The controversy stated in another way is this. Is Jesus God, at the same level of “Godness” as the Father, or is He almost God? Great and powerful, but not quite co-eternal or co-equal, and thus created. The Arians, arguing for the slightly less than God status of Christ were found to be in error in regard to their interpretation of the scriptural revelation of the nature of Jesus Christ.
Since the debates surrounding the councils centred on the nature of Jesus Christ, the first formulation of the Nicene creed is largely focused on defining and defending that Jesus is in fact of the same substance as the Father.
Nicene Creed AD 325
“We believe in one God, the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father, Light of light, Very God of very God, begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate and was made man; He suffered, and the third day he rose again, ascended into heaven, from there He shall come to judge both the quick and the dead.
And in the Holy Spirit.”
As compared to the Apostles’ Creed, this formulation adds a detail with respect to the Father. Nicaea adds the phrase that He is Creator of “all things visible and invisible.” On the other hand, the original Nicene version of the creed removes all detail associated with the Holy Spirit. In the years that followed, debates over the divinity of the Holy Spirit led to further language being adopted to affirm the “Godness” of the Holy Spirit and define truths associated with His person.
The meat of the Nicene creed, then, has to do with the first phrases of the paragraph associated with the Lord Jesus Christ. The rest of the paragraph does not differ substantively from the Apostles Creed, even if it is less detailed. So, let’s consider the new phrases that were put in place to affirm the deity of Jesus Christ.
“the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father,”
The concept of relationship in the Godhead can lead to the idea that the Father preceded the Son. This is understandable in our frame. I became a father when my first child was born, but I obviously existed prior to that occurrence. However, the Bible teaches that Jesus was and is eternally the Son of the Father. Passages such as John 1:1-18 tell us of His existence with God before anything else existed. The Father/Son relationship tells us that God always existed as a Father and in conjunction with His always existing Son. This is what is behind the phrase “only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father”. The phrase sometimes used to describe this is “eternal generation”. We think of begetting, in the sense of fathering, as something that occurs in time, resulting in the “becoming” of a father, and, for the offspring, the commencement of life as a son. This phrase was coined to express the reality that the Father and the Son are eternally found in this relationship. There is no “becoming” of a Father or of a Son and thus the Son is co-eternal with the Father.[1]
“Light of light, Very God of very God, begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father;”
These clauses are used to emphasize the one substance of Father and Son. The Son is Light from the Father who is Light (John 1:9; 1 John 1:5). They are equally God, equally eternal. Their essence is the same, they are intrinsically one (John 10:30). The attributes of Godhead are found equally resident in both Father and Son.
“by whom all things were made;”
The Apostles Creed said nothing about the Son being co-creator. The council saw fit to add the truth that Jesus Christ was involved in the creation of all things (John 1:3; Colossians 1:15,16; Hebrews 1:2) to again affirm His equality as Son with God the Father. Not only was He of the same essence as the Father, but He could also do the same things.
The Council of Nicaea was focused on affirming that the Father and the Son were equal, of the same substance. One God yet distinct persons. As alluded to earlier, this council made only a passing reference to the Holy Spirit. Further questions arose in the intervening years with respect to how one should think about the way Jesus is both God and man. This led to a further council in Constantinople in AD 381, where the Nicene Creed was revised and expanded. The version of the Nicene Creed widely known and commonly used today is what resulted from this council. We will consider the additions incorporated in it in the next article.
References
Nicene Creed 325 AD from neverthirsty.org
Know the Creeds and Councils by Justin S. Holcomb
[1] A question could be raised, with respect to the declaration of God in Psalm 2:7, that the king is begotten of God. Doesn’t this clearly state that the Son, Jesus, was begotten at a point in time? The answer is, “No, it doesn’t”. This phrase is picked up by Paul in Acts 13 and by the Hebrew writer in Hebrews 1:5. They both clearly demonstrate that the intent of the Psalm is to describe the begetting of the Son regarding the Davidic Covenant and the role that the Son takes as the king. This is not referring to His eternal relationship as God with the Father, but with His role as the king who is a descendant of David and will reign in righteousness. David was promised a son on the throne forever (2 Samuel 7:13,14). The immediate fulfilment of this was in his son Solomon, but his kingdom was merely a shadow of the coming glory of the eternal kingdom that the Son of Man would rule over (Daniel 7:13,14). Thus, it is in the context of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead as a Man who had conquered death by virtue of His sinless life that the decree goes forth from the Father in heaven, “you are my Son, today I have begotten you” (Acts 13:33). His humanity, in conjunction with His holy life on earth, fully qualified Him to be the promised heir to the throne of his father David, and as such, His God in heaven declared in fulfilment of His promise to David: “You are my Son!” In short, the begetting has to do with coming into the role of king, not coming into existence.
