Athanasius Against the World / Church Creeds & Councils

Colossians and the Council of Nicaea

So let's turn to Colossians chapter 3 we'll look at that in a moment but picking up where we left off. Last time in the book forerunners of the faith. We're in lesson number five defending the deity of Christ.

So we're gonna continue to look at the Council of Nicaea. Which is somebody asked me last week. Where is that? And I I thought it was in Greece, but it's actually in modern-day Turkey. But this morning we're gonna focus also on this man Athanasius for those of you who have studied church history or at least have heard lectures or maybe sermons on church history.

Perhaps you've heard this phrase Athanasius Contramundum, does that sound familiar to anybody at all? Basically means Athanasius against the world. So sometimes when you're you're fighting for biblical truth, you feel like it's you versus everybody else and I just want to read this statement about Athanasius.

This isn't in the book. But it says Athanasius was a Christian bishop who stood against heretics in the church and the power of Rome to proclaim Orthodox biblical Christianity. He is known for his defense of orthodoxy and for helping us understand what scripture teaches about Jesus.

Athanasius stood quote against the world to proclaim the true gospel and opposing those Who still held to the Arian heresy his epitaph is? Athanasius against the world and you remember the Arian heresy is.

From Arius this priest who started teaching that Jesus was not Divine he is not God in the sense of being fully divine. And that's what the Council of Nicaea at least to some degree was dealing with. So let's pick up where we left off section number five the council's conclusion creedal Articulation there's a few things that you needed to fill in.

It says at the Council of Nicaea in 325 the true church Arose to defend the deity of Christ from Arian attack the Council of Nicaea did not. What? What did you fill in did not? Determine or establish The doctrine of Christ's deity.

Okay. I know I touched on this last week. So the Council of Nicaea did not determine or establish the doctrine of Christ deity. Why not? Because it's already established in the scripture and people understood that for hundreds of years even before the council it rather affirmed and defended the doctrine that had always been taught by the church going back to the time of the Apostles and being established in the scriptures.

So if you didn't have those filled in you can fill those in now. This is in my book not yours it says because the Council of Nicaea occurred in the year 325 the leaders who gathered there were also aware of the teachings of prior generations of Christians though not authoritative these writings provided unmistakable testimony to the fact that believers from the first century onward Worshipped Jesus Christ as God for example around 106 the Roman governor Pliny the Younger wrote a letter in which he explained that Christians in his region sang hymns to Christ as to a God.

That commitment to the deity of Christ is affirmed repeatedly by earlier church leaders. Here is a representative list from ten earlier Christian writers, so you see this list that starts with Ignatius of Antioch everyone got that.

Okay, so Ignatius. Here's what he said. He lived from 50 to 1 17 ad for our God Jesus the Christ was conceived by Mary according to God's plan both from the seed of David and of the Holy Spirit. So that's a very clear statement for our God Jesus Christ.

Okay, this is a couple hundred years before the Council of Nicaea next Polycarp of Smyrna who we also looked at that was 69 to 155 is when he lived he said now may the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ the eternal high priest himself.

The Son of God Jesus Christ build you up in faith and truth and to us with you and to all those under heaven. Who will yet believe in our Lord and God? Jesus Christ and in his father who raised him from the dead so he calls Jesus our Lord and God.

So these are pretty clear statements so far. I don't think anyone could say, okay. Here's what people do. Well, yeah, that's what he said, but here's what he meant and then it's like the opposite or something.

The next is the epistle of Barnabas. This is from the year 130 if the Lord submitted to suffer for our souls. Even though he is Lord of the whole world to whom God said at the foundation of the world.

Let us make humankind according to our image and likeness. How is it then that he submitted to suffer at the hands of humans? So we could go through all of these but you were supposed to read these. During the week, you know on your own so we're not going to read it.

Read at all. We're just going to go through the names. Justin Martyr affirmed the deity of Christ. Tashon Milito of Sardis. Iranius of Lyons. There's several quotes from him. Clement of Alexander Tertullian and a man named Caius, so.

