A few years back BJS reposted a breakdown of the Nicene Creed and the Scriptures that support the different sections. This guide has proven popular owing to the confusion that exists among some Christians, and sadly some Lutherans, regarding 
the Creed as a man made tradition and thus not being scriptural. Thus this guide was aimed to show the sedes doctrinae of the Nicene Creed.
This is useful as the Creeds themselves form the rule of faith for the Christian church, that is a distillation of the basics of the faith as drawn from Scripture. As such we should have confidence in them and know where in Scripture they come from.
For a class that I am teaching on the Ecumenical Creeds I wanted to expand this guide to include the Apostles’ Creed so that I could cover both the Nicene and Apostles’ simultaneously. As a further goal I wanted to find a hymn for each line of the Creed as the Church sings the faith she confesses in the Creeds. Below you find the result, which I hope is helpful for those teaching the Creeds.
I have mainly used https://steadfastlutherans.org/2013/06/the-nicene-creed/ as my initial blueprint (many thanks to the original authors of this work). I follow the order of the Nicene Creed for layout, putting alongside the Apostles’ for comparison. Where the Apostles’ text is out of order with respect to the Nicene we indicate with an asterisk(*). I then added references where only antilegomena books are used for texts. I also added references for places where the Apostles’ Creed contains something that the Nicene does not. I will note that the references below are not exhaustive. I also suggested hymns from the Lutheran Service Book (LSB) for each line of the Creeds. You can find a PDF version of this guide at the First Lutheran Church of Boston website.
Article I: God the Father, Creation
|
Apostles’ Creed |
Nicene Creed |
Scripture |
Hymn |
|
I believe |
I believe |
Rom. 10:9, Jas 2:19, John 14:1 |
|
|
in God, |
in one God, |
Deut. 6:4, Is. 44:6 |
(LSB 819) |
|
the Father |
the Father |
Is. 63:16, 2 Pet. 1:17, Mt. 6:9 |
|
|
Almighty, |
Almighty, |
Gen. 17:1, Ps 91:1, Rev. 4:8 |
(LSB 802) |
|
Maker |
Maker |
Job 4:17, 35:10, Is. 17:7, 54:5 |
|
|
of heaven |
of heaven |
Gen. 1:1, 1:8 |
(LSB 790) |
|
and earth |
and earth |
Ps. 104:5, Jer. 51:15 |
|
|
and all things |
Gen. 1:31 |
||
|
visible and invisible. |
Ps. 89:11-12, Amos 4:13, Rev. 3:5, Col. 1:16 |
Article II: God the Son, Justification
|
Apostles’ Creed |
Nicene Creed |
Scripture |
Hymn |
|
our Lord* |
And in one Lord |
Eph. 4:5 |
|
|
And in Jesus Christ* |
Jesus Christ, |
Acts 10:36, 11:17, Rom. 1:7, 5:1, 1 Cor. 1:2, 6:11, 2 Cor. 1:2, 8:9, Gal. 1:3, 6:14, Eph. 1:2, 3:11, Phil. 1:2, 3:20, Col. 1:3, 2:6, 1 Thes. 1:1, 5:9, 2 Thes. 1:1, 2:14, 1 Tim. 6:3, 6:14, 2 Tim. 1:2, Philemon 3, 25, Heb. 13:20, Jas. 1:1, 2:1, 1 Pet. 1:3, 3:15, 2 Pet. 1:8, 1:14, Jude 17, 21, Rev. 22:20-21 |
(LSB 512) |
|
His only* |
the only-begotten |
John 1:18 |
|
|
Son* |
Son of God, |
Matt. 3:17, John 3:16 |
(LSB 406) |
|
begotten of His Father |
Ps. 2:7, Heb. 1:5 |
||
|
before all worlds, |
John 1:1, Col. 1:17, 1 John 1:1 |
(LSB 384) |
|
|
God of God, |
John 1:1-2 |
||
|
Light of Light, |
Ps. 27:1, John 1:9, 8:12, 12:35-36, 1 John 1:5-7, Mt. 17:2, 17:5 |
(LSB 882) |
|
|
very God of very God |
John 5:18, 8:58, 17:1-5 |
O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright (LSB 395) |
|
|
begotten, |
John 1:1, Heb 1:5 |
||
|
not made, |
Mic. 5:2, John 1:18, 17:5 |
(LSB 413) |
|
|
being of one substance with the Father, |
John 10:30, 14:9 |
Savior of the Nations, Come (LSB 332) |
|
|
by Whom all things were made; |
1 Cor. 8:6, Col. 1:16 |
Thy Strong Word (LSB 578) |
|
|
Who for us men |
Mt. 20:28, John 10:10 |
