In 325 AD, 318 bishops (by the traditional count) arrived in the city of Nicaea (modern Turkey) to discuss a number of theological matters dividing the church. From emperor Constantine’s point of view, these matters were threatening the unity of his rule over Rome. And so, one year after securing the empire, he invited 1,800 bishops to address the theology of Arius, which was the most significant theology matter dividing his empire.
Seventeen hundred years later, the Creed of Nicaea that emerged from that Summer gathering is still cited, recited, and employed to unite the Church Universal, as it defines trinitarian orthodoxy. Many doctrines have since divided the global church, and even one word (filioque = and the son) added later to the Nicene Creed has also divided the church. Still, for all the ways that divisions have come, the Nicene Creed remains a bedrock for Christian orthodoxy.
For the next month, Christ Over All will consider the history, theology, and necessity of this ancient creed. Last year, we spent a month thinking about creeds and confessions in general, as well as their ongoing usefulness for those who believe the Bible is the final authority. This month, we will build on that foundation, as we look at each section of the Creed and how it informs our faith today.
The Nicene Creed: 1700 Years of Homoousios
Indeed, few things made today last seventeen years, let alone 1700. Obsolescence is engineered into the cars we drive and the device on which you are reading this essay. I am not a prophet, but I am willing to bet that your current device will not be in working order in seventeen years. That said, unless the Lord returns, the Nicene Creed will still be working, no worse for wear.
But obsolescence does not simply afflict technology. Sin has so corrupted human relations that institutions like marriage, which are promised to last a lifetime, are often short-lived. Ephemeral—something lasting for only a short time—is a word that marks the twenty-first century, and eternal things rarely make the never-ending cycle of news. Instead, from the things we buy to the homes we build, we have become accustomed to disposable products and replaceable people.
And not surprisingly, such a vision of the world has an impact on the Word of God and the God of the Word. Throw in our culture’s obsession with the therapeutic—a view of life that tells broken people that they deserve to be comforted without correction—and you begin to have views of God that fundamentally deny both Scripture and statements about it (like the Nicene Creed).
For instance, two decades ago, Open Theists compared God’s knowledge of the future to that of mankind, and as a result, they denied our Creator the power to know all things. Likewise, the God who is preached in countless mega-churches today is one that affirms our (fallen) human desires and refuses to raise his voice about sexual sin above a whisper. As David Wells famously observed, God has become weightless, so that even in churches where orthodox statements about God are found on the website, fear of God is lacking in the worship. In place of reverent confession of God’s matchless glory is an endless array of creative comparisons between the creature and the Creator.
As Kyle Claunch noted in our final longform of June, to make God like his creation turns comparison in the wrong direction. The uncreated God is not like his creation. Rather, we who are made in his image are like him—but not in every way. Rather, we are like him to the degree that we embody his communicable attributes. Still, there remains attributes of God that are wholly unique to our uncreated Lord. And that means that to speak properly about God is not something we can do haphazardly or without help. And this need for help is where the Nicene Creed comes to our aid.
For, in fact, this creed provides basic language for talking about God that is both true to Scripture and derived from Scripture. And lest we attempt to know God by means of worldly comparisons or ever-changing metaphors, the language of Nicaea has stood the test of time for seventeen centuries. And the reason for its endurance is its connection to the Bible. In other words, the creed is not an addition to the Bible. It is a distillation of the Bible. And this month, as we consider Nicaea’s place in church history, we will also show how it attends to the Word of God to give us a proper grammar about God the Word.
As I tell my theology class when I teach the doctrine of God, our modern culture trains us to want a god like us. But in truth, we need a God who is not like us. We need a God who does not change, who is perfect in all of his attributes, and who did not come into being at some point before the world began. Truly, this was the error of Arius as he attempted to explain the begottenness of God in ways that humans could understand.
In other words, his approach to the doctrine of God failed to distinguish the difference the between the eternal begottenness of the uncreated Son and the procreative begottenness found in humanity. Indeed, against the Arians, the Open Theists, and the pastoral therapists who explain God in purely human ways, the Nicene Creed teaches us to know, love, worship, and obey a God who is not like us.
In a day that offers modern man a world at his fingertips, the Nicene Creed trains us to look away from ourselves to the God who was, is, and forever will be the unchanging God. And more, it gives us terms of engagement that help us to know God as he is and not as the false teachers proclaim him to be. In truth, studying the Nicene Creed is not simply an exercise in ancient history or esoteric dogma; it is deeply practical and devotional—if only we are willing to give the time to think about the Father, Son, and Spirit who are of one essence with one another. That shared nature is called Homoousios. And all month long, we will celebrate the doctrine espoused at Nicaea.
