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beforHim

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Well, alright. Look, doesn't the Nicene Creed claim that Jesus was God in substance?
There's no line in the Nicene Creed that says "Jesus is [or was]God in substance". It does says, "God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, of one substance with the Father". I don't see the phrase "Jesus is [or was]God in substance".

I read butch5's reply, and I see how it could be misinterpreted to mean this- I don't think that's what the creed means. I believe the creed's intent was to show that Jesus, ie The Word, was of the same substance of the Father. This is why I was confused.
 
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Hoghead1

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It says "of one substance" with the Father, however.
 
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beforHim

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Totally agree with this.

Jesus said that He came out of God. God begot a Son. So what ever the Father is made of the Son is also made of. It's just like a human gives birth to a human. God gives birth to God.
Agree with this.

This is what I'm confused about:
When did the early Christians say "Jesus was God in substance". Maybe you're meaning something different by it, than what I'm getting from it. The phraseology of the creeds was meticulously and very carefully done, as we know, so seeing a phrase like that attributed to them, confuses me.
 
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Butch5

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There is one God, the Father. Jesus is God in essence. As Jesus said, the Father is the only true God. One God is about authority. There is not literally one god. Paul acknowledges that the pagans have their own gods.

5 For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)
6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. (1 Cor. 8:5-6 KJV)

To the Christian there is only one God, the Father. Jesus is God in the sense that He was birthed from the Father. He is of the same substance or essence. But, He is not the ultimate authority, that is the Father.
 
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beforHim

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It says "of one substance" with the Father, however.
Yes it does. This is not the same as, Jesus was God in substance. Unless you're getting something different from the phrase "Jesus was God in substance" then I'm getting from it.


Just fwiw- I feel kinda silly and annoying, to keep pushing this.
I hope that I haven't annoyed you too much, by my constant pushbacks. OK, carry on
 
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Butch5

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Here is the opening of the Nicene Creed.

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.

 
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Butch5

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When I say Jesus was God in substance I mean He is of the same substance as the Father.
 
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beforHim

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To the Christian there is only one God, the Father. Jesus is God in the sense that He was birthed from the Father. He is of the same substance or essence. But, He is not the ultimate authority, that is the Father.
Would we say, he was birthed from eternity, or in eternity, or has been eternally birthed, meaning Jesus/The Word has been around for all eternity? This is how I've always heard it. ie "eternally begotten". Being eternal would, I think, be necessary for Him to be God.
 
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Hoghead1

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OK, so, what you are saying is that the Father and Father alone is God, the Boss of bosses, strictly speaking?
 
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Hoghead1

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Yes, the traditional understanding was that Jesus was "begotten, not made,' meaning he had always been there. A favorite metaphor the early fathers used was that of teh sun and sunlight. The Father is the Sun, the Son and Spirit are the light beams coming from the Sun. Just has there was never any Sun without sunlight, so there was never a time when the Son and Spirit weren't there.
 
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throughfiierytrial

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I stand by what I quoted.Again, here are the passages I cited...
Isaiah 9:6-7:
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.

The child and the son are of course Jesus Christ. Passages go on to say: and He will be called Wonderful Counselor (that is the Holy Spirit), the Mighty God (self explanatory), Everlasting Father (self explanatory).

Your contention is that the Holy Spirit is not mentioned, you also say the Holy Spirit is not mentioned in the Gospel of John...this is not accurate. See these verses in John...
John 14:15-17:
"If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever--the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him...

The Counselor is the Holy Spirit Whom Jesus later bestows to His apostles...
John 20:22:
And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

More John passages mentioning the Holy Spirit...
John 14:25-26:
"All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

John 15:26:
"When the Counselor comes whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, He will testify about me.

John 16:7-11:
But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. When He comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

Other Gospels contain more words regarding the Holy Spirit...our Wonderful Counselor.
 
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Butch5

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Gonna have to disagree. The Scriptures say that the Father is the Father of Jesus. That the Holy Spirit came upon Mary shows that the Holy Spirit is not a separate person but rather is the Father, in a limited sense of course.

