This title appears to be semantics; however, this is the approach to understand Scriptures. John 1, verses 1-4; 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. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. John 1:14; The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
The Word was God, and the Word became flesh. The Word, that is God, made God known to us. John 4:24; God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” The Spirit became flesh to make the nature (the spirit) of God known to man. The Spirit was and is spirit, eternal. And after making the nature of God known to man, the spirit as temporary flesh, transformed back to be one with the eternal Spirit.
John 12:40-41; “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I would heal them.” Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.
Isaiah 6: 1-3; In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
Isaiah 6:10; Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise, they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”
In the Gospel of John, Jesus speaks about returning to the Father and being one with Him in several key passages:
1. Returning to the Father (John 16:28 & John 14:28)
- In John 16:28, Jesus describes his complete journey, explaining that he left the Father to enter the world, and that he is now departing the world to return to the Father.
- In John 14:28, during the Farewell Discourse, Jesus tells his disciples that he is going away to the Father.
2. Requesting a Return to Eternal Divine Glory (John 17:5)
- At the beginning of his High Priestly Prayer in John 17:5, Jesus prays to be glorified in the Father’s presence with the same glory he shared with Him prior to the creation of the world.
3. The Oneness of the Father and the Son (John 10:30 & John 17:11, 21–22)
- John 10:30: Jesus states directly, “I and the Father are one.”
- John 17:11 & 17:21–22: As Jesus prepares to leave the world and return to the Father, he asks that his followers be united into one, modelling their unity directly on the oneness shared between the Father and himself.
In Exodus 3:14; God said to Moses, “I am who I am. (Or I will be what I will be) This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” While in John 4: 25-26; The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” Everything that was made, was made through Him, the account of creation stated in Genesis 1 verses 1-3; In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
In Genesis 1:14-19; And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day. While in Mark 2: 27-28; Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
The theological arguments of the Council of Nicaea: The First Council of Nicaea (325 AD) convened to resolve a foundational crisis in early Christianity: the precise nature of Jesus Christ and his relationship to God the Father. The debate centred on two directly opposing theological camps—the Arian view and the Nicene (Orthodox) view.
1. The Arian Position (Arius of Alexandria)
Arius argued from strict monotheism, seeking to protect the absolute oneness and unchangeability of God the Father.
- “There was a time when he was not”: Arius taught that the Son (the Logos) was not eternal but was the first and highest creation of God.
- Derived Divinity: Because the Son was created out of nothing (ex nihilo) by the Father’s will, his divinity was dependent and secondary, not inherent.
- Distinct Substance: Arius asserted that the Father and Son were of completely different substances (heteroousios).
2. The Nicene Position (Alexander & Athanasius)
The opposing faction, led by Bishop Alexander and his deacon Athanasius, argued that Arianism undermined the fundamental mechanism of Christian salvation.
- Co-Eternal and Uncreated: They maintained that the Son was eternally begotten of the Father—never created, having no beginning in time.
- Salvation Logic: Athanasius argued that only a fully divine Savior could reconcile humanity to God and conquer death. If Christ were a creature, worshiping him would be idolatry, and his death could not redeem humanity.
- Same Substance (Homoousios): They insisted that the Son shares the exact same essence or substance as the Father.
Key Theological Terminology
The debate ultimately turned on specific Greek concepts used to define the relationship between the Father and the Son:
| Concept | Term | Theological Meaning | Council Outcome |
| Homoousios | “Of the same substance” | Father and Son share identical, undivided divine essence. | Adopted into the Creed |
| Homoiousios | “Of similar substance” | Son is like the Father, but distinct in essence. | Rejected |
| Heteroousios | “Of different substance” | Son is of a completely different nature/essence than the Father. | Rejected (Arian view) |
Final Resolution & Creedal Outcome
The Council overwhelmingly rejected Arianism and drafted the original Nicene Creed. To make the theological position explicit and unambiguous, the creed included specific key phrasing:
“…begotten, not made, being of one substance (homoousios) with the Father…”
The council attached explicit anathemas (condemnations) to the end of the creed targeting Arian slogans, specifically condemning anyone who claimed “there was a time when he was not” or that the Son was created from nothing.
Job 1:6; One day the angels (Hebrew the sons of God) came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them.
Jesus far more frequently referred to Himself as the “Son of Man” rather than the “Son of God.”
In the Gospels, Jesus calls Himself the “Son of Man” around 80 times, whereas He rarely explicitly refers to Himself using the direct title “Son of God” (though He freely acknowledged it when others applied it to Him or spoke of God as His Father).
The Title “Son of Man”
- Primary Self-Designation: This was Jesus’ preferred way to speak about Himself throughout the Gospels (e.g., “The Son of Man has no place to lay his head,” Matthew 8:20).
- Old Testament Root: The title directly connects back to Daniel 7:13–14, where “one like a son of man” comes with the clouds of heaven and is given everlasting dominion, authority, and a kingdom by God.
- Dual Meaning: It highlighted His shared humanity and humble ministry while simultaneously serving as a divine, messianic claim rooted in Daniel’s vision without triggering immediate political execution from Roman authorities.
The Title “Son of God”
- Jesus’ Usage: While Jesus rarely used “Son of God” as a direct self-assigned title in public preaching, He regularly spoke of His unique relationship with God, calling God “My Father” (especially emphasized in the Gospel of John).
- Responses & Inferences: When questioned directly—such as during His trial before the Sanhedrin (Luke 22:70) or when Peter confessed, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16)—Jesus affirmed the identity.
While Jesus affirmed that He was the Son of God, He systematically chose Son of Man as His title of choice to describe His identity, mission, suffering, and future glory.
Psalm 16:10 (Original Old Testament Passage):
“For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor let your holy one see decay.”
Acts 2:27 (Peter’s Pentecost Sermon):
Peter quotes David’s psalm to argue that David was prophesying about the resurrection of Jesus, since David died and was buried, but Jesus did not see decay. While Satan is represented as a rotten decaying corpse, in a revelation from the Holy One.
