On the Incarnation of the Lord

Or what was required for such grace and such recall, but the Word of God , which had also at the beginning made everything out of nought? For His it was once more both to bring the corruptible to incorruption, and to maintain intact the just claim of the Father upon all. For being Word of the Father , and above all, He alone of natural fitness was both able to recreate everything, and worthy to suffer on behalf of all and to be ambassador for all with the Father.

For no part of Creation is left void of Him: He has filled all things everywhere, remaining present with His own Father. But He comes in condescension to show loving-kindness upon us, and to visit us. And seeing the race of rational creatures in the way to perish, and death reigning over them by corruption; seeing, too, that the threat against transgression gave a firm hold to the corruption which was upon us, and that it was monstrous that before the law was fulfilled it should fall through: He took pity on our race, and had mercy on our infirmity, and condescended to our corruption, and, unable to bear that death should have the mastery — lest the creature should perish, and His Father's handiwork in men be spent for nought — He takes unto Himself a body, and that of no different sort from ours.

For He did not simply will to become embodied, or will merely to appear. For if He willed merely to appear, He was able to effect His divine appearance by some other and higher means as well. But He takes a body of our kind, and not merely so, but from a spotless and stainless virgin, knowing not a man , a body clean and in very truth pure from intercourse of men. For being Himself mighty, and Artificer of everything, He prepares the body in the Virgin as a temple unto Himself, and makes it His very own as an instrument, in it manifested, and in it dwelling.

And thus taking from our bodies one of like nature, because all were under penalty of the corruption of death He gave it over to death in the stead of all, and offered it to the Father — doing this, moreover, of His loving-kindness, to the end that, firstly, all being held to have died in Him, the law involving the ruin of men might be undone inasmuch as its power was fully spent in the Lord's body, and had no longer holding-ground against men, his peers , and that, secondly, whereas men had turned toward corruption, He might turn them again toward incorruption, and quicken them from death by the appropriation of His body and by the grace of the Resurrection, banishing death from them like straw from the fire.

For the Word, perceiving that no otherwise could the corruption of men be undone save by death as a necessary condition, while it was impossible for the Word to suffer death, being immortal , and Son of the Father; to this end He takes to Himself a body capable of death, that it, by partaking of the Word Who is above all, might be worthy to die in the stead of all, and might, because of the Word which had come to dwell in it, remain incorruptible, and that thenceforth corruption might be stayed from all by the Grace of the Resurrection.

Whence, by offering unto death the body He Himself had taken, as an offering and sacrifice free from any stain, straightway He put away death from all His peers by the offering of an equivalent. For being over all, the Word of God naturally by offering His own temple and corporeal instrument for the life of all satisfied the debt by His death.

And thus He, the incorruptible Son of God , being conjoined with all by a like nature, naturally clothed all with incorruption, by the promise of the resurrection. For the actual corruption in death has no longer holding-ground against men, by reason of the Word, which by His one body has come to dwell among them.

And like as when a great king has entered into some large city and taken up his abode in one of the houses there, such city is at all events held worthy of high honour , nor does any enemy or bandit any longer descend upon it and subject it; but, on the contrary, it is thought entitled to all care, because of the king's having taken up his residence in a single house there: For now that He has come to our realm, and taken up his abode in one body among His peers, henceforth the whole conspiracy of the enemy against mankind is checked, and the corruption of death which before was prevailing against them is done away.

For the race of men had gone to ruin, had not the Lord and Saviour of all, the Son of God , come among us to meet the end of death. Now in truth this great work was peculiarly suited to God's goodness. For if a king, having founded a house or city, if it be beset by bandits from the carelessness of its inmates, does not by any means neglect it, but avenges and reclaims it as his own work, having regard not to the carelessness of the inhabitants, but to what beseems himself; much more did God the Word of the all-good Father not neglect the race of men , His work, going to corruption: And of this one may be assured at the hands of the Saviour's own inspired writers, if one happen upon their writings, where they say: But we behold Him, Who has been made a little lower than the angels , even Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honour , that by the grace of God He should taste of death for every man.

Then He also points out the reason why it was necessary for none other than God the Word Himself to become incarnate; as follows: For it became Him, for Whom are all things, and through Whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory , to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through suffering; by which words He means, that it belonged to none other to bring man back from the corruption which had begun, than the Word of God , Who had also made them from the beginning.

And that it was in order to the sacrifice for bodies such as His own that the Word Himself also assumed a body, to this, also, they refer in these words: Forasmuch then as the children are the sharers in blood and flesh, He also Himself in like manner partook of the same, that through death He might bring to naught Him that had the power of death, that is, the devil ; and might deliver them who, through fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

For by the sacrifice of His own body, He both put an end to the law which was against us, and made a new beginning of life for us, by the hope of resurrection which He has given us. For since from man it was that death prevailed over men, for this cause conversely, by the Word of God being made man has come about the destruction of death and the resurrection of life; as the man which bore Christ says: For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive: This then is the first cause of the Saviour's being made man. But one might see from the following reasons also, that His gracious coming among us was fitting to have taken place. God , Who has the power over all things, when He was making the race of men through His own Word, seeing the weakness of their nature, that it was not sufficient of itself to know its Maker, nor to get any idea at all of God ; because while He was uncreate, the creatures had been made of nought, and while He was incorporeal, men had been fashioned in a lower way in the body, and because in every way the things made fell far short of being able to comprehend and know their Maker — taking pity, I say, on the race of men , inasmuch as He is good , He did not leave them destitute of the knowledge of Himself, lest they should find no profit in existing at all.

