day no. 17,362: the chalcedonian

We confess our Lord Jesus Christ,

perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood,

truly God and truly man, of a reasonable soul and body;

consubstantial with the Father according to his Godhead,

and consubstantial also with us as according to his Manhood;

in all things like unto us, yet 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,

according to the Manhood; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, only begotten, 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, not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son, 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 fathers has handed down to us.

Amen.

— The Chalcedonian Creed (Cantus Christi pg. 819)

Jesus is not part man, part God like a centaur is part man, part horse. 

He is fully man and fully God. 

He is not a mixture of two things like an Arnold Palmer. 

He is God. He is man. 

day no. 17,311: the miracle of Jesus' mood

“Remember the perfections of Jesus, and marvel at this crowning perfection—the fact that He was not totally exasperated all the time, in every conversation He ever had.” — Douglas Wilson, All the Condemnation

Many of us walk around like a storm cloud because of what we assume others are thinking. Jesus knew exactly what other were thinking and yet walked around like a ray of sunshine. He knew better than anyone how bad his neighbors were and yet He treated His neighbors better than most of us who imagine the worst about our neighbors, but fall short of how bad it really is.

John 2:24-25

Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.

Herein lies the miracle of Jesus' mood. He is a master class in self-control. He knew enough to justify hostility, yet He was kind, but He also knew enough about men to resist their flattery. So, in Jesus, we see the marriage of perfect knowledge and perfect conduct. He knew better than anyone what men really deserved and He more than anyone gave them more than they deserved.

John 1:16

Of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

Knowing that men would kill Him, He lived for them. 

Knowing that men would live in Him, He died for them.

day no. 17,204: the definition of chalcedon (exhortation outline)

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!

day no. 14,438: a variance in radiance

Mark 9:15
And immediately all the crowd, when they saw Him, were greatly amazed and ran up to Him and greeted*** Him.

Spurgeon comparing and contrasting the glory of Moses' radiance communing with God on the mountain with that of Jesus' radiance after being transfigured, "the glory of the Law repels, but the greater glory of Jesus attracts."

*** "greeted" is translated by the KJV as "saluted," as in salutations, and carries with it the idea of honoring (or saluting another)

day no. 13,458: either there was a Jesus or there was nothing

“Either there was Jesus or there was nothing.” ― Larry Huntsperger, The Fisherman

Jesus is everything.

If there is no Him, there is nothing else.

By His Poverty...

2 Corinthians 8:9

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich.

In what currency was Jesus Christ rich?  Does He own the cattle on a 1,000 hills?  Yep.  But is that what Paul means here?  Nope.

If that were the case, you would interpret this verse as saying.  Jesus had a lot of money and possessions, but He gave those up so that you could have a lot of money and possessions.  That isn't right, is it?  Is financial freedom the fruit for which we should look to validate "real" discipleship?  Certainly not.

So what did Jesus give up that we might gain?  Intimacy with God.  Jesus lived forever in the presence of God the Father.  Yet, He came down to earth and left that privileged place of relationship in order to walk the mean streets of earth.  Why?  So that by His poverty we might become rich in intimacy with God. 

We were distanced from God by our sin.  Jesus was close to God because of His holiness.  Jesus came down from intimacy to grant intimacy to those far away.  He became our plight that we might inherit His privilege.

Quid pro quo.  This for that.  This weight of sin for that righteousness.  Praise God!

In Christ Alone

Listen to a great version HERE.

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
this Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease! My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! who took on flesh
Fulness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me, For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

Thoughts from Mark 2:23-3:19

Today Pastor Geoff Safford taught on Mark 2:23-3:19

Pastor Geoff was the pastor of Westwind church in Waukee which was planted in coordination with Cornerstone Church. Pastor Geoff is now leaving to plant a church in Indianola in coordination with Cornerstone Church as Westwind has grown and has leadership in place.

In verse 27 of Mark 2 Jesus confirms His deity by informing the Pharisees that He wrote the Law. The Author of the Law is God and the Pharisees knew this. It is a clear declaration of power and authority from the mouth of Jesus.

