Chapter XI.

We shall follow the example of Abdemelech, if we believe that the Son and Holy Spirit know all things. This knowledge is attributed in Scripture to the Spirit, and also to the Son. The Son is glorified by the Spirit, as also the Spirit by the Son. Also, inasmuch as we read that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit say and reveal the same things, we must acknowledge in Them a oneness of nature and knowledge. Lastly, that the Spirit searcheth the deep things of God is not a mark of ignorance, since the Father and the Son are likewise said to search, and Paul, although chosen by Christ, yet was taught by the Spirit.

114. And you, too, shall be Abdemelech,392    Ebedmelech means “servant of the king.” that is, chosen by the Lord, if you raise the Word of God from the depth of Gentile ignorance; if you believe that the Son of God is not deceived, that nothing escapes His knowledge, that He is not ignorant of what is going to be. And the Holy Spirit also is not deceived, of Whom the Lord says: “But when He, the Spirit of Truth, shall come, He shall lead you into all truth.”393    S. John xvi. 13. He Who says all passes by nothing, neither the day nor the hour, neither things past nor things to come.

115. And that you may know that He both knows all things, and foretells things to come, and that His knowledge is one with that of the Father and the Son, hear what the Truth of God says concerning Him: “For He shall not speak from Himself, but what things He shall hear shall He speak, and He shall declare unto you the things that are to come.”394    S. John xvi. 13.

116. Therefore, that you may observe that He knows all things, when the Son said: “But of that day and hour knoweth no one, not even the Angels of heaven,”395    S. Mark xiii. 32. He excepted the Holy Spirit. But if the Holy Spirit is excepted from ignorance, how is the Son of God not excepted?

117. But you say that He numbered the Son of God also with the Angels. He numbered the Son indeed, but He did not number the Spirit also. Confess, then, either that the Holy Spirit is greater than the Son of God, so as to speak now not only as an Arian, but even as a Photinian,396    There is some little difficulty in ascertaining exactly what were the tenets of Photinus, but it would appear that St. Ambrose considered that he held our Lord to be mere man, and so was worse than the Arians. See Dict. Chr. Biog. art. “Photinus,” and Blunt, Dict. of Sects and Heresies, art. “Photinians.” or acknowledge to what you ought to refer it that He said that the Son knew not. For as man He could [in His human nature] be numbered with creatures Who were created.

118. But if you are willing to learn that the Son of God knows all things, and has foreknowledge of all, see that those very things which you think to be unknown to the Son, the Holy Spirit received from the Son. He received them, however, through Unity of Substance, as the Son received from the Father. “He,” says He, “shall glorify Me, for He shall receive of Mine and shall declare it unto you. All things whatsoever the Father hath are Mine, therefore said I, He shall receive of Mine, and shall declare it unto you.”397    S. John xvi. 14, 15. What, then, is more clear than this Unity? What things the Father hath pertain to the Son; what things the Son hath the Holy Spirit also has received.

119. Yet learn that the Son knows the day of judgment. We read in Zechariah: “And the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with Him. In that day there shall not be light, but cold and frost, and it shall be one day, and that day is known unto the Lord.”398    Zech. xiv. 5, 6, 7 [LXX.]. This day, then, was known unto the Lord, Who shall come with His saints, to enlighten us by His second Advent.

120. But let us continue the point which we have commenced concerning the Spirit. For in the passage we have brought forward you find that the Son says of the Spirit: “He shall glorify Me.” So, then, the Spirit glorifies the Son, as the Father also glorifies Him, but the Son of God also glorifies the Spirit, as we said above. He, then, is not weak who is the cause of the mutual glory through the Unity of the Eternal Light, nor is He inferior to the Spirit, of Whom this is true that He is glorified by the Spirit.

122. And you too shall be chosen, if you believe that the Spirit spoke that which the Father spoke, and which the Son spoke. Paul, in fine, was therefore chosen because he so believed and so taught, since, as it is written, God “hath revealed to us by His Spirit that which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor hath entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.”399    1 Cor. ii. 9, 10. And therefore is He called the Spirit of revelation, as you read: “For God giveth to those who thus prepare themselves the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, that He may be known.”400    Isa. lxiv. 4.

