Post #13 1700 Years of the Nicene Creed - What is meant by Jesus Christ being "true God of true God" in the Nicene Creed

Introduction:

    We are continuing through our study of the Nicene Creed (or more specifically, the Constantinopolitan-Nicene Creed of 381 A.D). Our studies took us through the first article or major doctrinal tenet - the oneness of God in being and He identified first as the Person of the Father. 

    We have in the last several posts dove into the second article of the Creed, the co-equality of the Son with the Father in His deity and their union as One God. Three descriptive phrases in the Nicene Creed express the Son's equality of essence with the Father. 

    First, The Son of God is "the only begotten, meaning He is eternally the Son because He is eternally of the same essence as the Father, while distinct from Him in identity. The Son's being begotten is why He is the Son and not the Father, just as the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son distinguishes Him from the first two Divine persons in the Trinity. 

    Second, the Son is "God of God", referring to how the Father and Son are not two deities but one deity, or what I call a "quantitative description" that highlights their Divine union. 

    Thirdly, the Son is "light of light", equal in glory and majesty with the Father.

    As we pan out from that immediate context of the Creed we have covered so far, we see the overall section on the Person of the Son as confessed in His true deity and total humanity. I've subdivided the section into three broad divisions. I'll put in bold print what we've covered in this series, and then underline our focus for today regarding the Person of the Son.

1. The Deity of the Son.

"And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, of one substance with the Father, through Whom all things came into existence."

2. The humanity of the Son.

"Who because of us men and because of our salvation came down from the heavens, and was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man."

3. The 1st and 2nd Comings (or Advents) of the Son.

"and was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried, and rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures and ascended to heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father, and will come again with glory to judge living and dead, of Whose kingdom there will be no end."1

     In our time today we will look at that part of the Creed that describes the Lord Jesus Christ as "true God from true God". 

What difference is there in saying Jesus Christ is "God of God" vs "true God from true God"?

    It was in post #11 of this series that I had us look closely at the Nicene Creed's confession of the Son as being "God of God" here Growing Christian Resources: Post #11 1700 Years of the Nicene Creed - The Nicene Creed's Meaning Of The Son Being "God of God". Some readers may wonder what if any difference is there between that line and our current focus of the Son being "true God from true God"? When I look at these two lines in the Nicene Creed, we find the noun "God" used in two different senses: a quantitative sense and a qualitative sense.

    The first sense is what I call a "quantitative sense", meaning that the oneness of God's essence or nature is in view. To say the Son is "God of God" is describing the act of the Father eternally generating the Son. Eternal generation attempts to explain how the Son is distinct from the Father while being in union of equality and eternality with Him. 

    To put it another way, numerically we count one God, not two Gods, when using the language of the Son being "God of God" with respect to the Father. The Athanasian Creed helps us a little bit to grasp what I'm talking about now concerning the "quantitative sense" of the noun "God":

"For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, another of the Holy Spirit. But the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit have one divinity, equal glory, and coeternal majesty."2

    The second sense of the noun "God" is what I call a "qualitative sense". When we talk of the term "God" in this way, it refers to how each member of the Godhead (Godhead meaning "Divine Nature" or "Divine Essence" and "Member" meaning an eternal partaker of that Divine nature or essence) are each qualitatively bearing the totality of what it means to be God.3 

Why we use phrases "God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit" to describe the Three Persons of the Trinity

    When we use terms like "God the Father" or "God the Son" or "God the Holy Spirit", we're not postulating three deities. Instead, we're recognizing how each Person of the Trinity bears the totality of what it means to be God by nature. The Athanasian Creed again provides help in seeing what I'm calling "the qualitative use" of the term "God":

"Thus the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. However, there are not three gods, but one God. The Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, and the Holy Spirit is Lord. For as we are obliged by Christian truth to acknowledge every Person singly to be God and Lord."

    Another ancient Creedal Statements, the Chalcedonian Definition of the Son's two natures from 451 A.D, starts in this manner (note the language of "truly God").

"Therefore, following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body; of one substance with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood."

    Here we find the Chalcedonian Definition helping us further, showing how the Son as "true God" is "complete in Godhead" or completely God. Since the Divine nature or essence is indivisible, infinite, and eternal, it is impossible to speak of the oneness of God apart from either any members of the Trinity or the Trinity as a whole. 

The Son as "true God of true God" 

    To say the Son is "true God of true God" speaks not only of the totality of Divine perfection the Son is in His Deity, but also how He eternally relates to the Father as Begotten to Begetter. For the Father, He eternally relates to the Son as unbegotten to begotten. Theologian Fred Sanders in a conference message entitled "Very God of Very God" notes about this phrase in the Nicene Creed:

"God from true God means that within the reality of God there is this relation between these two (the Father and the Son").4

    Theologians refer to this act of relating as "eternal relations of origin", meaning that begetting and being begotten are what alone distinguishes the Father and the Son from one another. 

    As I noted at the start, although co-equal in every respect, the Father is not the Son, and the Son is not the Father. Nevertheless, the Father is true God by nature and the Son is of the selfsame Divine nature, ever being true God in every respect. 

How "true God from true God" is a good commentary on Jesus Divine identity in Scripture 

   As I said already, the phrase "true God of true God" is expressing what I noted earlier, a "qualitative" description of how each Person is by nature God in their own right. In John 1:1 we read this qualitative use of "God" describing the Son: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." 

    The term "Word" is in reference to the Person of the Son. Normally in the New Testament, whenever we see any of the other Divine Persons mentioned, God the Father will often be referred to as simply "God" to express Him in this qualitative sense, much like the Son. 

    Hence, to say "The Word was with God" is to say the Word was with the Father, who by nature is God. Likewise, to see John say "and the Word was God" is to say the Word was God by nature. These are qualitative statements in John's opening verse, captured in summary form by the Nicene Creed's usage of the phrase for the Son "true God from true God".

Closing thoughts:

    As we draw this post to a close, we've noted how the Son is "true God of true God". We discovered the following entailments of this phrase.

1. The Son is truly God by nature. 

    To say the Son is "true God of true God" is to say He is in a qualitative sense the totality of deity, expressing every perfection as much as the Father. 

2. The Son is truly God in the same way as the Father. 

    This phrase second captures how the Son in His eternal relation with the Father is "begotten" from Him. The other phrases preceding "true God of true God", namely "God of God" and "light of light" describe what we will discuss in later posts, namely how the Son is of the same substance as the Father or one in being. The phrase "true God of true God" is a qualitative statement, meaning that the Son's deity is inseparable from the Father's eternal generation of the Son. 

3. The Son as "true God of true God" shows an eternal relating in action from Father to Son. 

    In addition to the Son's personal nature as God and His eternal relating to the Father as the only begotten Son, the phrase "true God of true God" shows movement within the Trinity between the Father and the Son. The Father begets or filiates the Son, with the Son in turn revealing the invisible Father in their shared glory (see John 17:1-5). 

    This phrase is appropriately in the center of the section on the Son's deity within the Nicene Creed. The totality of Him being God by nature establishes the overall Creed's confession that He is of the same substance as the Father, with both being one God by nature.  

