Post #17 1700 Years of the Nicene Creed - "Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven"

Introduction:

    As we continue on in our study of the Nicene Creed, we enter now into a new section of the Creed. This new section is going to confess the incarnation of the Son of God. We devoted much time to expounding line by line the Creed's affirmation of the deity of the Son. What we are preparing to do is to enter into an equally profound mystery, namely the Son of God become man for our sake. 

Laying out the Nicene Creed's confession of the incarnation of the Son of God

    Let's first get a lay of the land for this important section of the Creed. I'll divide this portion of the Creed into subject headings to see the overall narrative of events which Christians everywhere confess to be an accurate summary of the Biblical teaching of the incarnation.

1. He came from Heaven to Earth to be in a cradle.

"Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, 

and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, 

and was made man."

    Here we see in these first three lines the event of the incarnation itself. The Son of God, eternally pre-existent in the Trinity, having made various pre-incarnate appearance throughout the Old Testament (such as the "Angel of the Lord" or at Moses' burning bush). He was predicted by the Old Testament prophets in numerous prophecies concerning His eventual coming, which occurred at the virginal conception of His humanity and birth. Paul writes of the incarnation in 1 Timothy 3:16 "God was manifested in the flesh...". 

    The Nicene Creed goes forward.

2. He lived as a man from cradle to the cross to achieve salvation.

"and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; 

He suffered and was buried;"

The New Testament reveals it was for the sake of dying for our sins that the Son of God became man. New Testament passages such as Philippians 2:5-11 and 1 Peter 3:18 spell out this mission.

3. He died to raise from the dead to ascend in exaltation to Heaven. 

"and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; 

and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father."

The four Gospels, the Book of Acts, the New Testament letters, and the Book of Revelation all assert that Jesus Christ did not stay dead. The resurrection was God's public vindication that all that Jesus accomplished on the cross was accepted. His virgin birth demonstrated the reality of "the Word made flesh" (John 1:14). His cross proved why He became man for our sakes (Matthew 1:21). His resurrection and ascension manifested His exaltation as God and man, forever the Mediator between God and those who place their faith in Him. 

4. He will return from Heaven to exercise judgment upon the earth.

    The Creed concludes its section by focusing attention on Christ's second coming or second advent.

"and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead;  

whose kingdom shall have no end."

    We see then four main doctrinal headings concerning the incarnation of the Son of God: humiliation and virgin birth, redemption, exaltation and ascension, and second coming. 

Taking a closer look at the phrase: "Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven."

    What is meant by the term "incarnation"? When we look at this first phrase in this section of the Nicene Creed, we can answer that question by sub-dividing it into three parts.

A. The Son is the subject of the incarnation.

    First, we notice the relative pronoun "who". The same eternally begotten Son of which the Nicene Creed went to great pains to expound and defend is the subject of the incarnation. The 18th century Baptist pastor/theologian John Gill wrote in his "A Complete Body of Doctrinal and Practical Divinity" about how the eternal Son of God participated in His incarnation:

"The Son having agreed to it, being sent,
came in the flesh, by the assumption of it; he took upon him the nature of the children, and partook of the same flesh and blood with them; he took upon him the form of a servant, and was found in fashion as a man" (Hebrews 2:14,16; Philippians 2:7,9).

The Nicene Creed's use of the relative pronoun "who" reminds us that this is a continuation of its section on the confession of the Son concerning His Divine and now human natures. The Creed goes on in this first line.

B. Salvation was the purpose of the incarnation. 

    It is in the second phrase of the line we find out the reason why the Son of God became man: "for us men and our salvation". Athanasius, the fourth century defender of Christ's deity and one of the chief architects of the Creed of Nicaea in 325 A.D., wrote a masterpiece called "On the incarnation". He noted the main purpose of the incarnation of the Son of God:

"It was our sorry case that caused the Word to come down, our transgression that called out His love for us, so that He made haste to help us and appear among us. It is we who were the cause of His taking human form and for our salvation that in His great love He was both born and manifested in a human body."

C. The Son remained truly God in His incarnation. 

 

   Then we come to that third part of the first line on the Son of God's incarnation, namely, "came down from Heaven". Here we see the Nicene Creed remind us from whence the Son came. His eternal pre-existence and sending forth by the Father are in view. Psalm 102:25-27 states: “Of old You founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. 26 “Even they will perish, but You endure; and all of them will wear out like a garment; Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed. 27 “But You are the same, And Your years will not come to an end.” This particular psalm, written quite possibly by the prophet Daniel, is speaking of none other than God the Son according to Hebrews 1:8-11,

 "But of the Son He says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom. 9 “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;

Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness above Your companions.” 10 And, “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of Your hands; 11 They will perish, but You remain; and they all will become old like a garment."

    Even when He came down from Heaven, the incarnate Son of God, Jesus Christ, never ceased being truly God at the same time. Jesus Himself prayed these words on the eve of His crucifixion in John 17:4-5 "I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was."

Closing thoughts:

    We saw today how the Nicene Creed begins the confession of the incarnation of the Son of God. We see in the opening line "who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven" that the eternal Son was the subject of the incarnation, that salvation was the purpose or mission of the incarnation, and that He ever remained truly God in His incarnation. Next post we will continue in our exploration of the Nicene Creed's confession of the incarnation of the Son of God by noting the doctrine of the virgin birth.