Jesus as God: A Survey of Church History with W. Robert Godfrey

Devotional

Day 1: When Emperors and Bishops Wrestle with Words

A small city becomes the stage for history’s first universal church council. Three hundred bishops gather under imperial gold and purple banners, some bearing scars from persecution. Their debate over Christ’s divinity fractures the room, but a young deacon named Athanasius insists truth cannot be negotiated. The air crackles with tension as they reach for a word—homoousion—to define the undefinable. [02:03]

“There was much dispute… And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, ‘Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you…’” (Acts 15:6–7a, ESV)

Reflection: When have you faced tension between unity and truth? How might Peter’s courage in Acts 15 guide your next hard conversation?

Day 2: Standing Against the World for a Single Letter

A single Greek letter—iota—becomes the line between orthodoxy and heresy. Athanasius refuses to compromise, even as emperors exile him five times. The difference between “same substance” and “similar substance” isn’t wordplay but the difference between worshiping Christ or a creature. Some call it stubbornness; he calls it faithfulness. [13:19]

“Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 1:3, ESV)

Reflection: What truth feels worth contending for in your life? How does Jude’s urgency shape your courage when others dismiss “details”?

Day 3: Begotten, Not Made—The Creed That Changed Everything

The Nicene Creed’s four words—“begotten, not made”—shatter Arius’ teachings. This isn’t poetry but precision: Jesus shares the Father’s divine essence, not a creature’s borrowed glory. When worship leaders chant these lines today, they echo a council that refused to demote Christ to heaven’s highest angel. [09:31]

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14, ESV)

Reflection: How does “begotten, not made” reshape your view of Jesus’ authority? What changes when you worship a Creator rather than a creation?

Day 4: Embracing the Unfathomable Without Explanation

Infinity. Immensity. Trinity. The council admits what Scripture reveals but reason cannot fully map—God exceeds human categories. Like children describing the ocean with thimbles, we confess divine mysteries not to explain God but to honor His otherness. Heretics demand tidy systems; saints kneel before wonder. [20:47]

“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” (Deuteronomy 29:29, ESV)

Reflection: What divine mystery have you tried to “solve” rather than embrace? How might Deuteronomy 29:29 free you to worship beyond understanding?

Day 5: When Persecution’s Fire Confirms Faith’s Triumph

Julian the Apostate’s dying sneer—“You have won, pale Galilean”—unwittingly confesses Christ’s victory. Every exile, riot, and imperial threat only deepens the church’s roots. The Trinity survives not because emperors enforced it but because martyrs embodied it. Heresies fade; resurrected truth remains. [17:33]

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life… nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:37–39, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you seen faith strengthen through opposition? How does Paul’s confidence in Romans 8 steady you when truth feels besieged?

Sermon Summary

The Arian controversy moved from Alexandria into the wider life of the church because Arius would not simply accept the discipline of Bishop Alexander. Arius had powerful friends, Alexander had a serious charge, and both sides appealed to the emperor. Imperial power liked being appealed to, but Constantine did not know exactly what ought to be done, so the suggestion of a great council gave him a way to bring the bishops together.

The Council of Nicaea became the first ecumenical council, a universal gathering of about three hundred bishops. The scene itself was remarkable. Bishops who had once been maimed in imperial prisons now entered an imperial palace and were greeted by Constantine in gold and purple as “most dear brothers.” That kind of welcome impressed them, but it did not make the debate easy.

The real question was simple and huge: who is Jesus in relation to the Father? Arius said the Father created the Son, so the Son may be the greatest of creatures, but He is still only a creature. Other answers did not work either. Multiple gods violated the Old Testament’s clear witness that there is one God. Modalism protected oneness, but lost the real distinction between Father and Son, even leading some to say the Father died on the cross.

Nicaea answered with the word homoousion, “same substance.” The Father and the Son share the same divine essence. Alexander and Athanasius saw that this word would “flush him out,” because Arius could hide behind biblical-sounding language while denying biblical truth. The Nicene Creed therefore confessed Jesus as “God of God, Light of light, very God of very God, begotten not made, being of the same substance with the Father.”

The controversy did not end cleanly. Some tried to soften the word into homoiousion, “similar substance,” while others stayed with a different substance altogether. Constantine later treated the fight like “a battle in a tea cup” and tried to force everybody back together, but Athanasius refused to restore Arius. Athanasius contra mundum became the picture: Athanasius against the world, standing for truth.