For what profit to the creatures if they knew not their Maker? Or how could they be rational without knowing the Word and Reason of the Father , in Whom they received their very being? For there would be nothing to distinguish them even from brute creatures if they had knowledge of nothing but earthly things. Nay, why did God make them at all, as He did not wish to be known by them? But men once more in their perversity having set at nought, in spite of all this, the grace given them, so wholly rejected God , and so darkened their soul , as not merely to forget their idea of God , but also to fashion for themselves one invention after another.

For not only did they grave idols for themselves, instead of the truth , and honour things that were not before the living God , and serve the creature rather than the Creator, but, worst of all, they transferred the honour of God even to stocks and stones and to every material object and to men , and went even further than this, as we have said in the former treatise. So far indeed did their impiety go, that they proceeded to worship devils, and proclaimed them as gods, fulfilling their own lusts.

For they performed, as was said above, offerings of brute animals, and sacrifices of men , as was meet for them , binding themselves down all the faster under their maddening inspirations. For this reason it was also that magic arts were taught among them, and oracles in various places led men astray, and all men ascribed the influences of their birth and existence to the stars and to all the heavenly bodies, having no thought of anything beyond what was visible.

And, in a word, everything was full of irreligion and lawlessness, and God alone, and His Word, was unknown, albeit He had not hidden Himself out of men's sight, nor given the knowledge of Himself in one way only; but had, on the contrary, unfolded it to them in many forms and by many ways. For whereas the grace of the Divine Image was in itself sufficient to make known God the Word , and through Him the Father; still God , knowing the weakness of men , made provision even for their carelessness: But since men's carelessness, little by little, descends to lower things, God made provision, once more, even for this weakness of theirs, by sending a law, and prophets , men such as they knew , so that even if they were not ready to look up to heaven and know their Creator, they might have their instruction from those near at hand.

For men are able to learn from men more directly about higher things. So it was open to them, by looking into the height of heaven, and perceiving the harmony of creation, to know its Ruler, the Word of the Father , Who, by His own providence over all things makes known the Father to all, and to this end moves all things, that through Him all may know God.

Or, if this were too much for them, it was possible for them to meet at least the holy men, and through them to learn of God , the Maker of all things, the Father of Christ; and that the worship of idols is godlessness, and full of all impiety. Or it was open to them, by knowing the law even, to cease from all lawlessness and live a virtuous life.

For neither was the law for the Jews alone, nor were the Prophets sent for them only, but, though sent to the Jews and persecuted by the Jews , they were for all the world a holy school of the knowledge of God and the conduct of the soul. God's goodness then and loving-kindness being so great — men nevertheless, overcome by the pleasures of the moment and by the illusions and deceits sent by demons , did not raise their heads toward the truth , but loaded themselves the more with evils and sins , so as no longer to seem rational, but from their ways to be reckoned void of reason.

So then, men having thus become brutalized, and demoniacal deceit thus clouding every place, and hiding the knowledge of the true God , what was God to do? To keep still silence at so great a thing, and suffer men to be led astray by demons and not to know God? And what was the use of man having been originally made in God's image? For it had been better for him to have been made simply like a brute animal, than, once made rational, for him to live the life of the brutes.

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Or where was any necessity at all for his receiving the idea of God to begin with? For if he be not fit to receive it even now, it were better it had not been given him at first. Or what profit to God Who has made them, or what glory to Him could it be, if men, made by Him, do not worship Him, but think that others are their makers? For God thus proves to have made these for others instead of for Himself.

Once again, a merely human king does not let the lands he has colonized pass to others to serve them, nor go over to other men; but he warns them by letters, and often sends to them by friends, or, if need be, he comes in person, to put them to rebuke in the last resort by his presence, only that they may not serve others and his own work be spent for naught.

Shall not God much more spare His own creatures, that they be not led astray from Him and serve things of nought? Especially since such going astray proves the cause of their ruin and undoing, and since it was unfitting that they should perish which had once been partakers of God's image.

What then was God to do? Or what was to be done save the renewing of that which was in God's image, so that by it men might once more be able to know Him? But how could this have come to pass save by the presence of the very Image of God , our Lord Jesus Christ? For by men's means it was impossible, since they are but made after an image; nor by angels either, for not even they are God's images. Whence the Word of God came in His own person, that, as He was the Image of the Father , He might be able to create afresh the man after the image.

But, again, it could not else have taken place had not death and corruption been done away. Whence He took, in natural fitness, a mortal body, that while death might in it be once for all done away, men made after His Image might once more be renewed. None other then was sufficient for this need, save the Image of the Father. For as, when the likeness painted on a panel has been effaced by stains from without, he whose likeness it is must needs come once more to enable the portrait to be renewed on the same wood: I came to find and to save the lost.

Whence He said to the Jews also: Except a man be born again, not meaning, as they thought, birth from woman , but speaking of the soul born and created anew in the likeness of God's image. But since wild idolatry and godlessness occupied the world, and the knowledge of God was hid, whose part was it to teach the world concerning the Father?

Man's, might one say? But it was not in man's power to penetrate everywhere beneath the sun; for neither had they the physical strength to run so far, nor would they be able to claim credence in this matter, nor were they sufficient by themselves to withstand the deceit and impositions of evil spirits. For where all were smitten and confused in soul from demoniacal deceit, and the vanity of idols , how was it possible for them to win over man's soul and man's mind — whereas they cannot even see them?

Or how can a man convert what he does not see? But perhaps one might say creation was enough; but if creation were enough, these great evils would never have come to pass. For creation was there already, and all the same, men were grovelling in the same error concerning God. Who, then, was needed, save the Word of God , that sees both soul and mind , and that gives movement to all things in creation, and by them makes known the Father?

For He who by His own Providence and ordering of all things was teaching men concerning the Father , He it was that could renew this same teaching as well. How, then, could this have been done? Perhaps one might say, that the same means were open as before, for Him to show forth the truth about the Father once more by means of the work of creation. But this was no longer a sure means.

