I Believe in the Holy Ghost!
This morning as we begin a study of the “Third Article” of the Apostles’ Creed, we find ourselves moving “into the home stretch” of our summer worship service and sermon series on the chief parts and doctrines of the oldest, most often-used, and most fundamental declaration of our Christian faith. For over eighteen and three quarters centuries Christians have publicly confessed their faith in Christ, affirmed their spiritual unity with each other, and (when necessary) ascertained that someone was a false teacher….all on the basis of the Apostles’ Creed.
It is more than fitting for us, then, regardless of how long or how short we have been “in the Church” to carefully consider, element by element, the Biblical components of this most oldest Christian confession of faith.
As we do so this morning, we begin a five week closing concentration on the work of the least familiar person of the Holy Trinity, God the Holy Spirit. Working exclusively through what our theologians call “the Means of Grace” (the Gospel in the Written Word and in the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper), Scripture shows us that God the Holy Spirit is responsible for carrying out the work of conversion and sanctification…..that is, of bringing people to saving faith and then keeping and developing them in that faith. As St. Paul gratefully declared nearly 20 centuries ago in I Corinthians 12:3, so by God’s grace through the Spirit’s working we acknowledge today, that “no one [including you or I} can say ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.”
In today’s Psalm Reading we will be reminded of the Holy Spirit’s faith-creating and renewing work in our lives.
Our First Lesson for today relates to us the rather alarming story of Ananias and Sapphira, who were “terminally” punished — not for withholding a portion of the sale of their property for themselves [Peter says they had the right to do with the proceeds as they pleased] — but for lying before the apostles, and especially to God the Holy Spirit. (In fact, the point we especially want to draw from this lesson today is that Scripture here affirms the personal deity of the third person of the Trinity, God the Holy Spirit.)
The Epistle Reading reminds us our ability to believe in Christ is enabled through the Holy Spirit working faith in us. The Spirit also distributes, as He knows best, various gifts (or abilities) throughout the Church membership. As a human body has many different parts that all work together for the common good, so the various, even so we Christians have different Spiritual gifts that we are to use for the common good of the Church as well as for God’s glory.
Today’s Children’s Lesson will discuss how the Holy Spirit “fills” us with faith in Christ and makes us useful for Him (much like air fills a ball).
This morning’s Gospel Lesson and today’s Sermon Text are both portions of Jesus’ Upper Room discourse, given to His disciples on Maundy Thursday evening, in which He promised to send them the Holy Spirit, through Whom they would receive counsel and comfort in their ministries, and by Whose aid they would be enabled (inspired) to remember and declare everything that He had taught them.
The portions of God’s Word used in this worship flyer have been taken from
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version
Copyright 2019, The Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
Used with permission. Music and lyrics, as needed, are used with permission via OneLicense.net #A712831
Pre-Service Prayer –
Lord, open now, my heart to hear And through Your Word to me, draw near;
Let me Your Word e’er pure retain, Let me Your child and heir remain.
Your Word does deeply move the heart, Your Word does perfect health impart,
Your Word my soul with joy does bless, Your Word brings peace and happiness. Amen.
Silent Prayer upon entering the sanctuary Pre-service music
Pre-Worship Hymn Singing, beginning at 9:25 a.m.
The Introduction and Welcome to Worship
We Praise Our God
the Congregation will rise for the invocation
The Invocation
Pastor We begin this service in the name of the Father
Congregation Who gave us our lives through His almighty power.
P: And of the Son
C: Who redeemed our lives with His precious blood.
P: And of the Holy Spirit
C: Who gave us eternal life through faith in Christ Jesus.
P: Amen.
after which the Congregation will be seated for
The Opening Hymn Hymn 340 “Oh, for a Thousand Tongues to Sing”
(sung Antiphonally)
Verses 1 – ALL
Verse 2 Pulpit Side Verse 3 Lectern Side
Verse 4 Females Verse 5 Males
Verse 6 ALL (the Congregation will rise to sing the final verse)
1 Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing My great Redeemer’s praise,
The glories of my God and King, The triumphs of his grace!
2 My gracious Master and my God, Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad, The honors of your name.
3 The name of Jesus calms our fears And bids our sorrows cease.
‘Tis music in the sinners ears; ‘Tis life and health and peace.
