Begotten, Not Made

The statement in verse 3 that the Jesus is "the exact imprint of his [God's] nature" makes a statement about the Son's co-eternality with the Father. However, this truth has not always been accepted. In the early 4th century A.D. Arius, a popular church leader, denied Jesus eternality with God and said that the Son was a created being. In order to protect the divinity of Jesus, the church at the Council of Nicaea, officially adopted the language of homoousios, that the Son was "of the same substance" as the Father. This affirmed that the Son has always been, He was eternal.