Who We Are – One Requirement Part 2

This article is a continuation about our One Requirement. Read the first part here.

Nicene‑Constantinopolitan Creed 

In a previous article we said that loving God begins, and ultimately ends, with knowing God. If the greatest thing we can do is to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, then what we believe about him will have a significant impact on the direction, and values, of our lives. 

Rather than reinventing the wheel trying to describe what we believe, we can look to church history and find a rich heritage of writings. The Nicene‑Constantinopolitan Creed was written in 381 A.D. at the second ecumenical council. At this council, the Church addressed topics such as the Godhood of Jesus and the teaching on the Holy Spirit.

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible; 
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-begotten, Begotten of the Father before all ages, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, Begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father; by whom all things were made: 
Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made man; 
And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried; 
And the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; 
And ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father; 
And He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, Whose kingdom shall have no end. 
And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, and Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, Who spoke by the Prophets; 
And we believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. 
We acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins. 
We look for the Resurrection of the dead, 
And the Life of the age to come. Amen.

https://orthodoxwiki.org/Nicene-Constantinopolitan_Creed¹

One God

The creed begins by saying, “We believe in one God.” Then states further truths about God the Father Almighty, Jesus the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit. It ends that section saying this, “Who [speaking of the Holy Spirit] with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified.” Here at Heart Soul⁠⁠ &⁠⁠ Mind we believe that there is one God. He was not born of another God in an age past. He is not a man who was glorified to Godhood. Furthermore, he is eternal, with neither beginning nor end.

For there to be such a being who possesses all the attributes we see of God in the bible (omniscient, omnipresent, eternal, etc.) there can only be one. Unlike other religions which have many gods, most of whom are more like men than gods, Christianity has one God, Yahweh.

To see an example of this belief we not need look any further than the words of Jesus himself. In fact, it’s found in the very passage from which Heart Soul & Mind gets it’s name.

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Mark 12:29-31 ESV²

In this passage Jesus is quoting from the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy 6:4-5³ telling us that the most important command in all of scripture is to love God, and God alone⁴.

Furthermore we can read the words of Jesus in the Revelation.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Revelation 1:8 ESV⁵

Three Persons

We believe in a God who is three in one. He is three separate and distinct persons, in one being, or essence. As a matter of fact, we see this concept in the very opening of the bible.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:1 ESV⁶

In Hebrew, the original language of the text, the word translated as “God“ is אֱלֹהִים (‘ĕlōhîm)⁷, which is the plural form of god. In the opening of his gospel the Apostle John connects this plural meaning to Jesus.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

John 1:1-3 ESV⁸

In Isaiah 48:16⁹, the Son is speaking saying “the Lord God has sent me, and his Spirit.”

Finally, in Matthew we see the clearest example where the Father, Son, and Spirit are separately together in one place.

And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Matthew 3:16-17 ESV¹⁰

Who Jesus is

In the passage from John chapter one we saw that the Word, a name John used for Jesus, is fully God, and is so eternally. We also believe that Jesus is not made. He is the only-begotten Son of God¹¹. Jesus is not our eldest brother, nor is he the brother of Lucifer, or any spiritual being. Jesus was not merely a prophet or good teacher, he is fully God¹².

1. Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed ↩︎
2. Mark 12:29-31 ESV ↩︎
3. Deuteronomy 6:4-5 ESV ↩︎
4. Exodus 20:3 ESV ↩︎
5. Revelation 1:8 ESV ↩︎
6. Genesis 1:1 ESV ↩︎
7. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h430/esv/wlc/0-1/ ↩︎
8. John 1:1-3 ESV ↩︎
9. Isaiah 48:16 ESV ↩︎
10. Matthew 3:16-17 ESV ↩︎
11. John 3:16 ESV ↩︎
12. Colossians 2:9 ESV; 1 John 5:20 ESV ↩︎