Several men hundreds of years earlier affirming the deity of Christ or any questions on that. I don't think this is news to anybody so the discussion question is of the above quotes from the pre-niceen Christian leaders which one stood out to you and what did you find compelling about those statements?

Did any one stand out? Okay, did you find anything? Compelling. You know the thing that stood out to me just with Ignatius. Just the clarity of it. You know, he doesn't hedge at all. He just comes right out and says that Jesus he is our God.

Really shows there was no no doubt in his mind. No hesitancy to proclaim the deity of Christ. So that's what stands out to me. Anyone else want to add mark?

And then you look at what the church has done twisting the scriptures and turning it into a bunch of. Yeah.

Right. Yeah, if you look at the writings the earlier you go, it's very Christ centered. It's all about him and who he is and what he did and then the benefits for us are are There and it's clear that we can be forgiven.

We can have joy. We can have peace we're we're saved have an eternity in heaven and that's enough, but. And I don't know specifically what you're alluding to but just Christianity the way I was Not brought up here, but just Christianity all around me is very man-centered where.

Yeah. It's your best life now kind of thing where it's all about you and and what you can get out of it. And then when people don't get that instant result They drop out because God's not giving me promotions and Financial blessings and all the things that the guys on TV promised when that isn't actually what God Promised.

So to me that's like the the big problem of what you're talking about. But yeah Marcus you had something.

Couldn't help but be reminded I was trying to remember which disciple it was but it's in John 20 verses 19 and forward an event that Came to mind on the on the evening of that day the first day of the week the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of Jesus.

Jesus came and stood among them and said to them Peace be with you. When he had said this he showed them his hands and his side Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them peace be with you as the father sent me even So I'm sending you and when he had said this he breathed on them And said to them receive the Holy Spirit.

Oh, I'm sorry. I started reading too soon. It's it's 24 I guess I'll Just skip right now. It was Thomas anyways, yeah. And Jesus said to Thomas put your finger here and see my hands and put out your hand and place it in my side Do not disbelieve but believe.

Thomas answered him my Lord and my God right. And Jesus said to him Have you believed because you've seen me blessed are those who have not seen me and yet of belief. That's us. Yeah. Yeah.

So, there you go, that's even earlier than the church fathers you have. Thomas saying to Jesus my Lord and my God.

He had to see and touch. Yeah, right. Uses physical senses, right, right.

The Nicene Creed and the Authority of Scripture

So the testimony is clear now we can get into number five the council's conclusion creedal articulation. So I already read the beginning there the affirmation of his deity was overwhelming. So the Nicene Creed this is in your book.

The Nicene Creed is one of the most influential Creeds in church history. Here is the crux of the creed it says 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 the only begotten of his father of The substance of the Father God of God light of light very God of very God begotten and not made.

Being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made. Which both which are in heaven and in earth? Who for us men and for our salvation came down From heaven and was incarnate and was made man.

He suffered and the third day he rose again and ascended into heaven and he shall come again to judge both the living and the dead and We believe in the Holy Spirit. So it says half a century later at the first Council of Constantinople this is 381 the Nicene Creed would be expanded to include more detail on the person and work of the Holy Ghost.

All right. So I think most of us are probably Familiar more familiar with the Apostles Creed. But who has heard who has been in a church where the Nicene Creed was recited? Okay, so one or two. Yeah, is it did anything jump out at you about the creed?

I mean, it's been a pretty standard Christian creed. It's like the Apostles Creed. There's not maybe one or two things you could see clarification on but This has been embraced by Christians ever since it was written.

Really? Yeah. Right begotten and not made and of course, this is where Colossians 1 did I tell you to turn to Colossians 1? Well, look at Colossians 1 verse 15 this is where Arius and those who still to this day follow the doctrine of Arius and they say that Jesus isn't God because he is a creature they would point to this verse Colossians 1 15 it says he is the image of the invisible God the firstborn over all creation.

Okay, but then if you Go on it says that Jesus is the firstborn from the dead. So it's not saying that Jesus is the you know, the firstborn of God. In the sense that he's the first creation it's that Christ has the preeminence it's like the firstborn son the firstborn son had a Status or rank above all the other children.

