"Jesus Christ - the Redeemer of the human race" St. Innocent of Kherson.

Source - http://agios.org.ua

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The Face of the Redeemer, His Condition and Actions, and His Relation to the Human Race

No matter how much the pagan sages (Socrates, Plato) pondered about saving man from the calamities surrounding him, everything, however, was unsuccessful, and all their reflections had to end with tears. None of them, as the Apostle says, could ascend to heaven in order to bring Christ down from there. Milton, describing the lost paradise, imagines God in the midst of the Angelic world, looking at mankind and then asking the Angels thus: "Which of you can save a man?" Then the Son of God Himself decides to do it. This sacred poetry of Milton is not so much poetry as the matter itself. Indeed, only God could help the human race. For what was to be done? It was required, as the Apostle says, to lead all things (Ephesians 1:10), the world was without a head. Which of the creatures could be this head? All the forces of nature have weakened; who but God could strengthen them? To make order out of frustration? to replace evil with good?.. Only God could do it. That is why the Son of God decided to do this, as the Holy Scriptures express this thought (Heb. 10; 8. Ps. 39; 7. Sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings thou didst not desire...). The Father appears to be not satisfied with anything, the Son goes to satisfy the Father's justice. Such a determination of the Son and such a will of the Father are generally presented in Holy Scripture in the form of a covenant that is concluded between the Persons of the Holy Trinity in order, first, to destroy the evil caused by the fall, and, secondly, to grant people the blessings interceded by redemption (Luke 22:29).

What prompted the Divinity to save the human race? That He is the Godhead is the fullness of love. For this reason, the Holy Scriptures place love as the foundation of the Son of God's sending into the world. For thus God loved the world... (John 3; 16. Gal. 2; 20. Rome. 5; 5). What is the plan of this great work? Its plan consists in the fact that the Second Person of the Holy Trinity decides to take the form of a man and, by fulfilling the will of God, satisfy God's justice and deserve God's mercy for man – in this way to destroy death and gain life. In order to better see this plan, let us pay attention to the following: 1) on the Face of the Redeemer - Who is He? 2) On His condition and actions - what did He do? 3) His relationship to the human race and our relationship to Him.

But before we begin to consider these points, let us cast a glance at other means that God used to correct the human race.

The goodness of God, stirred up by love for the human race and having changed the punishment of eternal death to only temporary exile, found within itself the means for the restoration of man. She determined to save the human race through the second Person of the Holy Trinity. Human wisdom did not know this plan and would never have known it. If it had been left to the human race to draw up this plan, it would probably have wished to concentrate all power in its Restorer, it would have wished to see Him glorious, that is, it would have done what the Jews did, who were waiting for a glorious and powerful king in the Messiah. Many would like to see extraordinary wisdom in Him. This, no doubt, would be desired by all the sages. But that He should suffer and suffer - even this did not occur to poets. Meanwhile, the wisdom of God found this the best means. She ordained the Restorer of the world to appear in a state of slavery - humiliated. Here is her plan! She determined to fulfill it as follows:

1) that this Restorer would not appear suddenly, but after 5508 years;

2) to leave Him on earth in a humiliated state for a very short time, but, in the meantime, to lay a solid foundation during this time;

3) that He would then ascend from earth to heaven and from there rule the Church, until all His enemies would be placed at His footstool, and the Church would become a bride, having no defilement and blemish;

(4) that at last all the effects of reconciliation should be revealed, and all the power of death and the merits of the Redeemer; Then a new world and new people will appear.