Athanasian Creed ~ 20241215 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org
12/15 3rd Christmas in the Creeds; Athanasian Creed [confounding persons; diving substance] ; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20241215_athanasian-creed.mp3
Christmas in the Creeds; we are looking at some of the ancient creeds, specifically at what they teach us about the incarnation, about Jesus. We looked at the Apostles’ Creed, which developed out of early affirmations of belief for those receiving Christian baptism. The Apostles’ Creed affirms the Biblical teaching of the virgin birth, that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit.
The Nicene Creed
We looked at the original Nicene creed, which clarifies what is meant by ‘only begotten’. The creeds were developed primarily to deal with false teachings that began to circulate in the church, to clarify and articulate clearly what the Bible teaches and what the true church has always believed.
Arius, a deacon in Alexandria, began teaching that because Jesus is called ‘Son of God’, that must mean that there was an act of begetting, and therefore there was a time when he was not. Arius taught that Jesus was the first and greatest of God’s creative acts, but that Jesus was creature not Creator, of similar essence but not the same essence as his Father. He was confronted by Alexander, his bishop, but continued to spread his unbiblical teaching.
The first ecumenical, or whole church council, the Council of Nicea was convened, and of the 318 bishops in attendance, only two refused to assent to the creed. The Nicene creed clarifies that Jesus is
That is, of the substance of the Father;
God of God and Light of light; true God of true God;
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father.
By whom all things were made, both in heaven and on earth:
The creed goes on to say
But those who say, "There was a time when he was not" and "He was not before he was begotten" and "He was made from that which did not exist," and those who assert that he is of other substance or essence than the Father, that he was created, or is susceptible of change, these the holy, catholic, and apostolic church anathematizes.
Arius’ teaching was condemned at the council of Nicea, but this wasn’t the end of the story. Arius and his followers continued to weasel their way back into places of power and popularity with the emperors, and many even of those bishops who put their names to the Nicene Creed were found to be embracing and teaching the Arian heresy to the point that this false teaching became the majority position in the empire. Some of the later emperors assembled church councils that attempted to establish replacement creeds that embraced a compromised poisiton.
Athanasius Contra Mundum
But there was one man who tenaciously stood firm for the truth as taught in God’s word. Athanasius was another deacon in Alexandria who served under the bishop Alexander. Alexander died in 328, just three years after the Council of Nicea. Athanasius was elected to replace him, where he faithfully served his people for the next 45 years.
But of those 45 years, 17 of them were spent in exile on five different occasions under four different emperors. He was falsely charged by his enemies with murder and magic, and when those charges were proved false, for threatening to stop grain shipments from Egypt to Constantinople if he were forced to receive Arius back into the church. He was exiled by Constantine himself, who was influenced by Arian bishops; twice by Constantius, who took up the Arian cause and by force installed different bishops to replace him, ; his church was surrounded and services interrupted by military forces on at least 3 occasions. One of these emperor appointed bishops was so horrible that after 5 years the city rose up and lynched him.
Athanasius was exiled again by the pagan emperor Julian, and again by the Arian emperor Valens. He spent much of his time in exile writing, refuting false teaching, arguing for the glory of Jesus and the importance of a biblical understanding of who Jesus is. After each exile, he was welcomed back warmly by his congregation.
This battle for the truth of the gospel lasted for about 60 years. Athanasius spent his life battling the false teachings of Arius. He died in 373, just 8 years before the Council of Constantinople, which affirmed the Nicene Creed and rejected Arianism. His tombstone was imprinted with the words ‘Athanasius contra mundum’; Athanasius against the world. The story is told that when he was being pressured to settle for compromise with the Arians, he was told that he was fighting a losing battle; ‘don’t you know the whole world is against you?’ He replied ‘Is the world against Athanasius? So be it. Then Athanasius is against the world!’
Athanasius was passionate for the truth about Jesus, because it matters eternally. What we believe about Jesus matters, because a false or distorted version of Jesus cannot save. In his ‘On the Incarnation of the Word of God’ Athanasius writes:
1.1 You must understand why it is that the Word of the Father, so great and so high, has been made manifest in bodily form. He has not assumed a body as proper to His own nature, far from it, for as the Word He is without body. He has been manifested in a human body for this reason only, out of the love and goodness of His Father, for the salvation of us men.
1.4 ...it was our sorry case that caused the Word to come down, our transgression that called out His love for us, so that He made haste to help us and to appear among us. It is we who were the cause of His taking human form, and for our salvation that in His great love He was both born and manifested in a human body.
As the Nicene creed stated, it was
for us men and for our salvation, [that he]
came down and was incarnate, and was made man;
The Athanasian Creed “Quicumque Vult” [whosoever wishes]
The Athanasian creed was likely not written by Athanasius, but it captures the essence of his teaching and honors his firm stand for the truth when all the world was against him.
The Athanasian Creed, one of the longer of the ancient creeds, affirms the triune nature of God, with both careful affirmations and denials. It clarifies the relationship of the person of the Trinity to one another, and it also clarifies the relation of the two natures of Christ, human and divine (a subject we will look at in more detail next week). It begins and ends with a statement of the importance of a right understanding of God for our salvation.
Here is the text of the creed; I will read it in full:
Athanasian Creed
Whosoever will be saved,
before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith.
Which faith unless every one do keep whole and undefiled,
without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.
---
And the catholic faith is this:
that we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity;
neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance.
For there is one Person of the Father; another of the Son;
and another of the Holy Ghost.
