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| author | Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk> |
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| date | Sat, 03 May 2025 22:47:32 +0100 |
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14 <p>LECTURE I</p> |
| 35 | 15 <p>1 In the beginning was the Word;<br /> |
| 16 and the Word was with God;<br /> | |
| 17 and the Word was God.<br /> | |
| 18 2 He was in the beginning with God.</p> | |
| 19 </center> | |
| 20 <p>23 John the Evangelist, as already indicated, makes it his | |
| 21 principal object to show the divinity of the Incarnate Word. | |
| 22 Accordingly, his Gospel is divided into two parts. In the first he | |
| 23 states the divinity of Christ; in the second he shows it by the | |
| 24 things Christ did in the flesh (2:1). In regard to the first, he | |
| 25 does two things. First he shows the divinity of Christ; secondly he | |
| 26 sets forth the manner in which Christ’s divinity is made | |
| 27 known to us (1:14). Concerning the first he does two things. First | |
| 28 he treats of the divinity of Christ; secondly of the incarnation of | |
| 29 the Word of God (1:6).</p> | |
| 30 <p>Because there are two items to be considered in each thing, | |
| 31 namely, its existence and its operation or power, first he treats | |
| 32 the existence of the Word as to his divine nature; secondly of his | |
| 33 power or operation (1:3). In regard to the first he does four | |
| 34 things. First he shows when the Word was: <span style= | |
| 35 "font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the Word;</span> secondly | |
| 36 where he was: <span style="font-weight: bold">and the Word was with | |
| 37 God;</span> thirdly what fie was: <span style= | |
| 38 "font-weight: bold">and the Word was God;</span> fourthly, in what | |
| 39 way he was: <span style="font-weight: bold">He was in the beginning | |
| 40 with God.</span> The first two pertain to the inquiry | |
| 41 “whether something exists”; the second two pertain to | |
| 42 the inquiry “what something is.”</p> | |
| 43 <p>24 With respect to the first of these four we must examine the | |
| 44 meaning of the statement, <span style="font-weight: bold">In the | |
| 45 beginning was the Word.</span> And here three things present | |
| 46 themselves for careful study according to the three parts of this | |
| 47 statement. First it is necessary to investigate the name Word; | |
| 48 secondly the phrase <span style="font-weight: bold">in the | |
| 49 beginning;</span> thirdly the meaning of the Word <span style= | |
| 50 "font-weight: bold">was in the beginning.</span></p> | |
| 51 <p>25 To understand the name <span style= | |
| 52 "font-weight: bold">Word</span> we should note that according to | |
| 53 the Philosopher [<i>On Interpretation</i> 16a3] vocal sounds are | |
| 54 signs of the affections that exist in our soul. It is customary in | |
| 55 Scripture for the things signified to be themselves called by the | |
| 56 names of their signs, as in the statement, “And the rock was | |
| 57 Christ” ( 1 Cor 10:4). It is fitting that what is within our | |
| 58 soul, and which is signified by our external word, be called a | |
| 59 “word.” But whether the name “word” belongs | |
| 60 first to the exterior vocal sound or to the conception in our mind, | |
| 61 is not our concern at present. However, it is obvious that what is | |
| 62 signified by the vocal sound, as existing interiorly in the soul, | |
| 63 exists prior to the vocal expression inasmuch as it is its actual | |
| 64 cause. Therefore if we wish to grasp the meaning of the interior | |
| 65 word, we must first look at the meaning of that which is exteriorly | |
| 66 expressed in words.</p> | |
| 67 <p>Now there are three things in our intellect: the intellectual | |
| 68 power itself, the species of the thing understood (and this species | |
| 69 is its form, being to the intellect what the species of a color is | |
| 70 to the eye), and thirdly the very activity of the intellect, which | |
| 71 is to understand. But none of these is what is signified by the | |
| 72 exterior vocal word: for the name “stone” does not | |
| 73 signify the substance of the intellect because this is not what the | |
| 74 one naming intends; nor does it signify the species, which is that | |
| 75 by which the intellect understands, since this also is not the | |
| 76 intention of the one naming; nor does it signify the act itself of | |
| 77 understanding since to understand is not an action proceeding to | |
| 78 the exterior from the one understanding, but an action remaining | |
| 79 within. Therefore, that is properly called an interior word which | |
| 80 the one understanding forms when understanding.</p> | |
| 81 <p>Now the intellect forms two things, according to its two | |
| 82 operations. According to its operation which is called “the | |
| 83 understanding of indivisibles,” it forms a definition; while | |
| 84 according to its operation by which it unites and separates, it | |
| 85 forms an enunciation or something of that sort. Hence, what is thus | |
| 86 formed and expressed by the operation of the intellect, whether by | |
| 87 defining or enunciating, is what the exterior vocal sound | |
| 88 signifies. So the Philosopher says that the notion (ratio) which a | |
| 89 name signifies is a definition. Hence, what is thus expressed, | |
| 90 i.e., formed in the soul, is called an interior word. Consequently | |
| 91 it is compared to the intellect, not as that by which the intellect | |
| 92 understands, but as that in which it understands, because it is in | |
| 93 what is thus expressed and formed that it sees the nature of the | |
| 94 thing understood. Thus we have the meaning of the name | |
| 95 “word.”</p> | |
| 96 <p>Secondly, from what has been said we are able to understand that | |
| 97 a word is always something that proceeds from an intellect existing | |
| 98 in act; and furthermore, that a word is always a notion (ratio) and | |
| 99 likeness of the thing understood. So if the one understanding and | |
| 100 the thing understood are the same, then the word is a notion and | |
| 101 likeness of the intellect from which it proceeds. On the other | |
| 102 hand, if the one understanding is other than the thing understood, | |
| 103 then the word is not a likeness and notion of the one understanding | |
| 104 but of the thing understood, as the conception which one has of a | |
| 105 stone is a likeness of only the stone. But when the intellect | |
| 106 understands itself, its word is a likeness and notion of the | |
| 107 intellect. And so Augustine (<i>On the Trinity</i> IX, 5) sees a | |
| 108 likeness of the Trinity in the Soul insofar as the mind understands | |
| 109 itself, but not insofar as it understands other things.</p> | |
| 110 <p>It is clear then that it is necessary to have a word in any | |
| 111 intellectual nature, for it is of the very nature of understanding | |
| 112 that the intellect in understanding should form something. Now what | |
| 113 is formed is called a word, and so it follows that in every being | |
| 114 which understands there must be a word.</p> | |
| 115 <p>However, intellectual natures are of three kinds: human, angelic | |
| 116 and divine; and so there are three kinds of words. The human word, | |
| 117 about which it is said in the Psalm (13:1): “The fool said in | |
| 118 his heart, ‘There is no God.’ “ The angelic word, | |
| 119 about which it is said in Zechariah (1:9), and in many places in | |
| 120 Sacred Scripture, “And the angel said to me.” The third | |
| 121 is the divine word, of which Genesis (1:3) says, “And God | |
| 122 said, ‘Let there be light.’ “ So when the | |
| 123 Evangelist says, <span style="font-weight: bold">In the beginning | |
| 124 was the Word,</span> we cannot understand this as a human or | |
| 125 angelic word, because both these words have been made since man and | |
| 126 angel have a cause and principle of their existence and operation, | |
| 127 and the word of a man or an angel cannot exist before they do. The | |
| 128 word the Evangelist had in mind he shows by saying that this word | |
| 129 was not made, since all things were made by it. Therefore, the word | |
| 130 about which John speaks here is the Word of God.</p> | |
| 131 <p>26 We should note that this Word differs from our own word in | |
| 132 three ways. The first difference, according to Augustine, is that | |
| 133 our word is formable before being formed, for when I wish to | |
| 134 conceive the notion of a stone, I must arrive at it by reasoning. | |
| 135 And so it is in all other things that are understood by us, with | |
| 136 the sole possible exception of the first principles which, since | |
| 137 they are known in a simple manner, are known at once without any | |
| 138 discourse of reason. So as long as the intellect, in so reasoning, | |
| 139 casts about this way and that, the formation is not yet complete. | |
| 140 It is only when it has conceived the notion of the thing perfectly | |
| 141 that for the first time it has the notion of the complete thing and | |
| 142 a word. Thus in our mind there is both a “cogitation,” | |
| 143 meaning the discourse involved in an investigation, and a word, | |
| 144 which is formed according to a perfect contemplation of the truth. | |
| 145 So our word is first in potency before it is in act. But the Word | |
| 146 of God is always in act. In consequence, the term | |
| 147 “cogitation” does not properly speaking apply to the | |
| 148 Word of God. For Augustine says (<i>On the Trinity</i> XV)<i>:</i> | |
| 149 “The Word of God is spoken of in such a way that cogitation | |
| 150 is not included, lest anything changeable be supposed in | |
| 151 God.” Anselm was speaking improperly when he said: “For | |
| 152 the supreme Spirit to speak is for him to look at something while | |
| 153 cogitating.”</p> | |
| 154 <p>27 The second difference is that our word is imperfect, but the | |
| 155 divine Word is most perfect. For since we cannot express all our | |
| 156 conceptions in one word, we must form many imperfect words through | |
| 157 which we separately express all that is in our knowledge. But it is | |
| 158 not that way with God. For since he understands both himself and | |
| 159 everything else through his essence, by one act, the single divine | |
| 160 Word is expressive of all that is in God, not only of the Persons | |
| 161 but also of creatures; otherwise it would be imperfect. So | |
| 162 Augustine says: “If there were less in the Word than is | |
| 163 contained in the knowledge of the One speaking it, the Word would | |
| 164 be imperfect; but it is obvious that it is most perfect; therefore, | |
| 165 it is only one.” “God speaks once” (Jb | |
| 166 33:14).</p> | |
| 167 <p>28 The third difference is that our word is not of the same | |
| 168 nature as we; but the divine Word is of the same nature as God. And | |
| 169 therefore it is something that subsists in the divine nature. For | |
| 170 the understood notion which the intellect is seen to fonn about | |
| 171 some thing has only an intelligible existence in our soul. Now in | |
| 172 our soul, to understand is not the same as the nature of the soul, | |
| 173 because our soul is not its own operation. Consequently, the word | |
| 174 which our intellect forms is not of the essence of our soul, but is | |
| 175 an accident of it. But in God, to understand and to be are the | |
| 176 same; and so the Word of the divine intellect is not an accident | |
| 177 but belongs to its nature. Thus it must be subsistent, because | |
| 178 whatever is in the nature of God is God. Thus Damascene says that | |
| 179 God is a substantial Word, and a hypostasis, but our words are | |
| 180 concepts in our mind.</p> | |
| 181 <p>29 From the above it is clear that the Word, properly speaking, | |
| 182 is always understood as a Person in the Divinity, since it implies | |
| 183 only something expressed, by the one understanding; also, that in | |
| 184 the Divinity the Word is the likeness of that from which it issues; | |
| 185 and that it is co-eternal with that from which it issues, since it | |
| 186 was not first formable before being formed, but was always in act; | |
| 187 and that it is equal to the Father, since it is perfect and | |
| 188 expressive of the whole being of the Father; and that it is | |
| 189 co-essential and consubstantial with the Father, since it is his | |
| 190 substance.</p> | |
| 191 <p>It is also clear that since in every nature that which issues | |
| 192 forth and has a likeness to the nature from which it issues is | |
| 193 called a son, and since this Word issues forth in a likeness and | |
| 194 identity to the nature from which it issues, it is suitably and | |
| 195 appropriately called a “Son,” and its production is | |
| 196 called a generation.</p> | |
| 197 <p>So now the first point is clear, the meaning of the <span style= | |
| 198 "font-weight: bold">term Word.</span></p> | |
| 199 <p>30 There are four questions on this point, two of them from | |
| 200 Chrysostom. The first is: Why did John the Evangelist oinit the | |
| 201 Father and begin at once with the Son, saying, <span style= | |
| 202 "font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the Word?</span></p> | |
| 203 <p>There are two answers to this. One is that the Father was known | |
| 204 to everyone in the Old Testament, although not under the aspect of | |
| 205 Father, but as God; but the Son was not known. And so in the New | |
| 206 Testament, which is concerned with our knowledge of the Word, he | |
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207 begins with the Word or Son.</p> |
| 35 | 208 <p>The other answer is that we are brought to know the Father |
| 209 through the Son: “Father, I have manifested your name to the | |
| 210 men whom you have given to me” (below 17:6). And so wishing | |
| 211 to lead the faithful to a knowledge of the Father, the Evangelist | |
| 212 fittingly began with the Son, at once adding something about the | |
| 213 Father when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">and the Word | |
| 214 was with God.</span></p> | |
| 215 <p>31 The second question is also from Chrysostom. Why did he say | |
| 216 <span style="font-weight: bold">Word</span> and not | |
| 217 “Son,” since, as we have said, the Word proceeds as | |
| 218 Son?</p> | |
| 219 <p>There are also two answers to this. First, because | |
| 220 “son” means something begotten, and when we hear of the | |
| 221 generation of the Son, someone might suppose that this generation | |
| 222 is the kind he can comprehend, that is, a material and changeable | |
| 223 generation. Thus he did not say “Son,” but <span style= | |
| 224 "font-weight: bold">Word,</span> which signifies an intelligible | |
| 225 proceeding, so that it would not be understood as a material and | |
| 226 changeable generation. And so in showing that the Son is born of | |
| 227 the Father in an unchangeable way, he eliminates a faulty | |
| 228 conjecture by using the name <span style= | |
| 229 "font-weight: bold">Word.</span></p> | |
| 230 <p>The second answer is this. The Evangelist was about to consider | |
| 231 the Word as having come to manifest the Father. But since the idea | |
| 232 of manifesting is implied better in the name “Word” | |
| 233 than in the name “Son,” he preferred to use the name | |
| 234 <span style="font-weight: bold">Word.</span></p> | |
| 235 <p>32 The third question is raised by Augustine in his book | |
| 236 <i>Eighty-three Questions;</i> and it is this. In Greek, where we | |
| 237 have “Word,” they have “Logos”; now since | |
| 238 “Logos” signifies in Latin both “notion” | |
| 239 and “word” [i.e., <i>ratio et verbum</i>], why did the | |
| 240 translators render it as “word” and not | |
| 241 “notion,” since a notion is something interior just as | |
| 242 a word is?</p> | |
| 243 <p>I answer that “notion” [ratio], properly speaking, | |
| 244 names a conception of the mind precisely as in the mind, even if | |
| 245 through it nothing exterior comes to be; but “word” | |
| 246 signifies a reference to something exterior. And so because the | |
| 247 Evangelist, when he said “Logos,” intended to signify | |
| 248 not only a reference to the Son’s existence in the Father, | |
| 249 but also the operative power of the Son, by which, through him, all | |
| 250 things were made, our predecessors preferred to translate it | |
| 251 “Word,” which implies a reference to something | |
| 252 exterior, rather than “notion “ which implies merely a | |
| 253 concept of the mind.</p> | |
| 254 <p>33 The fourth question is from Origen, and is this. In many | |
| 255 passages, Scripture, when speaking of the Word of God, does not | |
| 256 simply call him the Word, but adds “of God,” saying, | |
| 257 “the Word of God,” or “of the Lord”: | |
| 258 “The Word of God on high is the foundation of wisdom” | |
| 259 (Sir 1:5); “His name is the Word of God” (Rv 19:13). | |
| 260 Why then did the Evangelist, when speaking here of the Word of God, | |
| 261 not say, “In the beginning was the Word of God,” but | |
| 262 said <span style="font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the | |
| 263 Word?</span></p> | |
| 264 <p>I answer that although there are many participated truths, there | |
| 265 is just one absolute Truth, which is Truth by its very essence, | |
| 266 that is, the divine act of being (<i>esse</i>); and by this Truth | |
| 267 all words are words. Similarly, there is one absolute Wisdom | |
| 268 elevated above all things, that is, the divine Wisdom, by | |
| 269 participating in which all wise persons are wise. Further, there is | |
| 270 one absolute Word, by participating in which all persons having a | |
| 271 word are called speakers. Now this is the divine Word which of | |
| 272 itself is the Word elevated above all words. So in order that the | |
| 273 Evangelist might signify this supereminence of the divine Word, he | |
| 274 pointed out this Word to us absolutely without any addition.</p> | |
| 275 <p>And because the Greeks, when they wished to signify something | |
| 276 separate and elevated above everything else, did this by affixing | |
| 277 the article to the name (as the Platonists, wishing to signify the | |
| 278 separated substances, such as the separated good or the separated | |
| 279 man, called them the good <i>per se,</i> or man <i>per se</i>), so | |
| 280 the Evangelist, wishing to signify the separation and elevation of | |
| 281 that Word above all things, affixed an article to the name | |
| 282 “Logos,” so that if it were stated in Latin we would | |
| 283 say <i>“the</i> Word.”</p> | |
| 284 <p>34 Secondly, we must consider the meaning of the phrase, | |
| 285 <span style="font-weight: bold">In the beginning.</span> We must | |
| 286 note that according to Origen, the word <i>principium</i> has many | |
| 287 meanings [such as “principle,” “source,” or | |
| 288 “beginning”]. Since the word <i>principium</i> implies | |
| 289 a certain order of one thing to another, one can find a | |
| 290 <i>principium</i> in all those things which have an order. First of | |
| 291 all, order is found in quantified things; and so there is a | |
| 292 principle of number and lengths, as for example, a line. Second, | |
| 293 order is found in time; and so we speak of a | |
| 294 “beginning” of time, or of duration. Third, order is | |
| 295 found in learning; and this in two ways: as to nature, and as to | |
| 296 ourselves, and in both cases we can speak of a | |
| 297 “beginning”: “By this time you ought to be | |
| 298 teachers” (Heb 5:12). As to nature, in Christian doctrine the | |
| 299 beginning and principle of our wisdom is Christ, inasmuch as he is | |
| 300 the Wisdom and Word of God, i.e., in his divinity. But as to | |
| 301 ourselves, the beginning is Christ himself inasmuch as the Word has | |
| 302 become flesh, i.e., by his incarnation. Fourth, in order is found | |
| 303 in the production of a thing. In this perspective there can be a | |
| 304 <i>principium</i> on the part of the thing generated, that is, the | |
| 305 first part of the thing generated or made; as we say that the | |
| 306 foundation is the beginning of a house. Another <i>principium | |
| 307 is</i> on the part of the generator, and in this perspective there | |
| 308 are three “principles”: of intention, which is the | |
| 309 purpose, which motivates the agent; of reason, which is the idea in | |
| 310 the mind of the maker; and of execution, which is the operative | |
| 311 faculty. Considering these various ways of using the term, we now | |
| 312 ask how <i>principium</i> is used here when it says, <span style= | |
| 313 "font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the Word.</span></p> | |
| 314 <p>35 We should note that this word can be taken in three ways. In | |
| 315 one way so that <i>principium is</i> understood as the Person of | |
| 316 the Son, who is the principle of creatures by reason of his active | |
| 317 power acting with wisdom, which is the conception of the things | |
| 318 that are brought into existence. Hence we read: “Christ the | |
| 319 power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor 1:24). And so the | |
| 320 Lord said about himself: “I am the <i>principium</i> who also | |
| 321 speaks to you” (below 8:25). Taking <i>principium</i> in this | |
| 322 way, we should understand the statement, <span style= | |
| 323 "font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the Word,</span> as though | |
| 324 he were saying, “The Word was in the Son,” so that the | |
| 325 sense would be: The Word himself is the <i>principium,</i> | |
| 326 principle, in the sense in which life is said to be | |
| 327 “in” God, when this life is not something other than | |
| 328 God.</p> | |
| 329 <p>And this is the explanation of Origen. And so the Evangelist | |
| 330 says <span style="font-weight: bold">In the beginning</span> here | |
| 331 in order, as Chrysostom says, to show at the very outset the | |
| 332 divinity of the Word by asserting that he is a principle because, | |
| 333 as determining all, a principle is most honored.</p> | |
| 334 <p>36 In a second way <i>principium</i> can be understood as the | |
| 335 Person of the Father, who is the principle not only of creatures, | |
| 336 but of every divine process. It is taken this way in, “Yours | |
| 337 is princely power (<i>principium</i>) in the day of your | |
| 338 birth” (Ps 110:3). In this second way one reads <span style= | |
| 339 "font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the Word</span> as though | |
| 340 it means, “The Son was in the Father.” This is | |
| 341 Augustine’s understanding of it, as well as Origen’s. | |
| 342 The Son, however, is said to be in the Father because both have the | |
| 343 same essence. Since the Son is his own essence, then the Son is in | |
| 344 whomsoever the Son’s essence is. Since, therefore, the | |
| 345 essence of the Son is in the Father by consubstantiality, it is | |
| 346 fitting that the Son be in the Father. Hence it says below (14:10): | |
| 347 “I am in the Father and the Father is in me.”</p> | |
| 348 <p>37 In a third way, <i>principium</i> can be taken for the | |
| 349 beginning of duration, so that the sense of <span style= | |
| 350 "font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the Word</span> is that | |
| 351 the Word was before all things, as Augustine explains it. According | |
| 352 to Basil and Hilary, this phrase shows the eternity of the | |
| 353 Word.</p> | |
| 354 <p>The phrase <span style="font-weight: bold">In the beginning was | |
| 355 the Word</span> shows that no matter which beginning of duration is | |
| 356 taken, whether of temporal things which is time, or of aeviternal | |
| 357 things which is the aeon, or of the whole world or any imagined | |
| 358 span of time reaching back for many ages, at that beginning the | |
| 359 Word already was. Hence Hilary says (<i>On the Trinity</i> VII): | |
| 360 “Go back season by season, skip over the centuries, take away | |
| 361 ages. Set down whatever you want as the beginning in your opinion: | |
| 362 the Word already was.” And this is what Proverbs (8:23) says: | |
| 363 “The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his ways, before | |
| 364 he made anything.” But what is prior to the beginning of | |
| 365 duration is eternal.</p> | |
| 366 <p>38 And thus the first explanation asserts the causality of the | |
| 367 Word; the second explanation affirms the consubstantiality of the | |
| 368 Word with the Father, who utters the Word; and the third | |
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369 explanation affirms the co-eternity of the Word.</p> |
| 35 | 370 <p>39 Now we should consider that it says that the Word was |
| 371 (<i>erat</i>), which is stated in the past imperfect tense. This | |
| 372 tense is most appropriate for designating eternal things if we | |
| 373 consider the nature of time and of the things that exist in time. | |
| 374 For what is future is not yet in act; but what is at present is in | |
| 375 act, and by the fact that it is in act what is present is not | |
| 376 described as having been. Now the past perfect tense indicates that | |
| 377 something has existed, has already come to an end, and has now | |
| 378 ceased to be. The past imperfect tense, on the other hand, | |
| 379 indicates that something has been, has not yet come to an end, nor | |
| 380 has ceased to be, but still endures. Thus, whenever John mentions | |
| 381 eternal things he expressly says “was” (<i>erat,</i> | |
| 382 past imperfect tense), but when he refers to anything temporal he | |
| 383 says “has been” (<i>fuit,</i> past perfect tense), as | |
| 384 will be clear later.</p> | |
| 385 <p>But so far as concerns the notion of the present, the best way | |
| 386 to designate eternity is the present tense, which indicates that | |
| 387 some thing is in act, and this is always the characteristic of | |
| 388 eternal things. And so it says in Exodus (3:14): “I am who | |
| 389 am.” And Augustine says: “He alone truly is whose being | |
| 390 does not know a past and a future.</p> | |
| 391 <p>40 We should also note that this verb was, according to the | |
| 392 Gloss, is not understood here as indicating temporal changes, as | |
| 393 other verbs do, but as signifying the existence of a thing. Thus it | |
| 394 is also called a substantive verb.</p> | |
| 395 <p>41 Someone may ask how the Word can be co-eternal with the | |
| 396 Father since he is begotten by the Father: for a human son, born | |
| 397 from a human father, is subsequent to his father.</p> | |
| 398 <p>I answer that there are three reasons why an originative | |
| 399 principle is prior in duration to that which derives from that | |
| 400 principle. First of all, if the originative principle of anything | |
| 401 precedes in time the action by which it produces the thing of which | |
| 402 it is the principle; thus a man does not begin to write as soon as | |
| 403 he exists, and so he precedes his writing in time. Secondly, if an | |
| 404 action is successive; consequently, even if the action should | |
| 405 happen to begin at the same time as the agent, the termination of | |
| 406 the action is nevertheless subsequent to the agent. Thus, as soon | |
| 407 as fire has been generated in a lower region, it begins to ascend; | |
| 408 but the fire exists before it has ascended, because the motion by | |
| 409 which it tends upward requires some time. Thirdly, by the fact that | |
| 410 sometimes the beginning of a thing depends on the will of its | |
| 411 principle, just as the beginning of a creature’s coming-to-be | |
| 412 depends on the will of God, such that God existed before any | |
| 413 creature.</p> | |
| 414 <p>Yet none of these three is found in the generation of the divine | |
| 415 Word. God did not first exist and then begin to generate the Word: | |
| 416 for since the generation of the Word is nothing other than an | |
| 417 intelligible conception, it would follow that God would be | |
| 418 understanding in potency before understanding in act, which is | |
| 419 impossible. Again, it is impossible that the generation of the Word | |
| 420 involve succession: for then the divine Word would be unformed | |
| 421 before it was formed (as happens in us who form words by | |
| 422 “cogitating”), which is false, as was said. Again, we | |
| 423 cannot say that the Father pre-established a beginning of duration | |
| 424 for his Son by his own will, because God the Father does not | |
| 425 generate the Son by his will, as the Arians held, but naturally: | |
| 426 for God the Father, understanding himself, conceives the Word; and | |
| 427 so God the Father did not exist prior to the Son.</p> | |
| 428 <p>An example of this, to a limited degree, appears in fire and in | |
| 429 the brightness issuing from it: for this brightness issues | |
| 430 naturally and without succession from the fire. Again, if the fire | |
| 431 were eternal, its brightness would be coeternal with it. This is | |
| 432 why the Son is called the brightness of the Father: “the | |
| 433 brightness of his glory” (Heb 1:3). But this example lacks an | |
| 434 illustration of the identity of nature. And so we call him Son, | |
| 435 although in human sonship we do not find coeternity: for we must | |
| 436 attain our knowledge of divine things from many likenesses in | |
| 437 material things, for one likeness is not enough.</p> | |
| 438 <p>The Council of Ephesus says that the Son always coexists with | |
| 439 the Father: for “brightness” indicates his | |
| 440 unchangeability, “birth” points to the Word himself, | |
| 441 but the name “Son” suggests his consubstantiality.</p> | |
| 442 <p>42 And so we give the Son various names to express his | |
| 443 perfection, which cannot be expressed by one name. We call him | |
| 444 “Son” to show that he is of the same nature as the | |
| 445 Father; we call him “image” to show that he is not | |
| 446 unlike the Father in any way; we call him “brightness” | |
| 447 to show that he is coeternal; and he is called the | |
| 448 “Word” to show that he is begotten in an immaterial | |
| 449 manner.</p> | |
| 450 <p>43 Then the Evangelist says, <span style="font-weight: bold">and | |
| 451 the Word was with God,</span> which is the second clause in his | |
| 452 account. The first thing to consider is the meaning of the two | |
| 453 words which did not appear in the first clause, that is, | |
| 454 <span style="font-weight: bold">God</span>, and <span style= | |
| 455 "font-weight: bold">with;</span> for we have already explained the | |
| 456 meanings of “Word,” and “beginning. “Let us | |
| 457 continue carefully by examining these two new words, and to better | |
| 458 understand the explanation of this second clause, we must say | |
| 459 something about the meaning of each so far as it is relevant to our | |
| 460 purpose.</p> | |
| 461 <p>44 At the outset, we should note that the name “God” | |
| 462 signifies the divinity concretely and as inherent in a subject, | |
| 463 while the name “deity” signifies the divinity in the | |
| 464 abstract and absolutely. Thus the name “deity” cannot | |
| 465 naturally and by its mode of signifying stand for a [divine] | |
| 466 person, but only for the [divine] nature. But the name | |
| 467 “God” can, by its natural mode of signifying, stand for | |
| 468 any one of the [divine] persons, just as the name “man” | |
| 469 stands for any individual (<i>suppositum</i>) possessing humanity. | |
| 470 Therefore, whenever the truth of a statement or its predicate | |
| 471 requires that the name “God” stand for the person, then | |
| 472 it stands for the person, as when we say, “God begets | |
| 473 God.” Thus, when it says here that <span style= | |
| 474 "font-weight: bold">the Word was with God,</span> it is necessary | |
| 475 that God stand for the person of the Father, because the | |
| 476 preposition <span style="font-weight: bold">with</span> signifies | |
| 477 the distinction of the Word, which is said to be <span style= | |
| 478 "font-weight: bold">with God.</span> And although this preposition | |
| 479 signifies a distinction in person, it does not signify a | |
| 480 distinction in nature, since the nature of the Father and of the | |
| 481 Son is the same. Consequently, the Evangelist wished to signify the | |
| 482 person of the Father when he said God.</p> | |
| 483 <p>45 Here we should note that the preposition <span style= | |
| 484 "font-weight: bold">with</span> signifies a certain union of the | |
| 485 thing signified by its grammatical antecedent to the thing | |
| 486 signified by its grammatical object, just as the preposition | |
| 487 “in” does. However, there is a difference, because the | |
| 488 preposition “in” signifies a certain intrinsic union, | |
| 489 whereas the preposition <span style="font-weight: bold">with</span> | |
| 490 implies in a certain way an extrinsic union. And we state both in | |
| 491 divine matters, namely, that the Son is <i>in</i> the Father and | |
| 492 <i>with</i> the Father. Here the intrinsic union pertains to | |
| 493 consubstantiality, but the extrinsic union (if we may use such an | |
| 494 expression, since “extrinsic” is improperly employed in | |
