Embrace the Nicene Legacy
The Nicene Creed, Kevin DeYoung. Wheaton: Crossway, 2025. Softcover, 93 pages.
2025 is the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. While the Council didn’t write the Nicene Creed as we know it, it was responsible for the theology behind it and a precursor creed. What better way to commemorate this momentous ecumenical council than to learn a little more about the creed which bears its name. Kevin DeYoung has written a short introduction expanding on some of its characteristics. It’s part of “Foundational Tools for Our Faith,” a series addressed to a general Christian audience helping them “know what to believe and how to live.”
After a short summary of the history behind it, DeYoung explores several of the key phrases in the Nicene Creed:
- We believe
- Only begotten
- One substance
- For us and our salvation
- Who proceeds from the Father and the Son
- One holy catholic and apostolic church
- One baptism for the remission of sins
Some of the issues related to these phrases are quite theologically involved, but the author does well in simplifying things as much as possible. The only phrase I would have liked a chapter on would be “the Lord and giver of life” (referring to the Holy Spirit).
I thought I knew the substance and meaning of the Creed quite well, but DeYoung highlighted some blind spots and he may very well do the same for you. For example, one of the famous controversies related to the Nicene Creed is the so-called filioque, the article which states that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. It’s the procession from the Son that is contested by the Eastern church. Why does this double-procession matter? Is it biblically supported? Read chapter 5 to find out. As another example, what does the Creed mean when it speaks of “one baptism for the remission/forgiveness of sins”? Is it referring to how many times we should be baptized? Chapter 7 has the answer.
The Apostles’ Creed gets the most attention of our ecumenical creeds. It’s expounded in the Heidelberg Catechism, it’s set to music, and we use it most often as our confession of faith in public worship. By contrast, the Nicene Creed may only get used in the second service when there’s a Lord’s Supper celebration in the morning where the Apostles’ Creed has already been used. However, it is a vital part of our creedal library, and DeYoung’s little book will help you embrace it more closely and meaningfully.
Originally published in Clarion 74.13 (October 10, 2025)
