Session 27: WCF Chapter VIII - Of Christ the Mediator, Section 2

CHAPTER VIII - Of Christ the Mediator 1. It pleased God, in His eternal purpose, to choose and ordain the Lord Jesus, His only begotten Son, to be the Mediator between God and man, the Prophet, Priest, and King the Head and Saviour of His Church, the Heir of all things, and Judge of the world: unto whom He did from all eternity give a people, to be His seed, and to be by Him in time redeemed, called, justified, sanctified, and glorified.

John 1:1,14   1 John 5:20 Philippians 2:5,6 Galatians 4:4 Hebrews 2:14-17 Hebrews 4:15 Luke 1:26-35

Colossians 2:9   Romans 9:5 1 Peter 3:18 1 Timothy 3:16 Romans 1:1-4 1 Timothy 2:5

CHAPTER VIII - Of Christ the Mediator 2. The Son of God, the second person in the Trinity, being very and eternal God, of one substance and equal with the Father, did, when the fulness of time was come, take upon Him man’s nature, with all the essential properties, and common infirmities thereof, yet without sin; being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the womb of the virgin Mary, of her substance. So that two whole, perfect, and distinct natures, the Godhead and the manhood, were inseparably joined together in one person, without conversion, composition, or confusion. Which person is very God, and very man, yet one Christ, the only Mediator between God and man.

Christ’s Divine and Human Natures “without conversion” – Neither Christ’s divine nature nor His human nature alters the other. They remain pure as if they had never been associated with one another in a single person. “without composition” – Christ’s divine and human natures are not merged. They remain united in one person, but separate. “without confusion” – Christ’s divine and human natures are not blended in some way. Though present in the same person, they remain distinct from one another.

“[The] union of deity and humanity in the person of Jesus Christ…is not like: a chemical compound, where both elements lose their individual characteristics and form a new substance, such as oxygen and hydrogen in the formation of water, an alloy where two or more metals are pressed together so completely that only melting would segregate them, such as copper and tin in bronze, a mixture where conceivably patient work could separate the distinct elements, such as a package of stamps for collectors, or a bag of seeds to feed the birds, the union of marriage, where husband and wife are made one flesh but remain distinct persons.

“In the hypostatic union of deity and humanity in the God-man, the two natures remain intact but so intimately and indissolubly conjoined that together they constitute one person. This one person has access to both sets of characteristics in such a way that deity is not shrunk nor humanity enlarged.” Roger Nicole, Tabletalk, December 1992, p. 6

Hypostatic Union Hypostasis – An actual, concrete existence of something or someone; the underlying state or substance of a thing or person; the fundamental reality that supports all other attributes of an object or being. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypostasis_(philosophy_and_religion)

Hypostatic Union In Philosophical Fragments, Soren Kierkegaard explored the dual nature of Christ as “the ultimate paradox,” because God, understood as a perfectly good, perfectly wise, perfectly powerful being, fully became a human, in the Christian understanding of the term: burdened by sin, limited in goodness, knowledge, and understanding. This paradox can only be resolved, Kierkegaard believed, by a leap of faith away from one's understanding and reason towards belief in God; thus the paradox of the hypostatic union was crucial to an abiding faith in the Christian God. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypostatic_union

Christ’s Divine and Human Natures Christ’s Divine Nature: Eternal (John 17:5, 24) Omnipotent (Matthew 8:27) Omniscient (Luke 6:8) Was of supernatural paternity recognized in His human conception (Luke 1:35) Christ’s Human Nature: Began in time (Galatians 4:4) Was by human generation from Mary’s substance (Luke 1:35) Was subject to human limitations arising from human existence (e.g., growth, hunger, sorrow, pain, limited knowledge) (Hebrews 2:17; 4:15)

A Brief History of Misconception In the 1st and 2nd Centuries: “Body” Pure Spirit Gnosticism

A Brief History of Misconception In the 3rd and 4th Centuries: Father Monarchianism Creators Son Holy Spirit Father Modalistic Monarchianism Son Holy Spirit Father Creator Arianism Son Holy Spirit Created Beings

A Brief History of Misconception Council of Nicaea – 325 A.D.: “And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father [the only-begotten; that is, of the essence of the Father, God of God], Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father...” Council of Constantinople – 381 A.D.: “And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father...”

Divine (and Human)Natures A Brief History of Misconception In the 5th through 7th Centuries: Person Human Body Human Soul Divine Spirit Apollinarianism Body Divine Person Human Person Nestorianism Person Divine (and Human)Natures Eutychianism/ Monophysitism Will Divine Nature Human Nature Monothelitism

A Brief History of Misconception Council of Chalcedon – 451 A.D.: “our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man, of a reasonable [rational] soul and body; consubstantial [co-essential] with the Father according to the Godhead, and 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 and for our salvation, born of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, according to the Manhood, one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, only begotten,...

A Brief History of Misconception Council of Chalcedon – 451 A.D.: “to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably; the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved, and concurring in one Person and one Subsistence (hypostasis), not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son, and only begotten God, the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ; as the prophets from the beginning [have declared] concerning Him, and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself has taught us, and the Creed of the holy Fathers has handed down to us.”

The Westminster Confession of Faith – 1646 A.D.

Personal Personal Focus Focus

Why is it wrong to make pictures to represent Christ? (WLC 109)