{"id":1514,"date":"2017-12-26T11:55:11","date_gmt":"2017-12-26T19:55:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/?p=1514"},"modified":"2020-11-20T00:00:53","modified_gmt":"2020-11-20T08:00:53","slug":"atonement-athan-cyril","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/atonement-athan-cyril\/","title":{"rendered":"Atonement in the Early Church (Athanasius &#038; Cyril of Alexandria)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Christus Victor is a new model of atonement that some argue dates back to the early church. The model emphasizes Christ\u2019s victory over the devil and death by His death and resurrection. Some hold this model to be a complete view of the atonement and argue that the early Church never understood redemption in terms of satisfaction of God\u2019s judgment for sin, but only of healing and demonstration of God\u2019s love. The purpose of this article was to analyze whether or not penal and\/or substitutionary language exists in the writings of the early Church in regards to Old Testament Sacrifices and the sacrifice of Christ. The article is divided into several sections. To show patristic consensus, references from both Chalcedonian and non-Chalcedenian fathers will be utilized; focus will be on the writings of the pre-Chalcedonian Church fathers.<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li><a href=\"#origin\">Origin of Doctrinal Deviation\/Controversy<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#d\">Death as a &#8220;Debt&#8221; for Transgression<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#dd\">Divine Dilemma (Justice vs. Mercy)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#divinedilemma\">Solution to the Divine Dilemma<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#ddd\">Christ Paid the &#8220;Debt&#8221; (Ransom)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#law\">Christ Fulfilled the Law<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#ots\">Old Testament Sacrifices<br \/>\n<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#is53\">Isaiah Chapter 53<\/a><a href=\"#ots\"><br \/>\n<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#dddd\">Christ as Sacrifice and High Priest<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#tothefather\">To Whom Was the Ransom Paid?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#c\">Conclusion<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Origin of Doctrinal Deviation\/Controversy<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-1992 alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/\u041c\u0438\u0442\u0440\u043e\u043f\u043e\u043b\u0438\u0442_\u0410\u043d\u0442\u043e\u043d\u0438\u0439_\u0425\u0440\u0430\u043f\u043e\u0432\u0438\u0446\u043a\u0438\u0439_1935-300x271.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"257\" height=\"232\" srcset=\"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/\u041c\u0438\u0442\u0440\u043e\u043f\u043e\u043b\u0438\u0442_\u0410\u043d\u0442\u043e\u043d\u0438\u0439_\u0425\u0440\u0430\u043f\u043e\u0432\u0438\u0446\u043a\u0438\u0439_1935-300x271.jpg 300w, http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/\u041c\u0438\u0442\u0440\u043e\u043f\u043e\u043b\u0438\u0442_\u0410\u043d\u0442\u043e\u043d\u0438\u0439_\u0425\u0440\u0430\u043f\u043e\u0432\u0438\u0446\u043a\u0438\u0439_1935.jpg 619w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 257px) 100vw, 257px\" \/>Within the last one hundred years or less, there was a movement among some in the Orthodox Church to &#8220;purge&#8221; Orthodoxy of the &#8220;juridical&#8221; dimension of atonement. Many Orthodox today are led to believe that the juridical dimension of atonement is a &#8220;contamination&#8221; of Western influence. They argue that this dimension is not supported by scripture, and cannot be found in the writings of the early Church fathers, prior to Anselm of Canterbury. Spearheading this movement to &#8220;reformulate&#8221; the doctrine of atonement, was Metropolitan\u00a0Anthony (Khrapovitsky) Kiev who wrote in his work <em>&#8220;Dogma of Redemption&#8221;,<\/em> published in 1917:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For the last thirty years, this basic dogma of our faith, that is, its formulation, has been the\u00a0subject of <strong>constant reformulation<\/strong>. More exactly, it has been subjected to attempts at restoration&#8230;this reformulation is directed not against Orthodoxy\u00a0(or in deviation from it) but, on the contrary, toward true Orthodoxy. <strong>It has been undertaken with\u00a0a desire to free the theological science which is taught in seminaries, and the school catechisms\u00a0from heterodox contaminations<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Rejecting the idea of a vicarious substitution, Metropolitan Anthony argued:\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>&#8220;What kind of love is it that crucifies? And who needs it?&#8221;\u00a0<\/em><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">He went on to argue that\u00a0a juridical\u00a0<\/span>view, if true, only manifests God&#8217;s &#8220;mercilessness&#8221; and &#8220;injustice&#8221;:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Adam\u2019s\u00a0sufferings and the agonizing death which befell Adam\u2019s descendants were\u00a0not sufficient to expunge that dreadful affront. The shedding of a servant\u2019s\u00a0blood could not effect this; only the Blood of a Being equal in rank with the\u00a0outraged Divinity, that is, the Son of God, <strong>Who of His own good will took the\u00a0penalty upon Himself in man\u2019s stead.<\/strong> By this means <strong>the Son of God obtained\u00a0mankind\u2019s forgiveness from the wrathful Creator Who received satisfaction in\u00a0the shedding of the Blood and the death of His Son.<\/strong> Thus, the Lord has\u00a0manifested both His mercy and His equity! With good reason do the skeptics\u00a0affirm that if such an interpretation corresponds to Revelation, the conclusion\u00a0would be the contrary: <strong>the Lord would have manifested here both\u00a0mercilessness and injustice.<\/strong>\u00a0 (The Dogma of Redemption, pp. 5-6)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Metropolitan Anthony&#8217;s motive was clearly to refute &#8220;mockeries&#8221; from non-Christians. Seeking to counter what might have been an over-emphasis by the West on the juridical dimension, Metropolitan Anthony rejected a fundamental dimension of atonement altogether (essentially throwing out the baby with the bath water).\u00a0His zeal led him to reject the same view of atonement taught in Orthodox seminaries and catechisms of his time:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">The teaching about redemption proffered in our school courses and catechisms (<strong>I shall\u00a0never call this a Church teaching<\/strong>) <strong>gives occasion to the enemies of Christianity to raise coarse<\/strong>,\u00a0but difficult to refute, mockeries&#8230;Japanese pagans object to our missionaries that: &#8220;You preach\u00a0the most unreasonable faith, that God supposedly was angered at all people because of Eve&#8217;s one\u00a0act of foolishness. <strong>But then he executed His totally innocent Son and only then became soothed.<\/strong>&#8220;<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Metropolitan Anthony&#8217;s views created much controversy and were rejected by most Orthodox theologians of his time. Nevertheless, since then, other influential Orthodox theologians such as Fr.\u00a0John Meyendorff and\u00a0Alexander Kalomiros and others, began to promote his views, to the extent that such views have asserted themselves strongly in the Byzantine Church today. As a result, many are led to reject the &#8220;juridical&#8221; dimension of atonement as &#8220;heteredox&#8221;, even though it was taught in Orthodox <em>&#8220;seminaries, and the school catechisms&#8221;,<\/em> as Metropolitan Anthony himself admitted. As will also be evidenced in this article, the Orthodox Church has always acknowledged two dimensions to the redemption: one of healing and another that is &#8220;juridical&#8221;. Christ renewed and &#8220;deified&#8221; the fallen nature, as well as paid the &#8220;debt&#8221; and &#8220;penalty&#8221; of death\u00a0 on account of transgression <em>&#8220;in place of&#8221;<\/em> humanity.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"204\" height=\"247\" class=\"wp-image-2137\" src=\"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/unknown.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">At about the same time, a Lutheran theologian by the name of Gustaf\u00a0Aul\u00e9n published his book named \u201cChristus Victor\u201d, in 1930.\u00a0 Aul\u00e9n\u00a0 argued that prior to Anselm of Canterbury and within the first 1000 years, the Church never understood redemption in terms of a satisfaction of God\u2019s justice\/judgment, but merely as a conquering of sin, death, and the devil. Aul\u00e9n essentially invented a new atonement theory called \u201cChristus Victor\u201d which he argued was the predominant view of the early Church. He based his argument on the fact that the early Church fathers spoke with consenus about the victorious Christ. In his book, Aul\u00e9n pitted his atonement theory against what he called the \u201cLatin\u201d view. While it is undeniable that the Church fathers spoke about Christ\u2019s victory over death, was substitutionary atonement truly absent from the early Church as per\u00a0Aul\u00e9n? We will examine Aul\u00e9n\u2019s claims in great detail in this article. Unfortunately, many have accepted Aul\u00e9n\u2019s Book at face value without questioning the historical and patristic accuracy or objectivity of\u00a0Aul\u00e9n\u2019s arguments.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a id=\"d\"><\/a><strong>Death as a &#8220;Debt&#8221; for Transgression<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Some argue that death of Adam was merely a consequence of sin (as of an illness), devoid of any elements of punishment or chastising on God&#8217;s part. Hence they argue that humanity only needed healing from sin. How can a loving God also punish? This question will be answered at more length in the <a href=\"#dd\">Divine Dilemma\u00a0<\/a>section of this article. It is best to try to understand God&#8217;s earthly punishment, including physical death, as chastening of a loving Father. It is also important to differentiate between <em>&#8220;corruption of death&#8221;<\/em> which is physical death vs. spiritual death, which is separation from God. Christ was incarnate to deliver humanity from both.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id6a0134c5a54e5\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Scriptural references&gt;&gt;\"    >Scriptural references&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id6a0134c5a54e5\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Genesis 3:22-24<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">And the Lord God said, \u201cThe man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.\u201d <strong>So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden<\/strong> to work the ground from which he had been taken. After <strong>he drove the man out<\/strong>, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Ezekiel 18:20<br \/>\n<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the <strong>guilt<\/strong> of the parent, nor will the parent share the <strong>guilt<\/strong> of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be <strong>charged against them<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Roma<\/span>ns 6:23<br \/>\n<\/strong> <span style=\"color: #000000;\"> For the wages of sin is <strong>death<\/strong>, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Galatians 3:10<br \/>\n<\/strong>&#8220;<strong>Cursed<\/strong> is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Romans 3:5<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> But if our unrighteousness brings out God\u2019s righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? <strong>That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us<\/strong>?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romans 5: 18<br \/>\n<\/strong>So then as through one trespass the <strong>judgment<\/strong> came unto all men to <strong>condemnation<\/strong>; even so<\/span> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">through one act of righteousness the free gift came unto all men to justification of life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Colossians 3:5-6<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.\u00a0Because of these, the <strong>wrath of God<\/strong> is coming.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Hebrews 2:2<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its <strong>just<\/strong> <strong>punishment<\/strong>,\u00a0how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">While it is undeniable that Christ &#8220;healed&#8221; and renewed humanity by His incarnation, analysis of both Scripture and early patristic writing confirms that the early Church also understood death to be \u00a0a \u201cdebt\u201d, \u201cpenalty\u201d, \u201cpunishment\u201d, \u201cjudgment\u201d, \u201csentence\u201d, \u201ccurse\u2019, &#8220;chastisement&#8221;, and even \u201ccondemnation\u201d for transgression. Let&#8217;s analyze for example, one sentence by St. Athanasius from &#8220;On the Incarnation of the Word&#8221;:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cAnd thus taking from our bodies one of like nature, because all were under <strong><u>penalty<\/u> <\/strong>of the <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">corruption of death<\/span><\/strong> He gave it over to death <strong><u>in the stead<\/u><\/strong> of all, and offered it <strong><u>to the Father<\/u><\/strong>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">From the above sentence alone, we see:<br \/>\n1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Corruption of death was a \u201c<strong>penalty<\/strong>\u201d (not just a consequence or illness).<br \/>\n2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Christ gave his body over to death &#8220;<strong>in the<\/strong> <strong>stead of all<\/strong>\u201d (substitute).<u><br \/>\n<\/u>3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Christ offered his body as a sacrifice \u201c<strong>to the Father<\/strong>\u201d<span style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Speaking of death of the body in the grave as well as of the soul which went to Hades, St. Athanasius explains that death was divided into parts. Both were a &#8220;judgment&#8221; and &#8220;condemnation&#8221; by God:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">St. Athanasius (296 \u2013 373 AD) &#8211; Contra Apollinarium<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">He who held the enquiry into the transgression, and<strong> gave judgment, passed the general doom in a twofold form<\/strong>, saying to the earthly part, Earth thou art, and to earth shalt thou depart:\u2014and so, the <strong>Lord having pronounced sentence<\/strong>, corruption receives the body: \u2014but to the soul, Thou shalt die the death: and thus man is divided into two parts, <strong>and is condemned to go to two places.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. Athanasius further explains that Christ died to free humanity from the &#8220;condemnation&#8221;, &#8220;sentence&#8221;, and &#8220;curse&#8221; of death since all died in Him:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) \u2013 Discourses Against the Arians<br \/>\n<\/strong>For since it is said in the Word, \u2018Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return,\u2019 suitably through the Word Himself and in Him the freedom and the undoing of the <strong>condemnation<\/strong> has come to pass\u2026He sends His own Son, and He becomes Son of Man, by taking created flesh; that, since all were under<u> <strong>sentence of death<\/strong><\/u>, He, being other than them all, might <strong>Himself for all offer<\/strong> to death His own body; and that henceforth, as if all had died through Him, the word of that <strong>sentence<\/strong> might be accomplished (<strong>for \u2018all died\u2019 in Christ<\/strong>), and all through Him might thereupon become free from sin and from the <strong>curse<\/strong> which came upon it, and might truly abide forever, risen from the dead and clothed in immortality and incorruption.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Some argue that St. Athanasius never explained redemption in terms of fulfillment of God\u2019s punishment, but only of God\u2019s healing and renewal. Nothing could be further from the truth. St. Athanasius\u2019s book\u00a0<em>\u201cOn the Incarnation of the Word\u201d<\/em>\u00a0is filled with references to death as a \u201cpenalty\u201d and \u201csentence\u201d which Christ endured \u201cin the stead\u201d and as a \u201csubstitute\u201d for humanity. He dedicates two full chapters discussing God\u2019s mercy vs. truth (\u201cThe Divine Dilemma\u201d). When he explained the cross to those inside the Church, St. Athanasius did not hesitate to expound this \u201cpenal\u201d reality. He said Christ came to\u00a0<em>\u201cbear the curse that lay on us\u201d<\/em>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius \u2013 On the Incarnation of the Word<br \/>\n<\/strong>So much for the <strong>objections<\/strong> of those <strong>outside the Church<\/strong>. But if any honest Christian wants to know why He suffered death on the cross and not in some other way, we answer thus: <strong>in no other way<\/strong> was it expedient for us, indeed the Lord offered for our sakes the one death that was supremely good. <strong>He had come to bear the curse that lay on us<\/strong>; and how could He &#8220;become a <strong>curse<\/strong>&#8221; otherwise than by accepting the <strong>accursed<\/strong> death? And that death is the cross, for it is written <strong>&#8220;Cursed<\/strong> is every one that hangeth on tree.&#8221; Again, the death of the Lord is the <strong>ransom<\/strong> of all&#8230;<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000; font-style: normal;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. Cyril of Alexandria also refers to death as a &#8220;divine curse&#8221; for disobedience:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211; Commentary on the Gospel of St. Luke<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> for it was that rebel serpent who led the first man to the <strong>transgression<\/strong> of the commandment, and to <strong>disobedience<\/strong>, by means of which he fell under the <strong>divine curse<\/strong>, and into the net of <strong>death<\/strong>: for it was said to him, &#8220;Earth you are, and to the earth you shall return.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">There is no disobedience without penalty from God:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) \u2013 Commentary on Gospel of St. Luke,\u00a0SERMON XLII<br \/>\n<\/strong>For that there is no obedience without reward, and on the other\u00a0hand, <strong>no disobedience without penalty<\/strong>, is made plain by what God\u00a0spake by His holy prophet to those who disregarded Him&#8230;For let us see, if you will, even\u00a0from the writings of Moses, the grief to which disobedience has\u00a0brought us. <strong>We have been driven from a paradise of delights, and\u00a0have also fallen under the condemnation of death<\/strong>; and while\u00a0intended for incorruption:\u2014for so God created the universe:\u2014<strong>we\u00a0yet have become accursed, and subject to the yoke of sin<\/strong>. And\u00a0how then have we escaped from that which betel us, or Who is He\u00a0that aided us, when we had sunk into this great misery? It was the\u00a0Only-begotten Word of God, by submitting Himself to our estate,\u00a0and being found in fashion as a man, and becoming obedient unto\u00a0the Father even unto death. Thus has the guilt of the disobedience\u00a0that is by Adam been remitted: <strong>thus has the power of the curse\u00a0ceased,<\/strong> and the dominion of death been brought to decay.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The &#8220;sentence&#8221; of God and Adam&#8217;s curse extended over all, since all broke God&#8217;s decrees, yet Christ paid the penalty for our <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">sins<\/span>:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) \u2013 Commentary on the Gospel of St. John, Book XII<br \/>\n<\/strong>And the meaning of the figure is\u00a0in no way affected by the fact, that the men who hung by His side\u00a0were malefactors; <strong>for we were by nature children of wrath<\/strong>, before\u00a0we believed in Christ, and <strong>were all doomed to death<\/strong>, as we said\u00a0before<strong>&#8230;<\/strong>And the title contained a handwriting against us\u2014<strong>the curse\u00a0that, by the Divine Law, impends over the transgressors, and the\u00a0sentence that went forth against all who erred against those\u00a0ancient ordinances of the Law,<\/strong> like unto Adam\u2019s curse, which went\u00a0forth against all mankind, in that all alike broke God\u2019s decrees. <strong>For\u00a0God\u2019s anger did not cease with Adam\u2019s fall, but He was also\u00a0provoked by those who after him dishonoured the Creator\u2019s\u00a0decree;<\/strong> and the denunciation of the Law against transgressors\u00a0was extended continuously over all.\u00a0We were, then, <strong>accursed and<\/strong> <strong>condemned<\/strong>, <strong>by the sentence of God<\/strong>, through Adam&#8217;s transgression, and through breach of \u00a0the Law laid down after him; but the Savior wiped out the handwriting against us, by nailing the title to His Cross, which very clearly pointed to the death upon the Cross which He underwent for the salvation of men, who <strong>lay under<\/strong> <strong>condemnation<\/strong>.\u00a0<strong>For our sake He paid the penalty for our\u00a0sins.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0a0a0a; font-style: normal;\">The Church&#8217;s liturgical texts also confirm that death was a <\/span><em style=\"color: #0a0a0a;\">&#8220;sentence&#8221;<\/em><span style=\"color: #0a0a0a; font-style: normal;\"> and <\/span><em style=\"color: #0a0a0a;\">&#8220;punishment&#8221;<\/em><span style=\"color: #0a0a0a; font-style: normal;\">:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<strong>Liturgy of Saint Gregory<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> I\u00a0 laid\u00a0 aside\u00a0 Your\u00a0 law\u00a0 by\u00a0 my\u00a0 own opinion. I neglected your commandments. I brought upon myself the <strong>sentence of death<\/strong>. You O my Master have turned for me the <strong>punishment<\/strong> into <strong>salvation<\/strong><strong>.<\/strong> As a good shepherd you have sought the stray.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id6a0134c5a5557\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"More patristic quotes&gt;&gt;\"    >More patristic quotes&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id6a0134c5a5557\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) \u2013 Letters of Athanasius with Two Ancient Chronicles of His Life<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> &#8230;He became man in the body for our salvation, in order that having somewhat to offer for us He might save us all, \u2018as many as through fear of <strong>death<\/strong> were all their life-time subject to bondage.\u2019 For it was not some man that gave Himself up for us; since <strong>every man is under sentence\u00a0<\/strong><strong>of death<\/strong>, according to what was said to all in Adam, \u2018earth thou art and unto earth thou shalt return.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) &#8211; Contra Arianos, Discourse II, Chapter 21, #67<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>And how, were the Word a creature, had He power to <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">undo God\u2019s sentence<\/span>, and to remit sin,\u00a0<\/strong>whereas it is written in the Prophets, that this is God\u2019s doing? For \u2018who is a God like unto Thee,\u00a0that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by transgression?\u2019 <strong>For whereas God has said, \u2018Dust thou\u00a0art, and unto dust shalt thou return,\u2019 men have become mortal; how then could things originate\u00a0undo sin? but the Lord is He who has undone it, <\/strong>as He says Himself, \u2018Unless the Son shall make\u00a0you free;\u2019 and the Son, who made free, has shewn in truth that He is no creature, nor one of\u00a0things originate, but the proper Word and Image of the Father\u2019s Essence, <strong>who at the beginning\u00a0sentenced, and alone remitteth sins. For since it is said in the Word, \u2018Dust thou art, and unto dust\u00a0thou shalt return,\u2019 suitably through the Word Himself and in Him the freedom and the undoing of\u00a0the condemnation has come to pass.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) &#8211; ON THE SALUTARY APPEARING OF CHRIST,<br \/>\nAND AGAINST APOLLINARIS<br \/>\n<\/strong><span style=\"text-align: justify;\">And since Adam&#8217;s soul\u00a0was <strong>detained under sentence of death<\/strong>, and was continually\u00a0crying out to its Lord, and those who had been well-pleasing to God, and had been justified by the natural\u00a0law, were detained with Adam, and were mourning and\u00a0crying out with him, God, taking pity on man whom He\u00a0had made, was pleased through the revelation of a mystery\u00a0to work out a new salvation for the race of men, and to\u00a0effect the overthrow of the enemy, who through envy had deceived them, and to exhibit an incalculable exaltation\u00a0of man by his union and communion with the Most High\u00a0in nature n and truth.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius &#8211; On the Incarnation of the Word<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Forasmuch then as the children are\u00a0&#8221; the sharers in blood and flesh, he also himself in like\u00a0&#8221; manner partook of the same, that through death he\u00a0&#8221; might bring to nought him that had the power of\u00a0&#8221; death, that is, the devil; and might deliver them\u00a0&#8220;who, through fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage.&#8221; <strong>For by the sacrifice of his own\u00a0body, he both put an end to the law which was against us,<\/strong> <strong>and made a new beginning of life for us<\/strong>, by\u00a0the hope of resurrection which he has given us. For\u00a0since from man it was that death prevailed over men, for\u00a0this cause conversely, by the Word of God being made\u00a0man has come about the destruction of death and the\u00a0resurrection of life; as the man which bore Christ\u00a0saith:\u00a0&#8221; For since by man came death, by man came also the\u00a0&#8220;resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so\u00a0&#8220;also in Christ shall all be made alive: &#8221; and so forth. <strong>For\u00a0no longer now do we die as subject to condemnation<\/strong>; but\u00a0as men who rise from the dead we await the general\u00a0resurrection of all, &#8220;which in its own times he shall&#8221; show,&#8221; even God, who has also wrought it, and\u00a0bestowed it upon us&#8230;Why, now that the common Saviour of all has died on\u00a0our behalf, we, the faithful in Christ, no longer die the\u00a0death as before, agreeably to the warning of the law;\u00a0<strong>for this condemnation has ceased<\/strong>; but, corruption ceasing and being put away by the grace of the Resurrection,\u00a0henceforth we are only dissolved, agreeably to our bodies&#8217;\u00a0mortal nature, at the time God has fixed for each, that\u00a0we may be able to gain a better resurrection. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211; On the Unity of Christ<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Therefore if it is true, as it is understood by them to mean rightly, that the Word has in such sort been MADE flesh, as <strong>He has been MADE both curse and sin<\/strong>; i. e. to the destruction of the flesh; how will He render it incorruptible and indestructible, as having achieved this in His own Flesh first? for He did not leave it to remain mortal and under decay, <strong>Adam transmitting to us the punishment for the transgression,<\/strong> but rather as the flesh of the uncorruptible God, Own and His, rendered it superior to death and to decay.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) \u2013 Commentary on the Gospel of St. John, Book XII<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">For death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over them\u00a0that had not sinned after the likeness of Adam\u2019s transgression;\u00a0and we bore the image of the earthy in his likeness, <strong>and\u00a0underwent the death that was inflicted by the Divine curse.<\/strong> But\u00a0when the Second Adam appeared among us, the Divine Man from\u00a0heaven, and, contending for the salvation of the world, purchased\u00a0by His death the life of all men, and, destroying the power of\u00a0corruption, rose again to life, we were transformed into His Image,\u00a0and undergo, <strong>as it were, a different kind of death, that does not\u00a0dissolve us in eternal corruption<\/strong>, but casts upon us a slumber\u00a0which is laden with fair hope, after the Likeness of Him Who has\u00a0made this new path for us, that is, Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211; Commentary on Gospel of St. John &#8211; Book II<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">And in harmony with this do we see that which is said by one of the prophets, <strong>He hath smitten, and He will bind us up. After two days will He revive us, in the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His Sight.