Quite the contrary; for men missed seeing this before, and have turned their eyes no longer upward but downward. Whence, naturally, willing to profit men, He sojourns here as man, taking to Himself a body like the others, and from things of earth, that is by the works of His body [He teaches them], so that they who would not know Him from His Providence and rule over all things, may even from the works done by His actual body know the Word of God which is in the body, and through Him the Father. For as a kind teacher who cares for His disciples , if some of them cannot profit by higher subjects, comes down to their level, and teaches them at any rate by simpler courses; so also did the Word of God.

As Paul also says: For seeing that men, having rejected the contemplation of God , and with their eyes downward, as though sunk in the deep, were seeking about for God in nature and in the world of sense, feigning gods for themselves of mortal men and demons ; to this end the loving and general Saviour of all, the Word of God , takes to Himself a body, and as Man walks among men and meets the senses of all men half-way , to the end, I say, that they who think that God is corporeal may from what the Lord effects by His body perceive the truth , and through Him recognize the Father.

So, men as they were, and human in all their thoughts, on whatever objects they fixed their senses, there they saw themselves met half-way , and taught the truth from every side. For if they looked with awe upon the Creation, yet they saw how she confessed Christ as Lord; or if their mind was swayed toward men, so as to think them gods, yet from the Saviour's works, supposing they compared them, the Saviour alone among men appeared Son of God ; for there were no such works done among the rest as have been done by the Word of God. Or if they were biassed toward evil spirits , even, yet seeing them cast out by the Word, they were to know that He alone, the Word of God , was God , and that the spirits were none.

Or if their mind had already sunk even to the dead, so as to worship heroes, and the gods spoken of in the poets, yet, seeing the Saviour's resurrection, they were to confess them to be false gods, and that the Lord alone is true , the Word of the Father , that was Lord even of death. For this cause He was both born and appeared as Man, and died, and rose again, dulling and casting into the shade the works of all former men by His own, that in whatever direction the bias of men might be, from thence He might recall them, and teach them of His own true Father, as He Himself says: I came to save and to find that which was lost.

For men's mind having finally fallen to things of sense, the Word disguised Himself by appearing in a body, that He might, as Man, transfer men to Himself, and centre their senses on Himself, and, men seeing Him thenceforth as Man, persuade them by the works He did that He is not Man only, but also God , and the Word and Wisdom of the true God. This, too, is what Paul means to point out when he says: That ye being rooted and grounded in love , may be strong to apprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length, and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge , that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God.

For by the Word revealing Himself everywhere, both above and beneath, and in the depth and in the breadth — above, in the creation; beneath, in becoming man; in the depth, in Hades; and in the breadth, in the world — all things have been filled with the knowledge of God. Now for this cause , also, He did not immediately upon His coming accomplish His sacrifice on behalf of all, by offering His body to death and raising it again, for by this means He would have made Himself invisible. But He made Himself visible enough by what He did, abiding in it, and doing such works, and showing such signs, as made Him known no longer as Man, but as God the Word.

For by His becoming Man, the Saviour was to accomplish both works of love ; first, in putting away death from us and renewing us again; secondly, being unseen and invisible, in manifesting and making Himself known by His works to be the Word of the Father , and the Ruler and King of the universe.

For He was not, as might be imagined, circumscribed in the body, nor, while present in the body, was He absent elsewhere; nor, while He moved the body, was the universe left void of His working and Providence; but, thing most marvellous, Word as He was, so far from being contained by anything, He rather contained all things Himself; and just as while present in the whole of Creation, He is at once distinct in being from the universe , and present in all things by His own power — giving order to all things, and over all and in all revealing His own providence , and giving life to each thing and all things, including the whole without being included, but being in His own Father alone wholly and in every respect —2.

Now, it is the function of soul to behold even what is outside its own body, by acts of thought, without, however, working outside its own body, or moving by its presence things remote from the body. Never, that is, does a man , by thinking of things at a distance, by that fact either move or displace them; nor if a man were to sit in his own house and reason about the heavenly bodies, would he by that fact either move the sun or make the heavens revolve. But he sees that they move and have their being, without being actually able to influence them.

Now, the Word of God in His man's nature was not like that; for He was not bound to His body, but rather was Himself wielding it, so that He was not only in it, but was actually in everything, and while external to the universe , abode in His Father only. And this was the wonderful thing that He was at once walking as man, and as the Word was quickening all things, and as the Son was dwelling with His Father.

So that not even when the Virgin bore Him did He suffer any change, nor by being in the body was [His glory ] dulled: For not even by being in the universe does He share in its nature, but all things, on the contrary, are quickened and sustained by Him. For if the sun too, which was made by Him, and which we see, as it revolves in the heaven, is not defiled by touching the bodies upon earth, nor is it put out by darkness, but on the contrary itself illuminates and cleanses them also, much less was the all- holy Word of God , Maker and Lord also of the sun, defiled by being made known in the body; on the contrary, being incorruptible, He quickened and cleansed the body also, which was in itself mortal: Accordingly, when inspired writers on this matter speak of Him as eating and being born, understand that the body, as body, was born, and sustained with food corresponding to its nature, while God , the Word Himself, Who was united with the body, while ordering all things, also by the works He did in the body showed Himself to be not man, but God the Word.

But these things are said of Him, because the actual body which ate, was born, and suffered, belonged to none other but to the Lord: But just as from these things He was known to be bodily present, so from the works He did in the body He made Himself known to be Son of God. But if I do them, though you believe not Me, believe My works; that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.