The Paterfamilias: Making Fatherhood Great Again
Yet, before moving forward toward the Nicene Creed, we ought reflect on the previous month that is equally practical and often just as theological. In fact, as mentioned above, Kyle Claunch’s essay on the Fatherhood of God not only culminated a month filled with essays helping fathers to think carefully about their calling, but it also laid the groundwork for seeing how fatherhood on earth is derivative of God’s Fatherhood in heaven. And more, he made careful distinctions with respect to the way that God’s fatherhood is proper to the whole Godhead in relationship to creation, even as the Father is a personal property that is not shared with the Son and the Holy Spirit. Indeed, if you want a good primer on this month’s theological theme of Divine Sonship, Professor Claunch’s essay on God’s Fatherhood is the place to begin.
Still, this essay is only one of four longforms that we published in June. For we also took time to consider the connection between fatherlessness and the rise of Neo-Nazi sympathies in an essay by Will Spencer. In its aftermath, we had countless pastors commend his first-person testimony for bringing to light a plague that is troubling many young men. Next, Aaron Rock provided an immensely practical essay that combined solid doctrine with fatherly devotion to encourage fathers to disciple their children in the faith.
Then last, Doug Ponder provided a historical and contemporary appraisal of the terms “complementarianism” and “patriarchy.” Indeed, if fathers are to be the heads of their homes, but various terms confuse the issue today, then we need to think more carefully about the language we use, even as language changes. And so, Doug’s longform seeks to affirm the goodness of thick/broad/natural complementarianism that recognizes male and female difference go beyond the church and home, while also appreciating the goodness of the concept and term “patriarchy”—when defined biblically—as has been done throughout church history.
Thus, in these four longforms, we find critical thought on matters contemporary and eternal. So be sure to check them out and then share them with others.
At the same time, this month offered more than a dozen concise essays that ranged from affirming the goodness of Reformed Baptists raising their children in the Lord, to fathers blessing their children, to the dangers of “gentle parenting,” to the misuse of parental authority, to the way the natural law helps us think about fathering, and more. Indeed, for those wanting to think wisely about the fatherhood, this month is a great place to begin and could serve as a fruitful syllabus for the men in your church.
Below, you can find the whole month listed with the longforms bolded.
- The Dangerous Secret Your Young Men Are Keeping: Neo-Nazi Thought Has Entered the Church by Will Spencer • Longform Essay • A shocking insider confession reveals how extremist networks are targeting Christian communities—and what leaders must do now to stop them.
- 4.24 “The Dangerous Secret Your Young Men Are Keeping: Neo-Nazi Thought Has Entered the Church” by Will Spencer • Longform Reading • A reading of Will Spencer’s shocking insider confession regarding extremist networks within Christian communities.
- A Father Stands Above: On the Use and Misuse of Paternal Authority by Steve Heitland • Concise Article • Fathers are not called to be the head of their families; they just are. Whether they are heads that wound or heads that heal depends largely on their use of paternal authority.
- The Responsibility of Fathers to Protect Their Children from Pornography by John-Michael Bout • Concise Article • If you do not disciple your children in the area of sexuality and pornography, the world will.
- Intentional Fatherhood: A Purposeful Approach to Guiding Our Daughters in Dating by Brandon Philip • Concise Article • Fathers, who would you give away your daughter to in marriage? Shepherding requires intentional leadership and protection when their suitors come.
- 4.25 “The Dangerous Secret Your Young Men Are Keeping: Neo-Nazi Thought Has Entered the Church” by Will Spencer, David Schrock, Stephen Wellum • Interview • Listen in as David Schrock and Stephen Wellum interview Will Spencer on his Christ Over All essay: “The Dangerous Secret Your Young Men Are Keeping: Neo-Nazi Thought Has Entered the Church”
- The Natural Law and Biblical Mandate of Fatherhood: A Case for Creational Responsibility and Moral-Cultural Renewal by Andrew T. Walker • Concise Article • Fatherhood is built into the natural order of our created world. Its proper fulfillment is beautiful, yet its neglect is devastating.
- A Father’s Blessing on His Children by David Michael • Concise Article • Biblical blessings not only acknowledge God as the source of all blessing, but foster eternal good for Christian families. Fathers—bless your kids.
- The Fight for Fathers: The Key to Stronger Families by Owen Strachan • Concise Article • Our world and its families are desperately lacking godly, masculine men. We need fathers like the Father.
- Wisdom for Fathers: Raising up Children in a Fallen Down World by Aaron Rock • Longform Essay • How do men steward fatherhood well and raise godly offspring? Here’s a helpful mnemonic and eight tips for disciple-making dads.
