J
JPrejean
Guest
The Chalcedonian formula proceeds as follows:
So, following the saintly fathers, we all with one voice teach the confession of one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: the same perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity, the same truly God and truly man, of a rational soul and a body; consubstantial with the Father as regards his divinity, and the same consubstantial with us as regards his humanity; like us in all respects except for sin like us in all respects except for sin; begotten before the ages from the Father as regards his divinity, and in the last days the same for us and for our salvation from Mary, the virgin God-bearer as regards his humanity
Rational soul and body are on the same plane; both are created. The “rational soul” part was directed at the heresy of Apollinarism, which maintained that Jesus had no created soul but that the Word of God just was the soul of Jesus’s body.
I think that the contrast between “begotten before the ages” and “begotten … in the last days … from Mary, the virgin God-beaere as regards his humanity” pretty much dispenses with the idea of a strictly pre-existent human body and soul. Many Fathers have identified the acts of creation and Incarnation to some or another extent (in the case of St. Maximos Confessor, almost entirely), so it is not entirely illegitimate to speak of Jesus having in some sense always been Incarnate from the moment of creation as the Logos in which all things were created, so long as it is affirmed that the actual begetting takes place at a moment in time. The important distinction is “before all ages,” i.e., before the creation of time; it is clear that Christ’s created nature had no existence before all ages.
As to the question of whether the Incarnation changes God, it can be answered with a counter question: does God change in becoming a Creator? Obviously not, but if God can create without change, then why can He not become Incarnate without change? As with all things with respect to creation, creation changes, but God does not change.
Hope that was helpful.
So, following the saintly fathers, we all with one voice teach the confession of one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: the same perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity, the same truly God and truly man, of a rational soul and a body; consubstantial with the Father as regards his divinity, and the same consubstantial with us as regards his humanity; like us in all respects except for sin like us in all respects except for sin; begotten before the ages from the Father as regards his divinity, and in the last days the same for us and for our salvation from Mary, the virgin God-bearer as regards his humanity
Rational soul and body are on the same plane; both are created. The “rational soul” part was directed at the heresy of Apollinarism, which maintained that Jesus had no created soul but that the Word of God just was the soul of Jesus’s body.
I think that the contrast between “begotten before the ages” and “begotten … in the last days … from Mary, the virgin God-beaere as regards his humanity” pretty much dispenses with the idea of a strictly pre-existent human body and soul. Many Fathers have identified the acts of creation and Incarnation to some or another extent (in the case of St. Maximos Confessor, almost entirely), so it is not entirely illegitimate to speak of Jesus having in some sense always been Incarnate from the moment of creation as the Logos in which all things were created, so long as it is affirmed that the actual begetting takes place at a moment in time. The important distinction is “before all ages,” i.e., before the creation of time; it is clear that Christ’s created nature had no existence before all ages.
As to the question of whether the Incarnation changes God, it can be answered with a counter question: does God change in becoming a Creator? Obviously not, but if God can create without change, then why can He not become Incarnate without change? As with all things with respect to creation, creation changes, but God does not change.
Hope that was helpful.