THE HALL OF HERESIES: ARIANISM

A belief is called “heresy” if it does not agree with the accepted and authoritative Christian tradition. All heresy is false teaching, but not all false teaching is heresy. The term is reserved only for those false teachings within Christianity that have been proven extremely dangerous because they contradict the truths of the gospel. One of the known examples of heresies is Arianism.

The History

This belief was named after its main supporter, Arius (c. 250–336 AD), the bishop of Alexandria. Even though the belief was named after him, he was not the actual founder of the movement. Some churches at that time already held similar ideas, even if they were not directly connected to him. Church leaders such as Eusebius of Nicomedia also supported Arius. Arianism, however, was opposed by early church fathers like Athanasius and was declared heretical by the Council of Nicea (325 AD).

The Heresy

According to this view, Jesus, God the Son, was merely created by God the Father. In other words, Christ had a beginning and is lower than the Father. For Arianism, at the very start, the Son and the Holy Spirit did not yet exist—only God the Father. This means that although Christ existed before the rest of creation and is greater than everything else, He is still not equal to the Father who created Him. Christ, they claim, is only “similar to the Father in nature” but not “of the same nature as the Father.” Arius believed that the uniqueness of the Father must be protected at all costs, and therefore we cannot say that the Son is coeternal and coequal with Him.

They based their view on passages where Christ is called the “only begotten Son” (Jn 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18, etc.). For Arius and his allies, because Jesus was called “begotten,” it means that the Father “begot” Him. Since He is the only begotten Son of the Father, it supposedly means that He was born or created by the Father. They also used as proof the verse that calls Christ the “firstborn of all creation” (Col 1:15). For them, since Christ was the firstborn, He must have been created before everything else.

Their reasoning was flawed, because it assumed that Christ being “begotten” is the same as how humans are begotten. But since Christ is the “only begotten,” His relationship with the Father is unique and incomparable. In response, the Nicene Creed of 325 AD affirmed that Christ was “begotten, not made.” Whatever “begotten” means in the Bible, it does not mean that He was created. To make this clearer, the Council of Constantinople (381 AD) expanded the earlier creed, adding “eternally begotten of the Father” (or “begotten from the Father before all ages”), showing that the Son has always been with the Father.

Furthermore, the early church argued that if Christ were only like the Father but not of the same nature, then He could not be fully God. Therefore, the Nicene Creed (also called the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed) declares that Christ was “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made; of the same essence as the Father.”
What then about Christ being “the firstborn of all creation”? Paul’s intended meaning is made clear in the next verse: “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” (Col 1:16). Thus, Christ being the “firstborn” does not mean He was created first; rather, it means He has the privilege and authority to rule over all creation, just as in ancient custom the firstborn held the right to lead.

The Hoax

Though Arius and his allies are long gone, their belief continues to mislead many. Arianism is still alive today, even though it has been disproven many times by those before us.
For the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christ was just a spirit creature in heaven before He came to earth. Jesus, they say, was directly created by the Father and is therefore unique—but not equal to Him. For the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons), Jesus is just one of the Father’s many spirit children, alongside Satan. It just so happened that the Father liked Jesus’ plan for salvation better than Satan’s, so He sent Him instead. For the Iglesia ni Cristo, Jesus is only human. He is “the Son of God,” but not “God the Son.” (Which, in my opinion, is a very “creative” way of avoiding the clear teaching of the Bible.)

These show that modern hoaxes are really the same old heresies dressed in new clothes. As long as false views about Christ exist, the “ghost” of Arius still lingers.
Apostle John, in refuting the false doctrines of his day, gives us a clear declaration about Christ, whom he calls the “Logos” or “Word”: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” (John 1:1–3). Stay Curious. 

Sources and Studies:

Davie, M. (Gen. Ed). (2016).“Arianism.” 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘋𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺: 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤. Intervarsity Press.
Edgar, W. and Oliphint S. (Gen. Ed.) (2009). “Athanasius”. 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘈𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘗𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵. Crossway Books.
Vanhoozer, K. (Gen.Ed.). (2005). “Alexandrian Word-Flesh Christology” . 𝘋𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. Baker Books House
Grudem, W. (1994). “Arianism Denies the Full Deity of the Son and the Holy Spirit” . 𝘚𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺. Zondervan