Peter ‘walks upon the sea’ as, through Christ’s messengers, these previously rebellious hearts yield in humble obedience to the ground, thus the softening of this world is rightly depicted in the Gospel—where the tumultuous waters calm at the footsteps of the Lord. It becomes clear what is meant by stating, ‘And His understanding struck down the arrogant.’
Who may be identified as ‘the proud’ if not the one who boasted, ‘I will ascend to the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High’? Furthermore, concerning him, God affirms, ‘He that is created fearless and himself a king over all the sons of pride.’ The prophet David concurs, proclaiming, ‘Thou hast brought down the proud as a wounded man.’ While in terms of the nature of the Divine, there is no distinction between being Wisdom and being Power, since His Power is synonymous with His wisdom and wisdom embodies the essence of the Godhead, it is worthwhile to observe that this holy individual, inspired by the prophetic Spirit, opted to recount the downfall of the proud adversary through ‘Wisdom’ rather than Divine Strength. For he stated ‘His Wisdom’ instead of ‘His Power’ struck down the proud. Truly, though God’s Power is the same as His Wisdom in essence, the Lord triumphed over the devil not by force but by justice. The devil, having led our first parent astray, justly held sway over a being created with free will who consented to injustice. Thus, the one created to exercise his free will became a servant of death through his own choices. Such transgressions must be atoned, and only through a sacrifice can one hope to achieve atonement.
Yet, which sacrifice could be found to liberate humanity? It is unfair for a sacrifice meant for a rational being to be a mute animal. Hence, the apostle notes, ‘The images of the heavenly things were to be purified by these, and the heavenly things themselves by the best of these sacrifices.’ Therefore, since mute creatures could not serve as an adequate sacrifice for a rational being—man—a man must be found who could be offered, as only a reasonable sacrifice could atone for the sin of a rational soul. But what can be done if a sinless man is nowhere to be found? What sacrifice could be made on our behalf that would cleanse us from sin if no sacrifice free from sin exists? For that which is tainted cannot purify what is tainted. Therefore, for the sacrifice to be deemed reasonable, a human must be offered, but to cleanse humanity from sin, this offering needed to be not just any man, but one without sin. However, can a sinless man come from a lineage tainted by sin? Thus, for our sake, the Son of God was conceived in the Virgin’s womb; He became man and embodied a sinless nature. He offered Himself as a sacrifice, giving His Body for sinners, untainted by sin, so in His human form He could die, and by His righteousness, He could cleanse us. He stood firm against the ancient enemy after His Baptism when temptations assailed Him, and through varied stratagems sought to dominate Him; yet He was subdued by the righteous purity of His invincible wisdom.
Yet, as his internal might failed to infiltrate the true essence, the adversary targeted His outward nature. Struck by the soul's courage of the One he could not deceive with temptations, he sought to conquer through the death of the flesh. As noted previously, he clashed with what the Mediator had assumed from humankind. Even where he wielded some degree of influence, he suffered complete defeat. The very reason he was granted the ability to take the flesh of the Lord was the same reason he was ultimately vanquished. For while he seemingly triumphed in his external attack, internally, he succumbed. The one who rightfully made us indebted to death rightly lost the claim to death in our case, for by employing his power to cause the flesh of the One who bore no debt of sin to perish, he effectively forfeited his hold. Thus, our Lord addressed the debt of death for us, ensuring that it would not afflict us further. Hence, it is rightly said, ‘And His Wisdom struck down the proud,’ because our ancient foe, through excessive pride, lost even him whom he had gained through deceitful means, and while he arrogantly pursued the One who possessed nothing belonging to him, he justly relinquished control of the one he rightfully enslaved. Consequently, he was ‘smitten by Wisdom’ rather than by Might, for in violating God’s decree, he lost possession of man he targeted, for he lost the one subject to him through the same action by which he attacked the One above him. Thus, in the death of the Lord's flesh, the splendor of His power became apparent to His preachers, of which it is further stated:
THEOSIS