For just as, though invisible, He is known through the works of creation; so, having become man, and being in the body unseen, it may be known from His works that He Who can do these is not man, but the Power and Word of God. For His charging evil spirits , and their being driven forth, this deed is not of man , but of God. Or who that saw Him healing the diseases to which the human race is subject, can still think Him man and not God? For He cleansed lepers , made lame men to walk, opened the hearing of deaf men, made blind men to see again, and in a word drove away from men all diseases and infirmities: For who that saw Him give back what was deficient to men born lacking, and open the eyes of the man blind from his birth, would have failed to perceive that the nature of men was subject to Him, and that He was its Artificer and Maker?

For He that gave back that which the man from his birth had not, must be, it is surely evident, the Lord also of men's natural birth. Therefore, even to begin with, when He was descending to us, He fashioned His body for Himself from a Virgin, thus to afford to all no small proof of His Godhead, in that He Who formed this is also Maker of everything else as well.

For who, seeing a body proceeding forth from a Virgin alone without man, can fail to infer that He Who appears in it is Maker and Lord of other bodies also?

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Or who, seeing the substance of water changed and transformed into wine, fails to perceive that He Who did this is Lord and Creator of the substance of all waters? For to this end He went upon the sea also as its Master, and walked as on dry land, to afford evidence to them that saw it of His lordship over all things. And in feeding so vast a multitude on little, and of His own self yielding abundance where none was, so that from five loaves five thousand had enough, and left so much again over, did He show Himself to be any other than the very Lord Whose Providence is over all things?

But all this it seemed well for the Saviour to do; that since men had failed to know His Providence, revealed in the Universe, and had failed to perceive His Godhead shown in creation, they might at any rate from the works of His body recover their sight, and through Him receive an idea of the knowledge of the Father , inferring, as I said before, from particular cases His Providence over the whole.

For who that saw His power over evil spirits , or who that saw the evil spirits confess that He was their Lord, will hold his mind any longer in doubt whether this be the Son and Wisdom and Power of God?

1. The Incarnation of the Son of God | theranchhands.com

For He made even the creation break silence: For the sun hid His face, and the earth quaked and the mountains were rent: Now these things showed that Christ on the Cross was God , while all creation was His slave, and was witnessing by its fear to its Master's presence.

Thus, then, God the Word showed Himself to men by His works. But our next step must be to recount and speak of the end of His bodily life and course, and of the nature of the death of His body; especially as this is the sum of our faith , and all men without exception are full of it: We have, then, now stated in part, as far as it was possible, and as ourselves had been able to understand, the reason of His bodily appearing; that it was in the power of none other to turn the corruptible to incorruption, except the Saviour Himself, that had at the beginning also made all things out of nought and that none other could create anew the likeness of God's image for men, save the Image of the Father; and that none other could render the mortal immortal , save our Lord Jesus Christ , Who is the Very Life ; and that none other could teach men of the Father , and destroy the worship of idols , save the Word, that orders all things and is alone the true Only-begotten Son of the Father.

But since it was necessary also that the debt owing from all should be paid again: And do not be surprised if we frequently repeat the same words on the same subject. For since we are speaking of the counsel of God , therefore we expound the same sense in more than one form, lest we should seem to be leaving anything out, and incur the charge of inadequate treatment: The body, then, as sharing the same nature with all, for it was a human body, though by an unparalleled miracle it was formed of a virgin only, yet being mortal, was to die also, conformably to its peers.

But by virtue of the union of the Word with it, it was no longer subject to corruption according to its own nature, but by reason of the Word that had come to dwell in it it was placed out of the reach of corruption. And so it was that two marvels came to pass at once, that the death of all was accomplished in the Lord's body, and that death and corruption were wholly done away by reason of the Word that was united with it. For there was need of death, and death must needs be suffered on behalf of all, that the debt owing from all might be paid. Whence, as I said before, the Word, since it was not possible for Him to die, as He was immortal , took to Himself a body such as could die, that He might offer it as His own in the stead of all, and as suffering, through His union with it, on behalf of all, Bring to nought Him that had the power of death, that is the devil ; and might deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

Why, now that the common Saviour of all has died on our behalf, we, the faithful in Christ , no longer die the death as before, agreeably to the warning of the law; for this condemnation has ceased; but, corruption ceasing and being put away by the grace of the Resurrection, henceforth we are only dissolved, agreeably to our bodies' mortal nature, at the time God has fixed for each, that we may be able to gain a better resurrection.

For like the seeds which are cast into the earth, we do not perish by dissolution, but sown in the earth, shall rise again, death having been brought to nought by the grace of the Saviour. Hence it is that blessed Paul , who was made a surety of the Resurrection to all, says: This corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality ; but when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality , then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

O death where is your sting? O grave where is your victory? Why, then, one might say, if it were necessary for Him to yield up His body to death in the stead of all, did He not lay it aside as man privately, instead of going as far as even to be crucified? For it were more fitting for Him to have laid His body aside honourably, than ignominiously to endure a death like this. Now, see to it, I reply, whether such an objection be not merely human , whereas what the Saviour did is truly divine and for many reasons worthy of His Godhead. Firstly, because the death which befalls men comes to them agreeably to the weakness of their nature; for, unable to continue in one stay, they are dissolved with time.

Hence, too, diseases befall them, and they fall sick and die. If, then, He had laid aside His body somewhere in private, and upon a bed, after the manner of men , it would have been thought that He also did this agreeably to the weakness of His nature, and because there was nothing in him more than in other men. But since He was, firstly, the Life and the Word of God , and it was necessary, secondly, for the death on behalf of all to be accomplished, for this cause , on the one hand, because He was life and power, the body gained strength in Him; 6.

Since it was not fit, either, that the Lord should fall sick, who healed the diseases of others; nor again was it right for that body to lose its strength, in which He gives strength to the weaknesses of others also. Why, then, did He not prevent death, as He did sickness? Because it was for this that He had the body, and it was unfitting to prevent it, lest the Resurrection also should be hindered, while yet it was equally unfitting for sickness to precede His death, lest it should be thought weakness on the part of Him that was in the body.

