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1 <html>
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2 <head>
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3 </style>
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6 <body style=text-align:justify><blockquote>
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7 <CENTER><p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 60pt">1</span></p>
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8 <p>LECTURE I</p>
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9 <p>1 In the beginning was the Word;<BR>
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10 and the Word was with God;<BR>
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11 and the Word was God.<BR>
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12 2 He was in the beginning with God.</CENTER>
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13 <p>23 John the Evangelist, as already indicated, makes it his principal object to show the divinity
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14 of the Incarnate Word. Accordingly, his Gospel is divided into two parts. In the first he states
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15 the divinity of Christ; in the second he shows it by the things Christ did in the flesh (2:1). In
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16 regard to the first, he does two things. First he shows the divinity of Christ; secondly he sets
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17 forth the manner in which Christ&#8217;s divinity is made known to us (1:14). Concerning the first
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18 he does two things. First he treats of the divinity of Christ; secondly of the incarnation of the
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19 Word of God (1:6).</p>
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20 <p>Because there are two items to be considered in each thing, namely, its existence and its
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21 operation or power, first he treats the existence of the Word as to his divine nature; secondly
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22 of his power or operation (1:3). In regard to the first he does four things. First he shows when
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23 the Word was: <span style="font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the Word; </span>secondly where he was: <span style="font-weight: bold">and the Word was
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24 with God; </span>thirdly what fie was: <span style="font-weight: bold">and the Word was God; </span>fourthly, in what way he was: <span style="font-weight: bold">He
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25 was in the beginning with God. </span>The first two pertain to the inquiry &#8220;whether something
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26 exists&#8221;; the second two pertain to the inquiry &#8220;what something is.&#8221;</p>
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27 <p>24 With respect to the first of these four we must examine the meaning of the statement, <span style="font-weight: bold">In
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28 the beginning was the Word. </span>And here three things present themselves for careful study
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29 according to the three parts of this statement. First it is necessary to investigate the name
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30 Word; secondly the phrase <span style="font-weight: bold">in the beginning; </span>thirdly the meaning of the Word <span style="font-weight: bold">was in the
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31 beginning.</span></p>
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32 <p>25 To understand the name <span style="font-weight: bold">Word </span>we should note that according to the Philosopher [<i>On
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33 Interpretation </i>16a3] vocal sounds are signs of the affections that exist in our soul. It is
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34 customary in Scripture for the things signified to be themselves called by the names of their
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35 signs, as in the statement, &#8220;And the rock was Christ&#8221; ( 1 Cor 10:4). It is fitting that what is
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36 within our soul, and which is signified by our external word, be called a &#8220;word.&#8221; But whether
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37 the name &#8220;word&#8221; belongs first to the exterior vocal sound or to the conception in our mind, is
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38 not our concern at present. However, it is obvious that what is signified by the vocal sound, as
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39 existing interiorly in the soul, exists prior to the vocal expression inasmuch as it is its actual
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40 cause. Therefore if we wish to grasp the meaning of the interior word, we must first look at
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41 the meaning of that which is exteriorly expressed in words.</p>
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42 <p>Now there are three things in our intellect: the intellectual power itself, the species of the
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43 thing understood (and this species is its form, being to the intellect what the species of a color
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44 is to the eye), and thirdly the very activity of the intellect, which is to understand. But none of
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45 these is what is signified by the exterior vocal word: for the name &#8220;stone&#8221; does not signify the
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46 substance of the intellect because this is not what the one naming intends; nor does it signify
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47 the species, which is that by which the intellect understands, since this also is not the
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48 intention of the one naming; nor does it signify the act itself of understanding since to
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49 understand is not an action proceeding to the exterior from the one understanding, but an
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50 action remaining within. Therefore, that is properly called an interior word which the one
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51 understanding forms when understanding.</p>
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52 <p>Now the intellect forms two things, according to its two operations. According to its
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53 operation which is called &#8220;the understanding of indivisibles,&#8221; it forms a definition; while
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54 according to its operation by which it unites and separates, it forms an enunciation or
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55 something of that sort. Hence, what is thus formed and expressed by the operation of the
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56 intellect, whether by defining or enunciating, is what the exterior vocal sound signifies. So the
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57 Philosopher says that the notion (ratio) which a name signifies is a definition. Hence, what is
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58 thus expressed, i.e., formed in the soul, is called an interior word. Consequently it is
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59 compared to the intellect, not as that by which the intellect understands, but as that in which it
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60 understands, because it is in what is thus expressed and formed that it sees the nature of the
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61 thing understood. Thus we have the meaning of the name &#8220;word.&#8221;</p>
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62 <p>Secondly, from what has been said we are able to understand that a word is always something
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63 that proceeds from an intellect existing in act; and furthermore, that a word is always a notion
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64 (ratio) and likeness of the thing understood. So if the one understanding and the thing
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65 understood are the same, then the word is a notion and likeness of the intellect from which it
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66 proceeds. On the other hand, if the one understanding is other than the thing understood, then
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67 the word is not a likeness and notion of the one understanding but of the thing understood, as
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68 the conception which one has of a stone is a likeness of only the stone. But when the intellect
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69 understands itself, its word is a likeness and notion of the intellect. And so Augustine (<i>On the
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70 Trinity </i>IX, 5)<i> </i>sees a likeness of the Trinity in the Soul insofar as the mind understands itself,
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71 but not insofar as it understands other things.</p>
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72 <p>It is clear then that it is necessary to have a word in any intellectual nature, for it is of the very
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73 nature of understanding that the intellect in understanding should form something. Now what
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74 is formed is called a word, and so it follows that in every being which understands there must
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75 be a word.</p>
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76 <p>However, intellectual natures are of three kinds: human, angelic and divine; and so there are
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77 three kinds of words. The human word, about which it is said in the Psalm (13:1): &#8220;The fool
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78 said in his heart, &#8216;There is no God.&#8217; &#8220; The angelic word, about which it is said in Zechariah
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79 (1:9), and in many places in Sacred Scripture, &#8220;And the angel said to me.&#8221; The third is the
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80 divine word, of which Genesis (1:3) says, &#8220;And God said, &#8216;Let there be light.&#8217; &#8220; So when the
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81 Evangelist says, <span style="font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the Word, </span>we cannot understand this as a human or
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82 angelic word, because both these words have been made since man and angel have a cause
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83 and principle of their existence and operation, and the word of a man or an angel cannot exist
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84 before they do. The word the Evangelist had in mind he shows by saying that this word was
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85 not made, since all things were made by it. Therefore, the word about which John speaks here
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86 is the Word of God.</p>
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87 <p>26 We should note that this Word differs from our own word in three ways. The first
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88 difference, according to Augustine, is that our word is formable before being formed, for
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89 when I wish to conceive the notion of a stone, I must arrive at it by reasoning. And so it is in
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90 all other things that are understood by us, with the sole possible exception of the first
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91 principles which, since they are known in a simple manner, are known at once without any
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92 discourse of reason. So as long as the intellect, in so reasoning, casts about this way and that,
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93 the formation is not yet complete. It is only when it has conceived the notion of the thing
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94 perfectly that for the first time it has the notion of the complete thing and a word. Thus in our
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95 mind there is both a &#8220;cogitation,&#8221; meaning the discourse involved in an investigation, and a
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96 word, which is formed according to a perfect contemplation of the truth. So our word is first
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97 in potency before it is in act. But the Word of God is always in act. In consequence, the term
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98 &#8220;cogitation&#8221; does not properly speaking apply to the Word of God. For Augustine says (<i>On
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99 the Trinity</i> XV)<i>: </i>&#8220;The Word of God is spoken of in such a way that cogitation is not included,
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100 lest anything changeable be supposed in God.&#8221; Anselm was speaking improperly when he
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101 said: &#8220;For the supreme Spirit to speak is for him to look at something while cogitating.&#8221;</p>
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102 <p>27 The second difference is that our word is imperfect, but the divine Word is most perfect.
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103 For since we cannot express all our conceptions in one word, we must form many imperfect
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104 words through which we separately express all that is in our knowledge. But it is not that way
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105 with God. For since he understands both himself and everything else through his essence, by
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106 one act, the single divine Word is expressive of all that is in God, not only of the Persons but
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107 also of creatures; otherwise it would be imperfect. So Augustine says: &#8220;If there were less in
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108 the Word than is contained in the knowledge of the One speaking it, the Word would be
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109 imperfect; but it is obvious that it is most perfect; therefore, it is only one.&#8221; &#8220;God speaks
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110 once&#8221; (Jb 33:14).</p>
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111 <p>28 The third difference is that our word is not of the same nature as we; but the divine Word
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112 is of the same nature as God. And therefore it is something that subsists in the divine nature.
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113 For the understood notion which the intellect is seen to fonn about some thing has only an
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114 intelligible existence in our soul. Now in our soul, to understand is not the same as the nature
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115 of the soul, because our soul is not its own operation. Consequently, the word which our
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116 intellect forms is not of the essence of our soul, but is an accident of it. But in God, to
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117 understand and to be are the same; and so the Word of the divine intellect is not an accident
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118 but belongs to its nature. Thus it must be subsistent, because whatever is in the nature of God
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119 is God. Thus Damascene says that God is a substantial Word, and a hypostasis, but our words
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120 are concepts in our mind.</p>
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121 <p>29 From the above it is clear that the Word, properly speaking, is always understood as a
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122 Person in the Divinity, since it implies only something expressed, by the one understanding;
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123 also, that in the Divinity the Word is the likeness of that from which it issues; and that it is
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124 co-eternal with that from which it issues, since it was not first formable before being formed,
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125 but was always in act; and that it is equal to the Father, since it is perfect and expressive of
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126 the whole being of the Father; and that it is co-essential and consubstantial with the Father,
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127 since it is his substance.</p>
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128 <p>It is also clear that since in every nature that which issues forth and has a likeness to the
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129 nature from which it issues is called a son, and since this Word issues forth in a likeness and
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130 identity to the nature from which it issues, it is suitably and appropriately called a &#8220;Son,&#8221; and
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131 its production is called a generation.</p>
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132 <p>So now the first point is clear, the meaning of the <span style="font-weight: bold">term Word.</span></p>
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133 <p>30 There are four questions on this point, two of them from Chrysostom. The first is: Why
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134 did John the Evangelist oinit the Father and begin at once with the Son, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">In the
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135 beginning was the Word?</span></p>
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136 <p>There are two answers to this. One is that the Father was known to everyone in the Old
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137 Testament, although not under the aspect of Father, but as God; but the Son was not known.
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138 And so in the New Testament, which is concerned with our knowledge of the Word, he
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139 begins with the Word or Son.</p>
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140 <p>The other answer is that we are brought to know the Father through the Son: &#8220;Father, I have
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141 manifested your name to the men whom you have given to me&#8221; (below 17:6). And so wishing
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142 to lead the faithful to a knowledge of the Father, the Evangelist fittingly began with the Son,
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143 at once adding something about the Father when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">and the Word was with God.</span></p>
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144 <p>31 The second question is also from Chrysostom. Why did he say <span style="font-weight: bold">Word </span>and not &#8220;Son,&#8221;
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145 since, as we have said, the Word proceeds as Son?</p>
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146 <p>There are also two answers to this. First, because &#8220;son&#8221; means something begotten, and when
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147 we hear of the generation of the Son, someone might suppose that this generation is the kind
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148 he can comprehend, that is, a material and changeable generation. Thus he did not say &#8220;Son,&#8221;
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149 but <span style="font-weight: bold">Word, </span>which signifies an intelligible proceeding, so that it would not be understood as a
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150 material and changeable generation. And so in showing that the Son is born of the Father in
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151 an unchangeable way, he eliminates a faulty conjecture by using the name <span style="font-weight: bold">Word.</span></p>
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152 <p>The second answer is this. The Evangelist was about to consider the Word as having come to
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153 manifest the Father. But since the idea of manifesting is implied better in the name &#8220;Word&#8221;
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154 than in the name &#8220;Son,&#8221; he preferred to use the name <span style="font-weight: bold">Word.</span></p>
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155 <p>32 The third question is raised by Augustine in his book <i>Eighty-three Questions; </i>and it is this.
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156 In Greek, where we have &#8220;Word,&#8221; they have &#8220;Logos&#8221;; now since &#8220;Logos&#8221; signifies in Latin
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157 both &#8220;notion&#8221; and &#8220;word&#8221; [i.e., <i>ratio et verbum</i>],<i> </i>why did the translators render it as &#8220;word&#8221;
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158 and not &#8220;notion,&#8221; since a notion is something interior just as a word is?</p>
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159 <p>I answer that &#8220;notion&#8221; [ratio], properly speaking, names a conception of the mind precisely as
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160 in the mind, even if through it nothing exterior comes to be; but &#8220;word&#8221; signifies a reference
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161 to something exterior. And so because the Evangelist, when he said &#8220;Logos,&#8221; intended to
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162 signify not only a reference to the Son&#8217;s existence in the Father, but also the operative power
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163 of the Son, by which, through him, all things were made, our predecessors preferred to
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164 translate it &#8220;Word,&#8221; which implies a reference to something exterior, rather than &#8220;notion &#8220;
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165 which implies merely a concept of the mind.</p>
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166 <p>33 The fourth question is from Origen, and is this. In many passages, Scripture, when
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167 speaking of the Word of God, does not simply call him the Word, but adds &#8220;of God,&#8221; saying,
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168 &#8220;the Word of God,&#8221; or &#8220;of the Lord&#8221;: &#8220;The Word of God on high is the foundation of
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169 wisdom&#8221; (Sir 1:5); &#8220;His name is the Word of God&#8221; (Rv 19:13). Why then did the Evangelist,
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170 when speaking here of the Word of God, not say, &#8220;In the beginning was the Word of God,&#8221;
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171 but said <span style="font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the Word?</span></p>
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172 <p>I answer that although there are many participated truths, there is just one absolute Truth,
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173 which is Truth by its very essence, that is, the divine act of being (<i>esse</i>);<i> </i>and by this Truth all
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174 words are words. Similarly, there is one absolute Wisdom elevated above all things, that is,
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175 the divine Wisdom, by participating in which all wise persons are wise. Further, there is one
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176 absolute Word, by participating in which all persons having a word are called speakers. Now
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177 this is the divine Word which of itself is the Word elevated above all words. So in order that
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178 the Evangelist might signify this supereminence of the divine Word, he pointed out this Word
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179 to us absolutely without any addition.</p>
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180 <p>And because the Greeks, when they wished to signify something separate and elevated above
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181 everything else, did this by affixing the article to the name (as the Platonists, wishing to
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182 signify the separated substances, such as the separated good or the separated man, called them
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183 the good <i>per se, </i>or man <i>per se</i>), so the Evangelist, wishing to signify the separation and
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184 elevation of that Word above all things, affixed an article to the name &#8220;Logos,&#8221; so that if it
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185 were stated in Latin we would say <i>&#8220;the </i>Word.&#8221;</p>
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186 <p>34 Secondly, we must consider the meaning of the phrase, <span style="font-weight: bold">In the beginning. </span>We must note
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187 that according to Origen, the word <i>principium </i>has many meanings [such as &#8220;principle,&#8221;
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188 &#8220;source,&#8221; or &#8220;beginning&#8221;]. Since the word <i>principium </i>implies a certain order of one thing to
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189 another, one can find a <i>principium </i>in all those things which have an order. First of all, order
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190 is found in quantified things; and so there is a principle of number and lengths, as for
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191 example, a line. Second, order is found in time; and so we speak of a &#8220;beginning&#8221; of time, or
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192 of duration. Third, order is found in learning; and this in two ways: as to nature, and as to
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193 ourselves, and in both cases we can speak of a &#8220;beginning&#8221;: &#8220;By this time you ought to be
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194 teachers&#8221; (Heb 5:12). As to nature, in Christian doctrine the beginning and principle of our
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195 wisdom is Christ, inasmuch as he is the Wisdom and Word of God, i.e., in his divinity. But as
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196 to ourselves, the beginning is Christ himself inasmuch as the Word has become flesh, i.e., by
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197 his incarnation. Fourth, in order is found in the production of a thing. In this perspective there
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198 can be a <i>principium </i>on the part of the thing generated, that is, the first part of the thing
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199 generated or made; as we say that the foundation is the beginning of a house. Another
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200 <i>principium is </i>on the part of the generator, and in this perspective there are three &#8220;principles&#8221;:
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201 of intention, which is the purpose, which motivates the agent; of reason, which is the idea in
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202 the mind of the maker; and of execution, which is the operative faculty. Considering these
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203 various ways of using the term, we now ask how <i>principium </i>is used here when it says, <span style="font-weight: bold">In the
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204 beginning was the Word.</span></p>
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205 <p>35 We should note that this word can be taken in three ways. In one way so that <i>principium is
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206 </i>understood as the Person of the Son, who is the principle of creatures by reason of his active
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207 power acting with wisdom, which is the conception of the things that are brought into
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208 existence. Hence we read: &#8220;Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God&#8221; (1 Cor 1:24).
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209 And so the Lord said about himself: &#8220;I am the <i>principium </i>who also speaks to you&#8221; (below
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210 8:25). Taking <i>principium </i>in this way, we should understand the statement, <span style="font-weight: bold">In the beginning
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211 was the Word, </span>as though he were saying, &#8220;The Word was in the Son,&#8221; so that the sense
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212 would be: The Word himself is the <i>principium, </i>principle, in the sense in which life is said to
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213 be &#8220;in&#8221; God, when this life is not something other than God.</p>
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214 <p>And this is the explanation of Origen. And so the Evangelist says <span style="font-weight: bold">In the beginning </span>here in
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215 order, as Chrysostom says, to show at the very outset the divinity of the Word by asserting
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216 that he is a principle because, as determining all, a principle is most honored.</p>
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217 <p>36 In a second way <i>principium </i>can be understood as the Person of the Father, who is the
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218 principle not only of creatures, but of every divine process. It is taken this way in, &#8220;Yours is
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219 princely power (<i>principium</i>)<i> </i>in the day of your birth&#8221; (Ps 110:3). In this second way one reads
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220 <span style="font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the Word </span>as though it means, &#8220;The Son was in the Father.&#8221; This is
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221 Augustine&#8217;s understanding of it, as well as Origen&#8217;s. The Son, however, is said to be in the
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222 Father because both have the same essence. Since the Son is his own essence, then the Son is
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223 in whomsoever the Son&#8217;s essence is. Since, therefore, the essence of the Son is in the Father
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224 by consubstantiality, it is fitting that the Son be in the Father. Hence it says below (14:10): &#8220;I
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225 am in the Father and the Father is in me.&#8221;</p>
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226 <p>37 In a third way, <i>principium</i> can be taken for the beginning of duration, so that the sense of
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227 <span style="font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the Word </span>is that the Word was before all things, as Augustine
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228 explains it. According to Basil and Hilary, this phrase shows the eternity of the Word.</p>
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229 <p>The phrase <span style="font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the Word </span>shows that no matter which beginning of
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230 duration is taken, whether of temporal things which is time, or of aeviternal things which is
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231 the aeon, or of the whole world or any imagined span of time reaching back for many ages, at
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232 that beginning the Word already was. Hence Hilary says (<i>On the Trinity </i>VII):<i> </i>&#8220;Go back
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233 season by season, skip over the centuries, take away ages. Set down whatever you want as the
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234 beginning in your opinion: the Word already was.&#8221; And this is what Proverbs (8:23) says:
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235 &#8220;The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his ways, before he made anything.&#8221; But what is
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236 prior to the beginning of duration is eternal.</p>
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237 <p>38 And thus the first explanation asserts the causality of the Word; the second explanation
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238 affirms the consubstantiality of the Word with the Father, who utters the Word; and the third
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239 explanation affirms the co-eternity of the Word.</p>
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240 <p>39 Now we should consider that it says that the Word was (<i>erat</i>),<i> </i>which is stated in the past
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241 imperfect tense. This tense is most appropriate for designating eternal things if we consider
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242 the nature of time and of the things that exist in time. For what is future is not yet in act; but
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243 what is at present is in act, and by the fact that it is in act what is present is not described as
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244 having been. Now the past perfect tense indicates that something has existed, has already
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245 come to an end, and has now ceased to be. The past imperfect tense, on the other hand,
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246 indicates that something has been, has not yet come to an end, nor has ceased to be, but still
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247 endures. Thus, whenever John mentions eternal things he expressly says &#8220;was&#8221; (<i>erat, </i>past
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248 imperfect tense), but when he refers to anything temporal he says &#8220;has been&#8221; (<i>fuit, </i>past
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249 perfect tense), as will be clear later.</p>
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250 <p>But so far as concerns the notion of the present, the best way to designate eternity is the
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251 present tense, which indicates that some thing is in act, and this is always the characteristic of
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252 eternal things. And so it says in Exodus (3:14): &#8220;I am who am.&#8221; And Augustine says: &#8220;He
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253 alone truly is whose being does not know a past and a future.</p>
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254 <p>40 We should also note that this verb was, according to the Gloss, is not understood here as
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255 indicating temporal changes, as other verbs do, but as signifying the existence of a thing.
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256 Thus it is also called a substantive verb.</p>
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257 <p>41 Someone may ask how the Word can be co-eternal with the Father since he is begotten by
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258 the Father: for a human son, born from a human father, is subsequent to his father.</p>
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259 <p>I answer that there are three reasons why an originative principle is prior in duration to that
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260 which derives from that principle. First of all, if the originative principle of anything precedes
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261 in time the action by which it produces the thing of which it is the principle; thus a man does
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262 not begin to write as soon as he exists, and so he precedes his writing in time. Secondly, if an
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263 action is successive; consequently, even if the action should happen to begin at the same time
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264 as the agent, the termination of the action is nevertheless subsequent to the agent. Thus, as
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265 soon as fire has been generated in a lower region, it begins to ascend; but the fire exists before
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266 it has ascended, because the motion by which it tends upward requires some time. Thirdly, by
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267 the fact that sometimes the beginning of a thing depends on the will of its principle, just as
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268 the beginning of a creature&#8217;s coming-to-be depends on the will of God, such that God existed
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269 before any creature.</p>
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270 <p>Yet none of these three is found in the generation of the divine Word. God did not first exist
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271 and then begin to generate the Word: for since the generation of the Word is nothing other
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272 than an intelligible conception, it would follow that God would be understanding in potency
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273 before understanding in act, which is impossible. Again, it is impossible that the generation of
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274 the Word involve succession: for then the divine Word would be unformed before it was
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275 formed (as happens in us who form words by &#8220;cogitating&#8221;), which is false, as was said.
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276 Again, we cannot say that the Father pre-established a beginning of duration for his Son by
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277 his own will, because God the Father does not generate the Son by his will, as the Arians
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278 held, but naturally: for God the Father, understanding himself, conceives the Word; and so
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279 God the Father did not exist prior to the Son.</p>
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280 <p>An example of this, to a limited degree, appears in fire and in the brightness issuing from it:
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281 for this brightness issues naturally and without succession from the fire. Again, if the fire
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282 were eternal, its brightness would be coeternal with it. This is why the Son is called the
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283 brightness of the Father: &#8220;the brightness of his glory&#8221; (Heb 1:3). But this example lacks an
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284 illustration of the identity of nature. And so we call him Son, although in human sonship we
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285 do not find coeternity: for we must attain our knowledge of divine things from many
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286 likenesses in material things, for one likeness is not enough.</p>
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287 <p>The Council of Ephesus says that the Son always coexists with the Father: for &#8220;brightness&#8221;
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288 indicates his unchangeability, &#8220;birth&#8221; points to the Word himself, but the name &#8220;Son&#8221;
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289 suggests his consubstantiality.</p>
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290 <p>42 And so we give the Son various names to express his perfection, which cannot be
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291 expressed by one name. We call him &#8220;Son&#8221; to show that he is of the same nature as the
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292 Father; we call him &#8220;image&#8221; to show that he is not unlike the Father in any way; we call him
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293 &#8220;brightness&#8221; to show that he is coeternal; and he is called the &#8220;Word&#8221; to show that he is
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294 begotten in an immaterial manner.</p>
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295 <p>43 Then the Evangelist says, <span style="font-weight: bold">and the Word was with God, </span>which is the second clause in his
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296 account. The first thing to consider is the meaning of the two words which did not appear in
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297 the first clause, that is, <span style="font-weight: bold">God</span>, and <span style="font-weight: bold">with; </span>for we have already explained the meanings of
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298 &#8220;Word,&#8221; and &#8220;beginning. &#8220;Let us continue carefully by examining these two new words, and
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299 to better understand the explanation of this second clause, we must say something about the
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300 meaning of each so far as it is relevant to our purpose.</p>
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301 <p>44 At the outset, we should note that the name &#8220;God&#8221; signifies the divinity concretely and as
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302 inherent in a subject, while the name &#8220;deity&#8221; signifies the divinity in the abstract and
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303 absolutely. Thus the name &#8220;deity&#8221; cannot naturally and by its mode of signifying stand for a
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304 [divine] person, but only for the [divine] nature. But the name &#8220;God&#8221; can, by its natural mode
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305 of signifying, stand for any one of the [divine] persons, just as the name &#8220;man&#8221; stands for any
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306 individual (<i>suppositum</i>) possessing humanity. Therefore, whenever the truth of a statement or
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307 its predicate requires that the name &#8220;God&#8221; stand for the person, then it stands for the person,
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308 as when we say, &#8220;God begets God.&#8221; Thus, when it says here that <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word was with God, </span>it
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309 is necessary that God stand for the person of the Father, because the preposition <span style="font-weight: bold">with
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310 </span>signifies the distinction of the Word, which is said to be <span style="font-weight: bold">with God. </span>And although this
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311 preposition signifies a distinction in person, it does not signify a distinction in nature, since
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312 the nature of the Father and of the Son is the same. Consequently, the Evangelist wished to
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313 signify the person of the Father when he said God.</p>
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314 <p>45 Here we should note that the preposition <span style="font-weight: bold">with </span>signifies a certain union of the thing
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315 signified by its grammatical antecedent to the thing signified by its grammatical object, just as
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316 the preposition &#8220;in&#8221; does. However, there is a difference, because the preposition &#8220;in&#8221;
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317 signifies a certain intrinsic union, whereas the preposition <span style="font-weight: bold">with </span>implies in a certain way an
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318 extrinsic union. And we state both in divine matters, namely, that the Son is <i>in </i>the Father and
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319 <i>with </i>the Father. Here the intrinsic union pertains to consubstantiality, but the extrinsic union
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320 (if we may use such an expression, since &#8220;extrinsic&#8221; is improperly employed in divine
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321 matters) refers only to a personal distinction, because the Son is distinguished from the Father
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322 by origin alone. And so these two words designate both a consubstantiality in nature and
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323 distinction in person: consubstantiality inasmuch as a certain union is implied; but distinction,
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324 inasmuch as a certain otherness is signified as was said above.</p>
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325 <p>The preposition &#8220;in,&#8221; as was said, principally signifies consubstantiality, as implying an
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326 intrinsic union and, by way of consequence, a distinction of persons, inasmuch as every
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327 preposition is transitive. The preposition &#8220;with&#8221; principally signifies a personal distinction,
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328 but also a consubstantiality inasmuch as it signifies a certain extrinsic, so to speak, union. For
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329 these reasons the Evangelist specifically used here the preposition &#8220;with&#8221; in order to express
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330 the distinction of the person of the Son from the Father, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">and the Word was with
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331 God, </span>that is, the Son was with the Father as one person with another.</p>
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332 <p>46 We should note further that this preposition <span style="font-weight: bold">with </span>has four meanings, and these eliminate
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333 four objections. First, the preposition with signifies the subsistence of its antecedent, because
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334 things that do not subsist of themselves are not properly said to be &#8220;with&#8221; another; thus we do
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335 not say that a color is with a body, and the same applies to other things that do not subsist of
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336 themselves. But things that do subsist of themselves are properly said to be &#8220;with&#8221; another;
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337 thus we say that a man is with a man, and a stone with a stone.</p>
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338 <p>Secondly, it signifies authority in its grammatical object. For we do not, properly speaking,
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339 say that a king is with a soldier, but that the soldier is with the king. Thirdly, it asserts a
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340 distinction. For it is not proper to say that a person is with himself but rather that one man is
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341 with another. Fourthly, it signifies a certain union and fellowship. For when some person is
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342 said to be with another, it suggests to us that there is some social union between them.</p>
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343 <p>Considering these four conditions implied in the meaning of this preposition <span style="font-weight: bold">with, </span>the
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344 Evangelist quite appropriately joins to the first clause, <span style="font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the Word, </span>this
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345 second clause, <span style="font-weight: bold">and the Word was with God. </span>For if we omit one of the three explanations of,
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346 <span style="font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the Word </span>(namely, the one in which <i>principium</i> was understood as the
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347 Son), certain heretics make a twofold objection against each of the other explanations
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348 (namely, the one in which <i>principium</i> means the same as &#8220;before all things,&#8221; and the one in
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349 which it is understood as the Father). Thus there are four objections, and we can answer these
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350 by the four conditions indicated by this preposition <span style="font-weight: bold">with.</span></p>
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351 <p>47 The first of these objections is this. You say that the Word was in the beginning, i.e.,
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352 before all things. But before all things there was nothing. So if before all things there was
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353 nothing, where then was the Word? This objection arises due to the imaginings of those who
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354 think that whatever exists is somewhere and in some place. But this is rejected by John when
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355 he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">with God, </span>which indicates the union mentioned in the last four conditions. So,
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356 according to Basil, the meaning is this: Where was the Word? The answer is: <span style="font-weight: bold">with God; </span>not
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357 in some place, since he is unsurroundable, but he is with the Father, who is not enclosed by
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358 any place.</p>
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359 <p>48 The second objection against the same explanation is this. You say that the Word was in
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360 the beginning, i.e., before all things. But whatever exists before all things appears to proceed
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361 from no one, since that from which something proceeds seems to be prior to that which
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362 proceeds from it. Therefore, the Word does not proceed from another. This objection is
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363 rejected when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word was with God, </span>taking &#8220;with&#8221; according to its second
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364 condition, as implying authority in what is causing. So the meaning, according to Hilary, is
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365 this: From whom is the Word if he exists before all things? The Evangelist answers: <span style="font-weight: bold">the
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366 Word was with God, </span>i.e., although the Word has no beginning of duration, still he does not
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367 lack a <i>principium </i>or author, for he was with God as his author.</p>
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368 <p>49 The third objection, directed to the explanation in which <i>principium</i> is understood as the
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369 Father, is this. You say that <span style="font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the Word, </span>i.e., the Son was in the Father.
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370 But that which is in something does not seem to be subsistent, as a hypostasis; just as the
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371 whiteness in a body does not subsist. This objection is solved by the statement, <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word
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372 was with God, </span>taking &#8220;with&#8221; in its first condition, as implying the subsistence of its
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373 grammatical antecedent. So according to Chrysostom, the meaning is this: <span style="font-weight: bold">In the beginning
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374 was the Word, </span>not as an accident, but he was <span style="font-weight: bold">with God, </span>as subsisting, and a divine
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375 hypostasis.</p>
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376 <p>50 The fourth objection, against the same explanation, is this. You say that the Word was in
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377 the beginning, i.,e., in the Father. But whatever is in something is not distinct from it. So the
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378 Son is not distinct from the Father. This objection is answered by the statement, <span style="font-weight: bold">and the
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379 Word was with God, </span>taking &#8220;with&#8221; in its third condition, as indicating distinction. Thus the
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380 meaning, according to Alcuin and Bede, is this: <span style="font-weight: bold">The Word was with God, </span>and he was with
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381 the Father by a consubstantiality of nature, while still being &#8220;with&#8221; him through a distinction
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382 in person.</p>
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383 <p>51 And so, <span style="font-weight: bold">and the Word was with God, </span>indicates: the union of the Word with the Father in
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384 nature, according to Basil; their distinction in person, according to Alcuin and Bede; the
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385 subsistence of the Word in the divine nature, according to Chrysostom; and the authorship of
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386 the Father in relation to the Word, according to Hilary.</p>
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387 <p>52 We should also note, according to Origen, that <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word was with God </span>shows that the
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388 Son has always been with the Father. For in the Old Testament it says that the word of the
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389 Lord &#8220;came&#8221; to Jeremiah or to someone else, as is plain in many passages of sacred Scripture.
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390 But it does not say that the word of the Lord was &#8220;with&#8221; Jeremiah or anyone else, because the
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391 word &#8220;comes&#8221; to those who begin to have the word after not having it. Thus the Evangelist
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392 did not say that the Word &#8220;came&#8221; to the Father, but was &#8220;with&#8221; the Father, because, given the
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393 Father, the Word was with him.</p>
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394 <p>53 Then he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">and the Word was God. </span>This is the third clause in John&#8217;s account, and it
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395 follows most appropriately considering the order of teaching. For since John had said both
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396 <i>when </i>and <i>where </i>the Word was, it remained to inquire <i>what </i>the Word was, that is, <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word
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397 was God, </span>taking &#8220;Word&#8221; as the subject, and &#8220;God&#8221; as the predicate.</p>
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398 <p>54 But since one should first inquire what a thing is before investigating where and when it is,
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399 it seems that John violated this order by discussing these latter first.</p>
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400 <p>Origen answers this by saying that the Word of God is with man and with God in different
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401 ways. The Word is with man as perfecting him, because it is through him that man becomes
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402 wise and good: &#8220;She makes friends of God and prophets&#8221; (Wis 7:27). But the Word is not
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403 with God as though the Father were perfected and enlightened by him. Rather, the Word is
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404 with God as receiving natural divinity from him, who utters the Word, and from whom he has
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405 it that he is the same God with him. And so, since the Word was with God by origin, it was
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406 necessary to show first that the Word was in the Father and with the Father before showing
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407 that the Word was God.</p>
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408 <p>55 This clause also enables us to answer two objections which arise from the foregoing. The
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409 first is based on the name &#8220;Word,&#8221; and is this. You say that <span style="font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the Word,
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410 </span>and that the Word was with God. Now it is obvious that &#8220;word&#8221; is generally understood to
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411 signify a vocal sound and the statement of something necessary, a manifesting of thoughts.
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412 But these words pass away and do not subsist. Accordingly, someone could think that the
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413 Evangelist was speaking of a word like these.</p>
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414 <p>According to Hilary and Augustine, this question is sufficiently answered by the above
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415 account. Augustine says (Homily I <i>On John</i>)<i> </i>that it is obvious that in this passage &#8220;Word&#8221;
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416 cannot be understood as a statement because, since a statement is in motion and passes away,
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417 it could not be said that <span style="font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the Word, </span>if this Word were something
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418 passing away and in motion. The same thing is clear from <span style="font-weight: bold">and the Word was with God: </span>for
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419 to be &#8220;in&#8221; another is not the same as to be &#8220;with&#8221; another. Our word, since it does not subsist,
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420 is not &#8220;with&#8221; us, but &#8220;in&#8221; us; but the Word of God is subsistent, and therefore &#8220;with&#8221; God.
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421 And so the Evangelist expressly says, and the Word was with God. To entirely remove the
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422 ground of the objection, he adds the nature and being of the Word, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">and the Word
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423 was God.</span></p>
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424 <p>56 The other question comes from his saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">with God. </span>For since &#8220;with&#8221; indicates a
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425 distinction, it could be thought that <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word was with God, </span>i.e., the Father, as distinct from
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426 him in nature. So to exclude this he adds at once the consubstantiality of the Word with the
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427 Father, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">and the Word was God. </span>As if to say: the Word is not separated from the
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428 Father by a diversity of nature, because the Word itself is God.</p>
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429 <p>57 Note also the special way of signifying, since he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word was God, </span>using &#8220;God&#8221;
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430 absolutely to show that he is not God in the same way in which the name of the deity is given
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431 to a creature in Sacred Scripture. For a creature sometimes shares this name with some added
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432 qualification, as when it says, &#8220;I have appointed you the God of Pharaoh&#8221; (Ex 7:1), in order to
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433 indicate that he was not God absolutely or by nature, because he was appointed the god of
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434 someone in a qualified sense. Again, it says in the Psalm (81:6): &#8220;I said, &#8216;You are gods.&#8217;&#8221;
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435 &#8212;as if to say: in my opinion, but not in reality. Thus the Word is called God absolutely
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436 because he is God by his own essence, and not by participation, as men and angels are.</p>
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437 <p>58 We should note that Origen disgracefully misunderstood this clause, led astray by the
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438 Greek manner of speaking. It is the custom among the Greeks to put the article before every
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439 name in order to indicate a distinction. In the Greek version of John&#8217;s Gospel the name
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440 &#8220;Word&#8221; in the statement, <span style="font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the Word, </span>and also the name &#8220;God&#8221; in the
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441 statement, <span style="font-weight: bold">and the Word was with God, </span>are prefixed by the article, so as to read &#8220;the Word&#8221;
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442 and &#8220;the God,&#8221; in order to indicate the eminence and distinction of the Word from other
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443 words, and the principality of the Father in the divinity. But in the statement, <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word was
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444 God, </span>the article is not prefixed to the noun &#8220;God,&#8221; which stands for the person of the Son.
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445 Because of this Origen blasphemed that the Word, although he was Word by essence, was not
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446 God by essence, but is called God by participation; while the Father alone is God by essence.
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447 And so he held that the Son is inferior to the Father.</p>
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448 <p>59 Chrysostom proves that this is not true, because if the article used with the name &#8220;God&#8221;
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449 implied the superiority of the Father in respect to the Son, it would never be used with the
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450 name &#8220;God&#8221; when it is used as a predicate of another, but only when it is predicated of the
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451 Father. Further, whenever said of the Father, it would be accompanied by the article.
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452 However, we find the opposite to be the case in two statements of the Apostle, who calls
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453 Christ &#8220;God,&#8221; using the article. For in Titus (2:13) he says, &#8220;the coming of the glory of the
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454 great God and our Savior Jesus Christ,&#8221; where &#8220;God&#8221; stands for the Son, and in the Greek the
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455 article is used. Therefore, Christ is the great God. Again he says (Rom 9:5): &#8220;Christ, who is
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456 God over all things, blessed forever,&#8221; and again the article is used with &#8220;God&#8221; in the Greek.