||
|
and for our salvation |
Mt. 1:21, Luke 19:10 |
(LSB 544) |
|
|
came down from heaven |
Rom. 10:6, Eph. 4:10 |
||
|
Who was conceived |
and was incarnate |
Col. 2:9 |
|
|
by the Holy Spirit, |
by the Holy Spirit |
Mt. 1:18 |
(LSB 356) |
|
born of the Virgin Mary, |
of the Virgin Mary |
Luke 1:34-35 |
|
|
and was made man; |
John 1:14 |
All My Heart Again Rejoices (LSB 360) |
|
|
was crucified,* |
and was crucified |
Mt. 20:19, John 19:18, Rom. 5:6, 5:8, 2 Cor. 13:4 |
|
|
also for us |
Rom. 5:8, 2 Cor. 5:15 |
(LSB 440) |
|
|
under Pontius Pilate, |
under Pontius Pilate. |
Mt. 27:2, 27:26, 1 Tim. 6:13 |
|
|
suffered* |
He suffered |
1 Pet. 2:21, Heb. 2:10 |
|
|
died |
Mt. 27:50, Mark 15:37, Luke 23:46, John 19:30, 19:33, Rom. 5:6, 6:3, 1 Cor. 11:26, 15:3 |
(LSB 450) |
|
|
and was buried. |
and was buried. |
Mark 15:46, 1 Cor. 15:4 |
|
|
He descended into hell. |
1 Pet. 3:19, Eph. 4:9 |
Christ is the World’s Redeemer (LSB 539) |
|
|
The third day |
And the third day |
Mt. 27:63, 28:1, 1 Cor. 15:4 |
|
|
He rose again from the dead. |
He rose again |
Mark 16:6, 2 Tim. 2:8 |
(LSB 458) |
|
according to the Scriptures |
Ps. 16:10, Luke 24:25-27, 1 Cor. 15:4 |
||
|
He ascended |
and ascended |
Luke 24:51, Acts 1:9 |
|
|
into heaven |
into heaven |
Mark 16:19, Acts 1:11 |
(LSB 491) |
|
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. |
and sits at the right hand of the Father. |
Ps. 110:1, Mt. 26:64, Acts 7:56, Heb. 1:3 |
See, the Lord Ascends in Triumph (LSB 494) |
|
From thence He shall come |
And He will come again |
John 14:3, 1 Thes. 4:16 |
|
|
with glory |
Mt. 16:27, 24:30, 25:31, 26:64, Mark 8:38, Col. 3:4 |
(LSB 508) |
|
|
to judge |
to judge |
Mt. 25:31-46, Acts 17:31 |
|
|
the living and the dead. |
both the living and the dead, |
Acts 10:42, 1 Pet. 4:5 |
|
|
Whose kingdom |
John 18:36, 2 Tim. 4:1, 4:18 |
||
|
will have no end. |
Luke 1:33, Rev. 11:15, Ps. 145:13 |
(LSB 513) |
Article III: God the Holy Spirit, Sanctification
|
Apostles’ Creed |
Nicene Creed |
Scripture |
Hymn |
|
I believe in the Holy Spirit, |
And I believe in the Holy Spirit, |
Mt. 28:19, Acts 13:2 |
Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord (LSB 497) |
|
the Lord |
2 Cor. 3:17 |
||
|
and giver of life, |
John 6:63, Rom. 7:6, 8:2, 2 Cor. 3:6 |
(LSB 503) |
|
|
Who proceeds from the Father |
John 14:16-17 |
||
|
and the Son, |
John 15:26, Rom 8:9, Gal. 4:6 |
(LSB 498/499) |
|
|
Who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped |
Luke 4:8, John 4:24 |
The Lord, My God, Be Praised (LSB 794) |
|
|
and glorified, |
John 4:24, 1 Tim. 1:17 |
||
|
Who spoke by the prophets. |
1 Pet. 1:10-11, 2 Pet. 1:21 |
God Has Spoken by His Prophets (LSB 583) |
|
|
And I believe in one |
1 Cor. 10:16-17, 12:12-13 |
||
|
the holy |
holy |
Eph. 3:16-17, 5:27, 1 Pet. 2:9 |
(LSB 644) |
|
catholic |
catholic |
1 Cor. 1:2 |
|
|
and apostolic |
Eph. 2:20, Rev. 21:14 |
||
|
Church, |
Church, |
Acts 20:28, Eph. 1:22-23, Col. 1:24, Heb. 12:23, 1 Pet. 2:9 |
|
|
the communion of saints, |
1 Cor. 1:2, 10:16-17, Eph. 2:19, 6:18, Rev. 7:9, 7:14 |
For All the Saints (LSB 677) |
|
|
I acknowledge one Baptism |
John 3:5, Rom. 6:3, Eph. 4:5 |
||
|
the forgiveness of sins, |
for the remission of sins, |
Acts 2:38, 1 Pet. 3:21, Tit. 3:5 |
(LSB 594) |
|
the resurrection of the body, |
and I look for the resurrection of the dead |
1 Thes. 4:16, 1 Cor. 15:12-13, 15:16, 15:52 |
Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart (LSB 708) |
|
and the life everlasting. |
and the life of the world to come. |
1 Cor. 15:54-57, Rev. 22:5 |
Jerusalem the Golden (LSB 672) |
|
Amen. |
Amen. |
Ps. 41:13, 2 Cor. 1:20 |
Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow (LSB 805) |