Trinity Sunday (A)
Athanasian Creed
May 31, 2025
Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The Athanasian Creed, the big beefy one we’re going to work through today, was probably written in France during the 5th century. While it’s named after the early Church leader Athanasius, he didn’t write it. Rather its name is a tribute to Athanasius’s faithfulness in the face of heresies, otherwise known as false teachings about God, Jesus, and the Holy Trinity. The Athanasian Creed, like the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds, is drawn from the Bible and used by the Church to clearly state what we believe and confess.
Creeds are essential because there have been those who’ve tried to explain the unexplainable, and the Holy Trinity is a prime example. The Trinity has been described as an apple with its skin, fruit, and seeds or as an egg with a shell, yolk, and egg white. Both of these, and all other attempts to describe the Trinity, aren’t just unhelpful, they’re wrong. The Trinity as its taught in the Bible is far beyond our human comprehension. To avoid any errors or false teachings our only option is to accept what the Bible says and save trying to understand it until we get to heaven and can ask God in person.
It’s curious that for a fundamental doctrine, the word Trinity doesn’t appear in the Bible. That doesn’t mean it’s not there. References to the Triune God are found in both the Old and New Testaments. Unless you’d like an extra-long sermon, we don’t have time to look at all the references, so here are a couple to ponder. In Genesis 1, God said “Let us make man in our image.” While in Deuteronomy 6 Moses says, “The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” Jesus says, “I and the Father are one.” In Matthew 28, Jesus tells the disciples to baptize “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” The Bible also ascribes the same attributes to all three persons: eternal, holy, all knowing, all powerful, and ever present. They’re separate persons, but only one God. It doesn’t make sense, but it’s true.
Verses 1 and 2 : Whoever desires to be saved must, above all, hold the catholic faith. Whoever does not keep it whole and undefiled will without doubt perish eternally.
The authors of the Creed don’t beat around the bush. The first verses declare that unless you believe in the Holy Trinity as taught in the Bible, you’re not a Christian. The Triune God is an essential truth of the Scriptures and it doesn’t leave room for any other religion. It’s cut and dried. If you reject the Triune God, you reject salvation and choose damnation. Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses believe the Son of God was created. Islam and Judaism reject the Trinity and Christ’s divinity. Hindus and Buddhist have a multitude of gods. None of these accept the doctrine of the Trinity, and based on the teachings of the Bible, they are lost. As Jesus says, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” All roads don’t lead to heaven!
Now, what if you don’t understand the doctrine of the Trinity, what then? Are you damned because the concept of one God and three persons goes over your head? Absolutely not! The Creed doesn’t require every Christian to fully understand the complexities and implications of Trinitarian doctrine. We confess we believe many deep and profound things, not because we can fit them all together, but simply, “Because the Bible tells us so.”
Verses 3-26
And the catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance. For the Father is one person, the Son is another, and the Holy Spirit is another. But the Godhead of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is one: the glory equal, the majesty coeternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit: the Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, the Holy Spirit uncreated; the Father infinite, the Son infinite, the Holy Spirit infinite; the Father eternal, the Son eternal, the Holy Spirit eternal. And yet there are not three Eternals, but one Eternal, just as there are not three Uncreated or three Infinites, but one Uncreated and one Infinite. In the same way, the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, the Holy Spirit almighty; and yet there are not three Almighties, but one Almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God; and yet there are not three Gods, but one God. So the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord; and yet there are not three Lords, but one Lord. Just as we are compelled by the Christian truth to acknowledge each distinct person as God and Lord, so also are we prohibited by the catholic religion to say that there are three Gods or Lords. The Father is not made nor created nor begotten by anyone. The Son is neither made nor created, but begotten of the Father alone. The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son, neither made nor created nor begotten, but proceeding. Thus, there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits. And in this Trinity none is before or after another; none is greater or less than another, but the whole three persons are coeternal with each other and coequal, so that in all things, as has been stated above, the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity is to be worshiped. Therefore, whoever desires to be saved must think thus about the Trinity.
In verse four we said that we don’t confuse the persons or divide the substance, and I’m sure you completely understand that, right? No? Okay, let’s look at this way. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are God. They are equally eternal, powerful, and majestic. They share the same thoughts and they’re undivided in their plans. The Father cannot cease being God, and neither can the Son and the Spirit. However, there are also three distinct persons. This means that the Father isn’t the Son and the Holy Spirit isn’t the Father. Each exists individually but they also exist as one God. If you follow all this, great. If you don’t, that’s okay too. We’re trying to explain the unexplainable. One writer lamented: “The Father is incomprehensible, the Son is incomprehensible, the whole thing is incomprehensible!”
It’s important that we talk about a couple of terms that popped up. The first is the creed’s claim that the Son was begotten of the Father. In Hebrews 1:5 we hear, “For to which of the angels did God ever say, ‘you are my Son, today I have begotten you’”? Since to beget is to bear children, does this mean the Father bore the Son or the Son is created in some way? Not in the slightest. It’s explanation is quite simple. The Father is affirming that the Son has always been and always will be the His Son.
