‘And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us’ (John 1:14). Saint Athanasius of Alexandria (c.296–373) took this verse from the Gospel of John in order to unpack his Christology of the incarnation. In this essay I will examine the work of Athanasius in order to study the claim that ‘The Word became flesh.’ Athanasius argued that God ‘became man, and did not come into man.’ The implications of his conviction are firstly, only God could save humanity and secondly, the Word was fully divine. I will assess the implications of Athanasius’ arguments in his treatise ‘On the Incarnation’ with reference to some of his other works.
Gospel of John
In his final prayer with his disciples, Jesus Christ prays for the mutual glorification of the Father and the Son. In John’s Gospel, Jesus is glorified when he is lifted up on the cross at his crucifixion. John employs a double meaning of lifted up throughout the Gospel, demonstrating that the crucifixion is also the exaltation of Jesus.
In this pericope from John’s Gospel Jesus meets a Samaritan woman, the traditional enemy of the Jews and a social outcast, at the OT setting for a matrimonial encounter. This dialogue reveals the truth of Jesus’ identity as Messiah and leads to the Samaritans’ confession that Jesus is the Saviour of the world. After discussing the historical, canonical and theological background I will present an exegesis of the story, describing Jesus’ actions and finish by providing some of the ways John intended the passage to be used and how it may be applied by the reader today.