{"id":937,"date":"2017-07-29T22:34:47","date_gmt":"2017-07-30T05:34:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/?p=937"},"modified":"2023-04-07T20:21:38","modified_gmt":"2023-04-08T03:21:38","slug":"soteriology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/soteriology\/","title":{"rendered":"Atonement in the Early Church"},"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&#8217;s 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&#8217;s judgment for sin, but only of healing and demonstration of God&#8217;s 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-Chalcedonian fathers will be utilized; focus will be on the writings of the pre-Chalcedonian Church fathers.<\/p>\r\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\r\n<li><a href=\"#origin\">Origin of Doctrinal Deviation\/Controversy<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"#d\">Death as a &#8220;Debt&#8221; for Transgression<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"#dd\">Divine Dilemma (Justice vs. Mercy)<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"#divinedilemma\">Solution to the Divine Dilemma<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"#ddd\">Christ Paid the &#8220;Debt&#8221; (Ransom)<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"#law\">Christ Fulfilled the Law<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"#ots\">Old Testament Sacrifices<br \/><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"#is53\">Isaiah Chapter 53<\/a><a href=\"#ots\"><br \/><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"#dddd\">Christ as Sacrifice and High Priest<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"#tothefather\">To Whom Was the Ransom Paid?<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"#c\">Conclusion<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a id=\"origin\"><\/a><strong>Origin of Doctrinal Deviation\/Controversy<\/strong><\/h4>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Rejecting the idea of a vicarious substitution, Metropolitan Anthony argued:\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;What kind of love is it that crucifies? And who needs it?&#8221;<\/span>\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/p>\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\r\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>\r\n<\/div>\r\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 &#8220;Christus Victor&#8221;, 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&#8217;s justice\/judgment, but merely as a conquering of sin, death, and the devil. Aul\u00e9n essentially conjured up a new atonement theory called &#8220;Christus Victor&#8221; 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 consensus about the victorious Christ. In his book, Aul\u00e9n pitted his atonement theory against what he called the &#8220;Latin&#8221; view. While it is undeniable that the Church fathers spoke about Christ&#8217;s victory over death, was substitutionary atonement truly absent from the early Church as per\u00a0Aul\u00e9n? We will examine Aul\u00e9n&#8217;s claims in great detail in this article. Unfortunately, many have accepted Aul\u00e9n&#8217;s Book at face value without questioning the historical and patristic accuracy or objectivity of\u00a0Aul\u00e9n&#8217;s arguments.<\/p>\r\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a id=\"d\"><\/a><strong>Death as a &#8220;Debt&#8221; for Transgression<\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Those who adopt the modern views of atonement (Christus Victor) often argue that the 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 and victory over death and the devil. 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. Meanwhile, it is important to distinguish &#8220;<em>corruption of death&#8221;<\/em> which is physical death from spiritual death, which is death of the soul as result of separation from God. It is also important to distintinguish the above two, from eternal death, which is God&#8217;s eternal judgement for the wicked. This is the second death (Revelation 20:14). Christ was incarnate and crucified to deliver humanity from all death.<\/p>\r\n<p><em><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id69e65f9bd6f4d\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Scriptural references&gt;&gt;\"    >Scriptural references&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id69e65f9bd6f4d\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/em><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Genesis 3:22-24<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Ezekiel 18:20<br \/><\/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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Roma<\/span>ns 6:23<br \/><\/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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Galatians 3:10<br \/><\/strong>&#8220;<strong>Cursed<\/strong> is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Romans 3:5<\/span><\/strong><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romans 5:18<br \/><\/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>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romans 8:20<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For the creation was <strong>subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected\u00a0<i>it<\/i><\/strong>\u00a0in hope;<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Colossians 3:5-6<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Hebrews 2:2<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<\/div>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">From the above sentence alone, we see:<br \/>1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Corruption of death was a \u201c<strong>penalty<\/strong>\u201d (not just a consequence or illness).<br \/>2.\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 \/><\/u>3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Christ offered his body as a sacrifice \u201c<strong>to the Father<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. Theophilus also refers to Adam&#8217;s banishment form Paradise as a type of &#8220;punishment&#8221; and discipline:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Theophilus of Antioch (120 &#8211; 190 AD) &#8211; to Autolycus, Book 2<br \/><\/strong>It is obviously not the law which causes <strong>punishment<\/strong>, but the <strong>disobedience and transgression<\/strong>; \u2014 for a father sometimes enjoins on his own child abstinence from certain things, and when he does not obey the paternal order, he is flogged and <strong>punished<\/strong> on account of the <strong>disobedience<\/strong>&#8230;And God showed great kindness to man in this, that He did not suffer him to remain in sin forever; but, as it were, by a kind of <strong>banishment<\/strong>, cast him out of Paradise, in order that, having by <strong>punishment<\/strong> expiated, within an appointed time, the sin, and having been <strong>disciplined<\/strong>, he should afterwards be restored.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. Irenaeus explains that it was necessary for God to reprimand Adam and Eve so that they don&#8217;t despise his commandment. But God also wished to save them so that in His mercy, they do not perish because of His curse:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Irenaeus (130 &#8211; 202 AD) \u2013 Against Heresies, Book 3, Chapter 23<br \/><\/strong>It was necessary, therefore, that the Lord, coming to the lost sheep, and making recapitulation of so comprehensive a dispensation, and seeking after His own handiwork, should <strong>save<\/strong> that very man who had been created after His image and likeness, that is, Adam, filling up the times of His <strong>condemnation<\/strong>, which had been incurred through disobedience\u2026But man received, as the <strong>punishment<\/strong> <strong>of his transgression<\/strong>, the toilsome task of tilling the earth, and to eat bread in the sweat of his face, and to return to the dust from whence he was taken. Similarly also did the woman [receive] toil, and labor&#8230;so that they should neither perish altogether when <strong>cursed by God<\/strong>, nor, by remaining <strong>unreprimanded<\/strong>, should be led to despise God.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. Cyril of Alexandria also refers to death as a &#8220;divine curse&#8221; for disobedience:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> And\u00a0the\u00a0title\u00a0contained a handwriting against\u00a0us\u2014the that, by\u00a0the\u00a0Divine\u00a0Law,\u00a0impends over the transgressors, and the <strong>sentence that\u00a0went\u00a0forth against\u00a0all who erred against those ancient\u00a0ordinances of the\u00a0Law<\/strong>, like unto Adam&#8217;s <strong>curse<\/strong>, which went forth against all mankind, in that all alike\u00a0broke God&#8217;s decrees.\u00a0For <strong>God\u2019s\u00a0anger<\/strong>\u00a0did\u00a0not\u00a0cease with\u00a0Adam&#8217;s fall,\u00a0but He was also provoked by those\u00a0who\u00a0after him\u00a0<strong>dishonored\u00a0the\u00a0Creator&#8217;s\u00a0decree; and the denunciation of the Law against transgressors was\u00a0extended continuously over\u00a0all<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">St. Athanasius (296 \u2013 373 AD) &#8211; Contra Apollinarium<\/span><\/strong><br \/><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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) \u2013 Discourses Against the Arians<br \/><\/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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. Cyril of Alexandria explained clearly that man was being <em>&#8220;punished for his transgressions&#8221;<\/em> when he heard the sentence<em> &#8220;unto dust shalt thou return&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><\/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&#8230;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius \u2013 On the Incarnation of the Word<br \/><\/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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Thus, early church fathers do speak of Christ as the Physician and Healer, but they do not deny the punishment for sin and curse he bore on our behalf:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom (349 &#8211; 407 AD) \u2013 Homilies on Epistle to the Hebrews<br \/><\/strong>For behold the love of God to man! We ought on every ground to have been <strong>punished<\/strong> at the first; in that having received the natural law, and enjoyed innumerable blessings have not acknowledged our Master, and have lived an unclean life. Yet He not only has <strong>punished<\/strong> us, but has even made us partakers of countless blessings, just as if we had accomplished great things. Again we fell away, and not even so does He <strong>punish<\/strong> us, but has given <strong>medicine of repentance<\/strong>&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Church&#8217;s liturgical texts also confirm that death was a <em>&#8220;sentence&#8221;<\/em> and <em>&#8220;punishment&#8221;<\/em>:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<strong>Liturgy of Saint Gregory<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p><em><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id69e65f9bd701b\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"More patristic quotes&gt;&gt;\"    >More patristic quotes&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id69e65f9bd701b\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/em><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Ignatius of Antioch (35\u00a0\u2013 108 AD) &#8211; Epistle to the Ephesians, Chapter 11<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The last times are come upon us. Let us therefore be of a reverent spirit,\u00a0and fear the long-suffering of God, lest we despise the riches of His\u00a0goodness and forbearance. <strong>For let us either fear the wrath to come, or let us\u00a0love the present joy in the life that now is<\/strong>; <strong>and let our present and true joy\u00a0be only this, to be found in Christ Jesus,<\/strong> that we may truly live.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Polycarp (69 \u2013 155 AD) &#8211; Victories of the Martyrs<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> I have served Jesus Christ these fourscore and\u00a0six years; he never did me harm, but much good; how\u00a0can I blaspheme him ? How can I blaspheme my Creator\u00a0and my Savior, who is also my <strong>judge<\/strong>, and who <strong>justly\u00a0punishes<\/strong> those who deny him ?<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Justin Martyr (100 &#8211; 165 AD) &#8211; Justin&#8217;s Hortatory Address to the Greeks<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> For it\u00a0was not <strong>just<\/strong> that they who did not keep the first commandment, which it\u00a0was easy to keep, should any longer be taught, but should rather be <strong>driven\u00a0to just punishment.<\/strong> Being therefore <strong>banished from Paradise<\/strong>, and thinking\u00a0that they were expelled on account of their disobedience only, not knowing\u00a0that it was also because they had believed in the existence of gods which\u00a0did not exist, they gave the name of gods even to the men who were\u00a0afterwards born of themselves.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Irenaeus (130 &#8211; 202 AD)<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> For 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, whose <strong>debtors<\/strong> we were, having transgressed His commandments.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Irenaeus (130 &#8211; 202 AD) &#8211; Against Heresies, Book 3<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Wherefore also He drove him out of Paradise, and removed him far from\u00a0the tree of life, not because He envied him the tree of life, as some venture\u00a0to assert, but because He pitied him, [and did not desire] that he should\u00a0continue a sinner for ever, nor that the sin which surrounded him should be\u00a0immortal, and evil interminable and irremediable. But <strong>He set a bound to his\u00a0[state of] sin, by interposing death<\/strong>, <strong>and thus causing sin to cease, putting\u00a0an end to it by the dissolution of the flesh,<\/strong> which should take place in the\u00a0earth, so that man, ceasing at length to live to sin, and dying to it, might\u00a0begin to live to God.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Clement of Alexandria (150 &#8211; 215 AD) &#8211; Exhortation to the Heathen<br \/><\/strong>\u201cBehold,\u201d He says, \u201cI have set before your face death and life.\u201d The Lord tries you, that \u201cyou may choose life.\u201d He counsels you as a father to obey God. \u201cFor if ye hear Me,\u201d He says, \u201cand be willing, ye shall eat the good things of the land:\u201d this is the grace attached to obedience. \u201cBut if ye obey Me not, and are unwilling, the <strong>sword and fire shall devour you<\/strong>:\u201d this is the <strong>penalty\u00a0<\/strong><strong>of disobedience<\/strong>. For the mouth of the Lord \u2014 the law of truth, the word of the Lord \u2014 hath spoken these things.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Clement of Alexandria (150 &#8211; 215 AD) &#8211; Recognitions of Clement Book 9<br \/><\/strong>And yet they are deceived even in this; for if men be quickly turned to repentance, and remember and fear the future <strong>judgment<\/strong>, the <strong>punishment of death<\/strong> is remitted to those who are converted to God by the grace of baptism<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Tertullian (160-220 AD)\u00a0&#8211;\u00a0THE FIVE BOOKS AGAINST\u00a0MARCION, Book II<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This his state was confirmed even by the very law\u00a0which God then imposed upon him. For a law would not be imposed upon\u00a0one who had it not in his power to render that obedience which is due to\u00a0law; <strong>nor again, would the penalty of death be threatened against sin, if a\u00a0contempt of the law were impossible to man in the liberty of his will<\/strong>. So\u00a0in the Creator\u2019s subsequent laws also you will find, when He sets before\u00a0man good and evil, life and death, that the entire course of discipline is\u00a0arranged in precepts by God\u2019s calling men from sin, and threatening and\u00a0exhorting them; and this on no other ground than that man is free, with a\u00a0will either for obedience or resistance.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyprian (200 -258 AD) &#8211; The Glory of Martyrdom<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For what have you to do with\u00a0this light, if you have the promise of an eternal light? What interest have\u00a0you in this commerce of life and nature, if the amplitude of heaven is\u00a0awaiting you? Doubtless let that lust of life keep hold, but let it be of\u00a0those whom for <strong>unatoned sin the raging fire will torture with eternal\u00a0vengeance for their crimes.<\/strong> Let that <strong>lust of life<\/strong> keep hold, but let it be of\u00a0those to whom it is <strong>both a punishment to die, and a torment to endure\u00a0(after death).<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Hilary of Poitiers (310 &#8211; 367 AD) \u2013 On the Trinity, Book 1<br \/><\/strong>He blotted out through death the <strong>sentence<\/strong> of death that by a new creation of our race in Himself He might sweep away the <strong>penalty<\/strong> appointed by the former Law. He let them nail Him to the cross that He might nail to the <strong>curse<\/strong> of the cross and abolish all the <strong>curses<\/strong> to which the <strong>world is\u00a0<\/strong><strong>condemned<\/strong>.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\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 \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 \u2013 373 AD) &#8211;\u00a0Contra Apollinarium<br \/><\/strong><strong><span style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-offset-key=\"7olph-0-0\">He who held the enquiry into the transgression, and\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>gave judgment, passed the general doom in a twofold form,<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-offset-key=\"btrg2-0-0\">saying to the earthly part, Earth thou art, and to earth\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"text-align: justify;\">shalt thou depart:\u2014and so, the Lord having pronounced\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-offset-key=\"bbvlc-0-0\">sentence, corruption receives the body: \u2014but to the soul,\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"text-align: justify;\">Thou shalt die the death: and thus man is divided into two parts, and is condemned to go to two places. For this reason the action of Him who had pronounced sentence became necessary, that He might by His own act annul His own sentence, after He had been seen in the form of him that was condemned, but in that form as uncondemned and sinless; 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 of the image of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord&#8230;<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\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 \/><\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For then, because the works\u00a0were become imperfect and mutilated from the transgression, He is said in respect to the body to\u00a0be created; that by perfecting them and making them whole, He might present the Church unto the\u00a0Father, as the Apostle says, \u2018not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but holy and without\u00a0blemish.\u2019<strong> Mankind then is perfected in Him and restored, as it was made at the beginning, nay,\u00a0with greater grace.<\/strong> For, on rising from the dead, we shall no longer fear death, but shall ever reign\u00a0in Christ in the heavens. And this has been done, since the own Word of God Himself, who is from\u00a0the Father, has put on the flesh, and become man. For if, being a creature, He had become man,\u00a0man had remained just what he was, not joined to God; for how had a work been joined to the\u00a0Creator by a work? or what assistance had come from like to like, when one as well as other needed\u00a0it? <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, as He says Himself, \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><\/span><\/p>\r\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 \/>AND AGAINST APOLLINARIS<br \/><\/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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius &#8211; On the Incarnation of the Word<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Jerusalem (313 &#8211; 386 AD) \u2013 Catechetical Lectures of St. Cyril<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> There is a sentence in the Gospels, saying, He that believeth not on the Son, shall not see life; but the <strong>wrath of God abideth on him<\/strong>. For the Father hath <strong>indignation<\/strong> when the Only-begotten Son is set at nought.\u00a0 For it is grievous to a king that merely his soldier should be dishonored; and when one of his nobler officers or friends is dishonored, then his <strong>anger<\/strong> is greatly increased:\u00a0but if any should do despite to the king\u2019s only-begotten son himself, who shall <strong>appease the father\u2019s indignation<\/strong> on behalf of his only-begotten son? \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Jerusalem (313 &#8211; 386 AD),\u00a0Lecture XIII, On the Words Crucified and Buried<br \/><\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What power, O robber, led thee to the light?\u00a0 Who taught thee to worship that\u00a0despised Man, thy companion on the Cross? O Light Eternal, which gives light to them that\u00a0are in darkness!\u00a0 Therefore also he justly heard the words, Be of good cheer; not that thy deeds are worthy of good cheer; but that the King is here, dispensing favours. The request\u00a0reached unto a distant time; but the grace was very speedy. <strong>Verily I say unto thee, This day\u00a0shalt thou be with Me in Paradise;<\/strong> because to-day thou hast heard My voice, and hast not\u00a0hardened thine heart. V<strong>ery speedily I passed sentence upon Adam, very speedily I pardon\u00a0thee.<\/strong>\u00a0 T<strong>o him it was said, In the day wherein ye eat, ye shall surely die;<\/strong> but thou to-day\u00a0hast obeyed the faith, to-day is thy salvation.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">St. John Chrysostom explains that death was a punishment humanity suffered on account of Adam&#8217;s transgression, but saved through the grace of Jesus Christ:<\/span><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom &#8211; Homilies on Epistle to the Romans, Homily X,\u00a0Rom. V. 12<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cBut not as the offence, so is also the free gift. For if through the offence of one\u00a0many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man,\u00a0Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto the many.\u201d\u00a0For what he says is somewhat of this kind. If sin had so extensive effects, and the sin of\u00a0one man too; how can grace, and that the grace of God, not the Father only, but also the\u00a0Son, do otherwise than be the more abundant of the two? For the latter is far the more\u00a0reasonable supposition. <strong>For that one man should be punished on account of another does\u00a0not seem to be much in accordance with reason.<\/strong> But for one to be saved on account of another is at once more suitable and more reasonable. <strong>If then the former took place, much\u00a0more may the latter.<\/strong> Hence he has shown from these grounds the likelihood and reasonableness of it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom &#8211; Commentary on Galatians 2:1,2<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>For as regards the former Dispensation and Law, I had incurred the severest punishment, and had long ago perished,<\/strong> \u201cfor all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.\u201d (Rom. iii. 23.) <strong>And we, who lay under sentence, have been liberated by Christ, for all of us are dead, if not in fact, at least by sentence; and He has delivered us from the expected blow<\/strong>. <strong>When the Law had accused, and God condemned us, Christ came, and by giving Himself up to death, rescued us all from death.<\/strong> So that \u201cthe life which I now live in the flesh, I live in faith.\u201d Had not this been, nothing could have averted a destruction as general as that which took place at the flood, <strong>but His advent arrested the wrath of God, and caused us to live by faith.<\/strong> That such is his meaning appears from what follows.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom (349 &#8211; 407 AD) \u2013 Homilies on First Corinthians<br \/><\/strong>Dost thou not see how He <strong>punished<\/strong> Adam for one single sin\u2026 And we cannot even say that Adam had heard prophets, that he had seen others <strong>punished<\/strong> for sins, and it was meet that he should have been terrified thereby and corrected, were it only by the example. For he was at that time first, and alone; but nevertheless he was <strong>punished<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom (349 &#8211; 407 AD) \u2013 Commentary on Galatians<br \/><\/strong>\u201cFor our sins,\u201d says the Apostle; we had pierced ourselves with ten thousand evils, and had deserved the gravest <strong>punishment<\/strong>; and the Law not only did not deliver us, but it even <strong>condemned<\/strong> us, making sin more manifest, without the power to release us from it, or to stay the <strong>anger of God<\/strong>. But the Son of God made this impossibility possible for he remitted our sins, He restored us from <strong>enmity<\/strong> to the condition of friends\u2026<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom (349 &#8211; 407 AD) \u2013 Homilies on Epistle to the Hebrews, Hebrews 9:15<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cAnd for this cause\u201d (he says) \u201c<strong>He is the Mediator of the New Testament.\u201d<\/strong> What is\u00a0a \u201cMediator\u201d? A mediator is not lord of the thing of which he is mediator, but the thing\u00a0belongs to one person, and the mediator is another: as for instance, the mediator of a marriage\u00a0is not the bridegroom, but one who aids him who is about to be married. So then also here:\u00a0<strong>The Son became Mediator between the Father and us.<\/strong><strong>The Father willed not to leave us this\u00a0inheritance, but was wroth against us, and was displeased [with us] as being estranged [from\u00a0Him]; He accordingly became Mediator between us and Him, and prevailed with Him.\u00a0<\/strong>And what then? How did He become Mediator? He brought words from [Him] and\u00a0brought [them to us], conveying over what came from the Father to us, and adding His\u00a0own death thereto. <strong>We had offended: we ought to have died: He died for us and made us\u00a0worthy of the Testament. By this is the Testament secure, in that henceforward it is not\u00a0made for the unworthy.<\/strong> At the beginning indeed, He made His dispositions as a father for\u00a0sons; <strong>but after we had become unworthy, there was no longer need of a testament, but of\u00a0punishment.<\/strong>\u00a0Why then (he would say) dost thou think upon the law? For it placed us in a condition\u00a0of so great sin, that we could never have been saved, if our Lord had not died for us; the\u00a0law would not have had power, for it is weak.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom (349 &#8211; 407 AD) \u2013 Against the Jews,\u00a0Homily VIII<br \/><\/strong>He said to Adam: &#8216;From every tree in the garden you will eat; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil do not eat; for on the day you eat of it; <strong>you will surely die.<\/strong>&#8216; God put Adam on his guard by giving him every warning he would need: he showed him the ease of fulfilling the Law, the liberality of what it permitted, <strong>the harshness of the future punishment<\/strong>, <strong>and the speed with which it would come. For God did not say: &#8216;After one, two, or three days, but, &#8216;on the very day you eat of it, you will surely die.&#8217;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom &#8211; Homily 1 On Philemon (i. 1-3)<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The offenses against us here are a hundred pence, but those from us against God are ten thousand talents. But you\u00a0know\u00a0that offenses are also judged by the quality of the\u00a0persons: for instance, he who has insulted a private person has done wrong, but not so much as he who has insulted a magistrate, and he who has offended a greater magistrate offends in a higher degree, and he who offends an inferior one in a lower degree; but he who insults the king offends much more. <strong>The injury indeed is the same, but it becomes greater by the excellence of the person.<\/strong> And if he who insults a king receives intolerable punishment, on account of the superiority of the person; for how many talents will he be answerable who insults God? So that even if we should commit the same offenses against\u00a0God, that we do against men, even so it is not an equal thing: but as great as is the difference between God and men, so great is that between the offenses against Him and them.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Sulpitius Severus (363 &#8211; 420 AD) \u2013 Doubtful Letters<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> What then? Did God <strong>punish<\/strong> man with death for the sake of the fruit of a tree? No: not on account of the fruit of the tree, but <strong>on account of the contempt of the commandment.<\/strong> The question, therefore, is not about the nature of the offense, but about the transgression of the commandment.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria \u2013 Commentary on Hosea, Chapter 13<br \/><\/strong>I shall rescue them from the hand of Hades, and ransom them from death. Death, where is your vengeance? Hades, where is your goad? (v.14)\u00a0<strong>After mentioning the effects of his anger on sinners<\/strong>, and foretelling the future results of his being offended, he re-turns to the clemency proper to God<strong>. The fact that, far from his being at odds with the whole race on earth and banishing them to unbridled and never-ending destruction, there will be some compassion and a summons to return in due time to the original condition through Christ<\/strong>,\u00a0<strong>he mentions, adding that he will rescue them from the hand of Hades, and ransom them from death, obviously meaning those subject to him on account of the sin against the Creator and the original transgression of Adam.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria \u2013 Commentary on Habakuk, Chapter 3<br \/><\/strong><strong>Humankind offended the Creator as a result of the transgression by Adam, who showed extremely little regard for the commandment given him<\/strong>. Accordingly, we were both disturbed and destroyed; in our wretched state\u00a0<strong>we fell foul of curse and retribution, and were under the power of death for having provoked God<\/strong>\u2026<strong>Now, the fact that we have been condemned to death for offending God, and in turn saved by being shown mercy<\/strong>, blessed David confirms by saying to the Creator of all things,\u00a0<em>\u201cWhen you avert your face, they will be disturbed and return to their dust; when you send forth your Spirit, they will be created, and you will renew the face of the earth.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><strong>In other words, we suffered the aversion on account of the transgression by Adam, and returned to the dust from which we were made;<\/strong>\u00a0but when in turn we were enriched with the divine Spirit in Christ and through Christ, we became sharers in his nature, according to the Scriptures, and we were restored to our original condition, and have been renewed and saved<strong>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria \u2013 Festal Letters 13-30, Letter 27, PG 175<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>For just as he died in Adam, the punishment in his case spreading to the whole race that is from him<\/strong>, so also we have lived in Christ. For since he is a second root of humanity, and a second Adam, he will transmit his own life to all human beings.\u00a0<strong>And just as there was in Adam the nature on which was inflicted the curse and the penalty of death, so also there is again in Christ the human nature blessed by God the Father and through him rendered superior to death.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria, Glaphyra on the Pentateuch Vol 2, Page 131<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Now by means of the incense we may understand that the death of Christ was not for any justifiable causes, or for any offense of his, but it was a most wonderful and wholly faultless sacrifice for us (for he was presented as an offering so that he might do away with sin and with the death that came through it and because of it).\u00a0<strong>For our forefather Adam by the transgressions committed in the beginning received the curse that was most properly deserved. So when he first became infected with that truly malodorous disease of sin, he was justly condemned.<\/strong>\u00a0But the Lord and Savior of all, as he could not be charged with any wrongdoing (for he did not commit any sin),\u00a0<strong>became a beautiful and fragrant offering for us<\/strong>, being the first, as it were, of the new fruit, and of every kind, that is to say, both of wheat and of legumes. For he died for all, great and small, Jew and Gentile, and through him and in him we have become a memorial portion for God the Father.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria, Glaphyra on the Pentateuch Vol 2, Numbers, Page 205<br \/><\/strong>\u201cGod did not create death, nor does he delight in the destruction of living creatures,\u201d according to what is written. For he created everything to have being and the generations of the world to be preserved. But as the \ufb01rst person of our race,\u00a0<strong>Adam, was plagued by disobedience and ignored the divine command, he offended God the Maker,<\/strong>\u00a0and so fell into corruption.\u00a0<strong>Human nature came under a curse, and the race was subject to punishment.\u00a0<\/strong>And we wretches, even though we were made in incorruption after we barely \ufb02ourished like shadows and like the grass of the \ufb01eld for a short season, we descend ingloriously back to the earth, our mother.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria, Glaphyra on the Pentateuch Vol 2<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For the Maker did not entrust that which was so wonderful and glorious to those who had come into being for it then to perish so easily.\u00a0<strong>Rather, death entered due to wrath<\/strong>,\u00a0<strong>because our forefather Adam disregarded the divine command and turned aside to disobedience and waywardness<\/strong>. In Christ, however,\u00a0<strong>the charges were taken up and removed from the midst<\/strong>, through the obedience of one man, for in Him we have been justified. The divine Paul testifies to this when he writes,\u00a0<em>\u201cFor as through one man\u2019s disobedience many were made sinners, so also through one man\u2019s obedience many will be made righteous.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>(Rom 5:19).\u00a0<strong>In that one man we were condemned to death<\/strong>, but we have been shown mercy through Christ, and we have been given new life. For to the Father He was \u201cobedient even to the point of death,\u201d \u201che laid down his life on our behalf,\u201d and \u201cby his wounds we were healed,\u201d in accordance with the Scriptures.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria, Glaphyra on the Pentateuch Vol 1, PG 64-65<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>For Adam was the beginning of the race, with respect to death, the curse, and condemnation.<\/strong> But Christ was the complete reverse, bringing life, blessing, and justification. Adam received the woman as one flesh with himself, and came to ruin through her. Yet Christ, uniting the church to Himself through the Sprit, rescues and saves her, and accomplishes better things for her than the devil did in his deceit. Thus we are encouraged to proclaim that \u201cwe are not ignorant of his schemes.\u201d\u00a0<strong>Our forefather Adam, as the wages of sin, and the punishment for transgression, received corruption.<\/strong> Yet righteousness was attributed to Christ, according to the insanity of the Jews, as an offence. So, because he suffered death he is crowned with honor and glory, as the blessed Paul says. And while only a few things upon earth were subject to Adam, all things are subject to Christ. For to him every knee shall bow, of those in heaven, upon earth, and under the earth, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Amen.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria, Glaphyra on the Pentateuch Vol 1, PG 62-64<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For then the author of sin deceived Adam in the beginning, he made him to be guilty of the charge of carelessness, and so it came about that he was brought down to death.\u00a0<strong>Then the punishment passed upon all men, this condition coming forth just as things grow out of a root. \u201cFor death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of Adam\u2019s transgression\u201d\u2026<\/strong>And\u00a0<strong>just as the disobedience found in that first man brought us into punishment, so the total surrender and complete obedience\u00a0 in this second man made us to be partakers of heavenly blessing from the Father<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria, Glaphyra on the Pentateuch Vol 1, PG 99<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Now, that Emmanuel has become a high priest for us, through Whom also we have gained access to God the Father, and that we have been restored to our original state,\u00a0<strong>having been set free from the curse, namely that placed upon the first-formed man<\/strong>, one can observe in those things that are written next\u2026So then, when Christ became our high priest, and through him we were offered spiritually as a pleasing aroma to God the Father, we were then counted worthy of his abundant favor and we have a sure foundation, that death would no longer have power over us.\u00a0<strong>Also, that wrathful condition, even that which stems from the ancient curse, has been dissolved.<\/strong>\u00a0For we have been blessed in Christ, through whom and with whom be glory to God the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria, Glaphyra on the Pentateuch Vol 1, PG 60<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">So in the beginning man was assigned a free and unrestrained disposition of mind with respect to everything he did. But by the trickery of the serpent he was witlessly carried away into improper actions and committed transgression without any justification.\u00a0<strong>Accordingly, he was condemned to death and corruption, although in this event God, I believe, foresaw some greater good.<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>Since man turned aside into sin and his nature was now infirm through its inclination to commit base acts<\/strong>, in the same way perhaps as the unclean spirits, continual evil was to be found upon the earth.\u00a0<strong>For this reason, the death of the flesh was determined. Yet the living creature was not consigned to complete destruction<\/strong>, but rather to renewal and, if we might say it thus, to a refashioning in the same way to that a vessel which has been smashed is later made whole. That in the meantime the living creature would in fact experience corruption, the Maker was not unaware, but he well knew that together with this there would be deliverance from those things that were improper and the removal of corruption, as well as the return to a better state and the restoration of those good things that were there in the beginning. For he knew that he would later send his own Son in human form to die on our behalf, and to destroy the power of death, so that he might have dominion over the dead and the living<\/span><\/p>\r\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 \/><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>\r\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<br \/><\/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> For though He was One that suffered, yet was He far above\u00a0any creature, as God, and more precious than the life of all.\u00a0Therefore, as the Psalmist says, the mouth of all lawlessness was\u00a0stopped, and the tongue of sin was silenced, unable any more to\u00a0speak against sinners. <strong>For we are justified, now that Christ has\u00a0paid the penalty for us;<\/strong> for by His stripes we are healed, according\u00a0to the Scripture. And just as by the Cross the sin of our revolt was\u00a0perfected, <strong>so also by the Cross was achieved our return to our\u00a0original state, and the acceptable recovery of heavenly blessings;<\/strong>\u00a0Christ, as it were, gathering up into Himself, for us, the very fount\u00a0and origin of our infirmity.<\/span><\/p>\r\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 \/><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>\r\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 \/>Such 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>\r\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><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In that case, if it is true. that the Word became \ufb02esh in exactly the same way that he became curse and sin, which is how they understand it, then surely he must have become \ufb02esh for the suppression of \ufb02esh? But how would this serve to exhibit the incorruptibility and imperishability of \ufb02esh which he achieved, first of all in his own body? For he did not allow it to remain mortal and subject to corruption, <strong>thus allowing the penalty of Adam&#8217;s transgression to continue to pass unto us<\/strong>, but since it was his own and personal \ufb02esh, that of the incorruptible God, He set it beyond death and corruption.<\/span><\/p>\r\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 \/><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>\r\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 \/><\/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>\r\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 \/><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>\r\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 \/><\/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 \/><\/span><\/p>\r\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 \/><\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><i>Man then is a creature rational, but composite, of soul that is and of this perishable and earthly flesh. And when it had been made by God, and was brought into being, not having of its own nature incorruption and imperishableness (for these things appertain essentially to God Alone), it was sealed with the spirit of life, by participation with the Divinity gaining the good that is above nature (for He\u00a0breathed,\u00a0it says,\u00a0into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul).\u00a0<\/i><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, Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou\u00a0return. 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, Dust thou art\u00a0and unto dust shalt thou return should be relaxed, the fallen body\u00a0being united ineffably to the Word That quickeneth all things.<\/span><\/p>\r\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 \/><\/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; death was to be deprived of its\u00a0sting, 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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on John 10:48-50<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This was the first thing that [Adam] learnt [after the fall]\u2014his own shame; and he hid himself from God.\u00a0 Yet here too he makes a gain, namely death, and the cutting off of sin, in order that evil may not be immortal.\u00a0 <strong>Thus his punishment is changed into a mercy; for\u00a0it is in mercy, I am persuaded, that God inflicts punishment.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><\/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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">St. Cyril refutes an argument that the soul supposedly pre-existed and was given a flesh by God as a punishment. He argues that we were punished while in the flesh not before :<br \/><\/span><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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,\u00a0<\/strong><br \/>If souls were embodied for previous sins, and the\u00a0nature of the body were invented as a species of punishment for\u00a0them, how did the Saviour profit us by abolishing death? <strong>how was\u00a0not rather decay a mercy, destroying that which punished us, and\u00a0putting an end to the wrath against us?<\/strong> Hence one might rather\u00a0say that it were meeter to give thanks to decay than on the\u00a0contrary to Him Who laid on us endless infliction through the\u00a0resurrection of the dead. And yet we give thanks as freed from\u00a0death and decay through Christ.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\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 \/><\/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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria &#8211; Commentary on the Gospel of St. John, Book V, Chapter III<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;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, albeit <strong>by Divine sentence having the mastery over human nature?<\/strong> <strong>For in Adam it heard, Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return; but it was in the power of Christ the Saviour both to end His Anger,<\/strong> <strong>and by blessings to overthrow the death which from His curse prevailed.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">St. Gregory Nazianzen &#8211; Oration II<\/span><\/strong><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Moreover, to distinguish still more clearly between them, we have, against the fear\u00a0of office, a possible help in the law of obedience, inasmuch as God in His goodness rewards\u00a0our faith, and makes a perfect ruler of the man who has confidence in Him, and places all\u00a0his hopes in Him; but against the danger of disobedience I know of nothing which can help\u00a0us, and of no ground to encourage our confidence. For it is to be feared that we shall have\u00a0to hear these words concerning those who have been entrusted to us:\u00a0 I will require their\u00a0souls\u00a0 at your hands; and, Because ye have rejected me, and not been leaders and rulers\u00a0of my people, I also will reject you, that I should not be king over you; and, As ye refused\u00a0to hearken to My voice, and turned a stubborn back, and were disobedient, so shall it be\u00a0when ye call upon Me, and I will not regard nor give ear to your prayer. God forbid\u00a0that these words should come to us from <strong>the just Judge, for when we sing of His mercy we\u00a0must also by all means sing of His judgment.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Theodoret (393 &#8211; 457 AD) &#8211; Dialogues. The \u201cEranistes\u201d or \u201cPolymorphus\u201d<br \/><\/strong>Orth.\u2014And what <strong>punishment<\/strong> did God assign for the transgression of the commandment?<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Eran.\u2014<strong>Death<\/strong>\u2026<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> <em>Orth.<\/em>\u2014\u2026 For since <strong>death is the<\/strong> <strong>punishment<\/strong> of sinners, and death unrighteously and against the divine law seized the sinless body of the Lord, He first raised up that which was unlawfully detained, and then promised release to them that were with <strong>justice<\/strong> imprisoned.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Salvian (400 &#8211; 490 AD) &#8211; On the Government of God<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">But, forsooth, I seem to be contradicting myself; whereas I said before that we are <strong>punished<\/strong> <strong>by God<\/strong> <strong>on account of our sins<\/strong>, now I say that we are punishing ourselves. Both are\u00a0true; we are <strong>indeed punished by God,<\/strong> but we ourselves <strong>force him to punish us.<\/strong> Inasmuch\u00a0as we cause our own punishment, who can doubt that we are chastising ourselves by our\u00a0crimes? For whoever gives cause for his punishment chastises himself, according to the\u00a0saying: \u201cEvery one is bound by the chains of his sins.\u201d If wicked men are bound by the\u00a0chains of their sins, every sinner doubtless binds himself when he sins.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Severus of Antioch (465 &#8211; 538 AD) &#8211; Letter of St. Severus to\u00a0<b>EUPRAXIUS THE CHAMBERLAIN<\/b><br \/>Since Adam was condemned to death after the transgression which was committed through the deceitfulness of the serpent<\/strong>, and heard the words, &#8220;Dust thou art and to dust shalt thou return&#8221;, and, &#8220;Cursed is the ground in the work of thine hands&#8221;, and, &#8220;In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread&#8221;, and <strong>Eve too was also condemned<\/strong> with him by hearing the words, &#8220;In pains shalt thou bear children&#8221;, so with us also who are sprung from them the charges of disobedience have been confirmed, and we ourselves are dust and to dust we return, <strong>and we are condemned to the curse and are creatures born in pains<\/strong>: and from that time we have been in subjection, being subject to lust and to the varied pleasure of this, according to the saying of the blessed Paul. For it was right that against the cunning contriver of evil, the serpent and the destroyer of our life, we should contend with him with the same weapons (?) with which he deceived those founders of our race: and, since it was not the part of another power to<strong> annul the punishment fixed by our Lord himself,<\/strong> he did not send an envoy nor an angel, but, as Isaiah cries, the Lord himself saved us.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Gregory the Great (540 AD \u2013 \u00a0604 AD) &#8211;\u00a0\u00a0Registrum Epistolarum,\u00a0Book XI, Letter 64<br \/><\/strong>For,\u00a0when our first parents had transgressed in Paradise, they lost by the just judgment of God\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">the immortality which they had received.\u00a0 Therefore, because Almighty God would not utterly\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">extinguish the human race for their fault, He took away immortality from man for his sin,\u00a0and yet, in the kindness of His pity, reserved to him fruitfulness in offspring.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Gregory the Great (540 AD \u2013 \u00a0604 AD)\u00a0&#8211; Morals on the Book of Job<br \/><\/strong>For man,\u00a0being created for the contemplation of his Maker, but\u00a0<strong>banished from the interior joys in justice<\/strong> to his deserts,\u00a0gone headlong into the wofulness of a corrupt condition,\u00a0<strong>undergoing the darkness of his exile,<\/strong> was at once <strong>subject to\u00a0the punishment of his sin,<\/strong> and knew it not; so that he\u00a0imagined his place of exile to be his home, and so rejoiced\u00a0under the weight of his corrupt condition as in the liberty of\u00a0a state of salvation.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Gregory the Great (540 AD\u2013 604 AD) &#8211; Epistles of St. Gregory, Epistle XXXIV<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">And certainly Adam and Eve ate\u00a0of the forbidden tree, and yet in their flesh they lived afterwards more than nine hundred\u00a0years.\u00a0 It is therefore evident that in his flesh he did not die. If then he did not die in his\u00a0soul, the impious conclusion follows that God pronounced a false <strong>sentence<\/strong> concerning him,\u00a0when He said that in the day that he ate he should die. But far be this error, far be it from\u00a0the true faith.\u00a0 For what we say is, that the first man died in soul in the day that he sinned,\u00a0and that through him the whole <strong>human race is condemned in this penalty of death and\u00a0corruption<\/strong>.\u00a0 But through the second man we trust that we can be freed, both now from the\u00a0death of the soul, and hereafter from all corruption of the flesh in the eternal resurrection:\u2014as\u00a0moreover we said to the aforesaid representatives; \u2018We say that the soul of Adam died by\u00a0sin, not from the substance of living, but from the quality of living. For, inasmuch as substance is one thing, and quality another, his soul did not so die as not to be, but so died as\u00a0not to be blessed.\u00a0 Yet this same Adam returned afterwards to life through penitence.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>John Damascene (676 &#8211; 749) &#8211;\u00a0EXPOSITION OF THE ORTHODOX FAITH<\/strong><br \/>Man, then, was thus snared by the assault of the arch-fiend, and broke his Creator\u2019s\u00a0command, and was stripped of grace and put off his confidence with God, and covered\u00a0himself with the asperities of a toilsome life (for this is the meaning of the fig-leaves);\u00a0and was clothed about with death, that is, mortality and the grossness of flesh (for this is\u00a0what the garment of skins signifies); <strong>and was banished from Paradise by God\u2019s just judgment,\u00a0and condemned to death<\/strong>, and made subject to corruption. Yet, notwithstanding all this, in\u00a0His pity, God, Who gave him his being, and Who in His graciousness bestowed on him a\u00a0life of happiness, did not disregard man<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>John of Damascus (676 &#8211; 749) &#8211; On Holy Images<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> At that time\u00a0<strong>Adam&#8217;s race was under a curse<\/strong>, and <strong>death was\u00a0a penalty<\/strong>, therefore a mourning. A corpse\u00a0was looked upon as unclean, and the man who\u00a0touched it as contaminated. But since the\u00a0Godhead has taken to Himself our nature, it\u00a0has become glorified as a vivifying and efficacious remedy, and has been transformed unto\u00a0immortality. Thus the death of the saints is a\u00a0rejoicing, and churches are raised to them, and\u00a0their images are set up.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>John of Damascus (676 &#8211; 749) &#8211; On Holy Images<br \/><\/strong>The gates of heaven are opened\u00a0to receive the receptacle of God, who, bringing\u00a0forth the tree of life, destroyed Eve&#8217;s disobedience and <strong>Adam&#8217;s penalty of death<\/strong>. And\u00a0Christ, the cause of all life, receives the chosen\u00a0mirror, the mountain from which the stone\u00a0without hands filled the whole earth. She, who\u00a0brought about the Word&#8217;s divine Incarnation,\u00a0rests in her glorious tomb as in a bridal chamber, whence she goes to the heavenly\u00a0bridals, to share in the kingdom of her Son\u00a0and God, leaving her tomb as a place of rest\u00a0for those on earth.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>John of Damascus (676 &#8211; 749) \u2013 The Orthodox Faith, Book Two, Chap 27<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Some of those things which do not depend upon us have their origin, or cause, in things which do depend upon us. Such are the recompenses for our deeds, which we receive both in the present world and in that to come.<\/strong>\u00a0All the rest, however, depend upon the divine will. The creation of all things is due to God, but corruption came in afterwards due to our own wickedness and as a punishment and a help.<strong>\u00a0\u2018For God made not death: neither hath he pleasure in the destruction of the living\u2019; rather, it was through man, that is to say, Adam\u2019s transgression, that death came with the other punishments.<\/strong>\u00a0All the rest, however, are to be attributed to God. Thus, our creation is due to His creative power, our permanence to His providential power, and to His goodness the eternal enjoyment of the good things reserved for them that keep the law of nature-for which reason we were made.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Methodius (815 &#8211; 885 AD) \u2013 From the Discourse on the Resurrection<br \/><\/strong>Therefore, since the flesh is the boundary between corruption and incorruption, not being either corruption or incorruption&#8230;Therefore it became subject to corruption. When, then, it had been <strong>overcome by corruption<\/strong>, and was given over to <strong>death for chastisement<\/strong>, \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<hr \/>\r\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a id=\"dd\"><\/a><strong>Divine Dilemma (Truth vs. Mercy)<br \/><\/strong><\/h4>\r\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;. Nevertheless, Scripture and patristic writings tend to present judgement and mercy as being perfectly complementary and intrinsically harmonious in a &#8220;perfect&#8221; God; God is just in His mercy and merciful in His justice\/judgment.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><em><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id69e65f9bd7076\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Scriptural references&gt;&gt;\"    >Scriptural references&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id69e65f9bd7076\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/em><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Exodus 34:6-7 (Septuagint)<\/strong><br \/>The 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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Psalm 85:10<br \/>Mercy<\/strong> and <strong>truth<\/strong> are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Psalm 89:14<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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 \/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Psalm 33: 5<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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 \/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Psalm 101:1<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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 \/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Psalm 103:6-10 (Septuagint)<\/strong><br \/>The 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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Psalm 119:149-150 (Septuagint)<\/span><\/strong><br \/><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 \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">have drawn nigh who persecuted me unlawfully; and they are far removed from thy law<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Jeremiah 9:24 (Septuagint)<\/strong><br \/>But 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.<br \/><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Sirach 18:20<\/span><\/strong><br \/><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>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Jeremiah 9:24<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p class=\"line1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Deuteronomy 32:39-41<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Sirach 5:6<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romans 2:5<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romans 11:22<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span class=\"p\"><strong>Ephesians 2:3-4<\/strong><br \/>Among 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 \/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>James 2:13<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Revelation 3:19<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In addressing heresies, St. Irenaeus explains that a judicial god who is not also good is not God, and likewise a good god who has no judicial power, is not deity. He asserts that God&#8217;s goodness must also be accompanied with judgement and the ability to &#8220;save all&#8221;. Otherwise, God would be deprived of the true characters of deity:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Irenaeus (130 &#8211; 202 AD) \u2013 Against Heresies<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For he that is the <strong>judicial<\/strong> one, if he be not <strong>good<\/strong>, <strong>is not God,<\/strong> because he from whom goodness is absent is <strong>no God at all;<\/strong> and again, he who is <strong>good<\/strong>, if he has no <strong>judicial<\/strong> power, suffers the same [loss] as the former, by being <strong>deprived of his character of deity<\/strong>\u2026Therefore the Father will excel in wisdom all human and angelic wisdom, because He is Lord, and <strong>Judge<\/strong>, and the <strong>Just<\/strong> One, and Ruler over all. For He is <strong>good<\/strong>, and <strong>merciful<\/strong>, and patient, and saves whom He ought: nor does goodness desert Him in the <strong>exercise of<\/strong> <strong>justice<\/strong>, nor is His wisdom lessened; <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">for He <strong>saves<\/strong> those whom He should save, and <strong>judges<\/strong> those worthy of <strong>judgment<\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">There are some who deny that the word &#8220;justice&#8221; was used in Scripture or by the Church fathers to mean &#8220;judgment&#8221;. They argue that whenever the word &#8220;justice&#8221; was used, it always meant &#8220;righteousness&#8221;. They maintain that the idea of a Divine &#8220;justice&#8221; understood in a juridical or retributive sense, is a pollution of Western\/Protestant theology. While it is undeniable that the word &#8220;justice&#8221; was sometimes used in scripture to mean &#8220;righteousness&#8221;, analysis of Scripture and the writings of the Church fathers, shows that depending on the context, the word &#8220;justice&#8221; clearly also meant God&#8217;s &#8220;judgment&#8221; and retribution for sin. Or rather, God&#8217;s &#8220;righteousness&#8221; includes His righteous judgment, since God would not be righteous if He did not judge and punish the wicked. The verse below clearly shows that God&#8217;s righteousness\/justice is synonymous with His righteous judgment:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2 Thessalonians 1:6-9<\/span><\/strong><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Since <i>it is<\/i>\u00a0a <strong>righteous<\/strong> thing with God to <strong>repay with\u00a0tribulation those who trouble you<\/strong>, and to\u00a0<i>give<\/i>\u00a0you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels,\u00a0<strong>in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God,<\/strong> and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.\u00a0<strong>These shall be punished with everlasting destruction<\/strong> from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p>St. Athanasius explained that God&#8217;s &#8220;justice&#8221; is tempered by His mercy:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) &#8211; Letter to Marcellinus<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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. \u00a0If through the weakness of your nature and the strain of life you find yourself at times downcast and poor, sing for your consolation Psalm 102,<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Demonstrating how God combines both &#8220;judgment&#8221; and mercy&#8221;, Clement of Alexandria explained that the &#8220;justice&#8221; of the Instructor deals in rebukes, while\u00a0 the goodness of God deals in compassion:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Clement of Alexandria (150 &#8211; 215 AD) \u2013 The Instructor, Book 1, Chapter 9<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For He,\u201d it is said, \u201c<strong>is merciful<\/strong>; He will heal their sins, and not\u00a0destroy them, and fully turn away <strong>His anger, and not kindle all His wrath.<\/strong>\u201dSee how the <strong>justice of the Instructor<\/strong>, which <strong>deals in rebukes<\/strong>, is shown; and\u00a0the <strong>goodness of God, which deals in compassions.<\/strong> Wherefore David \u2014\u00a0that is, the Spirit by him \u2014 embracing them both, sings of God Himself,\u00a0\u201c<strong>Justice and judgment are the preparation of His throne: mercy and truth\u00a0shall go before Thy face.\u201d<\/strong> He declares that<strong> it belongs to the same power\u00a0both to judge and to do good.<\/strong> For there is power over both together, and\u00a0judgment separates that which is just from its opposite. And <strong>He who is\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>truly God is just and good;<\/strong> who is Himself all, and all is He; for He is God,\u00a0the only God.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Clement also explained that God inflicts punishment so that &#8220;justice&#8221; is not neglected on our account:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Clement of Alexandria (150 &#8211; 215 AD) \u2013 The Instructor, Chap VIII<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> And God does not inflict <strong>punishment<\/strong> from <strong>wrath<\/strong>, but for the ends of <strong>justice<\/strong>; since it is <strong>not expedient that<\/strong> <strong>justice<\/strong> <strong>should be neglected<\/strong> on our account. Each one of us, who sins, with his own free-will chooses <strong>punishment<\/strong>, and the blame lies with him who chooses. God is without blame. \u201cBut if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous, who taketh <strong>vengeance<\/strong>? God forbid.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Tertullian explained that the &#8220;justice&#8221; of God passes penal sentences against the evils of sin:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Tertullian (160 -220 AD) &#8211; The Five Books Against Marcion, Book 2, Chapter 13<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We, on the contrary, distinguish between the two meanings of the\u00a0word in question, and, by separating evils of sin from penal evils, mala\u00a0culpae from mala poenae, confine to each of the two classes its own\u00a0author, \u2014 the devil as the author of the sinful evils (culpae), <strong>and God as\u00a0the creator of penal evils (poenae);<\/strong> so that the one class shall be accounted\u00a0as morally bad, <strong>and the other be classed as the operations of justice\u00a0passing penal sentences against the evils of sin.\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Of the latter class of evils\u00a0which are compatible with justice, God is therefore avowedly the creator.\u00a0<\/strong>They are, no doubt, evil to those by whom they are endured, but still on\u00a0their own account good, as being just and defensive of good and hostile to\u00a0sin. In this respect they are, moreover, worthy of God. Else prove them to\u00a0be unjust, in order to show them deserving of a place in the sinful class,\u00a0that is to say, evils of injustice; because if they turn out to belong to\u00a0justice, they will be no longer evil things, but good \u2014 evil only to the bad,\u00a0by whom even directly good things are condemned as evil.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. John Chrysostom explained that because God is &#8220;just&#8221;, He recompenses to each according to what they deserve<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom (349 &#8211; 407 AD) \u2013 Homilies Concerning the Power of Demons<br \/><\/strong>If there is a God, as indeed there is, it follows that <strong>He is just,\u00a0<\/strong><strong>for if He is not just neither is He God<\/strong>, and if He is just He recompenses to each according to their desert. But we do not see all here receiving according to their desert. Therefore it is necessary to hope for some other requital awaiting us, in order that by each one receiving according to his desert, <strong>the justice of God may be made manifest.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. John also explained that if there were no judgment, God would not be &#8220;just&#8221;:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom (349 &#8211; 407 AD)\u00a0&#8211; Homilies on Colossians<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> For such is ever the devil\u2019s way; he puts forward everything in a wily, and not in a straightforward manner, to put us on our guard. If there is no <strong>Judgment<\/strong>, God is not <strong>just<\/strong> (I speak as a man): <strong>if God is not just<\/strong>, then there is no God at all&#8230;Seest\u00a0thou the drift of this satanical argument?&#8230;Let us then not be persuaded by him. <strong>For there is a Judgment, O wretched and miserable man!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. Basil explained that the pains of hell are the &#8220;just punishment&#8221; of transgression, since God is both &#8220;just and merciful&#8221;:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Basil the Great (330 &#8211; 379 AD) &#8211; A Treatise on Baptism<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Let it be remembered that the\u00a0glory of heaven is a gratuitous supernatural favor: and that\u00a0the pains of hell are the <strong>just\u00a0<\/strong><strong>punishment<\/strong> of voluntary actual\u00a0transgression&#8230;God is <strong>just and merciful,<\/strong> and if\u00a0His dispensations seem <strong>severe<\/strong>, we must nevertheless adore\u00a0them, and await with patience the full manifestation of their\u00a0<strong>justice<\/strong> in the light of glory. We cannot, against the express authority of Christ, promise entrance into His kingdom to such as are not born of water and the Spirit. We\u00a0cannot question a condition for salvation recognized by the\u00a0whole church of God during so many ages. Charity suggests that we should urge our fellow-men to comply with\u00a0it, and leave to God the <strong>vindication<\/strong> of His own <strong>justice<\/strong> and\u00a0<strong>goodness<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hence it is clear from the above references, among many others, that the early Church fathers understood that God combines both mercy and justice, and that the early Church used the word &#8220;justice&#8221; to not only speak God&#8217;s righteousness or goodness, but to also of God&#8217;s judgment, punishment, and\/or retribution for sin.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p><em><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id69e65f9bd70a2\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"More quotes&gt;&gt;\"    >More quotes&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id69e65f9bd70a2\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/em><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Justin Martyr (100 &#8211; 165 AD)<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> For we see that the Almighty God is <strong>kind<\/strong> and <strong>merciful<\/strong>, causing His sun to rise on the unthankful and on the righteous, and sending rain on the holy and on the wicked; all of whom He has taught us He will <strong>judge<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Irenaeus (130 &#8211; 202 AD) &#8211; Against Heresies, Book 4 CHAPTER 28<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Those persons prove themselves senseless<\/strong> who exaggerate the <strong>mercy<\/strong> of Christ, but are silent as to the <strong>Judgment<\/strong>, and look only at the more abundant grace of the New Testament; but forgetful of the greater degree of perfection which it demands from us\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Clement of Alexandria (150 &#8211; 215 AD) \u2013 The Instructor,\u00a0Chap X<br \/><\/strong>By Moses, too, <strong>by reason of the love He has to man<\/strong>, He\u00a0promises a gift to those who hasten to salvation. For He says, &#8220;And I will bring you into the good land, which\u00a0the Lord sware to your fathers.&#8221; &#8230;&#8221;And blessed is he,&#8221; He saith\u00a0by David, &#8220;who has not sinned; and he shall be as the tree planted near the channels of the waters, which\u00a0will yield its fruit in its season, and his leaf shall not wither &#8220;(by this He made an allusion to the\u00a0resurrection)&#8230;Again, showing the <strong>opposite scale of the balance of justice<\/strong>, He says, &#8220;But not so the ungodly&#8211;not\u00a0so; but as the dust which the wind sweeps away from the face of the earth.&#8221; By <strong>showing the punishment of\u00a0sinners<\/strong>, and their easy dispersion, and carrying off by the wind, the Instructor <strong>dissuades from crime by\u00a0means of punishment;<\/strong> and by holding up the <strong>merited penalty<\/strong>, shows the benignity of His beneficence in the\u00a0most skilful way, in order that we may possess and enjoy its <strong>blessings<\/strong>. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<div data-offset-key=\"7hhp-0-0\" data-block=\"true\" data-editor=\"3gl2o\">\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-offset-key=\"7hhp-0-0\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Tertullian (160 -220 AD)\u00a0\u2013 The Five Books Against Marcion<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Thus far, then, <strong>justice <\/strong>is the very<strong> fullness of the Deity<\/strong> Himself, manifesting God as both a perfect father and a perfect master: a father in His <strong>mercy<\/strong>, a master in His <strong>discipline<\/strong>; a father in the <strong>mildness<\/strong> of His power, a master in its <strong>severity<\/strong>; a father who must be <strong>loved<\/strong> with dutiful affection, a master who must needs be <strong>feared<\/strong>; be loved, because He prefers <strong>mercy <\/strong>to sacrifice; be feared because He <strong>dislikes sin<\/strong>; be loved, because He prefers the sinner\u2019s repentance to his death; be feared, because He dislikes the sinners who do not repent<u>.<\/u>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<div data-offset-key=\"7hhp-0-0\" data-block=\"true\" data-editor=\"3gl2o\">\r\n<p class=\"_1mf _1mj\" data-offset-key=\"7hhp-0-0\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Tertullian (160 -220 AD) &#8211; Marcion\u2019s \u201cGod\u201d, Book 1, chapter 27 <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div data-offset-key=\"9eunu-0-0\" data-block=\"true\" data-editor=\"3gl2o\">\r\n<p class=\"_1mf _1mj\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-offset-key=\"9eunu-0-0\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\" data-offset-key=\"9eunu-0-0\">Again, he plainly judges evil by not willing it, and condemns it by prohibiting it; while, on the other hand, he acquits it by not avenging it, and lets it go free by not punishing it. What a prevaricator of truth is such a god! What a dissembler with his own decision! Afraid to condemn what he really condemns, afraid to hate what he does not love, permitting that to be done which he does not allow, choosing to indicate what he dislikes rather than deeply examine it! This will turn out an imaginary goodness, a phantom of discipline, perfunctory in duty, careless in sin. Listen, ye sinners; and ye who have not yet come to this, hear, that you may attain to such a pass! A better god has been discovered, who never takes offense, is never angry, never inflicts punishment, who has prepared no fire in hell, no gnashing of teeth in the outer darkness! He is purely and simply good. He indeed forbids all delinquency, but only in word. He is in you, if you are willing to pay him homage, for the sake of appearances, that you may seem to honor God; for your fear he does not want. And so satisfied are the Marcionites with such pretenses, that they have no fear of their god at all. They say it is only a bad man who will be feared, a good man will be loved. Foolish man, do you say that he whom you call Lord ought not to be feared, whilst the very title you give him indicates a power which must itself be feared? But how are you going to love, without some fear that you do not love? Surely (such a god) is neither your Father, towards whom your love for duty\u2019s sake should be consistent with fear because of His power; nor your proper Lord, whom you should love for His humanity and fear as your teacher.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<div data-offset-key=\"9eunu-0-0\">\u00a0<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Origen (185 -254 AD) \u2013 De Principiis, Book 2<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> By all which it is established, that the God of the law and the Gospels is one and the same, <strong>a just and good God<\/strong>, and that He confers benefits <strong>justly<\/strong>, and <strong>punishes<\/strong> with <strong>kindness<\/strong>; since neither <strong>goodness<\/strong> without <strong>justice<\/strong>, nor <strong>justice<\/strong> without <strong>goodness<\/strong>, can display the (real) dignity of the divine nature.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Origen (185 -254 AD) &#8211;\u00a0<em>Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans<\/em><br \/><\/strong>For at the end of the age, in the most recent times, God has manifested his righteousness and given Christ to be our redemption. <strong>He has made him our propitiator.<\/strong> If he had sent him as the propitiator at some earlier time, there would have been fewer people whose sins needed propitiating than there are now. For God is just, and therefore he could not justify the unjust.\u00a0<strong>Therefore he required the intervention of a propitiator, so that by having faith in him those who could not be justified by their own works might be justified<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyprian (200 -258 AD) &#8211; Select Epistles<\/strong><br \/>We read, moreover, in the psalms, the <strong>justice<\/strong> of God in his\u00a0<strong>menaces<\/strong>, and his <strong>mercies<\/strong> in saving the persons he so had\u00a0threatened,\u00a0<strong>punishing<\/strong> them in order to their reformation,\u00a0and then <strong>saving<\/strong> them after it; I will visit (saith he) their\u00a0transgression with the <strong>rod<\/strong>, and their iniquity with <strong>stripes<\/strong>; nevertheless my <strong>loving<\/strong><strong>kindness<\/strong> will I not utterly take\u00a0from them.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">St. Cyprian\u00a0(200 -258 AD) &#8211; Treatise 3 &#8211; On the Lapsed<\/span><\/strong><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">But if any one, by an overhurried haste, rashly thinks that he can give\u00a0remission of sins to all, or dares to rescind the Lord\u2019s precepts, not only\u00a0does it in no respect advantage the lapsed, but it does them harm. Not to\u00a0have <strong>observed His judgment<\/strong> is to have <em>provoked His, wrath,<\/em> and to think\u00a0that the <strong>mercy of God must not first of all be entreated,<\/strong> and, despising the\u00a0Lord, to presume on His power. Under the altar of God the souls of the\u00a0slain martyrs cry with a loud voice, saying, \u201cHow long, O Lord, holy and\u00a0true, dost Thou not<strong> judge and avenge our blood<\/strong> upon those who dwell on\u00a0the earth?\u201d&#8230;And again: \u201cI have\u00a0no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord, but that he\u00a0should return and live.\u201d And Joel the prophet declares the mercy of the\u00a0Lord in the Lord\u2019s own admonition, when he says: \u201cTurn ye to the Lord\u00a0your God, for <strong>He is merciful and gracious, and patient, and of great mercy,<\/strong>\u00a0and repenteth Him with respect to the evil that He hath inflicted.\u201d <strong>He can\u00a0show mercy; He can turn back His judgment.<\/strong> He can mercifully pardon the\u00a0repenting, the laboring, the beseeching sinner. He can regard as effectual\u00a0whatever, in behalf of such as these, either martyrs have besought or\u00a0priests have done. <strong>Or if any one move Him still more by his own\u00a0atonement, if he appease His anger, if he appease the wrath of an indignant\u00a0God by righteous entreaty,<\/strong> He gives arms again whereby the vanquished\u00a0may be armed; He restores and confirms the strength whereby the\u00a0refreshed faith may be invigorated.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Lactantius (240-320 AD) &#8211;\u00a0OF TRUE WISDOM AND RELIGION<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">But since\u00a0God is <strong>kind and merciful<\/strong> to His people, He sent Him to those very\u00a0persons whom He hated, that He might not close the way of salvation\u00a0against them for ever, but might give them a free opportunity of following\u00a0God, that they might both gain the reward of life if they should follow\u00a0Him (which many of them do, and have done), and that they might incur\u00a0the <strong>penalty of death<\/strong> by their fault if they should reject their King.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) &#8211; Contra Arianos<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\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 \/><\/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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Basil the Great (330 &#8211; 379 AD) &#8211; Extant Letters,\u00a0Letter CCXXXIV<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Do you worship what you know or what you do not know?\u00a0If I answer, I worship what\u00a0I know, they immediately reply, What is the essence of the object of worship?\u00a0 Then, if I\u00a0confess that I am ignorant of the essence, they turn on me again and say, So you worship\u00a0you know not what.\u00a0 I answer that the word to know has many meanings.\u00a0 We say that we\u00a0know the greatness of God, His power, His wisdom, His goodness, His providence over us,\u00a0and the <strong>justness of His judgment<\/strong>; but not His very essence.\u00a0 The question is, therefore, only\u00a0put for the sake of dispute.\u00a0 For he who denies that he knows the essence does not confess\u00a0himself to be ignorant of God, because our idea of God is gathered from all the attributes\u00a0which I have enumerated.\u00a0 But God, he says, is simple, and whatever attribute of Him you\u00a0have reckoned as knowable is of His essence.\u00a0 But the absurdities involved in this sophism\u00a0are innumerable.\u00a0 When all these high attributes have been enumerated, are they all names\u00a0of one essence?\u00a0 And is there the same mutual force in <strong>His awfulness and His loving-kindness<\/strong>,\u00a0<strong>His justice<\/strong> and His creative power, His providence and His foreknowledge, and His <strong>bestowal\u00a0of rewards and punishments<\/strong>, His majesty and His providence?\u00a0 In mentioning any one of\u00a0these do we declare His essence? If they say, yes, let them not ask if we know the essence of\u00a0God, but let them enquire of us <strong>whether we know God to be awful, or just, or merciful.<\/strong><strong>These we confess that we know.<\/strong>\u00a0 If they say that essence is something distinct, let them not\u00a0put us in the wrong on the score of simplicity.\u00a0 For they confess themselves that there is a\u00a0distinction between the essence and each one of the attributes enumerated.\u00a0 The operations\u00a0are various, and the essence simple, <strong>but we say that we know our God from His operations,\u00a0but do not undertake to approach near to His essence.\u00a0<\/strong> His operations come down to us,\u00a0but His essence remains beyond our reach&#8230;We know God from His power. \u00a0We, therefore, believe in Him who is known, and we worship Him who is believed in.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Ambrose (337- 397 AD)<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Yet that we may not think that this <strong>mercy<\/strong> is without <strong>judgment<\/strong>, there is a distinction made between those who have paid continual obedience to God\u2019s commandments, and those who at some time, either by error or by compulsion, have fallen&#8230;.consider the decision of Christ, Who said: \u201cIf the servant knew his Lord\u2019s will and did it not, he shall be <strong>beaten<\/strong> with many stripes, but if he knew it not, he shall be <strong>beaten<\/strong> with few stripes.\u201d Each, then, if he believes, is received, for God \u201c<strong>chasteneth<\/strong> every son whom He receiveth,\u201dand him whom He <strong>chasteneth<\/strong> He does not give over unto death&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom (349 &#8211; 407 AD)\u00a0\u2013 Homilies on First Corinthians<br \/><\/strong>But, \u201cThey are men,\u201d someone will say, \u201cwho do these things; as for God, He is <strong>loving<\/strong> unto men.\u201d Now, first of all, not even men do these things in cruelty, but in humanity. And God Himself, as \u201cHe is loving unto men,\u201d <strong>in the same character doth He punish sins. <\/strong>(Sirac. xvi. 12.) \u201cFor as His <strong>mercy\u00a0<\/strong><strong>is great<\/strong>, so also is His <strong>reproof<\/strong>.\u201d When therefore thou sayest unto me, \u201cGod is loving unto men,\u201d then thou tellest me of so much the greater reason for <strong>punishing<\/strong>: namely, our sinning against such a Being\u2026 <strong>For as His mercy is great, so also is His punishment.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">O Lord our God, who didst bow the heavens,\u00a0and come down for the salvation of the race of\u00a0men, look upon thy servants, and upon thine inheritance. For to thee the <strong>fearful Judge, and\u00a0lover of man,<\/strong> have thy servants bowed down\u00a0their heads, and subjected their necks; not awaiting\u00a0the help which is of men, but abiding thy mercy,\u00a0and waiting for thy salvation; whom keep at all\u00a0times, especially during the present evening, and\u00a0the approaching night, from every enemy, from\u00a0all adverse power of the devil, from vain thoughts,\u00a0and wicked imaginations.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John. Chrysostom (349 &#8211; 407 AD)\u00a0\u2013 Homily on the Gospel of St. John<br \/><\/strong>Many of the more careless sort of persons, using the <strong>loving-kindness<\/strong> of God to increase the magnitude of their sins and the excess of their disregard, speak in this way, \u201cThere is no hell, there is no future punishment, God forgives us all sins.\u201dTo stop whose mouths a wise man says, <strong>\u201cSay not, His mercy is great<\/strong>, He will be pacified for the multitude of my sins;\u00a0<strong>for mercy and wrath come from Him<\/strong>, and His <strong>indignation<\/strong> resteth upon sinners\u201d (Ecclus. v. 6 )<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria \u2013 Commentary on the Twelve Prophets Vol 3, On Zephaniah, Chapter 3, PG 41<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Lord is righteous in its midst,\u00a0<strong>and will not commit injustice; morning by morning he will deliver his judgment,<\/strong>\u00a0and not allow injustice to prevail (v.5). Justice and injustice can never be reconciled, nor would what is pure have anything in common with what is profane. After all, \u201cwhat does light share with darkness?\u201d In fact, such things are at odds, and you would find them quite at variance.\u00a0<strong>So since God, who controls all things, loves righteousness and has no truck with injustice, how were the awful crimes of the Jews likely to prevail or attain their goal without being nipped in the bud?<\/strong>\u00a0It seems,\u00a0<strong>however, that it is somehow a form of injustice not to subject the sinner to punishment, and not call to account the one who opts for a licentious and sacrilegious life, paying no heed to the laws, and being so inclined to injustice<\/strong>\u00a0as to set no store by better behavior, and take as a credit and a boast what should be found a source of shame.\u00a0<strong>Accordingly, since the Lord is righteous in its midst, and will not commit injustice, showing no tolerance for those in the habit of being unjust, morning by morning he will deliver his judgment,<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>that is, at daybreak, in the open and, as it were, in daylight he will no longer postpone the effects of wrath<\/strong>, instead, bringing them forth, making them obvious, and, as it were, putting what he promised in full view. In fact, he will not allow injustice to prevail. Now, by prevail he means achieve complete victory;\u00a0<strong>when wrongdoers are punished, the form of injustice will cease, there being no one to engage in it any longer.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\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 \/><\/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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Augustine (354 &#8211; 430 AD)\u00a0&#8211;\u00a0A Treatise on the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins&#8230;<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Now the children of <strong>wrath<\/strong> God punishes in <strong>anger<\/strong>;\u00a0whereas it is in <strong>mercy<\/strong> that He punishes the children of <strong>grace<\/strong>; since \u201cwhom He loveth He\u00a0correcteth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Constitutions of the Holy Apostles<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Observe, you who are our beloved sons, how <strong>merciful<\/strong> yet <strong>righteous<\/strong> the Lord our God is; how <strong>gracious<\/strong> and <strong>kind<\/strong> to men; and yet most certainly \u201c<strong>He will not acquit the guilty<\/strong>:\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The Blessed Fabiola &#8211; Fathers of the Desert\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> But\u00a0what the <strong>anger\u00a0<\/strong><strong>of God<\/strong> could not accomplish, was\u00a0done by the <strong>Blood of God,<\/strong> and by <strong>His love.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Theodoret (393 &#8211; 457 AD) &#8211; The Ecclesiastical History of Theodoret<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How the Lord God is <strong>long suffering<\/strong> towards those who rage against him, and <strong>chastises\u00a0<\/strong>those who abuse his patience, is plainly taught by the acts and by the fate of Valens. <strong>For the\u00a0loving Lord uses mercy and justice like weights and scales<\/strong>; whenever he sees any one by the\u00a0greatness of his errors over-stepping the bounds of <strong>loving kindness<\/strong>, by <strong>just punishment<\/strong> He\u00a0hinders him from being carried to further extremes.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Salvian (400 &#8211; 490 AD) &#8211; On the Government of God<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> And although the spirit and majesty of God are such that he is\u00a0not moved by any passion or anger, yet such is the aggravation of our sins that they drive him to wrath. If I may say so, we subject his <strong>loving kindness<\/strong> to force, and seem to lay violent\u00a0hands on his <strong>mercy<\/strong>. For although he is so <strong>gentle<\/strong> that ho would like to spare us constantly,\u00a0our perversity compels him to <strong>punish our sins<\/strong>. As those who blockade well-fortified cities\u00a0or attempt to capture and undermine their mighty strongholds, customarily lay siege to\u00a0them with all sorts of machines and weapons, so we attack the <strong>mercy of God<\/strong> with every\u00a0kind of frightful sin as if we, too, were using siege engines. Then we think God injures us,\u00a0though we are acting most injuriously toward him. Indeed every fault of all Christians is an\u00a0insult to his divinity. \u201cWhen we perform those acts that are forbidden by God we trample\u00a0underfoot the orders of him who forbade us. It is impious to blame God\u2019s severity for our\u00a0misfortunes: we should instead accuse ourselves. For when we commit the sins that cause\u00a0our torture, we are ourselves the authors of our torments. Why then do we complain of the\u00a0<strong>bitterness of our punishments<\/strong>? Each one of us punishes himself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\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 \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>H.G. Bishop Youanis &#8211; Paradise of the Spirit<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Is there a contradiction to <strong>God\u2019s justice<\/strong>, which states that\u00a0<strong>\u201cThe wages of sin is death?\u201d<\/strong> (Romans 6:23) This could have been true if <strong>God\u2019s mercy<\/strong> had not\u00a0interfered. <strong>But God\u2019s mercy has met God\u2019s justice<\/strong> and that is what David stated, <strong>\u201cMercy and truth are met together;<\/strong> Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.\u201d (Psalms 85:10)\u00a0<strong>God\u2019s mercy did not contradict His justice, but it found a solution.<\/strong> That solution is based on\u00a0God\u2019s death to redeem man who sinned.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Fr. Tadros Malaty &#8211;\u00a0THE PERSONALITY OF ST. ATHANASIUS THE APOSTOLIC <\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>AND THE CHURCH ENVIRONMENT<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Previously I have shown the stereological thought in the theology of St. Athanasius including <\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">the following points: 1. We would have never been redeemed if God the Word (the Logos) had not become Man. For man is in need of the Creator to redeem his fallen nature to its origin, granting it the image of God, restoring it from corruption to incorruption. In Him mankind overcame death and was recreated. 2. As the Son of God is one with the Father in essence (ousia), He offered Himself as a Sacrifice,<strong> paying the debt of our sins, and achieving the divine justice and mercy<\/strong> 3. The Logos is God who defended Satan not only for Himself, but also for our sake.\u00a04. Being God, the incarnate Logos He regained for us our honor, granting us to be children of the Father in the Holy Spirit. St. Athanasius says: [He was made Man that we might be come gods.] [For although there is one Son by nature, True and Only-Begotten, we too become sons, not as He in nature and truth, but according to the grace of Him that calls us, and though we are earthly humans, we are called gods.] 5. The Incarnation presented us to God, the Incarnate Logos reveals the Father to us, and the Father attracts us to the Son (John 17:26; 6:44).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">H.G. Bishop Youanis &#8211; Paradise of the Spirit, Part 1, Second Edition<\/span><\/strong><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Your soul is worth more than the whole world. Jesus said, \u201cFor what is a man profited, if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?\u201d (Matthew 16:26) The price of your soul is the blood of Jesus Christ, which was shed for your salvation. It is pathetic that some people do not care for their souls. If <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">their shoes or clothes get dirty, they hurry to clean them, but they never care about cleaning their souls and straightening their ways. <strong>We live now in the age of mercy, but tomorrow you shall be in the age of justice.<\/strong> If you insult<strong> justice<\/strong> here, you may ask for <strong>mercy<\/strong>; but if you do not care for <strong>mercy<\/strong> here, what will be your status there?<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0a0a0a; font-style: normal;\"><\/div><\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<hr \/>\r\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a id=\"divinedilemma\"><\/a><strong>Solution to the &#8220;Divine Dilemma&#8221;<\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<p><em><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id69e65f9bd70c7\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Scriptural references&gt;&gt;\"    >Scriptural references&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id69e65f9bd70c7\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/em><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romans 3:25-26<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<\/div>\r\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 \/><\/strong><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius \u2013 On the Incarnation of the Word<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> As we have already noted, it was <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><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><\/span>regarding death in order to ensure our continued existence\u2026<strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">But repentance would not guard the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Divine consistency<\/span><\/span><\/strong>, for, if death did not hold dominion over men, <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">God would still <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">remain untrue<\/span><\/span><\/strong>. For He alone, being Word of the Father and above all, was in consequence both able to recreate all, and worthy to <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>suffer on behalf of all<\/strong><\/span> and to be an ambassador for all with the Father\u2026 He saw that <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">corruption held us all the closer, because it was the penalty for the Transgression;<\/span><\/strong> He saw, too, how <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">unthinkable it would be for the law to be repealed before it was fulfilled.<\/span><\/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<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"> <strong>instead<\/strong> <strong>of all<\/strong>,<\/span> and offered it <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>to the Father<\/strong><\/span>\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;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000; text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>sufficient<\/strong> <strong>exchange<\/strong> <strong>for all<\/strong><\/span><\/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><span style=\"color: #ff0000; text-decoration: underline;\">substitute for the life of all,<\/span> <span style=\"color: #ff0000; text-decoration: underline;\">He fulfilled in death all that was required.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><\/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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><\/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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius \u2013 On the Incarnation of the Word<br \/><\/strong>But He comes in condescension to <strong>shew <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">loving-kindness<\/span> 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 <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>monstrous that before the law was fulfilled it should\u00a0fall through<\/strong><\/span>&#8230;and seeing, lastly, how<strong> all men were <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">under penalty of death<\/span><\/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>in the stead of all, and offered it to the Father<\/strong>\u2014doing this, moreover,\u00a0of His <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>loving-kindness<\/strong><\/span>, to the end that, firstly, <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>all being held to have died in Him<\/strong><\/span>, the <strong>law\u00a0involving the ruin of men <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">might be undone<\/span><\/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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><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 fulfillment of the threat of the law. <strong>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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. Irenaeus explains that the Word redeemed us in a way that did not infringe upon His own justice, by giving His soul for our souls and flesh for our flesh:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Irenaeus (130 &#8211; 202 AD) &#8211; Against Heresies, Book 5<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">the\u00a0Word of God, powerful in all things, and <strong>not defective with regard to His\u00a0own justice<\/strong>, did righteously turn against that apostasy, and redeem from it\u00a0His own property&#8230;<strong>so that neither\u00a0should justice be infringed upon, nor the ancient handiwork of God go to\u00a0destruction<\/strong>. Since the Lord thus has redeemed us through His own blood, <strong>giving His soul for our souls, and His flesh for our flesh,<\/strong> and has also\u00a0poured out the Spirit of the Father for the union and communion of God\u00a0and man&#8230;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. Cyril of Jerusalem also explained that by dying, Christ\u00a0preserved both the truth of His sentence, and the exercise of His loving-kindness:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Jerusalem (313 &#8211; 386 AD)\u00a0\u2013 Catechetical Lectures of St. Cyril<br \/><\/strong>These things the Savior endured, and made peace through the <strong>Blood<\/strong> of His Cross, for things in heaven, and things in earth.\u00a0 For we were enemies of God through sin, and God had appointed the sinner to die.\u00a0 There must needs therefore have happened one of two things; either that God, in His <strong>truth<\/strong>, should destroy all men, or that in His <strong>loving-kindness<\/strong> <strong>He should cancel the sentence.<\/strong>\u00a0 But behold the wisdom of God; He preserved both the <strong>truth of His sentence<\/strong>, and the exercise of <strong>His loving-kindness<\/strong>.\u00a0 Christ took our sins in His body on the tree, that we by His death might die to sin, and live unto righteousness&#8230;The transgression of sinners was not so great, as the righteousness\u00a0of Him who died for them; we have not committed as much\u00a0sin as He has wrought righteousness who laid down His life\u00a0for us,\u2014who laid it down when He pleased, and took it\u00a0again when He pleased.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. Cyril of Alexandria explained that Christ is mercy and justice:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><\/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<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to Pope Leo I, the omnipotent God could have rescued mankind by the mere exercise of His free will. However, God chose the Passion of Christ to fulfill God&#8217;s plan of both mercy and justice, as well as\u00a0exalt humanity via union of the\u00a0creature with the Creator:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Pope Leo I (390 &#8211; 461 AD) \u2013 On the Passion, Sermon\u00a0LXVIII<br \/><\/strong>we should understand that not only was the <strong>remission of sins accomplished<\/strong> by Christ, but also the <strong>standard of justice satisfied<\/strong>\u2026The glory, dearly-beloved, of the Lord\u2019s Passion, on which we promised to speak again\u00a0to-day, is chiefly wonderful for its mystery of humility, which has both <strong>ransomed<\/strong> and instructed us all, that <strong>He, Who paid the price<\/strong>, might also impart His righteousness to us.\u00a0 For\u00a0the Omnipotence of the Son of God, whereby He is by the same Essence equal to the Father,\u00a0<strong>might have rescued mankind from the dominion of the devil by the mere exercise of Its will<\/strong>,\u00a0had it not better suited the Divine working to conquer the opposition of the foe\u2019s wickedness\u00a0by that which had been conquered, and to restore our nature\u2019s liberty by that very nature\u00a0by which bondage had come upon the whole race&#8230;He remained one and the same Son of God by <strong>exalting our properties, not His own<\/strong>:\u00a0because\u00a0it was the weakness, not the power that had to be reinforced, so that <strong>upon the union of the\u00a0creature with the Creator there should be nothing wanting of the Divine to the assumed,\u00a0nor of the human to the Assuming<\/strong>&#8230;<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This plan of God\u2019s <strong>mercy<\/strong> and <strong>justice<\/strong>, though in the ages past it was in a measure enshrouded in darkness, was yet not so completely hidden that the saints, who have most merited praise from the beginning till the coming of the Lord, were precluded from understanding it\u2026<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Gregory of Nyssa explains that God&#8217;s goodness could not simply restore humanity to liberty without a method of &#8220;exchange&#8221; that also satisfied &#8220;justice&#8221;:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Gregory of Nyssa (335 -394 AD) \u2013 Great Catechism<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Whether we regard the <strong>goodness<\/strong>, the power, the wisdom, or the <strong>justice of God<\/strong>, it displays a <strong>combination of all these acknowledged attributes<\/strong>, which, if one be wanting, cease to be Divine&#8230;After we had thus freely sold ourselves to the deceiver, He who of His <strong>goodness<\/strong> sought to restore us to liberty <strong>could not, because He was just too<\/strong>, for this end have recourse to measures of arbitrary violence. It was necessary therefore that a <strong>ransom should be<\/strong> <strong>paid<\/strong>, <strong>which should exceed in value that which was to be ransomed<\/strong>; and hence it was necessary that the Son of God should surrender Himself to the power of death. <strong>God\u2019s justice then impelled Him to choose a method of exchange<\/strong>, as His wisdom was seen in executing it.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Note:<\/strong> Although the concept of God&#8217;s mercy vs. justice is present in his understanding, Gregory of Nyssa, like his mentor Origen, he believed the &#8220;ransom&#8221; was paid to the devil.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Pope Gregory speaks of the <em>&#8220;marvelous balancing&#8221;<\/em> of God&#8217;s justice and loving-kindness:<\/span><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Pope Gregory (540 AD \u2013 \u00a0604 AD) &#8211; Morals on the Book of Job<\/strong><br \/>Who else is set forth by the title of &#8216; <strong>the\u00a0<\/strong><strong>balances<\/strong>,&#8217; but\u00a0the Mediator between God and man, Who came to weigh the\u00a0merit of our life, and brought down with Him <strong>both justice\u00a0and loving-kindness together?<\/strong> But putting the greater\u00a0weight in the scale of <strong>mercy<\/strong>, He lightened our transgressions\u00a0in pardoning them. For in the hand of the Father having\u00a0been made like <strong>scales of a\u00a0<\/strong><strong>marvelous balancing<\/strong>, in the one\u00a0scale He hung our woe in His own Person, and in the other\u00a0our sins. <strong>Now by dying He proved the woe to be of heavy\u00a0weight, and by releasing it shewed the sin to be light in mercy&#8217;s\u00a0scale.<\/strong>..<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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. 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 and forgiven man, 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 in human nature 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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id69e65f9bd70e6\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"More quotes&gt;&gt;\"    >More quotes&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id69e65f9bd70e6\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/em><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Irenaeus (130 &#8211; 202 AD) &#8211; Against Heresies, Book 5<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> And since the apostasy tyrannized over us\u00a0unjustly, and, though we were by nature the property of the omnipotent\u00a0God, alienated us contrary to nature, rendering us its own disciples, the\u00a0Word of God, powerful in all things, and <strong>not defective with regard to His\u00a0own justice<\/strong>, did righteously turn against that apostasy, and redeem from it\u00a0His own property, not by violent means, as the [apostasy] had obtained\u00a0dominion over us at the beginning, when it insatiably snatched away what\u00a0was not its own, but by means of persuasion, as became a God of counsel,\u00a0who does not use violent means to obtain what He desires; <strong>so that neither\u00a0should justice be infringed upon, nor the ancient handiwork of God go to\u00a0destruction<\/strong>. Since the Lord thus has redeemed us through His own blood, <strong>giving His soul for our souls, and His flesh for our flesh,<\/strong> and has also\u00a0poured out the Spirit of the Father for the union and communion of God\u00a0and man, imparting indeed God to men by means of the Spirit, and, on the\u00a0other hand, attaching man to God by His own incarnation, and bestowing\u00a0upon us at His coming immortality durably and truly, by means of\u00a0communion with God&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Ephraim Syrus (306 -373 AD) \u2013 Nineteen Hymns on the Nativity of Christ in the Flesh, Hymn II<br \/><\/strong>He had commanded that we should be <strong>sold for our<\/strong><strong>debt<\/strong>: His <strong>mercy<\/strong> became our advocate;principal and increase, we repaid with the farthing [unit of currency of one quarter of a penny], which our repentance offered. Ten thousand talents for that little payment, our <strong>debt<\/strong> He forgave us.\u00a0 He was bound to exact it, that He might <strong>appease<\/strong><strong>His justice<\/strong>:\u00a0He was constrained again to forgive, that He might make His grace to rejoice\u2026.He <strong>satisfied<\/strong> His <strong>justice<\/strong>, in exacting and taking a little; He made His <strong>grace<\/strong> to rejoice, when for a little He forgave much.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Ephraim Syrus (306 -373 AD) \u2013 The Nisibene Hymns<br \/><\/strong>The good God has divided and given, my misdeeds to His <strong>grace<\/strong>,\u2014my offenses to His <strong>justice<\/strong>; His <strong>mercy<\/strong> has blotted out my misdeeds\u2014His <strong>judgment<\/strong> has requited my offences.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">St. Cyril of Alexandria explained that it did not &#8220;satisfy justice&#8221; for any created being to save the human race:<\/span><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> For when God determined to save the corrupted race upon the earth, and it <strong>did not satisfy justice<\/strong> that any created being should accomplish this, the Only-begotten God, Who knows the Will of God the Father, Himself undertook the task, as the <strong>enterprise exceeded all the power that there was in the world<\/strong>. And thus He came down to a voluntary subjection, so as even to descend to death, and that a most shameful one.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Augustine (354 &#8211; 430 AD) &#8211;<\/strong><strong>REPLY TO\u00a0FAUSTUS THE MANICHAEAN,\u00a0Book XIV, p.7<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> And as He died in the flesh which <strong>He took in bearing our punishment,<\/strong> so also, while ever blessed in His own righteousness, He was <strong>cursed for our offences<\/strong>, in the death which He suffered in bearing our <strong>punishment<\/strong>\u2026The believer in the true doctrine of the gospel will understand that Christ is not reproached by Moses when he speaks of Him as <strong>cursed<\/strong>, not in His divine majesty, but as hanging on the tree as our <strong>substitute<\/strong>, bearing our <strong>punishment<\/strong>, any more than He is praised by the Manich\u00e6ans when they deny that He had a mortal body, so as to suffer real death\u2026Confess that He died, and you may also confess that He, without taking our sin, took its <strong>punishment<\/strong>.\u00a0 Now the punishment of sin cannot be blessed, or else it would be a thing to be desired.\u00a0 The <strong>curse<\/strong> is pronounced by <strong>divine justice<\/strong>, and it will be well for us if we are redeemed from it.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Theodoret (393 &#8211; 457 AD) &#8211; On Divine Providence<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For He [God] did not wish to liberate us merely in virtue of His omnipotence, nor did He want <strong>mercy<\/strong> to be His sole weapon against the enemy who had enslaved our nature\u2014the enemy might misrepresent such mercy as unjust\u2014but instead <strong>He contrived a way that was full of kindness and adorned with justice<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Salvian (400 &#8211; 490 AD) &#8211; On the Government of God<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> How are we bad servants? Because, to be sure, our sufferings are only in proportion\u00a0to our deserts. How are we the servants of a good master? Because he shows what we deserve,\u00a0even though he <strong>does not inflict on us the punishment due<\/strong>, for he would rather correct us\u00a0by the most <strong>kind<\/strong> and <strong>merciful<\/strong><strong>chastisement<\/strong> than permit us to perish. As far as our misdoings\u00a0are concerned, <strong>we deserve the penalty of death,<\/strong> but he, attaching <strong>more importance to mercy\u00a0than to severity,<\/strong> prefers to better us by mercifully tempering his censure, than to slay us by\u00a0the infliction of a <strong>just chastisement.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Fr. Tadros Malaty \u2013Commentary on Gospel of St. John<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> The\u00a0 Voice\u00a0 of\u00a0 the\u00a0 Father\u00a0 is\u00a0 heard\u00a0 saying:\u00a0 \u201cI\u00a0 have\u00a0 both\u00a0 glorified\u00a0 it\u00a0 and\u00a0 will\u00a0 glorify\u00a0 it again,\u201d. It is as though He was saying: \u2018I have achieved My plan through You. I have sent You to be <strong>atonement<\/strong> for the sins of the world. I have executed <strong>justice<\/strong> which will never be void of My <strong>love<\/strong> and <strong>mercy<\/strong>. You have completed My work. That is why You offer Your <strong>Blood<\/strong> on the Cross, and I accept it as a <strong>sacrifice<\/strong> of love. Your death and resurrection\u00a0 glorify Me and\u00a0 fulfill\u00a0 My\u00a0 mission\u00a0 towards\u00a0 My\u00a0 beloved:\u00a0 Man. I have glorified You and will glorify You at Your death and at Your resurrection\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Fr. Tadros Malaty &#8211; Lecures in Patrology, Book One<br \/><\/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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Fr. Tadros Malaty \u2013 Commentary on Epistles of St. John<br \/><\/strong>\u201cOur Lawyer is righteous and He does not want to acquit us <strong>unjustly<\/strong>. He does not defend us in heaven without any <strong>justice<\/strong>, but He has <strong>paid<\/strong> the price for our <strong>debt<\/strong>. St. Ephram the Syrian says, \u2018The bowels of the Father has sent Him to us, so He has not taken our sins to the divine majesty, but through His <strong>goodness<\/strong>, He has offered Himself to Him a <strong>propitiation<\/strong> for us.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Fr. Tadros Malaty \u2013 Christ in the Eucharist<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> And the Founder of the covenant is called \u201cthe <strong>Just<\/strong> King,\u201d who <strong>pays<\/strong> our <strong>debts<\/strong> by His blood, fulfilling the <strong>divine <\/strong><strong>justice<\/strong>, reigning over our hearts. He is \u201cVictorious,\u201d for He conquers Satan by the power of His Cross. He is \u201chumble,\u201d for He crushes the powers of darkness&#8230;The rite does not stop at the splattering of <strong>blood<\/strong>, but the believers should eat the flesh of the lamb,\u00a0 roasted\u00a0 in\u00a0 fire\u00a0 to\u00a0 unite\u00a0 with\u00a0 the\u00a0 Lord\u00a0 Christ,\u00a0 who\u00a0 went\u00a0 through\u00a0 <strong>the\u00a0 divine\u00a0 justice<\/strong>,\u00a0 as through fire.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Fr. Tadros Malaty &#8211; The Coptic Orthodox Church and The Dogmas \u2013 God<br \/><\/strong>It was necessary for our salvation that the Word of God Himself be incarnated so that He might die on our behalf; then, He alone not only can realize the <strong>divine justice<\/strong>, but as the Creator He can renew our human nature&#8230;St. Athanasius states, \u201cIt is just that the Word of God, in offering His body as a ransom for us, should <strong>discharge<\/strong> our <strong>debt<\/strong> by His death.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Fr. Tadros Malaty \u2013 Commentary on Isaiah<br \/><\/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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<hr \/>\r\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a id=\"ddd\"><\/a><strong>Christ Paid the Debt (&#8220;Ransom&#8221;)<br \/><\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<p><em><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id69e65f9bd7106\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Scriptural references&gt;&gt;\"    >Scriptural references&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id69e65f9bd7106\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/em><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Matthew 18: 23-27<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Mark 8:36-37<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Hosea 13:14<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Psalm 49:7<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p class=\"regular\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span class=\"reftext\"><b>Psalm 118: 17-18<br \/><\/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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Isaiah 43: 1-4\u00a0 (Septuagint)<\/strong><br \/>And 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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Jeremiah 38:10-11 (Septuagint)<\/span><\/strong><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Zephaniah 3:14-15 (Septuagint)<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"red\" style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Mark 10:45<\/strong><br \/>For 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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span class=\"black\"><strong>John 11:51-52<\/strong><br \/>Nor 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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Acts 20:28<\/span><\/strong><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>1 Timothy 2:5<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>1 Thessalonians 5:9<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romans 8: 3-4<br \/><\/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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Hebrews 9:15<br \/><\/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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>2 Cor 5:21<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Hebrews 2:9<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>1 Corinthians 6:20<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;you were <strong>bought at a price<\/strong>. Therefore honor God with your bodies.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">1 Thessalonians 1:9-10<\/span><\/strong><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romans 5:8-9<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Colossians 2:13-14<\/span><\/strong><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">1 Peter 3:18<\/span><\/strong><br \/><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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><\/div><\/span><\/p>\r\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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Speaking on behalf of Christ, Clement of Alexandria says I &#8220;paid your penalty of death, which you owed&#8221;:<\/span><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Clement of Alexandria (150 &#8211; 215 AD) &#8211;\u00a0Who is the Rich Man That Shall Be Saved?<br \/><\/strong>On\u00a0your behalf <strong>I wrestled with death and paid your\u00a0penalty of death<\/strong>, which <strong>you owed for your former\u00a0sins<\/strong> and your faithlessness towards God.&#8221; When\u00a0you have listened to these appeals from each side\u00a0pass judgment on your own behalf and cast the vote\u00a0for your own salvation. Even though a brother says\u00a0the like, or a child or wife or any one else, before\u00a0all let it be Christ that conquers in you; since it is\u00a0on your behalf He struggles.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Epistle to Diognetus (dating back to about ~ 130 AD) explains that when we deserved punishment and death because of our wickedness, Christ ransomed us. He took upon Himself the burden of our iniquities to exchange with us His righteousness:<\/span><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus (~ 130 AD), Chap 9<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> But when our wickedness had reached its height, and it had been clearly shown that its reward, <strong>punishment<\/strong> and <strong>death<\/strong>, was impending over us; and when the time had come which God had\u00a0before appointed for manifesting His own kindness and power, how the\u00a0one <strong>love of God,<\/strong> through exceeding regard for men, did not regard us with\u00a0hatred, nor thrust us away, nor remember our iniquity against us, but\u00a0showed <strong>great long-suffering, and bore with us<\/strong>, He <strong>Himself took on Him the burden of our iniquities<\/strong>, He gave His own Son as a <strong>ransom<\/strong> for us, the <strong>holy One for transgressors, the blameless One for the wicked, the righteous One for the unrighteous, the incorruptible One for the corruptible, the immortal One for them that are mortal.<\/strong> For what other\u00a0thing was capable of covering our sins than His righteousness? By what\u00a0other one was it possible that we, the wicked and ungodly, could be\u00a0justified, than by the only Son of God? <strong>O sweet\u00a0exchange!<\/strong> O unsearchable operation!\u00a0O benefits surpassing all expectation! that the wickedness of\u00a0many should be hid in a single righteous One, and that the righteousness of\u00a0One should justify many transgressors!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Arnobius explains that it was God&#8217;s plan to pay the debts of sinners and ransom them by being a voluntary sacrifice for sins:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Arnobius (255 &#8211; 330 AD) \u2013 Elucidations<br \/><\/strong>Now, Christianity unveils the secret, presenting the Son of God, made man, a voluntary <strong>sacrifice<\/strong> for the sins of the whole world. If it be a mystery, still we do not wonder at the idea when we see one man <strong>paying the debts<\/strong> of another, and so <strong>ransoming the<\/strong> <strong>debtor<\/strong>. Christianity states this as <strong>God\u2019s plan for the ransom<\/strong> of sinners.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. Athanasius speaks of death as an exchange, His body for our body and His soul for our soul:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) &#8211; Contra Apollinarium<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><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, so that in His death all might die, and the law of death thereby be abolished because, <strong>having fulfilled in His body that for which it was appointed, it was thereafter voided of its power for men<\/strong>\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 has 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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Christ put away death from His peers by offering of an equivalent. He satisfied the debt of death by His death:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><\/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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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&#8230;owing to His love for the Father&#8221;:<\/em><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><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><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">We are justified and healed because Christ paid the penalty of our sins. We are restored to our original state because Christ took upon Himself the origin of our infirmity:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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<br \/><\/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. And just as by the Cross the sin of our revolt was perfected, 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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The curse for sin was removed because Christ made the &#8220;debts of our race&#8221; His own:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Severus of Antioch (465 &#8211; 538 AD) &#8211; Letter of St. Severus to\u00a0<b>EUPRAXIUS THE CHAMBERLAIN<\/b><\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> If he became man to free our race from the <strong>bonds<\/strong> <strong>of former crimes<\/strong>, and took upon him the seed of Abraham, and flesh of our nature, and united a human soul to himself hypostatically, therefore <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">h<\/span>e made all the <strong>debts of our race<\/strong> to which we were liable <strong>his own<\/strong>: for we are <strong>accursed<\/strong>, and we came under, the <strong>penalty of the curse<\/strong>, and heard the words, &#8220;Dust thou art and to dust shalt thou return&#8221;, and, &#8220;<strong>Cursed<\/strong> is the earth in the work of thine hands&#8221;, and, &#8220;In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread&#8221;&#8230;And he himself <strong>underwent the accursed death<\/strong> that was <strong>for our sake<\/strong>, and thence blessed the whole human race&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Fraction to the Son &#8211; Divine Liturgy<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Those who uphold the Christus Victor model try to deny Christ&#8217;s substitutionary death by asking rhetorically (as if they have made some brilliant argument): <em>&#8220;If Christ died &#8216;instead&#8217; of us, why do we still die?&#8221; <\/em>But their argument is quickly invalidated simply by turning the same question back on them: <em>&#8220;If Christ conquered death by death, why do we still die?&#8221;<\/em> For to persist in denying substitutionary atonement on grounds that we still die physically, would also invalidate their Christus Victor model since either way, we still die physically. 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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Additionally Christ died <em>&#8220;instead of us&#8221;<\/em> in the sense that He died the accursed death of the cross, so that even when we die, even our death is blessed in the Lord. In other words, Christ died the accursed death to take away the curse of death, so that death for the saints is a blessing, not a curse.\u00a0 Interestingly, such a question exposes their lack of comprehension that it was not only to save us from physical death that Christ died <em>&#8220;instead of us&#8221;<\/em>,\u00a0 but even more importantly, from spiritual death:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">He in our stead paid our debts: He bore our sins; 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 &#8220;by His bruises we are healed.&#8221;\u00a0He too was <strong>sick because\u00a0of our sins<\/strong>,<strong> and we are delivered from the sicknesses of the soul.<\/strong> &#8211; St. Cyril of Alexandria (Gospel According to St. Luke)<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p>Thus, because the Lord died instead of us the accursed death of disobedience, we are liberated from sin and condemnation on account of it. Thus, we are no longer subject to the eternal death of the spirit, after the resurrection of the body.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id69e65f9bd7175\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"More patristic quotes&gt;&gt;\"    >More patristic quotes&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id69e65f9bd7175\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \">\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We were debtors to God against whom we sinned. We became God&#8217;s enemies. Christ PROPITIATED THE FATHER. He fastened OUR DEBT (OWED TO THE FATHER) to the cross, giving us remission of our debt:<\/span><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. 130-202) , Against Heresies Book V,\u00a0Chapter 16-17<br \/>For we were debtors to none other but to Him whose commandment we had transgressed at the beginning.<\/strong> Now this being is the Creator (Demiurgus), who is, in respect of His love, the Father; but in respect of His power, He is Lord; and in respect of His wisdom, our Maker and Fashioner; <strong>by transgressing whose commandment we became His enemies.<\/strong> And therefore in the last times the Lord has restored us into friendship through His incarnation, <strong>having become &#8220;the Mediator between God and men;&#8221;<\/strong><strong>propitiating indeed for us the Father against whom we had sinned, and cancelling (consolatus) our disobedience by His own obedience<\/strong>; conferring also upon us the gift of communion with, and subjection to, our Maker. For this reason also He has taught us to say in prayer, <strong>&#8220;And forgive us our debts;&#8221; since indeed He is our Father, whose debtors we were, having transgressed His commandments<\/strong>&#8230;Therefore, by remitting sins, He did indeed heal man, while He also manifested Himself who He was. For if no one can forgive sins but God alone, <strong>while the Lord remitted them and healed men<\/strong>, it is plain that He was Himself the Word of God made the Son of man, receiving from the Father the power of remission of sins; <strong>since He was man, and since He was God, in order that since as man He suffered for us, so as God He might have compassion on us, and forgive us our debts, in which we were made debtors to God our Creator.<\/strong> And therefore David said beforehand, &#8220;Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the LORD has not imputed sin;&#8221;<strong> pointing out thus that remission of sins which follows upon His advent, by which &#8220;He has destroyed the handwriting&#8221; of our debt, and &#8220;fastened it to the cross;&#8221; so that as by means of a tree we were made debtors to God, [so also] by means of a tree we may obtain the remission of our debt.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. 130-202) , Against Heresies Book V, Chapter 23<\/strong><br \/>For along with the fruit they did also fall under the power of death, because they did eat in disobedience; <strong>and disobedience to God entails death.<\/strong> Wherefore, as they became forfeit to death, from that [moment] they were handed over to it. <strong>Thus, then, in the day that they did eat, in the same did they die, and became death\u2019s debtors,<\/strong> since it was one day of the creation. For it is said, \u201cThere was made in the evening, and there was made in the morning, one day.\u201d Now in this same day that they did eat, in that also did they die. But according to the cycle and progress of the days, after which one is termed first, another second, and another third, if anybody seeks diligently to learn up<strong>on what day out of the seven it was that Adam died, he will find it by examining the dispensation of the Lord. For by summing up in Himself the whole human race from the beginning to the end, He has also summed up its death. From this it is clear that the Lord suffered death, in obedience to His Father, upon that day on which Adam died while he disobeyed God. Now he died on the same day in which he did eat.<\/strong> For God said, \u201cIn that day on which ye shall eat of it, ye shall die by death.\u201d The Lord, therefore, recapitulating in Himself this day, underwent His sufferings upon the day preceding the Sabbath, that is, the sixth day of the creation, on which day man was created; thus granting him a second creation by means of His passion, which is that [creation] out of death. And there are some, again, who relegate the death of Adam to the thousandth year; for since <strong>\u201ca day of the Lord is as a thousand years,\u201d he did not overstep the thousand years, but died within them, thus bearing out the sentence of his sin. <\/strong>Whether, therefore, with respect to disobedience, which is death; whether [we consider] that, on account of that, they were delivered over to death, and made debtors to it; whether with respect to [the fact that on] one and the same day on which they ate they also died (for it is one day of the creation); whether [we regard this point], that, with respect to this cycle of days, <strong>they died on the day in which they did also eat, that is, the day] of the preparation, which is termed \u201cthe pure supper,\u201d that is, the sixth day of the feast, which the Lord also exhibited when He suffered on that day;<\/strong> or whether [we reflect] that he (Adam) did not overstep the thousand years, but died within their limit, \u2014<strong> it follows that, in regard to all these significations, God is indeed true.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Clement of Alexandria (150 &#8211; 215 AD) &#8211; The Rich Mans&#8217; Salvation<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Forgetful of his years John followed after him with\u00a0all his strength, crying out: &#8221; Why do you fly from\u00a0me, child, from your own father, from this old, unarmed man ? Have pity on me, child, do not fear.\u00a0You have still hopes of life, I myself will give\u00a0account&#8221; to Christ for you. If need be, <strong>I will willingly undergo your penalty of death, as the Lord\u00a0did for us.<\/strong><strong>I will give my own life in payment for\u00a0yours.<\/strong> Stand; believe; Christ has sent me.&#8221; On\u00a0hearing this he at first stood still, looking down; then threw away his weapons; then trembling began\u00a0to weep bitterly. When the old man had come\u00a0near the robber embraced him, making excuse as\u00a0best he could by his groans, and being baptized a\u00a0second time with his tears,&#8221; hiding his right hand\u00a0alone.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Origen (185 -254 AD)\u00a0&#8211; Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Book 12<br \/><\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">But the saying, <strong>\u201cWhat shall a man give in exchange for his own life,\u201d<\/strong> if\u00a0spoken by way of interrogation, will seem to be able to indicate that an\u00a0<strong>exchange for his own life is given by the man who after his sins has given\u00a0up his whole substance<\/strong>, that his property may feed the poor, as if he were\u00a0going by that to obtain salvation; but, if spoken affirmatively, I think, to\u00a0indicate that there is not anything in man by the giving of which in\u00a0exchange for his own life which has been overcome by death, he will\u00a0ransom it out of its hand. A man, therefore, could not give anything as an\u00a0exchange for his own life, <strong>but God gave an exchange for the life of us all<\/strong>,\u00a0\u201cthe precious blood of Christ Jesus,\u201d according as \u201cwe were bought with a\u00a0price,\u201d \u201chaving been redeemed, not with corruptible things as silver or\u00a0gold, but with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish and without\u00a0spot,\u201d even of Christ.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Hippolytus (170 -235 AD) &#8211; Exegetical Fragments<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> But though He took to Himself the frame of man as He\u00a0received it from the Virgin, and was made under the law, and was thus\u00a0purified after the manner of the first-born, it was not because He needed\u00a0this ceremonial that He underwent its services, but only for the purpose of\u00a0<strong>redeeming<\/strong> from the <strong>bondage of the law<\/strong> those who were <strong>sold<\/strong> under the\u00a0<strong>judgment <\/strong><strong>of the curse<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Hippolytus (170 -235 AD) &#8211; Treatise Against the Jews<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Then, in what next follows, Christ speaks, as it were, in His own\u00a0person: \u201c<strong>Then I restored that,\u201d says He, \u201cwhich I took not away;\u201d<\/strong> that is,\u00a0on account of the sin of Adam I endured the death which was not mine by\u00a0sinning.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyprian (200 -258 AD) &#8211; Treatise X, On Works and Alms<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Many and great are those divine bounties, dearest brethren,\u00a0wherein the plentiful and abundant mercy of God the Father\u00a0and of Christ,both hath been, and ever continues to be,exercised\u00a0for our salvation; in that the Father sent His Son, in order\u00a0to preserve and quicken us, and thereby to restore us,\u00a0and in that the Son was sent, and willed to be <strong>called\u00a0the Son of man, that He might make us sons of God<\/strong>; humbled Himself, that He might upraise a race which before\u00a0was fallen; was wounded, that He might heal our wounds; served, <strong>that He might ransom to liberty<\/strong> them that were in\u00a0servitude; endured to die, that He might give to mortal\u00a0men the boon of immortality.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Gregory Thamaturgus (213 AD &#8211; 270 AD) &#8211; Second Homily on the Annunciation to the Holy Virgin Mary<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> And on this account did God the Word deem it meet to take to Himself the flesh and the perfect humanity by a woman, the holy Virgin; and He was born a man, in order that He might <strong>discharge <\/strong><strong>our debt<\/strong>, and fulfill even in Himself the ordinances of the covenant made with Abraham, in its rite of circumcision, and all the other legal appointments connected with it.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Alexander of Alexandria (250 &#8211; 326 AD)\u00a0&#8211;\u00a0On the Soul and Body and Passion of the Lord<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Then the Lord, the third day after His death,\u00a0rose again, thus bringing man to a knowledge of the Trinity. Then all the\u00a0nations of the human race were saved by Christ. <strong>One submitted to the\u00a0judgment, and many thousands were absolved<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Alexander of Alexandria (250 &#8211; 326 AD) &#8211;\u00a0Epistles on Arianism<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Who compelled God to come down to earth, to take flesh of the holy Virgin, to be\u00a0wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger, to be nourished with milk, to be baptized in the Jordan, to be mocked of the people, to be nailed to the tree, to be buried in the bosom of the earth, and the third day to rise again from the dead; <strong>in the cause of redemption to give life for life, blood for blood, to undergo death for death?<\/strong> For <strong>Christ, by dying, has discharged the debt of \u00a0death to which man was obnoxious.<\/strong> Oh, the new and ineffable mystery! <strong>The Judge was judged.<\/strong> He who absolves from sin was bound; He was mocked who once framed the world; He was stretched upon the cross who stretched out the heavens; He was fed with gall who gave the manna to be bread; He died who gives life. He was given up to the tomb who raises the dead&#8230;But when our Lord rose from death and trampled it down, when He bound the strong man and set man free, then every creature wondered at the <strong>Judge who for Adam&#8217;s sake was judged,<\/strong> at the invisible being seen, at the impassable suffering, at the immortal dead, at the celestial buried in the earth. For our Lord was made man; <strong>He was condemned that He might impart compassion;<\/strong> He was bound that He might set free; He was <strong>apprehended that He might liberate;<\/strong> He suffered that He might heal our sufferings; He died to restore life to us; He was buried to raise us up.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Alexander of Alexandria (250 &#8211; 326 AD) &#8211;\u00a0Epistles on Arianism<\/strong><br \/>Why did He clothe Himself in flesh who was invested with glory? And since He was God, why did He become man? And since He reigned in heaven, why did He come down to earth, and become incarnate in the virgin&#8217;s womb?&#8230;The Lord, indeed, did not descend into hell in His body but in His Spirit. He forsooth is working everywhere, for while He raised the dead by His body, by His spirit was He liberating their souls. For when the body of the Lord was hung upon the cross, the tombs, as we have said, were opened; hell was unbarred&#8230;Then the Lord, the third day after His death, rose again, thus bringing man to a knowledge of the Trinity. Then all the nations of the human race were saved by Christ. <strong>One submitted to the judgment, and\u00a0many thousands were absolved.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Macarius of Jerusalem (? &#8211; 335 A.D.) &#8211;\u00a0Acts of the Council of Nice. Book 2<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">But he himself came as the Savior of all, and in our name <strong>bore, in his\u00a0own \ufb02esh, the punishment owed by us<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Eusebius of Caesarea (263 -339 AD) &#8211;\u00a0Church History, Book X<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> But he alone having reached our deep corruption, he alone having taken upon\u00a0himself our labors, <strong>he alone having suffered the punishments due for our impieties<\/strong>, having\u00a0recovered us who were not half dead merely, but were already in tombs and sepulchers, and\u00a0altogether foul and offensive, saves us, both anciently and now, by his beneficent zeal, beyond\u00a0the expectation of any one, even of ourselves, and imparts liberally of the Father\u2019s benefits,\u2014he who is the giver of life and light, our great Physician and King and Lord, the Christ\u00a0of God.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\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 \/><\/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>\r\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 \/><\/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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) &#8211; Against the Arians, Discourse IV<br \/><\/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>\r\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 \/><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;As then this is the sense of the above\u00a0text, they all will reasonably condemn themselves who have thought that the flesh derived from Mary existed before her, and that the Word, prior to her, had a human soul, and existed\u00a0in it always even before His coming. And they too will cease who have said that the Flesh\u00a0was not accessible to death, but belonged to the immortal Nature.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\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 \/><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.<\/strong> But what\u00a0was it that God originally condemned ? that which the Fashioner fashioned, or the action of what was fashioned ?\u00a0If God condemned that which the Fashioner fashioned,\u00a0He condemned Himself, and He would then be like to men.\u00a0But if it is impious to think this of God, and if He condemned the action of the thing fashioned, in that case He\u00a0annuls the action, and renews the thing fashioned. For we\u00a0are a thing of His making, created unto good works.<\/span><\/p>\r\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 \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Hilary of Poitiers (310 &#8211; 367 AD) &#8211; Homilies on the Psalms<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> And although this suffering did not belong to\u00a0His nature as eternal Son, the immutability of God being proof against the assault of any\u00a0derogatory disturbance, yet it was freely undertaken, and was intended to <strong>fulfil a penal\u00a0function<\/strong> without, however, <strong>inflicting the pain of penalty upon the sufferer&#8230;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">St. Hilary of Poitiers (310 &#8211; 367 AD) &#8211; Homily on Psalm LIII. (LIV.)<br \/><\/span><\/strong><span style=\"text-align: justify; color: #000000;\">It is true that in order to take the whole of our nature upon\u00a0Him <strong>He submitted to death<\/strong>, that is to the apparent severance of soul and body, and made\u00a0His way even to the realms below, <strong>the debt which man must manifestly pay:<\/strong> but He rose\u00a0again and abides for ever and looks down with an eye that death cannot dim upon His enemies, being exalted unto the glory of God and born once more Son of God after becoming\u00a0Son of Man, as He had been Son of God when He first became Son of Man, by the glory of\u00a0His resurrection.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St Cyril of Jerusalem\u00a0(313 &#8211; 386 AD) &#8211; Catechetical Lectures, Lecture\u00a0XIII<br \/><\/strong>And wonder not that the whole <strong>world was ransomed<\/strong>; for it was no mere man, but the only-begotten Son of God, who died on its behalf.\u00a0 Moreover one man\u2019s sin, even Adam\u2019s, had power to bring death to the world; but if by the trespass of the one death reigned over the world, how shall not life much rather reign by the righteousness of the One?\u00a0 And if because of the tree of food they were then cast out of paradise, shall not believers now more easily enter into paradise because of the Tree of Jesus?\u00a0 If the first man formed out of the earth brought in universal death, shall not He who formed him out of the earth bring in eternal life, being Himself the Life?\u00a0 If Phinees, when he waxed zealous and slew the evildoer, <strong>staved the wrath of God<\/strong>, shall not Jesus, who slew not another, <strong>but gave up Himself for a ransom, put away the wrath which is against mankind?<\/strong> Let us then not be ashamed of the Cross of our Saviour, but rather glory in it.<br \/><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Gregory Nazianzen (329 &#8211; 390 AD) &#8211; On Easter and His Reluctance<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Let us become like Christ, since Christ became like us.\u00a0 Let us become God\u2019s for His\u00a0sake, since He for ours became Man.\u00a0 He assumed the worse that He might give us the better;\u00a0He became poor that we through His poverty might be rich; He took upon Him the\u00a0form of a servant that we might receive back our liberty; He came down that we might be\u00a0exalted; He was tempted that we might conquer; He was dishonoured that He might glorify\u00a0us; He died that He might save us; He ascended that He might draw to Himself us, who\u00a0were lying low in the Fall of sin.\u00a0 Let us give all, offer all, to <strong>Him Who gave Himself a Ransom\u00a0and a Reconciliation for us.<\/strong>\u00a0 But one can give nothing like oneself, understanding the Mystery,\u00a0and becoming for His sake all that He became for ours.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Gregory Nazianzen (329 &#8211; 390 AD) &#8211;\u00a0The Fourth Theological Oration, Which is the Second Concerning the Son<br \/><\/strong>He is Sanctification, as being Purity,\u00a0that the Pure may be contained by Purity. And Redemption, because He sets us free, who\u00a0were held captive under sin, <strong>giving Himself a Ransom for us<\/strong>, <strong>the Sacrifice to make expiation\u00a0for the world.<\/strong>\u00a0 And Resurrection, because He raises up from hence, and brings to life again\u00a0us, who were slain by sin.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Basil (330 &#8211; 379 AD)\u00a0&#8211; St. Basil the Great, Chap XII, The Christian Life<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> So that Moses desired to be blotted\u00a0out of the book of God, if pardon were not extended\u00a0to the people for their sin, and Paul dared to pray\u00a0that he himself might be accursed from Christ for his\u00a0brethren&#8217;s sake: <strong>filled with the desire to be like his\u00a0Lord, a ransom for the sins of all<\/strong> : yet knowing, at\u00a0the same time, that it was impossible that one who\u00a0had rejected the gracious gifts of God through love to\u00a0Him, and for the sake of keeping the greatest of the\u00a0commandments, should be estranged from Him\u2014nay,\u00a0should not for that reason receive manifold more from\u00a0Him.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Basil of Caeserea\u00a0(330 &#8211; 379 AD)\u00a0 &#8211; Letter 261<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hence it is evident that our\u00a0Lord\u00a0assumed\u00a0the\u00a0natural\u00a0affections to establish His real\u00a0incarnation, and not by way of semblance of incantation, and that all the affections derived from\u00a0evil\u00a0that\u00a0besmirch\u00a0the purity of our life, He rejected as unworthy of His unsullied\u00a0Godhead. It is on this account that He is <strong>said to have been\u00a0<q>made in the likeness of flesh of\u00a0sin;<\/q><\/strong>\u00a0not, as these\u00a0men\u00a0hold, in likeness of flesh, but of flesh of\u00a0sin. It follows that He took our flesh with its\u00a0natural\u00a0afflictions, but\u00a0<q>did no\u00a0sin.<\/q>\u00a0(<span id=\"note323181\" class=\"stiki\">1\u00a0Peter\u00a02:22)<\/span><strong>Just as the death which is in the flesh, transmitted to us through\u00a0Adam, was swallowed up by the\u00a0Godhead, so was the\u00a0sin\u00a0taken away by the righteousness which is in\u00a0Christ Jesus<\/strong>,\u00a0so that <strong>in the\u00a0resurrection\u00a0we receive back the flesh neither liable to death nor subject to\u00a0sin.<\/strong>\u00a0These, brethren, are the\u00a0mysteries\u00a0of the\u00a0Church; these are the\u00a0traditions\u00a0of the\u00a0Fathers. Every man who\u00a0fears the\u00a0Lord, and is awaiting\u00a0God&#8217;s\u00a0judgment, I charge not to be carried away by various\u00a0doctrines.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Basil of Caeserea\u00a0(330 &#8211; 379 AD)\u00a0 &#8211;\u00a0 Letter CCLXI,\u00a0To the Sozopolitans<\/strong><br \/>After all these in the last days <strong>He was Himself manifested ill the flesh<\/strong>, \u201cmade of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under\u00a0the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.\u201dIf, then, the sojourn of the Lord in flesh has never taken place, <strong>the Redeemer\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>paid not the fine to death on our behalf<\/strong>, nor through Himself destroyed death\u2019s reign.\u00a0 For\u00a0if what was reigned over by death was not that which was assumed by the Lord, death would\u00a0not have ceased working his own ends, nor would the sufferings of the God-bearing flesh\u00a0have been made our gain; He would not have killed sin in the flesh: we who had died in\u00a0Adam should not have been made alive in Christ; the fallen to pieces would not have been\u00a0framed again; the shattered would not have been set up again; that which by the serpent\u2019s\u00a0trick had been estranged from God would never have been made once more His own.\u00a0 All\u00a0these boons are undone by those that assert that it was with a heavenly body that the Lord\u00a0came among us.\u00a0 And if the God-bearing flesh was not ordained to be assumed of the lump\u00a0of Adam, what need was there of the Holy Virgin?<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Ambrose of Milan (337- 397 AD) &#8211;\u00a0LETTER XLI<br \/><\/strong>Shall we deem servitude to be a state of greater weakness than that of <strong>being made sin<\/strong>, <strong>of being a curse<\/strong>, a reproach, than the <strong>infirmities which He bore for our sakes that we might be saved from them?<\/strong><strong>For He was made all of these that He might relieve the world from them.<\/strong> But they will not admit that He was made a servant, a reproach, a curse, because they affirm that the Word and the flesh are of one substance, and say, Because He redeemed us He is called a servant, and ought to be called sin. And they do not perceive this to be the glory of Christ, that i<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">n His Incarnation He took upon Him the state of a servant that He\u00a0might restore liberty to all; <strong>He bore our sins, that He might take away the sin of the world.<\/strong>\u00a0He was made a servant, <strong>He was made sin and a curse, that thou mightest cease to be a servant of sin, and that He might absolve thee from the curse of the Divine judgment. <\/strong><strong>He therefore took upon Him thy curse, for Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree. He was made a curse upon the cross<\/strong>, that thou mightest be blessed in the kingdom of God.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Ambrose of Milan (337- 397 AD) &#8211; Letters of Ambrose, Letter 41<br \/><\/strong>And let no one be startled at the word\u00a0<strong><q>creditor.<\/q><\/strong>\u00a0(<span id=\"note343576\" class=\"stiki\">Luke\u00a07:41)<\/span>\u00a0We were before under a hard creditor, <strong>who was not to be satisfied and paid to the full but by the death of the debtor.<\/strong> The Lord Jesus came, He saw us bound by a heavy debt. No one could pay his debt with the patrimony of his innocence. I could have nothing of my own wherewith to free myself. He gave to me a new kind of acquittance, changing my creditor because I had nothing wherewith to pay my debt. <strong>But it was\u00a0sin, not nature, which had made us debtors<\/strong>,<strong> for we had contracted heavy debts by our\u00a0sins<\/strong>, that we who had been free should be bound, for he is a debtor who received any of his creditor&#8217;s money. Now\u00a0sin\u00a0is of the\u00a0devil; that\u00a0wicked\u00a0one has, as it were, these riches in his possession. For as the riches of Christ are\u00a0virtues, so crimes are the\u00a0wealth\u00a0of the\u00a0devil. He had reduced the\u00a0human race\u00a0to perpetual captivity by the heavy debt of inherited liability, which our debt-laden ancestor had transmitted to his posterity by inheritance. The Lord Jesus came, <strong>He offered His death for the death of all, He poured out His Blood for the blood of all.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom (349 &#8211; 407 AD) \u2013 Homilies on Second Corinthians,\u00a0Homily XI<br \/><\/strong>&#8216;I say nothing of what has gone before, that you have outraged Him, Him that had done you no wrong, Him that had done you good, that He exacted not\u00a0justice, that He is first to beseech, though first outraged; let none of these things be set down at present. Ought ye not in\u00a0justice\u00a0to be reconciled for this one thing only that He has done to you now?&#8217; And what has He done?<strong>\u00a0Him that\u00a0knew\u00a0no\u00a0sin\u00a0He made to be\u00a0sin, for you.\u00a0<\/strong>For had He achieved nothing but done only this, <strong>think how great a thing it were to give His Son for those that had outraged Him<\/strong>. But now He has both well achieved mighty things, and besides, <strong>has suffered Him that did no wrong to be punished for those who had done wrong.<\/strong> But he did not say this: but mentioned that which is far greater than this. What then is this?\u00a0Him that\u00a0knew\u00a0no\u00a0sin,\u00a0he says, <strong>Him that was righteousness itself ,\u00a0He made\u00a0sin,\u00a0that is suffered as a sinner to be condemned, as one cursed to die.\u00a0For cursed is he that hangs on a tree. (Galatians 3:13)\u00a0<\/strong>For to die thus was far greater than to die; and this he also elsewhere implying, says,\u00a0Becoming\u00a0obedient\u00a0unto death, yea the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:8) <strong>For this thing carried with it not only punishment, but also disgrace.<\/strong> Reflect therefore how great things He bestowed on you. For a great thing indeed it were for even a sinner to die for any one whatever; <strong>but when He who undergoes this both is righteous and dies for sinners; and not dies only, but even as one cursed;<\/strong> and not as cursed [dies] only, but thereby freely bestows upon us those great goods which we never looked for; (for he says, that\u00a0we might become the righteousness of\u00a0God\u00a0in Him;) what words, what thought shall be adequate to realize these things? <strong>&#8216;For the righteous,&#8217; says he, &#8216;He made a sinner; that He might make the sinners righteous.&#8217;<\/strong> \u00a0Yea rather, he said not even so, but what was greater far; for the word he employed is not the habit, but the quality itself. <strong>For he said not\u00a0made\u00a0[Him] a sinner, but\u00a0sin;\u00a0not, &#8216;Him that had not\u00a0sinned&#8217; only, but\u00a0that had not even\u00a0known\u00a0sin;<\/strong> that we\u00a0also\u00a0might become,\u00a0he did not say &#8216;righteous,&#8217; but,\u00a0righteousness,\u00a0and,\u00a0the righteousness of\u00a0God.\u00a0For this is [the righteousness]\u00a0of God\u00a0when we are justified not by works, (in which case it were necessary that not a spot even should be found,) but by\u00a0grace, in which case all\u00a0sin\u00a0is done away. And this at the same time that it suffers us not to be lifted up, (seeing the whole is the free gift of\u00a0God,) teaches us also the greatness of that which is given. For that which was before was a righteousness of the Law and of works, but this is\u00a0the righteousness of\u00a0God.\u00a0Reflecting then on these things, let us\u00a0fear\u00a0these words more than\u00a0hell; let us reverence the things [they express] more than the kingdom, <strong>and let us not deem it grievous to be punished,<\/strong> but to\u00a0sin. For were He not to punish us, we ought to take vengeance on ourselves, who have been so ungrateful towards our Benefactor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom (349 &#8211; 407 AD) \u2013 Homilies on Romans,\u00a0Homily X on Rom. v. 12<br \/><\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cFor if by one man\u2019s offence death reigned by one, much more they which receive\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">abundance of grace and of the gift and (so Field with most mss.) of righteousness shall reign\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">in life by one, Jesus Christ.\u201d\u00a0What he says, amounts to this nearly. What armed death against the world? The one\u00a0man\u2019s eating from the tree only. If then death attained so great power from one offence,\u00a0when it is found that certain received a grace and righteousness out of all proportion to that\u00a0sin, how shall they still be liable to death? And for this cause, he does not here say \u201cgrace,\u201d\u00a0but \u201csuperabundance of grace.\u201d For it was not as much as we must have to do away the sin\u00a0only, that we received of His grace, but even far more. <strong>For we were at once freed from\u00a0punishment, and put off all iniquity, and were also born again from above<\/strong> (John iii. 3) and\u00a0rose again with the old man buried, and were redeemed, justified, led up to adoption,\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">sanctified, made brothers of the Only-begotten, and joint heirs and of one Body with Him,\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">and counted for His Flesh, and even as a Body with the Head, so were we united unto Him!\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">All these things then Paul calls a \u201csuperabundance\u201d of grace, showing that what we received\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">was not a medicine only to countervail the wound, but even health, and comeliness, and\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">honor, and glory and dignities far transcending our natural state. And of these each in itself\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">was enough to do away with death, but when all manifestly run together in one, there is not\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">the least vestige of it left, nor can a shadow of it be seen, so entirely is it done away. <strong>As then\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">if any one were to cast a person who owed ten mites (\u1f40\u03b2\u1f79\u03bb\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2) into prison, and not the man\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>himself only, but wife and children and servants for his sake<\/strong>; and another were to come <strong>and\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">not to pay down the ten mites only, but to give also ten thousand talents of gold, and to lead\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>the prisoner into the king\u2019s courts<\/strong>, and to the throne of the highest power, and were to make\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">him partaker of the highest honor and every kind of magnificence, the creditor would not\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">be able to remember the ten mites; <strong>so hath our case been.<\/strong><strong>For Christ hath paid down far\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>more than we owe<\/strong>, yea as much more as the illimitable ocean is than a little drop. Do not\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">then, O man, hesitate as thou seest so great a store of blessings, nor enquire how that mere\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">spark of death and sin was done away, when such a sea of gifts was brought in upon it. For\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">this is what Paul intimated by saying that \u201cthey who have received the abundance of the\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">grace and righteousness shall reign in life.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom (349 &#8211; 407 AD) \u2013 Homilies on Romans<br \/><\/strong>For indeed we are not so much in love with money, as is He with our salvation. Wherefore itwas not money, but <strong>His own Blood that He gave as bail for us<\/strong>. And for this cause He would not have the heart to give them up, for whom He had laid down <strong>so great a price.<\/strong> See too how he shows that His power also is unspeakable.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom (349 &#8211; 407 AD)\u00a0\u2013 Homilies on Colossians<br \/><\/strong>For truly, He hath not only delivered from sins, but hath also placed amongst the approved\u2026as if one should not only <strong>free a <\/strong><strong>condemned <\/strong><strong>criminal from his punishment<\/strong>, but also advance him to honor.<\/span><\/p>\r\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 \/><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.<br \/><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom (349 &#8211; 407 AD)\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Homily Eleven on Second Corinthians<br \/><\/strong>&#8220;For Him who knew no sin He made to be sin on our account.&#8221;<\/span><br \/><span style=\"text-align: justify; color: #000000;\">&#8216;I say nothing of what has gone before, <strong>that you have outraged Him<\/strong>, Him that had done you no wrong, Him that had done you good, <strong>that He exacted not justice<\/strong>, that He is first to beseech, though first outraged; let none of these things be set down at present. Ought ye not in justice to be reconciled for this one thing only that He has done to you now?&#8217; And what has He done? <strong>Him that knew no sin He made to be sin, for you.<\/strong> For had He achieved nothing but done only this, <strong>think how great a thing it were to give His Son for those that had outraged Him. But now He has both well achieved mighty things, and besides, has suffered Him that did no wrong to be punished for those who had done wrong.<\/strong> But he did not say this: but mentioned that which is far greater than this. What then is this? <strong>Him that knew no sin, he says, Him that was righteousness itself , He made sin, that is suffered as a sinner to be condemned, as one cursed to die.<\/strong> For cursed is he that hangs on a tree. Galatians 3:13 For to die thus was far greater than to die; and this he also elsewhere implying, says, Becoming obedient unto death, yea the death of the cross. Philippians 2:8 <strong>For this thing carried with it not only punishment, but also disgrace.<\/strong> Reflect therefore how great things He bestowed on you. For a great thing indeed it were for even a sinner to die for any one whatever; but when He who undergoes this both is righteous and dies for sinners; and not dies only, but even as one cursed; and not as cursed [dies] only, but thereby freely bestows upon us those great goods which we never looked for; (for he says, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him;) what words, what thought shall be adequate to realize these things? &#8216;For the righteous,&#8217; says he, &#8216;He made a sinner; that He might make the sinners righteous.&#8217; Yea rather, he said not even so, but what was greater far; for the word he employed is not the habit, but the quality itself. For he said not made [Him] a sinner, but sin; not, &#8216;Him that had not sinned&#8217; only, but that had not even known sin; that we also might become, he did not say &#8216;righteous,&#8217; but, righteousness, and, the righteousness of God. For this is [the righteousness] of God when we are justified not by works, (in which case it were necessary that not a spot even should be found,) but by grace, in which case all sin is done away. And this at the same time that it suffers us not to be lifted up, (seeing the whole is the free gift of God,) teaches us also the greatness of that which is given. For that which was before was a righteousness of the Law and of works, but this is the righteousness of God.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom (349 &#8211; 407 AD) &#8211; Homily on Romans<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> For it was not as much as we must have to do away the sin only, that we received of His grace, but even far more. For we were at once freed from <strong>punishment<\/strong>, and put off all iniquity, and were also born again from above\u2026<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Augustine (354 &#8211; 430 AD) &#8211; Writings in Connection with Manichaen Controversy<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> So <strong>sin<\/strong> means both a bad action <strong>deserving\u00a0<\/strong><strong>punishment<\/strong>, and death the\u00a0consequence of sin.\u00a0 Christ has no sin in the sense of deserving death, but He bore for our\u00a0sakes sin in the sense of death as brought on human nature by sin.\u00a0 This is what hung on\u00a0the tree; this is what was cursed by Moses.\u00a0 Thus was death condemned that its reign might\u00a0cease, and cursed that it might be destroyed.\u00a0 By Christ\u2019s taking our sin in this sense, its\u00a0condemnation is our deliverance, while to remain in subjection to sin is to be condemned&#8230;<strong>Death<\/strong> is the effect of the <strong>curse<\/strong>; and all sin is <strong>cursed<\/strong>, whether it means the action which merits <strong>punishment<\/strong>, or the <strong>punishment<\/strong> which follows. Christ, though guiltless, took our <strong>punishment<\/strong>, that He might <strong>cancel<\/strong> our <strong>guilt<\/strong>, and do away with our <strong>punishment<\/strong>&#8230;And as He died in the flesh which He took in bearing our <strong>punishment<\/strong>, so also, while ever blessed in His own righteousness, He was <strong>cursed<\/strong> for our offenses, in the death which He suffered in bearing our <strong>punishment<\/strong>&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Augustine (354 &#8211; 430 AD) &#8211; Reply to Faustus the Manichaean<br \/>Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree; not this one or that, but absolutely every\u00a0one.\u00a0<\/strong> <strong>What! the Son of God?\u00a0 Yes, assuredly.\u00a0<\/strong> This is the very thing you object to, and that\u00a0you are so anxious to evade.\u00a0 You will not allow that He was cursed for us, because you will\u00a0not allow that He died for us.\u00a0 Exemption from Adam\u2019s curse implies exemption from his\u00a0death.\u00a0 But as Christ endured death as man, and for man; so also, Son of God as He was,\u00a0ever living in His own righteousness, but dying for our offences, <strong>He submitted as man, and\u00a0for man, to bear the curse which accompanies death.\u00a0 And as He died in the flesh which He\u00a0took in bearing our punishment,<\/strong> so also, while ever blessed in His own righteousness, <strong>He\u00a0was cursed for our offences, in the death which He suffered in bearing our punishment.<\/strong>\u00a0And these words &#8220;every one&#8221; are intended to check the ignorant officiousness which would\u00a0deny the reference of the curse to Christ, and so, because the curse goes along with death,\u00a0would lead to the denial of the true death of Christ.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Augustine (354 &#8211; 430 AD)\u00a0&#8211; Expositions on the Book of Psalms<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> For even the Lord was subject to death, but not on account of sin: <strong>He took upon Him our punishment, and so looseth our guilt.<\/strong> With reason then, \u201cIn Adam\u00a0all die, but in Christ shall all be made alive.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Augustine (354 &#8211; 430 AD) &#8211; City of God<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> He showed also that death itself, although the <strong>punishment<\/strong><strong>of sin, was submitted to by Him<\/strong> for our sake without sin, and must not be evaded by sin on our part, but rather, if opportunity serves, be borne for righteousness\u2019 sake.\u00a0 For he was able to <strong>expiate<\/strong> sins by dying, because He both died, and not for sin of His own.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Augustine (354 &#8211; 430 AD)\u00a0&#8211; Doctrinal Treatises<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> For we, indeed, came to <strong>death<\/strong> through\u00a0sin; He through righteousness: and, therefore, as our <strong>death is the punishment of sin<\/strong>, so His\u00a0death was made a <strong>sacrifice for sin<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Augustine (354 &#8211; 430 AD)\u00a0&#8211; A Treatise on Nature and Grace<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> For if he said this about the law, which only the nation of the Jews received,\u00a0how much more justly may it be said of the law of nature, which the whole human race has\u00a0received, \u201cIf righteousness come by nature, then Christ died in vain.\u201d If, however, Christ\u00a0did not die in vain, then human nature cannot by any means be <strong>justified and redeemed\u00a0from God\u2019s most righteous wrath\u2014in a word, from punishment\u2014except by faith and the\u00a0sacrament of the blood of Christ.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Augustine (354 &#8211; 430 AD)\u00a0&#8211; Treatise on the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins&#8230;\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Now death came by the serpent, which persuaded man to commit the sin, by\u00a0which he deserved to die. The Lord, however, <strong>transferred to His own flesh<\/strong> not sin, as the\u00a0poison of the serpent, but He did <strong>transfer to it death<\/strong>, that the <strong>penalty<\/strong> without the fault might\u00a0transpire in the likeness of sinful flesh, whence, in the sinful flesh, both the <strong>fault might be\u00a0removed and the penalty<\/strong>. As, therefore, it then came to pass that whoever looked at the\u00a0raised serpent was both healed of the poison and freed from death, so also now, whosoever\u00a0is conformed to the likeness of the death of Christ by faith in Him and His baptism, is freed\u00a0both from sin by justification, and from death by resurrection.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria \u2013 Festal Letters 13- 30, Letter 13, PG 9<br \/><\/strong>Now in what does the mystery consist? Or where will we find the beauty of the truth hidden in the shadow that is in the law? Well, the true stater, the image of the great king, the Son that is, the imprint and reflection of the Father\u2019s substance, gave him-self for us.\u00a0<strong>And he gave his own soul in exchange for the life of all,<\/strong>\u00a0not that he might save Israel alone, even though Israel seemed to be rich in the knowledge of the law, but that he might rescue as well from the devil\u2019s greed the innumerable flock of the nations, \u201cwho had no hope,\u201d as Paul says, and who suffered from the lack of every good. The divine, heavenly stater was therefore given for two peoples. \u201c<strong>For we have been ransomed not with perishable things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or stain.<\/strong>\u201d \u201cWe are debtors, therefore, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh,\u201d\u00a0<strong>but to Christ, who ransomed and redeemed us<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria, Glaphyra on the Pentateuch Vol 2, Pages 46-47<br \/><em>\u201cEverything that first opens the womb of the donkey, shall be exchanged for a lamb<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>And what is this saying? According to the law a donkey was unholy and profane, but a lamb was holy, and so it was presented on behalf of the donkey. Once more the law figuratively represents in these matters the fact that what is profane and unholy is made holy in Christ, and that through him that which is unacceptable is made acceptable. For when we were sinful and unclean, for our sakes he became a holy sacrifice and a pleasing aroma.\u00a0<strong>For he died for sinners, the righteous for the unrighteous, the clean for the unclean, just as the lamb died for the donkey. So the firstborn of men were redeemed by offerings, which were most likely given in payment for those who were being presented<\/strong>. For what reason? Because that which was wholly dedicated and consecrated to God needed to be completely sacrificed. Yet God, who created everything in a state of incorruptibility, refrains from the killing of men. For \u201che did not create death, nor does he delight in the destruction of living creatures, \u201cas it is written. Nor does he take pleasure from those who are perishing, as he does from the destruction of the unclean demons.\u00a0<strong>Rather, he commands that a ransom should be laid down on their behalf,<\/strong>\u00a0and so we ought to confess openly that, in essence, we owe even our very lives to him.\u00a0<strong>For he indicated this ransom when he commanded that the sum called the \u201ctwo drachmas\u201d should be paid. So the true ransom given for all is to be understood as Christ himself,<\/strong>\u00a0through whom and in whom we have overcome corruption, for he gave himself for us.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria, Glaphyra on the Pentateuch Vol 2, Book 9: Exodus, Pg 79<br \/><\/strong>For who, on seeing death incapacitated, which was once so fearful and loathsome to those upon the earth, on seeing corruption removed, and human nature restored to the hope of unending life, would not be converted to a ready obedience? For as we died with Adam, so we have been raised with Christ. The divine Paul testified to us of this when he writes, \u201cFor as in Adam we all die, even so in Christ we all will be made alive.\u201d\u00a0<strong>For he purchased us with his own blood, and counted his life to be an exchange for the life of all.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211; Five Tomes Against Nestorious, Tome V<br \/><\/strong>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 <strong>Sacrifice of His Own Body, to God the Father<\/strong>, 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)<strong> to do Thy Will, o God.<\/strong> 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 <strong>Ransom for the salvation and life of all,<\/strong> He <strong>might redeem all, from both death and decay and yet more from sins.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Ambrose of Milan &#8211; Against Auxentius on the Giving up the Basilicas\u00a0 (386 A.D.)\u00a0<\/strong><br \/>They read \u00a0too to-day that Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us. Was Christ a curse according to His Divinity? But why He should be called a curse the Apostle teaches thee, alleging the text, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree, that is, He Who in His flesh took upon Him our flesh,<strong> in His body carried our griefs and our curses that He might crucify them<\/strong>, <strong>for He is cursed, not in Himself, but in thee<\/strong>. Lastly, you have in another place, Who knew no sin, but was made sin for us, for <strong>He took upon Him our sins<\/strong>, to do away with them by the Sacrament of His Passion. <\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Pope Leo I (390 &#8211; 461 AD)\u00a0&#8211; Sermon On the Feast of S. Laurence the Martyr<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For, although that Love, wherewith the Lord has redeemed us, cannot be equalled\u00a0by any man\u2019s kindness, because it is one thing that a man who is <strong>doomed to die one day\u00a0should die for a righteous man<\/strong>, and another that <strong>One Who is free from the debt of sin should\u00a0lay down His life for the wicked<\/strong>:\u00a0 yet the martyrs also have done great service to all men,\u00a0in that the Lord Who gave them boldness, has used it to show that the <strong>penalty of death<\/strong> and\u00a0the pain of the cross need not be terrible to any of His followers, but might be imitated by\u00a0many of them. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Pope Leo I<\/strong> <strong>(390 &#8211; 461 AD) &#8211;\u00a0Letter CXXXIX<\/strong><br \/>The true birth of Christ, therefore, is confirmed by the true cross; since He is Himself\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">born in our flesh, Who is crucified in our flesh, which, as no sin entered into it, could not\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">have been mortal, unless it had been that of our race.\u00a0 But in order that He might restore\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">life to all, He undertook the cause of all and rendered void the force of the old bond, <strong>by\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>paying it for all, <\/strong><strong>because He alone of us all did not owe it:<\/strong>\u00a0 that, as by one man\u2019s guilt all had\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">become sinners, so by one man\u2019s innocence all might become innocent, righteousness being\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">bestowed upon men by Him Who had undertaken man\u2019s nature.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Theodoret (393 &#8211; 457 AD)\u00a0&#8211; Dialogue I, The Immutable\u00a0<\/strong><br \/>\u201cFor just as when the apostle says \u2018Christ\u00a0hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us,\u2019 he does not say\u00a0that the substance of Christ departed from His own glory, and took the substance of a curse,\u00a0a position which not even devils would imagine, nor the utterly senseless, and the naturally\u00a0idiotic\u2014so remarkable being the connection between impiety and insanity. <strong>But what he\u00a0does assert is that after receiving the curse due to us<\/strong>, He does not suffer us to be cursed for\u00a0the future. It is in this sense that He is stated to have been made flesh, not because he had\u00a0changed the substance into flesh, but because he had assumed the flesh, the substance remaining all the while unimpaired.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Gregory the Great (540 AD \u2013 \u00a0604 AD)\u00a0&#8211; Morals on the Book of Job<br \/><\/strong>He &#8216; was destroyed without cause,&#8217; Who, being made incarnate,\u00a0had no sins of His own, and yet being without offence <strong>took\u00a0upon Himself the punishment of the carnal.<\/strong> For it is hence, that speaking by the Prophet He says, Then <strong>I restored that\u00a0which I took not away.<\/strong> For that other that was created for\u00a0Paradise would in his pride have usurped the semblance of\u00a0the Divine power, yet the Mediator, <strong>Who was without guilt,\u00a0discharged the guilt of that pride.<\/strong> It is hence that a Wise\u00a0Man saith to the Father; Forasmuch then as Thou art\u00a0righteous Thyself, Thou orderest all things righteously;\u00a0<strong>Thou condemnest Him too that deserveth not to be punished.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>John of Damascus &#8211; On Holy Images<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">From the time that\u00a0God the Word became flesh He is as we are\u00a0in everything except sin, and of our nature,\u00a0without confusion. <strong>He has deified our flesh\u00a0for ever, and we are in very deed sanctified\u00a0through His Godhead and the union of His\u00a0flesh with it.<\/strong> And from the time that God,\u00a0the Son of God, impassible by reason of His\u00a0Godhead, chose to suffer voluntarily <strong>He wiped\u00a0out our debt, also paying for us a most full\u00a0and noble ransom.<\/strong> We are truly free through\u00a0the sacred blood of the Son pleading for us\u00a0with the Father.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Methodius (815 &#8211; 885 AD) &#8211; From the Homily On the Cross and Passion of Christ<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> It was for this mainly that the cross was brought in, being erected as a trophy against iniquity, and a deterrent\u00a0from it, that henceforth man might be no longer subject to wrath, after that he had made up for the defeat which, by his disobedience, be had received, and had lawfully conquered the infernal powers, and by the gift of God had been <strong>set free from every debt<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Ibn Al-Assal &#8211; The Collection Of Safey Ibn Al-Assal, (Published Originally In Arabic In Cairo, Egypt; 1245 A.D)<\/strong><br \/><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">And if one is lost look for him and the one that is hopeless because of his many transgression do not let him reach complete destruction. <strong>And if the bishop can, he should carry the sin of the sinner on himself and makes it his own and say to the transgressor come back and I will accept death in your place as my Lord the Christ who died for me and for everyone. <\/strong>Jesus said: \u201cI am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Fr. Matta El Miskeen (Matthew the Poor) &#8211; The Birth of Christ And the Birth of Man<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Nevertheless, He freely took upon Himself the role of a slave with an extraordinary and amazing humility, in order to raise up all slaves to the heights of His sonship. \u201cI no longer call you servants, but friends, for I have taught you all I have heard from my Father\u201d (Jn. 15:5). He stripped Himself, as far as He was able, of all outward glory to devote Himself to participating with mankind in suffering, that suffering which He was born to bear in full on their behalf, so that its curse might be lifted from the sons of men. <strong>He finally crowned His suffering with a death freely accepted, as the payment of a debt and a punishment, on behalf of all the sinners of the earth, so that through His death He might win their acquittal.<\/strong> <strong>So death is no longer a debt to be paid or a punishment to be undergone by man for his sins and transgressions; it is rather the declaration of his release and forgiveness.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Fr. Matta El Miskeen (Matthew the Poor) &#8211; Resurrection and Redemption in the Orthodox Concept<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Thus in the doctrine of the Orthodox Church resurrection has come to be the foundation of the act of redemption which was latent in the heart of Christ from the very beginning. <strong>Redemption did not mean merely that Christ should pay the price of our sins, or remove the wrath of God upon the reprobate who were enslaved to sin, but to Christ redemption in the first place meant something beyond forgiveness and reconcilement<\/strong> &#8212; to restore to man the love and eternal life which he had lost through transgression and separation from God. This was originally implied in the concept of incarnation as understood by the fathers of the Church such as St. Athanasius who says: \u201cThe Word became human that we might become gods in Him\u201d (that is partakers of the divine nature). The aim of incarnation therefore in the view of the Orthodox Church fathers never stopped short at the atonement of the cross or redemption by blood, but always proceeded further to resurrection for the renewal of man as the ultimate end of incarnation. <strong>Why? Because man did not stop at falling in sin or breaking with God and incurring the divine wrath, so that if his sins were remitted and he got reconciled to God he would be restored to his original state.<\/strong> Unfortunately man went beyond all this, for he lost his original gifts and the image of God was distorted in him, in the sense that he finally lost his power to know and love God, and consequently to return to life with God by purgation, knowledge and instruction. This we hear from Christ himself when he approached this problem with rabbi Nicodemus, \u201cExcept a man be born from above he cannot see the kingdom of God.&#8221; This means that it is not a question merely of repaying the debt of our sins, but there must needs be a re\u00adcreation of man.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">H.E. Metropolitan Bishoy\u00a0of Damietta &#8211;\u00a0Remarks on the Understanding of Mercy and Justice in the Writings of Isaac the Syrian<\/span><\/strong><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Lord Jesus Christ was a <strong>substitute for the sinners<\/strong>, was crucified instead of them <strong>repaying their debt.<\/strong> He is the Only Savior through Whom we received salvation. He is the only One Who is sinless, the only One Who can carry the sin of the whole world and become an <strong>accepted ransom before the Heavenly Father<\/strong>, because of His perfect righteousness and His super valuable sacrifice in the perception of God the Father since it is the sacrifice of the only begotten son. &#8220;For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life&#8221; (John 3:16).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>H.E. Metropolitan Bishoy\u00a0of Damietta &#8211;\u00a0THE COMMON THREAD BETWEEN HEGUMEN MATTA-EL-MESKEEN AND MAX MICHEL<br \/>If we ignore divine justice\u2026 then what is the point of the cross anyway?<\/strong> \u2026 What is its necessity? Is the cross simply a play just so the Lord Christ reveals His love? Also, what is the meaning of the word redemption? When He speaks of giving \u201cHis life a ransom for many\u201d (Mat 20:28), or \u201cWho gave Himself a ransom for all\u201d (1 Tim 2:6). <strong>Has the term redemption become meaningless?\u00a0They deny the Redeemer offering Himself instead of the sinner, placing Himself in the place of the sinner, while the Holy Scripture is clear as Isaiah the prophet says: \u201cThe LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all\u201d<\/strong> (Is 53:6); John the Baptist said: \u201cBehold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!\u201d (Jn 1:29); Isaiah says again: \u201c<strong>You make His soul an offering for sin<\/strong>\u201d (Is 53:10); in his first epistle, our teacher St. Peter says: \u201cKnowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things\u2026 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot\u201d (1 Pt 1:18-19); our teacher St. Paul says: \u201cChrist has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us\u201d (Gal 3:13); again: \u201cFor you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God\u2019s\u201d (1 Cor 6:20); and yet again: \u201cHaving wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross\u201d (Col 2:14). <strong>What does tearing apart the handwritten debt against us mean, but fully paying the debt by the cross!<\/strong> So, why do we count the debt as a reproach to the beloved Savior?<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>H.E. Metropolitan Bishoy &#8211;\u00a0The Dogma Of Atonement And Redemption\u00a0<\/strong><br \/>If we had been crucified with Christ on the day of His crucifixion, <strong>so that He was not crucified for us but with us, as some claim, are we crucified with Him once more in Baptism or not?!<\/strong> Is it allowable for the crucifixion to be repeated for Him or for us? What is the use of the sacraments and of Baptism? What is the use of the Holy Spirit in the Church?!! We are granted the communion of death with Christ at baptism. Thus Saint Paul the Apostle says: &#8220;For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection&#8221; (Rom. 6:5). <strong>When He says: &#8220;we have been united together&#8221; it implies that this happened during the Baptism, not before. We are warning about this strange and dangerous teachings that destroy the dogma of redemption.<\/strong> We should stick firmly to the teachings of the ancient holy fathers and the teaching of His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, may God grant him long life. His Holiness affirmed several times the necessity of adhering to the sound teachings of the fathers &#8220;that we should no longer be children, tossed to and for and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting&#8221; (Eph.4: 14).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em style=\"color: #0a0a0a;\"><\/div><\/em><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<hr \/>\r\n<h4><a id=\"law\"><\/a><strong>Christ Fulfilled the Law<\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id69e65f9bd71d2\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Scriptural references&gt;&gt;\"    >Scriptural references&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id69e65f9bd71d2\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/span><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Matthew 5:17<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Luke 24:44,46<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>John 1:17<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> For the <strong>law<\/strong> was given through Moses; <strong>grace<\/strong> and truth came through Jesus Christ.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romans 3:31<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romans 4:15<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">because the <strong>law brings wrath<\/strong>. And where there is no law there is no transgression.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romans 5:16<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romans 5:18<br \/><\/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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romans 6:14<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Romans 7:1, 2, 4<br \/><\/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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romans 8:3-4<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romans 11:32<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Galatians 3:10, 13<\/strong><br \/><\/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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2 Corinthians 5:14\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Ephesians 2:15<\/span><\/strong><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> 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><strong><br \/><\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Colossians 2:13-14<\/span><\/strong><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Galatians 4:4-5<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-style: normal;\"><\/div><\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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<\/em>\u00a0(<em>Colossians 2:13-14).&#8221;<\/em>\u00a0Prior 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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><\/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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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;. <\/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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><\/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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) &#8211; On Luke 10:22 and Matthew 11:27<br \/><\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For man, being in Him, was\u00a0quickened: for this was why the Word was united to man, namely, t<strong>hat against man the curse might no\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>longer prevail.<\/strong> This is the reason why they record the request made on behalf of mankind in the\u00a0seventy-first Psalm: <strong>&#8216;Give the King Your judgment, O God?&#8217;<\/strong> [ Psalm 72:1 ]: <strong>asking that both the\u00a0judgment of death which hung over us may be delivered to the Son, and that He may then, by dying for\u00a0us, abolish it for us in Himself.<\/strong> This was what He signified, saying Himself, in the eighty-eventh\u00a0Psalm: <strong>&#8216;Your indignation lies hard upon me&#8217;<\/strong> [ Psalm 88:7 ]. <strong>For He bore the indignation which lay\u00a0upon us<\/strong>, as also He says in the hundred and thirty-seventh: &#8216;Lord, You shall do vengeance for me&#8217; [Psalm 137:8 ].<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) &#8211; Orationes contra Arianos <\/strong><\/span><br \/><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><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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 \u201cdissolved\u201d\u00a0to our bodies\u2019\u00a0mortal nature\u00a0until the resurrection:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 \u2013 373 AD) \u2013 On the Incarnation of the Word, XXI<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Why, now that the common Saviour of all has died on\u00a0our behalf, we, the faithful in Christ,\u00a0<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\u2019\u00a0mortal nature, at the time God has fixed for each, that\u00a0we may be able to gain a better resurrection.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><\/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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to St. Cyril, Christ ransomed us from the curse of the Law by fulfilling it in our stead:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Christ fulfilled the terms of the sentence and satisfied the judgement, imparting grace:<\/span><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Ambrose (337- 397 AD) &#8211; Flight from the World, ch. 7, sect. 44<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> <em>And so then, Jesus took flesh that He might destroy the curse of sinful flesh, and\u00a0<strong>He became for us a curse\u00a0<\/strong>that a blessing might overwhelm a curse, uprightness might overwhelm sin,\u00a0<strong>forgiveness might overwhelm the sentence<\/strong>, and life might overwhelm death.\u00a0He also took up death that <strong>the\u00a0sentence\u00a0might be fulfilled and\u00a0satisfaction might be given for the judgment<\/strong>, the curse placed on sinful flesh even to death.\u00a0Therefore, nothing was done contrary to God\u2019s sentence when the <strong>terms of that sentence were fulfilled<\/strong>, for the <strong>curse<\/strong> was unto death but <strong>grace<\/strong> is after death.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><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 Christ took upon Him such another, and thereby relieved us from the <strong>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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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,\u00a0<b>BOOK IX, v31,32<\/b><br \/><\/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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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).<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In 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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Irenaeus (130 &#8211; 202 AD) \u2013 Against Heresies, Book 4, Chapter 8<br \/><\/strong>For He did not\u00a0make void, but fulfilled the law, by <strong>performing the offices of the high\u00a0priest, propitiating God for men,<\/strong> and cleansing the lepers, healing the sick,\u00a0<strong>and Himself suffering death, that exiled man might go forth from\u00a0condemnation<\/strong>, and might return without fear to his own inheritance.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id69e65f9bd7213\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"More Quotes&gt;&gt;\"    >More Quotes&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id69e65f9bd7213\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \">\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><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 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 became sin for us and a curse,\u00a0though not having sinned Himself, but <strong>because He Himself bare our sins and our curse, so, by\u00a0creating us in Him, let Him say, \u2018He created me for the works,\u2019 though not Himself a creature.<\/strong>..But the\u00a0Apostle opposes such a doctrine a little before, when he says, \u2018For we are His workmanship, created\u00a0in Christ Jesus;\u2019 and if in Christ we are created, then it is not He who is created, but we in Him;\u00a0and thus the words \u2018He created\u2019 are for our sake. For because of our need, the Word, though being\u00a0Creator, endured words which are used of creatures; which are not proper to Him, as being the\u00a0Word, but are ours who are created in Him&#8230;so, when for our need He became man, consistently does He\u00a0use language, as ourselves, \u2018The Lord hath created Me,\u2019 that, by His dwelling in the flesh, sin might\u00a0perfectly be expelled from the flesh, and we might have a free mind.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom (349 &#8211; 407 AD)\u00a0&#8211; Homilies on Paul&#8217;s Epistle to the Romans<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> But after\u00a0this, they of the seed of Abraham all became subject to <strong>punishment<\/strong>. For the Law <strong>wrought\u00a0wrath unto them<\/strong> by being transgressed, and thenceforward deprived them of that promise\u00a0made unto the fathers&#8230;For having <strong>fulfilled the whole Law<\/strong>\u00a0in which He also fulfilled the circumcision, and having by it, and <strong>by the Cross, freed them\u00a0from the curse<\/strong> of the transgression, He suffered not this promise to fall to the ground. When\u00a0then he calls Him \u201ca Minister of the circumcision,\u201d he means this, that by <strong>having come and\u00a0fulfilled the Law<\/strong>, and been circumcised, and born of the seed of Abraham, He<strong> undid the curse,<\/strong> <strong>stayed the anger of God<\/strong>, made also those that were to receive the promises fit for\u00a0them, as being once for all freed from their alienation.To prevent then these accused persons\u00a0from saying, How then came Christ to be circumcised and to keep the whole Law? he turns\u00a0their argument to the opposite conclusion. For it was not that the Law might continue, but\u00a0that He might put an end to it, and <strong>free thee from the curse thereof, and set thee entirely at\u00a0liberty from the dominion of that Law<\/strong>. For it was because thou hadst transgressed the Law,\u00a0that He fulfilled it, not that thou mightest fulfil it&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom (349 &#8211; 407 AD) &#8211; Commentary on Galatians<br \/><\/strong>\u201cBut when the fullness of the time came God sent forth His Son, <strong>born of a\u00a0woman, under the Law that he might redeem them which were under the Law,<\/strong> that we might\u00a0receive the adoption of sons.\u201d\u00a0Here he states two objects and effects of the Incarnation, deliverance from evil and\u00a0supply of good, things which none could compass but Christ. They are these; <strong>deliverance\u00a0from the curse of the Law, and promotion to sonship.<\/strong> Fitly does he say, that we might \u201creceive,\u201d \u201c[be paid,]\u201d implying that it was due; for the promise was of old time made for\u00a0these objects to Abraham, as the Apostle has himself shown at great length. And how does\u00a0it appear that we have become sons? he has told us one mode, in that we have put on Christ\u00a0who is the Son; and now he mentions another, in that we have received the Spirit of adoption.\u201cAnd because ye are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts,\u00a0crying, Abba, Father. So that thou art no longer a bond-servant, but a son; and if a son, then\u00a0an heir through God.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom (349 &#8211; 407 AD) &#8211; Commentary on the Gospel of St. John<br \/><\/strong>So that\u00a0when you hear that \u201cthe Word became Flesh,\u201d be not disturbed nor cast down. For that\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Essence did not change to flesh, (it is impiety to imagine this,) but continuing what\u00a0it is, It so took upon It the form of a servant.\u00a0Wherefore then does he use the expression, \u201cwas made\u201d? To stop the mouths of the\u00a0heretics. For since there are some who say that all the circumstances of the Dispensation\u00a0were an appearance, a piece of acting, an allegory, at once to remove beforehand their blasphemy, he has put \u201cwas made\u201d; desiring to show thereby not a change of substance, (away\u00a0with the thought,) but the assumption of very flesh. For as when (Paul) says, <strong>\u201cChrist hath\u00a0redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us,\u201d<\/strong> he does not mean that\u00a0His essence removing from Its proper glory took upon It the being of an accursed thing,\u00a0(this not even devils could imagine, nor even the very foolish, nor those deprived of their\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">natural understanding, such impiety as well as madness does it contain,) as (St. Paul) does\u00a0not say this, <strong>but that He, taking upon Himself the curse pronounced against us<\/strong>, leaves us\u00a0no more under the curse; so also here he (St. John) says that He \u201cwas made Flesh,\u201d not by\u00a0changing His Essence to flesh, but by taking flesh to Himself, His Essence remained untouched.<\/span><\/p>\r\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 \/><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>\r\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 \/><\/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>\r\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 \/>For 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>\r\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 \/><\/strong>For albeit the Son were by nature God and had shone forth from His essence and possessed naturally the immutability of His proper being, and for this cause in no wise could stumble into sin, or turn aside anywhither into what is not right, <strong>the Father caused him voluntarily to descend into the flesh that is subject to sin<\/strong>, <strong>with intent that making very flesh His own, He might bring it over unto His own natural property, to wit, sinlessness.<\/strong> For, I conceive, we shall not be right in believing that it was with intent to effect this for the Temple of His own Body alone that the Only-begotten has been made man; for where were the glory and profit of His Advent unto us to be seen, if He accomplished the salvation of His own Body alone? But we believe rather that it was to secure the benefits for all nature through Himself and in Himself first as in the firstfruits of humanity, that the Only-begotten has become like us. <strong>For like as we have followed after not only death but all the sufferings of the flesh, undergoing this suffering in the first man by reason as well of the transgression as of the divine curse;<\/strong> after the same sort, I conceive, shall we all of us follow Christ, as He saves in many ways and <strong>sanctifies the nature of the flesh in Himself.<\/strong> Wherefore also Paul said: And as we love the image of the earthy, we shall bear also the image of the heavenly. For the image of the earthy, to wit of Adam, is to be in <strong>sufferings and corruption; and the image of the heavenly, to wit of Christ, is to be in impassibility and incorruption<\/strong>. So then the Word being God by nature <strong>condemned sin in His own flesh<\/strong>, by charging it to cease its activity, or rather so <strong>amending it as that it should move after the good pleasure of God, and no longer at its own will<\/strong>; and so whereas the body was natural, He made it spiritual. This then is one method of the gathering together; but the method that is most befitting and appropriate to the drift of the passage before us shall follow it. And it will be our task to speak touching eternal life and the slaying of Death, and how the <strong>Only-begotten removed from human nature the corruption that came of the transgression<\/strong>. Therefore forasmuch as the children are partakers of blood and flesh, He also in like manner took part in the same with intent to slay Death, and that He that created all things unto immortality and made the generations of the world healthful, according as it is written, might remould once more the fashion of things unto their ancient estate.<\/span><\/p>\r\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 \/><\/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>\r\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 \/>The 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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Ambrose of Milan (337- 397 AD) &#8211; Letters of Ambrose, Letter 41<br \/><\/strong>So, then, we have changed our creditor, not escaped wholly, or rather we have escaped, for the debt remains <strong>but the interest is cancelled, for the Lord Jesus said,\u00a0<\/strong><q><strong>To those who are in bonds, Come out, and to those who are in\u00a0prison, Go forth<\/strong>;<\/q>\u00a0<span id=\"note343577\" class=\"stiki\">Isaiah\u00a049:9<\/span>\u00a0so your\u00a0sins\u00a0are forgiven. All, then, are forgiven, nor is there any one whom He has not loosed. For thus it is written, that He has forgiven\u00a0<q>all transgressions, <strong>doing away the handwriting of the ordinance that was against us.<\/strong><\/q>\u00a0<span id=\"note343578\" class=\"stiki\">Colossians\u00a02:13-14<\/span>\u00a0Why, then, do we hold the bonds of others, and desire to exact the debts of others, while we enjoy our own remission? He who forgave all, required of all that what every one remembers to have been forgiven to himself, he also should forgive others.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">St. Jerome (347 A.D &#8211; 420 A.D.) &#8211; Letter to Amandus<\/span><\/strong><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The chief stumbling-block in the passage is that the Son is said to be\u00a0subject to the Father. Now which is the more shameful and humiliating, to be subject to the\u00a0Father (often a mark of loving devotion as in the psalm \u201ctruly my soul is subject unto\u00a0God\u201d) <strong>or to be crucified and made the curse of the cross?<\/strong> <strong>For \u201ccursed is everyone that\u00a0hangeth on a tree.<\/strong>\u201d <strong>If Christ then for our sakes was made a curse that He might deliver\u00a0us from the curse of the law, are you surprised that He is also for our sakes subject to the\u00a0Father to make us too subject to Him<\/strong> as He says in the gospel: \u201cNo man cometh unto the\u00a0Father but by me,\u201d and \u201cI, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.\u201d Christ then is subject to the Father in the faithful; for all believers, nay the whole human\u00a0race, are accounted members of His body&#8230;He does not say \u201cthat the Father may be all in all\u201d but that \u201cGod\u201d may be, a title which\u00a0properly belongs to the Trinity and may be referred not only to the Father but also to the\u00a0Son and to the Holy Ghost. His meaning therefore is \u201cthat humanity may be subject to the\u00a0Godhead.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Pope Leo I &#8211; Letter 124, IV<\/strong><br \/>What hope then do they, who deny the reality of the\u00a0human\u00a0person in our Saviour&#8217;s body, leave for themselves in the efficacy of this\u00a0mystery? Let them say by <strong>what\u00a0sacrifice\u00a0they have been reconciled, by what blood-shedding brought back. Who is He\u00a0who gave Himself for us an offering and a victim to God for a sweet smell<\/strong>\u00a0(Ephesians\u00a05:2):\u00a0or what\u00a0sacrifice\u00a0was ever more hallowed than that which the\u00a0true\u00a0High\u00a0priest\u00a0placed upon the altar of the cross by the immolation of His own flesh? For although in the sight of the Lord the death of many of His\u00a0saints\u00a0has been precious, yet <strong>no innocent&#8217;s death was the propitiation of the world.<\/strong> The righteous have received, not given, crowns: and from the endurance of the faithful have arisen examples of patience, not the gift of justification. <strong>For their deaths affected themselves alone, and no one has paid off another&#8217;s debt by his own death<\/strong>: <strong>one alone among the sons of men,\u00a0our Lord Jesus Christ, stands out as One in whom all are crucified, all dead, all buried, all raised again.<\/strong> Of them He Himself said\u00a0when I am lifted from the earth, I will draw all (things) unto Me.\u00a0\u00a0True\u00a0faith\u00a0also, that justifies the transgressors and makes them just, is drawn to Him who shared their\u00a0human\u00a0natures and wins\u00a0salvation\u00a0in Him, <strong>in whom alone man finds himself not guilty<\/strong>; and thus is free to\u00a0glory\u00a0in the power of Him who in the humiliation of our flesh engaged in conflict with the\u00a0haughty\u00a0foe, and shared His victory with those in whose body He had triumphed.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Theodoret (393 &#8211; 457 AD)\u00a0&#8211; Dialogue I, The Immutable<br \/><\/strong>\u201cThe text \u2018the Word was made flesh\u2019 does not indicate a deterioration of nature but the\u00a0assumption of our nature. Suppose you take the word \u2018was made\u2019 to indicate a change; then\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">when you hear Paul saying \u2018<strong>Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us,\u2019<\/strong> do you understand him to mean a change into the nature of a curse? Just as\u00a0being made a curse had no other meaning than that <strong>He took our curse upon Himself<\/strong>, so\u00a0the words was made flesh and dwelt among us mean nothing other than the assumption of\u00a0flesh.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Severus of Antioch (465 &#8211; 538 AD) &#8211; LETTER TO EUPRAXIUS THE\u00a0CHAMBERLAIN\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> You see that on all points <strong>by being himself made a curse he becomes a dispeller of the curse<\/strong>, <strong>and this curse he takes up on to the cross<\/strong>, and thence puts it to flight: for it was overcome by the law\u00a0which said, <strong>&#8220;Cursed of God is everyone who shall be hanged upon wood&#8221;<\/strong>. And <strong>he himself underwent the accursed death that was for our sake<\/strong>, and thence blessed the whole human race&#8230;So also he is said to have become sin, because he <strong>endured the death that was the due of sinners<\/strong>; for, while he is himself the <strong>pure justice of the Father,<\/strong> he is crucified between two robbers; but these on account of their offences, and in accordance with the passage in the Gospel of Mark who says, &#8220;And with him they crucified two robbers, one on the right hand and one on the left, and the Scripture was fulfilled which saith, &#8216;He was numbered with the unjust'&#8221;. <strong>So he became sin to remit the sins of others<\/strong>: so also he <strong>paid<\/strong> <strong>the debt<\/strong> that was <strong>incurred for us<\/strong>, and we ourselves became righteousness in Him; for those who have been freed from <strong>debts<\/strong> are righteous, and are not termed liable. And, because during the time of his Humanization he did no sin, therefore also iniquity was not found in him, but he showed himself righteous, that is, he is righteousness; and, when he became flesh, all our nature again was justified in him as in firstfruits.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Constitutions of the Holy Apostles<br \/><\/strong>But as to those bonds which were further laid upon them\u00a0after they had sinned, do not thou draw them upon thyself: for our Savior\u00a0came for no other reason but that He might <strong>deliver those that were\u00a0obnoxious thereto from the wrath which was reserved far them<\/strong>, that He\u00a0might <strong>fulfill the Law and the Prophets<\/strong>, and that He might <strong>abrogate or\u00a0change those secondary bonds which were superadded to the rest of the\u00a0law<\/strong>. For therefore did He call to us and say, \u201cCome unto me, all ye that\u00a0labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Fr. Tadros Malaty &#8211; Commentary on the book of Joshua<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Christ redeemed us from the curse, by becoming a curse for us, thus making perfect satisfaction for the requirement of the Law:<\/span><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Fr. Tadros Malaty &#8211; Commentary on Galatians<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> We can say that through sin we became under the curse, while our Savior who is without sin <strong>became a curse for our sake<\/strong> not by committing a sin but by being hanged on a tree, and thus he embraced us while we were under the curse and saved us from it by His grace. The crucified <strong>Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law by fulfilling in his Person all the requirements of the Law<\/strong> perfectly and at the same time making complete and <strong>perfect satisfaction for all the transgressions of the Jews (and mankind in general) against the Law. <\/strong>The <strong>Law thus satisfied<\/strong> has <strong>no further claims<\/strong> on Him nor on the rest of the human race in so far as they are united with Him by baptism.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<hr \/>\r\n<h4><a id=\"ots\"><\/a><b>Old Testament Sacrifices<\/b><\/h4>\r\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-1718 alignnone\" src=\"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/atonement-1-300x122.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"511\" height=\"208\" srcset=\"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/atonement-1-300x122.jpg 300w, http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/atonement-1.jpg 493w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 511px) 100vw, 511px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p><em><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id69e65f9bd723a\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sciptural references&gt;&gt;\"    >Sciptural references&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id69e65f9bd723a\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/em><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Exodus 12:3-11<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Leviticus 4:13-15 (Septuagint)<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">And if the whole congregation of Israel trespass ignorantly, and a thing should escape the notice of the congregation, and they should do one thing forbidden of any of the commands of the Lord, which ought not to be done, and should transgress: and the sin wherein they have sinned should become known to them, then shall the congregation bring an unblemished calf of the herd for a sin-offering, and they shall bring it to the doors of the tabernacle of witness. <b><\/b><strong>And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the calf before the Lord, and they shall <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">slay the calf before the Lord.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Leviticus 4: 33-35 (Septuagint)<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Leviticus 5:6 (Septuagint)<\/strong><br \/>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>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Numbers 16: 44-50 (Septuagint)<\/strong><br \/>And 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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> 2 Samuel (24:17,25)<\/span><\/strong><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Hebrews 9:22<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Exodus 12:12-13<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p><em><\/div><\/em><\/p>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Old Testament sacrifices were offered to receive forgiveness, not just &#8220;purification&#8221;:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Again, the word &#8220;atonement&#8221; was used in the context of causing God&#8217;s wrath to cease, when Phinees made atonement for the Israelites by slaying the sinners (sin). In this way, Phinees also represented Christ:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. John Chrysostom explains that though the Passover Lamb of Moses did not take away sins because it was the shadow, Christ the real Lamb delivered from the wrath of God:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom (349 &#8211; 407 AD)\u00a0\u2013 Homilies on the Gospel of St. John<br \/><\/strong>He calls Him \u201c<strong>Lamb<\/strong>,\u201d to remind the Jews of the prophecy of Isaiah, and of the shadow under the law of Moses, that he may the better lead them from the type to the reality. That Lamb of Moses took not at once away the sin of any one; but this took away the sin of all the world; for when it was in danger of perishing, He quickly delivered it from the <strong>wrath of God<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><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, <strong>Christ Himself came in some way to undergo punishment for all.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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\" \/>At least the following illustrations and benefits could be gained from Old Testament Sacrifices:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n<li>Humanity was reminded of its sinful nature (and need for renewal) (Hebrews 10:3).<\/li>\r\n<li>Sin against God could not simply be forgiven. It called for purification and atonement (Lev 5:6).<\/li>\r\n<li>Sin is costly; something dies as a result of sin. (Rom 6:23).<\/li>\r\n<li>The sacrifice represented sin (&#8220;became sin&#8221;).\u00a0Sin was condemned via the death of the sacrifice (Rom 8:3).<\/li>\r\n<li>The sacrifice was burnt outside the camp to remind the sinner of God&#8217;s aversion to sin (Num 15:35), and the separation from Him because of sin (James 4:4).<\/li>\r\n<li>The offering of the sacrifice was an expression of the sinner&#8217;s repentance (Lev 5:5-6).<\/li>\r\n<li>Purification was received from the blood.\u00a0(Lev 14:19)<\/li>\r\n<li>Forgiveness was received (though actual remission of sin was achieved via the Sacrifice of Christ). (Lev 4:26).<\/li>\r\n<li>The life of the sacrifice atoned for the sinner&#8217;s soul\/life, and the sinner was reconciled to God (Lev 17:11).<\/li>\r\n<li>Humanity was prepared to accept the true Sacrifice of the Suffering Messiah for sins. (Heb 10:1).<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0a0a0a; font-style: normal;\">St. Hilary of Poitiers explains that <\/span><em style=\"color: #0a0a0a;\">&#8220;whoever failed to sacrifice [for sin] laid himself open the the curse&#8221;<\/em><span style=\"color: #0a0a0a; font-style: normal;\"> for disobedience:<\/span><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Hilary of Poitiers (310 &#8211; 367 AD) &#8211; Homilies on Psalms, Psalm 53<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> because the\u00a0sentence of a <strong>curse<\/strong> was pronounced on all who broke the Law. Whoever failed to <strong>sacrifice<\/strong> laid himself\u00a0open to the <strong>curse<\/strong>. And it was always necessary to go through the whole <strong>sacrificial<\/strong> <strong>action<\/strong>&#8230;\u00a0It was from this\u00a0<strong>curse<\/strong> that our Lord Jesus <strong>Christ redeemed us<\/strong>, when, as the Apostle says: <strong>Christ redeemed us from the\u00a0curse of the law,<\/strong> being made curse for us&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Eusebius explains that Old Testament sacrifices were <em>&#8220;brought in place of the lives of them who bring them&#8221;<\/em>. He goes on to explain that Christ being the archetype of these sacrifices, was likewise, the &#8220;offering for the sins of the world&#8221;:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Eusebius of Caesarea (263 -339 AD) \u2013 Proof of the Gospel<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Note carefully in the above the words, &#8220;I gave to you upon the altar to make <strong>atonement<\/strong> for your souls; for the blood shall make atonement for the soul.&#8221; He says clearly that the blood of the victims slain is a <strong>propitiation<\/strong> in the <strong>place of human life<\/strong>. And the law about sacrifices suggests that it should be so regarded, if it is carefully considered. For it requires him who is sacrificing always to lay his hands on the head of the victim, and to bear the animal to the priest held by its head, as one offering a <strong>sacrifice<\/strong> on behalf of himself\u2026 And so the <strong>argument holds that the victims are brought in place of the lives of them who bring them<\/strong>\u2026Thus did the holy men of old, anticipating by the Holy Spirit that a holy victim, dear to God and great, would one day come for men, as the <strong>offering for the sins<\/strong> of the world\u2026This Sacrifice was the Christ of God, from far distant times foretold as coming to men, to be <strong>sacrificed<\/strong> like a <strong>sheep<\/strong> for the whole human race.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><\/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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><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><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fr. Tadros also expounds that sin and guilt sacrifices bore the curse of the Law which the sinner deserved. They were not accepted as &#8220;a sweet aroma&#8221; to the Lord:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Fr. Tadros Malaty \u2013 Commentary on Leviticus<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> The three preceding offerings all have the same theme: &#8220;a sweet aroma to the Lord;&#8221; whereas the theme of the <strong>sacrifice<\/strong> <strong>of sin and the guilt offering is the substitution of the sinner with the slaughtered<\/strong> <strong>animal<\/strong> who bears the curse of the Law under which we have fallen, that it may be removed from our behalf.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Severus of Antioch (465 &#8211; 538 AD) &#8211; Letter of Mar Severus to John<br \/><\/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><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Likewise, expounding Hebrews, St. John Chrysostom explains that Christ&#8217;s suffering and reproach outside the gate (&#8220;without&#8221;) were a necessity. He explains that those things were not accidental, but took place per &#8220;Divine arrangement&#8221; for our sanctification:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom (349 &#8211; 407 AD) &#8211; Homilies on Hebrews<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> \u201cThe bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the High Priest, are burned <strong>without the camp.<\/strong>\u201d Then those things were a type of these and thus <strong>Christ, suffering \u201cwithout,\u201d fulfilled all<\/strong>. Here he makes it plain too that He suffered voluntarily, showing that those things were <strong>not accidental,<\/strong> but even the <strong>[Divine] arrangement<\/strong> itself was of a <strong>suffering \u201cwithout.<\/strong>\u201d<strong>[He suffered] without<\/strong>, but His Blood was borne up into Heaven&#8230;the \u201creproach\u201d is the cause of the sanctification.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Augustine explains that our debts were cancelled because Christ was made &#8220;<em>to be<\/em>\u00a0<em>sin for us&#8221; \u00a0(2 Cor 5:21):\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Augustine (354 &#8211; 430 AD)\u00a0\u2013 On the Words of the Gospel of John<br \/><\/strong>How do we tolerate what is said, \u201c<strong>He made Him sin,<\/strong>\u201d that Christ Himself should <strong>be sin?<\/strong>&#8230;For it is not an expression once used, but repeatedly, very constantly, sacrifices for sins are called \u201csins.\u201d\u2026so that in one place the Law says, \u201cThat the Priests are to lay their hands upon the sin.\u201d \u201cHim\u201d then, \u201cwho knew no sin, He made sin for us;\u201d that is, \u201c<strong>He was made a sacrifice for sin.<\/strong>\u201d Sin was offered, and sin was cancelled. The Blood of the Redeemer was shed, and the debtor\u2019s bond was cancelled.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Moreover, an imbalanced view of God&#8217;s love that denies any form of exchange\/substitution in the atonement as well as any Divine chastening\/punishment for sin, presents the following unanswered questions and logical problems:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n<li>Why did God pronounce a curse on anyone who did not obey the Law? (Deut 27:26) How did Christ free us from the curse of the Law? Is a curse not considered &#8220;punishment&#8221;?<\/li>\r\n<li>Why did God require the blood of the innocent to purify and forgive the guilty? (Lev 17:11)<\/li>\r\n<li>Why were Old Testament sacrifices not sufficient? Why was the blood of Christ necessary?<\/li>\r\n<li>Where did the souls of the Old Testament prophets go after they died? If it was Hades, why didn&#8217;t God send them to Paradise immediately?<\/li>\r\n<li>Why was there &#8220;enmity&#8221; between the loving God and man? Why was Christ a &#8220;Mediator&#8221;?<\/li>\r\n<li>Why did Christ suffer &#8220;outside the gate&#8221; as a condemned criminal (Heb 13:12)?<\/li>\r\n<li>Christ raised Lazarus from the dead by His command.\u00a0(John 11:43-44). Couldn&#8217;t God simply abolish death by His command?<\/li>\r\n<li>Couldn&#8217;t God simply defeat the devil with His command? Why did He have to die to do so?<\/li>\r\n<li>If Christ only died to conquer death, why do we still die?<\/li>\r\n<li>Why didn&#8217;t God renew the fallen humanity with His command?<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">These otherwise difficult questions are almost all, answered by St. Athanasius&#8217;s explanation regarding the\u00a0<a href=\"#divinedilemma\">&#8220;Divine Dilemma&#8221;\u00a0<\/a>(mercy vs. truth). The remaining unanswered questions will be discussed in the next sections of this article.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id69e65f9bd7261\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"More patristic quotes&gt;&gt;\"    >More patristic quotes&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id69e65f9bd7261\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/em><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Justin Martyr &#8211;\u00a0<i>From manuscript of writings of<\/i>\u00a0Justin<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The goat that was sent away presented a type of Him who taketh away the sins of men. But the two contained a representation of the one economy of God incarnate. For He was wounded for our transgressions, and He bare the sins of many, and He was delivered for our iniquities.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) \u2013 Festal Epistles<\/strong><u><br \/><\/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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">St. Athanasius &#8211; Festal Letters, Letter 6<\/span><\/strong><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Eusebius of Caesarea (263 -339 AD) \u2013 Proof of the Gospel<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> He then that was alone of those who ever existed, the Word of God before all worlds, and <strong>High Priest<\/strong> of every creature that has mind and reason, separated One of like passions with us, as a sheep or <strong>lamb<\/strong> from the human flock, <strong>branded on Him all our sins<\/strong>, and <strong>fastened on Him as well the curse<\/strong> that was <strong>adjudged<\/strong> by Moses&#8217; law, as Moses foretells: &#8220;<strong>Cursed<\/strong> is every one that hangeth on a tree.&#8221; This He suffered &#8221; being made a <strong>curse<\/strong> for us: and making himself sin <strong>for our sakes<\/strong>.&#8221; And then &#8220;He made him sin for our sakes who knew no sin,&#8221; and <strong>laid on Him all the punishments<\/strong> <strong>due to us for our sins<\/strong>, bonds, insults, contumelies, scourging, and shameful blows, and the crowning trophy of the Cross. And after all this when He had offered such a wondrous offering and choice <strong>victim to the Father<\/strong>, and <strong>sacrificed<\/strong> for the salvation of us all, He delivered a memorial to us to offer to God continually instead of a sacrifice.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Eusebius of Caesarea (263 -339 AD)\u00a0&#8211; \u00a0Demonstratio Evangelica,\u00a0BOOK IV\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Since then according to the witness of the prophets the great and precious <strong>ransom<\/strong> has been found for Jews and Greeks alike, the <strong>propitiation for the whole world<\/strong>, the life given for the life of all men, the pure offering for every stain and sin, the <strong>Lamb of God, the holy sheep dear to God<\/strong>, the Lamb that was foretold, by Whose inspired and mystic teaching all we Gentiles have procured the forgiveness of our former sins, and such Jews as hope in Him are freed from the curse of Moses, daily celebrating His memorial, the remembrance of His Body and Blood, and are admitted to a <strong>greater sacrifice than that of the ancient law<\/strong>&#8230;And any Jews, of course, who have taken refuge in Christ, even if they attend no longer to the ordinances of Moses, but live according to the new covenant, are free from the curse ordained by Moses, <strong>for the Lamb of God has surely not only taken on Himself the sin of the world, but also the curse involved in the breach of the commandments of Moses as well<\/strong>. The Lamb of God is made thus both sin and curse\u2014sin for the sinners in the world, and curse for those remaining in all the things written in Moses&#8217; law. And so the Apostle says: &#8220;Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us&#8221;; and &#8220;Him that knew no sin, for our sakes he made sin.&#8221;For what is there that the Offering for the whole world could not effect, the Life given for the life of sinners, Who was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a lamb to the sacrifice, and all this for us and on our behalf? And this was why those ancient men of God, as they had not yet the reality, held fast to their symbols.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria \u2013 Commentary on Hosea, Chapter 4<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The priest, therefore, was taken as a mediator between God and man, accepting the gifts from the people and having a share in what is sacrificed on the altar, as Scripture says; he sacrificed himself, as it were, for the sins of the people, as of course our Lord Jesus Christ also did. For proof that what I say is true, I shall cite the Law dealing with the he-goat; it goes as follows: \u201cMoses made an inquiry about the he-goat of the sin offering, and it had already been burnt. Moses was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron\u2019s remaining sons, and said, Why did you not eat the sin offering in a holy place? For it is a holy of holies, and he has given it to you to eat there for you to remove the sin of the assembly, to make atonement on their behalf before the Lord.\u201d\u00a0<strong>Do you see how those assisting at the holy altar and appeasing wrath for sinners with pure prayers act as mediators by eating the sin offerings, as it were, offering to God their own souls as a sweet-smelling odor for the sins of the people?\u00a0<\/strong>As in the case of the divinely inspired Aaron, of course, when the people took ill, Scripture says, he seized the censer, put on the incense,\u00a0<strong>\u201cstood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped<\/strong>.\u201d The blessed Moses likewise acted as mediator as well and placated God when the people of Israel had made a golden heifer in the wilderness; he submitted himself to justice and made an appeal, \u201cIf you will forgive their sin, forgive it; but if not, blot me also out of this book you have written.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\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 \/><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>\r\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 \/><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;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, and thus He said to the hierophant Moses, If the whole congregation of the children of\u00a0 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, the congregation shall offer a young bullock without blemish from among the herd for the sin.<\/span> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">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 confessing Him their Saviour and Redeemer, through Whom and with Whom to God the Father be glory with the Holy Ghost for evermore. Amen.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Fr. Matta El Miskeen (Matthew the Poor) &#8211; The Titles of Christ<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Slaughtering the bull and shedding its blood stood as a life for a life; for blood is known to contain the life or soul. <strong>The bull\u2019s soul and life were given in lieu of the sinner\u2019s soul and death.<\/strong> As it were, the bull\u2019s soul and life saved the sinner\u2019s life before God. <strong>In meaning and actual fact, the sacrifice should die for the sinner to live. The fire represents God\u2019s anger and the curse which, instead of consuming the sinner, consumed the bull completely.<\/strong> <strong>The bull bore God\u2019s curse and wrath instead of the sinner. The offering, here, was considered an expiation for the sinner\u2019s sins.<\/strong> The slaughter, death and blood of the bull brought about God\u2019s forgiveness. The blood, which was sprin\u00adkled before God on the mercy seat, carried those sins. <strong>The burning fire, which completely annihilated the bull, signified and atoned for God\u2019s curse and wrath and His neglect and total, final abandonment of the sinner.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Fr. Abraam D. Sleman, St Basil Liturgy Reference Book<\/span><\/strong><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The people confess their sins during offering the incense among them. <strong>The incense brings into our memory the redemptive act of the Lord&#8217;s Atonement on the cross<\/strong>. Every one confesses his sins to be redeemed by the Blood of Jesus and to be saved from the plagues resulting from his sins.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Father Athanasius Iskander,\u00a0UNDERSTANDING THE LITURGY<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">God ordered Aaron and his\u00a0children to offer incense twice a day, once in the morning (Ex. 30:7) and once in the evening (Ex. 30:8). Our Church observes this ordinance in the morning and evening Offering of Incense service. But God also ordered another offering of incense, during the high priestly <strong>sacrifice of Yum Kippur (the day of atonement).