"And for us, the people, and for our salvation"
God did something incredible for us, to save us. He saw how entangled we were in sin, how we could not get out of the darkness on our own, how the burden of life and death kept us from the light. And then—without waiting for us to find the way on our own—He came to us.
This means: God is not standing aside. He is for us. He is with us.
This line is the heart of the Gospel. As Saint Irenaeus of Lyons wrote, “The glory of God is a living man, and the life of man is to see God.” It is in order to restore to us the lost connection with God that the Son of God enters our history.
Saint Athanasius the Great says:
"God became man so that man might become like God."
Sin destroyed communion with God. And no man could restore it on his own. Therefore, God Himself, without leaving heaven, comes to us. But not as a Judge, but as the One who “lays down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).
This is an initiative of God's love, without which our salvation would be impossible.
"Descended from heaven"
It's not that Jesus simply descended from heaven, like a cloud. It's that He left His glory, His power, His heavenly majesty — and entered our world. Into a world of pain, betrayal, filth, war, injustice. God became close.
It's as if the king had left the palace and come to spend the night on the streets — for the sake of those he loves. But even deeper: He didn't just come — he became one of us.
This does not mean that Christ “came forth” from a specific place. God is not limited by space. “Descended” is an image of how He humbled Himself, entered the created world, limited Himself in love.
The Apostle Paul writes:“Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant” (Phil. 2:6–7).
And Saint Gregory the Theologian explains:
"The invisible becomes visible, the incorporeal takes on a body, the immortal enters time and undergoes suffering... all for your sake, man!"
This is the mystery of kenosis (Greek: κένωσις)—the self-humiliation of God.
"And was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary"
Jesus was not born as an ordinary child. His conception was the work of the Holy Spirit, not ordinary human love. This means that from the very beginning he had divine purity and power.
But He was born of the Virgin Mary—that is, He was a real man. He had a body that could get tired. He could cry, rejoice, be afraid.
God is in the flesh. God is in the womb of a woman. God is a baby. This is not a fairy tale - this is the greatest mystery and the greatest hope of our lives.
Here the mystery of the Incarnation is revealed, which amazed even the angels.
Christ is conceived not by human desire, but by the power of the Holy Spirit, as it is said in Luke 1:35:
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore also the holy one who is to be born will be called the Son of God."
From the Holy Spirit - confirms His Divine origin.
And the Virgin Mary emphasizes His true humanity. This is not a myth, not a legend—it is a historical event that occurred in a specific time and place.
Saint John Damascene says:
"He who is the Son of God by nature became the Son of Man by assuming flesh—without ceasing to be God."
Mary becomes the Theotokos (Θεοτόκος)—not just a "woman" through whom the flesh came, but the true Mother of the incarnate God.
"And became man"
These words are the simplest, but the most powerful. God became man. Not just outwardly — not just dressed as if in human clothes. But truly. In Him — both God and man, together, forever.
And that is why He understands us. He went through everything: the cold, the fatigue, the loneliness, the suffering. He was with us - and he stayed with us.
This means: there is no situation in life where we are completely alone. Because God is already there, nearby. As a brother. As a Savior. As the One who breathes our air, walks with us on the road - and leads us to heaven.
This is the completion of this great mystery: God became man without ceasing to be God.
He took on all that is human except sin (Heb. 4:15). His body is real. His soul is human. His mind is human. But united with the divine nature in one Person—Jesus Christ.
The Council of Chalcedon (451) formulated it this way:
"One and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, is acknowledged in two natures, without mixture, without transformation, without separation, without divorce..."
Why is this? So that He could reconcile us to the Father by becoming a mediator.
Saint Maximus the Confessor wrote:
"What Christ has not accepted is not saved. But He has accepted all that is human in order to heal all."
Therefore, there is nothing in us that is foreign to Him. Our fears, pain, sorrow, even death — He went through everything with us to open eternal life to us.
"And for us men, and for our salvation”
God did something unimaginable—for us, to save us. He saw how deeply we were entangled in sin, how we could not free ourselves from the darkness, how the weight of life and death pulled us away from the light. And then—without waiting for us to find a way—He came to us Himself.
This means: God is not distant. He is for us. He is with us.
This line is the heart of the Gospel.
As St. Irenaeus of Lyons wrote: "The glory of God is a living man; and the life of man is the vision of God."
To restore our lost communion with God, the Son of God enters our history.
St. Athanasius the Great said: “God became man so that man might become godlike.”
Sin had broken our fellowship with God. And no human could restore it.
So God Himself, without leaving heaven, comes to us. But not as a Judge,
rather as the One who "lays down His life for His friends" (John 15:13).
This is the initiative of Divine love—without it, our salvation would be impossible.
"He came down from heaven”
This does not mean that Jesus simply descended from a cloud.
It means He left behind His glory, His power, His heavenly majesty—and entered our world.
A world of pain, betrayal, filth, war, and injustice.
God became near.
It's as if a king left his palace to sleep on the streets for the sake of those he loves.
But even deeper: He didn't just visit—He became one of us.
This doesn't mean Christ "departed" from a place—God is not bound by space.
"He came down” is an image of how He humbled Himself, entered the created world, and limited Himself in love.
St. Paul writes:
"Although He was in the form of God, He did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant” (Phil. 2:6–7).
And St. Gregory the Theologian explains:
"The Invisible becomes visible, the Bodiless takes on a body, the Immortal enters time and suffers… all for you, O man!”
This is the mystery of kenosis (Greek: κένωσις)—God's self-emptying.
"And was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary"
Jesus was not born as an ordinary child.
His conception was the work of the Holy Spirit—not human desire.
This means that from the very beginning, He bore divine purity and power.
But He was born of the Virgin Mary—meaning He was truly human.
He had a body that could grow tired. He could cry, rejoice, be afraid.
God—in the flesh. God—in a woman's womb. God—as an infant.
This is not fantasy—it is the greatest mystery and the greatest hope of our lives.
Here opens the mystery of the Incarnation, which astonished even the angels.
Christ was not conceived through human lust, but by the power of the Holy Spirit, as declared in Luke 1:35:
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.”
"Of the Holy Spirit" confirms His divine origin.
"And the Virgin Mary" emphasizes His true humanity.
This is not a myth or legend—it is a historical event that took place at a specific time and place.
St. John of Damascus said:
"He who is the Son of God by nature became the Son of Man by taking on flesh—without ceasing to be God.”
Mary becomes the Theotokos (Θεοτόκος)—not just a “woman” through whom the body came, but the true Mother of the incarnate God.
"And became a man”
These are the simplest, yet most powerful words.
God became man.
Not just outwardly—not just like putting on human clothes. But truly.
In Him—divine and human are united, forever.
And because of that, He understands us.
He passed through everything: cold, fatigue, loneliness, suffering.
He was with us—and remains with us.
This means: there is no situation in life where we are truly alone.
Because God is already there—beside us.
As a Brother. As a Savior.
As the One who breathes our air, walks our roads—and leads us to heaven.
This is the culmination of this great mystery:
God became man, without ceasing to be God.
He took on all that is human—except sin (Heb. 4:15).
His body is real.
His soul is human.
His mind is human.
But united with the divine nature in one Person—Jesus Christ.
The Council of Chalcedon (451 AD) expressed it like this:
"One and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation..."
Why?
So that He could reconcile us with the Father, becoming the Mediator.
St. Maximus the Confessor wrote:
"What is not assumed by Christ is not healed. But He assumed all that is human, to heal it all.”
Therefore—there is nothing in us that is foreign to Him.
Our fears, our pain, our sorrow, even death—He went through all of it with us,
so that He could open eternal life to us.
