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I heard John use the term
Reformation Theology: The Lord Jesus Christ - One Person, Two Natures
What Is the Hypostatic Union?
How Can Jesus Be God and Man?
Jesus' Two Natures: God and Man | CARM.org
Meditations on Sacred Humanity - The Nature of the Redeemer's Humanity (Chapter 2)
I will split this opening post into two. This is the 'mystery of godliness' concerning the Deity & Humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not something that one takes lightly nor a subject that one treats as common & trifling; it is who are Lord & the Lamb of God is as revealed in God's Holy Word. Christianity is unique in all the world concerning the splendor of our gospel & who are Lord is. Rejoice in the wonder of the Word made flesh, who 'tabernacled' among us.
The theological term "hypostatic union" has its origins in the Council of Chalcedon in 451AD.
Our English adjective hypostatic comes from the Greek word hupostasis. The word only appears 4X in the NT — most memorably in Heb 1:3, where Jesus is said to be “the radiance of the glory of God & the exact imprint of His NATURE.” Here it uses the word in reference to the oneness of God. Both the Father & the Son are of the same “nature.”
The word hupostasis came to denote not the sameness in the Godhead (God’s one essence) but the distinctness (the three persons). So, it began to be used to refer to something like the English word person. “Hypostatic union” sounds fancy in English, but it’s actually a simple term.
Hypostatic means personal. The hypostatic union is the personal union of Jesus’s two natures.
It emphasizes that Jesus Christ was fully God & fully man at the same time. It is used to affirm the union of Jesus' divine & human natures in one person--that Jesus Christ is perfectly God & perfectly man. Or, as theologians say, He is consubstantial with God as to His deity & consubstantial with mankind as to His humanity.
Soon after the establishment of the church, many doctrinal errors & heresies arose concerning the person of Jesus Christ. So, in October of 451AD, a large church council convened in the city of Chalcedon near Constantinople.
After much discussion, the Council issued a statement to correct the errors & to establish an accurate theological statement concerning the person & nature of Christ. The fruit of their labor is perhaps the most significant Christological statement in the history of the church:
"We, then, FOLLOWING the holy Fathers, all with ONE CONSENT, confess one & the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead & also perfect in manhood; truly God & truly man, of a reasonable [rational] soul & body; consubstantial [coessential, of the same substance] with the Father according to the Godhead & consubstantial with us according to the Manhood; in all things like unto us, without sin; begotten before all ages of the Father according to the Godhead.
And in these latter days, for us & for our salvation, born of the Virgin Mary, the God-bearer, according to the Manhood; one & the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeable, indivisibly, inseparably.
The distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved & concurring in one Person & one Subsistence, not parted or divided into two persons, but one & the same Son & only begotten, God, the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the prophets from the beginning [have declared] concerning Him & the Lord Jesus Christ Himself has taught us & the Creed of the holy Fathers has been handed down to us."
The early church considered the IncaThis creed was the fruit of a large council that took place from October 8 to November 1, 451, in the city of rnation to be one of the most important truths of our faith. Because of this, they formulated what has come to be called the Chalcedonean Creed, a statement which sets forth what we are to believe and what we are not to believe about the Incarnation. The Creed “has been taken as the standard, orthodox definition of the biblical teaching on the person of Christ since that day by” all the major branches of Christianity. There are five main truths with which the creed of Chalcedon summarized concerning the biblical teaching on the Incarnation:
1. Jesus has two natures — He is God and man.
2. Each nature is full and complete — He is fully God and fully man.
3. Each nature remains distinct.
4. Christ is only one Person.
5. Things that are true of only one nature are nonetheless true of the Person of Christ.
A proper understanding of these truths clears up much confusion and many difficulties we may have in our mind. How can Jesus be both God and man? Why doesn’t this make him two people? How does his Incarnation relate to the Trinity? How could Jesus have hungered (Matt 4:2) & died (Mark 15:37) when he was on earth & yet still be God? Did Jesus give up any of His divine attributes in the Incarnation? Why is it inaccurate to say that Jesus is a “part” of God? Is Jesus still human now & does He still have His human body, albeit resurrected?
So what errors did the Council of Chalcedon correct?
In order to correct the view of Apollinarius, who believed Christ did not have a human mind or soul, the Council wrote that Jesus was "truly man, of a reasonable [rational] soul & body... consubstantial [coessential, of the same substance] with us according to the Manhood; in all things like unto us."
The Chalcedonian Creed states, His two natures are without confusion, without change, without division & without separation. Jesus is one Person, two natures.
To correct the teachings of Nestorianism, that Christ was two different persons united in one body, the Council wrote that He was "indivisibly, inseparably...concurring in one Person & one Subsistence, not parted or divided into two persons."