Endnotes:

1. Anything worth studying and benefitting requires careful thinking. My hope is this series of posts prove uplifting to the reader as well as informative. The whole point of the Creed was to offer a summary of essential Christian truths, as well as to provide a confession of faith across the centuries.

2. John 10:30 gives Scriptural authority for what this phrase in the Nicene Creed is attempting to capture, where Jesus says "I and the Father are One". Jesus taught His disciples about the union He and the Father have in deity by employing the "He is in me, and I in Him" language (John 14:11-12). That's using the noun "God" quantitatively, emphasizing that with respect to the Divine essence, the Father and Son are "One".

3.  The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit are each Divine subjects (called "Persons" or "personae" from the Latin Church Father Tertullian or "hypostases" from the Greek speaking church fathers like Gregory of Nyssa). These Divine subjects act in unity of will, power, and intellect (not as three centers of consciousness as if often expressed among contemporary theologians). 

4. Fred Sanders: True God from True God. Readers will find this lecture from Dr. Sanders to be an excellent summary of our focus phrase "True God from True God". This particular quote is at about the 29:15 mark in the video. 

     

    

Post #12 1700 Years of the Nicene Creed - Biblical Meaning Of The Son Being "Light of Light" In The Nicene Creed

 

Introduction:

    So far in our series on the Nicene Creed, we have looked at what theologians sometime refer to "the First Article", namely the confession of the Father as "One God, the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth, of things visible and invisible." 

    We then began serval posts back looking at the "second article" of the Creed, the Person of the Son. The deity of the Son is affirmed in the following lines:

"And in one Lord Jesus Christ, 

the only begotten Son of God, 

begotten of his 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".1

     I've bolded the phrase "light of light" in the excerpt above, since it is what we want to cover in today's post. It is the middle phrase in the Nicene Creed's treatment of the deity of the Son. What we want to do to observe key Biblical passages that utilize this metaphor of "light" to explain what is meant by the Son being "light of light". We will look at four main headings to guide us through the Biblical witness.

1. The Son being "light of light" means His light refers to His uncreated deity.

2. The Son being "light of light" refers to He and the Father eternally relating within the Trinity.

3. The Son being "light of light" means He could perform redemptive acts as God.

4. The Son being "light of light" means the Father and the Son illuminating the New Heavens and Earth with unending, uncreated light as One God.

Biblical passages that reveal God being light.

    We begin with examples in the New Testament from each of the major Biblical authors in the New Testament letters. I begin here because it is this part of Scripture where the fullest revelation of the Trinity is given. I want to work back toward the Old Testament, since the New Testament authors draw so much of what they write from the Hebrew Scriptures. We will then loop back to statements made by Jesus Himself pertaining to He being the light of deity.

1. The Son being "light of light" means His light refers to His uncreated deity.

    We begin with the Apostle John in 1 John 1:5 "This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all." This usage of the term "God" refers to the totality of the Godhead, the Divine nature that is found equally in all three persons of the Trinity. James, the half-brother of Jesus, wrote of the Father in James 1:17 "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." 

    Thus we are reminded that when we first talk of God as He is in His Divine essence, we cannot go far without also mentioning the Trinity, beginning with the Father. The relational source of and conveyance of the Divine nature of unapproachable light issues forth from the Father, to the Son, and then in turn the Father and Son to the Holy Spirit. Thus, the Son being "light of light" means His light refers to His uncreated deity.

2. The Son being "light of light" refers to He and the Father eternally relating within the Trinity.

    The New Testament authors squarely declare God is light, and the First Person of the Trinity, the Father, is in His Person the totality of that Divine light that characterizes what it means to be God. The Son too, being declared by the Nicene Creed as "light of light" also possess the fullness of this light of deity. Note Paul's words in 1 Timothy 6:15-16 "that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen."

    This remarkable text affirms that the Son is too the light of deity by nature in the same way as the Father. Hebrews 1:3 attests further: "And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high." Other New Testament texts that assert what the Creed is attempting to summarize the Son to be as "Light of Light" in other words conveying the same idea: Colossians 1:16: 2 Corinthians 4:4; Revelation 1:16-17; Revelation 21:3l; and Revelation 22:5.

How the Old Testament develops the understanding of the Divine nature through the imagery of light

    What then does the Old Testament have to reveal about God being light? Psalm 104:2 gives this striking statement about Yahweh, Jehovah, with reference to the totality of deity that is the being of God: "Covering Yourself with light as with a cloak, stretching out heaven like a tent curtain." As we trace the revelation of God as light, we already get the sense of movement within the Divine essence of God. Habakkuk 3:4 "His radiance is like the sunlight; He has rays flashing from His hand, and there is the hiding of His power." 

    If we couple Habakkuk 3:4 to Hebrews 1:3, we see the Father radiating the light of Deity, and the Son being that very radiance. In the experience of the Old Testament Jewish nation, God revealed Himself as a "pillar of fire" by night and a cloud by day (Exodus 13:21; Exodus 14:20; Nehemiah 9:12). When God spoke to Moses from the burning bush, light and fire was the expression He gave as the uncreated one sustaining the bush by not consuming it (Exodus 3:1-14).  Thus, the Son being "light of light" means His light refers to His uncreated deity, as well as 

referring to how He and the Father eternally relating within the Trinity.

3. The Son being "light of light" means He could perform redemptive acts as God.

   God as light includes His revelation as the Redeemer (Psalm 27:1; Job 29:3; Proverbs 4:18). It is this same God whose light of deity will illuminate the New Heavens and New Earth to light the way for the resurrected saints (Isaiah 2:5; 60:1-2; 60:19). The final revealed book of the Old Testament in our English Bibles, Malachi, predicts what would be the forthcoming Messiah, which Malachi ascribes as "the Sun of righteousness" (Malachi 4:2). Although the Old Testament's revelation is not as sharp, we can still resolve the conceptual imagery of God as a whole, along with Yahweh of Israel or God the Father, along with a Divine Personage having that same light, whom the New Testament reveals of course as the Son, Jesus Christ. One more point about Jesus being the "light of light" as expressed in the Nicene Creed.

4. The Son being "light of light" means the Father and the Son illuminating the New Heavens and Earth with unending, uncreated light as One God.

    Light then is associated with what it means to be God. As we return back to the Gospels, we find Jesus referring to Himself as that same light we've already explored (John 8:12; John 9:1-2). Jesus in His preincarnate state was revealed already as "The Light" who reveals the Divine glory of God to all in general revelation (John 1:9). The Apostle Peter notes how salvation involves Christ calling us out of darkness and into "His marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9). 

    Jesus Christ the Son is "Light of Light", equal yet distinct from the Father of heavenly lights. As He shared with the Father uncreated light in eternity and in His pre-incarnate state, the same will still hold true in eternity future for Him as the incarnate Son of God. In church history, the late third century theologian Origen writes a striking set of comments on Jesus Christ being the very light and effulgence of Deity in his work "On First Principles", Book I, Chapter 1:

"For what other light of God can be named, in which any one sees light, save an influence of God, by which a man, being enlightened, either thoroughly sees the truth of all things, or comes to know God Himself, who is called the truth? Such is the meaning of the expression, In Your light we shall see light; i.e., in Your word and wisdom which is Your Son, in Himself we shall see You the Father."2 

    The Apostle John writes in Revelation 21:23 how the Son of God will shine as "light of light" for all the redeemed to see:

"And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb."

Key points about God being light from the Scriptures

    As we have surveyed the Biblical record regarding God as light, we have explored the following takeaways about the Son of God being called "light of light" in the Nicene Creed.

1. The Son being "light of light" means His light refers to His uncreated deity.

2. The Son being "light of light" refers to He and the Father eternally relating within the Trinity.

3. The Son being "light of light" means He could perform redemptive acts as God.

4. The Son being "light of light" means the Father and the Son illuminating the New Heavens and Earth with unending, uncreated light as One God.

    Before we conclude this post, we cannot forget the Person of the Holy Spirit. Scripture attests to how He as well is "Light". We know for instance when He came on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, He lighted upon those present as flames of fire. By the Scriptures which He inspired, the Holy Spirit enlightens our eyes (Psalm 19:8); our minds (1 Corinthians 2:10-13); while shining the light that shows us the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:19). 

Endnotes:

1. There two key terms in this part of the Creed that I underlined. The first as to do with the Son being "begotten" of the Father. We've spent a great deal of time in previous posts detailing the meaning of the term "begotten". The second underlined term that we will get to in later posts is "being of one substance", a translation of the Greek noun "homoousios", which was a term wrestled over in the events leading up to the Council of Constantinople in 381. The former term deals with the equality and distinctiveness of identity the Son has with the Father in the Trinity. The latter phrase "being of one substance" handles how the Son is an equal sharer, equal participate in the Divine essence with the Father, with both Divine Persons distinguished as Begetter and Begotten. 

2. CHURCH FATHERS: De Principiis, Book I (Origen)

Post #11 1700 Years of the Nicene Creed - The Nicene Creed's Meaning Of The Son Being "God of God"

Introduction:

    In our last post here Growing Christian Resources: Post #10 1700 Years of the Nicene Creed - "Begotten of the Father before all worlds"I had summarized the statements in the Nicene Creed that help shed light on the confession of the Son being "the only-begotten". Note below:

1. His expressed identity. 

"the only-begotten Son of God",  

2. His eternal generation.

"begotten of the Father before all worlds" 

    In today's post we want to study what is meant by the Creed's statement of the Son as "God of God". In the last post I had a summary heading for that phrase...

3. His equality and unity with the Father. 

    "God of God," 

    To say the Son is "God of God" is to say He is equal in all perfections and being with the Father within the Trinity. Additionally, to say the Son is "God of God" is to affirm that He and the Father are "One" in being. One God. For interested readers, I'll draw out three senses that the noun "God" is used in the Nicene Creed, and what further nuances the phrase "God of God" is capturing to describe the Son as "the only begotten of the Father" in the endnotes following this post.1 

    His equality with the Father is due to them both having complete unity of nature or Divine essence. This idea of the Father and the Son being referred to as "God" is spoken of in the Bible. Note below.

1. Psalm 45:6-7 "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. 7 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of joy above Your fellows." Within the eternal filiation or begetting of the Son by the Father, the Father speaks to the Son in this way. We know Psalm 45:6-7 is giving us a close-up look of the Father and the Son by what we read in Hebrews 1:8-9.

2. Hebrews 1:8-9 "But of the Son He says, 'Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom. 9 'You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness above Your companions.” The eternal Son is addressed as "God" by the Father who is also "God". Yet Scripture expresses time and again that we're not dealing with two deities, but one. For example, take what Jesus says in John 10:30.

3. John 10:30 "I and the Father are one." Not one in purpose, as the Jehovah Witnesses are fond to say. Rather, this is "One" in being. The unity of the Father and the Son, with the Son being "God of God", co-equal and in union with the Father, is the emphasis. We see further elaboration by the incarnate Son of God on this in John 5:26.

4. John 5:26 "For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself." Only God has "life in and of Himself", or what theologians call "Divine Aseity". Aseity, from the Latin "a se" (from oneself) speaks of the self-existence and self-sufficiency of God. When God revealed His personal Divine name to Moses in Exodus 3:14 as "I am who I am", Divine aseity or self-sufficiency was in view. The Father's bestowal of aseity to the Son, an eternal act, independent and prior to time, is what the term "God of God" attempts to capture. We can see this in another New Testament text - John 1:18.

5. John 1:18 "No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him." Without getting into the textual-critical technicalities, the NASB translation here represents a good textual history for the reading "only-begotten God". When I read the phrase in the Nicene Creed "God of God". It is this verse which comes to my mind.  

    We could cite other cross-references, yet we have enough Scripture here to show that the Nicene Creed's "God of God" is a Biblical summary of the unity and equality of being the Son has with the Father. 

Athanasius, the lead defender of Christ's deity at the original Nicene Council of 325, helps us unpack this phrase "God of God" that we have in the 381 Nicene Creed.

    Shortly after the Nicene Council in 325 A.D, the church father Athanasius wrote a theological treatise that functions as part commentary, part history of all that went on at the Nicene Council. He comments on the wording of the first Creed of Nicaea's article on the Son, which is worded as follows:

"And in One Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father (the only begotten; that is, of the essence of the Father, God of God)."

    I'm so thankful we have that initial creed, since it tells us plainly what the 381 Nicene Creed means by its comparatively abbreviated treatment of the Son in its article. Compare:

"And in One Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God"

    Athanasius comments on this part of the Creed of Nicaea of 325 (which aids us in discerning "God of God" in the Nicene Creed of 381) in his book "de decretis" section 20. I'll bold the relevant section to our post:

"but since the generation of the Son from the Father is not according to the nature of men, and not only like, but also inseparable from the essence of the Father, and He and the Father are one, as He has said Himself, and the Word is ever in the Father and the Father in the Word, as the radiance stands towards the light (for this the phrase itself indicates), therefore the Council, as understanding this, suitably wrote 'one in essence,' that they might both defeat the perverseness of the heretics, and show that the Word was other than originated things." 2

    If Athanasius had been still alive in 381, I'm almost certain he would had said a hearty "amen" to the 381 Creed's phrase "God of God". Remember, Athanasius was there in the thick of the proceedings of the Council of Nicaea in 325 as it combatted the Arian heresy's denial of the deity and equality of the Son with the Father. 

    The phrase "God of God" served to summarize the orthodox commitment to the unity and equality of the Son to the Father. This phrase "God of God", quite literally from its original Greek "God out from within God" echoes Jesus' famous "I in Him, He in me" statements about He and the Father's equality and unity in John 14:9b-11,

"He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves."

Closing thoughts:

    What is meant by the Son being "God of God"? This phrase confesses the co-equality of deity with the Father, as well their unity of deity as One God. The Divine nature is never divided, diminished, nor somehow changed between the Father and the Son. When we get to later posts on the Nicene Creed's section on the Holy Spirit, we will find its language expresses this same dual emphasis of equality/unity that the Holy Spirit shares with the Father and the Son. 

    What's the take away here? When I pray to the Lord Jesus Christ, I am praying to God. When I pray to the Father, I am praying to God. Two Persons, One God. By extension, I can say the same of the Holy Spirit, hence "Three Persons, One God". As I pray, in addressing the Father or the Son, I automatically include the other Divine Person, since the Father and Son together are One in essence. To know the Son of God is infinitely able to help me in every day life, uphold my salvation, and sustain all of existence gives great comfort to my fears. Jesus Christ as "God of God" enables me to know the Father. As Jesus Himself states in John 14:7 "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” 

Endnotes:

1. When we look at the noun "God" in the Nicene Creed, we must become familiar with the different ways this word is used in Trinitarian theology to help us understand the Creed's statement of the Son being "God of God".

A. "God" speaks of the whole Trinity.

    In the opening line of the Creed, the term "God" is referring to what will follow, namely a confession about each member of the Trinity. The noun "God" expresses the One, undivided essence shared by all three. The Father, like each of the three persons, bears the Divine nature as a member of the Trinity. The phrase used to describe the Son as "God of God" is used similarly. 

    So, sometimes the term "God" can refer to how the totality of the Divine essence, in a qualitative sense, defines each member of the Godhead. Together, all three Persons are One God, quantitatively, and as members of the Trinity, each Person is qualitatively truly God, bearing all the perfections that define what it means to be God.

B. "God" speaks to how one member of the Godhead relates to another member of the Godhead.

    When I use the term "Godhead", I'm referring to the Divine nature itself. When we talk of the term "God", it also can refer not only to each member of the Godhead, but also how the Father relates to the Son, the Son relates to the Father, and how the Holy Spirit relates to the Father and the Son, and they to Him. We see this use in the Creed by the description of the Son as "very God of very God". The phrase "very God of very God" is expressing what I noted earlier, a "qualitative" description of how each Person is by nature God in their own right. 

    The act of the Father eternally generating the Son, with the Son an eternal recipient of the Divine essence and His identity as the Son, is captured in the phrase we're focusing upon in this post - "God of God". This is a "quantitative" use of the term "God", meaning there is only one Divine essence shared between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 

C. "God" refers particularly to the Person of the Father. 

    Sometimes the noun "God" in the Creed refers to the Person of the Father in particular. We see this usage in the Creed's statement about the Son as "the only begotten Son of God". It is not saying the Son is a lesser deity. Rather, the term "God" as used here refers to the Father as whom we look to when beginning to look at the revelation of the Trinity, God as a personal, infinite being, and He as the fount of the eternal relations between Him and the Son and the Holy Spirit. The "Godness of God" is conveyed without origin in and by the Person of the Father. 

2. CHURCH FATHERS: De Decretis (Athanasius) Section 20

Post #10 1700 Years of the Nicene Creed - "Begotten of the Father before all worlds"

Introduction:

    The last two posts in this series  handled the proper translation of the term "monogenes" or "begotten" in the Nicene Creed. I devoted time to that one word, since it figures so prominently in the Creed's confession of the deity of the Son. 

    I will not review the arguments I made for showing why the term "begotten" is the best rendering of the underlying Greek term in the creed - "monogenes". The doctrine to which this idea of "begotten" points is the doctrine of the Son's Eternal Generation. Interested readers who want to review may review the last two posts 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 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).

    What we want to deal with in this post is the Nicene Creed's phrase "begotten of the Father before all worlds". 

How the Creed explains the Son as "the only begotten"

    It may help us to lay out the phrases of the Creed that serve to expound the main phrase in this section on the deity of the Son, "only-begotten".

1. His expressed identity. 

"the only-begotten Son of God",  

2. His eternal generation.

"begotten of the Father before all worlds" (our focus today)

3. His equality of position with 

    the Father.

"God of God," 

4. His effulgent glory

"Light of Light," 

5. His essence

"very God of very God;" 

6. He as eternally uncreated

"begotten, not made," 

7. His equality of nature with the 

    Father.

"being of one substance with the Father," 

8. His eternal power with the Father

"by whom all things were made." 

What is meant by "begotten by the Father before all worlds".

    So why does the Nicene Creed go to the trouble to express the begetting of the Son as "begotten by the Father before all worlds"? As we labored in the previous two posts, the doctrine of the Son's eternal generation is in view. 

    Eternal generation tells us that in the Trinity, the Father has always eternally communicated the Divine essence and the specific identity of "son-ness" to the Son. Hilary of Poiteirs (310-367 b.c.) expounds this point in his book "On the Trinity", Book 3, chapter 1, section 3:

"He therefore, the Unbegotten, before time was begot a Son from Himself; not from any pre-existent matter, for all things are through the Son; not from nothing, for the Son is from the Father's self; not by way of childbirth, for in God there is neither change nor void; not as a piece of Himself cut or torn off or stretched out.....Incomprehensibly, ineffably, before time or worlds, He begot the Only-begotten from His own unbegotten substance, bestowing through love and power His whole Divinity upon that Birth."1

    As Hilary noted, The Father's eternal generating of the Son isn't a creative act as would be a human father begetting a child. Eternal generation is outside time, independent of time, before time, and thus had no beginning. This interrelating between the Father and the Son isn't a willful act. Creation is a willful act of all three Persons of the Trinity - with the Father decreeing it, the Son designing it, and the Holy Spirit delivering the final touches to complete it. Eternal generation of the Son by the Father originates eternally from within the eternal relation of the Father and the Son as Trinitarian Persons, sharing one, undivided nature.

    The doctrine of eternal generation teaches that without the Son there is no Father; and without the Father there is no Son. The Father's filiating or begetting of the Son has occurred eternally from within the Divine nature shared by both the Father and the Son. What may help us to explain the Nicene Creed's meaning here is by appealing to its predecessor, the Creed of Nicaea of 325 A.D. 2

      As the Council of Nicaea convened originally in 325, they crafted that original Creed, which in its section on the deity of the Son read as follows:

"And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten, begotten of the Father before all ages.  Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten not made, of one essence with the Father by whom all things were made."

    The 325 A.D. Creed of Nicaea  is similar to the later 381 Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed which we are studying in this post series.

    At the end of the 325 Nicene Creed, a section that condemns the teaching of Arius is included. That section, called an "anathema", helps clarify the later 381 Nicene Creed's statement of the Son being "begotten of the Father before all worlds".

"But as for those who say, "There was when He was not", and, "before being born He was not", and "that He came into existence out of nothing", or who assert that "the Son of God is from a different hypostasis or substance", or is created, or is subject to alteration or change – these the Catholic Church anathematizes." 

    Both versions of the Creed are wanting us to be certain that when we confess the Son to be "begotten of the Father before all worlds", that it is not talking about a creative event. Rather, this is an act between the Father and the Son, within the Godhead, that has went on for all eternity, without beginning. 

    One more thing about this phrase "begotten of the Father before all worlds". The nineteenth century Church historian Phillip Schaff published his study of the Greek and Latin texts of the Nicene Creed of 381. As for the Greek text of this phrase, understanding the underlying Greek grammar can shed further light on what the Creed is trying to communicate. 

    I'll walk us through, phrase by phrase, the Greek text, along with an English translation, and then some explanation of what is happening in the grammar. Hopefully this will help us to slow down enough to soak in what the Creed means by "begotten of the Father before all worlds". 

Walking through the Nicene Creed's statement of the Son "begotten of the Father before all worlds". 

1. First Phrase. 

Καὶ εἰς ἕνα κύριον ἸΗΣΟΥΝ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΝ, 

"And in One Lord JESUS CHRIST"

    The word translated "and" (Καὶ) is a conjunction that connects two portions of the Nicene Creed. The first part is the opening statement about the Father as "Maker of Heaven and Earth, of things visible and invisible". What follows after the conjunction (the word "and") gives an overview of the Son's equality with Father.

2. Second phrase.

τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ τὸν μονογενῆ, 

"The Son of God, the begotten one"

    The phrase translated "the begotten one" (τὸν μονογενῆ = ton monogenay) is what grammarians call an "appositional phrase", meaning the author(s) are explicitly bringing out the main feature that distinguishes the Son of God (τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ = ton hooweeon too theoo). He is not just any Son. He isn't merely a unique Son. He is eternally generated by the Father. It is this manner of the Son's relation with the Father that makes him distinct from the Father, with whom otherwise He is equal in all respects. 

3. Third phrase.

τὸν ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς γεννηθέντα 

"The One who from-within the Father is begotten"

    The definite article "the one who" (τὸν = ton) and the participle it modifies, "begotten" (γεννηθέντα = gennaythenta), are one unit of meaning "the one having been begotten". For interested readers, I'll put the grammatical details of this word translated "begotten" in endnotes of the end of today's post.3 

    As noted already, there is no God Father unless there is a Begotten God the Son. Jesus Himself taught this John 14:10 "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works." Now let's get to the final phrase of our overall focus in this post today of "Begotten of the Father before all worlds".

4. Fourth phrase.

πρὸ πάντων τῶν αἰώνων

"before all ages (i.e. worlds)

    The Greek noun τῶν αἰώνων (tone aionione) is translatable as either "worlds" or "ages". This is a Greek figure of speech referring to activity occurring before "time" or "history". In eternity, the Son was eternally generated from the Father. There was no creation of the Son, in other words. 

Final application.

    As we close out today, the main take-away of the Nicene Creed's phrase "begotten of the Father before all worlds" is to show the eternality of the Person of the Son. This section of the Creed is followed by eight other statements that amplify and clarify the overall doctrine of the Son's eternal generation from the Father. Establishing the Son's eternal pre-existence combatted the heresy of Arianism, which denied the Son's true deity, making him no more than a created being. In the next several posts we will explore the remaining statements that shed further light on the only-begotten Son of God in the Nicene Creed.  

Endnotes:

1. To read Hilary's chapter in his "On the Trinity", readers may access the link here CHURCH FATHERS: On the Trinity, Book III (Hilary of Poitiers)

1. The original Creed of Nicaea of 325 was drafted to combat the dreaded Arian Heresy. Arius taught that the Son of God was the highest created being of the Father. Arius was so subtle in his heresy that He even used the phrase "only-begotten" as evidence of the Son being created. For him, just as earthly fathers beget sons, it must be the case that the Father's begetting of the Son means "there was a time when the Son was not" - a favorite phrase of Arius. 

2. A participle in Greek is a "verbal adjective", meaning it is a descriptive verbal unit that tells us something about the Son - namely He is being begotten. Furthermore, the participle is in the "passive voice", meaning were told of what is happening to the Son, namely He being begotten. As a final note on this participle, it is in the "aorist", meaning it is portraying the whole act of the Son being begotten. Unless the participle is tied to a particular verb, there usually isn't any connection to time. 

    The article and its participle have between them the prepositional phrase that tells us whence the eternal generation of the Son flows - "from within the Father". The preposition "ek" (ἐκ) that is translated in most English translations of the Creed as "from" has the additional nuance in the Greek of "from within". What this means is that the Son is so intimately united with the Father that His begetting relation is "from within" the Father. 

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)

Introduction:

    In the last post 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),we began to look at that part of the Nicene Creed that asserts that Jesus Christ is "the only begotten Son of God". This is what the Nicene Creed says in its opening lines about God the Son:

"And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God"

      I want to review first the main reason we are taking extra time on this phrase "only-begotten". It all has to do with the doctrine of the Son's "eternal generation" from the Father.

Review: What is the doctrine of eternal generation about?

    In the last post we looked at how the Greek word "monogenes", translated "begotten" in the Nicene Creed, is connected to what is known as "the doctrine of eternal generation." In the last post we defined this doctrine along two lines. 

1. First, those who argue for the eternal generation of the Son teach that Father eternally communicates to Him the entire Divine nature. In eternal generation, the Divine essence is shared without division from The Father to The Son. 

2. 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. 

    Eternal generation is not creation. 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", eternal generation is an eternal act within the Trinity. 

    Theologian Matthew Barrett summarizes the main points of eternal generation in his book "Simply Trinity", pages 167-175. I'll supply headings and scripture to bring home what Barrett states.

1. The Divine essence is not reduplicated by the Father in eternal generation. "When the Father begets he communicates the one (simple) divine essence to His Son, but He does not multiply the Divine essence." Barrett later says: "Not only is the Divine nature not multiplied, it is not divided." Scripture supports this first idea in John 5:26 from Jesus Himself: "For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself."

2. The Son is eternally equal in all respects to the Father. Barrett comments on the eternality of the Son's generation: "And if eternal, then the generation of the Son is not the generation of a lesser being (made in time or before time) but the generation of a Son who is equal in deity to His Father." Hebrews 1:8 "But of the Son He says, Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom."

3. The Triune God undergoes no change with the Son's eternal generation. "The Son's generation involves no change in the Trinity." What Barrett means here is there is no change in the number of Divine persons (from one to now two or three). There has only ever been Three Persons. He also means there is no diminishing of the Divine nature, where God the Father has more deity than the Son. The Father and Son are equal in all respects. God's Divine immutability still holds in the eternal relation between the Father and Son. Hebrews 1:10-12 "And, 'You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of Your hands; 11 They will perish, but You remain; and they all will become old like a garment, 12 And like a mantle You will roll them up; like a garment they will also be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not come to an end.”

4. Eternal generation is an act within the Trinity, between the Father and the Son. Barrett finally notes that the generation of the Son by the Father occurs within the Trinity, not outside, meaning the Father is not creating a lesser being. David writes in Psalm 2:7 “I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You." We know this is in reference to an eternal acts between the Father and the Son, as in Hebrews 1:5 "For to which of the angels did He ever say, “You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You”? And again,
“I will be a Father to Him And He shall be a Son to Me”?

    The doctrine of eternal generation, as noted, centers around a particular word in the New Testament that is translated "begotten" in older English translations, the word "monogenes". Five key passages which we looked at in the last post are direct proof-texts used by those affirming the doctrine of eternal generation and the translation "begotten" (John 1:14; 1:18; 3:16; 3:18; 1 John 4:19). That summarizes what is meant by the doctrine of eternal generation. 

Not everyone is a fan of the doctrine of eternal generation

    However, over the last century scholarly opinion has suggested that the term "monogenes" ought be translated "one and only" to highlight the uniqueness of the Son of God over against adopted sons (i.e. those born again in saving faith, see for instance Romans 8:14-16) and that special class of created angelic beings called "sons of God" (Job 38:7). 

    In so far as the second Person of the Trinity is certainly unique as compared to those other two classes, the point of those advocating monogenes to mean "one and only" or "unique" is to do away with what is in their view un-necessary speculation about the eternal relation between the Father and the Son. 1

    If we were to apply this more recent set of suggestions, the Nicene Creed would read something like this:

"And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the one and only Son of God".

    In this post, I'll mention a couple of thinkers that oppose the doctrine of eternal generation and the translation of monogenes as "only-begotten". I will then end the post with why eternal generation of the Son as "only begotten" is still the preferred position.

Some suggest that the doctrine of eternal generation is unnecessary, and instead the Person of the Son is distinguished from the Father another way

    Two theologians whom I would otherwise consider sound in their doctrine have in the past denied the doctrine of eternal generation of the Son. Drs. Bruce Ware and Wayne Grudem have at various points attempted an alternative approach to describing what distinguishes the Father and the Son. Both men assert the co-eternality and co-equality of the two Divine Persons in the Godhead. For them though, the distinction lies in various roles of authority and submission.

    God the Father, for Ware and Grudem, is the lead authority in the Trinity, while the Son eternally submits to Him. This view, known as "eternal subordination of the Son" or "ESS", or "Eternal Relationships of Authority and Submission" or ERAS, sees the Son as subordinated in role, not essence or being to the Father. Grudem for instances writes in the second edition of his systematic theology:

"This priority of the Father (or leadership role, or authority, of the Father) with respect to the Son is a consistent pattern in Scripture that is true prior to creation."

    Grudem takes the doctrine of eternal generation to be about roles and positions between the Father and Son, while all the while continuing to affirm the Father and Son's eternal equality and unity of nature. 

    As Ware and Grudem apply this to understanding the roles of male headship in marriage, they argue that the marriage relationship is patterned off of what they claim is an authority structure within the Trinity. As much as I support the distinct roles and equal value of the husband and wife in marriage, I cannot find evidence in Scripture that directly links that pattern as drawn from equality and distinction within the Trinity. 

    ESS advocates will point to representative passages to show the Son's role of submission to the Father. For instance, in John 5:19, Jesus taught: "Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner."2

  The failure at times to distinguish the work the Trinity does in our world from how the Three Persons are within the Godhead is among the weaknesses of the Eternal Subordination of the Son (ESS) view. Theologian Charles Lee Irons evaluates the ESS view and then makes this observation:3

"The urgent question that must be faced by theologians who want to retain and aspect of eternal functional subordination theology is whether it is possible to relate these two divergent understandings of Sonship: is the Son's identity grounded in eternal generation or in eternal obedience?"

    For Irons, such an attempt (as done by Drs. Bruce Ware and Wayne Grudem) is fraught with too many tensions. Eternal generation affirms without qualification the equality of the Son to the Father, making the distinction between them only about the Begetter (The Father) and the Begotten (the Son). 

    The unintentional effect can be if we also add "roles" or "authority" language to the Father and Son, the ESS position can almost sound similar to the beginnings of the heresy of Arianism, which flat-out asserts the Son's subordination as a created being. 

Why eternal generation of the Son still best explains the term "monogenes" or only begotten in the Bible and thus the Nicene Creed

    Since around 2016, Drs. Bruce Ware and Wayne Grudem have changed their minds about denying the doctrine of eternal generation of the Son. In Wayne Grudem's 2nd edition of his "Systematic Theology", he ends up affirming the doctrine of eternal generation. However, he still holds to the eternal submission of the Son to the Father as a second way of distinguishing the two Divine persons.4 Their change of opinion is commendable, since it takes a lot of humility to express how one has changed their mind on a major issue in print. Still, the tensions in their view as I described above shows how relatively fragile the ESS view can be compared to the time-tested view of eternal generation. 

    When I look at another modern example of someone changing their mind on the doctrine of eternal generation, Dr. John MacArthur, the difference is He didn't try to hold onto a viewpoint that would had tension with the doctrine. MacArthur's change of mind to affirming eternal generation led to him sharpening and preaching a more robust doctrine and defense of the Son's equality with the Father.5

Why "begotten" better captures the eternal relation between the Father and the Son than the rendering "one and only".

   As we draw this post to a close, let me offer one final argument to reinforce why the doctrine of eternal generation and the translation of "begotten" is most appropriate as summarized by the Nicene Creed's handling of the Scriptural data. Many modern translations have taken the stance to render "monogenes" as uniformly "one and only" or "unique". The problem I have in translating "monogenes" as "one and only" or "unique" is it assumes that rendering is the only way to translate that word. 

    There are places of course where "monogenes" refers to the sole offspring of someone without other children (Judges 11:34 in the Greek translation of the Old Testament or Septuagint, also Luke 7:17; 8:42; 9:38). However, there are cases where "monogenes" carries the additional meaning of a special, covenantal, or even transmission of spiritual identity from a father to a son (take for instance Abraham and Isaac in Hebrews 11:17). In other words, to translate "monogenes" as one and only in those contexts may risk under-translating the passages that deal with the eternal relations of the Father and the Son (John 1:14; 1:18; 3:16 for example).6

Final thought. 

   Despite modern efforts to deny the doctrine of eternal generation, or to do away with the translation "begotten", for the reasons cited near the end of this post, I would argue that the doctrine of eternal generation as expressed in the Nicene Creed still holds. 

Endnotes:

1. The "unnecessary speculation" referred to here has to do with the doctrine of the eternal generation of the Son. For some, this view is a by-product of Greek philosophical thinking imported into the history of theological reflection on the Son. Further, opponents of eternal generation assert the Nicene Creed itself betrays this Greek influence, spelling out its doctrine of eternal generation with allegedly no Biblical support. Some notable authors of the recent past who had reservations about the doctrine of eternal generation and the translation of "monogenes" as "only-begotten" were such notables as B.B. Warfield and New Testament Greek Scholar F.J. Hort. The latter began the idea that "monogenes" ought be translated "one and only" or "unique", prompting many English translators to gradually render "monogenes" as "one and only", especially in the last twenty five years.

2 Those promoting the eternal submission of the Son (ESS) doctrine will use such a passage to prove their point. However, when one carefully reads what Jesus is teaching, the passage is not advocating an eternal submissive role of the Son to the Father within the Trinity. Instead, Jesus is describing how He and the Father act inseparably in our world, what theologians call "inseparable operations". 

