God from God Light from Light

The phrase ‘God from God’ comes from the original version of the Council of Nicaea. Subsequent developments at the councils of Constantinople (381 A.D.) and Chalcedon (451 A.D.) removed those words.

Thus, the Greek Nicene Creed states, "Light from light, true God from true God." However, the Latin translation preserved ‘God from God,’ and as a result, it also appears in the English version of the Nicene Creed.

Light from Light:

We are used to lighting a candle from another. The very essence of the light is transferred. By giving, the light of the source candle is not diminished. By accepting, the light of the receiving candle is not lessened. The Creed employs this metaphor to assert that the Son originates from the Father and shares the same substance as the Father.

The Bible presents Jesus saying, “I am the light of the world.” The letter to the Hebrews refers to Jesus as the “radiance of God's glory,” and the Book of Wisdom describes Wisdom (Logos or word in the New Testament) as ‘the radiance of the everlasting light.’

‘Lighting from light’ has been a powerful metaphor through the centuries. ‘Starting a small fire from a big one’ is a quote in Justin Martyr's "Dialogue with Trypho" in the 2 ^nd century.

In the 3rd century, a philosopher named Plotinus used ‘light from light’ to explain that some souls and parts of creation were like ‘dim lights from a brighter light.’

Similarly, a Gnostic theologian wrote about a divine origin, stating, “The author of pure light begot a spark of light with a light resembling blessedness.” Yet, immediately following this description, he stressed that the created light is inferior to the creator.

Against this backdrop, the phrase ‘Light from light’ in the Nicene Creed affirms that the light of the origin and the light of the destination are one and the same. Jesus, being ‘light from light,’ is therefore truly God.

True God from true God:

Jesus is God. He is not merely a divine messenger, intermediary, or exalted being, but very God, equal in substance to the Father.

When the Creed professes the Son as ‘true God from true God,’ it emphasizes the Father's begetting of the Son, clearly implying that ‘God is begotten from God.’ This act of begetting, or generation, lies at the nucleus of Sonship

‘Generation’ means the Son comes forth directly from the Father's very being. It's not like human birth, where someone new appears at a specific time.

Instead, it's an eternal process where the Father communicates His entire, undivided divine essence with the Son.

As St. Augustine puts it, it's not that the Father existed before the Son; rather, the Son exists from the Father, but both have always existed together.

Illuminated by the light of Christ revealed in the Gospels, we endeavor to fathom his relationship with God the Father.

Like a blind person trying to trace the shape of an elephant with searching hands, we reach for the divine with fragile images. Though they fall short, these glimpses are our only lanterns into the mystery of God.

Hence, Jesus is ‘God from God,’ uncreated; ‘light from light,’ in sharing the divine essence; and ‘true God from true God,’ for he is not a lesser god.