WHAT IS NOT ASSUMED, IS NOT SAVED: CHRIST'S HYPOSTATIC UNION

 

Our first parents, after being given everything in the garden by their Creator, were given just one prohibition, one law, by the Creator,

“16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.” (Gn 2-16-17)

The Creator, the Perfect Judge, promulgated to Adam and Eve this one law which carried a sanction of death if violated. Adam and Eve broke this law and as a result brought death into the world. Being the Perfect Judge, God had no choice but to impose the penalty of death, not only upon Adam and Eve, but upon all of their offspring, all of humanity to follow.

Since God created everything that exists including man ex nihilo, out of nothing, death for man meant that he would return to a state of non-existence. For God, our omnipotent Creator, this was unacceptable, yet, as the Perfect Judge the penalty of death would have to stand.

There was only one thing God could do while remaining both a Perfectly Just Judge and an Omnipotent Creator. God, the Creator of the universe, would have to become Incarnate, assuming all of the elements of human nature except for sin while at the same time retaining all of His divine nature. This is accomplished in the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Christ was both fully human and fully divine. He was not half human and half divine, nor could you say that Christ was a mixture of both human and divine natures. We refer to Christ’s dual natures as the Hypostatic union, which is a technical term in Christian theology employed in mainstream Christology to describe the union of Christ's humanity and divinity in one hypostasis, or individual existence.

Having totally and completely assumed a human nature, our Lord could now take the punishment of death for all mankind. For our Lord was the only one who could take the penalty in our stead and not remain in death and thus return to a state of non-existence because of his divine nature.

The whole point of this blog post is to emphasize that God TRULY took on human flesh to save us from sin and death, from returning to a state of non-existence. He assumed human nature in its entirety and took what was meant for us upon himself. Please always keep in mind, WHAT IS NOT ASSUMED, IS NOT SAVED! Thank you, Jesus!

ARE YOU IMPORTANT?

ARE YOU IMPORTANT?

These are the very first words of the song, Here I Am to Worship, “Light of the world

You stepped down into darkness.”  Upon hearing this song this morning, I couldn’t help but think of how people want to be important but fail to realize just how important and valued they truly are.  

One only needs to ponder two things deeply and carefully to realize just how important they are.

The first thing is to consider how God is the Creator of all that exists. He is “Maker of all things visible and invisible,” according to what we profess in the Nicene Creed. Think deeply about what is being said here. God created the entire universe, the ends of which science will most likely never determine, a vast universe containing billions of galaxies, containing billions upon billions of stars and planets. Think also of the microscopic world with all of its intricate detail and complexities, many of which still escape the knowledge of modern science.

The second thing to consider is that the same Creator God mentioned above chose to descend upon our earthly realm, making his appearance in history as a helpless infant no less.

Why did He do this, you ask?

God chose to become both fully human and fully divine in order to fulfill his mission of restoring creation to its originally intended condition prior to Adam & Eve’s fall in the garden - to redeem us. He accomplished this mission through his life, passion, death, and resurrection. The Creator God assumed our human nature so that we could have the opportunity to share in his divine nature. This happens when we unite ourselves with Christ, the Word made Flesh. To share in God’s divine nature is to be given the opportunity to experience the ultimate happiness of living eternally in the presence of God.

Without God’s incarnation and redemption, we were in danger of returning to a state of nonexistence (nothingness), since God created everything from nothing, and God being God, He was not about to allow that to happen.

How important are you? VERY IMPORTANT!

To learn more about the subject, consider reading St. Athanasius'

On the Incarnation

Also enjoy Father John Behr’s talks on St. Athanasius’ work on YouTube

Jesus, Our Friend

 

When you come to know Him, and grow in your relationship with Him, you will soon realize He is the most trusted, loyal, and faithful Friend you’ll ever have! He may be the only true friend you'll ever have!

Are You a Real MAN?

Are you a MAN, or do you just think you’re a MAN? Just as merely uttering the words, ‘I love you’ are meaningless without them being made manifest through action, calling yourself a MAN, is equally as meaningless without acting like one!

What must I do to be a real MAN you ask? God provided us the perfect example of what it is to be a MAN in our Lord Jesus Christ! Another great example is St. Joseph, the man God charged to love and care for His very Son, as well as our Blessed Mother!

Want to be a REAL MAN? For starters, take a little time away from the things far less important, pray for wisdom, and get yourself a copy of Father Larry Richards latest book, Be A Man, and as you read it allow the words to sink in and take root! Then ask God for the grace and strength to make the necessary changes in your life!

Father Larry is right on target, and pulls no punches in offering his words of wisdom in the areas of love, marital fidelity, lust, sex, and everything else we need to know about to really and truly Be A Man!