The Nicene Creed is a statement of faith written by church leaders at the Council of Nicaea in AD 325. It was written to answer one crucial question: Is Jesus fully God, or something less? The creed declares that Jesus is “true God from true God, begotten, not made,” sharing the same divine nature as the Father. That truth matters because only someone who is fully God can save us.
Why Was the Council of Nicaea Called?
In the early 300s, a popular teacher in Alexandria, Egypt, named Arius began teaching that Jesus was the first and greatest thing God ever created. In his view, Jesus was more than a man but less than fully God, similar to the Father but not the same. The idea spread quickly, and the church was soon deeply divided. Emperor Constantine, who had recently legalized Christianity, called church leaders from across the empire to the city of Nicaea to settle the question.
The bishops didn’t treat this as an abstract debate. They turned to Scripture, and one of the clearest passages they had is the opening of John’s Gospel.
John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
John doesn’t describe the Word, Jesus, as the first thing made. He describes him as the one through whom everything was made. If nothing was made without him, he can’t be part of creation himself. He was with God, and he was God.
What the Nicene Creed Says
The original creed of 325 is short, with three main sections about the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Most of it focuses on Jesus, using strong, repetitive language so no one could miss the point. It calls him “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one substance with the Father.” It also says that all things came into being through him, and that “for us humans and for our salvation” he came down, became human, suffered, rose again and will return to judge the living and the dead.
Arius’s followers liked to point to verses describing Jesus as “firstborn,” as if that meant he was created first. The council read those words in their full context.
Colossians 1:15-17 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
In the Bible, “firstborn” often describes rank and inheritance rather than birth order. Paul immediately explains that all things were created through Jesus and that he existed before all things. He isn’t the first creature; he is the Creator and the rightful heir of everything.
What Does “Begotten, Not Made” Mean?
The phrase “begotten, not made” is the heart of the creed. The council wanted to show both that Jesus is truly distinct from the Father and that he shares the Father’s very nature. The language comes from Scripture’s description of Jesus as God’s “one and only Son.”
John 1:18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
When people make something, like a chair or a painting, it’s different from them. When people beget a child, the child shares their human nature. In the same way, the Son shares the Father’s divine nature. But the comparison only goes so far. This is an eternal relationship, not a physical one, and there was never a time when the Son didn’t exist. The later Creed of Constantinople made this even clearer by saying he was “eternally begotten of the Father.”
Why the Nicene Creed Still Matters
The question at Nicaea wasn’t just academic. It went straight to the heart of salvation. A created being, no matter how great, couldn’t bridge the infinite gap between God and humanity or pay for the sins of the whole world. Only God himself could do that. The writer of Hebrews describes the Son in exactly those terms.
Hebrews 1:3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
Arius’s ideas haven’t disappeared. Some groups today, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, still teach that Jesus is a created being. The Nicene Creed helps Christians recognize that error and hold on to what the Bible teaches: that Jesus is really God. If you’d like to learn more about putting your faith in Jesus, check out How can I become a Christian?
The Takeaway
The Nicene Creed was written in AD 325 to answer a question that still matters: Who is Jesus? It declares that Jesus is fully God, “begotten, not made,” and of the same nature as the Father. Because Jesus is truly God, he is able to save everyone who trusts him.
