Friday, May 16, 2014

The Price of Mediation: Christ Paid a Ransom for All

This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.  For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.  (1 Tim 2:3-6)

[Paul] wants all to enjoy salvation.  Then he confirms the statement on another basis as well—there is not one maker of the faithful and another of the unfaithful.  There is one creator, one broker of peace, who brought together in himself what were apart.  He spoke of Christ as man since he called him mediator: by becoming man he acted as mediator.  Just as the person wanting to reconcile two parties by the right hand and the other by the left and brings them together in friendship, likewise in his case by uniting humanity to the divine nature, he brought about entire and indissoluble peace.  If on the contrary, according to Arius and Eunomius, he has no share in the being of the Father, how is he a mediator?  While he is united with us in so far as he is one in being with us in terms of humanity, he is not likewise united with the Father if, in their view, he is removed from that nature.  But the divine apostle called him mediator.  Consequently, he is united both with the Father in divinity and also likewise with us in humanity.

Theodoret of Cyrus, “The First Epistle to Timothy”

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