Tuesday in the Twenty-Second Week of Ordinary Time

The Creed of Chalcedon

one and the same…Lord

In the account of Moses and the burning bush, God speaks to Moses from the midst of the bush and tells him that He will send him on a mission to Pharaoh to release the children of Israel from bondage.  God lets Moses know that Pharaoh will receive neither him nor his proclamation hospitably but only after some coaxing from the Almighty.  In this encounter and in answer to several of Moses’ demurring excuses, God reveals perhaps His most ineffable name to Moses, “I Am.”  It is transliterated, Yahweh, in English (Jehovah in the KJV) but is generally represented in English Bibles in the Old Testament by “the LORD,” all in caps.  In other words, where you see “LORD” in English Bibles, the Hebrew, Yahweh, and its English translation, “I Am,” is behind that word.

I tell you this because many are prone to see God the Father in the bush (or just plain God) but that is incorrect.  He is the Son who communicates to us the will of the Father.  Similarly, the “angel of the Lord,” whom we meet in several places in the Old Testament (cf. Genesis 18), was universally regarded by the Early Church Fathers as theophanies of the pre-incarnate Christ, as well as the exalted Lord of Isaiah’s vision which the Apostle John also refers to Christ before his Incarnation in the Virgin’s womb (Isaiah 6:1-13; John 12:37-41).  In other words, the Father does not “come down” to us; that was the office of the Son who expressed to us the will and way of the Father under the old covenant, and now the task of the Holy Spirit who abides with his people—the Church. 

Returning to the Creed, when it says, “one and the same…Lord,” it is this Lord of whom it speaks, and the bishops at Chalcedon understood matters just this way.  Jesus Christ is the Lord—the one who was with the Father in the beginning through whom the world was made (John 1:1-3; Proverbs 8:22-36), who appeared to the prophets as the angel of the Lord.  He, Himself, is the Lord, the word of God, who reveals the Father to us.

This Lord is both he who was with the Father from the beginning, eternally-begotten of Him, and the one who came down from heaven and was incarnate in the Virgin’s womb, uniting humanity with divinity for the salvation of men.  He is thus one Lord, not two, and the same Lord in the womb who was with the Father in the beginning.  Again, these are divine mysteries but such is their nature that they reveal enough for our salvation but can never be exhausted of their meaning by frail human minds.

Author: The Reformed Baptist

My name is Stephen Taylor, ordained Baptist minister of eighteen years pastoral experience with a Ph.D. in Historical Theology from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Better than that, I am married to a godly woman, Karla, who has been very patient with me since 1989. I have two daughters, both of whom I homeschooled for extended periods of time, who became godly young women, and who ran off and married godly young men, all of which is very proper. The oldest daughter has even seen fit to bless me with a grandson and a granddaughter, and my youngest daughter with a grandson, all three of whom are bundles of exceeding joy. As you can see, I am quite blessed. This website is dedicated to helping people grow in the wisdom and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ through the gift of writing that the Lord has given to me. It is specifically about helping His people grow in godliness, the theme you see repeated above. I write devotions with this aim and hope that they might be of some help to God’s people. Full disclosure: I am of a Reformed bent, meaning that my understanding of Scripture is primarily informed by the Reformers and their successors of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. However, as a student of church history and theology, I strive to remain true to that teaching handed down once for all unto the saints through every age of the Church. I like to think of myself as a “catholic” Christian, as the Reformers thought of themselves. At any rate, feel free to read, pray, and contact me if you wish, or correct me if need be. As you can see, I tend to follow the church year. Of course, I make no special claims about these devotions. I know very well that others have written better and plumbed the depths of God’s word with greater insight. But if my musings help someone draw closer to the Lord, well then, I have my reward. Blessings to you and may the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ speak to you that word which He knows you especially need to hear. Grace & peace, Stephen Taylor

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