4 He breaks the pow’r of canceled sin; He sets the pris’ner free.
His blood can make the foulest clean; His blood avails for me.
5 See all your sins on Jesus laid; The Lamb of God was slain.
His life was once an off’ring made That you might live again.
6 Glory to God and praise and love Be ever, ever giv’n
By saints below and saints above, The Church in earth and heav’n.
We Make Confession Of Our Sins To God
Pastor God, our Heavenly Father, invites us to come into His presence and to worship Him with humble and penitent hearts. Therefore, let us now turn to Him, acknowledging our sinfulness and seeking His forgiveness for all our sins.
Congregation Holy and merciful Father, I confess that I am by nature sinful and that I have disobeyed You in my thoughts, words, and actions; I have done what is evil in Your sight and have failed to do what is good. For this I know that I deserve Your punishment, both now and for eternity. But I am truly sorry for all my sins and trusting in the perfect life and innocent death of my Savior, Jesus Christ, I plead: God have mercy on me, a sinner.
Pastor Our gracious Lord and Master has shown us His mercy: He has given His one and only Son to save us from all our sins. And now, carrying out my office as a called servant of Christ, and according to His command and authority, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. May the peace of God rest upon all of you. Amen.
The Order of Matins
Pastor – O Lord, open my lips.
Congregation – (sung) And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
Pastor – Hasten, O God, to deliver me.
Congregation (sung) Hasten to help me, O Lord.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
And to the Holy Ghost
As it was in the beginning
Is now and ever shall be.
World without end. Amen. Hallelujah!
The Psalm for Today selected verses of Psalm 104
P: Praise the Lord, O my soul.
C: O Lord my God, You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty.
P: He stretches out the heavens like a canopy.
C: He makes the clouds His chariot.
P: He placed the earth firmly on its foundations. It cannot be moved forever and ever.
C: How many are Your works, O LORD! In wisdom You made them all.
P: The earth is full of Your creatures.
C: All of them wait hopefully for You to give them their food in its time.
P: You open Your hand.
C: They are satisfied with good things.
P: You hide Your face, they are terrified.
C: You take away their breath. They breathe their last and return to dust.
P: You send Your Spirit – they are created
C: You renew the face of the earth.
P: May the glory of the LORD endure forever; May the LORD rejoice in His works.
C: I will sing to the LORD throughout my life. I will make music to the LORD as long as I last. May my meditation be pleasing to Him;
P: I will be rejoice in the LORD.
C: Bless the LORD, O my soul! Praise the LORD!
The Prayer for This Morning
Almighty God, + bless the preaching of Your Word + throughout Your Church in all the world. + Bless every Christian with the gifts of the Holy Spirit + making us wise in the knowledge of our Savior, + equipping us for productive work in Your Kingdom, + giving us joy in serving You, + and strengthening our faith + so that we might remain loyal to You -– as the only true God –- as long as we live. + We humbly ask this – not because we have earned or deserve Your blessings – but according to Your mercy, + and in the name, and for the sake, + of Your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, + Who lives and rules with You and the Holy Spirit, + as the one true God, + now and forever. + Amen.
We Hear God’s Word
The First Lesson Acts 5:1-11
Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife’s knowledge, he kept back part of the proceeds for himself. Then he brought a portion of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land? 4 Was it not yours before it was sold? And after it was sold, was not the money at your disposal? How could you plan such a thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” 5 When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. Great fear gripped everyone who heard about it. 6 The young men got up and wrapped up his body. Then they carried him out and buried him.
7 About three hours later, his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this how much you got for the land?” “Yes,” she said, “that was the price.” 9 Then Peter said to her, “How could you two agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of those who buried your husband are standing at the door, and they will carry you out too!” 10 Instantly she fell down at his feet and died. When the young men came in, they found her dead. Then they carried her outside and buried her beside her husband. 11 Great fear gripped the whole church and all who heard about these things.
The Epistle Lesson I Corinthians 12
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you were deceived and somehow led away to mute idols. 3 Therefore I am informing you that no one speaking by God’s Spirit says, “A curse be upon Jesus,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
4 There are various kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are different kinds of ministries, and yet the same Lord. 6 There are various kinds of activity, but the same God, Who produces all of them in everyone.
