We are now in the section of the Nicene Creed's confession of the Son that reiterates the Son being begotten. Why re-emphasize a term that's been already introduced in the Nicene Creed? The begetting or filiation of the Son by the Father is an internal relation between the two Divine persons. The Father and the Son are equal, eternal, and of the same Divine nature in every respect, with the exception that the Father is the Father and the Son is the Son, with no confusion between their Divine identities. The Son being "the only begotten" is a Biblical description. Let's first review the terrain we covered in past posts.
The term "begotten" is a Biblical word that describes what distinguishes God the Son from God the Father (John 1:1,5; John 8:12; John 14:9; John 20:28; 1 John 5:20; Psalm 2:7; Hebrews 1:5). In posts #8 here Growing Christian Resources: Post #8 1700 Years of the Nicene Creed - "The only begotten Son of God" (P1 Arguments favorable to the doctrine of the eternal generation of the Son) and #9 here Growing Christian Resources: Post #9 1700 Years of the Nicene Creed - "The only begotten Son of God" (P2 Why the doctrine of eternal generation holds despite opposing arguments to it) The term is tied to the doctrine of eternal generation of the Son.
As I noted up above, the Son being "begotten" is what distinguishes Him from the Father. John Gill, the eighteenth century Baptist Theologian, affirms the importance of the Son being "begotten" as a lone distinguishing feature of the Son that distinguishes Him from the Father and the Holy Spirit. This is important to note, since the classical doctrine of the Trinity asserts that all three Persons of the Godhead are co-equal, co-eternal, and of the same nature in every way while remaining distinct from one another. Gill notes:1
"This nature, which they in common partake of, is undivided and it is not parted between them, so that one has one part, and another a second, and another a third ; nor that one has a greater, and another a lesser part, which might distinguish them ; but the whole fulness of the Godhead is in each."
Let me pause for a brief moment to remind the reader of our last post in which we looked at the Nicene Creed's confession of the Son being "true God of true God". Gill's comments reflect that truth of the Son being as much God by nature as the Father, hence both Persons being co-equal in every respect. Gill goes on:
"It is the personal relations, or distinctive relative properties, which belong to each Person, which distinguish them one from another ; as paternity in the first Person, filiation in the second, and, spiration in the third ; or more plainly, it is begetting Psalm 2:7, which peculiarly belongs to the first, it is being begotten, that is the personal relation, or relative property of the second Person, John 1:I4."
Gill then concludes by laying out the equality of the Holy Spirit and how He is distinct from the Father and the Son by His procession and spiration from them. Gill's point in this second part of the quote is to show that the term "begotten" helps us see why the Son is distinct from the Father, while never denying His co-equality from the Father.
As we remind ourselves of the importance of this term "begotten" in the creed, and its connection to the doctrine of the Son's eternal generation, we can note two general observations.
1. Eternal generation (and thus "begotten") explains why the Son is eternal.
First, those who argue for the eternal generation of the Son teach that Father eternally communicates to Him the entire Divine nature (or at least His identity as the Son). According to theologian Matthew Barrett, the Divine essence is shared without division from The Father to The Son:
"The concept takes us to the very heart of what it means for the Son to be a Son. He is eternally from the Father, which is why He is called Son. To be more specific, from all eternity, the Father communicates the one, simple, undivided divine essence to the Son."2
The eighteenth century Baptist Theologian John Gill explains eternal generation a little differently as the Father communicating the Son's identity, whilst both share in the common essence:
existent, and exist together in the same undivided essence; and jointly, equally, and as early one as the other, possess the same nature’. Thus, there is not one person who, in the personal ordering of the Trinity, communicates the essence to the others. There are simply three, who relate personally to one another in the essence, with each person possessing the essence of him self." 3
2. Eternal generation explains why the Son is the Son, and why the Father is the Father.
Then secondly, the distinguishing characteristic that defines the Son as "the Son" is in how the Father begets Him or what theologians call "filiates". Filiation conveys to the Son His identity as the Son, as noted already in my quotation of John Gill.
Our focus for today.
As we look today at the phrase "begotten, not made", the eternal generation of the Son by the Father is meant to convey He is not created. As we saw above, the entailments of the term "begotten" mean the Son is eternal and that He is not to be confused with the Father in terms of His identity in the Trinity. This clause in the Nicene Creed gives us a third defining feature of "begotten", namely that the Son is uncreated.
Unlike the ancient Arians, who proclaimed "there was a time when the son was not" (akin to Jehovah Witnesses today who proclaim the Son to be God's "highest created being", hence viewing the Son as an act of creation by the Father) the Nicene Creed's emphasis upon the Son being begotten of the Father before all worlds envisions an eternal, uncreated act within the Trinity.
That act-of-relation between the Father and the Son is what establishes on the one hand the eternality and equality of the Son with the Father, while on the other hand eternal generation is what distinguishes the Son from the Father. This act-of-relation, the eternal generation of the Son, is an uncreated act. To see why this is practically important to all Christians who affirm the deity of the Son in lines with the Bible and the Nicene Creed's affirmations, we need to grasp why the Son of God could be our Savior if He is "begotten, not made".
Why the Son must be "begotten, not made" to be our Savior
The whole matter of the Nicene Creed's insistence on the Son being "eternally begotten of the Father" is to show He is not only the Creator in union with the Father, but also the Redeemer. As we will explore in later posts in this series, the whole section that deals with the humanity of the incarnate Son focuses quite heavily on the mission of the incarnation - the cross and its application to sinners so moved by the Spirit to believe in the Son.
Theologian Michael Reeves delivered a wonderful address entitled: "The Nicene Creed vs Arianism" here: https://youtu.be/arIPKIg013A.
As for our focal phrase in today's post "Begotten, not made", Reeves notes the following observation:
"When one begets, you beget one who is the same being as yourself. Humans beget humans, being of the same nature as themselves. God did not beget the world, He created it. Just as humans make or create cake - something unlike themselves - God created or made the world. Humans beget humans and humans make cake. God begets the Son. Since begetting is about the same being, when we say that God begat the Son, we should expect it to mean that He is one in nature with the Son. That is the meaning of the Father begetting the Son".
What would have happened if the Son were a created being, as the ancient Arians asserted and modern-day Jehovah witnesses insist? This phrase "begotten, not made" drives home the point we find in Isaiah 43:10-11 for instance:
"You are My witnesses, 'declares the Lord, 'And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me. 11 'I, even I, am the Lord, and there is no savior besides Me."
Uniformly the testimony of Scripture is that "salvation is of the Lord" (Jonah 2:9) and as the Apostle Paul expressed in his doxology at the end of his eleven chapter exposition on the doctrine of salvation in Romans 11:36 "For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen."
The Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. and Constantinople in 381 asserted this phrase "begotten, not made" in their respective versions of the creed to drive home the point that no created Son could had provided salvation. This is the fatal flaw in modern Jehovah Witness theology.
How the Son being "begotten, not made" has relevance in modern evangelism
I recall years ago a group of Jehovah Witnesses handing out pamphlets advertising a local conference at their "Kingdom Hall" meeting place:
"Come hear about how Jesus Christ is the Savior of the World".
I pointed out to them that according to their theology, there is no way Jesus Christ could be Savior of the World. I took them to the above passages I cited. I concluded that they either had to admit their theology was in error, or stop proclaiming that Jesus Christ is Savior of the World. They of course would not do either.
Nevertheless, the phrase "begotten, not made" safeguards the central affirmation of the Gospel that the Apostle Peter affirms in Acts 10:38 "Jesus Christ is LORD". Or again, Paul writes in Romans 10:9 "If you will confess with your mouth Jesus is LORD, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."
Both Scriptures cited above use the Divine title "LORD" or "Jehovah/Yahweh" to show the Son's equality with the Father, as well as to demonstrate that He is able to save sinners just as much as the Father, since He Himself is God.
Closing thoughts for today:
The whole point of the Nicene Creed's affirmation of the Son being "begotten, not made" is to affirm three important truths.
1. First, the Son as "begotten, not made" means He is eternally equal with the Father. He is uncreated as the Father is uncreated.
2. Secondly, by being "begotten, not made", the Son is of the same substance as the Father, meaning the Father and the Son are united as One God.
3. Lastly, the Son being "begotten, not made", means He alone, touching His Divine nature, could be our Savior, since only God can be the source of our salvation.
Endnotes:
1. John Gill. Body of Divinity. Pages 98-99, Book 2. Consulted from the Digital Version available on Internet Archive here Gill's complete body of practical and doctrinal divinity: : being a system of evangelical truths, deduced from the Sacred Scriptures. : Gill, John, 1697-1771 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
2. True God from True God - Credo Magazine
3. Quoted from the periodical "Perichoresis" - Volume 20:1, article by Jonathan Swan: "John Gill (1697-1771) And the Eternally Begotten Word of God. John-Gill-(1697-1771)-and-the-Eternally-Begotten-Word-of-God.pdf
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