In verse 5 of Mark 3 Jesus is angered and grieved by the sinful hearts of the Pharisees. Pastor Geoff encouragd us to remember to hate sin. In our world, we often grow so accustomed to the darkness that we call it "Light lite."

Jesus hated the sin of the Pharisees. Jesus was grieved and sorrowful over the sin of the Pharisees. It is my contention that most Christians tend either to do one or the other, but seldom both simultaneously.

We are often either hateful, judgmental, know-it-alls or sentimental saps when it comes to sins. We need not just to be angry about sin, but sad over it. We need not just to be grieved by sin, but mad about it. Jesus was both. The one who only hates sins is never motivated to seek and save the lost through the power of the Gospel because of the stumbling block of their own hardness toward those in error. The one who only grieves sins is never motivated to seek and save the lost through the power of the Gospel because of the stumbling block of preaching repentance to those caught in sin.
Jesus preached repentance and hell and punishment and healing and love and forgiveness. He was grieved over the sin He hated.

In verse 6 of Mark 3 the Pharisees partner with the most unlikely parnters, the Herodians. This demonstrates that while the world disagrees and will kill, debate, imprison, hate, and ostracize their fellow man over any and every thing possible; they are determinedly united on this issue of Jesus: He must be destroyed.

In verse 13 of Mark 3 Jesus calls the disciples He desired and they came.

Two points of interest:

(1) Jesus chose the disciples He desired (not everyone, only some; not every man, only some men; not every person, just men; not the best, those He desired) I find some of the most intense moments of frustration come from my attempts to be the best when the rest that is preached is being desired by Jesus. His Gospel came to me and the Holy Spirit made me afresh and rebirthed me into a new family, those born of God.

(2) Those whom Jesus called came. He did not call 12 and 10 came. He called 12 and 12 came. Those He desired were drawn to Him and came to Him upon His command. Did Jesus just by luck choose the right 12 or did He know ahead of time that these 12 would come? Did He choose the 12 based on His knowledge that they would come when called? Or did Jesus provide the means and grace to come as well as the call to come? This particular Scripture does not expand on this concept much other than to say that those He desired, He possessed; and those He was given, He did not lose.

Thoughts from Mark 2:1-22

Today at church an elder, Alex Tuckness, taught the congregation from Mark 2:1-22.

Alex set the scene by asking you to imagine a scenario in which a man in Iowa was reportedly curing people from cancer just through his touch. Iowa has roughly 3 million people. The US alone has over 12 million people with cancer. You can imagine the droves of people flocking to Iowa to meet this man and have their loved ones cured from cancer.

Alex then asked us to imagine this man had a message to proclaim. Most would not hear it or have time for it in their zeal of getting healed. Most would find the man less interesting the less he healed them or people they knew.

Mark 2:2 states that Jesus was preaching the Word. Jesus was a preacher. I know this is not how many like to view Jesus (in the same way many have a difficulty in calling God their Father because of negative feelings or attitudes towards dads) because they do not like being "preached at." As much as I can sympathize with people's negative reaction to being told they are sinners by a man behind a pulpit, I agree with him: You're sinners!

Mark 2:5 hits the real crux of the matter (figuratively speaking of course as Jesus will not be crucified for several chapters yet). Jesus steps outside of the miracle-man Healer and states that He has the authority to forgive a man's sins.

If a friend or co-worker (or relative of a friend or co-worker as is often the case it seems) ends up being ill, you can with no expected recourse state that you will pray for that person and their health. However, if someone informed you they were sick and their response was to tell you that they would pray that your sins be forgiven before God, you would expect a much different reaction. Most people (believers, atheists, muslims, catholics, pentacostals, druids, chinese, black, or fashionistas, etc...) will gladly welcome your sentiments to pray for their health. If you bring up their sin, we are having an altogether different conversation all of the sudden.

Many small group Bible studies are replete with requests for sicknesses. These are done with pinpoint specificity with regard to the husband of the sister of the cousin of the co-worker you used to work with and the exact nature of their illness, how long they've had it and how bad it has been for them. However, there is not a lot of prayer requests for specific sins with which we struggle. We are quick to bring up sympathetic topics that may legitimately necessitate prayer, but eternally have little consequence and yet very slow to bring up topics about which we might anticipate judgment or criticism that definitively require prayer and the Holy Spirit to revive and restore that which is broken and dead in sin.