<\/strong> Then shall we know if we follow on to know the Lord; His going forth is prepared as the morning. <strong>For He smote us for the transgression of Adam, saying, Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. That which was smitten by corruption and death He bound up on the third day:<\/strong> that is, not in the first, or in the middle, but in the last ages, when for us made Man, He rendered all our nature whole, raising it from the dead in Himself. Wherefore He is also called the Firstfruits of them that slept.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211; That Christ is One<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Therefore if it is true, as it is understood by them to mean rightly, that the Word has in such sort been MADE flesh, as He has been MADE both curse and sin; i. e. to the destruction of the <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">flesh; how will He render it incorruptible and indestructible, as having achieved this in His own Flesh first? for He did not leave it to remain mortal and under decay, <strong>Adam transmitting to us the punishment for the transgression<\/strong>, but rather as the flesh of the uncorruptible God, Own and His, rendered it superior to death and to decay.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211; That Christ is One<\/strong><br \/>\nSuch then, as I think, is the meaning of the Saviour&#8217;s words; for He was inviting the good favour of the Father not on Himself but on us rather. <strong>For as the [fruits] of wrath passed through as from the first root, I mean Adam, unto the whole nature of man<\/strong> (for death hath reigned from Adam unto Moses over them too which sinned not after the likeness of Adam&#8217;s transgression): thus too will the [fruits] from our second first-fruits, Christ, pass through unto the whole human race. And the all-wise Paul will be our warrant, saying, For if by the transgression of one man the many died, much more by the righteousness of the One shall the many live, and again, For as in Adam all die so too in Christ shall all be quickened.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211; Five Tomes Against Netorius, Tome III<\/strong><br \/>\nThe God of all uttered the Law to them of old, Moses being mediator. But there was not in the Law the power of\u00a0achieving good without any blame, to those who wished it (for it hath perfected nothing). But neither was the first covenant found faultless, <strong>but the all-wise Paul called it the ministry of condemnation.<\/strong> I hear him say, We know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped and <strong>all the world may become under sentence before God, because by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight, (for the Law worketh unto wrath, and the Letter killeth),<\/strong> and as himself somewhere saith, He that despised Moses&#8217; law dieth without mercy under two or three witnesses. <strong>Seeing therefore that the Law condemneth them that sin and decreeth sometimes the uttermost punishment to them that disregard it,<\/strong> and in no wise pitieth, how was not the manifestation to them on the earth of a Compassionate and truly Merciful High Priest necessary? <strong>of One Who should make the curse to cease, should stop the condemnation and free sinners with forgiving grace and with the bending of clemency?<\/strong> for I (He says) am He that blotteth out thy transgressions and will not remember. For we have been justified by faith and not out of the works of the Law, as it is written. On Whom then believing are we justified? is it not on Him who suffered death for us after the flesh? is it not on One Lord Jesus Christ? have we not on declaring His Death and confessing His Resurrection been redeemed? If therefore we have believed on a man like us and not rather on God, the thing is man-worship, and confessedly nothing else: but if we believe that He That suffered in the flesh is God, Who hath been made also our High Priest, we have no ways erred, but acknowledge the Word out of God made Man: and thus is required of us faith God-ward, <strong>Who putteth out of condemnation and freeth from sin those that are taken thereby.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211; Commentary on Gospel of St. John Book XII<\/strong><br \/>\nFor He That was truly God, and had no sin in Him, was yet Man; <strong>and just as the sentence of condemnation for transgression went forth over all mankind, through one man, the first Adam<\/strong>, so likewise, also, the blessing of justification by Christ is extended to all through One Man, the Second Adam. Paul is our witness, who says: <strong>As through one the judgment came unto all men to condemnation; even so through One the free gift came unto all men to justification of life.<\/strong> We therefore are diseased through the disobedience of the first Adam and its curse, but are enriched through the obedience of the Second and its blessing. For He that was Lord of the Law as God came among us, and kept the Law as Man. Yea, we find Him saying unto us: He that loveth Me will keep My commandments; even as I have kept My Father&#8217;s commandments, <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">and abide in His love.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) \u2013 Commentary on the Gospel of St. John, Book XII<br \/>\n<\/strong>For it was meet that the Lord should be our restorer in this\u00a0way also. For by Adam\u2019s transgression, as in the firstfruits of the\u00a0race, <strong>the sentence went forth to the whole world: Dust thou art,\u00a0and to dust thou shalt return<\/strong>; and to the woman in special: In\u00a0sorrow thou shalt bring forth children. <strong>To be rich in sorrow, then,\u00a0as by way of a penalty, was the fate of woman.<\/strong> It was, therefore,\u00a0necessary that <strong>by the mouth of Him That had passed sentence of\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">condemnation, the burden of that ancient curse should be\u00a0removed, our Saviour Christ now wiping away the tears from the\u00a0eyes of the woman, or rather of all womankind, as in Mary the\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>firstfruits.<\/strong> For she, first of women, being offended at the death of\u00a0the Saviour, and grieving thereat, was thought worthy to hear the\u00a0voice that cut short her weeping&#8230;Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turneth herself, and saith,\u00a0unto Him in Hebrew, Rabboni; which is to say, Master, and ran forward to touch Him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) \u2013 Commentary on Gospel of St. Luke<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> For the first man was indeed in the beginning in the paradise of delight, being ennobled by the absence both of suffering and of corruption: but when he despised the commandment that had been given him, and fell under a <strong>curse<\/strong> and <strong>condemnation<\/strong>, and into the snare of death, by eating the fruit of the forbidden tree, Christ, as I said, by the very same thing restores him again to his original condition.\u00a0For He became the fruit of the tree by having endured the precious cross for our sakes, that He might destroy death, which by means of the tree had invaded the bodies of mankind.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) \u2013 Commentary on Gospel of St. Luke<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For it is thus written in\u00a0the Exodus concerning the children of Israel; \u201cAnd they came to\u00a0Marah: and the people could not drink the waters of Marah; for\u00a0they were bitter. And Moses cried unto the Lord, and the Lord\u00a0shewed him a tree; and he cast it into the waters, and the waters\u00a0were made sweet.\u201d <strong>Now Marah, when translated, means\u00a0bitterness; and is taken by us as a type of the law.<\/strong> <strong>For the law was\u00a0bitter, in that it punished with death.<\/strong> And of this Paul is witness,\u00a0saying, \u201cHe that hath despised Moses\u2019 law is put to death without\u00a0mercy at the mouth of two or three witnesses.\u201d It was bitter\u00a0therefore, and unendurable to those of old time, and was\u00a0unacceptable on this account, just as were also those bitter\u00a0waters. <strong>But it also was sweetened by the precious cross, of which\u00a0that tree there shewn by God to the blessed Moses was a type.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) \u2013 Commentary on Gospel of St. John, Chapter IX<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>But when he was being punished\u00a0for his transgressions, then with justice hearing Dust thou art and\u00a0unto dust shalt thou return<\/strong>, he was bared of the grace; the breath\u00a0of life, that is the Spirit of Him Who says I am the Life, departed\u00a0from the earthy body <strong>and the creature falls into death<\/strong>, through the\u00a0flesh alone, the soul being kept in immortality, since to the flesh\u00a0too alone was it said, <strong>Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou\u00a0return.<\/strong> It needed therefore that that in us which was specially\u00a0imperilled, should with the greater zeal be restored, and by\u00a0intertwining again with Life That is by Nature be recalled to\u00a0immortality: it needed that at length the sentence, <strong>Dust thou art\u00a0and unto dust shalt thou return should be relaxed<\/strong>, the fallen body\u00a0being united ineffably to the Word That quickeneth all things.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) \u2013 Commentary on Gospel of St. John<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For by the\u00a0<strong>effect of His precious cross<\/strong> the sovereignty of the devil was\u00a0doomed to fall to eternal ruin; <strong>death was to be deprived of its\u00a0sting<\/strong>, and the sway of corruption to be destroyed; <strong>the\u00a0 human race\u00a0was to be freed from that ancient curse<\/strong>, and to be enabled\u00a0through the gracious love of our Saviour Christ to <strong>hope for the\u00a0annulling of the sentence: Earth thou art, and to earth shalt thou\u00a0return<\/strong>; all iniquity, in the words of the prophet, was to stop her\u00a0mouth, and those in all the world that know not Him Who alone is\u00a0in His nature God were to be utterly brought to nought, and no\u00a0longer to condemn those that had been in her power but were\u00a0justified by faith in Christ; <strong>and for the time to come the gate of\u00a0paradise was to be expected to be opened.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The below quote is among many quotes refuting the modern deviant view that asserts that death was merely a &#8220;natural consequence&#8221; to sin and not also a divine punishment. St. Cyril explains that death was a &#8220;Divine sentence&#8221; and that the Savior ended God&#8217;s anger when He overthrow death which prevailed from God&#8217;s curse:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) \u2013 Commentary on Gospel of St. John, Book V, Chap IV<br \/>\n<\/strong>Hearest thou how to the Jews asking a sign as a proof that He is God by Nature, even though they said it tempting Him, He says that no other shall be shewn to them save the sign of the prophet Jonas, i. e. the three days death and the coming to life again from the dead? For what token of God-befitting authority so great and manifest, as to undo death and overthrow decay, <strong>albeit by Divine sentence having the mastery over human nature<\/strong>? For in Adam it heard, Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return; <strong>but it was in the power of Christ the Saviour both to end His Anger, and by blessings to overthrow the death which from His curse prevailed.<\/strong> But that the Jews exceedingly feared the sign of the resurrection as mighty to convince that Christ is by Nature God, their final deed will clearly tell us, for when they heard of the Resurrection of the Saviour, and that He was not found in the tomb, terrified and exceeding fearful thereat, they planned to buy off the informations of the soldiers by large money.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a id=\"dd\"><\/a><strong>Divine Dilemma (Truth vs. Mercy)<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the Church fathers, death was a &#8220;penalty for transgression&#8221; which could not be &#8220;repealed&#8221; otherwise God would be &#8220;untrue&#8221;. The &#8220;sentence of death&#8221; had to be &#8220;fulfilled&#8221;, but God in His mercy, wished to save humanity. Although speaking only in human terms, St. Athanasius presented this dichotomy between God&#8217;s truth (judgment) vs. mercy as the &#8220;Divine Dilemma&#8221;:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id6a0134c5a5585\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Scriptural References&gt;&gt;\"    >Scriptural References&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id6a0134c5a5585\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Exodus 34:6-7 (Septuagint)<\/strong><br \/>\nThe Lord God, <strong>pitiful and merciful, longsuffering and very compassionate,<\/strong> and true, and <strong>keeping justice and mercy<\/strong> for thousands, taking away iniquity, and unrighteousness, and sins; and <strong>he will not clear the guilty<\/strong>; bringing the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and to the children\u2019s children, to the third and fourth generation<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Psalm 85:10<br \/>\nMercy<\/strong> and <strong>truth<\/strong> are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Psalm 89:14<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> <strong>Justice<\/strong> and <strong>judgment<\/strong> <i>are<\/i> the habitation of thy throne: <strong>mercy<\/strong> and <strong>truth<\/strong> shall go before thy face.<span class=\"p\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Psalm 33: 5<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> The LORD loves righteousness and <strong>justice<\/strong>; the earth is full of his <strong>unfailing love<\/strong>.<span class=\"p\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Psalm 101:1<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> I will sing of <strong>mercy<\/strong> and <strong>judgment<\/strong>: unto thee, O LORD, will I sing.<span class=\"p\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Psalm 103:6-10 (Septuagint)<\/strong><br \/>\nThe Lord <strong>executes mercy and judgment<\/strong> for all that are injured. He made known his ways to Moses, his will to the children of Israel. <strong>The Lord is compassionate and pitiful, long-suffering, and full of mercy.\u00a0He will not be always angry;<\/strong> <strong>neither will he be wrathful<\/strong> <strong>for ever.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Psalm 119:149-150 (Septuagint)<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hear my voice, O Lord, <strong>according to thy mercy<\/strong>; quicken me <strong>according to thy judgment.<\/strong> They <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">have drawn nigh who persecuted me unlawfully; and they are far removed from thy law<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Sirach 18:20<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Before judgment examine thyself<\/strong>, and in the day of visitation <strong>thou shalt find mercy.<\/strong> Humble thyself before thou be sick, and in the time of sins shew repentance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Jeremiah 9:24 (Septuagint)<\/strong><br \/>\nBut let him that boasts boast in this, the understanding and knowing that I am the Lord that <strong>exercise mercy, and judgment<\/strong>, and righteousness, upon the earth; for in these things is my pleasure, saith the Lord.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Jeremiah 9:24<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> But let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises <strong>kindness<\/strong>, <strong>justice<\/strong> and <strong>righteousness<\/strong> on earth, for in these I delight,&#8221; declares the LORD.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"line1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Deuteronomy 32:39-41<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. <strong>I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal,<\/strong> and no one can deliver out of my hand. I lift my hand to heaven and solemnly swear: As surely as I live forever, when I sharpen my flashing sword and my hand grasps it in <strong>judgment, <\/strong>I will take vengeance on my adversaries and repay those who hate me.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Sirach 5:6<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span id=\"en-RSV-32381\" class=\"text Sir-5-6\">Do not say, \u201cHis <strong>mercy<\/strong> is great,\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"indent-1\"><span class=\"indent-1-breaks\">\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"text Sir-5-6\">he will forgive\u00a0the multitude of my sins,\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span class=\"text Sir-5-6\">for <strong>both mercy and wrath are with him<\/strong>,\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"indent-1\"><span class=\"text Sir-5-6\">and his <strong>anger<\/strong> rests on sinners.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romans 2:5<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Or do you show contempt for the <strong>riches of his kindness<\/strong>, <strong>forbearance<\/strong> and <strong>patience<\/strong>, not realizing that God&#8217;s <strong>kindness<\/strong> is intended to lead you to repentance?But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up <strong>wrath<\/strong> against yourself for the day of <strong>God&#8217;s wrath<\/strong>, when his righteous <strong>judgment<\/strong> will be revealed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romans 11:22<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>Consider therefore the <strong>kindness<\/strong> and <strong>sternness<\/strong> of God: <strong>sternness<\/strong> to those who fell, but <strong>kindness<\/strong> to you, provided that you continue in his <strong>kindness<\/strong>. Otherwise, you also will be <strong>cut off<\/strong>.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span class=\"p\"><strong>Ephesians 2:3-4<\/strong><br \/>\nAmong them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the \u00a0flesh and of the mind, and were by nature <strong>children of wrath<\/strong>, even as the rest.\u00a0But God, being <strong>rich in mercy<\/strong>, because of <strong>His great lov<\/strong>e with which <strong>He loved us<\/strong>,\u00a0even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),<br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>James 2:13<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">For <strong>judgment<\/strong> is without <strong>mercy<\/strong> to the one who has shown no mercy.\u00a0Mercy triumphs over judgment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Revelation 3:19<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Those whom I <strong>love<\/strong> I <strong>rebuke<\/strong> and <strong>discipline<\/strong>. So be earnest and repent.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p>Per St. Athanasius, death had a legal hold over us, but God&#8217;s goodness would not allow humanity to remain in the corruption of death:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) &#8211; On the Incarnation of the Word<br \/>\n<\/strong>For <strong>death<\/strong>, as I said above, <strong>gained\u00a0from that time forth a legal hold over us<\/strong>, and it was <strong>impossible to evade the law, since it\u00a0had been laid down by God<\/strong> because of the transgression, and the result was in truth at\u00a0once monstrous and unseemly. For <strong>it were monstrous, firstly, that <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">God, having spoken,\u00a0should prove false<\/span><\/strong>\u2014that, when once He had ordained that man, if he transgressed the\u00a0commandment, should die the death, after the transgression man should not die, <strong>but God\u2019s\u00a0word should be broken.<\/strong> <strong>For God would not be true, if, when He had said we should die, man died not<\/strong>&#8230;It was, then, <strong>out of the question to leave men to the current of corruption;\u00a0because this would be unseemly, and unworthy of <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">God\u2019s goodness<\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0But just as this consequence must needs hold, so, too, on the other side the <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>just claims\u00a0of God<\/strong><\/span> lie against it: that <strong>God should appear true to the law He had laid down concerning\u00a0death.<\/strong> For it were <strong>monstrous for God, the Father of truth, to appear a liar for our profit and\u00a0preservation.<\/strong> So here, once more, what possible course was God to take? To demand repentance of men for their transgression?&#8230;But <strong>repentance would, firstly,\u00a0fail to guard the <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">just claim of God<\/span>.<\/strong> <strong>For He would still be none the more true<\/strong>, if men did\u00a0not remain in the grasp of death; nor, secondly, does repentance call men back from what\u00a0is their nature\u2014it merely stays them from acts of sin.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">God&#8217;s judgment is tempered by His mercy:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) &#8211; Letter to Marcellinus<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> And when you have yourself\u00a0experienced His power in <strong>judgement<\/strong> (for always His <strong>justice<\/strong> is tempered by His <strong>mercy<\/strong>) the next Psalm [101] will express your need.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. Cyril of Alexandria explained that Christ is mercy and justice:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) \u2013 Commentary on Gospel of St. Luke<br \/>\n<\/strong>Christ\u00a0is\u00a0<strong>mercy\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0<strong>justice<\/strong>: for we have obtained <strong>mercy<\/strong> through Him, and been justified, having washed away the stains of wickedness through faith that is in Him.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id6a0134c5a5597\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"More quotes&gt;&gt;\"    >More quotes&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id6a0134c5a5597\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) &#8211; Contra Arianos<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Not as being subject to laws, and biassed to one side, does He love the one and hate the other,\u00a0lest, if from fear of falling away He chooses the one, we admit that He is alterable otherwise also; but, as being God and the Father\u2019s Word, <strong>He is a just judge and lover of virtue<\/strong>, or rather its dispenser.\u00a0Therefore being just and holy by nature, on this account He is said to <strong>love righteousness and to\u00a0hate iniquity<\/strong>; as much as to say, that He loves and chooses the virtuous, and rejects and hates the\u00a0unrighteous.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) \u2013 Commentary on Gospel of St. John<br \/>\n<\/strong>But now attend carefully, for I am about to take up again the question proposed at first. God declares Himself to shew His <strong>kindness<\/strong> and His incomparable love of \u00a0men in a <strong>manner suitable to Deity<\/strong>&#8230;The Lord is long-suffering and of <strong>great mercy<\/strong> and true, <strong>forgiving transgressions and iniquities and sins<\/strong>; and He will <strong>by no means clear the guilty<\/strong>, visiting the sins of fathers upon children unto the third and fourth generation. Forgive this people their sin according to <strong>Thy great mercy,<\/strong> as Thou hast been favourable to them from Egypt even until now. It appears therefore that He Who is God over all attributes to Himself <strong>love of men<\/strong> and the greatest forbearance towards evil.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Agpeya (Coptic Orthodox daily book of prayers) &#8211; A Prayer for Repentance \u00a0<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Do not judge me according to Your justice, but\u00a0according to Your mercy<\/strong> for no one will be justified\u00a0before You. Dress me in a new attire that befits Your glory. Forgive my sins and I shall sing saying: \u201cBlessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.\u201d I said I will confess my sins to the Lord, and You cleansed me. Amen.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a id=\"divinedilemma\"><\/a><strong>Solution to the &#8220;Divine Dilemma&#8221;<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id6a0134c5a55a9\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Scriptural references&gt;&gt;\"    >Scriptural references&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id6a0134c5a55a9\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romans 3:25-26<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,\u00a0through the shedding of his blood\u2014to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate <strong>his righteousness<\/strong>, because in his forbearance he <strong>had left the sins committed beforehand<\/strong> <strong>unpunished<\/strong>\u2014\u00a0he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as <strong>to be just<\/strong> and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to St. Athanasius, it was unworthy of God&#8217;s goodness to let man die, but He also wished to maintain God&#8217;s just claims regarding the <em>&#8220;sentence of death&#8221;<\/em>, otherwise God&#8217;s word would be untrue. God could simply require repentance, but doing so would not guard the &#8220;divine consistency&#8221;, and God would appear a liar if man did not die on account of transgression. Neither would mere repentance recall men from the subsequent corruption of their nature. Only the Word could be an ambassador with the Father and die as a\u00a0<em>&#8220;sufficient exchange for all&#8221;<\/em>. Because He is immortal, the Word took a human body capable of dying, surrendered it to death, and offered it to the Father as a sufficient &#8220;exchange&#8221; and &#8220;substitute&#8221; for all. In doing so, He saved humanity by fulfilling through his death the &#8220;penalty&#8221; and &#8220;sentence&#8221; of death that was required for all, as well as put an end to the corruption of death for all by His resurrection. Thus, was the solution to the Divine Dilemma; by His incarnation and sacrifice, the Word demonstrated God&#8217;s great love, while at the same time He upheld the truth of God&#8217;s just sentence:<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius \u2013 On the Incarnation of the Word<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> As we have already noted, it was <strong>unthinkable that God, the Father of Truth, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">should<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> <strong>go back upon His word<\/strong> <\/span>regarding death in order to ensure our continued existence\u2026<strong>But repentance would not guard the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Divine consistency<\/span><\/strong>, for, if death did not hold dominion over men, <strong>God would still <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">remain untrue<\/span><\/strong>. For He alone, being Word of the Father and above all, was in consequence both able to recreate all, and worthy to <strong>suffer on behalf of all<\/strong> and to be an ambassador for all with the Father\u2026 He saw that <strong>corruption held us all the closer, because it was the penalty for the Transgression;<\/strong> He saw, too, how <strong>unthinkable it would be for the law to be repealed before it was fulfilled.<\/strong> He saw how unseemly it was that the very things of which He Himself was the Artificer should be disappearing\u2026Thus, taking a body like our own, because all our bodies were liable to the corruption of death, He surrendered His body to death <strong>instead<\/strong> <strong>of all<\/strong>, and offered it <strong>to the Father<\/strong>\u2026The Word perceived that corruption could not be got rid of otherwise than through death; yet He Himself, as the Word, being immortal and the Father&#8217;s Son, was such as could not die. For this reason, therefore, He assumed a body capable of death, in order that it, through belonging to the Word Who is above all, might become in dying a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>sufficient<\/strong> <strong>exchange<\/strong> <strong>for all<\/strong><\/span>, and, itself remaining incorruptible through His indwelling, might thereafter put an end to corruption for all others as well, by the grace of the resurrection&#8230;For naturally, since the Word of God was above all, when He offered His own temple and bodily instrument as a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>substitute for the life of all, He fulfilled in death all that was required.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. Athanasius explained that in dying, Christ <em>&#8220;bore in Himself the wrath that was the penalty of our transgression&#8221;<\/em>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) &#8211; Letter to Marcellinus\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> And\u00a0Psalms 88\u00a0and 69, again speaking in the Lord&#8217;s own person, tell us further that He suffered these things, not for His own sake but for ours. Thou has made Thy <strong>wrath to rest upon me,<\/strong> says the one; and the other adds, I <strong>paid<\/strong> them things I never took.