Renewal in Christ: Athanasius on the Christian Life

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Renewal in Christ: Athanasius on the Christian Life

ultimately about us: it is about Jesus. He is the beginning, middle, and end of a healthy and growing life. Christ is making all things new. For the “Champion of Nicaea,” it is too small a task for God to merely save our souls. Rather, the Creator of all things has responded to human sin with a plan to re-create all things. Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, God is taking what is broken and restoring it by grace. We are a part of a grand re creation project, and we will not only be ushered into the presence of God, but we will also delight in the goodness of God as renewed people in his renewed creation. Christ is making us new. Athanasius gives a vision of the Christian life that is about renewal in Christ. Through his death for our sins and his resurrection from the grave, our guilt is forgiven, our shame is removed, and we are set free in order to share in the incorruptible life of our reigning King. The Christian life, therefore, is one of renewal. We are given a new heart (Ezek 36:26), new spirit (Ezek 11:19), new mind (Rom 12:2), new identity (Col 3:10), new family (Mark 3:31–35), and the hope of living in a new world (Matt 19:28). But while Christ is the one who makes us new, we receive his gracious work by faith. And having faith means that we see things from God’s perspective, no matter how it may look to the world. As Paul says, “Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor 4:16).