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of the hypostases He signified; but to add, “we are one,” declared the unchangeableness of the power; 75.1165 Therefore, of whom the knowledge is equal, and the power, and the will, of these it is clear that the nature is also one, even if the blasphemers act shamelessly.
XIII. That it is possible to learn the equality of the Father and the Son from many sources. But that the
[the Son] can do the same things as the Father, it is possible to learn from another place: for sometimes, “My Father,” He says, “is working until now, and I am working;” and at another time: “For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He will.” - “Whom He will,” He said, not whom He is commanded; whom He wishes, not whom He is ordered; for the one is proper to servitude, the other to lordship. And again from another place: “If I am not doing the works of my Father, do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not wish to believe me, believe the works, and know that the Father is in me, and I in Him.” See again from this the equality of the Father and the Son; “For the Father,” He says, “is in me, and I in Him.” But for this to be found in the case of the greater and the lesser is impossible; for instance: The God of all circumscribes all creation together, both visible and invisible, within Himself, or rather He holds it in His hand; “For in His hand,” it says, “are the ends of the earth,” And again: “He who holds the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers.” And elsewhere: “Who has measured the water in the hollow of his hand, and marked off the heavens with a span, and enclosed all the earth in a measure?” Therefore, as I said, the maker of all things holds all creation in His hand; but for Him to be contained by creation is impossible; therefore it is impossible for unequal things to be contained by each other; but if this is true, as indeed it is true, and the Son contains the Father, just as the Father contains the Son, it is very clear that the argument of inequality is cast out, and equality is known in the Father and the Son.
XIV. A proof that the Son is of equal honor with the Father. And this again us
the Lord Christ Himself teaches us elsewhere, saying: “I am the door. No one comes to the Father except through me.” And from another place: “No one comes to me the Son, unless my heavenly Father draws him.” And we are taught from this, that in like manner both the Son brings to the Father, and the Father brings to the Son those who are being saved. Where, then, is the servile ministry of the heretics? where is the service befitting creation? where does it show the inequality [instead of: but equality] of the Father's lordship and the [Son's] servitude? For we hear how now the Son guides to the Father those who long for salvation; and now the Father does this, and brings to the Son the nurslings of the faith.
XV. That the nature of the Father and the Son is one. And we learn from this of the Father and
the Son's equal honor; and this it is possible to learn from another place, from the Lord Himself speaking with the Jews who were listening; for having gone through many things, He later added: “Even if I 75.1168 bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I am not alone, but I and the Father who sent me; and in your law it is also written, that the testimony of two men is true. I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me. Therefore the Jews said to Him: “Where is your Father? Jesus answered them: ‘You know neither me nor my Father; if you knew me, you would have known the Father also;’” alas, how great is the derangement of the heretics! What great stupor do the heirs of the blasphemy of Arius and Eunomius suffer from! In addition to their derangement, it is possible to see much shamelessness flourishing in them; for they mention the sending up and down, and say that the one who sent is more honorable than the one who was sent; so great is their ignorance of the Scriptures; and they do not consider how by Isaac Jacob [was sent] to the
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τῶν ὑποστάσεων ἐσήμανε· τὸ δὲ ἐπαγαγεῖν, «ἐσμὲν ἓν,» τὸ τῆς δυνάμεως ἐδήλωσεν ἀπαράλλακτον· 75.1165 ὧν τοίνυν ἴση ἡ γνῶσις, καὶ ἡ δύναμις, καὶ ἡ βού λησις, τούτων δηλονότι καὶ ἡ φύσις μία, κἂν ἀναι σχυντῶσιν οἱ δυσφημοῦντες.
ΙΓʹ. Ὅτι πολλαχόθεν ἔστι μαθεῖν Πατρὸς καὶ Υἱοῦ τὴν ἰσότητα. Ὅτι δὲ τὰ
αὐτὰ δύναται τῷ Πατρὶ καὶ [ὁ Υἱὸς], μαθεῖν ἔστιν ἑτέρωθεν· ποτὲ μὲν γὰρ, «Ὁ Πατήρ μου, λέγει, ἕως ἄρτι ἐργάζεται, κἀγὼ ἐργάζομαι·» ποτὲ δέ· «Ὥσπερ ὁ Πατὴρ ἐγείρει τοὺς νεκροὺς καὶ ζωοποιεῖ, οὕτω καὶ ὁ Υἱὸς οὓς θέλει ζωοποιεῖ.» - «Οὓς θέλει» εἶπεν, οὐχ οὓς κελεύεται· οὓς βούλεται, οὐχ οὓς προστάσσεται· τὸ μὲν γὰρ δουλείας, τὸ δὲ δε σποτείας ἴδιον. Καὶ πάλιν ἑτέρωθεν· «Εἰ οὐ ποιῶ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ Πατρός μου, μὴ πιστεύετέ μοι· εἰ δὲ ποιῶ, κἂν ἐμοὶ μὴ θέλητε πιστεύειν, τοῖς ἔργοις πιστεύετε, καὶ γινώσκετε ὅτι ὁ Πατὴρ ἐν ἐμοὶ, κἀγὼ ἐν αὐτῷ.» Ὁρᾶτε πάλιν κἀντεῦθεν Πατρὸς καὶ Υἱοῦ τὴν ἰσότητα· «Ὁ Πατὴρ γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐν ἐμοὶ, κἀγὼ ἐν αὐτῷ.» Ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ μείζονος καὶ τοῦ μείονος τοῦτο εὑρεθῆναι ἀδύνατον· οἷόν τι λέγω· Πᾶσαν ὁμοῦ τὴν κτίσιν ὁρωμένην τε καὶ ἀόρατον ἐν ἑαυτῷ περιγράφει ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεὸς, μᾶλλον δὲ ἐν τῇ χειρὶ κατέχει· «Ἐν γὰρ τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ, φησὶ, τὰ πέρατα τῆς γῆς,» Καὶ πάλιν· «Ὁ κατέχων τὸν γύρον τῆς γῆς, καὶ τοὺς ἐνοικοῦντας ἐν αὐτῇ ὡσεὶ ἀκρίδας.» Καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ· «Τίς ἐμέτρησεν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ τὸ ὕδωρ, καὶ τὸν οὐρα νὸν σπιθαμῇ, καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν δρακί;» Πᾶσαν μὲν οὖν, ὡς ἔφην, τὴν κτίσιν ἐν τῇ χειρὶ κατέχει τῶν ὅλων ὁ ποιητής· αὐτὸν δὲ ὑπὸ τῆς κτίσεως περιληφθῆναι ἀδύνατον· οὐκοῦν ἀμήχανον ὑπ' ἀλλήλων τὰ ἄνισα χωρηθῆναι· εἰ δὲ τοῦτο ἀληθὲς, ὥσπερ καὶ ἀληθὲς, χωρεῖ δὲ ὁ Υἱὸς τὸν Πατέρα, ὥσπερ ὁ Πατὴρ τὸν Υἱὸν, εὔδηλον ὁ τῆς ἀνισότητος λόγος ἐκβέβληται, καὶ ἰσότης ἐν Πατρὶ καὶ Υἱῷ γνωρίζεται.