There were not three co-equal beings prior to the incarnation. In the beginning there was God the Father. At some point He begat a Son. That Son later became flesh as the man Jesus. Ignatius speaks of the Son being begotten before all worlds as does the Nicene Creed. This first quote is of particular value because Ignatius was a disciple of the apostle John. The apostle John is the one who tells us that the Word was in the beginning with God the Father and John is the one who taught Ignatius

Ignatius Letter to the Antiochians Chapter 14
I write this letter to you from Philippi. May He who is alone unbegotten, keep you stedfast both in the spirit and in the flesh, through Him who was begotten before time began! And may I behold you in the kingdom of Christ! I salute him who is to bear rule over you in my stead: may I have joy of him in the Lord! Fare ye well in God, and in Christ, being enlightened by the Holy Spirit.


Early Church Fathers - – Ante-Nicene Fathers: The Writings of the Fathers Down To A.D. 325.

Justin Martyr Second Apology Chapter 6
But to the Father of all, who is unbegotten there is no name given. For by whatever name He be called, He has as His elder the person who gives Him the name. But these words Father, and God, and Creator, and Lord, and Master, are not names, but appellations derived from His good deeds and functions. And His Son, who alone is properly called Son, the Word who also was with Him and was begotten before the works, when at first He created and arranged all things by Him, is called Christ, in reference to His being anointed and God’s ordering all things through Him; this name itself also containing an unknown significance; as also the appellation “God” is not a name, but an opinion implanted in the nature of men of a thing that can hardly be explained.
Early Church Fathers - – Ante-Nicene Fathers: The Writings of the Fathers Down To A.D. 325.

Ireneaus Fragment 53
With regard to Christ, the law and the prophets and the evangelists have proclaimed that He was born of a virgin, that He suffered upon a beam of wood, and that He appeared from the dead; that He also ascended to the heavens, and was glorified by the Father, and is the Eternal King; that He is the perfect Intelligence, the Word of God, who was begotten before the light; that He was the Founder of the universe, along with it (light), and the Maker of man;
Early Church Fathers - – Ante-Nicene Fathers: The Writings of the Fathers Down To A.D. 325.

Tertullian Against Praxas Chapter 7
Then, therefore, does the Word also Himself assume His own form and glorious garb, His own sound and vocal utterance, when God says, “Let there be light.” This is the perfect nativity of the Word, when He proceeds forth from God—formed by Him first to devise and think out all things under the name of Wisdom—“The Lord created or formed me as the beginning of His ways; ” then afterward begotten, to carry all into effect—“When He prepared the heaven, I was present with Him.” Thus does He make Him equal to Him: for by proceeding from Himself He became His first-begotten Son, because begotten before all things; and His only-begotten also, because alone begotten of God, in a way peculiar to Himself, from the womb of His own heart—even as the Father Himself testifies: “My heart,” says He, “hath emitted my most excellent Word.”
Early Church Fathers - – Ante-Nicene Fathers: The Writings of the Fathers Down To A.D. 325.
 
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Hoghead1

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Yes, I am well aware of that. However, what I am wondering abut is the Holy Spirit. Originally, the Creed said almost nothing abut the Spirit. The section we now have was a modification of teh original creed, dating to about 500 AD. Even so, it never says that the Spirit is Deity or of one substance with the Father.
 
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Hoghead1

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In the Nicene Creed, her it states Jesus is "of one substance" with the Father.
 
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Butch5

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That's not how it was understood in the beginning. Eternally begotten doesn't work. How is one being born forever? Whatever the Son is He was birthed from the Father. Since the Father is eternal whatever was in Him is also eternal. Therefore the substance of the Son would be eternal even though the Son did not exist as a separate being from the Father.
One of the examples the early Christians used is that of fire. If you have a fire that is burning for a week and you take a piece of wood and put it into the fire it will ignite. If you then take that piece of wood and place it on some kindling you now have two fires. How old is the second fire? As a separate fire it is new, however, the that fire came from the first fire so it is really as old as the first fire. This is how they understood the Son coming from the Father. As the Son there was a time when He was not, however, the substance that He consisted of has existed as long as the Father.
 
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Hoghead1

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The traditional claim was that Christ "was begotten, not made," meaning he had always been there.
 
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