What is the meaning of homoousious?

Answer  
  

*Homoousious* (literally, “same substance”) is a term that became very important in church history and was at the center of a controversy in the early fourth century leading up the [Council of Nicea](council-of-Nicea.html).  
  

*Homoousious* is a compound Greek word. The word *homo* simply means “same.” Most people would recognize this from the word *homosexual*. The term *same sex* is often used in place of *homosexual* as in “same\-sex marriage.” *Heterosexual* starts with the Greek word *hetero*, which means “different.”  
  

*Ousious* is the Greek word for “substance or being.” It refers to the essential nature of something—what it really is. *Homoousious* would be “of the same substance.” *Heteroousious* would be “of a different substance.” There is one more word that is important in this context: *homoiousious*. The extra *i* in *homoiousious* changes the meaning to “of a similar substance.”  
  

So, in Greek, in the early fourth century, if two things were described as *homoousious*, it would mean that they were exactly the same kind of thing. If they were described as *heteroousious*, it would mean that they were different kinds of things. And if they were described as *homoiousious*, it would mean that they were similar—neither was exactly like the other, but not so different as to be described as *hetero*.  
  

It was in the early fourth century that a man named Arius began teaching that Jesus was *homoiousious* with the Father—of a “similar substance.” According to [Arianism](arianism.html), Jesus was “divine” but not in exactly the same way the Father was divine. He did not teach that Jesus was *heteroousious*, which would have indicated that Jesus was simply human or radically different from the Father in some other way; rather, he taught that Jesus was “similar” to the Father. In response, a bishop named [Athanasius](Athanasius.html) insisted that Jesus was *homoousious* with the Father—of the “same substance”—the same kind of being. In other words, Jesus is divine in the same way as the Father is.  
  

The issue was settled at the Council of Nicaea. The bishops of the church discussed and debated the issue and finally decided by overwhelming majority that *homoousious* (“same substance”) best encapsulates the teaching of the New Testament on the nature of Jesus. The Nicene Creed was the result of this meeting and reads in part, “We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father.” That last phrase *of one being* is a translation of the Greek word *homoousious*. The word *homoousious* is not found in Scripture, but the Council felt this was the best word to describe orthodox biblical teaching concerning Christ.  
  

We find the teaching that the Father and the Son are *homoousious* in John 1:1, Philippians 2:6, and Colossians 2:9\. More importantly, the concept of *homoousious* explains the entire sweep of the New Testament teaching about the Person and nature of Jesus Christ. Jesus is fully God in the same way that the Father is God—they are of the same divine nature.  
  

