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believe my works. And I think Christ said these things at that time, knowing that the matter was not without benefit for their profit. For since they thought that the one who became man for our sakes was not God by nature, but simply a mere man like us, for this reason some made faith in him unacceptable. Necessarily, cutting away the fear and hesitation concerning these things, referring the faith to the nature of the Godhead, as in the person of the Father, and not assigning it to the lowliness which is like ours, he said: He who believes in me, believes not in me, but in him who sent me, and he who sees me sees him who sent me. Is it not equivalent to saying: O you who are hearers of my words, do not think small and lowly things of me; but know that by putting forth your faith in me who am seen in the flesh, you will have believed not simply in a man, but in the Father himself, through me the Son, who am in all respects equal and unchangeable, who was indeed made flesh for you, and made my own a lowly garment, humanity, yet who have what is of the same nature and same power, and completely unharmed in the identity of glory with him? {Β} It seems so. {Α} And you might learn in another way that he did not reject faith, but rather accepted it without any division or difference as in his own person, even though he became flesh. For when he healed the man blind from birth, and implanted in him light that was sweet, yet unfamiliar, he was rightly marveled at by all. But the one freed from his affliction was judged by the Jews, and he confessed the healer. And Christ, happening upon him, said, Do you believe in the Son of God? And when he cried out, Who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him? he answered saying: You have both seen him, and he who is speaking with you is he. And he said, I believe, Lord. And he worshiped him. And yet how is it not entirely evident to all that the divine and most high nature is altogether invisible? For no one has ever seen God, according to what is written. If, therefore, the Word from God the Father, separating his humanity from himself, as having appeared as just this, deemed it right to be believed in naked and alone, why did he not rather command the one who had been healed to consider what the nature of God is, but instead pointed him out bodily, so that he was present to be gazed upon with his very 704 eyes? For he said that You have both seen him, and he who is speaking with you is he. Shall we not say that he pointed out the flesh? {Β} Certainly. {Α} Then how could he himself be the flesh, unless it is understood through union, as he himself being his own, just as it would be in our case? For one could point out the man like us, I mean the one of soul and body, not dividedly nor incompletely, from his flesh alone. {Β} I agree; for you speak correctly. {Α} And our wise John has also written somewhere that Jesus therefore did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and that believing you may have life in his name. And one would be no less astonished at the divine Peter addressing the Jews clearly and openly: Rulers of the people and elders, if we are on trial today for a good deed done to a sick man, as to how this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well. And after other things again: And in no one else is there salvation. For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Who then is he who underwent death and was raised in glory and is from Nazareth, if not Jesus Christ, that is, the one ineffably from the Father before all ages
