Begotten

 

Per the Nicene Creed:

Begotten, not made

Per the Holy Bible:

In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God.

John 1:1-2

Yes, I came from the Father into the world, and now I will leave the world and return to the Father.

John 16:28

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I have to admit, this whole "begotten" thing has always been a mystery to me, so for this step in our journey through the Nicene Creed, I turned to the depository of all earthly knowledge, YouTube, for help. The One-Minute Apologist has this to say:

https://youtu.be/wSWkWGu-_rE

Now, while I find that kind of helpful, it's not really an answer. And neither is Merriam-Webster: "brought into existence by or as if by a parent", which is exactly the opposite point the creed is trying to make, that being, that even though it appeared that Jesus of Nazareth "came to the world in the usual way," he was not conceived in Mary's womb by any human union, but that the eternal God-the-Son put on flesh by miraculous means.

Truth is...there's a lot more studying that can be done to sort out terminology, and a person could do worse than deciphering through the article that is the source for this post's graphic, "Begotten, Not Made", by Josh Malone in Creedo Magazine. (To read it, CLICK HERE.)

God from God

 

Per the Nicene Creed:

God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God

Per the Holy Bible:

In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God.

God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

John 1:1-14 NLT

The Father himself loves you dearly because you love me and believe that I came from God. Yes, I came from the Father into the world, and now I will leave the world and return to the Father.

John 16:27-28

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Truth is...The Nicene Creed may be guilty of a little overkill here for the sake of poetry, but the point is that Jesus is God the Son, not Joseph and Mary's son, born in some backwater Palestinian village. He emanates from Yahweh. Stay tuned, there's more to come.

Eternally Jesus

 

Per the Nicene Creed:

Eternally begotten of the Father

Per the Holy Bible:

In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God.

John 1:1-2 (NLT)

Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I am!”

John 8:58

For through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see — such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.

Colossians 1:16

Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.

Philippians 2:6

We'll deal with "begotten" in two weeks. The point today is "eternally" and the assertion that, like the Father, there was never a time when Jesus didn't exist.

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Truth is...infinity and timelessness are things that make my mind get all wobbly, but for Yahweh to always be the Father, there has to have always been the Son. As it's been stated before, if God could be totally explained, he wouldn't be all that worthy of worship now, would he?

Son of God

 

Per the Nicene Creed:

...the only Son of God...

Per the Holy Bible:

The king proclaims the Lord’s decree: “The Lord said to me, ‘You are my son. Today I have become your Father.'"

Psalm 2:7 NLT

And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”

Matthew 3:17

For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

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For Yahweh to be eternally identified as "Father," there has to have eternally been a "Son". That loving, authoritative/submissive relationship has always been present in the Godhead and is beyond our complete comprehension. How can Jesus be both God and Son? That is a mystery clearly taught in Scripture, but never fully explained.

Truth is...if I could completely understand God, I don't think he'd be worth worshiping.