"Self-Giving
as the Inner Life of God.”
By Arthur McGill's
This was an intriguing logical argument from Athanasius for the divinity of Jesus, the Son
of God. In his Orations against Arian, one that caught my eye was his response
to Arius’ understanding of who Jesus is. Specifically responding to the Arian
notion that the Father is one (God) and Jesus is the first one ad the greatest
of all created beings. The push for the subordination by Arian denies Son's
deity. The son is a creature whom the father had created out of nothing and is
only God in the sense that he has been given the dignity of deity. This was very
disturbing, yet Athanasius logical respond clarified a lot of my unease, First
the fact that the Son must entirely participate in the Father nature in order
for the Son to be divine and thus save humanity
Upholding the Father as ineffable, immutable, and unchangeable changes the way I approach him in prayer. This is the sum; if
there was ever a time when God had no Son, then he was not always Father.
Moreover, if God were not always a Father, then what could one say about a time
when God would stop being a trinity?
Athanasius' distinction between divine and human
begetting made it very clear for me as I clarify my childhood question of human
begetting. My understanding is now that Human beings become fathers and sons
temporarily, but the Father produces or becomes a father eternally.
My view of God
affirmed that God’s divinity does not consist in his ability to push things
around, to make and impose his will from the security of some remoteness but
far than that He sends his own glory into it, and invites and persuades rather
than imposing. He gives his life in service to men for their enhancement
because within himself is a life of self-giving. I, therefore, would describe him as a good
Father who shares his glory with us.
Each member in the
Godhead in some sense indwells the other without diminishing the full
personhood of each, this being a demonstration of the giving nature. Their intrinsic equality and mutual
indwelling are very compelling and affirm my faith in God.
God who is self-giving
invites me into communion with the Triune God. Indeed, the image of
Incarnation getting clear and appreciating that the incarnate Son has not abandoned
humanity and He identifies with us.
Emmanuel.
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