In our previous discussions we focused on the two basic questions that the Church Fathers encountered in the development of the Church's doctrine on the Trinity and on the Incarnation, what we referred to as the Trinitarian question and the Christological question. The question of the Incarnation is the area that many of the studies of the Church Fathers have necessarily focused upon, that is the great question, how the two natures of the one divine Person in Jesus Christ could both be affirmed while at the same time maintaining the unity of His person. In this lecture I will broaden the discussion to focus on Christ's saving work according to the Fathers. We focus on this view of Christ because a true picture of the Fathers would show that they were primarily interested in Christ's saving work and its effects.
In the introductory lecture I stressed the pastoral emphases of the Church Fathers. While the threats from Arianism, Adoptionism, Modalism, and Monarchianism all forced the clarification of the Christological teaching of the Church, nevertheless the Fathers continued to focus on theology done in Ecclessiae. The pastoring they were so intimately involved in had to do primarily with the reality of Christ's saving work and how this reality impacted particularly and specifically upon the people they shepherded. A true picture of their interest in Christ has to do with this question of His saving work. They developed their theology of the Incarnation as a function of the doctrine of salvation. They saw the doctrine of the Incarnation and the doctrine of salvation as closely linked and they often took positions on who Jesus is only in relation to His saving work.
In the Fathers' writings we should distinguish two aspects or approaches, first, their expression of the traditional faith, things concerning the mystery of God's saving plan and the saving work of Christ; and second, their theological explanations or theories concerning this mystery. The Fathers were trailblazers, and at times they did not get everything right in their theological explanations or theories, but taken as a whole they contributed greatly to the development of Christian doctrine. With regards to the traditional faith handed down through the Creed, the Baptismal formulae, and the liturgical rites, they continued to affirm and confirm, Lex orandi est lex credendi. Their theological explanations or theories, in contrast to their traditional faith or their expression of the traditional faith, were not always worked out in neat systems. Often several themes or images came together within the context of one work, be it an exegetical commentary on a book of scripture, be it a series of catechetical instructions, or a homily delivered on an important liturgical occasion. They did not write what we would call classical textbooks in a systematic way as became the practice in the Medieval and later Church eras.
Where is this Patristic material on Christ's saving work to be found? No treatise deals exclusively with this mystery although many Patristic texts treat it. In this area more than in others one sees the importance of Patristic presentation in liturgies, in catechetics and in homilies. Patristic scholars have too often neglected these sources. In this lecture we shall describe a number of the Patristic themes or theories concerning Christ's saving work without attempting to go into the teachings of the individual Fathers. These themes can be kept in mind when reading texts of any of the Fathers to see whether a particular Father uses them and if so, what importance is given to them. Keep these themes as a reference point so that as you read specific Church Fathers, you can test and see if these themes are apparent in all or most. How do different Fathers in different ages pick up these themes? Are certain themes more important in one part of the Church or in one context than in another? These are threads, then, that will run through the Apostolic Fathers, the Apologists, the Third Century Fathers, as well as the later Greek and Latin Church Fathers.
Themes on Christ's Saving Work and the Incarnation
The first is the theme of God the Father's economy or plan, a plan of salvation initiated by Him out of love. This is a very strong theme running through the entire corpus of the Church Fathers. Christ's saving work and the actual salvation of mankind in and through Christ, for the Church Fathers, is the result of God the Father's plan, dispensation or economy. Economy here is used in the sense of the providential rule of His creation. The economy is initiated by the Father out of love for mankind. This theme is especially strong in Saint Irenaeus, one of the earlier Apologists, and also in the writings of Saint Augustine.
A second theme that runs through the corpus of the Church Fathers writings with regard to Christ's saving work is that Christ as teacher and illuminator makes known a new way of life, imparting true knowledge about God, man and human destiny. This theme has often been overlooked by modern interpreters, but it is a strong element especially in the earlier Fathers. Christianity spread among the pagans for one reason, because there was so much doubt and obscurity among them concerning life, death and future existence, concerning the meaning of a good life and the way to find help to lead a good life. This theme has an important relevance in the Church today, for like the earliest centuries in the Christian era, we too live in a time when such questions are being asked more and more frequently. The Church Fathers saw in Christ the illuminator, the teacher, the one who said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." (John 14/6) And so through Christ and as instruments of Christ, being the images, the living icons of Christ, the Church Fathers were able to impart true knowledge. In this era of skepticism, of relativism, and of doubt, we can learn much from the Church Fathers by proclaiming with vigor, clarity and strength the truth of who Jesus Christ is today, tomorrow and forever.
A third theme concerning Christ's saving work is that His life, death and resurrection as an example for our imitation as the way of Christian life. Christianity was often referred to as The Way because of what Jesus said of Himself. This theme is closely connected with the preceding ones of Christ being teacher and illuminator, although it makes those themes more concrete and explicit. Jesus brings not only a doctrine, but by His life, gives a way. One of the truly great gifts of the Church Fathers is in their capacity to integrate spirituality and teaching. They were not interested in communicating an abstract set of doctrines that demanded only intellectual assent. They were pastors and servants, most concerned with enabling and assisting their people to become holy and Christ like, taking into themselves the very attitudes of Christ as St. Paul urged of his fellow Christians. The Pauline teaching is certainly affirmed in the understanding and teaching of the theme of the Church Fathers that Christ's life, death and resurrection served as an example for our own way of life.
A fourth theme of the Fathers is that Christ's life, death and resurrection, especially His death out of love in obedience to God the Father, is a showing forth of God's love moving persons to respond with faith, hope and love. Some would see this as the exclusive, or as the main theme, of the Church Fathers. Although this is an exaggeration, this theme is constantly present and is very important. The great Pascal event of Christ's life, death and resurrection is the very heart and center of our Christian faith. The Church Fathers always see the Pascal event in relation to the entire working out of God's salvation plan.
A fifth theme is that Christ's saving work is seen as a victory over sin, over death, and over Satan. These three that are overcome - sin, death and Satan - are always closely related to each other by the Fathers. Sometimes Satan is seen more as a personification standing behind sin and death. Thus for the Fathers he is a very real person and force. We know for example in the early baptismal liturgy, of the strong and poignant prayers of exorcism that are prayed over the neophytes.
A sixth theme of Christ's saving work is that the Incarnation itself is saving. An exchange happens between God and humankind where we are divinized. Christ's death and resurrection, ascension and glorification, stand at the very center of Christ's saving act. Nevertheless from the moment of His conception, each of His actions and words participate in the wonder of redemption and the fulfillment of God's saving plan. An oft repeated patristic maxim states that God became man that man might become God by participation. The Church Fathers may never be accused of pantheism. When they say that God became man so that man might become God they are speaking by way of participation, not by way essence. Mankind originally shared the divine privilege of immortality. Sin is death and brings death. But through the Incarnation itself God becomes man. The Word divinizes human nature. The union of the divine and human natures in the Person of the Word restores and elevates human nature and destroys death. This theme is strongest in such Greek Fathers as Athanasius, Gregory of Nyssa, and Saint Cyril of Jerusalem. Undoubtedly it is to some extent influenced by Platonic philosophy, which conceived of human nature as an idea, or universal in which all individuals participate. Thus when the Word assumes and divinizes the individual human nature, every human person is affected by way of the universal human nature, the real nature. This is not simply a deduction from Platonic philosophy. It is a good example of the Fathers building upon and adding to the wisdom of the day, because it also expresses the conviction that salvation by Christ means divinization of human kind. These same Fathers stressed
In our previous discussions we focused on the two basic questions that the Church Fathers encountered in the development of the Church's doctrine on the Trinity and on the Incarnation, what we referred to as the Trinitarian question and the Christological question. The question of the Incarnation is the area that many of the studies of the Church Fathers have necessarily focused upon, that is the great question, how the two natures of the one divine Person in Jesus Christ could both be affirmed while at the same time maintaining the unity of His person. In this lecture I will broaden the discussion to focus on Christ's saving work according to the Fathers. We focus on this view of Christ because a true picture of the Fathers would show that they were primarily interested in Christ's saving work and its effects.
In the introductory lecture I stressed the pastoral emphases of the Church Fathers. While the threats from Arianism, Adoptionism, Modalism, and Monarchianism all forced the clarification of the Christological teaching of the Church, nevertheless the Fathers continued to focus on theology done in Ecclessiae. The pastoring they were so intimately involved in had to do primarily with the reality of Christ's saving work and how this reality impacted particularly and specifically upon the people they shepherded. A true picture of their interest in Christ has to do with this question of His saving work. They developed their theology of the Incarnation as a function of the doctrine of salvation. They saw the doctrine of the Incarnation and the doctrine of salvation as closely linked and they often took positions on who Jesus is only in relation to His saving work.
In the Fathers' writings we should distinguish two aspects or approaches, first, their expression of the traditional faith, things concerning the mystery of God's saving plan and the saving work of Christ; and second, their theological explanations or theories concerning this mystery. The Fathers were trailblazers, and at times they did not get everything right in their theological explanations or theories, but taken as a whole they contributed greatly to the development of Christian doctrine. With regards to the traditional faith handed down through the Creed, the Baptismal formulae, and the liturgical rites, they continued to affirm and confirm, Lex orandi est lex credendi. Their theological explanations or theories, in contrast to their traditional faith or their expression of the traditional faith, were not always worked out in neat systems. Often several themes or images came together within the context of one work, be it an exegetical commentary on a book of scripture, be it a series of catechetical instructions, or a homily delivered on an important liturgical occasion. They did not write what we would call classical textbooks in a systematic way as became the practice in the Medieval and later Church eras.
Where is this Patristic material on Christ's saving work to be found? No treatise deals exclusively with this mystery although many Patristic texts treat it. In this area more than in others one sees the importance of Patristic presentation in liturgies, in catechetics and in homilies. Patristic scholars have too often neglected these sources. In this lecture we shall describe a number of the Patristic themes or theories concerning Christ's saving work without attempting to go into the teachings of the individual Fathers. These themes can be kept in mind when reading texts of any of the Fathers to see whether a particular Father uses them and if so, what importance is given to them. Keep these themes as a reference point so that as you read specific Church Fathers, you can test and see if these themes are apparent in all or most. How do different Fathers in different ages pick up these themes? Are certain themes more important in one part of the Church or in one context than in another? These are threads, then, that will run through the Apostolic Fathers, the Apologists, the Third Century Fathers, as well as the later Greek and Latin Church Fathers.
Themes on Christ's Saving Work and the Incarnation
The first is the theme of God the Father's economy or plan, a plan of salvation initiated by Him out of love. This is a very strong theme running through the entire corpus of the Church Fathers. Christ's saving work and the actual salvation of mankind in and through Christ, for the Church Fathers, is the result of God the Father's plan, dispensation or economy. Economy here is used in the sense of the providential rule of His creation. The economy is initiated by the Father out of love for mankind. This theme is especially strong in Saint Irenaeus, one of the earlier Apologists, and also in the writings of Saint Augustine.
A second theme that runs through the corpus of the Church Fathers writings with regard to Christ's saving work is that Christ as teacher and illuminator makes known a new way of life, imparting true knowledge about God, man and human destiny. This theme has often been overlooked by modern interpreters, but it is a strong element especially in the earlier Fathers. Christianity spread among the pagans for one reason, because there was so much doubt and obscurity among them concerning life, death and future existence, concerning the meaning of a good life and the way to find help to lead a good life. This theme has an important relevance in the Church today, for like the earliest centuries in the Christian era, we too live in a time when such questions are being asked more and more frequently. The Church Fathers saw in Christ the illuminator, the teacher, the one who said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." (John 14/6) And so through Christ and as instruments of Christ, being the images, the living icons of Christ, the Church Fathers were able to impart true knowledge. In this era of skepticism, of relativism, and of doubt, we can learn much from the Church Fathers by proclaiming with vigor, clarity and strength the truth of who Jesus Christ is today, tomorrow and forever.
A third theme concerning Christ's saving work is that His life, death and resurrection as an example for our imitation as the way of Christian life. Christianity was often referred to as The Way because of what Jesus said of Himself. This theme is closely connected with the preceding ones of Christ being teacher and illuminator, although it makes those themes more concrete and explicit. Jesus brings not only a doctrine, but by His life, gives a way. One of the truly great gifts of the Church Fathers is in their capacity to integrate spirituality and teaching. They were not interested in communicating an abstract set of doctrines that demanded only intellectual assent. They were pastors and servants, most concerned with enabling and assisting their people to become holy and Christ like, taking into themselves the very attitudes of Christ as St. Paul urged of his fellow Christians. The Pauline teaching is certainly affirmed in the understanding and teaching of the theme of the Church Fathers that Christ's life, death and resurrection served as an example for our own way of life.
A fourth theme of the Fathers is that Christ's life, death and resurrection, especially His death out of love in obedience to God the Father, is a showing forth of God's love moving persons to respond with faith, hope and love. Some would see this as the exclusive, or as the main theme, of the Church Fathers. Although this is an exaggeration, this theme is constantly present and is very important. The great Pascal event of Christ's life, death and resurrection is the very heart and center of our Christian faith. The Church Fathers always see the Pascal event in relation to the entire working out of God's salvation plan.
A fifth theme is that Christ's saving work is seen as a victory over sin, over death, and over Satan. These three that are overcome - sin, death and Satan - are always closely related to each other by the Fathers. Sometimes Satan is seen more as a personification standing behind sin and death. Thus for the Fathers he is a very real person and force. We know for example in the early baptismal liturgy, of the strong and poignant prayers of exorcism that are prayed over the neophytes.
A sixth theme of Christ's saving work is that the Incarnation itself is saving. An exchange happens between God and humankind where we are divinized. Christ's death and resurrection, ascension and glorification, stand at the very center of Christ's saving act. Nevertheless from the moment of His conception, each of His actions and words participate in the wonder of redemption and the fulfillment of God's saving plan. An oft repeated patristic maxim states that God became man that man might become God by participation. The Church Fathers may never be accused of pantheism. When they say that God became man so that man might become God they are speaking by way of participation, not by way essence. Mankind originally shared the divine privilege of immortality. Sin is death and brings death. But through the Incarnation itself God becomes man. The Word divinizes human nature. The union of the divine and human natures in the Person of the Word restores and elevates human nature and destroys death. This theme is strongest in such Greek Fathers as Athanasius, Gregory of Nyssa, and Saint Cyril of Jerusalem. Undoubtedly it is to some extent influenced by Platonic philosophy, which conceived of human nature as an idea, or universal in which all individuals participate. Thus when the Word assumes and divinizes the individual human nature, every human person is affected by way of the universal human nature, the real nature. This is not simply a deduction from Platonic philosophy. It is a good example of the Fathers building upon and adding to the wisdom of the day, because it also expresses the conviction that salvation by Christ means divinization of human kind. These same Fathers stressed
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