Council Of Chalcedon

Beginning the third great pillar of his Christology, that Jesus Christ is one person in two distinct natures forever, Pastor Martin offers a sober word of caution and exhortation before approaching the mystery itself. He urges three things: dependence on the Holy Spirit, determination not to fall short of or go beyond what is written, and patience with precise theological definition. He warns from Luke 24, Ephesians 4, and 2 Peter 3 that mental laziness about the person of Christ produces spiritual declension and unstable souls who will be tossed by every wind of doctrine.

Pastor Martin now sets out the biblical demonstration of Christ as one undivided person subsisting in two distinct, unmixed natures forever. Using a glove and hand analogy, and the witness of John 1, Philippians 2, Acts 20, Romans 1 and 9, and Colossians 2, he shows that the eternal Word became flesh without ceasing to be all that God is. He then shows from Christ's own consciousness and the apostolic witness that the natures remain distinct, with the one person speaking sometimes from the form of consciousness of his deity and sometimes from the form of his humanity, applying the doctrine to interpretation of Scripture, worship, and gospel proclamation.