II. О ПЕРВОСВЯЩЕННИЧЕСКОМ СЛУЖЕНИИ ИИСУСА ХРИСТА

§ 149. Connection with the foregoing, the concept of the high priestly ministry of Jesus Christ, the truth of this ministry and excellence As a Prophet, Christ the Savior only announced to us about salvation, but has not yet accomplished salvation itself: He enlightened our minds with the light of true knowledge of God, testified of Himself that He is the true Messiah, who came to earth to seek and save the lost (Matthew 18:11); He also explained how He will save us, how we can assimilate His merits, and showed us the direct path to the eternal life. But by his very deed, He saved us from sin and from all the consequences of sin, and by his very deed, he earned eternal life for us through his high priestly ministry. This ministry of our Savior consisted in the fact that He, in accordance with the ministry of the Old Testament high priests, whose main duty was to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins (Heb. 5:1), offered Himself as a propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of the world, and thus reconciled us with God, delivered us from sin and its consequences, and acquired eternal blessings for us. The truth of our Savior's high priestly ministry— a) God himself proclaimed in the Old Testament through the mouth of the prophet David, speaking to the Messiah: you, priest, forever, according to the order of Melchizedek (Ps. 109:4); b) Christ the Savior testified, referring to Himself this prophetic Psalm, in which He is called an eternal priest according to the order of Melchizedek (Matt. 22:44; Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42); c) finally, St. revealed in detail. Apostle Paul in the Epistle to the Hebrews. Here he is - 1) Clearly and repeatedly calls Jesus Christ the High Priest, the Hierarch, the Bishop. For example: Christ did not glorify himself by being a high priest, but he who spoke to him. You are my son, I have given birth to you this day: just as he also says: You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek (Heb. 5, 5. 6); understand the messenger and saint of our confession Jesus Christ (3:1); Because the great bishop has passed through heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast to the confession (4, 14. 16). 2) Explains why He is called a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. This is - a) because Melchizedek was not only a priest of the Most High God, but also the king of Salem, the king of righteousness and peace, and with such an extraordinary combination of two high ministries he prefigured Christ, the extraordinary High Priest-king (Heb. 7:2); b) - because Melchizedek (since the Holy Scriptures do not mention his race, nor the beginning and end of his life, nor the predecessor and successor) represented the image of Christ, the Son of God, who abides as a priest (- 3); c) finally, because, having received tithes from Abraham himself and blessed him, Melchizedek the priest, in the person of Abraham, blessed all those who were in his loins, the sons of Levi, the priests of the Old Testament, and received tithes from all of them - and since, without any contradiction, the lesser of the greater is blessed: then he prefigured the priesthood of Christ, which is superior to the priesthood Levitical, Old Testament (- 4–10) 335 . 3) Shows the superiority of the priesthood of Christ over the priesthood of the Old Testament, the Levites, who were according to the order of Aaron. The superiority lies in the fact that - a) the Old Testament priesthood, as established for a time, was not confirmed by an oath: but the priesthood of Christ, as irrevocable and eternal, was strengthened by the oath of God (7, 20. 21); b) the Old Testament priests, like people, died, and therefore their priesthood was transferable from one person to another: but Christ, who abides forever, has an inviolable priesthood (- 23.24); c) the Old Testament priests, as human sinners, made sacrifices both for their own and for human sins: Christ, as completely sinless, made a sacrifice only for the sins of the world (- 26.27); d) the priests, according to the order of Aaron, offered sacrifices all the days, and sacrifices that only prefigured the cleansing sacrifice, and did not themselves cleanse sins (- 10, 1-11): Christ only offered Himself as a true, cleansing sacrifice for the sins of the world, and with one offering made to eat forever those who are sanctified (10, 12. 14; carried away. 7, 27; 9, 12–14). Following such clear teaching of the Word of God, St. The fathers and teachers of the Church unanimously confessed the truth of the priesthood of Christ. For example: a) – St. Polycarp: “May the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and the eternal High Priest himself, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, establish you in faith and truth, in all meekness and kindness, patience and generosity, forbearance and chastity” 336 ; b) St. Gregory the Theologian: “He was a victim, but also a Bishop; priest, but also God; brought blood as a gift to God, but cleansed the whole world; lifted up to the cross, but sin nailed him to the cross” 337; “He is Melchizedek (Heb. 7:3), as born without a mother according to our higher nature, and without a Father - according to our nature, as having no genealogy by birth on high, for it is said: who will confess his generation? (Isa. 53:8); as the king of Salem, that is, of the world, as the king of righteousness, and as one who accepts tithes from the patriarchs who courageously fought against the evil forces” 338; c) St. Epiphanius: “He is called a Bishop because in his body he offered himself as a sacrifice to the Father for the human race; the priest himself, the victim himself, He offered Himself, performing sacred acts for the whole world” 339; and in another place: “He offered Himself as a sacrifice, so that, through the offering of the most perfect and living sacrifice for the whole world, He would abolish the sacrifice of the Old Testament; the sacrifice itself, the sacrifice itself, the altar itself, God himself, man himself, the king himself, the high priest himself, the sheep himself, the lamb himself, who became all for our sake” 340 . Other teachers of the Church reasoned in a similar way 341. § 150. How did the Lord Jesus perform his high priestly office?... His state of exhaustion In order to truly serve as a propitiatory sacrifice to God for the sins of mankind and to deliver us from all the disastrous consequences of sin, Christ the Savior deigned to fulfill two conditions for us, to bear a double cross. I. Since people, in the person of their ancestors, did not fulfill the will of God, did not obey the commandments of their Creator, and so on. fell through self-will and pride; since each of their subsequent sins was a new crime of the will of God, a new disobedience, a new expression of self-will: then Christ the God-Man, in order to satisfy the eternal Truth for all these human sins, deigned, in return for them, to fulfill for people, in all its integrity and breadth, the will of God, to show in Himself the most perfect example of obedience to it, and to humble and abase Himself for our sake to the last degree. You did not desire sacrifices and offerings, He said to His Father, entering the world, but you made the body for me. You did not favor burnt offerings and sin. Then he said: Behold, I come: in the book of books it was written about me, that He might do your will, O God (Heb. 10:5-7). And after that, He, who was in the image of God, not by the admiration of being equal to God, diminished Himself, took on the form of a servant, became in the likeness of humanity, and was found in the image like a man; He humbled himself, being obedient even to the point of death, death on the cross (Phil. 2:6-8). This is the first cross raised for us by our Savior, the cross of His free self-sacrifice for our sake, His deepest humility, His unconditional obedience and submission to the will of God. II. Since people, with their first crime in paradise and all their subsequent sins, rightly deserved the wrath of God, were subjected to curses and other numerous disasters and sufferings, the inevitable offspring of sin: then Christ the God-Man, in order to save people from all these disasters and sufferings, deigned to take all the wrath of God from people onto Himself, to become a curse for us (Gal. 3:13), and to suffer for us everything that we deserved for their iniquities. This one bears our sins, the prophet speaks of Him, and He suffers for us, and we are imputed to Him for being in labor, and in an ulcer from God, and in embitterment. The same ulcer was for our sins, and tormented for our iniquities, the punishment of our peace was upon Him: by His ulcer we were healed. All, like sheep, have gone astray: man has gone astray from his way, and the Lord gave him up his sin for our sakes (Isa. 53:4-6). This is the second cross of our Savior, the cross of His free suffering, His indescribable illnesses, torments and sorrows, which He tasted for us sinners. Thus, the high priestly ministry of Jesus Christ embraces His entire earthly life from the moment of His conception in the womb of His Mother until His death on the cross, from His first words to the Father: Behold, I come to do your will, O God, to the last: It is accomplished! Father, I commend my spirit into your hands (John 19:30; Luke 23:46). During all this time, which is usually called the state of humiliation or exhaustion of our Savior, He constantly bore His deep cross, the cross of self-sacrifice, humility, obedience, and the cross of suffering and sorrow. During all this time, He was constantly a propitiatory sacrifice to God for our sins. In particular, the high priestly ministry of our Savior: 1) It began in His very coming into the world and in the incarnation: - a) His coming into the world was already obedience, submission to the will of the Father, to whom He said: you did not desire sacrifices and offerings; You have made the body...; Behold, I come to do your will, O God (Heb. 10:5-7); b) in the incarnation He endlessly exhausted Himself, or diminished Himself, as the Apostle puts it, when, being God, He took on the form of a servant, becoming in the likeness of humanity, and being found in the image like a man (Phil. 2:7); and - c) as soon as He became incarnate, He already took upon Himself the sins of the world, became a curse against us, and began to endure illness (Isa. 53:3) 342. 