What Are the Four Parts of the Nicene Creed?

The four parts of the Nicene Creed are the assertions of belief in the God the father, Jesus the son, the Holy Spirit, and universal church. Furthermore, the creed identifies important truths to believe about the subject of each part.

The Nicene Creed arose out of the First Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. The council consisted of bishops from both the Latin-speaking West and the Greek-speaking East and was formed in order to settle a dispute about the divinity of Jesus. One group, the Arians, argued that if Jesus was divine, then the belief that there is only one God would be falsified. Another group, the Alexandrians, argued that if Jesus was not divine, then his sacrifice for sin was insufficient.

Although the war between the Arians and the Alexandrians was far from over, the Alexandrians won at the council of Nicea, and the statement about Jesus is the longest in the creed and clearly identifies his divinity.