Trinitarian orthodoxy finally triumphed at Constantinople in 381. The doctrine of the Trinity is mysterious, but its pieces are clear: there is one God; the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Spirit is God; and the three Persons are distinct. The mystery is not a defect. God is infinite, eternal, omniscient, and immense, and creaturely minds should not be shocked that God’s own life goes beyond full comprehension.

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Key Takeaways

1. Technical words can guard Scripture Homoousion was not an attempt to replace the Bible with philosophy. The word served as a trap to catch an evasion, because Arius could sound biblical while emptying the Son of true deity. Careful language can become an act of faithfulness when loose language allows error to hide in plain sight. [08:56]
2. Christ is begotten, not made The creed’s phrase “begotten not made” strikes directly at the heart of Arianism. The Son is not the highest creature, not the first product of divine will, and not a lesser being standing between God and creation. The Son belongs to the very life of God, “very God of very God.” [09:31]
3. Orthodoxy may stand almost alone Athanasius contra mundum names more than a heroic personality. Truth can appear outnumbered, politically inconvenient, and costly to defend, especially when peace is demanded at the expense of confession. Faithfulness sometimes looks like refusing the easy settlement that leaves Christ diminished. [04:10]
4. Power cannot manufacture true peace Constantine wanted everybody to get along, but enforced unity could not heal a false confession. The emperor could depose a bishop, call a council, and threaten exile, but imperial pressure could not make Arianism compatible with the gospel. Peace without truth becomes only a quieter form of disorder. [14:02]
5. Mystery does not cancel clarity The Trinity exceeds full human understanding, but the basic biblical pieces are not vague. Scripture gives one God, three divine Persons, and real distinction between Father, Son, and Spirit. The inability to explain God exhaustively should not be confused with the inability to confess God truly.

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Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:37] - Constantine Faces the Arian Controversy
[01:16] - The First Ecumenical Council Is Called
[02:03] - Why Nicaea Was Chosen
[02:45] - Bishops Enter the Imperial Palace
[03:29] - The Question of Father and Son
[04:10] - Athanasius Against the World
[05:37] - Arius and the Created Son
[06:13] - Rejecting Multiple Gods and Modalism
[08:17] - Homoousion and Same Substance
[09:31] - The Nicene Creed Confesses Christ
[11:06] - Nicaea’s Church Discipline and Easter
[13:19] - Three Parties After Nicaea
[17:33] - Constantinople and Trinitarian Orthodoxy
[19:22] - The Trinity’s Clear Biblical Pieces

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

John 1:1-3
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

John 1:14
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Deuteronomy 6:4
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”

Observation questions

In John 1:1-3, what three things are said about the Word at the beginning, and how do those statements hold together both distinction from God and true deity? [19:49]
According to John 1:3, what is the relationship of the Word to creation, and how does that challenge the claim that the Son is Himself a creature? [05:20]
In Deuteronomy 6:4, what clear truth about God had to be protected when the church answered the question of who Jesus is? [06:13]
What wording in the Nicene Creed was used to rule out the idea that the Son was created, and what key phrase was used to confess His full deity? [09:31]

Interpretation questions

John 1:1 says the Word was with God and also was God. Why was it important to confess both truths instead of choosing only one side? How would choosing only one side lead either toward Arianism or toward modalism? [07:47]
John 1:3 says all things were made through the Word. If everything made was made through Him, what does that suggest about whether the Son belongs on the creator side or the creature side?
Deuteronomy 6:4 insists that the Lord is one. Why would any explanation of Jesus that turns Father and Son into two gods fail to fit the Bible’s teaching? [19:37]
The word homoousion is not a Bible word, yet it was used to protect Bible truth. When can a careful theological term be helpful rather than harmful, especially when false teaching uses biblical-sounding language? [08:56]

Application questions

Jesus is not a lesser being but “very God of very God.” How does that shape the way this group approaches worship, prayer, and trust in Christ? Where might someone still be treating Him as less than fully divine in practice? [09:37]
There is a kind of peace that asks everyone to get along by blurring the truth. When has there been pressure to stay quiet about something important for the sake of keeping things calm? How can truth and peace be pursued together without sacrificing either one? [14:02]
Faithfulness can sometimes feel lonely, as in the picture of standing against the world. Where might someone be tempted right now to soften conviction because holding fast feels costly or unpopular? [04:49]
The Trinity is mysterious, but mystery is not the same as confusion. How does someone usually respond when there are truths about God that cannot be fully explained? Does that lead more often to humility, frustration, worship, or avoidance? [20:32]
The church had to learn that biblical-sounding words can still hide serious error. What are some ways Christians today might use familiar language about Jesus while quietly emptying it of its real meaning? [08:38]
John 1:14 says the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. How does it encourage the heart to know that the one who came near in human flesh is the same one through whom all things were made?
“The LORD is one” remains a non-negotiable truth. In everyday Christian life, what helps keep both parts in view: that God is one, and that the Father, Son, and Spirit are each truly God and truly distinct? [19:22]

