Misunderstanding the Trinity :: Arianism
This past Sunday we began a sermon series on the Trinity. The doctrine of the Trinity is a mysterious but wonderful doctrine that describes God’s three-in-oneness. Interestingly, the actual word “trinity” is never used in the Bible, but the doctrine itself is clearly taught in Scripture. To sum it up simply, the doctrine of the trinity means that:
God is three persons.
Each person is fully God.
There is one God.
I began last week to talk about common misconceptions of the Trinity. I’m calling them misconceptions or misunderstandings, but to be honest, they’re all teachings that were condemned as heretical by the early church.
The one I want to talk about today is what is called Arianism. It’s called Arianism because the person who most popularized this misunderstanding of the trinity was a bishop from Alexandria named Arius. He famously taught that Jesus was not co-eternal with the Father, but rather that there was a time when he didn’t exist. Jesus, according to Arius, was the first created being. Wayne Grudem explains:
Wayne Grudem:
Arius taught that God the Son was at one point created by God the Father, and that before that time the Son did not exist, nor did the Holy Spirit, but the Father only. Thus, though the Son is a heavenly being who existed before the rest of creation and who is far greater than all the rest of creation, he is still not equal to the Father in all his attributes—he may even be said to be “like the Father” or “similar to the Father” in his nature, but he cannot be said to be “of the same nature” as the Father [1].
This heresy was famously condemned as heretical at the Council of Nicea in 325AD. At that council the church declared:
The Nicene Creed
I / 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 before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made [2].
Notice that the church was careful to say that Jesus was “begotten but not made.” In other words, in some mysterious way Jesus proceeds from the Father, but this does not equate to him being made by the Father—nor is his procession from the Father time-bound (he has eternally proceeded from the Father). Additionally, Jesus is composed of the same substance as the Father, and there was not a time when Jesus was not.
All of this accords with Scripture. In John 8, Jesus claims to be “I AM.” When he does this, the Pharisees try to stone him because they rightly understood that by taking the title “I AM” Jesus was claiming equal status with God the Father. And since the Pharisees didn’t believe Jesus was the messiah, they considered this to be heresy.
John 8:58
58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
Also, in Revelation, Jesus repeatedly claims to be the “Alpha and Omega” and the “The first and the last.” By these statements the Bible is saying there was not ever a reality when Jesus was not present. He is the eternal God and creator of all things.
Revelation 1:8
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
It’s important for us to recognize the full divinity and authority of Jesus in our lives, and to reject Arianism. Jesus is truly Lord. He is not almost Lord, or a lessor Lord, He is the creator and sustainer of all things who deserves to be rightly recognized as the ruler of all.
- Ben
[1] Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 243.
[2] Historic Creeds and Confessions, electronic ed. (Oak Harbor: Lexham Press, 1997). [2].