Ι∆ʹ. Ἀπόδειξις, ἰσότιμον εἶναι τῷ Πατρὶ τὸν Υἱόν. Ταύτην δὲ αὖθις ἡμᾶς
αὐτὸς ὁ ∆εσπότης Χριστὸς ἀλλαχοῦ διδάσκει λέγων· «Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ θύρα. Οὐδεὶς ἔρχεται πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα, εἰ μὴ δι' ἐμοῦ.» Καὶ ἑτέ ρωθεν· «Οὐδεὶς ἔρχεται πρὸς τὸν Υἱὸν ἐμὲ, ἐὰν μὴ ὁ Πατήρ μου ὁ οὐράνιος ἀγάγῃ αὐτόν.» ∆ιδασκόμεθα δὲ ἐντεῦθεν, ὡς ὁμοίως καὶ ὁ Υἱὸς τῷ Πατρὶ, καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ τῷ Υἱῷ προσάγει τοὺς σωζομένους. Ποῦ τοί νυν ἡ δουλοπρεπὴς τῶν αἱρετικῶν λειτουργία; ποῦ ἡ τῇ κτίσει πρέπουσα διακονία; ποῦ τῆς Πατρικῆς δε σποτείας καὶ [Υἱοῦ] δουλείας ἀνισότητα [ξοδ. ἀλλ' ἰσότητα] δείκνυσιν; Ἀκούομεν γὰρ ὡς νῦν ὁ Υἱὸς ποδηγεῖ πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα τοὺς σωτηρίας ἐφιεμένους· καὶ νῦν ὁ Πατὴρ τοῦτο ποιεῖ, καὶ τῷ Υἱῷ προσάγει τῆς πίστεως τοὺς τροφίμους.
ΙΕʹ. Ὅτι μία Πατρὸς καὶ Υἱοῦ ἡ φύσις. Καὶ μανθάνομεν ἐντεῦθεν Πατρὸς καὶ
Υἱοῦ τὸ ἰσό τιμον· τοῦτο δὲ καὶ ἑτέρωθεν ἔστι μαθεῖν, αὐτοῦ τοῦ Κυρίου διαλεγομένου πρὸς τοὺς Ἰουδαίους ἀκούοντας· πολλὰ γὰρ διεξελθὼν, ὕστερον ἐπήγαγε· «Κἂν ἐγὼ 75.1168 περὶ ἐμαυτοῦ μαρτυρῶ, ἡ μαρτυρία μου ἀληθής ἐστιν, ὅτι μόνος οὐκ εἰμὶ, ἀλλ' ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πέμψας με Πατήρ· καὶ ἐν τῷ νόμῳ δὲ τῷ ὑμετέρῳ γεγραμμένον ἐστὶν, ὅτι δύο ἀνθρώπων ἡ μαρτυρία ἀληθής ἐστιν. Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ μαρτυρῶν περὶ ἐμαυτοῦ, καὶ μαρτυρεῖ περὶ ἐμοῦ ὁ πέμψας με Πατήρ. Ἔλεγον οὖν αὐτῷ οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι· «Ποῦ ἔστιν ὁ Πατήρ σου; Ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Οὔτε ἐμὲ οἴδατε, οὔτε τὸν Πατέρα μου· εἰ ἐμὲ οἴδατε, καὶ τὸν Πατέρα ᾔδειτε ἄν·» βαβαὶ πόση τῶν αἱρετικῶν ἡ παραπληξία! πόσην νοσοῦσιν ἐμ βροντησίαν οἱ τῆς Ἀρείου καὶ Εὐνομίου βλασφημίας κληρονόμοι! πρὸς τῇ παραπληξίᾳ, πολλὴν ἔστιν ἰδεῖν ἐν αὐτοῖς ἐπανθοῦσαν ἀναισχυντίαν· τῆς γὰρ ἀποστολῆς ἄνω καὶ κάτω μνημονεύουσι, καὶ τὸν ἀπο στείλαντα τοῦ ἀποσταλέντος φασὶν εἶναι τιμιώτερον· τοσαύτην ἔχουσιν ἀμαθίαν τῶν Γραφῶν· καὶ οὐ λογί ζονται ὡς ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἰσαὰκ ὁ Ἰακὼβ εἰς τὴν