the soteriology of saint athanasius of alexandria the conformation of ...

THE SOTERIOLOGY OF SAINT ATHANASIUS OF ALEXANDRIA 225
differ according to the kind of graces received and the functions
they carry out. The Spirit not only joins Christians together in
one «mystical body», but he also confers special graces to each
one.
3. The Spirit as Gift
The early Church Fathers understood that God works in
man by giving spiritual benefits or favors. We have already seen
that Athanasius associates divine grace with the indwelling of the
Holy Spirit in the soul. However, it is of interest to point out
that God's grace appears in us through the Spirit understood as
Gift. We can only receive him from the one who has the authority
to give him to us, the Son 71 . Jesus Christ both gives and
receives the Spirit, he is the center of God's redemptive work.
The Son gives the Spirit to Christ who receives and then gives
him to men. We see in Christ the mutual acts of giving and
receiving, an important ordering sequence in Christian charity:
«receiving presupposes giving as a condition for its possibility* 71 .
The authority pertains to the Son because he fully participates in
the Father:
«What is from the essence of the Father, and proper to
him, is entirely the Son; for it is the same to say that
God is wholly participated and that He begets. And what
does beget signify if not Son» 73 .
«Ei yap ecppovouv 6p9co