Athanasius: The human race would have gone to ruin if the Lord and Savior of all, the Son of God, had not come.

For the Word perceived that death was the only way that the corruption of people could be undone. However, it was impossible for the Word to suffer death, being immortal and Son of the Father. Therefore, he takes to himself a body capable of death, so that such a body, by partaking of the Word who is above all, might be worthy to die in the stead of all, and might, because of the Word that had come to dwell in it, remain incorruptible. In this way, the corruption of all might be checked by the grace of the resurrection. By offering to death the body he himself had taken, as an offering and sacrifice free from any stain, he got rid of death for all his peers by offering an equivalent. For the Word of God, which by his very nature is over everything, by offering his own temple and bodily vessel for the life of all, satisfied the debt by his death. And thus he, the incorruptible Son of God, joined with all by a similar nature, naturally clothed all with incorruption by the promise of the resurrection. For the actual corruption in death no longer has a hold on humanity because of the Word which, by his one body, has come to dwell among them. It is similar to when a great king has entered into some large city and taken up residence in one of the houses there. That city is thus deemed worthy of high honor. No enemy or bandit any longer descends on it and subdues it. On the contrary, it finds itself entitled to total protection because the king has taken up his residence in a single house there: so, too, has it been with the Monarch of all. For now that he has come to our realm and taken up residence in one body among his peers, from this time forward the whole conspiracy of the enemy against humankind is checked, and the corruption of death, which before had prevailed against them, is done away with. For the human race would have gone to ruin if the Lord and Savior of all, the Son of God, had not come among us to meet the end of death.

— Athanasius

(Cited from On the Incarnation, 9.1-4)

How wonderful indeed is the incarnation of the Word in Christ Jesus of Nazareth, for as Athanasius teaches, apart from this first advent we would be in ruins. Only death could unravel the corruption enslaving humanity, yet being immortal and incapable of dying, the Word assumed a body capable of death so that in the flesh He would bear the fate owed by all. The Word incarnate remained free from corruption, and through death, He offered a spotless sacrifice that defeated death through death. By taking up residence among us—like a great king who enters a city and thereby drives out its enemies—the eternal Son terminated the tyranny of death and the enemies of humankind. Thus, through the indwelling of the Word in a single human body, the whole race is clothed with the promise of incorruption, the conspiracy of the enemy is broken, and the grace of the resurrection secures our restoration and triumph over death.

Athanasius of Alexandria (c. AD 295-373). Bishop of Alexandria in North Africa, was renowned for taking bold stands against doctrinal error, a faithfulness that led to his exile on numerous occasions. He resolutely opposed the teachings of the Arius (c. AD 250-336), a presbyter of Alexandria who denied that Christ was truly God and instead regarded Him as the highest of God’s created beings. Athanasius contended for the faith during a time when many within the church—including prominent leaders—were swayed by the Arian heresy. His name is also traditionally associated with the Athanasian Creed, one of the three ecumenical creeds of Western Christianity, which offers a robust exposition of the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation.