by the prophets, in the last «of the days has spoken to us, who live during the visitation
«by a Son».〛 To be sure, therefore, what He has seen and heard, these things He spoke didactically to men. But these things apply to the economy; for concerning the divinity it is not consistent to understand these things. 47 And His testimony no one receives; and yet
many have received His testimony, 〚as John himself again adds, saying: «He who has received His testimony has set his seal that God is true».〛 But how is it possible for it to be true, when some receive His testimony, that «And His testimony no one receives»? Therefore the difficulty must be resolved thus: Jesus, having come from above and speaking what He has heard and seen, speaks a most high and very great testimony concerning the Father and Himself; and no one receives this testimony as He Himself speaks it, because the hearers who are beginning to receive it fall far short of the greatness of the testimony. Nevertheless, even if no one is able to receive His testimony in this way, yet it is possible to receive it as those just coming to the faith are able to receive it. Hence, «He who has received His testimony» does not conflict with no one having received it, in that in one way it is not received, *** who also from having received the testimony of Jesus seal with a firm assent that God is true, having learned that <the one> sent from Him speaks the words of God;
since He is not from the earth, nor does He speak from it. 〚For God does not give the Spirit by measure.〛 48 For even if wise men having God spoke the words of God, yet they had the Spirit by measure, of the God who says, «I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh.» But the Savior, being sent to speak the words of God, does not give the Spirit by measure. For He does not, having received it Himself, provide it to others, but being sent from above and being above all, He gives it, being its source. And we will interpret in another way, «His testimony no one «receives.» For since he who searches the Scriptures finds them testifying about Christ, none of the Jews who encounter the Scriptures without examination received the testimony [about Him]; only and every one who is able to say, «We have found Jesus, of whom Moses in the Law, and «the prophets, wrote,» receives the testimony about Him and seals that God is true, having previously announced the gospel through the prophets. And it is also found in other copies: «For He does not give the Spirit by measure,» this reading also signifying that the one sent does not attend to measures, so as to provide sparingly and by measure and to a few, but lavishly and richly to all who are found worthy to receive. 49 Since the heretics, who through all things pervert their own mind, dividing the divinity and for this reason saying the old Scripture is of one god and assigning the new covenant to another, say that John spoke concerning himself and the other prophets, «He who is of the earth speaks of the earth,» but concerning Christ and His apostles, «For He whom God has sent speaks His words,»
they must be refuted for dogmatizing this falsely, or rather, impiously. 〚For the Baptist himself says concerning himself: «He who sent «me to baptize in water, He said to me: Upon whom you see the «Spirit descending and remaining on Him, † that is He who baptizes «in the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and have testified that this «is the Son of God.» For if He who sent him to baptize is the Father, speaking to him about the descent of the Spirit, and how the Christ is His Son, how, when speaking what he heard from the Father of Christ, does he speak from the earth? At the same time the evangelist also writes about him: «There was a man sent from God, «his name
προφήταις, ἐπ' ἐσχά «του τῶν ἡμερῶν ἐλάλησεν ἡμῖν, τοῖς κατὰ τὴν ἐπιδημίαν
τυγχά «νουσιν, ἐν υἱῷ».〛 ἀμέλει γοῦν ἃ ἑώρακε καὶ ἤκουσε ταῦτα διδακτι κῶς τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἐλάλει. ταῦτα δὲ ἐφαρμόζει τῇ οἰκονομίᾳ· περὶ γὰρ τῆς θεότητος ταῦτα οὐκ ἀκόλουθον ἐκλαμβάνειν. 47 Καὶ τὴν μαρτυρίαν αὐτοῦ οὐδεὶς λαμβάνει · καίτοι
πολλῶν εἰληφότων τὴν μαρτυρίαν αὐτοῦ, 〚ὡς αὐτὸς πάλιν ὁ Ἰωάννης ἐπιφέρει, φάσκων· «Ὁ λαβὼν τὴν αὐτοῦ μαρτυρίαν ἐσφράγισεν ὅτι ὁ θεὸς ἀλη «θής ἐστι».〛 πῶς δὲ οἷόν τε εἶναι ἀληθές, λαμβανόντων αὐτοῦ τὴν μαρτυρίαν τινῶν, τὸ «Καὶ τὴν μαρτυρίαν αὐτοῦ οὐδεὶς λαμβάνει»; λυτέον οὖν τὸ ἠπορημένον οὕτως· Ἰησοῦς, ἄνωθεν ἐληλυθὼς λαλῶν τε ἃ ἤκουσε καὶ εἶδεν, ὑψηλοτάτην καὶ πάνυ μεγάλην τὴν μαρτυρίαν λέγει περὶ τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ ἑαυτοῦ· καὶ οὐδεὶς λαμβάνει ταύτην τὴν μαρτυρίαν ὡς αὐτὸς αὐτὴν λέγει, τῷ τοὺς ἀκροατὰς ἀρχὴν τοῦ λαμβάνειν ἔχοντας πολὺ ἀπολείπεσθαι τοῦ μεγέθους τῆς μαρτυρίας. ὅμως εἰ καὶ οὐδεὶς οἷός τε δέξασθαί ἐστι τὴν μαρτυρίαν αὐτοῦ οὕτως, ἀλλ' οὖν ἔστι λαβεῖν αὐτὴν ὡς δυνατὸν δέξασθαι τοὺς ἄρτι προσερ χομένους τῇ πίστει. ὅθεν οὐ μάχεται τὸ «Ὁ λαβὼν αὐτοῦ τὴν μαρ τυρίαν» τῷ μηδένα αὐτὴν εἰληφέναι, τῷ ἑτέρως μὲν μὴ λαμβάνεσθαι αὐτήν, *** οἳ καὶ ἐκ τοῦ εἰληφέναι τὴν Ἰησοῦ μαρτυρίαν σφραγίζουσι καταθέσει βεβαίᾳ τὸν θεὸν ἀληθῆ εἶναι, μαθόντες ὅτι <ὁ> παρ' αὐτοῦ ἀποσταλεὶς τοῦ θεοῦ τὰ ῥήματα λαλεῖ·
ἐπείπερ οὐκ ἐστὶν ἐκ τῆς γῆς, οὐδὲ ἐκ ταύτης φθέγγεται. 〚οὐ γὰρ ἐκ μέρους δίδωσι τὸ πνεῦμα ὁ θεός.〛 48 Εἰ γὰρ καὶ ἄνδρες σοφοὶ θεὸν ἐσχηκότες ἐλάλησαν τὰ τοῦ θεοῦ ῥήματα, ἀλλ' οὖν ἐκ μέρους εἶχον τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ θεοῦ λέγοντος. «Ἐκχεῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πνεύματός μου ἐπὶ πᾶσαν σάρκα». ὁ δέ γε σωτὴρ ἀποσταλεὶς ἐπὶ τῷ τὰ ῥήματα τοῦ θεοῦ λαλεῖν οὐκ ἐκ μέρους δίδωσι τὸ πνεῦμα. οὐ γὰρ λαβὼν αὐτὸς ἑτέροις παρέχει, ἀλλ' ἀποσταλεὶς ἄνωθεν καὶ ἐπάνω πάντων ὑπάρχων δίδωσιν αὐτό, τυγχάνων αὐτοῦ πηγή. ἑρμηνεύσομεν δὲ καὶ ἑτέρως τὸ «Τὴν μαρτυρίαν αὐτοῦ οὐδεὶς «λαμβάνει». ἐπεὶ γὰρ ὁ ἐρευνῶν τὰς γραφὰς εὑρίσκει αὐτὰς μαρτυ ρούσας περὶ Χριστοῦ. οὐδεὶς τῶν ἀνεξετάστως ἐντυγχανόντων ταῖς γραφαῖς Ἰουδαίων ἐλάμβανε τὴν [περὶ αὐτοῦ] μαρτυρίαν· μόνου καὶ παντὸς τοῦ δυναμένου εἰπεῖν· «Ὃν ἔγραψε Μωσῆς ἐν τῷ νόμῳ, καὶ «οἱ προφῆται, εὑρήκαμεν Ἰησοῦν» λαμβάνοντος τὴν περὶ αὐτοῦ μαρτυρίαν καὶ σφραγίζοντος ὅτι ὁ θεὸς ἀληθής ἐστιν, προεπαγγει λάμενος τὸ εὐαγγέλιον διὰ τῶν προφητῶν. φέρεται δὲ καὶ ἐν ἑτέ ροις ἀντιγράφοις· «Οὐ γὰρ ἐκ μέρους δίδωσι τὸ πνεῦμα» σημαινούσης καὶ ταύτης τῆς γραφῆς μὴ μέτροις <προσ>έχειν τὸν ἀποσταλέντα, ὥστε πεφεισμένως καὶ ἐκ μέρους παρέχειν καὶ εὐαριθμήτοις τισίν, ἀλλὰ δαψιλῶς καὶ πλουσίως πᾶσι τοῖς εὑρισκομένοις τοῦ λαβεῖν ἀξίοις. 49 Ἐπειδὴ οἱ διὰ πάντων τὸν ἑαυτῶν νοῦν διαστρέφοντες αἱρετι κοί, διαιροῦντες τὴν θεότητα καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τὴν παλαιὰν γραφὴν ἑτέρου λέγοντες θεοῦ καὶ ἑτέρου τὴν καινὴν διαθήκην τιθέντες, φασὶ τὸν Ἰωάννην περὶ ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τῶν ἑτέρων προφητῶν εἰρηκέναι τὸ «Ὁ ὢν ἐκ τῆς γῆς ἐκ τῆς γῆς λαλεῖ», περὶ δὲ Χριστοῦ καὶ τῶν ἀποστόλων αὐτοῦ· «Ὃν γὰρ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ θεὸς τὰ ῥήματα αὐτοῦ «λαλεῖ»,
ἐλεγκτέον αὐτοὺς ψευδῶς μᾶλλον δὲ ἀσεβῶς τοῦτο δογμα τίζοντας. 〚αὐτὸς γὰρ ὁ βαπτιστὴς περὶ ἑαυτοῦ λέγει· «Ὁ πέμψας «με βαπτίζειν ἐν τῷ ὕδατι, ἐκεῖνός μοι εἶπεν· Ἐφ' ὃν ἂν ἴδῃς τὸ «πνεῦμα καταβαῖνον καὶ μένον ἐπ' αὐτόν, † ἐκεῖνός ἐστιν ὁ βαπτί «ζων ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ. κἀγὼ ἑώρακα καὶ μεμαρτύρηκα ὅτι οὗτός «ἐστιν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ». εἰ γὰρ ὁ πέμψας αὐτὸν βαπτίζειν ὁ πατήρ ἐστι, λέγων αὐτῷ περὶ τῆς καθόδου τοῦ πνεύματος, καὶ ὡς ὁ χριστὸς υἱὸς αὐτοῦ τυγχάνει, πῶς λέγων ἃ παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς τοῦ χριστοῦ ἤκουσεν ἐκ τῆς γῆς λαλεῖ; ἅμα καὶ τοῦ εὐαγγελιστοῦ γρά φοντος περὶ αὐτοῦ· «Ἐγένετο ἄνθρωπος ἀπεσταλμένος παρὰ θεοῦ, «ὄνομα αὐτῷ