Christology 101 (Part 5): The Glory and Wonder of the Hypostatic Union

Historic statements of faith, such as the Apostles’ Creed, affirm the angels’ message to Joseph in Matthew 1, saying Jesus was “conceived by the Holy Spirit.”

This is to say, Jesus’ birth was utterly unique among all human births.

In theology, we call this the Hypostatic Union, a fancy theological concept that simply means Jesus is both fully God and fully human in one person.

The term hypostatic comes from the Greek hypostasis (ὑπόστασις, hupóstasis) which, in this context, can be understood as “substance” or “underlying reality.”

The Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD provided a definition of the hypostatic union, stating that Jesus possesses two natures without confusion, without change, without division, and without separation.

The distinction of natures was not nullified by the union between the divine and human, but rather the characteristics of each nature were preserved and came together to form one person.