The Miracle of the Incarnation
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This article has been excerpted from On the Incarnation by Athanasius of Alexandria, with an introduction by C. S. Lewis.
The Word was not hedged in by His body, nor did His presence in the body prevent His being present elsewhere as well.
When He moved His body He did not cease also to direct the universe by His Mind and might. No. The marvellous truth is, that being the Word, so far from being Himself contained by anything, He actually contained all things Himself.
In creation He is present everywhere, yet is distinct in being from it; ordering, directing, giving life to all, containing all, yet is He Himself the Uncontained, existing solely in His Father. As with the whole, so also is it with the part. Existing in a human body, to which He Himself gives life, He is still Source of life to all the universe, present in every part of it, yet outside the whole; and He is revealed both through the works of His body and through His activity in the world. It is, indeed, the function of soul to behold things that are outside the body, but it cannot energise or move them. A man cannot transport things from one place to another, for instance, merely by thinking about them; nor can you or I move the sun and the stars just by sitting at home and looking at them. With the Word of God in His human nature, however, it was otherwise.
“As Man [Jesus] was living a human life, and as Word He was sustaining the life of the universe, and as Son He was in constant union with the Father.”
His body was for Him not a limitation, but an instrument, so that He was both in it and in all things, and outside all things, resting in the Father alone. At one and the same time—this is the wonder—as Man He was living a human life, and as Word He was sustaining the life of the universe, and as Son He was in constant union with the Father. Not even His birth from a virgin, therefore, changed Him in any way, nor was He defiled by being in the body. Rather, He sanctified the body by being in it. For His being in everything does not mean that He shares the nature of everything, only that He gives all things their being and sustains them in it.
Just as the sun is not defiled by the contact of its rays with earthly objects, but rather enlightens and purifies them, so He Who made the sun is not defiled by being made known in a body, but rather the body is cleansed and quickened by His indwelling, “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth.” (1 Peter 2:22)
– Athanasius, On the Incarnation
“A masterpiece."
– C.S. Lewis
Athanasius’ On The Incarnation brings simple clarity to the difficult topic of Jesus’ incarnation, affirming its timeless validity and relevance, and proving the character of an eternally loving God. Nearly two thousand years after it’s writing, Athanasius’ provocative thoughts are a breath of fresh air, reminding believers of the power, importance, and finality of Jesus’ incarnation.