Alex pointed out that Jesus had more in common theologically with the Pharisees than any other group of people. This may have been why so many of the disputes into which Jesus entered were with Pharisees. They came to the wrong conclusions with the same information and belief system. It is very frustrating to discuss topics with people on which you simultaneously agree in theory and disagree in practice.

Alex lastly and most poignantly stated that we like people who are most like us. We gravitate towards people who share our ideas, standard of living, morals, clothes, food preferences, health and exercise lifestyles, books, television shows, etc... We like people who are most like us. God likes people who are altogether not like Him. He has not other choice (if He is to like anybody that is). He has only people unlike Him in every way in their nature and by their choice.  But He chooses to like people. He chooses to be uncomfortable and break through the tension of language, culture, status, and economic barriers. He becomes like us to restore us.

Alex challenged us to reach out to those in our lives who are not like us. He ultimately challenged us not just to reach out to those in our lives who are different, but to seek out those who are not currently part of our lives because they are so different that we opt to stay away from them altogether. In doing so, we honor God by doing as He has done (not at all expecting to do what He did, but seeking to bring Him glory by living in a manner worthy of the Gospel).

Lessons from Mark 1:1-13

My church began a new series today where we will be going through the book of Mark.

Pastor Jeff taught from verses 1-13 of Chapter 1. He started by sharing the greater (meta) narrative of the Bible as a whole. The greatest stories contain a creation-fall-redemption style narrative as it is a reflection of the greatest story ever told, the actual creation, fall, and redemption of all mankind by God through Jesus Christ.

Pastor Jeff then pointed out the parallels between Mark 1 and Genesis 1. In Genesis 1 you have God, the Spirit, and the Word all present in the creation of everything we know. In Mark 1 you have the Father, the Spirit, and the Son all present at the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist.

The inbreaking of the Kingdom of God is the Christ fulfilling the Old Testament and creating the foundation of the New. In our contemporary services, baptism is usually accompanied by a short testimony and a verbal confession of Jesus as LORD. In John's baptism, baptism was accompanied by a confession of sins out in the wilderness by a man covered in camel hair and bug breath. It is worth noting that it cost the early church much more than it often does us in coming to and proclaiming devotion to Jesus and perhaps this is what enabled the Church to endure such harsh persecutions at the hand of Rome with faith in tact.

Pastor Jeff challenged the church to enter into the book of Mark as more than a endeavor to accrue new information about Jesus, but as the challenge presented by Mark to repent and believe in Jesus for your current circumstances and the eternal rest of your soul.

*SPECIAL* Easter Edition: Low in the Grave He Lay

Listen HERE.

Low in the grave he lay, Jesus my Savior,
waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!

Refrain:

Up from the grave he arose; with a mighty triumph o'er his foes; he arose a victor from the dark domain, and he lives forever, with his saints to reign.
He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!

Vainly they watch his bed, Jesus my Savior,
vainly they seal the dead, Jesus my Lord!

(Refrain)

Death cannot keep its prey, Jesus my Savior;
he tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord!

(Refrain)

Not in Part, but the Whole

What by Law God required by Gospel provides
The Protagonist’s raiment adorning the bride
Not in part, but the whole,
From beginning to end
God to wed, garments shed
Tailored His now to lend

What by works He demanded by faith He bestowed
In the vow of the Godhead to Abram foretold
Not in part, but the whole,
From beginning to end
God to save plowed the way
By the Seed He had sowed

What by Cross He extinguished by grace He erased
Justified the unrighteous, called sinners His saints
Not in part, but the whole,
From beginning to end
Satisfied He our debt
East to west, we from sin

What by Word was predicted by hope yet remains
That the way by which left will by He come again
Not in part, but the whole,
From beginning to end
Was the Word He with God
And e’er God He with man

~ an original poem/hymn by Todd Henry Van Voorst