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he made his plea on behalf of the people. But the will of the Father was that the economy should thus be fulfilled through the sons of Israel, they themselves being responsible for the betrayal of the Son and not being compelled by God; and the will of the Son was not different from the Father's. But it was necessary for him to show these things in this too, so that he might refer the whole of the oneness to the Father, so that nothing of the one union and economy might be divided. 61. And next he brings forward, saying, in his praying, that being in agony, as is related in the Gospel according to Luke, he "sweat," he says, "and his sweat became as drops of blood falling to the ground. And an angel of the Lord appeared, strengthening him." The word-hunters therefore, immediately leaping forward, as though having found a pretext against an enemy, bring it forward, saying: Do you see that he was in need even of the strength of angels? For an angel strengthened him; for he himself was in agony. And they do not know that if he did not have all these things, and the "not my will, but yours," and if he did not agonize, and if sweat did not pour forth from his body, then the incarnate presence of Christ was a mere appearance, and reasonably among the Manichaeans and Marcionites the doctrine concerning the phantasm of the incarnate presence is championed as a thesis, that it was an appearance and not most true. But he did all these things, securing our life, because he took upon himself all our things, having certain accounts of human suffering economically, not with irony, but with truth, like "not my will," in order to show a true substance of flesh, and to refute those 3.210 who say he did not have a human mind and to refute those who do not say he had flesh. For every divine word, standing in the midst of the sons of darkness, refutes the darkness, but illuminates the sons of truth. For see how many useful things are in this saying. From incorporeal beings sweat does not come forth. But in this happening he showed true flesh and not an appearance. But from flesh united with divinity without a soul and mind, agony does not occur. But in his agony he showed that he bore soul and body and mind together, from which the agony is seen. And again, in saying "not my will, but yours" he showed a truly human mind, but a sinless one. For his divinity is always in the Father and the Father in the Son and the Son in the Holy Spirit, having all things perfectly, and in no way does the mind of the Son differ from the Father, nor the Father's from the Son's, nor the Holy Spirit's from the Father's