The conclusion, affirmed at the famed Council of Nicea in 325, was that Jesus was God Himself in human form, the second Person of Trinity, and any other view was heresy of the highest order.
Specifically, it was determined that Jesus was homo (same) ousios (substance) – “one in being” or “one in substance” – with the Father. This was selected as opposed to homoiousios, which meant of “like substance” or “like being.” In Gibbon’s monumental work The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, he notes that never had there been so much energy spent on one vowel. But that vowel mattered because it defined the very person of Christ.
The Council of Nicea produced what would eventually become known as the Nicene Creed, which stated that Jesus Christ was of the same substance with the Father.
Okay, here’s why I put you through that technical – but critically important – bit of historical theology.
Here’s Why it Matters:
Modern Arianism on the rise.
According to the annual State of Theology survey, jointly conducted by Ligonier Ministries and Lifeway Research, of the five most common mistaken beliefs held by evangelicals (yes, evangelicals, not the public at large), two are directly tied to modern Arianism. A whopping 73% agreed with the statement that “Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God,” and 43% affirmed that “Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God.” So much for “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).
Though outside of classical Arian theology, the Trinity seems particular in duress. Among the top five revelations from the study was that 60% believed that “the Holy Spirit is a force but is not a personal being.”
The report references Ligonier founder R. C. Sproul’s teaching that everyone’s a theologian. “However, Dr. Sproul would be quick to add that not everyone is a good theologian.”
No, they are not.
This article on modern Arianism originally appeared here, and is used by permission.