So Jesus is the only begotten has nothing to do with him being created or as Arius. And the other heretics would have said that he isn't God he is a he is God's first creation. Okay, so the Nicene Creed was dealing with this issue and it says in my book though the victory at Nicaea had been overwhelming the controversy with Arianism still raged in the Roman Empire over the next 50 years and Like I said, it's still in a sense.

Maybe not right. It's not raging today, but it's still an issue today because the Jehovah's Witnesses. Some seventh-day Adventists and there's other groups that still believe in the Arian heresy that Jesus is Not God.

He's the highest created being that's true, but he's not God. Okay, so here's the discussion question for this section. Earlier in the lesson, we noted that the authority for what we believe must be what if the authority must be the Bible not a church council.

Why is that principle important to remember especially when studying the Council of Nicaea and the Nicene Creed. Why is that important to remember? Because Larry. Not. Yeah. Yeah, okay. So the scripture is inspired of the Spirit and the scripture is from God.

It's God's Word the Church councils and the creeds they produced. That's not God's word. It's a summary it's meant to be a right summary of God's Word and what God's Word teaches, but the creeds are not Authoritative in the same sense as the scripture and of course There's been other church councils that have put out different statements that we would totally disagree with a matter of fact I'm sure there's if we looked at the first whatever seven eight councils.

There'd be several things you would wonder is this really is this really biblical? But it's all about your source of authority if we have the Bible as the authority, you know we just can't go wrong you can misinterpret it, but Creeds what men produce it's just not at that same level.

Athanasius Against the World

Okay. All right. So this is the next section number six standing against the world. So this is what we talked about Athanasius Contramundum. Athanasius against the world. Though he was only a deacon at the time of the Council of Nicaea.

So this was 325 ad Athanasius spent most of the 4th century fighting against the false teachings of Arius. He became the Bishop of Alexandria just a few years later in 328 over the next 45 years of his ministry.

He would be exiled five times totaling 17 years. So 17 years in exile. I mean, that's you know a good long time over the next. Let's see despite being denounced at the Council of Nicaea Arianism continued to be a popular view in the Roman Empire as a result Athanasius repeatedly founded himself in the political crosshairs of his enemies so in 336 Athanasius was falsely accused of kidnapping another bishop named Arnesius and cutting off his hand for use in magical incantations.

That's a pretty strong accusation and if true That would totally safe to say ruin Athanasius is Reputation, which I'm sure is the whole point. I mean if he actually kidnapped the person and did all this was practicing sorcery.

I doubt Christians would care what he said now. Do you do you believe that accusation? Of course, you know, we can't go back in time. But this is what happened with the early Christians and Christian leaders.

You know. If you want to take them down, then you just make these accusations against them and and that's it. Remember the accusations against Christians themselves that they were what? Cannibals because they're eating flesh and drinking blood.

No, they're eating bread and drinking, you know whatever wine or grape juice and depending on you know who you talk to but you understand that that that accusation wasn't true and It's believed neither was this but you had a I saw a hand in the back.

Yeah Everything Right. Right, yeah, I mean today there's all sorts of accusations, you know evangelical pastors are called Racist, you know all that all the is in the isms that they get accused of and you know Every once in a while, you know an accusations true.

But this is this is an attempt of the enemy to kind of knock down God's generals as someone once said yes.

Right. When I heard Joyce Myers expounding on that how he was being tortured by the demons and right they were Having just a gay old-time Jesus and right and I no longer listen to her.

Yeah. You know that what. Aaron was right. That's the that's the Apostles Creed where it says and He Jesus descended into hell some. Some versions of the tree of the creed say he he descended into Hades.

Is that in the back of the hymnal mark? Okay, if you want to look at that What does it say Christ descended into what?

Hades is all right. Hades and she all are all right.

Hell is not All right, so what page was that again. Seven. Sixteen. Seven. Sixteen. Let's just read. I'm not so sure this book covered the Apostles Creed page seven. Sixteen. Yeah, well, that's not right.

