These paragraphs are part of my contribution to a FaceBook
conversation on the importance of the great Trinitarian creeds of the early
church.
How we think about the ancient creeds and other doctrinal
formulations makes a great difference in how we value them. The creeds are not
human improvements on Scripture as though God didn't know what He was doing
when He inspired the Bible. God gave us Scripture as a progressive and
historical revelation precisely because our salvation is rooted in history, not
in abstract ideas. Neither should we think of the creeds as additional revelations
from God supplementing the Bible.
I think the best way to view them is to say that the Holy
Spirit has been at work in the Church as a whole to enable the Church to
understand Scripture and to defend the truths of Scripture from error. This is
one way in which the church is "the pillar and support of the truth"
(1 Timothy 3:15). Spirit-guided meditation on Scripture by a host of godly
teachers throughout the centuries has gradually increased our understanding of
this precious treasure, the word of God. After all, the Spirit gives some the
gift of teaching (Ephesians 4:11), and we learn not just from current teachers,
but from those in the past as well.
I regard the Trinitarian formulations of Nicaea and
Chalcedon as Spirit-guided gifts to the Church enabling the Church to stay true
to the most important teachings in Scripture--the teachings about Christ and
the gospel. The creeds are not infallible, as Scripture is, but neither can we
safely make light of them. History shows us that whenever churches neglect or
muddle the doctrine of the Trinity, they soon lose Christ.
I see a tendency among modern evangelicals to become
impatient with clear thinking on these issues. Doctrine is no substitute for a
warm, vital relationship with Christ, but a warm, vital relationship with
Christ usually only lasts a generation or so after the loss of clear doctrinal
teaching.
Nicene
Creed (AD 381)
Creed
of Chalcedon (451)
