Cyprian's Statement: He Cannot Have God For His Father

The Cyprian's famous statement "He cannot have God for his Father who has not the Church for his mother" emphasizes the idea of "unity" and also, "relationship." The way I interpret his statement is simply as not "one or the other" option but more as "one and the other." By considering the issue of Novationism, and the challenges that the church was facing at that time, Cyprian was trying to indicate that there is no salvation outside the church. His targets of putting out this statement are those who had lapsed and denied their faith publically. I realized that Cyprian's statement rooted in promoting the idea of "the visibility of the church" and also, claiming the understanding that those who claimed themselves have received the love of God