2) Continued throughout His earthly life from birth to death. This whole life was a single, continuous feat of His humility, obedience to the will of God, suffering and sorrow. He was born from the Mother, the most pure and holy Virgin, but poor and unknown, and moreover, he was born in a den and was laid in a manger. A few days later, obeying the law of Moses, he suffers the disease of circumcision, and here he is imputed with the lawless (Isa. 53:12). Soon he is persecuted by Herod, flees to Egypt, and becomes innocently responsible for the death of many thousands of infants. Upon returning from Egypt, he settled in the most insignificant town - Nazareth, and for about thirty years remained completely unknown to the world, living in the house of his imaginary father, a woodcutter, and sharing his labors with him. Before assuming the office of a public Teacher, He, the Lord and Master of the world, goes to receive baptism from one of His servants, John, in order to fulfill all righteousness (Matthew 3:15), and is again imputed with the lawless; voluntarily endures a forty-day fast and even temptation from the devil. Upon entering, about three and a half years, He does the work of His ministry, but not according to His own will, but according to the will of the Father, testifying: He came down from heaven, not to do my will, but the will of the Father who sent me (John 6:38); My purpose is, that I may do the will of him who sent me, and complete his work (- 4, 34); Let the world know that I love the Father, and as the Father commanded me, so I do (14:31). He preaches, but preaches what the Father commanded Him: my teaching is not mine, but that of the Father who sent me (John 7:16); I did not speak on my own: but the Father who sent me gave me commandment, what I should river and what I should say (12:49). He fulfills the very law of Moses, which for others came to replace it with a new, more perfect one. He cares about the enlightenment of his compatriots, visiting their cities and towns to preach, but he himself does not have where to bow his head (Matthew 8:20). He does good with all his teaching and miracles (Acts 10:38), but He Himself suffers only evil from others: they do not believe His teaching; His miracles are attributed to the power of Beelzebub; He himself is persecuted by secret envy, hatred, slander, reproaches, and more than once they even attempt to take his life. In the circle of even his own twelve disciples, whom he treated in the closest way, He constantly sees and tolerates His future traitor. And this whole difficult feat of the life of our Savior was precisely the feat of His high priestly service; all this exhaustion of Him was aimed at our eternal salvation. Even in the days of his flesh, the Apostle testifies of the Savior, and he brought supplications and prayers to Him who was able to save him from death, with a strong cry and with tears, and was heard with reverence, even if the Son had become, both of whom had become accustomed to obedience from these, even as he had suffered: and having been made perfect to all who listened to him, he was guilty of eternal salvation: he was called by God a high priest, according to order of Melchizedek (Heb. 5:7–10) 343. 3) Finally, it was completely accomplished in His death on the cross, with its preceding and accompanying circumstances. For here the humility of our Savior, and His obedience to the will of God, and His suffering and sorrow have already reached the highest degree. Here He appeared, in truth, dishonored and humbled more than all the sons of men (Is. 53:3): here He already drank for us the whole cup of the wrath of God (John 18:11), and suffered the very diseases of hell (Is. 53:12). Here, as a high priest, He actually sacrificed Himself on the tree of the cross as a propitiatory sacrifice to God for the sins of the world, and redeemed us with His honest blood (1 Peter 1:19), so that His incarnation and all earthly life served only as a preparation and, as it were, a gradual ascent of Him to this great sacrifice. And therefore, both in the Word of God and in the teaching of the Church (Orthodox Confession, part 1, answer to question 47) it appears - § 151 Especially the death of Jesus Christ as an atoning sacrifice for us 1) This most important truth was foreshadowed in the types and prophecies of the Old Testament. So the copper serpent, hanged by Moses, by the command of God, in the desert, and saving from death all who, having been bitten by deadly serpents, looked at him, foreshadowed that this is how the Son of Man should ascend, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life (John 3, 14. 15; carried away. Numbers 21, 8. 9). The blood of all sacrificial animals that were slain to cleanse people from sins, and, in particular, the blood of the Passover lamb, which protected the firstborn of Israel from the sword of the angel of death in Egypt; the blood of a goat or a calf, with which the high priest entered once a year into the Holy of Holies to sprinkle it as an atonement for the sins of the whole people - all this clearly indicated to the people of God that for true cleansing from the sins of the entire human race the blood of the lamb, slain from the foundation of the world, would be used (Heb. 9, 11. 12. 24; 10, 11. 12 ; 1 Cor. 5, 7 ; And from the prophecies of the Old Testament it is enough to recall here the main and clearest thing spoken by the prophet Isaiah about the Messiah: he was wounded for our sins, and tormented for our iniquities, the punishment of our world is upon us: by his wound we are healed. All are like sheep that have gone astray: man has gone astray from his way, and the Lord gave him up his sin for our sakes. And he, being too embittered, does not open his mouth, like a sheep led to the slaughter (53:5-7); because of the iniquities of my people I was led to death (- 8). His soul was delivered up to death, and was imputed with the wicked, and he bore the sins of many, and for their iniquities he was delivered up (- 12; demolished. Dan. 9, 24; Ps. 21, 17. 18) 2) This truth was proclaimed by St. John the Baptist, when, seeing Jesus coming to him to be baptized, he said in the hearing of everyone: behold, the lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). Calling Him a lamb expresses the idea of ​​His innocence and readiness to die; the lamb of God, signifies that He is dedicated and acceptable to God; the lamb that takes away the sins of the world, points to the lambs that were slain for the sins of mankind in the Old Testament, and confesses that the New Testament lamb will be slain for the sins of all mankind. 3) This truth was repeatedly witnessed by Christ the Savior himself. Speaking about the purpose of his coming to earth, He expressed himself: The Son of man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life redemption for many (Matthew 20:28). Calling Himself the only true shepherd of the verbal sheep, He said: the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep (John 10:11), - I am the good shepherd (- 14), and I lay down my life for the sheep (15). Announcing to the Jews the establishment of the sacrament of his body and blood, among other things, he noted: I am the bread of life that came down from heaven: whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give, which I will eat, is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world (John 6:51). And at the very establishment of this saving sacrament, teaching the disciples the bread, he said: this is my body, which is broken for you (Luke 22:19), and then teaching the cup, he said: this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins (Matthew 26:28). Finally, having actually tasted death for the sins of the world, after the resurrection he opened the minds of his disciples to understand the scriptures and said to them: as it is written, and thus it is fitting for Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead on the third day, and to preach in his name repentance and remission of sins to all nations (Luke 24:46.47). 