The other term used in relation to the Holy Spirit is that He proceeds from the Father and from the Son. Jesus says, “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about me” (John 15:26). The word proceeds here means “sent”. What is Jesus going to do? He’s going to have the Father send the Spirit; which He does on Pentecost. One problem with reading the Creeds is that sometimes the words that are used aren’t words we normally use. The authors of the Creed knew what begotten and proceeds meant, we don’t. But now…you do.
Verses 27-34
But it is also necessary for everlasting salvation that one faithfully believe the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is the right faith that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is at the same time both God and man. He is God, begotten from the substance of the Father before all ages; and He is man, born from the substance of His mother in this age: perfect God and perfect man, composed of a rational soul and human flesh; equal to the Father with respect to His divinity, less than the Father with respect to His humanity. Although He is God and man, He is not two, but one Christ: one, however, not by the conversion of the divinity into flesh, but by the assumption of the humanity into God; one altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person.
To be considered a Christian and be saved, you must not only believe that God is Triune, but you must also believe that Jesus is true God and true man. In His divine nature, He knew what people were thinking, healed the sick, and raised the dead. He had to be true God because only by being God could He be sinless and to save us He had to be sinless and perfectly holy. To rise from the dead, He had to be God as well.
Some believe that after Jesus was born, the Son of God took possession of His body. That’s not how it works. It wasn’t that a man became God, but God became man. As true man, He was in service to His Father. In His human nature, he became hungry, tired, and experienced the incredible spiritual and physical pain of the cross. Jesus had to be true man so He could suffer and die and in our place.
This is another case where we’re left hanging because we can’t explain how Jesus can be both true God and true Man. He wasn’t half and half and He wasn’t mixed up like chocolate milk. He still has His two natures, human and divine, but the human nature has all the abilities of the divine nature. He’s invisible, He can appear when and where He appears, His body is everywhere all the time. It’s confusing, I know. But when you accept what God says in the Bible, you’ll be okay, even if you don’t understand the mechanics of the whole thing.
Verses 35-40
For as the rational soul and flesh is one man, so God and man is one Christ, who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead, ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father, God Almighty, from whence He will come to judge the living and the dead. At His coming all people will rise again with their bodies and give an account concerning their own deeds. And those who have done good will enter into eternal life, and those who have done evil into eternal fire. This is the catholic faith; whoever does not believe it faithfully and firmly cannot be saved.
Why do all the creeds have large portions that are focused on what Jesus did while here on earth? Because that’s what it’s all about! The Father created a perfect world, it was corrupted to its core, then Jesus comes along and fixes it! How? By suffering for our salvation! The authors of the Athanasian creed weren’t being mean when they said to be saved you must believe in the Trinity and the Son of God. They were stating a beautiful truth! They were saying that without Jesus you’re lost, but with Jesus you’re forgiven and have eternal life! The Athanasian Creed was written in the 400’s, but its words ring true even today. There were confused and lost people in the 5th century, and there are confused and lost people now. The creeds give us a framework for telling others about the forgiveness of their sins. They were created, they sin, and they’re offered salvation and eternal life in Jesus. They also give you the framework you need. You need forgiveness and in the creeds you’re stating loud and clear that what Jesus did for the world, He did for you. You can say “Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate for me. Jesus descended into Hell for me. Jesus will one day come back for me.” Because He did!
In verses 38 and 39, the Athanasian Creed says that we must give an accounting of our deeds and those who’ve done good will enter eternal life, while those who’ve done evil will enter eternal hell. As Lutherans, these verses should make our ears perk up, because we know we’re saved by grace through faith and not by our works. So how can we confess that doing good gains eternal life and doing evil gains eternal hell. I’m not always good. I frequently do what I consider evil, and I know that God considers things I do as evil. Does this mean my situation is hopeless? Does this mean you’re hopeless? Not one bit!
To help you understand these verses listen to what Saint Paul says in Romans 5: “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” In other words, just as Adam made us all sinners by his unfaithfulness, we are declared righteous, forgiven, by Christ’s faithfulness. Paul says, “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” God no longer looks at your sin; He looks at what Jesus has done for you. In the book of Revelation, we’re told that when Judgment Day arrives Christ will judge all people by what’s written in the books. The important thing here is that there are books. Christians have their names recorded in the Book of Life and judgment is based on what Jesus has done for us. God sees only good things. Those who die in unbelief, which is the ultimate wickedness, are judged by their works which are all considered wicked, even the good ones. There is no salvation without the work of Jesus.
The Athanasian Creed ends where it started: “This is the catholic faith; whoever does not believe it faithfully and firmly cannot be saved.” Catholic doesn’t mean Roman Catholic it means universal, and the universal Christian faith is built on the Triune God and the Son of God who became man to save us from our sins. In a day and age where religious opinions are a dime a dozen and when people are interpreting the Bible in ways that fit them, the Creeds are invaluable. What do we believe? Just look at the Creeds because our confessions only come from the Bible. And if we don’t understand what we believe and confess? That’s okay. Understanding how the Triune God works isn’t necessary to be saved. We just trust and believe that our God is Triune, the Son became man, and one day we’ll have all our answers.
Amen
Now the peace which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen