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He does not abide. 2. But why, when discoursing about sins, did he mention a house? Showing that just as the master over a house, so he himself has authority over all things. And the phrase, "He does not abide," means this: He does not have authority to grant favors, since he is not the master of the house; but the son is the master of the house. For this is what "He abides forever" means, from a human metaphor, so that they might not say, "Who are you?" All things are mine; for I am the Son, and I abide in the house of the Father; calling authority "the house." For indeed elsewhere he calls the dominion of the Father "a house": "In my Father's house are many mansions." For since the discourse is about freedom and slavery, he appropriately uses this metaphor, saying that they did not have the authority to remit. "If therefore the Son shall make you free." Do you see his consubstantiality with the Father, and how he shows that he has the same authority as him? If the Son shall make you free, no one then contradicts, but you have your freedom secure. For it is God who justifies; who is he that condemns? Here he shows himself also pure from sin, and alludes to freedom even in name; for men also give this, but that, only God. And through this he persuades them not to be ashamed of this slavery, but of that of sin. And wishing to show that even if they were not slaves, by rejecting that they have rather become slaves, he immediately added, "You shall be free indeed." And by the addition, he also implies that this freedom is not true. Then, so that they would not say, "We have no sin" (for it was likely they would say this), see how he brought this accusation against them. For leaving aside the refutation of their whole life, he brings into the open this thing at hand, which they still wished to do, and says: "I know that you are Abraham's seed; but you seek to kill me." Gently and little by little he casts them out of that kinship, teaching them not to be proud of this. For just as freedom and slavery come from works, so also does kinship. And he did not say immediately, "You are not of Abraham, you murderers of the just man;" but for the time being he even agrees, and says: "I know that you are Abraham's seed;" but this is not what is sought, and for the rest he uses this more vehement discourse. For it can for the most part be observed that when he is about to do something great, after he has done it, he uses greater boldness, as the testimony from his works silences them. "But you seek to kill me." What then, he says, if it is justly? But not even this; wherefore he also gives the reason, "Because my word has no place in you." How then does it say that they believed in him? But as I said, they were changing again. Therefore he also attacked them vehemently. For if you boast of kinship with him, you must also show his life. And he did not say, "You do not have place for the word," but, "My word has no place in you," showing the loftiness of his doctrines. And yet, not even for this should you have killed him, but rather honored and