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Adam, again: why Jesus’s humanity matters

Article

31st March 2023

Irenaeus stained glass window with Against Heresies fragments behind
Having helped to create Adam, the Son stepped inside his handiwork to save Adam and his descendants. Jesus had to become like the people who had rebelled against the Father to bring reconciliation; he had to become like the devil’s captives so their captivity could be overturned.
A fragment of a second century Greek version of Irenaeus's Against Heresies from the Oxyrhynchus Papyri. P. Oxyrhynchus 405.
A fragment of a second century Greek version of Against Heresies from the Oxyrhynchus Papyri. P. Oxyrhynchus 405.
Irenaeus emphasised that it is Christ’s likeness to us, together with his divinity, that enables him to save. He has ennobled human experience. The incarnation dignifies the ordinary as the place where God wants to work.

Contributor

  • Kirsten Mackerras

    Kirsten recently finished her DPhil at the University of Oxford in Patristics and is an Associate Writer at Tyndale House (2022–2023)

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