The terms ‘incarnation’ and ‘atonement’ are deeply interconnected with each other in the concept of theology. One important aspect that is associated with this concept is that of resurrection of Jesus Christ. Torrance has defined these two terms in a way that they can be interpreted as very important factors for the understanding of the Christian theology. This concept is mainly derived from the Greek patristic theology of Athanasius. Torrance had discussed about the relationship between the atonement and incarnation in a number of ways (Inge: 23). In this light the concept of atonement will also be highlighted by aligning with the satisfaction theory of atonement by Anseim. The several aspects regarding this concept will be highlighted in the paper. The role of the Jesus Christ will be evaluated in this paper as well. The incident of the crucifixion of Jesus does have a very important role to play in this theological perspective (Migliore: 347).
The theory of satisfaction by Anseim is one of the most important theories in theology. According to this theory, Jesus Christ had to suffer the crucifixion as he became the substation for the human sins (Sumner: 378). St. Anseim has preached his messages through the lines fides quaerens intellectum that means the faith seeking understanding. The theological approaches of the church and the approach of St. Anseim have been reflected in the theory of satisfaction. The concept of faith has always been a mystery according to the Christian theology (Inge: 23). St. ANseim has provided much insight into the matters of Christian theology and redesigned the several factors indeed. Some of his works had been misunderstood because no one was able to understand that.
St. Anseim had always focused on the relevance of the Cross. Anseim opined that the death of Jesus Christ was indeed essential so the order of the world could be justified. He believed that the human beings disrespected the God and this resulted in a number of unwanted events for them (Sumner: 378). The repercussions of these events were mostly negative (Migliore: 347). He also said that the biggest problem in doing this is the human beings would never be able repay the deeds they have already done. God is infinite and it is the duty of the human beings to respect God. As per the words of Anseim, it is beyond the power of the human beings to offer the infinite satisfaction (McGrath: 265). It is because the human beings do not have that much infinite power. Human beings are the rational creatures created by the infinite God Himself. The human beings must be able to believe that the God has created everything in this universe and human beings should owe everything to God only. God will always act on the basis of love and mercy. This is why the human beings must always commit the deeds by which God can show them the benevolence (Christie: 229).
God had sent his Son, the Jesus Christ to the earth so he could salvage the sins of the human beings for the act of crucifixion. The God is obviously the infinite and only he possesses the ability to pay the debt for the human beings (McGrath: 265). However, the perception of atonement comes from the fact that the God must be same as the human beings from the ontological perspective (Christie: 229). This is the reason God had sent Jesus Christ to the earth for the atonements of the sins as a human being. Jesus Christ is completely free from the sins and He is the perfect figure for the ultimate sins (McGrath: 346). His divine nature will free all the human beings of their sins indeed. This theory of satisfaction is indeed very closely related with the atonement of the human beings indeed. This is why the death of Jesus has been considered as a very important aspect for understanding the matter of atonement (Sumner: 378). The early theologians had claimed that the death of Christ was very much cruel through crucifixion and this death had in turn benefitted the human beings (Torrance: 278).
The mankind is full of the sins and there was the utmost need for the human beings to salvage therm. This is why there was no way out other than sending the Son of God, Jesus Christ to the world (Torrance: 278). The suffering that Jesus Christ had endured was very much necessary for the salvation of the human beings. In other words it can be said that the atonement for the human beings also became necessary so that they themselves could take some steps in order to salvage their sins (McGrath: 346). The ontological argument is very much important for the proper understanding of the matter. Some people had even said that Jesus Christ had shed off his human avatar after the ascension or the resurrection (Habets: 789). However, Torrance has argued very frequently that Jesus Christ never shed off his humanity since He remains a human being forever. It can also be put in another way as well. It must be mentioned that there is a human being who is an integral part of the communion of the Holy Trinity (Placher and Derek: 135).
This is why the human beings could stay relieved as well. So, Jesus Christ can be deemed as the eternal Son of God who became a human (Placher and Derek: 135). The birth of Jesus in the womb of Virgin Mary could be deemed as an event that could be taken as very crucial for the progress towards the Holy Cross and the tomb. The Holy Spirit is also looking after the aspect of human salvation by God acting and Man acting (Habets: 789). Thus it can be said that the incarnation of the Jesus Christ has led to the atonement for the sins of the human beings (Kärkkäinen: 239). The human personality of Jesus Christ is being carried out thus so wonderfully since it would be impossible to separate the communion of God and man in the same body. This will make the work of salvation easier indeed (Kärkkäinen: 239).
Jesus Christ thus is the God-Man who continues His work of purifying the sins of the human beings has to go on slowly and this is a continuous process. Once the human beings are salvaged of their sins and their body gets as pure as Jesus Himself, they will be incarnated just as Christ has been. Many times the human beings are not at all ashamed for their deeds and they go on to committing such deeds (Walker: 367). Thus they get into the world of the sins all the more. This practice should not be there at all. Now, the image of Jesus Christ as the God-Man could be assumed. In the Bible it also has been declared that the ‘Jesus died for all and therefore all died’. Jesus Christ is the creator of the world and the human beings and therefore He has the power to sustain this world (Layman: 498).
It is believed by the Church that the confessions will salvage the sins of the human beings and lead them to the way of incarnation. He is the representative of the divinity of God. Therefore, He has all the powers to be the substitute and sacrifice His life for the well-being of the human beings (Walker: 367). The interpretation of the redemption can be taken as a very important aspect to save the human beings from the curse of damnation. Jesus Christ has the same relation to the God as that of the saved human beings (Layman: 498). The salvation of the human beings is a continuous and creative process where Jesus Christ is at the focal point (Torrance: 278). However, the redemption from the sins can be achieved if the human beings are lovingly obedient to the God Himself. Jesus Christ is perceived as the right and perfect person and He should be the ideal one for all the human beings indeed (Sumner: 378). The relationship between the God and the humanity of the Jesus Christ is definitely unique. The identity of Jesus Christ related to God cannot be repeated and this will lead to the atonement of the human beings (Walker: 367).
Conclusion:
As per the above discussion the paper can be concluded that the aspects of atonement and incarnation do have very deep interconnection. This leads the human beings to assume that the human beings must salvage their sins in order to be incarnated. If they do not atone for their sins their sins will not be salvaged. The God sent the Jesus Christ to the earth to salvage all the sins of the human beings by the death by crucifixion. The theory of satisfaction by Anseim has been discussed in this context as well. The sacrifice of the life of Jesus Christ for the salvation of the sins of the human beings could be taken as one of the most significant events to understand the theology.
References:
Christie, Ann. Ordinary Christology: Who do you say I am? Answers from the pews. Routledge, 2016.
Habets, Myk. Theosis in the theology of Thomas Torrance. Routledge, 2016.
Inge, John. A Christian theology of place. Routledge, 2017.
Kärkkäinen, Veli-Matti. Trinity and Religious Pluralism: The Doctrine of the Trinity in Christian Theology of Religions. Routledge, 2017.
Layman, Charles Stephen. Philosophical approaches to atonement, incarnation, and the trinity. Palgrave Macmillan, 2016.
McGrath, Alister E. Christian theology: An introduction. John Wiley & Sons, 2016.
McGrath, Alister E. The Christian theology reader. John Wiley & Sons, 2016.
Migliore, Daniel L. Faith seeking understanding: An introduction to Christian theology. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2014.
Placher, William C., and Derek R. Nelson. A History of Christian Theology: An Introduction. Westminster John Knox Press, 2013.
Sumner, George. “Why Anselm Still Matters.” Anglican Theological Review 95.1 (2013): 25-35.
Torrance, Thomas F. Incarnation: The person and life of Christ. InterVarsity Press, 2015.
Walker, Robert T. “Incarnation and Atonement: Their Relation and Inter?Relation in the Theology of TF Torrance.” Participatio: The Journal of the Thomas F. Torrance Theological Fellowship3 (2012): 1-63.
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