Did He not then hunger? Yes; He hungered, agreeably to the properties of His body. But He did not perish of hunger, because of the Lord that wore it. Hence, even if He died to ransom all, yet He saw not corruption. For [His body] rose again in perfect soundness, since the body belonged to none other, but to the very Life. But it were better, one might say, to have hidden from the designs of the Jews , that He might guard His body altogether from death. Now let such an one be told that this too was unbefitting the Lord.

For as it was not fitting for the Word of God , being the Life, to inflict death Himself on His own body, so neither was it suitable to fly from death offered by others, but rather to follow it up unto destruction, for which reason He naturally neither laid aside His body of His own accord, nor, again, fled from the Jews when they took counsel against Him. But this did not show weakness on the Word's part, but, on the contrary, showed Him to be Saviour and Life; in that He both awaited death to destroy it, and hasted to accomplish the death offered Him for the salvation of all.

Again, from the following also one might see the reasonableness of the Lord's body meeting this end. The Lord was especially concerned for the resurrection of the body which He was set to accomplish. For what He was to do was to manifest it as a monument of victory over death, and to assure all of His having effected the blotting out of corruption, and of the incorruption of their bodies from thenceforward; as a gage of which and a proof of the resurrection in store for all, He has preserved His own body incorrupt.

If, then, once more, His body had fallen sick, and the word had been sundered from it in the sight of all, it would have been unbecoming that He who healed the diseases of others should suffer His own instrument to waste in sickness. For either He had been mocked as unable to drive away diseases, or if He could, but did not, He would be thought insensible toward others also. Now, death must precede resurrection, as it would be no resurrection did not death precede; so that if the death of His body had taken place anywhere in secret, the death not being apparent nor taking place before witnesses, His Resurrection too had been hidden and without evidence.

Or why, while when He had risen He proclaimed the Resurrection, should He cause His death to take place in secret? Or why, while He drove out evil spirits in the presence of all, and made the man blind from his birth recover his sight, and changed the water into wine, that by these means He might be believed to be the Word of God , should He not manifest His mortal nature as incorruptible in the presence of all, that He might be believed Himself to be the Life? Or how were His disciples to have boldness in speaking of the Resurrection, were they not able to say that He first died?

Or how could they be believed , saying that death had first taken place and then the Resurrection, had they not had as witnesses of His death the men before whom they spoke with boldness? For if, even as it was, when His death and Resurrection had taken place in the sight of all, the Pharisees of that day would not believe , but compelled even those who had seen the Resurrection to deny it, why, surely, if these things had happened in secret, how many pretexts for disbelief would they have devised? Or how could the end of death, and the victory over it be proved , unless challenging it before the eyes of all He had shown it to be dead, annulled for the future by the incorruption of His body?

But what others also might have said, we must anticipate in reply.

For perhaps a man might say even as follows: If it was necessary for His death to take place before all, and with witnesses, that the story of His Resurrection also might be believed , it would have been better at any rate for Him to have devised for Himself a glorious death, if only to escape the ignominy of the Cross. But had He done even this, He would give ground for suspicion against Himself, that He was not powerful against every death, but only against the death devised for Him; and so again there would have been a pretext for disbelief about the Resurrection all the same.

So death came to His body, not from Himself, but from hostile counsels, in order that whatever death they offered to the Saviour , this He might utterly do away. And just as a noble wrestler, great in skill and courage , does not pick out his antagonists for himself, lest he should raise a suspicion of his being afraid of some of them, but puts it in the choice of the onlookers, and especially so if they happen to be his enemies, so that against whomsoever they match him, him he may throw, and be believed superior to them all; so also the Life of all, our Lord and Saviour, even Christ, did not devise a death for His own body, so as not to appear to be fearing some other death; but He accepted on the Cross, and endured, a death inflicted by others, and above all by His enemies, which they thought dreadful and ignominious and not to be faced; so that this also being destroyed, both He Himself might be believed to be the Life, and the power of death be brought utterly to nought.

So something surprising and startling has happened; for the death, which they thought to inflict as a disgrace, was actually a monument of victory against death itself. Whence neither did He suffer the death of John, his head being severed, nor, as Esaias, was He sawn in sunder; in order that even in death He might still keep His body undivided and in perfect soundness, and no pretext be afforded to those that would divide the Church.

And thus much in reply to those without who pile up arguments for themselves. But if any of our own people also inquire, not from love of debate, but from love of learning, why He suffered death in none other way save on the Cross, let him also be told that no other way than this was good for us, and that it was well that the Lord suffered this for our sakes. And that is the Cross.

Incarnation (Christianity)

For this is exactly what is written: For it is only on the cross that a man dies with his hands spread out. Whence it was fitting for the Lord to bear this also and to spread out His hands, that with the one He might draw the ancient people, and with the other those from the Gentiles , and unite both in Himself. For this is what He Himself has said, signifying by what manner of death He was to ransom all: And once more, if the devil , the enemy of our race, having fallen from heaven, wanders about our lower atmosphere, and there bearing rule over his fellow-spirits, as his peers in disobedience, not only works illusions by their means in them that are deceived, but tries to hinder them that are going up and about this the Apostle says: According to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience ; while the Lord came to cast down the devil , and clear the air and prepare the way for us up into heaven, as said the Apostle: For only he that is perfected on the cross dies in the air.

Whence it was quite fitting that the Lord suffered this death. For thus being lifted up He cleared the air of the malignity both of the devil and of demons of all kinds, as He says: I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven; and made a new opening of the way up into heaven as He says once more: Lift up your gates, O you princes, and be lifted up, you everlasting doors. For it was not the Word Himself that needed an opening of the gates, being Lord of all; nor were any of His works closed to their Maker; but we it was that needed it whom He carried up by His own body.

