What is the Meaning of the Divine Incarnation? (1970)
Author: Bishop Bimen (1930–1986)
Source: Studies and Meditations on the Major Feasts, vol. 1 (1983).
The second contemplation in Anba Bimen’s set of reflections on the Major Feasts of the Coptic Church.
What is the Meaning of the Divine Incarnation?
In ancient times, God interacted with humanity in various ways. At one time, God appears in the form of a flame of fire in the bush; then at another time, in the form of angels, and a third time in the form of a flame of fire. It is time, however, for God to take flesh and become a human being like us in every respect except for sin alone. This is something that surpasses all imagination and exceeds all human thought and reason. If the Divine Incarnation is thus the greatest and most significant event in human history, then what does it mean for God and man?
The Incarnation is a Clear Expression of the Essence of Love
If the purpose behind the creation of man was for this unique creature to enjoy a life of holy fellowship with God, then the incarnation also comprehends the extremity of this love. For just as God loved man and created him in order to grant him joy, love, life and the divine glory, so also has He come down to him, taken his nature and became man in order to restore to us this life of holy fellowship. This fellowship in turn revived us from our fall, raised us up from our death and granted us eternal life after the death, of which we became worthy after the disobedience of Adam, our first parent.
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The Holy Scripture speaks of this: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (Jn 3:16). The Father’s intention was to fill this hungry being, and so He presented him with the true living bread, granting him the gift of His incarnation so that he might receive the living bread that came down from heaven which, if anyone eats of it, he will live forever. This bread which He gives is His body which He offers for the life of the world. Thus, the Lord declared by His own pure mouth, “he who eats of Me will live through Me” (Jn 6:51–55).
Sin shattered the unity between God and man, but the Lord Jesus restored this unity through His incarnation and ushered it into the boundaries of eternity, for in His person alone do God and man meet — divinity with humanity — in a union without separation, without mingling, without confusion and without alteration.[1]A phrase from the Confession prayer in the liturgy of St Basil, where the celebrant confesses that the bread and the wine of the Eucharist have truly become “the lifegiving body which our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ took of our Lady, the Holy Theotokos Saint Mary and made one with His divinity without mingling, without confusion and without alteration.” This is what the Apostle Paul declares in his letter to Ephesus: “that He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth” (Eph 1:10). And thus He says to His Heavenly Father, “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am … I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them” (Jn 17:24–26).
It was the Heavenly Father’s intention that the Son should participate with mankind in this human nature, that He might resemble His brethren in everything, as the Apostle Paul, author of the epistle to the Hebrews, says: “Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself
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has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted” (Heb 2:17–18). And in another place he says, “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Heb 2:14–15).
The Incarnation reveals the meaning of life and time:
If the Son had not been incarnate and entered human history, deeply binding Himself to our miseries, then life would have no meaning and man would fall beneath the onslaught of time, overcome by the burden of anxiety, boredom, ennui and despair. This is what one contemporary atheist philosopher in France expressed when he says, “I know of no meaning for my life; my existence is a mistake which has no explanation.”[2]No reference is given but likely candidates are Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre. A Christian, on the other hand, is aware of their mission and understands the meaning of their life very well, for it has been clearly explained to them by the Lord Jesus who became for us wisdom, pardon, holiness and redemption from God.
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Since the incarnation, life has become a mission, and all who believe in the Child of Bethlehem are well aware that life is not merely eating, drinking and merriment followed by deprivation and death, for God has entered into man’s history in order to bring man into the depths of God’s heart.
After Christ, life has become for Christ: “For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living” (Rom 14:8–9).
“And He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Cor 5:15).
And the life which I now live, I live in the risen Christ, by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.[3]Cf. Gal 2:20, “and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
From this perspective, there is no such thing as “the problem of man” or the problem of life with all the good and evil all the joy and suffering it contains; for faith has a piercing eye which perceives the things that are invisible and believes that all things work together for good for those who love God, and who believe that our beloved, mighty Emmanuel is with us and in our midst.
The incarnation has given meaning to time, for we have come to understand the past in terms of the divine economy[su_tooltip style=”dark” position=”north” size=”2″ content=”al-tadbīr al-ilahī, lit. the divine arrangement or management. In Orthodox theology, the divine economy refers to God’s providential management of the world’s affairs. The term is derived from oikonomia which means the wisdom or skill of managing a household well.”][4][/su_tooltip] and the plan of the Heavenly Father to prepare humanity
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to accept the newborn of Bethlehem. This is what the Holy Scripture declares when it says, “When the fullness of time had come” (Gal 4:4): the fullness of time is the fruition of the economy of the Old Testament.
Thus:
- The past was a preparation for the Incarnation.
- The present is the enjoyment of the incarnation through the Church and its divine mysteries.
- And the future is the anticipation of the Second Coming, awesome and full of glory, when the elect will be perfected and when God will make an end of time upon the fulfilment of the Church’s members, which is the goal of all existence. In this regard, a theologian once said, “The world was created in order to become a church.”[5]It is unclear who Bishop Bimen has in mind here, but this is an ancient saying, going back at least to the 2nd century Shepherd of Hermas. In that text, the author describes a vision in which he is shown an elderly woman and told that she is the Church. When he asks why she is so old, the reply is: “Because she was created first of all. On this account is she old. And for her sake was the world made.” (Hermas 2.4, trans. A. Roberts and J. Donaldson, 1865).” The Divine Incarnation therefore reveals to us that God is at work through history: “My Father is working, and I am working” (Jn 5:17). He worked in the past and He continues to work now, and He will continue to work, making use of all temporal events, both the harsh and the pleasant, the resistant
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and the malleable, that the Lord might be glorified in His Church with the glory He has with Father. As Christians, we believe that God works within us and works within history to bring His intentions to fulfillment.
Christians believe that the incarnation of God did not involve any change in His holy essence, for the one who believes that God created man from clay, in a defined place and at a particular time, believes that God took flesh at a particular time and a defined moment, [and this] does not make Him limited or mean that any change or alteration occurred in Him.[6]This sentence is unclear in the original.
The Church’s Responsibility towards the Divine Body
The initiative reaching down from heaven must be met by a corresponding move from man. God descended from His glory and united Himself to us, becoming one with us and in us, but this love of His must be met with a love that flows forth from the hearts of his believers who love him.
The Apostle John says, “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! … Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” (1 Jn 3:1; 4:11).
If the Son came down to us, it was in order to focus our thoughts on His person and concentrate our feelings on His divine self, as St Athanasius the Apostolic says in his book On the Incarnation, and as the Apostle Paul also says: “ For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil 3:20). At the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus, which is full
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of glory, the redeemed, whose hearts are filled with love, will see their Redeemer who came down in order to draw them up to Himself.
We will see martyrs whose heads were cut off by the sword, before whom the heavens were opened so that they could see the Son of God in His glory, He who was the desire of their hearts and the hope of their lives.
We will see monks and anchorites who exiled themselves from humanity and human things so that their hands could remain always raised in prayer and their hearts aflame with love for the Heavenly Bridegroom.
We will see servants and preachers and teachers and laypeople who laboured much for His names sake, whose last breaths were words of final inspiration.[7]kānat ākhir ānfās-hum taraddad kalimāt al-waḥī al-ākhīra
“Come O Lord Jesus! Yes, come quickly!”
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Notes:
| ↑1 | A phrase from the Confession prayer in the liturgy of St Basil, where the celebrant confesses that the bread and the wine of the Eucharist have truly become “the lifegiving body which our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ took of our Lady, the Holy Theotokos Saint Mary and made one with His divinity without mingling, without confusion and without alteration.” |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | No reference is given but likely candidates are Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre. |
| ↑3 | Cf. Gal 2:20, “and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” |
| ↑4 | A reference to St Clement of Alexandria’s treatise The Instructor (Paidagōgos), in which God is depicted as humanity’s teacher or tutor, using various methods to raise and lead infantile human beings to maturity and wisdom. |
| ↑5 | It is unclear who Bishop Bimen has in mind here, but this is an ancient saying, going back at least to the 2nd century Shepherd of Hermas. In that text, the author describes a vision in which he is shown an elderly woman and told that she is the Church. When he asks why she is so old, the reply is: “Because she was created first of all. On this account is she old. And for her sake was the world made.” (Hermas 2.4, trans. A. Roberts and J. Donaldson, 1865).” |
| ↑6 | This sentence is unclear in the original. |
| ↑7 | kānat ākhir ānfās-hum taraddad kalimāt al-waḥī al-ākhīra |
How to cite this text (Chicago/Turabian):
Bishop Bimen of Mallawi. “What is the Meaning of the Divine Incarnation?” [Mādhā ya‘nī al-tajassud al-ilahī?]. In Studies and Meditations on the Major Feasts [Dirāsāt wa ta ta’āmulāt fī-l-ā‘yād al-kubrā], vol. I, 16–22. Mallawi: Metropolitanate of Mallawi Press, 1983. Translated by Samuel Kaldas. Edited by David Aziz. In Archive of Contemporary Coptic Orthodox Theology. Sydney, NSW: St Cyril’s Coptic Orthodox Theological College. https://accot.stcyrils.edu.au/bbim-inc1983/.
(For more information, see Citation Guidelines)
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