What Scripture says
The New Testament, written in the 1st century, already presents Jesus as divine:
- Christ “was in the form of God”, and “every knee should bow” to him (Philippians 2:6–11, ESV), written around AD 60, possibly quoting an earlier hymn.
- “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).
- Thomas calls the risen Jesus “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).
- Christ is “God over all, blessed forever” (Romans 9:5).
These books were written more than 250 years before Constantine.
What the evidence says
History
The claim
Popular books, especially Dan Brown’s novel The Da Vinci Code (2003), claimed that the Roman emperor Constantine invented Jesus’ divinity at the Council of Nicaea in AD 325, by a close vote, and chose which books went into the Bible. Some also claim he invented Christianity itself.
Worship of Jesus before Constantine
| Source | Date | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Paul’s letters | c. AD 50–60 | Jesus as Lord, in the place of God (1 Corinthians 8:6, Philippians 2:6–11) |
| Ignatius of Antioch | c. AD 110 | Calls Jesus “our God” repeatedly |
| Pliny the Younger, Roman governor | c. AD 112 | Christians “sing a hymn to Christ as to a god” |
| Justin Martyr | c. AD 155 | Jesus is “God”, worshipped with the Father |
| The Alexamenos graffito | c. AD 200 | Roman graffiti mocking a Christian worshipping a crucified donkey-headed figure |
| Tertullian | c. AD 213 | “Trinity” and “one substance, three persons” (see 8.1) |
Larry Hurtado showed that worship of Jesus began among Jewish Christians within the first years of the church (see 6.4).
What Nicaea actually did
Constantine became emperor in 306 and ended the persecution of Christians with the Edict of Milan (313). Around 318, an Alexandrian priest named Arius began teaching that the Son was created and not eternal. The dispute divided the church, and Constantine called a council at Nicaea in 325 to settle it.
- About 250–300 bishops attended. The question was not whether Jesus was divine, which all accepted in some sense, but how: was he fully God, eternal and equal with the Father, or a lesser divine being created by the Father?
- The council affirmed the Son is “of one substance with the Father”. The vote was overwhelming: only two bishops refused to sign, not a close vote.
- Nicaea didn’t decide the canon of Scripture (see 3.2).
Constantine’s role
Constantine called and hosted the council and enforced its decisions, but bishops debated and decided the theology. Later, Constantine himself favoured Arian bishops and was baptized near his death by Eusebius of Nicomedia, an Arian sympathizer. That is hard to square with the idea that he imposed Jesus’ divinity.
Christianity before Constantine
By 300, Christianity had spread throughout the Roman Empire and beyond, despite persecution. Estimates suggest perhaps 5–10% of the empire’s population was Christian. Constantine joined an existing, widespread movement.
Where they meet
Constantine didn’t invent Christianity or Jesus’ divinity. Christians worshipped Jesus as divine centuries earlier (Philippians 2:5–11, Pliny’s letter c. AD 112).
What’s still open
How sincere Constantine’s faith was, and how much he shaped the church’s relationship with the state. These are historical debates, not about Jesus’ divinity.
Bottom line
No. Christians worshipped Jesus as divine centuries earlier (Philippians 2:5–11, Pliny’s letter c. AD 112). This is rated Settled.