Why Did Jesus Have to Be Divine? Origen’s Lost Vision and the Nicene Cage
When early Christianity traded mystical fluidity for imperial control
4th century theological battles reshaped Christian identity
🔥 The Crisis That Forced Divinity
The 4th-century church faced a theological emergency:
- Arius’ bombshell: “There was when [the Son] was not!” — reducing Jesus to a created being
- The salvation problem: If Jesus isn’t fully God, how can he bridge the gap between humanity and the divine?
- Constantine’s power play: The Council of Nicaea (325 AD) deployed homoousios (consubstantial) as a doctrinal weapon
“The Creed was a fence. It didn’t reveal truth—it protected the institution’s version of it.”
— David Bentley Hart
🌌 Origen’s Vision: Why It Feels Liberating
Origen of Alexandria (184–253 AD) offered a path beyond binaries:
Subordination without inferiority
The Son as eternal emanation of the Father—like a ray from the sun, distinct yet one in essence.
Salvation as enlightenment
Jesus’ incarnation aimed at theosis: divinizing humans through spiritual knowledge (gnōsis).
Scripture as layered mystery
His threefold hermeneutic freed texts from literalism. Psalm 110:1 could celebrate exalted humanity.
“The Word became flesh to make us divine.”
— Origen, De Principiis
⛓ Why the Church Buried Origen
Orthodoxy chose control over mysticism:
- The “infinite regression” fear — If Jesus was subordinate, what stopped others from claiming divinity?
- Worship demands ultimacy — Early Christians already prayed to Christ as God (Pliny’s letters, 112 AD)
- Political convenience — Constantine needed a unified creed to stabilize his fragmenting empire
The Second Council of Constantinople (553 AD) formally condemned Origen as heretical.
💎 Why Origen Resonates Today
Modern scholarship vindicates Origen’s intuition:
| Biblical Term | Original Meaning | Nicene Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| “Son of God” | Human agent acting for God (Ps 82:6) | Ontologically divine |
| “Logos” | Divine Wisdom active in creation | Pre-existent second person |
As theologian Daniel McClellan notes: “‘God’ wasn’t a metaphysical category in antiquity, but a function.”
💡 The Unresolved Tension
Nicaea’s definition solved an imperial crisis but sacrificed mystical depth. Origen’s vision—where divinity signifies humanity’s ultimate potential rather than metaphysical uniqueness—remains Christianity’s road not taken.
“The end is not knowing God, but loving Him.”
— Origen