Creation that Leads to Crucifixion: God’s Perfect Plan of Love

    In On the Incarnation, author Saint Athanasius covers many ideas concerning Christianity, creation, and the crucifixion, all of which he declares can be directly tied to the incredible love of the sinless Savior. In a methodical fashion, he poses the pressing questions while displaying differing opinions and misconceptions, and he answers each issue with his idea of a corresponding biblical solution. Throughout the text, an overlying theme of God’s lofty sovereignty and unfathomable adoration for His children is brilliantly highlighted as Athanasius brings readers to the conclusion that God’s original plan for mankind included His perfect creation, the free will of man, and the death and redemptive qualities of His own Son which allows man to return to a merciful relationship with Him.

Athanasius begins his diagram of the Lord’s plan for mankind by addressing the idea of creation. He first speaks on the traditional Epicurean idea that “all things came into being spontaneously and as by chance…[and] that there is no providence over the universe” (Athanasius 50).  The author refutes this idea by explaining there is not only providence over creation, but a Creator who performs ex-nihil, or, out of nothing. He argues that if the Epicurean tradition were true, that all things came into existence spontaneously, everything would be identical (50). Because everything on the earth is not entirely the same, this means there must be a Creator who could create matter, life, and individuality. Following this claim, he addresses the Greeks’ common view that if there was a creator, such a creator must compose from preexistent material (51). Athanasius argues that this claim is not valid in the least, and he illustrates this claim by describing the difference between a craftsman and a creator. “According to them, God is only a craftsman and not the Creator of being...He could in no way be called “creator”, if he does not create matter, from which created things come into being (51). In short, Athanasius is proposing that God cannot be merely a craftsman, for if He created anything at all, He would have had to have created everything ex-nihil.

After addressing the creation and the Creator, Athanasius transitions into the seemingly more difficult topics of free will, sin, and the need for redemption. He writes that it is necessary for us to understand human nature in order to understand the love of the Savior, for “our own cause was the occasion of his descent and...our own transgression evoked the Word’s love for human beings…(53)”. If it was indeed our sinful nature that required a savior in flesh to sacrifice Himself for us, this would then beg the question of why a loving and merciful God would create man who has the potential to sin and therefore the potential to damn their souls to Hell for the sake of free will. If God truly loved His creation, it seems He would spare them of the opportunity of making evil choices and therefore being cursed to spend eternity in the confines of punishment. Athanasius answers this question saying, “God created the human being for incorruptibility and an image of his own eternity; but by the envy of the devil, death entered the world (54).” Here we see that God intends only good for His children, but because of the “envy of the devil”, temptation has the potential to steal us away from our relationship with God (54). Because of the evil of Satan, death, both physical and spiritual, entered the world and “the human being, made rational and in the image, was disappearing, and the work made by God was being obliterated (55)”. 

Following this passage, the author contrasts the previous dismal truth by highlighting, “It was therefore right not to permit human beings to be carried away by corruption, because this would be improper to and unworthy of the goodness of God (56)”. Here, readers are introduced to the idea that while sin and the potential damnation to Hell are present due to the fall of man, God longs for us not to be resorted to corruption, and because of this longing, He upholds His very nature of goodness. Human nature was not a surprise to God; for He, in His dominion, saw the “weakness of their nature--that it was neither sufficient of itself to know the Creator nor to receive any knowledge of God…(60)”. While the sin of man certainly disappointed God, He was not unprepared for it. This is because He gave us free will which allows us to make decisions for ourselves concerning our spiritual conduct. This is further displayed in a verse in Genesis two that Athanasius highlights which states that God said, “You may eat from all the trees in paradise; from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat (52)”. The audience sees here that free will concerning man was in God’s plan from the very beginning, and that He wanted His people to be able to make choices for themselves.

Because of our free will and therefore sinful nature, mirrored with the Creator Whose nature was that of mercy and goodness, and judgement, a savior was required in order to atone for the sins of God’s children. As a result, God “gave them life from death, by making the body his own…(57)”.  Here, Athanasius exhibits the way in which God orchestrated both heavenly order and earthly atonement by coming into the world. “The incorporeal and incorruptible and immaterial Word of God comes into our realm...for no part of creation is left void of him; while abiding with his own father, he has filled all things in every place (56-57)”. Due to the sovereign pairing of deity and flesh, the corruption of human beings was “undone”, for, “by offering to death the body he had taken to himself, as an offering holy and free of all spot, he immediately abolished death from all like him…(58). The method of death that Christ endured, as well, was a mirror of God’s full atonement for His creation. Considering why the crucifixion was the most necessary for of death of Christ to endure, Athanasius writes, “If, then, [His death] was in some private place...it would have been supposed that he also suffered this through the weakness of nature because he had nothing more than humans (72)”. Here, Athanasius points out that a public crucifixion was necessary to truly convert souls, for if the lost saw the sinless Savior crying out in physical pain on the gruesome cross, they would further believe in His simultaneously divine and human nature. The public crucifixion was also necessary because it allowed Christ’s accusers to witness Him die a physical death and then physically rise from such a death three days later. In this manner, readers can see that a horrid crucifixion and a glorious resurrection were entirely necessary in order to redeem the souls and regain the hearts of mankind. Athanasius brilliantly points out the ways in which God’s creation, His gift of free will to man, His nature of goodness, and His Son’s public death and resurrection for the redemption of sinners paint a clear picture of an almighty Lord Who reigns over His people through creativity, justice, and mercy.