4. Let us, as I said, see how he is confuted, and then let us set forth the truth. Now he quotes the words, “Egypt has laboured, and the merchandise of Ethiopia and the Sabeans,” and so forth on to the words, “For Thou art the God of Israel, the Saviour.” And these words he cites without understanding what precedes them. For whenever they wish to attempt anything underhand, they mutilate the Scriptures. But let him quote the passage as a whole, and he will discover the reason kept in view in writing it. For we have the beginning of the section a little above; and we ought, of course, to commence there in showing to whom and about whom the passage speaks. For above, the beginning of the section stands thus: “Ask me concerning my sons and my daughters, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me. I have made the earth, and man upon it: I with my hand have stablished the heaven; I have commanded all the stars. I have raised him up, and all his ways are straight. He shall build my city, and he shall turn back the captivity; not for price nor reward, said the Lord of hosts. Thus said the Lord of hosts, Egypt hath laboured, and the merchandise of Ethiopia and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be slaves to thee: and they shall come after thee bound with manacles, and they shall fall down unto thee; and they shall make supplication unto thee, because God is in thee; and there is no God beside thee.  For Thou art God, and we knew not; the God of Israel, the Saviour.”15    Isa. xlv. 11–15.  “In thee, therefore,” says he, “God is.”  But in whom is God except in Christ Jesus, the Father’s Word, and the mystery of the economy?16    [Bull, Opp., v. pp. 367, 734, 740–743, 753–756.] And again, exhibiting the truth regarding Him, he points to the fact of His being in the flesh when He says, “I have raised Him up in righteousness, and all His ways are straight.” For what is this? Of whom does the Father thus testify? It is of the Son that the Father says, “I have raised Him up in righteousness.” And that the Father did raise up His Son in righteousness, the Apostle Paul bears witness, saying, “But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.”17    Rom. viii. 11. Behold, the word spoken by the prophet is thus made good, “I have raised Him up in righteousness.” And in saying, “God is in thee,” he referred to the mystery of the economy, because when the Word was made incarnate and became man, the Father was in the Son, and the Son in the Father, while the Son was living among men.  This, therefore, was signified, brethren, that in reality the mystery of the economy by the Holy Ghost and the Virgin was this Word, constituting yet one Son to God.18    Turrian has the following note: “The Word of God constituted (operatum est) one Son to God; i.e., the Word of God effected, that He who was the one Son of God was also one Son of man, because as His hypostasis He assumed the flesh. For thus was the Word made flesh.” And it is not simply that I say this, but He Himself attests it who came down from heaven; for He speaketh thus: “No man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.”19    John iii. 13. What then can he seek beside what is thus written? Will he say, forsooth, that flesh was in heaven? Yet there is the flesh which was presented by the Father’s Word as an offering,—the flesh that came by the Spirit and the Virgin, (and was) demonstrated to be the perfect Son of God. It is evident, therefore, that He offered Himself to the Father. And before this there was no flesh in heaven. Who, then, was in heaven20    [John iii. 13.] but the Word unincarnate, who was despatched to show that He was upon earth and was also in heaven?  For He was Word, He was Spirit, He was Power. The same took to Himself the name common and current among men, and was called from the beginning the Son of man on account of what He was to be, although He was not yet man, as Daniel testifies when he says, “I saw, and behold one like the Son of man came on the clouds of heaven.”21    Dan. vii. 13.  Rightly, then, did he say that He who was in heaven was called from the beginning by this name, the Word of God, as being that from the beginning.