attended to him, so as to learn. What then, he says, if you speak these things of yourself? For this reason he 59.299 added: "I speak that which I have seen with my Father; and you do that which you have heard from your father." "Just as I," he says, "both by my words and by the truth reveal the Father, so you too by your deeds." For I have not only the same essence, but also the same truth as the Father. They say to him: "We have Abraham as our father." Jesus says to them: "If you have Abraham as your father, you would do his works." "But now you seek to kill me." Continuously here he turns to their murderous intent, and mentions Abraham. And he does this, both wishing to lead them away from this kinship, and to remove their superfluous boasting, and to persuade them no longer to have their hopes of salvation in him, nor in kinship according to nature, but in that according to choice. For this was what was hindering them from coming to Christ, the thinking that that kinship was sufficient for them for salvation. And what truth does he speak? That he is equal to the Father. For because of this the Jews sought to kill him, and he says: "You seek to kill me, because I have told you the truth, which I heard from"

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Οὐ μένει. βʹ. ∆ιατί δὲ περὶ ἁμαρτημάτων διαλεγόμενος, οἰκίας ἐμνημόνευσε; ∆εικνὺς ὅτι ὥσπερ ἐπὶ οἰκίας ὁ δεσπότης, οὕτω πάντων αὐτὸς ἐξουσιάζει. Τὸ δὲ, Οὐ μένει, τοῦτό ἐστιν· Οὐκ ἔχει ἐξουσίαν χαρίζεσθαι, ἅτε μὴ ὢν οἰκοδεσπότης· ὁ δὲ υἱὸς οἰκοδεσπότης ἐστί. Τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι, Μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, ἀπὸ μεταφορᾶς τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων, ἵνα μὴ λέγωσι, Σὺ τίς εἶ; Ἐμά ἐστι πάντα· Υἱὸς γάρ εἰμι, καὶ ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ μένω τοῦ Πατρός· οἰκίαν τὴν ἐξουσίαν καλῶν. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ οἰκίαν καλεῖ τοῦ Πατρὸς τὴν ἀρχήν· Ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ τοῦ Πατρός μου μοναὶ πολλαί εἰσιν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ περὶ ἐλευθερίας καὶ δουλείας ὁ λόγος, εἰκότως ταύτῃ κέχρηται τῇ μεταφορᾷ, λέγων ὅτι οὐκ εἶχον ἐξουσίαν ἐκεῖνοι ἀφιέναι. Ἐὰν οὖν ὁ Υἱὸς ὑμᾶς ἐλευθερώσῃ. Εἶδες τὸ ὁμοούσιον τὸ πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα, καὶ πῶς δείκνυσι τὴν αὐτὴν ἔχοντα αὐτὸν ἐξουσίαν ἐκείνῳ; Ἐὰν ὁ Υἱὸς ὑμᾶς ἐλευθερώσῃ, οὐδεὶς ἀντιλέγει λοιπὸν, ἀλλὰ βεβαίαν ἔχετε τὴν ἐλευθερίαν. Θεὸς γὰρ ὁ δικαιῶν· τίς ὁ κατακρίνων; Ἐνταῦθα δείκνυσι καὶ ἁμαρτίας ἑαυτὸν καθαρὸν, καὶ τὴν μέχρι προσηγορίας ἐλευθερίαν αἰνίττεται· ταύτην γὰρ καὶ ἄνθρωποι διδόασιν, ἐκείνην δὲ μόνος ὁ Θεός. Καὶ διὰ τούτου πείθει αὐτοὺς μὴ αἰσχύνεσθαι ἐπὶ τῇ δουλείᾳ ταύτῃ, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τῇ τῆς ἁμαρτίας. Καὶ βουλόμενος δεῖξαι, ὅτι εἰ καὶ δοῦλοι οὐκ ἦσαν, διὰ τοῦ ἐκείνην ἀποκρούσασθαι μᾶλλον γεγόνασι δοῦλοι, ἐπήγαγεν εὐθέως, Ὄντως ἐλεύθεροι ἔσεσθε. ∆ιὰ δὲ τῆς ἐπαγωγῆς καὶ ἐμφαίνει, ὅτι αὕτη ἡ ἐλευθερία οὐκ ἀληθής. Εἶτα ἵνα μὴ λέγωσιν, ὅτι ἁμαρτίαν οὐκ ἔχομεν (εἰκὸς γὰρ τοῦτο ἦν εἰπεῖν), ὅρα πῶς αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν κατηγορίαν ἐνέβαλε ταύτην. Ἀφεὶς γὰρ πάντα αὐτῶν ἐλέγξαι τὸν βίον, τοῦτο τὸ μετὰ χεῖρας, ὃ ἔτι πράττειν ἐβούλοντο, ἄγει εἰς μέσον, καί φησιν· Οἶδα ὅτι σπέρμα Ἀβραάμ ἐστε· ἀλλὰ ζητεῖτέ με ἀποκτεῖναι. Ἠρέμα καὶ κατὰ μικρὸν ἐκβάλλει τῆς συγγενείας αὐτοὺς ἐκείνης, παιδεύων μὴ μέγα φρονεῖν ἐπὶ τούτῳ. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐλευθερία καὶ δουλεία ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων, οὕτω καὶ συγγένεια. Καὶ οὐκ εἶπεν εὐθέως, Οὐκ ἐστὲ τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ, οἱ ἀνδροφόνοι τοῦ δικαίου· ἀλλὰ καὶ συντρέχει τέως, καί φησιν· Οἶδα ὅτι σπέρμα Ἀβραάμ ἐστε· ἀλλὰ οὐ τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ ζητούμενον, καὶ λοιπὸν καταφορικωτέρᾳ κέχρηται τῇ δημηγορίᾳ ταύτῃ. Καὶ γὰρ ἔστιν ὡς τὰ πολλὰ παρατηρῆσαι, ὅτι μέλλων μέγα ἐργάζεσθαί τι, μετὰ τὸ ἐργάσασθαι, πλείονι κέχρηται τῇ παῤῥησία, ὡς τῆς μαρτυρίας τῆς ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων ἐπιστομιζούσης αὐτούς. Ἀλλὰ ζητεῖτέ με ἀποκτεῖναι. Τί οὖν, εἰ δικαίως, φησίν; Ἀλλ' οὐδὲ τοῦτο· διὸ καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν τίθησιν, ὅτι Ὁ λόγος ὁ ἐμὸς οὐ χωρεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν. Πῶς οὖν φησιν, ὅτι ἐπίστευον εἰς αὐτόν; Ἀλλ' ὅπερ ἔφην, μετετίθεντο πάλιν. ∆ιὸ καὶ σφόδρα αὐτῶν καθήψατο. Εἰ γὰρ τὴν συγγένειαν αὐχεῖτε ἐκείνου, καὶ τὸν βίον ἐπιδείξασθαι χρή. Καὶ οὐκ εἶπεν, Οὐ χωρεῖτε τὸν λόγον, ἀλλ', Οὐ χωρεῖ ὁ ἐμὸς λόγος ἐν ὑμῖν, τὸ ὑψηλὸν αὐτοῦ τῶν δογμάτων ἐπιδεικνύμενος. Καίτοι οὐδὲ ὑπὲρ τούτου ἀναιρεῖν ἐχρῆν, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον τιμᾷν καὶ θεραπεύειν, ὥστε μαθεῖν. Τί οὖν, φησὶν, ἂν ἀπὸ σαυτοῦ ταῦτα λαλῇς; ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἐπ 59.299 ήγαγεν· Ἃ ἐγὼ ἑώρακα παρὰ τῷ Πατρί μου, ταῦτα λαλῶ· καὶ ὑμεῖς ἃ ἠκούσατε παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν, ποιεῖτε. Ὥσπερ, φησὶν, ἐγὼ καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ῥημάτων, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ἀληθείας ἐμφαίνω τὸν Πατέρα, οὕτω καὶ ὑμεῖς ἀπὸ τῶν πραγμάτων. Οὐ γὰρ τὴν αὐτὴν οὐσίαν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν ἀλήθειαν ἔχω τῷ Πατρί. Λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· Ἡμεῖς πατέρα ἔχομεν τὸν Ἀβραάμ. Λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Εἰ πατέρα ἔχετε τὸν Ἀβραὰμ, τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ ἐποιεῖτε. Νῦν δὲ ζητεῖτέ με ἀποκτεῖναι. Συνεχῶς ἐνταῦθα τὴν φονικὴν αὐτῶν στρέφει προαίρεσιν, καὶ τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ μέμνηται. Ποιεῖ δὲ τοῦτο, καὶ ταύτης αὐτοὺς ἀπαγαγεῖν βουλόμενος τῆς συγγενείας, καὶ τὸ περιττὸν καύχημα ἐξελεῖν, καὶ πεῖσαι μηκέτι ἐν ἐκείνῳ τὰς ἐλπίδας τῆς σωτηρίας ἔχειν, μηδὲ ἐν τῇ κατὰ φύσιν συγγενείᾳ, ἀλλ' ἐν τῇ κατὰ προαίρεσιν. Τοῦτο γὰρ ἦν τὸ κωλύον αὐτοὺς προσελθεῖν τῷ Χριστῷ, τὸ νομίζειν ἀρκεῖν αὐτοῖς τὴν συγγένειαν ἐκείνην εἰς σωτηρίαν. Ποίαν δὲ ἀλήθειαν λέγει; Ὅτι ἴσος ἐστὶ τῷ Πατρί. ∆ιὰ γὰρ τοῦτο ἐζήτουν αὐτὸν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι ἀποκτεῖναι, καί φησι· Ζητεῖτέ με ἀποκτεῖναι, ὅτι τὴν ἀλήθειαν ὑμῖν λελάληκα, ἣν ἤκουσα παρὰ