For as He offered it to death on behalf of all, so by it He once more made ready the way up into the heavens. The death on the Cross, then, for us has proved seemly and fitting, and its cause has been shown to be reasonable in every respect; and it may justly be argued that in no other way than by the Cross was it right for the salvation of all to take place.

For not even thus — not even on the Cross — did He leave Himself concealed; but far otherwise, while He made creation witness to the presence of its Maker, He suffered not the temple of His body to remain long, but having merely shown it to be dead, by the contact of death with it, He straightway raised it up on the third day, bearing away, as the mark of victory and the triumph over death, the incorruptibility and impassibility which resulted to His body. For He could, even immediately on death, have raised His body and shown it alive; but this also the Saviour , in wise foresight, did not do.

For one might have said that He had not died at all, or that death had not come into perfect contact with Him, if He had manifested the Resurrection at once. Perhaps, again, had the interval of His dying and rising again been one of two days only, the glory of His incorruption would have been obscure. So in order that the body might be proved to be dead, the Word tarried yet one intermediate day, and on the third showed it incorruptible to all.

So then, that the death on the Cross might be proved , He raised His body on the third day. But lest, by raising it up when it had remained a long time and been completely corrupted, He should be disbelieved, as though He had exchanged it for some other body — for a man might also from lapse of time distrust what he saw, and forget what had taken place — for this cause He waited not more than three days; nor did He keep long in suspense those whom He had told about the Resurrection: For that death is destroyed, and that the Cross has become the victory over it, and that it has no more power but is verily dead, this is no small proof , or rather an evident warrant, that it is despised by all Christ's disciples , and that they all take the aggressive against it and no longer fear it; but by the sign of the Cross and by faith in Christ tread it down as dead.

For of old, before the divine sojourn of the Saviour took place, even to the saints death was terrible , and all wept for the dead as though they perished. But now that the Saviour has raised His body, death is no longer terrible; for all who believe in Christ tread him under as nought, and choose rather to die than to deny their faith in Christ. For they verily know that when they die they are not destroyed, but actually [begin to] live, and become incorruptible through the Resurrection. And that devil that once maliciously exulted in death, now that its pains were loosed, remained the only one truly dead.

And a proof of this is, that before men believe Christ , they see in death an object of terror, and play the coward before him. But when they are gone over to Christ's faith and teaching, their contempt for death is so great that they even eagerly rush upon it, and become witnesses for the Resurrection the Saviour has accomplished against it. For while still tender in years they make haste to die, and not men only, but women also, exercise themselves by bodily discipline against it.

So weak has he become, that even women who were formerly deceived by him, now mock at him as dead and paralyzed. For as when a tyrant has been defeated by a real king, and bound hand and foot, then all that pass by laugh him to scorn, buffeting and reviling him, no longer fearing his fury and barbarity, because of the king who has conquered him; so also, death having been conquered and exposed by the Saviour on the Cross, and bound hand and foot, all they who are in Christ , as they pass by, trample on him, and witnessing to Christ scoff at death, jesting at him, and saying what has been written against him of old: O death , where is your victory?

O grave, where is your sting. Is this, then, a slight proof of the weakness of death? Or is it a slight demonstration of the victory won over him by the Saviour , when the youths and young maidens that are in Christ despise this life and practise to die? For man is by nature afraid of death and of the dissolution of the body; but there is this most startling fact, that he who has put on the faith of the Cross despises even what is naturally fearful, and for Christ's sake is not afraid of death. And just as, whereas fire has the natural property of burning, if some one said there was a substance which did not fear its burning, but on the contrary proved it weak — as the asbestos among the Indians is said to do — then one who did not believe the story, if he wished to put it to the test, is at any rate, after putting on the fireproof material and touching the fire, thereupon assured of the weakness attributed to the fire: But just as he who has got the asbestos knows that fire has no burning power over it, and as he who would see the tyrant bound goes over to the empire of his conqueror, so too let him who is incredulous about the victory over death receive the faith of Christ , and pass over to His teaching, and he shall see the weakness of death, and the triumph over it.

For many who were formerly incredulous and scoffers have afterwards believed and so despised death as even to become martyrs for Christ Himself. Now if by the sign of the Cross, and by faith in Christ , death is trampled down, it must be evident before the tribunal of truth that it is none other than Christ Himself that has displayed trophies and triumphs over death, and made him lose all his strength. And if, while previously death was strong, and for that reason terrible, now after the sojourn of the Saviour and the death and Resurrection of His body it is despised, it must be evident that death has been brought to nought and conquered by the very Christ that ascended the Cross.

For as, if after night-time the sun rises, and the whole region of earth is illumined by him, it is at any rate not open to doubt that it is the sun who has revealed his light everywhere, that has also driven away the dark and given light to all things; so, now that death has come into contempt, and been trodden under foot, from the time when the Saviour's saving manifestation in the flesh and His death on the Cross took place, it must be quite plain that it is the very Saviour that also appeared in the body, Who has brought death to nought, and Who displays the signs of victory over him day by day in His own disciples.

For when one sees men, weak by nature, leaping forward to death, and not fearing its corruption nor frightened of the descent into Hades, but with eager soul challenging it; and not flinching from torture, but on the contrary, for Christ's sake electing to rush upon death in preference to life upon earth, or even if one be an eye- witness of men and females and young children rushing and leaping upon death for the sake of Christ's religion; who is so silly, or who is so incredulous, or who so maimed in his mind , as not to see and infer that Christ , to Whom the people witness , Himself supplies and gives to each the victory over death, depriving him of all his power in each one of them that hold His faith and bear the sign of the Cross.

