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enlightens man, He Who was before the world, being in the world and having made the world and existing in it and unknown by the world and not comprehended by it, came incarnate into the world, so that to those who receive Him as God through faith and keep His commandments and take up the cross, He might be revealed as God and be known as He is, now moderately, according as each has capacity, but in the resurrection more clearly. "For as many as received Him," it says, "to them He gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."

Behold, these words are the mirror of which I spoke to you beforehand. And consider with me the precision of the evangelical sayings, how clearly it teaches us the characteristics of the faithful, so that each of us may know both ourselves and our neighbors. "But as many as received Him," it says, clearly meaning by faith confessing Him to be God and not merely man, "He gave them power" through baptism "to become children of God," having freed them from the tyranny of the devil, so as not only to be believers, but if they wish to walk in His commandments, they also acquire holiness through the working of the commandments, as He says elsewhere: "Be holy, for I am holy," and again: (305) "Be merciful, as your Father in heaven is merciful." Then after this He also declares the manner of the adoption, saying: "Who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." Here He calls birth the spiritual change, which is effected and seen in the baptism of the Holy Spirit, just as the Lord Who does not lie says: "John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." In this, therefore, those who are baptized become light, as in light, and they know the One who begot them; for they see Him.

But that baptism alone is not sufficient for our salvation, but that the partaking of the flesh of Jesus our God and of His precious blood is more proper and necessary for us, hear what follows: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." and that He declares these things concerning these matters, hear the Lord saying thus: "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him." For when this has happened, and we have been baptized spiritually through the all-holy Spirit and have become children of God, and the incarnate Word has dwelt as light in us through the partaking of His undefiled body and blood, we have seen His glory, glory as of the only-begotten from the Father. Having been born, he says, by Him and of Him spiritually, and He having dwelt bodily in us and we having dwelt consciously in Him, then at that very moment, at that very hour, when these things happened, we saw the glory of His divinity, glory as of the only-begotten from the Father, such as clearly no other, no angel, no man has. For since God the Father is one, (306) His only-begotten Son is also one, and the glory of both is one, being known and revealed to all whom the Son wills through the Spirit who proceeds from the Father.

Therefore, let each of you, brethren, having stooped down with his own mind to the power of these sayings, look at himself. If he has received the God-Word who came, if he has become a child of God, if he has been born not of blood and flesh only, but also of God, if he knew the incarnate Word dwelling in him and if he saw His glory, glory as of the only-begotten from the Father, behold he has become a Christian and has seen himself reborn and has known the Father who begot him, not

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ἄνθρωπον φωτίζει, αὐτός ὁ πρό τοῦ κόσμου ἐν κόσμῳ ὤν καί τόν κόσμον ποιήσας καί ἐν αὐτῷ ὑπάρχων καί ὑπό τοῦ κόσμου ἀγνοούμενος καί παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ μή καταλαμβανόμενος, ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ σωματωθείς παρεγένετο, ἵνα τοῖς μέν ἐκ πίστεως εἰς Θεόν αὐτόν δεχομένοις καί τάς ἐντολάς αὐτοῦ φυλάσσουσι καί τόν σταυρόν αἴρουσιν, ὡς Θεός ἀποκαλυφθῇ καί οἷός ἐστι γνωσθῇ, νῦν μέν μετρίως, καθ᾿ ὅσον ἕκαστος χωρεῖ, ἐν δέ τῇ ἀναστάσει τρανότερον. «Ὅσοι γάρ, φησίν, ἔλαβον αὐτόν, ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἐξουσίαν τέκνα θεοῦ γενέσθαι τοῖς πιστεύουσιν εἰς τό ὄνομα αὐτοῦ, οἵ οὐκ ἐξ αἱμάτων οὐδέ ἐκ θελήματος σαρκός οὐδέ ἐκ θελήματος ἀνδρός, ἀλλ᾿ ἐκ Θεοῦ ἐγεννήθησαν. Καί ὁ Λόγος σάρξ ἐγένετο καί ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν, καί ἐθεασάμεθα τήν δόξαν αὐτοῦ, δόξαν ὡς μονογενοῦς παρά πατρός, πλήρης χάριτος καί ἀληθείας».

Ἰδού τό κάτοπτρον ὅ προεῖπον ὑμῖν οὗτοι οἱ λόγοι εἰσίν. Καί σκόπει μοι τῶν εὐαγγελικῶν ῥημάτων τό ἀκριβές, πῶς τρανῶς διδάσκει ἡμᾶς τῶν πιστῶν τά γνωρίσματα, ἵνα καί ἑαυτούς ἡμᾶς ἕκαστος καί τούς πλησίον ἐπιγινώσκωμεν. Ὅσοι δέ ἔλαβον αὐτόν, φησί, διά τῆς πίστεως δηλονότι Θεόν αὐτόν καί οὐκ ἄνθρωπον μόνον ὁμολογήσαντες, ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἐξουσίαν διά τοῦ βαπτίσματος τέκνα Θεοῦ γενέσθαι, τῆς τοῦ διαβόλου τυραννίδος ἐλευθερώσας αὐτούς, ὥστε μή μόνον εἶναι πιστούς, ἀλλ᾿ εἰ βούλοιντο πορεύεσθαι ταῖς αὐτοῦ ἐντολαῖς, καί τήν ἁγιότητα τῇ τῶν ἐντολῶν ἐργασίᾳ προσεπικτῶνται, ὡς ἐν ἑτέρῳ φησί· «Γίνεσθε ἅγιοι, ὅτι ἐγώ ἅγιός εἰμι», καί πάλιν· (305) «Γίνεσθε οἰκτίρμονες, ὡς καί ὁ Πατήρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος οἰκτίρμων ἐστίν». Εἶτα μετά ταῦτα καί τόν τρόπον δηλοῖ τῆς υἱοθεσίας, εἰπών· «Οἵ οὐκ ἐξ αἱμάτων οὐδέ ἐκ θελήματος σαρκός,οὐδέ ἐκ θελήματος ἀνδρός, ἀλλ᾿ ἐκ Θεοῦ ἐγεννήθησαν». Γέννησιν ἐνταῦθα τήν πνευματικήν καλεῖ ἀλλοίωσιν, ἥτις ἐνεργεῖται και καθορᾶται ἐν τῷ τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος βαπτισμῷ, καθώς αὐτός ὁ ἀψευδής Κύριος οὕτω φησίν· «Ἰωάννης μέν ἐβάπτισεν ὕδατι, ὑμεῖς δέ βαπτισθήσεσθε ἐν Πνεύματι Ἁγίῳ». Ἐν τούτῳ τοίνυν οἱ βαπτιζόμενοι ὡς ἐν φωτί φῶς γίνονται καί τόν γεγεννηκότα γνωρίζουσι· καί γάρ ὁρῶσιν αὐτόν.

Ὅτι δέ οὐκ ἀρκεῖ μόνον ἡμῖν πρός σωτηρίαν τό βάπτισμα, ἀλλά καί τῆς σαρκός τοῦ Ἰησοῦ καί Θεοῦ καί τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ τιμίου αὐτοῦ οἰκειοτέρα καί ἀναγκαιοτέρα ἡμῖν ἐστιν ἡ μετάληψις, ἄκουσον τῶν ἑξῆς· «Καί ὁ Λόγος σάρξ ἐγένετο καί ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν». καί ὅτι περί τούτων ταῦτα δηλοῖ, ἄκουε τοῦ Κυρίου λέγοντος ὧδε· «Ὁ τρώγων μου τήν σάρκα καί πίνων μου τό αἷμα ἐν ἐμοί μένει, κἀγώ ἐν αὐτῷ». Τούτου γάρ γεγονότος καί πνευματικῶς διά τοῦ παναγίου Πνεύματος ἡμῶν βαπτισθέντων καί τέκνων Θεοῦ γεγονότων καί τοῦ σαρκωθέντος Λόγου διά τῆς τοῦ ἀχράντου σώματος καί αἵματος αὐτοῦ μεταλήψεως σκηνώσαντος ὡς φῶς ἐν ἡμῖν, ἐθεασάμεθα τήν δόξαν αὐτοῦ, δόξαν ὡς μονογενοῦς παρά πατρός. Γεννηθέντες, φησίν, ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ καί ἐξ αὐτοῦ πνευματικῶς καί σκηνώσαντος αὐτοῦ σωματικῶς ἐν ἡμῖν καί ἡμῶν κατοικησάντων γνωστῶς ἐν αὐτῷ, τότε κατ᾿ αὐτόν εὐθύς τόν καιρόν, κατ᾿ αὐτήν τήν ὥραν, ὅτε ταῦτα ἐγένετο, ἐθεασάμεθα τήν δόξαν αὐτοῦ τῆς θεότητος, δόξαν ὡς μονογενοῦς παρά πατρός, οἵαν δηλονότι οὐδείς ἕτερος οὐκ ἄγγελος ἔχει, οὐκ ἄνθρωπος. Ἐπειδή γάρ εἷς Θεός ὁ Πατήρ, (306) εἷς καί ὁ Υἱός αὐτοῦ ὁ μονογενής, μία δέ τῶν ἀμφοτέρων ἡ δόξα, γνωριζομένη καί ἀποκαλυπτομένη πᾶσιν οἷς ὁ Υἱός βούλεται διά τοῦ ἐκπορευομένου Πνεύματος παρά τοῦ Πατρός.

Τοιγαροῦν ἕκαστος ὑμῶν, ἀδελφοί, τῇ ἑαυτοῦ διανοίᾳ εἰς τήν τῶν ῥημάτων τούτων ἐγκύψας δύναμιν, ἑαυτόν θεασάσθω. Εἰ τόν Θεόν Λόγον ἐλθόντα ἔλαβεν, εἰ τέκνον Θεοῦ ἐγένετο, εἰ οὐκ ἐξ αἵματος καί σαρκός μόνον, ἀλλά καί ἐκ Θεοῦ γεγέννηται, εἰ ἔγνω τόν σαρκωθέντα Λόγον σκηνώσαντα ἐν αὐτῷ καί εἰ ἐθεάσατο τήν δόξαν αὐτοῦ, δόξαν ὡς μονογενοῦς παρά πατρός, ἰδού γέγονε χριστιανός καί ἀναγεννηθέντα ἑαυτόν ἐθεάσατο καί τόν γεννήσαντα αὐτόν πατέρα ἐγνώρισεν, οὐ