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457 Further, in 1 John (5:20) it says: &#8220;That we may be in his true Son, Jesus Christ; he is the true
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458 God and eternal life.&#8221; Thus, Christ is not God by participation, but truly God. And so the
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459 theory of Origen is clearly false.</p>
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460 <p>Chrysostom gives us the reason why the Evangelist did not use the article with the name
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461 &#8220;God,&#8221; namely, because he had already mentioned God twice using the article, and so it was
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462 not necessary to repeat it a third time, but it was implied. Or, a better reason would be that
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463 &#8220;God&#8221; is used here as the predicate and is taken formally. And it is not the custom for the
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464 article to accompany names used as predicates, since the article indicates separation. But if
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465 &#8220;God&#8221; were used here as the subject, it could stand for any of the persons, as the Son or the
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466 Holy Spirit; then, no doubt, the article would be used in the Greek.</p>
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467 <p>60 Then he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">He was in the beginning with God. </span>This is the fourth clause and is
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468 introduced because of the preceding clause. For from the Evangelist&#8217;s statement that <span style="font-weight: bold">the
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469 Word was God, </span>two false interpretations could be held by those who misunderstand. One of
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470 these is by the pagans, who acknowledge many and different gods, and say that their wills are
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471 in opposition. For example, those who put out the fable of Jupiter fighting with Saturn; or as
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472 the Manicheans, who have two contrary principles of nature. The Lord said against this error
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473 (Dt 6:4): &#8220;Hear O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord.&#8221;</p>
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474 <p>Since the Evangelist had said, <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word was with God; and the Word was God, </span>they could
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475 adduce this in support of their error by understanding the God with whom the Word is to be
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476 one [God],and the Word to be another, having another, or contrary, will to the former; and
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477 this is against the law of the Gospel. And so to exclude this he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">He was in the beginning
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478 with God, </span>as if to say, according to Hilary: I say that the Word is God, not as if he has a
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479 distinct divinity, but he is with God, that is, in the one same nature in which lie is. Further,
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480 lest his statement, <span style="font-weight: bold">and the Word was God, </span>be taken to mean that the Word has an opposed
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481 will, he added that the Word <span style="font-weight: bold">was in the beginning with God, </span>namely, the Father; not as
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482 divided from him or opposed, but having an identity of nature with him and a harmony of
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483 will. This union comes about by the sharing of the divine nature in the three persons, and by
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484 the bond of the natural love of the Father and the Son.</p>
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485 <p>61 The Arians were able to draw out another error from the above. They think that the Son is
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486 less than the Father because it says below (14:28): &#8220;The Father is greater than I&#8221; And they say
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487 the Father is greater than the Son both as to eternity and as to divinity of nature. And so to
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488 exclude this the Evangelist added: <span style="font-weight: bold">He was in the beginning with God. </span>For Arius admits the
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489 first clause, <span style="font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the Word, </span>but he will not admit that <i>principium </i>should be
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490 taken for the Father, but rather for the beginning of creatures. So he says that the Word was in
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491 the beginning of creatures, and consequently is in no sense coeternal with the Father. But this
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492 is excluded, according to Chrysostom, by this clause, <span style="font-weight: bold">He was in the beginning, </span>not of
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493 creatures, but <span style="font-weight: bold">in the beginning with God, </span>i.e., whenever God existed. For the Father was
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494 never alone without the Son or Word, but He, that is, the Word, was always <span style="font-weight: bold">with God.</span></p>
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495 <p>62 Again, Arius admits that the Word was God, but nevertheless inferior to the Father. This is
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496 excluded by what follows. For there are two attributes proper to the great God which Arius
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497 attributed solely to God the Father, that is, eternity and omnipotence. So in whomever these
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498 two attributes are found, he is the great God, than whom none is greater. But the Evangelist
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499 attributes these two to the Word. Therefore, the Word is the great God and not inferior. He
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500 says the Word is eternal when he states, <span style="font-weight: bold">He was in the beginning with God, </span>i.e., the Word
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501 was with God from eternity, and not only in the beginning of creatures (as Arius held) , but
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502 with God, receiving being and divinity from him. Further, he attributes omnipotence to the
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503 Word when he adds, <span style="font-weight: bold">Through him all things came into being.</span></p>
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504 <p>63 Origen gives a rather beautiful explanation of this clause, <span style="font-weight: bold">He was in the beginning with
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505 God, </span>when he says that it is not separate from the first three, but is in a certain sense their
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506 epilogue. For the Evangelist, after he had indicated that truth was the Son&#8217;s and was about to
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507 describe his power, in a way gathers together in a summary form, in this fourth clause, what
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508 he had said in the first three. For in saying He, he understands the third clause; by adding <span style="font-weight: bold">was
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509 in the beginning, </span>he recalls the first clause; and by adding <span style="font-weight: bold">with God, </span>he recalls the second,
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510 so that we do not think that the Word which was in the beginning is different than the Word
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511 which was God; but this Word which was God <span style="font-weight: bold">was in the beginning with God.</span></p>
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512 <p>64 If one considers these four propositions well, he will find that they clearly destroy all the
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513 errors of the heretics and of the philosophers. For some heretics, as Ebion and Cerinthus, said
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514 that Christ did not exist before the Blessed Virgin, but took from her the beginning of his
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515 being and duration; for they held that he was a mere man, who had merited divinity by his
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516 good works. Photinus and Paul of Samosata, following them, said the same thing. But the
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517 Evangelist excludes their errors saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the Word, </span>i.e., before all
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518 things, and in the Father from eternity. Thus he did not derive his beginning from the Virgin.</p>
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519 <p>Sabellius, on the other hand, although he admitted that the God who took flesh did not
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520 receive his beginning from the Virgin, but existed from eternity, still said that the person of
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521 the Father, who existed from eternity, was not distinct from the person of the Son, who took
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522 flesh from the Virgin. He maintained that the Father and Son were the same person; and so he
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523 failed to distinguish the trinity of persons in the deity. The Evangelist says against this error,
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524 <span style="font-weight: bold">and the Word was with God, </span>i.e., the Son was with the Father, as one person with another.</p>
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525 <p>Eunomius declared that the Son is entirely unlike the Father. The Evangelist rejects this when
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526 he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">and the Word was God. </span>Finally, Arius said that the Son was less than the Father.
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527 The Evangelist excludes this by saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">He was in the beginning with God, </span>as was
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528 explained above.</p>
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529 <p>65 These words also exclude the errors of the philosophers. I`or some of the ancient
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530 philosophers, namely, the natural philosophers, maintained that the world did not come from
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531 any intellect or through some purpose, but by chance. Consequently, they did not place at the
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532 beginning as the cause of things a reason or intellect, but only matter in flux; for example,
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533 atoms, as Democritus thought, or other material principles of this kind as different
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534 philosophers inaintained. Against these the Evangelist says, <span style="font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the Word,
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535 </span>from whom, and not from chance, things derive their beginning.</p>
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536 <p>Plato, however, thought that the Ideas of all the things that were made were subsistent, i.e.,
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537 existing separately in their own natures; and material things exist by participating in these.
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538 For example, he thought men existed through the separated Idea of man, which he called Man
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539 <i>per se. </i>So lest you suppose, as did Plato, that this Idea through which all things were made be
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540 Ideas separated from God, the Evangelist adds, <span style="font-weight: bold">and the Word was with God.</span></p>
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541 <p>Other Platonists, as Chrysostom relates, maintained that God the Father was most eminent
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542 and first, but under him they placed a certain mind in which there were the likenesses and
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543 ideas of all things. So lest you think that the Word was with the Father in such a way as to be
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544 under him and less than he, the Evangelist adds, <span style="font-weight: bold">and the Word was God.</span></p>
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545 <p>Aristotle, however, thought that the ideas of all things are in God, and that in God, the
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546 intellect, the one understanding, and what is understood, are the same. Nevertheless, he
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547 thought that the world is coeternal with him. Against this the Evangelist says, He, the Word
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548 alone, was <span style="font-weight: bold">in the beginning with God, </span>in such a way that He does not exclude another
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549 person, but only another coeternal nature.</p>
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550 <p>66 Note the difference in what has been said between John and the other Evangelists: how he
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551 began his Gospel on a loftier plane than they. They announced Christ the Son of God born in
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552 time: &#8220;When Jesus was born in Bethlehem&#8221; (Mt 2:1); but John presents him existing from
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553 eternity: <span style="font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the Word. </span>They show him suddenly appearing among men:
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554 &#8220;Now you dismiss your servant, 0 Lord, in peace, according to your word; because my eyes
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555 have seen your salvation&#8221; (Lk 2:29); but John says that he always existed with the Father: and
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556 the Word was with God. The others show him as a man: &#8220;They gave glory to God who had
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557 given such authority to men&#8221; (Mt 9:8); but John says that he is God: and the Word was God.
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558 The others say he lives with men: &#8220;While living in Galilee, Jesus said to them&#8221; (Mt 17:21);
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559 but John says that he has always been with the Father: <span style="font-weight: bold">He was in the beginning with God.</span></p>
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560 <p>67 Note also how the Evangelist designedly uses the word was (<i>erat) </i>to show that the Word
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561 of God transcends all times: present, past and future. It is as though he were saying: He was
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562 beyond time: present, past and future, as the Gloss says.</p>
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563 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in">&#160;</p>
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564 <CENTER><p><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE 2</span></p>
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565 <p>3 All things were made through him,<BR>
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566 and without him nothing was made.<BR>
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567 What was made 4a in him was life.</CENTER>
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568 <p>68 After the Evangelist has told of the existence and nature of the Divine Word, so far as it
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569 can be told by man, he then shows the might of his power. First, he shows his power with
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570 respect to all things that come into existence. Secondly, with respect to man. As to the first,
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571 he uses three clauses; and we will not distinguish these at present because they will be
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572 distinguished in different ways according to the different explanations given by the saints.</p>
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573 <p>69 The first clause, <span style="font-weight: bold">All thifngs were made through him</span>, is used to show three things
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574 concerning the Word. First, according to Chrysostom, to show the equality of the Word to the
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575 Father. For as stated earlier, the error of Arius was rejected by the Evangelist when he showed
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576 the coeternity of the Son with the Father by saying, &#8220;He was in the beginning with God.&#8221;
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577 Here he excludes the same error when he shows the omnipotence of the Son, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">All
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578 things were made through him</span>. For to be the principle of all the things that are made is
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579 proper to the great omnipotent God, as the Psalm (134:6) says, &#8220;Whatever the Lord wills he
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580 does, in heaven and on earth.&#8221;Thus the Word, through whom all things were made, is God,
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581 great and coequal to the Father.</p>
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582 <p>70 Secondly, according to Hilary, this clause is used to show the coeternity of the Word with
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583 the Father. For since someone might understand the earlier statement, &#8220;In the beginning was
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584 the Word,&#8221; as referring to the beginning of creatures, i.e., that before there were any creatures
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585 there was a time in which the Word did not exist, the Evangelist rejects this by saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">All
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586 things were made through him. </span>For if all things were made through the Word, then time
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587 was also. From this we can form the following argument: If all time was made through him,
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588 there was no time before him or with him, because before all these, he was. Therefore they
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589 [the Son and the Father] are eternally coeternal.</p>
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590 <p>71 Thirdly, according to Augustine, this clause is used to show the consubstantiality of the
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591 Word with the Father. For if all things were made through the Word, the Word himself cannot
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592 be said to have been made; because, if made, he was made through some Word, since all
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593 things were made through the Word. Consequently, there would have been another Word
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594 through whom was made the Word of whom the Evangelist is speaking. This Word, through
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595 whom all things are made, we call the only begotten Son of God, because he is neither made
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596 nor is he a creature. And if he is not a creature, it is necessary to say that he is of the same
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597 substance with the Father, since every substance other than the divine essence is made. But a
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598 substance that is not a creature is God. And so the Word, through whom all things were made,
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599 is consubstantial with the Father, since he is neither made, nor is he a creature.</p>
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600 <p>72 And so in saying <span style="font-weight: bold">All things were made through him, </span>you have, according to
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601 Chrysostom, the equality of the Word with the Father; the coeternity of the Word with the
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602 Father, according to Hilary; and the consubstantiality of the Word with the Father, according
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603 to Augustine.</p>
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604 <p>73 Here we must guard against three errors. First, the error of Valentine. He understood <span style="font-weight: bold">All
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605 things were made through him </span>to mean that the Word proferred to the Creator the cause of
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606 his creating the world; so that all things were made through the Word as if the Father&#8217;s
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607 creating the world came from the Word. This leads to the position of those who said that God
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608 created the world because of some exterior cause; and this is contrary to Proverbs (16:4),
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609 &#8220;The Lord made all things for himself.&#8221; The reason this is an error is that, as Origen says, if
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610 the Word had been a cause to the Creator by offering him the material for making things, he
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611 would not have said, <span style="font-weight: bold">All things were made through him, </span>but on the contrary, that all things
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612 were made through the Creator by the Word.</p>
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613 <p>74 Secondly, we must avoid the error of Origen. He said that the Holy Spirit was included
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614 among all the things made through the Word; from which it follows that he is a creature. And
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615 this is what Origen thought. This is heretical and blasphemous, since the Holy Spirit has the
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616 same glory and substance and dignity as the Father and the Son, according to the words of
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617 Matthew (28:19), &#8220;Make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the
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618 Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.&#8221; And, &#8220;There are three who give testimony&#8217; in
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619 heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one&#8221; (l Jn 5:7). Thus
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620 when the Evangelist says, <span style="font-weight: bold">All things were made through him</span>, one should not understand
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621 &#8220;all things&#8221; absolutely, but in the realm of creatures and of things made. As if to say: All
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622 things that were made, were made through him. Otherwise, if &#8220;all things&#8221; were taken
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623 absolutely, it would follow that the Father and the Holy Spirit were made through him; and
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624 this is blasphemous. Consequently, neither the Father nor anything substantial with the Father
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625 was made through the Word.</p>
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626 <p>75 Thirdly, we must avoid another of Origen&#8217;s errors. For he said that all things were made
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627 through the Word as something is made by a greater through a lesser, as if the Son were
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628 inferior to, and an instrument of, the Father. But it is clear from many places in Scripture that
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629 the preposition &#8220;through&#8221; (<i>per</i>)<i> </i>does not signify inferiority in the thing which is its
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630 grammatical object, i.e., in the Son or Word. For the Apostle says, &#8220;God is faithful, through
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631 whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son&#8221; (1 Cor 1:9). If he &#8220;through&#8221; whom
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632 something is done has a superior, then the Father has a superior. But this is false. Therefore,
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633 the preposition &#8220;through&#8221; does not signify any inferiority in the Son when all things are said
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634 to have been made through him.</p>
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635 <p>76 To explain this point further, we should note that when something is said to be made
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636 through someone, the preposition &#8220;through&#8221; (<i>per</i>)<i> </i>denotes some sort of causality in its object
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637 with respect to an operation; but not always the same kind of causality. For since an
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638 operation, according to our manner of signifying, is considered to be medial between the one
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639 acting and the thing produced, the operation itself can be regarded in two ways. In one way,
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640 as issuing from the one operating, who is the cause of the action itself; in another way, as
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641 terminated in the thing produced. Accordingly, the preposition &#8220;through&#8221; sometimes signifies
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642 the cause of the operation insofar as it issues from the one operating: but sometimes as
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643 terminated in the thing which is produced. It signifies the cause of the operation as issuing
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644 from the one operating when the object of the preposition is either the efficient or formal
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645 cause why the one operating is operating. For example, we have a formal cause when fire is
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646 heating through heat; for heat is the formal cause of the fire&#8217;s heating. We have a movent or
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647 efficient cause in cases where secondary agents act through primary agents; as when I say that
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648 the bailiff acts through the king, because the king is the efficient cause of the bailiff&#8217;s acting.
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649 This is the way Valentine understood that all things were made through the Word: as though
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650 the Word were the cause of the maker&#8217;s production of all things. The preposition &#8220;through&#8221;
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651 implies the causality of the operation as terminated in the thing produced when what is
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652 signified through that causality is not the cause which operates, but the cause of the operation
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653 precisely as terminated in the thing produced. So when I say, &#8220;The carpenter is making a
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654 bench through [by means of] a hatchet,&#8221; the hatchet is not the cause of the carpenter&#8217;s
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655 operating; but we do say that it is the cause of the bench&#8217;s being made by the one acting.</p>
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656 <p>And so when it says that <span style="font-weight: bold">All things were made through him, </span>if the &#8220;through&#8221; denotes the
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657 efficient or movent cause, causing the Father to act, then in this sense the Father does nothing
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658 through the Son, but he does all things through himself, as has been said. But if the &#8220;through&#8221;
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659 denotes a formal cause, as when the Father operates through his widsom, which is his
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660 essence, he operates through his wisdom as he operates through his essence. And because the
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661 wisdom and power of the Father are attributed to the Son, as when we say, &#8220;Christ, the power
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662 of God and the wisdom of God&#8221; (1 Cor 1:24), then by appropriation we say that the Father
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663 does all things through the Son, i.e., through his wisdom. And so Augustine says that the
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664 phrase &#8220;from whom all things,&#8221; is appropriated to the Father; &#8220;through whom all things,&#8221; is
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665 appropriated to the Son; and &#8220;in whom all things,&#8221; is appropriated to the Holy Spirit. But if
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666 the &#8220;through&#8221; denotes causality from the standpoint of the thing produced, then the statement,
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667 &#8220;The Father does all things through the Son,&#8221; is not [mere] appropriation but proper to the
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668 Word, because the fact that he is a cause of creatures is had from someone else, namely the
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669 Father, from whom he has being.</p>
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670 <p>However, it does not follow from this that the Word is the instrument of the Father, although
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671 whatever is moved by another to effect something partakes of the nature of an instrument. For
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672 when I say that someone works through a power received from another, this can be
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673 understood in two ways. In one way, as meaning that the power of the giver and of the
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674 receiver is numerically one and the same power; and in this way the one operating through a
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675 power received from another is not inferior but equal to the one from whom he receives it.
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676 Therefore, since the same power which the Father has he gives to the Son, through which the
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677 Son works, when it is said that &#8220;the Father works through the Son,&#8221; one should not on that
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678 account say that the Son is inferior to the Father or is his instrument. This would be the case,
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679 rather, in those who receive from another not the same power, but another and created one.
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680 And so it is plain that neither the Holy Spirit nor the Son are causes of the Father&#8217;s working,
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681 and that neither is the minister or instrument of the Father, as Origen raved.</p>
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682 <p>77 If we carefully consider the words, <span style="font-weight: bold">All things were made through him, </span>we can clearly
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683 see that the Evangelist spoke with the utmost exactitude. For whoever makes something must
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684 preconceive it in his wisdom, which is the form and pattern of the thing made: as the form
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685 preconceived in the mind of an artisan is the pattern of the cabinet to be made. So, God makes
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686 nothing except through the conception of his intellect, which is an eternally conceived
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687 wisdom, that is, the Word of God, and the Son of God. Accordingly, it is impossible that he
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688 should make anything except through the Son. And so Augustine says, in <i>The Trinity, </i>that the
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689 Word is the art full of the living patterns of all things. Thus it is clear that all things which the
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690 Father makes, he makes through him.</p>
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691 <p>78 It should be remarked that, according to Chrysostom, all the things which Moses
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692 enumerates individually in God&#8217;s production of things, saying, &#8220;And God said, &#8216;Let there be
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693 light&#8217;&#8221; (Gn 1:3) and so forth, all these the Evangelist transcends and embraces in one phrase,
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694 saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">All things were made through him. </span>The reason is that Moses wished to teach the
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695 emanation of creatures from God; hence he enumerated them one by one. But John, hastening
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696 toward loftier things, intends in this book to lead us specifically to a knowledge of the Creator
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697 himself.</p>
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698 <p>79 Then he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">and without him nothing was made. </span>This is the second clause which some
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699 have distorted, as Augustine says in his work, <i>The Nature of the Good. </i>Because of John&#8217;s
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700 manner of speaking here, they believed that he was using &#8220;nothing&#8221; in an affirmative sense;
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701 as though nothing was something which was made without the Word. And so they claimed
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702 that this clause was added by the Evangelist in order to exclude something which was not
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703 made by the Word. They say that the Evangelist, having said that <span style="font-weight: bold">All things were made
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704 through him, </span>added <span style="font-weight: bold">and without him nothing was made. </span>It was as if to say: I say that all
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705 things were made through him in such a way that still something was made without him, that
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706 is, the &#8220;nothing&#8221;.</p>
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707 <p>80 Three heresies came from this. First, that of Valentine. He affirmed, as Origen says, a
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708 multitude of principles, and taught that from them came thirty eras. The first principles he
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709 postulates are two: the Deep, which he calls God the Father, and Silence. And from these
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710 proceed ten eras. But from the Deep and from Silence, he says, there are two other principles,
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711 Mind and Truth; and from these issued eight eras. Then from Mind and Truth, there are two
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712 other principles, Word and Life; and from these issued twelve eras; thus making a total of
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713 thirty. Finally, from the Word and Life there proceeded in time, the man Christ and the
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714 Church. In this way Valentine affirmed many eras previous to the issuing forth of the Word.
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715 And so he said that because the Evangelist had stated that <span style="font-weight: bold">all things were made through
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716 him, </span>then, lest anyone think that those previous eras had been effected through the Word, he
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717 added, <span style="font-weight: bold">and without him nothing was made, </span>i.e., all the preceding eras and all that had
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718 existed in them. All of these John calls &#8220;nothing,&#8221; because they transcend human reason and
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719 cannot be grasped by the mind.</p>
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720 <p>81 The second error to arise from this was that of Manichaeus, who affirmed two opposing
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721 principles: one is the source of incorruptible things, and the other of corruptible things. He
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722 said that after John had stated that <span style="font-weight: bold">All things were made through him, </span>then, lest it be
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723 thought that the Word is the cause of corruptible things, he immediately added, <span style="font-weight: bold">and without
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724 him nothing was made, </span>i.e., things subject to corruption, which are called &#8220;nothing&#8221; because
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725 their being consists in being continually transformed into nothing.</p>
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726 <p>82 The third error is that of those who claim that by &#8220;nothing&#8221; we should understand the
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727 devil, according to Job (18:15), &#8220;May the companions of him who is not dwell in his house.&#8221;
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728 And so they say that all things except the devil were made through the Word. In this way they
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729 explain, <span style="font-weight: bold">without him nothing was made, </span>that is, the devil.</p>
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730 <p>83 All these three errors, arising as they do from the same source, namely, taking &#8220;nothing&#8221; in
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731 a positive sense, are excluded by the fact that &#8220;nothing&#8221; in not used here in an affirmative, but
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732 in a merely negative sense: the sense being that all things were made through the Word in
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733 such a way that there is nothing participating in existence that was not made through him.</p>
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734 <p>84 Perhaps someone will object and say that it was superfluous to add this clause, if it is to be
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735 understood negatively, on the ground that the Evangelist, in stating that <span style="font-weight: bold">All things were
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736 made through him, </span>seems to have already said adequately enough that there is not
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737 something that was not made through the Word.</p>
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738 <p>The answer to this is that, according to many expositors, this clause was added in many ways
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739 for a number of reasons. One of these reasons is, according to Chrysostom, so that no one
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740 reading the Old Testament and finding only visible things listed by Moses in the creation of
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741 things, would think that these were the only things made through the Word. And so after he
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742 had said, <span style="font-weight: bold">All things were made through him, </span>namely, those that Moses listed, the
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743 Evangelist then added, <span style="font-weight: bold">and without him nothing was made, </span>as though he were saying: None
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744 of the things which exist, whether visible or invisible, was made without the Word. Indeed,
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745 the Apostle also speaks in this way (Col 1:16), saying that all things, visible and invisible,
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746 were created in Christ; and here the Apostle makes specific mention of invisible things
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747 because Moses had made no express mention of them on account of the lack of erudition of
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748 that people, who could not be raised above the things of sense.</p>
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749 <p>Chrysostom also gives another reason why this clause was added. For someone reading in the
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750 Gospels of the many signs and miracles worked by Christ, such as, &#8220;The blind see, the lame
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751 walk, lepers are cleansed&#8221; (Mt 11:5), might believe that in saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">All things were made
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752 through him, </span>John meant that only the things mentioned in those Gospels, and nothing else,
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753 were made through him. So lest anyone suspect this, the Evangelist adds, <span style="font-weight: bold">and without him
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754 nothing was made. </span>As if to say: Not only all the things contained in the Gospels were made
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755 through him, but none of the things that were made, was made without him. And so,
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756 according to Chrysostom, this clause is added to bring out his total causality, and serves, as it
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757 were, to complete his previous statement.</p>
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758 <p>85 According to Hilary, however, this clause is introduced to show that the Word has
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759 operative power from another. For since the Evangelist had said, <span style="font-weight: bold">All things were made
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760 through him, </span>it might be supposed that the Father is excluded from all causality. For that
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761 reason he added, <span style="font-weight: bold">and without him nothing was made. </span>As if to say: All things were made
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762 through him, but in such a way that the Father made all things with him. For &#8220;without him&#8221; is
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763 equivalent to saying, &#8220;not alone,&#8221; so that the meaning is: It is not he alone through whom all
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764 things were made, but he is the other one without whom nothing was made. It is as if he said:
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765 <span style="font-weight: bold">Without him, </span>with another working, i.e., with the Father, <span style="font-weight: bold">nothing was made, </span>as it says, &#8220;I
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766 was with him forming all things&#8221; (Prv 8:30).</p>
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767 <p>86 In a certain homily attributed to Origen, and which begins, &#8220;The spiritual voice of the
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768 eagle,&#8221; we find another rather beautiful exposition. It says there that the Greek has <i>thoris
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769 </i>where the Latin has <i>sine </i>(without). Now <i>thoris</i> is the same as &#8220;outside&#8221; or &#8220;outside of.&#8221; It is
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770 as if he had said: <span style="font-weight: bold">All things were made through him </span>in such a way that outside him <span style="font-weight: bold">nothing
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771 was made. </span>And so he says this to show that all things are conserved through the Word and in
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772 the Word, as stated in Hebrews ( 1:3), &#8220;He sustains all things by his powerful word.&#8221; Now
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773 there are certain things that do not need their producer except to bring them into existence,
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774 since after they have been produced they are able to subsist without any further activity on the
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775 part of the producer. For example, a house needs a builder if it is to come into existence, but
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776 it continues to exist without any further action on the part of the builder. So lest anyone
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777 suppose that all things were made through the Word in such a way that he is merely the cause
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778 of their production and not of their continuation in existence, the Evangelist added, <span style="font-weight: bold">and
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779 without him nothing was made, </span>i.e., nothing was made outside of him, because he
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780 encompasses all things, preserving them.</p>
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781 <p>87 This clause is also explained by Augustine and Origen and several others in such a way
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782 that &#8220;nothing&#8221; indicates sin. Accordingly, because <span style="font-weight: bold">All things were made through him </span>might
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783 be interpreted as including evil and sin, he added, <span style="font-weight: bold">and without him nothing, </span>i.e., sin, <span style="font-weight: bold">was
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784 made. </span>For just as art is not the principle or cause of the defects in its products, but is through
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785 itself the cause of their perfection and form, so the Word, who is the art of the Father, full of
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786 living archetypes, is not the cause of any evil or disarrangement in things, particularly of the
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787 evil of sin, which carries the full notion of evil. The <i>per se </i>cause of this evil is the will of the
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788 creature, either a man or an angel, freely declining from the end to which it is ordained by its
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789 nature. One who can act in virtue of his art but purposely violates it, is the cause of the
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790 defects occurring in his works, not by reason of his art, but by reason of his will. So in such
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791 cases, his art is not the source or cause of the defects, but his will is. Consequently, evil is a
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792 defect of the will and not of any art. And so to the extent that it is such [i.e., a defect], it is
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793 nothing.</p>
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794 <p>88 So then, this clause is added to show the universal causality of the Word, according to
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795 Chrysostom; his association with the Father, according to Hilary; the power of the Word in
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796 the preserving of things, according to Origen; and finally, the purity of his causality, because
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797 he is so the cause of good as not to be the cause of sin, according to Augustine, Origen, and a
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798 number of others.</p>
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799 <p>89 Then he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">What was made in him was life; </span>and this is the third clause. Here we must
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800 avoid the false interpretation of Manichaeus, who was led by this to maintain that everything
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801 that exists is alive: for example, stones, wood, men, and anything else in the world. He
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802 understood the clause this way: <span style="font-weight: bold">What was made in him, </span>comma, <span style="font-weight: bold">was life. </span>But it was not life
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803 unless alive. Therefore, whatever was made in him is alive. He also claimed that &#8220;in him&#8221; is
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804 the same as saying &#8220;through him,&#8221; since very often in Scripture &#8220;in him&#8221; and &#8220;through him&#8221;
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805 are interchangeable, as in &#8220;in him and through him all things were created&#8221; (Col 1:16).
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806 However, our present explanation shows that this interpretation is false.</p>
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807 <p>90 There are, nevertheless, a number of ways to explain it without error. In that homily, &#8220;The
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808 spiritual voice,&#8221; we find this explanation: <span style="font-weight: bold">What was made in him, </span>i.e., through him, <span style="font-weight: bold">was
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809 life, </span>not in each thing itself, but in its cause. For in the case of all things that are caused, it is
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810 always true that effects, whether produced by nature or by will, exist in their causes, not
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811 according to their own existence, but according to the power of their appropriate cause. Thus,
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812 lower effects are in the sun as in their cause, not according to their respective existences but
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813 according to the power of the sun. Therefore, since the cause of all effects produced by God is
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814 a certain life and an art full of living archetypes, for this reason <span style="font-weight: bold">What was made in him, </span>i.e.,
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815 through him, <span style="font-weight: bold">was life, </span>in its cause, i.e., in God.</p>
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816 <p>91 Augustine reads this another way, as: <span style="font-weight: bold">What was made, </span>comma, <span style="font-weight: bold">in him was life. </span>For
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817 things can be considered in two ways: as they are in themselves, and as they are in the Word.
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818 If they are considered as they are in themselves, then it is not true that all things are life or
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819 even alive, but some lack life and some are alive. For example, the earth was made and
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820 metals were made, but none is life, none is living; animals and men were made, and these,
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821 considered in themselves, are not life, but merely living. Yet considered as they are in the
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822 Word, they are not merely living, but also life. For the archetypes which exist spiritually in
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823 the wisdom of God, and through which things were made by the Word, are life, just as a chest
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824 made by an artisan is in itself neither alive nor life, yet the exemplar of the chest in the
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825 artisan&#8217;s mind prior to the existence of the chest is in some sense living, insofar as it has an
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826 intellectual existence in the mind of the artisan. Nevertheless it is not life, because it is neither
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827 in his essence nor is it his existence through the act of understanding of the artisan. But in
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828 God, his act of understanding is his life and his essence. And so whatever is in God is not
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829 only living, but is life itself, because whatever is in God is his essence. Hence the creature in
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830 God is the creating essence. Thus, if things are considered as they are in the Word, they are
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831 life. This is explained in another place.</p>
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832 <p>92 Origen, commenting on John, gives another reading, thus: <span style="font-weight: bold">That which was made in him;
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833 </span>and then, <span style="font-weight: bold">was life. </span>Here we should note that some things are said of the Son of God as such;
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834 for example, that he is God, omnipotent, and the like. And some things are said of him in
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835 relation to ourselves; for example, we say he is Savior and Redeemer. Some things are said in
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836 both ways, such as wisdom and justice. Now in all things said absolutely and of the Son as
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837 such, it is not said that he was &#8220;made&#8221;, for example, we do not say that the Son was made
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838 God or omnipotent. But in things said in reference to us, or in both ways, the notion of being
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839 made can be used, as in, &#8220;God made him [Jesus Christ] our wisdom, our justice, our
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840 sanctification and redemption&#8221; (1 Cor 1:30). And so, although he was always wisdom and
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841 justice in himself, yet it can be said that he was newly made justice and wisdom for us.</p>
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842 <p>And so Origen, explaining it along these lines, says that although in himself the Son is life,
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843 yet he was made life for us by the fact that he gave us life, as is said, &#8220;Just as in Adam all die,
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844 so in Christ all will come to life&#8221; (1 Cor 15:22). And so he says &#8220;the Word that was made&#8221;
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845 life for us <span style="font-weight: bold">in himself was life, </span>so that after a time he could become life for us; and so he
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846 immediately adds, <span style="font-weight: bold">and that life was the light of men.</span></p>
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847 <p>93 Hilary reads the clause differently, thus: <span style="font-weight: bold">And without him was made nothing, which
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848 was made in him, </span>and later it says, <span style="font-weight: bold">he was life. </span>For he says (<i>The Trinity </i>II) that when the
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849 Evangelist says <span style="font-weight: bold">without him nothing was made, </span>one might be perplexed and ask whether
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850 there are still other things made by him, that were not made through him, although not
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851 without him, but with respect to which he was associated with the maker; and this clause is
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852 added to correct the aforesaid error. Therefore lest this be so understood, when the Evangelist
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853 says, <span style="font-weight: bold">All things were made through him, </span>he adds, <span style="font-weight: bold">and without him nothing was made,
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854 </span>which was made, in him, that is, through him; and the reason for this is that <span style="font-weight: bold">he was life.</span></p>
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855 <p>For it is plain that all things are said to have been made through the Word inasmuch as the
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856 Word, who proceeds from the Father, is God. But let us suppose that some father has a son
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857 who does not perfectly exercise the operations of a man, but reaches such a state gradually. In
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858 that case the father will do many things, not through the son, yet not without [having] him.
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859 Since, therefore, the Son of God has from all eternity the same life that the Father has&#8212;&#8220;Just
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860 as the Father possesses life in himself, so has he granted it to the Son to have life in himself&#8221;
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861 (below 5:26)&#8212;one cannot say that God the Father, although he made nothing without the
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862 Son, nevertheless made some things not through him, because he was life. For in living things
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863 which participate life, it can happen that imperfect life precedes perfect life; but in <i>per se </i>life,
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864 which does not participate life but is simply and absolutely life, there can be no imperfection
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865 at all. Accordingly, because the Word is <i>per se </i>life, there was never imperfect life in him, but
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866 always perfect life. And so in such a way that nothing was made without him that was not
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867 also made in him, i.e., through him.</p>
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868 <p>94 Chrysostom has a different reading and punctuation, thus: <span style="font-weight: bold">And without him was made
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869 nothing that was made. </span>The reason for this is that someone might believe that the Holy
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870 Spirit was made through the Word. So to exclude this, the Evangelist says, <span style="font-weight: bold">that was made,
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871 </span>because the Holy Spirit is not something that is made. And afterward follows, <span style="font-weight: bold">In him was
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872 life, </span>which is introduced for two reasons. First, to show that after the creation of all things his
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873 causality was indefectible not only with respect to the things already produced, but also with
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874 respect to things yet to be produced. As if to say: <span style="font-weight: bold">In him was life, </span>by which he could not only
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875 produce all things, but which has an unfailing flow and a causality for producing things
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876 continually without undergoing any change, being a living fountain which is not diminished
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877 in spite of its continuous outflow; whereas collected water, that is not living [i..e., running]
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878 water, is diminished when it flows out, and is used up. So the Psalm (35:10) says, &#8220;With you
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879 is the fountain of life.&#8221; The second reason is to show that things are governed by the: Word.
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880 For since <span style="font-weight: bold">In him was life, </span>this shows that he produced things by his intellect and will, not by
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881 a necessity of his nature, and that he governs the things he made. &#8220;The Word of God is
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882 living&#8221; (Heb 4:12).</p>
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883 <p>Chrysostom is held in such esteem by the Greeks in his explanations that they admit no other
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884 where he expounded anything in Holy Scripture. For this reason, this passage in all the Greek
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885 works is found to be punctuated exactly as Chrysostom did, namely, <span style="font-weight: bold">And without him was
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886 made nothing that was made.</span></p>
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887 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in">&#160;</p>
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888 <CENTER><p><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE 3</span></p>
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889 <p>4b And that life was the light of men.<BR>
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890 5 And the light shines in the darkness,<BR>
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891 and the darkness did not overcome it.</p></CENTER>
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892 <p>95 Above, the Evangelist described the power of the Word insofar as he brought all things
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893 into existence; here he describes his power as it is related to men, saying that this Word is a
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894 light to men. First, he introduces a certain light to us (v 4b); secondly, the light&#8217;s irradiation
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895 (v 5a); thirdly, participation in the light (v 5b). This whole section may be explained in two
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896 ways: first, according to the influx of natural knowledge; secondly, according to participation
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897 in grace.</p>
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898 <p>As to the first point he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">And that life was the light of men.</span></p>
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899 <p>96 Here we should note first that, according to Augustine and many others, light is more
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900 properly said of spiritual things than of sensible things. Ambrose, however, thinks that
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901 brightness is said metaphorically of God. But this is not a great issue, for in whatever way the
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902 name &#8220;light&#8221; is used, it implies a manifestation, whether that manifesting concerns intelligible
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903 or sensible things. If we compare sensible and intelligible manifestation, then, according to
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904 the nature of things, light is found first in spiritual things. But for us, who give names to
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905 things on the basis of their properties as known to us, light is discovered first in sensible
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906 things, because we first used this name to signify sensible light before intelligible light;
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907 although as to power, light belongs to spiritual things in a prior and truer way than to sensible
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908 things.</p>
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909 <p>97 To clarify the statement, <span style="font-weight: bold">And that life was the light of men, </span>we should remark that there
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910 are many grades of life. For some things live, but do so without light, because they have no
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911 knowledge; for example, plants. Hence their life is not light. Other things both live and know,
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912 but their knowledge, since it is on the sense level, is concerned only with individual and
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913 material things, as is the case with the brutes. So they have both life and a certain light. But
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914 they do not have the light of men, who live, and know, not only truths, but also the very
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915 nature of truth itself. Such are rational creatures, to whom not only this or that are made
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916 manifest, but truth itself, which can be manifested and is manifestive to all.</p>
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917 <p>And so the Evangelist, speaking of the Word, not only says that he is life but also <span style="font-weight: bold">light, </span>lest
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918 anyone suppose he means life without knowledge. And he says that he is the <span style="font-weight: bold">light of men,
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919 </span>lest anyone suppose he meant only sensible knowledge, such as exists in the brutes.</p>
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920 <p>98 But since he is also the light of angels, why did he say, of men? Two answers have been
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921 given to this. Chrysostom says that the Evangelist intended in this Gospel to give us a
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922 knowledge of the Word precisely as directed to the salvation of men and therefore refers, in
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923 keeping with his aim, more to men than to angels. Origen, however, says that participation in
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924 this light pertains to men insofar as they have a rational nature; accordingly, when the
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925 Evangelist says, <span style="font-weight: bold">the light of men, </span>he wants us to understand every rational nature. </p>
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926 <p>99 We also see from this the perfection and dignity of this life, because it is intellectual or
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927 rational. For whereas all things that in some way move themselves are called living, only
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928 those that perfectly move themselves are said to have perfect life; and among lower creatures
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929 only man moves himself, properly speaking, and perfectly. For although other things are
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930 moved by themselves by some inner principle, that inner principle is nevertheless not open to
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931 opposite alternatives; hence they are not moved freely but from necessity. As a result, those
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932 things that are moved by such a principle are more truly made to act than act themselves. But
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933 man, since he is master of his act, moves himself freely to all that he wills. Consequently,
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934 man has perfect life, as does every intellectual nature. And so the life of the Word, which is
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935 the light of men, is perfect life.</p>
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936 <p>100 We find a fitting order in the above. For in the natural order of things, existence is first;
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937 and the Evangelist implies this in his first statement, <span style="font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the Word.
