Lesson 5: Creeds and Councils: A.D. 410-590

By the end of this lesson, the student should:

(1) Recognize the contribution of the church councils to Christian doctrine.

(2) Value the practical importance of the doctrine of Christ developed in the councils.

(3) Appreciate the contribution of great Christians such as Augustine and Columba.

I sometimes ask my students, “Did Jesus ever catch a cold? Did he ever smash his thumb with a hammer in Joseph’s woodshop? When he took a test at school, did he have to study and memorize the correct answers?” 

Of course, the answer to each of these question is “Yes!” Jesus was fully human. He caught the same colds that other people suffered. He missed the nail when learning to work as a carpenter and smashed his thumb. He had to study for exams just like any student. But, some students are shocked to consider this. They have grown up with an image of Jesus as a “superman” who had none of the limitations of humanity.

While my students do not recognize it, they have unknowingly accepted the ideas of some of the heresies we will study in this lesson. They know that Jesus is fully God; they have forgotten that he is also fully human. He was born as a baby; he grew in wisdom as a child; he was tempted in every respect just as we are; he became one of us.[1] In this lesson, we will see how the early church grew in its understanding of the doctrine of Christ. As you read this lesson, think of the practical importance of the doctrines of the deity of Christ and the humanity of Christ.

[1] Luke 2:52; Hebrews 4:15

In A.D. 410, the city of Rome fell to Alaric, the leader of the Goths, a tribe from the north. For the first time in eight centuries, the city of Rome had fallen. For Christians, this was more than a mere political event; it was a crisis for the church.

First, many people blamed Christians for Rome’s troubles. Pagans said that Rome had prospered when Romans sacrificed to the gods. Now that these sacrifices were banned, the gods were punishing Rome.

Second, some Christians confused the power of the church with the political power of Rome. They believed that the Roman Empire represented God’s blessing. Jerome asked, “If Rome can perish, what is safe?”

Augustine, the bishop of Hippo in North Africa, responded with a book, The City of God, published in 426. In this work, Augustine taught that two realms exist on earth – the City of God and the City of Man. All earthly cities will someday fall; the city of God is eternal. Augustine saw that “the world is grown old,” but the church’s “youth shall be renewed as an eagle.” God’s rule does not depend on human power. The Christian’s ultimate loyalty is to the City of God.

Augustine’s teaching became increasingly important during the next century. In 455, another tribe, the Vandals, attacked and defeated Rome. Then in 476, the Odovacer conquered Rome and deposed the emperor, Romulus Augustus. This was the end of the Western Roman Empire. But in spite of the fall of Rome, the City of God remains strong.

Augustine, from North Africa, is one of the most influential theologians of the western church. He served as bishop of Hippo Regius (in present-day Algeria).

[2]

Rejecting his mother’s Christian faith as simplistic, Augustine spent years studying Greek philosophy. He lived a sensual lifestyle, even fathering a child by a mistress.

Around 385, Augustine moved to Milan to become professor of rhetoric (speech) at the university. Ambrose was bishop of Milan and Augustine began attending the cathedral to hear the impressive sermons of Ambrose. Augustine began to visit with Ambrose and found the bishop answered the young man’s questions about the Christian faith.

Augustine began to suffer conviction for his sinful lifestyle. One afternoon, he began to read from Paul’s letter to the Romans. “Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”[1] Augustine realized that the answer to his sensual desires was the grace of Jesus Christ.

Augustine was converted at the age of thirty-one, returned to Hippo, and was ordained as an elder in 391. Five years later, he was appointed bishop of Hippo. As bishop, Augustine defended orthodoxy against false heresies, particularly Manichaeism, a gnostic heresy. He wrote books that have influenced theologians for more than 1500 years. His most influential writings were The City of God and Confessions, an account of his early life and conversion.

Augustine’s most controversial teaching was his doctrine of predestination. In his early ministry, Augustine taught the doctrine common in the early church. The church fathers taught salvation is for all. God foreknows those who will respond to His call, but all humankind are called to salvation.

However, around A.D. 410, Augustine’s theology changed dramatically. Pelagius, a monk traveling to Rome, was shocked by the moral laxity of professing Christians there. As Paul had warned in Romans 6, some Christians took God’s grace as a license to live in willful sin. Pelagius’s “solution” was to emphasize man’s responsibility while minimizing God’s grace. Pelagius denied the doctrine of original sin; he claimed that we are born free of original sin and have the ability to meet God’s demands in our own power.

Unfortunately, in responding to Pelagius’ error, Augustine completely denied man’s role in responding to salvation. Augustine recognized that Adam’s sin corrupted all humankind; we are born with a sinful nature and, apart from God’s grace, do not even seek God. Therefore, he said that God chose those who will be saved before the foundation of the world. Augustine taught that God predestines some people (called the “elect”) to salvation and others (called “reprobates”) to damnation. This misunderstanding of predestination laid the foundation of John Calvin’s doctrine of unconditional election.

Augustine’s life shows:

• The power of grace. Even as he was running from God, God pursued Augustine, bringing him into contact with Bishop Ambrose in Milan.
• The danger of misunderstanding grace. Pelagius replaced grace with works. This makes salvation dependent on man’s work. Augustine wrongly confused grace with irresistible election. This promotes God’s sovereignty while ignoring His love. Both teachings are based on an insufficient understanding of God’s grace.  

► Take time to allow some class members to share a testimony of how God’s grace reached you while you were still in sin. Make sure your testimony draws attention to God’s grace, not to your sin!

[1] Romans 13:13-14

[2]Image: "Augustine of Hippo", The Hundred Greatest Men (1885), retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Augustine_of_Hippo.jpg, public domain.

The councils of Nicaea and Constantinople affirmed Jesus’ divine nature. However, this left a further question. If Jesus were both human and divine, how did these two natures exist together in one person?

Nestorius, the bishop of Constantinople in 428, emphasized the separation of the two natures to the point that he implied that Jesus was two “persons” in one body. Nestorius did not accept that God could suffer, so he separated the humanity of Jesus from his deity. However, if Nestorius was correct, only a man died at Calvary. Cyril, the bishop of Alexandria, responded, “How could the sufferings of a mere man accomplish the redemption of all mankind?” A council of church leaders met at Ephesus in 431 and condemned the teaching of Nestorius.

Because we do not have any of the writings of Nestorius, it is difficult to know exactly what he taught. Christian missionaries who followed Nestorius took the gospel to China, India, and Persia. The influence of the Nestorian missionaries from the 5th to 11th centuries teach two lessons:

1. Even sincere Christians with a heart for evangelism can misinterpret some aspects of biblical truth. We must constantly return to Scripture as the standard for our teaching.
2. God works through flawed human instruments to accomplish His purposes. The followers of Nestorius may have misunderstood an important aspect of theology, but God still used them to bring the gospel to the East. Just as God worked through a fallible Simon Peter in Acts 10, He has used flawed instruments through church history.

Even after the Council of Ephesus, the relationship between the divine and human natures of Christ continued to cause confusion and division in the church. In 449, the bishop of Rome, Leo I, wrote his Tome in which he stated that Jesus was a single “person” with two “natures,” divine and human. In this way he protected both doctrines: the deity and the humanity of Jesus. Leo wrote that both natures are “kept intact and come together in one person.”

Leo explained the importance of this doctrine to salvation. He said that sin and death could not be conquered unless one who was untouched by sin and death (Jesus) “took on our nature and made it his own.” The doctrine of Christ’s nature is not simply an academic discussion. It is only because Jesus was fully divine and fully human that we have hope of salvation.

In 451, the Council of Chalcedon accepted Leo’s Tome and rejected the idea that Jesus’ two natures were intermixed. The council affirmed that Jesus has two natures (“without confusion, division or separation”) in one person. While some Coptic and Syrian churches rejected the decision at Chalcedon, most Christians accept that the Incarnation requires us to accept a mystery that we cannot fully explain; Jesus is one person, but two natures. This is known as the Chalcedonian Creed, or the “Chalcedonian Definition.”

► Are the creeds important for the church today? Does your church quote any of the creeds (the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, or the Chalcedonian Creed)? If not, what is your standard for orthodoxy?

► Either the Alexandrian or Anitochene view of Christ’s nature can be taken to an extreme that misrepresents Christ’s nature. Discuss:

• The danger of each extreme (Apollinarianism and Nestorianism)
• How Christians today may misunderstand the person of Jesus Christ
• Which perspective is more common in your church environment
• How you should explain the nature of Jesus to laymen in your church

Columba (521-597) was born in what is now Ulster, Ireland. His name means “the dove” and he is known as the “dove of the church” because of his missionary efforts. Columba was born into a royal family and might have taken the throne. Instead, from early life he felt God’s call to serve the church.

Columba studied under some of the leading teachers of his day. Soon after his ordination, Columba began to establish monasteries in Irish villages. He was respected as a godly man and a person of great scholarship.

At the age of 40, Columba became involved in political conflict and fought in the Battle of Culdrevney in which 3000 men were killed. Columba felt such remorse that he left Ireland as an “exile for Christ,” determined to win as many souls as had been lost in the battle. Columba devoted the rest of his life to evangelism and led thousands of Scots to Christ.

Columba and twelve companions landed on the island of Iona near the coast of Scotland. They founded a monastery that became the center for evangelizing Scotland. Columba was able to use his royal contacts and political skills for the spread of the gospel.

Memories of the Battle of Culdrevney inspired Columba to bring peace between the Scots and the warlike Picts. Within a year of arriving on Iona, Columba led the King of the Picts to Christ. The Picts were known for their fierce behavior, but were transformed by the gospel. Through Columba, peace came to Scotland.