\u00a0For He did not die as being Himself liable to death: He suffered for us,\u00a0and <strong>bore in Himself the<\/strong> <strong>wrath<\/strong> that was the <strong>penalty of our transgression<\/strong>,\u00a0even as Isaiah says, Himself bore our weaknesses.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. Athanasius explained that in Christ, the <em>&#8220;undoing&#8221;<\/em> of the <em>&#8220;condemnation&#8221;<\/em> of death came to pass. Christ <em>&#8220;accomplished&#8221;<\/em> God&#8217;s\u00a0<em>&#8220;sentence of death&#8221;<\/em> on behalf of all, since <em>&#8220;all died in Christ&#8221;<\/em>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) &#8211; Contra Arianos, Discourse II, Chapter 21<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>\u2018Unless the Son shall make\u00a0you free;\u2019<\/strong> and the Son, who made free, has shewn in truth that He is no creature, nor one of\u00a0things originate, but the proper Word and Image of the Father\u2019s Essence, <strong>who at the beginning\u00a0sentenced, and alone remitteth sins. For since it is said in the Word, \u2018Dust thou art, and unto dust\u00a0thou shalt return,\u2019 suitably through the Word Himself and in Him the freedom and the undoing of\u00a0the condemnation has come to pass<\/strong>\u2026He sends His own Son, and He becomes Son of Man, by taking created flesh; that, since all were under <strong>sentence of death<\/strong>, He, being other than them all, might <strong>Himself for all offer<\/strong> to death His own body; and that henceforth, as if all had died through Him, the word of that <strong>sentence<\/strong> might be accomplished (<strong>for \u2018all died\u2019 in Christ<\/strong>), and all through Him might thereupon become free from sin and from the <strong>curse<\/strong> which came upon it, and might truly abide forever, risen from the dead and clothed in immortality and incorruption.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In other words, it was necessary for God to <em>&#8220;annul His own sentence&#8221;<\/em> via the condemnation of the sinless Christ:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) \u2013 Later Treatises of St. Athanasius,\u00a0Contra Apollinarium<br \/>\n<\/strong>For this reason the action of Him who had pronounced <strong>sentence<\/strong> became necessary, that He might by His own act <strong>annul His own sentence<\/strong>, after He had been seen in the form of <strong>him that was condemned<\/strong>, but in that form as <strong>uncondemned and sinless<\/strong>; that the reconciliation of God to man might come to pass, and the freedom of the whole of man might be effected by means of man, in the newness\u00a0of the image of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. Athanasius further explained that the curse for sin was removed because it was transferred to the Word, Who became a &#8220;curse for us&#8221;:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) &#8211; Discourses Against the Arians<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> For\u00a0no longer according to that former generation in Adam do\u00a0we die; but henceforward, our generation and all infirmity\u00a0of flesh being <strong>transferred to the Word<\/strong>, we rise from the\u00a0earth, <strong>the curse by reason of sin being removed<\/strong>, because\u00a0of Him who is in us and who has <strong>become a curse for us<\/strong>.\u00a0And with reason; for as we are all from earth and die in\u00a0Adam, so being regenerated from above of water and\u00a0Spirit, in the Christ we are all quickened&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Once again, the law [of God] regarding the penalty of death was fulfilled in Christ and undone. Because all died in Him, death no longer has holding-ground against them:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius \u2013 On the Incarnation of the Word<br \/>\n<\/strong>But He comes in condescension to <strong>shew loving-kindness upon us<\/strong>, and to visit us. And\u00a0seeing the race of rational creatures in the way to perish, and death reigning over them by\u00a0corruption; seeing, too, that the threat against transgression gave a firm hold to the corruption\u00a0which was upon us, and that it was <strong>monstrous that before the law was fulfilled it should\u00a0fall through<\/strong>&#8230;and seeing, lastly, how<strong> all men were under penalty of death<\/strong>: He <strong>took\u00a0pity on our race<\/strong>, and <strong>had mercy on our infirmity<\/strong>, and condescended to our corruption,\u00a0and, unable to bear that death should have the mastery\u2014lest the creature should perish,\u00a0and His Father\u2019s handiwork in men be spent for nought&#8230;And thus taking from\u00a0our bodies one of like nature, because all were <strong>under penalty of the corruption of death<\/strong> He\u00a0gave it over to death <strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">in the stead of all<\/span>,<\/span> and offered it to the Father<\/strong>\u2014doing this, moreover,\u00a0of His <strong>loving-kindness<\/strong>, to the end that, firstly, <strong>all being held to have died in Him<\/strong>, the <strong>law\u00a0involving the ruin of men might be undone<\/strong> (inasmuch as <strong>its power was fully spent in the\u00a0Lord\u2019s body, and had no longer holding-ground against men<\/strong>, his peers), and that, secondly,\u00a0whereas men had turned toward corruption, He might turn them again toward incorruption\u00a0and quicken them from death by the appropriation of His body and by the grace of the\u00a0Resurrection, banishing death from them like straw from the fire<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">And again, because Christ died on behalf of all <em>&#8220;in fulfillment of the threat of the law&#8221;<\/em>, we no longer die. The condemnation of death has come to an end:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) \u2013 On the Incarnation<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Have no fears then. Now that the common Savior of all has died on our behalf, we who believe in Christ no longer die, as men died aforetime, in <strong>fulfillment of the threat of the law. That condemnation has come to an end;<\/strong> and now that, by the grace of the resurrection, corruption has been banished and done away, we are loosed from our mortal bodies in God&#8217;s good time for each, so that we may obtain thereby a better resurrection.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Indeed, the Word instructed, healed, sanctified, and elevated fallen humanity via His incarnation and personal manifestation in the flesh. However, the Creator didn&#8217;t &#8220;need&#8221; to experience physical death to abolish the corruption of death for all. As evidence, Christ raised the daughter of Jairus and the Widow of Nain\u2019s son, by His command. The Life-Giver raised Lazarus from the corruption of death after four days, by His mere command. According to the Church fathers, God could have simply repealed His sentence, but this would not have guarded the &#8220;Divine consistency&#8221;, nor would it have renewed humanity&#8217;s fallen image. He choose instead, to annul His own sentence by fulfilling it in Himself, and thus He ransomed all from the debt of death by His own righteous blood. He choose to renew (&#8220;deify&#8221;) humanity by His incarnation, as well as to abolish the corruption of death for all by the power of His own resurrection. Thus, He choose a solution that fulfilled the truth of God&#8217;s just judgment, while at the same time manifested the fullness of His compassion and loving-kindness:\u00a0<em>&#8220;Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.&#8221; (Psalm 85:10).<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id6a0134c5a55ba\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"More quotes&gt;&gt;\"    >More quotes&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id6a0134c5a55ba\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Fr. Tadros Malaty &#8211; Lecures in Patrology, Book One<br \/>\n<\/strong>\u201cBeing the Son of God, one and equal with the Father in the same essence (ousia), He offered Himself as a <strong>self-sacrifice<\/strong> that can <strong>pay<\/strong> our <strong>debt<\/strong> of sins and achieve <strong>divine justice<\/strong> and <strong>mercy<\/strong> at the same time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Fr. Tadros Malaty \u2013 Commentary on Isaiah<br \/>\n<\/strong>There was a great need for the Son of God, the One with the Father and the equal in essence, to offer Himself a Sacrifice that is capable of <strong>repaying<\/strong> the <strong>debt<\/strong> of our sins, and, at the same time, of realizing <strong>divine<\/strong> <strong>justice<\/strong> and <strong>mercy<\/strong>\u2026St.\u00a0 John\u00a0 Chrysostom\u00a0 says, \u201c\u2026[God did not <strong>condemn<\/strong> us for our several transgressions that we committed against Him despite His goodness to us, but, instead, gave us His Son; whom He turned, for our sake, into sin&#8230; <strong>He forsook Him to be convicted and to die as someone cursed<\/strong>&#8230;He, who did not know sin, He made Him as a sinner and a sin&#8230;He is like a king, watching a thief about to be executed, He sends His only Son, to put on Him the <strong>criminal\u2019s<\/strong> <strong>guilt<\/strong>, and even death itself! All that for the sake of salvation of the <strong>guilty<\/strong>, to lift him up to a great dignity.]\u00a0 [The Lord Christ <strong>paid<\/strong> more than we deserve, as an ocean is compared to a drop of water.]\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a id=\"ddd\"><\/a><strong>Christ Paid the Debt (&#8220;Ransom&#8221;)<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id6a0134c5a55d6\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Scriptural references&gt;&gt;\"    >Scriptural references&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id6a0134c5a55d6\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Matthew 18: 23-27<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> <span class=\"red\">Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.<\/span> <span class=\"red\">As he began the settlement, a man who <strong>owed him<\/strong> ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him.<\/span> <span class=\"red\">Since he was <strong>not able to pay<\/strong>, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be <strong>sold to repay the debt<\/strong>. <\/span><span class=\"red\">At this the servant fell on his knees before him. \u2018Be patient with me,\u2019 he begged, \u2018and I will pay back everything.\u2019 <\/span><span class=\"red\">The servant\u2019s master took pity on him,<strong> canceled the debt<\/strong> and let him go.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Mark 8:36-37<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?\u00a0Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Hosea 13:14<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I\u00a0will <strong>ransom<\/strong> them from the power of Sheol; I will <strong>redeem<\/strong> them from death:\u00a0O death, where are thy plagues? O Sheol, where is thy destruction?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Psalm 49:7<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> None\u00a0of them\u00a0can by any means redeem his brother, nor give <strong>to God<\/strong> <strong>a<\/strong> <strong>ransom<\/strong> for him: the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span class=\"reftext\"><b>Psalm 118: 17-18<br \/>\n<\/b><\/span><span class=\"black\"><strong>I shall not die, but live<\/strong>, and declare the works of the LORD.\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"black\">The LORD has chastened me severely: but <strong>he has not given me over unto death<\/strong>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Isaiah 43: 1-4\u00a0 (Septuagint)<\/strong><br \/>\nAnd now thus saith the Lord God that made thee, O Jacob, and formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for <strong>I have redeemed thee<\/strong>, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. And if thou pass through water, I am with thee; and the rivers shall not overflow thee: and if thou go through fire, thou shalt not be burned; the flame shall not burn thee. For I am the Lord thy God, <strong>the Holy One of Israel, that saves thee<\/strong>: I have made <strong>Egypt and Ethiopia thy ransom<\/strong>, and given Soene for thee. Since thou becamest precious in my sight, thou hast become glorious, and I have loved thee: and I will give men for thee, and princes for thy life<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Jeremiah 38:10-11 (Septuagint)<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hear the words of the Lord, ye nations, and proclaim them to the islands afar off; say, He <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">that scattered Israel will also gather him, and keep him as one that feeds his flock. <strong>For the <\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Lord has ransomed Jacob<\/strong>, he has rescued him out of the hand of them that were stronger than <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">he.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Zephaniah 3:14-15 (Septuagint)<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Rejoice, O daughter of Sion; cry aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem; rejoice and delight thyself with all thine heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The Lord has taken away thine iniquities, <strong>he has ransomed thee from the hand of thine enemies<\/strong>: the Lord, the King of Israel, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"red\" style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Mark 10:45<\/strong><br \/>\nFor even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a <strong>ransom<\/strong> for many.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"regular\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span class=\"black\"><strong>John 11:51-52<\/strong><br \/>\nNor consider that it is expedient for us, that <strong>one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span class=\"black\">And this spoke he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Acts 20:28<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which <strong>he bought with his own blood.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>1 Timothy 2:5<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a <strong>ransom<\/strong> for all people.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>1 Thessalonians 5:9<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">For God did not appoint us to suffer <strong>wrath<\/strong> but to <strong>receive salvation<\/strong> through our Lord Jesus Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romans 5:8-9<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">But God commends his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners,<strong> Christ died for us<\/strong>. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be <strong>saved from wrath<\/strong> through him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romans 8: 3-4<br \/>\n<\/strong>For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he\u00a0<strong>condemned<\/strong>\u00a0sin in the flesh,\u00a0in order that the\u00a0<strong>just<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>requirement<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>of the law\u00a0<\/strong>might be fulfilled in us<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Hebrews 9:15<br \/>\n<\/b>For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance\u2014now that he has <strong>died as a<\/strong> <strong>ransom<\/strong> to <strong>set them free from the sins<\/strong> committed under the first covenant.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>2 Cor 5:21<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> For He hath <strong>made him to be<\/strong> <strong>sin for us<\/strong>, who knew no sin; that <strong>we might be made the righteousness of God<\/strong> in Him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Hebrews 2:9<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower\u00a0than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and\u00a0honour; that he by the grace of God should <strong>taste death for every\u00a0man<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>1 Corinthians 6:20<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;you were <strong>bought at a price<\/strong>. Therefore honor God with your bodies.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">1 Thessalonians 1:9-10<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8230;and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead&#8211;Jesus, who <strong>rescues us from the coming wrath<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Colossians 2:13-14<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,\u00a0<strong>by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands<\/strong>. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">1 Peter 3:18<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">For Christ also suffered once for sins, the <strong>righteous for the unrighteous<\/strong>, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><\/div><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the early church fathers, Christ bore our sins in His body on the cross, as well as the consequent \u201cpenalty\u201d, \u201cchastisement\u201d, and \u201ccurse\u201d for sin. By His suffering and death, Christ &#8220;paid&#8221; our \u201cdebt\u201d for sin, which we could not pay. He &#8220;ransomed&#8221; and &#8220;redeemed&#8221; us from the condemnation of the Law. He exchanged our sinfulness with His righteousness and turned our &#8220;punishment into salvation&#8221;. Since none of this we could do on our own, Christ did so (as expressed in the language of the fathers) &#8220;in our stead&#8221;, &#8220;on our behalf&#8221;, and also as our\u00a0&#8220;substitute&#8221; and &#8220;exchange&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. Athanasius explains that Christ paid our debt and &#8220;ransomed&#8221; us when He\u00a0<em>&#8220;yielded His body to death as a substitute&#8221;<\/em><em>:<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) \u2013 On the Incarnation of the Word<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> And He, to <strong>pay our debt<\/strong> of death, must also die for us, and rise again as our first-fruits from the grave&#8230;<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Thus, taking a body like our own, because all our bodies were liable to the corruption of death, He surrendered His body to death <strong>instead of all<\/strong>, and offered it <strong>to the Father<\/strong>. This He did out of sheer love for us\u2026He it is that was crucified before the sun and all creation as witnesses, and before those who put Him to death: and by His death\u00a0has salvation come to all, and all creation been <strong>ransomed<\/strong>. He is the Life of all, and He it is that as a <strong>sheep yielded His body to death as a substitute<\/strong>, for the salvation of all, even though the Jews believe it not.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Per the Law of God, the soul that sins shall die. Christ laid down His own soul for our souls, paying a ransom on our behalf:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) \u00a0&#8211; Later Treatises, Treatise VIII<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Vain, then, is your sophism : for how could His\u00a0death have taken place, if the Word had not constituted for\u00a0Himself both our outward and inward man, that is, body\u00a0and soul? and how then <strong>did He pay a ransom for all<\/strong>, or\u00a0how was the loosening of the grasp of death completely\u00a0effected, if Christ had not constituted for Himself, in a\u00a0sinless state, that which had sinned intellectually, the\u00a0soul? In that case, death still &#8220;reigns&#8221; over the inward&#8217;\u00a0man: for over what did it ever reign, if not over the soul,\u00a0which had sinned intellectually, as it is written, <strong>The soul\u00a0&#8216;that sinneth, it shall die? on behalf of which Christ laid\u00a0down His own soul, (thus) paying a ransom.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. Athanasius speaks of death as an &#8220;exchange&#8221;, His body for our bodies and His soul for our souls:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) &#8211;\u00a0Contra Apollinarium,\u00a01.17<\/strong><br \/>\n<\/span> <span style=\"color: #000000;\"> But it was not possible to pay one thing as a <strong>ransom<\/strong> in <strong>exchange<\/strong> for a different thing on the contrary. He gave <strong>body for body, and soul for soul<\/strong>, and a perfect existence for the whole of man : this is Christ&#8217;s <strong>exchange<\/strong>, which the Jews, the foes of life, insulted at the crucifixion, as they passed by and shook their heads. For neither did Hades endure the approach of a Godhead unveiled; this is attested both by prophets and apostles.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Christ put away death from His peers by offering of an &#8220;equivalent&#8221;. He satisfied the debt of death by His death:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) \u2013 On the Incarnation\u00a0of the Word<br \/>\n<\/strong>For the Word, perceiving that no otherwise could the <strong>corruption of men be undone\u00a0save by death as a necessary condition<\/strong>, while it was impossible for the Word to suffer death,\u00a0being immortal, and Son of the Father; to this end He takes to Himself a body capable of\u00a0death, that it, by partaking of the Word Who is above all, <strong>might be worthy to die in the stead of all,<\/strong> and might, because of the Word which was come to dwell in it, remain incorruptible,\u00a0and that thenceforth corruption might be stayed from all by the Grace of the Resurrection.\u00a0Whence, by offering unto death the body He Himself had taken, as an offering and sacrifice\u00a0free from any stain, straightway <strong>He put away death from all His peers by the offering of an\u00a0equivalent.<\/strong> <strong>For being over all, the Word of God naturally by offering His own temple and\u00a0corporeal instrument for the life of all satisfied the debt by His death.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. Cyril explained that in order to abolish sin, Christ <em>&#8220;bore our sins&#8221;<\/em> and paid in Himself the<em> &#8220;penalties for the charges of sin against us&#8221;<\/em>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) \u2013 Exposition of Old Testament Law<br \/>\n<\/strong>The Only-begotten was made man, bore a body by nature at enmity with death, and became flesh, so that, enduring the death which was hanging over us as the result of our sin, he might abolish sin; and further, that he might put an end to the accusations of Satan, inasmuch as we have <strong>paid in Christ himself the<\/strong> <strong>penalties<\/strong> for the charges <strong>of sin against us<\/strong>: \u2018For he\u00a0<strong>bore our sins<\/strong>, and was wounded because of us\u2019, according to the voice of the prophet.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Christ ransomed us from the accusations of sin\u00a0 by paying the penalties of sin on our behalf:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) \u2013 Commentary on the Gospel of St. John, Book VIII<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto\u00a0Myself. Howbeit, after that Christ had given Himself <strong>unto the Father<\/strong> for our salvation as a <strong>Spotless Victim<\/strong>, and was now on the point of <strong>paying the<\/strong> <strong>penalties<\/strong> that He suffered <strong>on our behalf<\/strong>, we were <strong>ransomed<\/strong> <strong>from the accusations of sin<\/strong>. And so, when the beast\u00a0has been removed from our midst, and the tyrant is deposed, then\u00a0Christ brings unto Himself the race that had strayed away, calling\u00a0not only Jews but all mankind as well unto salvation through the faith that is in Him. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Again, we are justified and healed because Christ paid the penalty of our sins. We are restored to our original state via the cross:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) \u2013 Commentary on the Gospel of St. John,\u00a0BOOK XII<br \/>\n<\/strong>For our sake <strong>He paid the penalty<\/strong> for our sins.\u00a0For though He was One that suffered, yet was He far above any creature, as God, and more precious than the life of all. Therefore, as the Psalmist says, the mouth of all lawlessness was stopped, and the tongue of sin was silenced, unable any more to speak against sinners. <strong>For we are justified, now that Christ has paid the penalty for us;<\/strong> for by His stripes we are healed, according to the Scripture. <strong>And just as by the Cross the sin of our revolt was perfected<\/strong>, so <strong>also by the Cross was achieved our return to our original state<\/strong>, and the acceptable recovery of heavenly blessings; Christ, as it were, gathering up into Himself, for us, the very fount and origin of our infirmity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. Cyril also speaks of death in light of\u00a0 a <em>&#8220;Divine curse&#8221;<\/em> and of suffering as a just <em>&#8220;punishment&#8221;<\/em> that we deserved for sin. He then goes on to say that Christ&#8217;s sufferings<em>\u00a0&#8220;procured a ransom owing to His love for the Father&#8221;:<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) \u2013 Commentary on the Gospel of St. John, Book X<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Adam, the author of our race, underwent death by a <strong>Divine curse<\/strong>, through his breaking the commandment given to him, accused by himself and the devil. He indeed seems to have<strong> suffered for good reason,<\/strong> since the doom of <strong>punishment<\/strong> <strong>justly<\/strong> pursues those who have sinned from indolence; but the second Adam, that is our Lord Jesus Christ, Who can have no such charge brought against Him at all, for He did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth, underwent His sufferings for us, having of Himself no responsibility whatever for them, but by <strong>His sufferings<\/strong> <strong>procured a ransom for the world<\/strong><strong>,<\/strong> owing to His love for the Father, Who yearned for the salvation of the world.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #0a0a0a; font-style: normal;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. John Chrysostom explains that by suffering the punishment we deserved on the cross, Christ did away with both the sin and punishment:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom (349 &#8211; 407 AD)\u00a0\u2013 Homilies on Colossians<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Seest thou how great His earnestness that the bond should be done away? To wit, we all were under sin and <strong>punishment<\/strong>. He Himself, through suffering <strong>punishment<\/strong>, did away with both the sin and the <strong>punishment<\/strong>, and He was <strong>punished <\/strong>on the Cross.\u00a0To the Cross then He affixed it; as having power, He tore it asunder.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Christ bore our punishment and paid our debt. This is also expressed in the Church&#8217;s liturgical texts:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Fraction to the Son &#8211; Divine Liturgy<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> He ascended upon the Cross that He may bear the <strong>punishment<\/strong> of our sins. We are the ones who sinned, and He is the One who suffered. We are the ones who were <strong>indebted<\/strong><strong>to<\/strong><strong>divine<\/strong><strong>justice<\/strong> because of our sins, and He was the One who <strong>paid\u00a0the debts on our behalf.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Those who uphold the Christus Victor model try to deny Christ&#8217;s substitutionary death by arguing: <em>&#8220;Christ did not die instead of us since we still die.&#8221; <\/em>But by this argument they deny their own faith in the resurrection. For how do they claim to believe that <em>&#8220;Christ conquered death by death&#8221;<\/em> if they deny that Christ died instead of us on the grounds that we still die? And if <em>&#8220;we still die&#8221;<\/em> how did Christ &#8220;conquer death by death&#8221;, according to their atonement Model? Thus, if these truly believe their own argument, they contradict their own faith in the resurrection, as well as reveal their lack of comprehension that it was not only from physical death that Christ came to resurrect us, but every more importantly, from spiritual death&#8211;the death of sin:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">He in our stead paid our debts: <strong>He bore our sins;<\/strong> and as it is written, <strong>&#8220;in our stead He was stricken.&#8221;<\/strong> &#8220;He took them up in His own body on the tree:&#8221; for it is true that <strong>&#8220;by His bruises we are healed.&#8221;\u00a0<\/strong>He too was <strong>sick because\u00a0of our sins<\/strong>, and we are delivered from the sicknesses of the soul. &#8211; St. Cyril of Alexandria (Gospel According to St. Luke)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Yet even if we do still die physically (until the resurrection of our bodies at the Second Coming), the physical death we die is no longer called &#8220;death&#8221;, but is called &#8220;sleep&#8221; or departure, on account of the Lord&#8217;s death instead of us.\u00a0 As St. Cyril also explained:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> For henceforth, by the death of Christ, <strong>death for us has been transformed, in a manner, into sleep, with like power and functions.<\/strong> For we are alive unto God, and shall live for evermore, to the Scriptures. <strong>Therefore, also, the blessed Paul, in a variety of places, calls those asleep who have died in Christ.<\/strong> For in the times of old the dread presence of death held human nature in awe. For death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the likeness of Adam&#8217;s transgression; <strong>and we bore the image of the earthy in his likeness, and underwent the death that was inflicted by the Divine curse<\/strong>. But when the Second Adam appeared among us, the Divine Man from heaven, and, contending for the salvation of the world, <strong>purchased by His death the life of all men, and, destroying the power of corruption<\/strong>, rose again to life, we were transformed into His Image, and <strong>undergo, as it were, a different kind of death, that does not dissolve us in eternal corruption, but casts upon us a slumber which is laden with fair hope, after the Likeness of Him Who has made this new path for us, that is, Christ. &#8211; <\/strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (Gospel According to St. John, Book XII)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id6a0134c5a55e8\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"More patristic quotes&gt;&gt;\"    >More patristic quotes&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id6a0134c5a55e8\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) \u2013 On the Incarnation\u00a0of the Word<br \/>\n<\/strong>But beyond all this, there\u00a0was a <strong>debt owing which must needs be paid;<\/strong> for, as I said before, all men were due to die.\u00a0Here, then, is the second reason why the Word dwelt among us, namely that having proved\u00a0His Godhead by His works, He might offer the <strong>sacrifice on behalf of all<\/strong>, surrendering His\u00a0own temple to death in place of all, to settle man&#8217;s account with death and <strong>free him from\u00a0the primal transgression<\/strong>. In the same act also He showed Himself mightier than death, displaying His own body incorruptible as the first-fruits of the resurrection&#8230;<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For there was <strong>need of death<\/strong>, and death must needs be suffered on behalf of all, that the <strong>debt owing from all might be paid<\/strong>. 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 <strong>in the stead of all<\/strong>, and as suffering, through His union with it, on behalf of all, \u201cBring 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.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) \u2013 On the Incarnation\u00a0of the Word<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">But since it\u00a0was <strong>necessary also that the debt owing from all should be paid<\/strong> again: for, as I have already\u00a0said, <strong>it was owing that all should die, for which especial cause, indeed, He came among\u00a0us:<\/strong> to this intent, after the proofs of His Godhead from His works, He next offered up His\u00a0sacrifice also on behalf of all, <strong>yielding His Temple to death in the stead of all<\/strong>, in order firstly\u00a0to make men quit and free of their old trespass, and further to shew Himself more powerful\u00a0even than death, displaying His own body incorruptible, as first-fruits of the resurrection\u00a0of all. And do not be surprised if we frequently repeat the same words on the same\u00a0subject&#8230;<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The body, then, as sharing the same nature\u00a0with all, for it was a human body, though by an unparalleled miracle it was formed of a\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">virgin only, <strong>yet being mortal, was to die also, conformably to its peers.<\/strong> But by virtue of the\u00a0union of the Word with it, it was no longer subject to corruption according to its own nature,\u00a0but by reason of the Word that was come to dwell in it it was placed out of the reach of\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">corruption. And so it was that <strong>two marvels came to pass at once<\/strong>, <strong>that the death of all was\u00a0accomplished in the Lord\u2019s body, and that death and corruption were wholly done away by\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>reason of the Word that was united with it.<\/strong> For there was need of death, and death must\u00a0needs be suffered on behalf of all, <strong>that the debt owing from all might be paid.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) &#8211; Against the Arians, Discourse IV<br \/>\n<\/strong>And again, since God\u2019s work, that is, man, though created perfect, has become wanting through the transgression, and dead by sin, and it was unbecoming that the work of God should remain imperfect (wherefore all the saints were praying concerning this, for instance in the hundred and thirty-seventh Psalm, saying, \u2018Lord, Thou shalt requite for me; despise not then the works of Thine hands\u2019); <strong>therefore the Word of God puts around Him an imperfect body, and is said to be created \u2018for the works;\u2019 that,<\/strong> <strong>paying<\/strong><strong> the debt in our stead<\/strong>, He might, by Himself, perfect what was wanting to man. Now immortality was wanting to him, and the way to paradise&#8230;He sends His own Son, and He becomes Son\u00a0 of Man, by taking created flesh; that, <strong>since all were under sentence of death, He, being other than them all, might Himself for all offer to death His own body<\/strong>; and that henceforth, as if all had died through Him, <strong>the word of that sentence might be accomplished<\/strong> (for \u2018all died in Christ), and all through Him might thereupon become free from sin and from the curse which came upon it, and might truly abide for ever, risen from the dead and clothed in immortality and incorruption.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em style=\"color: #0a0a0a;\"><\/div><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><a id=\"law\"><\/a><strong>Christ Fulfilled the Law<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id6a0134c5a5600\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Scriptural references&gt;&gt;\"    >Scriptural references&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id6a0134c5a5600\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Matthew 5:17<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Do not think that I have come to abolish the <strong>Law<\/strong> or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them <strong>but to fulfill<\/strong> them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Luke 24:44,46<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">He said to them, &#8220;This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything <strong>must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law<\/strong> of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.&#8221;&#8230;He told them, &#8220;This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>John 1:17<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> For the <strong>law<\/strong> was given through Moses; <strong>grace<\/strong> and truth came through Jesus Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romans 3:31<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we <strong>uphold the law<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romans 4:15<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">because the <strong>law brings wrath<\/strong>. And where there is no law there is no transgression.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romans 5:16<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man\u2019s sin: <strong>The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation,<\/strong> but the <strong>gift followed<\/strong> many trespasses and <strong>brought justification.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romans 5:18<br \/>\n<\/strong>Consequently,<strong> just as one trespass resulted in condemnation<\/strong> for all people, so also <strong>one righteous act resulted in justification <\/strong>and life for all people<strong>.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romans 6:14<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are <strong>not under the law<\/strong>, but under grace.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Romans 7:1, 2, 4<br \/>\n<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Do you not know, brothers and sisters\u2014for I am speaking to those who know the law\u2014that the law has authority over someone only as long as that person lives?\u00a0For example, by law a married woman is <strong>bound to her husband as long as he is alive<\/strong>, <strong>but if her husband dies, she is released from the law<\/strong> that binds her to him&#8230;So, my brothers and sisters, you also <strong>died to the law<\/strong> <strong>through the body of Christ<\/strong>, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romans 8:3-4<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">For what the <strong>law could not do<\/strong>, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the <strong>likeness of sinful flesh<\/strong>, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the <strong>righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us<\/strong>, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romans 11:32<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Galatians 3:10, 13<\/strong><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: &#8220;Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law&#8230;<strong>Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us<\/strong>, for it is written: &#8220;Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2 Corinthians 5:14\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">For Christ&#8217;s love compels us, because we are convinced that<strong> one died for all, and therefore all died.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Ephesians 2:15<br \/>\n<\/strong>Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, <strong>even the law of commandments contained in ordinances<\/strong>; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Colossians 2:13-14<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,\u00a0<strong>by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands<\/strong>. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Galatians 4:4-5<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, <strong>born under the law,\u00a0to redeem those under the law<\/strong>, that we might receive adoption to sonship.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-style: normal;\"><\/div><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Those who subscribe to a modern soteriology that denies a juridical dimension to the redemption argue that God deals with us as children, not as criminals in a court room. While this is true and pleasing to the ear, this modern view denies how we got to this state of grace in the first place. Prior to the cross, sinners were bound by legal ordinances of the Law, subject to curse and condemnation for sin. Prior to the grace of the New Testament, those who blasphemed, committed adultery, cursed parents, etc. were put to death as criminals without mercy under the Law of Moses. This Law was put in place by God. Thus, to argue that God does not punish and only deals with us as children is to argue that God changes and\/or that the God of the Old Testament is not the God of the New Testament.\u00a0Indeed we are under grace and not under the Law through Christ, but this only the case for those who enjoy the rebirth by adoption through faith in Christ and baptism as children of God. But this grace was only given after Christ redeemed sinners from the curse of the Law, having suffered the accursed death of the cross (Galatians 3:13) on their behalf. This was only possible after Christ cancelled<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><em>&#8220;the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross&#8221;<\/em>\u00a0(Colossians 2:13-14). Prior to this, God\u00a0&#8220;bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.&#8221; (Romans 11:32).\u00a0<\/span>Apart from this grace of adoption, whoever denies Christ, &#8220;the wrath of God abides on him&#8221; (John 3:36). Thus, those who deny the juridical element to our redemption, not only imply that the God of the New Testament is a different God than the God of the Old Testament, but also deny how we were transitioned from the condemnation of Law to grace, as children of God. As previously discussed, St. Athanasius explained that death gained a <em>&#8220;legal&#8221;<\/em> hold over us, and it was impossible to evade the law because it was laid down by God for transgression, and God&#8217;s word could not be broken:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) &#8211; On the Incarnation of the Word<br \/>\n<\/strong>For <strong>death<\/strong>, as I said above, <strong>gained\u00a0from that time forth a legal hold over us<\/strong>, and it was <strong>impossible to evade the law, since it\u00a0had been laid down by God<\/strong> because of the transgression, and the result was in truth at\u00a0once monstrous and unseemly. For <strong>it were monstrous, firstly, that God, having spoken,\u00a0should prove false<\/strong>\u2014that, when once He had ordained that man, if he transgressed the\u00a0commandment, should die the death, after the transgression man should not die, <strong>but God\u2019s\u00a0word should be broken.<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is written,<em> &#8220;Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law (Gal 3:10).&#8221; <\/em>But\u00a0Christ did not come to abolish the Law, but fulfill it (Matt 5:17). Thus, Christ came in the <em>&#8220;likeness of sinful flesh&#8221;<\/em> and by His obedience, He fulfilled the Law on our behalf in order that the &#8220;<em>just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us (Rom 8:3-4)&#8221;.\u00a0<\/em>St. Athanasius explains that Christ gave His body over to death in the stead of all so that the law of death would be fulfilled in Him (undone). Since all also died in Him, death no longer has holding-ground against men:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) &#8211; On the Incarnation of the Word<\/span><br \/>\n<\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">And thus taking from\u00a0our bodies one of like nature, because all were\u00a0<strong>under penalty of the corruption of death<\/strong>\u00a0He\u00a0gave it over to death\u00a0<strong>in the stead of all, and offered it to the Father<\/strong>\u2014doing this, moreover,\u00a0of His\u00a0<strong>loving-kindness<\/strong>, to the end that, firstly,\u00a0<strong>all being held to have died in Him<\/strong>, the\u00a0<strong>law\u00a0involving the ruin of men\u00a0might be undone<\/strong>\u00a0(inasmuch as\u00a0<strong>its power was fully spent in the\u00a0Lord\u2019s body, and had no longer holding-ground against men<\/strong>, his peers)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The judgement that hung over us was delivered to the Son that He might abolish it in Himself:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) &#8211;\u00a0Ser. II, Vol. IV,\u00a0On Luke x. 22. (Illud Omnia, &amp;c.)<br \/>\n<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For man, being in Him, was quickened: for this was why the Word was\u00a0united to man, namely, that against man the curse might no longer prevail. This is the\u00a0reason why they record the request made on behalf of mankind in the seventy-first Psalm:\u00a0\u2018<strong>Give the King Thy judgment, O God\u2019<\/strong> (Ps. lxxii. 1): asking that <strong>both the judgment of death\u00a0which hung over us may be delivered to the Son<\/strong>, and that He may then, by dying for us,\u00a0abolish it for us in Himself. This was what He signified, saying Himself, in the eighty-seventh\u00a0Psalm: \u2018<strong>Thine indignation lieth hard upon me\u2019<\/strong> (Ps. lxxxviii. 7). <strong>For He bore the indignation\u00a0which lay upon us<\/strong>, as also He says in the hundred and thirty-seventh: <strong>\u2018Lord, Thou shalt do\u00a0vengeance for me\u2019<\/strong> (Ps. cxxxviii. 8, LXX.).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In essence, Christ took upon Himself the judgement of the Law on behalf of all, bestowing grace and salvation to all:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) &#8211; Orationes contra Arianos <\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> \u2018For the Son of God came into the world, not to judge the world, but to <strong>redeem<\/strong> all men, and that the world might be saved through Him.\u2019 Formerly the world, as <strong>guilty<\/strong>, <strong>was under judgment<\/strong> from the Law; but now the Word has <strong>taken on Himself the judgment,<\/strong> and having suffered in the body for all, has bestowed salvation to all.\u00a0With a view to this has John exclaimed, \u2018<strong>The law was given by Moses<\/strong>, <strong>but grace\u00a0and truth came by Jesus Christ.<\/strong>\u2019 Better is grace than the Law, and truth than the shadow.<\/span><span style=\"color: #0a0a0a; font-style: normal;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Because Christ died on our behalf, the condemnation of the law has ceased. We no longer die, but are only &#8220;dissolved&#8221; <span style=\"color: #000000;\">to our bodies&#8217;\u00a0mortal nature\u00a0<\/span>until the resurrection:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) \u2013 On the Incarnation of the Word, XXI<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Why, now that the common Saviour of all has died on\u00a0our behalf, we, the faithful in Christ, <strong>no longer die the\u00a0death as before, agreeably to the warning of the law<\/strong>;\u00a0<strong>for this condemnation has ceased<\/strong>; but, corruption ceasing and being put away by the grace of the Resurrection,\u00a0henceforth we are only dissolved, agreeably to our bodies&#8217;\u00a0mortal nature, at the time God has fixed for each, that\u00a0we may be able to gain a better resurrection.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Christ took upon Himself the Cross that was our due, passing on Himself the condemnation of the Law:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) \u2013 Commentary on the Gospel of St. John, Book XII<br \/>\n<\/strong>Bearing the Cross upon His shoulders, on which He was about to be crucified, He went forth; His doom was already fixed, and He had <strong>undergone, for our sakes<\/strong>, though innocent, <strong>the sentence of \u00a0death.<\/strong> For, in His own Person, <strong>He bore the sentence<\/strong> righteously <strong>pronounced against sinners by the Law.<\/strong> For He <strong>became a curse for us<\/strong>, according to the Scripture: For cursed is everyone, it is said, that hangeth on a tree. And <strong>accursed are we all<\/strong>, <strong>for we are not able to fulfil the Law of God:<\/strong> For in many things we all stumble; and very prone to sin is the nature of man. And since, too, the Law of God says: Cursed is he which continueth not in all things that are written in the book of this Law, to do them, the <strong>curse, then, belongeth unto us<\/strong>, and not to others. For those against whom the transgression of the Law may be charged, and who are very prone to err from its commandments, <strong>surely deserve chastisement.<\/strong> Therefore, He That knew no sin <strong>was accursed for our sakes<\/strong>, that He might deliver us from the old curse. For all-sufficient was the God Who is above all, so<strong> dying for all;<\/strong> and by the death of His own Body,<strong> purchasing the redemption of all mankind.<\/strong>\u00a0The Cross, then, that Christ bore, was not for His own deserts, but was <strong>the cross that awaited us, and was our due, through our condemnation by the Law.<\/strong> For as He was numbered among the dead, not for Himself, but for our sakes, that we might find in Him, the Author of everlasting life, subduing of Himself the power of death; so also,<strong> He took upon Himself the Cross that was our due<\/strong>, <strong>passing on Himself the condemnation of the Law,<\/strong> that the mouth of all lawlessness might henceforth be stopped, according to the saying of the Psalmist; the <strong>Sinless having suffered condemnation for the sin of all<\/strong>&#8230;But our Lord Jesus Christ is <strong>not\u00a0ashamed to bear the Cross that is our due<\/strong>, and to suffer this\u00a0indignity for love towards us&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Christ ransomed us from the curse of the Law by fulfilling it in our stead:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) \u2013 Commentary on Luke<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Christ therefore ransomed from the <strong>curse of the law<\/strong> those who being subject to it, had been unable to keep its enactments. <strong>And in what way did He ransom them?<\/strong> <strong>By fulfilling it<\/strong>. And to put it in another way: in order that He might expiate the <strong>guilt<\/strong> of Adam&#8217;s transgression, He showed Himself obedient and submissive in every respect to God the Father<strong> in our stead<\/strong>&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. John Chrysostom explains that Chris&#8217;ts death was like an innocent man undertaking death for a man sentenced to death, rescuing him from punishment:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom (349 &#8211; 407 AD) &#8211; Commentary on Galatians<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> \u201cChrist <strong>redeemed<\/strong> us from the <strong>curse<\/strong> of the Law, having become a <strong>curse<\/strong> for us: for it is written, <strong>Cursed<\/strong> is every one that hangs on a tree.\u201d In reality, the people were subject to another <strong>curse<\/strong>, which says, \u201c<strong>Cursed<\/strong> is every one that continueth not in the things that are written in the book of the Law.\u201d (Deut. xxvii. 26.) To this curse, I say, people were subject, for no man had continued in, or was a keeper of,\u00a0the whole Law; but Christ exchanged this curse for the other, \u201cCursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.\u201d As then both he who hanged on a tree, and he who transgresses the Law, is <strong>cursed<\/strong>, and as it was necessary for him who is about to relieve from a <strong>curse<\/strong> himself to be free from it, but to receive another instead of it, therefore <strong>Christ took upon Him such another, and thereby relieved us from the curse<\/strong>. <strong>It was like an innocent man\u2019s undertaking to die for another sentenced to death, and so rescuing him from punishment<\/strong>. For Christ took upon\u00a0Him not the curse of transgression, but the other curse, in order to remove that of others.\u00a0For, \u201cHe had done no violence neither was any deceit in His mouth.\u201d (Isa. liii. 9; 1 Peter ii.22.) And as by dying He rescued from death those who were dying, so by <strong>taking upon\u00a0Himself the curse<\/strong>, He <strong>delivered them from it&#8230;Thus the Cross removed\u00a0the curse, <\/strong>Faith brought in righteousness, righteousness drew on the grace of the Spirit.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Christ offered His life as an &#8220;equivalent&#8221; for the life of all. Thus, He provide perfect satisfaction for all when He fulfilled in Himself the curse of the Law:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211; Commentary on the Gospel of St. John<br \/>\n<\/strong>For if we examine as well as we may the real character of the\u00a0mystery of His work, we shall see that He died, not merely for\u00a0Himself, nor even especially for His own sake; but that it was on\u00a0behalf of humanity that He suffered and carried out both the\u00a0suffering in itself and the resurrection that followed. <strong>For in that He\u00a0died according to the flesh, He offered up His own life as an\u00a0equivalent for the life of all; and by rendering perfect satisfaction\u00a0for all, He fulfilled in Himself to the uttermost the force of that\u00a0ancient curse.<\/strong> And in that He has risen again from the dead to a\u00a0life imperishable and unceasing, in Himself He raises the whole of\u00a0nature.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Thus Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (Gal 3:13). He satisfied the debt of death we deserved, by fulfilling it (Rom 6:23).<em>\u00a0<\/em>He satisfied the &#8220;penalty&#8221;<em> and reproach &#8220;outside the gate&#8221; <\/em>that was due to us, by fulfilling\u00a0it (Heb 13:12). Christ fulfilled the Law on our behalf by His obedience and by dying on our behalf. In doing so, He cancelled <em>&#8220;the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands.<\/em>&#8221;\u00a0(Col 2:14). He fulfilled the righteousness of the Law, as well as its sentence on our behalf, imparting mercy and salvation to all. As participants in Christ&#8217;s death (through baptism), we also died to the Law and were freed from it, as a woman is freed from a marriage covenant after the death of her husband (Romans 7:2). Thus we are no longer under the Law, but are under grace (Romans 6:14). For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17). Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all. (Rom 5:18).\u00a0In the next few sections, we will discuss how Christ also redeemed us from condemnation of the Law and propitiated God, by fulfilling the Law of Old Testament sacrifices as both Sacrifice and High Priest:<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id6a0134c5a5615\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"More Quotes&gt;&gt;\"    >More Quotes&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id6a0134c5a5615\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) &#8211; Discourses Against the Arians<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">But if not for Himself is He created, but for us, then He is\u00a0not Himself a creature, but, as having put on our flesh, He uses such language. And that this is the\u00a0sense of the Scriptures, we may learn from the Apostle, who says in Ephesians, \u2018Having broken\u00a0down the middle wall of partition between us, <strong>having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the\u00a0law of commandments contained in ordinances<\/strong>, to create in Himself of twain one new man, so\u00a0making peace.\u2019 But if in Him the twain are created, and these are in His body, reasonably then,\u00a0bearing the twain in Himself, He is as if Himself created; for those who were created in Himself\u00a0He made one, and He was in them, as they. And thus, the two being created in Him, He may say\u00a0suitably, \u2018The Lord created me.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) &#8211; Personal Letters, to Epictetus<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> For what John said, \u2018The Word\u00a0was made flesh,\u2019 has this meaning, as we may see by a similar passage; for it is written in Paul: \u2018<strong>Christ has become a curse for us<\/strong>.\u2019 And just as He has not Himself become a\u00a0curse, but is said to have done so because <strong>He took upon Him the curse on our behalf,<\/strong> so\u00a0also He has become flesh not by being changed into flesh, but because He assumed on our\u00a0behalf living flesh, and has become Man&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) &#8211; Against the Arians, Discourse II<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessing in. heavenly places in Christ Jesus, according as He has chosen us in Him before the foundation, of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself. How then has He chosen us, before we came into existence, but that, as He says Himself, in Him we were represented beforehand ? and how at all, before men were created, did He predestinate us unto adoption, but that the Son Himself was founded before the world, taking on Him that economy which was for our sake ? or how, as the Apostle goes on to say, have we an inheritance, being predestinated to it, save that the Lord Himself was founded before the world, <strong>inasmuch as He had a purpose, for our sakes, to take on Him through the flesh all that inheritance of adverse judgment which lay against us, and henceforth to make us sons in Him?<\/strong> And how did we receive it before eternal times, when we were not yet in being&#8217; but afterwards in time, save that in Christ was stored the grace which has reached us ? Wherefore also in the Judgment, when every one shall receive according to his conduct, He says, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you front the foundation of the world. How then, or in whom, was it prepared before we came to be, save in the Lord who before the world was founded for this purpose ; that we, as built upon Him, might partake, as well-compacted stones, the life and grace which is from Him ?