The Council of Nicaea (AD 325) affirmed that Jesus Christ is homoousios—of the same essence as the Father—establishing his full divinity as a significant pillar of Christian theology. While debates leading to Nicaea often engaged with Greek philosophical concepts, this paper argues that the necessity of Christ’s full divinity is already parsed within Paul’s apocalyptic theology, specifically within his depiction of cosmic hamartiology—the portrayal of sin as a cosmic power that enslaves humanity and creation.
Paul does not present sin as merely an individual moral failing but as a cosmic force that rules within creation, manifesting in systemic oppression, demonic influence, and death itself (Romans 5:12-21, Ephesians 6:12). In this framework, salvation is not only the forgiveness of sins but also a cosmic liberation, requiring Christ to disarm demonic rulers, dismantle spiritual dominions, and subjugate all rebellious cosmic forces (Colossians 2:15, 1.00 Corinthians 15:24-28). This vision necessitates a fully divine Christ, for only one of equal divine authority could conquer sin, liberate creation, and restore divine order within the cosmos. If Christ were a lesser, created being—as proposed by Arianism—his redemptive work would be insufficient to overthrow the enslaving powers that Paul describes.
Paul’s Christology necessitates Nicene theology, as seen in his parsing of Christ’s preexistence (Philippians 2:6-11), cosmic sovereignty (Colossians 1:15-20), and divine agency in creation (1 Corinthians 8:6). Paul explicitly identifies Christ with the Father, attributing to him the power to subjugate all hostile forces. This paper argues that Paul’s Christology necessitates Nicene theology, demonstrating that the early church’s affirmation of homoousios was not merely a philosophical imposition but a natural development of Paul’s apocalyptic theology of a fully divine Christ—a cosmic savior.
In examining passages within the Pauline corpus, this paper will demonstrate that the Nicene affirmation of homoousios is an exegetically and theologically necessary conclusion drawn from Paul’s apocalyptic vision of a cosmic savior. This analysis provides a stronger biblical foundation for Nicene orthodoxy and challenges reductionist readings of Paul that diminish the cosmic scope of sin, salvation, and Christ’s ultimate authority. Thus, this paper bridges biblical exegesis and historical theology, showing that Pauline theology and Nicene orthodoxy are inseparably linked in their vision of Christ as the conqueror of cosmic evil, the Christus Victor.