LORD Over All But Father Only Through One

Mark A. Smith

Jan 4, 20242 min read

The Nicene Creed

The Father Almighty

As in the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed exclaims the Father as the Almighty. This speaks of the transcendence of God’s power over all things created (Ex.6:3). Therefore, the Father has the right to judge, but God is only the Father of the children of His light (James 1:16-18; 1Jn.1:5-10). Therefore He is Judge over the children of wrath who were conceived through the seed of the serpent (Eph.2:1-3; Jn.8:44; 1Jn.3:8-10; Gen.3:14-15; Matt.15:13; Ps.51:5). The world without the Father (1Jn.2:15-17), on the day they meet the Almighty (Rev.20:11-15; 1Cor.13:12), will meet God not as the Father but as the Judge (1Jn.2:21-23).

Therefore, to us who believe, God is the Father (1Jn.2:24), which is why I presuppose the Apostles’ Creed states the spirit of her faith this way: “I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.” That is very different than this Nicene creed, which joins the spirit of her faith in God as Father together with His transcendence as one complete human thought as she prays to think her thoughts after God. While both these statements are divinely true, however we should choose to confess Him; the Christian never possesses the Father as a distant Judge when He is as near as Christ is to us by the Spirit of the Word made flesh in us (Jn.17:10-11, 20-23, 26; Ps.145:18; Isa.50:8).

Therefore God is Almighty over all (Jer.23:23-24), but over us, God is the Father (Ps.34:18; 85:9); and to us (Jn.3:16), He has given the Son that we may draw near through His love for the Son (Col.1:13-16); and by drawing near through the glory of Christ (James 3:17-18; 4:7-10), the Father manifests His love to us through the Spirit of Christ (Jn.14:21-23), by which we call God Abba Father (Mk.14:36; Rom.8:15; Gal.4:6). This is a very intimate confession in comparison to drawing near to Him as the Almighty Father (Jn.5:17-18; Jer.3:9; 31:9). Nevertheless, we must be made to confess Him Almighty before we are made to confess Him as Father (Jn.5:21-23; 8:15-16; Lk.23:35-43 /emphasis: vs.40-41), for He is the Father only through the Son because He is a just judge (1Chr.28:6; 29:10; Isa.63:16; Lk.18:1-14; Ps.7:11; 50:6; Gen.18:25; Lk.11:11; James 1:17), for there is only one begotten Son (Dt.32:6; Jn.4:22). We are adopted sons through Christ alone (Jn.1:12-14; 14:6). The world cannot know Him as Father until they have known the Son as Lord and Savior (1Jn.3:1; 4:14-15). Therefore, we confess Him as Almighty and as our Father with a conscience cleansed by the blood of Christ and our bodies washed with water to distinguish us from the children of wrath whose father is the devil (Heb.10:22).

This is a subject which calls for rather careful examination. There can be no doubt (the argument of the present chapter should serve to substantiate it) that creeds have, historically speaking, been intimately associated with baptism1

1 J. N. D. Kelly, Early Christian Creeds, Third Edition. (London; New York: Continuum, 2006), 30.

Commentaires

Quote of the Month

The Glory of Christ
The Glory of Christ in His Person

This is that glory which angels long to behold, the mystery they 'desire to look into' (1Pet.1:12). This desire of theirs was represented by the cherubim in the most holy place of the tabernacle, which were symbols of the ministry of angels in the church. This glory is the ruin of Satan and his kingdom. Satan's sin, as far as we can know, ... was his pride against the sovereignty of the person of the Son of God by whom he was created (Col.1:16). By this, his destruction is accompanied with everlasting shame in attempting to overthrow infinite wisdom but was himself overthrown by the power of the two natures in one person (Gen.3:15, 22). [*This is the glory that angels desire to look into but cannot possess because of the nature in which the fallen had sinned against God according to the likeness of their nature being created in perfection (Rom5:14; Ezk.28:12-15).]

John Owen; pg. [28-29]