c. 318 or 335–337

Athanasius, On the Incarnation of the Word, and the Greek doctrine of salvation as deification

Berkhof calls Athanasius's On the Incarnation the first systematic treatise on the work of redemption. Salvation, for Athanasius, continues creation: sin is not merely an error or a debt but an element of decay that can be expelled only by a new creative act, so only the Creator can save. Only he by whom the world was made can restore it; Christ offered a sacrifice for all, taking the place of all people, and death and corruption were destroyed by the Word united with a body: the Word became man "so that we might be made divine". According to Berkhof, the necessity of satisfaction in Athanasius rests on God's veracity rather than on his justice, and the price was not paid to Satan. The Greek doctrine, which reached its summation in John of Damascus, saw salvation both as a direct result of the incarnation and as a result of objective conditions – a sacrifice to God, satisfaction of justice, ransom to Satan.