The prophets, receiving the gift of prophecy from this same Word, retold his coming in the flesh, which brought about the union and communion between God and humankind ordained by the Father. From the beginning the word of God prophesied that God would be seen by people and would live among them on earth; he would speak with his own creation and be present to it, bringing it salvation and being visible to it. He would “free us from the hands of all who hate us,” that is, from the universal spirit of sin, and enable us “to serve him in holiness and righteousness all our days.” Humankind was to receive the Spirit of God and so attain to the glory of the Father.

—Irenaeus, Against Heresies