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211; Commentary on the Gospel of St. John, Chapter I<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The first man, being earthy, and of the earth, and having, placed in his own power, the choice between good and evil, being master of the inclination to each, was caught of bitter guile, and having inclined to disobedience, falls to the earth, the mother from whence he sprang, and over-mastered now at length <strong>by corruption and death, transmits the penalty to his whole race<\/strong>&#8230;Since then the first Adam preserved not the grace given him of God, God the Father was minded to send us from Heaven the second Adam. For He sendeth in <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">our likeness His own Son Who is by Nature without variableness or change, and wholly unknowing of sin, that <strong>as by the disobedience of the first, we became subject to Divine wrath, so through the obedience of the Second, we might both escape the curse, and its evils might come to nought&#8230;<\/strong>For this reason, I deem, it was that the holy Baptist profitably added, I saw the Spirit descending from Heaven, and It abode upon Him. For It had fled from us by reason of sin, but He Who knew no sin, became as one of us, that the Spirit might be accustomed to abide in us, having no occasion of departure or withdrawal in Him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211; Commentary on the Gospel of St. Luke<br \/>\n<\/strong>But recently we saw the Emmanuel lying as a babe in the manger, and wrapped in human fashion in swaddling bands, but extolled as God in hymns by the host of the holy angels. For they proclaimed to the shepherds His birth, God the Father having granted to the inhabitants of heaven as a special privilege to be the first to preach Him. <strong>And to-day too we have seen Him obedient to the laws of Moses, or rather we have seen Him Who as God is the Legislator, subject to His own decrees.<\/strong> And the reason of this the most wise Paul teaches us, saying, &#8220;When we were babes we\u00a0were enslaved under the elements of the world; but when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem them that were under the law.&#8221; <strong>Christ therefore ransomed from the curse of the law those who being subject to it, had been unable to keep its enactments. And in what way did He ransom them? By fulfilling it.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Fr. Tadros Malaty &#8211; Commentary on the book of Joshua<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The law condemned the sin in us; thus all of us came under the curse of the law.<\/strong> Instead of enjoying salvation, the curse was confirmed, <strong>and we came under the verdict of death.<\/strong> That is why, the Lord Jesus Christ came to remove the \u2018head cover of execution\u2019, and to abolish the authority of death, not by words or commands, but through practical love; <strong>He carried our body, to receive death in it;<\/strong> <strong>and to bear our judgment in His body;<\/strong> He, on whom death is unable to shut in, nor judgment be proven; rose, in order to raise us, righteous, in His body; so that the curse cannot, any more, reign on us. That is why the apostle says: <strong>\u201cChrist has redeemed us from the curse of the law\u201d<\/strong> (Galatians 3: 13); and, \u201cFor what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: <strong>He condemned sin in the flesh\u201d<\/strong> (Romans 8:3). It is as though the Lord Christ has realized the ultimate aim of the law, namely our salvation, <strong>by carrying the judgment in His body, setting us free from judgment;<\/strong> He came under the law, to liberate us from its killing literality. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><a id=\"ots\"><\/a><b>Old Testament Sacrifices<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id6a0134c5a5626\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sciptural references&gt;&gt;\"    >Sciptural references&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id6a0134c5a5626\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Exodus 12:3-11<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> \u2026each man is to take a <strong>lamb<\/strong>\u00a0for his family, one for each household\u2026 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the <strong>lambs<\/strong>. That same night they are <u>to <strong>eat the<\/strong> <strong>meat<\/strong> roasted over the fire<\/u>, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Leviticus 4: 33-35 (Septuagint)<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> And he shall <strong>lay his hand on the head<\/strong> of the <strong>sin-offerings<\/strong>, and they <strong>shall kill<\/strong> it in the place\u00a0where they kill the <strong>victims<\/strong> for whole-burnt-offerings. And the priest shall take of the <strong>blood<\/strong> of the <strong>sin-offering<\/strong> with his finger&#8230;the priest shall make <strong>atonement<\/strong> for him <strong>for the sin<\/strong> which he sinned, and it shall be forgiven him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Leviticus 5:6 (Septuagint)<\/strong><br \/>\nAnd he shall bring for his transgressions against the Lord, for his sin which he has sinned, a ewe lamb of the flock, or a kid of the goats, for a sin-offering; and the priest shall <strong>make an atonement for him for his sin<\/strong> which he has sinned, and his sin <strong>shall be forgiven him<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Numbers 16: 44-50 (Septuagint)<\/strong><br \/>\nAnd the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying Depart out of the midst of this congregation, and I will consume them at once: and they fell upon their faces. And Moses said to Aaron, <strong>Take a censer, and put on it fire from the altar,<\/strong> and put incense on it, and carry it away quickly into the camp, and <strong>make atonement for them<\/strong>; <strong>for wrath is gone forth from the presence of the Lord, it has begun to destroy the people.<\/strong> And Aaron took as Moses spoke to him, and ran among the congregation, for already the plague had begun among the people; and he put on incense, and <strong>made an atonement for the people.<\/strong> And <strong>he stood between the dead <\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>and the living,<\/strong> and the plague ceased.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2 Samuel (24:17,25)<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the Lord, \u201cI have sinned; I, the shepherd, have done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Let your hand fall on me and my family&#8230;<strong>David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings.<\/strong> Then the Lord answered his prayer in behalf of the land, <strong>and the plague on Israel was stopped.<\/strong>&#8220;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Hebrews 9:22<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of <strong>blood<\/strong> is no <strong>remission<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Exodus 12:12-13<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> \u201cOn that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring <strong>judgment<\/strong> on all the gods of Egypt. I am the\u00a0Lord.\u00a0The <strong>blood<\/strong> will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the <strong>blood<\/strong>, I will pass over you. No <strong>destructive plague <\/strong>will touch you when I strike Egypt\u2026 Eat it in haste; it is the\u00a0Lord\u2019s <strong>Passover<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><em><\/div><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is undeniable that the blood of Old Testament sacrifices was used for &#8220;purification&#8221;. However, some argue that these sacrifices were only used for &#8220;purification&#8221; (expiation), and were not necessary for the sinner to receive forgiveness. They argue that sin\/guilt offerings were merely a love offering to God and that the life of the animal did not also serve to atone for the life of the sinner. A god who required such propitiation would be &#8220;evil&#8221;, they argue. Likewise, they argue that Christ&#8217;s sufferings were only to teach humility and heal, but His death did not in any way serve to fulfill a penalty\/sentence, since a loving God (according to the same argument) would simply forgive sin. They argue that the word &#8220;atonement&#8221; never meant placating God&#8217;s wrath, but only meant reconciliation with God (at-one-ment). Thus, proponents of these views maintain that God only loves, and that any scriptural language of chastening or judgment should not be understood literally. When asked to provide <em>specific\u00a0<\/em>scriptural and patristic<i>\u00a0<\/i>evidence to to the extent that &#8220;God does not punish&#8221;, those who uphold such views fail miserably. They maintain that their interpretation is &#8220;Orthodox&#8221; and that their understanding is in line with &#8220;big picture&#8221; and the &#8220;mind of the fathers&#8221;. Yet ironically, they are unable to substantiate with <em>any<\/em> evidence that either is the case. In fact, their views are mere reincarnations of heresies already condemned by the early Church fathers such as the heresy of Marcion and universal salvation. As previously discussed, Scripture and early church fathers expounded that God is loving, but does not automatically acquit the guilty. He is a loving Father but also chastens and disciplines. He loves and heals, while at the same time upholds His indignation of sin (Exodus 34:7):<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;The\u00a0<span class=\"name\">Lord<\/span>, the\u00a0<span class=\"name\">Lord<\/span>, the <strong>compassionate<\/strong> and <strong>gracious<\/strong> God, slow to anger, abounding in <strong>love<\/strong> and <strong>faithfulness<\/strong>,\u00a0maintaining <strong>love<\/strong> to thousands, and <strong>forgiving wickedness<\/strong>, rebellion and sin. Yet he <strong>does not leave the guilty unpunished<\/strong>&#8221; (Exodus 34:6)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Old Testament sacrifices were offered to receive forgiveness, not just &#8220;purification&#8221;:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;And he shall bring for his transgressions against the Lord, for his sin which he has sinned, a ewe lamb of the flock, or a kid of the goats, for a sin-offering; and the priest shall <strong>make an atonement for him for his sin<\/strong> which he has sinned, and his sin <strong>shall be forgiven him<\/strong>.&#8221;(<strong>Leviticus 5:6)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The word &#8220;atonement&#8221; also meant to propitiate God&#8217;s wrath, not only reconciliation with God :<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">And Moses said to Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly to the congregation, and <strong>make an atonement for them<\/strong>: for there is <strong>wrath gone out from the LORD<\/strong>; the plague is begun&#8230;and he put on incense, and <strong>made an atonement for the people<\/strong>.\u00a0And he stood between the dead and the living; and the <strong>plague was stayed<\/strong>. (<strong>Num 16: 46-48)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Per Church hymnology, the incense of the Old Testament which made &#8220;atonement&#8221; for the people and stayed the wrath of God, symbolized the sacrifice of Christ which takes away the iniquities:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">You are the Censer; made of pure gold, carrying the <strong>blessed and live coal<\/strong>; which is taken from the Altar; to purge the sins and take away the iniquities; which is God the Logos, Who was incarnate of you and <strong>offered Himself to God, His Father, as incense<\/strong>. (Sunday Theotokia)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Again, the word &#8220;atonement&#8221; was used in the context of placating God&#8217;s wrath when Phinees\u00a0made atonement for the Israelites by slaying the sinners (sin). In this way, Phinees also represented Christ:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"reg\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">And, behold, a man of the children of Israel came and brought his brother to a Madianitish woman before Moses, and before all the congregation of the children of Israel; and they were weeping at the door of the tabernacle of witness.\u00a0And Phinees the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, and rose out of the midst of the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand,\u00a0and went in after the Israelitish man into the chamber, and pierced them both through, both the Israelitish man, and the woman through her womb; <strong>and the plague was stayed from the children of Israel&#8230;<\/strong> And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,\u00a0<strong>Phinees the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest has caused my wrath to cease from the children of Israel&#8230;<\/strong>because <strong>he was zealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel.\u00a0<\/strong> (Numbers 25:6-13)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">God commanded Moses that the blood (life) of the animal should also be offered to atone for the very soul (life) of the sinner:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For the life of the flesh\u00a0is\u00a0in the <strong>blood<\/strong>: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an <strong>atonement<\/strong> for your souls: for it\u00a0is\u00a0the <strong>blood<\/strong>\u00a0that\u00a0makes an <strong>atonement<\/strong> <strong>for the soul<\/strong>. (Leviticus 17:11)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">God had no need for Old Testament sin\/guilt offerings and took no pleasure in them\u00a0<em>(Psalm 51:16). <\/em>They\u00a0were merely for the benefit of humanity. They were a type of Christ, and shadow of His true sacrifice of atonement\/propitiation for sin:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211; Commentary on the Gospel of St. John, Book IV, Chap II<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> For since the blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of an heifer sufficed not unto the purging away of sin, nor yet would the slaughter of brute beasts ever have destroyed the power of death, <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Christ Himself came in some way to undergo punishment for all.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-1211\" src=\"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/lamb.jpe\" alt=\"\" width=\"291\" height=\"173\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">St. Cyril expounds the same concept: One bird <em>&#8220;was slain, and that the other was baptized indeed in its blood, while itself exempt from slaughter&#8221;.<\/em> He explains that this typified the substitutionary nature of the atonement of\u00a0 Christ:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) \u2013 Commentary on the Gospel According to St. Luke<br \/>\n<\/strong>For He has made a new pathway for us unto that which is above, and we in due time shall follow Him. That the one bird then was <strong>slain<\/strong>, and that the other was baptized indeed in its <strong>blood<\/strong>, while itself exempt from slaughter, typified what was really to happen. <strong>For Christ <\/strong><strong>died in our stead<\/strong>, and we, who have been baptized into His death, He has saved by His own blood.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Expounding the sacrifices of the Day of Atonement, St. Cyril explains that because of sin, we fell under the &#8220;divine curse&#8221;, but Christ transferred to Himself what was our due:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211;\u00a0Commentary on the Gospel According to St. Luke, Sermon LIII<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> For according to the Mosaic law two goats were\u00a0offered, differing\u00a0in nothing from one another, but alike in size\u00a0and appearance.\u00a0Of these, one was called &#8220;the lord :&#8221; and the\u00a0other, the &#8220;sent-away.&#8221; And when the lot had been cast for\u00a0that which was called <strong>&#8220;lord,&#8221;<\/strong> it <strong>was sacrificed<\/strong>: while the <strong>other<\/strong>\u00a0was <strong>sent away<\/strong> from the sacrifice: and therefore had the name\u00a0of the &#8220;sent-away. &#8221; And <strong>Who was signified by this?<\/strong> The\u00a0Word, though He was God, was in our likeness, and took the\u00a0form of us sinners, as for as the nature of the flesh was concerned. The goat, then, male or female, was <strong>sacrificed for sins<\/strong>.\u00a0But the <strong>death was our desert<\/strong>, inasmuch as <strong>by sin we had fallen\u00a0under the divine curse.<\/strong> But when the Savior of all Himself,\u00a0so to speak, undertook the\u00a0<strong>charge<\/strong>, <strong>He transferred to Himself\u00a0what was our due<\/strong>, and laid down His life, that we might be\u00a0sent away from <strong>death<\/strong> and <strong>destruction<\/strong>.<\/span><span style=\"color: #0a0a0a; font-style: normal;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Anyone who deliberately violated the Law of Moses was stoned outside the camp. This was a type of reproach and condemnation of sin. Similarly, bodies of animal sacrifices offered as sin and guilt offerings were burned outside the camp. As the archetype of Old Testament sacrifices, Christ died as an &#8220;offering for sin&#8221; (Isaiah 53:10) outside the gate, in order to bear the reproach we deserved (Heb 13:12). According to St. Severus, Christ&#8217;s sacrifice &#8220;outside the gate&#8221;\u00a0<em>&#8220;balances the great sin of the world&#8221; <\/em>and sanctifies humanity:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Severus of Antioch (465 &#8211; 538 AD) &#8211; Letter of St. Severus,\u00a0 of Mar Severus to John<br \/>\n<\/strong>Various animals were formerly <strong>sacrificed for sin<\/strong>, and the blood of these was brought into the sanctuary by the <strong>high-priest<\/strong>, while, their bodies were delivered to be burnt <strong>outside the camp<\/strong>. This kind of sacrifices therefore symbolized beforehand the great <strong>sacrifice<\/strong> which <strong>balances the great sin of the world<\/strong>, as Paul also says: <em>&#8220;For, as for the animals whose blood was brought into the sanctuary because of sins by the high-priest, the bodies of these were burnt <strong>outside the camp.<\/strong> Therefore Jesus also, in order to <strong>sanctify the people <\/strong>by his own blood, suffered<strong> outside the gate&#8221;<\/strong><\/em>.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #0a0a0a; font-style: normal;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id6a0134c5a5639\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"More patristic quotes&gt;&gt;\"    >More patristic quotes&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id6a0134c5a5639\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) \u2013 Festal Epistles<\/strong><u><br \/>\n<\/u><em>Now He willed it to be in every place, so that in every place incense and a <strong>sacrifice<\/strong> might <strong>be offered to Him<\/strong><\/em>\u2026Our Savior also, since He was changing the typical for the spiritual, promised them that they should no longer eat the flesh of a <strong>lamb<\/strong>, but His own, saying. Take, eat and drink; this is <strong>My body, and My<\/strong> <strong>blood<\/strong>. When we are then nourished by these things, we shall also, my beloved, properly keep the feast of the <strong>Passover<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">St. Athanasius &#8211; Festal Letters, Letter 6<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">And, in offering his son, he worshipped the Son of God. And, being restrained from sacrificing Isaac, <strong>he saw the Messiah in the ram, which was offered up instead as a sacrifice to God.<\/strong> The patriarch was tried, through Isaac, not however that he was sacrificed, but He who\u00a0was pointed out in Isaiah; \u2018<strong>He shall be led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers he shall be speechless;\u2019<\/strong> but He took away the sin of the world&#8230;Thus God accepted the will of the offerer, but prevented that which was offered from being sacrificed. For the death of Isaac did not procure freedom to the world, but that of our Saviour alone, by whose stripes we all are healed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211; Commentary on the Gospel of St. John<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">And, marvel of marvels, the most absurd and irrational idea of all, they think themselves purified by the <strong>slaughter of a lamb, which typified for us nothing but the shadow of the mystery\u00a0that is in Christ;<\/strong> and, while honouring the type of what is coming to pass, they scorn the reality itself. <strong>For while they were performing that which was but the semblance of His Atonement, they were defiled by the shedding of the Blood of Christ.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211; Five Tomes Against Nestorious<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> But let us see <strong>from the legal and more ancient scripture<\/strong> too in\u00a0what manner and for whom, Emmanuel hath offered Himself for\u00a0an odour of a sweet smell unto God the Father&#8230;And having fully gone through how the details of the sacrifice should be done, He adds and says, And the <strong>priest\u00a0shall make an atonement for them and the sin shall be forgiven them.<\/strong> Observe then that the <strong>bullock was offered as a type of Christ<\/strong> the All-Pure and That hath no spot, and <strong>they who offer and not surely the bullock were set free from their guilt&#8230;<\/strong>we say that the Word out of God the Father was made the <strong>High Priest<\/strong> and Apostle of our confession when He was made Man, abasing Himself unto emptiness and in our condition: in order that having <strong>offered Himself to the Father<\/strong> for an odour of sweet smell in behalf of all, He might win all under Heaven, might <strong>remove the ancient guilt,<\/strong> might justify by grace through faith, might render superior to death and decay, holy and hallowed and full well versed in every kind of virtue&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><em><\/div><\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><a id=\"is53\"><\/a><b>Isaiah Chapter 53<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id6a0134c5a564e\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Scriptural references&gt;&gt;\"    >Scriptural references&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id6a0134c5a564e\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Isaiah Chapter 53 (Septuagint)<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> O Lord, who has believed our report? and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed\u00a0We brought a report as of a child before him; he is as a root in a thirsty land: he has no form\u00a0nor comeliness; and we saw him, but he had no form nor beauty. But his form was ignoble,\u00a0and inferior to that of the children of men; he was a man in suffering, and acquainted with the\u00a0bearing of sickness, for his face is turned from us: he was dishonored, and not esteemed. <strong>He\u00a0bears our sins<\/strong>, and is pained for us: <strong>yet we accounted him to be in trouble, and in suffering, and\u00a0in affliction.<\/strong> But he was <strong>wounded on account of our sins, and was bruised because of our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him;<\/strong> and by his bruises we were healed. All we as sheep have gone astray; every one has gone astray in his way; and <strong>the Lord gave him up for our sins.<\/strong> And he, because of his affliction, opens not his mouth: he was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is dumb, so he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken away from the earth:<strong> because of the iniquities of my people he was led to death.<\/strong> And I will give the wicked for his burial, and the rich for his death; for he practised no iniquity, nor craft with his mouth. The Lord also is pleased to purge him from his stroke. If ye can give <strong>an offering for sin,<\/strong> your soul shall see a long-lived seed: the Lord also is pleased to take away from the travail of his soul, to shew him light, and to form him with understanding; to justify the just one who serves many well; and <strong>he shall bear their sins<\/strong>. Therefore he shall inherit many, and he shall divide the spoils of the mighty; because his soul was delivered to death: and he was numbered among the transgressors; and he <strong>bore the sins of many, and was delivered because of their iniquities.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Isaiah 53:4, 8-12 (Hebrew)<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Surely our diseases he did bear, and our pains he carried;<\/strong> whereas we did <strong>esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted<\/strong>&#8230;.By oppression and judgment he was taken away, and with his generation who did reason? <strong>for he was cut off out of the land of the living, for the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due<\/strong>.\u00a0And they made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich his tomb; although he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.&#8217;\u00a0<strong>Yet it pleased the LORD to crush him by disease;<\/strong> <strong>to see if his soul would offer itself in restitution<\/strong>, that he might see his seed, prolong his days, and that the purpose of the LORD might prosper by his hand:\u00a0Of the travail of his soul he shall see to the full, even My servant, who by his knowledge did justify the <strong>Righteous One to the many, and their iniquities he did bear.\u00a0<\/strong>Therefore will I divide him a portion among the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the mighty; because he bared his soul unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors;<strong> yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Isaiah 53:10 &#8211; KJV<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"stanza\">\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Isaiah 63:1-3<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Who is this coming from Edom,\u00a0from Bozrah, with his <strong>garments stained crimson<\/strong>?\u00a0Who is this, robed in splendor,\u00a0striding forward in the greatness of his strength? \u201cIt is I, proclaiming victory, <strong>mighty to save.<\/strong>\u201d\u00a0Why are your <strong>garments red,<\/strong> like those of one treading the winepress?\u00a0\u201c<strong>I have trodden the winepress alone<\/strong>; from the nations <strong>no one was with m<\/strong><strong>e.<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><br \/>\nPsalm 69:26<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">For they persecute\u00a0<i>him<\/i>\u00a0<strong>whom thou hast smitten<\/strong>; and they talk to the grief of those whom <strong>thou hast wounded.<\/strong><\/span><span class=\"p\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Psalm 88:6-9<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">You have put me in the lowest pit,\u00a0in the darkest depths.\u00a0<strong>Your wrath lies heavily on me<\/strong>;\u00a0you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.\u00a0You have taken from me my closest friends\u00a0and have made me repulsive to them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Zechariah 13:7<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Awake, O sword, against my shepherd<\/strong>, and against the man\u00a0<i>that is<\/i>\u00a0my fellow, <strong>saith the LORD<\/strong> of hosts: <strong>smite the shepherd<\/strong>, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I<strong> will turn mine hand upon the little ones<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Mark 14:27<br \/>\n<\/strong>&#8220;You will all fall away,&#8221; Jesus told them, &#8220;for it is written: &#8220;<strong>&#8216;I will strike the shepherd,<\/strong> and the sheep will be scattered.&#8217;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Luke 24:7<br \/>\nThe Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners<\/strong>, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>John 19:11<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Jesus answered, &#8220;You would have no power over me if it were not <strong>given to you from above.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong style=\"color: #000000;\">Matthew 27:46<br \/>\n<\/strong> <span style=\"color: #000000;\"> And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, <strong>My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?<\/strong>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>John 3:16<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> For God so loved the world that he <strong>gave his one and only Son,<\/strong> that whoever believes in him <strong>shall not perish but have eternal life.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>John 3:36<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the <strong>wrath of God abideth on him<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Romans 4:25<br \/>\nHe was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Romans 8:32-34<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>He that spared not his own Son,<\/strong> but <strong>delivered him up for us all<\/strong>, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?\u00a0He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?\u00a0Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God&#8217;s elect?\u00a0<i>It is<\/i>\u00a0God that justifieth.\u00a0Who\u00a0<i>is<\/i>\u00a0he that condemneth?\u00a0<strong><i>It is<\/i>\u00a0Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Galatians 1:4<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> <strong>Who gave himself for our sins<\/strong>, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father<\/span><strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"stanza\">\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><br \/>\nGalatians 3:13<br \/>\n<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us<\/strong>, for it is written: &#8220;Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><br \/>\nRevelation 19:13-16<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> He is dressed in a <strong>robe dipped in blood<\/strong>, and his name is the Word of God.\u00a0The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.\u00a0Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. \u201cHe will rule them with an iron scepter.\u201d\u00a0<strong>He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God<\/strong> <strong>Almighty<\/strong>.\u00a0On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In their efforts to deny any penal aspects to the cross, some argue that Christ&#8217;s death was coincidentally inflicted on Christ by evil men; that His suffering had nothing to do with fulfillment of a divine judgment for sin. They interpret the word <em>&#8220;esteemed&#8221;<\/em> in <em>&#8220;we esteemed Him stricken&#8221; (Isa 53:4)<\/em>\u00a0to mean that &#8220;we (incorrectly) believed He was stricken by God, but in reality, He was only stricken by evil men.&#8221; Some even pervert the interpretation of the whole Chapter, to be about the Nation of Israel, rather than a suffering Messiah.\u00a0However, St. Athanasius explained that Christ <em>&#8220;bore in Himself the wrath that was the penalty of our transgression&#8221; (Letter to Marcellinus). He also explained\u00a0<\/em>that Christ\u00a0had to <em>&#8220;bear the curse that lay on us&#8221; (On the Incarnation of the Word).\u00a0<\/em>Per the Prophet Isaiah,<em>\u00a0&#8220;the chastisement of our peace\u00a0<i>was<\/i>\u00a0upon him&#8221; <\/em>and the<em> &#8220;Lord gave him up for our sins&#8221; (Isaiah 53:5-6).\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"text-align: justify; color: #0a0a0a; font-style: normal;\">Christ\u00a0<em>&#8220;bore our sins&#8221;<\/em> in His body on the cross (1 Pet 2:24) and\u00a0the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6). He was made to be sin (and curse) for us to free us from both the sin and curse (2 Cor 5:21). But what does it mean to &#8220;bear&#8221; sin? Let&#8217;s look at an OT example:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span id=\"en-RSV-3462\" class=\"text Lev-24-15\">Whoever curses his God shall <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>bear his sin<\/strong><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><span id=\"en-RSV-3463\" class=\"text Lev-24-16\">He who blasphemes the name of the\u00a0<span class=\"small-caps\">Lord<\/span>\u00a0<strong>shall be put to death<\/strong>; all the congregation shall stone him&#8230;(Lev 24:15)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"text-align: justify; color: #0a0a0a; font-style: normal;\">Thus, to &#8220;bear sin&#8221; is to assume the guilt and punishment of sin (<\/span>Romans 6:23). Likewise, since Christ bore our sins, He assumed the guilt, penalty, and consequence of those sins. Christ bore our sins. This is also expressed in the rites of the Eucharist:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;<strong>Christ carried our sins within His Body<\/strong> on the cross as He offered Himself as a <strong>S<\/strong><strong>acrifice for sin<\/strong><strong>,<\/strong> so the bread offered in the Holy Liturgy should be made with yeast to symbolize these <strong>sins<\/strong> that <strong>Christ bore<\/strong>.&#8221; <em>(Liturgy, Agpeya and Praises &#8211; Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Southern U.S.)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;We return to the rite of choosing the Lamb. The presbyter lays\u00a0his hand on the oblations and crosses them in the shape of the\u00a0cross; this action reminds us of the priest in the Old Testament, who laid his hands\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">upon both the sacrifice and the sinner\u00a0announcing that the <strong>sin had been transferred<\/strong> from the <strong>sinner to\u00a0the sacrifice<\/strong>.&#8221; (Fr. Tadros Malaty &#8211; Christ in the Eucharist)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Church fathers explained that because Christ bore our sins, by His own will, He accepted the condemnation and curse that was due humanity for sin, in order to impart grace and healing to all. As a result, He was <em>&#8220;smitten&#8221;<\/em> and <em>&#8220;delivered up by God&#8221;<\/em> into the hands of sinners, as per the Psalms and Old Testament prophecies. St. Athanasius confirms that because Christ bore our sins, the\u00a0<em>&#8220;Lord delivered Him for our sins&#8221; <\/em>and the chastisement of our peace was upon Him:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) &#8211; Letter to Marcellinus\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> And\u00a0Psalms 88\u00a0and 69, again speaking in the Lord&#8217;s own person, tell us further that He suffered these things, not for His own sake but for ours. Thou has made Thy <strong>wrath to rest upon me,<\/strong> says the one; and the other adds, I <strong>paid<\/strong> them things I never took.\u00a0For He did not die as being Himself liable to death: He suffered for us,\u00a0and <strong>bore in Himself the<\/strong> <strong>wrath<\/strong> that was the <strong>penalty of our transgression<\/strong>,\u00a0even as Isaiah says, Himself bore our weaknesses.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) &#8211; On the Incarnation of the Word<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> He <strong>beareth our sins<\/strong>, and is in pain on our account; and we reckoned\u00a0him to be in labour, and in stripes, and in ill-usage; but he was wounded for our sins, and\u00a0made weak for our wickedness. <strong>The chastisement of our peace was upon him,<\/strong> and by his\u00a0stripes we were healed.\u201d O marvel at the loving-kindness of the Word, that for our sakes He\u00a0is dishonoured, that we may be brought to honour. \u201cFor all we,\u201d it says, \u201clike sheep were\u00a0gone astray; man had erred in his way; and <strong>the Lord delivered him for our sins;<\/strong> and he\u00a0openeth not his mouth, because he hath been evilly entreated.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Because Christ &#8220;bore our sins&#8221; in His body, He was stricken in our stead and paid our debts:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211; Commentary on the Gospel of St. Luke,\u00a0SERMON CLIII<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> He in our stead <strong>paid our debts<\/strong>: He <strong>bore our sins<\/strong>; and as it is written, &#8220;<strong>in our stead<\/strong> He was <strong>stricken<\/strong>.&#8221; &#8220;He took them up <strong>in His own body<\/strong> on the tree:&#8221; for it is true that &#8220;by His bruises we are healed.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. Cyril also explains that Christ was condemned to deliver humanity from deserved condemnation for sin:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211; Commentary on the Gospel According to St. John,\u00a0Book XII<br \/>\n<\/strong>He laid\u00a0down His life for\u00a0us.\u00a0He endured\u00a0the\u00a0cross\u00a0for our sake that\u00a0by\u00a0death\u00a0He\u00a0might destroy\u00a0death, and\u00a0was\u00a0<strong>condemned<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>for our sakes<\/strong> <strong>that\u00a0He might\u00a0deliver all men from\u00a0condemnation\u00a0for\u00a0sin<\/strong>, abolishing the tyranny of sin by means of faith, and nailing to His cross the bond that was against us, as it is written\u2026He was scourged unjustly, that He might <strong>deliver us from\u00a0merited<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>chastisement<\/strong>\u2026For\u00a0if we think aright, we shall believe\u00a0that\u00a0all\u00a0Christ&#8217;s sufferings\u00a0were\u00a0for us and\u00a0on our behalf, and have power to\u00a0release\u00a0and <strong>deliver us from all those calamities we have\u00a0deserved\u00a0for our revolt from God<\/strong>&#8230;For as Christ, Who knew not\u00a0death, when He gave up His own Body for our salvation, was able\u00a0to loose the bonds of death for all mankind, for He, being One,\u00a0died for all; so we must understand that Christ\u2019s suffering all these\u00a0things for us sufficed also to release us all from scourging and\u00a0dishonour. Then in what way by His stripes are we healed,\u00a0according to the Scripture? <strong>Because we have all gone astray,\u00a0every man after his own way, as says the blessed Prophet Isaiah;\u00a0and the Lord hath given Himself up for our transgressions, and for\u00a0us is afflicted.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. John Chrysostom explains that out of His goodness, God forbore his punishment for humanity and delivered up His own Son in their stead:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom (349 &#8211; 407 AD) &#8211; Homily on Timothy<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> &#8220;<strong>He gave himself a ransom<\/strong>,\u201d he saith, how then was He <strong>delivered up by the Father<\/strong>? Because it was of His goodness. And what means \u201cransom\u201d? <em>God was about to <strong>punish<\/strong> them, but He forbore to do it. They were about to perish, but <strong>in their stead<\/strong> He gave His own Son, and sent us as heralds to proclaim the Cross.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">He further explains that the Father transferred to His Beloved Son the death and guilt due to humanity, to clear humanity from condemnation:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom (349 &#8211; 407 AD) \u2013 Homilies on Second Corinthians<br \/>\n<\/strong>If one that was himself a king, beholding a robber and malefactor under <strong>punishment<\/strong>, gave his well-beloved son, his only-begotten and true, to be slain; and <strong>transferred the death and the guilt <\/strong>as well, from him to his son, (who was himself of no such character,) that he might both save the <strong>condemned<\/strong> man and clear him from his evil reputation and then if, having subsequently promoted him to great dignity&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. Gregory explains that Christ made our disobedience His own. Thus representing us, He was\u00a0 in that sense &#8220;forsaken&#8221; by the Father on our account:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Gregory Nazianzen (329 &#8211; 390 AD) &#8211; <em>Oration\u00a0<\/em>30.5<br \/>\n<\/strong>But look at it in this manner: that as for my sake He was called a <strong>curse<\/strong>, Who <strong>destroyed my curse; and sin<\/strong>, <strong>who taketh away the sin of the world<\/strong>; and became a new Adam to take the place of the old, just so <strong>He makes my disobedience His own<\/strong> as Head of the whole body. As long then as I am disobedient and rebellious, both by denial of God and by my passions, <strong>so long Christ also is called disobedient on my account.<\/strong>&#8230;<strong>Of the same kind, it appears to me, is the expression, \u201cMy God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>It was not He who was forsaken either by the Father<\/strong>, or by His own Godhead, as some have thought, as if It were afraid of the Passion, and therefore withdrew Itself from Him in His Sufferings (for who compelled Him either to be born on earth at all, or to be lifted up on the Cross?) <strong>But as I said, He was in His own Person representing us. For we were the forsaken and despised before<\/strong>, but now by the Sufferings of Him Who could not suffer, we were taken up and saved. Similarly, <strong>He makes His own our folly and our transgressions<\/strong>; and says what follows in the Psalm, for it is very evident that the Twenty-first\u00a0Psalm refers to Christ.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #0a0a0a; font-style: normal;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id6a0134c5a5663\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"More Quotes&gt;&gt;\"    >More Quotes&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id6a0134c5a5663\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) &#8211;\u00a0Orationes contra Arianos\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> For as by receiving our infirmities, He is said to be infirm Himself,\u00a0though not Himself infirm, for He is the Power of God, and He <strong>became sin for us and a curse<\/strong>,\u00a0though not having sinned Himself, but because He Himself <strong>bare our sins and our curse,<\/strong> so, by\u00a0creating us in Him, let Him say, \u2018He created me for the works,\u2019 though not Himself a creature.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) &#8211; Discourses Against the Arians\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> \u2018<strong>Christ hath become a curse for us<\/strong>,\u2019 and \u2018<strong>He hath made Him sin for us who\u00a0knew no sin<\/strong>,\u2019 we do not simply conceive this, that whole Christ has become curse and sin, but\u00a0that <strong>He has taken on Him the curse which lay against us<\/strong> (as the Apostle has said, \u2018Has redeemed\u00a0us from the curse,\u2019 and \u2018<strong>has carried<\/strong>,\u2019 as Isaiah has said, \u2018<strong>our sins<\/strong>,\u2019 and as Peter has written, \u2018<strong>has\u00a0borne them in the body on the wood<\/strong>\u2019); so, if it is said in the Proverbs \u2018He created,\u2019 we must not\u00a0conceive that the whole Word is in nature a creature, but that He put on the created body and\u00a0that God created Him for our sakes, preparing for Him the created body, as it is written, for us, that\u00a0in Him we might be capable of being renewed and deified.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom (349 &#8211; 407 AD)\u00a0&#8211; Homilies on Gospel According to St. Matthew<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> After this He mentions also a prophecy, &#8220;For it\u00a0is written,<strong> I will smite the shepherd<\/strong>, and the sheep shall be scattered abroad:&#8221; at once persuading them\u00a0ever to give heed to the things that are written, and at same time making it plain that <strong>He was crucified,\u00a0according to God&#8217;s purpose;<\/strong> and by everything showing He was no alien from the old covenant, nor from\u00a0the God preached therein, but that what is done is a dispensation, and that the prophets all proclaimed all\u00a0things beforehand from the beginning that are comprised in the matter, so that they be quite confident about\u00a0the better things also.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria &#8211; Letter 41 (To Acacius, the Bishop Conerning the Scapegoat)<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Thus Christ became a victim \u201cfor our sins according to the Scriptures.\u201d For this reason, we say that he was named sin; wherefore, the all-wise Paul writes, \u201c<strong>For our sakes he made him to be sin who knew nothing of sin,<\/strong>\u201d t<strong>hat is to say, God the Father.<\/strong> For we do not say that Christ became a sinner, far from it, <strong>but being just, or rather in actuality justice, for he did not know sin, the Father made him a victim for the sins of the world.<\/strong> <strong>\u201cHe was counted among the wicked,\u201dl having endured a condemnation most suitable for the wicked.<\/strong> And the divinely inspired prophet Isaiah will also vouch for this, saying, \u201c<strong>We had all gone astray like sheep, each following his own way, but the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all,\u201d<\/strong> \u201cyet it was on our behalf he suffers,\u201d \u201cand by his stripes we were healed. The all-wise Peter writes, \u201che bore our sins in his body upon the tree.\u2019\u201c\u2018Therefore, the lot of the<strong> necessary endurance of death hung over those on the earth through the transgression in Adam and through sin reigning from him until us.\u201c<\/strong> But the Word of God the Father, being generous in clemency and love of men, became \ufb02esh, that is, man, in the form of us who are under sin, <strong>and he endured our lot.<\/strong> For as the very excellent Paul writes, \u201c<strong>By the grace of God he tasted death for all,\u201d and he made his life be an exchange for the life of all. One died for all, in order that we all might live to God sancti\ufb01ed and brought to life through his blood<\/strong>, \u201cjusti\ufb01ed as a gift by his grace.\u201d For as the blessed evangelist John says, \u201cThe blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) \u2013 Commentary on St. Luke<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> He bore suffering that He might deliver us from sufferings: &#8220;<strong>He was despised\u00a0and not esteemed,&#8221;<\/strong> as it is written, that He might make us honourable: He did no sin, that He might crown our nature with similar glory: He Who for our sakes was man submitted also to our lot; and He Who gives life to the world submitted to death in the flesh&#8230;for it is written, that <strong>&#8220;He was also numbered with the transgressors.&#8221;<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>For our sake He became a curse, that is, accursed: <\/strong>for it is written again, that &#8220;<strong>Cursed<\/strong> is every one that hangs on a tree.&#8221; <strong>But this act of His did away with the curse that was upon us:<\/strong> for we with Him and because of Him are blessed. And knowing this, the blessed David says:\u201cBlessed\u00a0are we of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth:\u201d for by His\u00a0sufferings blessings descend to us.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD)\u00a0&#8211; On the Gospel According to John, Book XI<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> It had been foretold, by the mouth of the prophet, that with Christ this would come to pass: I <strong>gave My back to the scourge, and My cheeks to them that smite.<\/strong> He was being led on in truth to the end long ago foretold, to the verdict of Jewish presumption, which was also the abolition and determination of our deserved dishonour, for that we sinned in Adam first, and trampled under foot the Divine commandment. For He was dishonoured for our sake, in that <strong>He took our sins upon Him<\/strong>, as the prophet says, and was <strong>afflicted on our account.<\/strong> For as He wrought out our deliverance from death, giving up His own Body to death, so likewise, I think, <strong>the blow with which Christ was smitten, in fulfilling the dishonour that He bore, carried with it our deliverance from the dishonour by which we were burthened through the transgression and original sin of our forefather<\/strong>. For He, being One, was yet a <strong>perfect Ransom for all men<\/strong>, and <strong>bore our dishonour<\/strong>. But I think the whole creation would have shuddered, had it been suffered to be conscious of such presumption.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211; On Easter<\/strong><br \/>\nFor the divine Abraham was commanded to slay his one and only beloved son, a man who had lived unto old age, and had no hope of being able to become a sire of other children ; but he was old having passed beyond affectionateness and\u00a0 from sparing his son because of God&#8217;s will. <strong>And for as much as the child was near to suffering death, for the father had taken in his hand the sword, he was in marvelous manner saved by the ram running in between and undergoing his slaying. So also were we also rescued from our own death befitting and due by Christ taking it on himself.<\/strong> And he was slain for our sake ; and he suffered because of our sins, as saith the prophet Isaiah. And because of our iniquities he was given over and by his stripes were we healed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES, BOOK I<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> For you imitate Christ the Lord; and as He\u00a0&#8220;<strong>bare the sins of us all upon the tree<\/strong>&#8221; at His crucifixion, the <strong>innocent for those who deserved punishment<\/strong>, so\u00a0also you ought to make the sins of the people your own. For concerning our Savior it is said in Isaiah, <strong>&#8220;He\u00a0bears our sins, and is afflicted for us.&#8221;\u00a0<\/strong>And again: <strong>&#8220;He bare the sins of many, and was delivered for our\u00a0offences.&#8221;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a id=\"dddd\"><\/a><strong>Christ as Sacrifice and High Priest<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id6a0134c5a5679\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Scriptural references&gt;&gt;\"    >Scriptural references&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id6a0134c5a5679\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Isaiah 53:10 (Septuagint)<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> The Lord also is pleased to purge him from his stroke. If ye can give an <strong>offering for sin,<\/strong> your <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">soul shall see a long-lived seed<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Isaiah 53: 12<br \/>\n<\/strong>He <strong>bore the sin of many<\/strong>,\u00a0and<strong> made intercession<\/strong> for the transgressors<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span class=\"reftext\"><strong>John 12: 23-24<\/strong><br \/>\n<\/span><span class=\"red\">The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"red\">Very truly I tell you, <strong>unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed<\/strong>. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romans 3:25<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> God presented Christ as a <strong>sacrifice<\/strong> of <strong>atonement<\/strong>, through the shedding of his blood&#8211;to be received by faith.\u00a0He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"reg\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Romans 5:8-10<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.\u00a0Since we have now <strong>been justified by his blood<\/strong>, how much more shall we be <strong>saved from God\u2019s wrath<\/strong> through him!\u00a0For if, while we were God\u2019s enemies, <strong>we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son<\/strong>, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romans 6:3-7<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Therefore <strong>we are buried with him by baptism into death<\/strong>: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.\u00a0For if we <strong>have been planted together in the likeness of his death<\/strong>, <strong>we shall be also\u00a0<i>in the likeness<\/i>\u00a0of\u00a0<i>his<\/i>\u00a0resurrection<\/strong>:\u00a0Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with\u00a0<i>him<\/i>, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.\u00a0<strong>For he that is dead is freed from sin.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>1 Cor 5:7<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch\u2014as you really are. <u>For Christ, our <strong>Passover<\/strong> <strong>lamb<\/strong>, has been <strong>sacrificed<\/strong>.<\/u><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Ephesians 5:2<\/strong><br \/>\nAnd walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an <strong>offering and a sacrifice to God<\/strong> for a sweetsmelling savour.<\/span><span class=\"p\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Hebrews 2:17<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"p\" style=\"color: #000000;\"> Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful <strong>high<\/strong> <strong>priest<\/strong> in the service of God, to make <strong>propitiation<\/strong> for the sins of the people.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Hebrews 7:27<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer <strong>sacrifices<\/strong> day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He <strong>sacrificed<\/strong> <strong>for their sins<\/strong> once for all when he <strong>offered<\/strong> himself.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Hebrews 9:11-14<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">But when Christ appeared\u00a0<i>as<\/i>\u00a0a <strong>high priest of the good things to come<\/strong>,\u00a0<i>He entered<\/i>\u00a0through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation;\u00a0and <strong>not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood,<\/strong> He entered the holy place <strong>once for all, having obtained eternal redemption<\/strong>.\u00a0For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh,\u00a0<strong>how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience<\/strong> from dead works to serve the living God?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Hebrews 9:22<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of <strong>blood<\/strong> is no <strong>remission<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Hebrews 9:26-28<br \/>\n<\/strong>For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to<strong> put away sin by the sacrifice of himself<\/strong>.\u00a0And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:\u00a0So Christ was once <strong>offered to bear the sins of many<\/strong>; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"reg\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hebrews 10:4-10<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.\u00a0Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: \u201cSacrifice and offering you did not desire, but <strong>a body you prepared for me<\/strong>;\u00a0with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased.\u00a0Then I said, \u2018Here I am\u2014it is written about me in the scroll\u2014<strong>I have come to do your will, my God<\/strong>.\u2019\u202f\u201d\u00a0First he said, \u201cSacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them\u201d\u2014though they were offered in accordance with the law.\u00a0<strong>Then he said, \u201cHere I am, I have come to do your will.<\/strong>\u201d <strong>He sets aside the first to establish the second.<\/strong>\u00a0And by that will, <strong>we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Hebrews 13:11-13<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> The <strong>high priest<\/strong> carries the <strong>blood<\/strong> of animals into the Most Holy Place as a <strong>sin offering<\/strong>, but the bodies are burned <strong>outside the camp<\/strong>. And so Jesus also<strong> suffered outside the city gate<\/strong> to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to Him <strong>outside the camp<\/strong>, bearing the disgrace he bore.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>1 Peter 2:24<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> &#8220;He himself <strong>bore our sins<\/strong>\u201d in his <strong>body<\/strong> on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; \u201cby his wounds you have been healed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>1 John 1: 1-2<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> But if anybody does sin, we have an <strong>advocate<\/strong> with the Father\u2014Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the <strong>atoning<\/strong> <strong>sacrifice<\/strong> for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Revelation 7:14<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and <strong>made them white in the blood of the Lamb.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">When John the Baptist introduced Christ, he said\u00a0<em>\u201cBehold,\u00a0the Lamb of God, who\u00a0takes away <\/em><em>the<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u00a0&#8216;<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">sin<\/span>&#8216;<\/span>\u00a0of the world! (John 1:29)&#8221;\u00a0<\/em>The Forerunner&#8217;s emphasis was on removal of sin, not death. This is not because Christ didn&#8217;t also conquer death, but because the means by which Christ did so, was by taking away the sting of death, which is sin (1 Cor 15:56). But this is one of the weaknesses of the &#8220;Christus Victor&#8221; model; it fails to explain how Christ fundamentally conquered death by dealing with sin. In this section, we will discuss in more detail how Christ &#8220;ransomed&#8221; humanity as the eternal High Priest and Sacrifice, who takes away the sin of the world.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Old Testament sacrifices typified Christ&#8217;s Sacrifice of healing, mercy, and love (1 Pet 3:18). However, being the type and not the reality, they were severely lacking. They merely served as a reminder of sin and a temporary shadow of the true Sacrifice to come (Heb 10:3-4). They provided no remission, especially for sins committed deliberately against God (Num 15:30-31). For sins such as adultery, murder, breaking the Sabbath, etc, the Law of Moses required the sinner to be stoned without mercy. While the Law of Moses was righteous and provided guidance, it exposed sin, making sin even more &#8220;sinful&#8221; (Rom 7:12-13), but provided no means to attain the righteousness it demanded (Gal 3:21). The Law of Moses offered no means to renew man&#8217;s sinful nature, and offered no real solution for the remission of sin (Heb 10:4-5). Thus, there was need for a better Mediator and Sacrifice; a better Covenant built on better promises (Heb 9:15):<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;the new covenant is established on better promises&#8230;<strong>I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.<\/strong> I will be their God, and they will be my people&#8230;.(Heb 8:6,10)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Under the New Covenant, Christ would restore and sanctify the fallen humanity by His incarnation. Being in the &#8220;likeness&#8221; of sinful flesh, He would condemn sin in the flesh (Rom 8:3) and undo Adam&#8217;s disobedience by His own obedience (Rom 5:19), justifying through faith those who are born again from above (John 1:12,17). Moreover, the Holy Spirit would become the continued source of renewal and sanctification for those who are in Christ (Titus 3:5). No longer would they be children of Adam&#8217;s sinful nature, but children of God, and partakers of the Divine Nature in Christ (2 Pet 1:4).