| 495 divine matters) refers only to a personal distinction, because the | |
| 496 Son is distinguished from the Father by origin alone. And so these | |
| 497 two words designate both a consubstantiality in nature and | |
| 498 distinction in person: consubstantiality inasmuch as a certain | |
| 499 union is implied; but distinction, inasmuch as a certain otherness | |
| 500 is signified as was said above.</p> | |
| 501 <p>The preposition “in,” as was said, principally | |
| 502 signifies consubstantiality, as implying an intrinsic union and, by | |
| 503 way of consequence, a distinction of persons, inasmuch as every | |
| 504 preposition is transitive. The preposition “with” | |
| 505 principally signifies a personal distinction, but also a | |
| 506 consubstantiality inasmuch as it signifies a certain extrinsic, so | |
| 507 to speak, union. For these reasons the Evangelist specifically used | |
| 508 here the preposition “with” in order to express the | |
| 509 distinction of the person of the Son from the Father, saying, | |
| 510 <span style="font-weight: bold">and the Word was with God,</span> | |
| 511 that is, the Son was with the Father as one person with | |
| 512 another.</p> | |
| 513 <p>46 We should note further that this preposition <span style= | |
| 514 "font-weight: bold">with</span> has four meanings, and these | |
| 515 eliminate four objections. First, the preposition with signifies | |
| 516 the subsistence of its antecedent, because things that do not | |
| 517 subsist of themselves are not properly said to be | |
| 518 “with” another; thus we do not say that a color is with | |
| 519 a body, and the same applies to other things that do not subsist of | |
| 520 themselves. But things that do subsist of themselves are properly | |
| 521 said to be “with” another; thus we say that a man is | |
| 522 with a man, and a stone with a stone.</p> | |
| 523 <p>Secondly, it signifies authority in its grammatical object. For | |
| 524 we do not, properly speaking, say that a king is with a soldier, | |
| 525 but that the soldier is with the king. Thirdly, it asserts a | |
| 526 distinction. For it is not proper to say that a person is with | |
| 527 himself but rather that one man is with another. Fourthly, it | |
| 528 signifies a certain union and fellowship. For when some person is | |
| 529 said to be with another, it suggests to us that there is some | |
| 530 social union between them.</p> | |
| 531 <p>Considering these four conditions implied in the meaning of this | |
| 532 preposition <span style="font-weight: bold">with,</span> the | |
| 533 Evangelist quite appropriately joins to the first clause, | |
| 534 <span style="font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the | |
| 535 Word,</span> this second clause, <span style= | |
| 536 "font-weight: bold">and the Word was with God.</span> For if we | |
| 537 omit one of the three explanations of, <span style= | |
| 538 "font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the Word</span> (namely, | |
| 539 the one in which <i>principium</i> was understood as the Son), | |
| 540 certain heretics make a twofold objection against each of the other | |
| 541 explanations (namely, the one in which <i>principium</i> means the | |
| 542 same as “before all things,” and the one in which it is | |
| 543 understood as the Father). Thus there are four objections, and we | |
| 544 can answer these by the four conditions indicated by this | |
| 545 preposition <span style="font-weight: bold">with.</span></p> | |
| 546 <p>47 The first of these objections is this. You say that the Word | |
| 547 was in the beginning, i.e., before all things. But before all | |
| 548 things there was nothing. So if before all things there was | |
| 549 nothing, where then was the Word? This objection arises due to the | |
| 550 imaginings of those who think that whatever exists is somewhere and | |
| 551 in some place. But this is rejected by John when he says, | |
| 552 <span style="font-weight: bold">with God,</span> which indicates | |
| 553 the union mentioned in the last four conditions. So, according to | |
| 554 Basil, the meaning is this: Where was the Word? The answer is: | |
| 555 <span style="font-weight: bold">with God;</span> not in some place, | |
| 556 since he is unsurroundable, but he is with the Father, who is not | |
| 557 enclosed by any place.</p> | |
| 558 <p>48 The second objection against the same explanation is this. | |
| 559 You say that the Word was in the beginning, i.e., before all | |
| 560 things. But whatever exists before all things appears to proceed | |
| 561 from no one, since that from which something proceeds seems to be | |
| 562 prior to that which proceeds from it. Therefore, the Word does not | |
| 563 proceed from another. This objection is rejected when he says, | |
| 564 <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word was with God,</span> | |
| 565 taking “with” according to its second condition, as | |
| 566 implying authority in what is causing. So the meaning, according to | |
| 567 Hilary, is this: From whom is the Word if he exists before all | |
| 568 things? The Evangelist answers: <span style="font-weight: bold">the | |
| 569 Word was with God,</span> i.e., although the Word has no beginning | |
| 570 of duration, still he does not lack a <i>principium</i> or author, | |
| 571 for he was with God as his author.</p> | |
| 572 <p>49 The third objection, directed to the explanation in which | |
| 573 <i>principium</i> is understood as the Father, is this. You say | |
| 574 that <span style="font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the | |
| 575 Word,</span> i.e., the Son was in the Father. But that which is in | |
| 576 something does not seem to be subsistent, as a hypostasis; just as | |
| 577 the whiteness in a body does not subsist. This objection is solved | |
| 578 by the statement, <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word was with | |
| 579 God,</span> taking “with” in its first condition, as | |
| 580 implying the subsistence of its grammatical antecedent. So | |
| 581 according to Chrysostom, the meaning is this: <span style= | |
| 582 "font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the Word,</span> not as an | |
| 583 accident, but he was <span style="font-weight: bold">with | |
| 584 God,</span> as subsisting, and a divine hypostasis.</p> | |
| 585 <p>50 The fourth objection, against the same explanation, is this. | |
| 586 You say that the Word was in the beginning, i.,e., in the Father. | |
| 587 But whatever is in something is not distinct from it. So the Son is | |
| 588 not distinct from the Father. This objection is answered by the | |
| 589 statement, <span style="font-weight: bold">and the Word was with | |
| 590 God,</span> taking “with” in its third condition, as | |
| 591 indicating distinction. Thus the meaning, according to Alcuin and | |
| 592 Bede, is this: <span style="font-weight: bold">The Word was with | |
| 593 God,</span> and he was with the Father by a consubstantiality of | |
| 594 nature, while still being “with” him through a | |
| 595 distinction in person.</p> | |
| 596 <p>51 And so, <span style="font-weight: bold">and the Word was with | |
| 597 God,</span> indicates: the union of the Word with the Father in | |
| 598 nature, according to Basil; their distinction in person, according | |
| 599 to Alcuin and Bede; the subsistence of the Word in the divine | |
| 600 nature, according to Chrysostom; and the authorship of the Father | |
| 601 in relation to the Word, according to Hilary.</p> | |
| 602 <p>52 We should also note, according to Origen, that <span style= | |
| 603 "font-weight: bold">the Word was with God</span> shows that the Son | |
| 604 has always been with the Father. For in the Old Testament it says | |
| 605 that the word of the Lord “came” to Jeremiah or to | |
| 606 someone else, as is plain in many passages of sacred Scripture. But | |
| 607 it does not say that the word of the Lord was “with” | |
| 608 Jeremiah or anyone else, because the word “comes” to | |
| 609 those who begin to have the word after not having it. Thus the | |
| 610 Evangelist did not say that the Word “came” to the | |
| 611 Father, but was “with” the Father, because, given the | |
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612 Father, the Word was with him.</p> |
| 35 | 613 <p>53 Then he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">and the Word |
| 614 was God.</span> This is the third clause in John’s account, | |
| 615 and it follows most appropriately considering the order of | |
| 616 teaching. For since John had said both <i>when</i> and <i>where</i> | |
| 617 the Word was, it remained to inquire <i>what</i> the Word was, that | |
| 618 is, <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word was God,</span> taking | |
| 619 “Word” as the subject, and “God” as the | |
| 620 predicate.</p> | |
| 621 <p>54 But since one should first inquire what a thing is before | |
| 622 investigating where and when it is, it seems that John violated | |
| 623 this order by discussing these latter first.</p> | |
| 624 <p>Origen answers this by saying that the Word of God is with man | |
| 625 and with God in different ways. The Word is with man as perfecting | |
| 626 him, because it is through him that man becomes wise and good: | |
| 627 “She makes friends of God and prophets” (Wis 7:27). But | |
| 628 the Word is not with God as though the Father were perfected and | |
| 629 enlightened by him. Rather, the Word is with God as receiving | |
| 630 natural divinity from him, who utters the Word, and from whom he | |
| 631 has it that he is the same God with him. And so, since the Word was | |
| 632 with God by origin, it was necessary to show first that the Word | |
| 633 was in the Father and with the Father before showing that the Word | |
| 634 was God.</p> | |
| 635 <p>55 This clause also enables us to answer two objections which | |
| 636 arise from the foregoing. The first is based on the name | |
| 637 “Word,” and is this. You say that <span style= | |
| 638 "font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the Word,</span> and that | |
| 639 the Word was with God. Now it is obvious that “word” is | |
| 640 generally understood to signify a vocal sound and the statement of | |
| 641 something necessary, a manifesting of thoughts. But these words | |
| 642 pass away and do not subsist. Accordingly, someone could think that | |
| 643 the Evangelist was speaking of a word like these.</p> | |
| 644 <p>According to Hilary and Augustine, this question is sufficiently | |
| 645 answered by the above account. Augustine says (Homily I <i>On | |
| 646 John</i>) that it is obvious that in this passage | |
| 647 “Word” cannot be understood as a statement because, | |
| 648 since a statement is in motion and passes away, it could not be | |
| 649 said that <span style="font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the | |
| 650 Word,</span> if this Word were something passing away and in | |
| 651 motion. The same thing is clear from <span style= | |
| 652 "font-weight: bold">and the Word was with God:</span> for to be | |
