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invisible, but also the son; for even if he was seen in the flesh, yet not according to his essence, which not even angels behold as it is; for many know God, but no one knows his essence. It is not the hidden body that is called invisible, but the incorporeal, which is not by nature seen even by the mind. 29 {3Jο 1, 18}3Through a trustworthy person he establishes this lofty and superhuman doctrine; "for who knows the things" to say of God and the Father, except the son begotten from him and his Holy Spirit who knows "even the depths of God." 30 {3Jο 1, }3Instead of this he spoke, testifying that Jesus is the Christ, not indeed John himself, as some have wrongly suspected concerning him.

31 {3Jο 1, -23}3It is a work of virtue not to be lifted up by their praises and not to be adorned with ornaments that are not one's own. He said: I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord, as Isaiah the prophet said. 32 {3Jο 1, 23}3As a voice runs before a word, so also, Christ being the Word, John runs before as a voice. 33 {3Jο 1, 23}3If Isaiah had not foretold me to preach the Christ, who is Lord, I would not have dared to speak. 34 {3Jο 1, 24}3These men came as if more precise concerning the knowledge of the scriptures, whom John gently reproved as being uneducated and senseless for being ignorant of the passage spoken about him by the prophet so well-known among them. 35 {3Jο 1, 25}3It seems they had such traditions from their teachers that it was permitted for those alone to baptize, that is, either the Christ or Elijah or the prophet. 36 {3Jο 1, 26}3John himself is a trustworthy witness of himself, since he uttered nothing great about himself, but even called his own baptism a very humble, mere water. 37 {3Jο 1, 26}3Until the time of the economy, Christ, being present in the midst of all, was unknown. And a little later: He says Christ was standing in the midst and was unknown because of the cloak of the flesh. 38 {3Jο 1, 29}3He is a lamb as being given for the remission of sins of those who are reborn "through the washing of regeneration," and by saying "taking away" he shows that he is always taking away. 39 {3Jο 1, 30}3Christ came before John as the one who takes away "the sin of the world" and baptizes in the Holy Spirit, as the water of John's baptism was mere. And he is called a man as being born of a woman "according to the flesh" or because he was thirty years old; (for they call a man who has reached this age a man) or because he was perfect in every virtue, both practical and theoretical, or because he is the bridegroom of all rational nature, that is, of the church. As the church has the character of a woman, Christ is called a man, as he espouses the souls of the faithful. 41 {3Jο 1, 31}3John was baptizing for the sake of proclaiming Christ and making him manifest to the people. 42 {3Jο 1, 32}3This is said by way of economy; for it is inseparable from the son as also from the father; for it is impossible to see anything of the Trinity with the senses. 43 {3Jο 1, 33}3Since from his earliest age he was living in the deserts, he establishes the unsuspected nature of his testimony, as having learned of him through a revelation. 45 {3Jο 1, 35}3This is found to be the third day since the Pharisees had their encounter with John, in which they asked him who he was. 46 {3Jο 1, 36}3Because of the laziness of the hearers he uses the same words; for it is a virtue of a teacher to use the same words so that the words may be fixed in the souls of the hearers. 47 {3Jο 1, 38}3Since those who follow Christ cannot reach him, he condescendingly turns to them, showing them his face, so that they may know that he is the one who fulfills "the law" and teaches the things in it. 48 {3Jο 1, 38}3He asks not as if he were ignorant, but to call them into conversation. 49 {3Jο 1, 39}3This is not contrary to what was said, "the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head"; for even if he stayed in a house, he did not possess his own lodging. 50 {3Jο 1, 45}3The one you announced to me, he says, how is it possible for the Christ to be from Nazareth, whom the said

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ἀόρατος, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ υἱός· εἰ γὰρ καὶ ὤφθη ἐν σαρκί, ἀλλ' οὐ κατὰ τὴν οὐσίαν, ἣν οὐδὲ ἄγγελοι θεωροῦσιν ὥς ἐστιν· πολλοὶ μὲν γὰρ ἴσασι θεόν, τὴν δὲ οὐσίαν οὐδεὶς οἶδεν. οὐ τὸ κρυπτόμενον σῶμα τοῦτο καλεῖται ἀόρατον, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἀσώματον τὸ μὴ πεφυκὸς ὁρᾶσθαι μηδὲ νῷ. 29 {3Jο 1, 18}3∆ιὰ τοῦ ἀξιοπίστου προσώπου ὑψηλὸν τοῦτο δόγμα καὶ ὑπὲρ ἄνθρωπον συνίστησι· «τίς γὰρ οἶδεν τὰ» τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς εἰπεῖν, εἰ μὴ ὁ ἐξ αὐτοῦ γεννηθεὶς υἱὸς καὶ τὸ ἅγιον αὐτοῦ πνεῦμα τὸ «καὶ τὰ βάθη τοῦ θεοῦ» ἐπιστά μενον. 30 {3Jο 1, }3Ἀντὶ τοῦ ταῦτα ἐλάλησε μαρτυρῶν, ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ἐστιν ὁ Χριστός, οὐ μὴν αὐτὸς ὁ Ἰωάννης, ὡς κακῶς ὑπώπτευσάν τινες περὶ αὐτοῦ.

