第六课 尼西亚信经

A. The Text Of The Nicene Creed 尼西亚信经的文本

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried. And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures and ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And I believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins, and I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

我信独一上帝，全能的父，创造天地和有形无形万物的主。

我信独一主耶稣基督，上帝的独生子，在万世以前为父所生，出于神而为神，出于光而为光，出于真神而为真神，受生而非被造，与父一体，万物都是借着他造的；

为要拯救我们世人，从天降临，因着圣灵，并从童女马利亚成肉身，而为人；在本丢彼拉多手下，为我们钉于十字架上，受难，埋葬；照圣经第三天复活；并升天，坐在父的右边；将来必有荣耀再降临，审判活人死人；他的国度永无穷尽；

我信圣灵，赐生命的主，从父和子出来，与父子同受敬拜，同受尊荣，他曾借众先知说话。我信独一神圣大公使徒的教会；我认使罪得赦的独一洗礼；我望死人复活；并来世生命。

B. Characteristics Of The Nicene Creed尼西亚信经的特点

1. The creed is similar in outline and content to the Apostles’ Creed.

   该信经在结构和内容上与《使徒信经》相似。

2. The creed is Trinitarian, confessing the three Persons of God and their work.

   该信经是三位一体式的。分别认信上帝的三个位格和祂们的工作。

3. The creed emphasizes the eternal being of Christ and His activity before His incarnation.

   该信经强调基督的永恒性和祂在道成肉身前的作为。

4. The creed places the work of salvation in its cosmic context.

   该信经把救赎的事工放在宇宙的背景中。

5. The creed strongly emphasizes the divinity of Jesus, the Son.

   该信经强烈地强调了圣子耶稣的神性。

6. The creed was fashioned to address a doctrinal controversy about Jesus Christ

   该信经的制定是为了解决关于耶稣基督的教义争论

7. The creed is the most widely accepted creed in the Christian Church on earth

   该信经是地上基督教会中最广泛接受的信条。

8. The creed is considered to be “the Creed of the communicant.”

   该信经被认为是 “领受圣餐的圣徒的信经”。

9. The creed is “conciliar.” It is the product of an official Church Council that defines orthodox belief and possesses more than local authority.

   该信经是由"教会大公会议发布的"。 它是一个正式的教会大公会议的产物，它定义了正统的信仰，拥有超过地方的权威。

C. The Development Of The Nicene Creed尼西亚信条的发展

1. The creed was produced by the Eastern Church (the part of the Church that developed in eastern part of the Roman Empire, primarily in eastern Europe. western Asia and eastern Africa)

   该信条由东方教会（在罗马帝国东部发展起来的教会部分，主要在东欧、西亚和非洲东部）产生。

2. The Arian Conflict (320-360 A.D.) prompted the writing of the creed. Arius, a priest of Alexandria, Egypt, developed a widely accepted heresy that the Son is not true God and is also not eternal. Arius believed that Christ was an exalted, created being through whom God the Father created the world.

   阿里乌斯派之争（公元320-360年）促使了信条的撰写。 埃及亚历山大的牧师阿里乌斯提出了一个被广泛接受的异端，即圣子不是真神，也不是永恒的。 阿里乌斯认为，基督是一个高高在上的受造物，父神通过他创造了世界。

3. Emperor Constantine called the first ecumenical Council in order to end division in the Christian church, to promote peace and unity in his empire, and to protect the reputation of the Christian religion by finding a formula to express clearly what the church believed about the Lord Jesus Christ.

   君士坦丁皇帝召集了第一次大公会议，以结束基督教会的分裂，促进其帝国的和平与团结，并通过找到一个公式来明确表达教会对主耶稣基督的信仰，从而保护基督教的声誉。

4. 318 bishops of the church met to form this Council in Nicea (a city near Constantinople, which is modern day Istanbul) during May and June of 325 A.D. All the delegates were from Eastern churches, except for Hosius of Cordova, Spain who was sent by the bishop of Rome and served as chairman of the Council.