4) This truth was preached by St. Apostles. Ap. John, having mentioned the advice given to the Jews by Caiaphas regarding Jesus Christ: for us, that one man should die for the people, and not the whole tongue perish (John 11:50), adds: this is not what he said about himself: but the bishop of that year prophesied that Jesus wanted to die for the people; and not only for people, but also for the scattered children of God to gather into one (- 51.52). And in his message he says: the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7); and in the Apocalypse he conveys how the twenty and four elders, having fallen before the lamb, sing to him a new song, saying: “Thou art worthy to receive the book, and to open its seal; as he was slain, and God redeemed us with his blood from every tribe and tongue and people and tribes (5, 9; sn. 1, 5). The Apostle Peter commands Christians: live your life with fear, knowing that with uncorrupted silver or gold you have been delivered from your vain life, faithful fathers, but with honest blood, like the blameless and most pure lamb of Christ (1 Peter 1:17-19). Because Christ also suffered for us, leave us an image, so that we may follow in the footsteps of whose sins He Himself bore on our bodies on the tree, so that, having passed away from sin, we may live in righteousness: by whose wound you were healed (2:21.24). Christ and God alone suffered for our sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, so that he may lead us to God (3:18). But more often than anyone else, St. Petersburg repeats this truth in his epistles. Paul: I delivered it to you from the beginning, even as I received it, for Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures (1 Cor. 15:3); Christ loved to eat us, and gave himself an offering and sacrifice for us to God for the aroma of fragrance (Eph. 5:2); Christ was brought as one, to take away the sins of many (Heb. 9:28); who was delivered up for our transgressions, and raised up for our justification (Rom. 4:25); God has ordained his cleansing through faith in his blood, in the manifestation of his righteousness, for the remission of former sins (3:25). 5) This truth has always been contained by St. Catholic Church, as can be seen: a) from the Nice-Constantinopolitan Symbol, where she teaches us to believe: “and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God..., for us man and for our salvation came down from heaven..., crucified for us...; b) from the Athanasiev symbol, which says: “One is Christ, who suffered for our salvation,” and - c) from the testimonies of her teachers, which were: Apostolic men: a) St. Barnabas: “let us believe that the Son of God could not suffer except for us...; for our sins He wanted to sacrifice the vessel of the spirit” 344; b) St. Clement of Rome: “let us look to the Lord Jesus Christ, whose blood was given for us...; Let us look carefully at the blood of Christ and consider how valuable His blood is before God, when, having been shed for our salvation, it acquired the grace of repentance for the whole world” 345; c) Ignatius the God-Bearer: “Christ died for you, so that by believing in His death you might be saved from death” 346; d) St. Polycarp: “He endured death itself for our sins...; He endured all things for us, so that we might live in Him” 347. Teachers of the second and third centuries: a) St. Justin Martyr: “(Christ), according to the will of the Father, became man for the salvation of those who believe in Him, and underwent humiliation and suffering in order to defeat death through death and resurrection” 348; b) St. Irenaeus: “Christ redeemed us with his blood, and gave his soul for our souls, and his flesh for our flesh” 349; c) Tertullian: “Christ was pleased to be born in the flesh from the flesh, in order to transform our birth by his birth, and to destroy our death by his death” 350; d) St. Cyprian: “Christ gave you this grace, imparting to us the gift of his mercy, defeating death with his cross, redeeming the believer at the price of his blood, reconciling man with God the Father, reviving him with heavenly rebirth” 351. Teachers of the fourth century: a) Eusebius of Caesarea: “His construction extended to death, for which everyone who wants to explore will find not one, but many reasons: the first is that He might gain dominion over the dead and the living; the second is that, having suffered for us and being cursed for us, he can cleanse our sins; the third, to perform a divine sacrifice, and for the whole world to offer a great sacrifice to God who is above all” 352; b) St. Gregory the Theologian: “Christ is called deliverance (1 Cor. 1:30), as freeing us who are kept under sin, as having given Himself for us as redemption, as a cleansing sacrifice for the universe” 353; c) Hilary: “He redeemed us when He gave Himself for our sins; redeemed us with his blood, with his suffering, with his death, with his resurrection” 354; d) St. Ambrose: “The blood of the prophets could not redeem us, neither Peter nor Paul redeemed us; He alone could redeem us with his death, who is both God and man, which a simple man would never be able to do” 355; d) St. Ephraim the Syrian: “The impassive Master suffered for us, the only sinless one was crucified for us...; Christ our Savior was put to death for us wicked people” 356; f) Basil the Great: “What can a person find so valuable that he can give it as a redemption for his soul? But one thing was found that was of equal value to all people together, which was given as the price of the redemption of our souls: this is the holy and valuable blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He shed for us all” 357. Thus expressing their thoughts about the redemptive death of Christ for us, the ancient teachers of the Church often tried, if possible, to explain why our Savior died for us on the cross, and not by another death. The most important of these explanations can be seen in the following words of St. Afanasia. “If one of us, not out of love for controversy, but out of a desire to know the truth, asks: “Why did the Lord suffer not another death, but the death of the cross?” Let him know that this particular death, and not any other death, could have been saving for us, and it was the Lord who endured it for our salvation. For if He came in order to bear on Himself the oath that was upon us; then in what other way would He have become a curse, if He had not suffered the death that was under the curse? And such death is the death of the cross: for it is written: Cursed is everyone; he hangs on a tree (Gal. 3:13). Secondly, if the death of the Lord is the redemption of all, if by it the mediastinum of the barrier is destroyed and the calling of tongues is accomplished (Eph. 2:14): then how would He have called us to the Father if He had not been crucified on the cross? For only on the cross can you die with outstretched arms. So, this is why the Lord had to suffer death on the cross and spread out His arms on the cross, in order to draw the ancient people to Himself with one hand, and the pagans with the other, and thus unite both of them in Himself. He himself predicted this when he wanted to prove by what death he had to redeem everyone: if I am exalted, I will draw everyone to Himself (John 12:32). And one more thing: the enemy of our race - the devil, having fallen from heaven, wanders here in the airy region, rules over demons similar to him in disobedience, and through them, he either seduces with ghosts those who fall into his deception, or tries in every possible way to create some kind of obstacle for those who rush to grief; This is what the Apostle Paul says about him, calling him the prince of the power of the air, now acting in the sons of disobedience (Eph. 2:2). Therefore, the Lord came in order to overthrow the devil, clear the air from him, and open for us a free path to heaven, as the Apostle said, through the veil, that is, our flesh (Heb. 10:21); and He could do this only through death. But through what other kind of death, if not through one that would take place in the air, that is, on the cross? For only the one crucified on the cross dies in the air. So, it was not without reason that the Lord suffered death on the cross: by being lifted up on the cross, He cleansed the air from the wiles of the devil” 358. § 152. The most detailed depiction in the Word of God of our redemption by the death of Jesus Christ In order to more clearly present the great work of our redemption, accomplished by the death of Christ, the Word of God depicts it in different parts, indicating, on the one hand, what evils the Lord delivered us from, and on the other, what blessings he acquired for us. 1) We were sinners, and therefore unclean before God: Christ cleansed us from sins with His blood. The blood of Jesus Christ, his (God's) Son, cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7); Even if the blood of a goat and a calf, and the ashes of a young man sprinkling the defiled, sanctifies the purity of the flesh: how much more will the blood of Christ, which you offered to yourself blameless to God by the Holy Spirit, cleanse our conscience from dead works, so that we may serve the living and true God (Heb. 9. 13-14; compare Luke 24:47); Tit. 2, 11–14; Heb. 1, 2; 2) We were guilty before God and were under His oath, suffering punishment: Christ redeemed us from guilt for sins, and from oaths or punishments, bringing His blood to the truth of God as the price of deliverance for us. The Son of Man did not come and let them serve him, but serve, and give his soul redemption (λύτρον - price, ransom) for many (Matthew 20:28). About him the imams deliverance (άπολύτρωσιν, atonement) through his blood, and the remission of sins (Col. 1, 14; demolished. Eph. 1, 7). Live with the fear of your life, knowing that you have not been delivered from the vanity of your life with the corrupted silver and gold (έλυτρώθητε), faithful fathers, but with the honest blood of Christ, like the unblemished and pure blood of a lamb (1 Peter 1:17-19). Christ has redeemed us from the legal curse, having become a curse upon us (Gal. 3:13; Comp. 1 Cor. 6:20; 7:28; Gal. 1:4; 1 Tim. 2:5.6; Tit. 2:14). 