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This sermon was preached by The Rev. Keith Cardwell at Swift Presbyterian Church.

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June 10, 2018 | Third Sunday after Pentecost

Is Jesus God?
A continued look at the Nicene Creed
Matthew 16:13–16

T ODAY ANOTHER QUESTION from an eighth-grade curriculum I once taught. Multiple-choice:

Jesus is …

■ 100% God and 0% human.
■ 0% God and 100% human.
■ 50% God and 50% human.
■ Or %100 God and 100% human.

I’ll reveal the answer later.

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I BEGAN LAST WEEK’S SERMON with a quiz. Which creed — Apostles’ or Nicene — is most broadly used and accepted worldwide? The answer is Nicene Creed. Protestant, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox. It’s one of the confessional statements in the PCUSA Book of Confessions.

You might question, “Why do we have creeds?” The word “creed” comes from the Latin word credo, meaning “I believe.” Any attempt to confess what one believes is a creed. Creeds are unavoidable. It can be a creed of parenting. Or of the Second Amendment. It can be a creed regarding work or golf. Any statement of belief is a creedal statement.

For our purposes, look at Peter’s statement in our Scripture reading this morning: ““But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” This is a creed.

† † †

TO IGNORE THE CREEDS of the church results in Christians growing up with no knowledge of the historic and sound doctrines of the church. Having to create an understanding of Jesus over and over again. Suppose we did that with Isaac Newton. We did not teach about law of gravity. Each generation is left to rediscover (or not) that apples fall from a tree to the earth for a universal reason. Every generation having to wrestle with the question — Is Jesus God? — with no guidance to find an answer.

The Christian faith is built upon a foundation laid down at the time of the early church. Our Christian identity is based upon that which the church has received, preserved, and carefully transmitted to each generation of believers.

“What do you believe about Jesus?” Was He really God? Was He fully God or was He only partly divine? So, what does it mean to be the “Son of God”? You mean the Son of God is half human and half God? Any attempt to answer these sorts of questions ends up being a creed, a statement of faith.

† † †

THAT’S WHERE the earlier quiz comes into play.

Is Jesus …?

■ 100% God and 0% human?
■ 0% God and 100% human?
■ 50% God and 50% human?
■ Or %100 God and 100% human?

Was he a creation? Did he exist before his birth? It was questions like these that started a great debate in Alexandria, Egypt, in the early 4th Century. Arius was a priest. He proclaimed “Our faith is this …. We know one Good alone unbegotten (unborn or uncreated), … who begot an only Son, … a perfect creature (that means created or begotten) of God.” Simplifying: Jesus, the Son of God, is a unique creation of the Father, but is not God.

† † †

ALEXANDER IS the bishop. He believes, as do many others, Jesus is God. God the Father and God the Son are the same, One. Alexander and Arius go round and round over this eventually drawing in the whole Christian church and the emperor, Constantine. To summarize many years into a sentence, The Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. prepared a creedal statement that affirms Alexander’s theology. Jesus is God. God the Father and God the Son are the same, One.

Yeah, end of story, right? No. Arius and his followers won’t go away. They regain power over the next 25 years or so and are about ready to hold a council to wipe out the past 25 years of understanding of Jesus’ and his relationship with God.

Anyway, a new hero comes on the scene. Athanasius becomes bishop of Alexandria. Over the next 20 years there’s a bitter theological battle over the question of “Is Jesus God?” Yes or no. God or creature of God. There’s no middle ground.

Another council is held. This time in Constantinople. (Current Istanbul) 381 AD. The council in its wisdom turned to another affirmation of faith that had been developed in Jerusalem but based on the 325 creed. A form of that creed was finally affirmed and is the Nicene Creed as we know it today. (Well, almost. We’ll talk about the Holy Spirit next week.)

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THE ANSWER IS JESUS, the Son of God, was “eternally begotten of the Father, (before time with the Father) God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, (the same as God) begotten, not made, (not a creature of creation — like humans) of one Being with the Father.” “Of one Being” with the Father. The Greek word is homoousia (homo = same, ousia = substance/being) That’s like they share the same DNA. The Son is co-equal in all respects with the Father. Jesus is God. One hundred percent God.

That is an important affirmation. Our salvation is from God, and if Christ is less than God, Christ cannot bring about our salvation. We don’t need him. God came into human life — 100% human — in the person of Christ to accomplish the change in us from sin to salvation. We, humanity, need to be saved from the results of our own self-corruption, and this salvation comes through the incarnation of the Word of God — God in the flesh. That’s what we celebrate at Christmas.

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OH, BY THE WAY, the answer to the quiz:

Jesus is 100% God and 100% human. This is the affirmation of the Nicene Creed.

— Keith Cardwell

Matthew 16:13–16
Holy Bible, New International Version

Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah
¹³When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

¹⁴They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

¹⁵“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

— This is the Word of the LORD.

— AFFIRMATION OF FAITH —
The Nicene Creed

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became truly human. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.