THE HUMAN NATURE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST ACCORDING TO ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY AND OUR OWN HUMANITY

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God and Savior,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

THE HUMAN NATURE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST ACCORDING

TO ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY AND

OWN HUMANITY.

BEING PERFECT GOD, CHRIST THE SAVIOR IS AT THE SAME TIME

ALSO PERFECT MAN.

As Man, Christ was born when for Mary, His Mother2:40), "the days were accomplished that she should be delivered" (Luke 2:6). He gradually "grew, and waxed strong in spirit" (Luke 2:40). As Mary’s son, He "was subject unto her and her spouse" (Luke 2:51). As Man, He was baptized by John in the Jordan; He went about the cities and villages with the preaching of salvation; not once before once before His Resurrection did He encounter a need to prove His humanity to anyone. He experienced hunger and thirst, the need for rest and sleep, and He suffered painful feelings and physical sufferings.

Living the physical life natural to a man, the Lord also lived the life of the soul as a man. He strengthened His spiritual powers with fasting and prayer. He experienced human feelings; JOY, ANGER, SORROW; He expressed them outwardly: "He was troubled in spirit" (John 13:21), showed dissatisfaction, shed tears–for example, at the death of Lazarus. The Gospels reveal to us a powerful spiritual battle in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before He was taken under guard: "My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death" (Matthew 26:38)–thus did the Lord describe the state of His soul to His Disciples.

The rational, conscious human will of Jesus Christ unfailingly placed all human strivings in submission to the Divine will in HImself. A strikingly evident image of this is given in the Passion of the Lord, which began in the Garden of Gethsemane: "O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt" (Matthew 26:39).

Concerning the truth of the Savior’s fully human nature, the Holy Fathers of the Church speak thus:

Saint Cyril of Alexandria: "If the nature which He received had not had a human mind, then the one who entered into battle with the devil was God Himself; and it was therefore God Who gained the victory. But if God was victorious, then I, who did not participate in this victory at all, do not receive any benefit from it. Therefore I cannot rejoice over it, for I would then be boasting of someone else’s trophies."

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem: "If the becoming man was a phantom, then salvation is a dream." Other Holy Fathers expressed themselves similarly.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Jesus Christ possesses a complete uncorrupted human nature–comprising a human mind, soul, and body–united without confusion or separation to His Divine Nature in one Divine Person. Christ’s humanity is identical to ours in every way EXCEPT FOR PERSONAL SIN, serving as the archetype for true, RESTORED HUMANITY. The Orthodox Church views Christ as the Second Adam. Where the first Adam fell into sin and fractured human potential, Christ lived A SINLESS HUMAN LIFE SUCCESSFULLY FULFILLING THE PURPOSE OF HUMANITY.

The purpose toward a Christlike humanity is the ULTIMATE GOAL OF HUMAN EXISTENCE in Orthodox, a transformative process known as THEOSIS (Deification). Human are created in the "image" of God (possessing free will, rationality, and capacity for love), while the "likeness" IS SOMETHING WE ARE CALLED TO ACTIVELY ATTAIN THROUGH GRACE AND MORAL COOPERATION (SYNERGY) WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT. Becoming Christlike does not mean becoming a separate god by essence,but rather sharing in the divine energies and love of God through participation in Christ’s body, the Church, via prayer, Mysteries (Sacraments), and virtue.

Our Lord Christ’s incarnation restores human nature and enables us to participate in the divine life "with our humanity" through the grace of the Holy Spirit. According to the Orthodox Church, theosis (deification) is our becoming more like God through His grace or Divine energies. In creation, humans were made in the "image" and "likeness" of God )Genesis 1:26) according to human nature. In other words, all of humanity by nature is an icon or image of God. From the beginning, we were meant to share in the Life of the Holy Trinity. Through sin, however, we damaged this icon. Our Lord’s Incarnation restores all of humanity to its full potential.

Today, however, there is a serious concern that, little by little, and by turning away from God, may be losing his true humanity. In other words, the "likeness." Is that possible? In Orthodox Christian theology, when a believer stops striving toward the likeness of God, they experience spiritual stagnation or illness. Their soul turns away from grace, loses its inner light and darkens. This state weakens their relationship with God, though His mercy remains open for repentance. Theosis is the lifelong process of growing closer to God and gaining His likeness. Stopping this effort means the soul moves backward, as spiritual life requires constant movement of spiritual progress. Under these circumstances the soul loses the Uncreated Light of God. When the passions and bad habits and, instead, selfish desires fill the empty space. Our true humanity is in crisis but God never abandons the soul, sincere repentance (metanoia) can always restore the path. As long as there is repentance, there is healing and restoration for all those who desire to keep the "likeness" of God alive and pure.

Man must not make the same mistake as the first Adam. The eating of the forbidden fruit immediately drew after itself the whole sum of lamentable moral and physical consequences. The eating of the fruit was only the beginning of moral deviation, the first push; but it was so poisonous and ruinous that it was already impossible to return to the previous sanctity and righteousness; on the contrary, there was revealed an inclination to travel farther on the path of apostasy from God. The physical consequences of the fall are diseases, hard labor, and death. These wre the natural result of the moral fall, the falling away from communion with God,

For Orthodox Christians living a Christlike life means participating in the very life of God through a continuous journey of transformation called THEOSIS (Deification). It is not merely following ethical rules, but allowing the Holy Spirit to heal and unite your whole person–mind, heart, and body–into the likeness of Jesus Christ through agape, worship, and genuine humility. It means cooperating with God’s grace to grow spiritually closer to Him. Uniting human effort with Divine Uncreated energies while keeping your human identity. Restoring the communion with God that was lost after humanity’s fall. It also means participating frequently in the Mysteriake (Sacramental) life like the Holy Eucharist and Confession. The Orthodox Christian views the Holy Church as the Living Body of Christ and the meeting place between God and humanity. Praying continually, both in community during divine services and privately in a daily prayer discipline. Practicing internal discipline, self-denial, self-control, and vigilance against selfish passions (like pride and anger). Fasting and giving to the poor to divorce ourselves from attachments to material comfort and earthly success. Guarding one’s thoughts (nepsis) to keep the mind focused on God rather than worldly things. This is the way of protecting our humanity and keeping it authentic and in the "likeness" of our Lord Jesus Christ.

_________

"Glory Be To GOD

For

All Things!"

+ Saint John Chrysostomos

+ + +

With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),

The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+ Father George