| 653 “in” another is not the same as to be | |
| 654 “with” another. Our word, since it does not subsist, is | |
| 655 not “with” us, but “in” us; but the Word of | |
| 656 God is subsistent, and therefore “with” God. And so the | |
| 657 Evangelist expressly says, and the Word was with God. To entirely | |
| 658 remove the ground of the objection, he adds the nature and being of | |
| 659 the Word, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">and the Word was | |
| 660 God.</span></p> | |
| 661 <p>56 The other question comes from his saying, <span style= | |
| 662 "font-weight: bold">with God.</span> For since “with” | |
| 663 indicates a distinction, it could be thought that <span style= | |
| 664 "font-weight: bold">the Word was with God,</span> i.e., the Father, | |
| 665 as distinct from him in nature. So to exclude this he adds at once | |
| 666 the consubstantiality of the Word with the Father, saying, | |
| 667 <span style="font-weight: bold">and the Word was God.</span> As if | |
| 668 to say: the Word is not separated from the Father by a diversity of | |
| 669 nature, because the Word itself is God.</p> | |
| 670 <p>57 Note also the special way of signifying, since he says, | |
| 671 <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word was God,</span> using | |
| 672 “God” absolutely to show that he is not God in the same | |
| 673 way in which the name of the deity is given to a creature in Sacred | |
| 674 Scripture. For a creature sometimes shares this name with some | |
| 675 added qualification, as when it says, “I have appointed you | |
| 676 the God of Pharaoh” (Ex 7:1), in order to indicate that he | |
| 677 was not God absolutely or by nature, because he was appointed the | |
| 678 god of someone in a qualified sense. Again, it says in the Psalm | |
| 679 (81:6): “I said, ‘You are gods.’” —as | |
| 680 if to say: in my opinion, but not in reality. Thus the Word is | |
| 681 called God absolutely because he is God by his own essence, and not | |
| 682 by participation, as men and angels are.</p> | |
| 683 <p>58 We should note that Origen disgracefully misunderstood this | |
| 684 clause, led astray by the Greek manner of speaking. It is the | |
| 685 custom among the Greeks to put the article before every name in | |
| 686 order to indicate a distinction. In the Greek version of | |
| 687 John’s Gospel the name “Word” in the statement, | |
| 688 <span style="font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the | |
| 689 Word,</span> and also the name “God” in the statement, | |
| 690 <span style="font-weight: bold">and the Word was with God,</span> | |
| 691 are prefixed by the article, so as to read “the Word” | |
| 692 and “the God,” in order to indicate the eminence and | |
| 693 distinction of the Word from other words, and the principality of | |
| 694 the Father in the divinity. But in the statement, <span style= | |
| 695 "font-weight: bold">the Word was God,</span> the article is not | |
| 696 prefixed to the noun “God,” which stands for the person | |
| 697 of the Son. Because of this Origen blasphemed that the Word, | |
| 698 although he was Word by essence, was not God by essence, but is | |
| 699 called God by participation; while the Father alone is God by | |
| 700 essence. And so he held that the Son is inferior to the Father.</p> | |
| 701 <p>59 Chrysostom proves that this is not true, because if the | |
| 702 article used with the name “God” implied the | |
| 703 superiority of the Father in respect to the Son, it would never be | |
| 704 used with the name “God” when it is used as a predicate | |
| 705 of another, but only when it is predicated of the Father. Further, | |
| 706 whenever said of the Father, it would be accompanied by the | |
| 707 article. However, we find the opposite to be the case in two | |
| 708 statements of the Apostle, who calls Christ “God,” | |
| 709 using the article. For in Titus (2:13) he says, “the coming | |
| 710 of the glory of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ,” | |
| 711 where “God” stands for the Son, and in the Greek the | |
| 712 article is used. Therefore, Christ is the great God. Again he says | |
| 713 (Rom 9:5): “Christ, who is God over all things, blessed | |
| 714 forever,” and again the article is used with | |
| 715 “God” in the Greek. Further, in 1 John (5:20) it says: | |
| 716 “That we may be in his true Son, Jesus Christ; he is the true | |
| 717 God and eternal life.” Thus, Christ is not God by | |
| 718 participation, but truly God. And so the theory of Origen is | |
| 719 clearly false.</p> | |
| 720 <p>Chrysostom gives us the reason why the Evangelist did not use | |
| 721 the article with the name “God,” namely, because he had | |
| 722 already mentioned God twice using the article, and so it was not | |
| 723 necessary to repeat it a third time, but it was implied. Or, a | |
| 724 better reason would be that “God” is used here as the | |
| 725 predicate and is taken formally. And it is not the custom for the | |
| 726 article to accompany names used as predicates, since the article | |
| 727 indicates separation. But if “God” were used here as | |
| 728 the subject, it could stand for any of the persons, as the Son or | |
| 729 the Holy Spirit; then, no doubt, the article would be used in the | |
| 730 Greek.</p> | |
| 731 <p>60 Then he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">He was in the | |
| 732 beginning with God.</span> This is the fourth clause and is | |
| 733 introduced because of the preceding clause. For from the | |
| 734 Evangelist’s statement that <span style= | |
| 735 "font-weight: bold">the Word was God,</span> two false | |
| 736 interpretations could be held by those who misunderstand. One of | |
| 737 these is by the pagans, who acknowledge many and different gods, | |
| 738 and say that their wills are in opposition. For example, those who | |
| 739 put out the fable of Jupiter fighting with Saturn; or as the | |
| 740 Manicheans, who have two contrary principles of nature. The Lord | |
| 741 said against this error (Dt 6:4): “Hear O Israel: The Lord | |
| 742 our God is one Lord.”</p> | |
| 743 <p>Since the Evangelist had said, <span style= | |
| 744 "font-weight: bold">the Word was with God; and the Word was | |
| 745 God,</span> they could adduce this in support of their error by | |
| 746 understanding the God with whom the Word is to be one [God],and the | |
| 747 Word to be another, having another, or contrary, will to the | |
| 748 former; and this is against the law of the Gospel. And so to | |
| 749 exclude this he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">He was in the | |
| 750 beginning with God,</span> as if to say, according to Hilary: I say | |
| 751 that the Word is God, not as if he has a distinct divinity, but he | |
| 752 is with God, that is, in the one same nature in which lie is. | |
| 753 Further, lest his statement, <span style="font-weight: bold">and | |
| 754 the Word was God,</span> be taken to mean that the Word has an | |
| 755 opposed will, he added that the Word <span style= | |
| 756 "font-weight: bold">was in the beginning with God,</span> namely, | |
| 757 the Father; not as divided from him or opposed, but having an | |
| 758 identity of nature with him and a harmony of will. This union comes | |
| 759 about by the sharing of the divine nature in the three persons, and | |
| 760 by the bond of the natural love of the Father and the Son.</p> | |
| 761 <p>61 The Arians were able to draw out another error from the | |
| 762 above. They think that the Son is less than the Father because it | |
| 763 says below (14:28): “The Father is greater than I” And | |
| 764 they say the Father is greater than the Son both as to eternity and | |
| 765 as to divinity of nature. And so to exclude this the Evangelist | |
| 766 added: <span style="font-weight: bold">He was in the beginning with | |
| 767 God.</span> For Arius admits the first clause, <span style= | |
| 768 "font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the Word,</span> but he | |
| 769 will not admit that <i>principium</i> should be taken for the | |
| 770 Father, but rather for the beginning of creatures. So he says that | |
| 771 the Word was in the beginning of creatures, and consequently is in | |
| 772 no sense coeternal with the Father. But this is excluded, according | |
| 773 to Chrysostom, by this clause, <span style="font-weight: bold">He | |
| 774 was in the beginning,</span> not of creatures, but <span style= | |
| 775 "font-weight: bold">in the beginning with God,</span> i.e., | |
| 776 whenever God existed. For the Father was never alone without the | |
| 777 Son or Word, but He, that is, the Word, was always <span style= | |
| 778 "font-weight: bold">with God.</span></p> | |
| 779 <p>62 Again, Arius admits that the Word was God, but nevertheless | |
| 780 inferior to the Father. This is excluded by what follows. For there | |
| 781 are two attributes proper to the great God which Arius attributed | |
| 782 solely to God the Father, that is, eternity and omnipotence. So in | |
| 783 whomever these two attributes are found, he is the great God, than | |
| 784 whom none is greater. But the Evangelist attributes these two to | |
| 785 the Word. Therefore, the Word is the great God and not inferior. He | |
| 786 says the Word is eternal when he states, <span style= | |
| 787 "font-weight: bold">He was in the beginning with God,</span> i.e., | |
| 788 the Word was with God from eternity, and not only in the beginning | |
| 789 of creatures (as Arius held) , but with God, receiving being and | |
| 790 divinity from him. Further, he attributes omnipotence to the Word | |
| 791 when he adds, <span style="font-weight: bold">Through him all | |
| 792 things came into being.</span></p> | |
| 793 <p>63 Origen gives a rather beautiful explanation of this clause, | |
| 794 <span style="font-weight: bold">He was in the beginning with | |
| 795 God,</span> when he says that it is not separate from the first | |
| 796 three, but is in a certain sense their epilogue. For the | |
| 797 Evangelist, after he had indicated that truth was the Son’s | |
| 798 and was about to describe his power, in a way gathers together in a | |
| 799 summary form, in this fourth clause, what he had said in the first | |
| 800 three. For in saying He, he understands the third clause; by adding | |
| 801 <span style="font-weight: bold">was in the beginning,</span> he | |
| 802 recalls the first clause; and by adding <span style= | |
| 803 "font-weight: bold">with God,</span> he recalls the second, so that | |
| 804 we do not think that the Word which was in the beginning is | |
| 805 different than the Word which was God; but this Word which was God | |
| 806 <span style="font-weight: bold">was in the beginning with | |
| 807 God.</span></p> | |
| 808 <p>64 If one considers these four propositions well, he will find | |
| 809 that they clearly destroy all the errors of the heretics and of the | |
| 810 philosophers. For some heretics, as Ebion and Cerinthus, said that | |
| 811 Christ did not exist before the Blessed Virgin, but took from her | |
