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Ancient Creed | The Nicene Creed

Today we confessed the ancient Nicene Creed in all its trinitarian beauty. This statement of belief dates from the 4th century and has been used in the life of the church worldwide ever since. Here it is available for your daily use.

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:
  by the power of the Holy Spirit
    He became incarnate
    from the Virgin Mary,
    and was made man.

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.
  With the Father and the Son
    He is worshiped and glorified.
  He has spoken through
    the Prophets.

We believe in one holy
  universal* 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.

* We have used the word universal here where common usage is generally the word catholic. Catholic simply means universal and our subsitution is just for clarity of understanding.

The Trinity

This morning we prayed the prayer The Trinity which comes from our Puritan Heritage. You can find this prayer and many others in the book The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions. Highly recommended!

Three in one, one in three,
  God of my salvation,
Heavenly Father, blessed Son,
  eternal Spirit,
 I adore You as
  one Being,
  one Essence,
  one God in three distinct Persons,
 for bringing sinners
  to Your knowledge
  and to Your kingdom.

O Father, You have loved me
 and sent Jesus to redeem me;
O Jesus, You have loved me
 and assumed my nature,
 shed Your own blood
  to wash away my sins,
 wrought righteousness
  to cover my unworthiness;
O Holy Spirit, You have loved me
 and entered my heart,
 implanted there eternal life,
 revealed to me the glories of Jesus.

Three Persons and one God,
 I bless and praise You,
 for love so unmerited,
 so unspeakable, so wondrous,
 so mighty to save the lost
 and raise them to glory.

O Father, I thank You that
 in fullness of grace
 You have given me to Jesus,
 to be His sheep, jewel, portion;
O Jesus, I thank You that
 in fullness of grace
 You have accepted, espoused,
 bound me;
O Holy Spirit, I thank You that
 in fullness of grace
 You have exhibited Jesus
 as my salvation,
 implanted faith within me,
 subdued my stubborn heart,
 made me one with Him for ever.

O Father, You are enthroned
 to hear my prayers,
O Jesus, Your hand is outstretched
 to take my petitions,
O Holy Spirit, You are willing
 to help my infirmities,
 to show me my need,
 to supply words,
 to pray within me, to strengthen me
  that I faint not in supplication.

O Triune God,
  who commands the universe,
 You have commanded me to
  ask for those things
  that concern Your kingdom
   and my soul.
Let me live and pray as one baptized
 into the three fold Name.

(The song we sang this morning, Heavenly Father, Beautiful Son, is based on this very prayer...and I must confess that this is the most horribly named song we sing...after all, it's about the Trinity! I supppose the writers just thought Heavenly Father, Beautiful Son, Spirit of Light and Truth was just to bulky!)