The Verses Used by the Arians – “Therefore God, Your God, Has Anointed You with the Oil of Gladness More Than Your Companions

Lecture Summary

The lecture reflects on the verses used by the Arians in an attempt to deny the divinity of the Lord Christ, especially the phrase: “Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions,” and explains the correct Orthodox interpretation of these verses in the light of the whole Holy Bible.

The lecture focuses on the fact that the Psalm saying: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever” clearly proclaims the divinity of Christ and His eternal authority, because the Scripture directly addresses Him with the title “God.” As for the words concerning the anointing, they are connected to His humanity and incarnation, not to any deficiency in His divinity.

The lecture explains that the anointing which Christ received by the Holy Spirit at baptism was not an addition to His divine essence, because the Son is one with the Father in divinity from eternity, but rather it was a declaration of His salvific work and the union of divinity with humanity.

It also confirms that the Lord Christ sanctified the human nature which He took for the salvation of mankind, and He became anointed with the Spirit in order to grant humanity the possibility of receiving the Holy Spirit. Thus, He restored to human nature its dignity and original image.

The lecture also clarifies that the expression “God” in the Holy Bible may sometimes refer to the Father according to the context, and at other times to the whole divinity, therefore some expressions should not be used literally to isolate the Son from the one divine essence.

The lecture confirms that the attributes of divinity are shared together by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, because They are one God with one essence, and that what is said concerning the Son according to the humanity should not be understood as diminishing His divinity.

The lecture also connects the anointing of Christ with the salvation of humanity, as Christ through the anointing of the humanity opened the way for believers to receive the Holy Spirit and become temples of God and heirs of the Kingdom.

Finally, the spiritual message of the lecture confirms that the incarnation of Christ and His anointing were for the sanctification of mankind and the renewal of human nature, so that believers may partake in the life of grace and union with God.