| 812 the beginning of his being and duration; for they held that he was | |
| 813 a mere man, who had merited divinity by his good works. Photinus | |
| 814 and Paul of Samosata, following them, said the same thing. But the | |
| 815 Evangelist excludes their errors saying, <span style= | |
| 816 "font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the Word,</span> i.e., | |
| 817 before all things, and in the Father from eternity. Thus he did not | |
| 818 derive his beginning from the Virgin.</p> | |
| 819 <p>Sabellius, on the other hand, although he admitted that the God | |
| 820 who took flesh did not receive his beginning from the Virgin, but | |
| 821 existed from eternity, still said that the person of the Father, | |
| 822 who existed from eternity, was not distinct from the person of the | |
| 823 Son, who took flesh from the Virgin. He maintained that the Father | |
| 824 and Son were the same person; and so he failed to distinguish the | |
| 825 trinity of persons in the deity. The Evangelist says against this | |
| 826 error, <span style="font-weight: bold">and the Word was with | |
| 827 God,</span> i.e., the Son was with the Father, as one person with | |
| 828 another.</p> | |
| 829 <p>Eunomius declared that the Son is entirely unlike the Father. | |
| 830 The Evangelist rejects this when he says, <span style= | |
| 831 "font-weight: bold">and the Word was God.</span> Finally, Arius | |
| 832 said that the Son was less than the Father. The Evangelist excludes | |
| 833 this by saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">He was in the | |
| 834 beginning with God,</span> as was explained above.</p> | |
| 835 <p>65 These words also exclude the errors of the philosophers. I`or | |
| 836 some of the ancient philosophers, namely, the natural philosophers, | |
| 837 maintained that the world did not come from any intellect or | |
| 838 through some purpose, but by chance. Consequently, they did not | |
| 839 place at the beginning as the cause of things a reason or | |
| 840 intellect, but only matter in flux; for example, atoms, as | |
| 841 Democritus thought, or other material principles of this kind as | |
| 842 different philosophers inaintained. Against these the Evangelist | |
| 843 says, <span style="font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the | |
| 844 Word,</span> from whom, and not from chance, things derive their | |
| 845 beginning.</p> | |
| 846 <p>Plato, however, thought that the Ideas of all the things that | |
| 847 were made were subsistent, i.e., existing separately in their own | |
| 848 natures; and material things exist by participating in these. For | |
| 849 example, he thought men existed through the separated Idea of man, | |
| 850 which he called Man <i>per se.</i> So lest you suppose, as did | |
| 851 Plato, that this Idea through which all things were made be Ideas | |
| 852 separated from God, the Evangelist adds, <span style= | |
| 853 "font-weight: bold">and the Word was with God.</span></p> | |
| 854 <p>Other Platonists, as Chrysostom relates, maintained that God the | |
| 855 Father was most eminent and first, but under him they placed a | |
| 856 certain mind in which there were the likenesses and ideas of all | |
| 857 things. So lest you think that the Word was with the Father in such | |
| 858 a way as to be under him and less than he, the Evangelist adds, | |
| 859 <span style="font-weight: bold">and the Word was God.</span></p> | |
| 860 <p>Aristotle, however, thought that the ideas of all things are in | |
| 861 God, and that in God, the intellect, the one understanding, and | |
| 862 what is understood, are the same. Nevertheless, he thought that the | |
| 863 world is coeternal with him. Against this the Evangelist says, He, | |
| 864 the Word alone, was <span style="font-weight: bold">in the | |
| 865 beginning with God,</span> in such a way that He does not exclude | |
| 866 another person, but only another coeternal nature.</p> | |
| 867 <p>66 Note the difference in what has been said between John and | |
| 868 the other Evangelists: how he began his Gospel on a loftier plane | |
| 869 than they. They announced Christ the Son of God born in time: | |
| 870 “When Jesus was born in Bethlehem” (Mt 2:1); but John | |
| 871 presents him existing from eternity: <span style= | |
| 872 "font-weight: bold">In the beginning was the Word.</span> They show | |
| 873 him suddenly appearing among men: “Now you dismiss your | |
| 874 servant, 0 Lord, in peace, according to your word; because my eyes | |
| 875 have seen your salvation” (Lk 2:29); but John says that he | |
| 876 always existed with the Father: and the Word was with God. The | |
| 877 others show him as a man: “They gave glory to God who had | |
| 878 given such authority to men” (Mt 9:8); but John says that he | |
| 879 is God: and the Word was God. The others say he lives with men: | |
| 880 “While living in Galilee, Jesus said to them” (Mt | |
| 881 17:21); but John says that he has always been with the Father: | |
| 882 <span style="font-weight: bold">He was in the beginning with | |
| 883 God.</span></p> | |
| 884 <p>67 Note also how the Evangelist designedly uses the word was | |
| 885 (<i>erat)</i> to show that the Word of God transcends all times: | |
| 886 present, past and future. It is as though he were saying: He was | |
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887 beyond time: present, past and future, as the Gloss says.</p> |
| 35 | 888 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in"> |
| 889 </p> | |
| 890 <center> | |
| 891 <p><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE 2</span></p> | |
| 892 <p>3 All things were made through him,<br /> | |
| 893 and without him nothing was made.<br /> | |
| 894 What was made 4a in him was life.</p> | |
| 895 </center> | |
| 896 <p>68 After the Evangelist has told of the existence and nature of | |
| 897 the Divine Word, so far as it can be told by man, he then shows the | |
| 898 might of his power. First, he shows his power with respect to all | |
| 899 things that come into existence. Secondly, with respect to man. As | |
| 900 to the first, he uses three clauses; and we will not distinguish | |
| 901 these at present because they will be distinguished in different | |
| 902 ways according to the different explanations given by the | |
| 903 saints.</p> | |
| 904 <p>69 The first clause, <span style="font-weight: bold">All thifngs | |
| 905 were made through him</span>, is used to show three things | |
| 906 concerning the Word. First, according to Chrysostom, to show the | |
| 907 equality of the Word to the Father. For as stated earlier, the | |
| 908 error of Arius was rejected by the Evangelist when he showed the | |
| 909 coeternity of the Son with the Father by saying, “He was in | |
| 910 the beginning with God.” Here he excludes the same error when | |
| 911 he shows the omnipotence of the Son, saying, <span style= | |
| 912 "font-weight: bold">All things were made through him</span>. For to | |
| 913 be the principle of all the things that are made is proper to the | |
| 914 great omnipotent God, as the Psalm (134:6) says, “Whatever | |
| 915 the Lord wills he does, in heaven and on earth.”Thus the | |
| 916 Word, through whom all things were made, is God, great and coequal | |
| 917 to the Father.</p> | |
| 918 <p>70 Secondly, according to Hilary, this clause is used to show | |
| 919 the coeternity of the Word with the Father. For since someone might | |
| 920 understand the earlier statement, “In the beginning was the | |
| 921 Word,” as referring to the beginning of creatures, i.e., that | |
| 922 before there were any creatures there was a time in which the Word | |
| 923 did not exist, the Evangelist rejects this by saying, <span style= | |
| 924 "font-weight: bold">All things were made through him.</span> For if | |
| 925 all things were made through the Word, then time was also. From | |
| 926 this we can form the following argument: If all time was made | |
| 927 through him, there was no time before him or with him, because | |
| 928 before all these, he was. Therefore they [the Son and the Father] | |
| 929 are eternally coeternal.</p> | |
| 930 <p>71 Thirdly, according to Augustine, this clause is used to show | |
| 931 the consubstantiality of the Word with the Father. For if all | |
| 932 things were made through the Word, the Word himself cannot be said | |
| 933 to have been made; because, if made, he was made through some Word, | |
| 934 since all things were made through the Word. Consequently, there | |
| 935 would have been another Word through whom was made the Word of whom | |
| 936 the Evangelist is speaking. This Word, through whom all things are | |
| 937 made, we call the only begotten Son of God, because he is neither | |
| 938 made nor is he a creature. And if he is not a creature, it is | |
| 939 necessary to say that he is of the same substance with the Father, | |
| 940 since every substance other than the divine essence is made. But a | |
| 941 substance that is not a creature is God. And so the Word, through | |
| 942 whom all things were made, is consubstantial with the Father, since | |
| 943 he is neither made, nor is he a creature.</p> | |
| 944 <p>72 And so in saying <span style="font-weight: bold">All things | |
| 945 were made through him,</span> you have, according to Chrysostom, | |
| 946 the equality of the Word with the Father; the coeternity of the | |
| 947 Word with the Father, according to Hilary; and the | |
| 948 consubstantiality of the Word with the Father, according to | |
| 949 Augustine.</p> | |
| 950 <p>73 Here we must guard against three errors. First, the error of | |
| 951 Valentine. He understood <span style="font-weight: bold">All things | |
| 952 were made through him</span> to mean that the Word proferred to the | |
| 953 Creator the cause of his creating the world; so that all things | |
| 954 were made through the Word as if the Father’s creating the | |
| 955 world came from the Word. This leads to the position of those who | |
| 956 said that God created the world because of some exterior cause; and | |
| 957 this is contrary to Proverbs (16:4), “The Lord made all | |
| 958 things for himself.” The reason this is an error is that, as | |
| 959 Origen says, if the Word had been a cause to the Creator by | |
| 960 offering him the material for making things, he would not have | |
| 961 said, <span style="font-weight: bold">All things were made through | |
| 962 him,</span> but on the contrary, that all things were made through | |
| 963 the Creator by the Word.</p> | |
| 964 <p>74 Secondly, we must avoid the error of Origen. He said that the | |
| 965 Holy Spirit was included among all the things made through the | |
| 966 Word; from which it follows that he is a creature. And this is what | |
| 967 Origen thought. This is heretical and blasphemous, since the Holy | |
| 968 Spirit has the same glory and substance and dignity as the Father | |
| 969 and the Son, according to the words of Matthew (28:19), “Make | |
| 970 disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the | |
| 971 Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” And, | |
