14

writing such things to the Colossians: "And I fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the Church, of which I was made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me:" and to the Corinthians in the first Epistle: "Our members are the members of Christ. Shall we then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of a harlot? God forbid!" and again: "But all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ." Therefore, even if according to the economy which is somehow difficult to face, Scripture knows the Church as His body, and us created beings as brothers, yet as the only-begotten and true Son of the most high God, He is in no way comprehended in the constitution of the multitude of created things. Nor does any other scripture contain such a word. Indeed, all scripture is filled concerning Him, that He is true God, and truly only-begotten Son. But it was as if borne by the force of some current. Therefore, the discourse must be turned to another chapter.

CHAP. 4. The second problem of those heretics who have an unyielding and unexamined disposition

attempts to show that the right faith from the Scriptures, understood by them contrary to the theological sense, is unpersuasive, and to render their own more venerable through the same. For he is shown, it says, to be created and having, as it were, a counterfeit and illegitimate name of "only-begotten Son" and "God"; from what Paul wrote to the Colossians about him: "Firstborn of all creation.". For if He is indeed firstborn, He is not only-begotten, but firstborn in relation to those created after Him; but if He is the only-begotten Son, how is He the firstborn? Having said before, therefore, that the depth of this saying is also beyond their comprehension, and that Paul spoke things he did not know, and believed what he spoke, since it was the prompting of true wisdom, and it made all these things manifest, 39.829 we shall quote this whole passage, and so proceed to its interpretation, not needing any conjectures, and explaining things more luminous than light by means of images, but saying as many things as these men themselves, willingly or unwillingly, have overlooked, but which we see are able to support the argument. The Epistle runs thus: "Giving thanks to God the Father, who has called us to the share of the inheritance of the saints, who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him, and he is before all things, and by him all things consist; and he is the head of the body, the Church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence; for in him it was pleased that all the fullness should dwell, and through him to reconcile all things to himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross, whether things on earth, or things in heaven." Behold then prudently, how Scripture is prepared to be interpreted contrary to the heretics, and has each word sending forth, as it were, rays of understanding concerning God's incarnation; and that it first called Him Son and image of God, and thus firstborn and head of the body of the Church, and firstborn from the dead, having made peace through the blood of his cross for things visible and invisible, and having inherited all the fullness of the divinity which is beyond the incorporeal, and colorless, and uncontained; so that we may in some way worthily understand both His incomparable nature from God the Father and towards Him, and His perfect and uniform incarnation and animation from the Virgin and according to her. For what else could you understand between the

14

γράφων τοιάδε Κολοσσαεῦσι μέν· «Καὶ ἀνταναπληρῶ τὰ ὑστερήματα τῶν θλίψεων τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν τῇ σαρκί μου ὑπὸ τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ, ὅ ἐστιν ἡ Ἐκκλησία, ἧς ἐγενόμην ἐγὼ διάκονος κατὰ τὴν οἰκονομίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ, τὴν δοθεῖσάν μοι·» Κορινθίοις δὲ ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ Ἐπιστολῇ· «Τὰ μέλη ἡμῶν, μέλη Χριστοῦ. Ἆρα οὖν τὰ μέλη τοῦ Χριστοῦ ποιήσομεν πόρνης μέλη; Μὴ γένοιτο!» καὶ πάλιν· «Πάντα δὲ τὰ μέλη τοῦ σώματος τοῦ ἑνὸς, πολλὰ ὄντα, ἕν ἐστι σῶμα· οὕτως καὶ ὁ Χριστός.» Ὥστε, εἰ καὶ κατὰ τὴν δυσαντίβλεπτόν πως οἰκονομίαν, σῶμα μὲν αὐτοῦ τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν, ἀδελφοὺς δὲ ἡμᾶς τοὺς κτιστοὺς οἶδεν ἡ Γραφὴ, ἀλλ' οὖν, ὡς μονογενὴς καὶ ἀληθινὸς Υἱὸς τοῦ ὑψίστου Θεοῦ, τῇ συστάσει τοῦ πλήθους τῶν κτισμάτων κατ' οὐδὲν συνείληπται. Οὔτε δὲ ἄλλη γραφὴ περιέχει λέξιν τοιαύτην. Περὶ αὐτοῦ μενοῦνγε πέπλησται πᾶσα, ὅτι Θεὸς ἀληθινὸς, καὶ Υἱὸς μονογενὴς ἀληθῶς. Ἀλλὰ γὰρ ὥσπερ ὑπό τινος ῥεύματος ὑπηνέχθη βία. Ἐπὶ οὖν ἕτερον κεφάλαιον τρεπτέον τὸν λόγον.

