Jesus - Creature or Creator?

Throughout history, a simple question such as “Who are you?” has been a difficult one to answer in its true sense (remember the movie Anger Management?). People have always been concerned about their identity. It has plagued many philosophers and thinkers for millenniums and many theories have been put forward regarding who we are.  

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus posed such a question to His disciples saying, “Who do you say I am?” (Matt 16:13-16). The disciples gave multiple answers till Peter correctly identified Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the living God. The question of Jesus’ identity has been hotly debated since His appearance 2,000 years ago and it still continues today. One of the most significant of these debates was the Arian Controversy. Even though it was condemned as heretical, many groups of people still adhere to it. As we consider Arianism, we will also examine our own beliefs about Jesus. 

Who was Arius and what did he teach?

Arius was a presbyter (pastor) in the early 4th century in Alexandria. He gained a significant following due to his teaching on the nature of God, the Father, and of Jesus Christ. He started wrestling with who Jesus was, and wanted to understand His relationship to God. He firmly believed that God was self-existent and the source of all creation. Eventually, he came to understand that God was not always a Father, that is, there was a time when God was all alone. He became a Father when the Son came into being. This was his main teaching – the Son had a beginning. 

Arius claimed that there was ‘a time when the Son was not.’ This became the theme song for his supporters. According to him, only the Father is God and without a beginning. The Father begot the Son and, until He was begotten, the Son did not exist. The main support for his view was the word “begotten” in John’s Gospel (John 1:18, 3:16) and the adjective “firstborn” in Col 1:15. 

Arius argued that the Father created the Son, so that the Son can create other things; the Father was too high and mighty to create a world. The Father bestowed all the glories on the Son and caused Him to exist with Him. The Son, though superior to all other creatures, is still a creature, created out of nothing, and does not have the same essence of the Father. Thus, the Father and the Son are not on equal footing.  

Arius also contended that because the Son is different than the Father, He cannot fully know the Father, nor can He reveal Him to us. Moreover, the Father is God of the Son, and rules over Him. 

(Did you get all that…?)

But That Was Early 4th Century…What About Now?

Although these views originated in the early 4th century (and were refuted), they never really died. There are many groups today within Christianity and outside of it who do not hold that Jesus is God or that He has the same nature as God. They see Jesus as a creature or a mere mortal.

Jehovah’s Witnesses consider Jesus as God’s first creation and a lesser god (identical to Arians). Many Unitarians also hold to the same view that Godhood is possessed only by God, the Father. Mormons claim Jesus to be the literal biological son of the Father; for them, the Father is also a mortal who once lived on an earth. Judaism considers Jesus as a mere human and a teacher; He is not God for that would be blasphemous against the Only true God. Islam considers Jesus as a prophet, born of a virgin, but not God or even the Son of God; for God is not a Father. 

As it can be seen, the identity of Jesus is a major point of difference among most of the world’s religions. Before we look at the importance of getting the identity of Jesus right, let’s look at what happened to Arius and his teachings in the 4th century. 

Arius Challenged

Arius and his view of the Son was challenged by a number of his contemporaries. His opponents claimed that the Son was of the same being or essence as the Father, and that He was God (see arguments below). The disagreements were so intense that the whole Christian world was divided because of this issue. To resolve this controversy, the first ecumenical (world) council was organized in Nicaea in 325AD. Arius and his teachings were deemed heretical. The decision hinged on one Greek letter – “i” (iota) – Homoousias (same substance) was affirmed and Homoiousias (like substance) was rejected. The most ardent voices against Arius were those of two bishops: Alexander of Alexandria and his successor, Athanasius of Alexandria. 

Arius Refuted

Contrary to Arius’ view, Alexander and Athanasius believed that the Son, Jesus, is the Creator and not a creature. Alexander was Arius’ contemporary and opposed him to his face. Athanasius was involved in debates with Arius’ followers after his death. He wrote multiple discourses against Arianism and was exiled several times for his defense of the divinity of the Son. We now turn to their arguments.

