11. О Домостроительстве Спасителя

The place will show what thoughts we hold about the divine incarnation. For this teaching more clearly proclaims the Providence of the God of all. Valentine, in the fables he composed, asserted that one is the Only Begotten, another is the Word, another is Christ, who is within the fullness, another is Jesus, and another is the external Christ. He also asserted that Jesus became man, putting on the external Christ and taking on the body from the spiritual essence. And Basilides also said that there is another, the Only Begotten, and another, the Word, and another, Wisdom. And Cerdon, Marcion and Manes argued that Christ seemed human, having nothing human. Cerinthus taught that Jesus was born of Joseph and Mary according to the law common to people, and Christ descended on Jesus from above. The Ebionites, Theodotians, Artemonians, Photinians said that Christ was born of a Virgin as a simple man. Arius and Eunomius argued that He took on a body, and instead of a soul, the Divinity acted. Apollinaris argued that the Savior's body was animated, but did not have a rational soul, because, he says, reason is superfluous, where God is the Word. I presented the opinions of many heresies with the intention of showing the truth of the teachings of the Church, because the Church calls one and the same thing the Son, and the Only Begotten, and God the Word, and the Lord Savior, and Jesus Christ. But he was called Son, Only Begotten, God the Word and Lord before becoming man, and is also called after becoming man; He was called Jesus Christ after His incarnation, having received the name from the deeds He had accomplished. For Jesus is interpreted as “Savior,” and in this the witness is Gabriel, who said to the Virgin: “You shall call His name Jesus: for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). He was named Christ because of the anointing of the Spirit. For the hymnist David says: “Because of this anointing of You, O God, Your God is more than Your partaker with the oil of joy” (Ps. 44:8). Through the mouth of the prophet Isaiah, the Master Himself said: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, for the sake of the anointing of Me” Lord (Is. 61:1). And this is how the Master Himself taught us to understand prophecy, for, having entered the host and taking the prophetic book, he read the said passage and said to those who were there: “Today this Scripture will be fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:21). The great Peter also preached in accordance with the Prophets, for, announcing the sacrament to Cornelius, he said this: “You know the word that went on throughout all Judea, which began from Galilee, after baptism, the preaching of John: Jesus, who was of Nazareth, because God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power” (Acts 10, 37, 38). And from this it is clear that for the sake of the anointing of the Spirit he was called Christ. He is anointed not as God, but as man. If he is anointed after humanity, then Christ is named after his incarnation. However, God the Word is not one other, and Christ is not another, because God the Word, having become man, is called Christ Jesus. But he became man in order to renew his nature, corrupted by sin. That is why He took upon Himself the entire sinned nature in order to heal everything. For he did not take upon himself bodily nature as a cover for the Divinity, as Arius and Eunomius say in vain. It was possible for Him to appear without a body, as He appeared in ancient times to Abraham, Jacob and other saints. On the contrary, He wanted the most defeated nature to enter into a struggle with the opponent and win. Therefore, He took upon Himself both the body and the rational soul. For Divine Scripture does not divide man into three, but says that this living being consists of soul and body. God created a body from dust, breathed a soul into it, and thus showed two, not three, natures. And the Lord Himself says in the Gospel: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul” (Matthew 10:28). And in Divine Scripture one can find many similar instructions. And that not by arranging a cover for the Divine, as the heretics say, but by preparing the firstfruits of victory for the whole race, He took upon Himself completely the whole of human nature, the true witness of this and the exact mentor - the divine Apostle. In the Epistle to the Romans, revealing the universal sacrament, he said this: “For this reason, as by one man sin came into the world, and death came into the world by sin, and so death came to all men, in whom all sinned” (Rom. 5:12). And by this showing the beginning of sin, the fruit that vegetated from it and accepted it into itself at the beginning, it also indicates the end of sin; for he says: “Before the law, there was no sin in the world: sin, not being imputed, is not the law: but royal death from Adam even to Moses, and upon those