Stories to Tell
We all have heroes and we all tell stories. We pass down family stories. We look through photo albums and tell the stories. In school we learn the stories of our forefathers. We are story tellers, all of us. And from those stories come our heroes. For the next 4 weeks I’m going to tell you 4 stories of 4 heroes of our faith, yet many of you have probably never heard their story. My hope in these next 4 weeks is that these stories give you new heroes who encourage you in new ways, and stir your soul with new resolve to follow Jesus. And may you pass these stories to your children and your children’s children. (turn to John)
Each of these stories are deeply rooted in a biblical truth that at one point was challenged, and God raised up a hero of the faith to be a defender of that truth. The biblical truth we’ll look at today is the…
Deity of Christ
The deity of Christ is the doctrine (teaching) that Jesus is God the Son. He is not a created being, he is not something higher than us but lower than God, he was, is, and always will be God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. This has been a critical doctrine to Christ followers for 2,000 years.
John 1:1, 14…John’s claim that Jesus was and is God.
John 10:27-33…Jesus’ claim that he is God. The people who heard his claim knew exactly what he meant.
John 20:26-29…Thomas’ claim to Jesus’ deity, and Jesus’ affirmation of that claim.
Jesus often received worship, Mt 2:11…Mt 14:31-33…Mt 28:9-10. If Jesus isn’t God, he should have immediately rebuked those who worshipped him, because only God is worthy of worship.
Revelation 22:8,9 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!”
That’s the proper response if you’re not God…Stop it, now! Only God is worthy of worship. To worship anyone or anything else is idolatry. If Jesus was not God, he should have immediately rebuked those who worshipped him. But he didn’t because he is God the Son, and it’s right for people to worship him.
Notice how the writers of scripture referred to him….
Isaiah 9:6, For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
The coming Christ child, would be Mighty God. This is why Jesus could say things like “I and the Father are one.” This is why the writers of the NT wrote things like this…
Hebrews 1:8, But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.
The Father refers to the Son as God. This is the 2,000 year old doctrine of the…
Deity of Christ
Some of you might be asking yourself, how big a deal is this really? So what if some Christians teach that Jesus is a created being, and other Christians worship him as eternally God the Son, at the end of the day, does it really matter…we all claim his name? Let’s first let Jesus address that question…
John 8:24, “if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.” – Jesus
Apparently Jesus cares what you believe about him. He wasn’t OK with people believing he was something less than he really is. In fact, true faith in Jesus, for who he is, is such an essential doctrine of our faith, that Jesus says, if you do not believe I am who I claimed to be, then you will indeed die in your sins. So, if you think this is just a matter of semantics, you are in sharp disagreement with Jesus.
Not that I feel the need to add to the words of Jesus, but let me give you another reason why faith in Jesus as God the Son is critical.
Deity of Christ
If Jesus is something less than God, then he doesn’t have the power to save us from our sin, Mark 2:5-7. Our sins are against God, and only he has the authority and power to forgive them. If Jesus is something less than God, he has no right and no power to forgive our sins. If Jesus can’t forgive our sins, we have no hope.
Yes, the doctrine of the deity of Christ is worth contending for. And there is nobody God used more to contend for this biblical truth, than Athanasius. (sit back and take in the story)
Athanasius was born in the year 298AD, in Egypt. In his early twenties he was a deacon in the church in Alexandria (North Africa). During that time the doctrine of the deity of Christ came under attack by a highly influential pastor named Arius. Arius taught that Jesus was a created being, that he had a beginning, and there was a time when Jesus was not. Therefore, according to Arius, Jesus is the son of God, but not God the son. His heresy was later known as the Arian heresy (named after Arius). It sparked a flame throughout the empire, that would dominate the church for 60 years. It was a 20 year old young man by the name of Athanasius, 40 years younger than Arius, that God would use to contend for the doctrine of the deity of Christ (good word to 20 year olds here today, you don’t need to wait to have a huge impact in the kingdom. God can use you now).
Athanasius would endure decades of persecution, banished from the church, sent into exile five times, framed for murder, threatened with death, slandered by emperors and bishops, all for standing firm to the doctrine of the deity of Christ. In the end he prevailed, truth was preserved, and the church has stood on his shoulders ever since. We’ll pick up the story in 300AD (Athanasius was just a toddler).
Diocletian was the emperor of Rome, and even though his wife and daughter were Christians, he strangely gave the order to purge the empire of Christianity. In those years Christian churches were burnt to the ground, scriptures were burnt, bishops were rounded up and tortured or killed. The blood was so great, even the pagans called for the killing to cease. When the brutal reign of Diocletian ended, a new leader emerged named Constantine. Constantine had led the Roman army against a superior enemy for control of Rome, and won a great victory. Before the battle he prayed to the God of the Christians for help. In a dream he saw a cross in the sky and the words, “In this sign conquer.” Afterwards he became the first Christian emperor. Christians went from the scourge of the earth to the favor of the emperor.