- 4.26 “Wisdom for Fathers: Raising up Children in a Fallen Down World” by Aaron Rock • Longform Reading • How do men steward fatherhood well and raise godly offspring? Here’s a helpful mnemonic and eight tips for disciple-making dads.
- Fatherhood Advice: It’s Not Rocket Science—It’s Just Hard by Bob Avery Brown • Concise Article • Establishing an environment of security—with love and stability—creates the conditions for our kids to become happy, confident, free, and mature adults.
- State-Enforced Fatherlessness in Colorado. . . And Your State May Be Next by Chase Davis • Concise Article • Parent-child separation on account of not affirming a child’s “preferred gender” was almost enshrined into Colorado law. If the church doesn’t fight this fight, who will?
- Is the Grass Really Greener? A Baptistic Vision for Fathering by Brett Toney • Concise Article • Reformed Baptist families don’t need to adopt the Presbyterian model of Christian parenting—they possess an all-encompassing vision of parenting for God’s glory in their children through the gospel.
- 4.27 “Wisdom for Fathers: Raising up Children in a Fallen Down World” by Aaron Rock, David Schrock, Trent Hunter • Longform Reading • Listen in as David Schrock and Trent Hunter interview Aaron Rock on his Christ Over All essay: “Wisdom for Fathers: Raising up Children in a Fallen Down World”
- God the Father: Namesake of all Fatherhood by Kyle Claunch • Longform Essay • What of the divine name Father? Is father a proper divine name, so that human fatherhood is an analogical participation in what is originally true of God? Or is it a metaphorical name derived from human fatherhood and applied to God as a figure of speech?
- 4.28 “God the Father: Namesake of all Fatherhood” by Kyle Claunch • Longform Reading • What of the divine name Father? Is father a proper divine name, so that human fatherhood is an analogical participation in what is originally true of God? Or is it a metaphorical name derived from human fatherhood and applied to God as a figure of speech?
- Gentle Parenting: A Book Review of a Book Reviewing This New Parental Approach by Chad Lawrence • Concise Article • The Gentle Parenting approach has swept the nation. But does it accord with God’s Word? Find out yourself in this Review of The Not So Loving Side of Gentle Parenting: A Biblical Plea to Parents
- “After Complementarianism, What? Why Egalitarians Are (Still) Winning the Evangelical Gender Debate” by Doug Ponder • Longform Essay • Will the real complementarians please stand up? Why it’s time for thick/broad/natural complementarians to embrace the label of “biblical patriarchy” to differentiate themselves from the declining thin/narrow/ideological complementarians.
- 4.29 “After Complementarianism, What? Why Egalitarians Are (Still) Winning the Evangelical Gender Debate” by Doug Ponder • Longform Reading • Will the real complementarians please stand up? Why it’s time for thick/broad/natural complementarians to embrace the label of “biblical patriarchy” to differentiate themselves from the declining thin/narrow/ideological complementarians.
News and Notes
In conclusion, let me highlight a few areas:
First, be aware of our upcoming months.
After we look at the Nicene Creed in July, here is what we are looking at for the rest of the year. (If there are other themes you’d like us to consider in 2026, please shoot us an email).
August 2025: The Four Gospels
September 2025: The Doctrine of Vocation
October 2025: Biblical Theology in the Balance
November 2025: Do the Reading: Selections in Political Theology
December 2025: Christmas Medley, Part 2
Second, we’d love to see you face to face later this year.
A number of us will be at the Evangelical Theological Society in Boston (November 18–20). If you are there, please let us know.
Also, if you are a pastor in the Mid-Atlantic region, or are willing to make the trip, Occoquan Bible Church (in Woodbridge, VA), is hosting a one-day seminar to encourage pastors. This is an event that Christ Over All is co-sponsoring with Founders Ministries. And on Tuesday, July 29, 2025, Tom Ascol, Mike Law, and myself will be encouraging pastors to remain faithful in the work. So here’s information about that event. Please consider joining us for a day together.
Third, please consider supporting Christ Over All.
The easiest way to support our ministry is to tell others about us: you can forward this intermission, recommend an article, or share our content on social media. But if you or your church has benefited from our ministry, would you also be willing to make a donation, especially over the lean summer months?
Every dollar given goes toward helping Christians to think with a consistently Christian worldview across all of life. When you give to our ministry, you allow us to serve more people, and make known more completely the glorious Lordship of Christ. So we appreciate a gift of any amount.
That’s all for this month. Until next time, let’s remember that because Christ is Lord over all, we ought exalt Christ in all things.