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938 </span>Secondly, comes life; and this is mentioned next, <span style="font-weight: bold">In him was life. </span>Thirdly comes
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939 understanding; and that is mentioned next; <span style="font-weight: bold">And that life was the light of men. </span>And,
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940 according to Origen, he fittingly attributes light to life because light can be attributed only to
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941 the living.</p>
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942 <p>101 We should note that light can be related in two ways to what is living: as an object and as
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943 something in which they participate, as is clear in external sight. For the eyes know external
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944 light as an object, but if they are to see it, they must participate in an inner light by which the
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945 eyes are adapted and disposed for seeing the external light. And so his statement, <span style="font-weight: bold">And that
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946 life was the light of men, </span>can be understood in two ways. First, that the <span style="font-weight: bold">light of men </span>is taken
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947 as an object that man alone can look upon, because the rational creature alone can see it, since
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948 he alone is capable of the vision of God who &#8220;teaches us more than the beasts of the earth,
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949 and enlightens us more than the birds of the air&#8221; Jb 35:11); for although other animals may
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950 know certain things that are true, nevertheless, man alone knows the nature itself of truth.</p>
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951 <p>The <span style="font-weight: bold">light of men </span>can also be taken as a light in which we participate. For we would never be
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952 able to look upon the Word and light itself except through a participation in it; and this
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953 participation is in man and is the superior part of our soul, i.e., the intellectual light, about
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954 which the Psalm (4:7) says, &#8220;The light of your countenance, O Lord, is marked upon us,&#8221; i.e.,
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955 of your Son, who is your face, by whom you are manifested.</p>
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956 <p>102 Having introduced a certain light, the Evangelist now considers its irradiation, saying,
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957 And the light shines in the darkness. This can be explained in two ways, according to the two
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958 meanings of &#8220;darkness.&#8221;</p>
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959 <p>First, we might take &#8220;darkness&#8221; as a natural defect, that of the created mind. For the mind is
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960 to that light of which the Evangelist speaks here as air is to the light of the sun; because,
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961 although air is receptive of the light of the sun, considered in itself it is a darkness. According
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962 to this the meaning is: the light, i.e., that life which is the light of men, shines in the darkness,
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963 i.e., in created souls and minds, by always shedding its light on all. &#8220;On a man from whom
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964 the light is hidden&#8221; (Jb 3:23).</p>
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965 <p><span style="font-weight: bold">And the darkness did not overcome it, </span>i.e., enclose it [i.e., intellectually]. For to overcome
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966 something [<i>comprehendere, </i>to overcome, to comprehend, to seize or apprehend, and so
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967 forth], is to enclose and understand its boundaries. As Augustine says, to reach God with the
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968 mind is a great happiness; but to overcome [comprehend] him is impossible. And so, the
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969 darkness did not overcome it. &#8220;Behold, God is great, exceeding our knowledge&#8221; (Jb 36:26);
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970 &#8220;Great in counsel, incomprehensible in thought&#8221; as Jeremiah (32:19) says. This explanation is
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971 found in that homily which begins, &#8220;The spiritual voice of the eagle.&#8221;</p>
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972 <p>103 We can explain this passage in another way by taking &#8220;darkness&#8221; as Augustine does, for
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973 the natural lack of wisdom in man, which is called a darkness. &#8220;And I saw that wisdom
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974 excells folly as much as light excells knowledge&#8221; (Ecc 2:13). Someone is without wisdom,
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975 therefore, because he lacks the light of divine wisdom. Consequently, just as the minds of the
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976 wise are lucid by reason of a participation in that divine light and wisdom, so by the lack of it
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977 they are darkness. Now the fact that some are darkness is not due to a defect in that light,
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978 since on its part it shines in the darkness and radiates upon all. Rather, the foolish are
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979 &#8216;without that light because <span style="font-weight: bold">the darkness did not overcome it, </span>i.e., they did not apprehend it,
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980 not being able to attain a participation in it due to their foolishness; after having been lifted
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981 up, they did not persevere. &#8220;From the savage,&#8221; i.e., from the proud, &#8220;he hides his light,&#8221; i.e.,
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982 the light of wisdom, &#8220;and shows his friend that it belongs to him, and that he may approach
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983 it&#8221; (Jb 36:32); &#8220;They did not know the way to wisdom, nor did they remember her paths&#8221; (Bar
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984 3:23).</p>
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985 <p>Although some minds are darkness, i.e., they lack savory and lucid wisdom, nevertheless no
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986 man is in such darkness as to be completely devoid of divine light, because whatever truth is
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987 know by anyone is due to a participation in that light which shines in the darkness; for every
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988 truth, no matter by whom it is spoken, comes from the Holy Spirit. Yet the darkness, i.e., men
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989 in darkness, did not overcome it, apprehend it in truth. This is the way, [ i.e., with respect to
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990 the natural influx of knowledge] that Origen and Augustine explain this clause.</p>
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991 <p>104 Starting from <span style="font-weight: bold">And that life was the light of men, </span>we can explain this in another way,
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992 according to the influx of grace, since we are illuminated by Christ.</p>
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993 <p>After he had considered the creation of things through the Word, the Evangelist considers
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994 here the restoration of the rational creature through Christ, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">And that life, </span>of the Word,
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995 was the <span style="font-weight: bold">light of </span>men, i.e., of all men in general, and not only of the Jews. For the Son of God
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996 assumed flesh and came into the world to illumine all men with grace and truth. &#8220;I came into
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997 the world for this, to testify to the truth&#8221; (below 18:37); &#8220;As long as I am in the world I am
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998 the light of the world&#8221; (below 9:5). So he does not say, &#8220;the light of the Jews,&#8221; because
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999 although previously he had been known only in Judea, he later became known to the world. &#8220;I
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1000 have given you as a light to the nations, that you might be my salvation to the ends of the
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1001 earth&#8221; (Is 49:6).</p>
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1002 <p>It was fitting to join light and life by saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">And that life was the light of men, </span>in order to
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1003 show that these two have come to us through Christ: life, through a participation in grace,
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1004 &#8220;Grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ&#8221; (below 1:17); and light, by a knowledge of
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1005 truth and wisdom.</p>
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1006 <p>105 According to this explanation, <span style="font-weight: bold">the light shines in the darkness, </span>can be expounded in
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1007 three ways, in the light of the three meanings of &#8220;darkness.&#8221;</p>
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1008 <p>In one way, we can take &#8220;darkness&#8221; for punishment. For any sadness and suffering of heart
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1009 can be called a darkness, just as any joy can be called a light. &#8220;When I sit in darkness and in
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1010 suffering the Lord is my light,&#8221; i.e., my joy and consolation (Mi 7:8). And so Origen says: In
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1011 this explanation, <span style="font-weight: bold">the light shines in the darkness, </span>is Christ coming into the world, having a
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1012 body capable of suffering and without sin, but &#8220;in the likeness of sinful flesh&#8221; (Rom 8:3). The
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1013 light is in the flesh, that is, the flesh of Christ, which is called a darkness insofar as it has a
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1014 likeness to sinful flesh. As if to say: The light, i.e., the Word of God, veiled about by the
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1015 darkness of the flesh, shines on the world; &#8220;I will cover the sun with a cloud&#8221; (Ez 32:7).</p>
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1016 <p>106 Secondly, we can take &#8220;darkness&#8221; to mean the devils, as in Ephesians (6:12), &#8220;Our
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1017 struggle is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the
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1018 rulers of the world of this darkness.&#8221; Looked at this way he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">the light, </span>i.e., the Son of
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1019 God, <span style="font-weight: bold">shines in the darkness, </span>i.e., has descended into the world where darkness, i.e., the
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1020 devils, hold sway: &#8220;Now the prince of this world will be cast out&#8221; (below 12:31). <span style="font-weight: bold">And the
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1021 darkness, </span>i.e., the devils, <span style="font-weight: bold">did not overcome it, </span>i.e., were unable to obscure him by their
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1022 temptations, as is plain in Matthew (c 4)</p>
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1023 <p>107 Thirdly, we can take &#8220;darkness&#8221; for the error or ignorance which filled the whole world
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1024 before the coming of Christ, &#8220;You were at one time darkness&#8221; (Eph 5:8). And so he says that
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1025 <span style="font-weight: bold">the light, </span>i.e., the incarnate Word of God, <span style="font-weight: bold">shines in the darkness, </span>i.e., upon the men of the
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1026 world, who are blinded by the darkness or error and ignorance. &#8220;To enlighten those who sit in
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1027 darkness and in the shadow of death&#8221; (Lk 1:79), &#8220;The people who were sitting in darkness
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1028 saw a great light&#8221; (Is 9:2).</p>
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1029 <p><span style="font-weight: bold">And the darkness did not overcome it, </span>i.e., did not overcome him. For in spite of the
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1030 number of men darkened by sin, blinded by envy, shadowed over by pride, who have
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1031 struggled against Christ (as is plain from the Gospel) by upbraiding him, heaping insults and
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1032 calumnies upon him, and finally killing him, nevertheless they did not overcome it, i.e., gain
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1033 the victory of so obscuring him that his brightness would not shine throughout the whole
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1034 world. Wisdom (7:30) says, &#8220;Compared to light, she takes precedence, for night supplants it,
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1035 but wisdom,&#8221; that is, the incarnate Son of God, &#8220;is not overcome by wickedness,&#8221; that is, of
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1036 the Jews and of heretics, because it says, &#8220;She gave him the prize for his stern struggle that he
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1037 might know that wisdom is mightier than all else&#8221; (Wis 10:12).</p>
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1038 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in">&#160;</p>
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1039 <CENTER><p>LECTURE 4</p>
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1040 <p>6 There was a man sent by God, whose name was John.<BR>
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1041 7 He came as a witness, that he might bear witness to the light,<BR>
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1042 so that through him all men might believe. 8 He was not the light,<BR>
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1043 but [he came] in order to bear witness to the light.</CENTER>
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1044 <p>108 Above, the Evangelist considered the divinity of the Word; here he begins to consider the
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1045 incarnation of the Word. And he does two things concerning this: first, he treats of the
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1046 witness to the incarnate Word, or the precursor; secondly, of the coming of the Word ( 1:9).
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1047 As to the first, he does two things: first, he describes the precursor who comes to bear
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1048 witness; secondly, he shows that he was incapable of the work of our salvation (1:8).</p>
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1049 <p>He describes the precursor in four ways. First, according to his nature, <span style="font-weight: bold">There was a man.
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1050 </span>Secondly, as to his authority, <span style="font-weight: bold">sent by God. </span>I&#8217;hirdly, as to his suitability for the office, <span style="font-weight: bold">whose
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1051 name was John. </span>Fourthly, as to the dignity of his office, <span style="font-weight: bold">He came as a witness.</span></p>
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1052 <p>109 We should note with respect to the first that, as soon as the Evangelist begins speaking of
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1053 something temporal, he changes his manner of speech. When speaking above of eternal
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1054 things, he used the word &#8220;was&#8221; (<i>erat</i>), which is the past imperfect tense; and this indicates
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1055 that eternal things are without end. But now, when he is speaking of temporal things, he uses
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1056 &#8220;was&#8221; (<i>fuit</i>, i.e., &#8220;has been&#8221;); this indicates temporal things as having taken place in the past
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1057 and coming to an end there.</p>
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1058 <p>110 And so he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">There was a man </span>(<i>Fuit homo</i>). This excludes at the very start the
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1059 incorrect opinion of certain heretics who were in error on the condition or nature of John.
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1060 They believed that John was an angel in nature, basing themselves on the words of the Lord,
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1061 &#8220;I send my messenger [in Greek, <i>angelos</i>]<i> </i>before you, who will prepare your way&#8221; (Mt
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1062 11:10); and the same thing is found in Mark (1:2). But the Evangelist rejects this, saying,
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1063 <span style="font-weight: bold">There was a man </span>by nature, not an angel. &#8220;The nature of man is known, and that he cannot
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1064 contend in judgment with one who is stronger than himself&#8221; (Ecc 6:10).</p>
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1065 <p>Now it &#8220; is fitting that a man be sent to men, for men are more easily drawn to a man, since
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1066 he is like themselves. So in Hebrews (7:28) it says, &#8220;The law appoints men, who have
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1067 weakness, priests.&#8221; God could have governed men through angels, but he preferred men so
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1068 that we could be more instructed by their example. And so John was a man, and not an angel.</p>
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1069 <p>11 1 John is described by his authority when it says, sent by God. Indeed, although John was
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1070 not an angel in nature, he was so by his office, because he was sent by God. For the
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1071 distinctive office of angels is that they are sent by God and are messengers of God. &#8220;All are
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1072 ministering spirits, sent to serve&#8221; (Heb 1:14). Hence it is that &#8220;angel&#8221; means &#8220;messenger.&#8221;
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1073 And so men who are sent by God to announce something can be called angels. &#8220;Haggai the
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1074 messenger of the Lord&#8221; (Hg 1:13).</p>
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1075 <p>If someone is to bear witness to God, it is necessary that he be sent by God. &#8220;How can they
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1076 preach unless they are sent?&#8221; as is said in Romans (10:15). And since they are sent by God,
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1077 they seek the things of Jesus Christ, not their own. &#8220;We do not preach ourselves, but Jesus
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1078 Christ&#8221; (2 Cor 4:5). On the other hand, one who sends himself, and is not sent by God, seeks
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1079 his own things or those of man, and not the things of Christ. And so he says here, <span style="font-weight: bold">There was
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1080 a man sent by God, </span>so that we would understand that John proclaimed something divine, not
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1081 human.</p>
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1082 <p>112 Note that there are three ways in which we see men sent by God. First, by an inward
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1083 inspiration. &#8220;And now the Lord God has sent me, and his spirit&#8221; (Is 48:16). As if to say: I
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1084 have been sent by God through an inward inspiration of the spirit. Secondly, by an expressed
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1085 and clear command, perceived by the bodily senses or the imagination. Isaiah was also sent in
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1086 this way; and so he says, &#8220;And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, &#8216;Whom shall I send, and
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1087 who will go for us?&#8217; Then I said, &#8216;Here I am! Send me&#8217;&#8221; (Is 6:8). Thirdly, by the order of a
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1088 prelate, who acts in the place of God in this matter. &#8220;I have pardoned in the person of Christ
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1089 for your sake&#8221; as it says in 2 Corinthians (2:10). This is why those who are sent by a prelate
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1090 are sent by God, as Barnabas and Timothy were sent by the Apostle.</p>
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1091 <p>When it is said here, <span style="font-weight: bold">There was a man sent by </span>God, we should understand that he was sent
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1092 by God through an inward inspiration, or perhaps even by an outward command. &#8220;He who
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1093 sent me to baptize with water had said to me: &#8216;The man on whom you see the Spirit come
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1094 down and rest is the one who is to baptize with the Holy Spirit&#8217; &#8220; (below 1:33).</p>
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1095 <p>113 We should not understand, <span style="font-weight: bold">There was a man sent by God, </span>as some heretics did, who
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1096 believed that from the very beginning human souls were created without bodies along with
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1097 the angels, and that one&#8217;s soul is sent into the body when he is born, and that John was sent to
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1098 life, i.e., his soul was sent to a body. Rather, we should understand that he was sent by God to
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1099 baptize and preach.</p>
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1100 <p>114 John&#8217;s fitness is given when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">whose name was John. </span>One must be qualified for
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1101 the office of bearing witness, because unless a witness is qualified, then no matter in what
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1102 way he is sent by another, his testimony is not acceptable. Now a man becomes qualified by
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1103 the grace, of God. &#8220;By the grace of God I am what I am&#8221; (1 Cor 15:10); &#8220;who has made us fit
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1104 ministers of a new covenant&#8221; (2 Cor 3:6). So, the Evangelist appropriately implies the
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1105 precursor&#8217;s fitness from his name when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">whose name was John, </span>which is interpreted,
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1106 &#8220;in whom is grace.&#8221;</p>
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1107 <p>This name was not given to him meaninglessly, but by divine preordination and before he was
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1108 born, as is clear from Luke (1:13), &#8220;You will name him John,&#8221; as the angel said to Zechariah.
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1109 Hence he can say what is said in Isaiah (49:1), &#8220;The Lord called me from the womb&#8221;; &#8220;He
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1110 who will be, his name is already called&#8221; (Ecc 6:10). The Evangelist also indicates this from
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1111 his manner of speaking, when he says was, as to God&#8217;s preordination.</p>
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1112 <p>115 Then he is described by the dignity of his office. First, his office is mentioned. Secondly,
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1113 the reason for his office, <span style="font-weight: bold">to bear witness to the light.</span></p>
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1114 <p>116 Now his office is to bear witness; hence he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">He came as a witness.</span></p>
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1115 <p>Here it should be remarked that God makes men, and everything else he makes, for himself.
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1116 &#8220;The Lord made all things for himself&#8221; (Prv 16:4). Not, indeed, to add anything to himself,
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1117 since he has no need of our good, but so that his goodness might be made manifest in all of
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1118 the things made by him, in that &#8220;his eternal power and divinity are clearly seen, being
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1119 understood through the things that are made&#8221;(Rom 1:20). Thus, each creature is made as a
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1120 witness to God in so far as each creature is a certain witness of the divine goodness. So, the
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1121 vastness of creation is a witness to God&#8217;s power and omnipotence; and its beauty is a witness
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1122 to the divine wisdom. But certain men are ordained by God in a special way, so that they hear
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1123 witness to God not only naturally by their existence, but also spiritually by their good works.
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1124 Hence all holy men are witnesses to God inasmuch as God is glorified among men by their
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1125 good works. &#8220;Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and
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1126 glorify your Father who is in heaven&#8221; (Mt 5:16). But those who not only share in God&#8217;s gifts
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1127 in themselves by acting well through the grace of God, but also spread them to others by their
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1128 teaching, influencing and encouraging others, are in a more special way witnesses to God.
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1129 &#8220;Everyone who calls upon my name, I have created for my glory&#8221; (Is 43:7). And so John
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1130 came as a witness in order to spread to others the gifts of God and to proclaim his praise.</p>
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1131 <p>117 This office of John, that of bearing witness, is very great, because no one can testify
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1132 about something except in the manner in which he has shared in it. &#8220;We know of what we
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1133 speak, and we bear witness of what we see&#8221; (below 3:11). Hence, to bear witness to divine
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1134 truth indicates a knowledge of that truth. So Christ also had this office: &#8220;I have come into the
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1135 world for this, to testify to the truth&#8221; (below 18:37). But Christ testifies in one way and John
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1136 in another. Christ bears witness as the light who comprehends all things, indeed, as the
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1137 existing light itself. John bears witness only as participating in that light. And so Christ gives
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1138 testimony in a perfect manner and perfectly manifests the truth, while John and other holy
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1139 men give testimony in so far as they have a share of divine truth. John&#8217;s office, therefore, is
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1140 great both because of his participation in the divine light and because of a likeness to Christ,
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1141 who carried out this office. &#8220;I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and a commander
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1142 of the nations&#8221; (Is 55:4).</p>
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1143 <p>118 The purpose of this office is given when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">that he might bear witness to the
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1144 light. </span>Here we should understand that there are two reasons for bearing witness about
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1145 something. One reason can be on the part of the thing with which the witness is concerned;
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1146 for example, if there is some doubt or uncertainty about that thing. The other is on the part of
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1147 those who hear it; if they are hard of heart and slow to believe. John came as a witness, not
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1148 because of the thing about which he bore witness, for it was light. Hence he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">bear
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1149 witness to the light, </span>i.e., not to something obscure, but to something clear. He came,
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1150 therefore, to bear witness on account of those to whom he testified, <span style="font-weight: bold">so that through him </span>(i.e.,
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1151 John) <span style="font-weight: bold">all men might believe. </span>For as light is not only visible in itself and of itself, but through
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1152 it all else can be seen, so the Word of God is not only light in himself, but he makes known
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1153 all things that are known. For since a thing is made known and understood through its form,
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1154 and all forms exist through the Word, who is the art full of living forms, the Word is light not
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1155 only in himself, but as making known all things; &#8220;all that appears is light&#8221; (Eph 5:13).</p>
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1156 <p>And so it was fitting for the Evangelist to call the Son &#8220;light,&#8221; because he came as &#8220;a
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1157 revealing light to the Gentiles&#8221; (Lk 2:32). Above, he called the Son of God the Word, by
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1158 which the Father expresses himself and every creature. Now since he is, properly speaking,
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1159 the light of men, and the Evangelist is considering him here as coming to accomplish the
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1160 salvation of men, he fittingly interrupts the use of the name &#8220;Word&#8221; when speaking of the
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1161 Son, and says, &#8220;light.&#8221;</p>
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1162 <p>119 But if that light is adequate of itself to make known all things, and not only itself, what
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1163 need does it have of any witness? This was the objection of the Manichaeans, who wanted to
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1164 destroy the Old Testament. Consequently, the saints gave many reasons, against their opinion,
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1165 why Christ wanted to have the testimony of the prophets.</p>
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1166 <p>Origen gives three reasons. The first is that God wanted to have certain witnesses, not
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1167 because he needed their testimony, but to ennoble those whom he appointed witnesses. Thus
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1168 we see in the order of the universe that God produces certain effects by means of intermediate
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1169 causes, not because he himself is unable to produce them without these intermediaries, but he
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1170 deigns to confer oil them the dignity of causality because he wishes to-ennoble these
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1171 intermediate causes. Similarly, even though God could have enlightened all men by himself
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1172 and lead them to a knowledge of himself, yet to preserve due order in things and to ennoble
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1173 certain men, he willed that divine knowledge reach men through certain other men. &#8220;&#8216;You are
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1174 my witnesses,&#8217; says the Lord&#8221; (Is 43:10).</p>
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1175 <p>A second reason is that Christ was a light to the world through his miracles. Yet, because they
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1176 were performed in time, they passed away with time and did not reach everyone. But the
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1177 words of the prophets, preserved in Scripture, could reach not only those present, but could
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1178 also reach those to come after. Hence the Lord willed that men come to a knowledge of the
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1179 Word through the testimony of the prophets, in order that not only those present, but also men
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1180 yet lo come, might be enlightened about him. So it says expressly, <span style="font-weight: bold">so that through him all
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1181 men might believe, </span>i.e., not only those present, but also future generations.</p>
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1182 <p>The third reason is that not all men are in the same condition, and all are not led or disposed
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1183 to a knowledge of the truth in the same way. For some are brought to a knowledge of the truth
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1184 by signs and miracles; others are brought more by wisdom. &#8220;The Jews require signs, and the
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1185 Greeks seek wisdom&#8221; (1 Cor 1:22). And so the Lord, m order to show the path of salvation to
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1186 all, willed both ways to be open. i.e., the way of signs and the way of wisdom, so that those
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1187 who would not be brought to the path of salvation by the miracles of the Old and New
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1188 Testaments, might be brought to a knowledge of the truth by the path of wisdom, as in the
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1189 prophets and other books of Sacred Scripture.</p>
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1190 <p>A fourth reason, given by Chrysostom, is that certain men of weak understanding are unable
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1191 to grasp the truth and knowledge of God by themselves. And so the Lord chose to come down
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1192 to them and to enlighten certain men before others about divine matters, so that these others
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1193 might obtain from them in a human way the knowledge of divine things they could not reach
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1194 by themselves. And so he says, that <span style="font-weight: bold">through him all men might believe. </span>As if to say: he
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1195 came as a witness, not for the sake of the light, but for the sake of men, so <span style="font-weight: bold">that through him
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1196 all men might believe. </span>And so it is plain that the testimonies of the prophets are fitting and
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1197 proper, and should be received as something needed by us for the knowledge of the truth.</p>
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1198 <p>120 He says believe, because there are two ways of participating in the divine light. One is the
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1199 perfect participation which is present in glory, &#8220;In your light, we shall see the light&#8221; (Ps 3
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1200 5:10). The other in imperfect and is acquired through faith, since he came as a witness. Of
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1201 these two ways it is said, &#8220;Now we see through a mirror, in an obscure manner, but then we
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1202 shall see face to face&#8221; (1 Cor 13:12). And in the same place we find, &#8220;Now I know in part, but
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1203 then I shall know even as I am known.&#8221; Among these two ways, the first is the way of
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1204 participation through faith, because through it we are brought to vision. So in Isaiah (7:9)
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1205 where our version has, &#8220;If you do not believe, you will not persist,&#8221; another version has, &#8220;If
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1206 you do not believe, you will not understand.&#8221; &#8220;All of us, gazing on the Lord&#8217;s glory with
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1207 unveiled faces, are being transformed from glory to glory into his very image,&#8221; which we
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1208 have lost (2 Cor 3:18). &#8220;From the glory of faith to the glory of vision,&#8221; as a Gloss says.</p>
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1209 <p>And so he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">that through him all men might believe, </span>not as though all would see him
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1210 perfectly at once, but first they would believe through faith, and later enjoy him through
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1211 vision in heaven.</p>
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1212 <p>121 He says through him, to show that John is different than Christ. For Christ came so that
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1213 all might believe in him. &#8220;He who believes in me, as Scripture says, &#8220;Out of his heart shall
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1214 flow rivers of living water&#8221; (below 7:38). John, on the other hand, <span style="font-weight: bold">came that all men might
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1215 believe, </span>not in him, but in Christ <span style="font-weight: bold">through him.</span></p>
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1216 <p>One may object that not all have believed. So if John came to that all might believe through
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1217 him, he failed. I answer that both on the part of God, who sent John, and of John, who came,
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1218 the method used is adequate to bring all to the truth. But on the <span style="font-weight: bold">part </span>of those &#8220;who have fixed
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1219 their eyes on the ground&#8221; (Ps 16:11 ), and refused to see the light, there was a failure, because
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1220 all did not believe.</p>
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1221 <p>122 Now although John, of whom so much has been said, even including that he was sent by
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1222 God, is an eminent person, his coming is not sufficient to save men, because the salvation of
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1223 man lies in participating in the light. If John had been the light, his coming would have
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1224 sufficed to save men; but he was not the light. So he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">he was not the light</span>.
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1225 Consequently, a light was needed that would suffice to save men.</p>
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1226 <p>Or, we could look at it another way. John came to bear witness to the light. Now it is the
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1227 custom that the one who testifies is of greater authority than the one for whom he bears
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1228 witness. So, lest John be considered to have greater authority than Christ, the Evangelist says,
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1229 he was <span style="font-weight: bold">not the light, but he came in order to bear witness to the light. </span>For he bears
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1230 witness not because he is greater, but because he is better known, even though he is not as
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1231 great.</p>
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1232 <p>123 There is a difficulty about his saying, he was not the light. Conflicting with this is, &#8220;You
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1233 were at one time darkness, but now you are light in the Lord&#8221; (Eph 5:8); and &#8220;You are the
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1234 light of the world&#8221; (Mt 5:14). Therefore, John and the apostles and all good men are a light.</p>
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1235 <p>I answer that some say that John was not the light, because this belongs to God alone. But if
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1236 &#8220;light&#8221; is taken without the article, then John and all holy men were made lights. The
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1237 meaning is this: the Son of God is light by his very essence; but John and all the saints are
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1238 light by participation. So, because John participated in the true light, it was fitting that he bear
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1239 witness to the light; for fire is better exhibited by something afire than by anything else, and
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1240 color by something colored.</p>
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1241 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in">&#160;</p>
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1242 <CENTER><p><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE 5</span></p>
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1243 <p>9 He [the Word] was the true light,<BR>
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1244 which enlightens every man coming into this world.<BR>
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1245 10 He was in the world, and through him the world was made,<BR>
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1246 and the world did not know him.</CENTER>
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1247 <p>124 Above, the Evangelist considered the precursor and his witness to the incarnate Word; in
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1248 the present section he considers the incarnate Word himself. As to this he does three things.
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1249 First, he shows why it was necessary for the Word to come. Secondly, the benefit we received
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1250 from the coming of the Word (I:11). And thirdly, the way he came (1:14).</p>
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1251 <p>The necessity for the Word&#8217;s coming is seen be the lack of divine knowledge in the world. He
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1252 points out this need for his coming when he says, &#8220;For this was I born, and I came into the
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1253 world for this, to testify to the truth&#8221; (below 18:37). To indicate this lack of divine
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1254 knowledge, the Evangelist does two things. First, he shows that this lack does not pertain to
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1255 God or the Word. Secondly, that it does pertain to men (v 10b).</p>
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1256 <p>He shows in three ways that there was no defect in God or in the Word that prevented men
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1257 from knowing God and from being enlightened by the Word. First, from the efficacy of the
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1258 divine light itself, because <span style="font-weight: bold">He was the true light, which enlightens every man coming into
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1259 this world. </span>Secondly, from the presence of the divine light, because <span style="font-weight: bold">He was in the world.
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1260 </span>Thirdly, from the obviousness of the light, because <span style="font-weight: bold">through him the world was made. </span>So
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1261 the lack of divine knowledge in the world was not due to the Word, because it is sufficient.
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1262 First, he shows the nature of this efficiency, that is, <span style="font-weight: bold">He was the true light. </span>Secondly, its very
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1263 efficiency, <span style="font-weight: bold">which enlightens every man.</span></p>
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1264 <p>125 The divine Word is efficacious in enlightening because <span style="font-weight: bold">He was the true light. </span>How the
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1265 Word is light, and how he is the light of men need not be discussed again, because it was
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1266 sufficiently explained above. What we must discuss at present is how he is the true light. To
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1267 explain this, we should note that in Scripture the &#8220;true&#8221; is contrasted with three things.
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1268 Sometimes it is contrasted with the false, as in &#8220;Put an end to lying, and let everyone speak
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1269 the truth&#8221; (Eph 4:25). Sometimes it is contrasted with what is figurative, as in &#8220;The law was
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1270 given through Moses; grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ&#8221; (below 1:17), because
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1271 the truth of the figures contained in the law was fulfilled by Christ. Sometimes it is contrasted
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1272 with what is something by participation, as in &#8220;that we may be in his true Son&#8221; (1 Jn 5:20),
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1273 who is not his Son by participation.</p>
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1274 <p>Before the Word came there was in the world a certain light which the philosophers prided
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1275 themselves on having; but this was a false light, because as is said, &#8220;They became stultified in
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1276 their speculations, and their foolish hearts were darkened; claiming to be wise, they became
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1277 fools&#8221; (Rom 1:21); &#8220;Every man is made foolish by his knowledge&#8221; (Jer 10:14). There was
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1278 another light from the teaching of the law which the Jews boasted of having; but this was a
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1279 symbolic light, &#8220;The law has a shadow of the good things to come, not the image itself of
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1280 them&#8221; (Heb 10:1). There was also a certain light in the angels and in holy men in so far as
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1281 they knew God in a more special way by grace; but this was a participated light, &#8220;Upon whom
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1282 does his light not shine?&#8221; (Jb 25:3), which is like saying: Whoever shine, shine to the extent
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1283 that they participate in his light, i.e., God&#8217;s light.</p>
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1284 <p>But the Word of God was not a false light, nor a symbolic light, nor a participated light, but
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1285 the true light, i.e., light by his essence. Therefore he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">He was the true light.</span></p>
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1286 <p>126 This excludes two errors. First, that of Photinus, who believed that Christ derived his
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1287 beginning from the Virgin. So, lest anyone suppose this, the Evangelist, speaking of the
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1288 incarnation of the Word, says, <span style="font-weight: bold">He was the true light, </span>i.e., eternally, not only before the
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1289 Virgin, but before every creature. This also excludes the error of Arius and Origen; they said
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1290 that Christ was not true God, but God by participation. If this were so, he could not be the
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1291 true light, as the Evangelist says here, and as in &#8220;God is light&#8221; (1 Jn 1:5), i.e., not by
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1292 participation, but <span style="font-weight: bold">the true light. </span>So if the Word was the true light, it is plain that he is true
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1293 God. Now it is clear how the divine Word is effective in causing divine knowledge.</p>
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1294 <p>127 The effectiveness or efficiency of the Word lies in the fact that he <span style="font-weight: bold">enlightens every man
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1295 coming into this world. </span>For everything which is what it is by participation is derived from
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1296 that which is such by its essence; just as everything afire is so by participation in fire, which
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1297 is fire by its very essence. Then since the Word is the true light by his very essence, then
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1298 everything that shines must do so through him, insofar as it participates in him. And so he
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1299 <span style="font-weight: bold">enlightens every man coming into this world.</span></p>
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1300 <p>128 To understand this, we should know that &#8220;world&#8221; is taken in three ways in Scripture.
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1301 Sometimes, from the point of view of its creation, as when the Evangelist says here, &#8220;through
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1302 him the world was made&#8221; (v 10). Sometimes, from the point of view of its perfection, which
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1303 it reaches through Christ, as in &#8220;God was, in Christ, reconciling the world to himself&#8221; (2 Cor
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1304 5:19). And sometimes it is taken from the point of view of its perversity, as in &#8220;The whole
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1305 world lies under the power of the evil one&#8221; (1 Jn 5:19).</p>
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1306 <p>On the other hand, &#8220;enlightenment&#8221; or &#8220;being enlightened&#8221; by the Word is taken in two ways.
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1307 First, in relation to the light of natural knowledge, as in &#8220;The light of your countenance, O
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1308 Lord, is marked upon us&#8221; (Ps 4:7). Secondly, as the light of grace, &#8220;Be enlightened, O
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1309 Jerusalem&#8221; (Is 60:1).</p>
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1310 <p>129 With these two sets of distinctions in mind, it is easy to solve a difficulty which arises
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1311 here. For when the Evangelist says, he <span style="font-weight: bold">enlightens every man, </span>this seems to be false, because
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1312 there are still many in darkness in the world. However, if we bear in mind these distinctions
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1313 and take &#8220;world&#8221; from the standpoint of its creation, and &#8220;enlighten&#8221; as referring to the light
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1314 of natural reason, the statement of the Evangelist is beyond reproach. For all men coming into
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1315 this visible world are enlightened by the light of natural knowledge through participating in
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1316 this true light, which is the source of all the light of natural knowledge participated in by men.</p>
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1317 <p>When the Evangelist speaks of <span style="font-weight: bold">man coming into this world, </span>he does not mean that men had
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1318 lived for a certain time outside the world and then came into the world, since this is contrary
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1319 to the teaching of the Apostle in Romans (9:11), &#8220;When the children were not yet born nor
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1320 had they done anything good or evil.&#8221; Therefore, since they had done nothing before they
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1321 were born, it is plain that the soul does not exist p3or to its union with the body. He refers to
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1322 <span style="font-weight: bold">every man coming into this world, </span>to show that men are enlightened by God with respect to
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1323 that according to which they came into the world, i.e., with respect to the intellect, which is
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1324 something external [to the world]. For man is constituted of a twofold nature, bodily and
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1325 intellectual. According to his bodily or sensible nature, man is enlightened by a bodily and
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1326 sensible light; but according to his soul and intellectual nature, he is enlightened by an
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1327 intellectual and spiritual light. Now man does not come into this world according to his
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1328 bodily nature, but under this aspect, he is from the world. His intellectual nature is derived
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1329 from a source external to the world, as has been said, i.e., from God through creation; as in
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1330 &#8220;Until all flesh returns to its origin, and the spirit is directed to God, who made it&#8221; (Ecc 12:7).
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1331 For these reasons, when the Evangelist speaks of <span style="font-weight: bold">every man coming into this world</span>, he is
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1332 showing that this enlightenment refers to what is from without, that is, the intellect.</p>
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1333 <p>130 If we understand &#8220;enlightenment&#8221; with respect to the light of grace, then <span style="font-weight: bold">he enlightens
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1334 every man</span> may be explained in three ways. The first way is by Origen in his homily, &#8220;The
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1335 great eagle,&#8221; and is this. &#8220;World&#8221; is understood from the point of view of its perfection,
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1336 which man attains by his reconciliation through Christ. And so we have, he enlightens every
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1337 man coming, by faith, into this world, i.e., this spiritual world, that is, the Church, which has
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1338 been enlightened by the light of grace.</p>
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1339 <p>Chrysostom explains it another way. He takes &#8220;world&#8221; under the aspect of creation. Then the
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1340 sense is: He <span style="font-weight: bold">enlightens, </span>i.e., the Word does, in so far as it depends on him, because he fails
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1341 no one, but rather &#8220;wants all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth&#8221; (1
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1342 Tim 2:4); <span style="font-weight: bold">every man coming</span>, i.e., who is born into this sensible world. If anyone is not
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1343 enlightened, it is due to himself, because he turns from the light that enlightens.</p>
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1344 <p>Augustine explains it a third way. For him, &#8220;every&#8221; has a restricted application, so that the
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1345 sense is: He <span style="font-weight: bold">enlightens every man coming into this world, </span>not every man universally, but
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1346 every man who is enlightened, since no one is enlightened except by the Word. According to
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1347 Augustine, the Evangelist says, <span style="font-weight: bold">coming into this world, </span>in order to give the reason why man
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1348 needs to be enlightened, and he is taking &#8220;world&#8221; from the point of view of its perversity and
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1349 defect. It is as though he were saying: Man needs to be enlightened because he is coming into
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1350 this world which is darkened by perversity and defects and is full of ignorance. (This
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1351 followed the spiritual world of the first man.) As Luke says (1:79), &#8220;To enlighten those who
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1352 sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.&#8221;</p>
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1353 <p>131 The above statement refutes the error of the Manichaeans, who think than men were
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1354 created in the world from an opposing principle, i.e., the devil. For if man were a creature of
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1355 the devil when coming into this world, he would not be enlightened by God or by the Word,
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1356 for &#8220;Christ came into the world to destroy the works of the devil&#8221; (1 Jn 3:8).</p>
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1357 <p>132 So it is clear, from the efficacy of the divine Word, that the lack of knowledge in men is
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1358 not due to the Word, because he is effective in enlightening all, being <span style="font-weight: bold">the true light, which
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1359 enlightens </span>every <span style="font-weight: bold">man coming into this world.</span></p>
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1360 <p>But so you do not suppose this lack arose from the withdrawal or absence of the true light, the
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1361 Evangelist rules this out adding, <span style="font-weight: bold">He was in the world</span>. A comparable statement is found in
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1362 &#8220;He is not far from any one of us,&#8221; that is, God, &#8220;for in him we live, and move, and are&#8221; (Acts
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1363 17:28). It is as though the Evangelist were saying: The divine Word is effective and is at hand
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1364 in order to enlighten us.</p>
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1365 <p>133 We should remark that something is said to be &#8220;in the world&#8221; in three ways. In one way,
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1366 by being contained, as a thing in place exists in a place: &#8220;They are in the world&#8221; (below
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1367 17:11). In another way, as a part in a whole; for a part of the world is said to be in the world
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1368 even though it is not in a place. For example, supernatural substances, although not in the
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1369 world as in a place, are nevertheless in it as parts: &#8220;God ... who made heaven and earth, the
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1370 sea, and all things that are in them&#8221; (Ps 145:6). But the true light was not in the world in
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1371 either of these ways, because that light is neither localized nor is it a part of the universe.
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1372 Indeed, if we can speak this way, the entire universe is in a certain sense a part, since it
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1373 participates in a partial way in his goodness.</p>
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1374 <p>Accordingly, the true light was in the world in a third way, i.e., as an efficient and preserving
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1375 cause: &#8220;I fill heaven and earth&#8221; as said in Jeremiah (23:24). However, there is a difference
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1376 between the way the Word acts and causes all things and the way in which other agents act.
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1377 For other agents act as existing externally: since they do not act except by moving and
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1378 altering a thing qualitatively in some way with respect to its exterior, they work from without.
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1379 But God acts in all things from within, because he acts by creating. Now to create is to give
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1380 existence (<i>esse</i>) to the thing created. So, since esse is innermost in each thing, God, who by
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1381 acting gives <i>esse </i>acts in things from within. Hence God was in the world as one giving <i>esse </i>to
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1382 the world.</p>
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1383 <p>134 It is customary to say that God is in all things by his essence, presence and power. To
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1384 understand what this means, we should know that someone is said to be by his power in all
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1385 the things that are subject to his power; as a king is said to be in the entire kingdom subject to
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1386 him, by his power. He is not there, however, by presence or essence., Someone is said to be
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1387 by presence in all the things that are within his range of vision; as a king is said to be in his
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1388 house by presence. And someone is said to be by essence in those things in which his
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1389 substance is; as a king is in one determinate place.</p>
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1390 <p>Now we say that God is everywhere by his power, since all things are subject to his power:
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1391 &#8220;If I ascend into heaven, you are there.... If I take my wings early in the morning, and dwell in
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1392 the furthest part of the sea, even there your hand will lead me, and your right hand will hold
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1393 me&#8221; (Ps 138:8). He is also everywhere by his presence, because &#8220;all things are bare and open
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1394 to his eyes,&#8221; as is said in Hebrews (4:13). He is present everywhere by his essence, be cause
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1395 his essence is innermost in all things. For every agent, as acting, has to be immediately joined
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1396 to its effect, because mover and moved must be together. Now God is the maker and
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1397 preserver of all things with respect to the <i>esse </i>of each. Hence, since the <i>esse </i>of a thing is
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1398 innermost in that thing, it is plain that God, by his essence, through which he creates all
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1399 things, is in all things.</p>
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1400 <p>135 It should be noted that the Evangelist significantly uses the word &#8220;was,&#8221; when he says,
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1401 <span style="font-weight: bold">He was in the world, </span>showing that from the beginning of creation he was always in the
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1402 world, causing and preserving all things; because if God for even a moment were to withhold
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1403 his power from the things he established, all would return to nothing and cease to be. Hence
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1404 Origen uses an apt example to show this, when he says that as a human vocal sound is to a
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1405 human word conceived in the mind, so is, the creature to the divine Word; for as our vocal
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1406 sound is the effect of the word conceived in our mind, so the creature is the effect of the
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1407 Word conceived in the divine mind. &#8220;For he spoke, and they were created&#8221; (Ps 148:5). Hence,
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1408 just as we notice that as soon as our inner word vanishes, the sensible vocal sound also
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1409 ceases, so, if the power of the divine Word were withdrawn from things, all of them would
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1410 immediately cease to be at that moment. And this is because he is &#8220;sustaining all things by his
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1411 powerful word&#8221; (Heb 1:3).</p>
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1412 <p>136 So it is plain that a lack of divine knowledge in minds is not due to the absence of the
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1413 Word, because <span style="font-weight: bold">He was in the world</span>;<span style="font-weight: bold"> </span>nor is it due to the invisibility or concealment of the
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1414 Word, because he has produced a work in which his likeness is clearly reflected, that is, the
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1415 world: &#8220;For from the greatness and beauty of creatures, their creator can be seen accordingly&#8221;
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1416 (Wis 13:5), and &#8220;The invisible things of God are clearly seen, being understood through the
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1417 things that are made&#8221; (Rom 1:20). And so the Evangelist at once adds, <span style="font-weight: bold">and through him the
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1418 world was made, </span>in order that that light might be manifested in it. For as a work of art
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1419 manifests the art of the artisan, so the whole world is nothing else than a certain
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1420 representation of the divine wisdom conceived within the mind of the Father, &#8220;He poured her
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1421 [wisdom] out upon all his works,&#8221; as is said in Sirach (1:10).</p>
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1422 <p>Now it is clear that the lack of divine knowledge is not due to the Word, because he is
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1423 efficacious, being <span style="font-weight: bold">the true light; </span>and he is at hand, since he <span style="font-weight: bold">was in the world; </span>and he is
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1424 knowable, since <span style="font-weight: bold">through him the world was made.</span></p>
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1425 <p>137 The Evangelist indicates the source of this lack when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">and the world did not
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1426 know him. </span>As if to say: It is not due to him, but to the world, who did not know him.</p>
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1427 <p>He says him in the singular, because earlier he had called the Word not only the &#8220;light of
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1428 men,&#8221; but also &#8220;God&#8221;; and so when he says him, he means God. Again, he uses &#8220;world&#8221; for
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1429 man. For the angels knew him by their understanding, and the elements by their obeying him;
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1430 but <span style="font-weight: bold">the world, </span>i.e., man, who lives in the world, <span style="font-weight: bold">did not know him.</span></p>
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1431 <p>138 We attribute this lack of divine knowledge either to the nature of man or to his guilt. To
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1432 his nature, indeed, because although all the aforesaid aids were given to man to lead him to
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1433 the knowledge of God, human reason in itself lacks this knowledge. &#8220;Man beholds him from
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1434 afar&#8221; (Jb 36:25), and immediately after, &#8220;God is great beyond our knowledge.&#8221; But if some
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1435 have known him, this was not insofar as they were in the world, but above the world; and the
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1436 kind for whom the world was not worthy, because <span style="font-weight: bold">the world did not know him. </span>Hence if
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1437 they mentally perceived anything eternal, that was insofar as they were not of this world.</p>
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1438 <p>But if this lack is attributed to man&#8217;s guilt, then the phrase, <span style="font-weight: bold">the world did not know him, </span>is a
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1439 kind of reason why God was not known by man; in this sense <span style="font-weight: bold">world </span>is taken for inordinate
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1440 lovers of the world. It is as though it said, <span style="font-weight: bold">The world did not know him, </span>because they were
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1441 lovers of the world. For the love of the world, as Augustine says, is what chiefly withdraws us
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1442 from the knowledge of God, because &#8220;Love of the world makes one an enemy to God&#8221; (Jas
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1443 4:4); &#8220;The sensual man does not perceive the things that pertain to the Spirit of God&#8221; ( 1 Cor
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1444 2:14).</p>
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1445 <p>139 From this we call answer the question of the Gentiles who futilely ask this: If it is only
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1446 recently that the Son of God is set before the world as the Savior of men, does it not seem that
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1447 before that time he scorned human nature? We should say to them that he did not scorn the
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1448 world but was always in the world, and on his part is knowable by men; but it was due to their
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1449 own fault that some have not known him, because they were lovers of the world.</p>
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1450 <p>140 We should also note that the Evangelist speaks of the incarnation of the Word to show
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1451 that the incarnate Word and that which &#8220;was in the beginning with God,&#8221; and God, are the
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1452 same. He repeats what he had said of him earlier. For above he had said he [the Word] &#8220;was
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1453 the light of men&#8221;; here he says he was <span style="font-weight: bold">the true light. </span>Above, he said that &#8220;all things were
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1454 made through him&#8221;; here he says that through him the world was made. Earlier he had said,
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1455 &#8220;without him nothing was made,&#8221; i.e., according to one explanation, he conserves all things;
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1456 here he says, he was in the world, creating and conserving the world and all things. There he
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1457 had said, &#8220;the darkness did not overcome it&#8221;; here he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">the world did not know him.