   公元325年5月和6月期间，教会的318位主教在尼西亚（君士坦丁堡附近的城市，也就是今天的伊斯坦布尔）开会组成了这个会议。所有代表都来自东方教会，只有西班牙科尔多瓦的霍修斯受罗马主教派遣，担任会议主席。

5. The Council rejected a creed proposed by the followers of Arius which denied Christ’s eternally begotten Sonship and His oneness in essence with the Father.

   大公会议否决了阿里乌斯的追随者提出的信经，该信经否认了基督的永生之子身份以及祂与天父在本质上的一体性。

6. The Council accepted a creed proposed by Eusebius of Caesarea as the basis for a new confession.

   大公会议接受了凯撒利亚的尤西比乌斯提出的信条，作为新的信经的基础。

   Model Oriental Creed 东方教会信经范本

   I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible.

   And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds, by whom all things were made, who for our salvation was made man. He suffered, and the third day He rose again, and ascended into heaven, and He shall come again to judge both the living and the dead.

   And in the Holy Spirit.

   我信独一真神，就是全能的父，是一切有形和无形事物的创造者。

   我信独一主耶稣基督，祂是神的独生子，在万世之前由祂的父所生，万物是祂所造，祂为救我们而作人。 祂受难，第三天复活，升到天上，祂要再来，审判活人和死人。

   我信圣灵。

7. The Council debate centered on which of two Greek words “homoousious” (which means “of the same essence” and was preferred by the orthodox church leaders) and “homoiousios” (which means “of a similar essence” and was preferred by some supporters of Arius) most accurately expressed the nature of Christ.

   大公会议的辩论集中在两个希腊词"homoousious"（意思是 “相同的本质”，正统的教会领袖倾向于这个词）和 “homoiousios”（意思是 “相似的本质”，被阿里乌斯的一些支持者倾向于这个词）中，哪个最准确地表达基督的本质。

8. The Council amended Eusebius’ creed to include the word “homoousios”, to affirm the full divinity of the Son, and to include a curse against those who held the view of the Arians.

   大公会议更正了尤西比乌斯的信条，加入了 “homoousios “一词，肯定了圣子的完全神性，并加入了对持有亚流派观点的人的诅咒。

   They gave approval to the original Nicene Creed

   他们批准了最初的《尼西亚信条》。

   The Original Nicene Creed of 325 A.D. 公元325年的《尼西亚信条》原文。

   We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible.

   And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father (the only begotten; that is, of the essence of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance (homoousion) with the Father; by whom all things were made both in heaven and on earth; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down and was incarnate and was made man; He suffered, and the third day He rose again, ascended into heaven; from there He will come to judge the living and the dead.

   And in the Holy Spirit.

   But those who say: ‘There was a time when He was not;” and ‘He was not before He was made:’ and ‘He was made out of nothing.’ Or ‘He is of another substance’ or ‘essence,’ or ‘The Son of God is created,’ or ‘changeable’ or ‘alterable’ – they are condemned by the holy catholic and apostolic Church.

   我们相信独一的神，全能的父，是一切有形和无形事物的创造者。

   我们相信独一的主耶稣基督，是神的儿子，由父所生（独生子；也就是与父的本质相同，出于神而为神，出于光而为光，出于真神而为真神，受生而非被造，与父同质（相同的本质）。天上地下万物都是由祂造的；祂为了我们这些人，为了救我们，降世为人；受难，第三天复活，升天，祂要从那里来审判活人和死人。

   我们信圣灵。

   若有人说：‘祂不存在于某个时段中’；‘在祂被造之前，祂不存在’；‘祂是从无有中被造’或‘祂是另一种物质’或‘本质’，或‘上帝的儿子是被造的’，或‘是可改变的’或‘可变化的’ - 他们将被圣而公之、使徒教会咒诅。

9. Arius and his followers were given the choice to accept the Nicene Creed as their confession by signing it or to be sent into exile. Arius and his followers refused to accept the creed and chose exile.

