LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW - Brock University

10 LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW XV
meaning we have just considered. In addition there remains a practical
problem: If the generic use of “men” is removed from the creeds, then
consistency would demand that the rest of the liturgy and hymns should
be made to conform to the same principle. The scale of such a task is
quite extraordinary, and the resulting loss of theological content and
poetry would be tragic.
It has been argued that, since the Nicene Creed is an ecumenical text, we
are obligated to use a version that is universally acknowledged by other
Christian churches. There are a number of clear fallacies involved in such
an argument. Firstly, our church is committed to the historic text of the
creeds, and has no obligation to adopt a mistranslation, no matter how
widely it is used. Secondly, it must be emphasized that, despite the
valiant efforts of the International Consultation on English Texts (ICET)
and the English Language Liturgical Consultation (ELLC), no single
modern version has emerged as “ecumenical” or universal in usage. In
fact, there is as much diversity in usage of creedal translations as there is
in biblical translations among English-speaking churches. The most
“ecumenical” text, in the end, is probably the traditional text we are
preserving, which stretches back 500 years to Thomas Cranmer, and has
been used in every English hymnal of the LCMS.
In summary, the two phrases under discussion (“who for us men … was
made man”) emphasize at least three aspects of Christ’s person and work
that any translation of the creed must seek to preserve:
1. Universality of Christ’s Work: The word “men” is used in the Creed as
inclusive of all males and females of the people that God created, and
who subsequently became sinful through the first man, Adam. The Creed
here emphasizes that Christ’s saving work is for the benefit of all people,
not just a portion of them.
2. Nature of the Incarnation: Christ became a “man”—a real, male
individual of the human race. The Son of God took on human flesh in
such a way that He is completely like us in all ways, except that He is
without sin. As the Second Adam He reversed Adam’s sinful rebellion,
and became the first-born of a new race of redeemed people. The parallel
between “men” and “man” effectively conveys this important teaching.
3. Personal Applicability of Salvation: Christ’s incarnation and saving
work is specifically “for me”, as Luther stresses in the Small Catechism.
“For us men” means “for me”, not merely for some other group of
people, or even just for people in general.