Theological Term of the Week

Moving on to some terms related to the nature of God.

aseity
God’s perfection whereby he is self-sufficient, self-existent and independent, existing “from himself”; his possession of life in himself so that he needs nothing from anything outside of himself, but rather is the source and sustenance of everything that exists.

• From scripture:
  

  For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. (John 5:26 ESV)

  Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world,from everlasting to everlasting you are God. (Psalm 90:2 ESV)

  The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. (Acts 17:24-25 ESV)

• From The Second Helvetic Confession, Chapter 3:

  GOD IS ONE. We believe and teach that God is one in essence or nature, subsisting in himself, all sufficient in himself…

• From The Independence or Self-Existence of God by Rev. D. H. Kuiper

  That God has life in Himself as the independent God, that He has given life to Christ that He mightbe the life source of His people, has several humbling implications of the believer. First, what a great,good, and wonderful God our God is! He had need of nothing, nothing can ever be added unto Him, Helives a perfect life within Himself … how glorious God is! And the other side of it is, how small,insignificant, dependent we are! God doesn’t need us, but we need Him! God gives and never receives; wereceive and never really give.

  Secondly, it becomes us, then to confess this dependence upon God, to live consciously out of Him. You can give yourself over, body and soul, to such a God without any reason to fear. Blessed is theman who looks away from himself, from governments and all human institutions, and looks to God thefount of every blessing.

  And finally, that God is independent and self-existent is the foundation of all worship of God! Letus never think that God is altogether such an one as we, but rather let us always acknowledge Him as thehigh and lofty One Who is excellent in praises and Marvelous in Being. Having life in Himself, He is thesource of our life in Christ! Let us worship at his footstool!

Learn more:

1. J. I. Packer: Self-Existence: God Has Always Been
2. Blue Letter Bible: Self-Existence
3. Mercy Drops Online Bible Classes: Aseity of God—Self Existence
4. John Frame, Divine Aseity and Apologetics: Divine Aseity and Apologetics
5. A. W. Tozer: The Self-Existence of God
6. S. Lewis Johnson: The Attributes of God, Part II:  Where Did God Come From? (mp3 and transcript)
7. D. A. Carson: The Aseity of God (YouTube video)
8. From my attributes of God posts: God’s Self-Existence

Related terms:

• eternality
• holiness
• immutability
• infinity
• omnipotence
• omnipresence
• omniscience

Do you have a a theological term you’d like to see featured here as a Theological Term of the Week? If you email it to me, I’ll seriously consider using it.

I’m also interested in any suggestions you have for tweaking my definitions or for additional (or better) articles or sermons/lectures for linking. I’ll give you credit and a link back to your blog if I use your suggestion.

Clicking on the Theological Term graphic at the top of this post will take you to a list of all the previous theological terms organized in alphabetical order or by topic.

Theological Term of the Week

Nestorianism
A Christological heresy that taught that Jesus was two distinct persons, a human person and a divine person. This teaching was declared to be heretical by the Council of Chalcedon in 453.

• The Athanasian Creed:

  Although he is God and human,
  yet Christ is not two, but one.
  He is one, however,
  not by his divinity being turned into flesh,
  but by God’s taking humanity to himself.
  He is one,
  certainly not by the blending of his essence,
  but by the unity of his person.
  For just as one human is both rational soul and flesh,
  so too the one Christ is both God and human.

• From Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem:

  It is important to understand why the church could not accept the view that Christ was two distinct persons. Nowhere in Scripture do we have an indication that the human nature of Christ, for example, is an independent person, deciding to do something contrary to the divine nature of Christ. Nowhere do we have an indication of the human and divine natures talking to each other or struggling within Christ, or any such thing. Rather, we have a consistent picture of a single person acting in wholeness and unity. Jesus always speaks as “I” not “we,” though he can refer to himself and the Father together as “we” (John 14:23). The Bible always speaks of Jesus as “he,” not as “they.”… [T]he Bible itself does not say “Jesus’ human nature did this” of “Jesus’ divine nature did that” as though they were separate persons, but always talks about what the person of Christ did. Therefore, the church continues to insist that Jesus was on person, although possessing both a human nature and a divine nature.

Learn more:

1. Theopedia: Nestorianism
2. GotQuestions.org: What is Nestorianism? Who were the Nestorians?
3. C. Michael Patton: Heresies: Nestorianism - A Divided Christ
4. Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry: Nestorianism
5. Michael Patton (Bible.org): What is Nestorianism? (video)

Related terms:

• adoptionism
• Appolianarianism
• Arianism
• deity of Christ
• humanity of Christ
• hypostatic union

Filed under Person, Work, and Teaching of Christ

Do you have a a theological term you’d like to see featured here as a Theological Term of the Week? If you email it to me, I’ll seriously consider using it. I’m also interested in any suggestions you have for tweaking my definitions or for additional (or better) articles or sermons/lectures for linking. I’ll give you credit and a link back to your blog if I use your suggestion.

Clicking on the Theological Term graphic at the top of this post will take you to a list of all the previous theological terms organized in alphabetical order or by topic.

Theological Term of the Week

Eutychianism
A Christological heresy taught in the fifth century by Eutyches of Constantinople, who maintained that Christ had only one nature, a nature that was a mixture of divine and human nature, resulting in a third kind of nature. Sometimes called monophysitism. This teaching was declared to be heretical by the Council of Chalcedon in 453.

• Scripture repudiating this heresy:

  Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. (Hebrews 2:17 ESV)
  

• The Definition of Chalcedon:

  Therefore, following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body; of one substance with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood; like us in all respects, apart from sin; as regards his Godhead, begotten of the Father before the ages, but yet as regards his manhood begotten, for us men and for our salvation, of Mary the Virgin, the God-bearer; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ; even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the creed of the fathers has handed down to us.

• From The Eutychian Controversy By William Cunningham:

  Christ had been from eternity God over all; He assumed human nature into union with the divine. The divine nature of course continued unchanged, because it is unchangeable. Did the human nature also continue unchanged, distinct from the divine, though inseparably united with it? Christ is uniformly represented to us in Scripture as being prima facie a man—a full partaker of human nature in all its completeness. If it be asserted that He had not human nature in its entireness and perfection, or that anything essential to human nature was wanting in Him, the onus probandi must lie upon those who make this assertion; for the obvious import of the general declaration of the incarnation, and the general bearing of the representation given us of Christ during His abode upon earth, plainly lead to an opposite conclusion. There is no evidence whatever in Scripture that Christ wanted* anything whatever to make Him an entire and perfect man, or possessor of human nature in all its completeness; and, on the contrary, there is direct and positive proof that he had every essential property of humanity.

Learn more:

1. GotQuestions.org: What Is Monophysitism?
2. Wayne Grudem, Jeff Purswell: Monophysitism from Bible Doctrine: Essential Teachings
3. New Link! Justin Holcomb: Eutyches: Know Your Heretics
4. William Cunningham: The Eutychian Controversy
   
5. Wayne Grudem: The Person of Christ, Part 3 (mp3)

Related terms:

• adoptionism
• Appolianarianism
• Arianism
• deity of Christ
• humanity of Christ
• hypostatic union
• Nestorianism

Filed under Trinity.

*or lacked.

Do you have a a theological term you’d like to see featured here as a Theological Term of the Week? If you email it to me, I’ll seriously consider using it.

I’m also interested in any suggestions you have for tweaking my definitions or for additional (or better) articles or sermons/lectures for linking. I’ll give you credit and a link back to your blog if I use your suggestion.

Clicking on the Theological Term graphic at the top of this post will take you to a list of all the previous theological terms organized in alphabetical order or by topic.