and the Son's. For if the Son wills what the Father does not will, then he himself will also be, like us, a mere man, subjected to the Father's will by subordination. But it is not so, may it not be. But by recounting human sufferings he shows the truth of his incarnate presence and the perfection of his incarnation, so that our salvation might be in all things, so that we do not think one thing for another and fall away from the truth. 62. But concerning his being seen strengthened by angels, what is more authoritative than this? And what is more necessary than this? For behold, we have found fulfilled the saying of the great ode written by Moses, where he says, "Let my oracle be expected as the rain"; and after not much, speaking again, he says: "Let all the sons of God worship him, and let all the angels of God strengthen him"; not that the angels might give him strength; for he was not in need of the strengthening of angels; but "let them strengthen him," that is, by ascribing to him what is proper to his own strength, let them confess it. For even we, being weak, have often blessed God, have often strengthened God, not that God is in need of our 3.211 blessing, but confessing the power of his blessing; and through detailed speech we shall say, "Yours is the power, yours is the might, yours is the honor, yours is the glory, yours is the blessing, yours is the strength, yours is the power." Do we give strength

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ἐποιεῖτο ὑπὲρ τοῦ λαοῦ λόγον. τὸ δὲ βούλημα ἦν τοῦ πατρός, τὸ τὴν οἰκονομίαν οὕτω πληρωθῆναι διὰ τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραήλ, παραιτίων ἑαυτοῖς ὄντων τῆς τοῦ υἱοῦ προδοσίας καὶ οὐχ ὑπὸ θεοῦ ἀναγκαζομένων· καὶ οὐχ ἕτερον βούλημα ἦν τὸ τοῦ υἱοῦ παρὰ τὸν πατέρα. ἀλλ' ἔδει αὐτὸν καὶ ἐν τούτῳ ταῦτα δεικνύειν, ἵνα τὸ πᾶν τῆς μονότητος ἐπὶ τὸν πατέρα ἀναγάγοι, πρὸς τὸ μὴ μερισθῆναί τι τῆς μιᾶς ἑνώσεως καὶ οἰκονομίας. 61. Καὶ καθεξῆς δὲ ἐπιφέρει λέγων, ἐν τῷ εὔχεσθαι αὐτόν, ὅτι γενόμενος ἐν ἀγωνίᾳ, ὡς ἐμφέρεται ἐν τῷ κατὰ Λουκᾶν εὐαγγελίῳ «ἵδρωσέ» φησι «καὶ ἐγένετο αὐτοῦ ὁ ἱδρὼς ὡσεὶ θρόμβοι αἵματος κατερχόμενοι ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. καὶ ἐφάνη ἄγγελος κυρίου ἐνισχύων αὐτόν». προπηδήσαντες τοίνυν οἱ λεξίθηρες εὐθύς, ὡς πρόφασιν κατὰ ἐχθροῦ εὑράμενοι, ἐπιφέρουσι λέγοντες· ὁρᾷς ὅτι ἐπεδέετο καὶ ἰσχύος ἀγγέλων; ἐνίσχυσε γὰρ αὐτὸν ἄγγελος· ἐν ἀγωνίᾳ γὰρ αὐτὸς ἐγένετο. καὶ οὐκ ἴσασιν ὅτι ἐὰν μὴ ἔχῃ πάντα ταῦτα καὶ τὸ «μὴ τὸ ἐμὸν βούλημα, ἀλλὰ τὸ σὸν» καὶ ἐὰν μὴ ἀγωνιάσῃ καὶ ἐὰν μὴ ἱδρὼς αὐτῷ γένηται ἐκ σώματος προχεόμενος, ἄρα δόκησις ἦν ἡ ἔνσαρκος Χριστοῦ παρουσία, καὶ εὐλόγως παρὰ Μανιχαίων καὶ Μαρκιωνιστῶν ἡ περὶ φαντασίας δόκησις τῆς ἐνσάρκου παρουσίας ὑπόθεσις ᾄδεται, ὅτι δόκησις ἦν καὶ οὐκ ἀληθεστάτη. ταῦτα δὲ πάντα ἐποίει, ἐπασφαλιζόμενος ἡμῶν τὴν ζωήν, ὅτι τὰ ἡμέτερα ὅλα ἀνεδέξατο, οἰκονομικῶς ἀνθρωποπαθῆ τινα διηγήματα ἔχων, οὐκ εἰρωνείᾳ, ἀλλ' ἀληθείᾳ, ὡς τὸ «οὐκ ἐμὸν θέλημα», ἵνα δείξῃ σαρκὸς ὑπόστασιν ἀληθινήν, καὶ ἵνα ἐλέγξῃ τοὺς 3.210 λέγοντας νοῦν μὴ ἐσχηκέναι αὐτὸν ἀνθρώπινον καὶ ἐλέγξῃ τοὺς μὴ λέγοντας σάρκα αὐτὸν ἐσχηκέναι. πᾶς γὰρ θεῖος λόγος ἀνὰ μέσον τῶν υἱῶν τοῦ σκότους ἑστὼς ἐλέγχει μὲν τὸ σκότος, φωτίζει δὲ τοὺς υἱοὺς τῆς ἀληθείας. ὅρα γὰρ πόσα χρήσιμα ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τούτῳ. ἀπὸ ἀσωμάτων οὐ προέρχεται ἱδρώς. ἐν δὲ τῷ τοῦτο γενέσθαι ἔδειξεν ἀληθινὴν σάρκα καὶ οὐ δόκησιν. ἀπὸ σαρκὸς δὲ ἐν θεότητι συνηνωμένης χωρὶς ψυχῆς καὶ νοὸς οὐ γίνεται ἀγωνία. ἀγωνιάσαντος δὲ αὐτοῦ ἔδειξε ψυχὴν καὶ σῶμα καὶ νοῦν ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ πεφορηκέναι, ὅθεν ἡ ἀγωνία φαίνεται. καὶ πάλιν ἐν τῷ εἰπεῖν «μὴ τὸ ἐμὸν θέλημα, ἀλλὰ τὸ σὸν» ἔδειξεν ἀληθῶς νοῦν ἀνθρώπινον, ἀλλ' ἀναμάρτητον. ἡ γὰρ θεότης αὐτοῦ πάντοτε ἐν πατρὶ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἐν υἱῷ καὶ ὁ υἱὸς ἐν ἁγίῳ πνεύματι, τὰ πάντα τετελειωμένως ἔχων, καὶ οὐδὲν διαλλάττει φρόνημα υἱοῦ πρὸς πατέρα οὐδὲ πατρὸς πρὸς υἱὸν οὐδὲ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος πρὸς πατέρα καὶ υἱόν. εἰ γὰρ ἃ μὴ θέλει πατὴρ βούλεται υἱός, ἄρα καὶ αὐτὸς ἔσται καθ' ἡμᾶς ψιλὸς ἄνθρωπος θελήματι πατρὸς κατὰ ἐλάττωσιν ὑποτασσόμενος. ἀλλ' οὐχ οὕτως ἐστί, μὴ γένοιτο. τῷ δὲ ἀνθρωποπαθῆ διηγεῖσθαι τὸ ἀληθινὸν τῆς ἐνσάρκου αὐτοῦ παρουσίας καὶ τὸ τέλειον τῆς αὐτοῦ ἐνανθρωπήσεως δείκνυσιν, ἵνα εἰς πάντα ἡμῶν σωτηρία γένηται, εἰς τὸ μὴ ἕτερα ἀνθ' ἑτέρων νοεῖν καὶ ἐκπίπτειν τῆς ἀληθείας. 62. Περὶ δὲ τοῦ ὑπὸ ἀγγέλων αὐτὸν θεωρηθῆναι ἐνισχυόμενον, καὶ τί τούτου κυριώτερον; τί δὲ τούτου ἀναγκαιότερον; ἰδοὺ γὰρ εὑρήκαμεν πληρούμενον τὸ ῥητὸν τῆς μεγάλης ᾠδῆς τῆς παρὰ Μωυσῇ γεγραμμένης, ὅπου λέγει «προσδοκάσθω ὡς ὑετὸς τὸ ἀπόφθεγμά μου»· καὶ μετ' οὐ πολλὰ εἰπὼν πάλιν φησί· «προσκυνησάτωσαν αὐτῷ πάντες υἱοὶ θεοῦ, καὶ ἐνισχυσάτωσαν αὐτῷ πάντες ἄγγελοι θεοῦ»· οὐχ ἵνα δῶσιν αὐτῷ ἰσχὺν οἱ ἄγγελοι· οὐ γὰρ ἐπεδέετο τῆς τῶν ἀγγέλων ἐνισχύσεως· ἀλλ' ἐνισχύσωσιν αὐτῷ, τουτέστιν ἀποδόντες αὐτῷ τὸ ἴδιον τῆς ἰσχύος αὐτοῦ ὁμολογήσωσιν. καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀσθενεῖς ὄντες πολλάκις θεὸν ηὐλογήσαμεν, πολλάκις θεὸν ἐνισχύσαμεν, οὐχ ὅτι θεὸς ἐπιδέεται τῆς 3.211 ἡμῶν εὐλογίας, ἀλλ' ὁμολογοῦντες αὐτοῦ τὸ τῆς εὐλογίας κράτος· καὶ διὰ λεπτολογίας ἐροῦμεν «σή ἐστιν ἡ δύναμις, σὸν τὸ κράτος, σή ἐστιν ἡ τιμή, σή ἐστιν ἡ δόξα, σή ἐστιν ἡ εὐλογία, σή ἐστιν ἡ ἰσχύς, σή ἐστιν ἡ δύναμις». μὴ ἡμεῖς ἰσχὺν