Athanasius: The Truth About the Trinity

In the 300s, a controversy erupted throughout the church over the doctrine of the Trinity. The Arian sect claimed Jesus was a lesser deity—since He was begotten of God the Father, there must have been a time when He was not in existence. About that time, a young man named Athanasius entered service to Alexander, the bishop of Alexandria. Alexander was a righteous man who combatted Arianism all the way to the First Council of Nicaea, a gathering of leading bishops ordered by the Roman emperor Constantine to restore unity to the church. There, the council declared Arianism heresy. But Arianism refused to go away. Alexander died shortly after the Council of Nicaea, and Athanasius succeeded him as bishop of Alexandria. There he spent the next five decades of his life in vocal disagreement with proponents of Arian thought. The dual nature of Christ was of paramount importance: Jesus must be fully human to atone for human sins, and He must be fully God to have the power to forgive them. Athanasius’s insistence that Arianism was heresy and his refusal to reinstate Arius, its founder, into church fellowship brought Athanasius into conflict with some important people. Over his forty-five years as a bishop, he was exiled five times. Yet he refused to concede this very important point. His many written works were used to clarify and promote the Nicene Creed that identified Jesus as a fully divine member of the Trinity as well as fully human. Today, Athanasius is considered a father of the early church. Because of his faithfulness, the church clings to a true understanding of Jesus’ divinity, His death and resurrection, and the salvation granted to those who ask Him for forgiveness of their sin. • Michelle Isenhoff • Why is it so important that Jesus is fully God and a full, perfect human? • To learn more about Jesus, check out our “Know Jesus” page. For the entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily in Christ. Colossians 2:9 (CSB)

Read Verses:

Proverbs 3:5-6; Matthew 6:25-34