31 {3Jο 1, -23}3Ἀρετῆς ἔργον τὸ μὴ ἐπαίρεσθαι τοῖς ἐκείνων ἐπαίνοις καὶ ἐν τοῖς οὐκ ἰδίοις ἐγκαλλωπίζεσθαι κόσμοις. ἔφη· ἐγὼ φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ· εὐθύνατε τὴν ὁδὸν τοῦ κυρίου, καθὼς εἶπεν Ἠσαΐας ὁ προφήτης. 32 {3Jο 1, 23}3Ὡς φωνὴ λόγου προτρέχει, οὕτω καὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ λόγου ὄντος ὡς φωνὴ προτρέχει ὁ Ἰωάννης. 33 {3Jο 1, 23}3Εἰ μὴ προπαρήγγειλέ με Ἠσαΐας κηρύξαι τὸν Χριστόν, ὅς ἐστι κύριος, οὐκ ἂν ἐτόλμων λαλῆσαι. 34 {3Jο 1, 24}3Ὡς ἀκριβέστεροι περὶ τὴν γνῶσιν τῶν γραφῶν ἦλθον οὗτοι, οὓς ὁ Ἰωάννης ἠρέμας ἤλεγξεν ἀπαιδεύτους εἶναι καὶ ἀνοήτους ὡς τοῦ κατημαξευμένου παρ' αὐτοῖς προφήτου τὴν περικοπὴν τὴν περὶ αὐτοῦ εἰρημένην ἀγνοεῖν. 35 {3Jο 1, 25}3Ὡς ἔοικε τοιαύτας εἶχον παρὰ τῶν διδασκάλων αὐτῶν παραδόσεις ὡς μόνοις ἐκείνοις ἐξῆν βαπτίζειν ἤγουν ἢ ὁ Χριστὸς ἢ ὁ Ἠλίας ἢ ὁ προ φήτης. 36 {3Jο 1, 26}3Αὐτὸς ὁ Ἰωάννης ἀξιόπιστός ἐστι τῶν ἑαυτοῦ μάρτυς, ὅπου γε οὐδὲν μέγα περὶ ἑαυτοῦ ἐφθέγξατο, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολὺ ταπεινὸν ψιλὸν ὕδωρ ἀποκαλέσας τὸ τοῦ ἰδίου βαπτίσματος. 37 {3Jο 1, 26}3Ἕως τοῦ καιροῦ τῆς οἰκονομίας ὁ Χριστὸς παρὼν ἐν μέσῳ πάντων ἠγνο εῖτο. καὶ μετ' ὀλίγα· μέσον δὲ ἱστάμενον καὶ ἀγνοούμενον λέγει τὸν Χριστὸν διὰ τὴν τῆς σαρκὸς περιβολήν. 38 {3Jο 1, 29}3Ἀμνός ἐστιν ὡς διδόμενος ὑπὲρ ἀφέσεως ἁμαρτιῶν τῶν ἀναγεννωμένων «διὰ λουτροῦ παλιγγενεσίας», αἴρων δὲ εἰπὼν δείκνυσιν, ὅτι ἀεὶ αἴρει. 