Sermon Clips

Athanasius was not standing up for a rational principle. He was not using a technical theology to establish the reign of rationality. He was standing up for the Bible. He was standing up for the fullness of what the Bible said about God and about Jesus, and that's why this Nicaean orthodoxy has really stood the test of time, and has served the church so well. [00:22:31]

But one thing we have to hold on to is that the essential Trinitarian teaching is Biblically clear and simple. That's not to say there aren't lots of things to explore, and lots of ways in which we need to deepen our understanding of the Trinity, but when we speak of the Trinity we say, "There is one God." We do not compromise it. That's what the Bible teaches, that's what we believe, there is one God; there is only one God. [00:19:16]

Also we find clearly stated in the New Testament, the Father is not the Son, and the Son is not the Spirit, and the Spirit is not the Father, so very clearly we have in the Bible all of the critical working pieces of the doctrine of the Trinity -- One God, three Persons who are all divine, and the Persons are distinct from one another, but still one God. [00:20:03]

Arius and defenders said, "Well you can't impose that word on us, that's not a Biblical word, we're just being Biblical." You always have to worry about people who resist theological technical terms in the name of being Biblical, and at least examine whether they're not trying to hide something. [00:08:45]

At this council then, there was this discussion, "Well, how can we express the fact that the Father and the Son are both divine, but are distinct?" And they came up with a word, homoousion in Greek, which is translated "same substance" in English. The Father and the Son share the same divine substance, they are homo, which is the Greek word for same, ousion, which is the Greek word for being or substance or essence. They are the same substance. [00:07:47]

Another idea is that there are really two or more Gods. That the Father is God and the Son is God, but they're different Gods. That's kind of what the Mormons teach. But that of course runs against the whole Jewish tradition that Christianity had inherited that there is one God. If there's anything you learn from the Old Testament, it's that there is one and only one God. So, if there is only one God, the option that the Father and the Son are different Gods doesn't really work. [00:05:59]

In fact, you know when you pause and think about it, most of things we say about God really boil down to saying, "He's not like us. We're finite," it means we're limited in time and space, and we say, "God is infinite." Do you really understand infinity? If you do, come and talk to me after, because I don't. What infinite really is is not finite. [00:20:54]

Everybody should just get along. The problem is, for everybody to get back together, Athanasius, now bishop of Alexandria, has to lift the ban of excommunication against Arius. And guess what? He refuses to do it. And guess what? He's exiled and deposed by the emperor, and a new bishop is put in his place who'll do what the emperor tells him to do. [00:14:06]

Now when you think about it, there are a limited number of options as to how to understand the relationship of the Father to the Son. The one that Arius was promoting really was that the Father created the Son. So the Father is God, and the Son is a creature. [00:05:14]

But as we look at the Bible, we have many verses that say very clearly, "The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God." Those statements are clear in the New Testament. [00:19:49]

There was another option advanced by some in the early part of the church called modalism, and modalism says that there's just one God, and Father and Son are just different names for the one God. So when Jesus is on earth, He's the Son, that's His title, but His person is really the person of the Father, because there's only one God. [00:06:37]

Now I understand that R.C. did a series called The Mystery of the Trinity, and the Trinity as a doctrine can be difficult, can't it? It's sometimes a difficult doctrine to explain to people, and we've seen that in some of the critique of Islam against Christianity, "Well you claim to believe in one God, but you really have three Gods," and it's hard to explain to outsiders, sometimes hard to really grasp as insiders the doctrine of the Trinity. [00:18:47]

Athanasius, a man of great courage, of great faithfulness, and of great insight into theological truth, and Athanasius would later become bishop of Alexandria, and become the key defender of orthodoxy, and he would actually be exiled five different times, thrown out of his church, and then called back, always defending the truth. [00:04:18]

What did happen then was that orthodoxy began to establish itself, and finally a new emperor, Theodosius, in 381 calls a follow-up ecumenical council, the second ecumenical council at Constantinople, and it reiterates, it reiterates what Nicaea had said about orthodoxy. And this then really is the final moment of the victory of Trinitarian orthodoxy. [00:17:48]

And Julian decided the very best way to ruin Christianity was to just let all the different Christian groups fight with one another as openly as possible, and Julian was in some ways kind of clever about that. [00:16:20]

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