But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one; the Glory equal, the Majesty coeternal.
Such as the Father is; such is the Son; and such is the Holy Ghost.
The Father uncreated; the Son uncreated; and the Holy Ghost uncreated.
The Father unlimited; the Son unlimited; and the Holy Ghost unlimited.
The Father eternal; the Son eternal; and the Holy Ghost eternal.
And yet they are not three eternals; but one eternal.
As also there are not three uncreated; nor three infinites,
but one uncreated; and one infinite.
So likewise the Father is Almighty; the Son Almighty;
and the Holy Ghost Almighty.
And yet they are not three Almighties; but one Almighty.
So the Father is God; the Son is God; and the Holy Ghost is God.
And yet they are not three Gods; but one God.
So likewise the Father is Lord; the Son Lord; and the Holy Ghost Lord.
And yet not three Lords; but one Lord.
For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity;
to acknowledge every Person by himself to be God and Lord;
So are we forbidden by the catholic religion;
to say, There are three Gods, or three Lords.
---
The Father is made of none; neither created, nor begotten.
The Son is of the Father alone; not made, nor created; but begotten.
The Holy Ghost is of the Father and of the Son;
neither made, nor created, nor begotten; but proceeding.
So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons;
one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts.
And in this Trinity none is before, or after another;
none is greater, or less than another.
But the whole three Persons are coeternal, and coequal.
So that in all things, as aforesaid;
the Unity in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity, is to be worshipped.
He therefore that will be saved, let him thus think of the Trinity.
---
Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation;
that he also believe faithfully the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
For the right Faith is, that we believe and confess;
that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man;
God, of the Substance of the Father; begotten before the worlds;
and Man, of the Substance of his Mother, born in the world.
Perfect God; and perfect Man,
of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting.
Equal to the Father, as touching his Godhead;
and inferior to the Father as touching his Manhood.
Who although he is God and Man; yet he is not two, but one Christ.
One; not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh;
but by assumption of the Manhood into God.
One altogether; not by confusion of Substance; but by unity of Person.
For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man;
so God and Man is one Christ;
Who suffered for our salvation; descended into hell;
rose again the third day from the dead.
He ascended into heaven,
he sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
from whence he will come to judge the living and the dead.
At whose coming all men will rise again with their bodies;
And shall give account for their own works.
And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting;
and they that have done evil, into everlasting fire.
---
This is the catholic faith; which except a man believe truly and firmly,
he cannot be saved.
Trinity
Where the Nicene and Apostles’ Creed both affirm that we believe in God the Father, and in the Lord Jesus Christ the Son, and in the Holy Spirit; and where the Nicene Creed clarified that the Father and Son are of one substance or essence, the Athanasian Creed uses the word ‘Trinity’ to describe this one God.
The word ‘Trinity’ is first attributed to Tertullian in 213, although the concept of one God eternally existing in more than one person was already common throughout the early church, throughout the teaching of the New Testament, and even many places in the Old Testament. From the very beginning of creation (Gen.1:1-3), where God created through his Spirit and by his Word, to the Divine cloud riding Son of Man appearing before the Ancient of Days in Daniel’s vision (7:13-14), to Isaiah’s prophecy of the virgin who conceives and bears a son who is called God with us; the Son given is called ‘Mighty God, Everlasting Father’ (Is.7:14; 9:6), to Jesus’ clear claim to be the eternal I AM (Jn.8:58) and his claim to be one in essence with the Father (Jn.10:28-33); to Christian baptism in the one Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Mt.28:19), to the Revelation of Jesus, where worship is offered to the One who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, and the seven-fold Spirit of God (Rev.5:6,12-13).
Neither Confounding Persons Nor Dividing Substance
The Athanasian Creed starts out affirming the triune nature of God; ‘one God in Trinity, and Trinity in unity; neither confounding the persons, nor dividing the substance.’ God is three, but God is also one.
In the category of essence, nature, or substance, there is only one God, undivided. In the category of persons, God is three, not to be confused with one another. The Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Spirit, the Spirit is distinct from the Father and the Son.
God in his essence is one; uncreated, unlimited, eternal, infinite, almighty being; God and Lord. Every attribute that describes God in his essence is true of each person of the Triune God, but there are not three Gods or three Lords, but one God and one Lord.
The three persons are coeternal and coequal; the unity in Trinity and trinity in unity is to be worshipped.
Who Suffered For Our Salvation
This creed affirms repeatedly that ‘whosoever will be saved’ must hold this catholic (universal) faith’; ‘he therefore that will be saved, let him thus think of the Trinity’; ‘it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he also believe faithfully the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ’; ‘this is the catholic (universal) faith, which except a man believe truly and firmly, he cannot be saved’. It matters what we believe, because false teaching about a false Jesus will not save. Christ ‘suffered for our salvation’
1 John 4:13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
These are weighty truths. Reflect on them. Worship. Believe.
***
2024.12.15 Sermon Notes
Christmas in the Creeds; Athanasian Creed
Athanasian Creed
Trinity:
Genesis 1:1-3; God, the Spirit of God, God spoke
Daniel 7:13-14; The cloud riding Son of Man, the Ancient of Days
Isaiah 7:14, 9:6; Immanuel – God with us; Mighty God, Everlasting Father
John 8:58; 10:28-33; Jesus is the eternal I AM, one essence with the Father
Matthew 28:19; The one Name of Father, Son and Spirit
Revelation 5:6, 12-13; The seven-fold Spirit, the One who sits on the throne, and the Lam
***
Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org