Through the Creed, we can better understand not just an ancient document, but the living faith it represents and the vibrant relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that stands at its center.

The Nicene Creed can sometimes feel like a strange document with little relevance today. Novels like Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code portray it as emerging from some secret event full of political intrigue. And when we read it now, we might scratch our heads at some of its peculiar language.

What does it mean that the Son is consubstantial with the Father? What does it mean to believe in one, holy, and catholic church? And much more besides.

In this article, I want to give you a big picture overview of the Creed and focus on one specific article of its confession—the confession of the Holy Spirit. Why? Because most of us have only a fuzzy grasp of the Holy Spirit and what Scripture says about him. I want you to, as the Creed says, “adore and glorify the Spirit with the Father and Son.”

We believe…

…in the Holy Spirit, who is Lord and who gives life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who together with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified; who has spoken through the prophets;

in one holy, catholic and apostolic Church. We confess one baptism for the remission of sins. We await the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

What is the Nicene Creed?

The Nicene Creed is called the Symbol of Faith because it symbolizes what Christians everywhere taught about the Father, Son, Spirit, and the Church. The articles of the Creed about God, Christ, the Spirit, and the Church already appeared in the 100s as something called the Canon of Truth or Rule of Faith. These became creeds that Christians confessed in the 200s during baptism. The Nicene Creed in 325 AD was a way to formally agree in a universal manner to this ancient canon of truth.

The Creed needed to be formulated because heretics would use the earlier Canon of Truth or baptismal creeds (which were Bible verses ordered together) and claim to believe them just like everyone else—while denying that the Son or Spirit were God. The Nicene Creed added key words and phrases to the earlier creeds to ensure that one could not use deceptive theology to deny essential Christian doctrines.

The Spirit as “Lord and Giver of Life”

Put positively, the Creed is about rightly reading the Bible. It consists of Bible verses put together in a certain order to show the main points of the apostles’ teaching. It also includes a few key phrases that clarify theology.

When you read the Creed, note that it organizes Bible verses and highlights key points in Scripture about God. Consider the phrase for the Spirit: “Lord and Giver of Life.”

The Creed follows the words in Scripture. For the term “Lord,” it draws on Paul who says “the Lord…is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

For “Giver of Life,” it draws on passages like: “When you send forth your Spirit, they are created” (Psalm 104:30), or when God’s breath brought Adam to life (Genesis 2:7). The word “breath” is also the word for “Spirit.” As Elihu says, “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life” (Job 33:4).

Ultimately, it follows Jesus himself, who says, “It is the Spirit who gives life” (John 6:63). Also, Genesis 1:2 tells us, “And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”

Here, the Creed represents 300 years of reflection on the key identity of the Spirit: He is Lord and Giver of life.

The Spirit’s Relationship to Father and Son

The Creed tells us two important ways that the Spirit relates to the Father and Son:

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