Day 16, Nicene Creed, 8th Line

When the Nicene Creed was written, there were a lot of false teachings going around about the nature and identity of Jesus Christ. Particularly, some were saying that Jesus had a lesser nature than God the Father, or that Jesus was one of many gods.

You may notice that the Creed lingers for several lines on describing Jesus' nature, and that right now we are in the middle of a discourse that seems to stay fixed on one point—Jesus in relation to God the Father. In fact, more than half of the Creed focuses on the person and story of Jesus Christ, and the rest is about God the Father, the Holy Spirit, the Church, heaven, etc. This intense thoroughness is precisely the result of the Church combating popular heresies regarding Jesus’ identity, which is something still necessary for us to do today. He is not just a great teacher or prophet, or even one among many gods. He is God the Son originating from God the Father. His Light is not a lesser Light than God the Father’s. God the Father and God the Son are both the very same Light.

Care to share?

This reflection is a part of By Heart: A Lenten Prayer Project.

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