- Chapters: [[John 1]] # Company Manifesto - Many companies have a "manifesto" that state their aims and core beliefs - In this series, we're commemorating the [[Nicene creed]], which was written to be a little bit like a company manifesto for Christian churches - Written to address important issues at the time, to help christians across the world to agree on important topics # [[Jesus]] the Son - Last week we talked about [[God]] the father, now we shall talk about [[God]] the son - [[Jesus]]'s identity was one of the core issues at the time that the creed saught to address. Fully/semi/not divine? etc # Minutes from [[Nicea]] - So why do the creeds need to be written at all, if the [[Bible]] exists? - It's more than just a summary of what the [[Bible]] says - The creed was written to give a biblical answer to the questions of the day (note the distinction!) - This is why the creed is so focused on the member of the [[Trinity]], as it was the relevant question in the 4th century - This all goes back to [[Acts]], where the [[Apostle]]s try to convince [[Jerusalem]] leaders on the [[Gospel]], but get cast out, and find much more success among [[Gentile]]s - Hence the message of [[Jesus]]'s death and resurrection spread very quickly to many different peoples with different substrate cultures - Each region had their own bishops and understandings of the text, and there was no central authority ## [[Origen of Alexandria]] and [[Arius]] - Key figure: [[Origen of Alexandria]], a teacher of the [[Bible]] who was also very engaged with the world of [[Greek Philosophy]] - Fascinated with the idea that the world we see isn't the "true" world (platonic) - Wanted to look for spiritual meaning in the text beyond what was obvious - [[John 1]] was very popular amongst this type of person - Problems with his teachings: - Very influenced by greek worldview moreso than biblical worldview - Very scattered directions of thoughts - [[Arius]] was a student of Origen, and (probably) took away the philosophy that [[God]] created [[Jesus]] - But others disagreed, with [[John 1]] as evidence: the son coexisted with the father - Countering the teachings of [[Arius]] became one the core issue to be discussed in the [[Council of Nicea]] ## The creed - Phrases like "God from God, light from light, true God from true God" were added to clarify the nature of [[God]] - The discussion at [[Nicea]] was very coloured by [[Greek Philosophy]], and many things were hotly debated about somewhat esoteric terms like "homolousious" (TODO: find the real words) - These words weren't actually found in scripture, but were key to their interpretation of the "essence" of [[God]] - As such, **it's important to understand the creed as a product of its time!** - It was choosing to emphasize some things that the [[Bible]] didn't and vice versa # What [[John 1]] has to say - Verse 18: "No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known." - Concords with the creed that [[Jesus]] wasn't just created like any other creature -- was born as a human, but not coming into existence out of nothing - In simple terms, you could say that [[God]] both does and does not have a birthday -- he is eternal, but here something within him took on flesh and became human - [[Jesus]] is "the word of the Father in human form"; begotten, not made - [[John]] does not discuss whether or not [[Jesus]] is made of the same "stuff" or "essence" as the father - But he does say that the "son has made the father known" - [[John]] is emphasizing revelation over essence/substance - Hence describing [[Jesus]] as "[[The Word]] of [[God]]": words communicate something, and looking at the son is like having the father speak to us - What matters is that we know [[God]], not specific questions about substance ## Echoes in the [[Old Testament]] - When [[Moses]] was given [[The Law]] on tablets of stone - Not just a bunch of rules for rules sake, but to show his people what He is like - But [[God]]'s people go astray, and during this time numerous prophets pointed out that they needed a "fresh word of [[God]]", something that would more clearly reveal the Lord to them - [[John]] identifies this idea with [[Jesus]] -- the word that once became manifest in tablets of stone, has now manifested in flesh, and is full of "grace and truth" # ...so that we would do the Father's works - Excessive reliance on the [[Nicene creed]]... - Can lead to overemphasis on describing exactly the relation between the father/son/holy spirit - Can get too abstract, and may stray too far from actual biblical basis - Can lead to too much focus on proving the divinity of [[Jesus]] in apologetics - What matters is not identifying the exact relationship between the three, it's to understand that the son has come down to show us what the father wants! - If we know the father through the son, we must do the works that the father gives out to us!