3) We were enemies of God because of our sins: Christ reconciled us to Him by His death. God deigns (God) for all fulfillment to dwell in him; and thereby reconcile everything within yourself, pacifying it with the blood of the cross, through it, whether earthly or heavenly. And sometimes you who are alienated and enemies are thought of in evil deeds, now reconcile you in the body of the flesh through his death, so that you may be presented as holy, blameless, and blameless before yourself (Col. 1:19-22). Having been reconciled to God by the death of the Son, he, having been reconciled much more, will be saved in his life (Rom. 5:10; 2 Cor. 5:19; Eph. 2:16). 4) We were slaves of sin (Rom. 6:20), captives of the devil (2 Tim. 2:26; John 12:31), condemned to death (Gen. 3:19): Christ freed us from slavery to sin, delivered us from the power of the devil, saved us from death by his death. He who gave himself food for us, may he deliver us from all iniquity, and purify himself as a chosen people, zealous for good deeds (Titus 2:14). Once the children have partaken of flesh and blood, and sincerely partook of the same, so that by death he will abolish the possessing power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver these, who through the fear of death through all their life are guilty of work (Heb. 2, 14. 15). Having destroyed the handwriting against us by the teachings, even if it was against us, it was taken from the environment, nailed to the cross; He pulled away the rulers and the powers, and brought shame upon us with boldness, defeating them against us (Col. 2:14.15). Just as in Adam everyone dies, so in Christ everyone will come to life (1 Cor. 15:22). Having thus saved us from sin and all the disastrous consequences of sin by His death, the Lord Jesus at the same time acquired for us the greatest benefits. 5) He established a new covenant with his blood and reunited us with God. And for this reason, there is an intercessor for the new covenant, so that the death of the former, in atonement for the crimes that were in the first covenant, the promise of an eternal inheritance will receive the title (Heb. 9, 15; demolished 12, 24). Now about Christ Jesus, you (pagans), who were sometimes far away, are near by the quick blood of Christ... Therefore, the imams brought both in one spirit to the Father (Eph. 2, 13. 18). 6) He adopted us as sons of God and made us close to Him. When the end of the year came, God sent his Son (the only begotten), begotten of a woman, to be under the law, so that he might redeem those under the law, so that we might receive sonship (Gal. 4:4.5). Moreover, for those who are not strangers and strangers, but are fellow saints and dreamers of God (Eph. 2:19; 2 Peter 1:4). 7) He gave us by His death the means to be righteous and holy. Even though we ourselves bore our sins in our body on the tree, so that sins having been put away, we may live in righteousness (1 Peter 2:24). Christ loved the church, and gave it to himself, that he might sanctify it, cleansing it with the washing of water in the verb, that he might present to himself a glorious church, not having any filthiness, or blemish, or anything of the sort, but that she might be holy and blameless (Eph. 5:25-27). And sometimes you who are alienated and enemies are thought in evil deeds, now reconcile in the body of the flesh by his death, to present you holy and blameless and innocent before you (Col. 1, 21. 22; demolished Tit. 2, 14). 8) He acquired for us by his death an eternal life, eternal glory. Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so it is fitting for the Son of Man to be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:14, 15). If we were once reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, having been reconciled, we will be saved in his life (Rom. 5:10). It is fitting for him, for whose sake all things are done, and for whose sake all things are done, I will bring many sons into glory, the chief of their salvation to accomplish through suffering (Heb. 2:10). According to all such actions performed for us by the death of our Lord, He himself is called in St. Scripture: Jesus, that is, the Savior (σωτήρ), because he saved, delivered us from sin and from all the consequences of sin (Matthew 1:21; Luke 2:11; Tit. 2:13, 14; Acts 5:31); Intercessor or mediator (Μεσίτης), because he reconciled and reunited us with God (1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 8:6; 9:15; 12:24); A bishop or high priest (A ρχιερεύς), because he sacrificed himself for us on the cross, and with this propitiatory sacrifice he earned for us deliverance from all evils and eternal blessings (Heb. 2, 17; 4, 14; 5, 9. 10, etc.); He was the lieutenant (Ἐγγυος) of the new covenant (Heb. 7:22), because by his death he paid our debt to God for our sins, having destroyed the handwriting of the teachings against us, which was not contrary to us, and that was taken from the environment, nailing it to the cross (Col. 2:14). § 153. Revealing the very manner of our redemption by the death of Jesus Christ The whole mystery of our redemption by the death of Jesus Christ is that He, in our place, paid the debt with His blood and fully satisfied the Truth of God for our sins, which we ourselves were not able to pay; otherwise, in return for us, he fulfilled and suffered everything that was required for the remission of our sins. The possibility, in general, of such a replacement of one person by another before the court of God's Truth, such payment of a moral debt by one person instead of another or others, must necessarily be recognized by common sense: a) when this replacement is the will of God and the consent of the Supreme Lawgiver and Judge himself; b) when the person who has taken upon himself to pay the debt instead of other unpaid debtors is not himself in the same debt before God; c) when it voluntarily decides to fulfill all the demands of the debt that the Judge proposes, and - d) when, finally, it really brings such payment that would fully satisfy the debt. All these conditions, which we borrowed from the example of our Savior and only generalized, were completely fulfilled in His great feat for our sake. AND - 1) The Lord Jesus suffered suffering and death for us according to the will and permission of His Father, our Supreme Judge. This is why He, the Son of God, came to earth to do not his own will, but the will of the Father who sent him (John 6:38); That’s all he did throughout his entire earthly life, to fulfill the will of the Father (John 4:34). Finally, when, approaching death, in the midst of his greatest suffering, in the garden of Gethsemane he prayed to the Father: My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me (Matthew 26:39), he immediately added: both, not as I will, but as you will (- 39), not mine, but your will be done (Luke 22:42). And then, indeed, he drank for us the whole cup of God’s wrath on the cross. On the other hand, the Word of God clearly teaches that the Father himself did not spare his Son, but gave him up to eat for us all (Rom. 8:32); God himself presupposed his cleansing by faith in his blood, in the manifestation of his righteousness, for the remission of previously former sins (- 3, 25), God himself deigned to dwell in him for all fulfillment, and thereby reconcile everything in himself, pacifying with the blood of his cross, through him, whether earthly or heavenly (Col. 1, 19. 20). 2) The Lord Jesus suffered and died for our sins, being himself completely sinless and innocent, and, therefore, being completely free before God from this moral duty. He, who knew no sin, says the Apostle, God create sin for us, so that we may be God's righteousness about him (2 Cor. 5:21). Such is the kind of bishop befitting us, reverend, gentle, undefiled, excommunicated from sinners, and above the heavens, who does not have all the days of need, like the high priestess, first to offer sacrifices for one’s own sins, then for human ones; For this you made one, and brought it to yourself (Heb. 7:26.27). He offered himself blameless to God by the Holy Spirit (9:14), the righteous suffered for the unrighteous, that God might bring us (1 Peter 3:18), and for this reason he redeemed us from the legal curse, having become a curse against us (Gal. 3:13). 3) The Lord Jesus suffered suffering and death for us completely voluntarily, which is why they could be pleasing to the heavenly Judge. For this reason the Father loves me, says Christ the Savior, for I lay down my soul, that I may again receive it. No one will take it from me: but I take it for myself; the imam will lay down the region, and the imam will accept the region again (John 10, 17, 18). And then, when the time came to actually lay down his life for the sheep, He voluntarily came to Jerusalem, although he knew in advance that he would be betrayed, mocked and crucified here (Matthew 20:18); He voluntarily came to the garden of Gethsemane, although he foresaw that Judas the traitor and his accomplices would come there for Him (26, 30. 31); He voluntarily surrendered himself into the hands of the bishop’s servants, although he was able to do so with one word: I am the one who will cast everyone to the ground (John 18:6), and although he could, if he wanted, have more than twelve legions of angels in defense of Himself (Matthew 26:53). The Holy Apostles also taught that Christ Himself bore our sins on His body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24), that He loved to eat us, and gave Himself an offering and sacrifice for us to God as a fragrant aroma (Eph. 5, 2), love the church, and betray yourself for nudes (- 25). 