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Hypostatic Union

The Hypostatic Union

The Hypostatic union and God's love for mankind.

Only God Himself could save mankind from our sins; only the perfect sacrifice; His great sacrifice, could suffice for God's Justice. The Hypostatic union is the term used to explain Our Lord God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, taking on human flesh; to become man, without losing a single feature of the God Head; true God and true man.
Jesus Christ, God the Son, begotten of God the Father before all ages; God from God. He is of one substance with the Father, and one substance with the Holy Spirit; Consubstantial with God the Father and Consubstantial with God the Holy Spirit. Fully equal in all ways. It was through Him (God the Son) that all things were made [Jn 1:3.] Taking on human flesh did not diminish His God Head in any way. The Hypostatic Union is described in the following way:

"A theological term used with reference to the Incarnation to express the revealed truth that in Christ one person subsists in two natures, the Divine and the human. Hypostasis means, literally, that which lies beneath as basis or foundation.” (The Hypostatic union in: The Catholic Encyclopedia: www.newadvent.org)

The Hypostatic Union is an early doctrine of the Church. As shown, for example, when Pope Leo 1 (p. 440-461) sent a dogmatic letter on the Hypostatic Union to the (later) Council of Ephesus which took place in 449. The Hypostatic union was defined (definitively) by the Council of Chalcedon in 451 which stated (declared) that:

“...in Christ the two natures, each retaining its own properties, are united in one subsistance and one person..” (The Hypostatic union in: The Catholic Encyclopedia: www.newadvent.org)