Page 18 - Christology - Student Textbook

Arianism
The teachings of Arianism include belief in God as “being one and only one who could never share
his being with anyone or anything else.” Further, if God shares His being with anyone, it “would
mean that there are two gods, but by definition God is absolutely unique. Moreover, this eternal and
begotten God created a Son; thus, the Son is a created being” who was “an only-begotten Son
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before eternal times. . . He made him exist at his own will, unalterable and unchangeable.” Simply
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put, Jesus is not God. Arius and his teachings were rebutted at the Council of Nicaea in AD 325,
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Council of Ephesus in AD 431, Council of Constantinople I in AD 381 , Council of Constantinople II
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in AD 553, Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, and Council of Constantinople III in AD 680-81.

Deity of Christ (Fully God)
The doctrine of the salvation hinges on the deity of Jesus Christ.
Both the Old Testament and the New Testament make strong
assertions concerning the eternality and preexistence of Jesus Christ.
Micah, in his prophesy concerning the coming ruler in Israel notes,
“from you one will go out for me, to be ruler in Israel; and his origins
are from of old, from ancient days” (Mic. 5:2 [LEB]). Micah does not
tell us when this will happen. However, what is clear is that that
ruler is from ancient days. That phrase in other translations is
interpreted as “from days of eternity” (NASB). The prophet Isaiah
notes that the child who was to be born is the “Everlasting Father” (Isa 9:6). Evangelist John adds
that the Word (Jesus Christ) was there with God the Father prior to and after the beginning of the
world (John 1:1).

Despite biblical claims concerning the deity of Christ, movements such as Ebionites and the Arians
debunked that doctrine. Lewis Sperry Chafer argued that “The Deity of the Son is asserted in the
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Bible as fully and as clearly in every particular as is the Deity of the Father or the Spirit.” Charles
Ryrie notes that “denying the deity of Christ must be accompanied by a denial of the accuracy of
Scripture, for there is simply too much evidence in Scripture for His deity to do otherwise.” To
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those who have denied its significance, Millard Erickson notes:

One of the most controversial and yet crucial topics of Christian theology is the deity of
Christ. It lies at the heart of our faith. For our faith rests on Jesus’ actually being God in human

39 Gregg R. Allison, Historical Theology: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine (Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan, 2011), 368-69.
40 Ibid., 370.

41 Cross and Livingstone, Dictionary of the Christian Church, 550.

42 Ibid., 406.
43 Ibid., 407.
44 Mark S. G. Nestlehutt, “Chalcedonian Christology: Modern Criticism and Contemporary
Ecumenism.” Journal of Ecumenical Studies, 35:2 (1998): 177-78.

45 Ibid.
46 Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1976), 1 & 2: 339.

47 Charles C. Ryrie, A Survey of Bible Doctrine (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1972).

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