   阿里乌斯和他的追随者可以选择通过签署尼西亚信条来接受它作为他们的认信，或者被送去流放。 阿里乌斯和他的追随者拒绝接受该信条，选择了流放。

10. Quarreling continued between the orthodox and Arian groups for many years after the Council of Nicea. Athanasius of Alexandria (293-373 A.D.) emerged as the brave champion for orthodox, biblical teaching. From 350-354 A. D., he wrote “Concerning the Decrees of the Council of Nicea” to refute the Arians, who had won the sympathies of emperors after Constantine with their weak and erring form of Christianity.

    尼西亚会议之后，正统派和阿里乌派之间的争论持续了许多年。 亚历山大的亚他那修（293-373 A.D.）成为正统的、符合圣经的教义的勇敢支持者。 公元350-354年，他写了《关于尼西亚会议的法令》来驳斥亚流派，当时亚流派以其式微的和错误的基督教信仰赢得了君士坦丁之后皇帝们的同情。

11. In 381 A. D., Emperor Theodosius convened the second ecumenical Council in Constantinople to deal with the Pneumatomachians (who denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit) and other errors. The 150 Eastern church bishops who met at the Council decided to address this and other doctrinal issues by using material that Cyril introduced from the Creed of Jerusalem of 348 A.D. to amend and enlarge the original Nicene Creed. They made several minor changes in the articles that dealt with the Father and the Son, added several phrases to the third article about the Holy Spirit, and deleted the curse against the Arians to produce the Niceano-Constantinopolitan Creed.

    公元381年，狄奥多西皇帝在君士坦丁堡召开了第二次大公会议，以处理Pneumatomachians（否认圣灵的神性）和其他错误。 参加大公会议的150位东方教会主教决定利用西里尔（Cyril）从公元348年的《耶路撒冷信经》中引入的材料来解决这个问题和其他教义问题，以修正和扩大原来的《尼西亚信经》。 他们对涉及圣父和圣子的条款做了一些细微的修改，在关于圣灵的第三条中增加了几个短语，并删除了对亚流派的诅咒，从而产生了《尼西亚-康斯坦丁堡信条（Niceano-Constantinopolitan Creed）》。

    The Niceano-Constantinopolitan Creed尼西亚-康斯坦丁堡信条（Niceano-Constantinopolitan Creed）

    We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

    And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, Light of light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried, and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; from there He shall come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

    And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. In one holy catholic and apostolic Church; we acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

    我等信独一之神，即全能之圣父，创造天地，及一切有形无形之万物之主。

    我等信独一之主耶稣基督，上帝独生之圣子，是圣父在万世之先所生，是从神所出之神，从光所出之光，从真神所出之真神，是生非造，是与圣父同体，万物皆藉圣子而造；圣子为要拯救我等世人，从天降临，为圣灵感动之童贞女马利亚所生，成为人身，在本丢彼拉多手下，为我等钉十字架，被害而葬，照圣经之言，第三日复活，升天，坐在圣父之右；将来复必有荣耀而降临，审判生人死人，其国无穷无尽。

    我等信圣灵即是主，是赐生命者，是从圣父、圣子所出，与圣父、圣子，同是当拜，当称颂者，众先知说预言，皆是被圣灵感动；我等信使徒所立独一圣而公之教会；我等信因为赦罪设立之独一洗礼；我等望死后复活，又望来世之永生。阿们。

12. The Council of Chalcedon held in 451 A.D. officially recognized the Niceano-Constantinopolitan Creed.

    公元451年举行的迦克墩会议（Council of Chalcedon）正式承认了《尼斯诺-康斯坦丁信条》。

13. The Western Church added the word “filioque” (Latin for “and the Son” to the creed to express the co-equality of the Son with the Father in the procession of the Holy Spirit as Augustine had taught. The Western Church also reinserted the words “God of God” and change the 1st person plural “we” to a first person singular “I.” The Council of Toledo in 589 A.D. expressed these changes. The altered creed gained gradual acceptance among the Western churches.

