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For how will what was said by the angel be fulfilled: “The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you?” Since he said to her, “you will bear a son, and you will call his name Jesus,” in order to show that the God Logos had come down from above and was incarnate in the womb of the same virgin and became perfectly human, and so that he might not separate 3.223 the incarnate perfection from the divine perfection, with the addition of “and” he said to her, “therefore also the holy thing to be born will be called the Son of God.” Then, “God,” he says, “will give him the throne of David his father, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for the ages, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Since, therefore, these are set in contrast to one another, that “he must reign until” and “he will reign over the house of Jacob for the ages,” and he did not say for the age only, but for the ages, and again “when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father,” being set against “and of his kingdom there will be no end,” and since both speakers saying such things concerning the Lord and Christ are entirely trustworthy, the one being the holy angel Gabriel, and the other the holy apostle, a bearer of the Spirit, what would they say who are ignorant of the treatise on life? Could it be then that the Scripture, which always speaks the truth in all things, is at odds with itself? May it not be. But as we said from the beginning, on account of the assumption in the incarnation, all things have a logical consistency. For if he delivers the kingdom at a certain time, then he is not even reigning now; but if he is not yet reigning, how is he found to be always worshipped by the angels and archangels before the incarnate presence and in the incarnate presence, as the Scripture says concerning him that “when he brings the firstborn into the world, saying, and let all the angels of God worship him,” and again “he sat at the right hand of the Father,” and again “to him every knee shall bow, of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth.” Therefore, he who is worshipped by all always reigns. What then shall we say, since the Son is always reigning from the beginning and now and forever, since he has not yet delivered the kingdom to the Father? Is the Father then excluded from reigning? May it not be. For he reigns together with the Father, and the Father together with the Son and the Holy Spirit. But what are they saying? “When he delivers the kingdom to God the Father,” does he himself cease from reigning? May it not be. For how is “and of his kingdom there will be no end” fulfilled? But it is to show that nothing in the Son has been or is fulfilled that is rebellious and separate from the Father's union, and from the one will of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. For we see here also how concerning the Son 3.224 himself it is said that “when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when he has abolished all rule and authority and power,” as the Son himself delivers the kingdom and abolishes all rule and the rest, and “he must reign until he puts all his enemies under his feet,” as the Son does all things and acts with authority and has power and delivers to the Father, together with the kingdom, those who have been subjected. 76. Then, finally, he shifts again to another person of the Father, who subjects all things to the Son, and says, “He has subjected all things under his feet; the last enemy to be destroyed is death.” No longer from the person of the Father only, nor from the person of the Son only, but in the middle of the persons of the Father and Son he says, “the last enemy to be destroyed is death. But when he says, that all things have been subjected to him” and the rest. I would therefore like to ask them, from whose person does he say “he says”? For the depth of the mysteries of God spiritually judges carnal men. “For the carnal man does not receive the things of the Spirit; for they are foolishness to him.” For here, “when he says that all things have been subjected to him,” if the Father is speaking to the Son, the discourse is incomplete; he has subjected

