The Nicene Creed and the Chalcedonian Definition: What They Are, and Why You Should Care Tony Arsenal July 20 th, 2014 – Windsor Locks Congregational Church.

The Nicene Creed and the Chalcedonian Definition: What They Are, and Why You Should CareTony ArsenalJuly 20th, 2014 Windsor Locks Congregational Church

Where Are We In Terms of Understanding the Trinity and the Incarnation?If pressed to explain the logical coherence of the Doctrine of the Trinity, could we do so?If pressed to explain the logical coherence of the Doctrine of the Incarnation (Hypostatic Union), could we do so?What analogies or explanations might we use?If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough. Albert EinsteinWhere We are Going: Todays ObjectivesExplain the historical development of the Niceno-Constantinoplitian Creed and the Chalcedonian DefinitionsDescribe and explain the content of these vital statements of Christian faithProvide a practical account of the role these doctrines play in our doxologyProvide concrete boundaries to protect us from heretical ways of thinking

Organizing PrincipleJesus had to be who he was, to do what he did, to save us the way the Bible describesIf Jesus wasnt God, he couldnt be a worthy sacrificeIf Jesus wasnt Human, he couldnt be a proper substituteTherefore: Jesus must truly be God and truly be humanOriginally a modification by Donald Fairbairn used in class to expand on a statement by Jaroslav Pelikan as an Organizing Principle in The Christian Tradition, I have further modified itPelikan, Jaroslav (1973),The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine, Volume 1: The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition (100-600), University of Chicago PressThe Allegory of the Cave Platos Republic: Book VIIA group of people are chained in place facing the wall of a caveOn the wall a shadow is projected of various shapesOne day, one is freed and turns around realizing that the shadows were just a representation of the shapes being projectedAs he leaves the cave he sees actual examples of the things the shapes were patterned after, and realizes that the shapes were just representationsHe uses his reasoning to surmise that the actual examples he sees must be representations of something even more realImportant TermsProsoponFace / Mask: Referred to the mask used by Greek actors in the theaterNot used by any orthodox groupThe shadows on the wallPersonality / Center-of-ConsciousnessHypostasisA concrete, discrete, and discernable entity who is defined or classified by the kind of nature it bearsCame to be used in reference to the way that the divine persons are different from each otherThe shapes projecting the shadows or the things the shapes were fashioned afterPerson / Entity

PhysisThe internal nature of a HypostasisSometimes refers to the unique nature of a HypostasisThe examples of things found outside the caveNatureOusiaThe ultimate nature of a HypostasisThat which makes two entities of a given type related to each otherThat which the Cave-Dweller reasoned must existEssence / SubstanceThese two terms came to be used as interchangeable SynonymsThreenessOnenessChronological LandscapeAs the New Testament documents began to be viewed as a cohesive whole, the Church was confronted with the fact that there were two seemingly contradictory truths that were being taughtThere is one GodThere are three entities that are called GodThe Three are not the same entity by called by different namesThese two truths were held together in early Trinitarian statementsMost prominent is Tertullians statement in Adversus Praxean (Against Praxeus)First to explicitly use the term TrinitasAlso first to use terms Substance and Subsistance to describe the Oneness and ThreenessClassical Definition is that there is one divine nature, and that this one nature is shared by three eternal personsChronological LandscapeAs the Church began to grow, competing understandings of the unified Biblical presentation of one God and three Persons began to emergeModalism / Static Monarchianism / UnitarianismThere is one Person who presents himself in three different ways at three different timesAdoptionism / Arianism / Dynamic MonarchianismThe God of the Old Testament is the FatherThe Son is a lesser being who is either divine in a subordinate way to the Father, or was elevated to a place of divinity at some point (Baptism, Transfiguration, or Resurrection are the most common)These positions were rejected at the first Council of Nicaea in AD 325Chronological LandscapeOnce it was established that the Son was coessential, coeternal, and conglorious with the Father questions began to rise regarding the human nature of Jesus, as well as the status of the Holy Spirit.Apollinarianism The divine Son / Logos takes the place of the human rational soul (seat of the Intellect) rendering Jesus a human / divine hybridGnosticism The Son inhabits a human body or human person temporarily but abandons/escapes that human body or person on the crossDocetism The Son appears to be human, but in reality is not (Comes from the Greek Word / doke)Pneumatomachian / Macedonians Resisted the idea that the Holy Spirit was Homoousious with the Father.Semi-Arians Tended to affirm that the Son was coeternal and conglorious, but resisted the idea that he was coessentialHomoians / Homoiousians Due to (primarily) linguistic challenges, resisted the use of Homoousious to describe the coessential status of the Son.Chronological LandscapeThese positions (except the Homoiousians) were rejected at the Council of Constantinople in AD 381(Primarily) linguistic dispute between Homoousians and Homoiousians was resolved by a synod in AD 367The original Creed of Nicaea was slightly modified and reaffirmed at this council, leaving us with what is now known as the Niceno-Constantinoplitian Creed.This creed has been used with essentially no modification since it was ratified in AD 381

