Page 18 - History of Christianity - Student Textbook

Study Section 4: The Church in Favor

4.1 Connect

Has God called you to be a preacher of His Word? He certainly has called you to study His Word and
be a witness for Him. You need to realize that if you preach or teach the whole counsel of the Word
of God that some people will not like to hear what you share. Some people will not want to conform
their lives to the standards of the Bible. As a result, they will resist what you say and can even get
quite vocal about their opposition. You may even be persecuted for what you declare.

Join the club. Paul was stoned for his words. He was put in prison. Eventually, he was martyred for his faith.
We should not be surprised if the world will oppose us. After all, the world opposed Jesus Christ and put Him to
death and he did no wrong. Today we are going to learn that even though persecution ceased at this time in
church history, opposition to the truth did not. There still was a price to pay if one declared the truth of God’s
Word.

4.2 Objectives

1. The student should be able to explain the Arian controversy and how the issue was resolved.

2. The student will be able to describe the life of Athanasius and what he did to keep our doctrine of
Christ pure.

3. The student will describe the reasons for the growth of monasticism and the reason for the development of
this movement in the church.

4. The student should be able to share the accomplishments of John Chrysostom and why his life was so
important in the history of the church.

4.3 The Church in Favor

It was not long before quarrels broke out among Christians themselves about several issues: 1) the
relationship of Christ, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit; 2) how and when to observe Easter; 3)
discipline of the lapsi, 4) and discussion over the canon of Scripture. The main controversy was a
dispute heated in Alexandria, Egypt, where an aged priest named Arius claimed that Jesus Christ was
indeed more than man, but less than God (homoiousia – “of like substance”). He claimed that Jesus
was the first being that God made (today’s Jehovah’s Witnesses are basically followers of Arius and
his false doctrine).

Constantine was shocked that Christians should quarrel at all and so to abate the
problem, decided to call the first Christian council at the city of Nicaea, near
Constantinople, in the year 325 AD. From all over the Roman world more than 300
bishops came at government expense.

The Nicene Council settled that Easter should fall, as it does now, on the first Sunday after the first full moon
after the vernal equinox, which is the first day of spring. The dispute over the relationship of Christ and God
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:
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