THEOSISCyrill of Alexandria
It was, in some respects, necessary for those given the directive to abandon the old depravity and irreverent practices to adopt a new way of living, taking upon themselves a burden—the service of Him who is inherently God. This is because an unfettered mind tends to wander into inappropriate paths, yet when faced with fear and uncertainty, it effortlessly returns to the righteous course and is inclined toward what is beneficial. Since we approach the Father through the Son, as He declared, “no one comes to the Father, except through Me” (John 14:6), it was essential for us to reach the Father via the Son.
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Thus, He needed to establish by ordinance the way to access the Father through the Son—the model of the offerings in Him—stating, “Thou shalt make Me an altar of earth, and offer thereon thy burnt-offerings and thy peace offerings, thy sheep and thy oxen: in every place where I will put My name in remembrance, I will come unto thee, and will bless thee: but if thou shalt make Me an altar of stones, thou shalt not build it of hewn stones: for as soon as thou shalt put thy hewn stone upon them, thou shalt defile them” (Ex. 20:24-25). He refers to Immanuel as an altar of earth for “the Word became flesh” (John 1:14). The earth, derived from the earth, signifies the essence of flesh (cf. Gen. 2:7; Gen. 3:19). Thus, in Christ, every offering and presentation to God is fulfilled, for He states, “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Since “through Him we have access to both” (Eph. 2:18), every sacrifice made by those who have received faith through Him is pleasing (Phil. 4:18). He promises to those who establish the altar from the earth His presence and blessing, saying, “I will come to you, and I will bless you.” For us, who have been given the images of truth through the wise Moses, the Truth itself was ultimately revealed in time: Christ, through whom we have been enriched with divine blessings from above and from the Father, affirmed in our adoption as sons through the Holy Spirit—a promise that is fulfilled in Christ (Eph. 1:5).