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the hypostasis of the divinity? or is it our custom to speak every extravagant word improperly, for a representation of the things being fulfilled in us? 34. For in reality every godly person does not live according to the human mind, but according to that of Christ, which is filled with understanding by Christ, which reasons according to Christ in righteousness, which lives in Christ by confession, which is saved through Christ in righteous action. For this is the mind of Christ, which is able to be in us and not to contain Christ in a circumscribing place. For the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are everywhere, and exists in us spiritually, if we become worthy of him, not enclosed by any place, him and his Father and his Holy Spirit, but by the power of his divinity he is present in all things and is unmixed with all things on account of his incommunicable and incomparable substance and pure and incomprehensible divinity. But when the apostle says, "But we have the mind of Christ," what shall we then reckon? Did he have his own human mind, or, being filled with the mind of Christ, did he cast off his own, and have the mind of Christ instead of his own? Not at all. For each of the hearers would confess that he had his own, and was filled with that of Christ, which adorned him according to godliness and knowledge and the heavenly life of God. If, therefore, having his own mind he was filled with the mind of Christ, was then Christ the Word himself a mind, if indeed one must say so, since it has seemed good to some to call God a mind? But I do not consider our mind a hypostasis, nor does any of the sons of the church, but a certain activity given from God in us and existing. But Christ I call a hypostasis 3.447, as also all the faithful confess, and I confess him to be God and existing Lord, begotten from the Father, perfect from perfect and light from light and God from God. But yet, according to the same reasoning, he who is a mind in himself, just as the holy apostle teaches concerning him that "we have the mind of Christ," he and those testified by him had their own mind and again were filled with the mind of Christ, his grace being thus able to be perfected in them. 35. Therefore, it will not differ at all from the direct likeness to take this also in the case of Christ, that Christ, being a mind in himself, even if he partook of a human mind, as he also partook of flesh and blood and had a human soul, was not at all made captive by the mind. For if the apostle, who possessed by nature his own human mind and that from participation of gift and charism and grace, no longer lived according to his own mind, but was adorned by the mind of Christ with a certain conduct surpassing nature, how much more did God the Word, having in himself all perfection, being himself perfect, himself God, himself power, himself mind, himself light, become the filler, or rather the perfecter, of the mind and of the whole body, and in all things through his incarnate presence worked out our salvation? Therefore, such an argument must be set aside, as having no clear meaning concerning such a hypothesis, and one must set aside not confessing all things to be perfect in Christ, without sin. For the Word, having come, truly did all things, perfecting the things forewritten concerning him according to what is written, "Behold, a virgin shall conceive in her womb," and what follows; being conceived in truth and not in appearance, being taken in the womb in truth, dwelling in the flesh in truth, having flesh and a soul in truth and a mind in truth, and all that a man is in truth, apart from sin, and being born from a virginal womb and a holy virgin in truth, not from the seed of a man, but in truth having flesh and a soul and a mind, as I said, and being found in truth through the birth canals and being wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger in truth, being carried by Mary and in Egypt

