The Son of Man Came Down and the Lord of Glory Was Crucified

And so, following the guidance of the sacred word, we may now say fearlessly and without hesitation that the Son of man came down from heaven and that the Lord of Glory was crucified. For by virtue of the mystery of the incarnation the Son of God became the Son of man, and the Lord of Glory was crucified in the nature of the Son of man. [a]

What more is needed? It would take too long to go into details; time would fail me if I tried to examine and explain everything that could be brought to bear on this subject. Anyone who wished to do that would have to study and read the whole Bible. For what is there that does not bear on this, when all Scripture was written with reference to it? We must, then, say some things briefly and in passing, as far as they can be said, and list them rather than explain them, sacrificing some to save the rest. For this reason it would certainly be well to run quickly through some points, so that we are not forced to pass over almost everything in silence.

The Savior, then, says in the gospel that “the Son of man has come to save what was lost.” And the apostle says: “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the chief.” And the evangelist John also says: “He came to his own, and his own did not receive him.” You see, then, that Scripture says in one place that the Son of man came into the world, in another that Jesus Christ did, and in another that the Word of God did. And so we must hold that the difference is one of title, not of fact, and that under the appearance of different names there is only one Power. For though at one time we are told that the Son of man came into the world, and at another that the Son of God did, only one Person is meant under both names.