    When the Son became incarnated, He in His humanity yielded to the Father and submitted Himself under the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit. Whenever we see the Trinity at work in creation and salvation, we call their work an "economic work". In other words, for the sake of creation, God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit will work in a particular ordered pattern or economy. The Son is sent by the Father, for example, and the Spirit is sent by the Father and the Son. God in His revelation operates this way for our sakes. However, within the life of the Trinity itself, we do not see such ordering, since the only things distinguishing the Father from the Son is the Son being begotten of the Father. The Holy Spirit's distinction from the Father and the Son lies in His proceeding from the Father through the Son (see John 15:26).

3 On Classical Trinitarianism. Edited by Matthew Barrett. Intervarsity Press. 2024. See chapter 23 in that book. Charles Lee Irons, Only Begotten Son, page 440-441. 

4 The doctrine of eternal generation teaches that the Father has conveyed to the Son the Divine essence without beginning, meaning that the Son, begotten of the Father from eternity, is equal and not lesser than the Father. It would seem that this would create a tension in Grudem's system, since eternal subordination of the Son does make the Son under the Father in position as ever submitted to Him. 

5 Here is the link to MacArthur's full statement on how he changed his mind on the doctrine of eternal sonship. Reexamining the Eternal Sonship of Christ

6 Take for instance in Hebrews 11:17, where Isaac is offered by Abraham. In many more recent translations (LSB, NASB 2020, CSB, NIV, ESV), Isaac is referred to as Abraham's "only" or "one and only" son. On the other hand, the KJV, NKJV, and MEV render Isaac as Abraham's "only begotten" son. If we were to translate monogenes as "one and only", that would neglect Abraham's other son, Ishmael, who came before Isaac by 13 years. Isaac is the son of promise, a special, spiritually significant begetting that transmits the promise of God given to Abraham to his son Isaac. As for the eternal Son of God, his "begetting" by the Father is an eternal act between the Father and the Son. 

    The Divine nature is shared in such a way between the Father and the Son that without the Son being begotten by the Father, there would be no Father. Likewise, without the eternal conveyance of "Son-ship" to the Son by the Father (as noted earlier, "filiation"), there would be no Son. The act of begetting is what makes the Father the Father, and being begotten by the Father is what makes the Son the Son. 

    No other means of distinction (whether differing roles, or heretical route of differing natures, as proposed by Arius) suffice to preserve consistently the equality of the Father and Son in essence with their distinct identities within the Godhead. The Apostle John captures this point when he records Jesus saying in John 6:65 - "For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself." This equality and union in nature is expressed by Jesus in John 14:9 "Jesus said to him, 'Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father?" 

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)

Introduction:

    I spent the last three posts expressing the Biblical understanding of Jesus Christ being the only way to God. Readers may review that series here Growing Christian Resources: Part One: One God, One Way, One Faith - A Defense For Why Jesus Is The Only Way of Salvation here Growing Christian Resources: Part Two: One God, One Way, One Faith - A Defense For Why Jesus Is The Only Way of Salvation and here Growing Christian Resources: Part Three: One God, One Way, One Faith - A Defense For Why Jesus Is The Only Way of Salvation. As we return back to our series on the Nicene Creed, I refer readers back to the last post I had done a few weeks back for sake of review here Growing Christian Resources: Post #7 1700 Years of the Nicene Creed - "And in one Lord, Jesus Christ"  We observed in that last post how the Divine title "LORD" is used in the New Testament to attest to the Son's Divine nature in union with the Father on the one hand, while affirming His distinction from the Father in the Godhead on the other. 

    What will follow in this post and in the next post will be a look at the current discussion among theologians on what the Creed means by its use of the term for the Son as "the only begotten". The term "begotten" (Greek noun "mono-gin-ay" = μονογενη) has become a subject of discussion and debate among Biblical theologians, church historians, and New Testament Greek scholarship over the last one hundred and fifty years, most notably the last twenty-five years. At issue is the historic teaching of what is known as "the eternal generation" of the Son from the Father, affirmed by the Nicene Creed yet questioned today by some theologians. 

    In this post, I'll present arguments favorable to the idea that the Greek term "monogenes" (the word used to translate "only-begotten" in older English translations, such as in John 3:16), as well as in the Nicene Creed. In the next post I'll explore arguments that dispute this claim, and instead argue that the term "monogenes" ought be translated "one and only", as well as resisting the doctrine of eternal generation. 

The term "only-begotten", does it only mean "one and only" or it is referring to the eternal generation of the Son as "only begotten"?

    When we talk about the doctrine of "eternal generation", what do we mean? In the history of theological reflection, two live options are discussed. Some theologians, such as Charles Hodge, would advocate that the personhood of the Son, rather than the essence, as conveyed by the Father to the Son.1 

    What is meant by this is that between the two Persons of the Father and the Son, the only distinguishing marks are that the Father "filiates" or "begets", and the Son is "begotten". These personal properties are what ensure we do not confuse the Father with the Son, or the Son with the Father. This at least expresses a foundational point of the doctrine of the Trinity, keeping in mind the distinctions between the Father, Son, and Spirit while affirming their equality of glory, power, and eternity in the Godhead.

    Others, such a Herman Bavinck, and the original defender of the Son's deity at the Council of Nicaea, Athanasius, would argue that eternal generation is the Father's communication of the entire essence to the Son, without beginning, from all eternity.2 To say the Son of God is "eternally generated" is meant that to Him is the entire Divine nature, point for point, with all perfections, eternally and without origination communicated by the Father to the Son. Either understanding (whether the Father begets the substance of deity or personhood to the Son) still results in affirming the Divine persons of the Father and Son being co-equal, sharing in the same undivided nature of the Godhead, and distinguished from each other respectively as begetter and begotten.  

    Charles Lee Irons, a leading proponent of the notion that the phrase "only-begotten" refers to the eternal generation of the Son from the Father summarizes his view with leading Scripture references from John's Gospel using the term "only-begotten" or "monogenes":

"Traditionally, the doctrine of the eternal generation of the Son was supported by an appeal to the five Johannine texts in which Christ is identified as monogenes (Jn 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18; I Jn 4:9). As early as Jerome's Vulgate, this word was understood in the sense of 'only begotten' (unigenitus), and the tradition was continued by the Authorized Version."

    Dr. Irons then summarizes what has been the controversy surrounding this term:

"However, most scholars of this century reject this understanding and believe, instead, that the idea behind the word is more along the lines of 'only' (RSV) or 'one and only' (NIV)." 2 We will look at some of these objections in the next post.

The main passages used to support the eternal generation of the Son as the true meaning of "mono-genes" or "only-begotten".

   To remind ourselves again, those who argue for the eternal generation of the Son teach that the Son of God is "eternally generated", meaning that that Father eternally communicates to Him  the entire Divine nature, point for point, with all perfections. Also, the distinguishing characteristic of the Son, "begottenness", is conveyed by the Father to Him, with the Father Himself being the unbegotten Person, hence distinguishing Him in identity from the co-equal and co-eternal Son. 

    There are proof texts that theologians in favor of this doctrine appeal as direct evidence for the doctrine, and then a handful of passages that theologians would say are indirect proof-texts.

Direct proof-texts for the eternal generation of the Son from the Father

John 1:14 "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."

