Religion and Theology

According to the Nicene Creed, Jesus Christ was the only begotten son of God, begotten of his father before all worlds, God of God, light of light, true God of true God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the father , by whom all things were made. This statement clearly tells us four very important points (1) that Jesus Christ was the only begotten son of God the Father, hence He has no equal and there is no one else like him (2) that Jesus Christ was begotten even before all of the universe and nature was created, thus He existed before any other thing did (3) that Jesus Christ is begotten and not made, which means that He came from God the Father not through a process of creation but as being begotten or brought about, caused or given rise to and that (4) Jesus Christ is a being of one substance with God the Father, which makes him divine. It is interesting to note that the first Biblical man, Adam, was made in the image and likeness of God, which does not necessarily presuppose having been made from exactly the same substance as God hence Adam may not be divine like Jesus. Moreover, Adam was made, not begotten. These four very important points were, more or less, the subject of opposition of the Egyptian priest Arius prior to the formulation of the Nicene Creed.

The Arian Heresy and its Opposition of the Divinity of the Christ
The arguments of the Egyptian priest Arius on Jesus human nature implied that the Christ himself was not God but just one among the many humans. This was refuted by the part of the Nicene Creed which states that one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of God. Arius also implied in his arguments that Jesus Christ was and is not God, by saying the only God the Father is the one eternal God. This was refuted by the line in the Nicene Creed which states that Jesus was begotten of his father before all worlds, God of God, light of light, true God of true God. Another line from the Nicene Creed that refutes the claim of Arius was the line which says that Jesus was and is a being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made. The last of the implications of Arius arguments was his claim that Jesus was created by the Father, hence was only a creature. The Nicene Creed answers this with the line which states that Jesus was begotten, not made. This particular distinction in terminology, between made and begotten, implies that one of the biggest differences between the Nicene Creed and the arguments of Arius is a matter of semantics. Begotten, as used in the Nicene Creed, means born of or having arisen from, and this clearly delineates a very essential difference between Jesus and all other creatures of God who were made, including Adam.

The Gospel of John and Its Support of the Trinity
The first verse of the Gospel of John mentions that when all things began, the Word already was. The Word dwelt with God and what God was, the Word was. This line further affirms the statements of the Nicene Creed which profess Christs divine nature and implies that Christ was never created, as what Arius was arguing for. Next, according to the second verse of Johns Gospel, the Word, then was with God at the beginning. This means that Jesus was not just like anyone else  he was God and he was able to witness all events that happened during the first creation. This claim on Christs divinity was further reinforced by the third verse which states that and through him all things came to be no single thing was created without him and that all that came to be was alive with his life. The second and third verses are telling us that without Christ, creation would not have been possible. This clearly implies that Jesus Christ himself was equally important as God the Father.