[size=10]The work of Christ is for the whole of creation, and not just humanity. Paul in Romans implies this: “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience” (Rom 8:19 -25). Church Fathers, such as St Gregory the Theologian, continued with this cosmic theme and wrote on the universal effects of Christ’s passion.[10] One could even follow St Athanasius’ famous dictum “God became man so that man can become God,” and change “man” with “creature” and one would see the universal effects of the incarnation. For it is obvious if God became man, he also became a creature. There is no soteriological difficulty if one follows the cosmic understanding of Christ found within some Scriptural passages and many patristic authors.
This does not mean there is no practical difficulty. The question, which cannot be answered by us with what we presently know, is how these creatures would learn of Christ to be saved by him. Yet, just as we know that those who do not explicitly know Christ can be saved by him (as long as they do not implicitly reject him, nor explicitly reject him when they properly understand the Christian message), so we can say that their salvation rests in God’s hands. It would still be through Christ, even if they do not explicitly know of the incarnation. Or God could have given them a means to know of the incarnation: the Holy Spirit is active and blows as it wills; perhaps the Holy Spirit is revealing the truth of Christ to the cosmos.
Nonetheless, even if there is no essential reason for there to be multiple incarnations, does that mean there cannot be such? Marie George brought out in her examination of St Thomas Aquinas, Aquinas had no problem with multiple-incarnations for God[11]:
What has power for one thing, and no more, has a power limited to one. Now the power of a Divine Person is infinite, nor can it be limited by any created thing. Hence it may not be said that a Divine Person so assumed one human nature as to be unable to assume another. For it would seem to follow from this that the Personality of the Divine Nature was so comprehended by one human nature as to be unable to assume another to its Personality; and this is impossible, for the Uncreated cannot be comprehended by any creature. Hence it is plain that, whether we consider the Divine Person in regard to His power, which is the principle of the union, or in regard to His Personality, which is the term of the union, it has to be said that the Divine Person, over and beyond the human nature which He has assumed, can assume another distinct human nature.[12]
There are a few things which must be said about this passage. It is, to be sure, rather strange; how can there be many “human natures” if there is only one which is shared by all humanity? We must think of this in relation to what was understand by the term “human” in this era: a rational animal. If we think of it in this way, the assumption of multiple “human natures” is makes sense; it is then the question of whether or not God can assume the nature of a multitude of rational creatures. Aquinas here says yes.
Now, in saying this, we must make sure we do not state that one incarnation is lost, that one body is discarded, if God assumed another nature. The incarnation is eternal, and what is assumed by God remains assumed (otherwise the point of the assumption would be lost, and we would not receive the benefits from it). If God were to assume the nature of other rational creatures, would this mean that God has taken on a multitude of bodies? When we get to heaven, will we see God billions of forms, all speaking to us at once? This seems rather unlikely, and would suggest a practical limitation to this idea. Or does it?
C.S. Lewis in his Narnia series has provided to us a different way to understand the question. Here we see the Son of God has incarnated himself in the form of a lion. In Narnia, it is his form, that of the king of beasts. The children who came to help Narnia saw him as Aslan, but also learned that it was not his only form – in our world, of course, it is that of the God-man Jesus Christ. Because the form Aslan was known in Narnia was that of a lion, the children saw him, with the rest of the Narnians, as a lion. Yet, at the end of The Last Battle Lewis tells us that, after the end of Narnia, in the afterlife, the children were to see him in a new form: “And as he spoke He no longer looked to them like a lion; but things that begin to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them down.”[13] This occurred only after they found Narnia and our world were joined together in the eschaton, so that the two, and other worlds, merged in eternity.[14] What we have here is multiple incarnations, where one experiences the form of the Son of God according to their disposition and expectations: for Narnians, they see him as a lion, for humans, they see him as Christ.
Here we have a way to understand multiple incarnations without the need for a multitude of bodies. The incarnation can be experienced and seen differently, even though it is one and the same body which is being encountered. The normal way to see him would be according to one’s nature, though other factors could change that experience, so that one could see him and encounter him in other forms.[15] Understanding this will also help us appreciate the eucharist, which gives us Christ in the form of bread (though no longer of the nature of bread, so there is a distinction here which must not be left unacknowledged).
What is being said here is that our own experiences, past, and means by which we interpret the world, the construction of the world we create for ourselves, becomes the means by which we interpret and understand the incarnate God. We can be freed from such constructions, and see him in other, greater forms, once we are open to them through his grace – the transfiguration, for example, was one such manifestation for Peter, James and John.[/size]