4) The Lord Jesus, with his suffering and death, brought payment for us to the Truth of God, not only completely full and satisfactory for our debt, but also exceedingly abundant, and thus not only redeemed us from sin, but also acquired eternal blessings for us. a) The Lord Jesus brought full and completely satisfactory payment for our debt. This duty of ours to God consisted in the fact that we did not fulfill His will, which we had to fulfill, and by our disobedience we endlessly offended our Creator, and after that we were condemned by Him to suffering and death, which is the inevitable consequence of sin and just retribution for sin, according to the word of Scripture: sin committed gives birth to death (James 1:15); the patterns of sin are death (Rom. 6:23; demolished. Gen. 2:17). But the Lord Jesus completely and completely fulfilled the will of God for us throughout His entire earthly life and especially in His suffering and death on the cross, when His self-sacrifice, humility, and obedience to the will of the Father reached the highest degree (Phil. 2:8); completely and completely pleased our Creator for us; He completely and completely suffered for us all the suffering and death that we deserved for all our sins. For although He suffered and died for us according to humanity, this humanity, even during His suffering, was inseparably united with His Divinity, and is the own humanity of God the Word. Although He suffered and died alone for the entire human race, which contains millions of people; but He is the Divine Person, with whom not only all people, but also all creatures together cannot be compared in dignity. Although he fulfilled the will of God for us, and was obedient for only thirty-three and a half years, and although he suffered and died for us once; but such obedience to the will of God, and such suffering and death of Him, as the Person of the Divine, is, without a doubt, able to replace all our innumerably multiple disobedience to the will of God, all the countless types of our suffering and death, temporary and eternal. God could not remain dissatisfied with such a sacrifice for our sins: because God was the one who satisfied (Heb. 5, 8-10; 9, 27. 28; 10, 12. 14). These thoughts were expressed and revealed by many saints. Fathers and teachers of the Church, for example: The apostolic man who wrote the letter to Diognetus; “God gave his own Son as a ransom (λοτρον) for us, the Holy for the wicked, the righteous for the unjust, the innocent for the guilty, the incorruptible for the corruptible, the immortal for mortals. For what else could cover our sins but His righteousness? Who else could justify us lawless people, except the Son of God alone” 359? St. Irenaeus: “In the first Adam we angered (God) by not fulfilling His commandments; and in the second Adam they were again reconciled to Him, being obedient even to death. For we were not indebted to anyone else but to Him whose commandment we transgressed in the beginning” 360. St. Cyril of Jerusalem; “we were enemies because of sin; and God decreed death for the sinner. Which of the two should have happened: according to justice, was it necessary to kill, or according to philanthropy should the definition be violated? But note the wisdom of God: He preserved both the truth of determination and the power of love for mankind. Christ bore our sins in our body on the tree, so that by His death we, having put away sin, may live in righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24) 361. “Do not be surprised that the whole world has been redeemed: for He who died for the world was not an ordinary man, but the Only Begotten Son of God. The sin of one man, Adam, could bring death to the world. If through one sin (Rom. 5:17) death reigned in the world: then will not life reign through the righteousness of the One? And if then they were expelled from paradise for eating from the tree, will it not now be easier for believers to enter paradise through the tree of Jesus? If the first created from the earth caused universal death, then the One who created him from the earth cannot bring eternal life, being himself life? If Phinehas, having killed a man in jealousy, stopped the wrath of God (Num. 25:8): then Jesus, having not killed another, but given Himself as a ransom, cannot please the wrath of people” (2 Tim. 2:6)? 362. St. Athanasius the Great: “since it was finally necessary for all people to pay their debt (and the debt was that all people were guilty of death, which was primarily the reason for the coming of Jesus Christ to earth): therefore, He, having proven His Divinity by His deeds, finally made a sacrifice for all people, handing over the church of His body to death, so that through this, on the one hand, to make everyone innocent and free from the ancient crime, on the other hand, to reveal Make yourself the conqueror of death, and make the incorruption of your own body the firstfruits of the general resurrection... Death was necessary; there certainly had to be death for all people, because there had to be payment of the common debt that lay upon all people. To this end, the Word, immortal by nature, took on mortal flesh in order to sacrifice it, as its own flesh, for all people, and in order to endure death in the flesh for all.”363 St. Gregory the Theologian: “for each of our debts we are repaid especially to those who are above us; and a new sacrament was revealed - God’s loving care for those who fell through disobedience. For this is the birth and the Virgin, for this is the manger and Bethlehem; birth instead of creation, Virgin instead of wife, Bethlehem instead of food, manger instead of paradise, small and visible instead of great and hidden... For this Jesus accepts baptism and testimony from above, for this he fasts, is tempted and overcomes the victor. For this purpose demons are cast out, diseases are healed, and the great work of preaching is entrusted to the little ones, and is accomplished by them... For this purpose tree for tree and hand for hand; hands, courageously outstretched, by the hand, incontinently outstretched; hands nailed to the willful hand; hands copulating into one end of the world, for the hand that cast out Adam. For this purpose, ascension to the cross for a fall, gall for eating, a crown of thorns for evil dominion, death for death” 364. The same reasoned: Clement of Alexandria 365, Ambrose 366, Gregory of Nyssa 367, John Chrysostom 368, Augustine 369 and others 370. b) The Lord Jesus brought an exceeding price for us. For no matter how great and numerous the sins of the entire human race may be, they are still limited both in nature and in number; and the self-sacrifice, suffering and death of Jesus Christ, the Divine and infinite Person, must have infinite value, in all respects, before the court of eternal Truth. And therefore, no matter how great, no matter how immense the insult caused by our sins to the Majesty of the highest Being; but the satisfaction brought for them by Jesus Christ is incomparably greater. Therefore, He not only completely paid off the debt for us with His priceless blood, but also bought and acquired eternal blessings for us with it. This truth is clearly preached by St. The Apostle, saying: not as a sin, so is a gift: if by the sin of one many died, the grace of God and the gift of the grace of the one man Jesus Christ are abundant in many... If by one sin the death of the kingdom is one, much more the excess of grace and the gift of righteousness are acceptable, will reign in life we are one in Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:15. 17; demolished 8, 32). They also preached St. Fathers: St. Cyril of Jerusalem: “He who died for us was of no small importance; The Lamb was not sensual; he was not a simple man; He was not only an angel, but God made man. The iniquity of sinners was not as important as the truth of the One who died for them. We have not sinned so much as He who laid down His life for us did righteousness; put it when he wanted, and again when he wanted, who accepted it” 371. St. John Chrysostom: “Imagine that someone owes a lender ten oxen, and he throws into prison not only the debtor himself, but even his wife, children and servants; but another comes and not only brings in those ten oxen, but also gives ten thousand talents of gold, takes the prisoner to the royal palace, places him in the most honorable place, showers him with honors and distinctions; then the one who lent ten ovols will forget and think about them. This is exactly what happened to us! Christ paid far more than we owed; Its payment in comparison with the debt is the same as an immense sea in comparison with a small drop. So, man, do not doubt, seeing such a wealth of goods; do not be curious to know how the spark of death and sin is extinguished when a whole sea of ​​grace-filled gifts is shed upon it” 372. That is why we believe that the suffering and death of our Savior have the significance not only of a ransom for us and the payment of debt 373, but also the significance of the greatest merits before the court of eternal Truth, for the sake of which God reigns over us all (Rom. 8:82). Or, let’s say in the words of the Orthodox catechism: “His (i.e., Jesus Christ) voluntary suffering