Theologians You Should Know: An Introduction: From the Apostolic Fathers to the 21st Century

by Michael Reeves

flesh? To answer this, Irenaeus now articulates the theory for which he is most famed: “recapitulation.” In a nutshell, Irenaeus’s idea of recapitulation is that Christ is the second Adam, undoing the evils brought about by the first Adam. Sin and death had entered the world on a bad Friday (Irenaeus placed Genesis 3 in day six of creation), through a tree (the tree of knowledge), through one man eating, aided by a disobedient betrothed virgin (Eve); life and salvation came on Good Friday, through a tree (the cross), through one man fasting (in the desert), aided by an obedient betrothed virgin (Mary).75 However, the word “recapitulation” can be a little misleading (as well as off-putting!), giving the impression that Irenaeus imagined Christ simply reversing the fall to take us back to Eden. Irenaeus was a long way from seeing salvation as a U-turn, though: for him, salvation was about going through death to a perfection never possible in Eden. Irenaeus believed that Adam and Eve were never God’s goal; they were only children, and the project of salvation was about humanity being brought to maturity. This was achieved in Christ, who came as an infant and grew to full maturity for us.