Seven. What do you say? Okay.

Yeah. Yeah, and so that doesn't bother me at all when she goes into expounding on what that means now she's going into her own fancy right, but. Yeah, because she's not she wasn't there. She's not.

One is Greek and one is Hebrew. They both mean that but Jesus said to the thief today. You will be with me in paradise. Which is why there is the compartment theory. Which I believe is not a theory but truth that there is.

It's the same if you look at Luke 16. Or Lazarus the rich man. Lazarus and the beggar or the beggar was Lazarus the rich man descended. They were both in Hades. Except one was in torment. The other was in the bosom of Abraham.

So Descending into Sheol or Hades just means yes the place of the dead. But there is a place of the dead or there was a place of the dead that was paradise. And there was a place of the dead that was torment.

Okay.

Those three words are interchangeable. Well, there's a linguistics. You have to understand the roots of all the words again.

Paradise in there to this paradise is a part of it because that's where Jesus and the thief on the cross went.

All right. Does that everyone there's two seven sixteens? That's what threw me but Does everyone have the Apostles Creed? So let's just read it. I believe in God the Father Almighty Maker of heaven and earth and in Jesus Christ is only Son our Lord Who is conceived by the Holy Spirit born of the Virgin Mary?

Suffered under Pontius Pilate was crucified Dead and buried he descended into Hades the third day. He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty and from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead or the living and the dead and I believe in the Holy Spirit the Holy Christian Church the communion of saints the forgiveness of sins the Resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.

Amen, and I like how they said we believe in the Holy Christian Church instead of the Holy Catholic Church as some of the creeds say but as far as this statement that Jesus Descended into Hades right?

He descended into the place of the dead. Sheol in the Old Testament Hades in the New Testament. Yeah in in Latin, there's one translation that comes from Infernos and it It's translated that Christ ascended into hell.

It does not mean he descended into the lake of fire like we would think of where you know Demons are torturing him. So what Joyce Meyer taught? Is it's considered heresy just to teach that but that's no surprise.

That's not the only heresy she Taught but anyways as tempted as I am to Go on on and on about that. I won't but Good, but that's some clarification. So obviously the creeds need some clarification as well.

Okay, so standing against the world Athanasius was accused of kidnapping the next thing although he was able to prove his innocence. He was still sent into exile. I mean go figure. When his opponents accused him of interfering with wheat shipments from Alexandria to Rome he was able to return to Alexandria two years later when Constantine died.

So he's accused of some other things. A short time later a supporter of Arius convinced Constantius the second Constantine's son to get rid of Athanasius this resulted in the next two exiles of Athanasius from 339 to 346 and then again from 356 to 361 so clearly Athanasius because he's fighting for biblical truth.

There's a target on his back and that's true for anyone who fights for the truth, you know. Everyone who's on the other side, which is let's face it the majority. They don't they don't like men or women who do this.

The book continues on one of those occasions Roman soldiers stormed the church during a communion service forcing Athanasius to flee and to go into hiding in the Egyptian desert. In 326 Athanasius was again forced into exile by the Emperor Julian.

Unlike Constantine Julian did not claim to be a Christian. He attempted to take the Roman Empire back into paganism when it became obvious that Athanasius was resolute in his Christian convictions. Julian drove him out of Alexandria.

The exile ended when Julian died. So it's like you just have to wait these people out wait until they die and then you can come back. The fifth and final exile occurred under the Emperor of Valens who simply evicted Athanasius because he had been Been earlier exiled by Julian when Valens realized that the people of Alexandria loved Athanasius.

He had him restored to office in order to garner popularity with the citizens of Alexandria. During these times of exile it sometimes seemed like Athanasius was alone in his fight for the doctrine of Christ deity.

It seemed like that It was Athanasius against the world that's the way it seemed yet. He refused to waver in his commitment to the truth. Okay, so can you think of any? Examples maybe in your lifetime when there was a person really fighting for Biblical truth, whatever it is, whether it's a particular doctrine and all of a sudden accusation started coming against them and It may have Resulted in harm or maybe it didn't.

