THE COUNCIL OF NICEA

John 1:1-3 NASB

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”

Colossians 1:15-17 NASB

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions 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.”

Titus 2:13 NASB

“…looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,…”

Mark 14:61-62 NASB

But He kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING WITH THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.”

THE BACKGROUND

The debate between Alexander, bishop of Alexandria and Arius, a presbyter regarding the relationship of Jesus Christ to God the Father particularly His divinity or deity.

THE ISSUES

The Trinity The Deity of Jesus Christ What do the early Christians

believed

The earliest Christians held that there was one God. They were monotheists like the Jews. But unlike the Jews, they held that Jesus was God. And apparently they were able to believe both that there was only one God and that Jesus was God without knowing quite how to express that.

“The deity of Christ is professed in the oldest surviving Christian sermon, in the oldest surviving report of the death of a Christian martyr, in the oldest surviving pagan report of a church service, and in the oldest surviving liturgical prayer”

- Jaroslav Pelikan,

Oldest surviving Christian sermon outside of the New Testament

“Brethren, we ought so to think of Jesus Christ as of God, as the judge of living and dead. And we ought not to belittle our salvation; for when we belittle him, we expect also to receive little.”

Oldest surviving report of the death of a Christian martyr

“It will be impossible for us to forsake Christ . . . or to worship any other. For him, being the Son of God, we adore, but the martyrs . . . we cherish.”

Oldest surviving pagan report of a church service

“They asserted, however, that the sum and substance of their fault or error had been that they were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god,…”

Oldest surviving liturgical prayer

“Our Lord, come!”

“Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in

the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.”

Before 325 AD, when certain words were used to set forth what the church considered orthodox teaching about the Trinity, long before that people believed in the Trinity and worshiped the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Earliest explanations

Subordinationism Monarchianism Tertullian’s formula

The Challenge of Arianism

Bishop Alexander - “Always God,always the Son.”

“At the same time the Father, at the same time the Son.”

Statement of Arius“God was not always a father. There was a

time when God was all alone. And was not yet a father; only later did he become a father. The Son did not always exist. Everything created is out of nothing… so the Logos of God came into existence out of nothing. There was a time when he was not. Before he was brought into being, he did not exist. He also had a beginning to his created existence”

Arius’ song - “Arius of Alexandria, I am the talk of all the town. Friend of saints, elect of heaven, filled with learning and renown. If you want the Logos-doctrine, I can serve it steaming hot. God begat Him and before He was begotten He was not.”

Arius - “If God and Christ were equal then Christ should be called God’s brother, not God’s Son.”

Four Main Propositions of Arianism

The Son must be a creature whom the Father made out of nothing.

The Son has a beginning. Since the Son was created he don’t have

the same substance or essence as the Father.

As a creature, the Son is liable to change and to sin.

THE COUNCIL OF NICEA 325 AD

It was the first ecumenical council called by Emperor Constantine to settle disputes within the Christian Church which resulted to the formulation of the Nicene Creed among other things.

The Nicene Creed“We believe in one God, Father Almighty, maker of

all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of His Father, only begotten, that is of the ousia of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God; begotten not made, of one substance with the Father (homoousios), by whom all things were made, both things in heaven and things in earth, who for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven and was made flesh and was made man, suffered and rose again on the third day, ascended into the heavens and comes to judge the living and dead.”

“One substance to the Father”

The phrase, "being of one substance with the Father" (homoousios to Patri) means that Jesus is the same in being, nature, essence or substance as the Father.

homoiousios versus homoousios

Homoiousios - which means “of similar substance.”Homoousios - which is “of the same substance.”

Arianism affects the following:

1. Doctrine2. Worship3. Redemption

Athanasius and Arianism

No creature can redeem another creature. According to Arius, Jesus Christ is a creature. Therefore, according to Arius, Jesus Christ cannot redeem humanity

Only God is worthy of our worship. According to Arius, Jesus Christ is a creature. Therefore, according to Arius, Christians are worshiping a creature and are guilty of idolatry

Arguments of Athanasius against Arianism

1. If the divine triad is not eternal, and the son was a created god, then how many god’s are we worshipping? at least two then it is no longer monotheism but polytheism.

Arguments of Athanasius against Arianism

2. Then it made non-sense of the established liturgical service of the church3. It does away with our salvation and redemption

Athanasius and his contributions to the Church

1. The closing of the canon of Scripture

2. The promotion of monasticism3. The doctrine of the full deity of

Christ