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1458 </span>And so, all he says after he was the <span style="font-weight: bold">true light, </span>is an explanation of what he had said before.</p>
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1459 <p>141 We can gather three reasons from the above why God willed to become incarnate. One is
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1460 because of the perversity of human nature which, because of its own malice, had been
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1461 darkened by vices and the obscurity of its own ignorance. And so he said before, the darkness
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1462 did not overcome it. Therefore, God came in the flesh so that the darkness might apprehend
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1463 the light, i.e., obtain a knowledge of it. &#8220;The people who walked in darkness saw a great
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1464 light&#8221; (Is 9:2).</p>
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1465 <p>The second reason is that the testimony of the prophets was not enough. For the prophets
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1466 came and John had come; but they were not able to give sufficient enlightenment, because <span style="font-weight: bold">he
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1467 was not the light. </span>And so, after the prophecies of the prophets and the coming of John, it was
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1468 necessary that the light itself come and give the world a knowledge of itself. And this is what
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1469 the Apostle says: &#8220;In past times, God spoke in many ways and degrees to our fathers through
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1470 the prophets; in these days he has spoken to us in his Son&#8221; as we find in Hebrews (1:1). &#8220;We
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1471 have the prophetic message, to which you do well to give attention, until the day dawns&#8221; (2 Pt
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1472 1:19).</p>
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1473 <p>The third reason is because of the shortcomings of creatures. For creatures were not sufficient
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1474 to lead to a knowledge of the Creator; hence he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">through him the world was made, and
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1475 the world did not know him. </span>Thus it was necessary that the Creator himself come into the
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1476 world in the flesh, and be known through himself. And this is what the Apostle says: &#8220;Since
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1477 in the wisdom of God the world did not know God by its wisdom, it pleased God to save
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1478 those who believe by the foolishness of our preaching&#8221; (1 Cor 1:21).</p>
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1479 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in">&#160;</p>
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1480 <CENTER><p style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 0.125in"><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE 6</span></p>
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1481 <p>11 He came unto his own, and his own did not receive him;<BR>
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1482 12 but whoever received him, he gave them power to become<BR>
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1483 the sons of God, to all who believe in his name,<BR>
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1484 13 who are born not from blood, nor from the desires of the flesh,<BR>
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1485 nor from man&#8217;s willing it, but from God.</CENTER>
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1486 <p>142 Having given the necessity for the incarnation of the Word, the Evangelist then shows the
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1487 advantage men gained from that incarnation. First, he shows the coming of the light (v 11);
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1488 secondly, its reception by men (v 11b); thirdly, the fruit brought by the coming of the light (v
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1489 12).</p>
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1490 <p>143 He shows that the light which was present in the world and evident, i.e., disclosed by its
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1491 effect, was nevertheless not known by the world. Hence, he came unto his own, in order to be
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1492 known. The Evangelist says, <span style="font-weight: bold">unto his own, </span>i.e., to things that were his own, which he had
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1493 made. And he says this so that you do not think that when he says, he came, he means a local
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1494 motion in the sense that he came as though ceasing to be where he previously was and newly
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1495 beginning to be where he formerly had not been. He came where he already was. &#8220;I came
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1496 forth from the Father, and have come into the world,&#8221; as said below ( 16:2 8).</p>
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1497 <p>He came, I say, unto his own, i.e., to Judea, according to some, because it was in a special
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1498 way his own. &#8220;In Judea God is known&#8221; (Ps 75:1); &#8220;The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the
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1499 house of Israel&#8221; (Is 5:7). But it is better to say, unto his own, i.e., into the world created by
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1500 him. &#8220;The earth is the Lord&#8217;s&#8221; (Ps 23:1).</p>
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1501 <p>144 But if he was previously in the world, how could he come into the world? I answer that
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1502 &#8220;coming to some place&#8221; is understood in two ways. First, that someone comes where he
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1503 absolutely had not been before. Or, secondly, that someone begins to be in a new way where
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1504 he was before. For example, a king, who up to a certain time was in a city of his kingdom by
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1505 his power and later visits it in person, is said to have come where he previously was: for he
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1506 comes by his substance where previously he was present only by his power. It was in this way
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1507 that the Son of God came into the world and yet was in the world. For he was there, indeed,
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1508 by his essence, power and presence, but he came by assuming flesh. He was there invisibly,
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1509 and he came in order to be visible.</p>
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1510 <p>145 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">and his own did not receive him, </span>we have the reception given him
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1511 by men, who reacted in different ways. For some did receive him, but these were not his own;
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1512 hence he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">his own did not receive him. </span>&#8220;His own&#8221; are men, because they were formed
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1513 by him. &#8220;The Lord God formed man&#8221; (Gn 2:7); &#8220;Know that the Lord is God: he made us&#8221; (Ps
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1514 99:3). And he made them to his own image, &#8220;Let us make man to our image&#8221; (Gn 1:26).</p>
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1515 <p>But it is better to say, <span style="font-weight: bold">his own, </span>i.e., the Jews, <span style="font-weight: bold">did not receive him, </span>through faith by believing,
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1516 and by showing honor to him. &#8220;I have come in the name of my Father, and you do not receive
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1517 me&#8221; (below 5:43), and &#8220;I honor my Father and you have dishonored me&#8221; (below 8:49). Now
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1518 the Jews are his own because they were chosen by him to be his special people. &#8220;The Lord
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1519 chose you to be his special people&#8221; (Dt 26:18). They are his own because related according to
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1520 the flesh, &#8220;from whom is Christ, according to the flesh,&#8221; as said in Romans (9:3). They are
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1521 also his own because enriched by his kindness, &#8220;I have reared and brought up sons&#8221; (Is 1:2).
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1522 But although the Jews were his own, they did not receive him.</p>
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1523 <p>146 However, there were not lacking those who did receive him. Hence he adds, <span style="font-weight: bold">but
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1524 whoever received him. </span>The Evangelist uses this manner of speaking, saying, but whoever, to
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1525 indicate that the deliverance would be more extensive than the promise, which had been made
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1526 only to his own, i.e., to the Jews. &#8220;The Lord is our law giver, the Lord is our king; he will
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1527 save us&#8221; (Is 33:22). But this deliverance was not only for his own, but for <span style="font-weight: bold">whoever received
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1528 him, </span>i.e., whoever believe in him. &#8220;For I say that Christ was a minister to the circumcised, for
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1529 the sake of God&#8217;s truth, to confirm the promises made to the fathers&#8221; (Rom 15:8). The
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1530 Gentiles, however, [are delivered] by his mercy, because they were received through his
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1531 mercy.</p>
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1532 <p>147 He says, whoever, to show that God&#8217;s grace is given without distinction to all who
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1533 receive Christ. &#8220;The grace of the Holy Spirit has been poured out upon the Gentiles&#8221;(Acts
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1534 10:45). And not only to free men, but to slaves as well; not only to men, but to women also.
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1535 &#8220;In Christ Jesus there is neither male nor female, Jew or Greek, the circumcised or
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1536 uncircumcised&#8221; (Gal 3:28).</p>
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1537 <p>148 Then when he says, he gave them power to become the sons of God, we have the fruit of
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1538 his coming. First, he mentions the grandeur of the fruit, for he gave them power. Secondly, he
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1539 shows to whom it is given, <span style="font-weight: bold">to all who believe. </span>Thirdly, he indicates the way it is given, <span style="font-weight: bold">not
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1540 from blood, </span>and so forth.</p>
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1541 <p>149 The fruit of the coming of the Son of God is great, because by it men are made sons of
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1542 God. &#8220;God sent his Son made from a woman ... so that we might receive our adoption as
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1543 sons&#8221; (Gal 4:5). And it was fitting that we, who. are sons of God by the fact that we are made
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1544 like the Son, should be reformed through the Son.</p>
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1545 <p>150 So he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">he gave them power to become the sons of God. </span>To understand this we
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1546 should remark that men become sons of God by being made like God. Hence men are sons of
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1547 God according to a threefold likeness to God. First, by the infusion of grace; hence anyone
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1548 having sanctifying grace is made a son of God. &#8220;You did not receive the spirit of slavery ...
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1549 but the spirit of adoption as sons,&#8221; as said in Romans (8:15). &#8220;Because you are sons of God,
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1550 God sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts&#8221; (Gal 4:6).</p>
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1551 <p>Secondly, we are like God by the perfection of our actions, because one who acts justly is a
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1552 son: &#8220;Love your enemies ... so that you may be the children of your Father&#8221; (Mt 5:44).</p>
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1553 <p>Thirdly, we are made like God by the attainment of glory. The glory of the soul by the light of
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1554 glory, &#8220;When he appears we shall be like him&#8221; (1 Jn 3:2); and the glory of the body, &#8220;He will
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1555 reform our lowly body&#8221; (Phil 3:21). Of these two it is said in Romans (8:23), &#8220;We are waiting
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1556 for our adoption as sons of God.&#8221;</p>
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1557 <p>151 If we take the power to become the sons of God as referring to the perfection of our
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1558 actions and the attainment of glory, the statement offers no difficulty. For then when he says,
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1559 he gave them power, he is referring to the power of grace; and when a man possesses this, he
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1560 can perform works of perfection and attain glory, since &#8220;The grace of God is eternal life&#8221;
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1561 (Rom 6:23). According to this way we have, he gave them, to those who received him, power,
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1562 i.e., the infusion of grace, to become the sons of God, by acting well and acquiring glory.</p>
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1563 <p>152 But if this statement refers to the infusion of grace, then his saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">he gave them power,
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1564 </span>gives rise to a difficulty. And this is because it is not in our power to be made sons of God,
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1565 since it is not in our power to possess grace. We can understand, he gave them power, as a
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1566 power of nature; but this does not seem to be true since the infusion of grace is above our
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1567 nature. Or we can understand it as the power of grace, and then to have grace is to have power
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1568 to <span style="font-weight: bold">become the sons of God. </span>And in this sense he did not give them power to become sons of
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1569 God, but to be sons of God.</p>
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1570 <p>153 The answer to this is that when grace is given to an adult, his justification requires an act
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1571 of consent by a movement of his free will. So, because it is in the power of men to consent
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1572 and not to consent, <span style="font-weight: bold">he gave them power. </span>However, he gives this power of accepting grace in
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1573 two ways: by preparing it, and by offering it to him. For just as one who writes a book and
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1574 offers it to a man to read is said to give the power to read it, so Christ, through whom grace
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1575 was produced (as will be said below), and who &#8220;accomplished salvation on the earth&#8221; (Ps
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1576 73:12), <span style="font-weight: bold">gave us power to become the sons of God </span>by offering grace.</p>
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1577 <p>154 Yet this is not sufficient since even free will, if it is to be moved to receive grace, needs
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1578 the help of divine grace, not indeed habitual grace, but movent grace. For this reason,
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1579 secondly, he gives power by moving the free will of man to consent to the reception of grace,
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1580 as in &#8220;Convert us to yourself, 0 Lord,&#8221; by moving our will to your love, &#8220;and we will be
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1581 converted&#8221; (Lam 5:21). And in this sense we speak of an interior call, of which it is said,
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1582 &#8220;Those whom he called,&#8221; by inwardly moving the will to consent to grace, &#8220;he justified,&#8221; by
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1583 infusing grace (Rom 8:3).</p>
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1584 <p>155 Since by this grace man has the power of maintaining himself in the divine sonship, one
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1585 may read these words in another way. He gave them, i.e., those who receive him, <span style="font-weight: bold">power to
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1586 become the sons of God, </span>i.e., the grace by which they are able to be maintained in the divine
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1587 sonship. &#8220;Everyone who is born from God does not sin, but the grace of God,&#8221; through which
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1588 we are reborn as children of God, &#8220;preserves him&#8221; (1 Jn 5:18).</p>
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1589 <p>156 Thus, <span style="font-weight: bold">he gave them power to become the sons of God, </span>through sanctifying grace,
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1590 through the perfection of their actions, and through the attainment of glory; and he did this by
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1591 preparing this grace, moving their wills, and preserving this grace.</p>
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1592 <p>157 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">to all who believe in his name, </span>he shows those on whom the fruit of
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1593 his coming is conferred. We can understand this in two ways: either as explaining what was
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1594 said before, or as qualifying it. We can regard it as explaining as the Evangelist had said,
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1595 whoever received him, and now to show what it is to receive him, he adds by way of
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1596 explanation, <span style="font-weight: bold">who believe in his name. </span>It is as though he were saying: To receive him is to
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1597 believe in him, because it is through faith that Christ dwells in your hearts, as in &#8220;that Christ
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1598 may dwell in your hearts through faith&#8221; (Eph 3:17). Therefore, they <span style="font-weight: bold">received him, who
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1599 believe in his name.</span></p>
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1600 <p>158 Origen regards this as a qualifying statement, in his homily, &#8220;The spiritual voice.&#8221; In this
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1601 sense, many receive Christ, declaring that they are Christians, but they are not sons of God,
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1602 because they do not truly believe in his name; for they propose false dogmas about Christ by
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1603 taking away something from his divinity or humanity, as in &#8220;Every spirit that denies Christ is
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1604 not from God&#8221; (1 Jn 4:3). And so the Evangelist says, as though contracting his meaning, <span style="font-weight: bold">he
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1605 gave them, </span>i.e., those who receive him by faith, <span style="font-weight: bold">power to become the sons of God, </span>to those,
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1606 however, <span style="font-weight: bold">who believe in his name, </span>i.e., who keep the name of Christ whole, in such a way as
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1607 not to lessen anything of the divinity or humanity of Christ.</p>
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1608 <p>159 We can also refer this to formed faith, in the sense that to all, that is, <span style="font-weight: bold">he gave power to
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1609 become the sons of God, who believe in his name, </span>i.e., those who do the works of salvation
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1610 through a faith formed by charity. For those who have only an unformed faith do not believe
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1611 in his name because they do not work unto salvation.</p>
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1612 <p>However, the first exposition, which is taken as explaining what preceded, is better.</p>
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1613 <p>160 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">who are born not from blood, </span>he shows the way in which so great a
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1614 fruit is conferred on men. For since he had said that the fruit of the light&#8217;s coming is the
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1615 power given to men to become the sons of God, then to forestall the supposition that they are
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1616 born through a material generation he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">not from blood. </span>And although the word &#8220;blood&#8221;
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1617 (<i>sanguis</i>)<i> </i>has no plural in Latin, but does in Greek, the translator [from Greek into Latin]
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1618 ignored a rule of grammar in order to teach the truth more perfectly. So he does not say,
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1619 &#8220;from blood,&#8221; in the Latin manner, but &#8220;from bloods&#8221; (<i>ex sanguinibus</i>)<i>. </i>This indicates
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1620 whatever is generated from blood, serving as the matter in carnal generation. According to the
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1621 Philosopher [<i>On the Generation of Animals, 1, </i>c 18, 726a26-8], &#8220;semen is a residue derived
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1622 from useful nourishment in its final form.&#8221; So &#8220;blood&#8221; indicates either the seed of the male or
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1623 the menses of the female.</p>
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1624 <p>The cause moving to the carnal act is the will of those coming together, the man and the
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1625 woman. For although the act of the generative power as such is not subject to the will, the
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1626 preliminaries to it are subject to the will. So he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">nor from the desires of the flesh,
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1627 </span>referring to the woman; <span style="font-weight: bold">nor from man&#8217;s willing it, </span>as from an efficient cause; <span style="font-weight: bold">but from
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1628 God. </span>It is as though he were saying: They became sons of God, not carnally, but spiritually.</p>
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1629 <p>According to Augustine, &#8220;flesh&#8221; is taken here for the woman, because as the flesh obeys the
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1630 spirit, so woman should obey man. Adam (Gn 2:23) said of the woman, &#8220;This, at last, is bone
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1631 of my bones.&#8221; And note, according to Augustine, that just as the possessions of a household
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1632 are wasted away if the woman rules and the man is subject, so a man is wasted away when the
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1633 flesh rules the spirit. For this reason the Apostle says, &#8220;We are not debtors to the flesh, so that
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1634 we should live according to the flesh&#8221; (Rom 8:12). Concerning the manner of this carnal
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1635 generation, we read, &#8220;In the womb of my mother I was molded into flesh&#8221; (Wis 7:1).</p>
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1636 <p>161 Or, we might say that the moving force to carnal generation is twofold: the intellectual
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1637 appetite on the one hand, that is, the will; and on the other hand, the sense appetite, which is
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1638 concupiscence. So, to indicate the material cause he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">not from blood. </span>To indicate the
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1639 efficient cause, in respect to concupiscence, he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">nor from the desires of the flesh</span> [<i>ex
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1640 voluntate carnis</i>, literally, &#8220;from the will of the flesh&#8221;], even though the concupiscence of the
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1641 flesh is improperly called a &#8220;will&#8221; in the sense of Galatians (5:17), &#8220;The flesh lusts against the
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1642 spirit.&#8221; Finally, to indicate the intellectual appetite he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">nor from man&#8217;s willing it. </span>So,
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1643 the generation of the sons of God is not carnal but spiritual, because they were born <span style="font-weight: bold">from
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1644 God. </span>&#8220;Every one who is born from God conquers the world&#8221; (1 Jn 5:4).</p>
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1645 <p>162 Note, however, that this preposition <i>de </i>(&#8220;of,&#8221; or &#8220;from&#8221;), always signifies a material
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1646 cause as well as an efficient and even a consubstantial cause. Thus we say a blacksmith
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1647 makes a knife <i>de ferro </i>(&#8220;from&#8221; iron), and a father generates his son <i>de seipso </i>(&#8220;from&#8221;
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1648 himself), because something of his concurs somehow in begetting. But the preposition <i>a
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1649 </i>(&#8220;by&#8221;) always signifies a moving cause. The preposition <i>ex </i>(&#8220;from,&#8221; or &#8220;by&#8221;)&#8212;[in the sense
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1650 of &#8220;out of&#8221; or &#8220;by reason of&#8221;]&#8212;is taken as something common, since it implies an efficient as
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1651 well as a material cause, although not a consubstantial cause.</p>
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1652 <p>Consequently, since only the Son of God, who is the Word, is &#8220;<i>of</i>&#8221;<i> </i>(<i>de</i>)<i> </i>the substance of the
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1653 Father and indeed is one substance with the Father, while the saints, who are adopted sons,
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1654 are not of his substance, the Evangelist uses the preposition <i>ex, </i>saying of others that they are
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1655 born <span style="font-weight: bold">from God </span>(<i>ex Deo</i>)<i>, </i>but of the natural Son, he says that he is born of the Father (<i>de
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1656 Patre</i>)<i>.</i></p>
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1657 <p>163 Note also that in the light of our last exposition of carnal generation, we can discern the
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1658 difference between carnal and spiritual generation. For since the former is from blood, it is
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1659 carnal; but the latter, because it is not from blood, is spiritual. &#8220;What is born from flesh is
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1660 itself flesh; and what is born from Spirit is itself spirit&#8221; (below 3:6). Again, because material
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1661 generation is from the desires of the flesh, i.e., from concupiscence, it is unclean and begets
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1662 children who are sinners: &#8220;We were by nature children of wrath&#8221; as it says in Ephesians (2:3).
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1663 Again, because the former is <span style="font-weight: bold">from man&#8217;s willing it, </span>that is, from man, it makes children of
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1664 men; but the latter, because it is from God, makes children of God.</p>
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1665 <p>164 But if he intends to refer his statement, <span style="font-weight: bold">he gave them power, </span>to baptism, in virtue of
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1666 which we are reborn as sons of God, we can detect in his words the order of baptism: that is,
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1667 the first thing required is faith, as shown in the case of catechumens, who must first be
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1668 instructed about the faith so that they may believe in his name; then through baptism they are
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1669 reborn, not carnally froin blood, but spiritually from God.</p>
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1670 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in">&#160;</p>
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1671 <CENTER><p><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE 7</span></p>
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1672 <p>14a And the Word was made flesh, and made his dwelling among us.</CENTER>
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1673 <p>165 Having explained the necessity for the Word&#8217;s coming in the flesh as well as the benefits
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1674 this conferred, the Evangelist now shows the way he came (v 14a). He thus resumes the
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1675 thread with his earlier statement, <span style="font-weight: bold">he came unto his own. </span>As if to say: The Word of God came
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1676 unto his own. But lest anyone suppose that he came by changing his location, he shows the
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1677 manner in which he came, that is, by an incarnation. For he came in the manner in which he
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1678 was sent by the Father, by whom he was sent, i.e., he was made flesh. &#8220;God sent his Son
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1679 made from a woman&#8221; (Gal 4:4). And Augustine says about this that &#8220;He was sent in the
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1680 manner in which he was made.&#8221;</p>
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1681 <p>According to Chrysostom, however, he is here continuing the earlier statement, <span style="font-weight: bold">he gave them
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1682 power to become the sons of God. </span>As if to say: If you wonder how he was able to give this
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1683 power to men, i.e., that they become sons of God, the Evangelist answers: because <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word
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1684 was made flesh, </span>he made it possible for us to be made sons of God. &#8220;God sent his Son ... so
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1685 that we might receive our adoption as sons&#8221; (Gal 4:5).</p>
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1686 <p>But according to Augustine, he is continuing the earlier statement, <span style="font-weight: bold">who are born from God.
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1687 </span>For since it seemed a hard saying that men be born from God, then, as though arguing in
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1688 support of this and to produce belief in the existence of the Word, the Evangelist adds
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1689 something which seems less seemly, namely, that <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word was made flesh. </span>As if to say: Do
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1690 not wonder if men are born from God, because <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word was made flesh, </span>i.e., God became
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1691 man.</p>
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1692 <p>166 It should be noted that this statement, <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word was made flesh, </span>has been
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1693 misinterpreted by some and made the occasion of error. For certain ones have presumed that
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1694 the Word became flesh in the sense that he or something of him was turned into flesh, as
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1695 when flour is made into bread, and air becomes fire. One of these was Eutyches, who
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1696 postulated a mixture of natures in Christ, saying that in him the nature of God and of man was
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1697 the same. We can clearly see that this is false because, as was said above, &#8220;the Word was
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1698 God.&#8221; Now God is immutable, as is said, &#8220;I am the Lord, and I do not change&#8221; (Mal 3:6).
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1699 Hence in no way can it be said that he was turned into another nature. Therefore, one must
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1700 say in opposition to <span style="font-weight: bold">Eutyches, the Word was made flesh, </span>i.e., the Word assumed flesh, but
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1701 not in the sense that the Word himself is that flesh. It is as if we were to say: &#8220;The man
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1702 became white,&#8221; not that he is that whiteness, but that he asstinled whiteness.</p>
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1703 <p>167 There were others who, although they believed that the Word was not changed into flesh
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1704 but assumed it, nevertheless said that he assumed flesh without a soul; for if he had assumed
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1705 flesh with a soul, the Evangelist would have said, &#8220;the Word was made flesh with a soul.&#8221;
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1706 This was the error of Arius, who said that there was no soul in Christ, but that the Word of
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1707 God was there in place of a soul.</p>
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1708 <p>The falsity of this opinion is obvious, both because it is in conflict with Sacred Scripture,
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1709 which often mentions the soul of Christ, as: &#8220;My soul is sad, even to the point of death&#8221; (Mt
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1710 26:38), and because certain affections of the soul are observed in Christ which can not
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1711 possibly exist in the Word of God or in flesh alone: &#8220;He began to be sorrowful and troubled&#8221;
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1712 (Mt 26:37). Also, God cannot be the form of a body. Nor can an angel be united to a body as
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1713 its form, since an angel, according to its very nature, is separated from body, whereas a soul is
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1714 united to a body as its form. Consequently, the Word of God cannot be the form of a body.</p>
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1715 <p>Furthermore, it is plain that flesh does not acquire the specific nature of flesh except through
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1716 its soul. This is shown by the fact that when the soul has withdrawn from the body of a man
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1717 or a cow, the flesh of the man or the cow is called flesh only in an equivocal sense. So if the
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1718 Word did not assume flesh with a soul, it is obvious that he did not assume flesh. <span style="font-weight: bold">But the
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1719 Word was made flesh; </span>therefore, he assumed flesh with a soul.</p>
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1720 <p>168 And there were others who, influenced by this, said that the Word did indeed assume
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1721 flesh with a soul, but this soul was only a sensitive soul, not an intellectual one; the Word
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1722 took the place of the intellectual soul in Christ&#8217;s body. This was the error of Apollinaris. He
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1723 followed Arius for a time, but later in the face of the [scriptural] authorities cited above, was
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1724 forced to admit a soul in Christ which could be the subject of these emotions. But he said this
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1725 soul lacked reason and intellect, and that in the man Christ their place was taken by the Word.</p>
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1726 <p>This too is obviously false, because it conflicts with the authority of Sacred Scripture in
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1727 which certain things are said of Christ that cannot be found in his divinity, nor in a sensitive
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1728 soul, nor in flesh alone; for example, that Christ marvelled, as in Matthew (8:10). For to
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1729 marvel or wonder is a state which arises in a rational and intellectual soul when a desire arises
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1730 to know the hidden cause of an observed effect. Therefore, just as sadness compels one to
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1731 place a sensitive element in the soul of Christ, against Arius, so marvelling or amazement
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1732 forces one to admit, against Apollinaris, an intellectual element in Christ.</p>
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1733 <p>The same conclusion can be reached by reason. For as there is no flesh without a soul, so
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1734 there is no human flesh without a human soul, which is an intellectual soul. So if the Word
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1735 assumed flesh which was animated with a merely sensitive soul to the exclusion of a rational
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1736 soul, he did not assume human flesh; consequently, one could not say: &#8220;God became man.&#8221;</p>
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1737 <p>Besides, the Word assumed human nature in order to repair it. Therefore, he repaired what he
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1738 assumed. But if he did not assume a rational soul, he would not have repaired it.
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1739 Consequently, no fruit would have accrued to us from the incarnation of the Word; and this is
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1740 false. <span style="font-weight: bold">Therefore, the Word was made flesh, </span>i.e., assumed flesh which was animated by a
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1741 rational soul.</p>
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1742 <p>169 But you may say: If the Word did assume flesh with such a soul, why did the Evangelist
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1743 not mention &#8220;rational soul,&#8221; instead of only &#8220;flesh,&#8221; saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word was made flesh? </span>I
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1744 answer that the Evangelist had four reasons for doing this.</p>
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1745 <p>First, to show the truth of the incarnation against the Manichaeans, who said that the Word
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1746 did not assume true flesh, but only imaginary flesh, since it would not have been becoming
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1747 for the Word of the good God to assume flesh, which they regarded as a creature of the devil.
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1748 And so to exclude this the Evangelist made special mention of the flesh, just as Christ
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1749 showed the truth of the resurrection to the disciples when they took him for a spirit, saying:
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1750 &#8220;A spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see that I have&#8221; (Lk 24:39).</p>
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1751 <p>Secondly, to show the greatness of God&#8217;s kindness to us. For it is evident that the rational
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1752 soul has a greater conformity to God than does flesh, and that it would have been a great sign
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1753 of compassion if the Word had assumed a human soul, as being conformed to himself. But to
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1754 assume flesh too, which is something far removed from the simplicity of his nature, was a
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1755 sign of a much greater, indeed, of an incomprehensible compassion. As the Apostle says (1
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1756 Tim 3:16): &#8220;Obviously great is the mystery of godliness which appeared in the flesh.&#8221; And so
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1757 to indicate this, the Evangelist mentioned only flesh.</p>
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1758 <p>Thirdly, to demonstrate the truth and uniqueness of the union in Christ. For God is indeed
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1759 united to other holy men, but only with respect to their soul; so it is said: &#8220;She [wisdom]
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1760 passes into holy souls, making them friends of God and prophets&#8221; (Wis 7:27). But that the
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1761 Word of God is united to flesh is unique to Christ, according to the Psalmist: &#8220;I am alone
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1762 until I pass&#8221; (Ps 140:10). &#8220;Gold cannot equal it&#8221; (Jb 28:17). So the Evangelist, wishing to
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1763 show the uniqueness of the union in Christ, mentioned only the flesh, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word was
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1764 made flesh.</span></p>
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1765 <p>Fourthly, to suggest its relevance to man&#8217;s restoration For man was weak because of the flesh.
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1766 And thus the Evangelist, wishing to suggest that the coming of&#8217; the Word was suited to the
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1767 task of our restoration, made special mention of the flesh in order to show that the weak flesh
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1768 was repaired by the flesh of the Word. And this is what the Apostle says: &#8220;The law was
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1769 powerless because it was weakened by the flesh. God, sending his Son in the likeness of
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1770 sinful flesh and in reparation for sin, condemned sin in his flesh&#8221; (Rom 83).</p>
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1771 <p>170 A question arises as to why the Evangelist did not say that the Word assumed flesh, but
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1772 rather that <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word was made flesh. </span>I answer that he did this to exclude the error of
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1773 Nestorius. He said that in Christ there were two persons and two sons, [one being the Son of
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1774 God] the other being the son of the Virgin. Thus he did not admit that the Blessed Virgin was
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1775 the mother of God.</p>
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1776 <p>But if this were so, it would mean that God did not become man, for one particular
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1777 <i>suppositum </i>cannot be predicated of another. Accordingly, if the person or <i>suppositum </i>of the
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1778 Word is different than the person or <i>suppositum </i>of the man, in Christ, then what the
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1779 Evangelist says is not true, namely, <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word was made flesh. </span>For a thing is made or
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1780 becomes something in order to be it; if, then, the Word is not man, it could not be said that
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1781 the Word became man. And so the Evangelist expressly said was made, and not &#8220;assumed,&#8221;
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1782 to show that the union of the Word to flesh is not such as was the &#8220;lifting up&#8221; of the prophets,
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1783 who were not &#8220;taken up&#8221; into a unity of person, but for the prophetic act. This union is such
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1784 as would truly make God man and man God, i.e., that God would be man.</p>
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1785 <p>171 There were some, too, who, misunderstanding the manner of the incarnation, did indeed
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1786 admit that the aforesaid assumption was terminated at a oneness of person, acknowledging in
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1787 God one person of God and man. But they said that in him there were two hypostases, i.e.,
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1788 two <i>supposita; </i>one of a human nature, created and non-eternal, &#8216;and the other of the divine
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1789 nature, non-created and eternal. This is the first opinion presented in the <i>Sentences </i>(III, d6).</p>
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1790 <p>According to this opinion the proposition, &#8220;God was made man and man was made God,&#8221; is
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1791 not true. Consequently, this opinion was condemned as heretical by the Fifth Council, where
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1792 it is said: &#8220;If anyone shall assert one person and two hypostases in the Lord Jesus Christ, let
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1793 him be anathema.&#8221; And so the Evangelist, to exclude any assumption not terminated at a
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1794 oneness of person, says, was made.</p>
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1795 <p>172 If you ask how the Word is man, it must be said that he is man in the way that anyone is,
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1796 man, namely, as having human nature. Not that the Word is human nature itself, but he is a
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1797 divine suppo<i>situm </i>united to a human nature. The statement, <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word was made flesh, </span>does
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1798 not indicate any change in the Word, but only in the nature newly assumed into the oneness of
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1799 a divine person. <span style="font-weight: bold">And the Word was made flesh </span>through a union to flesh. Now a union is a
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1800 relation. And relations newly said of God with respect to creatures do not imply a change on
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1801 the side of God, but on the side of the creature relating in a new way to God.</p>
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1802 <p>173 Now follows, <span style="font-weight: bold">and made his dwelling among us. </span>This is distinguished in two ways from
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1803 what went before. The first consists in stating that above the Evangelist dealt with the
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1804 incarnation of the Word when he said, <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word was made flesh; </span>but now he touches on the
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1805 manner of the incarnation, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">and made his dwelling among us. </span>For according to
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1806 Chrysostom and Hilary, by the Evangelist saying <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word was made flesh, </span>someone might
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1807 think that he was converted into flesh and that there are not two distinct natures in Christ, but
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1808 only one nature compounded from the human and divine natures. And so the Evangelist,
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1809 excluding this, added, <span style="font-weight: bold">and made his dwelling among us, </span>i.e., in our nature, yet so as to
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1810 remain distinct in his own. For what is converted into something does not remain distinct in
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1811 its nature from that into which it is converted.</p>
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1812 <p>Furthermore, something which is not distinct from another does not dwell in it, because to
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1813 dwell implies a distinction between the dweller and that in which it dwells. But the Word
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1814 dwelt in our nature; therefore, he is distinct in nature from it. And so, inasmuch as human
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1815 nature was distinct from the nature of the Word in Christ, the former is called the dwelling
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1816 place and temple of the divinity, according to John (2:21): &#8220;But he spoke of the temple of his
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1817 body.&#8221;</p>
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1818 <p>174 Now although what is said here by these holy men is orthodox, care must be taken to
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1819 avoid the reproach which some receive for this. For the early doctors and saints were so intent
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1820 upon refuting the emerging errors concerning the faith that they seemed meanwhile to fall
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1821 into the opposite ones. For example, Augustine, speaking against the Manichaeans, who
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1822 destroyed the freedom of the will, disputed in such terms that he seemed to have fallen into
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1823 the heresy of Pelagius. Along these lines, John the Evangelist added, <span style="font-weight: bold">and made his dwelling
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1824 among us, </span>so that we would not think there was a mingling or transformation of natures in
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1825 Christ because he had said, <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word was made flesh.</span></p>
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1826 <p>Nestorius misunderstood this phrase, <span style="font-weight: bold">and made his dwelling among us, </span>and said that the
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1827 Son of God was united to man in such a way that there was not one person of God and of
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1828 man. For he held that the Word was united to human nature only by an indwelling through
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1829 grace. From this, however, it follows that the Son of God is not man.</p>
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1830 <p>175 To clarify this we should know that we can consider two things in Christ: his nature and
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1831 person. In Christ there is a distinction in nature, but not in person, which is one and the same
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1832 in the two natures, since the human nature in Christ was assumed into a oneness of person.
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1833 Therefore, the indwelling which the saints speak of must be referred to the nature, so as to
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1834 say, he <span style="font-weight: bold">made his dwelling among us, </span>i.e., the nature of the Word inhabited our nature; not
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1835 according to the hypostasis or person, which is the same for both natures in Christ.</p>
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1836 <p>176 The blasphemy of Nestorius is further refuted by the authority of Sacred Scripture. For
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1837 the Apostle calls the union of God and man an emptying, saying of the Son of God: &#8220;He,
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1838 being in the form of God ... emptied himself, taking the form of a servant&#8221; (Phil 2:6). Clearly,
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1839 God is not said to empty himself insofar as he dwells in the rational creature by grace,
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1840 because then the Father and the Holy Spirit would be emptying themselves, since they too are
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1841 said to dwell in man through grace: for Christ, speaking of himself and of the Father says,
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1842 &#8220;We will come to him and make our home with him&#8221; (below 14:23); and of the Holy Spirit
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1843 the Apostle says: &#8220;The Spirit of God dwells in us&#8221; (1 Cor 3:16).</p>
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1844 <p>Furthermore, if Christ was not God as to his person, he would have been most presumptuous
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1845 to say: &#8220;I and the Father are one&#8221; (below 10:30), and &#8220;Before Abraham came to be, I am,&#8221; as
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1846 is said below (8:58). Now &#8220;I&#8221; refers to the person of the speaker. And the one who was
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1847 speaking was a man, who, as one with the Father, existed before Abraham.</p>
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1848 <p>177 However, another connection [besides that given in 173] with what went before is
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1849 possible, by saying that above he dealt with the incarnation of the Word, but that now he is
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1850 treating the manner of life of the incarnate Word, saying, he <span style="font-weight: bold">made his dwelling among us,
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1851 </span>i.e., he lived on familiar terms with us apostles. Peter alludes to this when he says, &#8220;During all
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1852 the time that the Lord Jesus came and went among us&#8221; (Acts 1:21). &#8220;Afterwards, he was seen
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1853 on earth&#8221; (Bar 3:38).</p>
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1854 <p>178 The Evangelist added this for two reasons. First, to show the marvelous likeness of the
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1855 Word to men, among whom he lived in such a way as to seem one of them. For he not only
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1856 willed to be like men in nature, but also in living with them on close terms without sin, in
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1857 order to draw to himself men won over by the charm of his way of life.</p>
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1858 <p>Secondly, to show the truthfulness of his [the Evangelist&#8217;s] statements. For the Evangelist had
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1859 already said many great things about the Word, and was yet to mention more wonderful
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1860 things about him; and so that his testimony would be more credible he took as a proof of his
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1861 truthfulness the fact that he had lived with Christ, saying, he <span style="font-weight: bold">made his dwelling among us.
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1862 </span>As if to say: I can well bear witness to him, because I lived on close terms with him. &#8220;We tell
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1863 you ... what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes&#8221; (1 Jn 1:1); &#8220;God raised him up
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1864 on the third day, and granted that he be seen, not by all the people, but by witnesses
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1865 preordained by God,&#8221; that is, &#8220;to us who ate and drank with him&#8221; (Acts 10:40).</p>
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1866 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in">&#160;</p>
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1867 <CENTER><p><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE 8</span></p>
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1868 <p>l4b And we have seen his glory,<BR>
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1869 the glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father,<BR>
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1870 full of grace and truth.</CENTER>
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1871 <p>179 Having set forth the incarnation of the Word, the Evangelist then begins to give the
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1872 evidence for the incarnate Word. He does two things about this. First, he shows the ways in
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1873 which the incarnate Word was made known. Secondly, he clarifies each way, below (1:16).
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1874 Now the incarnate Word was made known to the apostles in two ways: first of all, they
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1875 obtained knowledge of him by what they saw; secondly, by what they heard of the testimony
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1876 of John the Baptist. So first, he states what they saw about the Word; secondly, what they
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1877 heard from John (v 15).</p>
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1878 <p>He states three things about the Word. First, the manifestation of his glory; hence he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">we
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1879 have seen his glory. </span>Secondly, the uniqueness of his glory, when he adds, as <span style="font-weight: bold">of the Only
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1880 Begotten. </span>Thirdly, the precise nature of this glory, because <span style="font-weight: bold">full of grace and truth.</span></p>
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1881 <p>180 <span style="font-weight: bold">And we have seen his glory, </span>can be connected in three ways with what went before.
