Credo Alliance: Why We Believe in Eternal Generation

“Begotten, not made; of the same essence as the Father.”

With these words, the Nicene Creed sets the standard of Christian orthodoxy for pastors and church members. As Christians confess the creed today, they link arms with brothers and sisters throughout the ages in affirming their belief in the eternal generation of the Son.

In this episode, Credo Fellows Scott Swain, Fred Sanders, J.V. Fesko, and Matthew Barrett discuss why they believe in eternal generation. Through affirming doctrines such as eternal relations of origin and denying ideas such as eternal functional subordination, this episode of the Credo Alliance seeks to discuss and demonstrate that Christian unity is measured more by doctrinal and biblical fidelity than personal sincerity.

Fred Sanders serves as professor in the Torrey Honors College, an undergraduate program in the great books, at Biola University. He has written several books and articles including The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything (Crossway, 2010), The Triune God (Zondervan, 2016), and Fountain of Salvation: Trinity and Soteriology (Eerdmans, 2021). Sanders serves as a Fellow of Credo Magazine.

J.V. Fesko serves as Harriet Barbour Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary. He is the author and editor of several books, including The Trinity and the Covenant of Redemption (Mentor, 2016). Fesko serves as a Fellow of Credo Magazine.

Scott Swain serves as president and James Woodrow Hassell Professor of Systematic Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary. He is the author of several books, including most recently The Trinity and the Bible: On Theological Interpretation (Lexham Press, 2021) and The Trinity: An Introduction (Crossway, 2020). Swain serves as a Fellow of Credo Magazine.

Matthew Barrett is the editor-in-chief of Credo Magazine and host of the Credo podcast. He is associate professor of Christian theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Director of the Center for Classical Theology. He is the author of the award-winning Simply Trinity and his new book is called, The Reformation as Renewal. He is currently writing a Systematic Theology (Baker Academic).