John Chrysostom, On Consubstantiality

and the Son gives life to whom he will; when concerning the identity of worship, That all should honor the Son, just as they honor the Father; when concerning the authority in the alterations of the laws, My Father, he says, is working, and I am working. But these men, having passed over all these things, and not having taken the name Son in its proper sense, since they themselves have also been honored with the title of sons, bring the Son down to the same lowliness, saying, I said, You are gods, and all of you sons of the Most High. Therefore, since because of the title of son you say the Son has nothing more than you, and for this reason is not 48.759 a true son, and because of the title of God, since he has shared the name with you, you will perhaps contend that the Father has nothing more than you; for just as you were called son, so also you were called god; but just as, being called god, you do not dare to say that the name is bare, but confess that the Father is true God; so also in the case of the Son, do not dare to bring yourself forward and say, that I too have been called a son; and since I am not of the same substance, neither ought he to be of the same; for all the things that have been enumerated show that he is a true Son and of the same substance as the one who begot him. For when he says that he is of the same form and of the same character, what else does it indicate but the unchangeable nature of the substance? For there is no form concerning God, nor a face; but just as you say these things, he says, speak also of the opposite. What opposite things? For instance, that he prays to the Father; for if he is of the same power, and of the same substance, and does all things by his own authority, for what reason does he pray? 3. But I will not only say these things, but also whatever other humble things have been said about him, I will set them all forth with accuracy, having first said this, that I have many just reasons to state for the things humbly spoken about him, but you could state no other pretext for the high and glorious things, other than his wishing to show us his own nobility. For if this were not so, there would be strife and war in the Scriptures; for to say that just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will, and whatever other things I said, and again to pray, whenever it is necessary to do this, is a contradiction; but if I state the reasons, all dispute is henceforth removed. What then are the reasons that both he himself and the apostles have said many humble things about him? The first reason, then, and the greatest, is that he was clothed in flesh, and wished to assure both those then and those after them, that what was seen was not