FUNDAMENTAL DOCTRINES OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH Pt.4

In the 4th century, a presbyter named Arius denied that Jesus is God. He taught that  Jesus was a created being, subordinate to God the Father, and therefore not co-eternal or of the same divine essence. He misunderstood certain scriptures where the humanity of Christ is revealed.

He failed to realize that Christ is God who came in human form (incarnation) for the purpose of saving mankind. He saw him as 100% man forgetting that He came from heaven. This heresy prompted Emperor Constantine to convene the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. The council condemned the doctrine and formulated the Nicene Creed, affirming that the Son is "of one substance with the Father".

*Christ is eternal and He is deity*.

John 1:1, 3: *"In the beginning was the Word(Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word(Christ) was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made*"( Empasis mine).

John 8:58: *"Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM*'". Jesus used the covenant name of God, "I AM" (Exodus 3:14), to assert His eternal, uncreated existence.

*Christ is an Uncreated Creator*

Arianism denies Jesus as the creator. They taught that Jesus was created by God citing Colossian 1:15 where He is called "Firstborn over all creation". The problem with their position is that they misunderstood the phrase above and failed to read further. Let's read.

Colossians 1:15-17 *"He is...the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created...And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist*" ( NKJV).

Hebrews 1:2–3 says,  *"But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, THROUGH WHOM ALSO HE CREATED THE WORLD. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power*".

*Jesus is equal with God the father*.

Arians argued that the Jesus was a lesser "god" with a different essence but the bible's position is different. Jesus Christ is co equal, co eternal and of the same essence with the father and Holy Spirit.

In John 10:30,  Jesus says, *"I and the Father are one*". This denotes equality. In fact, the Jews who heard him reacted.

[31] *Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him...[33] The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God*”

Let's consider other scriptures that affirms His deity.

Philippians 2:5 *"You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. [6] Though he was God( the son), he did not think of equality with God( the father) as something to cling to*" (NLT Emphasis mine).

In Titus 2:13, Paul refer to Jesus as God: *"while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our GREAT GOD and Savior, JESUS CHRIST, will be revealed*".

One may think the deity of Christ is a new testament doctrine because of all the scriptures examined so far. Let's check this.

The famous Isaiah 9:6 says, *"For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, MIGHTY GOD, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace*".