7 Each person is given a manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 To one person a message of wisdom is given by the Spirit; to another, a message of knowledge, as the same Spirit provides it; 9 by the same Spirit, faith is given to someone else; and to another, the same Spirit gives healing gifts. 10 Another is given powers to do miracles; another, the gift of prophecy; another, the evaluating of spirits; someone else, different kinds of tongues; and another, the interpretation of tongues. 11 One and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing them to each one individually as He desires.
12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we all were baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free people, and we were all caused to drink one Spirit. 14 Furthermore, the body is not one member, but many. 15 If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not part of the body,” it does not on that account cease to be part of the body. 16 If the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not part of the body,” it does not on that account cease to be part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But now God has arranged the members in the body, each and every one of them, as He desired. 19 If they were all one member, where would the body be? 20 But as it is, there are many members, yet one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need for you,” or again the head to the feet, “I have no need for you.” 22 On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are much more necessary. 23 As for the parts of the body we consider less honorable, these we provide with more honor. We treat our unpresentable parts with more modesty, 24 whereas our presentable parts have no such need. But God put the body together in a way that gave more honor to the parts that lack it. 25 He did it so that there might not be any division in the body, but that the members might all have the same concern for one another. 26 So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it, or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
27 You are the body of Christ, and individually you are members of it. 28 And God appointed in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then miracles, healing gifts, helpful acts, leadership abilities, kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all miracle workers? 30 Do all have healing gifts? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But eagerly seek the greater gifts. And now, I am going to show you a more excellent way.
after which the Congregation will rise out of respect for the words of our Savior
The Gospel Lesson John 16:5-15
5 “But now I am going away to Him Who sent Me, and not one of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6 Yet because I have told you these things, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth: It is good for you that I go away. For if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you. 8 When He comes, He will convict the world about sin, about righteousness, and about judgment: 9 about sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see Me; 11 about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.
12 “I still have many things to tell you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears He will speak. He will also declare to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me, because He will take from what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 Everything the Father has is Mine. This is why I said that He takes from what is Mine and will declare it to you.
The Confession of our Luther’s Explanation to the Third
Faith in God the Holy Spirit Article of the Apostles’ Creed)
Cong: I believe in the Holy Ghost; the Holy Christian Church, the Communion of Saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; And the life everlasting. Amen.
Pastor: “What does this mean?”
All: I know that I cannot, by my own thinking or choosing, + believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to Him. + But the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel; + enlightened me with His gifts, + sanctified and kept me in the one true faith. + In the same way, + He calls, gathers, enlightens, + and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, + and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. + In this Christian Church, + He daily and fully forgives all sins, to me and all believers in Christ. + On the last day He will raise me and all the dead; + And He will give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. + This is most certainly true! + Amen.
after which the Congregation will be seated for
The Children’s Lesson I Corinthians 3:16
16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?
“God Fills Us With His Spirit”
The Hymn of the Day Hymn 225 “Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord”
Come, Holy Ghost, God And Lord!
Be All Your Graces Now Out poured
On Each Believer’s Mind And Heart;
Your Fervent Love To Them Impart.
Lord, By The Brightness Of Your Light
In holy faith Your Church unite
Of Every Land And Every Tongue;
This To Your Praise, O Lord, Our God, Be Sung.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Come, Holy Light, Guide Divine,
Oh, Cause The Word Of Life To Shine!
Teach Us To Know Our God Aright
And Call Him Father With Delight.
From Every Error Keep Us Free;
Let None But Christ Our Master Be
That We In Living Faith Abide,
In Him, Our Lord, With All Our Might Confide.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Come Holy Fire, Comfort True,
Grant Us The Will Your Work To Do
And In Your Service To Abide;
Let Trials Turn Us Not Aside.
Lord, By Your Power Prepare Each Heart
And To Our Weakness Strength Impart
That Bravely Here We May Contend,
Through Life And Death To You, Our Lord, Ascend.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
The Pre-Sermon Salutation
Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the
knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ, our Lord! Amen.
