“Oh, the surpassing kindness and love of God!
He did not hate or reject or bear a grudge against us but He was patient and bore with us, having mercy He Himself experienced our sin, He Himself gave His own Son, a ransom on our behalf, the Holy for the lawless, the innocent for the guilty, the righteous for the unrighteous, the incorruptible for the corruptible, the immortal for the mortal.
For what else than that one’s righteousness could cover up our sin? In who else than in the Son of God alone could our lawlessness and ungodliness possibly be justified?
Oh, the sweet exchange! Oh, the fathomless creation!
Oh, the unexpected benefits that the lawlessness of many should be concealed in the one righteous, and righteousness of the one should justify many lawless.
Therefore, having brought to light in the former time, the inability of our nature to attain life, and now having shown the Savior’s ability to save even the powerless, for both reasons He wanted us to believe in His goodness to consider Him nourisher, Father, teacher, counselor, healer, mind, light, honor, glory, strength, and life.”
–Rick Brannan, Letter to Diognetus, trans., The Apostolic Fathers in English (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), 305. (9.2-6)
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