who did not sin, in the likeness of Adam’s transgression, which is the image of what is to come” (Rom. 5:13, 14). The Apostle calls the law Moses, and life conformed to it prevailed until the coming of the Savior. Since those governed by this law and living under the natural law transgressed the law, then death justly reigned, because its dominion was strengthened by sin. Thus, having taught where sin took its beginning and how long death reigned, the Apostle shows how their power was crushed, and praises God’s immeasurable love for mankind, saying: “But as is not a sin, so is a gift; Even though many died through the sin of one, the grace of God and the gift of the grace of the one man Jesus Christ abounded in many more” (Rom. 5:15). The generosity of philanthropy, says the Apostle, exceeds justice: because the definition of righteousness, when one sinned, the whole family of the sinner was put to death. And the mercy of God, when all people were under a curse, when everyone was already entangled in the nets of sin, for the sake of the truth of the One, grants salvation to everyone. The Apostle called the Savior man, not denying His Divinity (for he recognized Him as God, and God, equal in honor to the One who gave birth), but teaching that like was healed by like and the whole was sanctified by the firstfruits. For the Savior, having been under the law according to humanity and having fulfilled the law, freed those who transgressed the law from the oath. Then the Apostle again gives a different turn to the same word: “And not as to those who sinned alone was the gift given, but sins from one were for condemnation, but the gift of many sins was for justification” (Rom. 5:16). When one sinned, all were condemned; but now all have sinned, and salvation through faith is offered to all who have sinned. Thus, having shown that the truth of the One became a cure for common sin, it shows that He also accomplished the contrition of death. “If through one sin we receive the kingdom’s death, and if we accept the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness, Jesus Christ alone will reign in life” (Rom. 5:17). The cause of death is sin, and the cause of life in the Kingdom is the truth of the One. We are saved, receiving salvation, not by the law, but by the mercy of God, because the law of justice brought everyone under punishment, since everyone became the workers of sin. For if, when one sinned, a generation is condemned, then, without a doubt, it is more just for those who lived under sin to suffer punishment. But God's mercy surpassed the rules of justice, philanthropy triumphed over the law of equalizing retribution; and when One fulfilled the law, it became possible for everyone who wanted to believe in Him to enjoy salvation. Having shown by this the immeasurable nature of love for mankind, the Apostle again moves on to the basis of what he said: “In the same way, just as through one sin there came condemnation for all men, so also through one justification for all men there came justification of life” (Rom. 5:18). Then he moves from actions to persons: “For by the disobedience of one man there were many sins, and by the obedience of one righteous man there were many” (Rom. 5:19). It was very necessary for the Apostle to use the word “many” in both cases. For when Adam sinned and most of the people transgressed God's laws, some remained faithful to the statutes of nature and became zealots of virtue, such as: Abel, Enoch, Noah, patriarchs, prophets and many others, not only among the Jews, but also among other peoples, about whom the divine Apostle said: “while the pagans, having no law, had a legal nature They do this without having the law; they are a law to themselves” (Rom. 2:14). And after the coming of the Savior, not everyone accepts salvation, but those who believe and live according to His divine laws. That is why the Apostle, speaking about the prototype and prototype, used the word: “many.” But from this we see why the Son of God became man and, having assumed human nature, was called man. The Apostle taught us this teaching in his Epistle to the Corinthians, and says this: “Now Christ has risen from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For by man is death, by man is the resurrection of the dead” (1 Cor. 15, 20, 21). Then he moves from nature to persons and says: “Just as in Adam all die, so in Christ will all live” (1 Cor. 15:22). He did not say: they will be saved, but: “they will live”; because the resurrection is common to all, and after the resurrection there will be distinction. And the Apostle made it clear, adding: “each in his own rank” (1 Cor. 15:23), for there are many ranks, both those who are tormented and those who are saved, since the distribution of gifts will be assigned according to the quality and quantity of righteousness; and also according to the difference of sins, punishments were imposed. You might be interested in: