Page 26 - God's Church through the Ages - Student Textbook

followed the views of Athanasius (homoousia – “of the same substance) – stating that Jesus was the Son of God
and was and is fully God. They adopted the Nicene Creed. Here is some of what they declared:

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God,
Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of
the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified
under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with
the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in
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glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

Do you agree with the above Nicene Creed? I hope so, for it is truly Biblical! Isn’t it
wonderful that in the very early years of the growth of the church, they studied the
Scriptures and really got it right? Thank the Lord for the faithful 294 bishops who stood
together for the Word of God. Only 6 disagreed, and were banished from their positions.

Early Christian Schism – The Council of Nicaea

Athanasius, 298 – 373 - Athanasius’ fight against heresy in the fourth century is
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a wonderful example of contending for “the faith that was once for all entrusted
to God’s holy people” (Jude 1:3). Athanasius was born around AD 298 and lived in
Alexandria, Egypt, the chief center of learning of the Roman Empire.

In AD 313 Emperor Constantine’s Edict of Milan changed Christianity from a
persecuted religion to an officially sanctioned one. A few years later, Arius of
Alexandria, a presbyter, began to teach that, since God begat Jesus, then there
was a time when the Son did not exist. In other words, Arius said Jesus was a

17 https://www3.nd.edu/~afreddos/courses/43801/creeds.pdf
18 https://www.gotquestions.org/Athanasius.htm
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