The Sermon Text John 14:15-29
15 “If you love Me, hold on to My commands. 16 I will ask the Father, and He will give you
another Counselor to be with you forever. 17 He is the Spirit of truth, Whom the world cannot receive because it does not see Him or know Him. You know Him because He stays with you and will be in you.
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you. 19 In a little while the world will see Me no longer, but you will see Me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 The one who has My commands and holds on to them is the one who loves Me. And the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father. I too will love him and show Myself to him.”
22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, what has happened that You are going to show Yourself to us and not to the world?”
23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves Me, he will hold on to My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24 The one who does not love Me does not hold on to My words. The word that you are hearing is not Mine, but it is from the Father Who sent Me.
25 “I have told you these things while staying with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I told you.
27 “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, and do not let it be afraid. 28 You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I am coming to you.’ If you loved Me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I.
29 “I have told you now before it happens so that, when it does happen, you may believe.
John 15:26-27
26 “When the Counselor comes, Whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth, Who proceeds from the Father—He will testify about Me.
The Holy Spirit Is Our Enabler and Counselor
after the Sermon, the Congregation will rise for the post-sermon blessing
The Post-Sermon Blessing
May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God our Father, Who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. Amen.
(melody line in Christian Worship, pages 48-49)
The Te Deum Laudamus (Latin for “We Praise You, O Lord”)
We praise You, O God, we acclaim You as Lord;
all creation worships You the Father everlasting.
To You all angels, all the powers of heaven,
cherubim and seraphim sing in endless praise.
Holy, holy, holy Lord God of heavenly hosts,
heaven and earth are full of Your glory.
The glorious company of the apostles praise You.
The noble fellowship of prophets praise You.
The white-robed army of martyrs praise You.
Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims You;
Father of majesty unbounded, Your glorious, true and only Son,
and the Holy Spirit, Advocate and Guide.
You, Christ, are the King of glory, the eternal Son of the Father.
When You became man to set us free,
You humbled Yourself to be born of a virgin.
You overcame the sting of death
and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
You sit at the right hand of God in the glory of the Father.
We believe that You will come to be our Judge.
Come then, Lord, and help Your people,
bought with the price of Your own blood
and bring us with Your saints to glory everlasting.
after which the congregation may be seated as
We Offer Our Gifts and Prayers to the Lord
Our Offerings of Love to our Lord
We will be passing an offering plate through our chapel at this point. For those unable to worship with us in person, if you would like to participate in this offering, we offer you the following suggestions for providing God with Your thank-offerings through our ministry:
1) You can send a check (no cash) in the mail to Grace Lutheran Church (415 N. 6th Place, Lowell, AR 72745)
2) Or, go online to our website (www.gracelutherannwa.com) and use the giving option there.
As the offerings are brought forward, the Congregation rises for prayer
The Prayers of the Church
Included in our prayers this morning is:
A Petition of Intercession on behalf of our sister, Carol Ann Heinemann,
who continues to deal with a significant leg infection and other challenges;
And
A Prayer of Thanksgiving on behalf of Mary and Bill Book,
who will be celebrating their wedding anniversary this Friday.
The Lord’s Our Father, Who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name; Thy Kingdom
Prayer come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation; But deliver us from evil; For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
We Leave With The Lord’s Blessing
The LORD bless you and keep you.
The LORD make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you.
The LORD look upon you with favor, and grant you His peace. Amen.
The Closing Hymn Hymn 330 “Now, the Hour of Worship O’er”
1 Now, the hour of worship o’er, Teaching, hearing, praying, singing,
Let us gladly God adore, For his Word our praises bringing;
For the rich repast he gave us Praise the Lord, who deigned to save us.
2 Now the blessing cheers our heart, By his grace to us extended.
Let us joyfully depart; Be our souls to God commended.
May his Spirit ever guide us And with all good gifts provide us.
3 Bless our go-ing out, we pray, Bless our en-trance in like measure;
Bless our bread, O Lord, each day, Bless our toil, our rest, our pleasure;
Bless us when we reach death’s portal, Bless us then with life immortal.
