Six Reasons for the Incarnation

Taken from the lecture “The Incarnation According to St. Athanasius”, by H.G. Bishop Raphael (Former Secretary of the Coptic Holy Synod).

Translation:

There are six points [for the incarnation] explained by St. Athanasius the Apostolic. Let’s review them one by one.

First, it is impossible to escape the sentence of the Law. Here the Law is “Don’t eat from this tree.” It is impossible to escape the sentence of death of the Law which is: “The day you eat of it you will die.”  It is impossible to escape the word of God. This is what St. Athanasius said. Take heed, because you are scholarly and read [a lot]. Currently, there are some who call themselves the “illumined”. They say things the church fathers never said, which they claim the fathers said. They say that “God doesn’t punish.” You will see in the words of Athanasius that God does punish. They also say that there is no “substitutionary death”, or for anyone to die “instead of” someone else. So then what did Christ do? They say He died “for us”, not “instead of us”. So what’s the difference? They say “If He died ‘instead of us’ then I don’t need to be baptized or have Communion, since He already died ‘instead of’ me, so end of story. But if he died ‘for me’, this means that I…” This is mere sophistry. You will find that St. Athanasius speaks of a “substitutionary death” and death “instead of” us.  [He said] it is impossible to escape the sentence of the Law.

Second, it is not fitting that God would not enforce the sentence of death, otherwise God would be a liar, and His nature would lack consistency. These are the words of Athanasius.

Third, it is not fitting that God’s logical creation should perish as a result of the deceit of the devil. Should the good and logical creation perish because of the deceit of the devil? But man transgressed. He said yes, man must die, but it is not fitting that he should die.

Fourth, it is not fitting that the logical human created in God’s image should perish and turn back again into non-existence through corruption.

Fifth, if God neglected His creation and let it perish, this would be weakness on God’s part; He can’t save His creation from death. To the extent that St. Athanasius said that it would have been better for God not to create man, rather than create him and leave him to perish.

Sixth, if God left humans on the road to ruin without intervention, this would be a contradiction of God’s goodness. Isn’t God good? How can He leave us to perish?

These are the six points that St. Athanasius thought of and explained as the reasons for the incarnation.

Hear the full lecture here.