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1882 First, it can be taken as an argument for his having said, <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word was made flesh. </span>As if to
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1883 say: I hold and know that the Word of God was incarnate because I and the other apostles
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1884 have seen his glory. &#8220;We know of what we speak, and we bear witness of what we see&#8221;
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1885 (below 3:11). &#8220;We tell you ... what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes&#8221; (1 Jn
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1886 1:1).</p>
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1887 <p>181 Secondly, according to Chrysostom, the connection is made by taking this statement as
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1888 expressing many benefits. As if to say: The incarnation of the Word not only conferred on us
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1889 the benefit of becoming sons of God, but also the good of seeing his glory. For dull and feeble
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1890 eyes cannot see the light of the sun; but they can see it when it shines in a cloud or on some
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1891 opaque body. Now before the incarnation of the Word, human minds were incapable of
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1892 seeing the divine light in itself, the light which enlightens every rational nature. And so, in
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1893 order that it might be more easily seen and contemplated by us, he covered it with the cloud
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1894 of our flesh: &#8220;They looked towards the desert, and saw the glory of the Lord in a cloud&#8221; (Ex
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1895 16:10), i.e., the Word of God in the flesh.</p>
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1896 <p>182 According to Augustine, however, the connection refers to the gift of grace. For the
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1897 failure of the spiritual eyes of men to contemplate the divine light is due not only to their
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1898 natural limitations but also to the defects incurred by sin: &#8220;Fire,&#8221; that is, of concupiscence,
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1899 &#8220;fell on them, and they did not see the sun,&#8221; of justice (Ps 57:9). Hence in order that the
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1900 divine light might be seen by us, he healed our eyes, making an eye salve of his flesh, so that
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1901 with the salve of his flesh the Word might heal our eyes, weakened by the concupiscence of
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1902 the flesh. And this is why just after saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word was made flesh, </span>he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">we have seen
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1903 his glory. </span>To indicate this the Lord made clay from his saliva and spread the clay upon the
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1904 eyes of the man born blind (below 9:6). For clay is from the earth, but saliva comes from the
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1905 head. Similarly, in the person of Christ, his human nature was assumed from the earth; but the
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1906 incarnate Word is from the head, i.e., from God the Father. So, when this clay was spread on
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1907 the eyes of men, <span style="font-weight: bold">we saw his glory.</span></p>
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1908 <p>183 This is the glory of the Word Moses longed to see, saying, &#8220;Show me your glory&#8221; (Ex
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1909 32:18). But he did not deserve to see it; indeed, he was answered by the Lord: &#8220;You shall see
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1910 my back&#8221; (Ex 33:23), i.e., shadows and figures. But the apostles saw his brightness: &#8220;All of
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1911 us, gazing on the Lord&#8217;s glory with unveiled faces, are being transformed from glory to glory
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1912 into his very image&#8221; (2 Cor 3:18). For Moses and the other prophets saw in an obscure
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1913 manner and in figures the glory of the Word that was to be manifested to the world at the end
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1914 of their times; hence the Apostle says: &#8220;Now we see through a mirror,,in an obscure manner,
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1915 but then face to face&#8221; in 1 Corinthians (13:12); and below (12:41), &#8220;Isaiah said this when he
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1916 saw his glory.&#8221; But the apostles saw the very brilliance of the Word through his bodily
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1917 presence: &#8220;All of us, gazing on the Lord&#8217;s glory,&#8221; and so forth (2 Cor 3:18); &#8220;Blessed are the
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1918 eyes which see what you see. For many kings and prophets desired to see what you see, and
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1919 did not see it&#8221; (Lk 10:23).</p>
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1920 <p>184 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">the glory as of the Only Begotten, </span>he shows the uniqueness of his
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1921 glory. For since it is written of certain men that they were in glory, as of Moses it says that
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1922 &#8220;his face shone&#8221; (Ex 34:29), or was &#8220;horned,&#8221; according to another text, someone might say
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1923 that from the fact that they saw him [Jesus] in glory, it should not be said that the Word of
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1924 God was made flesh. But the Evangelist excludes this when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">the glory as of the Only
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1925 Begotten of the Father. </span>As if to say: His glory is not like the glory of an angel, or of Moses,
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1926 or Elijah, or Elisha, or anything like that. but <span style="font-weight: bold">the glory as of the Only Begotten; </span>for as it is
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1927 said, &#8220;He [Jesus] was counted worthy of more glory than Moses&#8221; (Heb 3:3); &#8220;Who among the
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1928 sons of God is like God?&#8221; (Ps 88:7).</p>
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1929 <p>185 The word as, according to Gregory, is used to express the fact. But according to
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1930 Chrysostom, it expresses the manner of the fact: as if someone were to see a king approaching
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1931 in great glory and being asked by another to describe the king he saw, he could, if he wanted
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1932 to be brief, express the grandeur of his glory in one word, and say that he approached &#8220;as&#8221; a
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1933 king, i.e., as became a king. So too, here, the Evangelist, as though asked by someone to
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1934 describe the glory of the Word which he had seen, and being unable to fully express it, said
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1935 that it was &#8220;as&#8221; of the Only Begotten of the Father, i.e., such as became the Only Begotten of
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1936 God.</p>
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1937 <p>186 The uniqueness of the glory of the Word is brought out in four ways. First, in the
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1938 testimony which the Father gave to the Son. For John was one of the three who had seen
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1939 Christ transfigured on the mountain and heard the , voice of the Father saying: &#8220;This is my
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1940 beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased&#8221; (Mt 17:5). Of this glory it is said, &#8220;He received
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1941 honor and glory from God the Father ... &#8216;This is my beloved Son&#8217;&#8221; (2 Pt 1:17)</p>
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1942 <p>Secondly, it is brought out by the service of the angels. For prior to the incarnation of Christ,
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1943 men were subject to the angels. But after it, angels ministered, as subjects, to Christ. &#8220;Angels
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1944 came and ministered to him&#8221; (Mt 4:11).</p>
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1945 <p>Thirdly, it is brought out by the submission of nature. For all nature obeyed Christ and heeded
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1946 his slightest command, as something established by him, because &#8220;All things were made
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1947 through him&#8221; (above 1:3). This is something granted neither to angels nor to any creature, but
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1948 to the incarnate Word alone. And this is what we read, &#8220;What kind of man is this, for the
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1949 winds and the sea obey him?&#8221; (Mt 8:27).</p>
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1950 <p>Fourthly, we see it in the way he taught and acted. For Moses and the other prophets gave
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1951 commands to men and taught them not on their own authority, but on the authority of God.
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1952 So they said: &#8220;The Lord says this&#8221;; and &#8220;The Lord spoke to Moses.&#8221; But Christ speaks as the
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1953 Lord, and as one having power, i.e., by reason of his own power. Hence he says, &#8220;I say to
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1954 you&#8221; (Mt 5:22). This is the reason why, at the end of the Sermon on the Mountain, it is said
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1955 that he taught as one &#8220;having authority&#8221; (Mt 7:29). Furthermore, other holy men worked
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1956 miracles, but not by their own power. But Christ worked them by his own power. In these
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1957 ways, then, the glory of the Word is unique.</p>
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1958 <p>187 Note that sometimes in Scripture we call Christ the Only Begotten, as here, and below (1
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1959 :18): &#8220;it is the Only Begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, who has made him
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1960 known.&#8221; At other times we call him the First-born: &#8220;When he brings the Firstborn into the
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1961 world, he says, &#8216;Let all the angels of God adore him&#8217; &#8220; (Heb 1:6). The reason for this is that
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1962 just as it belongs to the whole Blessed Trinity to be God, so it belongs to the Word of God to
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1963 be God Begotten. Sometimes, too, he is called God according to what he is in himself; and in
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1964 this way he alone is uniquely God by his own essence. It is in this way that we say there is but
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1965 one God: &#8220;Hear, O Israel: the Lord your God is one&#8221; (Dt 6:4). At times, we even apply the
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1966 name of deity to others, insofar as a certain likeness of the divinity is given to men; in this
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1967 sense we speak of many gods: &#8220;Indeed, there are many gods and many lords&#8221; (1 Cor 8:5).</p>
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1968 <p>Along these lines, if we consider what is proper to the Son as Begotten, and consider the way
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1969 in which this sonship is attributed to him, that is, through nature, we say that he is the Only
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1970 Begotten of God: because, since he alone is naturally begotten by the Father, the Begotten of
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1971 the Father is one only. But if we consider the Son, insofar as sonship is conferred on others
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1972 through a likeness to him, then there are many sons of God through participation. And
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1973 because they are called sons of God by a likeness to him, he is called the First-born of all.
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1974 &#8220;Those whom he foreknew, he predestined to become conformed to the image of his Son, so
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1975 that he might be the First-born of many brothers&#8221; (Rom 8:29).</p>
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1976 <p>So, Christ is called the Only Begotten of God by nature; but he is called the First-born insofar
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1977 as from his natural sonship, by means of a certain likeness and participation, a sonship is
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1978 granted to many.</p>
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1979 <p>188 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">full of grace and truth, </span>he determines the glory of the Word. As if
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1980 to say: His glory is such that he is full of grace and divinity. Now these words can be applied
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1981 to Christ in three ways.</p>
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1982 <p>First, from the point of view of union. For grace is given to someone so that he might be
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1983 united to God through it. So he who is most perfectly united to God is full of grace. Now
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1984 some are joined to God by participating in a natural likeness: &#8220;Let us make man to our image
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1985 and likeness&#8221; (Gn 1:26). Some are joined by faith: &#8220;That Christ may dwell in your hearts
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1986 through faith&#8221; (Eph 3:17). And others are united by charity, because &#8220;He who abides in love
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1987 abides in God&#8221; (1 Jn 4:16). But all these ways are partial: because one is not perfectly united
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1988 to God by participating a natural likeness; nor is God seen as he is by faith; nor is he loved to
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1989 the extent that he is lovable by charity&#8212;for since he is the infinite Good, his lovableness is
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1990 infinite, and the love of no creature is able to love this infinitely. And so these unions are not
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1991 full.</p>
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1992 <p>But in Christ, in whom human nature is united to the divinity in the unity of a <i>suppositum</i>, we
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1993 find a full and perfect union with God. The reason for this is that this union was such that all
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1994 the acts not only of his divine but also of his human nature were acts of the <i>suppositum</i> [or
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1995 person]. So he was <span style="font-weight: bold">full of grace </span>insofar he did not receive any special gratuitous gift from
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1996 God, but that he should be God himself. &#8220;He gave him,&#8221; i.e., God the Father gave to the Son,
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1997 &#8220;a name which is above every name&#8221; (Phil 2:9). &#8220;He was foreordained to be the Son of God
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1998 in power&#8221; (Rom 1:4). He was also <span style="font-weight: bold">full of truth, </span>because the human nature in Christ attained
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1999 to the divine truth itself, that is, that this man should be the divine Truth itself. In other men
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2000 we find many participated truths, insofar as the First Truth gleams back into their minds
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2001 through many likenesses; but Christ is Truth itself. Thus it is said: &#8220;In whom all the treasures
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2002 of wisdom are hidden&#8221; (Col 2:3).</p>
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2003 <p>189 Secondly, these words can be applied in relation to the perfection of his soul. Then he is
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2004 said to be <span style="font-weight: bold">full of grace and truth </span>inasmuch as in his soul there was the fulness of all graces
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2005 without measure: &#8220;God does not bestow the Spirit in fractions,&#8221; as we read below (3:34). Yet
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2006 it was given in fractions to all rational creatures, both angels and men. For according to
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2007 Augustine, just as there is one sense common to all the parts of the body, namely, the sense of
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2008 touch, while all the senses are found in the head, so in Christ, who is the head of every
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2009 rational creature (and in a special way of the saints who are united to him by faith and
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2010 charity), all virtues and graces and gifts are found superabundantly; but in others, i.e., the
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2011 saints, we find participations of the graces and gifts, although there is a gift common to all the
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2012 saints, and that is charity. We read about this fulness of Christ&#8217;s grace: &#8220;There shall come
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2013 forth a shoot out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall spring up out of his root. And the
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2014 spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of
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2015 counsel and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and of piety&#8221; (Is 11:1).</p>
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2016 <p>Further, Christ was also <span style="font-weight: bold">full of truth </span>because his precious and h1essed soul knew every truth,
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2017 human and divine, from the instant of his conception. And so Peter said to him, &#8220;You know
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2018 all things&#8221; (below 21:17). And the Psalm (88:25) says: &#8220;My truth,&#8221; i.e., the knowledge of
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2019 every truth, &#8220;and my mercy,&#8221; i.e., the fulness of all graces, &#8220;shall be with him.&#8221;</p>
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2020 <p>190 In a third way these words can be explained in relation to his dignity as head, i.e.,
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2021 inasmuch as Christ is the head of the Church. In this way it is his prerogative to communicate
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2022 grace to others, both by producing virtue in the minds of men through the inpouring of grace
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2023 and by meriting, through his teaching and works and the sufferings of his death,
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2024 superabundant grace for an infinite number of worlds, if there were such. Therefore, he is <span style="font-weight: bold">full
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2025 of grace </span>insofar as he conferred perfect justice upon us. We could not acquire this perfect
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2026 justice through the law, which was infirm and could make no one just or bring anyone to
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2027 perfection. As we read: &#8220;The law was powerless because it was weakened by the flesh. God,
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2028 sending his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and in reparation for sin, condemned sin in his
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2029 flesh&#8221; (Rom 8:3).</p>
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2030 <p>Again, he was <span style="font-weight: bold">full of truth </span>insofar as he fulfilled the figures of the Old Law and the promises
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2031 made to the fathers. &#8220;Christ was a minister to the circumcised to confirm the promises made
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2032 to the fathers&#8221; (Rom 15:8); &#8220;All the promises of God are fulfilled in him&#8221; (2 Cor 1:20).</p>
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2033 <p>Further, he is said to be <span style="font-weight: bold">full of grace </span>because his teaching and manner of life were most
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2034 gracious. &#8220;Grace is poured out upon your lips&#8221; (Ps 44:3). And so it is said, &#8220;All the people
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2035 came to him early in the morning,&#8221; i.e., in the morning they were eager to come (Lk 21:38).
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2036 He was <span style="font-weight: bold">full of truth, </span>because he did not teach in enigmas and figures, nor gloss over the
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2037 vices of men, but preached the truth to all, openly and without deception. As it says below:
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2038 &#8220;Now you are speaking plainly&#8221; (16:29).</p>
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2039 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in">&#160;</p>
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2040 <CENTER><p><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE 9</span></p>
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2041 <p>15 John bore witness to him, and he cried out saying:<BR>
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2042 &#8220;This is the one of whom I said:<BR>
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2043 &#8216;He who comes after me, ranks ahead of me,<BR>
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2044 because he existed before me.&#8217;&#8221;</CENTER>
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2045 <p>191 Having given the evidence by which the Word was made known to the apostles by sight,
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2046 the Evangelist then presents the evidence by which the Word was made known to persons
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2047 other than the apostles by their hearing the testimony of John. He does three things about this.
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2048 First, the witness is presented. Secondly, his manner of testifying is indicated. Thirdly, his
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2049 testimony is given.</p>
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2050 <p>192 So he says: We indeed have seen his glory, the glory as of the Only Begotten of the
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2051 Father. But we are not believed, perhaps because we are held in suspicion. So let his witness
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2052 come forth, that is, John the Baptist, who bears witness to Christ. He is a faithful witness who
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2053 will not lie: &#8220;A faithful witness will not lie&#8221; (Prv 14:5), &#8220;You sent [messengers] to John, and
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2054 he bore witness to the truth&#8221; (below 5:33). John gives his testimony here and fulfills his office
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2055 with perseverance because he came as a witness. As Proverbs (12:19) says, &#8220;Truthful lips
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2056 endure forever.&#8221;</p>
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2057 <p>193 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">John bore witness to him, and he cried out, </span>he describes the way
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2058 he bore witness, that is, it was with a cry. So he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">he cried out, </span>i.e., freely without fear.
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2059 &#8220;Cry out in a loud voice.... Say to the cities of Judah: Here is your God&#8221; (Is 40:9). He cried
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2060 out ardently and with great fervor, because it is said, &#8220;His word burned like a torch&#8221; (Si 48:1);
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2061 &#8220;Seraphim cried one to another&#8221; (Is 6:3), which is expressive of a more interior eagerness of
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2062 spirit. The use of a cry shows that the statements of the witness are not made to a few in
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2063 figurative language or secretly, but that a truth is being declared openly and publicly, and told
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2064 not to a few but to many. &#8220;Cry out, and do not stop&#8221; (Is 58:1).</p>
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2065 <p>194 Then he adds his testimony. And he does two things. First, he shows that his testimony
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2066 was continuous. Secondly, he describes the person to whom he bore witness.</p>
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2067 <p>195 The testimony of the Baptist was continuous because he bore witness to him not only
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2068 once but many times, and even before Christ had come to him. And so he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">This is the
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2069 one of whom I </span>said, i.e., before I saw him in the flesh I bore witness to him. &#8220;And you, child,
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2070 shall be called the prophet of the Most High&#8221; (Lk 1:76). He pointed him out both as present
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2071 and when about to come. And his testimony is certain because he not only predicted that he
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2072 would come, but pointed him out when he was present, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">Look! There is the Lamb of
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2073 God. </span>This implies that Christ was physically present to John; for he had often come to John
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2074 before being baptized.</p>
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2075 <p>196 Then he describes the one to whom he bore witness, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">He who comes after me,
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2076 ranks ahead of me. </span>Here we should note that John does not at once preach to his disciples
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2077 that Christ is the Son of God, but he draws them little by little to higher things: first, by
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2078 preferring Christ to himself, even though John had such a great reputation and authority as to
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2079 be considered the Christ or one of the great prophets. Now he compares Christ to himself:
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2080 first, with regard to the order of their preaching; secondly, as to the order of dignity; and
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2081 thirdly, as to the time of their existence.</p>
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2082 <p>197 With respect to the order of their preaching, John preceded Christ as a servant precedes
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2083 his master, and as a soldier his king, or as the morning star the sun: &#8220;See, I am sending my
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2084 messenger, and he will prepare the way before me&#8221; (Mal 3:1 ). So, He comes after me, in
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2085 being known to men, through my preaching. Observe that <span style="font-weight: bold">comes</span> is in the present tense,
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2086 became in Greek the present participle is used.</p>
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2087 <p>Now John preceded Christ for two reasons. First, according to Chrysostom, because John was
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2088 a blood relation of Christ according to the flesh: &#8220;your relative, Elizabeth&#8221; (Lk 1.36).
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2089 Therefore, had he borne witness to Christ after knowing him, his testimony might have been
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2090 open to question; accordingly, John came preaching before he was acquainted with Christ, in
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2091 order that his testimony might have more force. Hence he says, &#8220;And I did not know him!
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2092 And yet it was to reveal him to Israel that I came baptizing with water&#8221; (below 1:31).</p>
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2093 <p>Secondly, John preceded Christ because in things that pass into act from potency, the
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2094 imperfect is naturally prior to the perfect; hence it is said in 1 Corinthians (15:46): &#8220;The
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2095 spiritual is not first, but the animal.&#8221; Accordingly, the perfect doctrine of Christ should have
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2096 been preceded by the less perfect teaching of John, which was in a certain manner midway
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2097 between the doctrine of the law and the prophets (which announced the coming of Christ
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2098 from afar), and the doctrine of Christ, which was clear and plainly made Christ known.</p>
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2099 <p>198 He [John] compares him to himself with respect to dignity when he says, he <span style="font-weight: bold">ranks ahead
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2100 of me </span>[<i>ante me factus est, </i>literally, he &#8220;was made before me&#8221;]. It should be noted that it is
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2101 from this text that the Arians took occasion for their error. For they said that &#8220;He who comes
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2102 after me,&#8221; is to be understood of Christ as to the flesh he assumed, but what follows, &#8220;was
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2103 made before me,&#8221; can only be understood of the Word of God, who existed before the flesh;
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2104 and for this reason Christ as the Word was made, and was not coeternal with the Father.</p>
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2105 <p>According to Chrysostom, however, this exposition is stupid, because if it were true, the
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2106 Baptist would not have said, he &#8220;was made before me, because he existed before me,&#8221; since
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2107 no one is unaware that if he was before him, he was made before him. He rather would have
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2108 said the opposite: &#8220;He was before me, because he was made before me.&#8221; And so, according to
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2109 Chrysostom, these words should be taken as referring to his [Christ&#8217;s] dignity, that is, he was
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2110 preferred to me and placed ahead of me. It is as though he said: Although Jesus came to
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2111 preach after me, he was made more worthy than I both in eminence of authority and in the
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2112 repute of men: &#8220;Gold will not be equal to it&#8221; (Jb 28:17). Or alternatively: he is preferred
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2113 <span style="font-weight: bold">ahead of me, </span>that is, before my eyes, as the Gloss says and as the Greek text reads. As if to
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2114 say: Before my eyes, i.e., in my sight, because he came into my view and was recognized.</p>
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2115 <p>199 He compares him to himself with respect to their duration, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">because he existed
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2116 before me. </span>As if to say: He was God from all eternity, I am a frail man of time. And
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2117 therefore, even though I came to preach ahead of him, yet it was fitting that he rank before me
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2118 in the reputation and opinion of men, because he preceded all things by his eternity: &#8220;Jesus
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2119 Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever&#8221; (Heb 13:8). &#8220;Before Abraham came to be, I
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2120 am,&#8221; as we read below (8:58).</p>
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2121 <p>If we understand this passage as saying that he &#8220;was made before me,&#8221; it can be explained as
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2122 referring to the order of time according to the flesh. For in the instant of his conception Christ
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2123 was perfect God and perfect man, having a rational soul perfected by the virtues, and a body
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2124 possessed of all its distinctive features, except that it lacked perfect size: &#8220;A woman shall
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2125 enclose a man,&#8221; i.e., a perfect man (Jer 31:22). Now it is evident that Christ was conceived as
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2126 a perfect man before John was born; consequently he says that he &#8220;was made before me,&#8221;
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2127 because he was a perfect man before I came forth from the womb.</p>
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2128 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in">&#160;</p>
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2129 <CENTER><p><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE10</span></p>
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2130 <p>16 Of his fullness we have all received&#8212;indeed, grace upon grace;<BR>
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2131 17 because, while the law was given through Moses,<BR>
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2132 grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ.</CENTER>
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2133 <p>200 He follows with, <span style="font-weight: bold">Of his fullness we have all received </span>words and those that follow to (v
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2134 19), &#8220;This is the testimony of John,&#8221; are taken in two ways. According to Origen, these are
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2135 the words of John the Baptist and are added by him to support what he had said previously. It
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2136 is as though he said: Truly, <span style="font-weight: bold">he existed before me, </span>because <span style="font-weight: bold">of his fullness, </span>i.e., of his grace,
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2137 not only I but all, including the prophets and patriarchs, <span style="font-weight: bold">have received, </span>because all had the
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2138 grace they possessed by faith in the incarnate Word. According to this explanation, John the
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2139 Baptist began weaving the story of the incarnation at, &#8220;John bore witness to him&#8221; (v 15).</p>
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2140 <p>But according to Augustine and Chrysostom, the words from &#8220;John bore witness to him&#8221; (v
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2141 15), are those of John the Evangelist. And they are connected with the previous words, &#8220;full
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2142 of grace and truth,&#8221; as though he were saying: Above, the Evangelist gave the evidence for
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2143 the Word which was learned through sight and by hearing, but here he explains each. First,
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2144 how he was made known to the apostles through sight, which was tantamount to receiving the
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2145 evidence from Christ. Secondly, how John bore witness to him, at &#8220;This is the testimony of
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2146 John&#8221; (v 19). As to the first he does two <span style="font-weight: bold">things. </span>First, he shows that Christ is the origin, as a
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2147 fountain, of every spiritual grace. Secondly, he shows that grace is dispensed to us through
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2148 him and from him.</p>
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2149 <p>201 He says first of all: We know from our own experience that we have seen him full of
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2150 grace and truth, because <span style="font-weight: bold">of his fullness we have all received. </span>Now one fullness is that of
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2151 sufficiency, by which one is able to perform acts that are meritorious and excellent, as in the
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2152 case of Stephen. Again, there is a fullness of superabundance, by which the Blessed Virgin
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2153 excels all the saints because of the eminence and abundance of her merits. Further, there is a
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2154 fullness of efficiency and overflow, which belongs only to the man Christ as the author of
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2155 grace. For although the Blessed Virgin superabounds her grace into us, it is never as authoress
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2156 of grace. But grace flowed over from her soul into her body: for through the grace of the Holy
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2157 Spirit, not only was the mind of the Virgin perfectly united to God by love, but her womb was
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2158 supernaturally impregnated by the Holy Spirit. And so after Gabriel said, &#8220;Hail, full of grace,&#8221;
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2159 he refers at once to the fullness of her womb, adding, &#8220;the Lord is with you&#8221; (Lk 1:28). And
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2160 so the Evangelist, in order to show this unique fullness of efficiency and overflow in Christ,
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2161 said, <span style="font-weight: bold">Of his fullness we have all received, </span>i.e., all the apostles and patriarchs and prophets
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2162 and just men who have existed, do now exist, and will exist, and even all the angels.</p>
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2163 <p>202 Note that the preposition <i>de </i>[of, from] sometimes signifies efficiency, i.e., an originative
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2164 cause, as when it is said that a ray is or proceeds &#8220;from&#8221; the sun. In this way it signifies the
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2165 efficiency of grace in Christ, i.e., authorship, because the fullness of grace in Christ is the
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2166 cause of all graces that are in intellectual creatures. &#8220;Come to me, all you who desire me, and
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2167 be filled with my fruits,&#8221; that is to say, share in the fullness of those fruits which come from
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2168 me (Si 24:26).</p>
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2169 <p>But sometimes this preposition <i>de </i>signifies consubstantiality, as when it is said that the Son is
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2170 &#8220;of&#8221; the Father [<i>de Patre</i>]<i>. </i>In this usage, the fullness of Christ is the Holy Spirit, who
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2171 proceeds from him, consubstantial with him in nature, in power and in majesty. For although
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2172 the habitual gifts in the soul of Christ are other than those in us, nevertheless it is one and the
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2173 same Holy Spirit who is in him and who fills all those to be sanctified. &#8220;One and the same
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2174 Spirit produces all these&#8221; (1 Cor 12:11); &#8220;I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh&#8221; (JI 2:28);
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2175 &#8220;If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him&#8221; (Rom 8:9). For the
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2176 unity of the Holy Spirit produces unity in the Church: &#8220;The Spirit of the Lord filled the whole
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2177 world&#8221; (Wis 1:7).</p>
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2178 <p>In a third way, the preposition de [of, from] can signify it portion, as when we say &#8220;take
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2179 &#8216;from&#8217; this bread or wine [<i>de hoc pane, vel vino</i>],&#8221; i.e., take a portion and not the whole.
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2180 Taken in this way it signifies that those who take a part derive it from the fullness. For he
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2181 [Christ] received all the gifts of the Holy Spirit without measure, according to a perfect
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2182 fullness; but we participate through him some portion of his fullness; and this is according to
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2183 the measure which God grants to each. &#8220;Grace has been given to each of us according to the
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2184 degree to which Christ gives it&#8221; (Eph 4:7).</p>
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2185 <p>203 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">grace upon grace, </span>he shows the distribution of graces into us
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2186 through Christ. Here he does two things. First, he shows that we receive grace from Christ, as
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2187 its author. Secondly, that we receive wisdom from him (1:18). As to the first he does two
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2188 things. First, he shows that we have received of his fullness. Secondly, our need to receive it.</p>
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2189 <p>204 First, he says that we have received of the fullness of Christ what is described as <span style="font-weight: bold">grace
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2190 upon grace. </span>In the light of what is said, we are forced to understand that of his fullness we
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2191 have received grace, and that upon that grace we have received another. Accordingly, we
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2192 must see what that first grace is upon which we have received a second one, and also what
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2193 that second grace is.</p>
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2194 <p>According to Chrysostom, the first grace, which was received by the whole human race, was
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2195 the grace of the Old Testament received in the law. And this was indeed a great grace: &#8220;I will
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2196 give you a good gift&#8221; (Prv 4:2). For it was a great benefit for idolatrous men to receive
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2197 precepts from God, and a true knowledge of the one true God. &#8220;What is the advantage of
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2198 being a Jew, or the benefit of circumcision? It is great in every way. First indeed, because the
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2199 words of God were entrusted to them&#8221; (Rom 3:1). Upon that grace, then, which was first, we
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2200 have received a second far better. &#8220;He will follow grace with grace&#8221; (Zec 4:7).</p>
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2201 <p>But was not the first grace sufficient? I answer that it was not, because the law gives only a
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2202 knowledge of sin, but does not take it away. &#8220;The law brought nothing to perfection&#8221; (Heb
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2203 7:19). Hence it was necessary that another grace come that would take away sin and reconcile
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2204 one with God.</p>
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2205 <p>205 And so he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">because, while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth
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2206 have come through Jesus Christ. </span>Here the Evangelist ranks Christ above Moses the
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2207 lawgiver, whom the Baptist ranked above himself. Now Moses was regarded as the greatest
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2208 of the prophets: &#8220;There did not arise again in Israel a prophet like Moses&#8221; (Dt 34:10). But he
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2209 ranks Christ above Moses in excellence Mid in dignity of&#8217; works, <span style="font-weight: bold">because the law was given
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2210 through Moses; </span>and between these two, the One excels the other as the reality excels the
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2211 symbol and the truth the shadow: &#8220;The law had a shadow of the good things to come&#8221; (Heb
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2212 10:1). Further, Christ excels him in the way he works, because the law was given by Moses as
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2213 by one proclaiming it, but not originating it; for &#8220;The Lord alone is our lawgiver&#8221; (Is 33:22).
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2214 But <span style="font-weight: bold">grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ, </span>as through the Lord and Author of
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2215 truth and grace, as was explained above.</p>
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2216 <p>206 According to Augustine, however, the first grace is justifying and prevenient grace,
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2217 which is not given to us because of our works: &#8220;If it is by grace, it is not now by works&#8221; (Rom
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2218 11:6). Upon that grace, then, which is imperfect, we have received another grace which is
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2219 perfect, i.e., the grace of eternal life. And although eternal life is in some way acquired by
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2220 merits, nevertheless, because the principle of meriting in everyone is prevenient grace, eternal
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2221 life is called a grace: &#8220;The grace of God is eternal life&#8221; (Rom 6:23). To be brief, whatever
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2222 grace is added to prevenient grace, the whole is called <span style="font-weight: bold">grace upon grace.</span></p>
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2223 <p>The need for this second grace arises from the insufficiency of the law, which showed what
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2224 was to be done and what avoided; but it gave no help to fulfill what was commanded. Indeed,
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2225 what seemed to have been directed to life was the occasion for producing death. Hence the
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2226 Apostle says that the law was a minister of death: &#8220;If the ministry that condemned had glory,
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2227 the ministry that justifies has much more glory&#8221; (2 Cor 3:9). Also, it promised the help of
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2228 grace but did not fulfill, because &#8220;The law brought nothing to perfection&#8221; (Heb 7:19). Again,
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2229 it prefigured the truth of the new grace by its sacrifices and ceremonies; indeed, its very rites
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2230 proclaimed that it was a figure. Hence is was necessary that Christ come, who by his own
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2231 death would destroy other deaths and grant the help of new grace, in order that we might both
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2232 fulfill his precepts with ease and joy, and die to our sins and our old way of life: &#8220;Our old self
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2233 was crucified with him&#8221; (Rom 6:6), and in order that the truth of the figures contained in the
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2234 law might be revealed and the promises made to the fathers be fulfilled.</p>
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2235 <p>This can be explained in another way: <span style="font-weight: bold">truth has come through Jesus Christ, </span>as to the
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2236 wisdom and truth which was hidden for centuries, and which he openly taught when he came
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2237 into the world: &#8220;I came into the world for this, to testify to the truth,&#8221; as we read below
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2238 (18:37).</p>
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2239 <p>207 But if Christ is the Truth, as it says below (14:6), how did truth come [i.e., come to be, be
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2240 made] through him, because nothing can make itself? I answer that by his essence he is the
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2241 uncreated Truth, which is eternal and not made, but is begotten of the Father; but all created
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2242 truths were made through him, and these are certain participations and reflections of the first
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2243 Truth, which shines out in those souls who are holy.</p>
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2244 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in">&#160;</p>
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2245 <CENTER><p><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE 11</span></p>
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2246 <p>18 No one has ever seen God;<BR>
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2247 it is the Only Begotten Son,<BR>
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2248 who is in the bosom of the Father,<BR>
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2249 who has made him known.</CENTER>
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2250 <p>208 Above, the Evangelist showed how the apostles received grace from Christ as its author;
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2251 here he shows how they received it from him as a teacher. About this he does three things.
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2252 First, he shows the need for this teaching. Secondly, the competency of the teacher. Thirdly,
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2253 the teaching itself.</p>
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2254 <p>209 The need for this teaching arose from the lack of wisdom among men, which the
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2255 Evangelist implies by alluding to the ignorance concerning God which prevailed among men,
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2256 saying: <span style="font-weight: bold">No one has ever seen God. </span>And he does this fittingly, for wisdom consists properly
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2257 in the knowledge of God and of divine things. Hence Augustine says that wisdom is the
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2258 knowledge of divine things, as science is the knowledge of human things.</p>
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2259 <p>2 10 But this statement of the Evangelist, <span style="font-weight: bold">No one has ever seen God, </span>seems to contradict
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2260 many passages of divine Scripture. For it is said in Isaiah (6:1): &#8220;I saw the Lord seated on a
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2261 high and lofty throne.&#8221; And about the same is found in 2 Samuel (6:2). Again in Matthew
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2262 (5:8), the Lord says: &#8220;Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.&#8221;If someone were
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2263 to answer this last statement by saying that it is true that in the past no one has seen God, but
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2264 will see him in the future, as the Lord promises, the Apostle would exclude this, saying, &#8220;He
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2265 dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see&#8221; (1 Tim 6:16).</p>
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2266 <p>Because the Apostle says, &#8220;no man has seen,&#8221; someone might say that if he cannot be seen by
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2267 men, then at least he can be seen by angels; especially since God says, &#8220;Their angels in
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2268 heaven always see the face of my Father&#8221; (Mt 18:10). But it cannot be taken in this way
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2269 either, because it is said, &#8220;The sons of the resurrection will be like the angels of God in
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2270 heaven&#8221; (Mt 22:30). If, therefore, the angels see God in heaven, then it is plain that the sons
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2271 of the resurrection also see him: &#8220;When he appears we shall be like him, and we shall see him
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2272 as he is&#8221; (1 Jn 3:2).</p>
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2273 <p>211 How then are we to understand what the Evangelist says: <span style="font-weight: bold">No one has ever seen God</span>? To
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2274 understand it we must know that God is said to be seen in three ways. First, through a created
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2275 substitute presented to the bodily sight; as Abraham is believed to have seen God when he
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2276 saw three [men] and adored one (Gn 18). He adored one because he recognized the mystery
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2277 of the Trinity in the three, whom he first thought to be men, and later believed to be angels. In
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2278 a second way, through a representation in the imagination; and in this way Isaiah saw the
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2279 Lord seated on a high and lofty throne. Many visions of this sort are recorded in the
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2280 Scriptures. In a third way, he is seen through an intelligible species abstracted from material
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2281 things; and in this way he is seen by those who, considering the greatness of creatures, see
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2282 with their intellect the greatness of the Creator, as it is said: &#8220;From the greatness and beauty
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2283 of creatures, their Creator can be seen accordingly&#8221; (Wis 13:5); &#8220;The invisible things of God
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2284 are clearly seen, being understood through the things that are made,&#8221; as found in Romans
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2285 (1:20). In another way, God is seen through a certain spiritual light infused by God into
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2286 spiritual minds during contemplation; and this is the way Jacob saw God face to face, as it
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2287 says in Genesis (32:30). According to Gregory, this vision came about through his lofty
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2288 contemplation.</p>
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2289 <p>But the vision of the divine essence is not attained by any of the above visions: for no created
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2290 species, whether it be that by which an external sense is informed, or by which the
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2291 imagination is informed, or by which the intellect is informed, is representative of the divine
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2292 essence as it is. Now man knows as to its essence only what the species he has in his intellect
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2293 represents as it is. Therefore, the vision of the divine essence is not attained through any
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2294 species.</p>
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2295 <p>The reason why no created species can represent the divine essence is plain: for nothing finite
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2296 can represent the infinite as it is; but every created species is finite; therefore [it cannot
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2297 represent the infinite as it is]. Further, God is his own <i>esse; </i>and therefore his wisdom and
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2298 greatness and anything else are the same. But all those cannot be represented through one
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2299 created thing. Therefore, the knowledge by which God is seen through creatures is not a
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2300 knowledge of his essence, but a knowledge that is dark and mirrored, and from afar.
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2301 &#8220;Everyone sees him,&#8221; in one of the above ways, &#8220;from afar&#8221; (Jb 36:25), because we do not
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2302 know what God is by all these acts of knowing, but what he is not, or that he is. Hence Denis
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2303 says, in his <i>Mystical Theology, </i>that the perfect way in which God is known in this present life
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2304 is by taking away all creatures and every thing understood by us.</p>
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2305 <p>212 There have been some who said that the divine essence will never by seen by any created
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2306 intellect, and that it is seen neither by the angels nor by the blessed. But this statement is
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2307 shown to be false and heretical in three ways, First, because it is contrary to the authority of
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2308 divine Scripture: &#8220;We shall see him as he is&#8221; (1 Jn 3:2); &#8220;This is eternal life, that they know
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2309 you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent&#8221; (below 17:3). Secondly,
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2310 because the brightness of God is the same as his substance; for he does not give forth light by
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2311 participating in light, but through himself. And thirdly, because it is impossible for anyone to
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2312 attain perfect happiness except in the vision of the divine essence. This is because the natural
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2313 desire of the intellect is to understand and know the causes of all the effects that it knows; but
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2314 this desire cannot be fulfilled unless it understands and knows the first universal cause of all
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2315 things, which is a cause that is not composed of cause and effect, as second causes are.
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2316 Therefore, to take away the possibility of the vision of the divine essence by man is to fake
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2317 away happiness itself. Therefore, in order for the created intellect to be happy, it is necessary
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2318 that the divine essence be seen. &#8220;Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God&#8221; (Mt
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2319 5:8).</p>
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2320 <p>213 Three things should be noted about the vision of the divine essence. First, it will never be
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2321 seen with a bodily eye, either by sense or imagination, since only sensate bodily things are
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2322 perceived by the senses, and God is not bodily: &#8220;God is spirit&#8221; (below 4:24). Secondly, that as
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2323 long as the human intellect is in the body it cannot see God, because it is weighed down by
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2324 the body so that it cannot attain the summit of contemplation. So it is that the more a soul is
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2325 free of passions and is purged from affections for earthly things, the higher it rises in the
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2326 contemplation of truth and tastes how sweet the Lord is. Now the highest degree of
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2327 contemplation is to see God through his essence; and so as long as a man lives in a body
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2328 which is necessarily subject to many passions, he cannot see God through his essence. &#8220;Man
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2329 will not see me and live&#8221; (Ex 33:20). Therefore, if the human intellect is to see the divine
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2330 essence it must wholly depart from the body: either by death, as the Apostle says, &#8220;We would
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2331 prefer to be absent from the body and present with the Lord&#8221; (2 Cor 5:8); or by being wholly
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2332 abstracted by rapture from the senses of the body, as is mentioned of Paul in 2 Corinthians
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2333 (12:3).</p>
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2334 <p>Thirdly, no created intellect (however abstracted, either by death, or separated from the body)
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2335 which does see the divine essence, can comprehend it in any way. And so it is commonly said
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2336 that although the whole divine essence is seen by the blessed, since it is most simple and has
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2337 no parts, yet it is not wholly seen, because this would be to comprehend it. For &#8220;wholly&#8221;
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2338 implies a certain mode. But any mode of God is the divine essence. Hence one who does not
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2339 see him wholly does not comprehend him. For one is properly said to comprehend a thing
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2340 through knowledge when he knows that thing to the extent that it is knowable in itself;
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2341 otherwise, although he may know it, he does not comprehend it. For example, one who
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2342 knows this proposition, &#8220;A triangle has three angles equal to two right angles,&#8221; by a
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2343 dialectical syllogism, does not know it as well as it is knowable in itself; thus he does not
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2344 know it wholly. But one who knows this by a demonstrative syllogism does know it wholly.
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2345 For each thing is knowable to the extent that it has being and truth; while one is a knower
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2346 according to his amount of cognitive power. Now a created intellectual substance is finite;
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2347 hence it knows in a finite way. And since God is infinite in power and being, and as a
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2348 consequence is infinitely knowable, he cannot be known by any created intellect to the degree
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2349 that he is knowable. And thus he remains incomprehensible to every created intellect.
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2350 &#8220;Behold, God is great, exceeding our knowledge&#8221; (Jb 36:26). He alone contemplates himself
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2351 comprehensively, because his power to know is as great as his entity in being. &#8220;O most
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2352 mighty, great, powerful, your name is Lord of hosts, great in counsel, incomprehensible in
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2353 thought&#8221; (Jer 32:18).</p>
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2354 <p>214 Using the above explanations, we can understand, <span style="font-weight: bold">No one has ever seen God. </span>First, No
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2355 one, i.e, no man, has seen God, that is, the divine essence, with the eye of the body of or the
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2356 imagination. Secondly, No one, living in this mortal life, has seen the divine essence in itself.