1. John 1:3 and Col 1:16-17 reads that “all” things came into existence through the Word of God, the Son, – everything in heaven and on earth, the seen and the unseen. If the Son is a creature, then He belongs to the category of “all” created things. But how could He, as a created being, create Himself…? This is an absurdity and was rightly pointed out by both Alexander and Athanasius. Moreover, there could not have been a time when the Son was not because He created time itself. Therefore, the Son is not part of the “all” created things and cannot be numbered with those who came into existence; rather, He is the Creator of “all” things. As a result, no difference exists between the nature of the Father and the Son. Because the Son is of the same substance as the Father, He possesses the same attributes as the Father (except that He is begotten). He is immutable, perfect and in want of nothing. At the same time, the Son is not the Father; they are distinct persons.
2. There are many texts in the Bible where Jesus is called God and is equated to God by the inspired writers (John 1:1-2, 18, 20:28, Rom 9:5, Titus 2:13, 2 Pet 1:1, Heb 1:8). 
3. Jesus Christ, the Son, was worshipped in all of the churches and Jesus Himself received worship during His earthly ministry. If the Son is a creature, as Arius argued, then all those who worshipped Jesus would be guilty of worshipping a creature i.e., idolatry. Jesus Himself would also be guilty of blasphemy for accepting worship. However, this is not true, and the worship offered to Jesus, the Son, is worship offered to the only true God. 
4. More importantly, Athanasius argued that Jesus needed to be both God and man for Him to secure our redemption. If Jesus was not a man, then He could not have represented us perfectly before the Father. We would not have had a true substitute because “what He did not assume, He did not redeem.” Therefore, Jesus’s humanity is necessary for our redemption. In the same way, if Jesus was not God, then He could not have been sinless and thus, could not stand in God’s presence as our representative. He could not have endured the wrath of God on our behalf because no human can do that. Only God can bear God’s wrath, which we deserved.  

More Refutations

In the Old Testament, God reminds His people over and over again that He is the true God and there is no other. One of the arguments used to support this claim is that God alone is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. See Isaiah 40:25-26,42:5; 45:12, 18; 48:12-13. How then could the New Testament writers make Jesus, the Son, the creator of all things (John 1:3, Col 1:16-17)? The only plausible way to understand this is that they understood Jesus to be God, though distinct from the Father. 

In Heb 1:8, the writer addresses the Son and continues in Heb 1:10 to say that the Son laid the foundations of the earth in the beginning. This is a reference to Psalm 102:25, where the same words are addressed to the Father. The writer is, thus, equating Jesus to Yahweh. 

Why does this matter today?

What we believe about the identity of Jesus is not just a theological exercise, but it has important implications for our eternity. 

1. Jesus wanted His disciples to know that He is God incarnate. During His earthly ministry, He revealed His identity to them through various ways. He forgave sin (Mark 2:10), He accepted worship (Matt 14:33, John 20:28), He transfigured (Matt 17:2), and He even raised people from the dead (Luke 7:15, John 11:43-44). No mere human can do any of these things but only God can. 
2. Jesus also revealed His identity to the Pharisees using Old Testament language. God had revealed His name as “I AM” in Exod. 3:14. Jesus told the Pharisees that He is the I AM and unless they believe it, they will perish in their sins (John 8:24).
3. After His resurrection, Jesus taught His disciples from the Scriptures everything written about Him (Luke 24:44-47). The disciples’ understanding can be seen in their teaching, that Jesus is God and not just a man. John wrote that if we deny the Son, we do not have the Father (1 John 2:23).  
4. Paul wrote in Rom 10:9 that confessing Jesus as Lord is salvific. And for John, a person’s understanding of Jesus’ identity was important to know if that person is born of God (I John 4:2-3).

As we close, each of us should examine our belief of who Jesus is. Is He a creature or the Creator?

The testimony of the entire the Bible is that Jesus is the Creator and all created things were made through Him. We need to hold fast to this confession for our salvation and to grow in our understanding of the One who rescued us. 

This was a brief look into the Arain controversy and how it impacts us today. Stay tuned for more articles which will deal with the nature of Jesus Christ and His work.  

Further Reading

Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity, Vol. 1: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation

Michael A. G. Haykin, Rediscovering the Church Fathers: Who They Were and How They Shaped the Church

William G. Rusch, The Trinitarian Controversy (Sources of Early Christian Thought)