Who Is Athanasius's On The Incarnation Of The Word?

1465 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Athanasius on the incarnation sparknotes

On the Incarnation of the Word explores a theology and ideology that is foundational to the Christian faith. Athanasius' reflection is rooted in the truth that God created because God desired relationship, the reality that sin broke relationship, and the certainty that God required reconciliation with creation. Athanasius' stance was that God chose to redeem His creation by becoming embodied in human form. "The death of all was consummated in the Lord's body; yet, because the Word was in it, death and corruption were in the same utterly abolished." This theology depicts an image of God's intimate relationship with humankind. The necessity for the Word to become flesh and dwell among humankind is directly related to the fact that the Word is life, sin is death, and life had to conquer death. The sin that entered brought physical, spiritual and eternal death. Therefore, the reconciliation was required to restore physically, spiritually, and eternally. …show more content…

"If He had surrendered His body to death and then raised it again at once He would have ceased to be an object of senses." I believe Athanasius presented an ideology grounded in a profound truth. Humankind had to experience The Christ in the fullness of who He is so that humankind could recognize not only the need for a savior, but realize the one true Savior was and always will be Jesus, the only one who could restore and reconcile creation to the Creator. It is certain that even the disciples grabbled with the Savior, the King of the world coming in a most unlikely manner. Furthermore, this Jesus lived in an unlikely manner and died in an unlikely manner. Even those closest to Him, those who shared life with Him could not fully comprehend. It was necessary for the Word, Jesus, to be experienced as the Savior, before He could be received as

Show More
Related

  • Explain how the principal beliefs of Christianity as they are expressed in the Bible, influence the lives of adherents

    1331 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the main principles of Christianity is the belief in both the divinity and humanity of Jesus, that these two natures are combined harmoniously in one being. In general, all modern Christians believe that Jesus was human, he was considered to be “The Word was made flesh” (John, I: 14). However, Jesus was more than just a human, despite being subjected to pain, suffering and death like all other human beings, he was sinless and also possessed the power to heal and to defy death in order to ascend, both body and spirit, into heaven. He was all man and all God, a combination of these two elements, remaining distinct but united in one being. The deity of Jesus is a non-negotiable belief in Christianity, which is referred to in many parts of scripture, “God was revealed in the flesh” (I Timothy, 3:16). The Christian faith does not perceive Jesus as God but rather a reincarnation of God, a mysterious deity who is the second person of the Holy Trinity. Throughout history, controversy has surrounded the issue of the humanity and divinity of Jesus, leading to the formation of Docetism, the belief that Jesus was fully divine but not fully human, Arianism, that Jesus was superior to all of creation, but less divine than God, and Nestorius, that there were two separate persons within Jesus. This the proportion of the divine and human within Je...

    Read More

  • On The Inccarnation By Athanasius's On The Incarnation

    922 Words  | 2 Pages

    “This He did out of sheer love for us” (Athanasius 8). This quote refers to the amount of love that God had for humanity, this love had been strong enough to shine through our own rejection towards Him. It continues to do this. When the human race repeatedly rejected God, He continued to have mercy on us. “It was our sorry case that caused the Word to come down” (Athanasius 4). Why would God continue to love us after all this? God could not abandon us, His creation. If we look at kings and rulers in the time of Jesus, we would most likely see corruption and death. When a king was upset he would often take a violent path. God, on the other hand, chose to send someone kind and loving to help us rather than to hurt us. This proves that God is and was genuinely concerned for us, and wanted to see us prosper. “ Now that the common savior of all has died on our behalf, we who believe in Christ no longer die” (Athanasius 21). God wants us to have faith in Him, He wants us to live forever with Him. Another king might bring death upon his people rather than on himself only for his well being not of his people’s. When Jesus died He gave us the option of life over death. All we must do is have faith and believe that He is the on...

    Read More

  • “Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus: Theological Objections”

    969 Words  | 2 Pages

    Spirit), the nature of man and the need for salvation, and sin and the means of atonement.

    Read More

  • Understanding the Incarnation in Christianity

    2764 Words  | 6 Pages

    “The word "Incarnation"comes from the Latin words "in" and "carnis" which means “flesh."" Flesh is the solid part of our being, the part that we can see and touch, in contrast to our mind, soul, and spirit” According to John 4:24, God in his natural form is a spirit. In God’s plan of salvation, “it was necessary for the Son of God to be revealed to humankind in ways that they could see and touch, and so the Incarnation was a part of the plan-- placing the eternal, immortal, invisible Son of God in a body of flesh”(Lehigh, David). According to the Catholic Church, “The Incarnation of the Son of God does not mean that Jesus Christ is part God and part man, nor does it imply that he is the result of a confused mixture of the divine and the human.

