Chapter IV.

The sacred Scriptures teach us to think, in like manner, of the Lord of lords.  For they say in one place, “Give thanks to the God of gods, for His mercy endureth for ever.  Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for His mercy endureth for ever;” and in another, “God is King of kings, and Lord of lords.”  For Scripture distinguishes between those gods which are such only in name and those which are truly gods, whether they are called by that name or not; and the same is true in regard to the use of the word “lords.”  To this effect Paul says, “For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, as there are gods many, and lords many.”1774    1 Cor. viii. 5, etc.  But as the God of gods calls whom He pleases through Jesus to his inheritance, “from the east and from the west,” and the Christ of God thus shows His superiority to all rulers by entering into their several provinces, and summoning men out of them to be subject to Himself, Paul therefore, with this in view, goes on to say, “But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him;” adding, as if with a deep sense of the marvellous and mysterious nature of the doctrine, “Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge.”  When he says, “To us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things,” by “us” he means himself and all those who have risen up to the supreme God of gods and to the supreme Lord of lords.  Now he has risen to the supreme God who gives Him an entire and undivided worship through His Son—the word and wisdom of God made manifest in Jesus.  For it is the Son alone who leads to God those who are striving, by the purity of their thoughts, words, and deeds, to come near to God the Creator of the universe.  I think, therefore, that the prince of this world, who “transforms himself into an angel of light,”1775    2 Cor. xi. 14. was referring to this and such like statements in the words, “Him follows a host of gods and demons, arranged in eleven bands.”1776    Plato, Phædrus, p. 246.  Speaking of himself and the philosophers, he says, “We are of the party of Jupiter; others belong to other demons.”

Τοιαῦτα καὶ περὶ κυρίου καὶ κυρίων διδάσκουσιν ἡμᾶς ἐξετάζειν καὶ φρονεῖν οἱ θεῖοι λόγοι, ὅπου μὲν λέγοντες· "Ἐξομολογεῖσθε τῷ θεῷ τῶν θεῶν, ὅτι εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ· ἐξομολογεῖσθε τῷ κυρίῳ τῶν κυρίων, ὅτι εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ", ὅπου δὲ ὅτι ἐστὶν ὁ θεὸς "βασιλεὺς τῶν βασιλευόντων καὶ κύριος τῶν κυριευόντων". Οἶδε δὲ ὁ λόγος θεοὺς τοὺς μέν τινας λεγομένους τοὺς δὲ καὶ ὄντας, εἴτε λεγομένους εἴτε μή· τὸ δ' αὐτὸ διδάσκων καὶ περὶ κυρίων τῶν ὄντων καὶ μὴ λέγει ὁ Παῦλος· "Καὶ γὰρ εἴπερ εἰσὶ λεγόμενοι θεοὶ εἴτ' ἐν οὐρανῶ εἴτ' ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ὥσπερ εἰσὶ θεοὶ πολλοὶ καὶ κύριοι πολλοί." Εἶτ' ἐπεὶ "ὁ τῶν θεῶν θεὸς" καλεῖ "ἀπ' ἀνατολῶν" καὶ "δυσμῶν" ἐπὶ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ μερίδα διὰ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ οὓς βούλεται, κύριος δὲ ὢν ὁ Χριστὸς τοῦ θεοῦ δείκνυσιν δι' ὧν ἐπέβη τοῖς πάντων ὁρίοις καὶ πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ἀπὸ πάντων ὁρίων καλεῖ ὅτι ἐστὶ πάντων τῶν κυριευόντων διαφέρων· διὰ τοῦτο ταῦτ' ἐπιστάμενος ὁ Παῦλός φησι μεθ' ἃ παρεθέμην· "Ἀλλ' ἡμῖν εἷς θεὸς ὁ πατήρ, ἐξ οὗ τὰ πάντα, καὶ εἷς κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, δι' οὗ τὰ πάντα, καὶ ἡμεῖς δι' αὐτοῦ." Θεωρῶν τε θαυμάσιόν τινα καὶ μυστηριώδη λόγον κατὰ τὸν τόπον ἐπιφέρει αὐτοῖς· "Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐν πᾶσιν ἡ γνῶσις." Ἐπὰν δὲ λέγῃ· "Ἀλλ' ἡμῖν εἷς θεὸς ὁ πατήρ, ἐξ οὗ τὰ πάντα, καὶ εἷς κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, δι' οὗ τὰ πάντα", τὸ "ἡμῖν" λέγει ἐφ' ἑαυτοῦ καὶ πάντων τῶν ἀναβεβηκότων πρὸς τὸν ἐπὶ πᾶσι θεὸν "τῶν θεῶν" καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἐπὶ πᾶσι κύριον "τῶν κυρίων". Ἀναβέβηκε δὲ πρὸς τὸν ἐπὶ πᾶσι θεὸν ὁ ἀσχίστως καὶ ἀδιαιρέτως καὶ ἀμερίστως αὐτὸν σέβων διὰ τοῦ μόνου προσάγοντος ἐκείνῳ υἱοῦ, τοῦ θεοῦ λόγου καὶ σοφίας ἐν τῷ Ἰησοῦ θεωρουμένου, τοὺς παντὶ τρόπῳ πειρωμένους ἑαυτοὺς οἰκειῶσαι δι' ἐξαιρέτων λόγων καὶ πράξεων καὶ διανοημάτων τῷ τοῦ παντὸς δημιουργῷ θεῷ. Παρὰ ταῦτα δ' οἶμαι καὶ τὰ τούτοις παραπλήσια τὸν μετασχηματιζόμενον "εἰς ἄγγελον φωτὸς" ἄρχοντα "τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου" πεποιηκέναι τὸ "Τῷ δὲ ἕπεται στρατιὰ θεῶν τε καὶ δαιμόνων, κατὰ ἕνδεκα μοίρας τεταγμένη", ἐν οἷς περὶ ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τῶν φιλοσοφησάντων λέγει τό· "Μετὰ μὲν ∆ιὸς ἡμεῖς, ἄλλοι δὲ μετὰ ἄλλων δαιμόνων."