Begotten In The Fourth Century

Submitted By carrpee
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Pages: 4
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The church in the fourth century faced the concerns of the unity between God, the Father and His son. Arius claimed the Son is not eternal with the Father but only created by the father. He bases his argument on the term “begotten.” Arius felt that this term “begotten,” meaning created, identifies that the Son of God was created not eternal and therefore makes them separate in deity. Arius believed that the son had a beginning but only God is without beginning. The son is a creature not eternal.

As Arius’ view brought dispute with Alexander, Constantine decided to hold a council known as the “First Ecumenical Council In Nicaea.” The councils involved the church bishops and non-Episcopalian rank. It was out of this Council that the Nicene Creed was created and confirmed that the Son shares God’s divine nature. The Nicene Creed states “we believe in one God, Father, all-sovereign, maker of all things seen and unseen: and in one Lord Jesus Christ the son of God begotten from the father as only begotten, that is from the substance of the father.” (Bingham,47) Later the Second Ecumenical Council was held and the Creed of Constantinople was created. This Creed added the third part of the trinity, the Holy Spirit, to the equation. It ratified the Nicaean Creed and reflects faith concerning the Holy Spirit. The Constantinople Creed confirms the addition with the statement “and we believe in the Holy Spirit the lord and life giver, who proceeds from the father and who is worshipped and glorified together with the father and son, who spoke through the phrophets. “ (Bingham, 50) It was at this same time the church confirmed the word “begotten” does not mean the trinity is separate. It is shared fully and equally together. As the Trinitarian faith was becoming more fully developed, the question of who Christ was to humanity came into play. This led to the holding of the Fourth Ecumenical Council. It was at this council that the idea of “Word becoming flesh” was explored. There are three accounts of this idea known as the “Word-flesh” Christology. One assumption, led by Apollinarius, states that Jesus was only human by His flesh but not in mind, soul and spirit. Operating as an immaterial being. In contrast to this view, the church also rejected the Nestorian view, which proclaimed Christ as being fully divine and fully human. The last of the Christology accounts is the viewpoint by Eutyches. Eutyches felt the human nature of Christ had been absorbed by the divine nature. (Bingham,52)

All of the views were attempts to understand the deity of Christ in relation to humans and God. The conclusion that was reached at Nicaea was that the Son was deity. All of the “Word-Flesh” Christology interpretations were rejected by the church during the Fourth Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon. The Chalcedonian creed defines the oneness of God and the differences of the divine natures. The divine and human natures are distinct yet not separated. Both natures exist without overpowering or absorbing one another. The councils of Nicaea,
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