and death on the cross for us, being of infinite value and dignity, as a sinless and God-man, is both perfect satisfaction to the justice of God, who condemned us to death for sin, and immeasurable merit, which acquired Him the right, without insulting justice, to give us sinners forgiveness of sins, and grace for victory over sin and death.” (about part IV, p. 54, Moscow 1840). § 154. The vastness of the redemptive actions of the death of Christ The sacrifice made for us by Christ the Savior on the cross is a comprehensive sacrifice. Its power and actions extend: 1) For all people. This is what the Savior Himself taught, saying that He came to seek and save the lost (Matthew 18:11; 9:13) - and such were all people; that He will give His flesh for the life of the world (John 6:51), and that God so loved the world, as He gave His only begotten Son to eat, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but may have eternal life (3:16). This is what St. The apostles, calling Jesus Christ: a) We intercede for everyone. This is good and pleasant in the sight of our Savior God, who wants all man to be saved, to come into the mind of truth. For there is one God, and one intercessor for God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself redemption for all (1 Tim. 2:3-6; demolished Rom. 3:28-30). b) Savior of the world. This is cleansing for our sins, not for ours specifically, but for the whole world (1 John 2:2). And we see and testify that the Father sent the Son of the Savior to the world (- 4, 14). c) Died for all people. If one dies for all, then all die. Christ died for all, and those who live live not for themselves, but for him who died for them and rose again (2 Cor. 5:14.15; Heb. 9:9). Just as through one sin there is condemnation for all men, so also through one justification for all men comes the justification of life (Rom. 5:18; Col. 1:20; Eph. 1:10; 3:13-22). St. taught the same thing. Fathers and teachers of the Church: Clement of Rome, Justin, Clement of Alexandria, Eusebius 374, Chrysostom 375, Gregory the Theologian, Basil the Great, Ambrose, Isidore Pelusiot 376, Theodoret 377, Augustine and others 378. Here are the words of some: a) St. Macarius the Great: “The Lord was pleased at His coming to suffer for everyone” 379; b) St. Gregory of Nyssa: “The High Priest and messenger of our confession, venerable, gentle, undefiled, not involved in uncleanness or any thought, was bodily offered to God and the Father for all people ...; as a priest according to the order of Melchizedek, He offered Himself to the Father as a ransom, not for Israel alone, but for all nations, and became the High Priest of confession for all people” 380; c) St. Athanasius the Great: “He voluntarily gave up his body for the whole world, so that by the death of his body he might put to death the devil who had the power of death” 381. If in St. Scripture sometimes says that the Lord gave His soul redemption only for many (Matthew 20:2), or bore the sins of many on the cross (Heb. 9:28; demolished Matt. 26:28; Luke 22:20): then we must remember, firstly, that, when expressing this truth in the sacred. language, the word many is used in the meaning of all, as a part instead of the whole, for example, in the Apostle: just as through one sin there came condemnation to all men: so also through one justification to all men came the justification of life. Just as the disobedience of one sinner would be many, and the obedience of one righteous person will be many (Rom. 5:18.19; verse 12.15; Heb. 2.9.10; Isa. 53:6.12). And secondly, it is known that although Christ died for everyone, and wants everyone to be saved, and to come into the mind of truth (1 Tim. 2.4), not everyone believes in Him, not everyone assimilates the salvation He accomplished, and, indeed, only many are saved (Matthew 20:16). St. John Chrysostom, when explaining the words of the Apostle: Christ came alone to bear the sins of many (Heb. 9:28), notes: “Why did he say - many, and not all? Because not everyone believed. He (Christ), for his part, died for everyone in order to save everyone: this death was fully consistent with the destruction of everyone; but she did not destroy everyone’s sins, because they themselves did not want to” 382. 2) For all sins. This is confirmed by the Word of God when it says that Christ has delivered us: a) from all sin in general: whoever gave himself food for us, may he deliver us from all iniquity (Titus 2:14); the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7) - and in particular: b) from original sin: just as by the disobedience of one man there were many sins, and by the obedience of one righteous there will be many (Rom. 5:19; 1 Cor. 15:45). c) from all past sins: God has assumed his cleansing through faith in his blood, in the manifestation of his righteousness, for the remission of previously former sins (Rom. 3:25; demolished Acts 13:38. 39; Heb. 9:15). d) from all future sins: my children, I write this to you, so that you do not sin: and if anyone sins, the imams will intercede with the Father, Jesus the righteous. And that cleansing is for our sins, not for ours specifically, but for the whole world (1 John 2:1.2). If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, may he forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1:9). This truth was unanimously preached by the teachers of the Church, for example: a) St. John Chrysostom: “that the blessings given (by Jesus Christ) are more numerous than the evils destroyed, and not one original sin, but also all other sins, was destroyed, the Apostle said this in the words: the gift of many sins for justification (Rom. 5:16)” - and further: “by grace not one original sin was destroyed, but also all other sins; not only are sins destroyed, but righteousness is also given to us; and Christ not only corrected everything that was damaged by Adam, but restored all this to a greater extent and to the highest degree” 383; b) Hilary: “He (Christ) redeemed all people from all their iniquities” 384. 3) For all times, i.e. from the very beginning of the fall of man to the end of the world. Therefore - a) Christ is called, on the one hand, a lamb slain in the sight of God from the foundation of the world (Apoc. 13:8); and on the other hand, the eternal high priest (Heb. 7:21), who did not need to suffer many times from the creation of the world, but one at the end of the ages, at the sweeping away of sin, appearing as his sacrifice (9, 26), and with one offering he made to eat forever to those who are sanctified (10, 14). In the same way - b) and the redemption He accomplished is called eternal: Christ came as the bishop of the blessings to come, not through the blood of a goat below the heifer, but through his own blood, entering alone into the holy, eternal redemption (9, 11. 12); c) and His priesthood is imperishable: this one, who abides forever, has an inviolable priesthood, and can also save to the end those who come to God through him, always living, to intercede for them (7, 24. 25; carried down Rom. 8, 34). How to understand this intercession of Christ the Savior in heaven for us is explained: St. Gregory the Theologian: “to intercede means here (Heb. 7, 25) to intercede (πρεσβέβειν) for us as a mediator, just as the Spirit is said to intercede with us (Rom. 8, 26) ... So the intercession of the imams of Jesus (1 John 2, 1), not in the sense that He humiliates himself before the Father and falls down slavishly: let such a truly slavish and unworthy of the Spirit thought be far from us! It is unusual for the Father to demand this, and for the Son to endure this, and it is unfair to think this way about God” 385. Bl. Theophylact of Bulgaria: “Some understood by the saying: to intercede for us that Jesus Christ has a body on Himself (and did not put it aside, as the Manichaeans say idlely): this very thing is His intercession and intercession before the Father. For, looking at this, the Father remembers that love for people, for the sake of which His Son took on a body, and inclines toward mercy and mercy” 386. 4) For the whole world in general. Although Christ the Savior actually died for the fallen human race, which is why he is called the intercessor of God and men (Tim. 2, b); but since the purpose of His atoning sacrifice was to consume not only sin, but also all the consequences of sin, and the consequences of the Fall extended to the whole world; then the consequences of redemption extended to the whole world, both spiritual and material. In relation to the spiritual world, the consequence of the fall of our ancestors was that sin, which dissolved our union with God, the most holy being, inevitably dissolved our union with the holy angels (Matthew 25:31), and placed an impenetrable mediastinum between heaven and earth, so that the pure and luminous inhabitants of the heavenly world could no longer have communication with those who sit in the darkness of sin and the canopy mortal (Matthew 4:16): For what is the fellowship of righteousness with lawlessness, or what fellowship of light with darkness? (2 Cor 1:14). Christ destroyed this mediastinum with his cross, reconciled heaven with earth, reunited angels and men under his single head into the one Church of God. In him, says the Apostle, God deigned to dwell in all fulfillment: and thereby reconcile all things to himself, having pacified through the blood of his cross, through him, whether earthly or heavenly (Col 1:19-20); put in him the head of all things, even in heaven and on earth (Eph 