The Nicene Creed

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 with the Father, by whom all things were made.

Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.

And I believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Christ's church was established on the Day of Pentecost, around 30 AD (Acts 2:47). Christians faced repeated persecutions, which had a tendency to drive the insincere and uncommitted out, keeping the church pure and faithful. However, under the emperor Constantine, Christianity was legalized. Constantine, in order to fight what he believed was heresy, committed a grave error. In 325 AD, he invited representatives from churches all over the empire to meet in a city named Nicea to write a short statement of belief. This statement is known as the Nicene Creed. The problem is not so much that they wrote what they believed, but that this document was sent out to the churches as the litmus test for faithfulness. It became a manual to define who was really doing God's will. But, God had already given that manual. He gave the Bible. from the pages of the Franklin Church of Christ