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ὑπόστασιν τῆς θεότητος; ἢ καταχρηστικῶς εἴωθε πᾶν ῥῆμα ὑπέρογκον λέγεσθαι ἡμῖν εἰς παράστασιν τῶν ἐν ἡμῖν πληρουμένων; 34. Καὶ γὰρ τῷ μὲν ὄντι πᾶς θεοσεβὴς οὐ κατὰ τὸν νοῦν τὸν ἀνθρώπινον πολιτεύεται, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸν τοῦ Χριστοῦ, τὸν ὑπὸ Χριστοῦ πληρούμενον τῇ συνέσει, τὸν κατὰ τὸν Χριστὸν λογιζόμενον ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ, τὸν ἐν Χριστῷ πεπολιτευμένον τῇ ὁμολογίᾳ, τὸν διὰ Χριστὸν σῳζόμενον ἐν τῇ δικαιοπραγίᾳ. οὗτος γάρ ἐστιν ὁ νοῦς Χριστοῦ, ὁ ἐν ἡμῖν δυνάμενος εἶναι καὶ ἐν τόπῳ περιεκτικῷ τὸν Χριστὸν μὴ κατέχειν. πάντη γάρ ἐστιν ὁ πατὴρ καὶ ὁ υἱὸς καὶ τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα, καὶ ἐν ἡμῖν ὑπάρχει πνευματικῶς, ἐὰν αὐτοῦ ἄξιοι γενώμεθα, οὔ τινος τόπου περικλείοντος αὐτὸν καὶ τὸν αὐτοῦ πατέρα καὶ τὸ ἅγιον αὐτοῦ πνεῦμα, τῇ δὲ δυνάμει τῆς αὐτοῦ θεότητος ἐν ἅπασι τυγχάνων ἐστὶ καὶ ἀμιγὴς πάντων ἐστὶ διὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ ἀσυγκοινώνητόν τε καὶ ἀσύγκριτον οὐσίαν καὶ ἀκραιφνῆ καὶ ἀκατάληπτον θεότητα. ὅταν δὲ εἴπῃ ὁ ἀπόστολος «ἡμεῖς δὲ νοῦν Χριστοῦ ἔχομεν», ἆρά γε τί λογισώμεθα; εἶχε τὸν ἴδιον ἀνθρώπινον νοῦν ἢ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐμφορούμενος νοῦν τὸν μὲν ἴδιον ἀπεβάλλετο, νοῦν δὲ Χριστοῦ εἶχεν ἀντὶ τοῦ ἰδίου; οὐ πάντως. συνομολογήσειε γὰρ ἕκαστος τῶν ἀκουόντων ὅτι τὸν μὲν ἴδιον εἶχε, τοῦ τε Χριστοῦ ἐνεφορεῖτο, τοῦ κοσμήσαντος αὐτὸν κατὰ τὴν θεοσέβειαν καὶ γνῶσιν καὶ θεοῦ πολιτείαν ἐπουράνιον. εἰ τοίνυν τὸν ἴδιον ἔχων νοῦν Χριστοῦ ἐνεφορεῖτο νοῦν, ἄρα γε καὶ Χριστὸς αὐτὸς ὁ λόγος νοῦς ἦν, εἴ γε οὕτως δεῖ λέγειν, ἐπειδή τισι τοῦτο ἔδοξε νοῦν καλεῖν θεόν. ἐγὼ δὲ τὸν νοῦν τὸν ἡμέτερον οὐχ ὑπόστασιν ἡγοῦμαι, οὐδέ τις τῶν υἱῶν τῆς ἐκκλησίας, ἀλλ' ἐνέργειάν τινα ἐκ θεοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν δεδομένην καὶ οὖσαν. τὸν δὲ Χριστὸν ὑπόστασιν 3.447 λέγω, ὡς καὶ πάντες πιστοὶ ὁμολογοῦσι, καὶ θεὸν ὁμολογῶ καὶ ὄντα κύριον, ἐκ πατρὸς γεγεννημένον, τέλειον ἐκ τελείου καὶ φῶς ἐκ φωτὸς καὶ θεὸν ἐκ θεοῦ. ἀλλ' ὅμως κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν λόγον ὁ ὢν ἐν ἑαυτῷ νοῦς, ὥσπερ ὁ ἅγιος ἀπόστολος διδάσκει περὶ αὐτοῦ ὅτι «ἡμεῖς δὲ νοῦν Χριστοῦ ἔχομεν», εἶχεν αὐτὸς καὶ οἱ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ μαρτυρούμενοι τὸν ἴδιον ἑαυτῶν νοῦν καὶ πάλιν ἐνεφοροῦντο τοῦ Χριστοῦ νοῦ, οὕτως δυναμένης τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ ἐν ἑαυτοῖς τελειοῦσθαι. 35. Ἄρα οὖν οὐδὲν διοίσει ἀπὸ τοῦ κατάντικρυς ὁμοιώματος τὸ καὶ ἐπὶ Χριστοῦ τοῦτο λαμβάνειν, ὅτι Χριστὸς ὢν ἐν ἑαυτῷ νοῦς, εἰ καὶ μετεῖχε νοῦ ἀνθρωπίνου, ὡς καὶ σαρκὸς μετέσχε καὶ αἵματος καὶ ψυχὴν εἶχε τὴν ἀνθρωπείαν, οὐ πάντως ἀπὸ τοῦ νοὸς ᾐχμαλωτεύετο. εἰ γὰρ ὁ κατὰ φύσιν ἴδιον νοῦν κεκτημένος ἀπόστολος τὸν ἀνθρώπινον καὶ τὸν ἐκ συμμετοχῆς δωρεᾶς καὶ χαρίσματος καὶ χάριτος, οὐκέτι κατὰ τὸν νοῦν τὸν ἴδιον ἐπολιτεύετο, ἀλλ' ὑπερβαινούσῃ τινὶ φύσεως ἀγωγῇ τῷ Χριστοῦ νῷ κατεκοσμεῖτο, πόσῳ γε μᾶλλον ὁ θεὸς λόγος ἐν ἑαυτῷ ἔχων τὴν πᾶσαν τελειότητα, αὐτοτέλειος ὤν, αὐτόθεος ὤν, αὐτοδύναμις, αὐτόνους, αὐτόφως, καὶ τοῦ νοῦ καὶ παντὸς τοῦ σώματος πληρωτὴς ἐγένετο, μᾶλλον δὲ τελειωτής, καὶ ἐν ἅπασι διὰ τῆς αὐτοῦ ἐνσάρκου παρουσίας ἡμῖν τὸ σωτήριον ἐξειργάσατο; παρενεκτέον τοίνυν τὸν τοιοῦτον λόγον, μὴ ἔχοντα ἔμφασιν περὶ τῆς τοιαύτης ὑποθέσεως, καὶ παρενεκτέον τὸ μὴ ὁμολογεῖν πάντα τέλεια ἐν Χριστῷ, ἄνευ ἁμαρτίας. πάντα γὰρ ἀληθινῶς ἐποίησεν ἐλθὼν ὁ λόγος, τὰ προγεγραμμένα περὶ αὐτοῦ τελειῶν κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον «ἰδού, ἡ παρθένος ἐν γαστρὶ ἕξει» καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς· ἐν ἀληθείᾳ ἐγκυμονηθεὶς καὶ οὐκ ἐν δοκήσει, συλλαμβανόμενος ἐν γαστρὶ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ, ἐνδημῶν σαρκὶ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ, σάρκα ἔχων καὶ ψυχὴν ἐν ἀληθείᾳ καὶ νοῦν ἐν ἀληθείᾳ, καὶ πάντα εἴ τί ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος ἐν ἀληθείᾳ χωρὶς ἁμαρτίας, καὶ γεγεννημένος ἐκ παρθενικῆς μήτρας καὶ ἁγίας παρθένου ἐν ἀληθείᾳ, οὐκ ἐκ σπέρματος ἀνδρός, ἐν ἀληθείᾳ δὲ σάρκα ἔχων καὶ ψυχὴν καὶ νοῦν, ὡς ἔφην, καὶ διὰ τῶν τοκετικῶν πόρων ἐν ἀληθείᾳ εὑρισκόμενος καὶ ἐν φάτνῃ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ σπαργανούμενος, ὑπὸ Μαρίας βασταζόμενος καὶ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