1:10), and, after He had completed the work of redemption, He gave him a head above all the church, which is his body, fulfilling all things in all (- 22.23). And to the people who have believed in Christ, it is said: Come near to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, Jerusalem in heaven, and to the dark angels, to the triumph, and to the church of the firstborn in heaven, and to God who judges all, and to those who are righteous in spirit, and to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant (Heb. 12:22-24). In relation to the material world, or at least to earthly nature, human sin has produced the fact that the earth is cursed in the deeds of man (Gen. 3:17), the creature obeys vanity unwillingly, and even to this day sighs and sympathizes with us (Rom. 8:20.22). As a result of the redemption accomplished by Jesus Christ, the curse is lifted from the earth, and all creation will be freed from vanity and from sighing: this should fully follow when the renewal of humanity is finally completed and the glory of the sons of God is revealed. That is why, as the Apostle testifies, the desire of creation is for the revelation of the sons of God. For the creation obeys futility, not by will, but because of him who obeyed in hope: for the creation itself will be freed from the work of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God (Rom. 8:19-21). Then the last enemy of all earthly beings – death – will be abolished; the work of decay will inevitably end; then the earth and the works on it will be burned up (2 Peter 3:10), and a new heaven and a new earth will appear, in which only righteousness will live (- 13). The redemptive power of Christ’s death does not and will never extend to one world of spirits of evil, who have fallen so deeply, are so deeply rooted in evil, are so stubbornly hostile to God and have become hardened against Him that they can no longer repent, are incapable of restoration, and are unworthy of pardon 387 . They are only reserved for the day of judgment and the revelation of the wrath of God (Jude 6); Eternal fire is prepared for them (Matthew 25:47). The opinion of the ancient Gnostics, Marcionites and Origenists, who extended the actions of atonement to the fallen angels themselves, was refuted by the teachers of the Church 388, and solemnly condemned by the entire Church at the Fifth Ecumenical Council 389. § 155. Consequence of Jesus Christ's merits on the cross in relation to Himself: the state of His glorification The great feat of our redemption, which the Lord Jesus accomplished with His suffering and death, as His free feat, as the feat of the Divine Person, has, before the court of eternal Truth, the significance of the greatest merit not only in relation to Himself, our Redeemer. He voluntarily submitted Himself to the will of the Father, who determined to save the world through the blood of his incarnate Son; voluntarily went through the entire path of exhaustion; voluntarily, instead of the joy set before him, he endured the cross, neglecting his shame (Heb. 12:2): for all this, following the state of His exhaustion, a state of glorification or glory came for Him (John 7:39; 12:16), - glorification not according to the Divinity, which was always glorious, and only in the days of the flesh (Heb. 5:7) hid His glory under the cover of the flesh, but according to humanity itself, perceived by Him into the unity of His Divine Hypostasis, which before death, in truth, was diminished (dishonorable), and had no kindness, lower than glory (Is. 53, 2. 3). About this complete glorification of our Savior as the God-man, as a result of His merits - 1) He himself clearly announced when, approaching death, by the way, I cried out to the Father: Father, the hour has come: glorify your Son...; I have glorified You on earth, having accomplished the work that You gave me, let me do it. And now You, Father, have glorified Me with your own glory, even though I had no peace before (John 17:1.4.5); and when, after the resurrection, he appeared to his two disciples, who were going to Emmaus and perplexed about the death of the Teacher, he exclaimed: O foolish and inert-hearted hedgehog to believe about everything that the prophets said. Isn’t it fitting for Christ to suffer and be brought into his glory (Luke 24:25.26; taken down John 10:17)? 2) St. also clearly testified. Apostles. Ap. Peter said to the Jews: The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, God our father, glorify your servant Jesus, whom you betrayed (Acts 3:13); and in his epistle he writes that the prophets foretold our salvation, first testifying to the passions of Christ, and to the glories that are still to this day (1 Peter 1:11). Ap. Paul, having depicted how Christ, being the true God, voluntarily diminished himself, received the form of a servant, became in the likeness of humanity, and was found in the likeness of man, humbled himself, becoming obedient even to the point of death, the death of the cross, immediately adds: in the same way (διό) God also exalted him, and gave him a name, even more than any name: yes in the name of Jesus Every knee will bow down to those in heaven and on earth and on earth (Phil. 2:7-10). And in another message he says that we see Jesus, precisely for accepting death, crowned with glory and honor (Heb. 2:9). What this glorification of our Savior consists of can be seen in part from the evidence given. The fact that He, already as the God-man, entered into the very glory that, as God, had with the Father, before the world did not exist (Luke 24:26; John 17:1); in that, having raised Him, and according to humanity, the Father from the dead, seated Him at your right hand, above all principality and power and strength and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in the one to come, and put all things under His nose (Eph. 1:21.22; demolished 1 Cor. 15:27); in that He, having ascended into heaven, submitted to him as an angel and to authority and powers (1 Peter 3:22), and in human form receives from all those in heaven, on earth and under the earth the same exact worship that, according to His Divinity, He had from the ages (Phil. 2:10; Apoc. 5:11-14). This complete and complete glorification of Jesus Christ began with His resurrection from the dead, when His very body was transformed and became the body of glory (Phil. 3:21), and when He said to the Apostles: to me has been given all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). Then followed His ascension in the flesh to heaven, where all the angels of God submitted to Him (1 Peter 3:22; Heb. 1:6). Then - sitting at the right hand of the Father in all Divine glory (Eph. 1, 21. 22; 1 Cor. 15, 27), in which He will one day appear to the whole world to judge the living and the dead (Matt. 16, 27; 19, 28; 24, 30), and in which He will abide forever and ever together with the Father and the Holy Spirit (Luke 1, 33). § 156. The relation of the high priestly ministry of Jesus Christ to His prophetic ministry Although the main purpose of the high priestly ministry of Jesus Christ, that is, of all His exhaustion and especially His death on the cross, was to accomplish our redemption; but, at the same time, He went through all this exhaustion for other purposes hidden in His prophetic ministry. Exactly: 1) He humbled Himself and was obedient even to the point of death, among other things, in order to teach us, by the example of His own life, the highest virtues of the Gospel, which He preached in word. He himself repeatedly pointed to this goal: learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart (Matthew 11:29); I have given you an image, that as I have created for you, you also do (John 13:15); If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and come after me (Matthew 16:24); This is my commandment, that you love one another as you have loved (John 15:12). They also pointed out St. apostles: a) St. John: for this he knew love, for he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our souls for our brethren (1 John 3:16); b) St. Peter: Christ suffered for us, leave us an image, so that we may follow in his footsteps (1 Peter 2:21); c) St. Paul: I pray you, be like me, as I am Christ (1 Cor. 4:16). 2) He died in order that through his suffering and death he would finally overthrow the false concepts of the Jews, which were not alien to His disciples themselves, about the Messiah as an earthly king, a glorious conqueror, and to show the correct meaning of the Old Testament prophecies about Him. And therefore, after the resurrection, appearing to two of his disciples, who still held these opinions, he exclaimed: O foolish and inert-hearted hedgehog to believe about everything that the prophets said. Isn’t it fitting for Christ to suffer and be brought into His glory? And the prophet began from Moses and from all, and he spoke from all the scriptures about us (Luke 24:26-27). In the same way, having appeared to all the disciples, he opened their minds, understood the scriptures, and said to them: as it is written, and thus it is fitting for Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead (- 45. 46). 