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ἔργοις μου πιστεύετε. Φάναι δὲ οἶμαι ταυτὶ τὸ τηνικάδε Χριστὸν οὐκ ἀσυντελὲς εἰς ὄνησιν εἰδότα τὸ χρῆμα. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ᾤοντο Θεὸν μὲν οὐκ εἶναι κατὰ φύσιν τὸν δι' ἡμᾶς ἐνηνθρωπηκότα, ψιλὸν δὲ ἁπλῶς ἄνθρωπον καθ' ἡμᾶς, ἀπαράδεκτόν τε διὰ τοῦτο τὴν ἐπ' αὐτῷ πίστιν ἐποιοῦντό τινες. Ἀναγκαίως τὸ δεῖμα καὶ τὸν ἐπὶ τούτοις ὄκνον ὑποτεμνόμενος, τῇ τῆς θεότητος φύσει τὴν πίστιν ἀνατιθείς, ὡς ἐν προσώπῳ Πατρός, καὶ οὐχὶ τῇ καθ' ἡμᾶς σμικροπρεπείᾳ προσνέμων, ἔφασκεν· Ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμὲ οὐ πιστεύει εἰς ἐμέ, ἀλλ' εἰς τὸν πέμψαντά με, καὶ ὁ θεωρῶν ἐμὲ θεωρεῖ τὸν πέμψαντά με. Ἆρ' οὐκ ἴσον εἰπεῖν· Ὦ τῶν ἐμῶν κατήκοοι λόγων, μὴ μικρὰ καὶ χαμαιρριφῆ τὰ εἰς ἐμὲ δοξάζετε· ἴστε δὲ ὅτι τὴν εἰς αὐτὸν ἐμὲ τὸν ὁρώμενον ἐν σαρκὶ προϊέμενοι πίστιν οὐκ εἰς ἄνθρωπον ἁπλῶς ἔσεσθε πεπιστευκότες, ἀλλ' εἰς αὐτὸν τὸν Πατέρα, δι' ἐμοῦ τοῦ κατὰ πᾶν ὁτιοῦν ἴσως τε καὶ ἀπαραλλάκτως ἔχοντος Υἱοῦ, σαρκωθέντος μὲν δι' ὑμᾶς, καὶ περίβλημα σμικροπρεπὲς οἰκειουμένου, τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα, τό γε μὴν ἰσοφυές τε καὶ ἰσουργόν, καὶ ἐν ταυτότητι δόξης ἀδιαλώβητον παντελῶς ἔχοντος πρὸς αὐτόν; {Β} Ἔοικεν. {Α} Ἀναμάθοις δὲ ἂν καὶ ἑτέρως αὐτὸν τὴν πίστιν οὐ διωθούμενον, ἀλλὰ τομῆς τινος δίχα καὶ διαφορᾶς εἰσδεδεγμένον αὐτὴν ὡς ἐν ἰδίῳ προσώπῳ καὶ εἰ γέγονε σάρξ. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τὸν ἐκ γενητῆς ἐξιᾶτο τυφλόν, καὶ τὸ γλυκὺ μέν, ἄηθες δ' οὖν ἐνεφύτευσε φῶς αὐτῷ, παρὰ πάντων εἰκότως ἐθαυμάζετο. Ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν τοῦ πάθους ἀπηλλαγμένος παρὰ τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις ἐκρίνετο, καὶ ὡμολόγει τὸν ἰατρόν. Χριστὸς δὲ αὐτῷ περιτυχών, Σὺ πιστεύεις, ἔφασκεν, εἰς τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ; Τοῦ δὲ τὸ Τίς ἐστι, Κύριε, διακεκραγότος, ἵνα πιστεύσω εἰς αὐτόν; ἀντεφώνει λέγων· Καὶ ἑώρακας αὐτόν, καὶ ὁ λαλῶν μετὰ σοῦ ἐκεῖνός ἐστιν. Ὁ δὲ ἔφη· Πιστεύω, Κύριε. Καὶ προσεκύνησεν αὐτῷ. Καίτοι πῶς οὐχ ἅπασι συμφανὲς ὡς ἄποπτος παντελῶς ἡ θεία τε καὶ ἀνωτάτω φύσις; Θεὸν γὰρ οὐδεὶς ἑώρακε πώποτε, κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον. Εἴπερ οὖν διιστὰς ἑαυτοῦ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον, ὡς αὐτὸ δὴ τοῦτο πεφηνώς, ὁ ἐκ Θεοῦ Πατρὸς Λόγος γυμνὸς καὶ μόνος ἠξίου πιστεύεσθαι, τί μὴ μᾶλλον τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ φύσιν ἀναλογίζεσθαι δεῖν, ἥτις ποτέ ἐστι, τὸν εὖ παθόντα διεκελεύετο, παρέδειξε δὲ σωματικῶς, ὡς καὶ 704 αὐτοῖς ὄμμασι καταθεᾶσθαι παρόν; Ἔφη γὰρ ὅτι Καὶ ἑώρακας αὐτόν, καὶ ὁ λαλῶν μετὰ σοῦ ἐκεῖνός ἐστιν. Ἦ οὐχὶ τὴν σάρκα παραδεῖξαι φήσομεν; {Β} Καὶ πάνυ. {Α} Εἶτα πῶς αὐτὸς ἂν εἴη λοιπὸν ἡ σάρξ, εἰ μὴ νοοῖτο καθ' ἕνωσιν, ὡς αὐτὸς ὑπάρχων τὸ ἴδιον αὐτοῦ, καθάπερ ἀμέλει καὶ ἐφ' ἡμῶν γένοιτ' ἄν; Καταδείξειε γὰρ ἄν τις οὐ μεμερισμένως οὐδὲ ἀτελῶς τὸν καθ' ἡμᾶς ἄνθρωπον, τὸν ἐκ ψυχῆς δὴ λέγω καὶ σώματος, καὶ ἀπὸ μόνης αὐτοῦ τῆς σαρκός. {Β} Σύμφημι· λέγεις γὰρ ὀρθῶς. {Α} Γέγραφε δέ που καὶ ὁ σοφὸς ἡμῖν Ἰωάννης ὅτι Πολλὰ μὲν οὖν καὶ ἄλλα σημεῖα ἐποίησεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐνώπιον τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ ἃ οὐκ ἔστι γεγραμμένα ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τούτῳ. Ταῦτα δὲ γέγραπται ἵνα πιστεύσητε ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ἐστιν ὁ Χριστός, ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος, καὶ ἵνα πιστεύοντες ζωὴν ἔχητε ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ. Κατατεθήποι δ' ἄν τις οὐ μεῖον καὶ τὸν θεσπέσιον Πέτρον Ἰουδαίοις προσπεφωνηκότα σαφῶς καὶ ἀναφανδόν· Ἄρχοντες τοῦ λαοῦ καὶ πρεσβύτεροι, εἰ ἡμεῖς σήμερον ἀνακρινόμεθα ἐπὶ εὐεργεσίᾳ ἀνθρώπου ἀσθενοῦς, ἐν τίνι οὗτος σέσωσται, γνωστὸν ἔστω πᾶσιν ὑμῖν καὶ παντὶ τῷ λαῷ Ἰσραὴλ ὅτι ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ Ναζωραίου, ὃν ὑμεῖς ἐσταυρώσατε, ὃν ὁ Θεὸς ἤγειρεν ἐκ νεκρῶν, ἐν τούτῳ οὗτος παρέστηκεν ἐνώπιον ὑμῶν ὑγιής. Καὶ μεθ' ἕτερα πάλιν· Καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἄλλῳ οὐδενὶ ἡ σωτηρία. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ὄνομα ἕτερόν ἐστιν ὑπὸ τὸν οὐρανὸν τὸ δεδομένον ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἐν ᾧ δεῖ σωθῆναι ἡμᾶς. Τίς οὖν ἄρα ἐστὶν ὁ καὶ θάνατον ὑποδὺς καὶ ἐγηγερμένος ἐν δόξῃ καὶ ἐκ Ναζαρέτ, εἰ μὴ Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, τουτέστιν ὁ πρὸ παντὸς μὲν αἰῶνος ἐκ Πατρὸς ἀπορρήτως