council_or_creed
Third Council of Constantinople
- Era
- 7th century
- Location
- Constantinople
- Discovered
- AD 680–681
Answered Monothelitism (the teaching that Christ had only one will). The council confessed two wills in Christ — divine and human — in perfect harmony, matching His two natures.
The find
If Christ has a true human nature, He must also have a true human will — otherwise His obedience in Gethsemane ("not my will, but yours, be done," Luke 22:42) becomes theater rather than the real submission of a real Man. The council followed Scripture and the Chalcedonian pattern: two natures means two wills, never in conflict, the human always submitting to the divine.
Why it matters
Small in fame, large in pastoral weight. It safeguards the reality of Jesus' obedience for us (Rom 5:19; Heb 5:7–9): a real human will, freely chosen, offered up in our place.
Cross-linked Scripture
- Luke 22:42— "Not my will, but yours"
- Hebrews 5:7-9— Learned obedience through what He suffered
Doctrine check
Sources
See also