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is led up, guided by the meaning of these expressions, since no difference of nature is introduced by the expression "God" and by the 75 meaning of "Son". For how could he who is truly God's Son and is himself God be conceived as anything other than 75 the Father's nature? But lest the concepts of piety be impressed on the hearts of the hearers through these names, he immediately says he is the firstborn of creation, not named Son without the generation before he existed, having come into being before all creation, not uncreated. So that it might therefore become clear that the malefactor offers the first expressions as a bait to men, so that the poison might be accepted, sweetened as if with some honey by the more pious names, let us dwell a little longer on the 76 argument.

Who does not know how great is the difference in meaning between the only-begotten and the firstborn? For neither is an only-begotten conceived of with brothers, nor a firstborn without brothers, but the firstborn is not only-begotten; for he is in every case the firstborn of brothers; but the only-begotten has no brother; for he would not be only-begotten if numbered among brothers. And in addition to this, of whatever substance the brothers of the firstborn are, of that same substance will the firstborn also certainly be. And not only is this signified by this expression, but also that both the firstborn himself and those who came after him have their being from the same one, with the firstborn contributing nothing to the generation of those who follow. So that by these things the saying of John is constructed to be false, which testifies that "All things were 77 made through him." For if he is firstborn, he differs from those who came after him only in the seniority of time, there being another through whom both for him and for the rest the power for existence came to be. But lest we give to any of the slanderers suspicion that we do not accept the God-inspired sayings against which we are arguing, we will first set forth our own understanding which we have concerning these names, and then we will offer the judgment of what is better to our hearers.

78 The great Paul, knowing that the only-begotten God who is preeminent in all things is the author and cause of every good, testifies to him that not only did the creation of existing things come to be through him, but that when the ancient creation of men had grown old and vanished, as he himself names it, and another new creation had come to be in Christ, no other led this one either, but of the entire creation of men that came about through the gospel, he himself is the firstborn. And that the thought concerning 79 this might become clearer, we will analyze the argument in this way. The divine apostle makes mention of this expression four times, once saying thus that he is the "firstborn of all creation," again that he is "firstborn among many brethren," thirdly that he is "firstborn from the dead," and after these he sets forth the expression absolutely and without conjunction, saying: "And when he again brings the firstborn into the world, he says, ‘And let all the angels of God worship him.’" Therefore, whatever meaning we might perceive in the other conjunctions of this name, we will apply the same accordingly to the "firstborn of creation" as well. For since the expression is one and the same, it is altogether necessary that the meaning signified be one as 80 well. How then does he become firstborn among many brethren? And how firstborn from the dead? Or this is altogether clear, that because we became blood and flesh, as the scripture says, he who for our sake became like us and shared in flesh and blood, being about to transform us from the corruptible to the incorruptible through the birth from above by water and spirit, he himself initiated such a birth, having drawn the Holy Spirit upon the water through his own baptism, so that he became the firstborn of all who are spiritually reborn and called brothers those of the same birth as himself through water 81 and the spirit

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ἀνάγεται διὰ τῆς τῶν φωνῶν τούτων σημασίας χειραγωγούμενος, τῷ μηδεμίαν φύσεως διαφορὰν ὑπὸ τῆς θεὸς φωνῆς καὶ ὑπὸ τῆς ση 75 μασίας τοῦ υἱοῦ παρεισάγεσθαι. πῶς γὰρ ἂν ἄλλο τι παρὰ 75 τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς νοηθείη φύσιν ὁ ἀληθῶς θεοῦ υἱὸς ὢν καὶ αὐτὸς θεὸς ὤν; ἀλλ' ἵνα μὴ φθάσῃ ταῖς καρδίαις τῶν ἀκηκοότων ἐντυπωθῆναι διὰ τῶν ὀνομάτων τούτων τὰ τῆς εὐσεβείας νοήματα, εὐθὺς λέγει κτίσεως αὐτὸν πρωτότοκον οὐκ ἄνευ τῆς πρὸ τοῦ εἶναι γεννήσεως ὀνομα ζόμενον υἱόν, πρὸ πάσης κτίσεως γενόμενον, οὐκ ἄκτιστον. ὡς ἂν οὖν φανείη καὶ τὰς πρώτας φω νὰς ὁ κακοῦργος ἀντὶ δελεάματος τοῖς ἀνθρώποις προτείνων, ὥστε παραδεχθῆναι τὸ δηλητήριον οἷόν τινι μέλιτι τοῖς εὐσεβεστέροις ὀνόμασι γλυκαινόμενον, μικρὸν τῷ λόγῳ προσ 76 διατρίψωμεν.

