Is Jesus God? Part 2: General Background

1.    The Trinity is the belief that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. They are co-equal, co-eternal, and share the same essence. These three distinct persons make up the one God, the “triune God”. Jesus has a dual nature. He is 100% God and 100% man. This is called the hypostatic union. Jesus’ human and divine nature live together in him: he is the God-man (Mathis, 2007), (Perman 2006).

2.     The word “Trinity” is not in the Bible. The Bible never explicitly says Jesus has two natures, human and divine. The phrase “God the Son” is never used in the Bible.

3.     The Trinity Doctrine developed over time. The Apostles’ Creed, which many think is the oldest Creed still used in the Church today, perhaps even written by the Apostles, does not mention the Trinity or the dual nature of Christ. This creed many people think was written by the early apostles and followers of Jesus. The oldest form of this creed goes back to at least 140 A.D (What is the apostles’ creed, 2004). It says, 

“I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.”

I 100% affirm the Apostle’s Creed.

4.     The Nicene Creed, the most widely used Creed in Christianity, was penned in the Nicaea Council in 325 A.D. The Nicene Creed used today in churches is a combination of that council and one from Constantinople in 381 A.D. This council was in response to Arianism, which followed the teachings of Arius. Arius taught that Jesus was not God. He argued that the Father deserved glory and reverence that the Son should not have. The authors of the Nicene Creed deemed Arius’ teaching heretical.

            The Nicene Creed reads,

“I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the 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. Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end. And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets. And I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.”

The bolded text is part of what was added in the Nicene Creed from the Apostles’ Creed to denounce Arianism and clearly show that Jesus is God (Senz, 2020), (The apostles’ creed: Its history and origins, 2022).

5.     To describe Christ’s dual divine and human nature, a new word was created: “homoousias”, which means that God and Jesus are of the same substance. The concept of the “hypostatic union” was also created. This is the idea that Jesus has 2 natures, divine and human, and they are united “without confusion, change, division, or separation” (Hypostasis definition, n.d.). These terms were formally defined at the council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D. Additional councils were needed to better define the Trinity, particularly how Christ had two natures. The council of Constantinople II in 553 A.D. further helped define Christ’s dual natures, as some people were questioning this truth. The council of Constantinople III in 680 A.D. continued to address Christ’s dual natures, specifically whether he had two wills, a divine and human will. The council concluded that Christ did have two wills (Council Fathers, 680), (“Church councils – papal encyclicals”, 2017).