How do we understand who Jesus is? How do we understand who He is in relation to God the Father? As we saw this week, these were critical questions for the church in the fourth century. They remain critical questions for us as well. Imagine a friend or neighbor asks you to describe who Jesus is. What would you say?
Consider these words from Colossians 1:15–20:
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. (NIV)
Jesus is worthy. He is the visible image of the invisible God. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him. As the Nicene Creed says, “For us and for our salvation He came down from heaven.” Allow this to become personal: for you and for your salvation—for us—Christ has come down.
In our life and worship, we desire to rightfully ascribe Jesus the glory He is due as God—fully God. The Council of Nicaea put Christ in His right, kingly place. The Nicene Creed says that He is fully God, which means He is capable of actually saving us. This council gave us a creed that has persevered through time and provides for us a place of unity as the universal church. A place where we can all come to and agree that these are the major tenets of our faith. But this was not the end of the work needed; another council would follow.
Imagine trying to follow God without these basic truths, or without the canon of Scripture we learned about this week. Without God’s Word, we would not know who He is. God has revealed Himself to us through His truth: the chosen, inspired Word of God. We have the opportunity to read this Word each day and know God through His words. He has made a way for us to know Him even though we have never seen Him.
For most of us, a Bible is either physically a few feet away from us or, with one touch, the Word of God pops up on the cell phone. How much do we take our instant access to the Bible for granted? Sadly, some cultures today don’t have the canon translated into their own language. Today, spend some time praising God for His word, our access to His word and for all people to have access to His life saving truth.