ΚΕΦ. ∆. ∆εύτερον πρόβλημα τῶν δυσαγκαλίστων καὶ ἀνεξέταστον ἐχόντων

τὸ φρόνημα αἱρετικῶν πειρᾶται τὴν ὀρθὴν πίστιν ἀπὸ Γραφῶν, τῶν παρὰ τὸν θεολογικὸν νοῦν ὑπ' αὐτῶν νοουμένων, ἀπείθανον δεικνύναι, τὴν δ' ἑαυτῶν διὰ τῶν αὐτῶν σεμνοτέραν ἀποφαίνειν. ∆είκνυται γὰρ, φησὶ, κτιστὸς καὶ οἷον ἐπίπλαστον καὶ νόθον ἔχων τὸ «μονογενὴς Υἱὸς» καὶ «Θεὸς» ὄνομα· ἐξ ὧν Παῦλος Κολοσσαεῦσιν ἔγραψεν περὶ αὐτοῦ· «Πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως.». Εἰ γὰρ δῆθεν πρωτότοκος, οὐ μονογενὴς, ἀλλ' ὡς πρὸς τοὺς μετ' αὐτὸν κτισθέντας πρωτότοκος· εἰ δὲ μονογενὴς Υἱὸς, πῶς πρωτότοκος; Προειπόντες οὖν, ὡς ὑπὲρ τὴν αὐτῶν ἐστι καὶ τὸ βάθος τοῦ λογίου τούτου συναίσθησιν, καὶ ὡς ἐλάλει Παῦλος, ἃ μὴ ᾔδει, καὶ ἐπίστευεν, οἷς ἐλάλει, ἐπειδὴ ὑποβολὴ ἦν τῆς ὄντως σοφίας, καὶ προφανῆ ταῦτα πάντα ἐποίει, 39.829 παραγράψομεν ὅλον τὸ χωρίον τοῦτο, καὶ οὕτως ἐπὶ τὴν ἑρμηνείαν αὐτοῦ βαδιούμεθα, οὐ δεόμενοι στοχασμῶν τινων, καὶ δι' εἰκότων τὰ φωτὸς φωτοειδέστερα διηγούμενοι, ἐροῦντες δὲ ὅσα ἑκόντες, ἢ ἄκοντες αὐτοὶ μὲν οὗτοι παρίδον, ἡμεῖς δὲ ὁρῶμεν δυνάμενα συμμαχεῖν τῷ λόγῳ. Ἔχει δὲ ἡ Ἐπιστολὴ οὕτως· «Εὐχαριστοῦντες τῷ Θεῷ καὶ Πατρὶ, τῷ καλέσαντι ἡμᾶς εἰς τὴν μερίδα τοῦ κλήρου τῶν ἁγίων, ὃς ἐῤῥύσατο ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ σκότους, καὶ μετέστησεν εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ, ἐν ᾧ ἔχομεν τὴν ἀπολύτρωσιν, τὴν ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν, ὅς ἐστιν εἰκὼν τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ ἀοράτου, πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως· ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ ἐκτίσθη τὰ πάντα, τὰ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς καὶ τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, τὰ ὁρατὰ καὶ τὰ ἀόρατα, εἴτε θρόνοι, εἴτε κυριότητες, εἴτε ἀρχαὶ, εἴτε ἐξουσίαι· τὰ πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν ἔκτισται, καὶ αὐτός ἐστι πρὸ πάντων, καὶ τὰ πάντα ἐν αὐτῷ συνέστηκεν· καὶ αὐτός ἐστιν ἡ κεφαλὴ τοῦ σώματος τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, ὅς ἐστιν ἀρχὴ πρωτότοκος ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν, ἵνα γένηται αὐτὸς ἐν πᾶσιν πρωτεύων· ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ εὐδόκησε πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα κατοικῆσαι, καὶ δι' αὐτοῦ ἀποκαταλλάξαι τὰ πάντα εἰς αὐτὸν, εἰρηνοποιήσας διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ σταυροῦ αὐτοῦ, εἴτε τὰ ἐπὶ γῆς, εἴτε τὰ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς.» Θέα τοίνυν ἐμφρόνως, πῶς ἐναντία αἱρετικοῖς ἡ Γραφὴ ἐξηγεῖσθαι παρεσκεύασται, καὶ ἔχει ἑκάστην λέξιν ἀκτῖνας οἷον νοήσεων περὶ Θεοῦ ἐνανθρωπήσεως ἀποπέμπουσαν· καὶ ὅτι προεῖπεν αὐτὸν Υἱὸν καὶ εἰκόνα τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ οὕτω πρωτότοκον καὶ κεφαλὴν τοῦ σώματος τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, καὶ πρωτότοκον ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν, εἰρηνοποιήσαντα διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ σταυροῦ αὐτοῦ τὰ ὁρατὰ, καὶ τὰ ἀόρατα, καὶ πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα τῆς ὑπὲρ τὸ ἀσώματον, καὶ ἀχρώματον, καὶ ἀχώρητον θεότητος κληρωσάμενον· ἵν' ὅπως ποτ' οὖν ἀξίως συνίωμεν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀσύγκριτον φύσιν, καὶ τὴν ἐκ Παρθένου καὶ κατ' αὐτὴν τελείαν καὶ ἑνοειδῆ σάρκωσιν καὶ ψύχωσιν. Τί γὰρ ἄλλο νοήσαις ἂν μεταξὺ τῶν