Class notes from yesterday

"The loveliness of Christ may be best beheld in His solitariness, the mystery of which all the Patristic Councils and Creeds sought to properly elucidate and illuminate." ~Samuel Rutherford.

Samuel Rutherford wrote the book, Lex Rex, and The Loveliness of Christ. He believed that the the Law is King, and not the king is law. Oliver Cromwell committed regicide because he believed in Lex Rex. Lex = Law, Rex = King. The idea of Lex Rex is that God's Law is above the king and that the king must abide by that Law. Rex Lex is that the king makes the laws to be whatever he wants. The concept of Lex Rex was widely unaccepted because the people didn't want to have a king who could be ruled by another authority.

What no other religion has is imputed righteousness, the salvation, the character of Christ, and the unsurpassed grace. There was a lot of debate over who Christ really was...who is he? Christianity has come through history and if history is altered by us, then Christianity cannot stand because Christianity depends upon the true history of the world.

As long as you weren't a threat to the state, you could do/say/believe anything you wanted to.

Councils were a foundation by which our understanding of liberty, socialization processes, economical functions, and everything else that a culture runs on, is based on. The thinking of individuals will eventually shape the culture. If you have a strange thinking people, you will have a strange thinking culture. Your worldview/denomination matters. This is why you cannot bond with or marry someone who believes something different then you do.

Every man is fallen. A group of fallen people creates a fallen culture. All kings/pastor/emperor/presidents are fallen. You must make a checks and balance type of government so you are all accountable to one another. No one is supremely over all others. Verification and accountability. Society is a web of relationships. Division of labor and power is essential. All men must be judged under the Law. Acts 13 shows us that a synod was formed. Acts 15 points out a council. You should never be stuck under the authority of one or two individuals. Biblical leadership is consensual - plurality of leadership. Even strong prevailing people still have strong prevailing sins.

The two greatest commandments:
1) Love the Lord your God
2) Love thy neighbor

These could be considered a creed.

Creed:
A short summery statement
Brings about discipline
Maintains peace of the Church
Keeps purity within people

Creeds are there to ward off wandering and provide a guideline.

1) Arian crisis - 325 at Nicea a council was called together by Constantinople. The Arians believe that Christ was God's Son, but not God himself. He was flesh, material...substantial...and because material things are less important than the spiritual things. How could Christ as a God do things that a human, a mortal, could only do? You cannot separate the spiritual and the material, the council argued; just like you can't separate love and hate. Worldly tends to get labeled too many things that don't apply. Christ had some of the essence and attributes of God but was nothing more than a higher being, they said. The council said, Christ was fully God (and fully man). He was not material and worldly like they accused him of being. The spiritual cannot die. If Christ was really material and human as they said, wouldn't he have just died for good on the cross? Also, he couldn't have possibly saved our sins if he was only a mortal. The council argued against them using Homoousios - Very God of Very God. He is all powerful and sovereign. The Arians wanted to put a huge space between the spiritual which is good, and the material which is bad.

2) Sabellianism - they believed that God makes appearances and could take on different Trinity roles. They broke apart the Trinity. They said that the three in one could never simultaneously exist. Another word for it is Modalism. Another part of their heresy was that Christ was a puppet for God. God used the body but was not actually in the body. The same goes for the Holy Spirit. The essence of God is completely spiritual. the "soul" of Christ was God but not body. The council, formed in 381 by Constantinople, said that Christ was 100% God and 100% man. Holy man and holy God = Pantokratora. The Trinity exist at the same time.

3) Nestorianism - the council was formed in Ephesus in 431. Nestorius, the founder, said that Mary didn't actually carry in her womb God in the flesh, but rather Christ was really human and "grew" into his God-hood as he submitted more and more to the Father. Mary was a Christotokos - a Christ bearer. However, she was not a Theotokos - a God bearer.

4) Monophysitism - they believed in preserved incarnation. Christ had two separate natures in one person. They were constantly at war with one another. Christ had to suppress being human in order to be God. They forced incarnation and impartation.

5) Melchitism was addressed at the council at Constantinople in 553. They believed that Christ could turn his two natures "on" and "off". It was operable and he was a devised schizophrenian who could suppress a nature.

Next week we'll pick up with the 6th council.