And finally, in rejecting the errors of Monophysitism (Eutychianism), which taught Christ had but one nature & that His union with the Divine nature mixed with His human nature, making a third nature; the council wrote Christ was "to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably...the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved."
The divine nature was not changed when the Word became flesh (John 1:1,14). Instead, the Word was joined with humanity (Col 2:9). Jesus' Divine nature was not altered. Jesus is not merely a man who "had God within Him" nor is He a man who "manifested the God principle," nor is God just one person that switches into roles as the Father, Son & Holy Spirit, but not simultaneously & the Son not existing until He was begotten (Modalism).
He is God in flesh, 2nd person of the Trinity. "The Son is the radiance of God's glory & the exact representation (imprint) of His being (nature), sustaining all things by His powerful word." (Heb 1:3). Jesus' two natures are distinct yet act as a unit in the one person of Jesus.
It also refuted the error of Adoptionism (2nd cent. AD), which Theodotus of Byzantium taught, denying the pre-existence of Christ & therefore denies His Deity. It taught Jesus was simply a man who was tested by God & after passing the test was given supernatural powers & adopted as a son (this occurred at His baptism). Jesus was then rewarded for all He did (& for His perfect character) with His own resurrection & adoption into the Godhead.
Another 2nd century heresy was Docetism. This was coined from the Greek word, “dokesis” which means “to seem”. It taught Jesus only appeared to have a body & was not truly incarnate. Docetists viewed matter as inherently evil & therefore rejected the idea God could actually appear in bodily form. By denying Jesus truly had a body, they also denied He suffered on the cross & rose from the dead. It was condemned at the Council of Chalcedon.
Against both these errors (Nestorianism & Eutychian) the Athanasian Creed, that sound & admirable compendium & bulwark of divine truth, draws its two-edged sword: "Who, although he be God & man, yet he is not two, but one Christ; one not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by taking the Manhood into God; one altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of Person; for as the reasonable soul & flesh is one man, so God & man is one Christ." The Nestorian heresy is cut to pieces by the declaration that "he is not two," i.e. persons, but one Christ & the Eutychian by the words, "one altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person."
I hope most of you truly come to appreciate the amount of prayer & study of the Scriptures that went on to biblically articulate who our Lord & Savior is in the Creeds. So biblical, so precise in terminology, refuting all the heresies! (Part 1)
Reformation Theology: The Lord Jesus Christ - One Person, Two Natures
What Is the Hypostatic Union?
How Can Jesus Be God and Man?
Jesus' Two Natures: God and Man | CARM.org
Meditations on Sacred Humanity - The Nature of the Redeemer's Humanity (Chapter 2)
I will split this opening post into two. This is the 'mystery of godliness' concerning the Deity & Humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not something that one takes lightly nor a subject that one treats as common & trifling; it is who are Lord & the Lamb of God is as revealed in God's Holy Word. Christianity is unique in all the world concerning the splendor of our gospel & who are Lord is. Rejoice in the wonder of the Word made flesh, who 'tabernacled' among us.
The theological term "hypostatic union" has its origins in the Council of Chalcedon in 451AD.
Our English adjective hypostatic comes from the Greek word hupostasis. The word only appears 4X in the NT — most memorably in Heb 1:3, where Jesus is said to be “the radiance of the glory of God & the exact imprint of His NATURE.” Here it uses the word in reference to the oneness of God. Both the Father & the Son are of the same “nature.”
The word hupostasis came to denote not the sameness in the Godhead (God’s one essence) but the distinctness (the three persons). So, it began to be used to refer to something like the English word person. “Hypostatic union” sounds fancy in English, but it’s actually a simple term.
Hypostatic means personal. The hypostatic union is the personal union of Jesus’s two natures.
It emphasizes that Jesus Christ was fully God & fully man at the same time. It is used to affirm the union of Jesus' divine & human natures in one person--that Jesus Christ is perfectly God & perfectly man. Or, as theologians say, He is consubstantial with God as to His deity & consubstantial with mankind as to His humanity.
Soon after the establishment of the church, many doctrinal errors & heresies arose concerning the person of Jesus Christ. So, in October of 451AD, a large church council convened in the city of Chalcedon near Constantinople.
After much discussion, the Council issued a statement to correct the errors & to establish an accurate theological statement concerning the person & nature of Christ. The fruit of their labor is perhaps the most significant Christological statement in the history of the church:
"We, then, FOLLOWING the holy Fathers, all with ONE CONSENT, confess one & the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead & also perfect in manhood; truly God & truly man, of a reasonable [rational] soul & body; consubstantial [coessential, of the same substance] with the Father according to the Godhead & consubstantial with us according to the Manhood; in all things like unto us, without sin; begotten before all ages of the Father according to the Godhead.
