What's the Big Deal?

Colossians 2:9

November 7th Devotional

      On this day in 680, 43 bishops convened in the imperial palace of Constantinople to debate a religious doctrine that was rapidly spreading.  This meeting would later become known as the Third Council of Constantinople.  This was the smallest gathering out of the major councils that helped determine the basis for Orthodoxy in Christianity.  The church was fragile in the mid 600’s and was seeking identity.  The religion of Islam was rapidly growing and becoming a genuine threat.  Many areas that were previously ‘Christian’ quickly fell under the flag of Islam.  The church as a whole was splintered as there was tremendous tension between the “western” church and the “eastern” church due to theological disagreements.  The church felt pressure to be united but in their attempt, they were willing to forsake Bible doctrine.  These compromises were a menace that caused the church to be divided and weak.  Emperor Constantine IV oversaw the meeting with hopes of settling some of the major differences that were rising.  This ten-month debate revolved around two new doctrines that were being propagated, monoenergism and monothelitism.  These complicated words mean that while the churches had agreed that Christ had two natures, the human and the divine (the God-Man), there was a question of Christ’s ‘energy’ and His will.  Did Christ have one will or two wills?  Was His will merely divine or was it like His nature, both divine and human?  This might not seem like a huge issue in our time but the church had five previous councils that each debated Christ’s relation to God the Father and the balance of His humanity and deity.   These previous councils were built on great scenes of passion and discussion.  Heretics abounded and it was of the utmost importance to have the right doctrinal teaching.  There could not be a tolerance for any ‘false teaching.’  After eighteen sessions the bishops concluded that Christ had two wills, both in perfect unity and accord, a human one and a divine one, though the human will was subject to the divine will.  The argument was basically if Christ has two natures, human and divine, then He must also have two ‘wills’ or else that would deprive Him of His full humanity.

      One might ask, why was this council of such value?  The value was to solidify our Christological doctrines.  We must teach correctly on who Jesus is.  The Bible unquestionably teaches that Jesus is both 100% God and 100% man.  In Colossians, we read that “For in him (Jesus) the whole fulness of deity dwells bodily (Colossians 2:9).  The deity of Christ matters.  If He was merely a man, a good teacher, a prophet, etc then He was also a liar when He told the people in John’s Gospel account “Before Abraham was, I AM (John 8:58).  Christ also could not just be just a man because that would destroy the understanding of His incarnation.  John 1:14 says that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14).  Jesus, being 100% God, took on flesh (100% man).  We cannot divorce those Biblical truths.  Christ undeniably affirms His deity and humanity over and over in Scripture.  We need to rejoice in our spiritual fathers who bravely stood firm on Bible truth, even when it would have been alluring to compromise.  We need to rejoice in their efforts to study the Word.  May our hearts take peace in settled theology.  May our hearts also be convicted to spend quality time in God’s Word to behold the truths before our very eyes.