John 1:18 "No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him."

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

John 3:18 "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

1 John 4:19 "By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him."

    In addition to these five Johannine proof texts, a few others that convey the teaching of the eternal generation of the Son are used. In Proverbs 8:24-25, Wisdom is personified and described as "brought forth" from God before creation of anything else: 

“When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. 25 “Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills I was brought forth." 3

Indirect Proof Texts

    Although the following other passages do not use the term "only-begotten", the idea of the Son being eternally generated by the Father is resident in their various phrases. Colossians 1:16-17 "For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything." I've highlighted four phrases in Paul's words here in Colossians. 

    The first three bolded phrases portray the Son as responsible for creation, rather than being created, as some groups like the Jehovah Witnesses would advocate. The term "firstborn" is a Greek noun that refers to inheritance more so than just mere birth-order. The Son of God was promised in eternity, by the Father, that He would inherit all of creation before it was made (compare Psalm 2:8; 82:8).

    There are other indirect proof texts we could offer, but for sake of space let me submit Psalm 2:7 "I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You." The word "today" in context is not referring to there at that moment. Sometimes in the Bible, the term "day" can refer to an indeterminate period of time, or even eternity itself.4

The Nicene Line and clarifying the Creed's confession of the Deity and humanity of the Son

    As we close out today's post, I wanted to refer to a recent lecture Dr. Fred Sanders gave at the Credo Conference back in May of 2025 here (1081) Fred Sanders: True God from True God - YouTube, on the phrase in the Nicene Creed about Jesus Christ being "God of very God". In the talk, Sanders used a very helpful tool that aids greatly in clarifying what the Creed is communicating about the Person of the Son in terms of His deity and humanity. I'll reproduce what he said below by way of a red line he used in his lecture to draw attention to the Nicene Creed's confession of God the Son.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,

      the only Son of God,

      begotten from the Father before all ages,

      God from God,

      Light from Light,

      true God from true God,

      begotten, not made;

      of the same essence as the Father.

  Nicene Line----------------------------------------

      Through him all things were made.

      For us and for our salvation

      he came down from heaven;

      he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and 

      the virgin Mary,

      and was made human.

      He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate;

      he suffered and was buried.

      The third day he rose again, according to the 

             Scriptures.

      He ascended to heaven

      and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

      He will come again with glory

      to judge the living and the dead.

      His kingdom will never end.

    Why did Dr. Sanders draw his red line between the phrases "of the same essence as the Father" and "through whom all things are made"? In his lecture, he points out that the Creed is delivering to us the entire narrative of the Son of God, eternally pre-existent with the Father above the red line, and then becoming incarnated in history below the same line. 

    What the "Nicene Line" does is help us "tell the story of Jesus", marking out what He is by nature as God above the line, and then reminding ourselves that though taking unto His person a total human nature below the line, He was still retaining all His Divine attributes which are spoken of Him above the line, especially in that phrase "through whom all things are made". This tool at least can help us keep term "only begotten", in mind as we see it situated within the larger context of the Nicene Creed's confession of the equality of the Son's deity with the Father. 

Next time....

    In the next post I'll write more about the discussion on the term translated "begotten" (monogenes), noting some arguments that prefer to translate the term "one and only", as well as denying the need for the doctrine of the Son's eternal generation.

     

Endnotes:

1. Theologian Lorainne Boettner summarizes this view of the Father conveying the personal property of "begottenness" to the Son in eternal generation as coming from Charles Hodge. On page 121 of his "Studies in Theology", Boettner quotes Hodge's "outlines in theology" as follows: 

"an eternal personal act of the Father, wherein, by necessity of nature, not by choice of will, He generates the person (not the essence) of the Son, by communicating to Him the whole indivisible substance of the Godhead, without division, alienation, or change, so that the Son is the express image of His Father's person, and eternally continues not from the Father, but in the Father, and the Father in the Son".

2. https://www.monergism.com/son-generation-or-filiation 

From Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics: God and Creation, transl. John Bolt, and John Vriend (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2004), 2.308–310.

Theologian Herman Bavinck writes this about eternal generation: "divine generation implies that the Father begets the Son out of the being of the Father, “God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father,” as the Nicene symbol has it." 

Bavinck then uses this analogy:

"Just as the human mind objectivizes itself in speech, so God expresses his entire being in the Logos [Christ]." 

 Bavinck later on expands on the Father's begetting of the Son in this doctrine: "Creation is 'the bringing into being, from the outside and not from the substance of the Creator, of something created and made entirely dissimilar [in substance],' while 'begetting' means “producing of the substance of the begetter an offspring similar in substance to the begetter.' The Son is not a creature but he is “God over all, forever praised!” (Rom. 9:5 NIV). Accordingly, he was not brought forth by the will of the Father out of nothing and in time. Rather, he is generated out of the being of the Father in eternity. Hence, instead of viewing “generation” as an actual work, a performance (ἐνεργεια), of the Father, we should ascribe to the Father “a generative nature” (φυσις γεννητικη). This is not to say, of course, that the generation is an unconscious and unwilled emanation, occurring apart from the will and power of the Father. It is not an act of an antecedent decreeing will, like creation, but one that is so divinely natural to the Father that his concomitant will takes perfect delight in it. It is a manifestation of what is truly expressive of his nature and essence, and therefore also of his knowledge, will, and power, in fact of all his virtues."

2. The Upper Register: Papers and mp3's by Lee Irons. 

3. The Hebrew verb translated "brought forth" is the verb "chul" חוּל. In Proverbs 8:25, the verb חוּל is in a verbal form called the "hophal", which refers to wisdom being brought forth by another. We can tell the writer of Proverbs is advocating an eternal act of God bringing forth wisdom, not as a creation, but as an act from within His nature, by how this same verb is used in Job 15:7, which uses irony in the mouths of one of Job's supposed friends, contrasting creation with bringing forth: "Are you the first man who was born?Or were you brought forth before the hills?" The second part of Job 15:7 is set in eternity, since the phrase "before the hills" is a Hebrew idiom for eternity. As we look again at Proverbs 8:25, the Greek translation of this verse in the Septuagint uses the Greek verb "gennao" (γεννᾷ) which means "to birth, to bring forth, to beget". It is argued by those favoring the doctrine of eternal generation that this Greek verb is the root of the noun "monogenes" (only begotten). In ancient church fathers such as Athanasius, the prime defender and exponent behind the wording of the Nicene Creed, Proverbs 8:25 was a main proof text along with the passages in John's Gospel for the eternal generation of the Son. 

4. God the Father is referred to as "The Ancient of Days", a title that is a round-about-way of speaking of His Divine eternity or eternal nature. In 2 Peter 3:12, the Apostle Peter writes of the "Day of God" in reference to what will be the New Heavens and New Earth that will begin eternity future following Christ's earthly reign (see also Revelation 21-22). Thus, the idea of "day" used in Psalm 2:7 speaks of the Father begetting or communicating the Divine nature to the Son, without beginning, thus indicating that the Father and the Son have forever related as Begetter and Begotten Persons within the Godhead.