Unity of Person of Christ

Question 1

Define the following terms and what they relate to in the Godhead:
Ousia
Physis
Hypostasis/Prosopon

Answer 1

• Ousia = being (What a thing is) 🡪 oneness
• Physis = nature (What a thing is like, substance-kind) 🡪 oneness
• Hypostasis/Prosopon = person 🡪 refers to the threeness

Question 2

What were the heresies that the Chalcedonian creed addressed?

Answer 2

Monophysite/Eutychianism – new blended nature
Ebionite/Adoptionism – denies Jesus’ divinity
Doceticism – denies Jesus’ humanity, only appeared human
Nestorianism – claims Jesus was a union between 2 personal subjects logos and man
Arianism – denied Jesus’ full divinity
Apollinarianism – denies Jesus’ full humanity

Question 3

Which part of Chalcedon addressed which respective heresy?

Answer 3

• Docetism: ‘consubstantial with us in manhood’ ‘perfect in manhood’, and ‘born of Mary’
• Adoptionism: ‘consubstantial with the Father in Godhead,’ ‘begotten from the Father before the ages as regards His Godhead, and in the last days, the same’
• Modalism – ‘Son’ distinguished from the ‘Father’, and ‘begotten from the Father before the ages’
• Arianism: ‘truly God’
• Monophysite/eutychianism: ‘two natures without confusion, without change, without division, without separation’
• Apollinarianism: ‘truly man, the same of a rational soul and body’, and ‘consubstantial with us according to his manhood’; ‘in all things like unto us.’
• Nestorianism: ‘two natures without confusion, without change, without division, without separation’ ‘not parted or divided into two prosopa, but one and the same Son, only-begotten’

Question 4

Define Word-Flesh and Word-Man.

Answer 4

Central question: Does Christ have a complete human nature?

• Word-Flesh

• Not fully human
• The Son replaces the human soul, united with human body
• A redeemer, NOT experience whole range of human experience
• Arianism, Apollinarianism

• Word-Man

• Complete human nature – body + soul
• Affirm full humanity