The Te Deum Laudamus
Latin for “We Praise You, O Lord”
God’s children across the centuries have purposely united in public worship to together share and declare their faith. This is consistent with His Third Commandment, as well as Jesus’ example of regularly participating in public worship in the Synagogue (Luke 4:16). It also is the Christian’s way of following the good counsel of Hebrews 10:23-25 to “not give up meeting together….but to encourage one another.”
When we gather for worship, we listen to God’s Word, bring Him our offerings and praises, confess our sins, and also express our joint faith in Him.
One of the ways in which Christians have expressed our faith across the centuries is through the use of specific formulations (or statements) of what the one true God teaches us about Himself and about us throughout the pages of His Word, the Holy Scriptures. We typically refer to those formulations as “Creeds” (from the Latin word for “I/we believe”). The Christian Church, spanning nearly all denomination lines, recognizes especially three “creeds” as the essential expressions of those Biblical truths which are fundamental to our Christian faith and salvation. Those “Ecumenical Creeds” (believed by all true Christians) are: The Apostles’; The Nicene; and The Athanasian Creeds.
The content of those creeds, particularly the first two, frequently have been set to lyric and song over the centuries. In so doing these creeds, set to song, serve us as an additional means of reinforcing in our minds, hearts and souls the essential, saving truths of the Christian faith that they contain and which we confess.
As a major part of our worship service this morning, we will be making use of one of those Creeds-set-to-song, in the form of one of the Christian Church’s oldest hymns – dating all the way back to the fourth century AD – the “Te Deum Laudamus,” which is Latin for “We Praise You, O God.”
A Brief History of the “Te Deum Laudamus”
This ancient Latin hymn and Christian confession of faith, the “Te Deum Laudamus” was most likely written by Nicetas, Bishop of Remesiana (present-day Serbia) who lived from A.D. 335 to 414. The “Te Deum” declares outright and out-loud what all Christians across the ages have known to be true about our God. This confessional song doesn’t begin with the declaration that we choose Him to be the Lord and Savior (something that well-intentioned, but still false-teaching persons today often direct others to do/want……but which is utterly impossible for anyone to do on his or her own, since saving faith has to be worked miraculously in us by God the Holy Spirit – I Cor 12:3; Rom 9:16). Instead, the “Te Deum” begins like the Bible begins in Genesis 1:1 – with the established fact and reality that the true God does exist. Christians in the “Te Deum” humbly going on to acknowledge that the God we have the privilege of worshiping is the only true God….the LORD, the Creator, the Ruler of all that exists…..including us. This hymn’s lyrics continue by affirming the reality and unity of the Holy Christian Church, which is the body of all true believers on earth and in heaven…..from apostles and prophets to those martyred for the faith, along with the angel hosts and souls in heaven, which join to continually praise the God of our salvation.
There was good reason for the author of this hymn to affirm the Church’s unity of faith, since the ‘Te Deum Laudamus was written during a particularly challenging episode in the history of the early church. In the A.D. 300s, the church became embroiled in a doctrinal controversy which threatened to – and almost did – destroy it. The controversy centered upon exactly Who Jesus of Nazareth was. At that time a theologian from Alexandria, Egypt by the name of Arius had so strongly stressed the supremacy of God the Father that he ended up reducing the status of the Son, Jesus, to a position inferior to the Father in every way. His name was Arius, and He is recognized today as one of the church’s worst false-teachers and heretics. Arius regarded Christ as “a God,” but only in the sense of his being inferior supernatural Being (or essence) appointed to a divine position by God the Father, so that Jesus could out on earth the task of humanity’s redemption. According to Arius, Jesus was not, in any way, equal to the God the Father, but was only essentially “similar” to Him. By 325AD Arius and his false teachings had created such division and confusion within the church that a church-wide emergency meeting (a Council) had to be called at Nicaea (modern-day Iznik, Turkey) to resolve the matter. The result, championed by the great orthodox (true-teaching) theologian Athanasius, was the production of one of the most important confessions of the Christian faith in the history of the church……the Nicene Creed – which we use in our worship services and confirmation classes to this very day.
The Nicene Creed as a basis for the “Te Deum”
“Very God of Very God!”……. That is Who the Nicene Creed says Jesus is – in sharp contrast to the false claims that the Arians (as well as their contemporary descendants – the Jehovah’s Witnesses) had made for a diminished, inferior Christ. Scripture teaches that Jesus was undoubtedly fully human, but also fully divine. He had no beginning, nor will He have an end, because – along with the Father and the Holy Spirit – He is the one, true, eternal, Triune God. There was never a time when He was not God. As the true God, Jesus shares the exact same status and authority as God the Father, “being of one substance with the Father.” (That is true, also, of His equality with the Holy Spirit.) And yet He was also – uniquely – the One ”Who for us men (humankind) and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary and became man (human).” Athanasius and his fellow orthodox theologians properly recognized that if Jesus had not been both fully human AND fully divine, it would not have been possible for Him to save sinful humanity from their sins. For example, how could an ordinary man’s death (even if that man was personally sinless) deliver even one other human being, let alone the entire human race, from eternal death in hell? It couldn’t be done. And so, our Savior had to be – and was and remains – true God and true Man in one Person, Jesus Christ.
Consequently, the Nicene Creed did set down what the Scriptures – and thus the true-teaching Church – believe about our Triune God…..and particularly about the person of Jesus Christ, our Savior. But producing a correct written statement of belief didn’t automatically end the controversy Arius had begun. Arianism would not disappear quietly or quickly. The Nicene Creed’s truths had to be taught consistently and comprehensively throughout the entire Christian Church right up to today. One of the means of doing that was through song – (as we also teach Christian truths through our hymns today) – notably through Nicetas’ hymn “The Te Deum Laudamus,” which many regard as “the Nicene Creed in song” and as “one of the noblest hymns of the Western church and one of the greatest confessions of faith in song.”
The Structure and General Content of the “Te Deum”
In its structure the Te Deum Laudamus resembles another of the Christian church’s great, ancient hymns, “The Gloria in Excelsis” (Latin for “Glory in the Highest”). There are three rather obvious divisions – two principal parts, plus an appendix/closing prayer. The first part declares the Church’s praise of God the Father, and then for the entire Holy Trinity. The second part of this hymn commemorates Christ’s redemptive work, and upon that basis, it asks for divine help and support. The earliest form of this hymn ended at the phrase that closes part two, “in glory everlasting.” The third part (which we are not singing today) is actually a later addition to the hymn……in the style of a prayer, of sorts, that customarily concluded a number of ancient hymns. In this case, it was the closing that the early Eastern church used at the end of their singing “the Gloria in Excelsis. “
Realizing how critical Jesus’ true identity really to the church’s faith and its salvation, it isn’t surprising that the ‘Te Deum’ doesn’t just make a confession of ‘Who’ this three-in-one God is. Rather, it goes on in some detail to affirm ‘What’ He has done for all of us. Obviously, our Triune God’s identity (Who He is) and His management of all history (what He has done) go hand in hand, because what He has done “in history” serves as the “stage” by which God’s saving work and person are displayed in the Person of Jesus Christ. Very simply, the Church is confessing in the Nicene Creed as well as in the Te Deum, “Lord, it is because of ‘everything You have done for us’ that we believe You are our Savior-God, and that we have the assurance of eternal life in heaven, by Your grace, through faith.
Consequently, the ‘Te Deum’ doesn’t hold back at all in telling the story of God’s gracious interaction with mankind – the climax of that interaction being redemptive work of God the Son, Jesus Christ. In fact, it very clearly confesses Christ’s miraculous incarnation (God also becoming human) by stating: “When You took it upon Yourself to deliver man, You humbled Yourself to be born of a Virgin. When You had overcome the sharpness of death (through Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross and His bodily resurrection), You opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.” After that, it describes the present state of the Church’s affairs: “You sit at the right hand of God: in the glory of the Father,” where Jesus is reigning over all things for the earthly and eternal good of His Church. And, finally, it points to the Church’s future when Jesus will deliver His Church Militant (fighting against sin, death and Satan) once and for all on the Last – or Judgment – Day: “We believe You shall come: to be our Judge.” On Judgment Day Jesus will gather His Church on earth with the Church already in heaven, and – with glorified bodies perfectly prepared for everlasting life – all together we will go to be where God has always intended for us to be…..with Him forever and ever in heaven.