Grace in History
This year marks one of the most important events in the history of the Christian Church. Seventeen hundred years ago in the small town of Nicaea (in modern day Turkey), the Roman emperor Constantine convened a council of bishops from around the Christian world to settle one of the most foundational questions of the faith: the identity of Jesus. The cause for the council's convening was a debate between two prominent Christian voices, Alexander and Arius, both hailing from Alexandria, Egypt. On one side, Alexander affirmed the divinity of Jesus, asserting that Jesus, sharing the same substance or essence as the Father, is both equal to and eternal with the Father. Arius, on the other hand, argued that only God the Father was eternally divine and therefore Jesus was created by and subordinate to God the Father. This intense debate struck at the heart of the Christian faith and resulted in what we now call the Council of Nicea. The council convened in May of 325 AD and by July decisively resolved the controversy, siding with Alexander against Arius.
It is hard to overstate the importance of the Council of Nicea. The council’s significance is primarily in the weight of the question it addressed. The council was debating one of the central aspects of Jesus’s identity as messiah, namely, his divinity. As Christians living in the 21st century, we can thank God that those faithful men—our brothers in Christ—answered the question biblically, providing a valiant defense of the biblical doctrine of the full deity of Christ. We must thank God that those men held fast to the testimony of scripture concerning Christ’s eternality and equality with God the Father. We can also thank God that those men drafted a creed which aptly summarizes the teaching of scripture on the issue – the Nicene Creed. The Nicene Creed, which has been adopted by Christians of every stripe for millenia, is rightly acclaimed both for its theological precision and the beauty with which it summarizes Christian doctrine. As you read the excerpt of the Creed provided below, consider God’s faithfulness to preserve His truth through the centuries and lift your mind to ponder that most beautiful and ineffable mystery, the divinity of Christ.
“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 Son of God, the only-bego en, bego en of the Father before all ages. Light of Light, true God of true God, bego en not made, of one essence with the Father by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salva on, came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man.”