Human Life and Union with God through the Single Person of the
God-Man.
Gregory sees the meaning and goal of human life in
"deification," in actual union with the Divinity. This is possible because "that
which is dominant" in man has been made in the image of God. More importantly,
it is possible through the "humanity of God." From this point of view a clear
dogma of the completeness of the two natures united in the Hypostasis and Person
of the God-man is vitally important for Gregory's doctrine of salvation.
Gregory's teaching is similar to that of Athanasius, but while Athanasius
opposes the heresies of the Arians by stressing the absoluteness of the Divinity
within the God-man, Gregory in writing against Apollinarius emphasizes Christ's
humanity. The basic principle of his soteriology is that if human nature has not
been fully assumed by Christ, it can be neither healed nor saved by Him. As part
of his polemic against the Apollinarians he advances the doctrine of the
"substantial" union "of two natures" within the single person of the
God-man.
Christ was born, the laws of nature were breached, and the
lower world became full. "I proclaim the glory of this day. He Who is
incorporeal has become incarnate, the Word has been firmly fixed, the Invisible
has become visible, the Impalpable can now be touched, Timelessness has begun,
and the Son of God has become the Son of man." The birth of Christ is a
theophany and "God is made manifest in being born." God has not only become
manifest, for the incarnation is a true "assumption" of human nature. "He
assumes my flesh in order to save His image and to make the flesh immortal,"
Gregory writes. "Each mystery of Christ causes me great rejoicing, and the
greatest joy is my perfection, that I am made perfect, given new life, and that
I return to the First Adam." This is a "new and wonderful commingling."
"When man failed to become god, God made Himself a man to do me
honor," Gregory writes. "God was uncompound from the beginning. He became united
with human nature, and then He was nailed to the cross by the hands of His
murderers. This is our teaching about God, Who has become one with us." Christ
is God incarnate, and not a defied man. In Christ "human nature is completely
joined with the whole Divinity, not in the way that a prophet, divinely
inspired, is in communion with God Himself, with something divine, but in
essence, so that God has humanity in the way that the sun has rays." In Christ
humanity is "anointed" not merely by an action of God but by His presence. At
the same time God has completely assumed human nature. "In brief, Gregory says
in conclusion, "our Savior is both one and the other." He then qualifies
himself: "But He is not only one plus the other, for both of them are commingled
so that God has become man and man has been deified." Gregory chooses words
which emphasize the intimacy and completeness of this union in which the
components nevertheless retain their individuality.
The Two Natures of Christ, the God-Man.
In the eclectic language of Hellenism κρασις, ουγκρασισ, and μιξισ, all of which designate
“commingling,” stand in opposition to ουγχυσις, which implies absorption, and
παραθεισις, which indicates a mechanical union or juxtaposition. According to
Alexander Aphrodisias, the author of a well-known commentary on Aristotle, κρασις signifies the
“complete and mutual union of two or more bodies in such a way that each
retains its own essence and substantial properties." He uses the image of fire
and iron as an example, and this image was adopted by the patristic writers as a
symbol of the unity of natures in the God-man. Later the use of this term was
altered. "Commingling" was also the most exact term from the vocabulary of
philosophy to express the orthodox conception of the unconfused unity of the
two, at least until it was tainted by the heretical usage of the Monophysites.
In "commingling" the doubleness is maintained and the unity is also recognized.
It signifies "one" and "two" at the same time, and this is precisely the mystery
of the Person of Christ. He is not two, but "one from two."
Gregory clearly distinguishes the "two natures" of Christ. One
nature is "subject to suffering" and the other is "immutable and above
suffering." This is the main thrust of his exegetical polemic against the
Arians. "There was a time when He who is now despised by you was superior to
you. Now He is a man, but once His nature was not compound. He remains that
which He has always been, and He has assumed that which He previously did not
have." Gregory examines the evidence of this double nature contained in the
Gospel by considering the "mystery of the names," the mystery of the double
names and the double symbols, the manger and the star. All names and all
symbols, however, refer to one and the same, "One God from both."
"He was a mortal, but also God; He was from the tribe of David,
but He was also the Creator of Adam; He had a body, but was incorporeal; He was
borne by the Virgin, but could not be contained; the cradle held Him, but the
Magi were led to Him by the star. As a man He struggled, but He cannot be
overcome and He defeated the tempter three times. As a mortal He was subject to
sleep, but as God He tamed the seas. He was tired by His journeys, but He gave
strength to the weak. He prayed, but who is it who hears the prayers of those
who are perishing? He was a Victim, but also the High Priest. He is a Priest,
but He is God." He is One Person, One God-man, One Christ, One Son, and "not two
sons," which is the false teaching of Apollinarius. His two natures have been joined in essence and have penetrated each
other. Gregory is the first to use the word κρασις to express the unity of the
two natures in the God-man. “His natures and His names have been
commingled and therefore they each are transformed into the other."
The Divinity remains immortal and humanity is "deified." The
unity of the two natures in the person of Christ is based on the principle that
"that which is strongest is victorious." By "deification" Gregory does not imply
that human nature is transformed or that it undergoes transsubstantiation. What
he means is that it is in complete communion and interpenetration with the
Divinity. In the God-man human nature has been deified at its very source, for
God Himself has become human. By virtue of this "commingling" each name is now
applicable to the other.
Gregory devotes a great deal of attention to the suffering and
death of God, since through this he confesses the unity of natures in the Person
of the God-man. For this reason he insists on the name "Bearer of God": "Anyone
who does not recognize that Mary is the Bearer of God is estranged from the
Divinity." The reason for this is that deification is possible for us only
through the humanity of the Word and its consubstantiality with us. In the Word
humanity is deified through commingling with God.
thanks to and source:
http://www.holytrinitymission.org/books/english/fathers_florovsky_1.htm#_Toc3723867
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