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Moreover, Christ Himself would become the better Sacrifice and Mediator of the new Covenant. This is why God promised to &#8220;<em>forgive their wickedness&#8221; and &#8220;remember their sins no more&#8221; (Heb 8:12). <\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"reg\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed\u00a0it, and brake\u00a0it, and gave\u00a0it\u00a0to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">this is <strong>my<\/strong> <strong>body<\/strong>.<\/span>\u00a0And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave\u00a0it\u00a0to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;\u00a0For<u> this is<strong> my<\/strong> <strong>blood<\/strong><\/u> of the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>new covenant<\/strong><\/span>, which is <u><strong>shed for many<\/strong> for the <strong>remission<\/strong> <strong>of sins<\/strong>.<\/u> (Matthew 26: 26-28)<\/span><span style=\"color: #0a0a0a; font-style: normal;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bearing our sins as Sacrifice and High Priest, Christ did not enter repeatedly into a Holy of Holies made with hands. He also did not do so with blood of animals that could not forgive sins. He entered into Heaven itself to do away with sin, once and for all sins, by the sacrifice of Himself (Heb 9:24, 26).\u00a0Thus, He liberated us from the\u00a0sting of death, and the power of the Law (1 Cor 15:56). He\u00a0ransomed us by His blood\u00a0(Rev 7:14).\u00a0Because Christ is our eternal atoning Sacrifice (propitiation)\u00a0with the Father (1 John 2: 1-2), He appeases the anger of the Father (Rom 5:10, Luke 23:45):<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) \u2013 The Gospel According to John, Book XI, Chap VII<br \/>\n<\/strong>He\u00a0once\u00a0more\u00a0mediates\u00a0as\u00a0Man, the\u00a0Reconciler\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>Mediator<\/strong> of God and men; and being\u00a0our truly great\u00a0and all-holy High Priest, by His own prayers <strong>He appeases the anger of His Father,<\/strong>\u00a0sacrificing Himself\u00a0for us.\u00a0For He is the <strong>Sacrifice<\/strong>, and\u00a0is Himself\u00a0our <strong>Priest<\/strong>, Himself\u00a0 our <strong>Mediator<\/strong>, Himself a blameless <strong>Victim<\/strong>,\u00a0the true\u00a0<strong>Lamb<\/strong> Which takes away the sin of the\u00a0world.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Thus, Christ justified us and reconciled us to God by offering us by and in Himself to God the Father, doing away with the enmity between man and God (2 Cor 5:19):<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) \u2013 Gospel of St. Luke<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Turtles, therefore, and doves were offered, when <strong>He presented\u00a0Himself unto the Lord<\/strong>, and there might one see simultaneously\u00a0meeting together the truth and the types. And Christ offered Himself for a savor of a sweet smell, that He might <strong>offer us by and in Himself unto God the Father<\/strong>, and so do away with His enmity towards us by reason of Adams transgression, and bring to nought sin that had tyrannized over us all.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Through baptism, we are buried and resurrected with Christ to a new birth and heavenly citizenship (Phil 3:20). Through repentance, we die with Christ to sin daily, as our sins are remitted by the blood of the Lamb. Thus, we are justified and freed from the accusations and condemnation of sin and the Law (Rom 8:1-2).We are no longer slaves of sin and enemies to God, but beloved children by adoption and co-heirs with Christ (Gal 4:6-7). Reconciled to God through Christ, the Father gives us of His Holy Spirit Who renews our fallen image to the holiness and glory of the image of Christ (Titus 3:5). He writes the laws of God on our hearts, and makes us partakers of the Divine Nature (2 Pet 1:4).<b> <\/b>Thus, we are under the Law of the Spirit and life, and have died in Christ to the Law of sin and death (Romans 6:4). Thus, spiritual death is abolished; this is the first resurrection (John 5:25). This is also why the second (eternal) death is destroyed (Rev 20:6). As St. Cyril explains, <em>&#8220;The root [sin] dying, how could the shoot [death] yet survive?&#8221; <\/em>This then, was how Christ saved us from death:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) \u2013 Commentary on the Gospel of St. John<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> \u201cthe very <strong>Lamb<\/strong>, the spotless\u00a0 <strong>Sacrifice<\/strong>, is led to the slaughter for all, that He might drive away the sin of the world&#8230;But sin being destroyed, how could it be that <strong>death<\/strong> which was of it and because of it should not altogether come to nothing? <strong>The root dying, how could the shoot yet survive<\/strong>? <strong>Wherefore should we yet die, now that sin hath been destroyed?<\/strong> Therefore jubilant in the Sacrifice of the Lamb of God we say: O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is they victory? For all iniquity as the Psalmist sings somewhere, shall stop her mouth, no longer able to accuse those who have sinned from infirmity. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, that we might escape the curse from transgression.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">As a result, we chant in the Midnight Praises, the Father<em>\u00a0<\/em>then<em>&#8220;lifted up the sins, of the people&#8221; <\/em>and\u00a0<em>&#8220;opened the gate, of Paradise, and restored\u00a0Adam,\u00a0to\u00a0his\u00a0authority&#8221;<\/em>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">There was a <strong>high priest<\/strong>, in the tabernacle, offering sacrifices, on account of the people\u2019s sins. When the <strong>Pantocrator<\/strong>, smelled the aroma, He lifted up the sins, of the people\u2026They likened the <strong>high priest<\/strong>, to our Savior, the true <strong>sacrifice<\/strong>, for the forgiveness of sins. He who offered Himself as an acceptable <strong>sacrifice<\/strong> upon the Cross, for the salvation of\u00a0our\u00a0race. His Good\u00a0<strong>Father<\/strong>,\u00a0smelled\u00a0Him, in the evening,\u00a0on\u00a0Golgotha.\u00a0He opened the gate, of Paradise, and restored\u00a0Adam,\u00a0to\u00a0his\u00a0authority. (Midnight Praises &#8211; Sunday)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Through His death, Christ also disarmed the powers and authorities, triumphing over them by the cross (Colossians 2:15). He preached to those who were imprisoned in hades, releasing them from the captivity of the One who held\u00a0the power of death, that is the devil (Hebrews 2:14). Thus Christ shone with His glory on all, not only on the living but on those in the graves. The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned (Isaiah 9:2). By His resurrection, He overcame the corruption of death and raised us with him.<i>\u00a0<\/i>United with our humanity, He ascended to Heaven and\u00a0continues to make intercession for us in Heaven as our eternal propitiation for sin before God (Rom 8:34, Isa 53:12)<i>.\u00a0<\/i>At His second coming, those<em>\u00a0<\/em>who are in Christ, will be raised from physical death to incorruption and eternal life (Phil 3:21), to share with Christ in His eternal glory (2 Thes 2:14). Physical death will be the last enemy to be destroyed (1 Cor 15:26).\u00a0This will be the second resurrection (1 Cor 15:42-43).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Thus, Scripture, Apostolic Tradition, patristic consensus, and Church hymnology all confirm that Christ is the Archetype of Old Testament sacrifices, and our eternal High Priest and Sacrifice. He is our eternal &#8220;propitiation&#8221; and Mediator with the Father. He is the Lamb of God who bore our sins (Rev 5:12), and was slain &#8220;in our stead&#8221;. What else does<em> &#8220;He took what is ours and gave us what is His&#8221;<\/em> mean? He bore in Himself our weaknesses, ailments, sins (and the chastisement for sin), curse, condemnation, and death that we deserved. In exchange, He gave us His healing, remission of sin, justification, reconciliation, freedom, victory, resurrection, life, and immortality. Thus, He renewed and &#8220;deified&#8221; humanity in Himself, in order for us to share in His perfect Holiness and glory. Was this not all a result of God&#8217;s inexpressible grace and love through Christ?<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id6a0134c5a5699\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"More quotes&gt;&gt;\"    >More quotes&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id6a0134c5a5699\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) \u2013 Discourses Against the Arians<br \/>\n<\/strong>Since then the Word, being the Image of the Father and immortal, took the form of the servant, and as man underwent for us death in His flesh, that thereby <strong>He might offer Himself for us through death to the Father;<\/strong> therefore also, as man, He is said because of us and for us to be highly exalted, that as by His death we all died in Christ, so again in the Christ Himself we might be highly exalted, being raised from the dead, and ascending into heaven\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) &#8211; On the Incarnation of the Word<\/strong><strong><br \/>\n<\/strong>But on this one point, above all, they shall be all the more refuted, not at our hands, but at those of the most wise Daniel, who marks both the actual date, and the divine sojourn of the Savior, saying: &#8220;Seventy weeks are cut short upon thy people, and upon the holy city, for a full end to be made of sin, and for sins to be sealed up, and to <strong>blot out iniquities<\/strong>, and to <strong>make atonement for iniquities<\/strong>, and to bring everlasting righteousness, and to seal vision and prophet, and to anoint a Holy of Holies\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Christ did not die &#8220;with us&#8221;. He died &#8220;for us&#8221;:<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211;\u00a0Five Tomes Against Nestorius,\u00a0TOME III<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I hear Him saying of us, For their sakes do I sanctify Myself, and as the Divine-speaking Paul saith, By the grace of God for every man tasted He death, and again, <strong>He was delivered up because of our transgressions<\/strong> and was raised because of our justification, and as the Prophet Esaias saith, <strong>The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, with His stripes were WE healed,<\/strong> not Himself has been healed by the suffering of His own Flesh. <strong>He was delivered up because of our transgressions<\/strong> (not because of His own, far from it, <strong>for confessedly has the nature of man been borne down by the transgression in Adam unto curse and death, it is moreover sick of proneness to sin in the flesh),<\/strong> in order that the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in its who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit. For therefore was He also named the last Adam, not enduring to be sick of the things of the first one, <strong>but rather ridding in Himself first the nature of man from the blame of that ancient transgression. For it was condemned in Adam, but in Christ was seen most approved and worthy of wonder&#8230;<\/strong><strong>Every one who has become guilty of sin needs therefore sacrifice for his own transgressions<\/strong>: and Christ hath offered Himself for His kin according to the flesh, i. e., <strong>for us; but for Himself not a whit<\/strong>, being superior to sin, as God. For if He have been sacrificed for Himself, not <strong>WE alone have been bought by His Blood according to the Scriptures but Himself too will have been co-bought with us, no longer according to Isaiah&#8217;s voice did the Lord give Him up for our sins,<\/strong> but He has been given rather for His own. <strong>For where is at all sacrifice and offering, there surely is also remission of sins&#8230;<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">But let us see from the legal and more ancient scripture too in what manner and for whom, Emmanuel hath offered Himself for an odour of a sweet smell unto God the Father.<\/span><\/strong> For a shadow confessedly was the Law, yet hath it the outline of the mystery Christ-ward and travails with the form of the Truth. And indeed Christ said somewhere when conversing with the Jews, <strong>Had ye believed Moses ye would have believed Me, for of Me he wrote.<\/strong>..<strong>For God the Father was representing the sacrifices that were to be made for sins, in the Law as on a tablet, outlining yet the mystery of Christ,<\/strong> and thus He said to the hierophant Moses, If the whole congregation of the children of Israel sin unwillingly and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly and they have done one of all the commandments of the Lord which should not be done, and have transgressed and the sin be known to them which they have sinned therein, <strong>the congregation shall offer a young bullock without blemish from among the herd for the sin. And having fully gone through how the details of the sacrifice should be done, He adds and says, And the priest shall make an atonement for them and the sin shall be forgiven them.<\/strong> <strong>Observe then that the bullock was offered as a type of Christ the All-Pure and That hath no spot, and they who offer and not surely the bullock were set free from their guilt.<\/strong> For He has been sacrificed not rather for Himself, as THOU sayest, but for the infirm, for whom the high priest according to the Law used to make supplication, that you may again understand Him That was made an Advocate for us, a High Priest undefiled and holy, separated from sinners.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria &#8211; Five Tomes Against Nestorius, Tome III<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The God of all uttered the Law to them of old, Moses being\u00a0mediator. But there was not in the Law the power of achieving\u00a0good without any blame, to those who wished it (for it hath\u00a0perfected nothing). But neither was the first covenant found\u00a0faultless, <strong>but the all-wise Paul called it the ministry of\u00a0condemnation.<\/strong> I hear him say, We know that what things soever\u00a0the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law, that every\u00a0mouth may be stopped <strong>and all the world may become under\u00a0sentence before God<\/strong>, because by the deeds of the law there shall\u00a0no flesh be justified in His sight, (<strong>for the Law worketh unto wrath,\u00a0and the Letter killeth<\/strong>), and as himself somewhere saith, <strong>He that\u00a0despised Moses\u2019 law dieth without mercy under two or three\u00a0witnesses.<\/strong> Seeing <strong>therefore that the Law condemneth them that\u00a0sin and decreeth sometimes the uttermost punishment to them\u00a0that disregard it,<\/strong> and in no wise pitieth, how was not the\u00a0manifestation to them on the earth of a Compassionate and truly\u00a0Merciful High Priest necessary? <strong>of One Who should make the\u00a0curse to cease, should stop the condemnation and free sinners\u00a0with forgiving grace and with the bending of clemency?<\/strong> for I (He\u00a0says) am He that blotteth out thy transgressions and will not\u00a0remember. For we have been justified by faith and not out of the\u00a0works of the Law, as it is written&#8230;but\u00a0if we believe that He That suffered in the flesh is God, Who hath\u00a0been made also our High Priest, we have no ways erred, but\u00a0acknowledge the Word out of God made Man: and thus is\u00a0required of us faith God-ward, <strong>Who putteth out of condemnation\u00a0and freeth from sin those that are taken thereby.<\/strong> For the Son of\u00a0man hath authority on the earth also to forgive sins, as Himself too\u00a0saith. Contrasting therefore with the salvation and grace that is\u00a0through <strong>Christ the harshness<\/strong> (so to speak) of the law\u2019s severity,\u00a0we say that<strong> Christ was made a Merciful High Priest.<\/strong> For He was\u00a0and is God Good by Nature and Compassionate and Merciful\u00a0always, and hath not become this in time but was so manifested to\u00a0us.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211; Commentary on the Gospel of St. Luke<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For the law, which the all-wise Moses ordained, <strong>was for the reproof of sin, and the condemnation of offences<\/strong>: but it justified absolutely no one. For the very wise Paul writes, &#8220;Whosoever rejected the law of Moses, was put to death without mercy at the mouth of two or three witnesses.&#8221; <strong>But our Lord Jesus Christ, having removed the curse of the law, and proved the commandment which condemns to be powerless and inoperative<\/strong>, <strong>became our merciful High Priest,<\/strong> according to the words of the blessed Paul. For He justifies the wicked by faith, and sets free those\u00a0held captive by their sins.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211; Five Tomes Against Nestorious<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">For He has been sacrificed not rather for Himself, as THOU sayest, but for the infirm, for whom the high priest according to the Law used to make supplication, that you may again understand <strong>Him That was made an Advocate for us,<\/strong> a <strong>High Priest<\/strong> undefiled and holy, separated from sinners.\u00a0Since therefore our opponent is on all sides sick of uncomeliness of speech, we say that the Word out of God the\u00a0Father was made the <strong>High Priest and Apostle<\/strong> of our confession when He was made Man, abasing Himself unto\u00a0emptiness and in our condition: in order that having <strong>offered\u00a0Himself to the Father<\/strong> for an odour of sweet smell in be\u00a0half of all, He might win all under Heaven, <strong>might remove\u00a0the ancient guilt,<\/strong> might justify by grace through faith,\u00a0might render superior to death and decay, holy and hallowed and full well versed in every kind of virtue, confessing Him\u00a0their Saviour&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) \u2013 The Gospel According to John<br \/>\n<\/strong>Then desiring to put before us in a\u00a0clear light the methods of the gathering in detail, at one time he\u00a0said: For what the Law could not do, in that it was weak through\u00a0the flesh, <strong>God, sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh\u00a0and as an offering for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:<\/strong> that the\u00a0ordinance of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after\u00a0the flesh, but after the Spirit; and at another again: Since then the\u00a0children are sharers in flesh and blood, He also Himself in like\u00a0manner partook of the same; that through death He might bring to\u00a0nought him that had the power of death, that is the devil; and\u00a0might deliver all them who through fear of death were all their\u00a0lifetime subject to bondage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD)<\/strong> <strong>&#8211; That Christ is One<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Yes, for we say that His are the human by an Economic appropriation, and along with the flesh that which is its: seeing that no other son beside Him is conceived of by us, but <strong>the Lord Himself hath saved us, giving His own Blood a ransom for the life of all<\/strong>; for we were bought with a price, not with things corruptible silver or gold but with the <strong>Precious Blood as of a Lamb Immaculate and without blemish<\/strong>, Christ, <strong>Who offered Himself in our behalf for an odour of a sweet smell to God the Father<\/strong>. And hereto will be our warrant Paul most learned in the law, who hath written, Be therefore imitators of God as beloved children, and walk in love as <strong>Christ too loved us and delivered Himself for us an offering and sacrifice to God for an odour of a sweet smell<\/strong>&#8230;For it beseemed God the Father because of Whom all things and through Whom all things, to perfect the Son Who had descended to emptying and become man, having taken bondman&#8217;s form, through sufferings in that <strong>He consecrates His own flesh a Ransom for the life of all.<\/strong> For Christ hath been sacrificed for us, the <strong>spotless Victim<\/strong>, and by One offering hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified, re-forming man&#8217;s nature into what it was in the beginning: for all things in Him are new.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211; On the Gospel According to John, \u00a0Book XI<br \/>\n<\/strong>For since He is the <strong>High Priest of our souls<\/strong>, insomuch as He appeared as Man, though being by Nature God together with the Father, He most fittingly makes His prayer on our behalf; trying to persuade us to believe that He is, even now, <strong>the propitiation for our sins<\/strong>, and a righteous <strong>Advocate<\/strong>; as John saith. Therefore also Paul, wishing us to be of this mind, thus exhorts us: For we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but One that hath been in all points tempted like as we are; yet without sin. Then, since <strong>He is an High Priest<\/strong>, insomuch as He is Man, and, at the same time, <strong>brought Himself a blameless sacrifice to God the Father,<\/strong> <strong>as a ransom for the life of all men,<\/strong> being as it were the firstfruits of mortality, that in all things He might have the pre-eminence, as Paul says; and He reconciles to Him the reprobate race of man upon the earth, purifying them by His own Blood, and shaping them to newness of life through the Holy Spirit; and since, as we have often said, all things are accomplished by the Father through the Son in the Spirit; He moulds the prayer for blessings towards us, as <strong>Mediator and High Priest<\/strong>, though He unites with His Father in giving and providing Divine and spiritual graces. For Christ divideth the Spirit, according to His own Will and pleasure, to every man severally, as He will.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211; On the Gospel According to John, Book IV<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> I die (He says) for all, that I may quicken all by Myself, <strong>and I made My Flesh a Ransom for the flesh of all.<\/strong> For death shall die in My Death, and with Me shall rise again (He says) the fallen nature of man. For for this became I like to you, Man (that is) and of the seed of Abraham, that I might be made like in all things unto My brethren. The blessed Paul himself also, well nderstanding what Christ just now said to us says, Forasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same, that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil. <strong>For no otherwise was it possible that he that hath the power of death should be destroyed, and death itself also, had not Christ given Himself for us, a Ransom<\/strong>, One for all, <strong>for He was in behalf of all<\/strong>. Wherefore He says in the Psalms too, <strong>offering Himself as a spotless Sacrifice to God the Father<\/strong>, Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, but a Body preparedst Thou Me. In whole burnt-offerings and offerings for sin Thou tookedst no pleasure: then said I, Lo I come (in the chapter of the book it is written of Me)<strong> to do Thy will, O God<\/strong>, was My choice. For since the <strong>blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of an heifer sufficed not unto the purging away of sin<\/strong>, nor yet would the slaughter of brute beasts ever have destroyed the power of death, <strong>Christ Himself came in in some way to undergo punishment for all<\/strong>. For with His stripes WE were healed, as saith the Prophet, and <strong>His Own Self bare our sins in His Own Body on the tree<\/strong>; and He was crucified for all and on account of all, that if One died for all, all we might live in Him. For it was not possible that He should be holden by death, neither could corruption over-master that Which is by Nature Life. But that Christ gave His Own Flesh for the Life of the world, we shall know by His words also, for He saith, Holy Father keep them; and again, <strong>For their sakes I sanctify Myself.<\/strong> He here says that He sanctifies Himself, not aiding Himself unto sanctification for the purification of the soul or spirit (as it is understood of us), nor yet for the participation of the Holy Ghost, for the Spirit was in Him by Nature, and He was and is Holy always, and will be so ever. <strong>He here says, I sanctify Myself,for, I offer Myself and present Myself as a spotless Sacrifice for an odour of a sweet smell. For that which is brought to the Divine Altar was sanctified, or called holy<\/strong> according to the law.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211;\u00a0COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF LUKE<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Look not therefore upon Him Who was laid in the manger as a\u00a0babe merely, but in our poverty see Him Who as God is rich, and\u00a0in the measure of our humanity Him Who excels the inhabitants of\u00a0heaven, and Who therefore is glorified even by the holy angels.\u00a0And how noble was the hymn, \u201cGlory to God in the highest, and\u00a0on earth peace, and among men good will!\u201d For the angels and\u00a0archangels, thrones and lordships, and high above them the\u00a0Seraphim, preserving their settled order, are at peace with God:\u00a0for never in any way do they transgress His good pleasure, but\u00a0are firmly established in righteousness and holiness. <strong>But we,\u00a0wretched beings, by having set up our own lusts in opposition to\u00a0the will of our Lord, had put ourselves into the position of enemies\u00a0unto Him.<\/strong> <strong>But by Christ this has been done away: for He is our\u00a0peace;<\/strong> <strong>for He has united us by Himself unto God the Father,\u00a0having taken away from the middle the cause of the enmity, even\u00a0sin<\/strong>, and so justifies us by faith, and makes us holy and without\u00a0blame, and calls near unto Him those who were afar off: and\u00a0besides this, He has created the two people into one new man, so\u00a0making peace, and <strong>reconciling both in one body to the Father.<\/strong> For\u00a0it pleased God the Father to form into one new whole all things in\u00a0Him, and to bind together things below and things above, and to\u00a0make those in heaven and those on earth into one flock. Christ\u00a0therefore has been made for us both Peace and Goodwill&#8230;\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211; On the Gospel According to John, Book XI, Chap X<br \/>\n<\/strong>For He brought Himself as\u00a0a <strong>Victim and holy Sacrifice to God the Father<\/strong>, <strong>reconciling the\u00a0world unto Himself,<\/strong> and bringing into kinship with Him that which\u00a0had fallen away therefrom, that is, the race of man. For He is our\u00a0Peace, according to the Scripture. And, indeed, our reconciliation\u00a0to God could no otherwise have been accomplished through\u00a0Christ that saveth us than by communion in the Spirit and\u00a0sanctification. For that which knits us together, and, as it were,\u00a0unites us with God, is the Holy Spirit; <strong>Which if we receive, we are\u00a0proved sharers and partakers in the Divine Nature, and we admit\u00a0the Father Himself into our hearts, through the Son and in the\u00a0Son.<\/strong>..For the Only-begotten\u00a0sanctified Himself for our sins; that is, <strong>offered Himself up, and\u00a0brought Himself as a holy Sacrifice for a sweet-smelling savour to\u00a0God the Father;<\/strong> that, while He as God came between and hedged\u00a0off and built a wall of partition between human nature and sin,\u00a0nothing might hinder our being able to have access to God, and\u00a0have close fellowship with Him, through communion, that is, with\u00a0the Holy Spirit, moulding us anew to righteousness and\u00a0sanctification and the original likeness of man.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong style=\"color: #000000;\">St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211; Five Tomes Against Nestorious, Tome V<br \/>\n<\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For we say that He which was crucified is Lord of glory, and He is so of a truth: yet acknowledging that the Word of God is inseverable and one with the flesh united, to Him having a reasonable soul, we say that He it is Who offered Himself, as it were the Immaculate Offering and most sweet-smelling <\/span><strong style=\"color: #000000;\">Sacrifice of His Own Body, to God the Father<\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">, and nailed to the wood the handwriting that was against us. And one may hear Him say by the mouth of David, Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not but a Body preparedst Thou Me, whole burnt sacrifices and for sin Thou tookest no pleasure in: then said I, Lo I come (in the volume of the book it has been written of Me)<\/span><strong style=\"color: #000000;\"> to do Thy Will, o God.<\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> The commandment according to the Law now availing nought, and perfecting nothing, and God the Father holding the sacrifices through blood unacceptable;&#8212;-He says that a Body has been prepared for Himself, in order that giving it a <\/span><strong style=\"color: #000000;\">Ransom for the salvation and life of all,<\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> He <\/span><strong style=\"color: #000000;\">might redeem all, from both death and decay and yet more from sins.