For Unto Us a Child Is Born, Unto Us a Son Is Given; and the Government Shall Be Upon

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

“For everything which is of God is Christ; He Himself is the Wisdom of God, the Power of God, the Righteousness of God, Holiness and Redemption, and thus the Prudent Wisdom of God” (Origen).

The Reason: Death was inseminated throughout the world by one man’s submission to sin and life was granted to all by one Man’s submission to death. “In Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:22). Origen called Adam the “murderer of all men” since in Adam all must die. When Adam sinned in the Paradise of Eden, he committed a crime against the Eternal God; therefore, his crime was everlasting. Adam violated a command given by the Limitless God; therefore, his violation was without limits. Adam transgressed the commandment given by the Omnipresent God; therefore, his transgression was ubiquitous. Adam sinned and the price of his sin was eternal damnation; death was the consequence. Since his sin was against the Eternal and Limitless God, Adam’s death was to be eternal, he was to be exiled forever into the limitless and godforsaken abyss, tormented by the prince of the air; “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Sin exposed the nakedness of man. Hence, stigmatized by his actions, Adam hid himself from the sight of God. But the Omniscient God, who searches the hearts and comprehends the hidden thoughts of the mind, knew that to save Adam one greater than Adam must die; one who is without sin, untarnished, without blemish, impeccable, infallible, endless, limitless and eternal. God knew that He must send His only Son to redeem the world from Adam’s sin, that “whoever believes in Him may not perish but have everlasting life” (Jn. 3:16). It was imperative that the Word of God take flesh and die for the propitiation of mankind, “Through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). In order to save mankind both complete attributes and natures of God and man must be united in one person. St. Athanasius the Apostolic calls the Word the Man-God for He is complete Man and complete God. Origen writes, “When the Son of God wished to appear to men and live among men for the salvation of the human race, He took not only a human body but also a soul and one like our souls in its nature, but like Himself in purpose and power. Therefore, Saint Paul states, “Great is the mystery of godliness; God was manifested in the flesh” (1 Timothy 3:16).

“Sin is a turning away from His source of light, life and holiness, a fall into essential non-being out of the knowledge of God. Sin is the real death, of which bodily death is only an image” (Origen).

The Method: In the fullness of time, and after centuries of preparation, the divine plan of salvation was now in progress. By the collaboration of the Holy Spirit, the Christ was born of a virgin girl, according to the prophecies, “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Emmanuel” (Isa. 7:14). The Holy Spirit descended hypostatically into the Virgin’s womb in order to serve three quintessential purposes. First, the Virgin conceived without seed of man. The Holy Spirit enabled that miraculous occurrence to happen that the Lord Christ may be in her womb through no man. Hence the words of the angel, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Highest will overshadow you, therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). St. Augustine of Hippo exclaims, “The Word was born of the Father, without a mother, before all ages, and in the fullness of time the Word was born in the flesh of a mother, without a father, in order to save us.” Second, the Holy Spirit sanctified the womb of the Virgin that it may be a fitting place for the Creator of the universe. The womb of the Virgin became God’s kingdom; the Word dwelt within her for nine full months. Third, the Holy Spirit shielded the Word that by being born from mankind He may not be tarnished by the inheritable sin of Adam, for everyone born of flesh inherits Adam’s shame. The Holy Spirit purified and sanctified the Virgin’s womb so that the Child to whom she gave birth would inherit nothing of the original sin, hence the term “Immaculate Conception.”

The Purpose: God created man in His own image and likeness. When man sinned he lost the image that was given him. The desire of God was to restore man once again to his authority, bestowing upon him once again the liberty of life that was granted him from the beginning of creation. Christ became man to renew the image of God in man that man might become once more in the image of God. The whole world has fallen and needed setting aright; in Christ all might be made alive. Origen gives 7 purposes for the incarnation: 1) To Join us with Himself “The reason is that man, to avoid serving God, has risen in futile revolt against God; and the Father, who is the Creator of all beings, in His wish to redeem mankind has sent into this world the Logs, His Only-begotten Son, to the end that the Son might be made flesh and go forth, without changing His divine nature, to preach deliverance to the captives and to give sight to the blind” (Origen). 2) To renew our nature “ The Lord became man to resurrect our fallen human nature, and to change it from earth unto heaven. Therefore, our Lord and Savior wanting to resurrect that which had gone into the earth, took an earthly body that he might carry it raised up from the earth to heaven” (Origen). 3) To grant man victory over sin, the evil world and the devil “We have fallen under the power of our enemies, namely, the ‘ruler of this age’ and his subordinate evil powers; hence we required redemption, through the One who buys us back from our state of alienation from Him. Hence our Savior gave His own blood as a ransom for us” (Origen). 4) To grant man victory on death “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death” (Revelation 21:4). 5) To grant us the true effective knowledge “Within the divinity of the Word is power not only to help and cure those who are sick but to show to the pure in body and mind the revelation of the mystery” (Origen). 6) To convert the lost sheep of the house of Israel “All of Israel will be saved. The deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn ungodliness from Jacob” (Romans 11:26) 7) He registers as the Head of our race “We register Christ as our head through the divine regeneration, which has become a pattern for us, of His death and resurrection” (Origen).

“Give me Yourself, O my God! Restore yourself to me! Behold I love You, and if it be too little, let me love you more strongly” (St. Augustine of Hippo).