123. There is, then, a Unity of knowledge, since, as the Father, Who gives the Spirit of revelation, reveals, so also the Son reveals, for it is written: “No one knoweth the Son save the Father, neither doth any one know the Father save the Son, and he to whom the Son shall will to reveal Him.”401    S. Matt. xi. 27. He said more concerning the Son, not because He has more than the Father, but lest He should be supposed to have less. And not unfittingly is the Father thus revealed by the Son, for the Son knows the Father even as the Father knows the Son.

124. Learn now that the Spirit too knows God the Father, for it is written that, “As no one knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit which is in him, so too the things of God no one knoweth save the Spirit of God.” “No one,” he says, “knoweth save the Spirit of God.”402    1 Cor. ii. 11. Is, then, the Son of God excluded? Certainly not, since neither is the Spirit excluded, when it is said: “And none knoweth the Father, save the Son.”

125. Therefore the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are of one nature and of one knowledge. And the Spirit is not to be numbered with all things which were made by the Son, since He knew the Father, Whom (as it is written) who can know save the Son? But the Holy Spirit knows also. What then? When the totality of created things is spoken of, it follows that the Holy Spirit is not included.

126. Now I should like them to answer what it is in man which knows the things of a man. Certainly that must be reasonable which surpasses the other powers of the soul, and by which the highest nature of man is estimated. What, then, is the Spirit, Who knows the deep things of God, and through Whom Almighty God is revealed? Is He inferior in the fulness of the Godhead Who is proved even by this instance to be of one substance with the Father? Or is He ignorant of anything Who knows the counsels of God, and His mysteries which have been hidden403    1 Cor. ii. 7 ff. from the beginning? What is there that He knows not Who knows all things that are of God? For “the Spirit searcheth even the deep things of God.”404    1 Cor. ii. 10.

127. But lest you should think that He searches things unknown, and so searches that He may learn that which He knows not, it is stated first that God revealed them to us through His Spirit, and at the same time in order that you may learn that the Spirit knows the things which are revealed to us through the Spirit Himself, it is said subsequently: “For who among men knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of the man which is in him? so, too, the things of God knoweth no one save the Spirit of God.”405    1 Cor. ii. 11. If, then, the spirit of a man knows the things of a man, and knows them before it searches, can there be anything of God which the Spirit of God knows not? Of Whom the Apostle said not without a purpose, “The things of God knoweth no one, save the Spirit of God;” not that He knows by searching, but knows by nature; not that the knowledge of divine things is an accident in Him, but is His natural knowledge.

128. But if this moves you that He said “searcheth,” learn that this is also said of God, inasmuch as He is the searcher of hearts and reins. For Himself said: “I am He that searcheth the heart and reins.”406    Jer. xvii. 10. And of the Son of God you have also in the Epistle to the Hebrews: “Who is the Searcher of the mind and thoughts.”407    Heb. iv. 12. Whence it is clear that no inferior searches the inward things of his superior, for to know hidden things is of the divine power alone. The Holy Spirit, then, is a searcher in like manner as the Father, and the Son is a searcher in like manner, by the proper signification of which expression this is implied, that evidently there is nothing which He knows not, Whom nothing escapes.

129. Lastly, he was chosen by Christ, and taught by the Spirit. For as he himself witnesses, having obtained through the Spirit knowledge of the divine secrets, he shows both that the Holy Spirit knows God, and has revealed to us the things which are of God, as the Son also has revealed them. And he adds: “But we received, not the spirit of this world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are given to us by God, which we also speak, not in persuasive words of man’s wisdom, but in manifestation of the Spirit and in the power of God.”408    1 Cor. ii. 12, 13.

656 CAPUT XI.

Imitaturos nos Abdemelech, si credamus Filium et 0767C Spiritum sanctum omnia cognoscere. Spiritui cognitionem hanc tribui in Scripturis; Filio quoque eamdem attribui. Filium a Spiritu clarificari, sicut et a Filio Spiritum: item ex eo quod Patrem, Filium atque Spiritum legamus eadem loqui, ac revelare, unitatem in ipsis naturae et scientiae agnoscendam: denique quod alta Dei scrutatur Spiritus, ignorantiae non esse; cum Pater et Filius etiam dicantur scrutatores, et Paulus tametsi a Christo domino electus, edoctus tamen fuerit a Spiritu.

114. [Alias cap. XII.] Eris igitur et tu Abdemelech, hoc est, assumptus a Domino, si de profundo gentilis imprudentiae levaveris Dei Verbum: si credideris quia non fallitur; non praeteritur Dei Filius, 0767D non ignorat quae futura sunt; non fallitur etiam Spiritus sanctus, de quo dicit Dominus: Cum venerit autem ille Spiritus veritatis, deducet vos in omnem veritatem (Joan. XVI, 13). Qui dicit omnem, nihil praeterit, non diem, non horam, non praeterita, non futura.

115. Et ut scias quia et omnia novit, et futura annuntiat, et unius est scientiae cum Patre et Filio; 0768A audi quid dicat de eo Dei veritas: Non enim loquetur a semetipso, sed quae audierit, loquetur, et quae evenient, annuntiabit vobis (Ibid.).

116. Itaque ut advertas quia novit omnia, cum diceret Filius: De die autem illa et hora nemo novit, neque Angeli coelorum (Marc. XIII, 32); excepit Spiritum sanctum. Si autem exceptus est Spiritus sanctus ab ignorantia, quomodo non exceptus est Dei Filius?

117. Sed dicis quia cum angelis annumeraverit et Dei Filium. Annumeravit quidem Filium, sed non annumeravit et Spiritum. Aut fatere igitur potiorem esse Spiritum sanctum Dei Filio, ut jam non solum quasi Arianus, sed etiam quasi Photinianus loquaris: aut agnosce quo referre debeas, quod 0768B nescire Filium dixit. Etenim quasi homo annumerari creaturis potuit, qui creatus est.

118. Quod si vis discere quia novit omnia, et praescientiam habet omnium Dei Filius futurorum, quae Filio incognita putas, ea de Filio Spiritus sanctus accepit. Accepit autem per unitatem substantiae, sicut accepit a Patre Filius: Ille, inquit, me clarificabit, quia de meo accipiet, et annuntiabit vobis. Omnia quaecumque habet Pater, mea sunt; propterea dixi, de meo accipiet, et annuntiabit vobis (Joan. XVI, 14, 15). Quid igitur hac evidentius unitate? Quae habet Pater, Filii sunt: quae habet Filius, accepit et Spiritus.

119 et 120*. Accipe tamen quia novit judicii diem Filius. Lectum est in Zacharia: Et veniet Dominus Deus 0768C meus, et omnes sancti cum eo. In illa die non erit lumen, sed frigus et gelu: et erit dies una, et dies illa nota Domino (Zach. XIV, 5). Haec igitur dies nota Domino, qui veniet cum sanctis suis, secundo nos illuminaturus adventu.

121. Sed quod orsi sumus de Spiritu, persequamur. 657 Habes enim in eo quod praetulimus exemplo quia Filius dicit de Spiritu: Ille me clarificabit. Clarificat ergo Spiritus Filium, sicut clarificat et Pater: sed etiam Spiritum clarificat Dei Filius, sicut supra diximus. Non est ergo infirmus, qui reddit mutuam claritatem per unitatem lucis aeternae: nec inferior sancto Spiritu, cujus hoc ipsum est, quod clarificatur ab Spiritu.

122. Assumeris ergo et tu, si credas quia hoc locutus 0768D est Spiritus, quod locutus est Pater, quod locutus est Filius. Denique Paulus ideo assumptus est, quia sic credidit, sic docuit, quia quod oculus non vidit, nec auris audivit, nec in cor hominis ascendit, quae praeparavit Deus diligentibus se, nobis revelavit per Spiritum suum, sicut scriptum est (I Cor. II, 9, 10). Et ideo revelationis Spiritus dicitur, sicut habes: Dat enim Deus sic praeparantibus 0769A se Spiritum sapientiae et revelationis in agnitionem ejus (Esai. LXIV, 4).

123. Unitas igitur est scientiae, quando sicut Pater revelat, qui dat Spiritum revelationis, sic revelat et Filius; quia scriptum est: Nemo novit Filium, nisi Pater; neque Patrem quis novit, nisi Filius, et cui voluerit Filius revelare (Matth. XI, 27). Plus dixit de Filio, non quod plus habeat quam Pater, sed ne minus habere credatur. Nec immerito sic revelatur Pater a Filio; quia sic novit Patrem Filius, quemadmodum Filium Pater novit.

124. Accipe nunc quia Deum Patrem novit et Spiritus; scriptum est enim quia sicut ea quae hominis sunt, nemo novit nisi spiritus qui in ipso est: sic et quae Dei sunt, nemo cognovit nisi Spiritus Dei (I Cor. 0769B II, 11). Nemo, inquit, cognovit, nisi Spiritus Dei. Numquid exclusus est Dei Filius? Non utique; quia nec Spiritus sanctus exclusus est, cum dicitur: Neque Patrem quis novit, nisi Filius.

125. Ergo unius et Pater et Filius et Spiritus sanctus et naturae sunt et scientiae. Neque cum omnibus quae per Filium facta sunt, annumerandus est Spiritus, cum Deum Patrem noverit, quem, sicut scriptum est (Matth. XI, 27), quis potest nosse nisi Filius? Sed et Spiritus sanctus novit. Quid ergo? Cum dicitur universitas creaturarum, non Spiritus sanctus comprehenditur.

126. Nunc velim respondeant, quid est in homine, quod cognoscat quae sunt hominis? Utique rationabile, quod caeteris animae virtutibus supereminet, et 0769C quo praecipua natura hominis aestimatur. Quid est igitur Spiritus, qui alta Dei novit, per quem Deus omnipotens revelatur. Numquid plenitudine divinitatis inferior est, qui ejusdem cum Patre substantiae etiam hoc exemplo probatur? Aut aliquid ignorat, qui novit consilia Dei, et mysteria ejus ab initio abscondita? Quid est quod nesciat, qui novit omnia quae Dei sunt? Spiritus enim etiam alta Dei scrutatur (I Cor. II, 10).

127. Ac ne putes quod scrutetur incognita, et ideo scrutetur, ut discat id quod ignoret; 658 ante praemisit quia revelavit nobis Deus per Spiritum suum: simul ut disceres quia novit Spiritus quae nobis per ipsum Spiritum revelantur, in posterioribus ait: Quis enim scit hominum quae hominis sunt, nisi spiritus hominis qui in ipso est: sic et quae Dei sunt, nemo 0769D cognovit, nisi Spiritus Dei. Ergo si hominis spiritus novit quae hominis sunt, et antequam scrutetur novit, potestne aliquid Dei esse, quod Spiritus Dei nesciat? De quo non otiose Apostolus dixit: Quae Dei sunt, nemo cognovit, nisi Spiritus Dei: non quod scrutando cognoverit, sed noverit per naturam: non 0770A quod accidens in eo scientia divinorum, sed cognitio naturalis sit.

128. Verum si te movet quia dixit, scrutatur, accipe quia id quoque de Deo scriptum est, eo quod sit scrutator cordis et renum. Ipse enim dixit: Ego sum scrutans corda et renes (Jerem. XVII, 10). Etiam de Filio Dei habes ad Hebraeos: Qui scrutator est animi et cogitationis (Hebr. IV, 12). Unde liquet quia nemo inferior superioris scrutatur interna; divinae enim solius est potestatis occulta novisse. Similiter ergo scrutator est Spiritus sanctus ut Pater, similiter scrutator et Filius: cujus proprietate sermonis id exprimitur; ut videatur nihil esse quod nesciat, quem nihil praeterit.

129. Denique ille electus a Christo, instructus ab 0770B Spiritu est. Nam sicut ipse testatur, per Spiritum divini cognitionem consecutus arcani, ostendit quia et novit Spiritus Deum, et ea nobis quae Dei sunt, Spiritus revelavit, sicut revelavit et Filius. Et addidit: Nos autem non spiritum hujus mundi accepimus, sed Spiritum qui ex Deo est; ut sciamus quae a Deo donata sunt nobis, quae et loquimur, non in suasoriis humanae sapientiae verbis, sed in ostensione Spiritus, et virtute Dei (I Cor. II, 12, 13)?