Lectures from the Adult Sunday School Class at First OPC Sunnyvale, covering topics in the Bible, theology, Church history, and the Christian life.
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Prophets, priests, and kings are the key characters in the Old Testament, linking its whole message to Christ.
From the late 350s, as the Son's full divinity became clearer, new questions arose about the Holy Spirit. Was he, like the Son, fully divine, "of the same substance" as the Father and the Son? Athanasius addressed these questions in a letter to Serapion in 359. He defended the full divinity of the Spirit using the same principles that he had used to defend the full divinity of the Son. In this way, the whole subject of the Spirit clarified and deepened the church's understanding of the key issues in the Arian controversy. Athanasius's three key principles were: 1) We must collect the sense of
Amid the complexities of the Arian controversy, there were several key theological differences. The Arians thought of God as the top rung in a ladder, with the Son on the second rung, closer to creation on the lower rungs. This led them to think of salvation as human efforts to get up the ladder, following Jesus's example. Athanasius maintained from Scripture that God is infinitely higher than creation. There is no ladder that we could climb to reach him! The three persons of the Trinity are equal, and salvation is God's grace coming down to us in the Father's sending of the Son and the Spirit
Following the council of Nicaea, Athanasius led the church through almost five tumultuous decades. He led the church to discern the teaching of Scripture about the person of Christ, sorting through many difficult ideas and confusing terms. He also showed courage and shrewdness in dealing with 6 emperors, whose attitudes were constantly shifting towards him and other Nicene Christians. In particular, he skillfully handled the scheming of Constantius II. In this, he provides a compelling model for the church today.
Constantine's conversion to Christianity changed the Roman Empire and paved the way for the Council of Nicaea.