For he that sees the serpent trodden under foot, especially knowing his former fierceness no longer doubts that he is dead and has quite lost his strength, unless he is perverted in mind and has not even his bodily senses sound. For who that sees a lion, either, made sport of by children, fails to see that he is either dead or has lost all his power? Just as, then, it is possible to see with the eyes the truth of all this, so, now that death is made sport of and despised by believers in Christ let none any longer doubt , nor any prove incredulous, of death having been brought to nought by Christ, and the corruption of death destroyed and stayed.

What we have so far said, then, is no small proof that death has been brought to naught, and that the Cross of the Lord is a sign of victory over him. But of the Resurrection of the body to immortality thereupon accomplished by Christ, the common Saviour and true Life of all, the demonstration by facts is clearer than arguments to those whose mental vision is sound.

For if, as our argument showed, death has been brought to nought, and because of Christ all tread him under foot, much more did He Himself first tread him down with His own body, and bring him to nought. But supposing death slain by Him, what could have happened save the rising again of His body, and its being displayed as a monument of victory against death?

Or how could death have been shown to be brought to nought unless the Lord's body had risen? But if this demonstration of the Resurrection seem to any one insufficient, let him be assured of what is said even from what takes place before his eyes. For whereas on a man's decease he can put forth no power, but his influence lasts to the grave and thenceforth ceases; and actions, and power over men, belong to the living only; let him who will, see and be judge, confessing the truth from what appears to sight.

For now that the Saviour works so great things among men , and day by day is invisibly persuading so great a multitude from every side, both from them that dwell in Greece and in foreign lands, to come over to His faith , and all to obey His teaching, will any one still hold his mind in doubt whether a Resurrection has been accomplished by the Saviour , and whether Christ is alive, or rather is Himself the Life? Or is it like a dead man to be pricking the consciences of men , so that they deny their hereditary laws and bow before the teaching of Christ? Or how, if he is no longer active for this is proper to one dead , does he stay from their activity those who are active and alive, so that the adulterer no longer commits adultery , and the murderer murders no more, nor is the inflicter of wrong any longer grasping, and the profane is henceforth religious?

Or how, if He be not risen but is dead, does He drive away, and pursue, and cast down those false gods said by the unbelievers to be alive, and the demons they worship? For where Christ is named, and His faith , there all idolatry is deposed and all imposture of evil spirits is exposed, and any spirit is unable to endure even the name, nay even on barely hearing it flies and disappears. But this work is not that of one dead, but of one that lives — and especially of God. In particular, it would be ridiculous to say that while the spirits cast out by Him and the idols brought to nought are alive, He who chases them away, and by His power prevents their even appearing, yea, and is being confessed by them all to be Son of God , is dead.

But they who disbelieve in the Resurrection afford a strong proof against themselves, if instead of all the spirits and the gods worshipped by them casting out Christ, Who, they say, is dead, Christ on the contrary proves them all to be dead. For if it be true that one dead can exert no power, while the Saviour does daily so many works, drawing men to religion, persuading to virtue , teaching of immortality , leading on to a desire for heavenly things, revealing the knowledge of the Father , inspiring strength to meet death, showing Himself to each one, and displacing the godlessness of idolatry , and the gods and spirits of the unbelievers can do none of these things, but rather show themselves dead at the presence of Christ , their pomp being reduced to impotence and vanity; whereas by the sign of the Cross all magic is stopped, and all witchcraft brought to nought, and all the idols are being deserted and left, and every unruly pleasure is checked, and every one is looking up from earth to heaven: Whom is one to pronounce dead?

Christ, that is doing so many works? But to work is not proper to one dead. Or him that exerts no power at all, but lies as it were without life? Which is essentially proper to the idols and spirits, dead as they are. But death is daily proved to have lost all his power, and idols and spirits are proved to be dead rather than Christ, so that henceforth no man can any longer doubt of the Resurrection of His body.

But he who is incredulous of the Resurrection of the Lord's body would seem to be ignorant of the power of the Word and Wisdom of God. For if He took a body to Himself at all, and — in reasonable consistency, as our argument showed — appropriated it as His own, what was the Lord to do with it? Or what should be the end of the body when the Word had once descended upon it? For it could not but die, inasmuch as it was mortal, and to be offered unto death on behalf of all: But it was impossible for it to remain dead, because it had been made the temple of life.

Whence, while it died as mortal, it came to life again by reason of the Life in it; and of its Resurrection the works are a sign. But if, because He is not seen, His having risen at all is disbelieved, it is high time for those who refuse belief to deny the very course of Nature. For it is God's peculiar property at once to be invisible and yet to be known from His works, as has been already stated above. If, then, the works are not there, they do well to disbelieve what does not appear.

But if the works cry aloud and show it clearly, why do they choose to deny the life so manifestly due to the Resurrection? For even if they be maimed in their intelligence, yet even with the external senses men may see the unimpeachable power and Godhead of Christ. For even a blind man, if he see not the sun, yet if he but take hold of the warmth the sun gives out, knows that there is a sun above the earth.

Thus let our opponents also, even if they believe not as yet, being still blind to the truth , yet at least knowing His power by others who believe , not deny the Godhead of Christ and the Resurrection accomplished by Him. For it is plain that if Christ be dead, He could not be expelling demons and spoiling idols ; for a dead man the spirits would not have obeyed. But if they be manifestly expelled by the naming of His name, it must be evident that He is not dead; especially as spirits, seeing even what is unseen by men , could tell if Christ were dead and refuse Him any obedience at all.

But as it is, what irreligious men believe not, the spirits see — that He is God — and hence they fly and fall at His feet, saying just what they uttered when He was in the body: I pray You, torment me not. As then demons confess Him, and His works bear Him witness day by day, it must be evident, and let none brazen it out against the truth , both that the Saviour raised His own body, and that He is the true Son of God , being from Him, as from His Father, His own Word, and Wisdom, and Power, Who in ages later took a body for the salvation of all, and taught the world concerning the Father , and brought death to nought, and bestowed incorruption upon all by the promise of the Resurrection, having raised His own body as a first-fruits of this, and having displayed it by the sign of the Cross as a monument of victory over death and its corruption.

