The Nicene Creed
On the 1700th anniversary of its original form, we celebrate and proclaim the faithful truths summarized in the Nicene Creed. We affirm its Scriptural foundation, doctrinal fidelity, disciple making, and God glorifying usefulness to Christ's church.
Every week, as part of the Fall Faculty Series, Westminster Seminary California features a special guest to pay tribute and discuss the Nicene Creed.
The Nicene Creed
Lord and Life-Giver
In this sermon on the third article of the Nicene Creed, Dr. Michael Horton examines the Holy Spirit as "the Lord and giver of life." Dr. Horton traces the Spirit's work through three stages: creation, redemption, and consummation, focusing on the recurring biblical image of the Spirit "brooding" or "hovering" over waters to bring forth life. He connects the Spirit's movement over the formless deep in Genesis 1:2 to the Spirit's overshadowing of Mary's womb and the Spirit's work in regenerating and sanctifying believers today. Drawing on patristic sources, Calvin, and Gerard Manley Hopkins' poem "God's Grandeur," this episode develops the theme that all of God's works flow "from the Father in the Son by the Spirit," with the Spirit consistently completing and perfecting what the Father speaks and the Son mediates.