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2357 Thirdly, No one, man or angel, has seen God by a vision of comprehension. So when it is said
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2358 that certain ones have seen God with their eyes or while living in the body, he is not seen
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2359 through his essence, but through a creature acting as a substitute, as was said. And thus it was
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2360 necessary for us to receive wisdom, because No one has ever seen God.</p>
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2361 <p>215 The Evangelist mentions the competent teacher of this wisdom when he adds, <span style="font-weight: bold">it is the
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2362 Only Begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father. </span>He shows the competence of this
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2363 teacher in three ways: by a natural likeness, by a singular excellence, and by a most perfect
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2364 consubstantiality.</p>
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2365 <p>216 By natural likeness, because a son is naturally like his father. Wherefore it also follows
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2366 that one is called a son of God insofar as he shares in the likeness of his natural son; and one
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2367 knows him insofar he has a likeness to him, since knowledge is attained through assimilation
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2368 [or &#8220;likeness to&#8221;]. Hence 1 John (3:2) says, &#8220;Now we are sons of God,&#8221; and he immediately
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2369 adds, &#8220;when he comes, we will be like him, and we will see him as he is.&#8221; Therefore, when
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2370 the Evangelist says Son, he implies a likeness as well as all aptitude for knowing God.</p>
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2371 <p>217 Because this teacher knows God in a more special way than other sons do, the Evangelist
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2372 suggests this by his singular excellence, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">the Only Begotten. </span>As if to say: He knows
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2373 God more than other sons do. Hence, because he is the natural Son, having the same nature
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2374 and knowledge as the Father, he is <span style="font-weight: bold">called the Only Begotten. </span>&#8220;The Lord said to me: &#8216;You are
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2375 my Son&#8217;&#8221; (Ps 2:7).</p>
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2376 <p>218 Although he may know in a unique way, he would be lacking the ability to teach if he
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2377 were not to know wholly. Hence he adds a third point, namely, his consubstantiality to the
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2378 Father, when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">who is in the bosom of the Father. </span>&#8220;Bosom&#8221; is not to be taken here as
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2379 referring to men in their garments, but it indicates the secret things of the Father. For what we
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2380 carry in our bosom we do in secret. The secret things of the Father refer to his unsurpassed
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2381 power and knowledge, since the divine essence is infinite. Therefore, in that bosom, i.e., in
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2382 the most secret things of the paternal nature and essence, which transcends all the power of
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2383 the creature, is <span style="font-weight: bold">the Only Begotten Son; </span>and so he is consubstantial with the Father.</p>
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2384 <p>What the Evangelist signifies by &#8220;bosom,&#8221; David expressed by &#8220;womb,&#8221; saying: &#8220;From the
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2385 womb, before the daystar,&#8221; i.e., from the inmost secret things of my essence,
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2386 incomprehensible to every created intellect, &#8220;I begot you&#8221; (Ps 109:3), consubstantial with me,
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2387 and of the same nature and power, and virtue and knowledge. &#8220;What man knows the things of
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2388 a man except the spirit of the man that is in him? So also, no one knows the things of God
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2389 except the Spirit of God&#8221; (1 Cor 2:11). Therefore, he comprehends the divine essence, which
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2390 is his own.</p>
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2391 <p>219 But the soul of Christ, which knows God, does not comprehend him, because this is
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2392 attributed only to the Only Begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father. So the Lord also
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2393 says: &#8220;No one knows the Father except the Son, and any to whom the Son wishes to reveal
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2394 him&#8221;(Mt 11:27); we should understand this as referring to the knowledge of comprehension,
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2395 about which the Evangelist seems to be speaking here. For no one comprehends the divine
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2396 essence except the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And so we have shown the
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2397 competence of the teacher.</p>
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2398 <p>220 We should note that the phrase, <span style="font-weight: bold">who is in the bosom of the Father, </span>rejects the error of
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2399 those who say that the Father is invisible, but the Son is visible, though he was not seen in the
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2400 Old Testament. For from the fact that he is among the hidden things of the Father, it is plain
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2401 that he is naturally invisible, as is the Father. So it is said of him: &#8220;Truly, you are a hidden
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2402 God&#8221; (Is 45:15). And so Scripture mentions the incomprehensibility of the Son: &#8220;No one
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2403 knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son&#8221; (Mt 11:27),
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2404 &#8220;What is the name of his son, if you know?&#8221; as we read in Proverbs (30:4)</p>
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2405 <p>221 Then the Evangelist indicates the way in which this teaching is handed down, saying that
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2406 it is the Only Begotten Son <span style="font-weight: bold">who has made him known. </span>For in the past, the Only Begotten
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2407 Son revealed knowledge of God through the prophets, who made him known to the extent
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2408 that they shared in the eternal Word. Hence they said things like, &#8220;The Word of the Lord
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2409 came to me.&#8221; But now the Only Begotten Son <span style="font-weight: bold">has made him known </span>to the faithful: &#8220;It is I
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2410 who spoke; here I am&#8221; (Is 52:6); &#8220;God, who in many and varied ways, spoke to the fathers in
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2411 past times through the prophets, has spoken to us in these days in his Son&#8221; (Heb 1:1).</p>
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2412 <p>And this teaching surpasses all other teachings in dignity, authority and usefulness, because it
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2413 was handed on immediately by the Only Begotten Son, who is the first Wisdom. &#8220;It was first
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2414 announced by the Lord, and confirmed to us by those who heard him&#8221; (Heb 2:3).</p>
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2415 <p>222 But what did he make known except the one God? And even Moses did this: &#8220;Hear, O
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2416 Israel: the Lord your God is one&#8221; (Dt 6:4). What did this add to Moses? It added the mystery
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2417 of the Trinity, and many other things that neither Moses nor any of the prophets made known.</p>
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2418 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in">&#160;</p>
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2419 <p style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 0.125in"><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE12</span></p>
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2420 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>19 This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jeru&#8217;salem to
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2421 him, to ask him: &#8220;Who are you?&#8221; 20 He declared openly, and did not deny, and stated clearly,
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2422 &#8220;I am not the Messiah.&#8221; 21 And they questioned him, &#8220;Who then? Are you Elijah?&#8221; And he
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2423 said, &#8220;I am not.&#8221; &#8220;Are you the Prophet?&#8221; And he responded, &#8220;No.&#8221; 22 They therefore said to
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2424 him, &#8220;Who are you? We must take back an answer to those who sent us. What have you to
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2425 say about yourself9" 23 He said, quoting the prophet Isaiah, &#8220;I am 6 a voice that cries in the
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2426 wilderness: Make a straight way for the Lord&#8217;&#8221; [Is 40:3].</p></BLOCKQUOTE>
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2427 <p>223 Above, the Evangelist showed how Christ was made known to the apostles through the
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2428 testimony of John; here he develops this testimony more fully. First, he presents John&#8217;s
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2429 testimony to the people. Secondly, the testimony he gave of Christ to his own disciples
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2430 (below 1:35). If we carefully consider what was said, we discover a twofold testimony of
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2431 John to Christ: one which he gave to Christ in his presence, the other in his absence. For he
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2432 would not have said, &#8220;It is he&#8221; (below 1:30), unless he had given testimony in Christ&#8217;s
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2433 presence; and he would not have said, &#8220;of whom I said,&#8221; unless he gave testimony to him in
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2434 his absence. So first, the Evangelist develops the testimony John gave to Christ in his
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2435 absence; secondly, that he gave in his presence (v 29).</p>
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2436 <p>Now these two testimonies differ, because the first was given when he was questioned; the
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2437 other was spontaneous. So in the first instance, we are given not only his testimony, but also
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2438 the questions. First, he was asked about himself; secondly, about his office (v 24). First we
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2439 are shown how John stated that he was not what he really was not; secondly, that he did not
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2440 deny what he was.</p>
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2441 <p>224 As to the first, there are three questions and three answers, as is plain from the text. In the
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2442 first question there is great respect for John shown by the Jews. They had sent certain ones to
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2443 him to ask about his testimony. The greatness of their respect is gathered from four facts.
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2444 First, from the dignity of those who sent the questioners; for they were not sent by Galileans,
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2445 but by those who were first in rank among the people of Israel, namely, Judeans, of the tribe
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2446 of Juda, who lived about Jerusalem. It was from Juda that God chose the princes of the
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2447 people.</p>
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2448 <p>Secondly, from the preeminence of the place, that is, from Jerusalem, which is the city of the
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2449 priesthood, the city dedicated to divine worship: &#8220;You people claim that Jerusalem is the
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2450 place where men must worship God&#8221; (below 4:20); &#8220;They will worship him with sacrifices
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2451 and offerings&#8221; (Is 19:21). Thirdly, from the authority of the messengers, who were religious
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2452 and from among the holier of the people, namely, priests and Levites; &#8220;You will be called the
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2453 priests of the Lord&#8221; (Is 61:6).</p>
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2454 <p>Fourthly, from the fact that they sent them so that John might bear witness to himself,
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2455 indicating that they put such trust in his words as to believe John even when giving testimony
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2456 about himself. Hence he says they were sent to ask him, Who are you? They did not do this to
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2457 Christ; in fact they said to him: &#8220;You are bearing witness to yourself; your testimony is not
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2458 true&#8221; (below 8:13).</p>
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2459 <p>225 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">He declared openly, and did not deny, </span>John&#8217;s answer is given. The
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2460 Evangelist twice mentioned that John spoke forth to show his humility; for although he was
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2461 held in such high esteem among the Jews that they believed he might be the Messiah, he, on
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2462 his part, usurped no honor what was not due him; <span style="font-weight: bold">indeed, he stated clearly, I am not the
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2463 Messiah.</span></p>
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2464 <p>226 What of&#8217; the statement, <span style="font-weight: bold">He declared openly, and did not deny</span>? For it seems that he did
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2465 deny, because he said that he was not the Messiah. It must be answered that he did not deny
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2466 the truth, for he said he was not the Messiah; otherwise he would have denied the truth. &#8220;A
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2467 very great iniquity, and a denial of the most high God&#8221; (Jb 31:28). Thus he did not deny the
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2468 truth, because however great he might have been considered, he did not become proud,
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2469 usurping for himself the honor of another. He stated clearly, <span style="font-weight: bold">I am not the Messiah; </span>because
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2470 in truth he was not. &#8220;He was not the light,&#8221; as was said above (1:8).</p>
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2471 <p>227 Why did John answer, <span style="font-weight: bold">I am not the Messiah, </span>since those who had been sent did not ask
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2472 if he was the Messiah, but who he himself was? I answer that John directed his answer more
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2473 to the mind of the questioners than to their question. And we can understand this in two ways.
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2474 According to Origen, the priests and Levites came to John with a good intention. For they
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2475 knew from the Scriptures, and particularly from the prophecy of Daniel, that the time for the
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2476 coming of the Messiah had arrived. So, seeing John&#8217;s holiness, they suspected that he might
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2477 be the Messiah. So they sent to John, wishing to learn by their question, <span style="font-weight: bold">Who are you?
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2478 </span>whether John would admit that he was the Messiah. And so he directs his answer to their
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2479 thoughts: <span style="font-weight: bold">I am not the Messiah.</span></p>
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2480 <p>Chrysostom, however, says that they questioned him as a stratagem. For John was related to
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2481 priests, being the son of a chief priest, and he was holy. Yet, he bore witness to Christ, whose
25a799388159 originals from http://www.josephkenny.joyeurs.com/CDtexts/SSJohn.htm
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2482 family seemed lowly; for that reason they even said, &#8220;Is not this the son of the carpenter?&#8221;;
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2483 and they did not know him. So, preferring to have John as their master, not Christ, they sent
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2484 to him, intending to entice him by flattery and persuade him to take this honor for himself,
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2485 and to state that he was the Messiah. But John, seeing their evil intent, said, <span style="font-weight: bold">I am not the
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2486 Messiah.</span></p>
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2487 <p>228 The second question is stated when they ask him, <span style="font-weight: bold">Who then? Are you Elijah? </span>Here we
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2488 should note that just as the Jews awaited the Lord who was to come, so to they waited for
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2489 Elijah, who would precede the Messiah: &#8220;I will send you Elijah, the prophet&#8221; (Mal 4:5). And
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2490 so those who were sent, seeing that John did not say that he was the Messiah, pressed him
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2491 that at least he state if he were Elijah. And this is what they ask: <span style="font-weight: bold">Who then? Are you Elijah?</span></p>
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2492 <p>229 There are certain heretics who say that souls migrate from one body to another. And this
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2493 belief was current among the Jews of that time. For this reason they believed that the soul of
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2494 Elijah was in John&#8217;s body, because of the similarity of John&#8217;s actions to those of Elijah. And
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2495 they say that these messengers asked John whether he was Elijah, i.e., whether the soul of
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2496 Elijah was in John. They support this with Christ&#8217;s statement, &#8220;He is Elijah who is to come,&#8221;
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2497 as is found in Matthew (11:14). But John&#8217;s answer conflicts with their opinion, as he says, I
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2498 am not. i.e., Elijah.</p>
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2499 <p>They counter this by saying that John answered in ignorance, not knowing whether his soul
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2500 was the soul of Elijah. But Origen says in answer to this that it seems most unreasonable that
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2501 John, a prophet enlightened by the Spirit, and telling such things about the Only Begotten Son
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2502 of God, should be ignorant of himself, and not know whether his soul had been in Elijah.</p>
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2503 <p>230 So this was not the reason John was asked, <span style="font-weight: bold">Are you Elijah? </span>Rather it was because they
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2504 took it from Scripture (2 Kings 2:11) that Elijah did not die, but had been carried alive by a
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2505 whirlwind into heaven. Accordingly, they believed that he had suddenly appeared among
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2506 them.</p>
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2507 <p>But against this opinion is the fact that John was born from parents who were known, and his
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2508 birth had been known to everyone. So it says in Luke (1:66) that all said, &#8220;What do you think
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2509 this child will be?&#8221; One might say to this that it is not incredible that they should regard John
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2510 in the manner described. For a similar situation in found in Matthew (14:1): for Herod
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2511 thought that Christ was John, whom he had beheaded, even though Christ had been preaching
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2512 and was known for some time before John had been beheaded. And so from a similar
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2513 stupidity and madness the Jews asked John whether he was Elijah.</p>
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2514 <p>231 Why does John say, I am not Elijah, while Christ said, &#8220;He is Elijah&#8221; (Mt 11:14). The
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2515 angel gives us the answer: &#8220;He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah&#8221; (Lk
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2516 1:17), i.e., in his works. Thus he was not Elijah in person, but in spirit and power, i.e.,
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2517 because he showed a similarity to Elijah in his works.</p>
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2518 <p>232 This likeness can be found in three matters. First, in their office: because as Elijah will
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2519 precede the second coming of Christ, so John preceded the first. Thus the angel said, &#8220;He will
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2520 go before him.&#8221; Secondly, in their manner of living. For Elijah lived in desert places, ate little
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2521 food and wore coarse clothing, as recorded in 1 and 2 Kings. John, also, lived in the desert,
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2522 his food was locusts and wild honey, and he wore clothing of camel&#8217;s hair. Thirdly, in their
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2523 zeal. For Elijah was filled with zeal; thus it was said, &#8220;I have been very zealous for the Lord&#8221;
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2524 (1 Kgs 19:10). So, also, John died because of his zeal for the truth, as is clear from Matthew
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2525 (14:6)</p>
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2526 <p>233 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Are you the Prophet? </span>the third question is presented. Here there is a
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2527 difficulty, for since it is said in Luke (1:76), &#8220;And you, child, shall be called the prophet of
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2528 the Most High,&#8221; why does John, when asked if he is a prophet, answer that he is not a
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2529 prophet?</p>
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2530 <p>There are three ways of answering this. One is that John is not just a prophet, but more than a
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2531 prophet. For the other prophets only predicted future things from afar: &#8220;if there is a delay,
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2532 wait for it&#8221; (Hb 2:2).. But John proclaimed that the Messiah was present, pointing him out
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2533 with his finger: &#8220;Look, there is the Lamb of God,&#8221; as it says below (1:36). And so the Lord
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2534 says that he is more than a prophet (Mt 11:9).</p>
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2535 <p>Again, in another way, according to Origen, because through a misunderstanding the Jews
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2536 associated three great personages with the coming of Christ: Christ himself, Elijah, and some
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2537 other person, the greatest of the prophets, about whom Deuteronomy (18:15) says: &#8220;The Lord
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2538 your God will raise up a prophet for you.&#8221; And although this greatest of the prophets is in fact
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2539 none other than Christ, according to the Jews he is someone other than Christ. And so they do
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2540 not ask simply whether he is a prophet, but whether he is that &#8220;greatest of the prophets.&#8221; And
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2541 this is clear from the order of their questions. For they first ask whether he is the Messiah;
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2542 secondly, whether he is Elijah; thirdly, whether he is that prophet. Accordingly, in Greek, the
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2543 article is used here as signifying <i>the </i>prophet, as it were, antonomastically.</p>
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2544 <p>In a third way, because the Pharisees were indignant at John for assuming the office of
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2545 baptizing outside the order of the law and their tradition. For the Old Testament mentions
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2546 three persons to whom this office could belong. First, to the Messiah, since &#8220;I will pour clean
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2547 water upon you, and you will be cleansed&#8221; (Ez 36:25), are words considered as spoken by the
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2548 person of the Messiah. Secondly, to Elijah, of whom it says in 2 Kings that he divided the
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2549 water of the Jordan, and crossing over, was taken up. Finally, to Elisha, who made Naaman
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2550 the Syrian wash seven times in the Jordan so as to be cured of leprosy, as mentioned in 2
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2551 Kings (c 5). And so when the Jews saw that John was baptizing, they believed that he was
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2552 one of those three: the Messiah, or Elijah, or Elisha. Accordingly, when they ask here, <span style="font-weight: bold">Are
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2553 you the Prophet? </span>they are asking whether he is Elisha, who is called &#8220;prophet&#8221; in a special
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2554 way because of the many miracles he had performed; hence he himself says, &#8220;Let him come
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2555 to me, so that he may know that there is a prophet in Israel&#8221; (2 Kgs 5:8). And to this John
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2556 answers, No, I am not Elisha.</p>
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2557 <p>234 Then he shows how he declared who he was. First, the question of the messengers is
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2558 given; secondly, his answer (v 23).</p>
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2559 <p>235 They said, <span style="font-weight: bold">Who are you? We must take back an answer to those who sent us. </span>As if to
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2560 say: We were sent to learn who you are; so tell us, <span style="font-weight: bold">What have you to say about yourself?</span></p>
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2561 <p>Notice John&#8217;s devotion. He has already fulfilled what the Apostle says, &#8220;It is not I who now
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2562 live, but Christ lives in me&#8221; (Gal 2:20). And so he does not answer, &#8220;I am the son of
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2563 Zachary,&#8221; or this or that, but only the way in which he followed Christ.</p>
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2564 <p>236 So he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">I am a voice that cries in the wilderness. </span>And he says that he is a voice
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2565 because from the point of view of origin, a voice comes after the [mental, interior] word, but
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2566 before the knowledge it causes. For we know a [mental, interior] word conceived in the heart
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2567 by means of the voice which speaks it, since it is its sign. But God the Father sent the
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2568 precursor John, who came to be in time, in order to make known his Word, which was
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2569 conceived from eternity. And so he fittingly says, <span style="font-weight: bold">I am a voice.</span></p>
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2570 <p>237 The addition, <span style="font-weight: bold">that cries, </span>can be understood in two ways: as referring to John, crying and
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2571 preaching in the wilderness; or to Christ crying in him, according to, &#8220;Do you want proof that
25a799388159 originals from http://www.josephkenny.joyeurs.com/CDtexts/SSJohn.htm
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2572 Christ is speaking in me&#8221; (2 Cor 13:3).</p>
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2573 <p>Now he cries for four reasons. First of all, a cry implies a showing; and so he cries in order to
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2574 show that Christ is clearly speaking in John and in himself: &#8220;Now on the last, the great day of
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2575 the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, &#8216;If any one thirsts, let him come to me and drink&#8217;&#8221;
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2576 (below 7:37). But he did not cry out in the prophets because prophecies were given in
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2577 enigmas and figures; so it is said that he was &#8220;wrapped in dark rain-clouds&#8221; (Ps 17:12).
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2578 Secondly, because a cry is made to those who are at a distance; and the Jews were far from
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2579 God. Thus it was necessary that he cry: &#8220;You have taken my friends and neighbors away from
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2580 me&#8221; (Ps 88:19). He cries, in the third place, because they were deaf: &#8220;Who is deaf, but my
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2581 servant?&#8221; (Is 42:19). He cries, fourthly, because he speaks with indignation, for they deserved
25a799388159 originals from http://www.josephkenny.joyeurs.com/CDtexts/SSJohn.htm
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2582 God&#8217;s wrath: &#8220;He will speak to them in his anger&#8221; (Ps 2:5).</p>
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2583 <p>238 Note that he cries <span style="font-weight: bold">in the wilderness, </span>because &#8220;The word of the Lord came to John, the
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2584 son of Zechariah, in the desert,&#8221; as we read in Luke (3:2). There can be both a literal and a
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2585 mystical reason for this. The literal reason is that by living in the desert he would be immune
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2586 from all sin, and so be more worthy to bear witness to Christ, and his testimony would be
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2587 more credible to men because of his life.</p>
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2588 <p>The mystical reason is twofold. For the wilderness or desert designates paganism, according
25a799388159 originals from http://www.josephkenny.joyeurs.com/CDtexts/SSJohn.htm
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2589 to Isaiah (54:1); &#8220;She who is deserted has more children than she who has a husband.&#8221;
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2590 Accordingly, in order to show that God&#8217;s teaching would from now on not be in Jerusalem
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2591 alone, but also among the pagans, he cried <span style="font-weight: bold">in the wilderness. </span>&#8220;The kingdom of God will be
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2592 taken away from you, and given to a people that will produce its fruits&#8221; (Mt 21:43). Again,
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2593 the desert can indicate Judea, which was already deserted: &#8220;Your house will be left to You,
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2594 deserted&#8221; (Mt 23:38). And so he cried in the desert, <span style="font-weight: bold">in the wilderness, </span>i.e., in Judea, to
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2595 indicate that the people to whom he was preaching had already been deserted by God: &#8220;in a
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2596 desert land, where there is no way or water, so I have come to your sanctuary&#8221; (Ps 62:3).</p>
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2597 <p>239 Why does he cry, <span style="font-weight: bold">Make a straight way for the Lord? </span>Because this is the task for which
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2598 he was sent. &#8220;And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go
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2599 before the face of the Lord to prepare his way&#8221; (Lk 1:76). The way, prepared and straight, for
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2600 receiving the Lord is the way of justice, according to Isaiah (26:7): &#8220;The way of the just is
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2601 straight.&#8221; For the way of the just is straight when the whole man is subject to God, i.e., the
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2602 intellect through faith, the will through love, and actions through obedience, are all subject to
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2603 God.</p>
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2604 <p>And this was spoken, i.e., predicted, by <span style="font-weight: bold">the prophet Isaiah. </span>As if to say: I am the one in
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2605 whom these things are fulfilled.</p>
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2606 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in">&#160;</p>
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2607 <p style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 0.125in"><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE13</span></p>
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2608 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>24 Now these men had been sent from the Pharisees, 25 and they put this further question to
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2609 him: &#8220;Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?&#8221; 26
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2610 John replied, &#8220;I baptize with water. But there is one standing in your midst whom you do not
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2611 recognize&#8212;27 the one who is to come after me, who ranks ahead of me&#8212;the strap of whose
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2612 sandal I am not worthy to unfasten.&#8221; 28 This happened at Bethany, on the far side of the
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2613 Jordan, where John was baptizing.</p></BLOCKQUOTE>
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2614 <p>240 Above, we saw John bear witness to Christ as he was being questioned on matters
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2615 concerning himself; here, on matters concerning his office. Four things are set forth: first,
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2616 those who question him; secondly, their questions; thirdly, his answer, in which he bore
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2617 witness; and fourthly, the place where all this happened.</p>
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2618 <p>241 His interrogators were Pharisees. Hence he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Now these men had been sent from
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2619 the Pharisees. </span>According to Origen, what is being said from this point on describes a
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2620 different testimony given by John; and further, those who were sent from the Pharisees are
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2621 not the same as those priests and Levites sent by the generality of the Jews, but others who
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2622 were specifically sent by the Pharisees. And according to this it says: <span style="font-weight: bold">Now these men had
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2623 been sent, </span>not by the Jews, as the priests and Levites had been, but were others, <span style="font-weight: bold">from the
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2624 Pharisees. </span>So he says about this that because the priests and Levites were educated and
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2625 respectful, they ask John humbly and respectfully whether he is the Messiah, or Elijah, or the
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2626 Prophet. But these others, who were from the Pharisees, according to their name &#8220;separated&#8221;
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2627 and importunate, used disdainful language. Thus they asked him, <span style="font-weight: bold">Why then do you baptize,
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2628 if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?</span></p>
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2629 <p>But according to others, such as Gregory, Chrysostom, and Augustine, these Pharisees are the
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2630 same priests and Levites who had been sent by the Jews. For there was among the Jews a
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2631 certain sect which was separated from the others by reason of its external cult; and for this
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2632 reason its members were called Pharisees, i.e., &#8220;divided.&#8221; In this sect there were some priests
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2633 and Levites, and some of the people. And so, in order that the delegates [to John] might
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2634 possess a greater authority, they sent priests and Levites, who were Pharisees, thus furnishing
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2635 them with the dignity of a priestly caste and with religious authority.</p>
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2636 <p>242 The Evangelist adds, <span style="font-weight: bold">these men had been sent from the Pharisees, </span>to disclose, first, the
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2637 reason why they asked about John&#8217;s baptizing, which was not why they were sent. It is as
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2638 though he were saying: They were sent to ask John who he was. But they asked, <span style="font-weight: bold">Why do you
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2639 baptize? </span>because they were from the Pharisees, whose religion was being challenged.
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2640 Secondly, as Gregory says, in order to show with what intention they asked John, &#8220;Who are
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2641 you?&#8221; (1:19). For the Pharisees, more than all the others, showed themselves crafty and
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2642 insulting to Christ. Thus they said of him: &#8220;He casts out devils by Beelzebub, the prince of
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2643 devils&#8221; (Mt 12:24). Further, they consulted with the Herodians on how to trap Jesus in his
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2644 speech (Mt 22:15). And so in saying that <span style="font-weight: bold">these men had been sent from the Pharisees, </span>he
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2645 shows that they were disrespectful and were questioning him out of envy.</p>
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2646 <p>243 Their questions concerned his office of baptizing. Hence he says that they asked him,
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2647 <span style="font-weight: bold">Why then do you baptize? </span>Here we should note that they are asking not to learn, but to
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2648 obstruct. For since they saw many people coming to John because of the new rite of baptism,
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2649 foreign both to the rite of the Pharisees and of the law, they became envious of John and tried
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2650 all they could to hinder his baptism. But being unable to contain themselves any longer, they
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2651 reveal their envy and say, <span style="font-weight: bold">Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah,
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2652 nor the Prophet? </span>As if to say: You should not baptize, since you deny that you are any of
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2653 those three persons in whom baptism was prefigured, as was said above. In other words, <span style="font-weight: bold">if
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2654 you are not the Messiah, </span>who will possess the fountain by which sins are washed away, <span style="font-weight: bold">nor
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2655 Elijah, nor the Prophet, </span>i.e., Elisha, who made a dry passageway through the Jordan (2 Kgs
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2656 2:8), how do you dare baptize&#8217;? They are like envious persons who hinder the progress of
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2657 souls, &#8220;who say to the seers, &#8216;See no visions&#8217;&#8221; (Is 30:10).</p>
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2658 <p>244 His answer is true: and so he says that John answered, <span style="font-weight: bold">I baptize with water. </span>As if to say:
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2659 You should not be disturbed, if I, who am not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet,
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2660 baptize; because my baptism is not completive but imperfect. For the perfection of baptism
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2661 requires the washing of the body and of the soul; and the body, by its nature, is indeed washed
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2662 by water, but the soul is washed by the Spirit alone. So, <span style="font-weight: bold">I baptize with water, </span>i.e., I wash the
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2663 body with something bodily; but another will come who will baptize perfectly, namely, with
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2664 water and with the Holy Spirit; God and man, who will wash the body with water and the
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2665 spirit with the Spirit, in such a way that the sanctification of the spirit will be distributed
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2666 throughout the body. &#8220;For John indeed baptized with water but you will be baptized with the
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2667 Holy Spirit not many days from now&#8221; (Acts 1:5).</p>
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2668 <p>245 Then he bears witness to Christ. First, in relation to the Jews. Secondly, in relation to
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2669 himself (v 27).</p>
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2670 <p>246 He relates him to the Jews when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">But there is one standing in your midst. </span>As if
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2671 to say: I have done an incomplete work, but there is another who will complete my work, and
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2672 he is <span style="font-weight: bold">standing in your midst.</span></p>
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2673 <p>This is explained in a number of ways. First, according to Gregory, Chrysostom and
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2674 Augustine, it refers to the ordinary way Christ lived among men, because according to his
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2675 human nature he appeared to be like other men: &#8220;He, being in the form of God ... emptied
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2676 himself, taking the form of a servant&#8221; (Phil 2:6). And according to this he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">there is one
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2677 standing in your midst, </span>i.e., in many ways he lived as one of you: &#8220;I am in your midst&#8221; (Lk
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2678 22:27), <span style="font-weight: bold">whom you do not recognize, </span>i.e., you cannot grasp the fact that God was made man.
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2679 Likewise, you do not recognize how great he is according to the divine nature which is
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2680 concealed in him: &#8220;God is great, and exceeds our knowledge&#8221; (Jb 36:26). And so, as
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2681 Augustine says, &#8220;The lantern was lighted,&#8221; namely, John, &#8220;so that Christ might be found.&#8221; &#8220;I
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2682 have prepared a lamp for my anointed&#8221; (Ps 131:17).</p>
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2683 <p>It is explained differently by Origen; and in two ways. First, as referring to the divinity of
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2684 Christ: and according to this, <span style="font-weight: bold">there is one standing, </span>namely, Christ, <span style="font-weight: bold">in your midst, </span>that is, in
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2685 the midst of all things; because he, as Word, has filled all from the beginning of creation: &#8220;I
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2686 fill heaven and earth&#8221; (Jer 23:24). <span style="font-weight: bold">Whom you do not recognize, </span>because, as was said above
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2687 (1:10), &#8220;He was in the world ... and the world did not know him.&#8221;</p>
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2688 <p>It is explained another way as referring to his causality of human wisdom. <span style="font-weight: bold">But there is one
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2689 standing in your midst, </span>i.e., he shines in everyone&#8217;s understanding; because whatever light
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2690 and whatever wisdom exists in men has come to them from participating in the Word. And he
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2691 says, <span style="font-weight: bold">in your midst, </span>because in the midst of man&#8217;s body lies the heart, to which is attributed a
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2692 certain wisdom and understanding; hence, although the intellect has no bodily organ, yet
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2693 because the heart is our chief organ, it is the custom to take it for the intellect. So he is said to
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2694 stand among men because of this likeness, insofar as he &#8220;enlightens every man coming into
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2695 this world&#8221; (1:9). <span style="font-weight: bold">Whom you do not recognize, </span>because, as was said above (1:5), &#8220;The light
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2696 shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.&#8221;</p>
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2697 <p>In a fourth way, it is explained as referring to the prophetic foretelling of the Messiah. In this
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2698 sense the answer is directed chiefly to the Pharisees, who continually searched the writings of
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2699 the Old Testament in which the Messiah was foretold; and yet they did not recognize him.
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2700 And according to this it says, <span style="font-weight: bold">there is one standing in your midst, </span>i.e., in the Sacred
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2701 Scriptures which you are always considering: &#8220;Search the Scriptures&#8221; (below 5:39); <span style="font-weight: bold">whom
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2702 you do not recognize, </span>because your heart is hardened by unbelief, and your eyes blinded, so
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2703 that you do not recognize as present the person you believe is to come.</p>
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2704 <p>247 Then John compares Christ to himself. First, he states the superiority of Christ as
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2705 compared to himself. Secondly, he shows the greatness of this superiority.</p>
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2706 <p>248 He shows the superiority of Christ in comparison to himself both in preaching and in
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2707 dignity. Now, as to the order of preaching, John was the first to become known. Thus he says,
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2708 the one who is to come after me, to preach, to baptize and to die; because as was said in Luke
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2709 (1:76): &#8220;You will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his way.&#8221; John preceded Christ as
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2710 the imperfect the perfect, and as the disposition the form; for as is said, &#8220;The spiritual is not
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2711 first, but the animal&#8221; (1 Cor 15:46). For the entire life of John was a preparation for Christ; so
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2712 he said above, that he was &#8220;a voice that cries in the wilderness.&#8221;</p>
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2713 <p>But Christ preceded John and all of us as the perfect precedes the imperfect and the exemplar
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2714 precedes the copy: &#8220;If any one wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his
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2715 cross, and follow me&#8221; (Mt 16:24); &#8220;Christ suffered for us, leaving you an example&#8221; (1 Pt
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2716 2:21).</p>
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2717 <p>Then he compares Christ to himself as to dignity, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">who ranks ahead of me, </span>i.e., he
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2718 has been placed above me and is above me in dignity, because as he says (below 3:30), &#8220;he
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2719 must increase, and I must decrease.&#8221;</p>
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2720 <p>249 He touches on the greatness of his superiority when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">the strap of whose sandal I
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2721 am not worthy to unfasten</span>. As if to say: You must not suppose that he ranks ahead of me in
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2722 dignity in the way that one man is placed ahead of another, rather he is ranked so far above
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2723 me that I am nothing in comparison to him. And this is clear from the fact that it is he <span style="font-weight: bold">the
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2724 strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to unfasten, </span>which is the least service that can be
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2725 done for men. It is clear from this that John had made great progress in the knowledge of
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2726 God, so far that from the consideration of God&#8217;s infinite greatness, he completely lowered
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2727 himself and said that he himself was nothing. So did Abraham, when he recognized God, and
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2728 said (Gn 18:27), &#8220;1 will speak to my Lord, although I am but dust and ashes.&#8221; And so also did
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2729 Job, saying, &#8220;Now I see you, and so I reprove myself, and do penance in dust and ashes&#8221; (Jb
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2730 42:5). Isaiah also said, after he had seen the glory of God, &#8220;Before him all the nations are as if
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2731 they are not&#8221; (Is 40:17). And this is the literal explanation.</p>
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2732 <p>250 This is also explained mystically. Gregory explains it so that the sandal, made from the
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2733 hides of dead animals, indicates our mortal human nature, which Christ assumed: &#8220;I will
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2734 stretch out my sandal to Edom&#8221; (Ps 59:10). The strap of Christ&#8217;s sandal is the union of his
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2735 divinity and humanity, which neither John nor anyone can unfasten or fully investigate, since
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2736 it is this which made God man and made man God. And so he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">the strap of whose
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2737 sandal I am not worthy to unfasten, </span>i.e., to explain the mystery of the incarnation perfectly
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2738 and fully. For John and other preachers unfasten the strap of Christ&#8217;s sandal in some way,
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2739 although imperfectly.</p>
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2740 <p>It is explained in another way by recalling that it was ordered in the Old Law that when a man
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2741 died without children, his brother was obligated to marry the wife of the dead man and raise
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2742 up children from her as his brother&#8217;s. And if he refused to marry her, then a close relative of
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2743 the dead man, if willing to marry her, was to remove the sandals of the dead man as a sign of
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2744 this willingness and marry her; and his home was then to be called the home of the man
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2745 whose sandals were removed (Dt 25:5). And so according to this he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">the strap of whose
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2746 sandal I am not worthy to unfasten, </span>i.e., I am not worthy to have the bride, that is, the
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2747 Church, to which Christ has a right. As if to say: I am not worthy to be called the bridegroom
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2748 of the Church, which is consecrated to Christ in the baptism of the Spirit; but I baptize only in
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2749 water. As it says below (3:29): &#8220;It is the groom who has the bride.&#8221;</p>
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2750 <p>251 The place where these events happened is mentioned when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">This happened at
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2751 Bethany, on the far side of the Jordan. </span>A question arises on this: Since Bethany is on the
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2752 Mount of Olives, which is near Jerusalem, as is said in John (11:1 ) and also in Matthew
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2753 (26:6), how can he say that these things happened beyond the Jordan, which is quite far from
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2754 Jerusalem? Origen and Chrysostom answer that it should be called Bethabora, not Bethany,
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2755 which is a village on the far side of the Jordan; and that the reading &#8220;Bethany&#8221; is due to a
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2756 copyist&#8217;s error. However, since both the Greek and Latin versions have Bethany, one should
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2757 rather say that there are two places called Bethany: one is near Jerusalem on the side of the
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2758 Mount of Olives, and the other is on the far side of the Jordan where John was baptizing.</p>
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2759 <p>252 The fact that he mentions the place has both a literal and a mystical reason. The literal
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2760 reason, according to Chrysostom, is that John wrote this Gospel for certain ones, perhaps still
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2761 alive, who would recall the time and who saw the place where these things happened. And so,
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2762 to lead us to a greater certitude, he makes them witnesses of the things they had seen.</p>
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2763 <p>The mystical reason is that these places are appropriate for baptism. For in saying &#8220;Bethany,&#8221;
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2764 which is interpreted as &#8220;house of obedience,&#8221; he indicates that one must come to be baptized
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2765 through obedience to the faith. &#8220;To bring all the nations to have obedience to the faith&#8221; (Rom
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2766 1:5). But if the name of the place is &#8220;Bethabora,&#8221; which is interpreted as &#8220;house of
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2767 preparation,&#8221; it signifies that a man is prepared for eternal life through baptism.</p>
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2768 <p>There is also a mystery in the fact that this happened on the far side of the Jordan. For
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2769 &#8220;Jordan&#8221; is interpreted as &#8220;the descent of them&#8221;; and according to Origen it signifies Christ,
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2770 who descended from heaven, as he himself says that he descended from heaven to do the will
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2771 of his Father (below 6:38).</p>
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2772 <p>Further, the river Jordan aptly signifies baptism. For it is the border line between those who
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2773 received their inheritance from Moses on one side of the Jordan, and those who received it
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2774 from Josue on the other side. Thus baptism is a kind of border between Jews and Gentiles,
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2775 who journey to this place to wash themselves by coming to Christ so that they might put off
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2776 the debasement of sin. Forjust as the Jews had to cross the Jordan to enter the promised land,
25a799388159 originals from http://www.josephkenny.joyeurs.com/CDtexts/SSJohn.htm
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2777 so one must pass through baptism to enter into the heavenly land. And he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">on the far
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2778 side of the Jordan, </span>to show that John preached the baptism of repentance even to those who
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2779 trangressed the law and sinners; and so the Lord also says, &#8220;I did not come to call the
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2780 righteous, but sinners&#8221; (Mt 9:13).</p>
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2781 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in">&#160;</p>
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2782 <p style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 0.125in"><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE14</span></p>
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2783 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and he said, &#8220;Look! There is the Lamb of
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2784 God who takes away the sins of the world. 30 It is he of whom I said:</p>
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2785 <p style="margin-left: 0.259167in; margin-right: 0.259167in">&#8216;After me is to come a man, who ranks ahead of me, because he existed before me.&#8217;<BR>
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2786 31 And I did not know him! And yet it was to reveal him to Israel that I came baptizing with
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2787 water.&#8221;
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2788 <P>32 John gave this testimony also:</p>
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2789 <p style="margin-left: 0.259167in; margin-right: 0.259167in; margin-bottom: 0.125in">&#8220;I saw the Spirit coming down on him from heaven like a dove, and resting on him.