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) \u2013 The Gospel According to John<br \/>\n<\/strong>For He, being a holy <strong>High<\/strong> <strong>Priest<\/strong>,\u00a0blameless\u00a0 and undefiled,\u00a0offered\u00a0Himself\u00a0 not for His own weakness, as was the custom of those to whom was allotted the duty\u00a0of sacrificing according\u00a0to\u00a0the Law, but rather\u00a0for the\u00a0salvation\u00a0of our\u00a0souls, and that\u00a0once for all, because of our sin, and is an <strong>Advocate<\/strong> for us: And\u00a0<strong>He is\u00a0the propitiation for our sins<\/strong>\u2026 For the Only-begotten \u00a0sanctified\u00a0Himself\u00a0for our sins; that is, offered\u00a0Himself\u00a0up, and brought Himself as a\u00a0holy <strong>Sacrifice<\/strong> for\u00a0a\u00a0<strong>sweet-smelling savor\u00a0to\u00a0God the Father<\/strong>\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p>http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/wp-admin\/post.php?post=937&#038;action=edit<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Fr. Tadros Malaty \u2013Commentary on Isaiah<br \/>\n<\/strong>He washed our filth in the water of Baptism, in the worthiness of His <strong>blood<\/strong>; and is still washing all our weaknesses by His <strong>blood<\/strong> that flowed from his stabbed side, mingled with water. If our hands got spoiled with blood\u00a0 through our sins, He offers His blood as <strong>atonement<\/strong>\u00a0 for\u00a0 our\u00a0 sake,\u00a0 to\u00a0 set\u00a0 us\u00a0 a\u00a0 glorious Church, with no defilement or wrinkles, but in every respect sanctified. That\u00a0 washing\u00a0 or\u00a0 purification\u00a0 is\u00a0 realized\u00a0 \u201cby\u00a0 the\u00a0 spirit\u00a0 of\u00a0 judgment and by the spirit of burning.\u201d As to the spirit of Judgment, it has been realized by His being nailed on the Cross, to <strong>bear the price of our sins<\/strong> in His body, consummating <strong>divine justice<\/strong> what we <strong>due on Him<\/strong>. As to the spirit of burning, it refers to what has been proclaimed by the law in the Book of Leviticus, concerning the \u2018burnt offering,\u2019 where the sacrifice is wholly burnt, as a reference to complete love.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><a id=\"tothefather\"><\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>To Whom Was the Ransom Paid?<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id6a0134c5a56b1\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Scriptural References&gt;&gt;\"    >Scriptural References&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id6a0134c5a56b1\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Exodus 30: 11-15 (Septuagint)<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, \u201cWhen you take the census of the children of Israel for their number, t<strong>hen every man shall give a ransom for his soul to the Lord,<\/strong> <strong>so there may be no plague among them when you number them.<\/strong> This is what everyone among those who are numbered shall give: half a drachma according to the drachma of the sanctuary (a drachma is twenty obols). <strong>The half-drachma shall be an offering to the Lord.<\/strong> Everyone included among those who are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering to the\u00a0Lord. <strong>The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a drachma when you give an offering to the Lord to make atonement for your souls.<\/strong> You shall take the money of the offering of the children of Israel and shall give it for the service of the tabernacle of testimony, that it may be a <strong>memorial for the children of Israel before the Lord to make atonement for your souls.<\/strong>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Leviticus 25: 47-52 (Septuagint)<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2018Now if a resident alien or sojourner with you prospers, and your brother becomes poor and sells himself to the resident alien or sojourner with you, or to a member of the resident alien\u2019s family, after he is sold he may be redeemed again. One of his brothers may redeem him; or his\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">uncle or his uncle\u2019s son may redeem him; or anyone near of kin to him in his family may redeem him; or if he is able he may redeem himself. Thus he shall compute the years with him who bought him: The price of his release shall be according to the number of years from the year that he was sold to him until the Year of Remission; it shall be according to the time he was a hired servant for him. <strong>If there are still more years remaining to someone, he shall pay his ransom from the money of his sale.<\/strong> Now if there remain but a few years until the Year of Remission, then he shall compute with him, and according to his years, <strong>he shall repay his ransom.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Psalm 49:7-9 (NKJV)<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">None\u00a0<i>of them<\/i>\u00a0can by any means redeem\u00a0<i>his<\/i> brother, <span class=\"text Ps-49-7\"><strong>Nor give to God a ransom for him<\/strong>\u2014<\/span>For the redemption of their souls\u00a0<i>is<\/i> costly, <span class=\"text Ps-49-8\">And it shall cease forever\u2014<\/span>That he should continue to live eternally, <span class=\"text Ps-49-9\"><i>And<\/i> not see the Pit.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Matthew 6:12<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Matthew 18: 23-27<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> <span class=\"red\">Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.<\/span> <span class=\"red\">As he began the settlement, a man who <strong>owed him<\/strong> ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him.<\/span> <span class=\"red\">Since he was <strong>not able to pay<\/strong>, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be <strong>sold to repay the debt<\/strong>. <\/span><span class=\"red\">At this the servant fell on his knees before him. \u2018Be patient with me,\u2019 he begged, \u2018and I will pay back everything.\u2019 <\/span><span class=\"red\">The servant\u2019s master took pity on him,<strong> canceled the debt<\/strong> and let him go.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"red\" style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Mark 10:45<\/strong><br \/>\nFor even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a <strong>ransom<\/strong> for many.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Colossians 2:13-14<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,\u00a0<strong>by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands<\/strong>. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>1 Timothy 2:5-6<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who <strong>gave Himself a ransom for all,<\/strong> to be testified in due time,<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Ephesians 5:2<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath <strong>given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God<\/strong> for a sweet smelling savour.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Hebrews 9:14<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit <strong>offered himself without spot to God<\/strong>, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><em><\/div><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">To answer the question to whom was the &#8220;ransom&#8221; paid, we should first answer the question to whom was the &#8220;ransom&#8221; owed? For this, St. Irenaeus helps us:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Irenaeus (130 &#8211; 202 AD) &#8211;\u00a0Against Heresies (Book V, Chapter 16, 17)<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> <strong> For we were debtors<\/strong> <strong>to none other but to Him whose commandment we had transgressed<\/strong> at the beginning\u2026&#8221;He has destroyed the handwriting\u201d of our <strong>debt<\/strong>, and \u201cfastened it to the cross;\u201d so that as by means of a tree we were<em> made <strong>debtors<\/strong> <strong>to God<\/strong>, [so also] by means of a tree we may obtain the <strong>remission of our debt<\/strong>\u2026For this reason also He has taught us to say in prayer, \u201cAnd forgive us our <strong>debts<\/strong>;\u201d since indeed He is our Father, <strong>whose debtors we were, having transgressed His commandments<\/strong>.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-style: normal;\">St. Athanasius explains that when the <\/span><em style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;Father <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">willed<\/span> that ransoms should be paid&#8221;<\/em><span style=\"color: #000000; font-style: normal;\">, Christ offered Himself &#8220;to the Father&#8221; to cleanse us from sin:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) &#8211; Against the Arians <\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Thus then the Lord also, \u2018In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God;\u2019 but\u00a0when the <strong>Father <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">willed<\/span> that ransoms should be<\/strong> <strong>paid<\/strong> for all and to all, grace should be given, then truly the Word, as Aaron his robe, so did He take earthly flesh, having Mary for the Mother of His Body as if virgin earth, that, as a High Priest, having He as others an offering, He might <strong>offer Himself to the Father<\/strong>, and cleanse us all from sins in His own blood, and might rise from the dead.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Since Christ presented Himself as an offering for sin (Is 53:10), and sin offerings are offered only to God, the Book of Hebrews makes it clear that as High Priest, Christ offered His Sacrifice to God\u00a0(Heb 9:14).\u00a0<\/span>St. Cyril affirms this understanding by anathematizing anyone who says otherwise:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211; Anathemas in Opposition to Nestorius<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Holy Scripture states that Christ is <strong>High Priest<\/strong> and Apostle of our confession, and <strong>offered Himself<\/strong> on our behalf for <strong>a sweet-smelling savor to God<\/strong> <strong>and our Father<\/strong>. If, then, any one says that He, the Word of God, <strong>was not<\/strong> made our <strong>High Priest<\/strong> <strong>and Apostle<\/strong> when He was made flesh and man after our manner; but as being another, other than Himself, properly man made of a woman; or if any one says that He offered the offering on His own behalf, and not rather on our behalf alone; for He that knew no sin would not have needed an offering, <strong>let him be anathema.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. Cyril explains even more clearly that Christ offered his Sacrifice <em>&#8220;to God the Father, as a ransom for the life of all&#8221;<\/em>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211; On the Gospel According to John, \u00a0Book XI<br \/>\n<\/strong>Therefore also Paul, wishing us to be of this mind, thus exhorts us: For we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but One that hath been in all points tempted like as we are; yet without sin. Then, since <strong>He is an High Priest<\/strong>, insomuch as He is Man, and, at the same time, brought Himself a <strong>blameless sacrifice <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">to God the Father,<\/span><\/strong><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">as a ransom<\/span> for the life of all men&#8230;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">St. Basil confirms that Christ gave <em>&#8220;ransom to God, for all of us because &#8216;God has set him forth as a propitiation by his blood through faith'&#8221;:<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong style=\"color: #0a0a0a; font-style: normal;\">&#8216;He shall not give to God his ransom, nor the price of the redemption of his soul: Do not, then, seek your brother for your ransoming, but Him who surpasses your nature, not a mere man, but the Man God Jesus Christ, who alone is able to give ransom to God for all of us<\/strong><span style=\"color: #0a0a0a; font-style: normal;\">,<\/span><strong style=\"color: #0a0a0a; font-style: normal;\"> because &#8216;God has set him forth as a propitiation by his blood through faith.&#8217;<\/strong><strong style=\"color: #0a0a0a; font-style: normal;\">&#8230;<\/strong><span style=\"color: #0a0a0a; font-style: normal;\">In fact, what can man find great enough that he may give it for the ransom of his soul? <\/span><strong style=\"color: #0a0a0a; font-style: normal;\">But, one thing was found worth as much as all men together. This was given for the price of ransom for our souls, the holy and highly honored blood of our Lord Jesus Christ,<\/strong><span style=\"color: #0a0a0a; font-style: normal;\"> which He poured out for all of us; therefore, we were bought at a great price, If, then, a brother does not redeem, will man redeem? But, if man cannot redeem us, He who redeems us is not a man, Now, do not assume, because He sojourned with us &#8216;in the likeness of sinful flesh,&#8217; that our Lord is only man, failing to discern the power of the divinity, <\/span><strong style=\"color: #0a0a0a; font-style: normal;\">who had no need to give God a ransom for Himself nor to redeem His own soul because &#8216;He did no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.&#8217;<\/strong><span style=\"color: #0a0a0a; font-style: normal;\"> No one is sufficient to redeem himself, unless He comes who turns away the captivity of the people, not with ransoms nor with gifts, as it is written in Isaiah, but in His own blood.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">There are some who attempt to use the following quote by St. Gregory Nazianzen to deny the necessity of Christ&#8217;s sacrifice as a sin offering to God, as well as to deny the substitutionary\/exchange nature of the sacrifice:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;To Whom was that Blood offered that was shed for us, and why was It shed?&#8230;If to the Evil One, fie upon the outrage!&#8230;But if to the Father, I ask first, how?&#8230;On what principle did the Blood of His Only begotten Son delight the Father&#8230;Is it not evident that the Father accepts Him, but neither asked for Him nor demanded Him&#8230;&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">However, St. Gregory&#8217;s quote cannot be used to support the above mentioned argument(s) for the following reasons:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. Gregory was merely explaining that a ransom consisting of God was offered to the Father, not the devil.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">God substituted Isaac for an animal sacrifice. Thus, God still commanded that animal sacrifices to be offered to God. These sacrifices were a type of Christ.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. Athanasius clarifies that God did not accept Isaac as sacrifice, not because a sacrifice was not necessary, but because Isaac was only the type of Christ and the type could not save the world:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">St. Athanasius &#8211; Festal Letters, Letter 6<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">And, being restrained from sacrificing Isaac, <strong>he saw the Messiah in the ram, which was offered up instead as a sacrifice to God<\/strong>&#8230;Thus God accepted the will of the offerer, but prevented that which was offered from being sacrificed. For the<strong> death of Isaac did not procure freedom to the world<\/strong>,<strong> but that of our Saviour alone<\/strong>, by whose stripes we all are healed.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">The ram symbolized Christ. Isaac represented humanity. Thus, Isaac (humanity) was spared because of the substitutionary sacrifice of the ram (Christ).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">Whether the Father &#8220;demanded&#8221; the ransom or merely &#8220;accepted&#8221; it, has no bearing on to Whom the sacrifice was offered or the necessity of the sacrifice.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Father did not &#8220;demand&#8221; but &#8220;willed&#8221; the sacrifice of Christ.\u00a0<em>(Hebrews 10:7, John 3:16).\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">The quote merely confirms that Christ offered Himself willingly to the Father <em>(John 10:18) as an offering for sin.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Thus, scripture and patristic consensus undeniably confirm that Christ offered Himself as a Sacrifice for sin on behalf of humanity, to God. (1 Peter 3:18).<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id6a0134c5a56c5\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"More patristic quotes&gt;&gt;\"    >More patristic quotes&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id6a0134c5a56c5\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) \u2013 Festal Epistles, Letter X<br \/>\n<\/strong>This is the\u00a0Lord, Who is manifested in the Father, and in Him also the Father is manifested;<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Who, being truly the Son of the Father, at last became incarnate for our sake, that He might <strong>offer Himself to the Father in our stead<\/strong>, and <strong>redeem<\/strong> us through His <strong>offering and<\/strong> <strong>sacrifice<\/strong>. This is He Who once, in old time, brought the people out of Egypt; but Who afterwards redeemed all of us, or rather the whole race of men, from death, and <strong>brought them up from the grave<\/strong>. This is He Who, in old time, was <strong>sacrificed<\/strong> <strong>as a lamb<\/strong>, having been typified in the <strong>lamb<\/strong>; but Who afterwards was slain for us, for <strong>Christ, our Passover, is<\/strong> <strong>sacrificed<\/strong>.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211; Commentary on Gospel of St. John<\/strong><br \/>\nFor not by the\u00a0violence of the Jews, <strong>but of His own Will<\/strong> did He come to the Cross for our sakes and on account of us. Wherefore also He saith, averting the reproach of seeming powerlessness, No man taketh My life from Me, I lay it down of \u00a0Myself: I have power to lay it down, and again I have power to take it. For as we have already before said, <strong>He bare no unwilling Cross for us.<\/strong> For He hath <strong>offered Himself as a Holy Sacrifice to God the Father,<\/strong> purchasing the salvation of all men by His Own Blood. Wherefore He also said in the Gospel preachings, For their sakes do I sanctify Myself. But sanctify He here says for &#8220;offer,&#8221; and &#8220;consecrate;&#8221; for <strong>that which is offered in sacrifice to God is holy.<\/strong> But that He accepted being the Sacrifice for all free from all violence from any, we shall know when we hear Him saying in the Psalms to God the Father, Sacrifice and, offering Thou wouldest not, but a Body preparedst <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Thou Me: in whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin Thou tookest no pleasure: <strong>then I said, Lo I come, in the chapter of the book it is written of Me, to do Thy will, O God.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">St. Cyril explains that the Son offered Himself through love of His Father:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) \u2013 The Gospel According to St. John<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> He <strong>willed<\/strong> that His own Son, though of like fashion with Himself and distinguished by His perfect equality with Him should descend to such humiliation as to take the form of man for our sake, and not shrink from death to save the world. <strong>This the Son did through love of His Father<\/strong>, Who is said to have <strong>ordered Him by His own power<\/strong><strong>to suffer death<\/strong> in His fleshly nature, and to destroy the power of corruption, and to quicken the dead, and to restore them to their ancient state.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211; On the Gospel According to John, Book V<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The most wise Evangelist profitably makes plea in behalf of the saving Passion and shews that the Death on the Cross was not of human necessity, nor did Jesus suffer death against His will from the tyranny of another, but rather did <strong>offer Himself for us a spotless Sacrifice to God the Father<\/strong> <strong>by reason of His inherent love for us.<\/strong> For since He must needs suffer (since thus would the imported corruption and sin and death be overturned), <strong>He hath given Himself a Ransom for the life of all.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211;\u00a0On the Gospel According to John, Book III<\/span><br \/>\n<\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Law then appointed to the children of Israel to give to every man a ransom for his poll, half a didrachm. But one stater contains a didrachm. Yea and herein again was shadowed out to us <strong>Christ Himself, Who offered Himself for all<\/strong>, as by all, <strong>a <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Ransom to God the Father<\/span><\/strong>, and is understood in the one drachma, but not separately from the other, because that in the one coin, as we said before, two drachmae are contained. Thus may both the Son be conceived of in respect of the Father, and again the Father in respect of the Son, Both in One Nature, but Each <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Separate in part, as existing in His own Person, yet not wholly severed, nor One apart from the Other. And as in the one coin were two drachmae, having equal bulk with one another, and in no ways one less than the other; so shalt thou conceive of the in nought differing Essence of the Son in respect of God the Father, and again of the Father in respect of the Son, and thou shalt at length receive wholesome doctrine upon all points spoken of concerning Him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Church Midnight Praises &#8211; Sunday Theotokia<\/strong><br \/>\nYou are the Censer; made of pure gold, carrying the blessed and live coal; which is taken from the Altar; to purge the sins and take away the iniquities; which is God the Logos, Who was incarnate of you and <strong>offered Himself to God, His Father<\/strong>, as incense.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a id=\"c\"><\/a><strong>Conclusion<\/strong>:<\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This article merely analyzed the language and understanding of the early Church fathers in regards to the atonement. It did not attempt to present a complete patristic view on salvation as a whole. There is no shortage of evidence to show that the early church understood and expounded Christ&#8217;s redemption in terms of a ransom\/debt paid, penalty\/sentence satisfied, and a substitution\/exchange. Early church fathers spoke clearly of both God&#8217;s mercy and truth; of both his love and judgment. They explained that Christ &#8220;bore our sins&#8221;, that He became sin and a curse for us, and died to fulfill the just requirement of the Law, and so free us from condemnation. They spoke unequivocally and with consensus of an atoning sacrifice for sin offered by Christ to the Father &#8220;in the stead of&#8221; and as a &#8220;substitute&#8221; for humanity. Through His Sacrifice as both &#8220;Victim&#8221; and &#8220;High Priest&#8221;, sins were remitted and humanity was reconciled to God. Humanity was renewed and justified By Christ&#8217;s redeeming blood, Satan&#8217;s accusations were silenced, the gates of Paradise were opened, and the power of death was annulled.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In His redemption of humanity, Christ took what is ours and gave us what is His. He became man so that in Him, humanity could be exalted to the right hand of God. He hungered to nourish us with the Manna from Heaven. He thirsted to quench us with the Spirit of life, Who renews our fallen nature to the holiness of the image of the King of Glory. He took our infirmities upon Him to heal us; our insult and humiliation to give us his dignity and glory. He was despised and dishonored as a servant, so that we may be esteemed and honored as kings and priests to God. He became weak so that He can be our unfailing refuge from the power of the enemy. He was bound with chains so that He can liberate us from the captivity of sin and the fear of death. He accepted the shame of spitting so that we can behold his unfathomable humility and fountain of compassion. He was reviled and mocked, but did not open His mouth so that in His denial of justice, the mercies of God would abundantly be bestowed upon sinners. He was acquainted with grief so that we can be acquainted with His ineffable joy; He became familiar with suffering so that He can wipe away every tear from our eyes. He was sentenced as a criminal so that in Him, our acquittal can be eternal; He was condemned as one who is guilty so that our innocence would be beyond reproach. He carried our cross as the Good Shepherd carries His staff so that He can shepherded us to His heavenly pasture, and so that the chastisement he endured on our behalf would bring us eternal peace. He bore our sins and was lifted up to the cross naked to cover the shame of our nakedness. He was pierced for our transgression so that his righteous Blood would cleanse us from the venom of the sting of death. He became a curse for us so that He can bestow upon us everlasting blessings, and ransom us from the curse of the Law. He was pierced with our nails to that He can nail the handwriting of our rebellion to the cross on which He was condemned. He drank our bitter vinegar so that we can taste the sweet wine of knowing Him. He was counted among the transgressors so that we may be counted among the righteous. He was forsaken by all so that we may be eternally united to Him.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">He opened His arms wide on the cross to call prodigal sons to His paternal forgiveness and loving embrace. Blood and water poured from His wounded side; blood to cleanse us from the stain of sin, and water to quench our thirst for Him. He poured out His life like a Lamb to the slaughter, to restore life to our dead souls and consciences. He gave us His own Body and Blood as healing medicine for our souls, and to unite us eternally with Him. He breathed His last on the cross to breathe in us the life-giving Spirit of the Father. He died and was buried so that he may redeem us from the power of the grave and to bind the One who held the keys of Hades. He was resurrected to raise us from corruption and mortality, and to restore us to the Paradise of joy. The pain and agony He endured was for the joy set before Him to reclaim us eternally as His Own, never again to be separated from His Pasture.\u00a0With our sinful nature renewed, our sins remitted, our death conquered, our enemies crushed, He ascended to His Heavenly glory, seated at the right hand of the Father, united inseparably with our humanity as the Bridegroom is forever united to His bride, until He appears again to Shepherd her to everlasting glory.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">He turned our disobedience to obedience; our wickedness to righteousness, our shame into honor; our curse to countless blessings; our punishment into salvation; our mourning to joy; our despair to confident hope; our fear to consolation; our lowliness into exaltation; our poverty into wealth; our defeat to victory; and the fear of death to everlasting joy and life. This is the story of our redemption. What \u201catonement theory\u201d can possibly do justice to all the dimensions of His infinite and inexpressible love?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is possible that the &#8220;Victorious&#8221; model of Christ was most effective in evangelizing Jews who awaited a glorious Messiah. This model would have also been more appealing to heathens who would have been stumbled by the idea of a God who died, let alone died a &#8220;cursed&#8221; death. Moreover, a persecuted Church may have found consolation in the victory of Christ. Regardless, if &#8220;Christus Victor&#8221; was popular in the early Church, it was clearly not a complete or exclusive model.\u00a0Having said that, there is no single model or explanation that can possibly do justice to all the dimensions of the infinite and inexpressible love of God.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/atonement-verses\/\">Verses on Atonement<\/a><\/p>\n<p><script>\n\tvar refTagger = {\n\t\tsettings: {\n\t\t\tbibleVersion: \"NKJV\"\t\t\t\n\t\t}\n\t};\n\t(function(d, t) {\n\t\tvar g = d.createElement(t), s = d.getElementsByTagName(t)[0];\n\t\tg.src = \"\/\/api.reftagger.com\/v2\/RefTagger.js\";\n\t\ts.parentNode.insertBefore(g, s);\n\t}(document, \"script\"));\n<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Christus Victor is a new model of atonement that some argue dates back to the early church. The model emphasizes&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1699,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-patristics","category-salvation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1514"}],"version-history":[{"count":65,"href":"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1514\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2704,"href":"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1514\/revisions\/2704"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}