What is a Church Father and are you still talking about new creation?

Saint Athanasius
Saint Athanasius

Those of the Christian faith today stand on the shoulders of giants. God has gifted the church with brilliant theologians and defenders of the faith, whose work has not only stood the test of time, but has enlightened generations of the faithful. Some of these folks are known as “Church Fathers.” One of those church fathers is Athanasius of Alexandria.

Athanasius lived in the 4th Century (c.296-373) and was Bishop of Alexandria, Egypt. During his time as the Bishop he was sent into exile on five different occasions due to various decisions from whichever emperor was in power at the time. He is best known, however, for his work during the Council of Nicaea which happened before he was even a bishop. He was a brilliant defender of the faith, and specifically the Trinity.

During Lent I read St. Athanasius’ book, “On the Incarnation,” which theologian and church historian, David Bentley Hart calls, “one of the masterpieces of the early Church’s reflections on salvation and deification in Christ.” (p.75) In this writing, Athanasius has some powerful things to say about creation and salvation.

He writes:

“He (Christ) has been manifested in a human body for this reason only, out of the love and goodness of His Father, for the salvation of us men. We will begin then, with the creation of the world and with God its Maker, for the first fact that you must grasp is this: the renewal of creation has been wrought by the Self-same Word Who made it in the beginning. There is thus no inconsistency between creation and salvation for the One Father has employed the same Agent for both works, effecting the salvation of the world through the same Word Who made it in the beginning.”

Athanasius makes this powerful connection between creation, incarnation, and salvation. Again, this supports the emphasis on New Creation this Easter season, not only because it is an ancient insight of the Church, but also because it stresses the consistency and faithfulness of our Creator God. This connection in our theology is vital in order for us to avoid the error of Gnosticism. It is interesting how different traditions within Christianity are better at making this connection more explicit. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, for example, they read John 1:1-17 as a part of their Easter worship. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” Then they sing:

Christ is risen from the dead,
trampling down death by death,
and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!

I hope this emphasis on New Creation and this connection of salvation with Creation helps to broaden your understanding of just what the Church means by “salvation.” It is a thick concept, full of meaning and promise. What if the power of God, the Faithful, Creator God, was greater than the power of sin? If that is the case, then the verse from the old Charles Wesley hymn would ring true:

He breaks the power of cancelled sin,
He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean,
His blood availed for me.

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