39 {3Jο 1, 30}3Ἔμπροσθεν γέγονεν ὁ Χριστὸς τοῦ Ἰωάννου ὡς λύων «τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου» καὶ ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ βαπτίζων ὡς ψιλοῦ ὄντος τοῦ ὕδατος τοῦ βαπτίσματος Ἰωάννου. ἀνὴρ δὲ καλεῖται ὡς ἐκ γυναικὸς τεχθεὶς τὸ «κατὰ σάρκα» ἢ ὅτι τριακονταετὴς ὑπῆρχεν· (τὸν γὰρ τῷ χρόνῳ τούτῳ ἐπιβάντα ἄνδρα καλοῦσιν) ἢ ὅτι τέλειος ἦν ἐν πάσῃ ἀρετῇ πρακτικῇ τε καὶ θεωρητικῇ ἢ ὅτι πάσης τῆς λογικῆς φύσεως, ὅ ἐστι τῆς ἐκκλησίας, νυμφίος ἐστίν. ὡς τῆς ἐκκλησίας γυναικὸς ἐχούσης πρόσωπον ὁ Χριστὸς ἀνὴρ καλεῖται ὡς νυμφευό μενος τὰς τῶν πιστῶν ψυχάς. 41 {3Jο 1, 31}3Ἕνεκεν τοῦ κηρύξαι τὸν Χριστὸν καὶ κατάδηλον ποιῆσαι τῷ λαῷ ἐβάπτιζεν ὁ Ἰωάννης. 42 {3Jο 1, 32}3Οἰκονομίας τρόπῳ εἴρηται τοῦτο· ἀχώριστον γάρ ἐστι τοῦ υἱοῦ ὡς καὶ τοῦ πατρός· αἰσθητῶς γάρ τι τῶν τῆς τριάδος ἰδεῖν ἀδύνατον. 43 {3Jο 1, 33}3Ὡς ἐκ πρώτης ἡλικίας ἐν τοῖς ἐρήμοις διάγων τὸ ἀνύποπτον τῆς μαρτυρίας συνίστησιν ὡς δι' ἀποκαλύψεως μαθὼν αὐτόν. 45 {3Jο 1, 35}3Τρίτη αὕτη εὑρίσκεται ἡμέρα, ἀφ' οὗ ἐποιήσαντο οἱ Φαρισαῖοι τὴν πρὸς τὸν Ἰωάννην συντυχίαν, ἐν ᾗ ἐπυνθάνοντο αὐτοῦ τίς ἐστιν. 46 {3Jο 1, 36}3∆ιὰ τὸ ῥᾴθυμον τῶν ἀκροατῶν τοῖς αὐτοῖς κέχρηται λόγοις· ἀρετὴ γὰρ διδασκάλου τὸ τοῖς αὐτοῖς κεχρῆσθαι πρὸς τὸ ἐμπαγῆναι τοὺς λόγους ἐν ταῖς τῶν ἀκροατῶν ψυχαῖς. 47 {3Jο 1, 38}3Ἐπειδὴ οἱ ἀκολουθοῦντες Χριστῷ οὐ δύνανται αὐτὸν φθάσαι, συγκατα βατικῶς στρέφεται πρὸς αὐτοὺς δεικνὺς αὐτοῖς τὸ ἑαυτοῦ πρόσωπον, ἵνα γνῶσιν, ὅτι αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ πληρῶν «τὸν νόμον» καὶ διδάσκων τὰ ἐν αὐτῷ. 48 {3Jο 1, 38}3Οὐχ ὡς ἀγνοῶν δὲ ἐρωτᾷ, ἀλλ' ἐκκαλούμενος αὐτοὺς εἰς ὁμιλίαν. 49 {3Jο 1, 39}3Οὐκ ἔστι τοῦτο ἐναντίον τῷ εἰρημένῳ «ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἔχει ποῦ τὴν κεφαλὴν κλίνῃ»· εἰ γὰρ καὶ κατέμεινεν ἐν οἴκῳ, ἀλλ' ἴδιον οὐκ ἐκτήσατο καταγώγιον. 50 {3Jο 1, 45}3Ὃν εὐηγγελίσω μοι, φησίν, πῶς δυνατὸν εἶναι τὸν Χριστὸν ἐκ Ναζαρέθ, ὃν εἶπεν ἡ