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2790 33 And I did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water had said to me:
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2791 &#8216;The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and rest is the one who is to baptize
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2792 with the Holy Spirit.&#8217; 34 Now I have seen for myself and have given testimony that he
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2793 is the Son of God.&#8221;</p></BLOCKQUOTE>
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2794 <p>253 Above, John had given testimony to Christ when he was questioned. Here, he gives
25a799388159 originals from http://www.josephkenny.joyeurs.com/CDtexts/SSJohn.htm
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2795 testimony to him on his own initiative. First, he gives the testimony; secondly, he confirms it
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2796 (v 32). As to the first: first, the circumstances of the testimony are given; and secondly, the
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2797 testimony itself is given (v 29); thirdly, suspicion is removed from the witness (v 3 1).</p>
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2798 <p>254 The circumstances are first described as to the time. Hence he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">The next day. </span>This
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2799 gives credit to John for his steadfastness, because he bore witness to Christ not for just one
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2800 day or once, but on many days and frequently: &#8220;Every day I will bless you&#8221; (Ps 144:2). His
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2801 progress, too, is cited, because one day should not be just like the day before, but the
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2802 succeeding day should be different, i.e., better: &#8220;They will go from strength to strength&#8221; (Ps
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2803 83:8).</p>
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2804 <p>Another circumstance mentioned is his manner of testifying, because <span style="font-weight: bold">John saw Jesus. </span>This
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2805 shows his certitude, for testimony based on sight is most certain. The last circumstance he
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2806 mentions is about the one to whom he bore witness. Hence he says that he saw <span style="font-weight: bold">Jesus coming
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2807 toward him, </span>i.e., from Galilee, as it says, &#8220;Jesus came from Galilee&#8221; (Mt 3:13). We should
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2808 not understand this as referring to the time when he came to be baptized, of which Matthew is
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2809 here speaking, but of another time, i.e., a time when he came to John after he had already
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2810 been baptized and was staying near the Jordan. Otherwise, he Would not have said, &#8220;&#8216;The
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2811 man on whom yoti see the Spirit come down and rest is the one who is to baptize with the I
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2812 loly Spirit.&#8217; Now I have seen&#8221; (v 33). Therefore, he had already seen him and the Spirit come
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2813 down as a dove upon him.</p>
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2814 <p>255 One reason why Christ now came to John was to confirm the testimony of John. For John
25a799388159 originals from http://www.josephkenny.joyeurs.com/CDtexts/SSJohn.htm
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2815 had spoken of Christ as &#8220;the one who is to come after me&#8221; (v 27). But since Christ was now
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2816 present, some might not understand who it was that was to come. So Christ came to John to
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2817 be pointed out by him, with John saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">Look! There is the Lamb of God. </span>Another reason
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2818 Christ came was to correct an error. For some might believe that the first time Christ came,
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2819 i.e., to be baptized, he came to John to be cleansed from his sins. So, in order to preclude this,
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2820 Christ came to him even after his baptism. Accordingly, John clearly says, <span style="font-weight: bold">There is the
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2821 Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. </span>He committed no sin, but came to take
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2822 away sin. He also came to give us an example of humility, because as it is said, &#8220;The greater
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2823 you are the more humble you should be in all matters&#8221; (Sir 3:20).</p>
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2824 <p>Note that after the conception of Christ, when his mother, the Virgin, went in haste to the
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2825 mountainous country to visit John&#8217;s mother, Elizabeth, that John, still in his mother&#8217;s womb
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2826 and unable to speak, leaped in her womb as though performing a religious dance out of
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2827 reverence for Christ. And as then, so even now; for when Christ comes to John out of
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2828 humility, John offers his testimony and reverence and breaks out saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">Look! There is the
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2829 Lamb of God.</span></p>
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2830 <p>256 With these words John gives his testimony showing the power of Christ. Then Christ&#8217;s
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2831 dignity is shown (v 30). He shows the power of Christ in two ways: first, by means of a
25a799388159 originals from http://www.josephkenny.joyeurs.com/CDtexts/SSJohn.htm
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2832 symbol; secondly, by explaining it (v 29).</p>
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2833 <p>257 As to the first, we should note, as Origen says, that it was customary in the Old Law for
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2834 five animals to be offered in the temple: three land animals, namely, the heifer, goat and
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2835 sheep (although the sheep might be a ram, a sheep or a lamb) and two birds, namely, the
25a799388159 originals from http://www.josephkenny.joyeurs.com/CDtexts/SSJohn.htm
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2836 turtle-dove and the dove. All of these prefigured the true sacrifice, which is Christ, who &#8220;gave
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2837 himself for us as an offering to God,&#8221; as is said in Ephesians (5:2).</p>
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2838 <p>Why then did the Baptist, when giving witness to Christ, specifically call him a Lamb? The
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2839 reason for this is that, as stated in Numbers (28:3), although there were other sacrifices in the
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2840 temple at other times, yet each day there was a time in which a lamb was offered every
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2841 morning, and another was offered in the evening. This never varied, but was regarded as the
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2842 principal offering, and the other offerings were in the form of additions. And so the lamb,
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2843 which was the principal sacrifice, signified Christ, who is the principal sacrifice. For although
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2844 all the saints who suffered for the faith of Christ contribute something to the salvation of the
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2845 faithful, they do this only inasmuch its they are immolated upon the oblation of the Lamb,
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2846 they being, as it were, in oblation added to the principal sacrifice. The lamb is offered in the
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2847 morning and in the evening because it is through Christ that the way is opened to the
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2848 contemplation and enjoyment of the intelligible things of God, and this pertains to &#8220;morning
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2849 knowledge&#8221;; and we are instructed how to use earthly things without staining ourselves, and
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2850 this pertains to &#8220;evening knowledge.&#8221; And so he says, Look! <span style="font-weight: bold">There is the Lamb of God, </span>i.e.,
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2851 the one signified by the lamb.</p>
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2852 <p>He says, of God, because there are two natures in Christ, a human nature and a divine nature.
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2853 And it is due to the power of the divinity that this sacrifice has the power to cleanse and
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2854 sanctify us from our sins, inasmuch as &#8220;God was, in Christ, reconciling the world to himself&#8221;
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2855 (2 Cor 5:19). Or, he is called <span style="font-weight: bold">the Lamb of God, </span>because offered by God, i.e., by Christ
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2856 himself, who is God; just as we call what a man offers the offering of the man. Or, he is
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2857 called <span style="font-weight: bold">the Lamb of God, </span>that is, of the Father, because the Father provided man with an
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2858 oblation to offer that satisfied for sins, which man could not have through himself. So when
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2859 Isaac asked Abraham, &#8220;Where is the victim for the holocaust?&#8221; he answered, &#8220;God himself
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2860 will provide a victim for the holocaust&#8221; (Gn 22:7); &#8220;God did not spare his own Son, but
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2861 delivered him up for all of us&#8221; (Rom 8:32).</p>
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2862 <p>258 Christ is called a Lamb, first, because of his purity: &#8220;Your lamb will be without blemish&#8221;
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2863 (Ex 12:5); &#8220;You were not redeemed by perishable gold or silver&#8221; (1 Pt 1:18). Secondly,
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2864 because of his gentleness: &#8220;Like a lamb before the shearer, he will not open his mouth&#8221; (Is
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2865 53:7). Thirdly, because of his fruit; both with respect to what we put on: &#8220;Lambs will be your
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2866 clothing&#8221; (Prv 27:26), &#8220;Put on the Lord Jesus Christ&#8221; (Rom 13:14); and with respect to food:
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2867 &#8220;My flesh is for the life of the world&#8221; (below 6:52). And so Isaiah said (16:1 ): &#8220;Send forth, O
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2868 Lord, the lamb, the ruler of the earth.&#8221;</p>
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2869 <p>259 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">who takes away the sins of the world, </span>he explains the symbol he
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2870 used. In the law, sin could not be taken away either by a lamb or by any other sacrifice,
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2871 because as is said in Hebrews (10:4), &#8220;It is impossible that sins be taken away by the blood of
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2872 bulls and goats.&#8221; This blood takes away, i.e., removes, <span style="font-weight: bold">the sins of the world. </span>&#8220;Take away all
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2873 iniquity&#8221; (Hos 14:3). Or, <span style="font-weight: bold">takes away, </span>i.e., he takes upon himself the sins of the whole <span style="font-weight: bold">world,
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2874 </span>as is said, &#8220;He bore our sins in his own body&#8221; (1 Pt 2:24); &#8220;It was our infirmities that he bore,
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2875 our sufferings that he endured,&#8221; as we read in Isaiah (53:4).</p>
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2876 <p>However, according to a Gloss, he says sin, and not &#8220;sins,&#8221; in order to show in a universal
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2877 way that he has taken away every kind of sin: &#8220;He is the offering for our sins&#8221; (1 Jn 2:2); or
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2878 because he died for one sin, that is, original sin: &#8220;Sin entered into this world through one
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2879 man&#8221; (Rom 5:12).</p>
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2880 <p>260 Above, the Baptist bore witness to the power of Christ; now he bears witness to his
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2881 dignity, comparing Christ to himself in three respects. First, with respect to their office and
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2882 order of preaching. So he says, It is he, pointing him out, that is, the Lamb, <span style="font-weight: bold">of whom I said,
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2883 </span>i.e., in his absence, <span style="font-weight: bold">After me is to come a man, </span>to preach and baptize, who in birth came
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2884 after me.</p>
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2885 <p>Christ is called a man by reason of his perfect age, because when he began to teach, after his
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2886 baptism, he had already reached a perfect age: &#8220;Jesus was now about thirty years of age&#8221; (Lk
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2887 3:23). He is also called a man because of the perfection of all the virtues that were in him:
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2888 &#8220;Seven women,&#8221; i.e., the virtues, &#8220;will take hold of one man,&#8221; the perfect Christ (Is 4:1);
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2889 &#8220;Look, a man! His name is the Orient,&#8221; because he is the origin of all the virtues found in
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2890 others (Zec 6:12). He is also called a man because of his espousal, since he is the spouse of
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2891 the Church: &#8220;You will call me &#8216;my husband&#8217;&#8221; (Hos 2:16); &#8220;I espoused you to one husband&#8221; (2
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2892 Cor 11:2).</p>
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2893 <p>261 Secondly, he compares himself to Christ with respect to dignity when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">who
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2894 ranks ahead of me. </span>As if to say: Although he comes to preach after me, yet he ranks before
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2895 me in dignity. &#8220;See, he comes, leaping upon the mountains, skipping over the hills&#8221; (Sg 2:8).
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2896 One such hill was John the Baptist, who was passed over by Christ, because as is said below
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2897 (3:30), &#8220;He must increase, and I must decrease.&#8221;</p>
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2898 <p>262 Thirdly, he compares himself to Christ with respect to duration, saying, because he
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2899 existed before me. As if to say: It is not strange if he ranks ahead of me in dignity; because
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2900 although he is after me in time, he is before me in eternity, <span style="font-weight: bold">because he existed before me.</span></p>
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2901 <p>This statement refutes a twofold error. First, that of Arius, for John does not say that &#8220;he was
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2902 made before me,&#8221; as though he were a creature, but he existed before me, from eternity,
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2903 before every creature: &#8220;The Lord brought me forth before all the hills,&#8221; as is said in Proverbs
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2904 (8:25). The second error refuted is that of Paul of Samosata: for John said, he existed before
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2905 me, in order to show that he did not take his beginning from Mary. For if he had taken the
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2906 beginning of his existence from the Virgin, he would not have existed before the precursor,
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2907 who, in the order of human generation, preceded Christ by six months.</p>
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2908 <p>263 Next (v 31), he precludes an erroneous conjecture from his testimony. For someone
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2909 might say that John bore witness to Christ because of his affection for him, coming from a
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2910 special friendship. And so, excluding this, John says, <span style="font-weight: bold">And I did not know him!; </span>for John had
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2911 lived in the desert from boyhood. And although many miracles happened during the birth of
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2912 Christ, such as the Magi and the star and so on, they were not known to John: both because he
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2913 was an infant at the time, and because, after withdrawing to the desert, he had no association
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2914 with Christ. In the interim between his birth and baptism, Christ did not perform any
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2915 miracles, but led a life similar to any other person, and his power remained unknown to all.</p>
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2916 <p>264 It is clear that he worked no miracles in the interim until he was thirty years old from
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2917 what is said below (2:11): &#8220;This beginning of signs Jesus worked in Cana of Galilee.&#8221; This
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2918 shows the error of the book, <i>The Infancy of the Savior. </i>The reason he performed no miracles
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2919 during this period was that if his life had not been like that of other infants, the mystery of the
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2920 circumcision and incarnation might have been regarded as pure fancy. Accordingly, he
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2921 postponed showing his knowledge and power to another time, corresponding to the age when
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2922 other men reach the fulness of their knowledge and power. About this we read, &#8220;And Jesus
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2923 increased in grace and wisdom&#8221; (Lk 2:52); not that he acquired a power and wisdom that he
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2924 previously lacked, for in this respect he was perfect from the instant of his conception, but
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2925 because his power and wisdom were becoming known to men: &#8220;Indeed, you are a hidden
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2926 God&#8221; (Is 45:15).</p>
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2927 <p>265 The reason why John did not know him was that he had so far seen no signs, and no one
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2928 else had known Christ through signs. Hence he adds: <span style="font-weight: bold">It was to reveal him to Israel that I
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2929 came baptizing with water. </span>As if to say: My entire ministry is to reveal: &#8220;He was not the
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2930 light, but he came in order to bear witness to the light,&#8221; as was said above (1:8).</p>
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2931 <p>266 He says, <span style="font-weight: bold">I came baptizing with water, </span>to distinguish his baptism from that of Christ.
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2932 For Christ baptized not just in water, but in the Spirit, conferring grace; and so the baptism of
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2933 John was merely a sign, and not causative.</p>
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2934 <p>John&#8217;s baptism made Christ known in three ways. First, by the preaching of John. For
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2935 although John could have prepared the way for the Lord and led the people to Christ without
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2936 baptizing, yet because of the novelty of the service many more came to him than would have
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2937 come if his preaching were done without baptism. Secondly, John&#8217;s baptism was useful
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2938 because of Christ&#8217;s humility, which he showed by willing to be baptized by John: &#8220;Christ
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2939 came to John, to be baptized by him&#8221; (Mt 3:13). This example of humility he gives us here is
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2940 that no one, however great, should disdain to receive the sacraments from any person
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2941 ordained for this purpose. Thirdly, because it was during Christ&#8217;s baptisin by John that the
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2942 power of the Father was present in the voice, and the Holy Spirit was present in the dove, by
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2943 which the powerand dignity of&#8217;Christ were all the more shown: &#8220;And the voice of the Father
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2944 was heard: &#8216;This is my beloved Son&#8217;&#8221; (Lk 3:22).</p>
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2945 <p>267 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">John gave this testimony also, </span>he confirms by the authority of God
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2946 the great things he testified to about Christ, that Christ alone would take away the sins of the
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2947 whole world. As to this he does three things. First, he presents a vision. Secondly, he tells us
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2948 the meaning of the vision (v 33). Thirdly, he shows what he learned from this vision (v 34).</p>
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2949 <p>268 He presents the vision when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">I saw the Spirit coming down on him from
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2950 heaven. </span>When this actually happened John the Evangelist does not tell us, but Matthew and
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2951 Luke say that it took place when Christ was being baptized by John. And it was indeed fitting
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2952 for the Holy Spirit to be present at this baptism and to the person being baptized. It was
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2953 appropriate for the one baptized, for as the Son, existing by the Father, manifests the Father,
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2954 &#8220;Father, I have manifested your name&#8221; (below 17:6), so the Holy Spirit, existing by the Son,
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2955 manifests the Son, &#8220;He will glorify me, because he will receive from me&#8221; (below 16:14). It
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2956 was appropriate for this baptism because the baptism of Christ begins and consecrates our
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2957 baptism. Now our baptism is consecrated by invoking the whole Trinity: &#8220;Baptizing them in
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2958 the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit&#8221; (Mt 28:19). Thus, the ones we
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2959 invoke in our baptism were present at the baptism of Christ: the Father in the voice, the Holy
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2960 Spirit in the dove, and the Son in his human nature.</p>
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2961 <p>269 He says, <span style="font-weight: bold">coming down, </span>because descent, since it has two termini, the start, which is from
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2962 above, and the end, which is below, suits baptism in both respects. For there is a twofold
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2963 spirit: one of the world and the other of God. The spirit of the world is the love of the world,
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2964 which is not from above; rather, it comes up to man from below and makes him descend. But
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2965 the spirit of God, i.e., the love of God, comes down to man from above and makes him
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2966 ascend: &#8220;We have not received the spirit of this world, but the spirit of God,&#8221; as is said in 1
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2967 Corinthians (2:12). And so, because that spirit is from above, he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">coming down.</span></p>
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2968 <p>Similarly, because it is impossible for the creature to receive God&#8217;s goodness in the fulness in
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2969 which it is present in God, the communication of this goodness to us is in a way a certain
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2970 coming down: &#8220;Every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights&#8221; (Jas
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2971 1:17).</p>
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2972 <p>270 The Evangelist, in describing the manner of the vision and of the coming down, says that
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2973 the Holy Spirit did not appear in the spirit, i.e., in his nature, but in the form of a dove, saying,
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2974 that he came like a ove. The reason for this is that the Holy Spirit cannot be seen in his nature,
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2975 as is said, &#8220;The Spirit blows where it wills, and you hear its sound, but you do not know
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2976 where it comes from or where it goes&#8221; (below 3:8), and because a spirit does not come down
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2977 but goes up, &#8220;The spirit lifted me up&#8221; (Ez 8:3).</p>
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2978 <p>It was appropriate that the Son of God, who was made visible through flesh, should be made
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2979 known by the Holy Spirit in the visible form of a dove. However, the Holy Spirit did not
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2980 assume the dove into a unity of person, as the Son of God assumed human nature. The reason
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2981 for this is that the Son did not appear as a manifester but as a Savior. And so, according to
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2982 Pope Leo, it was appropriate that he be God and man: God, in order to provide a remedy; and
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2983 man, in order to offer an example. But the Holy Spirit appeared only to make known, and for
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2984 this it was sufficient merely to assume a visible form which was suitable for this purpose.</p>
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2985 <p>271 As to whether this dove was a real animal and whether it existed prior to its appearance,
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2986 it seems reasonable to say that it was a real dove. For the Holy Spirit came to manifest Christ,
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2987 who, being the Truth, ought to have been manifested only by the truth. As to the other part of
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2988 the question, it would seem that the dove did not exist prior to its appearance, but was formed
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2989 at the time by the divine power, without any parental union, as the body of Christ was
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2990 conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and not from a man&#8217;s seed. Yet it was a real dove,
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2991 for as Augustine says in his work, <i>The Christian Combat: </i>&#8220;It was not difficult for the
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2992 omnipotent God, who produced the entire universe of creatures from nothing, to form a real
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2993 body for the dove without the aid of other doves, just as it was not difficult to form the true
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2994 body of Christ in the womb of the Blessed Virgin without natural semen.&#8221;</p>
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2995 <p>Cyprian, in his <i>The Unity of the Church, </i>says: &#8220;It is said that the Holy Spirit appeared in the
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2996 form of a dove because the dove is a simple harmless animal, not bitter with gall, not savage
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2997 with its bites, not fierce with rending talons; it loves the dwellings of men, is able to live
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2998 together in one nest, together it raises its young, they remain together when they fly, spend
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2999 their life in mutual association, signify the concord of peace with the kiss of their bill, and
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3000 fulfill the law of harmony in all things.&#8221;</p>
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3001 <p>272 Many reasons are given why the Holy Spirit appeared as a dove rather than in some other
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3002 form. First, because of its simplicity, for the dove is simple: &#8220;Be wise as serpents, and simple
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3003 as doves&#8221; (Mt 10:16). And the Holy Spirit, because he inclines souls to gaze on one thing,
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3004 that is, God, makes them simple; and so he appeared in the form of a dove. Further, according
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3005 to Augustine, the Holy Spirit also appeared in the form of fire over the heads of the
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3006 assembled apostles. This was done because some are simple, but lukewarm; while others are
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3007 fervent but guileful. And so in order that those sanctified by the Spirit may have no guile, the
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3008 Spirit is shown in the form of a dove; and in order that their simplicity may not grow tepid,
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3009 the Spirit is shown in fire.</p>
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3010 <p>A dove was used, secondly, because of the unity of charity; for the dove is much aglow with
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3011 love: &#8220;One is my dove&#8221; (Sg 6:9). So, in order to show the unity of the Church, the Holy Spirit
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3012 appears in the form of a dove. Nor should it disturb you that when the Holy Spirit rested on
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3013 each of the disciples, there appeared separate tongues of fire; for although the Spirit appears
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3014 to be different according to the different functions of his gifts, he nevertheless unites us
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3015 through charity. And so, because of the first he appeared in separate tongues of fire, as is said,
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3016 &#8220;There are different kinds of gifts&#8221; (1 Cor 12:4); but he appears in the form of a dove because
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3017 of the second.</p>
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3018 <p>A dove was used, thirdly,because of its groaning, for the dove has a groaning chant; so also
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3019 the Holy Spirit &#8220;pleads for us with indescribable groanings&#8221; (Rom 8:26); &#8220;Her maidens,
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3020 groaning like doves&#8221; (Na 2:7). Fourthly, because of the doves fertility, for the dove is a very
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3021 prolific animal. And so in order to signify the fecundity of spiritual grace in the Church, the
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3022 Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove. This is why the Lord commanded an offering of
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3023 two doves (Lv 5:7).</p>
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3024 <p>A dove was used, fifthly, because of its cautiousness. For it rests upon watery brooks, and
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3025 gazing into them can see the hawk flying overhead and so save itself: &#8220;His eyes are like doves
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3026 beside brooks of water&#8221; (Sg 5:12). And so, because our refuge and defense is found in
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3027 baptism, the Holy Spirit appropriately appeared in the form of a dove.</p>
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3028 <p>The dove also corresponds to a figure in the Old Testament. For as the dove bearing the green
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3029 olive branch was a sign of God&#8217;s mercy to those who survived the waters of the deluge, so too
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3030 in baptism, the Holy Spirit, coming in the form of a dove, is a sign of the divine mercy which
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3031 takes away the sins of those baptized and confers grace.</p>
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3032 <p>273 He says that the Holy Spirit was <span style="font-weight: bold">resting on him. </span>If the Holy Spirit does not rest on
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3033 someone, it is due to two causes. One is sin. For all men except Christ are either suffering
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3034 from the wound of mortal sin, which banishes the Holy Spirit, or are darkened with the stain
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3035 of venial sin, which hinders some of the works of the Holy Spirit. But in Christ there was
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3036 neither mortal nor venial sin; so, the Holy Spirit in him was never disquieted, but was <span style="font-weight: bold">resting
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3037 on him.</span></p>
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3038 <p>The other reason concerns charismatic graces, for the other saints do not always possess their
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3039 power. For example, the power to work miracles is not always present in the saints, nor is the
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3040 spirit of prophecy always in the prophets. But Christ always possessed the power to
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3041 accomplish any work of the virtues and the graces. So to indicate this, he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">resting on
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3042 him. </span>Hence this was the characteristic sign for recognizing Christ, as the Gloss says. &#8220;The
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3043 Spirit of the Lord will rest on him&#8221; (Is 11:2), which we should understand of Christ as man,
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3044 according to which he is less than the Father and the Holy Spirit.</p>
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3045 <p>274 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">I did not know him, </span>he teaches us how this vision should be
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3046 understood. For certain heretics, as the Ebionites, said that Christ was neither the Christ nor
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3047 the Son of God from the time he was born, but only began to be the Son of God and the
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3048 Christ when he was anointed with the oil of the Holy Spirit at his baptism. But this is false,
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3049 because at the very hour of his birth the angel said to the shepherds: &#8220;This day a Savior has
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3050 been born for you in the city of David, Christ the Lord&#8221; (Lk 2:11). Therefore, so that we do
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3051 not believe that the Holy Spirit descended upon Christ in his baptism as though Christ needed
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3052 to receive the Spirit anew for his sanctification, the Baptist gives the reason for the Spirit&#8217;s
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3053 coming down. He says that the Spirit descended not for the benefit of Christ, but for our
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3054 benefit, that is, so that the grace of Christ might be made known to us. And so he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">And I
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3055 did not know him! And yet it was to reveal him to Israel that I came baptizing with
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3056 water.</span></p>
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3057 <p>275 There is a problem here. For he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">he who sent me to baptize. </span>If he is saying that the
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3058 Father sent him, it is true. Also, if he is saying that the Son sent him, it is even more clear,
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3059 since it is said that both the Father and the Son sent him, because John is not one of those
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3060 referred to in Jeremiah (23:21), &#8220;1 did not send the prophets, yet they ran.&#8221; But if the Son did
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3061 send him, how can he then say, <span style="font-weight: bold">I did not know him? </span>If it is said that although he knew
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3062 Christ according to his divinity, yet he did not know him according to his humanity until after
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3063 he saw the Spirit coming down upon him, one might counter that the Holy Spirit descended
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3064 upon Christ when he was being baptized, and John had already known Christ before he was
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3065 baptized, otherwise he would not have said: &#8220;I ought to be baptized by you, and you come to
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3066 me?&#8221; (Mt 3:14).</p>
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3067 <p>So we must say that this problem can be resolved in three ways. In one way, according to
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3068 Chrysostom, so that the meaning is to know familiarly; the sense being that <span style="font-weight: bold">I did not know
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3069 him, </span>i.e., in a familiar way. And if the objection is raised that John says, &#8220;I ought to be
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3070 baptized by you,&#8221; it can be answered that two different times are being discussed: so that <span style="font-weight: bold">I
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3071 did not know him, </span>refers to a time long before baptism, when he was not yet familiar with
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3072 Christ: but when he says, &#8220;I ought to be baptized by you,&#8221; he is referring to the time when
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3073 Christ was being baptized, when he was now familiar with Christ because of his frequent
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3074 visits. In another way, according to Jerome, it could be said that Christ was the Son of God
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3075 and the Savior of the world, and that John did in fact know this; but it was not through the
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3076 baptism that he knew that he was the Savior of the world. And so to remedy this ignorance he
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3077 adds, he <span style="font-weight: bold">is the one who is to baptize with the Holy Spirit. </span>But it is better to say with
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3078 Augustine that John knew certain things and was ignorant of others. Explaining what he did
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3079 not know, he adds that the power of baptizing, which Christ could have shared with his
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3080 faithful followers, would be reserved for himself alone. And this is what he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">he who sent
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3081 me to baptize with water ... is the one, </span>exclusively and solely, <span style="font-weight: bold">who is to baptize with the
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3082 Holy Spirit, </span>i.e., he and no one else, because this power he reserved for himself alone.</p>
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3083 <p>276 We should note that a threefold power of Christ is found in baptism. One is the power of
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3084 efficiency, by which he interiorly cleanses the soul from the stain of sin. Christ has this power
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3085 as God, but not as man, and it cannot be communicated to any other. Another is the power of
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3086 ministry, which he does share with the faithful: &#8220;Baptizing them in the name of the Father,
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3087 and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit&#8221; (Mt 28:19). Therefore priests have the power to
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3088 haptize as ministers. Christ too, as man, is called a minister, as the Apostle says. But he is
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3089 also the head of all the ministers of the Church.</p>
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3090 <p>Because of this he alone has the power of excellence in the sacraments. And this excellence
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3091 shows itself in four things. First, in the institution of the sacraments, because no mere man or
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3092 even the entire Church could institute sacraments, or change the sacninients, or dispense with
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3093 the sacraments. For by their institution the sacraments give invisible grace, which only God
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3094 can give. Therefore, only one who is true God can institute sacraments. The second lies in the
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3095 efficacy of Christ&#8217;s merits, for the sacraments have their power from the merit of Christ&#8217;s
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3096 passion: &#8220;All of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus, have been baptized into his
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3097 death&#8221; (Rom 6:3). The third is that Christ can confer the effect of baptism withmit the
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3098 sacrament; and this is peculiar to Christ. Fourthly, because at one time baptism was conferred
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3099 in the name of Christ, although this is no longer done.</p>
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3100 <p>Now he did not communicate these four things to anyone; although he could have
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3101 communicated some of them, for example, that baptism be conferred in the name of Peter or
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3102 of someone else, and perhaps one of the remaining three. But this was not done lest schisins
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3103 arise in the Church by men putting their trust in those in whose name they were baptized.</p>
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3104 <p>And so John, in stating that the Holy Spirit came down upon Christ, teaches that it is Christ
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3105 alone who baptizes interiorly by his own power.</p>
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3106 <p>277 One might also say that when John said, &#8220;I ought to be baptized by you,&#8221; he recognized
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3107 Christ. through an interior revelation, but that when he saw the Holy Spirit coming down
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3108 upon him, he knew him through an exterior sign. And so he mentions both of these ways of
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3109 knowing. The first when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">he who sent me to baptize with water had said to me,
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3110 </span>i.e., revealed something in an interior way. The second when he adds, <span style="font-weight: bold">The man on whom
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3111 you see the Spirit come down and rest is the one who is to baptize with the Holy Spirit.</span></p>
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3112 <p>278 Then he shows what the Baptist understood from this vision, that is, that Christ is the Son
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3113 of God. And this is what he says, Now I have seen for myself, that is, the Spirit coming down
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3114 on him, and have given testimony that he, that is, Christ, is the Son of God, that is, the true
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3115 and natural Son. For there were adopted sons of the Father who had a likeness to the natural
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3116 Son of God: &#8220;Conformed to the image of his Son&#8221; (Rom 8:29). So he who baptizes in the
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3117 Holy Spirit, through whom we are adopted as sons, ought to fashion sons of God. &#8220;You did
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3118 not receive the spirit of slavery ... but the spirit of adoption&#8221; (Rom 8:15). Therefore, because
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3119 Christ is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit, the Baptist correctly concludes that he is the
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3120 true and pure Son of God: &#8220;that we may be in his true Son&#8221; (1 Jn 5:20).</p>
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3121 <p>279 But if there were others who saw the Holy,Spirit coming down upon Christ, why did they
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3122 not also believe? I answer that they had not been so disposed for this. Or perhaps, this vision
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3123 was seen only by the Baptist.</p>
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3124 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in">&#160;</p>
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3125 <p style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 0.125in"><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE15</span></p>
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3126 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>35 On the following day John was standing there again with two of his disciples. 36 And
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3127 seeing Jesus walking by, he said, &#8220;Look! There is the Lamb of God.&#8221; 37 Hearing this, the two
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3128 disciples followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned around, and seeing them following him said, &#8220;What
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3129 are you looking for?&#8221; They replied, &#8220;Rabbi (which means Teacher), where do you live?&#8221; 39
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3130 &#8220;Come and see,&#8221; he replied. They went and saw where he lived, and they stayed with him the
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3131 rest of that day. It was about the tenth hour.</p></BLOCKQUOTE>
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3132 <p>40 One of the two who had followed him after hearing John was Simon Peter&#8217;s brother,
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3133 Andrew. 41 The first thing fie did was to look for his brother Simon, and say to him, &#8220;We
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3134 have found the Messiah&#8221; (which means the Christ), 42 and he brought him to Jesus. Looking
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3135 at hini intently Jesus said, &#8220;You are Simon, son of John; you are to be called Cephas&#8221; (which
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3136 is translated Peter).</p>
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3137 <p>280 Above, the Evangelist presented the Baptist&#8217;s testimony to the people; here he presents
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3138 his testimony to John&#8217;s disciples. First, his testimony is given; secondly, the fruit of this
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3139 testimony (v 37). As to the first he does three things: first, the one giving the testimony is
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3140 described; secondly, his way of testifying is given (v 36); and thirdly, his testimony itself,
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3141 Look! <span style="font-weight: bold">There is the Lamb of God.</span></p>
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3142 <p>281 The witness is described when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">On the following day John was standing there
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3143 again with two of his disciples. </span>In saying standing, three things are noted about John. First,
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3144 his manner of teaching, which was different from that of Christ and his disciples. For Christ
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3145 went about teaching; hence it is said: &#8220;Jesus traveled over all Galilee&#8221; (Mt 4:23). The apostles
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3146 also traveled the world teaching: &#8220;Go to the whole world, and preach the good news to every
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3147 creature&#8221; (Mkl6:15). But John taught in one place; hence he says, standing, that is, in one
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3148 place, on the far side of the Jordan. And John spoke of Christ to all who came to him.</p>
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3149 <p>The reason why Christ and his disciples taught going about is that the preaching of Christ was
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3150 made credible by miracles, and so they went to various places in order that the miracles and
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3151 powers of Christ might be made known. But the preaching of John was not confirmed by
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3152 miracles, so that is is written, &#8220;John performed no sign&#8221; (below 10:41), but by the merit and
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3153 sanctity of his life. And so he was <span style="font-weight: bold">standing</span> in one place so that various people might stream
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3154 to him and be led to Christ by his holiness. Furthermore, if John had gone from place to place
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3155 to announce Christ without performing any miracles, his testimony would have been quite
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3156 unbelievable, since it would seem to be inopportune and he would seem to be forcing himself
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3157 upon the people.</p>
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3158 <p>Secondly, John&#8217;s perseverence in the truth is noted, because John was not a reed shaken by
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3159 the wind, but was firm in the faith; &#8220;Let him who thinks that he stands, take heed so he will
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3160 not fall&#8221; (1 Cor 10:12); &#8220;1 will stand my watch&#8221; (Hb 2:1).</p>
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3161 <p>Thirdly, and allegorically, it is noted that to stand is, in an allegorical sense, the same as to
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3162 fail or cease: &#8220;The oil stood,&#8221; i.e., failed (2 Kgs 4:6). So when Christ came John was
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3163 standing, because when the truth comes the figure ceases. John stands because the law passes
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3164 away.</p>
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3165 <p>282 The manner of his testifying is presented as being certain, hecause based on sight. So he
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3166 says, <span style="font-weight: bold">seeing Jesus walking by. </span>Here it should be remarked that the prophets bore witness to
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3167 Christ: &#8220;All the prophets bear witness to him&#8221; (Acts 10:43). So did the apostles as they
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3168 traveled the world: &#8220;You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all of&#8217; Judea and Samaria,
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3169 and to the remotest parts of the world&#8221; (Acts 1:8). However, their testimony was not about a
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3170 person then visible or present, but on one who was absent. In the case of the prophets about
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3171 one who was to come; in the case of the apostles, about one who was now gone. But John
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3172 bore witness when Christ was present and seen by him; and so he says, seeing Jesus, with the
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3173 eyes of his body and of his mind: &#8220;Look on the face of your Christ&#8221; (Ps 83:10); &#8220;They will
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3174 see eye to eye&#8221; (Is 5 2:8).</p>
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3175 <p>He says, <span style="font-weight: bold">walking, </span>to point out the mystery of the incarnation, in which the Word of God
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3176 assumed a changeable nature: &#8220;I came forth from the Father, and have come into the world,&#8221;
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3177 as it says below (16:2 8).</p>
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3178 <p>283 Then he gives John&#8217;s testimony in saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">Look! There is the Lamb of God. </span>He says
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3179 this not just to point out the power of Christ, but also in admiration of it: &#8220;His name will be
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3180 called Wonderful&#8221; (Is 9:6). And this Lamb did possess truly wonderful power, because being
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3181 slain, it killed the lion&#8212;that lion, I say, of which it says: &#8220;Your enemy, the devil, goes about
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3182 like a roaring lion, seeking whom he can devour&#8221; (1 Pt 5:8). And so this Lamb, victorius and
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3183 glorious, deserved to be called a lion: &#8220;Look! The Lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered&#8221;
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3184 (Rv 5:5).</p>
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3185 <p>The testimony he bears is brief, <span style="font-weight: bold">Look! There is the Lamb of God. </span>It is brief both because
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3186 the disciples before whom he testified had already been sufficiently instructed about Christ
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3187 from the things they had heard from John, and also because this is sufficient for John&#8217;s
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3188 intention, whose only aim was to lead them to Christ. Yet he does not say, &#8220;Go to him,&#8221; so
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3189 that the disciples would not seem to be doing Christ a favor by following him. But he does
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3190 praise the grace of Christ so that they would regard it as of benefit to themselves if they
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3191 followed Christ. And so he says, Look! <span style="font-weight: bold">There is the Lamb of God, </span>i.e., here is the One in
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3192 whom is found the grace and the power which cleanses from sin; for the lamb was offered for
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3193 sins, as we have said.</p>
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3194 <p>284 The fruit of his testimony is given when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Hearing this, the two disciples
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3195 followed Jesus. </span>First, the fruit resulting from the testimony of John and his disciples is given.
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3196 Secondly, the fruit resulting from the preaching of Christ (v 43). In relation to the first: first,
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3197 the fruit arising from John&#8217;s testimony is given; secondly, the fruit coming from the preaching
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3198 of one of his disciples (v 40). With respect to the first he does two things. First, he shows the
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3199 very beginning of the fruit coming from John&#8217;s testimony. Secondly, its consummation as
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3200 accomplished by Christ (v 38).</p>
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3201 <p>285 He says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Hearing this, </span>John saying, &#8220;Look! There is the Lamb of God,&#8221; <span style="font-weight: bold">the two
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3202 disciples, </span>who were with him, <span style="font-weight: bold">followed Jesus, </span>literally. going with him, First, the fact that it
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3203 is John who speaks while Christ is silent, and that disciples gather to Christ through the
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3204 words of John, all this points out a mystery. For Christ is the groom of the Church, and John,
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3205 the friend and groomsman of the groom. Now the function of the groomsman is to present the
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3206 bride to the groom, and verbally make known the agreements; the role of the groom is to be
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3207 silent, from modesty, and to make arrangements for his new bride as he wills. Thus, the
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3208 disciples are presented by John to Christ and espoused in faith. John speaks, Christ is silent;
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3209 yet after Christ accepts them, he carefully instructs them.</p>
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3210 <p>We can note, secondly, that no one was converted when John praised the dignity of Christ,
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3211 saying, he &#8220;ranks ahead of me,&#8221; and &#8220;I am not worthy to unfasten the strap of his sandal.&#8221; But
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3212 the disciples followed Christ when John revealed Christ&#8217;s humility and about the mystery of
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3213 the incarnation; and this is because we are more moved by Christ&#8217;s humility and the
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3214 sufferings he endured for us. So it is said: &#8220;Your name is like oil poured out,&#8221; i.e., mercy, by
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3215 which you have obtained salvation for all; and the text immediately follows with, &#8220;young
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3216 maidens have greatly loved you&#8221; (Sg 1:2).</p>
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3217 <p>We can note, thirdly, that the words of a preacher are like seed falling on different kinds of
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3218 ground: on one they bear fruit, and on another they do not. So too, John, when he preaches,
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3219 does not convert all his disciples to Christ, but only two, those who were well disposed. The
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3220 others are envious of Christ, and they even question him, as mentioned in Matthew (9:14).</p>
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3221 <p>Fourthly, we may note that John&#8217;s disciples, after hearing his witness to Christ, did not at
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3222 once thrust themselves forward to speak with him hastily; rather, seriously and with a certain
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3223 modesty, they tried to speak to Christ alone and in a private place: &#8220;There is a time and fitness
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3224 for everything&#8221; (Ecc 8:6).</p>
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3225 <p>286 The consummation of this fruit is now set forth (v 38), for what John began is completed
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3226 by Christ, since &#8220;the law brought nothing to perfection&#8221; (Heb 7:19). And Christ does two
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3227 things. First, he questions the disciples who were following him. Secondly, he teaches them
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3228 (v 39). As to the first we have: first, the question of Christ is given; secondly, the answer of
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3229 the disciples.</p>
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3230 <p>287 He says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Jesus turned around, and seeing them following him said. </span>According to the
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3231 literal sense we should understand that Christ was walking in front of them, and these two
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3232 disciples, following him, did not see his face at all; and so Christ turns to them to holster their
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3233 confidence. This lets us know that Christ gives confidence and hope to all who begin to
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3234 follow hini with a pure heart: &#8220;She goes to meet those who desire her&#8221; (Wis 6:14). Now Jesus
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3235 turns to us in order that we may see him; this will happen in that blessed vision when he will
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3236 show us his face, as is said: &#8220;Show us your face, and we will be saved&#8221; (Ps 79:4). For as long
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3237 as we are in this world we see his back, because it is through his effects that we acquire a
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3238 knowledge of him; so it is said, &#8220;You will see my back&#8221; (Ex 33:23). Again, he turns to give
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3239 us the riches of his mercy. This is requested in Psalm 89 (13): &#8220;Turn to us, 0 Lord.&#8221; For as
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3240 long as Christ withholds the help of his mercy he seems to be turned away from us. And so
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3241 Jesus turned to the disciples of John who were following him in order to show them his face
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3242 and to pour his grace upon them.</p>
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3243 <p>288 Christ examines them specifically about their intention. For all who follow Christ do not
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3244 have the same intention: some follow him for the sake of temporal goods, and others for
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3245 spiritual goods. And so the Lord asks their intention, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">What are you looking for?</span>;<span style="font-weight: bold"> </span>not
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3246 in order to learn their intention, but so that, after they showed a proper intention, he might
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3247 make them more intimate friends and show that they are worthy to hear him.</p>
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3248 <p>289 It may be remarked that these are the first words which Christ speaks in this Gospel. And
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3249 this is appropriate, because the first thing that God asks of a man is a proper intention. And,
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3250 according to Origen, after the six words that John had spoken, Christ spoke the seventh. The
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3251 first words spoken by John were when, bearing witness to Christ, he cried out, saying, &#8220;This
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3252 is the one of whom I said.&#8221; The second is when he said, &#8220;I am not worthy to unfasten the strap
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3253 of his sandal.&#8221; The third is, &#8220;I baptize with water. But there is one standing in your midst
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3254 whom you do not recognize.&#8221; The fourth is, &#8220;Look! There is the Lamb of God.&#8221; The fifth, &#8220;I
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3255 saw the Spirit coming down on him from heaven like a dove.&#8221; The sixth, when he says here,
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3256 &#8220;Look! There is the Lamb of God.&#8221; But it is Christ who speaks the seventh words so that we
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3257 may understand, in a mystical sense, that rest, which is signified by the seventh day, will
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3258 come to us through Christ, and that in him is found the fulness of the seven gifts of the Holy
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3259 Spirit.</p>
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3260 <p>290 The disciples answer; and although there was one question, they gave two answers. First,
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3261 why they are following Christ, namely, to learn; thus they call him Teacher, <span style="font-weight: bold">Rabbi (which
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3262 means Teacher). </span>As if to say: We ask you to teach us. For they already knew what is stated
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3263 in Matthew (23:10): &#8220;You have one Teacher, the Christ.&#8221; The second answer is what they
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3264 want in following him, that is, <span style="font-weight: bold">Where do you live? </span>And literally, it can be said that in truth
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3265 they were looking for the home of Christ. For because of the great and wonderful things they
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3266 had heard about him from John, they were not satisfied with questioning him only once and in
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3267 a superficial way, but wanted to do so frequently and seriously. And so they wanted to know
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3268 where his home was so that they might visit him often, according to the advice of the wise
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3269 man: &#8220;If you see a man of understanding, go to him early&#8221; (Sir 6:36), and &#8220;Happy is the man
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3270 who hears me, who watches daily at my gates&#8221; (Prv 8:34).</p>
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3271 <p>In the allegorical sense, God&#8217;s home is in heaven, according to the Psalm (122:1 ): &#8220;I have
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3272 lifted up my eyes to you, who live in heaven.&#8221; So they asked where Christ was living because
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3273 our purpose in following him should be that Christ leads us to heaven, i.e., to heavenly glory.</p>
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3274 <p>Finally, in the moral sense, they ask, <span style="font-weight: bold">Where do you live? </span>as though desiring to learn what
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3275 qualities men should possess in order to be worthy to have Christ dwell in them. Concerning
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3276 this dwelling Ephesians (2:22) says: &#8220;You are being built into a dwelling place for God.&#8221; And
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3277 the Song (1:6) says: &#8220;Show me, you whom my soul loves, where you graze your flock, where
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3278 you rest at midday.&#8221;</p>
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3279 <p>291 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Come and </span>see, Christ&#8217;s instruction of the disciples is given. First we
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3280 have the instruction of the disciples by Christ; secondly, their obedience is cited; and thirdly,
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3281 the time is given.</p>
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3282 <p>292 First he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Come and see, </span>that is, where I live. There is a difficulty here: for since the
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3283 Lord says, &#8220;The Son of Man does not have any place to lay his head&#8221; (Mt 8:20), why does he
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3284 tell them to <span style="font-weight: bold">Come and see </span>where he lives? I answer, according to Chrysostom, that when the
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3285 Lord says, &#8220;The Son of Man does not have any place to lay his head,&#8221; he showed that he had
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3286 no home of his own, but not that he did not remain in someone else&#8217;s home. And such was
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3287 the home he invited them to see, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">Come and see.</span></p>
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3288 <p>In the mystical sense, he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Come and see, </span>because the dwelling of God, whether of glory
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3289 or grace, cannot be known except by experience: for it cannot be explained in words: &#8220;I will
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3290 give him a white stone upon which is written a new name, which no one knows but he who
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3291 receives it&#8221; (Rv 2:17). And so he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Come and see: Come</span>, by believing and working; <span style="font-weight: bold">and
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3292 see, </span>by experiencing and understanding.</p>
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3293 <p>293 It should be noted that we can attain to this knowledge in four ways. First, by doing good
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3294 works; so he says, Come: &#8220;When shall I come and appear before the face of God&#8221; (Ps 41:3).