Can anyone think of any examples in the past whatever 50 years or so? Yeah. Yeah, well. Yeah, I mean that well any other examples before. Sure Aaron. Yep. Yeah. Yeah, absolute that's it. Yeah, I haven't heard that one and David is the denomination I guess.

The bishop of the denomination or something yeah. Yeah, that's I mean that is a good example and of course him Entering into that fight, I'm sure he knew there'd be some people that would Ridicule him, but hey, the truth is worth fighting for if the truth isn't worth fighting for them I mean, what do you do?

You shouldn't be in leadership if you're not willing to take a stand for what's right, but I saw another hand mark. Yep. Specifically during the kovat the kovat crisis as they Put it on the news John MacArthur.

You know he he kind of became the figurehead of of the church Fighting against the state and basically the the mayor of California the mayor of Los Angeles and the governor of, California. Basically he could have gone to prison they took away the church Parking lot which they had a lease from From the state and they just took it away and that now people couldn't go to church because they had nowhere to park.

You know in the city. It's a big. That's a big problem, but Yeah, thankfully he didn't go to prison, but someone who went to his seminary Who was a pastor in Canada did go to prison for about? Six at least six weeks.

I think I forget his name at the moment, but Yeah, but during 2020 when Somebody decided to take a black lives matter sign and come on to church property. And you know nail it into the ground, and I asked them politely to remove it.

Which seems pretty reasonable that we don't want you know political slogans and Stuff like that a lot was accused of. What because I because I'm not fully supporting the black lives matter movement I'm of course racist right but Yeah, but I think a lot of the people that might have bought into that.

Some people you're not going to change their mind. Yeah, but what was I gonna say. But. But people realize I think a lot of people realize the black lives matter Organization that it was all a grift. I mean they were just making money hand over fist, and it really didn't help black people at all.

Right yeah. Right but at the time not everybody knew that so yeah, but that was one charge.

When people are trying to convince their kid that they're not the gender they were born and all of that when they fight against if there's a father in Canada that's not allowed to see his own kid Right Parents are having their parental rights terminated by the state for not supporting their child's.

You know they're three four five year old child saying that they're a different gender than they were born which.

Which was a thought that was put into their head not by them.

But everybody who's ever raised a child knows that their kid will pretend to be a different gender at some point. They'll be like I'm gonna be a boy today, and they don't mean it. They're playing. These parents you know somebody takes it seriously, and then these parents are losing the rights to their kids.

They're standing for biblical.

Concepts even if they don't realize they are right being persecuted for it. Yeah, there is a law passed about conversion therapy. To where if it's if a child wants to go from being a boy to a girl and you try to stop that or to or if someone is a homosexual and you try to Witness to them and convert them to Christ and say you should live a straight lifestyle.

That's actually illegal. I think there's a few states. It's definitely that way in Canada, and I think it might be. They're looking to pass it here if they haven't already in some states. But you have to realize that okay you could look at it like if they're gonna take some ten-year-old who a parent want then they're bringing them to this place and Connecting him to like electric shock therapy is like convert.

There are some things you could imagine that okay I would be against this or I'd be against it, but really if you look at the way the law is written Preaching to them could be considered Illegal. So the law my point is there are laws in place right now where if the government wanted to enforce them against Christians for doing simple things like evangelizing or preaching a sermon.

They could do it with the laws that are in place now, and I suspect that Will happen if things keep going the way they are but thankfully in this country. You don't see too much. It's you know. It's accusations.

Not exile or prison terms, but This stuff has happened throughout Throughout history and of course in the Protestant Reformation, which I don't think is part of this. This is more early church history we might get to it, but a lot of people died simply for defending the gospel and Athanasius something as simple as the deity of Christ.

I mean people hated him. For standing up for that basic most basic of biblical truths. So in the book it says on a human level their faithfulness was rewarded in 380 when the Emperor Theodosius the first outlawed the heretical views of Arius and declared Nicene or Trinitarian Christianity to be the official religion of the Roman Empire yeah Athanasius was justified he was rewarded he ended up being on as they say the right side of History and we can look back at him and say what a what a strong courageous defender of the faith.

