Despite its centrality to Christian theology, the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed’s implicit doctrine of revelation remains under-explored. This may seem unsurprising since the doctrine was largely assumed in the debates of the time and not a focus of the Creed. This does not, however, mean that doctrine is absent or irrelevant. This paper reflects on several features of the Creed to develop a doctrine of revelation which can genuinely claim to be Creedal.
The assertions of the Creed presume revelation. It speaks boldly about God and his eternal relations in a way that scandalised some of the participants in the Council of Nicaea. It does so on the basis that God has revealed himself as Father, Son and Spirit in the works of creation and redemption. The famous three-article structure of the Creed reflects the Trinitarian pattern of revelation.
Building upon the Trinitarian foundation, the Creed further assumes a Christological account of revelation. Not only is the Son begotten from the Father but his “Light from Light”. This implies that God’s own glory and self-knowledge are present in the Son, and thence, revealed to humanity when he became incarnate. The account of the history of the incarnate Son further implies that revelation takes place in specific human historical events, culminating in the future historical event when the Son shall come in glory (a revelatory term). Within the summary of the life of Christ, his resurrection is said to be “according to the Scriptures”, an important indication that Christological revelation is framed by the Hebrew Scriptures.
The third article affirms not only the divinity of the Spirit but that he spoke through the prophets. This is primarily an affirmation of revelation in Hebrew Scriptures, which can rightly be characterised as prophetic. Concomitantly, it assumes that the apostolic witness is equally prophetic. Further, it recognises the prophetic role of the church as it declares forgiveness in baptism and affirms the faith in the creed itself.
This paper argues that a careful examination of the Creed’s Trinitarian structure and Christological and Pneumatological affirmations show a robust, if implicit, doctrine of revelation. Evangelicalism largely affirms this doctrine and should continue to make this the framework of our doctrine of revelation. It provides an ecumenical doctrine of revelation from which we can continue in dialogue with others who differ from us on other important matters of doctrine.