Son is God (“God from God”). The Son is the same nature as the Father, which he receives not in time (that would make him a creation) but eternally.

This opening line, “for us men and for our salvation,” communicates three things: (1) the recipients of the Son’s work (those for whom he came); (2) the purpose of the Son’s work (why he came); and (3) the opening act of that work (how he came).

More generally, the Spirit leads the early Christians in mission (8:29; 11:28; 13:2; 16:6–7) and guides them as they seek to resolve difficult issues in the Christian community (15:28).

The Spirit not only distributes a multitude of gifts to the members of the Christian community (1 Cor. 12:3–13), but even reveals to us the mind of God (2:10–14). The Spirit is the one who dwells within us and sanctifies us in both body and soul (3:16).

Now it is a property of love to move and impel the will of the lover towards the object loved.”164 Because the Scriptures identify the Spirit particularly with the love of God (see Rom. 5:5), Aquinas concludes that it is fitting that we call this †procession of love by the name “Spirit.”

But in addition to this, if the Spirit is truly Lord, then we have an obligation to follow the Spirit and be utterly docile to him. Just as we follow and obey Jesus as Lord and follow him wherever he leads (Rev. 14:4), so too we should follow the Spirit, who is also our Lord.

The unique quality of the Spirit’s “speaking” is that the Spirit always makes use of a human being (and a human voice or pen) to speak. We never hear the Spirit’s words coming down the wind or out of the blue—the “Spirit speaks,” but he always speaks through the words of a human being.

I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

#TheNiceneCreed #NetGalley

[Bob Price · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many Christians will recite the Nicene Creed week after week and others will have no idea what the Creed is. Either way, Jared Ortiz and Daniel Keating provide a great introduction in their book Teh Nicene Creed: A Scriptural, Historical, and Theological Commentary.

This book provides readers with a basic introduction to the concepts in the Creed and by doing so does the Church a great service by introducing complex theological concepts. Introductory Christology? Check. Discourse on the Filioque? Check. Interaction with theologians like Arius and Nestorius? Check.
By doing so, Ortiz and Keating allow readers who have no familiarity with the rich theological tradition of the church an opportunity to learn about these concepts and controversies.

The book provides helpful connections to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Scriptural passages and hymns of the faith. It also provides insight into how these seemingly obscure theological ideas impact today's world. Theology is not just for the abstract thinking, but has real consequences for life.

For Protestant readers, the book may challenge them because it is written from a decidedly Roman Catholic perspective. However, it also provides believers with a way to access the debate.

The book does contain a large amount of theological language, but everything is clearly defined and the book contains a glossary in the back to help the reader understand the concepts. But overall, the writing is clear and engaging.

Ortiz and Keating should be commended for their contribution to the Church and this book has a place on every Christian's book shelf.

I highly recommend this book to everyone who is interested in theology or the Creed, especially to those who are just learning.

Grade: A

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent commentary on the Nicene Creed, providing what the subtitle of the book suggest. The authors are writing from a self-consciously Catholic perspective and, as such, apostolic succession, a validity of the filioque, and baptismal regeneration, to name a few, are affirmed and defended in their discussion. Despite those items that for non-Catholic readers will be point of departure, this is a solid, clearly written exploration of the Nicene Creed that ought to be consulted by a wide readership.

[Dave Wagner]

Skimmed it, for the most part. For a class I was taking. The more I study church history, the less I like it... people, low-key, kinda suck. Even (especially?) religious folks....

[Jack Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

The historical commentary this book offered was its main strength. Less devotional and less ecumenical than other works however.

[Jim Milway · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good guide through the Nicene Creed. I've been reciting it for almost seventy years and I found all sorts of insight and explanation in this book. Scholarly but very accessible.