But at the time there was a lot of people who despised Arius. And that's always the way it is men throughout church history. You know now that we're Way past that we can look back. There's a safe amount of space in between us and them and we can sort of lift these men up and admire what they did.

But while they were alive if you did that same thing you'd have a fight on your hands. So you just have to remember that when there's a battle going on right now. It doesn't really matter if people 500 years later Think you were right.

I mean it really should matter right then and right then and there do Christians support you Now during the fight so What's the main battle we're fighting today in churches. I Mean I think the the whole Trans you know LGBT issue is probably it's the one that'll get people's tempers.

You know Fired up the most just one simple statement people can be enraged I think that's the biggest issue that we're dealing with now certainly top three anyone else any other big Battles Christianity is is facing mark Abortion, I mean that's that's kind of those two have been the the big cultural issues for sure deconstructions.

It's a lot Sneakier. Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah. Yeah, well I think of course the guy that refused to bake the cake he ended up winning the case. But then they just filed another lawsuit and then another and it's just about bankrupting the guy and making his life as Miserable as they can so that's if they can't put you in prison.

We'll try to get you some other way, but yeah, it's.

You know right now they have vastly greater influence with like social media and Through the educational system. They've been working for years and years to tilt the game so that it's not just Well, I believe this and I believe that It's now Under nearly the force of law because they can literally ruin your life.

Yeah. Using no Means that are not lawful But have the same effect like the The cake guy, you know literally bankrupting right should that be legal. Absolutely in our view because we believe that he's right.

Yeah, but we don't have that force. We don't have an equivalent Means of connecting all Christians together so that we you know So that we can like like what you do. Somebody is preaching against the faith you can say, okay.

Yep, you can control that in this room, right? So the people who would try to convince others using propaganda and Force They've been working at all the different means that they can do that Legally for a lot longer than we've had our eyes open to it, right?

Yeah.

Right. Yeah it's mobilizing a group of people in getting that pressure and then obviously if if the people in power support that cause then it's game over but The Encouraging thing is Christianity has always been you know, it's been in the minority.

We've never really we've always had to contend with the same things so even though it looks like Athanasius was losing guess what in the end he won and in the end, you know, God wins, so we're just gonna have to Fight a lot of battles between Then and now.

So let's just finish this up. This is the legacy of Athanasius. Here are a few lessons we can learn from the man nicknamed the saint of stubbornness. Number one we should be willing to contend earnestly for core Christian doctrines.

See Jude 3 and 4. A right understanding of the person of Christ is not peripheral but central to the faith. Athanasius recognized the importance of that truth and he was willing to sacrifice much to defend it.

Number two at times being Faithful means you will also be unpopular. Right. That's what we've been talking about. Athanasius became the object of political attack and public scorn because he refused to compromise.

His Tenacity provides a compelling example for us to consider. Number three the key of honoring God is to hold firmly and faithfully to what the Bible teaches. The pastors who signed the Nicene Creed did so because they saw the deity of Christ clearly taught in the scripture.

That same Bible based conviction fueled the dogged determination of Athanasius even in the face of great opposition. And then the fourth and final thing the examples of faithful men in Generations past should motivate us to stand faithfully Against the world in our own Generation.

And that's really why I want to talk about this, you know kind of the application of okay. Where is that happening now? How is that happening today? Because it's great to read about Athanasius, but what are we learning from it?

Well, we should do take the same approach he did. Athanasius lived out his convictions with Consistency and courage. His Commitment to the truth did not waver. His example should motivate us to do the same in our day.

Biblical truth is constantly under attack. The question is are we willing to stand for what we know is right and true? Let me just ask you are you willing to stand for what you know is right and true?

Because if you do it's gonna be Marcus against the world Linda against the world. That's the way it's gonna seem. But hey if God is for us what? Who can be against us? Amen, all right, you're dismissed.