Now, during that time Pastor Arius wrote his thesis that Jesus was a created being, not God the Son, but something less. 20 yr old Athanasius responded with an articulate defense of the deity of Christ. As a result, Arius, 40 years his elder, was excommunicated. However, Arius had set a match to dry grass, and Bishops and churches all over the empire became divided on the issue. The debate raged on. It wasn’t long before Arius returned to Alexandria, and there were literally riots in the streets. Emperor Constantine was worried because instability in the church now meant instability in the empire. So he called the first empire wide council of the church. The council of Nicea. 318 bishops from all over the empire, along with Arius and Anthanasius, descended on Nicea. Many with marks of the persecution suffered in earlier years. Some with fingers cut off, one with an eye gouged out. But now, they rode into Nicea as guest of the emperor.
The council went lasted four months, and Athanasius won the day. The Arian heresy was defeated, and an agreement was signed by all but two bishops. Those two bishops, along with Arius, were excommunicated again. That agreement was the Nicene Creed, still used today by churches all over the world.
(modern versions…but here’s the original)
We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, the only-begotten; that is, of the essence of the Father, 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 both in heaven and on earth; Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down and was incarnate and was made man; He suffered, and the third day he rose again, ascended into heaven; From thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead. And in the Holy Ghost.
[But those who say: ’There was a time when he was not;’ and ’He was not before he was made;’ and ’He was made out of nothing,’ or ’He is of another substance’ or ’essence,’ or ’The Son of God is created,’ or ’changeable,’ or ’alterable’—they are condemned.]
For those of you, like me, who grew up reciting a modern version of that creed, now you know the story behind it. “of the essence of the Father, God of God, light of light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father…those who say there was a time when he was not or the son of God is created are condemned.” That’s Athanasius refuting the Arian heresy, and standing firm on the deity of Christ. Shortly after that Athanasius was appointed to the office of bishop in highly influential Alexandria.
Athanasius.
Thinking the issue was settled, Constantine held a great banquet. As a sign of peace, the emperor kissed the eyeless cheek of one of the bishops. But, as history would go, that was just the beginning of the fight. The Arian heresy had deep roots, and for another 45 years it would infect the church. In fact, for the 45 years Athanasius was bishop, he spent 17 of them in exile, banished and persecuted by the church for continuing to stand firm on the deity of Christ.
Bishops who signed the creed would later change their minds, and convince imperial forces to forcefully remove Athanasius from office. Five times he was excommunicated. But he continued to contend for the deity of Christ. In fact, it got so bad their arose a phrase ‘Athanasius contra mundom’ (against the world).
On one particular occasion, the bishops so wanted Athanasius and his doctrine removed, they trumped up false charges against him. They coerced a fellow bishop, Arsenius to go into hiding, then they accused Athanasius of murdering him, and cutting of his hand to use for magic.
Athanasius stood trial for murder. But his friends found Arsenius in hiding. As the trial went on, Athansius asked his accusers, do you know Arsenius…would you recognize him? Of course, they replied. Then Athanasius brought a man into the courtroom covered under cloth, and dramatically pulled the cloth off him to reveal Arsenius, with both hands intact. Then he turned the tables on his accusers, and asked…so whose hand did you cut off?
Amazingly, the result of the trial was the excommunication of Athanasius. Two years later, a new imperial leader was in place and Athanasius was returned to office, only to be exiled by the next leader after him, as bishops continued to manipulate the system to get rid of Athansius and his insistence on the deity of Christ. Back and forth it went like this for decades. Athanasius never gave an inch of ground.
On one occasion, Athanasius was leading a church service, when imperial forces kicked the doors open and came after Athanasius in the middle of a service. To which he responded by leading the congregation in Psalm 136, the people responding at each verse, “His mercy endureth forever.”
Such was the fight Athanasius fought. For the 45 years he was bishop, 17 of those years were spent in exile, because he refused to stop teaching the deity of Christ. Slowly, through decades of struggle, the tables began to turn, and at the end of his life, as a 75 year old man, Athanasius saw the final confirmation of the Nicene Creed. The deity of Christ has been the orthodox teaching of the church from that point forward. Jerome would later write of Athanasius, “he snatched the whole world from the jaws of Satan.”
When is seemed like all the world was against him, when the church repeatedly banished him, emperors condemned him, soldiers threatened him, Athanasius contended for the truth, and the church has stood on his shoulders ever since.
What can we learn from this hero of the faith? So many things, but let me suggest this one…
Doctrine Matters
There is biblical truth worth contending for Gal 1:6-9. There’s an emerging movement that wants to minimize doctrine in the name of unity, as if you can have unity in Christ without doctrine about him. Today if you stand up for biblical truth, and call out heresy, you’ll get labeled by some as not filled with grace. Listen, there is biblical truth worth contending for. May we not be so naïve to think doctrine doesn’t matter.
I think John Piper put it best in his book, Contending For Our All. He wrote, To the emerging church that would like to minimize doctrine, Athanasius would say, ‘our young people in Alexandria die for doctrine about Christ. What do your young people die for?’ Athanasius would have grieved over statements like ‘it is Christ who unites us; it is doctrine that divides.’ He would have grieved because he knew this is the very tactic used by Arian bishops to cover the councils with fog so that the word Christ could mean anything. They think they have done something profound and fresh, when they call us away from doctrine. In fact they have done something very old and worn and deadly.” – John Piper
May we here at Mission forever be people of the book. May we be able to defend truth. May we never give ground to heresy, may we contend for the faith. Let’s pray.
