DIVINITY OF CHRIST part 9
Jude 1:3 | Intro to the Nicene, Chalcedonian, and Athanasian Creeds
Part 9 of the sermon series, Divinity of Christ.
The first three sermons showed that Jesus is God through the writings of John. The fourth examined Paul’s witness to Christ’s divinity. The fifth drew from the book of Hebrews. The sixth sermon was from the letters of Peter. The seventh sermon highlighted the divinity of Christ as seen in the writings of Isaiah, the prophet. The eighth sermon proved that Christ is God based on the prophecies of Micah, Daniel, and Malachi. This ninth sermon reminds us to contend for the faith, just like the apostles and church fathers expressed through the Creeds.
Jude 1:3: Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.
Jude, a brother of Christ in the flesh, warned that false teachers have infiltrated the church communities. They pervert grace and use it as a license for sensual sins, and they deny Jesus Christ. He warned that God’s judgment is upon such. Each church community must contend for the faith because false teaching will arise and challenge gospel truth and sound doctrine. The following are examples of post-apostolic believers who contended for the faith, protecting the flock of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Nicene Creed
The Nicene Creed echoes this truth by declaring the Father and the Son as equal.[1] The Son is not lesser or subordinate. This conviction led the church to respond in the fourth century to a divergent teaching. In 321 AD, Arius of Alexandria claimed the Son was created and not eternal. Alexander, bishop of Alexandria, taught the classical belief that the Son is divine and coeternal with the Father.
Nicene Creed 321/381 AD (an excerpt):
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God,
begotten of the Father before all worlds;
God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God;
begotten, not made, being of one substance[2] with the Father,
by whom all things were made.
The Council of Nicaea in 325 affirmed Alexander’s position, declaring the Son “begotten, not made,” and of the same substance (ὁμοούσιος) as the Father. But the controversy continued, leading to the Council of Constantinople in 381, which reaffirmed and expanded the creed.
Chalcedonian Definition
The Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD was called to resolve a deep divide over how Christ’s two natures abide.[3] Though a new creed was not the plan at first, pressure rose as doctrinal tensions burst.[4] The church leaders gathered to make the truth plain: that in Jesus Christ, both God and man remain. After years of conflict and theological strife, they forged a statement that preserved the faith and life.[5]
Chalcedonian Creed (definition) of 451 AD (an excerpt):
We, then, following the holy fathers, all with one consent, teach men to confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man… Only-begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably; the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved, and concurring in one Person and one Subsistence…
The council declared Christ as one and the same Son, fully divine and fully human in one. Begotten before the ages, with God eternal and with humans, fraternal. His two natures are joined without confusion, distinct yet united, without illusion. They are not mixed, divided, or changed but remain, each with its properties, intact and retained. This definition rejected both separation and blur, affirming the truth that Scripture confers.
Athanasian Creed
The Athanasian Creed is structured in two parts. The first articulates the Trinity with clarity: Father, Son, and Spirit are distinct in person but equal in divinity. The Son is begotten, not made, and fully shares the divine nature. The second part affirms Christ as both fully God and fully man, upholding His rational soul and full humanity.
Athanasian Creed 4th-5th AD (an excerpt):
That we believe and confess
that our Lord Jesus Christ, God's Son,
is both God and human, equally.He is God from the essence of the Father,
begotten before time;
and he is human from the essence of his mother,
born in time;
completely God, completely human,
with a rational soul and human flesh;
equal to the Father as regards divinity,
less than the Father as regards humanity.Although he is God and human,
yet Christ is not two, but one.
He is one, however,
not by his divinity being turned into flesh,
but by God's taking humanity to himself.
He is one,
certainly not by the blending of his essence,
but by the unity of his person.
For just as one human is both rational soul and flesh,
so too the one Christ is both God and human.
It counters Apollinarianism, which denied Christ a complete human mind, and Nestorianism, which falsely taught two separate persons in Christ. Instead, it aligns with Chalcedonian orthodoxy, declaring the two natures united in one person without confusion, division, or loss of identity.[6]
Application
1. Believe in the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. Proclaim the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
3. Defend the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[1] For the full creed, see Appendix A.
[2] Greek: ὁμοούσιος (homoousios)
[3] Emperor Marcian, ruler of the Byzantine Empire, called for the church leaders to resolve the matter.
[4] Francis X. Murphy, “The Dogmatic Definition at Chalcedon,” Theological Studies 12, no. 4 (1951): 505–19.
[5] See Appendix B.
[6] Ibid., 38-39.
Poem
CONTEND FOR THE FAITH by Ed Pilapil Jr. Contend for the faith, Jude wrote them False teachings, apostles condemned The believers should be prepared New Testament writings declared The church fathers fulfilled their role To reprimand the wayward soul Christ is God; that must be proclaimed That name that’s above every name Who is He? And what is His name? Jesus is the name we proclaim He’s the salvation of the soul No other can fulfill that role The creeds clarified and declared So believers can be prepared The false teaching must be condemned Stay sharp and never ignore them
Study Guide
1. What was Jude’s intention in writing? (Jude 1:3)
2. How did the post-apostolic church leaders fight for their faith?
3. Why should we continue to fight for the faith? How?
Downloadable manuscripts in English and Tagalog