    西方教会在信条中加入了 “filioque”（拉丁文，意为 “和圣子”）一词，以表达圣子与圣父在差遣圣灵中的共同地位，正如奥古斯丁所教导的。 西方教会还重新插入了 “是从神所出之神”，并将第一人称复数 “我们 “改为第一人称单数 “我”。 公元589年的托莱多会议明确的陈述了这些变化。 改变后的信条在西方教会中逐渐被接受。

14. The Eastern Church refused to accept the “filioque” addition. This issue was a factor in the Great Schism of 1054 A.D. when the Eastern and Western Churches broke fellowship and went their separate ways.

    东方教会拒绝接受 “filioque “的补充。 这个问题是公元1054年大分裂的一个因素，当时东西方教会断绝关系，分道扬镳。

15. The Eastern Church recognized the Nicene Creed as its main confession of faith.

    东方教会承认尼西亚信条为其主要的信仰忏悔。

16. The Western Church adopted the Nicene Creed as the “Creed of the Communicant.”

    西方教会采用尼西亚信经作为 “领受圣餐的圣徒的信经”。

17. The Lutheran Church followed Martin Luther’s lead and changed the word “catholic” (which means “universal”) to “Christian” in its version of the Nicene Creed in order to avoid confusing the Roman Catholic denomination with the Holy Christian Church (which is made up of all those who believe in Christ as their Savior whatever their affiliation with an earthly church).

    路德宗追随马丁-路德的带领，将其版本的《尼西亚信经》中的 “大公教”（意为 “普世”）一词改为 “基督教”，以避免将罗马天主教教派与神圣的基督教会（由所有相信基督为救主的人组成，无论他们属于哪个地上教会）混淆。

18. The Lutheran Church adopted the Nicene Creed as one of its primary confessions.

    路德宗采用《尼西亚信经》作为其主要的认信文件之一。

D. The Value And Use Of The Nicene Creed尼西亚信经的价值和用途

1. The creed serves as a test of correct Christian belief

   该信经是对正确的基督教信仰的一种检验。

2. The creed is a helpful aid for public confession of faith in worship

   该信经是在崇拜中公开承认信仰的有用工具

3. The creed identifies the basis principles of Christian belief

   该信经确定了基督教信仰的基本原则

4. The creed aids in personal examination and spiritual renewal, especially for Communion

   该信经有助于个人的省察和灵性的更新，特别是对领受圣餐而言。

5. The creed fosters unity and harmony in faith among Christians

   该信经促进了基督徒在信仰上的团结与和睦

Part VI Review Questions 复习题

1. How did the Nicene Creed get its name?

   《尼西亚信经》的名字是如何来的？

2. What is one of the outstanding features of the Nicene Creed?

   《尼西亚信经》的突出特点是什么？

3. What incorrect things was Arius teaching about Jesus Christ?

   阿利乌斯对耶稣基督的教导有哪些不正确的地方？

4. Who created the Council of Nicea and when did this council meet?

   谁召集了尼西亚会议，这个会议是什么时候召开的？

5. What is the significance of the two Greek words “homoousious” = “of the same essence” and “homoiousious” = “of a similar essence” in the conflict about the Christ that the Council addressed?

   在大公会议处理的关于基督的冲突中，两个希腊词 “homoousious”=“相同的本质 “和 “homoiousious”=“相似的本质 “的意义是什么？

6. What did the final part of the original Nicene Creed contain that was later dropped from the creed?

   最初的《尼西亚信经》的最后部分包含什么内容，后来被从信经中删除？

7. How were Arius and his followers dealt with at the Council of Nicea?

   尼西亚会议是如何处理阿里乌斯及其追随者的？

8. Which Council, held in 381 A.D., revised the Nicene Creed into its more complete form?

   公元381年举行的哪个会议将《尼西亚信经》修订为更完整的形式？

9. Why does one version of the Creed use the original word “we” and another version use the word “I”?

   为什么信经的一个版本使用原来的 “我们 “一词，而另一个版本使用 “我 “一词？

10. Why did the Lutherans change the original word “catholic” to the word “Christian” in the version of the creed they use?

    为什么路德宗在他们使用的信经版本中把原来的 “大公教 “改为 “基督教”？

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