"There was a time when he was not..."
A bite-sized lesson in doctrine: 1 Concept, 2 Definitions, 3 Passages...
Welcome back to Theology Thursday!
Here is your bite-sized lesson in orthodox biblical doctrine in 3 simple steps:
ONE concept explained
TWO concise definitions that must be kept distinct
THREE Scripture passages to meditate on
Concept: Arianism
There’s such a thing as a sad promise from God. Among those sad promises is the promise that many false Christs and “false prophets will arise and lead many astray” (Matthew 24:11). A false Christ is lurking out there to this day, bringing many to eternal destruction. This is the false Christ of Arianism. Named after an Alexandrian presbyter (church leader) named Arius, Arianism taught that Jesus was not truly God, at least, not God in the same sense as the Father. Arius posited a Jesus who, in eternity past, was the greatest creation of God. Like Modalism, Arius sought to protect the oneness of God at the expense of His threeness, making God the Father the only uncreated being and the Son ontologically inferior and subordinate to the Father. Often, the illustration that embodies Arianism is the Sun. The Sun is one star, but from the Sun you have fire, heat, and light. Three in one, right? Wrong. While well-intentioned, this illustration would showcase two persons of the Trinity who are creations or emanations of one divine being, just as the heat and the light are creations of the Sun. A modern illustration would be the superhero Thor. The son of Odin, Thor, was a creation of a god and was only like god. But only one Hero can save us. Not a Jesus who is only like God, but a Jesus who is both truly man and truly God. Rather than utter the blasphemies of Arius, “There was a time when he (Jesus) was not,” we can shout the praises of Scripture that Christ is the eternal God, Yahweh, Who has come in the flesh (John 1:14).
Definitions/Distinctions:
Ontological Subordination (Subordinationism): This type of subordination views two persons of the Godhead as inferior or subordinate to the Father in eternity past, before creation and redemption. This results in a division of the mind and will of the one eternal God, rendering the Son and Spirit inferior beings altogether.
Economic Subordination: This type of subordination views the Son as being subordinate to the Father in the economy of redemption alone. The Son, in His human state, became obedient to His Father’s will to suffer, die, and rise again, while still possessing the same essence and will as His Father from all eternity. This is the only way we should speak of the Son being subordinate to the Father.
Passages:
“…waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ…”
Titus 2:13
“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
“And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
Philippians 2:8
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