Sunday Bulletin: "One IOTA" (5/16/21)

 

One Iota of Difference…

(by Pastor Terry Reese, Valley GBC of Armagh, PA; 5/16/21)

 

In the 4^th Century (AD 325), a major Church Council was held under the supervision of the Roman Emperor Constantine to deal with the Arian Controversy.

 

The Arians (named for Arius, their leader) were a heretical group that had made vast in-roads into the Christian Church, enjoying powerful political & ecclesiastical support.

 

What they believed: The Arians believed that Jesus was a created demigod, through whom God the Father created everything else (not unlike Jehovah’s Witnesses today). Jesus was thus viewed as divine only in a limited sense; while He was a god, He was not the one, eternal God.  

 

Great controversy: The great champion of the orthodox party, Athanasius, who affirmed the full Deity of Christ, refused to receive the Arians into the communion of the faithful, leading to the need for a Church Council (The Council of Nicaea) in order to settle the matter. 

 

In terms of the definitions that emerged from both parties in describing Jesus’ relationship with the Father, the difference boiled down to a single Greek letter: iota (the smallest Greek letter; the “jot” of Matt. 5:18).

 

The orthodox (i.e., Bible believing, Trinitarian) party described the relationship in these terms: Jesus is homoousios—of one substance with the Father; They are of the same essence; Jesus is fully the one and only true GOD! 

 

The Arian party, however, described the relationship this way: Jesus is homoiousios—meaning that He is like the Father, or similar to the Father…but not the same! Jesus is thus NOT God!

 

The difference between the two terms is the smallest Greek letter: iota. One iota of a difference between Heaven & HELL!