3) He also died with the goal of finally abolishing the law of Moses, which served as a mediastinum between Jews and pagans, and to seal with his blood the new law or covenant brought by Him from heaven for the entire human race. This is our peace, says the Apostle, who has made both (Jews and Gentiles) one, and has destroyed the mediastinum of the fence: having abolished the enmity with his flesh, having abolished the law of the teaching commandments, so that he may create both into one new man, creating peace: and he will reconcile both in one body of God by the cross, putting to death the enmity against us (Eph. 2, 14–16 ). For this reason, there is an intercessor for the new covenant, so that the death of the former in atonement for the crimes that were in the first covenant, the promise of an eternal inheritance will receive the title. Wherever there is a covenant, death must be carried out by the testator (Heb. 9:15.16). And the Savior himself said: this is my blood of the new testament (Matthew 26:28). 4) He died, finally, in order to solemnly testify before everyone, by death itself, the truth of his teaching, which he preached, he died as a confessor, as a martyr of God. truth. Are you the Son of God, the bishops, and scribes, and elders of the Jews asked Him, judging Him before His death, and He, without hesitation, answered them: you say that I am (Luke 22:70; fn. Matt. 26:63). Are you the king of the Jews, Pilate later asked Him, and Jesus just as boldly answered him: You say that I am a king, adding: for this I was born, and for this I came into the world, that I may testify to the truth (John 18:33.37). For these two imaginary guilts, of which the blind Jews accused our Redeemer, and from which He did not want to renounce, He was condemned to death. Why is He called St. ap. Paul testified to the good confession under Pontius Pilate (1 Tim. 6:13), and in the Apocalypse of St. John as a faithful and true witness (1.5; 3.14). See interpretations for this place: St. Chrysostom (words by Archpriest of the Jews, VII, paragraph 5. 6, pp. 628–636, in vol. III, Works of this Father according to Russian translation), St. Epiphany (haeres. Melchisedecian. LV), St. Kirill Alex. (Glaphyr. lib. II, T. 1, p. 16 et squ.), blessed. Augustine (de doctr. Christ. IV, c. 21), blessed. Theodorit (in Genes, quaest. 64). Epist. ad Philipp. With. ΧΙ I. Pesnop. sacraments about the Son, in TV. St. Father IV, 220. Words about the Theologian. IV, ibid., III, p. 102. Clem. Rom. Epl ad Corinth. 1, n. 36; Justin. dialog. cum Tryph. n. 33. 34. 36. 118; Clem. Strom. VII, 3; Arnob. adv. Gent. II, 65. “For our sake God is exhausted and descends; By exhaustion I mean exhaustion, as if weakening and diminution of glory” (Gregory. Theological words for Matthew 19, I, in the Holy Father III, 215). “The incomprehensible is embraced through the rational soul, which mediates between the Divine and the gross flesh; He who is rich becomes poor—he becomes poor even in my flesh, so that I may become rich in His Divinity. He who is fulfilled is exhausted—not exhausted for long in his glory, so that I may be a partaker of His fullness” (Sermon on the Epiphany, ibid., p. 245). “He became a person for us. He took the worst to give the best; He became poor, that we through His poverty might become rich; took on the form of a slave so that we could gain freedom; He descended so that we could ascend; was tempted that we might overcome; suffered disgrace in order to glorify us; died to save; He ascended in order to draw to Himself the destiny of those lying in the fall of sin” (Grig. Theologian. Homily for Easter, in the Tv. Holy Fathers 1, 7). Epist. ad Corinth. 1, n. 21; cfr. n. 49. Epist. ad Trall. n. 2; cfr. Epist. ad Smyrn. n. 1. Epist. ad Philip, n. 1. 8, in Xp. Thurs. 1821, 1, 117. 123. Apolog. 1, n. 63; cfr. Dialog. cum Tryph. n. 88. Adv. haeres. V. I, no. 1; cfr. 16, no. 3; 17, no. 1; 21, no. 1. Lib. ad Demetrian. n. 25, in Patrolog. curs. compl. T. IV, p. 564, ed. Migne. Demonstr. Evang. IV, 12; cfr. 1, 10; X, 1. Words o Theologian. IV, in TV. St. Father ΙΙ I, 100. (358) Words. O sufferer. Savior, on TV. St. Father XV, 243. Conversation on Ps. 48, ibid V, 360. De incarn. Verbi Dei n. 25, in Chr. Thurs. 1838, II, 145–148. For the same thoughts, and especially the last two, see St. Irenea (adv. haer. V, 17, n. 4), Lactantia (Inst. Divin. IV, 26), St. Gregory of Nyssa (Orat. Cathech. c. XXXII; contr. Eunom. cr. IV, in T. II, p. 583, ed. Morel.), St. John Chrysostom (de cruc. et latr. homil. 1, 11), etc. Or here’s another consideration: “Since death came up through the tree (Gen. 2, 3), it was fitting that life and resurrection should be given through the tree” (Damascus. Accurate Ill. of the Proverbs of Faith, Book IV, Chapter II, p. 244; cfr. I. adv. V, 16, n. 4; Epist. ad Diognet. n. IX, in Chr. Thurs. 1825, X Χ, 156. Adv. haeres. V, 16, n. 3. And further: (nrzb) pro nobis patrem, in quem peccaveramus, et nostram inobedientiam por suam obedientiam consolatus, nobis autem donans eam, quae ad factorem nostrum, conversationem et subjectionem (-V, 37, n. 1). Publicity Pouch. XIII, no. 33, p. 270. De incarn. Verbi Dei n. 20, in Chr. Thurs. 1838, II, 133–134. 135. Words 3, in TV. St. Father 1, 31. 32. Epist. LXXVIÏ pretium nostrae liberationis erat sanguis Domini Jesu... De occurs. Dom. p. 454, T. III, ed. Morel. De cruc. etlatr. homil. 1, n. 1. De Trinit. ХIII, c. 15: in redemptione tanquam pretium pro nobis datus est sanguis Christi. Euseb. Demonstr. Evang. I, 10; IV, 12; X, 1; Didym. de Trinit. III, 12; Cyrill. in Joann. VII, 30; Theodoret. in Isa. LIII, 5. Publicity instructive XIII, paragraph 33, page 270. On the last to Rom. conversations X, paragraph 2, pp. 211–212 in Russian. transl., ed. to Moscow 1844. To whom was this ransom brought for us? Some imagined that it was brought to the prince of this world - the devil, to whom we are all in captivity (Origen. in Math. T. ΧYΙ, n. 8; Greg. Nyss. Cathech. c. Χ XII et squ.; Ambros. Epist. LXXII, n. 8; Hieronym. in Eplies. c. 1, 7). Ho St. Gregory and St. John of Damascus clearly showed the inconsistency of such an opinion. The first reasoned as follows: “To whom and for what was this shed, poured out for us, the great and glorious blood of God and the Bishop and the Sacrifice? We were in the power of the evil one, sold into sin and bought damage for ourselves through voluptuousness. And if the price of redemption is given to no one other than the one in power; I ask: to whom and for what reason was such a price brought? If to the evil one: then how offensive this is! The robber receives the price of redemption, receives not only from God, but from God himself, for his torment he takes such an immense payment that it was fair to spare us for it! And if to the Father: then, firstly, how? It was not him who held us captive. And secondly, for what reason is the blood of the Only Begotten pleasing to the Father, who did not accept Isaac offered by his father, but replaced the sacrifice by giving a ram instead of a verbal sacrifice? Or from this it is clear that the Father accepts, not because he demanded or had a need, but according to the economy and because man needed to be sanctified by the humanity of God, so that He himself would deliver us, overcoming the tormentor by force, and raise us to himself through the Son who mediates and arranges all things in honor of the Father, to whom He appears to be submissive in everything” (words for Easter, in Tv. Holy Father IV, 175–177). Clem. Epist. ad Corinth. I, n. 7; Justin. dialogue cum Tryphon, n. 88; Clem. Alex. Strom. VII, 2; Euseb. in Ps, XCVII, 1. Αυτός γάρ ύπέρ πάντων άπέθανε. In Hebr. homil. IV, no. 2. Grieg. Theologian Word o Theologian. IV, in TV. St. Father III, 100; demolished IV, 165; Vasil. led on Ps. 48, in TV. St. Father V, 360; on Ps. 59, ibid. 381; Ambros. de Isaas. et anima p. III, no. 9; Pelus, lib. IV, Epist. 100. ϓ περ απάντων ανθρώπων τήν παναγίαν και σωτήριον θυσίαν προσήνεγκε Eran. dialog. II, in Chr. Thurs. 1846, I, p. 362. Augustin. de civit. Dei XX, 6; Hieron. Epist. XCII, no. 4 ad Julian.; Cyrill. Alex. adv. Antrop. c. VIII. Homil. XXIV... παθειυπέρ πάντων. Homil. de occurs. Domini, in T. III, p. 454. Serm. M. de fide n. 13 (apud Galland. T.V. p. 163); cfr. de incarn. n. 20. In Hebr. homil. XVII, no. 2. Equally blessed. Theodoret, when explaining the words: by the obedience of the one righteous there will be many (Rom. 5:19), says: “The Apostle very opportunely used the word here: many. For after the coming of the Savior, not everyone receives salvation, but only those who believe in Him and act according to His Divine laws” (Brief Exposition of God’s Dogmas, Chapter II, in Chron. Reading 1844, IV, 318). On the last in Rom. Conversation X, paragraph 2, in Russian. translation p. 210. And even further: “Therefore the Apostle did not say: grace, but an excess of grace. The gifts of grace have been given to us not so much as to destroy only sin, but much more. We are freed from punishment, put off all evil deeds, reborn from above, resurrected after the burial of the old man, redeemed, sanctified, adopted as sons, justified, became brothers of the Only Begotten, made joint heirs with Him, joined with Him in one body, became His members, united with Him as the body with the head” (p. 211). Words about the Theologian. IV, in TV. St. Father III, 93. In cap. VIII Epist. ad Romanos. Justin. Apolog. I, 28; II, 8; Iren. adv. haer. 1, 10; Nemes. de natur. homin. c. 1; Hilar. in Ps. CXLVIII, n. 7; Augustin. in Epl. ad Gal, n. 24; de civit. Dei XIV, 27; Hieron. in Joan. III, 6; Greg. M. in Job. IX, 50, n. 76; Damascus. Accur. Izl. pr. faith II, ch. 3. 4. 30, pp. 53. 59. 133. Tertull. de carne Christi c. XIV; Method. de Symeon. et Anna n. XIII; Hieronym. in Jes. XIV, 20; adv. Rufin. 1, in T. IV, Part. II, p. 379, ed. Mart. Concil. oecum. V contr. Origen can. VII. You might be interested in: