The incarnation of the Son and Word of God was not a consequence of the fall of man, but the original (unconditional) purpose of man’s creation, because in this way man was meant to and could reach deification. Indeed, Adam’s fall could not “force” God to become human, meaning Christ could not eternally assume human nature because of humanity’s fall. Then we would conclude that the fall had to happen to force God to become human, and that ultimately the fall was not an evil, but a blessing. The incarnation of the Word of God would have happened regardless of the fall of man. The Word of God became human to deify human nature, out of love and philanthropy. The incarnation of Christ was God’s pre-eternal will, the ultimate purpose of human creation.
St. Nicodemos the Hagiorite
Prof. Dr. Nikolaos Stergiou
Assistant Dean and Director of the Division of Biomechanics and Research Development, University of Nebraska at Omaha