Chronological LandscapeOnce the Trinitarian Controversy was resolved, the question turned to the unique reality of the IncarnationIt was difficult to understand how a single person could genuinely possess two naturesThe Church had held from a very early point that Christ was truly God and truly ManOnce again, various explanations of how this was possible began to develop contrary to the general, albeit broadly defined, concensusChronological LandscapeNestorianismDenied the use of the term Theotokos (God-Bearer) in reference to MaryArgued that Jesus is not only a union of two natures, but is actually a union of two persons bearing those naturesPrimarily argued against by Cyril of Alexandria who argued that Jesus must be a union of two natures in a single person in order to avoid Soteriological problems regarding atonement (if only a human person died, then the sacrifice was not sufficient)Nestorianism was declared heretical by the Council of Ephesus in AD 431

Chronological LandscapeEutychianism Argued that although Jesus possessed two natures, the human nature was so insignificant in relation to the divine nature that it effectively did not existCompared the relationship between the natures as a drop of vinegar placed into the oceanEffectively posited a scenario where rather than two genuine human natures, there was instead a hybrid nature that was mostly divineThis position was rejected by the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451The Church formulated a definition of the Hypostatic Union in AD 451 which came to be known as the Chalcedonian DefinitionThis definition was considered formally binding, but did not hold the same force as the CreedSeen primarily as an explanatory statement clarifying what the Nicene Creed meant in its Christological statementsThe Nicene CreedI believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.Who, for us men for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father [and the Son]; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.And I believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.Content of the Nicene Creed The FatherThe Father, as an individual hypostasis, is given priority in the CreedFollowing the New Testament language, which nearly always refers to the Father when using the word God, considers the Father to be the one GodIt also establishes God as the primary Agent in the creative act, and sources all created beings in the will of the FatherThe use of the phrase visible and invisible is a mereism which means all things and includes both the material and immaterialContent of the Nicene Creed The SonThe section on the Son is the longest, and operates to establish the divinity of the Son in three specific waysBy stating that the Son shares in the sovereignty of the FatherBy stating that the Son shares a common nature with the FatherBy stating that the Son participates instrumentally in the Fathers creative actIt affirms that the Son was begotten, but not made, affirming that the Son has an eternal personal origin in the Father, but was not createdIt also includes a section which identifies specific historical events that were central to the work of Christ, rendering them prerequisite for orthodoxyIt closes by including specific yet-to-come events that also are required for orthodox Christian faithContent of the Nicene Creed The SpiritLike the section regarding the Son the divinity of the Spirit is primarily established by connecting the Spirit with the nature and activity of the Father and SonAssociated with the shared sovereignty of the Father and SonAssociated with the shared nature of the Father by means of procession / ex-spirationThe Creed indicates that we are to worship the Spirit along with the Father and SonIndicates that the Spirit was the primary inspiration of the Prophets, and by extension the ScripturesThe Filioque (and the Son) was added formally in the 12th century, bringing about the Great Schism between the Eastern and Western Churches

Content of the Nicene Creed The RestOne holy, catholic, and apostolic ChurchOne: The Church is a single entity, not a collection of independent entitiesHoly: The Church is an entity that is made and being made holy by GodCatholic: The Church is universal, primarily meaning that it is not geographically restrictedApostolic: The Church is an entity that finds it origin in the Apostles of Jesus ChristOne BaptismBaptism is a sacrament that is not to be repeatedThis was confirmed in a later controversy with the DonatistsThis includes people who were baptized in Christian denominations that we disagree with (Roman Catholic) or were baptized as infants when we believe they should be baptized as adultsThis would not include people who were baptized in Christian cults that deny specifically the content of this Creed (Trinity and Hypostatic Union)Coming HopeWe will be bodily raised from the deadWe will live in a renewed heaven and earth