Τίς οὐκ οἶδεν ὅση τοῦ μονογενοῦς πρὸς τὸν πρωτότοκον ἡ κατὰ τὸ σημαινόμενόν ἐστι διαφορά; οὔτε γὰρ μονογενὴς μετὰ ἀδελφῶν νοεῖται οὔτε χωρὶς ἀδελφῶν ὁ πρωτότοκος, ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν πρωτότοκος μονογενὴς οὐκ ἔστιν· ἀδελφῶν γάρ ἐστι πάντως πρωτότοκος· ὁ δὲ μονο γενὴς ἀδελφὸν οὐκ ἔχει· οὐ γὰρ ἂν εἴη μονογενὴς ἐν ἀδελ φοῖς ἀριθμούμενος. καὶ ἔτι πρὸς τούτοις, ἧσπερ ἂν οὐσίας ὦσιν οἱ ἀδελφοὶ τοῦ πρωτοτόκου, τῆς αὐτῆς ἔσται πάντως καὶ ὁ πρωτότοκος. καὶ οὐ τοῦτο μόνον ὑπὸ τῆς φωνῆς ταύτης σημαίνεται, ἀλλ' ὅτι καὶ παρὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ τὸ εἶναι ἔχει αὐτός τε ὁ πρωτότοκος καὶ οἱ μετ' ἐκεῖνον γενόμενοι, οὐδὲν τοῦ πρωτοτόκου πρὸς τὴν γέννησιν τῶν ἐφεξῆς συν εισφέροντος. ὡς διὰ τούτων ψευδῆ τοῦ Ἰωάννου τὴν φωνὴν εἶναι κατασκευάζεσθαι τὴν μαρτυροῦσαν ὅτι Πάντα δι' 77 αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο. εἰ γὰρ πρωτότοκός ἐστιν, μόνοις τοῖς κατὰ τὸν χρόνον πρεσβείοις τῶν μετ' αὐτὸν γεγονότων διαφέρει πάντως, ἄλλου ὄντος δι' οὗ καὶ τούτῳ καὶ τοῖς λοιποῖς ἡ πρὸς τὸ εἶναι γέγονε δύναμις. ἀλλ' ὡς ἂν μή τινι τῶν συκοφαντούντων ὑπόνοιαν δοίημεν ὡς μὴ παραδεχόμενοι τὰς θεοπνεύστους φωνὰς δι' ὧν ἐνιστάμεθα, πρότερον τὴν ἡμετέραν διάνοιαν, ἣν ἔχομεν περὶ τῶν ὀνομάτων τούτων, παραθησόμεθα, εἶθ' οὕτω τὴν τοῦ βελτίονος κρίσιν τοῖς ἀκροωμένοις προσθήσομεν.

78 Ὁ μέγας Παῦλος εἰδὼς ὅτι παντὸς ἀγαθοῦ ἀρχηγός τε καὶ αἴτιος ὁ μονογενής ἐστι θεὸς ὁ ἐν πᾶσι πρωτεύων, προσμαρτυρεῖ αὐτῷ τὸ μὴ μόνον τὴν τῶν ὄντων κτίσιν δι' ἐκείνου γενέσθαι, ἀλλ' ὅτι τῆς ἀρχαίας τῶν ἀνθρώπων κτίσεως παλαιωθείσης τε καὶ ἀφανισθείσης, καθὼς αὐτὸς ὀνομάζει, ἄλλης δὲ καινῆς κτίσεως ἐν Χριστῷ γενομένης, οὐδὲ ταύτης ἄλλος τις καθηγήσατο, ἀλλὰ πάσης τῆς διὰ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τῶν ἀνθρώπων γενομένης κτίσεως αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ πρωτότοκος. καὶ ὡς ἂν σαφέστερον γένοιτο τὸ περὶ 79 τούτου νόημα, οὑτωσὶ τὸν λόγον διαληψόμεθα. τετράκις τῆς φωνῆς ταύτης μέμνηται ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολος, ἅπαξ μὲν οὕτως εἰπὼν ὅτι πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως, πάλιν δὲ ὅτι πρωτότοκος ἐν πολλοῖς ἀδελφοῖς, ἐκ τρίτου δὲ ὅτι πρω τότοκος ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν, μετὰ ταῦτα δὲ ἀπόλυτόν τε καὶ ἀσυζυγῆ τὴν φωνὴν παρατίθεται εἰπών· Ὅταν δὲ πάλιν εἰσαγάγῃ τὸν πρωτότοκον εἰς τὴν οἰκουμένην, λέγει Καὶ προσκυνησάτωσαν αὐτῷ πάντες ἄγγελοι θεοῦ. οὐκοῦν ἥνπερ ἂν διάνοιαν ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων συζυγιῶν τοῦ ὀνόματος τούτου κατανοήσωμεν, ἀκολούθως τὴν αὐτὴν καὶ τῷ πρωτοτόκῳ τῆς κτίσεως ἐφαρμόσομεν. μιᾶς γὰρ καὶ τῆς αὐτῆς οὔσης φωνῆς, ἀνάγκη πᾶσα μίαν εἶναι καὶ τὴν σημαινομένην διά 80 νοιαν. πῶς γίνεται τοίνυν πρωτότοκος ἐν πολλοῖς ἀδελ φοῖς; πῶς δὲ ἐκ νεκρῶν πρωτότοκος; ἢ τοῦτο πάντως ἐστὶ δῆλον, ὅτι διὰ τὸ γενέσθαι ἡμᾶς αἷμα καὶ σάρκα, καθώς φησιν ἡ γραφή, ὁ δι' ἡμᾶς γενόμενος καθ' ἡμᾶς καὶ σαρκὸς καὶ αἵματος κοινωνήσας, μέλλων ἡμᾶς μετα ποιεῖν ἐκ τοῦ φθαρτοῦ πρὸς τὸ ἄφθαρτον διὰ τῆς ἄνωθεν γεννήσεως τῆς δι' ὕδατος καὶ πνεύματος αὐτὸς τοῦ τοιούτου τόκου καθηγήσατο, διὰ τοῦ ἰδίου βαπτίσματος τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα ἐπὶ τὸ ὕδωρ ἐπισπασάμενος, ὥστε πάντων τῶν πνευ ματικῶς ἀναγεννωμένων πρωτότοκον αὐτὸν γενέσθαι καὶ ἀδελφοὺς ὀνομάσαι τοὺς τῆς ὁμοίας αὐτῷ διὰ τοῦ ὕδατος 81 καὶ τοῦ πνεύματος