These things being so, and the Resurrection of His body and the victory gained over death by the Saviour being clearly proved , come now let us put to rebuke both the disbelief of the Jews and the scoffing of the Gentiles.

For these, perhaps, are the points where Jews express incredulity, while Gentiles laugh, finding fault with the unseemliness of the Cross, and of the Word of God becoming man. But our argument shall not delay to grapple with both especially as the proofs at our command against them are clear as day.

For Jews in their incredulity may be refuted from the Scriptures , which even themselves read; for this text and that, and, in a word, the whole inspired Scripture, cries aloud concerning these things, as even its express words abundantly show. For prophets proclaimed beforehand concerning the wonder of the Virgin and the birth from her, saying: But Moses , the truly great, and whom they believe to speak truth , with reference to the Saviour's becoming man, having estimated what was said as important, and assured of its truth , set it down in these words: How lovely are your habitations O Jacob, your tabernacles O Israel , as shadowing gardens, and as parks by the rivers, and as tabernacles which the Lord has fixed, as cedars by the waters.

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A man shall come forth out of his seed, and shall be Lord over many peoples. His tidings to Mary were introduced by the fact that she was highly favored and had been chosen of the Lord for an unusual honor. She was to bring forth a Son whom she should call Jesus. In answer to the natural question raised by Mary concerning how this should come about, since she was an unmarried woman, the angel replied: In confirmation of this unusual promise and evidence of the supernatural power of God, Mary is informed that her kinswoman, Elizabeth, had also conceived a son in her old age as a demonstration of the power of God.

To these tidings Mary replies in devout submission: The Magnificat of Mary 4 recorded in Luke 1: It is in keeping with the purposes of the Gospel of Matthew that it, rather than Luke, should record the Annunciation to Joseph. In Matthew the narrative deals with the legal right of Christ to the throne of David. The Annunciation to Joseph apparently was subsequent to that of Mary, and the time interval between the two annunciations was undoubtedly a test of faith both to Mary and to Joseph. When Joseph became aware of the fact that Mary to whom he was betrothed was with child, though he was a righteous man as the Gospel of Matthew indicates, he was not willing to make his problem public, but intended to break the betrothal privately.

As he contemplated this action it is recorded in Matthew 1: To Joseph the tidings were given: Though the Apostle Paul in his epistles gives frequent indication of knowing the details of the birth of Jesus Christ, only Matthew and Luke give us the precise account, Matthew dwelling upon the fact that Christ was born in Bethlehem and Luke tracing many of the lesser details. Here again, as in other aspects of the narrative, the simplicity of the account is one of the important testimonies to its authenticity.

Luke goes to great detail to date the birth of Christ, linking it with a decree that went out from Caesar Augustus when Quirinius was governor of Syria cf. Because of this decree Joseph needed to go to Bethlehem to register and Mary accompanied him. The account of the birth of Christ is given in only two sentences. And she brought forth her first-born son; and she wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Some have pictured it as being in one of the outer buildings of the inn used for cattle. Others have favored a cave nearby. And this is the sign unto you: Ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger.

Both the Gospel of Luke and the Gospel of Matthew testify to some of the details of the early days of the incarnate Son of God upon the earth. The first event recorded after the visit of the angels was the observance of the rite of circumcision as stated in Luke 2: On the occasion of the circumcision of Christ the instruction of the law concerning the offering was duly kept as provided in Leviticus On this occasion the testimony of Simeon was given as he blessed God and said: On that occasion also Simeon predicted to Mary: It is probable that the visit of the Magi from the East as recorded in Matthew 2: The chronology demanded by the time interval made necessary by the trip of the Magi after they had seen the star appear would point to the passage of a number of months.

Matthew records their dramatic appearance in Jerusalem demanding where the King of the Jews was to be born. When Herod inquired of the chief priests and the scribes, he was told that in Bethlehem the King of the Jews would be born. Herod therefore told the Magi to find the child and to return to bring him word that he might come and worship Him. Herod intended of course to kill the child as soon as he could identify Him. The star, reappearing according to Matthew 2: This was apparently on a subsequent visit to Bethlehem from Nazareth a number of months after the birth of Christ.

To the child they offered their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh and worshipped Him in recognition of His deity. Meanwhile, warned by a dream, the Magi returned to their land without reporting to Herod, and Joseph, following instructions also from the Lord, fled to Egypt to avoid the destroying hatred of Herod. The prophecy of Hosea Though there have been many attempts to weaken the credibility of the accounts of the birth of Christ, there has been little documentary evidence to support this attitude of unbelief.

The Biblical accounts themselves, presented in a straight forward manner without the embellishment that would have occurred in a fictitious account, give the simple and historical facts pertaining to the birth of Christ. No attempt is made to provide an apologetic for these facts. Those who received the Gospels when they were first written had little ground to question the approach of Luke as a careful investigator, and the meticulous precision of his presentation is its own assurance that the records are true.

Omissions in genealogy are common, however, as illustrated in the Old Testament omissions found in Ezra 7: It should be clear that genealogies are not necessarily complete, the main point being legitimate descent rather than inclusion of all the links in the genealogy. The most common explanation of this seems to be the best, i. This at least fits in beautifully with the Old Testament predictions given through Jeremiah cf.

Though the legal right to the throne passed from Christ through Joseph as his legal father, the actual physical lineage could not come through Joseph because of this curse upon his line. The account of Luke therefore is to trace the physical lineage of Christ through Mary back to Adam the first man, connecting Christ to the predicted seed of the woman.