God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God

The Nicene Creed begins “I believe in one God” referring to His one substance which is His essence or nature; answering what God is—"the fullness of Being and of every perfection, without origin and without end.” (CCC 212)   As the Catechism of the Catholic Church further explains: “Our profession of faith begins with God, for God is the First and the Last, the beginning and the end of everything.” (CCC 198)   This clarifies the nature of God as the one eternal and divine essence who perfect in His attributes reveals Himself as: "I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14)

The creed then reveals the profound mystery the Holy Trinity of God in three persons: the Father who begets and eternally loves the Son, and from that love between them proceeds the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Trinity, inseparable and of the same divine nature, is an eternal communion of Love, sharing one perfected essence.

The Nicene Creed proclaims, the Son is “begotten, not made.” He is eternally generated by the Father and of the same divine essence: “God from God.”  The Father radiates the Son and He, in turn, illuminates the Father: “Light from Light.”  And He is “consubstantial”: “True God from True God.”  From which the Holy Spirit eternally proceeds and “with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified.” 

·        “Begotten, not made” — The Son is eternally “begotten” of the Father and the Father and Son have eternally loved each other.  As Love defines God’s internal life, the Father is never solitary. Before creation, the Father eternally knew and loved the Son—“the Word” who was “with God” and who “was God” (John 1:1).   Jesus speaks of the glory and love He shared with the Father “before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24).  The Son is not a creation, but fully God.

·        “God from God” — The Son is necessarily of the same nature of the Father. The Son is not “another god,” and not a creature. He is truly God of the same divine nature of the Father.

·        “Light from Light” — An image representing their shared nature. As light can come from light without becoming something different or dimmer, the Son comes from the Father without being less God. The Father radiates the Son and He, in turn, illuminates the Father.

·        “True God from true God” — The Son is fully God, just as the Father is fully God.

·        “Consubstantial with the Father” — The Father and the Son are not two Gods. They are distinct Persons who share the one divine nature.  They have a relation, but not a difference of substance.

Also see "The Holy Trinity: An Invitation into a Communion of Love" Also available on Catholic365 under the same bio.

Scripture References:

·        John 1:1–3, 14 — The Word is God, is with God, and all things were made through him; the Word became flesh.

·        John 10:30 — “The Father and I are one.”

·        Colossians 1:15–17 — Christ is before all things; all things were created through him and for him.

·        Hebrews 1:3 — The Son is the “radiance” of the Father’s glory and the exact imprint of his being.