Chapter 12 — Life Without Division
The fall fractured human consciousness and created a world governed by fear, separation, and fragmentation. People began to imagine existence in binaries: heaven vs earth, sacred vs secular, men vs women, dead vs living, spirit vs matter. These dualisms became the atmosphere of wounded humanity, shaping religions, cultures, relationships, and even interpretation of God.
But in Christ—the center of all existence, the Last Adam, the cosmic mediator—all divisions collapse. Not into a shapeless blur, but into harmony. Unity does not erase distinction; it removes hostility, distance, and rivalry. Christ’s Incarnation, Cross, Resurrection, and Ascension open the way into a world where all things are reconciled within Him.
This chapter reveals the life of the new humanity as life without division—a unified existence in the circle of Christ.
We explore:
The far becomes near
Heaven and earth joined
Dead and living united in Christ
Men and women co-priests
All of life sacramental
Humanity restored to cosmic priesthood
1. The Far Becomes Near
Humanity, after the fall, developed an instinctive belief that God was far away, distant, inaccessible, and hidden behind layers of intermediaries. But Christ reveals the opposite:
God is closer than breath.
1.1. The Illusion of Distance Is Broken
Distance from God is not a metaphysical reality; it is a psychological wound. When the mind is darkened and the heart fragmented:
God seems remote
spiritual life seems unreachable
holiness seems for the elite
prayer feels like shouting into the void
But in Christ:
God becomes human
eternity steps into time
infinity becomes measurable
the divine becomes tangible
Christ destroys the illusion that God lives somewhere “out there.”
1.2. The Trinity Becomes the Atmosphere of Human Life
Now:
The Father is near as love
The Son is near as our mediator
The Spirit is near as indwelling fire
Christian existence is not seeking God “far away”—it is awakening to the God already present in Christ.
The far becomes near because Christ is the nearness of God.
2. Heaven and Earth Joined
One of the oldest dualisms in human consciousness is the idea that heaven and earth belong to separate realms. Christ dissolves this split.
2.1. The Incarnation Unites the Realms
In Christ:
heaven takes on flesh
earth receives divinity
the invisible becomes visible
the visible becomes sacrament
Christ’s body is the bridge between realms:
fully human
fully divine
fully uniting what had been perceived as separate
2.2. The Cross and Resurrection Seal the Union
At the Cross, heaven and earth meet in suffering love.
At the Resurrection, heaven and earth meet in glorified human life.
At the Ascension, humanity enters the fullness of divine presence.
Heaven is no longer “up there”; it is where Christ is, permeating creation.
2.3. The Church Lives at the Intersection
The Church becomes:
heaven on earth
earth in heaven
the place where visible and invisible praise intertwine
the sacramental body where Christ continues His unifying work
In Christ, heaven and earth are not rivals or distances—they are joined in one seamless reality.
3. Dead and Living United in Christ
Death once divided the world into two realms: the living above and the dead below. This dualism fueled fear, superstition, ancestor cults, and the belief that the dead are disconnected from God.
Christ’s descent into death and His Resurrection shatter this separation.
3.1. Christ Enters the Realm of the Dead
He does not enter death as a prisoner but as a conqueror:
He breaks the gates of Sheol
He liberates the righteous dead
He illuminates the realm of darkness
Death no longer seals people away from divine presence.
3.2. Christ’s Resurrection Establishes One Humanity
Now:
the dead are alive in Christ
the living are sustained by Christ
both are part of the same body
no wall divides the two realms
This is why the Church says:
the saints are alive
the martyrs intercede
the departed rest in Christ
the living and dead worship together
3.3. No More Fear of Death
Death, once the ultimate threat, becomes:
a boundary Christ has already crossed
a passage into His presence
a doorway, not a wall
In Christ, the dualism between “dead” and “living” collapses.
There is only one family, some visible, some invisible, all alive in Him.
4. Men and Women Co-Priests
In fallen humanity, gender becomes a source of division, hierarchy, and domination. Patriarchy presents itself as divine order, though it is rooted in the fall.
Christ restores the primal unity of humanity:
4.1. Male and Female in One Priesthood
In Christ:
both are baptized into the same life
both receive the same Spirit
both participate in the same Eucharist
both become temples of the same presence
The new humanity knows no spiritual hierarchy based on gender.
4.2. Christ Redeems Relationship, Not Roles
Men and women:
mediate divine presence together
carry equal dignity
share equal access to the Father
reflect different aspects of divine beauty
embody unity-in-distinction, not competition
Christ does not erase gender—He heals it.
4.3. The Church as Icon of Gendered Harmony
In the Church:
the Theotokos reveals humanity’s receptive priesthood
Christ reveals humanity’s self-offering priesthood
Mary and Jesus together show what redeemed humanity looks like
all believers participate in both dimensions of Christ’s priesthood
Thus gender becomes complementary cooperation, not domination.
5. All of Life Sacramental
The split between “sacred” and “secular” is one of the great illusions of fallen consciousness. Christ re-sacralizes all creation.
5.1. Creation Becomes Transparent to God
Because the Logos created all things, and because He became flesh, everything has the capacity to reveal God.
Water becomes baptism
Bread becomes the Body of Christ
Wine becomes His Blood
Oil becomes the seal of the Spirit
Human touch becomes the medium of healing
Creation becomes a network of signs pointing beyond themselves
5.2. Daily Life Becomes Liturgy
In the circle of Christ:
Work becomes offering
Meals become communion
Suffering becomes intercession
Relationships become icons of divine love
Creativity becomes participation in the Logos
Rest becomes trust in the Father
Sacramentality is not limited to rituals; it becomes a mode of existence.
5.3. The World Is a Temple Again
Eden was the first temple.
The Church is the renewed temple.
The world becomes the final, cosmic temple when humanity lives its priesthood rightly.
Christ restores the world to its original purpose: a sacrament of divine presence.
6. Humanity Restored to Cosmic Priesthood
This is the ultimate goal of Christ’s work: not merely forgiveness, not merely moral improvement, but the restoration of humanity to its vocation as cosmic priest.
6.1. The Last Adam Reinstates the First Adam’s Mission
Christ, the High Priest:
offers creation to the Father
fills humanity with the Spirit
reconciles visible and invisible
opens the path to adoption
restores our mediating role
Humanity regains its calling:
to harmonize creation
to intercede for the world
to steward the earth with love
to reveal the Father through Christ in the Spirit
to bring all things into unity
6.2. The Priesthood of the New Humanity
This priesthood is not clerical or institutional. It is:
relational
cosmic
sacramental
daily
communal
Christ-shaped
Every human vocation—scientist, artist, farmer, parent, teacher, healer—becomes priestly when joined to Christ’s offering.
6.3. Creation Awaits This Revelation
Paul says creation “groans” waiting for the children of God to be revealed.
When humanity:
lives without division
acts with sacramental awareness
reflects Christ’s healing presence
mediates peace, forgiveness, and love
—creation itself is transfigured.
This is not poetic metaphor. It is the cosmic destiny of humanity.
Conclusion: Life Without Division Is Life Inside Christ
In the circle of Christ:
The far becomes near
Heaven and earth join
The dead and living unite
Men and women co-priest
All life becomes sacrament
Humanity becomes cosmic priest
This is not utopian idealism; it is the reality inaugurated by the Resurrection and the gift of the Spirit.
Life without division is life as it was meant to be:
one cosmos
one humanity
one worship
one communion
one Christ
one life in the Holy Trinity