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3295 Secondly, by the rest or stillness of the mind: &#8220;Be still and see&#8221; (Ps 45:10). Thirdly, by tasting
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3296 the divine sweetness: &#8220;Taste and see that the I.ord is sweet&#8221; O&#8217;s 33:9). Fourthly, by acts of
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3297 devotion: &#8220;Let us lift up our hearts and hands in prayer&#8221; (Lam 3:41). And so the Lord says: &#8220;it
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3298 is I myself. Feel and see&#8221; (Lk 24:39).</p>
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3299 <p>294 Next the obedience of the disciples is mentioned; for immediately <span style="font-weight: bold">they went and saw,
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3300 </span>because by coming they saw him, and seeing they did not leave him. Thus it says, <span style="font-weight: bold">and they
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3301 stayed with him the rest of that day, </span>for as stated below (6:45): &#8220;Every one who hears the
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3302 Father, and has learned, comes to me.&#8221; For those who leave Christ have not yet seen him as
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3303 they should. But those who have seen him by perfectly believing <span style="font-weight: bold">stayed with him the rest of
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3304 that day; </span>hearing and seeing that blessed day, they spent a blessed night: &#8220;Happy are your
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3305 men, and happy are your servants, who always stand before you&#8221; (1 Kgs 8:10). And as
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3306 Augustine says: &#8220;Let us also build a dwelling in our heart and fashion a home where he may
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3307 come and teach us.&#8221;</p>
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3308 <p>And he says, that day, because there can be no night where the light of Christ is present,
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3309 where there is the Sun of justice.</p>
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3310 <p>295 The time is given when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">It was about the tenth hour. </span>The Evangelist mentions
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3311 this in order that, considering the literal sense, he might give credit to Christ and the disciples.
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3312 For the tenth hour is near the end of the day. And this praises Christ who was so eager to
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3313 teach that not even the lateness of the hour induced him to postpone teaching them; but he
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3314 taught them at the tenth hour. &#8220;In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not let
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3315 your hands be idle&#8221; (Ecc 11:6).</p>
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3316 <p>296 The moderation of the disciples is also praised, because even at the tenth hour, when men
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3317 usually have eaten and are less self-possessed for receiving wisdom, they were both self-possessed and prepared to hear wisdom and were not hindered because of food or wine. But
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3318 this is not unexpected, for they had been disciples of John, whose drink was water and whose
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3319 food was the locust and wild honey.</p>
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3320 <p>297 According to Augustine, however, the tenth hour signifies the law, which was given in
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3321 ten precepts. And so the disciples came to Christ at the tenth hour and remained with him to
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3322 be taught so that the law might be fulfilled by Christ, since it could not be fulfilled by the
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3323 Jews. And so at that hour he is called Rabbi, that is, Teacher.</p>
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3324 <p>298 Then (v 40), he sets forth the fruit produced by the disciple of John who was converted to
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3325 Christ. First, the disciple is described; secondly, the fruit begun by him (v 41); thirdly, the
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3326 consummation of this fruit by Christ (v 42).</p>
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3327 <p>299 The disciple is described by name when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Andrew, </span>i.e., &#8220;manly&#8221;. &#8220;Act manfully,
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3328 and let Your heart be strong,&#8221; as it says in Psalm 30 (v 25). he mentions his name in order to
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3329 show his privilege: he was not only the first to be perfectly converted to Christ, but he also
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3330 preached Christ. So, as Stephen was the first martyr after Christ, so Andrew was the first
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3331 Christian.</p>
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3332 <p>He is described, secondly, by his relationship, that is, as <span style="font-weight: bold">Simon Peter&#8217;s brother, </span>for he was
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3333 the younger. And this is mentioned to commend him, for although younger in age, he became
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3334 first in faith.</p>
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3335 <p>He is described, thirdly, by his discipleship, because he was <span style="font-weight: bold">one of the two who had
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3336 followed him. </span>His name is mentioned in order to show that Andrew&#8217;s privilege was
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3337 remarkable. For the name of the other disciple is not mentioned: either because it was John
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3338 the Evangelist himself, who through humility followed the practice in his Gospel of not
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3339 mentioning his own name when he was involved in some event; or, according to Chrysostom,
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3340 because the other one was not a notable person, nor had he done anything great, and so there
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3341 was no need to mention his name. Luke does the same in his Gospel (10:1), where he does
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3342 not mention the names of the seventy-two disciples sent out by the Lord, because they were
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3343 not the outstanding and important persons that the apostles were. Or, according to Alcuin, this
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3344 other disciple was Philip: for the Evangelist, after discussing Andrew, begins at once with
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3345 Philip, saying: &#8220;On the following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and coming upon Philip&#8221;
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3346 (below 1:43).</p>
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3347 <p>He is commended, fourthly, for the zeal of his devotion; hence he says that Andrew followed
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3348 him, i.e., Jesus: &#8220;My foot has followed in his steps&#8221; (Jb 23:11).</p>
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3349 <p>300 The fruit begun by Andrew is mentioned when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">The first thing he did was to
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3350 look for his brother Simon. </span>He first mentions the one for whom he bore fruit, that is, his
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3351 brother, in order to mark the perfection of his conversion. For as Peter says, in the <i>Itinerary of
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3352 Clement, </i>the evident sign of a perfect conversion of anyone is that, once converted, the closer
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3353 one is to him the more he tries to convert him to Christ. And so Andrew, being now perfectly
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3354 converted, does not keep the treasure he found to himself, but hurries and quickly runs to his
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3355 brother to share with him the good things he has received. And so he says the <span style="font-weight: bold">first thing he,
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3356 </span>that is, Andrew, <span style="font-weight: bold">did was to look for his brother Simon</span>, so that related in blood he might
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3357 make him related in faith: &#8220;A brother that is helped by his brother is like a strong city&#8221; (Prv
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3358 18:19); &#8220;Let him who hears say, &#8216;Come&#8217; &#8220; (Rv 22:17).</p>
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3359 <p>301 Secondly, he mentions the words spoken by Andrew, <span style="font-weight: bold">We have found the Messiah
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3360 (which means the Christ). </span>Here, according to Chrysostom, he is tacitly answering a certain
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3361 question: namely, that if someone were to ask what they had been instructed about by Christ,
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3362 they would have the ready answer that through the testimony of the Scriptures he instructed
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3363 him in such a way that he knew he was the Christ. And so he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">We have found the
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3364 Messiah. </span>He implies by this that he had previously sought him by desire for a long time:
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3365 &#8220;Happy is the man who finds wisdom&#8221; (Prv 3:13).</p>
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3366 <p>&#8220;Messiah,&#8221; which is Hebrew, is translated as &#8220;Christos&#8221; in Greek, and in Latin as &#8220;Unctus&#8221;
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3367 (anointed), because he was anointed in a special way with invisible oil, the oil of the Holy
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3368 Spirit. So Andrew explicitly designates him by this title: &#8220;Your God has anointed you with
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3369 the oil of gladness above your fellows,&#8221; i.e., above all the saints. For all the saints are
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3370 anointed with that oil, but Christ was singularly anointed and is singularly holy. So, as
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3371 Chrysostom says, he does not simply call him &#8220;Messiah,&#8221; but <span style="font-weight: bold">the Messiah.</span></p>
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3372 <p>302 Thirdly, he mentions the fruit he produced, because <span style="font-weight: bold">he brought him, </span>that is, <span style="font-weight: bold">Peter, to
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3373 Jesus. </span>This gives recognition to Peter&#8217;s obedience, for he came at once, without delay. And
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3374 consider the devotion of Andrew: for he brought him to Jesus and not to himself (for he knew
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3375 that he himself was weak); and so he leads him to Christ to be instructed by him. This shows
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3376 us that the efforts and the aim of preachers should not be to win for themselves the fruits of
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3377 their preaching, i.e., to turn them to their own private benefit and honor, but to bring them to
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3378 Jesus, i.e., to refer them to his glory and honor: &#8220;What we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus
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3379 Christ,&#8221; as is said in 2 Corinthians (4:5).</p>
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3380 <p>303 The consummation of this fruit is given when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Looking at him intently Jesus
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3381 said. </span>Here Christ, wishing to raise him up to faith in His divinity, begins to perform works of
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3382 divinity, making know things that are hidden. First of all, things which are hidden in the
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3383 present: so <span style="font-weight: bold">looking at him, </span>i.e, as soon as Jesus saw him, he considered him by the power of
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3384 his divinity and called him by name, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">You are Simon. </span>This is not surprising, for as it
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3385 is said: &#8220;Man sees the appearances, but the Lord sees the heart&#8221; (I Sm 16:7). This name is
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3386 appropriate for the mystery. For &#8220;Simon&#8221; means &#8220;obedient,&#8221; to indicate that obedience is
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3387 necessary for one who has been converted to Christ through faith: &#8220;He gives the Holy Spirit
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3388 to all who obey him&#8221; (Acts 5:32).</p>
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3389 <p>304 Secondly, he reveals things hidden in the past. Hence he says, son of John, because that
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3390 was the name of Simon&#8217;s father; or he says, &#8220;son of Jonah,&#8221; as we find in Matthew (16:17),
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3391 &#8220;Simon Bar-Jonah.&#8221; And each name is appropriate to this mystery. For &#8220;John&#8221; means
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3392 &#8220;grace,&#8221; to indicate that it is through grace that men come to the faith of Christ: &#8220;You are
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3393 saved by his grace&#8221; (Eph 2:5). And &#8220;Jonah&#8221; means &#8220;dove,&#8221; to indicate that it is by the Holy
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3394 Spirit, who has been given to us, that we are made strong in our love for God: &#8220;The love of
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3395 God is poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit&#8221; (Rom 5:5).</p>
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3396 <p>305 Thirdly, he reveals things hidden in the future. So he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">you are to be called Cephas
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3397 (which is translated Peter), </span>and in Greek, &#8220;head.&#8221; And this is appropriate to this mystery,
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3398 which is that he who was to be the head of the others and the vicar of Christ should remain
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3399 firm. As Matthew (16:18) says: &#8220;You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.&#8221;</p>
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3400 <p>306 There is a question here about the literal meaning. First, why did Christ give Simon a
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3401 name at the beginning of his conversion, rather than will that he have this name from the time
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3402 of his birth? Two different answers have been given for this. The first, according to
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3403 Chrysostom, is that divinely given names indicate a certain eminence in spiritual grace. Now
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3404 when God confers a special grace upon anyone, the name indicating that grace is given at
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3405 one&#8217;s birth: as in the case of John the Baptist, who was named before he was born, because he
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3406 had been sanctified in his mother&#8217;s womb. But sometimes a special grace is given during the
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3407 course of one&#8217;s life: then such names are divinely given at that time and not at birth: as in the
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3408 case of Abraham and Sarah, whose names were changed when they received the promise that
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3409 their posterity would multiply. Likewise, Peter is named in a divine way when he is called to
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3410 the faith of Christ and to the grace of apostleship, and particularly because he was appointed
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3411 Prince of the apostles of the entire Church&#8212;which was not done with the other apostles.</p>
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3412 <p>But, according to Augustine, if he had been called Cephas from birth, this mystery would not
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3413 have been apparent. And so the Lord willed that he should have one name at birth, so that by
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3414 changing his name the mystery of the Church, which was built on his confession of faith,
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3415 would be apparent. Now &#8220;Peter&#8221; (<i>Petrus</i>) is derived from &#8220;rock&#8221; (<i>petra</i>). But the rock. was
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3416 Christ. Thus, the name &#8220;Peter&#8221; signifies the Church, which was built upon that solid and
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3417 immovable rock which is Christ.</p>
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3418 <p>307 The second question is whether this name was given to Peter at this time, or at the time
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3419 mentioned by Matthew (16:18). Augustine answers that this name was given to Simon at this
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3420 time; and at the event reported by Matthew the Lord is not giving this name but reminding
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3421 him of the name that was given, so that Christ is using this name as already given. But others
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3422 think that this name was given when the Lord said, &#8220;You are Peter, and upon this rock I will
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3423 build my church&#8221; (Mt 16:18); and in this passage in the Gospel of John, Christ is not giving
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3424 this name, but foretelling what will be given later.</p>
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3425 <p>308 The third question is about the calling of Peter and Andrew: for here it says that they
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3426 were called near the Jordan, because they were John&#8217;s disciples; but in Matthew (4:18) it says
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3427 that Christ called them by the Sea of Galilee. The answer to this is that there was a triple
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3428 calling of the apostles. The first was a call to knowledge or friendship and faith; and this is
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3429 the one recorded here. The second consisted in the prediction of their office: &#8220;From now on
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3430 you will be catching men&#8221; (Lk 5:10). The third call was to their apostleship, which is
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3431 mentioned by Matthew (4:18). This was the perfect call because after this they were not to
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3432 return to their own pursuits.</p>
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3433 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in">&#160;</p>
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3434 <p style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 0.125in"><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE16</span></p>
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3435 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>43 On the following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and coming upon Philip, he said,
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3436 &#8220;Follow me.&#8221; 44 Now Philip came from Bethsaida, the same town as Andrew and Peter. 45
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3437 Philip sought out Nathanael, and said to him, &#8220;We have found the one Moses spoke of in the
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3438 law - the prophets too - Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth.&#8221; 46 &#8220;From Nazareth!&#8221; Nathanael
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3439 replied, &#8220;What good can come from th1t place?&#8221; Philip said, &#8220;Come and see.&#8221; 47 When Jesus
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3440 saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him: &#8220;Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is
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3441 no guile.&#8221; 48 Nathanael asked him, &#8220;How do you know me?&#8221; Jesus replied and said, &#8220;Before
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3442 Philip called you, I saw you when you were sitting under the fig tree.&#8221; 49 &#8220;Rabbi,&#8221; said
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3443 Nathanael, &#8220;you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.&#8221; 50 Jesus responded and said,
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3444 &#8220;You believed just because I said to you that I saw you sitting under the fig tree! You will see
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3445 greater things than this.&#8221; 51 He went on to say, &#8220;Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see the
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3446 heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.&#8221;</p></BLOCKQUOTE>
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3447 <p>309 After having shown the fruit produced by John&#8217;s preaching and that of his disciples, the
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3448 Evangelist now shows the fruit obtained from the preaching of Christ. First, he deals with the
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3449 conversion of one disciple as the result of Christ&#8217;s preaching. Secondly, the conversion of
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3450 others due to the preaching of the disciple just converted to Christ (v 45). As to the first he
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3451 does three things: first, the occasion when the disciple is called is given; secondly, his calling
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3452 is described; thirdly, his situation.</p>
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3453 <p>310 The occasion of his calling was the departure of Jesus from Judea. So he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">On the
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3454 following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and coming upon Philip. </span>There are three
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3455 reasons why Jesus left for Galilee, two of which are literal. One of these is that after being
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3456 baptized by John and desiring to shed honor on the Baptist, he left Judea for Galilee so that
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3457 his presence would not obscure and lessen John&#8217;s teaching authority (while he still retained
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3458 that state); and this teaches us to show honor to one another, as is said in Romans (12:10).</p>
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3459 <p>The second reason is that there are no distinguished persons in Galilee: &#8220;No prophet is to rise
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3460 from Galilee&#8221; (below 7:52). And so, to show the greatness of his power, Christ wished to go
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3461 there and choose there the princes of the earth, who are greater than the prophets: &#8220;He has
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3462 turned the desert into pools of water,&#8221; as we read in Psalm 106 (v 35).</p>
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3463 <p>The third reason is mystical: for &#8220;Galilee&#8221; means &#8220;passage.&#8221; So Christ desired to go from
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3464 Judea into Galilee in order to indicate that on &#8220;on the following day,&#8221; i.e., on the day of grace,
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3465 that is, the day of the Good News, he would pass from Judea into Galilee, i.e., to save the
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3466 Gentiles: &#8220;Is he going to go to those who are dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the
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3467 Gentiles?&#8221; (below 7:35).</p>
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3468 <p>311 A disciple&#8217;s vocation is to follow: hence he says that after Christ found Philip he said,
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3469 <span style="font-weight: bold">Follow me. </span>Note that sometimes man finds God, but without knowing it, as it were: &#8220;He who
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3470 finds me will find life, and will have salvation from the Lord&#8221; (Prv 8:35). And at other times
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3471 God finds the man, in order to bestow honor and greatness upon him: &#8220;I have found David,
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3472 my servant&#8221; (Ps 88:2 1 ). Christ found Philip in this way, that is, to call him to the faith and to
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3473 grace. And so he says at once, <span style="font-weight: bold">Follow me.</span></p>
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3474 <p>312 There is a question here: Why did not Jesus call his disciples at the very beginning?
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3475 Chrysostorn answers that he did not wish to call anyone before someone clung to him
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3476 spontaneoulsy because of John&#8217;s preaching, for men are drawn by example more than by
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3477 words.</p>
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3478 <p>313 One might also ask why Philip followed Christ immediately after only a word, while
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3479 Andrew followed Christ after hearing about him from John, and Peter after hearing from
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3480 Andrew.</p>
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3481 <p>Three answers can be given. One is that Philip had already been instructed by John: for
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3482 according to one of the explanations given above, Philip was that other disciple who followed
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3483 Christ along with Andrew. Another is that Christ&#8217;s voice had power not only to act on one&#8217;s
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3484 hearing from without, but also on the heart from within: &#8220;My words are like fire&#8221; (Jer 23:29).
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3485 For the voice of Christ was spoken not only to the exterior, but it enkindled the interior of the
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3486 faithful to love him. The third answer is that Philip. had perhaps already been instructed about
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3487 Christ by Andrew and Peter, since they were from the same town. In fact, this is what the
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3488 Evangelist seems to imply by adding, <span style="font-weight: bold">Now Philip came from Bethsaida, the same town as
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3489 Andrew and Peter.</span></p>
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3490 <p>314 This gives us the situation of the disciples he called: for they were from Bethsaida. And
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3491 this is appropriate to this mystery. For &#8220;Bethsaida&#8221; means &#8220;house of hunters,&#8221; to show the
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3492 attitude of Philip, Peter and Andrew at that time, and because it was fitting to call, from the
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3493 house of hunters, hunters who were to capture souls for life: &#8220;I will send my hunters&#8221; (Jer
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3494 16:16).</p>
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3495 <p>315 Now the fruit produced by the disciple who was converted to Christ is given. First, the
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3496 beginning of the fruit, coming from this disciple. Secondly, its consummation by Christ (v
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3497 47). As to the first, he does three things: first, the statement of Philip is given; secondly,
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3498 Nathanael&#8217;s response; and thirdly, Philip&#8217;s ensuing advice.</p>
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3499 <p>316 As to the first, note that just as Andrew, after having been perfectly converted, was eager
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3500 to lead his brother to Christ, so too Philip with regard to his brother, Nathanael. And so he
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3501 says that Philip found Nathanael, whom he probably looked for as Andrew did for Peter; and
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3502 this was a sign of a perfect conversion. The word &#8220;Nathanael&#8221; means &#8220;gift of God&#8221;; and it is
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3503 God&#8217;s gift if anyone is converted to Christ.</p>
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3504 <p>He tells him that all the prophecies and the law have been fulfilled, and that the desires of
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3505 their holy forefathers are not in vain, but have been guaranteed, and that what God has
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3506 promised was now accomplished. <span style="font-weight: bold">We have found the one Moses spoke of in the law&#8212;the
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3507 prophets too&#8212;Jesus. </span>We understand by this that Nathanael was fairly learned in the law,
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3508 and that Philip, now having learned about Christ, wished to lead Nathanael to Christ through
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3509 the things he himself knew, that is, from the law and the prophets. So he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">the one Moses
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3510 spoke of in the law. </span>For Moses wrote of Christ: &#8220;If you believed Moses, you would perhaps
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3511 believe me, for he wrote of me&#8221; (below 5:46). <span style="font-weight: bold">The prophets too </span>wrote of Christ: &#8220;All the
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3512 prophets bear witness to him&#8221; (Acts 10:43).</p>
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3513 <p>317 Note that Philip says three things about Christ that are in agreement with the law and the
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3514 prophets. First, the name: for he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">We have found Jesus. </span>And this agrees with the
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3515 prophets: &#8220;I will send them a Savior&#8221; (Is 19:20); &#8220;1 will rejoice in God, my Jesus&#8221; (Hb 3:18).</p>
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3516 <p>Secondly, the family from which Christ took his human origin, when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">son of Joseph,
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3517 </span>i.e., who was of the house and family of David. And although Jesus did not derive his origin
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3518 from him, yet he did derive it from the Virgin, who was of the same line as Joseph. He calls
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3519 him the son of Joseph, because Jesus was considered to be the son of the one to whom his
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3520 mother was married. So it is said: &#8220;the son of Joseph (as was supposed)&#8221; (Lk 3:23). Nor is it
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3521 strange that Philip called him the son of Joseph, since his own mother, who was aware of his
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3522 divine incarnation, called him his son: &#8220;Your father and I have been looking for you in
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3523 sorrow&#8221; (Lk 2:48). Indeed, if one is called the son of another because he is supported by him,
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3524 this is more reason why Joseph should be called the father of Jesus, even though he was not
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3525 so according to the flesh: for he not only supported him, but was the husband of his virgin
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3526 mother. However, Philip calls him the son of Joseph (not as though he was born from the
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3527 union of Joseph and the Virgin) because he knew that Christ would be born from the line of
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3528 David; and this was the house and family of Joseph, to whom Mary was married. And this
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3529 also is in agreement with the prophets: &#8220;I will raise up a just branch for David&#8221; (Jer 23:5).</p>
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3530 <p>Thirdly, he mentions his native land, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">from Nazareth; </span>not because he had been born
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3531 there, but because he was brought up there; but he had been born in Bethlehem. Philip omits
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3532 to mention Bethlehem but not Nazareth because, while the birth of Christ was not known to
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3533 many, the place where he was brought up was. And this also agrees with the prophets: &#8220;A
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3534 shoot will arise from the root of Jesse, and a flower (or Nazarene, according to another
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3535 version) will rise up from his roots&#8221; (Is I I: I).</p>
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3536 <p>318 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Nathanael replied, </span>the answer of Nathanael is given. His answer
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3537 can be interpreted as an assertion or as a question; and in either way it is suitable to Philip&#8217;s
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3538 affirmation. If it is taken as an assertion, as Augustine does, the meaning is: &#8220;Some good can
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3539 come from Nazareth.&#8221; In other words, from a city with that name it is possible that there
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3540 come forth to us some very excellent grace or some outstanding teacher to preach to us about
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3541 the flower of the virtues and the purity of sanctity; for &#8220;Nazareth&#8221; means &#8220;flower.&#8221; We can
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3542 understand from this that Nathanael, being quite learned in the law and a student of the
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3543 Scriptures, knew that the Savior was expected to come from Nazareth&#8212;something that was
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3544 not so clear even to the Scribes and Pharisees. And so when Philip said, <span style="font-weight: bold">We have found
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3545 Jesus from Nazareth, </span>his hopes were lifted and he answered: &#8220;Indeed, some good can come
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3546 from Nazareth.&#8221;</p>
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3547 <p>But if we take his answer as a question, as Chrysostom does, then the sense is: <span style="font-weight: bold">From
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3548 Nazareth! What good can come from that place? </span>As if to say: Everything else you say
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3549 seems credible, because his name and his lineage are consistent with the prophecies, but your
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3550 statement that he is <span style="font-weight: bold">from Nazareth </span>does not seem possible. For Nathanael understood from
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3551 the Scriptures that the Christ was to come from Bethlehem, according to: &#8220;And you,
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3552 Bethlehem, land of Judah, are not the least among the princes of Judah: for out of you a ruler
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3553 will come forth, who will rule my people Israel,&#8221; as we read in Matthew (2:6). And so, not
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3554 finding Philip&#8217;s statement in agreement with the prophecy, he prudently and moderately
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3555 inquires about its truth, <span style="font-weight: bold">What good can come from that place?</span></p>
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3556 <p>319 Then Philip&#8217;s advice is given, <span style="font-weight: bold">Come and see. </span>And this advice suits either interpretation
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3557 of Nathanael&#8217;s answer. To the assertive interpretation it is as though he says: You say that
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3558 something good can come from Nazareth, but I say that the good I state to you is of such a
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3559 nature and so marvelous that I am unable to express it in words, so <span style="font-weight: bold">Come and see</span>. To the
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3560 interpretation that makes it a question, it as as though he says: You wonder and say: <span style="font-weight: bold">What
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3561 good can come from that place?, </span>thinking that this is impossible according to the Scriptures.
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3562 But if you are willing to experience what I experienced, you will understand that what I say is
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3563 true, so <span style="font-weight: bold">Come and see.</span></p>
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3564 <p>Then, not discouraged by his questions, Philip brings Nathanael to Christ. He knew that he
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3565 would no longer argue with him if he tasted the words and teaching of Christ. And in this,
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3566 Philip was imitating Christ who earlier answered those who had asked about the place where
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3567 he lived: &#8220;Come and see ... &#8220;Come to him, and be enlightened&#8221; (Ps 33:6).</p>
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3568 <p>320 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">When Jesus saw Nathanael, </span>the consummation of this fruit by
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3569 Christ is described. We should note that there are two ways in which men are converted to
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3570 Christ: some by miracles they have seen and things experienced in themselves or in others;
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3571 others are converted through internal insights, through prophecy and the foreknowledge of
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3572 what is hidden in the future. The second way is more efficacious than the first: for devils and
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3573 certain men who receive their help can simulate marvels; but to predict the future can only be
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3574 done by divine power. &#8220;Tell us what is to come, and we will say that you are gods&#8221; (Is 41:23);
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3575 &#8220;Prophecies are for those who believe.&#8221; And so our Lord draws Nathanael to the faith not by
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3576 miracles but by making known things which are hidden. And so he says of him, <span style="font-weight: bold">Here is a
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3577 true Israelite, in whom there is no guile.</span></p>
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3578 <p>321 Christ mentions three hidden matters: things hidden in the present, in the heart; past
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3579 facts; and future heavenly matters. To know these three things is not a human but a divine
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3580 achievement.</p>
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3581 <p>He mentions things hidden in the present when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Here is a true Israelite, in whom
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3582 there is no guile. </span>Here we have, first, the prior revelation of Christ; secondly, Nathanael&#8217;s
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3583 question, <span style="font-weight: bold">How do you know me?</span></p>
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3584 <p>322 First he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him. </span>As if to say: Before
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3585 Nathanael reached him, Jesus said, <span style="font-weight: bold">Here is a true Israelite. </span>He said this about him before he
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3586 came to him, because had he said it after he came, Nathanael might have believed that Jesus
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3587 had heard it from Philip.</p>
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3588 <p>Christ said, <span style="font-weight: bold">Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is no guile. </span>Now &#8220;Israel&#8221; has two
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3589 meanings. One of these, as the Gloss says, is &#8220;most righteous&#8221;.&#8212;&#8220;Do not fear, my most
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3590 righteous servant, whom I have chosen&#8221; (Is 44:2). Its second meaning is &#8220;the man who sees
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3591 God.&#8221; And according to each meaning Nathanael is a true Israelite. For since one in whom
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3592 there is no guile is called righteous, Nathanael is said to be a <span style="font-weight: bold">true Israelite, in whom there is
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3593 no guile. </span>As if to say: You truly represent your race because you are righteous and without
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3594 guile. Further, because man sees God through cleanness of heart and simplicity, Christ said, <span style="font-weight: bold">a
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3595 true Israelite, </span>i.e., you are a man who truly sees God because you are simple and without
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3596 guile.</p>
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3597 <p>Further, he said, <span style="font-weight: bold">in whom there is no guile, </span>so that we do not think that it was with malice
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3598 that Nathanael asked: <span style="font-weight: bold">What good can come from that place?</span></p>
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3599 <p>323 Augustine has a different explanation of this passage. It is clear that all are born under
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3600 sin. Now those who have sin in their hearts but outwardly pretend to be just are called
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3601 guileful. But a sinner who admits that he is a sinner is not guileful. So Christ said, <span style="font-weight: bold">Here is a
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3602 true Israelite, in whom there is no guile, </span>not because Nathanael was without sin, or because
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3603 he had no need of a physician, for no one is born in such a way as not to need a physician; but
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3604 he was praised by Christ because he admitted his sins.</p>
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3605 <p>324 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">How do you know me?, </span>we have Nathanael&#8217;s question. For
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3606 Nathanael, in wonder at the divine power in this revelation of what is hidden, because this can
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3607 only be from God&#8212;&#8220;The heart is depraved and inscrutable, and who is able to know it? I the
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3608 Lord search the heart and probe the loins&#8221; (Jer 17:9); &#8220;Man sees the appearances, but the Lord
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3609 sees the heart&#8221; (I Sin 16:7)&#8212;asks, <span style="font-weight: bold">How do you know me? </span>Here we can recognize
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3610 Nathanael&#8217;s humility, because, although he had been praised, he did not become elated, but
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3611 held this praise of himself suspect. &#8220;My people, who call you blessed, they are deceiving you&#8221;
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3612 (Is 3:12).</p>
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3613 <p>325 Then he touches on matters in the past, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">Before Philip called you, I saw you
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3614 when you were sitting under the fig tree. </span>First we have the statement of Christ; secondly,
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3615 the confession of Nathanael.</p>
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3616 <p>326 As to the first, we should note that Nathanael might have had two misgivings about
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3617 Christ. One, that Christ said this in order to win his friendship by flattery; the other, that
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3618 Christ had learned what he knew from others. So, to remove Nathanael&#8217;s suspicions and raise
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3619 him to higher things, Christ reveals certain hidden matters that no one could know except in a
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3620 divine way, that is, things that related only to Nathanael. He refers to these when he says,
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3621 <span style="font-weight: bold">Before Philip called you, I saw you when you were sitting under the fig tree. </span>In the literal
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3622 sense, this means that Nathanael was under a fig tree when he was called by Philip&#8212;which
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3623 Christ knew by divine power, for &#8220;The eyes of the Lord are far brighter than the sun&#8221; (Sir
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3624 23:28).</p>
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3625 <p>In the mystical sense, the fig tree signifies sin: both because we find a fig tree, bearing only
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3626 leaves but no fruit, being cursed, as a symbol of sin (Mt 11:19); and because Adam and Eve,
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3627 after they had sinned, made clothes from fig leaves. So he says here, when you were sitting
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3628 under the fig tree, i.e., under the shadow of sin, before you were called to grace, I saw you,
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3629 with the eye of mercy; for God&#8217;s predestination looks upon the predestined, who are living
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3630 under sin, with an eye of pity, for as Ephesians (1:4) says, &#8220; He chose us before the
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3631 foundation of the world.&#8221; And he speaks of this eye here: I saw you, by predestining you from
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3632 eternity.</p>
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3633 <p>Or, the meaning is, according to Gregory: I saw you when <span style="font-weight: bold">you were sitting under the fig
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3634 tree</span>, i.e., under the shadow of the law. &#8220;The law has only a shadow of the good things to
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3635 come&#8221; (Heb 10:1).</p>
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3636 <p>327 Hearing this, Nathanael is immediately converted, and, seeing the power of the divinity
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3637 in Christ, breaks out in words of conversion and praise, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">Rabbi, you are the Son of
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3638 God</span>. Here he considers three things about Christ. First, the fullness of his knowledge, when
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3639 he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Rabbi, </span>which is translated as Teacher. As if to say: You are perfect in knowledge.
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3640 For he had already realized what is said in Matthew (23:10): &#8220;You have one Teacher, the
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3641 Christ.&#8221; Secondly, the excellence of his singular grace, when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">you are the Son of
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3642 God</span>. For it is due to grace alone that one becomes a son of God by adoption. And it is also
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3643 through grace that one is a son of God through union; and this is exclusive to the man Christ,
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3644 because that man is the Son of God not due to any preceding merit, but through the grace of
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3645 union. Thirdly, he considers the greatness of his power when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">you are the King of
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3646 Israel</span>, i.e., awaited by Israel as its king and defender: &#8220;His power is everlasting&#8221; (Dn 7:14).</p>
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3647 <p>328 A question comes up at this point, according to Chrysostom. For since Peter, who after
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3648 many miracles and much teaching, confessed what Nathanael confesses here about Christ,
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3649 that is, you are <span style="font-weight: bold">the Son of God, </span>merited a blessing, as the Lord said: &#8220;Blessed are you, Simon
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3650 Bar-Jona&#8221; (Mt 16:17), why not the same for Nathanael, who said the same thing before seeing
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3651 any miracles or receiving any teaching? Chrysostom answers that the reason for this is that
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3652 even though Nathanael and Peter spoke the same words, the meaning of the two was not the
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3653 same. For Peter acknowledged that Christ was the true Son of God by nature, i.e., he was
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3654 man, and yet truly God; but Nathanael acknowledged that Christ was the Son of God by
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3655 means of adoption, in the sense of, &#8220;I said: You are gods, and all of you the sons of the Most
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3656 High&#8221;(Ps 81:6). This is clear from what Nathanael said next: for if he had understood that
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3657 Christ was the Son of God by nature, he would not have said, you are the King of Israel, but
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3658 &#8220;of the whole world.&#8221; It is also clear from the fact that Christ added nothing to the faith of
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3659 Peter, since it was perfect, but stated that he would build the Church on that profession. But
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3660 he raises Nathanael to greater things, since the greater part of his profession was deficient; to
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3661 greater things, i.e., to a knowledge of his divinity.</p>
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3662 <p>329 And so he said, <span style="font-weight: bold">You will </span>see greater <span style="font-weight: bold">things than this. </span>Here we have, thirdly, an allusion
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3663 to the future. As if to say: Because I have revealed the past to you, you believe that I am the
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3664 Son of God only by adoption, and the King of Israel; but I will bring you to greater
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3665 knowledge, so that you may believe that I am the natural Son of God, and the King of all
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3666 ages. And accordingly he says, Amen, amen, I say to <span style="font-weight: bold">you, you will see the heavens opened
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3667 and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. </span>By this, according to
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3668 Chrysostom, the Lord wishes to prove that he is the true Son of God, and God. For the
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3669 peculiar task of angels is to minister and be subject: &#8220;Bless the Lord, all of you, his angels, his
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3670 ministers, who do his will&#8221; (Ps 102:20). So when you see angels minister to me, you will be
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3671 certain that I am the true Son of God. &#8220;When he leads his First-Begotten into the world, he
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3672 says: &#8216;Let all the angels of God adore him&#8217;&#8221; (Heb 1:6).</p>
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3673 <p>330 When did the apostles see this? They saw it, I say, during the passion, when an angel
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3674 stood by to comfort Christ (Lk 22:13); again, at the resurrection, when the apostles found two
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3675 angels who were standing over the tomb. Again, at the ascension, when the angels said to the
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3676 apostles: &#8220;Men of Galilee, why are you standing here looking up to heaven? This Jesus, who
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3677 has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you have seen him going
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3678 into heaven&#8221; (Acts 1:11 ).</p>
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3679 <p>331 Because Christ spoke the truth about the past, it was easier for Nathanael to believe what
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3680 he foretells about the future, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">you will see</span>. For one who has revealed the truth about
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3681 things hidden in the past, has an evident argument that what he is saying about the future is
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3682 true. He says, <span style="font-weight: bold">the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man, </span>because, in
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3683 his mortal flesh, he was a little less than the angels; and from this point of view, angels
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3684 ascend and descend upon him. But insofar as he is the Son of God, he is above the angels, as
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3685 was said.</p>
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3686 <p>332 According to Augustine, Christ is here revealing his divinity in a beautiful way. For it is
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3687 recorded that Jacob dreamed of a ladder, standing on the ground, with &#8220;the angels of God
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3688 ascending and descending on it&#8221; (Gn 28:16). Then Jacob arose and poured oil on a stone and
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3689 said, &#8220;Truly, the Lord is in this place&#8221; (Gn 28:16). Now that stone is Christ, whom the
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3690 builders rejected; and the invisible oil of the Holy Spirit was poured on him. He is set up as a
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3691 pillar, because he was to be the foundation of the Church: &#8220;No one can lay another foundation
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3692 except that which has been laid&#8221; (1 Cor 3:11). The angels are ascending and descending
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3693 inasmuch as they are ministering and serving before him. So he said, <span style="font-weight: bold">Amen, amen, I say to
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3694 you, you will see the heavens opened, </span>and so forth, as if to say: Because you are truly an
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3695 Israelite, give heed to what Israel saw, so that you many believe that I am the one signified by
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3696 the stone anointed by Jacob, for you also will see angels ascending and descending upon him
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3697 [viz. Jesus].</p>
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3698 <p>333 Or, the angels are, according to Augustine, the preachers of Christ: &#8220;Go, swift angels, to a
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3699 nation rent and torn to pieces,&#8221; as it says in Isaiah (18:2). They ascend through contemplation,
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3700 just as Paul had ascended even to the third heaven (2 Cor 12:2); and they descend by
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3701 instructing their neighbor. <span style="font-weight: bold">On the Son of Man, </span>i.e., for the honor of Christ, because &#8220;what
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3702 we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ&#8221; (2 Cor 4:5). In order that they might ascend and
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3703 descend, the heavens were opened, because heavenly graces must be given to preachers if
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3704 they are to ascend and descend. &#8220;The heavens broke at the presence of God&#8221; (Ps 67:9); &#8220;1 saw
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3705 the heavens open&#8221; (Rv 4:1 ).</p>
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3706 <p>334 Now the reason why Nathanael was not chosen to be an apostle after such a profession of
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3707 faith is that Christ did not want the conversion of the world to the faith to be attributed to
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3708 human wisdom, but solely to the power of God. And so he did not choose Nathanael as an
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3709 apostle, since he was very learned in the law; he rather chose simple and uneducated men.
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3710 &#8220;Not many of you are learned,&#8221; and &#8220;God chose the simple of the world&#8221; (1 Cor 1:26).</p>
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3711 </body>
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3712
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3713 </html>