The Chalcedonian DefinitionTherefore, following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body;of one substance with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood; like us in all respects, apart from sin; as regards his Godhead, begotten of the Father before the ages, but yet as regards his manhood begotten, for us men and for our salvation, of Mary the Virgin, the God-bearer; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ; even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the creed of the fathers has handed down to us.Contents of the Chalcedonian DefinitionPrologue / IntroductionEstablishes that this is considered a continuation or explanation of the Nicene CreedInteraction between the two natures of ChristBoth natures are complete contra EutychianismHis divine nature is complete, but his human nature is also completeThe Four NegationsThe One Affirmation

The Four NegationsTherefore, following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body; of one substance with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood; like us in all respects, apart from sin; as regards his Godhead, begotten of the Father before the ages, but yet as regards his manhood begotten, for us men and for our salvation, of Mary the Virgin, the God-bearer; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ; even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the creed of the fathers has handed down to us.The One AffirmationTherefore, following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body; of one substance with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood; like us in all respects, apart from sin; as regards his Godhead, begotten of the Father before the ages, but yet as regards his manhood begotten, for us men and for our salvation, of Mary the Virgin, the God-bearer; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ; even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the creed of the fathers has handed down to us.The TrinityThere is one God, who is the Sovereign and Creator of all created thingsThis one God has a Son who shares in the activity, nature, and sovereignty of his Father, meaning that he is also GodFrom this one God also processes a Spirit who shares in the activity, nature, and sovereignty of God, meaning that he is also GodThe radical and unparalleled unity of these three Persons is such that even though they are three Persons, they do not constitute three separate GodsWe worship these three divine persons rather than worshiping the divine natureThere are three subjects who act in the Trinity, not oneThe Incaration (Hypostatic Union)The Second person of the Trinity existed eternally as a distinct, concrete, and complete person in whom subsisted the divine natureThe Second person of the Trinity took on a complete human nature without sacrificing any properties of the divine natureThis Second person of the Trinity was born, lived, died, was raised, and eternally subsists according to that natureThe person who lived, died, was raised, and in whom eternally subsists a human nature is the same person who eternally existed and in whom eternally subsists the divine natureThere is only one subject who acts, not twoTrinitarian DoxologyWe almost instinctively worship in proper Trinitarian fashionTypical Kevin PrayerDear GodThank you for giving your SonThank you for sealing us with your Holy SpiritHymnologyMany hymns follow a Trinitarian model with one stanza each dedicated to each Person and a final stanza dedicated to the Godhead or Trinity as a groupInterpersonal RelationshipsWe instinctively know that the God we worship is a Person, not an impersonal abstract nature. Where we sometimes go wrong is we treat God as one person, rather than as a community of three persons.Mind the BumpersOrthodox Christian TheologyThree Divine Persons Sharing a Single Divine NatureOne Divine Person Who Added To Himself a True Human NatureUnitarianism / ModalismToo Much OnenessTritheism / PolytheismToo Much ThreenessEutychianismNatures Not DistinctNestorianismNatures Treated as PersonsFor Further StudyFairbairn, Donald (2009),Life in the Trinity, Downers Grove: InterVarsity PressFerguson, Everett (2013),Church History: From Christ to the Pre-ReformationI, Grand Rapids: ZondervanNichols, Stephen (2007),For Us and for Our Salvation, Wheaton: Crossway BooksTrueman, Carl (2012),The Creedal Imperative, Wheaton: Crossway BooksYoung, Frances; Teal, Andrew (2010),From Nicaea to Chalcedon(Second ed.), Grand Rapids: Baker Academic

BibliographyFairbairn, Donald (Summer 2013),Course: Patristic Theology, South Hamilton: Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (Summer 2011),Course: The Trinitarian and Christological Controversies, South Hamilton: Gordon-Conwell Theological SeminaryFerguson, Everett (2013),Church History: From Christ to the Pre-ReformationI, Grand Rapids: ZondervanPelikan, Jaroslav (1973),The Christian Tradition: The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition (100-600) I, Chicago: University of Chicago PressTrueman, Carl (2012),The Creedal Imperative, Wheaton: Crossway BooksYoung, Frances; Teal, Andrew (2010),From Nicaea to Chalcedon(Second ed.), Grand Rapids: Baker Academic