union] of humanity and divinity that was united in Christ”.*6 Later, St. Gregory
Palamas (1296–1359) made it even more specific: “God revealed the Christ [in
Jesus] so that humanity could never be separated from the pattern that he
portrayed.”7 These kinds of jewels are found much more in the writings of the
Eastern church and its Fathers. The great Athanasius (298–373) put it this way:
“God [in Christ] became the bearer of flesh [for a time] so that humanity could
become the bearer of Spirit forever.”8 This was the Great Exchange. Jesus was
meant to be the guarantee that divinity can indeed reside within humanity,
which is always our great doubt and denial. And once that is possible, then most
of our problems are already solved. Resurrection of both persons and planets
becomes a foregone conclusion! What that exactly means, of course, I cannot
possibly know (1 Corinthians 2:9), but I can say:
Creation is the first and probably the final Bible,
Incarnation is already Redemption,
Christmas is already Easter, and
Jesus is already Christ.Simply put, if death is not possible for the Christ, then it is not possible for
anything that “shares in the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). God is by definition
eternal, and God is Love (1 John 4:16), which is also eternal (1 Corinthians
13:13), and this same Love has been planted in our hearts (Romans 5:5, 8:9) by
the Spirit dwelling within us. Such fully Implanted Love cannot help but evolve
and prove victorious, and our word for that final victory is “resurrection.” Peter
states this rather directly: “By raising Jesus Christ from the dead, we have a sure
hope and the promise of an inheritance that can never be spoiled or soiled or
fade away. It is being kept for you in the heavens...and will be fully revealed at
the end of time” (1 Peter 1:4–6).