Homoousis

Say whaaaaa?? If you read this post title and thought, "well, it's all Greek to me", you are absolutely right. The title of this post is the Greek word that perfectly describes what we have been talking about this week. The mystery of Christ. Fully God. Fully human. The word "homoousis" is Greek for "of the same substance or essence" and it describes the truth that Jesus and God are equal with each other and of the same form. They cannot be separated. 

One of the great things about being part of the 21st century church is that we stand on the shoulders of amazing giants who have given us a foundation for our faith. In the fourth century, people like  Athanasius worked hard to keep the truth of the gospel and the Bible from being distorted. There were teachers like a guy named Arius going around telling people that the Jesus was created by God and therefore, not equal with God.  But faithful teachers questioned Arius' beliefs (which were spreading quickly) and defended our faith through working hard to gather people around a statement that would affirm what the Bible really says - that God the Father and God the Son are equal and eternal.  It was affirmed by the church at the Council of Nicea and for that reason, we call it The Nicene Creed. Just like The Apostle's Creed, we believe these words. That statement begins like this:

We believe in one God,
The Father, the Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
True God from True God,
begotten, not made,
of one being with the Father;
through Him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation

...

(It continues and talks about the Holy Spirit as equal too; you can find the whole text at http://www.confessingumc.org/our-story/historical-documents/united-methodist-hymnal-the-nicene-creed-and-the-apostles-creed/) 

Aren't you glad that you and I didn't have to figure that out?  The word "begotten" means "brought about" and not created. Jesus' life on earth was brought about out of God but he wasn't born or created. He has always existed. While it may not seem that important, think about this. If Jesus wasn't God, then God sent some random guy to the cross to die for us and not himself. If he didn't die for us, then our forgiveness isn't real. Only the sacrifice of our perfect God can save us. The belief called "homoousis" reminds us that these words are actually true:

For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him wil not perish but have everlasting life." - John 3:16

So in 325 AD, people fought hard to make sure that others would teach the most popular Bible verse written and not ignore it. Without Athanasius and his friends, John 3:16 wouldn't be recognized by you or me. And we wouldn't understand just what great of a sacrifice God made for each of us in giving himself. Tonight, as you go to bed, say a prayer of thanks for Athanasius, the Nicene Creed, and mostly, God coming as a human to making His love known to the world.