Irenaeus on the glory of being human
“The glory of God is a living man, and the life of man consists in beholding God.”
Plain English
Irenaeus is arguing against systems that treat the created world and the human body as spiritual problems. He answers that embodied human life, healed by God, is part of God's glory.
Why it matters
The line became a shorthand for Irenaeus's full-bodied vision of creation, incarnation, and salvation.
About Irenaeus
Irenaeus gave the church its first large-scale answer to the question, 'how do we know this is apostolic Christianity?' Against Gnostics, Marcionites, and private spiritual teachers, he argued from public scripture, public teaching, and the churches founded by the apostles. Apostolic succession in his hands was not just a power claim; it was a way of checking whether a teacher was inventing a new religion under Christian names. Later orthodoxy inherited that instinct from him.
- Lifespan
- c. 130 – c. 202
- Era
- Ante Nicene
- Born in
- Smyrna
- See
- Lyons
- Region
- Gaul
Against Heresies
Irenaeus of LyonsThe key text for public apostolic tradition, anti-gnostic argument, and the chain from John to Polycarp to Irenaeus.
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