Historic Creeds is designed to guide you through three months of lectio divina passages that relate to each element of the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. I have selected 90 texts from Numbers through Revelation that are particularly well-suited to the process of sacred reading. These texts range from one to several verses, and they are arranged in biblical sequence to attune you to the flow of progressive revelation.
This is Part III: the Athanasian Creed.
Part I: the Apostles Creed is available here, and
Part II: the Nicene Creed is available here.
Kenneth Boa
Website: http://www.kenboa.org
Commentary: http://www.kenboa.org/blog
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1-3. Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith, which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. And the catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity.
Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him. (John 14:6)
4. Neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the substance.
The Lord Jesus prayed these words for the unity of all who would believe in Him: “I ask that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You, that they also may be in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me, that they may be perfected in one, that the world may know that You have sent Me and have loved them, even as You have loved Me.” (John 17:21-23)
5. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit.
The Lord Jesus Christ received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory who said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (2 Peter 1:17)
6-7. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, is all one: the glory equal, the majesty coeternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit.
Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was well-pleasing in Your sight. All things have been delivered to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.” (Matthew 11:25-27; Luke 10:21-22)
8. The Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated.
Blessed are You, O Lord, God of Israel, our father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for everything in heaven and earth is Yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom, and You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You are the ruler of all things. In Your hand is power and might to exalt and to give strength to all. Therefore, my God, I give You thanks and praise Your glorious name. (1 Chronicles 29:10-13)
9. The Father unlimited, the Son unlimited, and the Holy Spirit unlimited.
God is the maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades,
And the constellations of the south.
He does great things that cannot be fathomed
And wonderful works that cannot be counted. (Job 9:9-10)
Slowly read the Scripture passage several times.
10. The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal.
Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
You love righteousness and hate wickedness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
With the oil of gladness more than your companions. (Psalm 45:6-7)
11. And yet they are not three eternals, but one eternal.
Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel
And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
I am the first and I am the last;
Apart from Me there is no God. (Isaiah 44:6)
12. As also there are not three uncreated, nor three infinites, but one uncreated, and one infinite.
There is none like You, O Lord;
You are great, and Your name is mighty in power.
Who should not revere You, O King of the nations?
It is Your rightful due.
For among all the wise men of the nations
And in all their kingdoms,
There is no one like You. (Jeremiah 10:6-7)
13. So likewise the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, and the Holy Spirit almighty.
The Son of Man will come with the clouds of heaven. In the presence of the Ancient of Days, He will be given dominion and glory and a kingdom, so that all peoples, nations, and men of every language will worship Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. (Daniel 7:13-14)
14. And yet they are not three almighties, but one almighty.
The Lord who created the heavens, He is God.
He fashioned and made the earth and established it;
He did not create it to be empty
But formed it to be inhabited.
He is the Lord, and there is no other. (Isaiah 45:18)
15. So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. (John 1:1-4)
16. And yet they are not three Gods, but one God.
How great You are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like You, and there is no God besides You, according to all that I have heard with my ears. (2 Samuel 7:22; 1 Chronicles 17:20)
17. So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Spirit Lord.
Every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea and all that is in them, will sing:
“To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
Be blessing and honor and glory and power
For ever and ever!” (Revelation 5:13)
18. And yet not three Lords, but one Lord.
The Lord of hosts is wonderful in counsel and great in wisdom.
You are the Lord,
And there is no savior besides You.
From ancient days You are He,
And no one can deliver out of Your hand;
You act, and who can reverse it? (Isaiah 28:29; 43:11, 13)
19-20. For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity, to acknowledge every Person by Himself to be God and Lord, so we are forbidden by the catholic religion to say there are three Gods, or three Lords.
The Lord has established His throne in heaven,
And His kingdom rules over all.
Bless the Lord, you His angels,
Mighty in strength who do His bidding,
Obeying the voice of His word.
Bless the Lord, all His hosts,
You His servants who do His will.
Bless the Lord, all His works,
In all places of His dominion.
Bless the Lord, O my soul. (Psalm 103:19-22)
21. The Father is made of none; neither created, nor begotten.
And the four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within; and they do not rest day or night, saying,
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,
Who was, and is, and is to come.” (Revelation 4:8)
22. The Son is of the Father alone; not made, nor created, but begotten.
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:5-8)
23. The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son; neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:14)
24. So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits.
The foremost commandment is this: “Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall 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: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no commandment greater than these. To love God with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as himself are more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices. (Mark 12:29-31, 33)
25-26. And in this Trinity none is before, or after another; none is greater, or less than another. But the whole three Persons are coeternal, and coequal.
A great multitude, which no one could number, from all nations and tribes and peoples and languages will stand before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes with palm branches in their hands, and will cry out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9-10)
27-28. So that in all things, as aforesaid; the Unity in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity, is to be worshiped. He therefore that will be saved, let him thus think of the Trinity.
The Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him and he in God. (1 John 4:14-15)
29. Furthermore it is necessary to everlasting salvation, that he also believe faithfully the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me, I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I will lose none of all that He has given Me, but raise it up at the last day. For My Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:37-40)
30. For the right faith is, that we believe and confess; that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and man.
I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and by believing, I have life in His name. (John 20:31)
31. God, of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and man, of the substance of his mother, born in the world.
Lord Jesus, You are the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star. (Revelation 22:16)
32. Perfect God, and perfect man, of a rational soul and human flesh subsisting.
By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness:
He who was revealed in the flesh,
Vindicated in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Preached among the nations,
Believed on in the world,
Taken up in glory. (1 Timothy 3:16)
33. Equal to the Father as touching His Godhead; and inferior to the Father as touching His manhood.
Christ was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, but His own did not receive Him. As many as received Christ, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:10-13)
34. Who although He is God and man; yet He is not two, but one Christ.
An hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and He has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. (John 5:25-27)
35. One; not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by assumption of the manhood into God.
The Father Himself loves you because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from God. (John 16:27)
36. One altogether; not by confusion of substance, but by unity of Person.
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are Your judgments, and Your ways past finding out!
For who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been Your counselor?
Or who has first given to You,
That You should repay him?
For from You and through You and to You are all things. To You be the glory forever! Amen. (Romans 11:33-36)
37. For as the rational soul and flesh is one man, so God and man is one Christ.
If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with the heart that one believes to righteousness, and it is with the mouth that one confesses to salvation. As the Scripture says, “Whoever trusts in Him will not be put to shame.” (Romans 10:9-11)
38. Who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead.
You are worthy to take the scroll
And to open its seals,
Because You were slain,
And with Your blood You purchased for God
From every tribe and language and people and nation.
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
And they will reign on the earth. (Revelation 5:9-10)
39. He ascended into heaven, He sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty.
John looked and heard the voice of many angels encircling the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and their number was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice,
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
To receive power and riches and wisdom
And strength and honor and glory and blessing!” (Revelation 5:11-12)
40. From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:12-13, 20)
41-42. At whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies, and shall give account for their own works.
Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness like the stars for ever and ever. (Daniel 12:2-3)
43. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting, and they that have done evil, into everlasting fire.
An hour is coming when all who are in the graves will hear the voice of the Son of Man, and will come out—those who have done good to a resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to a resurrection of judgment. (John 5:28-29)
44. This is the catholic faith, which except a man believe faithfully, he can not be saved.
The Lord Jesus is the stone which was rejected by the builders, but which has become the chief cornerstone. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:11-12)