Who is Christ?
Bishop Moussa
The Lord Jesus Christ is
not simply a man who thinks that He is God, for He is God manifest in the
flesh, as St. Paul the Apostle says: "Great is the mystery of
godliness" (1 Tim. 3: 16).
God is a simple
spirit Who fills heaven and earth and Whom we cannot
see with out eyes because they are material and
limited. That is why He had to take a tangible body free from sin so that
we could see Him. This is just like the waves that are sent via radio and
ffb television which are diffused everywhere but are
invisible. We can only see them if they are "embodied’ in a voice or
image. The same is true of the electrical current which is present in the
electrical outlet but which is only visible when it is connected to a lamp, and
if we are foolhardy enough to touch it, we feel a tremor through our bodies
which could kill us without our even seeing it.
Incarnation, therefore, is necessary for us to see God and does
not conflict with:
1. The Power of
God
On the contrary, the
Incarnation is a proof of God’s power for He is omnipotent and can do all
things. He can remain a simple spirit or be visibly manifest as man,
fire, or a voice.
2. The Holiness of
God
The incarnation does not conflict with the holiness
of God as some people imagine. God can dwell as a body, for He dwells
everywhere and in everything, no matter how simple, or even no matter how
impure. He is like a purifying sun that pervades
piles of rubbish to
purify them without Himself being contaminated by them.
3. The Love of God
If God were not love, He
would have been satisfied to remain high in the tower of heaven, leaving us in
the mire of the earth. But thanks be to the
loving God who descended to us to carry us in His arms and rise with us to
heaven so that we live with Him there for ever.
Was it possible for Him to look down on us and say: "Come to Me, I am
waiting for you in heaven"? How were we to ascend to Him with our
weak and fallen natures? That is why He condescended to come to us to
carry us in His arms and to take us where He is. This is the only logical
and possible way. "I carried you on the wings of the eagle and
brought you to Me."
Some Comparisons of the
Incarnation by St. Athanasius:
1. Comparison to a
King
If we imagine a king
choosing a city in a kingdom to live in, this city will become the capital and
will have special honor. The residence of the king in one of the houses
is the same as his residence in all the houses. If we assume that the
citizens of this city neglected its defense and security, and that the enemies
surmounted the walls and attacked the citizens, will the king allow this
saying: "They are responsible"? Or will he rise to save
them and to defend the kingdom, considering that any harm that befalls one of
them befalls him personally?
This is exactly
what happened in the Incarnation. When God dwelt in the womb of the
Virgin Mary, He accepted to live in all men. This is natural because God
is omnipresent and is limited by nothing.
Although the sons of men neglected the defense of their human nature and
allowed Satan to overcome it, this did not make God abandon us, but on the
contrary, He arose to our defense and came to save us.
2. Comparison to
an Artist.
Let us visualize a father
who has an only son and that this son is to go on a long journey. The
father calls an artist and asks him to paint a beautiful picture of his son so
that he can see him in it during his absence. This happened but after a
while, things fell on this picture that
spoilt it completely. What will the father do since the son has actually
gone? He calls the artist and a ffb sks him to restore the
picture, but the artist asks that the son come back so that he can repaint the
picture. When the son returned, the artist wanted to tear up the
distorted image and to paint a new one, but the father strongly objected to
this saying: "Restore the old picture and do not tear it up because
in it I see the image of my beloved son every day." And that is how
the gifted artist repainted the picture on the same old canvas.
What does this mean?
God created us in His
own image but when we distorted that image, He came down Himself and restored
it to its original condition without destroying humanity and creating a new
humanity. How great is the wisdom and love of God for us!!
3. Comparison to a
Straw and Asbestos
St. Athanasius compared
human nature to a straw that can be burnt because of "sin and
condemnation". However, if we envelop this
straw in asbestos, which is not inflammable, we can preserve this
straw from fire. In the same way, when man "puts on the Lord
Jesus", He protects us from the fire of condemnation and everlasting
perdition, and God preserves him for a happy eternity with Him.
An Important Question:
Was the Lord Jesus able
during His life on earth to prove that He is truly God? Of course He
did. He did many works that are impossible for an ordinary human, or even
a prophet, to do. They had to be done by God. Some examples of these
works are:
1. Absolute
Holiness
The Lord Jesus Christ
proved His absolute holiness that nobody could deny. It is He Who said:
"Which of you can accuse me of sin?" Mouths were stopped and tongues
tied because of His great and amazing holiness. Everybody believes this
for He is the only one who was not touched by Satan for the simple reason that
He is not an ordinary human. He is God manifest in man.
2. Absolute
Authority
The Lord had absolute
authority over all creatures and living things,
and even over thoughts, the future, and sin.
a.
Authority over matter:
The feeding of the
multitudes (Mt. 14: 13-21).
b. Authority over plants:
He cursed the fig tree (Mt. 21: 18-22).
c. Authority over animals:
The pigs (Mk. 5: 1-20), and catching fish (Lk.
5: 1-11).
d. Authority over man:
In illness (innumerable miracles). In death: the raising of Jarius’ daughter (Mk. 5: 35-43), and of the son of the
widow of Nain (Lk. 7: 11-17), and of Lazarus (Jn. 11:
1-44). Then there was His raising of Himself from death (Jn. 20, 21).
e. Authority of spirits:
He cast out spirits with one word (Mk. 5: 1-20), (Mk. 9: 25).
f. Authority over sin:
He forgave the sins of the paralytic (Mk. 2: 6-8).
g. Authority over thoughts:
He knew the thoughts of men without their saying anything (Mk. 8:
16,17), (Mk. 2: 6-8).
h. Authority over the future:
He prophesied about the destruction of Jerusalem (Mt. 24:
1-51), about Peter’s denial (Mt. 26: 34),
and about His death (Jn. 21: 18,19).
3. His Marvelous
Effectiveness
The Lord Jesus was
able to discern hearts with surpassing gentleness, and thus Christianity spread
quickly all over the known world by means of a group of simple men and
fishermen filled with the Holy Spirit.
One session alone with
the Lord Jesus Christ is enough to shake the fortress of evil in man and to
make him repent. And through constant
fellowship, the sinner can change into a saint. Who can
bring this about unless he is God, Who created man in the first place and Who alone is able to change him?
Come therefore, my young friend, let us get to know this Wonderful
Savior, this Mighty God, this Loving Father, for "Nor is there salvation
in any other." (Acts 4: 12).
|| Pope Shenouda || Father Matta || Bishop Mattaous || Fr. Tadros Malaty || Bishop Moussa || Bishop Alexander || Habib Gerguis || Bishop Angealos || Metropolitan Bishoy ||
|| The Orthodox Faith (Dogma) || Family and Youth || Sermons || Bible Study || Devotional || Spirituals || Fasts & Feasts || Coptics || Religious Education || Monasticism || Seasons || Missiology || Ethics || Ecumenical Relations || Church Music || Pentecost || Miscellaneous || Saints || Church History || Pope Shenouda || Patrology || Canon Law || Lent || Pastoral Theology || Father Matta || Bibles || Iconography || Liturgics || Orthodox Biblical topics || Orthodox articles || St Chrysostom ||
|| Bible Study || Biblical topics || Bibles || Orthodox Bible Study || Coptic Bible Study || King James Version || New King James Version || Scripture Nuggets || Index of the Parables and Metaphors of Jesus || Index of the Miracles of Jesus || Index of Doctrines || Index of Charts || Index of Maps || Index of Topical Essays || Index of Word Studies || Colored Maps || Index of Biblical names Notes || Old Testament activities for Sunday School kids || New Testament activities for Sunday School kids || Bible Illustrations || Bible short notes|| Pope Shenouda || Father Matta || Bishop Mattaous || Fr. Tadros Malaty || Bishop Moussa || Bishop Alexander || Habib Gerguis || Bishop Angealos || Metropolitan Bishoy ||
|| Prayer of the First Hour || Third Hour || Sixth Hour || Ninth Hour || Vespers (Eleventh Hour) || Compline (Twelfth Hour) || The First Watch of the midnight prayers || The Second Watch of the midnight prayers || The Third Watch of the midnight prayers || The Prayer of the Veil || Various Prayers from the Agbia || Synaxarium