some shadow, nor simply a figure, but the reality of a nature. For if, when so many humble and human things were said about him by both the apostles and by himself about himself, the devil was nevertheless strong enough to persuade some of the wretched and miserable men to deny the reason of the economy, and to dare to say that he did not take on flesh, and to do away with the whole foundation of his love for mankind; if he had said none of these things, how many would not have fallen into this pit? Do you not still now hear of Marcion denying the economy, and of Manichaeus, and of Valentinus, and of many others? For this reason he utters many human and humble things, and things falling short of that ineffable substance, in order to confirm the reason of the economy. For the devil has been very eager to destroy this faith from among men, knowing that if he destroys the faith of the economy, the greater part of our affairs will be gone. There is also another reason after this one, the weakness of the hearers, and their not being able, at that time seeing him for the first time, and at that time hearing for the first time, to receive the higher words of the doctrines. And that what is said is not conjecture, I will try to demonstrate this to you from the Scriptures themselves 48.760 and to show that if ever he uttered anything great and lofty and worthy of his own glory; what do I say, great and lofty, and worthy of his own glory? if ever he said anything more than human nature,

καὶ ὁ Υἱὸς, οὓς θέλει ζωοποιεῖ· ὅταν δὲ τὴν ταυτότητα τῆς λατρείας, Ἵνα πάντες τιμῶσι τὸν Υἱὸν, καθὼς τιμῶσι τὸν Πατέρα· ὅταν δὲ τὴν αὐθεντίαν τὴν ἐν ταῖς τῶν νόμων μετασκευαῖς, Ὁ Πατήρ μου, φησὶν, ἐργάζεται, κἀγὼ ἐργάζομαι. Ἀλλ' οὗτοι πάντα ταῦτα παραδραμόντες, καὶ τὸ Υἱὸς ὄνομα οὐ κυρίως ἐκλαβόντες, ἐπειδὴ καὶ αὐτοὶ τετίμηνται τῇ τῶν υἱῶν προσηγορίᾳ, εἰς τὴν αὐτὴν εὐτέλειαν τὸν Υἱὸν κατάγουσι λέγοντες, Ἐγὼ εἶπα, θεοί ἐστε, καὶ υἱοὶ Ὑψίστου πάντες. Οὐκοῦν ἐπειδὴ διὰ τὴν τοῦ υἱοῦ προσηγορίαν φῂς μηδὲν ἔχειν σου πλέον τὸν Υἱὸν, καὶ κατὰ τοῦτο μηδὲ εἶναι 48.759 ἀληθινὸν υἱὸν, καὶ διὰ τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ προσηγορίαν, ἐπειδή σοι μετέδωκε τοῦ ὀνόματος, φιλονεικήσεις ἴσως μηδὲν ἔχειν σου πλέον τὸν Πατέρα· ὥσπερ γὰρ υἱὸς ἐκλήθης, οὕτω καὶ θεὸς ἐκλήθης· ἀλλ' ὥσπερ θεὸς κληθεὶς οὐ τολμᾷς εἰπεῖν ὅτι ψιλὸν ἐκεῖ τὸ ὄνομα, ἀλλ' ὁμολογεῖς ἀληθῆ Θεὸν εἶναι τὸν Πατέρα· οὕτω μηδὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ τόλμα σαυτὸν εἰς μέσον ἄγειν, καὶ λέγειν, ὅτι κἀγὼ υἱὸς κέκλημαι· καὶ ἐπειδὴ τῆς αὐτῆς οὐσίας οὐκ εἰμὶ, οὐδὲ ἐκεῖνος ὀφείλει τῆς αὐτῆς εἶναι· τὰ γὰρ ἀπηριθμημένα ἅπαντα δείκνυσιν ἀληθινὸν ὄντα Υἱὸν καὶ τῆς αὐτῆς οὐσίας τῷ γεγεννηκότι. Ὅταν γὰρ εἴπῃ, ὅτι τῆς αὐτῆς ἐστιν αὐτῷ μορφῆς, καὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ χαρακτῆρος, τί ἄλλο δηλοῖ, ἢ τὸ ἀπαράλλακτον τῆς οὐσίας; Οὐ γὰρ δὴ μορφὴ περὶ Θεὸν, οὐδὲ πρόσωπον· ἀλλ' ὡς ταῦτα, φησὶ, λέγεις, εἰπὲ καὶ τὰ ἐναντία. Ποῖα ἐναντία; Οἷον ὅτι εὔχεται τῷ Πατρί· εἰ γὰρ τῆς αὐτῆς ἐστι δυνάμεως, καὶ τῆς αὐτῆς οὐσίας, καὶ ἀπὸ ἐξουσίας πάντα ποιεῖ, τίνος ἕνεκεν εὔχεται; γʹ. Ἐγὼ δὲ οὐ ταῦτα ἐρῶ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὅσα ἕτερα ταπεινὰ περὶ αὐτοῦ εἴρηται, πάντα παραθήσομαι μετὰ ἀκριβείας, πρότερον ἐκεῖνο εἰπὼν, ὅτι ἐγὼ μὲν τῶν ταπεινῶς εἰρημένων περὶ αὐτοῦ πολλὰς ἔχω καὶ δικαίας αἰτίας εἰπεῖν, σὺ δὲ τῶν ὑψηλῶν καὶ ἐνδόξων οὐδεμίαν ἑτέραν ἔχοις ἂν εἰπεῖν πρόφασιν, ἀλλ' ἢ τὸ βούλεσθαι τὴν εὐγένειαν ἡμῖν αὐτὸν ἐνδείκνυσθαι τὴν αὐτοῦ. Ἐπεὶ εἰ μὴ τοῦτο οὕτως ἔχοι, μάχη καὶ πόλεμος ἐν ταῖς Γραφαῖς· τὸ γὰρ λέγειν ὅτι Ὥσπερ ὁ Πατὴρ ἐγείρει τοὺς νεκροὺς καὶ ζωοποιεῖ, οὕτω καὶ ὁ Υἱὸς οὓς θέλει ζωοποιεῖ, καὶ ὅσα ἕτερα εἶπον, καὶ τὸ πάλιν εὔχεσθαι, ἡνίκα ἂν δέῃ τοῦτο ποιεῖν, ἐναντίον· ἀλλ' ἐὰν τὰς αἰτίας εἴπω, πᾶσα ἀνῄρηται λοιπὸν ἀμφισβήτησις. Τίνες οὖν εἰσιν αἱ αἰτίαι τοῦ ταπεινὰ πολλὰ καὶ αὐτὸν καὶ τοὺς ἀποστόλους εἰρηκέναι περὶ αὐτοῦ; Πρώτη μὲν οὖν αἰτία καὶ μεγίστη, τὸ σάρκα αὐτὸν περιβεβλῆσθαι, καὶ βούλεσθαι καὶ τοὺς τότε καὶ τοὺς μετὰ ταῦτα πιστώσασθαι πάντας, ὅτι οὐ σκιά τίς ἐστιν, οὐδὲ σχῆμα ἁπλῶς τὸ ὁρώμενον, ἀλλ' ἀλήθεια φύσεως. Εἰ γὰρ τοσαῦτα ταπεινὰ καὶ ἀνθρώπινα περὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ τῶν ἀποστόλων εἰρηκότων, καὶ αὐτοῦ περὶ ἑαυτοῦ, ὅμως ἴσχυσεν ὁ διάβολος πεῖσαί τινας τῶν ἀθλίων καὶ ταλαιπώρων ἀνθρώπων ἀρνήσασθαι τῆς οἰκονομίας τὸν λόγον, καὶ τολμῆσαι εἰπεῖν, ὅτι σάρκα οὐκ ἔλαβε, καὶ τὴν πᾶσαν τῆς φιλανθρωπίας ὑπόθεσιν ἀνελεῖν· εἰ μηδὲν τούτων εἶπε, πόσοι οὐκ ἂν εἰς τὸ βάραθρον τοῦτο κατέπεσον; Οὐκ ἀκούεις ἔτι καὶ νῦν Μαρκίωνος ἀρνουμένου τὴν οἰκονομίαν, καὶ Μανιχαίου, καὶ Οὐαλεντίνου, καὶ πολλῶν ἑτέρων; ∆ιὰ τοῦτο πολλὰ ἀνθρώπινα καὶ ταπεινὰ φθέγγεται, καὶ τῆς οὐσίας ἐκείνης τῆς ἀποῤῥήτου ἀποδέοντα, ἵνα πιστώσηται τῆς οἰκονομίας τὸν λόγον. Καὶ γὰρ σφόδρα ἐσπούδακεν ὁ διάβολος ταύτην ἐκ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὴν πίστιν ἀνελεῖν, εἰδὼς ὅτι τῆς οἰκονομίας ἐὰν ἀνέλῃ τὴν πίστιν, τὸ πλέον τῶν καθ' ἡμᾶς οἰχήσεται πραγμάτων. Ἔστι καὶ ἑτέρα μετὰ ταύτην αἰτία, ἡ ἀσθένεια τῶν ἀκουόντων, καὶ τὸ μὴ δύνασθαι τότε πρῶτον αὐτὸν ἰδόντας, καὶ τότε πρῶτον ἀκούοντας, τοὺς ὑψηλοτέρους τῶν δογμάτων δέξασθαι λόγους. Καὶ ὅτι οὐ στοχασμὸς τὸ λεγόμενον, ἀπ' αὐτῶν σοι παραστῆσαι τοῦτο πειράσομαι τῶν Γραφῶν 48.760 καὶ δεῖξαι, ὅτι εἴ ποτέ τι μέγα καὶ ὑψηλὸν καὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ δόξης ἄξιον ἐφθέγξατο· τί λέγω μέγα καὶ ὑψηλὸν, καὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ δόξης ἄξιον; εἴ ποτέ τι τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως εἶπε πλέον,