Irenaeus of Lyons on the person of Christ
Affirms both deity and humanity before the categories were fixed
"the Son of God did not then begin to exist, being with the Father from the beginning; but when He became incarnate, and was made man, He commenced afresh the long line of human beings."
THE POSITION
Against Heresies III.16-19 is a sustained refutation of Gnostic separationism — the claim that an impassible 'Christ' descended on the man Jesus at baptism and departed before the crucifixion, so 'Christ' never really suffered. Irenaeus insists relentlessly on one subject: the same Word who was with the Father from the beginning is the one born of Mary, who ate, wept, bled, suffered, and rose. There's no developed two-natures vocabulary or soul/body analysis — the argument is scriptural and narrative, and it's inseparable from his soteriology: only a real, continuous incarnation accomplishes recapitulation.
1 OTHER HOLD THIS
ABOUT THIS FIGURE
Bishop of Lyons, author of Against Heresies. Argued against Gnosticism from the apostolic rule of faith, and framed salvation as Christ recapitulating human life.
Cite this page
"Irenaeus of Lyons on the person of Christ", Examined Doctrine, July 2026 edition, https://examineddoctrine.com/position/irenaeus/christology (archived at https://examineddoctrine.com/editions/2026-07/position/irenaeus/christology).