Columba inspired in Scottish Christians a passion for books, particularly the Bible. Early in his life, he made an unauthorized copy of the Psalms and Gospels for his own study.[1] This love for the study of Scripture provided a model for Columba’s converts. His sermons were simple explanations of the Bible.

Columba also inspired a passion for evangelism. From his arrival on Iona in 563 until his death at the age of 75, Columba promoted the cause of missions and evangelism.

One of the joys of studying church history is seeing God work through the centuries to accomplish His purposes. God’s timetable is much grander than our limited calendar! In Lesson 4, we studied Patrick who took the gospel to Ireland. God brought Patrick from England to Ireland as a missionary who baptized thousands, including a man named Conall. Conall’s grandson was Columba. Two generations later, God brought Conall’s grandson Columba from Ireland to Scotland to evangelize the Scotts and Picts. What does God want to do through you?

[1] During the Middle Ages, no one was allowed to make a copy of the Scriptures without approval from a church authority. This was intended to protect the Bible from copyist mistakes. However, it always limited the availability of Scripture.

► The church councils devoted great effort to defining the doctrine of Christ. Why is it important to teach that Jesus is fully God, “of the same substance as the Father?” What is the practical impact of this doctrine?

► Why is it important to teach that Jesus is fully man? What is the practical impact of this doctrine?

At some point in this lesson, you may have thought, “Great! Another heresy; another council. Who cares about church councils from 1700 years ago? I just want to know the Bible.” Many people see the councils and creeds as meaningless for the church today.

Liberal theologians say, “Why should we allow a group of men from 1700 years ago to determine what we believe today? We need our own ‘enlightened’ 21st century theology.” On the other side, some evangelicals say, “Dead theology isn’t important. Our living faith is the important thing! My faith rests not on creeds, but on a personal relationship with Jesus.”

It is true that our personal relationship with Jesus is central. It is also true that the theology hammered out in the early church helps us understand the Jesus on whom our faith is grounded. The discussions in these councils impact our daily Christian life. These doctrines describe not only the person of Jesus but his work as Savior. The councils recognized that the person of Jesus cannot be separated from the work of Jesus. What Jesus did is based on what Jesus did.

The Council of Nicaea affirmed the deity of Christ.[2] The bishops understood that if Jesus is not truly God, his death is meaningless because only God can forgive sin. If Jesus is not God, he cannot be our Savior.

The Council of Constantinople affirmed the full humanity of Christ.[3] The bishops understood that if Jesus is not fully man, his death did not atone for us. Although God provided for the sacrifice of animals as a temporary foreshadowing of Jesus’ perfect sacrifice, the remission of sin required a perfect human sacrifice.[1] If Jesus is not fully human, he cannot provide that sacrifice.

The Councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon affirmed the relationship between Christ’s two natures. The bishops understood that a “mixture of the divine and human” is neither divine nor human. These councils affirmed that Christ had two distinct natures in one person, without mixing or division of these natures.

The creeds summarize doctrines that are essential to our faith.[4] While the creeds must never replace Scripture as the final authority, the creeds help us to better understand the doctrines stated in Scripture. The creeds were developed in response to heretical movements that threatened the true faith. They were the way in which ordinary people learned about the Christian faith.

[1] Hebrews 10:4

[2]On the deity of Christ: “Jesus, whom I know as my Redeemer, cannot be less than God.”
- Athanasius

[3]On the humanity of Christ: “How could the human race go to God if God had not come to us?”
- Irenaeus

[4]“Of the Father’s love begotten
Ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega,
He the source, the ending he,
Of the things that are, that have been,
And that future years shall see
Evermore and evermore.”
- 4th Century hymn on the nature of Christ

Augustine (354-430). Bishop of Hippo. One of the most important theologians of the Christian church. He emphasized the doctrines of original sin, predestination, and salvation by grace through faith.

Columba (521-597). An early missionary to Scotland. Columba traveled from Ireland to establish monasteries and churches in Scotland.

(1) Take a test on this lesson. The test will include dates from the “Key Events in Church History” timeline (410-590).

(2) Review the discussion of the councils. Choose one of the councils and prepare a short summary of the council. Your summary should include four parts:

• Events: Where and when did the council meet?
• Issue: What was the primary doctrinal issue that led to the council?
• Decision: What did the council decide regarding the primary issue?
• Application: How does this council’s decision affect the doctrine and life of the church?

You have two options for presenting this summary:

• Submit a 2 page written paper to your class leader.
• Give a 3-5 minute oral presentation to your class.

(1) The city of Rome fell to the Goths in A.D. _________.              

(2) Augustine’s book written in response to the fall of Rome was called _________.

(3) Augustine’s account of his early life and conversion was called _________.

(4) _________ emphasized the separation of Jesus’ two natures until he implied that Jesus was “two persons” in one body.

(5) Leo I wrote a _________ in which he stated that Jesus was a single “person” with two natures, divine and human.

(6) The Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople addressed the nature of Christ. The Council of _________ in 451 addressed how the two natures related to each other.   

(7) _________ took the gospel to Scotland in the sixth century.