| 972 “There are three who give testimony’ in heaven, the | |
| 973 Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are | |
| 974 one” (l Jn 5:7). Thus when the Evangelist says, <span style= | |
| 975 "font-weight: bold">All things were made through him</span>, one | |
| 976 should not understand “all things” absolutely, but in | |
| 977 the realm of creatures and of things made. As if to say: All things | |
| 978 that were made, were made through him. Otherwise, if “all | |
| 979 things” were taken absolutely, it would follow that the | |
| 980 Father and the Holy Spirit were made through him; and this is | |
| 981 blasphemous. Consequently, neither the Father nor anything | |
| 982 substantial with the Father was made through the Word.</p> | |
| 983 <p>75 Thirdly, we must avoid another of Origen’s errors. For | |
| 984 he said that all things were made through the Word as something is | |
| 985 made by a greater through a lesser, as if the Son were inferior to, | |
| 986 and an instrument of, the Father. But it is clear from many places | |
| 987 in Scripture that the preposition “through” | |
| 988 (<i>per</i>) does not signify inferiority in the thing which is its | |
| 989 grammatical object, i.e., in the Son or Word. For the Apostle says, | |
| 990 “God is faithful, through whom you were called into the | |
| 991 fellowship of his Son” (1 Cor 1:9). If he | |
| 992 “through” whom something is done has a superior, then | |
| 993 the Father has a superior. But this is false. Therefore, the | |
| 994 preposition “through” does not signify any inferiority | |
| 995 in the Son when all things are said to have been made through | |
| 996 him.</p> | |
| 997 <p>76 To explain this point further, we should note that when | |
| 998 something is said to be made through someone, the preposition | |
| 999 “through” (<i>per</i>) denotes some sort of causality | |
| 1000 in its object with respect to an operation; but not always the same | |
| 1001 kind of causality. For since an operation, according to our manner | |
| 1002 of signifying, is considered to be medial between the one acting | |
| 1003 and the thing produced, the operation itself can be regarded in two | |
| 1004 ways. In one way, as issuing from the one operating, who is the | |
| 1005 cause of the action itself; in another way, as terminated in the | |
| 1006 thing produced. Accordingly, the preposition “through” | |
| 1007 sometimes signifies the cause of the operation insofar as it issues | |
| 1008 from the one operating: but sometimes as terminated in the thing | |
| 1009 which is produced. It signifies the cause of the operation as | |
| 1010 issuing from the one operating when the object of the preposition | |
| 1011 is either the efficient or formal cause why the one operating is | |
| 1012 operating. For example, we have a formal cause when fire is heating | |
| 1013 through heat; for heat is the formal cause of the fire’s | |
| 1014 heating. We have a movent or efficient cause in cases where | |
| 1015 secondary agents act through primary agents; as when I say that the | |
| 1016 bailiff acts through the king, because the king is the efficient | |
| 1017 cause of the bailiff’s acting. This is the way Valentine | |
| 1018 understood that all things were made through the Word: as though | |
| 1019 the Word were the cause of the maker’s production of all | |
| 1020 things. The preposition “through” implies the causality | |
| 1021 of the operation as terminated in the thing produced when what is | |
| 1022 signified through that causality is not the cause which operates, | |
| 1023 but the cause of the operation precisely as terminated in the thing | |
| 1024 produced. So when I say, “The carpenter is making a bench | |
| 1025 through [by means of] a hatchet,” the hatchet is not the | |
| 1026 cause of the carpenter’s operating; but we do say that it is | |
| 1027 the cause of the bench’s being made by the one acting.</p> | |
| 1028 <p>And so when it says that <span style="font-weight: bold">All | |
| 1029 things were made through him,</span> if the “through” | |
| 1030 denotes the efficient or movent cause, causing the Father to act, | |
| 1031 then in this sense the Father does nothing through the Son, but he | |
| 1032 does all things through himself, as has been said. But if the | |
| 1033 “through” denotes a formal cause, as when the Father | |
| 1034 operates through his widsom, which is his essence, he operates | |
| 1035 through his wisdom as he operates through his essence. And because | |
| 1036 the wisdom and power of the Father are attributed to the Son, as | |
| 1037 when we say, “Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of | |
| 1038 God” (1 Cor 1:24), then by appropriation we say that the | |
| 1039 Father does all things through the Son, i.e., through his wisdom. | |
| 1040 And so Augustine says that the phrase “from whom all | |
| 1041 things,” is appropriated to the Father; “through whom | |
| 1042 all things,” is appropriated to the Son; and “in whom | |
| 1043 all things,” is appropriated to the Holy Spirit. But if the | |
| 1044 “through” denotes causality from the standpoint of the | |
| 1045 thing produced, then the statement, “The Father does all | |
| 1046 things through the Son,” is not [mere] appropriation but | |
| 1047 proper to the Word, because the fact that he is a cause of | |
| 1048 creatures is had from someone else, namely the Father, from whom he | |
| 1049 has being.</p> | |
| 1050 <p>However, it does not follow from this that the Word is the | |
| 1051 instrument of the Father, although whatever is moved by another to | |
| 1052 effect something partakes of the nature of an instrument. For when | |
| 1053 I say that someone works through a power received from another, | |
| 1054 this can be understood in two ways. In one way, as meaning that the | |
| 1055 power of the giver and of the receiver is numerically one and the | |
| 1056 same power; and in this way the one operating through a power | |
| 1057 received from another is not inferior but equal to the one from | |
| 1058 whom he receives it. Therefore, since the same power which the | |
| 1059 Father has he gives to the Son, through which the Son works, when | |
| 1060 it is said that “the Father works through the Son,” one | |
| 1061 should not on that account say that the Son is inferior to the | |
| 1062 Father or is his instrument. This would be the case, rather, in | |
| 1063 those who receive from another not the same power, but another and | |
| 1064 created one. And so it is plain that neither the Holy Spirit nor | |
| 1065 the Son are causes of the Father’s working, and that neither | |
| 1066 is the minister or instrument of the Father, as Origen raved.</p> | |
| 1067 <p>77 If we carefully consider the words, <span style= | |
| 1068 "font-weight: bold">All things were made through him,</span> we can | |
| 1069 clearly see that the Evangelist spoke with the utmost exactitude. | |
| 1070 For whoever makes something must preconceive it in his wisdom, | |
| 1071 which is the form and pattern of the thing made: as the form | |
| 1072 preconceived in the mind of an artisan is the pattern of the | |
| 1073 cabinet to be made. So, God makes nothing except through the | |
| 1074 conception of his intellect, which is an eternally conceived | |
| 1075 wisdom, that is, the Word of God, and the Son of God. Accordingly, | |
| 1076 it is impossible that he should make anything except through the | |
| 1077 Son. And so Augustine says, in <i>The Trinity,</i> that the Word is | |
| 1078 the art full of the living patterns of all things. Thus it is clear | |
| 1079 that all things which the Father makes, he makes through him.</p> | |
| 1080 <p>78 It should be remarked that, according to Chrysostom, all the | |
| 1081 things which Moses enumerates individually in God’s | |
| 1082 production of things, saying, “And God said, ‘Let there | |
| 1083 be light’” (Gn 1:3) and so forth, all these the | |
| 1084 Evangelist transcends and embraces in one phrase, saying, | |
| 1085 <span style="font-weight: bold">All things were made through | |
| 1086 him.</span> The reason is that Moses wished to teach the emanation | |
| 1087 of creatures from God; hence he enumerated them one by one. But | |
| 1088 John, hastening toward loftier things, intends in this book to lead | |
| 1089 us specifically to a knowledge of the Creator himself.</p> | |
| 1090 <p>79 Then he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">and without him | |
| 1091 nothing was made.</span> This is the second clause which some have | |
| 1092 distorted, as Augustine says in his work, <i>The Nature of the | |
| 1093 Good.</i> Because of John’s manner of speaking here, they | |
| 1094 believed that he was using “nothing” in an affirmative | |
| 1095 sense; as though nothing was something which was made without the | |
| 1096 Word. And so they claimed that this clause was added by the | |
| 1097 Evangelist in order to exclude something which was not made by the | |
| 1098 Word. They say that the Evangelist, having said that <span style= | |
| 1099 "font-weight: bold">All things were made through him,</span> added | |
| 1100 <span style="font-weight: bold">and without him nothing was | |
| 1101 made.</span> It was as if to say: I say that all things were made | |
| 1102 through him in such a way that still something was made without | |
| 1103 him, that is, the “nothing”.</p> | |
| 1104 <p>80 Three heresies came from this. First, that of Valentine. He | |
| 1105 affirmed, as Origen says, a multitude of principles, and taught | |
| 1106 that from them came thirty eras. The first principles he postulates | |
| 1107 are two: the Deep, which he calls God the Father, and Silence. And | |
| 1108 from these proceed ten eras. But from the Deep and from Silence, he | |
| 1109 says, there are two other principles, Mind and Truth; and from | |
| 1110 these issued eight eras. Then from Mind and Truth, there are two | |
| 1111 other principles, Word and Life; and from these issued twelve eras; | |
| 1112 thus making a total of thirty. Finally, from the Word and Life | |
| 1113 there proceeded in time, the man Christ and the Church. In this way | |
| 1114 Valentine affirmed many eras previous to the issuing forth of the | |
| 1115 Word. And so he said that because the Evangelist had stated that | |
| 1116 <span style="font-weight: bold">all things were made through | |
| 1117 him,</span> then, lest anyone think that those previous eras had | |
| 1118 been effected through the Word, he added, <span style= | |
| 1119 "font-weight: bold">and without him nothing was made,</span> i.e., | |
| 1120 all the preceding eras and all that had existed in them. All of | |
| 1121 these John calls “nothing,” because they transcend | |
| 1122 human reason and cannot be grasped by the mind.</p> | |
| 1123 <p>81 The second error to arise from this was that of Manichaeus, | |
| 1124 who affirmed two opposing principles: one is the source of | |
| 1125 incorruptible things, and the other of corruptible things. He said | |
| 1126 that after John had stated that <span style="font-weight: bold">All | |