And in these latter days, for us & for our salvation, born of the Virgin Mary, the God-bearer, according to the Manhood; one & the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeable, indivisibly, inseparably.
The distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved & concurring in one Person & one Subsistence, not parted or divided into two persons, but one & the same Son & only begotten, God, the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the prophets from the beginning [have declared] concerning Him & the Lord Jesus Christ Himself has taught us & the Creed of the holy Fathers has been handed down to us."
The early church considered the IncaThis creed was the fruit of a large council that took place from October 8 to November 1, 451, in the city of rnation to be one of the most important truths of our faith. Because of this, they formulated what has come to be called the Chalcedonean Creed, a statement which sets forth what we are to believe and what we are not to believe about the Incarnation. The Creed “has been taken as the standard, orthodox definition of the biblical teaching on the person of Christ since that day by” all the major branches of Christianity. There are five main truths with which the creed of Chalcedon summarized concerning the biblical teaching on the Incarnation:
1. Jesus has two natures — He is God and man.
2. Each nature is full and complete — He is fully God and fully man.
3. Each nature remains distinct.
4. Christ is only one Person.
5. Things that are true of only one nature are nonetheless true of the Person of Christ.
A proper understanding of these truths clears up much confusion and many difficulties we may have in our mind. How can Jesus be both God and man? Why doesn’t this make him two people? How does his Incarnation relate to the Trinity? How could Jesus have hungered (Matt 4:2) & died (Mark 15:37) when he was on earth & yet still be God? Did Jesus give up any of His divine attributes in the Incarnation? Why is it inaccurate to say that Jesus is a “part” of God? Is Jesus still human now & does He still have His human body, albeit resurrected?
So what errors did the Council of Chalcedon correct?
In order to correct the view of Apollinarius, who believed Christ did not have a human mind or soul, the Council wrote that Jesus was "truly man, of a reasonable [rational] soul & body... consubstantial [coessential, of the same substance] with us according to the Manhood; in all things like unto us."
The Chalcedonian Creed states, His two natures are without confusion, without change, without division & without separation. Jesus is one Person, two natures.
To correct the teachings of Nestorianism, that Christ was two different persons united in one body, the Council wrote that He was "indivisibly, inseparably...concurring in one Person & one Subsistence, not parted or divided into two persons."
And finally, in rejecting the errors of Monophysitism (Eutychianism), which taught Christ had but one nature & that His union with the Divine nature mixed with His human nature, making a third nature; the council wrote Christ was "to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably...the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved."
The divine nature was not changed when the Word became flesh (John 1:1,14). Instead, the Word was joined with humanity (Col 2:9). Jesus' Divine nature was not altered. Jesus is not merely a man who "had God within Him" nor is He a man who "manifested the God principle," nor is God just one person that switches into roles as the Father, Son & Holy Spirit, but not simultaneously & the Son not existing until He was begotten (Modalism).
He is God in flesh, 2nd person of the Trinity. "The Son is the radiance of God's glory & the exact representation (imprint) of His being (nature), sustaining all things by His powerful word." (Heb 1:3). Jesus' two natures are distinct yet act as a unit in the one person of Jesus.
It also refuted the error of Adoptionism (2nd cent. AD), which Theodotus of Byzantium taught, denying the pre-existence of Christ & therefore denies His Deity. It taught Jesus was simply a man who was tested by God & after passing the test was given supernatural powers & adopted as a son (this occurred at His baptism). Jesus was then rewarded for all He did (& for His perfect character) with His own resurrection & adoption into the Godhead.
Another 2nd century heresy was Docetism. This was coined from the Greek word, “dokesis” which means “to seem”. It taught Jesus only appeared to have a body & was not truly incarnate. Docetists viewed matter as inherently evil & therefore rejected the idea God could actually appear in bodily form. By denying Jesus truly had a body, they also denied He suffered on the cross & rose from the dead. It was condemned at the Council of Chalcedon.
Against both these errors (Nestorianism & Eutychian) the Athanasian Creed, that sound & admirable compendium & bulwark of divine truth, draws its two-edged sword: "Who, although he be God & man, yet he is not two, but one Christ; one not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by taking the Manhood into God; one altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of Person; for as the reasonable soul & flesh is one man, so God & man is one Christ." The Nestorian heresy is cut to pieces by the declaration that "he is not two," i.e. persons, but one Christ & the Eutychian by the words, "one altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person."
I hope most of you truly come to appreciate the amount of prayer & study of the Scriptures that went on to biblically articulate who our Lord & Savior is in the Creeds. So biblical, so precise in terminology, refuting all the heresies! (Part 1)