    Read More

  • Michael Gorman Inhabiting The Cruciform Christ Analysis

    1610 Words  | 4 Pages

    The crucifixion of Christ is one of the central defining moments in human history. The revelation of God in the cruciform Christ is the central defining image for Christians. This is at the very heart of the case being made by Michael Gorman in Inhabiting the Cruciform God. Gorman, examining Paul's soteriology, makes the argument that for Paul justification is centered on theosis. Gorman thesis centers around defending his definition of this theosis in Paul's writings. Gorman writes, “Theosis is tranformative participation in the kenotic, cruciform character of God through Spirit-enable conformity to the incarnate, crucified, and resurrected/glorified Christ.”1 The following will examine Gorman's defense of this thesis focusing especially

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Discourse On The State And Grandeurs Of Jesus

    1454 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...is composed of two natures, one external, one internal, one divine the other human, one invisible and one visible. “For notwithstanding this supreme and divine state, he experienced swaddling clothes, the crèche, childhood and the powerlessness of childhood, flight and persecution” (pg 144). God experienced the lowliness of human nature. Even though Jesus experienced all these states he was truly God-man. However, the glory of the Father wasn’t established in him yet. It was deferred by the plan of God for his son. This division only existed in Jesus. It was for the sole purpose of representing and erasing the separation that occurred between God and his creatures through sin. Jesus was separated from glory due to love. So its our duty to love Jesus in his love. It was due to love he gave his divinity to humanity. The mystery is love and only can be love.

    Read More

  • Cyril of Alexandria

    1461 Words  | 3 Pages

    “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” John 1: 14. The verse that has inspired and bewildered Christians for centuries. Since its occurrence, church members and theologians have marveled at the principle of the Incarnation. How could God, perfect, sinless, unable to suffer, become sinful, corruptible flesh, and suffer ultimate punishment for the sins of man? This is the same question that puzzled many early church fathers, and the one that most potently effected Cyril, bishop of Alexandria. It led to intense church controversy, leaving Cyril a legacy and a reputation still impressed upon him today, and leaving another church leader disgraced in the depths of heresy. But before studying Cyril’s main theological conflict, one must first understand the circumstances and experiences that lead him to that point.

    Read More

  • The Person and Work of Our Lord Jesus Christ- The Atonement

    2935 Words  | 6 Pages

    We know that Christ is someone unique and distinct in many ways from every other man, especially in his incarnation. This word Incarnation basically means `made flesh'. This passage shows the unique and miraculous events which were involved in Christ's incarnation.

    Read More

  • The Parallels of Jesus and Hercules

    1189 Words  | 3 Pages

    "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."(New Revised Standard Version, John 1:14) As the only son of God in the Christian theology, Jesus Christ was tasked with a multitude of trials, and horrors the common man would have rebuked and refused to undertake. However, as a demi-god born of the divine Christian deity and the mortal, virgin Mary, Jesus was not the average mortal man.

    Read More

  • Stud She's A Slut Summary

    735 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jessica Valenti’s book “He’s a Stud, She’s a Slut” highlights the many double standards men and women have and continue to face today. As a free spirited and down to earth feminist, she challenges these stereotypes and educates others on the negative aspects they have on people’s daily life. Issues ranging from wage pay gap, to sexism, racism, etc., there is nothing that makes her comfortable to talk about. In this book, I resonated closely with three chapters she wrote: “He’s a Hipster, She’s a Ho”and “He’s Getting an Education , She’s Getting in the Way”; respectively, these chapters discuss how women and men physically present themselves in society, and their education.

    Read More

  • The Mission of Jesus as Described in the Gospel of Mark

    779 Words  | 2 Pages

    When Jesus asked his disciples about what people thought about him, they answered that some considered Jesus to be e prophet, some - John the Baptist. But Jesus wanted his disciples to understand his mission, the reason why God brought him to Earth. That is why it was important for him to make sure that people realize who he is and that his sayings are vital for the whole mankind. Jesus was the Messiah, the anointed one, above all other prophets. He was sent to suffer for the all human beings and the reasons why his suffering was necessary are described in Mark's Gospel 8:27-9:1.

    Read More

  • On the Incarnation

    1127 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the book One the Incarnation by Saint Athanasius it talks about why Jesus became human for our salvation. Jesus had no reason not to enter into the world as a human, because “it was right that they should be thus attributed to his as man, in order to show that his body was a real one and not merely an appearance” (Athanasius 15). Showing that it was important for Jesus to be a human and spread his knowledge among us; to help us learn and be able to teach other through oral and written tradition. It was now necessary for Jesus to come for our salvation because “had he surrendered his body to death and then raised it at once…which showed him to be not only a man, but also a God the word” (Athanasius 14). This connects back to by why Jesus wants humans to believe that he died a human death.

    Read More

  • The Doctrine of Salvation

    528 Words  | 2 Pages

    The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory. The glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. Jesus was perfect; he did not even yield to the temptations of his nature unlike the people around him. It says in John 14:30 that “but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.

    Read More

  • Christology Chapter Summary

    1469 Words  | 3 Pages

    His book presents three main perspectives on Christology (biblical, historical, and contemporary). He attempts to combine classical views and contextual views of Christology.

    Read More

  • Jesus As a Christian Leader

    1289 Words  | 3 Pages

    The gospels explain Jesus’ life and death including His identity but also his activities, works, leadership and his suffering. Jesus is seen as a manifestation of God’s relationship with humans. An important fact about Jesus is the humility and modesty associated with his birth, upbringing and death. The fact that such a person ...

    Read More

More about Who Is Athanasius's On The Incarnation Of The Word?

Open Document