I heard John use the term "hypostatic union." What does that
mean and where did it come from? The theological term
"hypostatic union" has its origins in the Council of Chalcedon
and emphasizes that Jesus Christ was fully God and fully man at
the same time. It is used to affirm the union of Jesus' divine
and human natures in one person--that Jesus Christ is perfectly
God and perfectly man. Or, as theologians say, He is
consubstantial with God as to His deity and with mankind as to
His humanity. Soon after the establishment of the church,
doctrinal errors arose concerning the person of Jesus Christ. In
October of A.D. 451, a large church council convened in the city
of Chalcedon near Constantinople. After much discussion, the
Council issued a statement to correct the errors and to
establish an accurate theological statement concerning the
person and nature of Christ. The fruit of their labor is perhaps
the most significant Christological statement in the history of
the church: We, then, following the holy Fathe