[4] ἴδωμεν, ὡς εἶπον, τὴν αὐτοῦ ἀνατροπήν, εἶθ' οὕτως τὴν ἀλήθειαν διηγησώμεθα. φησὶν γάρ, Ἐκοπίασεν Αἴγυπτος καὶ ἐμπόρια Αἰθιόπων καὶ οἱ Σαβαεὶμ καὶ τὰ λοιπά, ἵνα εἴπῃ, Σὺ γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ σωτήρ, οὐ νοῶν τὸ προειρημένον. ὁπόταν γὰρ θελήσωσιν πανουργεύεσθαι, περικόπτουσι τὰς γραφάς. ὁλοκλήρως δὲ εἰπάτω καὶ εὑρήσει τὴν αἰτίαν πρὸς τίνα λέγεται. ἀνωτέρω γὰρ μικρὸν ἀρχὴ τοῦ κεφαλαίου τυγχάνει, ὅθεν δεῖ ἀρξάμενον δεῖξαι πρὸς τίνα λέγει καὶ περὶ τίνος. ἄνωθεν γὰρ ἡ ἀρχὴ τοῦ κεφαλαίου τοῦτ' ἔχει, Ἐρωτήσατέ με περὶ τῶν υἱῶν μου καὶ τῶν θυγατέρων μου 〚ἐντελεῖσθαί μοι〛 καὶ τῶν ἔργων τῶν χειρῶν μου ἐντείλασθέ μοι. ἐγὼ ἐποίησα γῆν καὶ ἄνθρωπον ἐπ' αὐτῆς: ἐγὼ τῇ χειρί μου ἐστερέωσα τὸν οὐρανόν: ἐγὼ πᾶσι τοῖς ἄστροις ἐνετειλάμην. ἐγὼ ἤγειρα αὐτόν, καὶ πᾶσαι αἱ ὁδοὶ αὐτοῦ εὐθεῖαι. οὗτος οἰκοδομήσει τὴν πόλιν μου καὶ τὴν αἰχμαλωσίαν ἐπιστρέψει οὐ μετὰ λύτρων οὐδὲ μετὰ δώρων, εἶπεν Κύριος Σαβαώθ. οὕτως εἶπεν Κύριος Σαβαώθ, Ἐκοπίασεν Αἴγυπτος καὶ ἐμπόρια Αἰθιόπων καὶ οἱ Σαβαεὶμ ἄνδρες ὑψηλοὶ ἐπὶ σὲ διαβήσονται καί σοι ἔσονται δοῦλοι καὶ ὀπίσω σου ἀκολουθήσουσιν δεδεμένοι χειροπέδαις καὶ ἐν σοὶ προσκυνήσουσιν καὶ ἐν σοὶ προσεύξονται, ὅτι ἐν σοὶ ὁ Θεός ἐστιν καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν Θεὸς πλὴν σοῦ. σὺ γὰρ ἦς Θεὸς καὶ οὐκ ᾔδειμεν, ὁ Θεὸς τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ σωτήρ. Ἐν σοὶ οὖν, φησίν, ὁ Θεός ἐστιν. ἐν τίνι δὲ ὁ Θεὸς ἀλλ' ἢ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ πατρῴῳ Λόγῳ καὶ τῷ μυστηρίῳ τῆς οἰκονομίας; περὶ οὗ πάλιν δεικνύων τὸ κατὰ σάρκα αὐτοῦ σημαίνει, Ἐγὼ ἤγειρα αὐτὸν μετὰ δικαιοσύνης, καὶ πᾶσαι αἱ ὁδοὶ αὐτοῦ εὐθεῖαι. τί οὖν; περὶ τίνος μαρτυρεῖ Πατήρ; περὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ 〚αὐτοῦ〛 Πατὴρ λέγει, Ἐγὼ ἤγειρα μετὰ δικαιοσύνης. ὅτι δὲ Πατὴρ ἤγειρεν αὐτοῦ τὸν Υἱὸν ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ μαρτυρεῖ ὁ ἀπόστολος Παῦλος λέγων, Εἰ δὲ τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ ἐγείραντος Χριστὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν οἰκεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν, ὁ ἐγείρας ἐκ νεκρῶν Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν ζωοποιήσει καὶ τὰ θνητὰ σώματα ὑμῶν διὰ τοῦ ἐνοικοῦντος αὐτοῦ πνεύματος ἐν ὑμῖν. ἰδοὺ συνέστηκεν τὸ διὰ τοῦ προφήτου εἰρημένον, Ἐγὼ ἤγειρα μετὰ δικαιοσύνης. τὸ δὲ εἰπεῖν, Ὅτι ἐν σοὶ ὁ Θεός ἐστιν, ἐδείκνυεν μυστήριον οἰκονομίας: ὅτι σεσαρκωμένου τοῦ Λόγου καὶ ἐνανθρωπήσαντος ὁ Πατὴρ ἦν ἐν τῷ Υἱῷ καὶ ὁ Υἱὸς ἐν τῷ Πατρί, ἐνπολιτευομένου τοῦ Υἱοῦ ἐν ἀνθρώποις. τοῦτο οὖν ἐσημαίνετο, ἀδελφοί, ὅτι ὄντως μυστήριον οἰκονομίας ἐκ πνεύματος ἁγίου ἦν οὗτος ὁ Λόγος καὶ παρθένου ἕνα Υἱὸν Θεῷ ἀπεργασάμενος. τοῦτο δὲ οὐκ ἐγὼ λέγω, ἀλλ' αὐτὸς μαρτυρεῖ ὁ καταβὰς ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ. οὕτως γὰρ λέγει, Οὐδεὶς ἀναβέβηκεν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν εἰ μὴ ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβάς, ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ὁ ὢν ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ. τί οὖν ζητεῖ παρὰ τὸ εἰρημένον; μήτι ἐρεῖ ὅτι ἐν οὐρανῷ σὰρξ ἦν; ἔστιν μὲν οὖν σὰρξ ἡ ὑπὸ τοῦ Λόγου τοῦ πατρῴου προσενεχθεῖσα δῶρον, ἡ ἐκ πνεύματος καὶ παρθένου τέλειος Υἱὸς Θεοῦ ἀποδεδειγμένος. πρόδηλον οὖν ὅτι αὐτὸς ἑαυτὸν προσέφερεν τῷ Πατρί. πρὸ δὲ τούτου ἐν οὐρανῷ σὰρξ οὐκ ἦν. τίς οὖν ἦν ἐν οὐρανῷ ἀλλ' ἢ Λόγος ἄσαρκος, ὁ ἀποσταλεὶς ἵνα δείξῃ αὐτὸν ἐπὶ γῆς ὄντα εἶναι καὶ ἐν οὐρανῷ; Λόγος γὰρ ἦν, πνεῦμα ἦν, δύναμις ἦν. ὃς τὸ κοινὸν ὄνομα καὶ παρὰ ἀνθρώποις χωρητὸν ἀνελάμβανεν εἰς ἑαυτόν, τοῦτο καλούμενος ἀπ' ἀρχῆς, υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου, διὰ τὸ μέλλον, καίτοι μήπω ὢν ἄνθρωπος. καθὼς ὁ Δανιὴλ μαρτυρεῖ λέγων, Εἶδον καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐπὶ τῶν νεφελῶν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἐρχόμενον ὡς υἱὸν ἀνθρώπου. δικαίως οὖν ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ὄντα ἔλεγεν τὸν τῷ ὀνόματι τούτῳ ἀπ' ἀρχῆς ὄντα καλεῖσθαι ἀπ' ἀρχῆς, Λόγον Θεοῦ.