Christ Church Leavenworth
Advent: The Definition of Chalcedon
November 30, 2025
The Definition of Chalcedon
THE TEXT
The text for this morning’s exhortation is John 1:1, 14, these are the words of God.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
THE CHURCH CALENDAR AND THE CHRISTMAS CREED
Good morning and Happy New Year! And no, I am not getting ahead of myself, it is the world and its calendar that has fallen behind. You see, today is the first Sunday of Advent and as such it marks the beginning of the Christian liturgical calendar. So, one could say that today is the Christian New Year. And since it marks a change in season, the session thought it might also be a good opportunity to change the confession we recite after our sermon. As a church in the CREC, CCL has three options: the Apostles’ Creed, the NIcene Creed, or the Definition of Chalcedon. These are three ecumenical creeds that the CREC affirms. Typically at CCL, we recite the Apostles’ Creed, but it has become our custom to recite the Nicene Creed beginning on the first Sunday of Advent before changing back to the Apostles’ Creed on the first Sunday of Lent. This year, however, the session decided we should take the four weeks of Advent to familiarize ourselves with what is likely the least familiar of these: The Definition of Chalcedon. It is, after all, the most Christmasy of the creeds… and that is saying something. After all, Santa Claus himself attended the Council of Nicea. So, what could be more Christmasy than that? The incarnation. That is what Christmas is all about and that is the central focus of the Definition of Chalcedonian. And since we will be reciting it together after the sermon today, it only seemed fair to give you a chance to read it beforehand so that you are not confessing something you have never considered.
So, please open your bulletin to the inside top of the third page where you will see the Definition of Chalcedon printed out for you. As you do that, let me remind you that the clear teaching of Scripture is that Jesus is God and that Jesus is man. We saw that in our text from John. The Word was God and the Word became flesh. But how does that work? That is what the creed of Chalcedon works out for us.
THE DEFINITION OF CHALCEDON
So, let’s walk through it and I’ll provide some brief commentary as we go: “Therefore, 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;” So, first off, this is not something the council of Chalcedon made up. This is based on the common faith they received from their fathers and now seek to deliver to us. The truth of this creed was not invented in the year of our Lord, 451. This is a reiteration of what the one true, holy and apostolic church has always and with one accord taught: there is only one Son of God, and He is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He is truly and fully God and truly and fully man; not half and half, like a centaur, nor a diluted version of either, like an Arnold Palmer. He was and is God to nth degree and He was and is man to the nth degree. He was not fully God and only kinda man, like God in a man costume. No, His flesh and body were real and if you pricked Him, He bled. Nor was He fully man and only kinda God-like, like a superhero. He was not a man with super powers nor the uber-mench. He was God and He was man.
“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;” Jesus was not schizophrenic. He did not have dissociative identity disorder or multiple personalities. He was not a two-spirit. He was not a man with a God-complex or a God from the Greek Pantheon with man-envy. He was one person with two natures. He had the same nature as His Father (Heb 1:3) and the same nature as His brothers (Heb 2:17), the only difference being that He was without 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,”
The origin of Jesus’ divinity was His Father who is in Heaven, not His mother who was from Nazareth. The origin of His humanity, however, was from her. So, Mary carried Jesus and His divinity in her person, but that was because divinity was in His person, not from hers. Jesus was God from the moment of conception, but His divinity came from being conceived by the Holy Ghost. So, Jesus was the true Son of God and the promised Seed of the woman.
“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;” Jesus is one person with two natures. This reality is often referred to as “the hypostatic union.” His divinity and His humanity can be discussed separately, but they cannot be separated. Jesus was also not one person who was sometimes in God mode and sometimes in Adam mode. He did not have to toggle between being a God one moment and a man the next at the flip of a switch. He was always one person who was always simultaneously fully God and fully man.
So, let there be no confusion of categories. That which is predicated of one nature can be faithfully predicated of the person, and that which is predicated of the other nature can be predicated of the person, but that which is predicated of one of the natures cannot be predicated of the other nature. For example: Jesus, in the nature of His humanity, was a certain height, let’s say, 5’9”. But that does not mean that the nature of divinity is 5’9”. If it was, people like me would rule the world. We still would not be able to dunk a basketball, but we wouldn’t care, because those who could would have to dunk for us. For an example that runs the other direction, Jesus in the nature of His divinity was omnipotent. But that does not mean that the nature of humanity is to grow up into all-powerful gods.
“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.” And so the creed ends where it began. Jesus is who the prophets predicted, He is who He said He was, and He is who the apostles observed with their own eyes and testified to. Consider 1 John 1:1-3 which are the words of God and also the testimony of John, the beloved apostle: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.”
So, why does any of this matter for us here today and why should we not only confess it together later in the service, but carry it with us especially throughout this season of Advent and Christmas? Because Jesus assumed the full nature of what it means to be human, real men and women, like you and me, have been fully redeemed and forgiven in Him. And because He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, He lives even now to intercede on our behalf, and He always will, even for our children and our children’s children, until He returns.
So, if you find yourself, like Charlie Brown, tempted to think that Christmas is too materialistic, remember that the Word became flesh. You might say, “Ok, but people should still remember the reason for the season, right?” Agreed. The Word became flesh. That is the reason for the season. God likes stuff. Let the stuff rejoice. Despite all the stuff that the stuff has gotten itself into, God still loves the stuff. In fact, He so loved the stuff that He sent His one and only Son to become stuff like us, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. So, be the kind of stuff that buys stuff and wraps it in other stuff before giving it to your beloved stuffs. And if you are tempted to be Grinchy, remember the Definition of Chalcedon and celebrate the reconciliation of the spiritual and the material and enjoy the fudge, the fireplace, the mulled wine, the movies, the candy, the lights, the snow, the egg nog, and the songs on the radio. For God is with us and He loves us.
CALL TO CONFESSION
Well, since we are so often grouchy about all the stuff one day and greedy for all of it the next, we are reminded of our need to regularly confess our sins, whether they be these or others. So, if you are able, please kneel with me and confess your sins, first privately and then corporately using the prayer found in your bulletin.
CORPORATE CONFESSION
Gracious Father, if You were to mark iniquities, who could stand? But with You is forgiveness, that You may be feared. Called by You to the throne of grace, and confident in our great High Priest, we bow before You and confess that we have sinned against You and been unfaithful to Your holy covenant. Our hearts are deceitful above all things and desperately sick, so that we often do what we hate, and neglect what we love. Out of our mouths we both praise You and curse our fellow men. You promised mercy to our fathers through the seed of the woman. Turn our hearts again, Father, to consider Jesus, who crushed the serpent’s head, and saved His people from their sins. Forgive, cleanse, and restore us for His sake. Amen.
DECLARATION OF PARDON
Arise and hear the Good News! The assurance of pardon today comes from 1 John 1:8-9, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. He bore our nature so that He could bear our sins. If we say we have no sin, we call Christmas unnecessary and Calvary a lie. But if we confess our sins, as we all just did, He is faithful to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. He is sitting at the right hand of the Father right now, and in Him, your sins are forgiven… THANKS BE TO GOD!
Now, let us ascend to the presence of God in all worship and praise!
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