<\/strong> This sacrifice, the most solemn of all the Old Testament sacrifices was done only once a year. Only the high priest could offer it, because he was the only one allowed to enter the Holy of Holies (the second tabernacle) to make this offering. He went in \u201cnot without blood to offer for his own sins and for the people&#8217;s ignorance\u201d (Heb. 9:7). After offering the sacrifice Aaron was instructed <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">to \u201ctake a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil. And he<strong> shall put the incense upon the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not\u201d<\/strong> (Lev. 16:12-13). Saint Paul tells us that this Old Testament sacrifice was only a shadow and a figure of Christ\u2019s perfect sacrifice, Who \u201cNeither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us\u201d (Heb. 9:12). The priest&#8217;s entrance into the sanctuary (behind the veil) to offer incense is in emulation of the Old Testament ordinance. We do this because as we said before, <strong>these sacrifices were types and figures of Christ\u2019s eternal sacrifice.<\/strong> And if it behoved Aaron to offer incense over the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament, how much more <strong>it behoves the priests of the New Testament to offer incense over Christ\u2019s perfect sacrifice, whose memorial is on the altar? <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p><em><\/div><\/em><\/p>\r\n<hr \/>\r\n<h4><a id=\"is53\"><\/a><b>Isaiah Chapter 53<\/b><\/h4>\r\n<p><em><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id69e65f9bd7283\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Scriptural references&gt;&gt;\"    >Scriptural references&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id69e65f9bd7283\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/em><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Isaiah Chapter 53 (Septuagint)<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Isaiah 53:4, 8-12 (Hebrew)<\/span><\/strong><br \/><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>\r\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Isaiah 53:10 &#8211; KJV<\/span><\/strong><br \/><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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<div class=\"stanza\">\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Isaiah 63:1-3<\/span><\/strong><br \/><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 \/><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Psalm 69:26<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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 \/><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Psalm 69:4, 26 (Septuagint)<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head: my enemies that persecute me unrighteously are strengthened: <strong>then I restored that which I took not away<\/strong>&#8230;Because they persecuted him <strong>whom thou hast smitten;<\/strong> and they have added to the grief of my wounds.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Psalm 88:6-9<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Zechariah 13:7<\/span><\/strong><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Mark 14:27<br \/><\/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;<strong><span class=\"p\"><br \/><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Luke 24:7<\/span><br \/>The 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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>John 19:11<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Matthew 27:46<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>John 3:16<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>John 3:36<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romans 4:25<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> <strong>He was delivered up for our trespasses<\/strong> and raised for our justification.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Romans 8:32-34<\/span><\/strong><br \/><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? Who 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>\r\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Galatians 1:4<\/span><\/strong><br \/><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 \/><\/strong><\/p>\r\n<div class=\"stanza\">\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><br \/>Galatians 3:13<br \/><\/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>\r\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">1 Peter 2:24<\/span><\/strong><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> &#8220;He himself <strong>bore our sins\u201d<\/strong> <strong>in his body<\/strong><strong> on the cross<\/strong>, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; \u201cby his wounds you have been healed.\u201d<\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><br \/><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Revelation 19:13-16<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<\/div>\r\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 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>\r\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:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Aphrahat (270 &#8211; 345 AD) &#8211; Demonstrations,\u00a0Demonstration 17<\/strong>\u00a0(<strong>Of Christ the Son of God)<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> And again he said:&#8211;The spear shall arise against the shepherd, and against the\u00a0man, My friend; and it shall smite the shepherd, and the sheep of his flock shall be scattered; and <strong>I will turn\u00a0back My hand upon the pastor.<\/strong> And furthermore David said concerning His Passion:&#8211;For My meat they\u00a0gave gall, and for My thirst did they give Me vinegar to drink.&#8211;Again he said in that passage:&#8211;They have\u00a0persecuted<strong> Him Whom Thou hast smitten<\/strong>; and have added to the affliction of Him that was slain. For they\u00a0added many (afflictions) to Him, much that was not written concerning Him, cursings and revilings, such as\u00a0the Scripture could not reveal, for their revilings were hateful. But, however, <strong>the Lord was pleased to\u00a0humiliate Him and afflict Him<\/strong>. And He was slain for our iniquity, and was humiliated for our sins, and\u00a0<strong>was made sin in His own person.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Expounding redemption to a Jew, Justin Martyr explains:\u00a0<em>&#8220;the Father caused Him to suffer these things&#8221;<\/em> in order that the human race might be healed:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Justin Martyr (100 &#8211; 165 AD) &#8211; Dialogue of Justin with Trypho<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> \u201cFor the whole human race will be <strong>found to be under a curse.<\/strong> For it is\u00a0written in the law of Moses, \u2018<strong>Cursed is every one that continueth not in all\u00a0things that are written in the book of the law<\/strong> to do them.\u2019 And no one has\u00a0accurately done all, nor will you venture to deny this; but some more and\u00a0some less than others have observed the ordinances enjoined&#8230;If those who are under this law appear to be under a curse for not having observed all the requirements, how much more shall <strong>all the nations appear to be under a curse<\/strong> who practice idolatry, who seduce youths, and commit other crimes? If, then, the <strong>Father of all wished His Christ<\/strong> for the whole human\u00a0family <strong>to take upon Him the curses of all<\/strong>, knowing that, after He had been\u00a0crucified and was dead, He would raise Him up, why do you argue about\u00a0Him, who <strong>submitted to suffer these things according to the Father\u2019s will,<\/strong>\u00a0as if He were accursed, and do not rather bewail yourselves? For although\u00a0<strong>His Father caused Him to suffer these things in behalf of the human\u00a0family,<\/strong> yet you did not commit the deed as in obedience to the will of\u00a0God. For you did not practice piety when you slew the prophets. And let\u00a0none of you say: If <strong>His Father wished Him to suffer this, in order that by\u00a0His stripes the human race might be healed,<\/strong> we have done no wrong.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. Cyprian explains that Christ bore our sins and that God delivered Him up for our sins. The innocent was slain for the salvation of the guilty:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyprian (200 -258 AD) &#8211; Treatise 3, On the Lapsed<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Let no one cheat himself, let no one deceive himself. The Lord alone\u00a0can have mercy. He alone can bestow pardon for sins which have been\u00a0committed against Himself, <strong>who bare our sins<\/strong>, who sorrowed for us,\u00a0<strong>whom God delivered up for our sins<\/strong>&#8230;The Lord must be besought. <strong>The\u00a0Lord must be appeased by our atonement<\/strong>, who has said, that him that\u00a0denieth Him He will deny, who alone has received all judgment from His\u00a0Father.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom (349 &#8211; 407 AD) \u2013 Homilies on Second Corinthians<br \/><\/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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. Cyril also explains that Christ was condemned to deliver humanity from deserved condemnation for sin:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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<br \/><\/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><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><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>\u2026so\u00a0we must\u00a0understand\u00a0that\u00a0<strong>Christ&#8217;s\u00a0suffering all these\u00a0things for us sufficed\u00a0also to release us all\u00a0from\u00a0scourging and dishonor.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Father arranged that the One <em>&#8220;who has never sinned should suffer the punishment of the worst sinners&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Second Epistle to the Corinthians<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It is as if he were to say, <strong>\u201cHe arranged that he who has never sinned should suffer the punishment of the worst sinners so that he may render us righteous who have received faith in him.\u201d<\/strong> That is why he \u201cendured the cross, disregarding its shame.\u201d <strong>The one who was worth as much as all died for all.<\/strong> Now when he is said to <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">have become \u201csin,\u201d you should not suppose that he has committed sin. After all, the Word is God; he does not know how to sin. <strong>Rather, you should understand it to mean that he has been given by God the Father for our sins<\/strong>\u00a0&#8230;Therefore, this wise thought has great power to\u00a0convert those who want to neglect the faith: <strong>he who knew no sin was condemned and suspended from a cross with sinners for us so that \u201cwe might become the righteousness of God.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><\/strong>Take, in the next place, the subjection by which you subject the Son to the Father. What, you say, is He not now subject, or must He, if He is God, be subject to God? You are fashioning your argument as if it concerned some robber, or some hostile deity.<strong>\u00a0<\/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> But when all things shall be subdued unto Him on the one hand by acknowledgment of Him, and on the other by a reformation, then He Himself also will have fulfilled His submission, bringing me whom He has saved to God. For this, according to my view, is the subjection of Christ; namely, the fulfilling of the Father\u2019s Will. But as the Son subjects all to the Father, so does the Father to the Son; the One by His Work, the Other by His good pleasure, as we have already said. And thus He Who subjects presents to God that which he has subjected, making our condition His own. <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><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Eusebius also explains that because we are His Body,\u00a0Christ made our sins His own, and bore our iniquities. Thus, <em>&#8220;the Lord delivered him\u00a0for our sins&#8221;<\/em>:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Eusebius of Caesarea (263 -339 AD)\u00a0&#8211; Proof of the Gospel<br \/><\/strong>So it is said: <strong>&#8220;And the Lord hath laid on him our iniquities, and he bears our sins.&#8221;<\/strong><strong>&#8230;<\/strong>And <strong>how can He make our sins His own, and be said to bear our iniquities, except by our being regarded as His body,<\/strong> according to the apostle, who says: <strong>&#8220;Now ye are the body of Christ, and severally members?&#8221;<\/strong>&#8230;And the Lamb\u00a0of God not only did this, but was<strong> chastised on our behalf<\/strong>, and <strong>suffered a penalty He did not owe<\/strong>, but which <strong>we owed<\/strong>\u00a0because of the multitude of our sins&#8230;<strong>The Lord delivered him\u00a0for our sins,&#8221;<\/strong> with the result that uniting Himself to us\u00a0and us to Himself, and <strong>appropriating our sufferings.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">And again, Christ was forsaken and <em>&#8220;delivered up by the Father, as bruised, as bearing our sins&#8221;<\/em>:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Eusebius of Caesarea (263 -339 AD) &#8211; Demonstratio Evangelica, Book X<\/strong><br \/>And He, since he understood at once His Father&#8217;s Divine counsel, and because He discerned better than any other why <strong>He was forsaken by the Father,<\/strong> humbled Himself even more, and embraced death for us with all willingness, and <strong>&#8220;became a curse for us,<\/strong>&#8221; holy and\u00a0all-blessed though He was, and &#8220;He that knew no sin, <strong>became sin<\/strong>, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.&#8221; Yea more&#8212;-to wash away our sins He was crucified, suffering what we who were sinful should have suffered, <strong>as our sacrifice and ransom<\/strong>, so that we may well say with the prophet, <strong>He bears our sins,<\/strong> and is pained for us, and he was <strong>wounded for our sin<\/strong>s, and <strong>bruised for our iniquities,<\/strong> so that by His stripes we might be healed, for <strong>the Lord hath given Him for our sins<\/strong>. <strong>So, as delivered up by the Father, as bruised, as bearing our sins<\/strong>, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter. With this the apostle agrees when he says, <strong>&#8220;Who spared not his own Son,<\/strong> <strong>but delivered him for us all.<\/strong>&#8221; And it is to impel us to ask why <strong>the Father forsook Him,<\/strong> that He says, <strong>&#8220;Why hast thou forsaken me? <\/strong>&#8220;The answer is,<strong> to ransom the whole human race,<\/strong> <strong>buying them with His precious Blood<\/strong> from their former slavery to their invisible tyrants, the unclean daemons, and the rulers and spirits of evil.\u00a0<strong>And the Father forsook Him for another reason<\/strong>, namely, that the <strong>love of Christ Himself for men might be set forth.<\/strong> For no one had power over His life, but He gave it willingly for men, as He teaches us Himself in the words, &#8220;No one taketh my life from me: I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Theodoret explains that though some presumed that Christ was punished for His own faults, the chastisement and retribution inflicted on Him were due to us because we offended God:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Theodoret (393 &#8211; 457 AD) &#8211; On Divine Providence<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Those who saw Him nailed to the cross presumed that He was being punished for countless misdeeds and was paying the penalty for personal faults&#8230;But the Holy Spirit teaches through the prophet that He was wounded for our iniquities and weakened for our sins. He makes this clearer in what follows: <\/span><strong style=\"color: #000000;\">Chastisement for our peace was inflicted on Him<\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> and by His bruises we were healed. We were enemies of God, <strong>in that we had offended Him<\/strong>, so <\/span><strong style=\"color: #000000;\">chastisement and retribution were due from us<\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">.\u00a0<\/span><strong style=\"color: #000000;\">We did not, however, settle the debt. Our Savior settled it Himself<\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8230;As a sheep then, He became a victim and was offered a sacrifice on behalf of the entire race&#8230;In saying for us, He showed that though He was Himself innocent and free of all blame <\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">He paid our debt and deemed us worthy of freedom, although we lay under countless\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>penalties<\/b>\u00a0and were compelled to live in slavery as a result, He redeemed us at the price of His own blood&#8230;For although He lay outside the curse (for He did no sin, neither was guilt found in His mouth), <\/span><strong style=\"color: #000000;\">He endured the death of sinners<\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> . . .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">John of Damascus explained that the Son was never forsaken by the Father; for He Himself is sinless. However, the words &#8220;forsaken&#8221; and &#8220;made a curse&#8221; could be said about Christ because He represented our disobedience in His humanity. That&#8217;s why He became sin and a curse for us, and was forsaken by God:<\/span><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>John of Damascus (676 -749 AD) &#8211; Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Others again are said in the manner of association and relation, as, <strong>My God, My God, why hast Thou\u00a0forsaken Me?<\/strong> and He <strong>hath made Him to be sin for us<\/strong>, Who knew no sin, and <strong>being made a curse for\u00a0us<\/strong>; also, Then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him. For neither\u00a0as God nor as man was He ever forsaken by the Father, nor did He become sin or a curse, nor did He\u00a0require to be made subject to the Father. For as God He is equal to the Father and not opposed to Him nor\u00a0subjected to Him; and as God, He was never at any time disobedient to His Begetter to make it necessary\u00a0for Him to make Him subject. <strong>Appropriating, then, our person and ranking Himself with us, He used these\u00a0words. For we are bound in the fetters of sin and the curse as faithless and disobedient, and therefore\u00a0forsaken.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Likewise, St. Augustine explains that Christ was smitten and forsaken by God because that was what we (as His body) deserved:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Augustine (354 &#8211; 430 AD) &#8211;\u00a0\u00a0Expositions on the Psalms, Psalm 69<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;For <strong>Him whom Thou hast smitten<\/strong> they have themselves persecuted, and upon the pain of my\u00a0wounds they have added&#8221;. How then have they sinned if they have <strong>persecuted one by God\u00a0smitten?<\/strong> What sin is ascribed to their mind? Malice. For the thing was done in Christ which was to be. To\u00a0suffer indeed He had come&#8230;For the <strong>Lord smote man with the sentence<\/strong>: &#8220;<strong>What day ye shall\u00a0have touched it,&#8221; He saith, &#8220;with death ye shall die.<\/strong>&#8221; Out of this death He had taken upon Him flesh, and\u00a0our old man hath been crucified together with Him. By the voice of that man He hath said these words,\u00a0&#8220;<strong>Him whom Thou hast smitten<\/strong> they have themselves persecuted, and upon the pain of My wounds they\u00a0have added.&#8221; Upon what pain of wounds? Upon the pain of sins they have themselves added. For sins He\u00a0hath called His wounds.\u00a0<strong>But do not look to the Head, consider the Body<\/strong>; according to the voice whereof\u00a0hath been said by the Same in that Psalm, wherein He showed there was His voice, because in the first\u00a0verse thereof He cried from the Cross, &#8220;<strong>God, My God, look upon Me, why hast Thou forsaken Me?&#8221;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id69e65f9bd749b\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"More Quotes&gt;&gt;\"    >More Quotes&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id69e65f9bd749b\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/span><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Barnabas (? &#8211; 61 AD) &#8211; Epistle of Barnabas<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> The Son of God therefore came in the flesh with this view, that He might bring to a head the sum of\u00a0their sins who had persecuted His prophets to the death. For this purpose, then, He endured. For <strong>God\u00a0saith,<\/strong> &#8220;The stroke of his flesh is from them;&#8221; and &#8220;when <strong>I shall smite the Shepherd,<\/strong> then the sheep of the\u00a0flock shall be scattered.&#8221; He himself willed thus to suffer, for it was <strong>necessary that He should suffer on the\u00a0tree<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Justin Martyr (100 &#8211; 165 AD) \u2013 First Apology of Justin, Chap 50<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> He was bruised for our iniquities, the <strong>chastisement<\/strong> of peace was upon Him, by His stripes we are healed\u2026Accordingly, after He was crucified, even all His acquaintances forsook Him, having denied Him; and afterwards, when He had risen from the dead and appeared to them, and had taught them to read the prophecies in which all these things were foretold as coming to pass\u2026<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Clement of Alexandria (150 &#8211; 215 AD) \u2013 The Instructor<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> And this same Word who inflicts <strong>punishment<\/strong> is judge; regarding whom Esaias also says, \u201cThe <strong>Lord<\/strong> <strong>has assigned<\/strong> <strong>Him<\/strong> <strong>to our sins<\/strong>,\u201d plainly as a corrector and reformer of sins.\u00a0Wherefore He alone is able to forgive our iniquities, who has been <strong>appointed by the Father,<\/strong> Instructor of us all; He alone it is who is able to distinguish between disobedience and obedience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Tertullian (160 -220 AD) &#8211; De Fuga In Persecutione<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Why, in this\u00a0very standing of yours there was a fleeing from persecution, in the release\u00a0from persecution which you bought; but that you should ransom with\u00a0money a man whom Christ has ransomed with His blood, how unworthy\u00a0is it of God and His ways of acting, <strong>who spared not His own Son for you,\u00a0that He might be made a curse for us, because cursed is he that hangeth on\u00a0a tree,<\/strong> \u2014 Him who was led as a sheep to be a sacrifice, and just as a lamb\u00a0before its shearer, so opened He not His mouth; but gave His back to the\u00a0scourges, nay, His cheeks to the hands of the smiter, and turned not away\u00a0His face from spitting, and, being numbered with the transgressors, was\u00a0delivered up to death, nay, the death of the cross. <strong>All this took place that\u00a0He might redeem us from our sins.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Tertullian (160 -220 AD) &#8211; Against Praxeas, Chapter 30<br \/><\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What is your inquiry and reasoning about that? You have Him exclaiming\u00a0in the midst of His passion: <strong>\u201cMy God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken\u00a0me?\u201d<\/strong> Either, then, the Son suffered, being \u201cforsaken\u201d by the Father, and\u00a0the Father consequently suffered nothing, inasmuch as He forsook the\u00a0Son; or else, if it was the Father who suffered, then to what God was it\u00a0that He addressed His cry? <strong>But this was the voice of flesh and soul, that is\u00a0to say, of man<\/strong> \u2014 not of the Word and Spirit, that is to say, not of God;\u00a0<strong>and it was uttered so as to prove the impassibility of God, who \u201cforsook\u201d\u00a0His Son, so far as He handed over His human substance to the suffering of\u00a0death.<\/strong> This verity the apostle also perceived, when he writes to this effect:\u00a0<strong>\u201cIf the Father spared not His own Son.\u201d This did Isaiah before him\u00a0likewise perceive, when he declared: \u201cAnd the Lord hath delivered Him up\u00a0for our offenses.\u201d<\/strong> In this manner <strong>He \u201cforsook\u201d Him, in not sparing Him;\u00a0\u201cforsook\u201d Him, in delivering Him up.<\/strong> In all other respects the Father did\u00a0not forsake the Son, for it was into His Father\u2019s hands that the Son\u00a0commended His spirit. Indeed, after so commending it, He instantly died;\u00a0and as the Spirit remained with the flesh, the flesh cannot undergo the full\u00a0extent of death, i.e., in corruption and decay. <strong>For the Son, therefore, to die,\u00a0amounted to His being forsaken by the Father.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Melito of Sardis explains that the ram which was slain in place of Isaac, is a type of Christ sacrificed to redeem humanity. He also explains that Isaac who was led by his father to a mountain to be slain, is a perfect type of Christ:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Melito, Bishop of Sardis (? &#8211; 180 A.D) &#8211;\u00a0<i>From the Catena on Genesis<\/i><br \/>In place of Isaac<\/strong> the just, a <strong>ram appeared for slaughter<\/strong>, in order that Isaac might be liberated from\u00a0<i>his<\/i>\u00a0bonds. <strong>The slaughter of this animal redeemed Isaac\u00a0<i>from death<\/i>. <\/strong><strong>In like manner, the Lord, being slain, saved us<\/strong>; being bound, He loosed us; being sacrificed, He redeemed us&#8230;For the Lord was a lamb, like the ram which Abraham saw caught in the bush Sabec. But this <strong>bush represented the cross<\/strong>, and that place Jerusalem, and the lamb the Lord bound for slaughter.\u00a0For as a ram was He bound, says he concerning our Lord Jesus Christ, and <strong>as a lamb was He shorn, and as a sheep was He led to the slaughter, and as a lamb was He crucified;<\/strong> and He carried the cross on His shoulders when <strong>He was led up\u00a0<i>to the hill<\/i>\u00a0to be slain, as was Isaac by his father.\u00a0<\/strong><strong>But Christ suffered, and Isaac did not suffer: for he was\u00a0<i>but<\/i>\u00a0a type of Him who should suffer.<\/strong> Yet, even when serving only for <strong>a type of Christ<\/strong>, he smote men with astonishment and fear.\u00a0For a new mystery was presented to view,-<strong>a son led by his father to a mountain to be slain, whose feet he bound together,<\/strong> and laid him on the wood of the sacrifice, preparing with care whatever was necessary to his immolation. Isaac on his part is silent, bound like a ram, not opening his mouth, nor uttering a sound with his voice. For, not fearing the knife, <strong>nor quailing before the fire, nor troubled by\u00a0<i>the prospect of<\/i>\u00a0suffering, he sustained bravely\u00a0<i>the character of<\/i>\u00a0the type of the Lord<\/strong>. Accordingly there lies Isaac before us, with his feet bound like a ram, <strong>his father standing by<\/strong>, with the knife all bare in his hand, <strong>not shrinking from shedding the blood of his son<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Origen (185 -254 AD) &#8211; Origen De Principiis<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> The Father of Jesus is\u00a0therefore a tender and loving Father, though \u201c<strong>He spared not His own Son,\u00a0but delivered Him up\u201d as His lamb \u201cfor us all,\u201d<\/strong> that so \u201c<strong>the Lamb of\u00a0God<\/strong>,\u201d by dying for all men, might <strong>\u201ctake away the sin of the world.\u201d<\/strong> It was\u00a0not by compulsion, therefore, but willingly, that He bore the reproaches of\u00a0those who reviled Him.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Origen (185 -254 AD) \u2013 Origen Against Celsus<br \/><\/strong>He continues in this strain: \u201cIf he had determined upon these things, <strong>and underwent chastisement in obedience to his Father,<\/strong> it is manifest that, <strong>being a God, and submitting voluntarily<\/strong>, those things that were done agreeably to his own decision were neither painful nor distressing.\u201d But he did not observe that here he was at once contradicting himself. <strong>For if he granted that He was chastised because He had determined upon these things, and had submitted Himself to His Father, it is clear that He actually suffered punishment, and it was impossible that what was inflicted on Him by His chastisers should not be painful, because pain is an involuntary thing.<\/strong> But if, because He was willing to suffer, His inflictions were neither painful nor distressing, <strong>how did He grant that \u201cHe was chastised?\u201d<\/strong> He did not perceive that when Jesus had once, by His birth, assumed a body, He assumed one which was capable both of suffering pains, and those distresses incidental to humanity, if we are to understand by distresses what no one voluntarily chooses. Since, therefore, He voluntarily assumed a body, not wholly of a different nature from that of human flesh, so along with His body He assumed also its sufferings and distresses, which it was not in His power to avoid enduring, it being in the power of those who inflicted them to send upon Him things distressing and painful.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyprian (200 -258 AD) &#8211; Treatises of S. Caecilius Cyprian,\u00a0TREATISE XI.<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> In fine, all His actions, even from His\u00a0first coming, are marked by patience as their companion;\u00a0because first descending out of that heavenly height, into earthly\u00a0places, the Son of Gods scorned not to put on the flesh of man;\u00a0and while <strong>He Himself was not a sinner, to bear the sins of others.\u00a0<\/strong>Meantime, putting off His immortality, He suffers Himself to\u00a0be made mortal, that <strong>He, the<\/strong> <strong>innocent, may be slain for the\u00a0salvation of the guilty<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\r\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 \/><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>\r\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 \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Eusebius of Caesarea (263 -339 AD) &#8211; The Proof of the Gospel Vol 1<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> In this he shews that Christ, being apart from all sin, will receive the <strong>sins of men on Himself<\/strong>. And therefore He will <strong>suffer the penalty of sinners,<\/strong> and will be pained <strong>on their behalf;<\/strong> and not on His own. And if He shall be wounded by the strokes of blasphemous words, this also will be the result of our sins. For He is weakened through our sins, so that we, when <strong>He had taken on Him our faults and the wounds of our wickedness<\/strong>, might be healed by His stripes<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Eusebius of Caesarea (263 -339 AD)\u00a0&#8211; Proof of the Gospel<br \/><\/strong>And He speaks thus, since He shares our sins. So it is said: <strong>&#8220;And the Lord hath laid on him our iniquities, and he bears our sins.&#8221;<\/strong> Thus the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world, <strong>became a curse on our behalf:<\/strong> &#8220;Whom, though he knew no sin, <strong>God made sin for our sake<\/strong>, giving him as redemption for all, that we might become the righteousness of God in him.&#8221; But since being in the likeness of sinful flesh <strong>He condemned sin in the flesh<\/strong>, the words quoted are rightly used. And in that <strong>He made our sins His own<\/strong> from His love and benevolence towards us, He says these words, adding further on in the same Psalm: &#8220;Thou hast protected me because of my innocence,&#8221; clearly shewing the impeccability of the Lamb of God. And <strong>how can He make our sins His own, and be said to bear our iniquities, except by our being regarded as His body,<\/strong> according to the apostle, who says: <strong>&#8220;Now ye are the body of Christ, and severally members?&#8221;<\/strong>&#8230;And the Lamb\u00a0of God not only did this, but was<strong> chastised on our behalf<\/strong>, and <strong>suffered a penalty He did not owe<\/strong>, but which <strong>we owed<\/strong>\u00a0because of the multitude of our sins; and so He became the\u00a0cause of the forgiveness of our sins, because He received\u00a0death for us, and<strong> transferred to Himself the scourging, the\u00a0insults, and the dishonor, which were due to us,<\/strong> and drew\u00a0down <strong>on Himself the apportioned curse, being made a\u00a0curse for us<\/strong>. And what is that but the price of our\u00a0souls? And so the oracle says in our person: &#8220;By\u00a0his stripes we were healed,&#8221; and &#8221; <strong>The Lord delivered him\u00a0for our sins,&#8221;<\/strong> with the result that uniting Himself to us\u00a0and us to Himself, and <strong>appropriating our sufferings<\/strong>, He\u00a0can say, &#8221; I said, Lord, Lord mercy on me, heal my soul,\u00a0\u00a0for I have sinned against thee&#8221;&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Eusebius of Caesarea (263 -339 AD)\u00a0&#8211; Life of the Blessed Emperor Constantine<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> I may allege yet a third cause of the Saviour&#8217;s death. He was the <strong>victim offered to the\u00a0Supreme Sovereign of the universe<\/strong> for the whole human race&#8230;This was that sacrifice delivered up to death, of which the\u00a0sacred oracles speak: &#8220;Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.&#8221;&#8230;They declare\u00a0also the cause, saying: &#8220;<strong>He bears our sins<\/strong>, and is pained for us: yet we accounted him to be in trouble, and\u00a0in suffering, and in affliction. But he was wounded on account of our sins, and <strong>bruised because of our\u00a0iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him;<\/strong> and by his bruises we were healed. All we as sheep\u00a0have gone astray; every one has gone astray in this way; and the <strong>Lord gave him up for our sins.<\/strong>&#8221; \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Hilary of Poitiers (310 &#8211; 367 AD) &#8211; On the Trinity, Book X<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> He was found in fashion as a man, with a <strong>body\u00a0which could feel pain,<\/strong> but <strong>His nature could not feel pain;<\/strong> for, though His fashion was that of a man, <strong>His origin\u00a0was not human<\/strong>, but He was born by conception of the Holy Ghost. <strong>For the reasons mentioned, He was esteemed &#8216;stricken, smitten and afflicted.&#8217;<\/strong> He took the form of a servant:\u00a0and &#8216;man born of a Virgin&#8217; conveys to us the idea of One Whose nature felt pain when He suffered. But\u00a0though He was wounded it was &#8216;for our transgressions.&#8217;<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Hilary of Poitiers (310 &#8211; 367 AD) &#8211; On the Trinity, Book X<\/strong><br \/>If then He said, <strong>My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me,<\/strong> and Father, into\u00a0Thy hands I commend My Spirit, that we might be sure that He did die, was not this, in\u00a0His care for our faith, rather a scattering of our doubts, than a confession of His weakness?\u00a0When He was about to restore Lazarus, He prayed to the Father: but what need had He of\u00a0prayer, Who said, Father, I thank Thee, that Thou hast heard Me; and I know that Thou\u00a0hearest Me always, <strong>but because of the multitude I said it, that they may believe that Thou\u00a0didst send Me?<\/strong> <strong>He prayed then for us, that we may know Him to be the Son; the words\u00a0of prayer availed Him nothing<\/strong>, but He said them for the advancement of our faith. <strong>He was\u00a0not in want of help, but we of teaching.<\/strong> Again He prayed to be glorified; and immediately\u00a0was heard from heaven the voice of God the Father glorifying Him: but when they wondered\u00a0at the voice, <strong>He said, This voice hath not come for My sake, but for your sakes.<\/strong> The\u00a0Father is besought for us, He speaks for us: may all this lead us to believe and confess! The\u00a0answer of the Glorifier is granted not to the prayer for glory, but to the ignorance of the\u00a0bystanders: must we not then regard the complaint of suffering, when He found His greatest\u00a0joy in suffering, as intended for the building up of our faith?&#8230;If\u00a0Christ, ever secure of His divinity, made clear to us His death, Himself indifferent to death,\u00a0yet dying to assure that it was true humanity that He had assumed: why should we use this\u00a0very confession of the Son of God that for us He became Son of Man and died as the chief\u00a0weapon to deny His divinity?<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Ambrose of Milan (337- 397 AD) &#8211; Sermon Against Auxentius on Giving Up of the Basilicas<br \/><\/strong>Do they not\u00a0consider these very words which they have brought forward; that Christ is said to have been\u00a0made, but of a woman; that is, He was \u201cmade\u201d as regards his birth from a Virgin, Who was\u00a0begotten of the Father as regards His divine generation? Have they read also to-day, \u201cthat\u00a0<strong>Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us<\/strong>\u201d?\u00a0Was Christ a\u00a0<strong>curse<\/strong> in His Godhead? But why He is called a <strong>curse<\/strong> the Apostle tells us, saying that it is written: &#8220;Cursed is\u00a0every one that hangeth on a tree,&#8221; that is, He Who in his flesh bore our flesh, <strong>in His body bore our\u00a0infirmities and our curses<\/strong>, that He might crucify them; for He was not cursed Himself,<strong> but was cursed in thee<\/strong>. I\u00a0So it is written elsewhere: &#8220;Who knew no sin, but was <strong>made sin for us<\/strong>, for <strong>He bore our sins<\/strong>, that he might\u00a0destroy them by the Sacrament of His Passion.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Ambrose of Milan (337- 397 AD) \u2013 Exposition of the Christian Faith, Book IV<br \/><\/strong>He is not alone, for whatsoever things the Father doeth, the same things doeth the Son also, in like manner. He is not weak, for though in the flesh He suffered weakness for our sins yet that was the <strong>chastisement of our peace upon Him<\/strong>, not lack of sovereign Power in Himself.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Ambrose of Milan (337- 397 AD) \u2013 Dogmatic Treatises, Ethical Works, and Sermons Book II<br \/><\/strong>For Christ died for us, that we might live in His revived Body. Therefore not our life but <strong>our guilt died in Him<\/strong>, \u201cWho,\u201d it is said, \u201c<strong>bare our sins in His own Body on the tree<\/strong>; that being set free from our sins we might live in righteousness, <strong>by the wound of Whose stripes we are healed.<\/strong>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Ambrose of Milan (337- 397 AD) &#8211; Exposition of the Christian Faith<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> As, then, <strong>He was made sin and a curse<\/strong> not on His own account but on ours, so He\u00a0became subject in us not for His own sake but for ours, being not in subjection in His\u00a0eternal Nature, nor accursed in His eternal Nature. \u201cFor cursed is every one that hangeth\u00a0on a tree.\u201d <strong>Cursed He was, for He bore our curses<\/strong>; in subjection, also, for <strong>He took upon\u00a0Him our subjection, but in the assumption of the form of a servant<\/strong>, not in the glory of God;\u00a0so that whilst he makes Himself a partaker of our weakness in the flesh, He makes us partakers\u00a0of the divine Nature in His power.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Ambrose of Milan (337- 397 AD) \u2013 Exposition of the Christian Faith, Book IV<br \/><\/strong>Here, indeed, our adversaries may perchance enquire: \u201c<strong>How can the Father and the Son be One, if the Son at one time commands, at another entreats?\u201d True, They are One<\/strong>; true also, He both commands and prays: yet whilst in the hour when He commands He is not alone, so also in the hour of prayer He is not weak. <strong>He is not alone, for whatsoever things the Father doeth, the same things doeth the Son also, in like manner.<\/strong> He is not weak, for though in the flesh He suffered weakness for our sins yet that was <strong>the chastisement of our peace upon Him, not lack of sovereign Power in Himself.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of \u00a0Jerusalem (313 &#8211; 386 AD)\u00a0&#8211; Catechetical Lectures<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> He stretched forth human hands, who\u00a0by His spiritual hands had established the heaven; and they\u00a0were fastened with nails, that His manhood which <strong>bore the\u00a0sins of men<\/strong>, having been nailed to the tree, and <strong>having died,\u00a0sin might die with it<\/strong>, and we might rise again in righteousness.<\/span><\/p>\r\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 \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom (349 &#8211; 407 AD), On the Epistle to the Hebrews<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cTo appear,\u201d he says, \u201cin the presence of God for us.\u201d What is \u201cfor us\u201d? <strong>He went up (he\u00a0means) with a sacrifice which had power to propitiate the Father<\/strong>. Wherefore (tell me)? Was\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">He an enemy? The angels were enemies, He was not an enemy. For that the Angels were\u00a0enemies, hear what he says, \u201cHe made peace as to things on earth and things in Heaven.\u201d( Col. i. 20.) So that He also \u201centered into Heaven, now to appear in the presence of God\u00a0for us.\u201d He \u201cnow appeareth,\u201d but \u201cfor us.\u201d\u00a0Nor yet that He should offer Himself often, as the High Priest entereth into the\u00a0Holy place every year with blood of others.\u201d Seest Thou how many are the differences? The\u00a0\u201coften\u201d for the \u201conce\u201d; \u201cthe blood of others,\u201d for \u201cHis own.\u201d Great is the distance. <strong>He is\u00a0Himself then both victim and Priest and sacrifice<\/strong>. For if it had not been so, and it had been\u00a0necessary to offer many sacrifices, He must have been many times crucified. \u201cFor then,\u201d he\u00a0says, \u201cHe must often have suffered since the foundation of the world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Augustine (354 &#8211; 430 AD)\u00a0&#8211; Doctrinal Treatises, The Enchiridion<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> He does not say, as some incorrect copies read, \u201cHe who\u00a0knew no sin did sin for us,\u201d as if Christ had Himself sinned for our sakes; but he says, \u201cHim\u00a0who knew no sin,\u201d that is, Christ, God, to whom we are to be reconciled, \u201chath made to be\u00a0sin for us,\u201d that is, <strong>hath made Him a sacrifice for our sins<\/strong>, by which we might be reconciled\u00a0to God. He, then, being made sin, just as we are made righteousness (our righteousness being\u00a0not our own, but God\u2019s, not in ourselves, but in Him); He being made sin, not His own, but\u00a0ours, not in Himself, but in us, showed, by the likeness of sinful flesh in which He was crucified, that though sin was not in Him, yet that in a certain sense He died to sin, by dying\u00a0in the flesh which was the likeness of sin; and that although He Himself had never lived the\u00a0old life of sin, yet by His resurrection He typified our new life springing up out of the old\u00a0death in sin.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Augustine &#8211;\u00a0DeTrin. xiii. 11<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What means this, &#8216;reconciled by the\u00a0death of His Son ?&#8217; Is it, that when the Father was\u00a0angry with us He looked on the death of His Son for\u00a0us and was appeased? Had the Son, then, been so\u00a0completely appeased already, that He even vouchsafed\u00a0to die for us, but was the Father still so incensed that\u00a0He would not be appeased unless the Son died for us ?\u00a0And what is it, which the same teacher of the Gentiles\u00a0says elsewhere; &#8216; What then shall we say to these\u00a0things ? If God be for us, who is against us ? <strong>He, who\u00a0spared not His own Son but delivered Him up for us\u00a0all, how has He not with Him given us all things ?<\/strong>\u00a0Would the Father, unless He had been already appeased, deliver up His Son for us, not sparing Him?\u00a0Do not these statements seem to contradict each other?\u00a0In the former the Son dies for us, and the Father is\u00a0reconciled to us by His death; but in the latter the\u00a0Father, as though He first loved us, Himself does not\u00a0spare His Son for our sakes, <strong>Himself delivers Him up\u00a0to death for us.<\/strong> But I see that the Father loved us\u00a0before also, not only before the Son died for us, but\u00a0before He created the world, as the Apostle himself testifies, saying, &#8216;As He has chosen us in Him before\u00a0the creation of the world.&#8217; Nor was the Son delivered\u00a0up, for us as it were, unwillingly when the Father\u00a0spared Him not, since it is said of Him also, &#8216;who\u00a0loved me, and gave Himself for me.&#8217; <strong>The Father\u00a0therefore, and the Son, and the Spirit of Both, work\u00a0all things at the same time, equally and harmoniously;<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">yet we are justified in the blood of Christ, and reconciled to God through the death of His on.&#8221;\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria \u2013 Commentary on the Twelve Prophets Vol 3, On Zechariah, Chapter 13, PG 255<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Now, the fact that in surrendering his own Son to death for us the God and Father is said to strike him, or at least to let him suffer in every possible way,<\/strong>\u00a0the Son himself confirms in the verse of the psalmist about those guilty of unholy crimes against him\u2014namely, the Jews\u2014<strong>\u201cThey persecuted the one you struck, and added to the distress of my wounds; add iniquity to their iniquity.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0He voluntarily underwent the Passion, therefore, as I said, so that the achievement of his sufferings might be resplendent. But the fact that for the crucifiers the crime would be the source of ruin, and that those responsible for such a scheme and such exploits\u2014namely, the leaders of the people\u2014would be subjected to the evils arising from divine wrath, he makes clear in saying, And I shall raise my hand against the shepherds.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria, Glaphyra on the Pentateuch Vol 1, PG 89<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Furthermore, the law given through Moses decreed that the slaying of the lamb should be carried out \u201cbetween the evenings,\u201d that is, when the lamps were lit at eventide. Likewise, when the time had come, as it were, for the sun to set, through the age that was then present being in effect shortened, the Only-Begotten Word of God became a man and endured being slain for all,\u00a0<strong>freeing them from any penalty or punishment, removing those who believe far from all such fear. For He himself is the true Noah<\/strong>, that is, righteousness and rest, for that is what the name means. For according to the Scriptures, we have been justified, not by works of righteousness that we ourselves have done, but according to his great mercy. So now for us who believe, Christ has become our righteousness and in truth our rest also, for \u201cHe was bruised because of our iniquities, and was delivered up on account of our sins; and by His wounds we are healed,\u201d and also,\u00a0<strong>\u201cthe Lord delivered Him up for our sins,\u201d as the prophet says.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\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 \/><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,\u201d l 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> yet it was on our behalf he suffers, \u201cand by his stripes we were healed.&#8221; The all-wise Peter writes, \u201che bore our sins in his body upon the tree.&#8221; Therefore, 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.<\/strong>\u00a0But 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>\r\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 \/><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. 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.<\/span><\/p>\r\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,\u00a0CHAPTER XII (John 18:22)<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\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 \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> for it is written, that <strong>&#8220;He was also numbered with the transgressors.&#8221;<\/strong> For our sakes <strong>He became a curse, that is, accursed:<\/strong> for it is written again, that &#8220;<strong>Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree.&#8221;<\/strong> But this act of His <strong>did away with the curse<\/strong> that was upon us: for we with Him and because of Him are blessed. And knowing this, the blessed David says: &#8220;Blessed are we of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth:&#8221; for by His sufferings blessings descend to us.<\/span><\/p>\r\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 XII<\/strong><br \/><strong>He was scourged unjustly, that He might deliver\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>us from merited chastisement;<\/strong> He was buffeted and smitten, that\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">we might buffet Satan, who had buffeted us, and that we might\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">escape from the sin that cleaves to us through the original\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">transgression.<strong> For if we think aright, we shall believe that all\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Christ\u2019s sufferings were for us and on our behalf<\/strong>, <strong>and have power\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">to release and deliver us from all those calamities we have\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>deserved for our revolt from God.<\/strong> For as Christ, Who knew not\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">death, when He gave up His own Body for our salvation, was able\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">to loose the bonds of death for all mankind, for He, <strong>being One,\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>died for all<\/strong>; so we must understand that <strong>Christ\u2019s suffering all these\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">things for us sufficed also to release us all from scourging and\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>dishonour.<\/strong> Then in what way by His stripes are we healed,\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">according to the Scripture? <strong>Because we have all gone astray,\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">every man after his own way, as says the blessed Prophet Isaiah;\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>and the Lord hath given Himself up for our transgressions<\/strong>, and for\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">us is afflicted. For He was bruised for our iniquities, and has given\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">His own back to the scourge, and His cheeks to the smiters, as he\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">also says.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211; On Easter<\/strong><br \/>For 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&#8230;<strong>For he commanded to bring forward two steers equal in stature and similar of aspect and in no one respect unlike each other. And the name of the one was Lord, but the other was Released.<\/strong> And then the lot having fallen into the priest&#8217;s hands they slew the one of which the name was Lord, and released from the slaying the one released, that\u00a0 is the other which from being released from the slaying is named Released.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Pope Leo I<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 <span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>(390 &#8211; 461 AD) &#8211;\u00a0Sermon 68,\u00a0<em>On the Passion, II<\/em><\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> For the blessed Apostle says the Father \u201c<strong>spared\u00a0not His own Son, but gave Him up for us all;<\/strong>\u201d and again, he says, \u201cFor Christ loved the\u00a0Church, and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify it.\u201d\u00a0 And hence the giving\u00a0up of the Lord to His Passion was as much of the Father\u2019s as of His own will, <strong>so that not\u00a0only did the Father \u201cforsake\u201d Him, but He also abandoned Himself in a certain sense<\/strong>, not\u00a0in hasty flight, but in <strong>voluntary withdrawal<\/strong>.\u00a0 For the might of the Crucified restrained itself\u00a0from those wicked men, and in order to avail Himself of a secret design, He refused to avail\u00a0Himself of His open power.\u00a0 For how would He who had come to destroy death and the\u00a0author of death by His Passion have saved sinners, if he had resisted His persecutors?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Pope Leo I (390 &#8211; 461 AD) \u2013 On the Passion, Sermon XVI<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hence it is that the Lord Jesus Christ, our Head, <strong>representing all the members of His\u00a0body in Himself, and speaking for those whom He was redeeming in the punishment of the\u00a0cross<\/strong>, uttered that cry which He had once uttered in the psalm, <strong>\u201cO God, My God, look upon\u00a0Me:\u00a0 why hast Thou forsaken Me?\u201d<\/strong> That cry, dearly-beloved, is a <strong>lesson, not a complaint.<\/strong>\u00a0For since in Christ there is one person of God and man, and <strong>He could not have been forsaken\u00a0by Him, from Whom He could not be separated, it is on behalf of us<\/strong>, trembling and weak\u00a0ones, that He asks why the flesh that is afraid to suffer has not been heard.\u00a0 For when the\u00a0Passion was beginning, to cure and correct our weak fear He had said, \u201cFather, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me:\u00a0 nevertheless not as I will but as Thou;\u201d and again, \u201cFather,\u00a0if this cup cannot pass except I drink it, Thy will be done.\u201d\u00a0As therefore He had\u00a0conquered the tremblings of the flesh, and had now accepted the Father\u2019s will, and trampling\u00a0all dread of death under foot, was then carrying out the work of His design, why at the very\u00a0time of His triumph over such a victory does He seek the cause and reason of His being\u00a0forsaken, that is, not heard, save to show that the feeling which He entertained in excuse of\u00a0His human fears is quite different from the deliberate choice which, in accordance with the\u00a0Father\u2019s eternal decree, He had made for the reconciliation of the world?<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Severus of Antioch (465 &#8211; 538 AD) &#8211; Letter of St. Severus <\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> He endured a death that was <strong>for our sake<\/strong>, he who for the sins of us all became one that is subject, he who knows not sin, for according to the prophet&#8217;s saying, &#8220;He came to death for the sins of my people, and <strong>for our sake he suffered pain, and was smitten, and he endured sickness for our iniquity<\/strong>&#8220;. So also Paul wrote to the Hebrews and said, &#8220;Christ was offered once, that he might <strong>bear the sins of many<\/strong>&#8221; , and he says that &#8216;by his sacrifice he hath been revealed once for all at the last for the doing away of sin&#8217;, and &#8216;he offered one <strong>eternal offering for our sins<\/strong>&#8216; : and Peter the eminent among the apostles said, \u00abThe same <strong>carried up our sins in his body on to the cross<\/strong>, that we, being freed from sins, might live in righteousness\u00bb.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Salvian (400 &#8211; 490 AD) &#8211; On the Government of God<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> But the apostle\u00a0also says: \u201c<strong>God spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all.<\/strong> How hath he not\u00a0with him also freely given us all things?\u201d This confirms my former statement, that <strong>God loves us more than a father loves his\u00a0son.<\/strong> It is clear that his love surpasses a man\u2019s love for his sons, since for our sake he did not\u00a0spare his own child. Nay, I add more, he did not spare his righteous Son, his only begotten\u00a0Son, his Son who is himself God. What more can be said? And this was done for us, that is\u00a0for wicked, unjust and most irreverent men.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Gregory the Great (540 AD \u2013 \u00a0604 AD)\u00a0&#8211; Morals on the Book of Job\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For it is hence\u00a0that speaking by the Prophet He says, Then I restored that\u00a0which I took not away&#8230;But we must consider how He is righteous and ordereth\u00a0all things righteously, if <strong>He condemns Him that deserveth\u00a0not to be punished.<\/strong>\u00a0For our Mediator deserved not to be\u00a0punished for Himself, because He never was guilty of any\u00a0defilement of sin. But if He had not Himself undertaken\u00a0a death not due to Him, He would never have freed us from\u00a0one that was justly due to us. And so whereas &#8216; <strong>The Father\u00a0is righteous,&#8217; in punishing a righteous man,<\/strong> &#8216; He ordereth all\u00a0things righteously,&#8217; in that by these means He justifies all\u00a0things, viz. <strong>that for the sake of sinners He condemns Him Who\u00a0is without sin; that all the might rise up to the height \u00a0of righteousnes<\/strong>s, in proportion as He Who is above all\u00a0<strong>underwent the penalties of our unrighteousness.<\/strong> What then\u00a0is in that place called &#8216; being condemned without deserving,&#8217;\u00a0is here spoken of as being &#8216; afflicted without cause.&#8217; Yet\u00a0though in respect of Himself He was &#8216; afflicted without\u00a0cause,&#8217;<strong> in respect of our deeds it was not &#8216; without cause.&#8217;<\/strong>\u00a0For <strong>the rust of sin could not be cleared away, but by the\u00a0fire of torment. He then came without sin, Who should\u00a0submit Himself voluntarily to torment, that the chastisements\u00a0due to our wickedness might justly loose the parties<\/strong> thereto\u00a0obnoxious, in that they had unjustly kept Him, Who was\u00a0free of them. Thus it was both without cause, and not\u00a0without cause, that He was afflicted, Who had indeed no\u00a0crimes in Himself, but Who <strong>cleansed with His blood the\u00a0stain of our guilt<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">John of Damascus (676 -749 AD) &#8211;\u00a0An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book III<\/span><br \/><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Further, these words, <strong>My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?<\/strong> He said as\u00a0making our personality His own. For neither would God be regarded with us as His\u00a0Father, unless one were to discriminate with subtle imaginings of the mind between that\u00a0which is seen and that which is thought, <strong>nor was He ever forsaken by His divinity: nay, it\u00a0was we who were forsaken and disregarded. So that it was as appropriating our personality\u00a0<\/strong>that He offered these prayers<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES, BOOK I<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Fr. Matta El Miskeen (Matthew the Poor) &#8211; The Titles of Christ<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In his book Critical and Exegetical Handbook to the Epistle to the Galatians, the German scholar H. Meyer enumerates the great theo\u00adlogians of our time who head Peter\u2019s position in defense of Christ\u2019s holiness and the impossibility of him receiving the curse. It is not our intention here to create an issue of contention out of this problem which is the heart and spirit of the faith. <strong>However, we say that if Christ had not accepted the curse of the law for our sake, which is itself the very curse of God, he would not have been able to die and his death would not have been genuine.<\/strong> It would have only appeared to them as such [as Docetic heretics claim]. Neither would we have been able to escape eternal damnation or eternal death. [There are two alterna\u00adtives]: <strong>Either Christ must have received the curse for our sake and died and risen on the third day, or we must have had to live subject to the curse and death under the wrath of God, never to rise again.<\/strong> Any argument which claims that because Christ is holy and the Son of God and, therefore, denies that he should have received the curse, we refute thus: If Christ were not holy and were not the Son of God, he would never have accepted to bear sin and the curse, that is, crucifix\u00adion and death. For it was on account of his holiness and divinity that he trampled death underfoot by his own death, having risen from the dead and shaken off the curse from himself and from us forever&#8230;Isaiah cries out across the ages:<strong> You [foolish] theologians! It is the Father\u2019s will: \u201cYet it was the will of the Lord to bruise him; he has put him to grief; when he makes himself an offering for sin\u201d<\/strong> (Is. 53:10). <strong>It is from the cross that the voice of Christ answers: Amen! approving the Father\u2019s will to bruise him and the cup of gall [he has made him drink], but questioning the harshness of the punishment: \u201cMy God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?\u201d Christ was crying out of the depth of his sonship to the Father in defense of man whom he carried in his basest form of disgrace with God\u2019s wrath having fallen upon him&#8230;<\/strong>If some theologians still claim that Christ did not receive the curse, we then ask: how did he accept the cross which is the very curse itself? Indeed, it was to gulp the curse to its last dregs and to fulfill it to the last breath that he endured suffering to the very end. His last testimony came out with his last breath: <strong>\u201cIt is finished.\u201d Yes, the toil of the cross is finished: the curse, the wrath of God \u2014 even unto death.<\/strong> <strong>It is only now that the verdict, which came forth out of God\u2019s mouth against Adam, is at last fulfilled.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<hr \/>\r\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a id=\"dddd\"><\/a><strong>Christ as Sacrifice and High Priest<\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id69e65f9bd7552\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Scriptural references&gt;&gt;\"    >Scriptural references&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id69e65f9bd7552\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/em><\/span><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Isaiah 53:10 (Septuagint)<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Isaiah 53: 12<br \/><\/strong>He <strong>bore the sin of many<\/strong>,\u00a0and<strong> made intercession<\/strong> for the transgressors<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span class=\"reftext\"><strong>John 12: 23-24<\/strong><br \/><\/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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romans 3:25<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p class=\"reg\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Romans 5:8-10<\/span><\/strong><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romans 6:3-7<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?\u00a0Therefore <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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>1 Cor 5:7<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Ephesians 5:2<\/strong><br \/>And 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 \/><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Hebrews 2:17<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Hebrews 7:27, 28<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For the <strong>law appoints as high priests<\/strong> men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Hebrews 9:11-14<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Hebrews 9:22<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Hebrews 9:26-28<br \/><\/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>\r\n<p class=\"reg\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hebrews 10:4-10<\/span><\/strong><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Hebrews 13:11-13<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>1 Peter 2:24<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>1 John 1: 1-2<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Revelation 7:14<\/span><\/strong><br \/><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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<\/div>\r\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>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"text-align: justify; color: #0a0a0a; font-style: normal;\">How was Christ the Sacrifice for sins? He <em>&#8220;bore our sins&#8221;<\/em> in His body on the cross (1 Pet 2:24). Christ 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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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. This understanding is confirmed by St. Athanasius:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) &#8211; \u00a0Letter to Marcellinus\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For 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 <u>the <strong>penalty of our transgression<\/strong><\/u>,\u00a0even as Isaiah says, Himself bore our weaknesses.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Likewise, 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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><\/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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Christ bore our sins. This is also expressed in the rites of the Eucharist:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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>\r\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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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 and justified us by His blood\u00a0(Rev 7:14).\u00a0As St. Severus explains, Christ freed us from sin that we might live in righteousness:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Severus of Antioch (465 &#8211; 538 AD) &#8211; Letters of St. Severus<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> So also Paul wrote to the Hebrews and said, &#8220;Christ was <strong>offered once, that he might bear<\/strong> <strong>the sins<\/strong> <strong>of many<\/strong>\u201d, and he says that &#8216;by his <strong>sacrifice<\/strong> he hath been revealed once for all at the last for the doing away of sin&#8217;, and &#8216;he offered one eternal <strong>offering<\/strong> <strong>for our sins&#8217;:<\/strong> and Peter the eminent among the apostles said, \u201cThe same <strong>carried up our sins<\/strong> <strong>in<\/strong> <strong>his<\/strong> <strong>body<\/strong> on to the cross, that we, being freed from sins, might live in righteousness<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">St. Cyril confirms the same again, and explains that Christ offered Himself to the Father:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">And again, Christ justified us and reconciled us to God by offering us by and in Himself to God the Father (2 Cor 5:19):<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><\/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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Because Christ is our eternal atoning Sacrifice (propitiation)\u00a0with the Father (1 John 2: 1-2), He did away with our enmity with God because of sin (Rom 5:10, Luke 23:45):<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">St. Irenaeus (130 &#8211; 202 AD) &#8211;\u00a0Against Heresies,\u00a0Book 5, Chap 17<\/span><\/strong><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Now this being is the\u00a0Creator\u00a0(<em>Demiurgus<\/em>), who is, in respect of His\u00a0love, the Father; but in respect of His power, He is\u00a0Lord; and in respect of His wisdom, our\u00a0Maker\u00a0and\u00a0Fashioner;\u00a0by transgressing whose commandment we became His enemies. And therefore in the last times the Lord has restored us into friendship through His incarnation, having become \u201cthe <strong>Mediator<\/strong> <strong>between God and men<\/strong>;\u201d <strong>propitiating indeed for us<\/strong> <strong>the Father<\/strong> against whom we had sinned, and canceling (consolatus) our disobedience by His own obedience; conferring also upon us the gift of<strong> communion with, <\/strong>and<strong> subjection to, our Maker.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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). St. John Chrysostom makes a beautiful comparison of the fire that came down from Heaven upon Old Testament sacrifices (1 Kings 18:38) with the present day Holy Spirit, Who descends upon the Sacrifice in the Eucharist. The Spirit enlightens the believers and purifies them as with fire:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom (349 &#8211; 407 AD) &#8211; Treatise Concerning the Christian Priesthood<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">There\u00a0stands the priest, not bringing down fire from Heaven, but the <strong>Holy Spirit<\/strong>: and he makes\u00a0prolonged supplication, not that some <strong>flame<\/strong> sent down from on high may consume the\u00a0offerings, but that <strong>grace<\/strong> descending on the sacrifice may thereby <strong>enlighten<\/strong> the souls of all,\u00a0and render them more refulgent than silver<strong> purified by fire.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\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>\r\n<p><em style=\"color: #0a0a0a;\"><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id69e65f9bd75b1\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"More quotes&gt;&gt;\"    >More quotes&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id69e65f9bd75b1\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/em><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Origen (185 -254 AD) &#8211; Commentary on Gospel of John<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> But none of the names we have mentioned expresses His representation of us with the Father, as He pleads for human nature, and makes <strong>atonement<\/strong> for it; the Paraclete, and the <strong>propitiation<\/strong>, and the <strong>atonement<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Origen (185 -254 AD)\u00a0\u2013 Commentary on Gospel of John<br \/><\/strong>And in his Catholic Epistle John says that He is a Paraclete for our souls <strong>with the Father,<\/strong> as thus: \u201cAnd if any one sin, we have a Paraclete with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous,\u201d and he adds that He is a <strong>propitiation<\/strong> for our sins, and similarly Paul says He is a <strong>propitiation<\/strong>: \u201cWhom God set forth as a <strong>propitiation<\/strong> through faith in His blood, on account of forgiveness of the forepast sins, in the forbearance of God<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyprian (200 -258 AD) &#8211; Epistles of Cyprian<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> St. John\u00a0hath also declared, that Jesus <strong>Christ our Lord is an\u00a0advocate and intercessor for our sins<\/strong>, saying; My little\u00a0children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not:\u00a0and if any man sin, we have an <strong>advocate with the Father,<\/strong>\u00a0Jesus Christ the righteous, and he is the <strong>propitiation<\/strong> for our\u00a0sins. And the apostle St. Paul, in his epistle, hath thus\u00a0argued: If when we were yet sinners Christ died for us,\u00a0<strong>much<\/strong> more then, being now justified by his blood, <strong>we shall\u00a0be saved from wrath through him.<\/strong>\u00a0We should therefore\u00a0call to mind his tender affections towards us, and should\u00a0not be rigorous and hard hearted to our brethren&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyprian (200 -258 AD) \u2013 Epistles of Cyprian<br \/><\/strong>John also proves that Jesus Christ the Lord is our Advocate and Intercessor for our sins, saying, \u201cMy little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Supporter: and He is the <strong>propitiation<\/strong> for our sins.\u201d And Paul also, the apostle, in his epistle, has written, \u201cIf, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us; much more, being <strong>now justified by His<\/strong> <strong>blood<\/strong>, we shall be saved from <strong>wrath<\/strong> through Him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Aphrahat \u00a0(280 &#8211; 345 AD) &#8211; Select Demonstrations (of Persecution)<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Daniel was led away among the hostages in behalf of his people; and the body of Jesus was a hostage in behalf of all nations. <strong>For Daniel\u2019s sake the wrath of the King was appeased from the Chaldeans, so that they were not slain; and for Jesus\u2019 sake the wrath of His Father was appeased from all nations, so that they were not slain and died not because of their sins. <\/strong>Daniel besought of the king, and he gave his brethren authority over the affairs of the province of Babylon; and Jesus besought of God, and He gave His brethren, His disciples, authority over Satan and his host.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\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 \/><\/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>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) \u2013 Discourses Against the Arians<br \/><\/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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) \u2013 Discourses Against the Arians, Discourse II<\/strong><br \/>\u2018Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the\u00a0heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession Jesus, who was\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">faithful to Him that made Him.\u2019when became He \u2018Apostle,\u2019 but when He put on our\u00a0flesh? and when became <strong>He \u2018High Priest of our profession,\u2019 but when, after offering Himself\u00a0for us,<\/strong> He raised His Body from the dead, and, as now, Himself brings near and offers to\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">the Father those who in faith approach Him, redeeming all, <strong>and for all propitiating God?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Basil the Great (330 &#8211; 379 AD) &#8211; \u00a0Letter 260<br \/><\/strong>The Lord was bound to taste of death for every man\u2014to become a <strong>propitiation<\/strong> for the world and to <strong>justify all men by His own blood<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Gregory of Nyssa\u00a0(335 -394 AD)<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> For in that passage too, in giving the name of <strong>High Priest<\/strong> to Him Who made with His own <strong>Blood<\/strong> the priestly <strong>propitiation<\/strong> for our sins\u2026For Jesus, the great High Priest (as Zechariah says), Who offered up his own <strong>lamb<\/strong>, that is, His own <strong>Body<\/strong>, for the sin of the world;<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Ambrose (337- 397 AD) &#8211; Exposition of the Christian Faith<br \/><\/strong>&#8230;this <strong>High Priest<\/strong> was indeed bound to make passage and entry into the holy of holies in heaven through <strong>His own blood<\/strong>, in order that He might be the <strong>everlasting propitiation<\/strong> for our sins. <strong>Priest and victim<\/strong>, then, are one; the priesthood and sacrifice are, however, exercised under the conditions of humanity, for He was led as a <strong>lamb<\/strong> to the slaughter, and He is a <strong>priest<\/strong> after the order of Melchizedek.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom (349 &#8211; 407 AD) \u2013 Homilies on First Corinthians<br \/><\/strong>\u201cFor if He was not raised, neither did He die; and if He died not, neither did He take away sin: His death being the taking away of sin. \u201cFor behold,\u201d saith one, \u201cthe <strong>Lamb of God<\/strong>, which taketh away the sin of the world.\u201d (John i. 29.) But how \u201ctaketh away?\u201d By His death. Wherefore also he called him a <strong>Lamb<\/strong>, <strong>as one slain.<\/strong>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom (349 &#8211; 407 AD) \u2013 Homilies on First Corinthians<br \/><\/strong>For if He was not raised, neither did He die; <strong>and if He died not, neither did He take away sin<\/strong>:<strong> His death being the taking away of sin<\/strong>. \u201cFor behold,\u201d saith one, \u201cthe Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.\u201d (John i. 29.) But how \u201ctaketh away?\u201d <strong>By His death.<\/strong> Wherefore also he called him a <strong>Lamb<\/strong>, as one slain&#8230;And besides, death remains immortal, if He did not arise.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> <strong><br \/><\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom (349 &#8211; 407 AD) \u2013 Homilies on Epistle to the Hebrews<br \/><\/strong>Accordingly he added, \u201cin things pertaining to God,\u201d\u2014that is, for the sake of things in relation to God. We were become altogether <strong>enemies to God,<\/strong> (he would say) <strong>condemned<\/strong>, degraded, there was none who should offer sacrifice for us. He saw us in this condition, and had compassion on us, not appointing a <strong>High Priest<\/strong> for us, but Himself becoming a <strong>High Priest<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Chrysostom &#8211; Homilies on the Epistle to the Hebrews<\/strong><br \/>\u201cAnd as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this, the\u00a0Judgment.\u201d He next says also why He died once [only]: <strong>because He became a ransom by\u00a0one death<\/strong>. \u201cIt had been appointed\u201d (he says) \u201cunto men once to die.\u201d This then is [the\u00a0meaning of] \u201cHe died once,\u201d for all. (What then? Do we no longer die that death?\u00a0<strong>We do indeed die, but we do not continue in it: which is not to die at all.<\/strong> For the tyranny of\u00a0death, and death indeed, is when he who dies is never more allowed to return to life. But\u00a0when after dying is living, and that a better life, this is not death, but sleep.) Since then death\u00a0was to have possession of all, therefore He died that He might deliver us.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Augustine (354 &#8211; 430 AD) &#8211; A Treatise Against Two Letters of the Pelagians<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This, the catholic faith has known of the one and only <strong>mediato<\/strong>r<strong>\u00a0between God and man<\/strong>, the man Christ Jesus, who condescended to undergo <strong>death\u2014that\u00a0is, the penalty of sin<\/strong>\u2014without sin, for us. As He alone became the Son of man, in order that\u00a0we might become through Him sons of God, so He alone, on our behalf, <strong>undertook punishment without ill deservings<\/strong>, that we through Him might obtain grace without good deservings. Because as to us nothing good was due so to Him nothing bad was due.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Augustine (354 &#8211; 430 AD)\u00a0&#8211; On the Holy Trinity<\/strong><br \/>Therefore \u201cGod commendeth His love towards us, in that, while we were\u00a0yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now <strong>justified in His blood, we shall\u00a0be saved from wrath through Him.<\/strong>\u201d Justified, he says, in His blood,\u2014justified plainly, in\u00a0that we are freed from all sin; and freed from all sin, because the Son of God, who knew no\u00a0sin, was slain for us. Therefore \u201cwe shall be saved from wrath through Him;\u201d <strong>from the wrath\u00a0certainly of God, which is nothing else but just retribution.<\/strong> For the wrath of God is not, as\u00a0is that of man, a perturbation of the mind; but it is the wrath of Him to whom Holy Scripture\u00a0says in another place, \u201cBut Thou, O Lord, mastering Thy power, judgest with calmness.\u201d If, therefore, the just retribution of God has received such a name, what can be the right\u00a0understanding also of the reconciliation of God, unless that then such wrath comes to an\u00a0end? Neither were we enemies to God, except as sins are enemies to righteousness; which\u00a0being forgiven, such enmities come to an end, and they whom <strong>He Himself justifies are reconciled to the Just One.<\/strong>..And not only so,\u201d he says, \u201cbut we also joy in God, <strong>through our Lord\u00a0Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.\u201d<\/strong> \u201cNot only,\u201d he says, \u201cshall we\u00a0be saved,\u201d but \u201cwe also joy;\u201d and not in ourselves, but \u201cin God;\u201d nor through ourselves, \u201cbut\u00a0through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement,\u201d as we have\u00a0argued above.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Augustine (354 &#8211; 430 AD) &#8211; Lectures\u00a0on the Gospel According to St. John<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> The separating medium is sin, the <strong>reconciling\u00a0Mediator<\/strong> is the Lord Jesus Christ&#8230;To take then away the <strong>separating wall<\/strong>, which is sin, that\u00a0Mediator has come, and the <strong>priest<\/strong> has Himself become the <strong>sacrifice<\/strong>. And because He was\u00a0made a <strong>sacrifice<\/strong> for sin, offering Himself as a whole burnt-<strong>offering on the cross<\/strong> of His passion,\u00a0the apostle, after saying, \u201cWe beseech you in Christ\u2019s stead to be reconciled unto God<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Augustine (354 &#8211; 430 AD)\u00a0\u2013 Writings in Connection with the Manichaen Controversy<br \/><\/strong>As regards animal sacrifices, every Christian knows that they were enjoined as suitable to a perverse people, and not because God had any pleasure in them. Still, even in these sacrifices there were types of what we enjoy<u>; <strong>for we cannot obtain purification or the propitiation of God without blood<\/strong><\/u><strong>.<\/strong> The fulfillment of these types is in Christ, by whose <strong>blood<\/strong> we are <strong>purified<\/strong> and <strong>redeemed<\/strong>. In these figures of the divine oracles, the bull represents Christ, because with the horns of His cross He scatters the wicked; the lamb, from His matchless innocence; the goat, from His being made in the likeness of sinful flesh, <u>that by sin <strong>He might condemn sin<\/strong>.<\/u><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Second Epistle to the Corinthians<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>He says of God the Father, \u201cFor our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.\u201d<\/strong> It is as if he were to say, <strong>\u201cHe arranged that he who has never sinned should suffer the punishment of the worst sinners so that he may render us righteous who have received faith in him.\u201d<\/strong> That is why he \u201cendured the cross, disregarding its shame.\u201d <strong>The one who was worth as much as all died for all.<\/strong> Now when he is said to <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">have become \u201csin,\u201d you should not suppose that he has committed sin. After all, the Word is God; he does not know how to sin. <strong>Rather, you should understand it to mean that he has been given by God the Father for our sins.<\/strong> In fact, the animals slaughtered for sin in accordance with the law of Moses are referred to as \u201csin\u201d in just the same way&#8230;Therefore, this wise thought has great power to\u00a0convert those who want to neglect the faith: <strong>he who knew no sin was condemned and suspended from a cross with sinners for us so that \u201cwe might become the righteousness of God.\u201d<\/strong> For we have been justified by God the Father \u201cnot because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to the greatness of his mercy\u201d through faith in Christ.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria, Glaphyra on the Pentateuch Vol 2, Page 136<br \/><\/strong>You can now see how God commanded the sin offering to be \u00a0sacrificed.\u00a0<strong>A male goat served here as a figure of Christ, who, as I said, became sin for us.<\/strong>\u00a0For he was counted among the lawless, was crucified with thieves, and was also called a curse, since it is written that \u201ccursed is everyone who is hanged upon a \u00a0tree.\u201d\u2026 Christ, then, although he became sin, remained that which he was, that is to say, he continued to be holy as he was by nature God. Moreover, \u201che does not give the Spirit by measure,\u201d in accordance with what John said.\u00a0<strong>Now, that the death of his flesh, which took place for the destruction of the flesh, was holy and pure, being well-pleasing to God the Father in a manner similar to incense offerings, the law clearly spoke of when it said, \u201cIn the place where they slay the burnt offerings, they shall also slay the sin offering before the Lord.\u201d Christ is a burnt offering, that is, one which is wholly and entirely, and not just partially, dedicated to God the Father as a pleasing aroma<\/strong>. Therefore, he is truly \u201cmost holy.\u201d For in him we have been sanctified, and he is our whole justification, and he is moreover the sanctification of the spirits above, as I said a moment ago.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria, Glaphyra on the Pentateuch Vol 2, Page 129<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Note how he who established the legal ministration clearly described the cleansing that comes through Christ as being incomparably superior to the ministration of the law.<\/strong>\u00a0For if you transgressed the precepts of Moses, it says, and some did neglect to keep the ordinances of the legal ministration, it is then you find that\u00a0<strong>the passing over of the offense is granted through the shedding of blood when a calf was sacrificed or a goat offered. Yet this was figurative of Christ.<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>So while the law determined the punishment for transgressions, it is the precious blood of Christ that delivers us from punishment and sets us free from condemnation due to sins committed in ignorance<\/strong>, For he laid down his life for us so that he might do away with the sin of the world. In the loaf of bread, therefore, Christ is understood as life and giver of life, while in the calf he is further considered as a burnt offering,\u00a0<strong>dedicating himself as a pleasing aroma to God the Father. Also, in the form of the goat he became a sin offering for us and was slain for our sins.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria, Glaphyra on the Pentateuch Vol 2, Book 10: Exodus, Pg 121<br \/>Yet Moses persisted in his entreaty, determined to restrain the wrath against all the people. For it was necessary for the one acting as mediator to be like Christ, who warded off the wrath of heaven that was upon us due to our many sins<\/strong>, and who, being the Son, offered justification by faith to those who had sinned. Moses was, then, on this occasion also, a figure of the mediatorship of Christ.\u00a0<strong>So by his supplications the divine Moses held back the severity of God\u2019s wrath<\/strong>; then he came down from the mountain.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria, Glaphyra on the Pentateuch Vol 2, Book 10: Exodus, Pg 110<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Nevertheless, the God of all commanded Moses and Aaron, those who were holy and elect, to ascend the high mountain. So it was necessary that those who were later to come into glory, those who were presented as the first actually to go up that they might draw near to God,\u00a0<strong>should be purified by the blood of Christ, who gave his life in exchange for the life of all, and who offered up the flesh that he had assumed as a pleasing aroma.<\/strong>\u00a0For he gave himself on our behalf as an offering that was holy and undefiled to God, a spiritual burnt offering. This the divine Moses also showed us in a figure, through the illumination given by the Spirit, and leads the way to the knowledge of things to come.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria, Glaphyra on the Pentateuch Vol 2, Book 9: Exodus, Page 36<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>In addition to this, the Passover was to be kept annually at its appointed time<\/strong>, so that a year would not be whole or would still remain incomplete without it. This was also the case because this most divine feast that relates to suffering would be celebrated on a yearly basis by those who obtain good things from that suffering. It says it should be taken \u201cfrom the lambs or from the kids.\u201d The lamb is understood by the law to be a victim that is pure and without blemish, while the kind of animal taken from the kids is always offered for the sake of sins at the altar. This same thing you shall find in Christ also. For he himself was,\u00a0<strong>as it were, a sacrificial victim without blemish, offering himself up as a pleasing aroma to God the Father, slain like a kid on behalf of our sins.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\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 \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) &#8211;\u00a0Five Tomes Against Nestorius,\u00a0TOME III<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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,\u00a0<strong>He was delivered up because of our transgressions<\/strong>\u00a0and was raised because of our justification, and as the Prophet Esaias saith,\u00a0<strong>The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, with His stripes were WE healed,<\/strong>\u00a0not Himself has been healed by the suffering of His own Flesh.\u00a0<strong>He was delivered up because of our transgressions<\/strong>\u00a0(not because of His own, far from it,\u00a0<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>\u00a0in 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,\u00a0<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.,\u00a0<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\u00a0<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>\u00a0but He has been given rather for His own.\u00a0<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>\u00a0For 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,\u00a0<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\u00a0yet the mystery of Christ,<\/strong>\u00a0and thus He said to the hierophant Moses, If the whole congregation of the children of\u00a0Israel sin unwillingly and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly and they have done one of all the\u00a0commandments of the Lord which should not be done, and have transgressed and the sin be known to them which\u00a0they have sinned therein,\u00a0<strong>the congregation shall offer a young bullock without blemish from among the herd for the\u00a0sin. And having fully gone through how the details of the sacrifice should be done, He adds and says, And the priest\u00a0shall make an atonement for them and the sin shall be forgiven them.<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>Observe then that the bullock was offered as a\u00a0type of Christ the All-Pure and That hath no spot, and they who offer and not surely the bullock were set free from\u00a0their guilt.<\/strong>\u00a0For He has been sacrificed not rather for Himself, as THOU sayest, but for the infirm, for whom the high\u00a0priest according to the Law used to make supplication, that you may again understand Him That was made an\u00a0Advocate for us, a High Priest undefiled and holy, separated from sinners.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\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 \/><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>\r\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 \/><\/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>\r\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 \/><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>\r\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, Chapter VIII<br \/><\/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.\u00a0The Mosaic ceremonial was then, as it were, a type and transparent shadowing forth of the mediation of Christ, shown forth in the last times, and the high priest of the Law indicated in his own person that Priest Who is above the Law. For the things of the Law are shadows of the truth. For the inspired Moses, and with him the eminent Aaron, <strong>continually intervened between God and the assembly of the people; at one time deprecating God\u2019s anger for the transgressions of the people of Israel<\/strong>, and inviting mercy from above upon them when they were faint; at another, praying and blessing the people, and ordering sacrifices according to the Law and offerings of gifts besides in their appointed order, sometimes for sins, and sometimes thank-offerings for the benefits they felt that they had received from God. But Christ Who manifested Himself in the last times above the types and figures of the Law, at once our High Priest and Mediator, prays for us as Man; and at the same time is ever ready to co-operate with God the Father, Who distributes good gifts to those who are worthy. Paul showed us this most plainly in the words: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. He then prays for us as Man, and also unites in distributing good gifts to us as God. For He, being a holy High Priest, blameless and undefiled, offered Himself not for His own weakness, as was the custom of those to whom was allotted the duty of sacrificing according to the Law, but rather for the salvation of our souls, <strong>and that once for all, because of our sin, and is an Advocate for us: And He is the propitiation for our sins, as John saith; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\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,\u00a0<b>BOOK IX, Chapter 1<\/b><br \/><\/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>\r\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 \/><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>\r\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 \/><\/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, <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>brought Himself a blameless sacrifice to God the Father,<\/strong> <\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">as a ransom for the life of all men<\/span>,<\/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>\r\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, Chapter II<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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 understanding 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 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>\r\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 LUKE, <b>BOOK IV, Chapter II<\/b><br \/><\/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>\r\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 \/><\/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>\r\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 \/><\/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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) \u2013 COMMENTARY ON ZECHARIAH 1<br \/><\/strong>For those who reverence God, therefore, there is sound and certain hope, to be sure, that should they happen to offend God through weakness, they still have suppliants with God on their behalf, not only human beings but also the holy angels themselves, who render God mild and benign, appeasing his wrath with their peculiar purity and, as it were, making the Judge ashamed of his indignation. While at that time it was an angel who was making appeals for the assembly of the Jews, we who are believers and are now sanctified by the Spirit <strong>\u201chave an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, who is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but for those of the whole world.\u201d<\/strong> As the divinely inspired Paul writes, it is he whom <strong>\u201cGod put forward as a sacrifice of atonement through faith,\u201d freeing from sin those who approach him.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 &#8211; 444 AD) \u2013 Commentary on Hosea, Chapter 4<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The priest, therefore, was taken as a mediator between God and man,<\/strong> accepting the gifts from the people and having a share in what is sacrificed on the altar, as Scripture says; he sacrificed himself, as it were, for the sins of the people, as of course our Lord Jesus Christ also did. For proof that what I say is true, I shall cite the Law dealing with the he-goat; it goes as follows: \u201cMoses made an inquiry about the he-goat of the sin offering, and it had already been burnt. Moses was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron\u2019s remaining sons, and said, Why did you not eat the sin offering in a holy place? For it is a holy of holies, and he has given it to you to eat there for you to remove the sin of the assembly, to make atonement on their behalf before the Lord.\u201d <strong>Do you see how those assisting at the holy altar and appeasing wrath for sinners with pure prayers act as mediators by eating the sin offerings, as it were, offering to God their own souls as a sweet-smelling odor for the sins of the people?<\/strong> As in the case of the divinely inspired Aaron, of course, when the people took ill, Scripture says, <strong>he seized the censer, put on the incense, \u201cstood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped.\u201d The blessed Moses likewise acted as mediator as well and placated God when the people of Israel had made a golden heifer in the wilderness; he submitted himself to justice and made an appeal,<\/strong> \u201cIf you will forgive their sin, forgive it; but if not, blot me also out of this book you have written.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Pope Leo I (390 &#8211; 461 AD) &#8211;\u00a0SERMON XXIII,\u00a0ON THE FEAST OF THE NATIVITY<\/strong><br \/>A <strong>Victim<\/strong> <strong>had to be offered for our atonement<\/strong> Who should be both a partner of our race and free from\u00a0our contamination, so that this design of GOD whereby it <strong>pleased Him to take away the sin of the world<\/strong> in the\u00a0Nativity and Passion of Jesus Christ, might reach to all generations: and that we should not be disturbed\u00a0but rather strengthened by these mysteries, which vary with the character of the times, since the Faith,whereby we live, has at no time suffered variation.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Pope Leo I (390 &#8211; 461 AD) &#8211; Letters and Sermons,\u00a0To Anatolius, Bishop of Constantinople<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> For otherwise in the Church of God, which is Christ\u2019s Body, there are\u00a0neither valid priesthoods nor true sacrifices, unless in the reality of our nature the true <strong>High\u00a0Priest makes atonement for us, and the true Blood of the spotless Lamb makes us clean.<\/strong>\u00a0For although He be set on the Father\u2019s right hand, yet in the same flesh which He took from\u00a0the Virgin, <strong>he carries on the mystery of propitiation<\/strong>, as says the Apostle, \u201cChrist Jesus Who\u00a0died, yea, Who also rose, Who is on the right hand of God, <strong>Who also maketh intercession\u00a0for us.<\/strong>\u201d<br \/><br \/><strong>Pope Leo I (390 &#8211; 461 AD) &#8211;\u00a0On Whitsuntide, III.<\/strong><br \/>For if man, made after the image and likeness of God, had retained the dignity of\u00a0his own nature, and had not been deceived by the devil\u2019s wiles into transgressing through\u00a0lust the law laid down for him, the Creator of the world would not have become a Creature,\u00a0the Eternal would not have entered the sphere of time, nor God the Son, Who is equal with\u00a0God the Father, have assumed the form of a slave and the likeness of sinful flesh.\u00a0But because\u00a0\u201cby the devil\u2019s malice death entered into the world,\u201d and captive humanity could not\u00a0otherwise be set free without His undertaking our cause, Who without loss of His majesty\u00a0should both become true Man, and alone have no taint of sin, <strong>the mercy of the Trinity divided\u00a0for Itself the work of our restoration in such a way that the Father should be propitiated,\u00a0the Son should propitiate, and the Holy Ghost enkindle.\u00a0<\/strong><br \/><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Theodoret\u00a0 (393 &#8211; 457 AD) <\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> But no one holding the right faith would call the unmade the uncreate, God the Word coeternal with the Father, a creature; but on the contrary, Him of David\u2019s seed Who being free from all sin was made our <strong>high priest<\/strong> and <strong>victim<\/strong>, after Himself <strong>offering Himself on our behalf to God<\/strong> having in Himself the Word, God of God, united to Himself and inseparably conjoined.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Gregory the Great (540 AD \u2013 \u00a0604 AD) &#8211; Book of Pastoral Rule<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> He took blows on the face from insulting men; that, while\u00a0washing us with the water of salvation, He hid not His face from the spitting of the faithless;\u00a0that, while <strong>delivering us by His advocacy from eternal punishments<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>John Damascene (676 &#8211; 749) &#8211; On Holy Images<br \/><\/strong>From the time that\u00a0God the Word became flesh He is as we are\u00a0in everything except sin, and of our nature,\u00a0without confusion. <strong>He has deified our flesh\u00a0or ever, and we are in very deed sanctified\u00a0through His Godhead and the union of His\u00a0flesh with it<\/strong>. And from the time that God,\u00a0the Son of God, impassible by reason of His\u00a0Godhead, chose to suffer voluntarily He <strong>wiped\u00a0out our debt, also paying for us a most full\u00a0and noble ransom<\/strong>. We are truly free through\u00a0the <strong>sacred blood of the Son pleading for us\u00a0with the Father.<\/strong> And we are indeed delivered\u00a0from corruption since He descended into hell\u00a0to the souls detained there through centuries\u00a0and gave the captives their freedom, sight to\u00a0the blind, and chaining the strong one. He\u00a0rose in the plenitude of His power, keeping the\u00a0flesh of immortality which He had taken for\u00a0us. And since we have been born again of\u00a0water and the Spirit, we are truly sons and\u00a0heirs of God.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Fr. Matta El Miskeen (Matthew the Poor) &#8211; PENTECOST: The Descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Day THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For as He ascended on that day and crossed the barrier which separated us from the Father, entering into the inner shrine behind the curtain as a forerunner on our behalf, He entered with his blood on his hand and appeared before the Father &#8211; <strong>slain in the flesh because of his love and obedience, the wrath of God on man\u2019s transgression was checked forever, for the Son himself became an offering of atonement for the imperfection of humanity.<\/strong> Hence the saying that \u201cJesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf&#8230;thus securing an eternal redemption.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Fr. Matta El Miskeen (Matthew the Poor) &#8211; Resurrection and Redemption in the Orthodox Concept<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Thus the doctrine of the Orthodox Church, in emphasizing the love of God as a basic motive, extends to the very end, from the cross to the resurrection to the ascension, and even to the entry into the holies and the sitting on the right hand of the Father in order to ensure the consummation of redemption. <strong>Christ is still alive, and even after he died for us and justified us with his blood he still intercedes for us before God the Father by the boldness of the love with which he accomplished the redemption, so that no wrath or blame may befall us on account of our ignorance and daily transgression,<\/strong> \u201cbut God commendeth his love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, <strong>Christ died for us. Much more then being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him<\/strong>\u201d (Rom.5:8-9<\/span>).<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><em>Liturgy, Agpeya and Praises &#8211; Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Southern U.S. (Quoting H.G. Bishop Mettaous, The Spirituality of the Rites of the Holy Liturgy in the Coptic Orthodox Church)<\/em><\/strong><br \/>Since our Master, Jesus Christ <strong>carried our sins within His Body on the cross as He <\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>offered Himself as a sacrifice for sin<\/strong>, so the bread offered in the Holy Liturgy should be <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>made with yeast to symbolize these sins that Christ bore<\/strong>. The Coptic Orthodox Church,<strong> led <\/strong><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">by the Holy Spirit, makes its holy bread with yeast, which should then be baked so that the <\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>yeast perishes just as sin perished in the Resurrected Body of Christ.<\/strong> The yeast is still <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">present in the bread but is dead because of the fire. As the fire spoiled the effect of the <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">yeast, so Christ had ended the effect of sin through offering His Body as a sacrifice; <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cGod&#8230;by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh on account of sin, He <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">condemned sin in the flesh\u201d (Rom.8:3).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Father Athanasius Iskander &#8211; Understanding the Liturgy<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> In the Old Testament sacrifice of the day of atonement, as in other sin sacrifices, the high priest had to lay his hands on the <strong>sacrificial animal<\/strong>, then make an <strong>atonement<\/strong> for himself and for the sins the people committed in ignorance. The laying on of hands signifies <strong>transfer of the sins<\/strong> to the sacrificial animal. The animal is then killed. Rubbing the Lamb may represent the old\u00a0Testament&#8217;s laying on of hands, while uttering the words, \u201cGrant O Lord that our sacrifice may be accepted in Thy sight for my sins and for the ignorance of Thy people\u2026\u201d reminds us of the <strong>atonement<\/strong> that the <strong>high priest<\/strong> made for his own sins and for the sins the people made in ignorance.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b style=\"color: #000000;\">Fr. Tadros Malaty, <\/b><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Commentary<\/b><\/span><b style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0on the First Epistle of St. Peter<\/b><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">St. Peter, as an eyewitness to the sufferings of the Lord Jesus, saw Him as an example for enduring suffering. He heard Him saying: \u201cMy soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death.\u201d <\/span><strong style=\"color: #000000;\">He entered the garden of Gethsemane to carry the sins of all humanity<\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> and to crucify them on the cross. St. Paul talked about the Lord Jesus as an example for enduring death on the cross. St. Peter reveals the concept of the sufferings of the cross. It does not center around mere courage or the ability to endure but rather love and sacrifice. For He wanted His stripes, that is His wounds, to heal our wounds. <\/span><strong style=\"color: #000000;\">He bent His back willingly to carry our sins in His body<\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">. \u201c<\/span><strong style=\"color: #000000;\">Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many<\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201d (Heb. 9:28). \u201cHe poured out His soul unto death, and He was\u00a0numbered with the transgressors, <\/span><strong style=\"color: #000000;\">and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors<\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201d (v.12). Through the sufferings of His love, He demonstrated to us His extreme caring nature and that He is the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls, who seeks every sick soul, opening His arms to every one who goes astray! He chose death on the cross. This was not coincidence, but as St. Athanasius the Apostolic said: \u201cIt was not appropriate for the Lord to be sick and He is the One who heals others. <\/span><strong style=\"color: #000000;\">He came as the Savior not to die Himself, but to die instead of others.<\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> If His death was in secret, it would not have witnessed the resurrection. <\/span><strong style=\"color: #000000;\">He became a curse for us. (Gal. 3:13), and this is the cross.<\/strong> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">How can He call us (the Gentiles) if He were not crucified stretching His arms to call us? <\/span><strong style=\"color: #000000;\">Since the cross was the worst kind of death and the most brutal punishment, therefore the Lord Jesus endured the cross, willingly, through His humanity, redeeming all human beings from the worst punishment of death.<\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>H.E. Metropolitan Bishoy &#8211;\u00a0The Dogma Of Atonement And Redemption\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In order to save us from the results of sin, God \u201csent His Son to be the propitiation (atonement) for our sins\u201d (1 John 4:10). He condemned sin as Saint Paul the Apostle said: &#8220;God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh&#8221; (Rom. 8: 3). &#8220;Condemned sin in the flesh&#8221; means that sin was judged upon the cross. God \u201cdid not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all\u201d (Rom. 8: 32). He didn&#8217;t pity His Son when He carried our sins in His flesh but announced His wrath against sin so that sin would receive a fair judgement. Here God as holy and as a rejecter of sin is justified. God wants to announce His vengeance and wrath against the sin of man. The one accepting that our Lord Jesus Christ carries his sins and is moved by the love of Christ, would watch sin by his own eyes nailed upon the cross. He would thus know that his sins were forgiven. He would see by his own eyes that sin was judged fairly. Thus Saint Paul says: &#8220;Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross&#8221; (Col. 2: 14).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Fr. Tadros Malaty \u2013Commentary on Exodus<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> As the people could not have quenched their thirst from that rock, unless it is struck by the rod; likewise, we would have not enjoyed the limitless wells of God\u2019s love, and the Holy Spirit in us, unless the Lord Christ is struck, to bear on the cross, through the <strong>divine justice<\/strong>, the <strong>price<\/strong> of our sins. And as the rock was publicly struck once, so also the Lord Christ was visibly lifted up on the cross, and offered up Himself, once, for all (Hebrew 7: 27), and from Him a flow of blood and water came out (John 19: 34), as <strong>atonement<\/strong> and <strong>purification<\/strong> for all who believe in Him.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Fr. Tadros Malaty \u2013Commentary on Isaiah<br \/><\/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><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> <strong><br \/>Fr. Tadros Malaty \u2013Commentary on Daniel<br \/><\/strong>These were all fulfilled by the coming of the Lord Jesus: To finish the transgression: that is to erase sins from the eyes of God, by preaching the Gospel of salvation and enjoying the gift of the Holy Spirit, which God granted to His church through the worthiness of the precious <strong>blood<\/strong>. The captivity was considered a chastisement for the sins of Israel and Judah, but it was not a just punishment for captivity cannot forgive sins, therefore, the sacrifice of the cross was a must, where the Lord Jesus offers Himself on the cross as a <strong>propitiation<\/strong> for the sins of the whole world. (1John 2:1) <strong>To make an end of sins<\/strong>: When the Lord Jesus offered Himself, who is without blemish, <strong>a Sacrifice for sin<\/strong>, one time for the whole world, <strong>He put an end to sin<\/strong>. To make reconciliation of iniquity: This means that the sacrifice for reconciliation or <strong>atonement<\/strong> has to be offered.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Basil Liturgy Reference Book\u00a0 (CopticChurch.net, Edited by\u00a0Fr. Abraam D. Sleman)<\/strong><br \/>&#8220;The bread is pierced in five places around the central crosses in reference to the 3 nails that hold Jesus on the cross, the crown of thorns and the spear that pierced His side. The bread is made from pure wheat, <strong>leavened but unsalted<\/strong>, because Jesus Christ is the salt of the world. <strong>The leaven symbolizes our Sins which the Lord Jesus Christ bore for us<\/strong>. The bread must be freshly baked. &#8230;During choosing the <strong>lamb<\/strong>, The priest lays his hands on the oblations in the shape of the cross as the priest of the old testament, who <strong>lays his hand on the<\/strong> <strong>sacrifice<\/strong> while the sinner confesses his sins. This declares that Jesus Christ, <strong>The Lamb of God<\/strong> has <strong>carried our sins<\/strong> on His shoulders.&#8221;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Fr. Tadros Malaty \u2013The Book of Revelation<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">And <strong>He treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of God<\/strong>, for He alone is the Almighty God who can <strong>bear the wage of sin in His body<\/strong>. Thus He dies on our behalf, and He lifts us up, out of our death. On the cross, <strong>He carried our sins that makes the Father hid His face from us, for He can\u2019t bear them.<\/strong> Through His resurrection\u00a0we are victoriously risen<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Fr. Tadros Malaty \u2013Ezekiel<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">There was no being who could <strong>bear the wrath of God<\/strong> on the land, and <strong>intercede on its behalf.<\/strong> That is why He sent His Only-Begotten Son, as a Son of Man; who, alone, <strong>can stand in the gap, bear the divine wrath in His body for our sake;<\/strong> and intercede for us by His pure blood; and bring us back to the bosom of the Father.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Fr. Tadros Malaty &#8211; Patristic Commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy<\/span><\/strong><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Moses stood as an intercessor between God and His people, as we saw in Deuteronomy 5:5. Whereas the Lord Christ was, being the <strong>Mediator<\/strong> who is One in essence with the Father, He <strong>carried us as members in His body, and reconciled us with His Father<\/strong>. \u201cFor 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\u201d (1 Timothy 3:5, 6). But there is a great difference between the two mediations: The first was a mediator to gain the divine promise through the ministry of\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">the copy and shadow of the heavenly things; whereas <strong>the second has brought us into heaven itself<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Fr. Tadros Malaty &#8211; School of Alexandria, Part 2<\/span><\/strong><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Origen interprets Christ\u2019s death <strong>as an act of vicarious subtitution or propitiatory sacrifice.<\/strong> He argues that, as the Leader of the Church, Jesus is the head of a body of which we are members; <strong>He has taken our sins upon Himself<\/strong>, has borne them and has suffered freely for us. As a true priest, <strong>He has offered the Father a true sacrifice in which He is Himself the Victim, thereby propitiating the Father.<\/strong> The Son offers the Christians\u2019 own gifts of pity, justice, piety, peace. He offers the lives of transformed believers.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Fr. Tadros Malaty &#8211; Patristic Commentary on Second Book of Samuel<\/strong><br \/>The Psalmist David says: \u201c<strong>For His anger is but for a moment; His favor is for life\u201d<\/strong>; <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>referring to the divine wrath<\/strong>, as Uzza was struck dead before the ark, when he dared to touch it. That was only for a moment; Yet, the people, through that ark, enjoyed life, as they gained the pleasure of God. That was a symbol of what happened with Jesus, the Lord of Glory, <strong>as He bore the divine wrath on the cross<\/strong>; it was said: \u201cIt pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief, when You make His soul an offering for sin. &#8230; <strong>For He shall bear the iniquities of many\u201d (Isaiah 53: 10, 12).<\/strong> <strong>As His wrath was only for a moment, as our iniquities were put on Him;<\/strong> He rose and caused us to rise with Him, granting us life in His pleasure<\/span>.<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<hr \/>\r\n<h4><a id=\"tothefather\"><\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>To Whom Was the Ransom Paid?<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\r\n<p><em><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id69e65f9bd763b\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Scriptural References&gt;&gt;\"    >Scriptural References&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id69e65f9bd763b\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/em><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Exodus 30: 11-15 (Septuagint)<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, \u201cWhen you take the census of the children of Israel for their number, <strong>then 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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Leviticus 25: 47-52 (Septuagint)<\/span><\/strong><br \/><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 \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Psalm 49:7-9 (NKJV)<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Matthew 6:12<\/span><\/strong><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Matthew 18: 23-27<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"red\" style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Mark 10:45<\/strong><br \/>For 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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Colossians 2:13-14<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>1 Timothy 2:5-6<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Ephesians 5:2<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Hebrews 9:14<\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p><em><\/div><\/em><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We know that Christ as the High Priest offered His life as sacrifice to God. We also know that He gave His life a ransom for all. If we consider the &#8220;ransom&#8221; to be something other than Christ&#8217;s sacrifice, we would have to acknowledge that Christ died twice&#8211;once as sacrifice, and a second time as a &#8220;ransom&#8221;. Of course this would be absurd. Thus, Christ&#8217;s &#8220;ransom&#8221; is non other than His Sacrifice which was offered to God. To confirm this understanding and answer the question to whom was the &#8220;ransom&#8221; paid, we must first answer the question to whom was the &#8220;ransom&#8221; owed? For this, St. Irenaeus helps us:<\/span><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><\/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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) &#8211; Against the Arians <\/strong><\/span><br \/><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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em><strong style=\"color: #0a0a0a; font-style: normal;\">St. Basil of Caesarea &#8211; Exegetic Homilies, Homily 19<br \/>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;\">,<\/span><strong style=\"color: #0a0a0a; font-style: normal;\">\u00a0because &#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;\">In fact, what can man find great enough that he may give it for the ransom of his soul?\u00a0<\/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;\">\u00a0which 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,\u00a0<\/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;\">\u00a0No 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><\/em><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">John of Damascus explains that the Father received the ransom for us because we sinned against Him:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>John of Damascus (676 -749 AD) \u2013 Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> He dies, therefore, because He took on Himself death on our behalf, and He makes Himself an <strong>offering<\/strong> <strong>to the Father<\/strong> for our sake. For we had sinned against Him, and it was meet that<strong> He should receive the ransom for us,<\/strong> and that we should thus be <strong>delivered from the condemnation<\/strong>. God forbid that the blood of the Lord should have been offered to the tyrant.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hippolytus and St. John Cassian confirm that He offered Himself to the Father:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Hippolytus (170 -235 AD) &#8211; Extant Works and Fragments<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Yet there is the flesh which was presented by the Father\u2019s Word as an offering, \u2014 the flesh that came by the Spirit and the Virgin, (and was) demonstrated to be the perfect Son of God. <strong>It is evident, therefore, that He offered Himself to the Father.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">By offering Himself to the Father, Christ atoned from the sins of mankind:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. John Cassian (360 &#8211; 435 AD)<br \/><\/strong>But at the sixth hour the spotless <strong>Sacrifice<\/strong>, our Lord and Savior, was offered up <strong>to the Father<\/strong>, and, ascending the cross for the salvation of the whole world, <strong>made atonement for the sins of mankind<\/strong>, and, despoiling principalities and powers, led them away openly; and all of us who were liable to death and bound by the debt of the handwriting that <strong>could not be paid, He freed,<\/strong> by taking it away out of the midst and affixing it to His cross for a trophy.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">To Augustine, it is <em>&#8220;clear as day&#8221;<\/em> that sacrifices may be offered to none other than God:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Augustine (354 &#8211; 430 AD)\u00a0&#8211; City of God<br \/><\/strong>but what need to collect and apply to my argument the\u00a0proofs which are thickly sown and <strong>obvious<\/strong>, and by which it <strong>appears clear as day<\/strong> that <strong>sacrifice\u00a0may be<\/strong> <strong>paid<\/strong> <strong>to none but the supreme and true Go<\/strong><strong>d<\/strong>?<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>St. Gregory was explaining that a ransom consisting of God was offered to the Father, not the devil.<\/li>\r\n<li>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>\r\n<li>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>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">St. Athanasius &#8211; Festal Letters, Letter 6<\/span><\/strong><br \/><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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>The ram symbolized Christ. Isaac represented humanity. Thus, Isaac (humanity) was spared because of the substitutionary sacrifice of the ram (Christ).<\/li>\r\n<li>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>\r\n<li>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>\r\n<li>The quote merely confirms that Christ offered Himself willingly to the Father <em>(John 10:18) as an offering for sin.<\/em><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\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>\r\n<p><em style=\"color: #0a0a0a;\"><span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id69e65f9bd766a\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"More patristic quotes&gt;&gt;\"    >More patristic quotes&gt;&gt;<\/span><div id=\"target-id69e65f9bd766a\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \"><\/em><\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyprian (200 -258 AD), Epistle 62<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> For if Jesus Christ, our Lord and God, is Himself the <strong>chief priest<\/strong> of God the Father, and has first offered Himself a <strong>sacrifice to the Father<\/strong>, and has commanded this to be done in commemoration of Himself, certainly that priest truly discharges the office of Christ, who imitates that which Christ did; and he then offers a true and full sacrifice in the Church to <strong>God the Father<\/strong>, when he proceeds to offer it according to what he sees Christ Himself to have offered.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Victorinus (250 &#8211; 303 AD) &#8211; \u00a0Commentary on Apocalypse<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> And when for man\u2019s salvation He was made man to overcome death, and to set all men free, and that He offered Himself a <strong>victim to the Father<\/strong> <strong>on our behalf<\/strong><strong>,<\/strong> He was called a calf. And that He overcame death and ascended into the heavens, extending His wings and protecting His people, He was named a flying eagle.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Eusebius Pamphilus \u00a0(263 -339 AD) &#8211; Life of the Blessed Emperor Constantine<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> I may allege yet a third cause of the Saviour&#8217;s death. He was the <strong>victim offered to the\u00a0Supreme Sovereign of the universe<\/strong> for the whole human race&#8230;But forasmuch as\u00a0he was the great <strong>high priest<\/strong>, consecrated to the Supreme Lord and King, and therefore <strong>more than a victim<\/strong>,\u00a0the Word, the Power, and the Wisdom of God; he soon recalled his body from the grasp of death, <strong>presented\u00a0it to his Father<\/strong> as the first-fruit of our common salvation, and raised this trophy, a proof at once of his victory\u00a0over death and Satan, and of the abolition of human sacrifices, for the blessing of all mankind.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Athanasius (296 &#8211; 373 AD) \u2013 Festal Epistles, Letter X<br \/><\/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><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Hilary of Poitiers (310 &#8211; 367 AD) \u2013 Homily on Psalm LIII<br \/><\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">And although this suffering did not belong to His nature as eternal Son, the immutability of God being proof against the assault of any derogatory disturbance, yet it was freely undertaken, <\/span><b style=\"color: #000000;\">and was intended to <\/b><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>fulfill<\/b><\/span><b style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0a penal function without, however, inflicting the pain of penalty upon the sufferer:<\/b><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> not that the suffering in question was not of a kind to cause pain, but because the divine Nature feels no pain. God suffered, then, by voluntarily submitting to suffering; but although He underwent the sufferings in all the fullness\u00a0of their force, which necessarily causes pain to the sufferers, yet He never so abandoned the powers of His Nature as to feel pain. For next there follows: I will sacrifice unto Thee freely. The sacrifices of the Law, <\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">which consisted of whole burnt-offerings and oblations of goats and of bulls, did not involve <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">an expression of free will, <strong>because the sentence of a curse was pronounced on all who broke <\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>the Law. Whoever failed to sacrifice laid himself open to the curse<\/strong>. And it was always neces<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">sary to go through the whole sacrificial action because the addition of a curse to the com<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">mandment forbad any trifling with the obligation of offering. <strong>It was from this curse that <\/strong><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">our Lord Jesus Christ redeemed us, when, as the Apostle says: Christ redeemed us from the <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">curse of the law, being made curse for us, for it is written: cursed is every one that hangeth on <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">a tree. Thus He offered Himself to the death of the accursed that He might break the <\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>curse of the Law, offering Himself voluntarily a victim to God the Father<\/strong>, in order that by <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">means of a voluntary victim the curse which attended the discontinuance of the regular <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">victim might be removed. Now of this sacrifice mention is made in another passage of the <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Psalms: <strong>Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared for Me; <\/strong><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">that is, by offering to God the Father, Who refused the legal sacrifices, the acceptable offering <\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>of the body which He received.<\/strong> Of which offering the holy Apostle thus speaks: For this He <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">did once for all when He offered Himself up, securing complete salvation for the human <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">race by the offering of this holy, perfect victim.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Basil the Great (330 &#8211; 379 AD) &#8211;\u00a0Homily on Psalm xlviii<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Seek not to have thy brother for thy redeemer, but to have <strong>One who transcends thine own nature<\/strong>; neither a mere man, but the God-Man, Jesus Christ, who <strong>alone can offer to God a propitiatory Sacrifice for all of us<\/strong>, because \u201c<strong>God appointed Him as a propitiation through faith in His Blood.<\/strong>\u201d For what can a man find that is so valuable as that he can offer it for the redemption of his soul? But there was found<strong> one thing, equal in value to all men put together<\/strong>, which was given as the <strong>price of redemption of our soul<\/strong>,\u2014even the holy and most precious Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He shed for us all; therefore were we \u201c<strong>bought with a price.<\/strong>\u201d&#8230;<strong>For He had no need to offer to God an atonement for Himself, nor to redeem His own soul<\/strong>, seeing that \u201cHe did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth.\u201d&#8230;He who will not <strong>give to God an atonement for Himself, but for the whole world<\/strong>. For <strong>He needs no propitiation: He is a Propitiation Himself.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\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 \/>For 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 \/><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>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\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>\r\n<blockquote>\r\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 \/><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><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Ambrose (337- 397 AD) &#8211;\u00a0 Selected Works and Letters<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> The father offered indeed his son, but God is appeased not by blood but by dutiful\u00a0obedience. He showed the ram in the thicket in the stead of the lad, that He might restore\u00a0the son to his father, and yet the victim not fail the priest. And so Abraham was not stained\u00a0with his son\u2019s blood, <strong>nor was God deprived of the sacrifice<\/strong>. The prophet spoke, and neither\u00a0yielded to boastfulness nor continued obstinate, <strong>but took the ram in exchange for the lad.<\/strong>\u00a0And by this is shown the more how piously he offered him whom he now so gladly received\u00a0back. And thou, if thou offer thy gift to God, dost not lose it. But we are tenacious of our\u00a0own; God gave His only Son for us, we refuse ours. Abraham saw this and recognized\u00a0the mystery, <strong>that salvation should be to us from the Tree<\/strong>, nor did it escape his notice that\u00a0in one and the same sacrifice it was <strong>One that seemed to be offered, Another which could be\u00a0slain<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\r\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 \/><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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>St. Cyril of Alexandria, Glaphyra on the Pentateuch Vol 2, Pages 46-47<br \/><\/strong>For \u201che did not create death, nor does he delight in the destruction of living creatures, \u201cas it is written. Nor does he take pleasure from those who are perishing, as he does from the destruction of the unclean demons. <strong>Rather, he commands that a ransom should be laid down on their behalf,<\/strong>\u00a0and so we ought to confess openly that, in essence, we owe even our very lives to him.\u00a0<strong>For he indicated this ransom when he commanded that the sum called the \u201ctwo drachmas\u201d should be paid. So the true ransom given for all is to be understood as Christ himself,<\/strong>\u00a0through whom and in whom we have overcome corruption, for he gave himself for us.<\/span><\/p>\r\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 \/><\/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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Eusebius of Caesarea (263 -339 AD)\u00a0&#8211; \u00a0Demonstratio Evangelica,\u00a0BOOK IV\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For firstly, the Word teaches by His death that He is Lord both of dead and living; and secondly, that He will wash away our sins, being slain, and becoming a curse for us; thirdly, that a <strong>victim of God and a great sacrifice for the whole world might be offered to Almighty God;<\/strong> fourthly, that thus He might work out the destruction of the deceitful powers of the daemons by unspeakable words&#8230;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">St. Severus of Antioch (465 &#8211; 538 AD) &#8211; Letters of St. Severus,\u00a0TO EUPRAXIUS THE <\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">CHAMBERLAIN\u00a0<\/span><br \/><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This therefore was thus performed in the case of the two goats also, that the one was slaughtered and the other dismissed. We clearly see the hidden meaning which relates to the Cross: for the type denotes that the same one Christ suffered in the flesh, but remained without suffering in that he is considered to he true God. For the same person both is separated by lots to the Lord and slaughtered (for &#8216;<strong>he delivered himself for our sake as an offering and a sacrifice to God the Father for a sweet savour&#8217;<\/strong>\u00a0), and goes away without suffering bearing the sins of all Israel, which in the type of Aaron were confessed over the head of the goat: for he clearly displays himself as being himself true God, over whom we confess our sins according to law; for &#8220;I will make confession&#8221;, he saith, &#8220;unto thee, Lord, concerning my sins, and thou wilt forgive the wickedness of my heart&#8221;; for, though &#8216;he was led as a lamb to the slaughter&#8217;, yet, &#8216;who shall tell his generation, because his life is taken away from the earth?&#8217;&#8230;<strong>Accordingly the lamb is the type of the righteous, and the goat of sinners; for the righteous stand as lambs on the right hand, and the sinners as goats on the left.<\/strong> Let no one think- that through the symbol of the two goats he shows us two Christs, one passible and the other impassible, but one and the same, passible in the flesh, but impassible in his Godhead.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Church Midnight Praises &#8211; Sunday Theotokia<\/strong><br \/>You 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><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Fr. Tadros Malaty &#8211; Interpretation of the Book of Genesis<\/span><\/strong><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Abraham saw the true Lamb, \u201cJesus Christ\u201d, to be offered, n<strong>ot as a ransom for Isaac alone but \u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>for the whole world<\/strong>. In his saying, \u201cGod will provide\u201d, Abraham proclaimed his complete trust <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">in God\u2019s salvation plan, that is not the work of man but a divine ordainment; God, alone, would provide, by His own exalted means.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Fr. Tadros Malaty &#8211; A Patristic Commentary\u00a0on the Book of Isaiah<\/span><\/strong><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Savior has paid the price. <strong>The early Church considered the blood shed on the cross, as a payment for the debt that we owe the Father<\/strong>, and a ransom from the hand of the devil who bought us as slaves. That is the work of the Holy Savior, to sanctify us and to set us free from his servitude. That is why He says, \u201cFor I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place.\u201d (Is. 43: 3) <\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<hr \/>\r\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a id=\"c\"><\/a><strong>Conclusion<\/strong>:<\/h4>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This article merely analyzed the language and understanding of the early Church fathers with regard to the atonement. It did not attempt to present a complete patristic view on salvation as a whole. Though the early Church father spoke of Christ&#8217;s victory over sin, death, and the devil, they did not constrain Christ&#8217;s redemptive work to any exclusive &#8220;model&#8221; or &#8220;theory&#8221;, certainly not any model called &#8220;Christus Victor&#8221;.\u00a0 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.\u00a0While the term &#8220;Christus Victor&#8221; is not foreign to the church, it is foreign to the Church as an atonement &#8220;theory&#8221;, prior to the 20th Century.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\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 would 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>\r\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>\r\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>\r\n<hr \/>\r\n<h5>Related:<\/h5>\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/atonement-verses\/\">Verses on Atonement<br \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/razilazenje.blogspot.com\/2006\/07\/divine-justice-substitution-and.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Atonement in the Eastern Orthodox Church<\/a><br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/qa-atonement\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Questions and Answers on Atonement<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><script>\r\n\tvar refTagger = {\r\n\t\tsettings: {\r\n\t\t\tbibleVersion: \"NKJV\"\t\t\t\r\n\t\t}\r\n\t};\r\n\t(function(d, t) {\r\n\t\tvar g = d.createElement(t), s = d.getElementsByTagName(t)[0];\r\n\t\tg.src = \"\/\/api.reftagger.com\/v2\/RefTagger.js\";\r\n\t\ts.parentNode.insertBefore(g, s);\r\n\t}(document, \"script\"));\r\n<\/script><\/p>","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":602,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[4,11,17,18,23,12,15,13,22,35,19,5,24,14],"class_list":["post-937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-salvation","tag-atonement","tag-christus-victor","tag-christus-victor-in-early-church","tag-christus-victor-vs-penal-substitution","tag-church-fathers","tag-early-church","tag-orthodox","tag-penal-substitution","tag-penal-substitution-and-church-fathers","tag-penal-substitution-and-coptic-church","tag-penal-substitution-patristics","tag-redemption","tag-substitutionary-atonement","tag-theories-of-atonement"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/937","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=937"}],"version-history":[{"count":177,"href":"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/937\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3136,"href":"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/937\/revisions\/3136"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}