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ἐπεὶ πῶς πληρωθήσεται τὸ ῥηθὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀγγέλου τὸ «πνεῦμα κυρίου ἐπελεύσεται ἐπὶ σὲ καὶ δύναμις ὑψίστου ἐπισκιάσει σοι;» ἐπειδήπερ ἔλεγεν αὐτῇ «τέξῃ υἱὸν καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν», ἵνα δείξῃ ἄνωθεν τὸν θεὸν λόγον κατεληλυθότα καὶ ἐν μήτρᾳ τῆς αὐτῆς παρθένου σαρκωθέντα καὶ τελείως ἐνανθρωπήσαντα καὶ ἵνα μὴ διορίσῃ 3.223 τὴν ἔνσαρκον τελείωσιν ἀπὸ τῆς ἐνθέου τελειώσεως, μετὰ προσθήκης τοῦ «καὶ» ἔλεγεν αὐτῇ «διὸ καὶ τὸ γεννώμενον ἅγιον κληθήσεται υἱὸς θεοῦ». εἶτα «δώσει αὐτῷ, φησίν, ὁ θεὸς τὸν θρόνον ∆αυὶδ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ, καὶ βασιλεύσει ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον Ἰακὼβ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας καὶ τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔσται τέλος». ἀντιδιαστελλομένων τοίνυν τούτων θατέρου πρὸς θάτερον, ὅτι «δεῖ αὐτὸν βασιλεύειν ἄχρις οὗ» καὶ «βασιλεύσει ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον Ἰακὼβ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας», καὶ οὐκ εἶπεν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα μόνον, ἀλλ' εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας, καὶ πάλιν τοῦ «ὅταν παραδιδῷ τὴν βασιλείαν τῷ θεῷ καὶ πατρί», ἀντιπαρατιθεμένου τῷ «καὶ τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔσται τέλος», ἀμφοτέρων δὲ τὰ τοιαῦτα περὶ κυρίου καὶ Χριστοῦ φησάντων ἀξιοπίστων τε ἁπάντων ὄντων, τοῦ μὲν ἀγγέλου Γαβριὴλ ἁγίου ὄντος, τοῦ δὲ ἁγίου ἀποστόλου πνευματοφόρου ὄντος, τί ἂν φαίησαν οἱ τῆς ζωτικῆς πραγματείας ἄγνωστοι; μὴ ἄρα ἀντίζετος εἴη ἡ γραφὴ πρὸς ἑαυτὴν τὰ πάντα ἀεὶ ἀληθεύουσα; μὴ γένοιτο. ἀλλ' ὡς ἀπ' ἀρχῆς εἴπομεν, διὰ τὸ προσληπτικὸν τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως τὰ πάντα ἔχει τῆς εὐλόγου ἀκολουθίας. εἰ γὰρ παραδίδωσι τὸ βασίλειον χρόνῳ, ἄρα νῦν οὐδὲ βασιλεύει· εἰ δὲ οὔπω βασιλεύει, πῶς εὑρίσκεται προσκυνούμενος ἀεὶ ὑπὸ τῶν ἀγγέλων καὶ ἀρχαγγέλων πρὸ τῆς ἐνσάρκου παρουσίας καὶ ἐν τῇ ἐνσάρκῳ παρουσίᾳ, ὡς ἡ γραφὴ λέγει περὶ αὐτοῦ ὅτι «ὅταν εἰσαγάγῃ τὸν πρωτότοκον εἰς τὴν οἰκουμένην, λέγουσα, καὶ προσκυνησάτωσαν αὐτῷ πάντες ἄγγελοι θεοῦ», καὶ πάλιν «ἐκάθισεν ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ παρτός», καὶ πάλιν «αὐτῷ κάμψει πᾶν γόνυ ἐπουρανίων καὶ ἐπιγείων καὶ καταχθονίων». ἄρα οὖν βασιλεύει ἀεὶ ὁ ὑπὸ πάντων προσκυνούμενος. τί οὖν εἴπωμεν, τοῦ υἱοῦ ἀεὶ βασιλεύοντος ἀπὸ τῶν ἀνέκαθεν καὶ νῦν καὶ εἰς τὸ ἑξῆς, ἐπεὶ μηδέπω παρέδωκε τὴν βασιλείαν τῷ πατρί; ἆρα ἐκτός ἐστι τοῦ βασιλεύειν ὁ πατήρ; μὴ γένοιτο. ἔστι γὰρ ἅμα πατρὶ βασιλεύων, καὶ πατὴρ ἅμα υἱῷ καὶ ἁγίῳ πνεύματι. ἀλλὰ τί λέγουσιν; «ὅταν παραδῷ τὸ βασίλειον τῷ θεῷ καὶ πατρὶ» παύεται αὐτὸς τοῦ βασιλεύειν; μὴ γένοιτο. ἐπεὶ πῶς πληροῦται τὸ «καὶ τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔσται τέλος;» ἀλλ' ἵνα δείξῃ ὅτι οὐδὲν ἐν τῷ υἱῷ πεπλήρωται οὔτε πληροῦται ἀφηνιάζον καὶ ἰδιάζον τῆς τοῦ πατρὸς ἑνώσεως, καὶ τοῦ ἑνὸς θελήματος πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ καὶ ἁγίου πνεύματος. ὁρῶμεν γὰρ καὶ ἐνταῦθα ὡς περὶ αὐτοῦ 3.224 τοῦ υἱοῦ εἴρηται ὅτι «ὅταν παραδιδῷ τὴν βασιλείαν τῷ θεῷ καὶ πατρί, ὅταν καταργήσῃ πᾶσαν ἀρχὴν καὶ ἐξουσίαν καὶ δύναμιν», ὡς αὐτοῦ τοῦ υἱοῦ παραδιδόντος τὴν βασιλείαν καὶ καταργοῦντος πᾶσαν ἀρχὴν καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς, καὶ τὸ «δεῖ αὐτὸν βασιλεύειν ἄχρις οὗ θῇ πάντας τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ», ὡς τοῦ υἱοῦ τὰ πάντα ποιοῦντος καὶ αὐθεντοῦντος καὶ ἐξουσιάζοντος καὶ τῷ πατρὶ παραδιδόντος σὺν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοὺς ὑποτασσομένους. 76. Εἶτα λοιπὸν μεταβαίνει εἰς πρόσωπον ἕτερον πάλιν τοῦ πατρός, ὑποτάσσοντος πάντα τῷ υἱῷ, καί φησι «πάντα ὑπέταξεν ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ· ἔσχατος ἐχθρὸς καταργεῖται ὁ θάνατος». οὐκέτι δὲ ἀπὸ προσώπου πατρὸς μόνον, οὐδὲ ἀπὸ προσώπου υἱοῦ μόνον, ἀλλὰ μεσαίτατα τῶν προσώπων πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ φησιν «ἔσχατος ἐχθρὸς καταργεῖται ὁ θάνατος. ὅταν δὲ εἴπῃ, ὅτι πάντα αὐτῷ ὑποτέτακται» καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. ἤθελον οὖν ἐρωτῆσαι τοὺς αὐτούς, ἀπὸ προσώπου τίνος τὸ «εἴπῃ» λέγει. τὸ γὰρ βάθος τῶν μυστηρίων τοῦ θεοῦ πνευματικῶς τοὺς σαρκικοὺς κρίνει. «ὁ γὰρ σαρκικὸς οὐ δέχεται τὰ τοῦ πνεύματος· μωρία γὰρ αὐτῷ ἐστιν». ἐνταῦθα γὰρ τὸ «ὅταν εἴπῃ ὅτι πάντα αὐτῷ ὑποτέτακται», εἰ μὲν ὁ πατὴρ λέγει πρὸς τὸν υἱόν, ἐλλιπὴς ἡ πραγματεία· ὑπέταξε