Who is this Son of God, born of the Father before all ages? The next few lines of the Creed begin to break that open for us. I find this section of the creed to be fun to recite because of the parallelism in the text, but these lines make important points that we should not gloss over. Each description of the Son is meant to deny a particular heresy about Him. In addition, this section of the creed has deep links to the Prologue of St. John’s Gospel (John 1:1-14) which is heard at the end of every Latin Mass and is read as the Gospel on Christmas Day for the “Mass of the Day.”

God from God, (Deum de Deo)

When we say that the Son is God from God, we are saying that he has true divinity, that he is someone to be worshiped. The Son of God, then, is truly God and is worthy of our worship. We also must remember that this creed was formulated in the 4^th^ century, when paganism was still common and when many people continued to worship many gods. We also must remember the stories of ancient civilizations where there were beings that were part god and part human or part animal. To say that the Son is God from God is to say that he is not one of these strange creatures.

Even today, this is an important reminder for us to be clear in our thinking about the Son of God. Many want to think of Jesus, the Son of God, as a nice, cuddly figure who says nice things but has no authority. If, however, he is God from God, then we must reject such notions and regard his teachings, his commands, and his examples on a high pedestal. We should venerate them and conform our lives to them.

Light from Light, (lumen de lumine)

In saying that the Son of God is Light from Light, the writers of the Creed are directly invoking the imagery of St. John’s Prologue, where he says that “In him there was like, and that life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, a darkness which was not able to master it.” (1:4-5, Knox translation)

These words are more than nice-sounding and poetic ways to speak of the Son. They remind us that God is the one who brings light to the world. He combats the darkness. Within the history of humanity, some of the most ancient images we find are of conflict between the light and the darkness. The darkness cannot master the light, and it is always conquered by it.

Furthermore, Christ is the Son of God who enlightens our hearts by bringing the Father into our hearts through his Word. Not only does the Son conquer the forces of darkness with the Father, but he instills light into those who desire to make a home for him in their hearts. This title of the Son, Light from Light, is not a throw-away title, but a title that should inspire us to put our faith and trust in Him.

true God from true God, (Deum verum de Deo vero)

While to us the statement that the Son of God is true God from true God is a repetition of God from God, we must again recall the long heritage of our creed. God and true God are not the same when you live in a world that accepts multiple divine beings worthy of worship. To say that the Son is true God is to say that he is not any divine entity, but that he is the same divine entity who is responsible for creation. By stating this, the creed refutes Adoptionism, Arianism, and several other heresies that have been around from the very earliest days of the Church. Adoptionism and some offshoots of Arianism taught that Jesus was a created being and only made divine because he was adopted as Son of God by the Father, but not the same as the Father; therefore, he was a lesser God.

Until next week…

I was hoping to make it farther into the Creed this week, but these statements are so rich I wanted to make sure to give you a small glimpse of the treasures they contain. Next week, we will finish the statements speaking of who Christ is in relation to the Father. The following week, we’ll begin the statements that speak of his incarnation.