Teach us to no longer live by ourselves, but through You, for You alone are the Way we could not walk, the Truth we could not see, and the Life we had lost.

A reflective meditation on the insights of Saint Athanasius the apostolic, the 20th Pope of See Alexandria on the verse:

“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

1 John 4:9

That We Might Live Through Him

Before the world knew decay, before the heart learned fear, man lived by the breath of God.

Formed from nothing, yet held in being by the Word, man was not self-sustaining life but life received, life upheld by communion.

Saint Athanasius teaches us that to exist apart from God is already to begin to die.

When the heart turned inward, when freedom sought itself instead of its Creator, corruption entered silently— not as punishment first, but as consequence. The image grew dim, the mind darkened, and the heart—once a dwelling of light— became divided and deceived.

Man, still breathed, yet no longer lived.

Seeing His creation rushing toward non-being, the Word did not abandon what He had made. For it was unworthy of the goodness of God that His image should perish.

So, the Life of all took flesh.

Not to merely forgive from afar, but to enter death itself.

He accepted a body capable of dying, that by dying in it, He might destroy death. He did not come because we loved Him, but because we were perishing.

The Word became man that man might live again— not by effort, not by law, not by fear— but through Him.

For Saint Athanasius declares: only Life can restore life, only the Incorruptible can heal corruption, only God can re-create His image.

Thus, Christ does not merely show the way to life; He is our life.

To live through Him is to abandon the illusion of self-sufficiency, to confess that apart from Him we return to dust.

To live through Him is to let His obedience heal our rebellion, His humility cures our pride, His love reawakens our hearts.

In Him, the deceitful heart is made new.

In Him, death loses its claim.

In Him, man no longer strives to live— he receives life.

O Word of Father, You became what we are, that we might become what You are— living, incorrupt, and free.

The Logos - Divine Word in Creation

Let’s consider the theological implications of two foundational passages in the Bible: John 1:1 (“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”) and Genesis 1:3 (“And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light”). These verses offer a profound insight into the existence of a Creator who pre-exists creation, revealing the divine order and intentionality that characterise God’s nature and purpose.

John 1:1 – The Word as Eternal and Pre-existent

The opening of John’s Gospel, “In the beginning was the Word,” intentionally mirrors the opening of Genesis to emphasise continuity and deepen understanding of God’s eternal existence. The term “Word” (Greek Logos) conveys profound theological significance: Logos is more than just “word” as spoken language; it denotes reason, order, and wisdom, hinting at a living, personal rationality that defines and expresses God’s nature. By saying “the Word was with God,” John indicates an eternal communion within the Godhead, while “the Word was God” affirms the divine identity of the Logos.

This reveals that before the material universe came into existence, God was already active, engaged in a divine self-expression. The Logos is thus not a created being but an uncreated and divine entity, eternally present with God. This serves as a theological assertion that creation did not bring about God’s identity; rather, God exists in a dynamic relationship within Himself, distinct from creation and fully self-sufficient.

Genesis 1:3 – The Creative Power of Divine Speech

In Genesis 1:3, God speaks light into existence with “Let there be light.” Here, the act of speech as a creative force indicates that creation arises not by accident or from pre-existing matter, but from God’s purposeful will. This spoken command shows that God’s word has power and authority to bring things into being from nothing (ex nihilo). Light, as the first created element, symbolises divine order imposed on chaos, a revelation of God’s presence as He initiates the structure of creation.

The phrase “Let there be light” reveals not only the Creator’s control but also His relational nature: God’s speech implies that His creation is both an extension of His intentional will and a reflection of His essence. The Logos here is the active, authoritative word that bridges God’s eternal existence and the created world.

Harmonising John 1:1 and Genesis 1:3 – The Word as the Light

Theologically, these verses together establish that creation was birthed out of a relational, purposeful, and eternally pre-existent God. In John’s Gospel, it is further stated, “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:4-5). This light, pre-existent in the Logos, becomes manifest in the material universe as both a physical and spiritual reality.

Therefore, John 1 and Genesis 1 reveal that God, in His essence as Logos, pre-exists creation and initiates it through His spoken word. This insight affirms the Creator’s definitive presence and identity before any created thing, distinguishing God as transcendent, sovereign, and self-sufficient. The eternal Logos, who ultimately “became flesh” in Jesus Christ (John 1:14), thus stands as the ultimate revelation of the Creator to His creation, the Word by which and through whom all things were made, and the Light that dispels darkness both physically and spiritually.

Thus, both passages testify to an uncreated Creator whose eternal Word initiate, orders, and sustains creation, revealing a God who is relational and revelatory—a Being whose essence is expressed in creation but who transcends it entirely.

Saint Athanasius of Alexandria (c. 296–373 AD)

Saint Athanasius, a leading defender of Nicene orthodoxy, wrote extensively on the Logos as eternal, uncreated, and fully divine, stressing that the Son is of the same essence (homoousios) as the Father. In On the Incarnation, he argued that the Logos pre-exists all creation, affirming both John 1:1 and Genesis 1:3 as demonstrating that Christ, as the Word, is the divine agent of creation who brings order and life.