God, Who has the power over all things, when He was making the race of men through His own Word, seeing the weakness of their nature, that it was not sufficient of itself to know its Maker, nor to get any idea at all of God; because while He was uncreate, the creatures had been made of nought, and while He was incorporeal, men had been fashioned in a lower way in the body, and because in every way the things made fell far short of being able to comprehend and know their Maker—taking pity, I say, on the race of men, inasmuch as He is good, He did not leave them destitute of the knowledge of Himself, lest they should find no profit in existing at all.
For what profit to the creatures if they knew not their Maker? or how could they be rational without knowing the Word (and Reason) of the Father, in Whom they received their very being? For there would be nothing to distinguish them even from brute creatures if they had knowledge of nothing but earthly things. Nay, why did God make them at all, as He did not wish to be known by them?
Whence, lest this should be so, being good, He gives them a share in His own Image, our Lord Jesus Christ, and makes them after His own Image and after His likeness: so that by such grace perceiving the Image, that is, the Word of the Father, they may be able through Him to get an idea of the Father, and knowing their Maker, live the happy and truly blessed life.
— Athanasius
Cited from On the Incarnation of the Word, 11.1-3
Athanasius challenges the Arians and all others who denied Christ true divinity. Should Christ merely be a demigod, or another creature brought forth from the Creator, humanity would be lost. They would be without a way of attaining a relational connection with the Heavenly Father. But God fashions us in the image of God. This image of God in us reflects the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ. After all, Christ is the image of the invisible God. It is the incarnation of the Son of God sets the way that we can know the Father. If we see the Son, then we see the Father. We can only come to the Father through the Son. Our union with God becomes the basis for a truly happy and blessed life.
Athanasius of Alexandria (c. 295-373) served as the Bishop of Alexandria in North Africa. He was known for taking bold stances against error, which resulted in his exile on several occasions. Athanasius stood string against the doctrinal errors perpetuated by the Arians. The Arians denied Christ was truly God but one of highest created beings of God.
The Bishop of Alexandria’s name is also attributed to the Athanasian Creed. This is one of the three ecumenical creeds of Western Christianity. It expounds upon the doctrines of the Trinity and Incarnation.
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