Great battle over deity of Jesus

Church fathers grappled for centuries with Jesus’ relationship to God the Father. Some believed that Jesus was co-equal with God while others subordinated Jesus as a creation of God. Among those that denied the divinity of Jesus was Arius (256-336 A.D.). He taught that Jesus was a created being and there was a time when Jesus did not exist. Further, Jesus was not of the same substance as God and thereby was subordinate to the Father.

Strong opposition came from Alexander, the Bishop of Alexandria, who insisted that Jesus was fully God and equal to God. Alexander further believed that the Godhead comprised three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This was called the ‘Trinity,’ which is not expounded in three gospels: Matthew, Mark and Luke. John’s Gospel states that Jesus is God in human form (John 1:1-3,14).

These opposing views could have permanently split the church, but a Roman emperor named Constantine (275- 337 A.D.), a convert to Christianity, resolved the dispute. In 325 B.C., Constantine convened an ecumenical council at Nicaea, Turkey. Over 300 bishops of the Roman Empire attended. Twenty-two bishops openly supported Arius. Under the force and persuasion of Emperor Constantine, the assembled bishops formulated the Nicene Creed—adopting Alexander’s views—by using the term, “homoousios,” which means that the Son was “one in being” with the Father.

The Nicene Creed, adopted by the Council, summarized the chief articles of the Christian faith, namely, that Jesus is coequal, coeternal and consubstantial with God the Father. Its original wording: “We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of all things, both visible and invisible; and in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, only begotten of the Father, that is to say, of the substance of the Father, God of God and Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made, both things in heaven and things on earth; who, for us men and for our salvation, came down and was made flesh, was made man, suffered, and rose again on the third day, went up into the heavens, and is to come again to judge both the quick and the dead; and in the Holy Ghost.”

Constantine used all the powers of his imperial throne to produce a creed to his liking. He placed the bishops under extreme duress to sign the document. Two non-signers were exiled: Theonas and Secundus. Three additional bishops, who signed the creed, were also banished because the emperor doubted their sincerity. They were Eusebius of Nicomedia, Theognis of Nicaea, and Maris of Chalcedon. To further clamp down, the emperor demanded that all books composed by Arius and Eusebius of Nicomedia be burned. Further, he imposed the death penalty for anyone who failed to comply with his demands.

In 381 B.C., a Church Council held at Constantinople, Turkey, modified the original Nicene Creed (cited in bold lettering above) to add the following statements: (1) Jesus was God incarnate, (2) His crucifixion came under Pontius Pilate, (3) The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and (4) belief in the resurrection of the dead. This creed—with its amendments—became the ‘statement of faith’ we read in church.

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