As a good Presbyterian who holds to the Regulative Principle of Worship, I am obligated to remind you that I have no religious reason to be writing this right now. The 25th of December is, ecclesiastically speaking, just another Thursday. We jokingly call it “Mid-Winter No Reason”—a time when the world inexplicably decides to decorate pine trees and eat peppermint.
But I have observed that while we may not recognize a holy day, we must never neglect a holy truth. If the world is going to pause to look at a manger, the least we can do is ensure they see the right baby in it.
The sentimental Jesus of the greeting card—the “little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes”—cannot save you. A silent baby is just a baby. We need the Christ of the Scriptures, the Christ of the Councils, and the Christ of the Confession. We need the “One and the Same Son” who is the Ancient of Days and the Infant of Days, wrapped in swaddling cloths yet holding the universe together.
This mid-winter, let us walk into the fortress of Chalcedon to behold the mystery of the Incarnation—not as a sentimental story, but as the theological engine of our salvation.
The Mind of Christ (Philippians 2)
Our journey begins not in Bethlehem, but in eternity. The Apostle Paul, writing to the fractious church in Philippi, commands them to have the “mind of Christ” (Phil. 2:5). He then pulls back the curtain of time to reveal the Pre-Existent Son.
Paul tells us that Christ existed in the Morphe Theou—the “Form of God.” He possessed the essential nature of Deity. Yet, He did not regard this equality as harpagmos—something to be exploited for His own advantage. Instead, He “emptied Himself.”
Loved ones, do not let the modern liberals tell you He emptied Himself of His divinity. God cannot stop being God. The text says He emptied Himself by taking the form of a servant (Morphe Doulou). It was not a subtraction of glory, but an addition of humility. He veiled His majesty in the fragile skin of a slave, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
This is the “Mind” we are called to imitate: a humility that does not think less of itself, but thinks of itself less, descending into the dirt to lift others up.
The Singular Subject: One and the Same
When the church gathered at Chalcedon in 451 AD to make sense of this, they didn’t invent a new theology; they simply built a fence around Paul’s teaching. The central stake of that fence is the phrase: “One and the Same Son.”
This is the death knell of the heresy of Nestorianism. Nestorius wanted to divide Jesus into two persons—a divine Son and a human Son—partners in a mission. But Chalcedon insisted that the “I” who speaks in the Gospels is singular.
- Who was born of Mary? God the Son.
- Who suffered on the cross? God the Son.
He experienced these things through His human nature, but the Person who experienced them was the Second Person of the Trinity. There are not two people in the manger. There is One Person, the Eternal Word, subsisting in two natures.
The Four Walls of the Fortress
To protect this “One and the Same Son,” the Council erected four famous “fences”—four adverbs that define the union by what it is not.
Without Confusion (Asynchytos)
We must not mix the natures. The heresy of Eutyches claimed that Christ’s humanity was absorbed into His divinity like a drop of honey in the ocean. But a mixed nature is a tertium quid—a third thing. A divine-human hybrid cannot represent us (he isn’t man) and cannot satisfy God (he isn’t God). We confess that the baby in the manger is truly, authentically human, with a finite mind and a fragile body, distinct from His infinite nature.
Without Change (Atreptos)
We must not mutate the natures. God did not turn into a man. If He had, the throne of heaven would have been empty. Instead, we speak of a Terminative Assumption. Think of a point terminating a line. The point gives the line its definition and end, but the point itself does not change shape or location. In the Incarnation, the Eternal Word is the “Point” that terminates and grounds the human nature. The change happens entirely in the humanity (which is assumed), while the Word remains the Unchanged Rock of Ages.
Without Division (Adiairetos)
We must not split the Person. We do not have a “human Jesus” who is approachable and a “divine Jesus” who is distant. We have one undivided Lord. When He weeps, it is the heart of God revealed in human tears. When He bleeds, the Apostle Paul is bold enough to call it “God’s own blood” (Acts 20:28)—not because the divine nature bled, but because the Person who owns the nature did.
Without Separation (Achoristos)
We must not dissolve the union. The most terrifying test of this was the tomb. When Jesus died, His soul left His body. But did the Word leave? No. The Westminster Larger Catechism (Q. 50) reminds us that the union was not dissolved. The Word held the body in the grave (preserving it from corruption) and the soul in Paradise, reuniting them on Easter morning. The union is permanent. The dust of the earth now sits on the throne of God, forever.
The Application: Why This Saves (WCF 8)
Why does all this precision matter on a cold mid-winter day? Because only the Chalcedonian Christ can save the Westminster sinner.
The Westminster Confession of Faith (Chapter 8) takes these “fences” and turns them into a gateway of salvation. It defines Christ as the Mediator—the only one fit to stand between God and man.
- Because He is Without Confusion, He is a true Man who can pay our debt as a Second Adam.
- Because He is Without Division, He is the Lord of Glory whose sacrifice has infinite value to satisfy the justice of the Father.
- Because He is Without Separation, He is a High Priest who remains one of us forever, carrying our names on His breastplate into the Holy of Holies.
Conclusion
Loved ones, as you look at the manger—whether liturgically or just historically—do not see a sentimental story. See the warlike wisdom of God. See the “One and the Same Son” who breached the fortress of the enemy not by power, but by humility.
He took our nature without destroying it. He assumed our weakness without losing His strength. He entered our death without losing His life.
This is the “Mid-Winter Mystery.” The floor of the manger is the foundation of our salvation. O come, let us adore him.
So go ahead—enjoy your “Mid-Winter No Reason.” Eat the ham, sing the carols, and enjoy the day off. We may not have a commanded feast day, but we certainly have a Savior worth feasting for. Happy Mid-Winter to the strict subscriptionists, and to all of you loved ones—a very Merry Christmas.
Key Terms
- Morphe Theou / Doulou: “Form of God” / “Form of a Servant” (Phil. 2). Christ possesses the essential nature of both God and Man.
- Hypostatic Union: The doctrine that the two natures of Christ are united in the one hypostasis (person) of the Word.
- Terminative Assumption: The concept that the Word assumes a human nature by acting as its Terminus (foundation/completer), ensuring the change is in the humanity, not the divinity.
- Communicatio Idiomatum: “Communication of Properties.” The properties of both natures are ascribed to the single Person of the Son.