Early followers of Jesus in biblical times lived a faith grounded directly in the message of the Gospels, strengthened by the apostolic letters, and informed by the Jewish Law and Prophets. Their belief was confirmed by the presence of the Holy Spirit, whose gifts and miracles nourished faith and built genuine communities of believers. This faith was simple, experiential, and relational—focused on trust in Christ, obedience to God, and the guidance of the Spirit.
Centuries later, the Council of Nicaea introduced definitions and creeds that did not exist in Scripture. The Nicene formula replaced the relational and scriptural understanding of the Father and Son with a metaphysical one, defining them as of one substance and transforming Jesus from the Son of God into “God the Son.” This shift contradicted earlier expressions of the Son’s subordination to the Father and marked a decisive change in how God was understood.
After Nicaea, the faith of the earliest Christians was largely replaced by an imperial, institutional form of Christianity that merged with political power. Spiritual manifestations such as the laying on of hands no longer brought the same evident gifts of the Holy Spirit, as admitted by writers like John Chrysostom and Augustine. The living, Spirit-led faith of the apostolic era gave way to creeds, hierarchy, and doctrinal enforcement under state-backed authority, particularly that of Rome.
For some, what is truly at stake in all of this is not institutional authority but fellowship with the Father and the Son, as emphasized in passages like 2 John 9. For a small minority, maintaining that fellowship—by holding to the original teaching of Christ rather than later theological systems—remains of utmost importance.
Stephen D Green (using AI to clarify the wording but not for any of the substance of this).