| 1127 things were made through him,</span> then, lest it be thought that | |
| 1128 the Word is the cause of corruptible things, he immediately added, | |
| 1129 <span style="font-weight: bold">and without him nothing was | |
| 1130 made,</span> i.e., things subject to corruption, which are called | |
| 1131 “nothing” because their being consists in being | |
| 1132 continually transformed into nothing.</p> | |
| 1133 <p>82 The third error is that of those who claim that by | |
| 1134 “nothing” we should understand the devil, according to | |
| 1135 Job (18:15), “May the companions of him who is not dwell in | |
| 1136 his house.” And so they say that all things except the devil | |
| 1137 were made through the Word. In this way they explain, <span style= | |
| 1138 "font-weight: bold">without him nothing was made,</span> that is, | |
| 1139 the devil.</p> | |
| 1140 <p>83 All these three errors, arising as they do from the same | |
| 1141 source, namely, taking “nothing” in a positive sense, | |
| 1142 are excluded by the fact that “nothing” in not used | |
| 1143 here in an affirmative, but in a merely negative sense: the sense | |
| 1144 being that all things were made through the Word in such a way that | |
| 1145 there is nothing participating in existence that was not made | |
| 1146 through him.</p> | |
| 1147 <p>84 Perhaps someone will object and say that it was superfluous | |
| 1148 to add this clause, if it is to be understood negatively, on the | |
| 1149 ground that the Evangelist, in stating that <span style= | |
| 1150 "font-weight: bold">All things were made through him,</span> seems | |
| 1151 to have already said adequately enough that there is not something | |
| 1152 that was not made through the Word.</p> | |
| 1153 <p>The answer to this is that, according to many expositors, this | |
| 1154 clause was added in many ways for a number of reasons. One of these | |
| 1155 reasons is, according to Chrysostom, so that no one reading the Old | |
| 1156 Testament and finding only visible things listed by Moses in the | |
| 1157 creation of things, would think that these were the only things | |
| 1158 made through the Word. And so after he had said, <span style= | |
| 1159 "font-weight: bold">All things were made through him,</span> | |
| 1160 namely, those that Moses listed, the Evangelist then added, | |
| 1161 <span style="font-weight: bold">and without him nothing was | |
| 1162 made,</span> as though he were saying: None of the things which | |
| 1163 exist, whether visible or invisible, was made without the Word. | |
| 1164 Indeed, the Apostle also speaks in this way (Col 1:16), saying that | |
| 1165 all things, visible and invisible, were created in Christ; and here | |
| 1166 the Apostle makes specific mention of invisible things because | |
| 1167 Moses had made no express mention of them on account of the lack of | |
| 1168 erudition of that people, who could not be raised above the things | |
| 1169 of sense.</p> | |
| 1170 <p>Chrysostom also gives another reason why this clause was added. | |
| 1171 For someone reading in the Gospels of the many signs and miracles | |
| 1172 worked by Christ, such as, “The blind see, the lame walk, | |
| 1173 lepers are cleansed” (Mt 11:5), might believe that in saying, | |
| 1174 <span style="font-weight: bold">All things were made through | |
| 1175 him,</span> John meant that only the things mentioned in those | |
| 1176 Gospels, and nothing else, were made through him. So lest anyone | |
| 1177 suspect this, the Evangelist adds, <span style= | |
| 1178 "font-weight: bold">and without him nothing was made.</span> As if | |
| 1179 to say: Not only all the things contained in the Gospels were made | |
| 1180 through him, but none of the things that were made, was made | |
| 1181 without him. And so, according to Chrysostom, this clause is added | |
| 1182 to bring out his total causality, and serves, as it were, to | |
| 1183 complete his previous statement.</p> | |
| 1184 <p>85 According to Hilary, however, this clause is introduced to | |
| 1185 show that the Word has operative power from another. For since the | |
| 1186 Evangelist had said, <span style="font-weight: bold">All things | |
| 1187 were made through him,</span> it might be supposed that the Father | |
| 1188 is excluded from all causality. For that reason he added, | |
| 1189 <span style="font-weight: bold">and without him nothing was | |
| 1190 made.</span> As if to say: All things were made through him, but in | |
| 1191 such a way that the Father made all things with him. For | |
| 1192 “without him” is equivalent to saying, “not | |
| 1193 alone,” so that the meaning is: It is not he alone through | |
| 1194 whom all things were made, but he is the other one without whom | |
| 1195 nothing was made. It is as if he said: <span style= | |
| 1196 "font-weight: bold">Without him,</span> with another working, i.e., | |
| 1197 with the Father, <span style="font-weight: bold">nothing was | |
| 1198 made,</span> as it says, “I was with him forming all | |
| 1199 things” (Prv 8:30).</p> | |
| 1200 <p>86 In a certain homily attributed to Origen, and which begins, | |
| 1201 “The spiritual voice of the eagle,” we find another | |
| 1202 rather beautiful exposition. It says there that the Greek has | |
| 1203 <i>thoris</i> where the Latin has <i>sine</i> (without). Now | |
| 1204 <i>thoris</i> is the same as “outside” or | |
| 1205 “outside of.” It is as if he had said: <span style= | |
| 1206 "font-weight: bold">All things were made through him</span> in such | |
| 1207 a way that outside him <span style="font-weight: bold">nothing was | |
| 1208 made.</span> And so he says this to show that all things are | |
| 1209 conserved through the Word and in the Word, as stated in Hebrews ( | |
| 1210 1:3), “He sustains all things by his powerful word.” | |
| 1211 Now there are certain things that do not need their producer except | |
| 1212 to bring them into existence, since after they have been produced | |
| 1213 they are able to subsist without any further activity on the part | |
| 1214 of the producer. For example, a house needs a builder if it is to | |
| 1215 come into existence, but it continues to exist without any further | |
| 1216 action on the part of the builder. So lest anyone suppose that all | |
| 1217 things were made through the Word in such a way that he is merely | |
| 1218 the cause of their production and not of their continuation in | |
| 1219 existence, the Evangelist added, <span style= | |
| 1220 "font-weight: bold">and without him nothing was made,</span> i.e., | |
| 1221 nothing was made outside of him, because he encompasses all things, | |
| 1222 preserving them.</p> | |
| 1223 <p>87 This clause is also explained by Augustine and Origen and | |
| 1224 several others in such a way that “nothing” indicates | |
| 1225 sin. Accordingly, because <span style="font-weight: bold">All | |
| 1226 things were made through him</span> might be interpreted as | |
| 1227 including evil and sin, he added, <span style= | |
| 1228 "font-weight: bold">and without him nothing,</span> i.e., sin, | |
| 1229 <span style="font-weight: bold">was made.</span> For just as art is | |
| 1230 not the principle or cause of the defects in its products, but is | |
| 1231 through itself the cause of their perfection and form, so the Word, | |
| 1232 who is the art of the Father, full of living archetypes, is not the | |
| 1233 cause of any evil or disarrangement in things, particularly of the | |
| 1234 evil of sin, which carries the full notion of evil. The <i>per | |
| 1235 se</i> cause of this evil is the will of the creature, either a man | |
| 1236 or an angel, freely declining from the end to which it is ordained | |
| 1237 by its nature. One who can act in virtue of his art but purposely | |
| 1238 violates it, is the cause of the defects occurring in his works, | |
| 1239 not by reason of his art, but by reason of his will. So in such | |
| 1240 cases, his art is not the source or cause of the defects, but his | |
| 1241 will is. Consequently, evil is a defect of the will and not of any | |
| 1242 art. And so to the extent that it is such [i.e., a defect], it is | |
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1243 nothing.</p> |
| 35 | 1244 <p>88 So then, this clause is added to show the universal causality |
| 1245 of the Word, according to Chrysostom; his association with the | |
| 1246 Father, according to Hilary; the power of the Word in the | |
| 1247 preserving of things, according to Origen; and finally, the purity | |
| 1248 of his causality, because he is so the cause of good as not to be | |
| 1249 the cause of sin, according to Augustine, Origen, and a number of | |
| 1250 others.</p> | |
| 1251 <p>89 Then he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">What was made | |
| 1252 in him was life;</span> and this is the third clause. Here we must | |
| 1253 avoid the false interpretation of Manichaeus, who was led by this | |
| 1254 to maintain that everything that exists is alive: for example, | |
| 1255 stones, wood, men, and anything else in the world. He understood | |
| 1256 the clause this way: <span style="font-weight: bold">What was made | |
| 1257 in him,</span> comma, <span style="font-weight: bold">was | |
| 1258 life.</span> But it was not life unless alive. Therefore, whatever | |
| 1259 was made in him is alive. He also claimed that “in him” | |
| 1260 is the same as saying “through him,” since very often | |
| 1261 in Scripture “in him” and “through him” are | |
| 1262 interchangeable, as in “in him and through him all things | |
| 1263 were created” (Col 1:16). However, our present explanation | |
| 1264 shows that this interpretation is false.</p> | |
| 1265 <p>90 There are, nevertheless, a number of ways to explain it | |
| 1266 without error. In that homily, “The spiritual voice,” | |
| 1267 we find this explanation: <span style="font-weight: bold">What was | |
| 1268 made in him,</span> i.e., through him, <span style= | |
| 1269 "font-weight: bold">was life,</span> not in each thing itself, but | |
| 1270 in its cause. For in the case of all things that are caused, it is | |
| 1271 always true that effects, whether produced by nature or by will, | |
| 1272 exist in their causes, not according to their own existence, but | |
| 1273 according to the power of their appropriate cause. Thus, lower | |
| 1274 effects are in the sun as in their cause, not according to their | |
| 1275 respective existences but according to the power of the sun. | |
| 1276 Therefore, since the cause of all effects produced by God is a | |
| 1277 certain life and an art full of living archetypes, for this reason | |
| 1278 <span style="font-weight: bold">What was made in him,</span> i.e., | |
| 1279 through him, <span style="font-weight: bold">was life,</span> in | |
| 1280 its cause, i.e., in God.</p> | |
| 1281 <p>91 Augustine reads this another way, as: <span style= | |
| 1282 "font-weight: bold">What was made,</span> comma, <span style= | |
| 1283 "font-weight: bold">in him was life.</span> For things can be | |
| 1284 considered in two ways: as they are in themselves, and as they are | |
| 1285 in the Word. If they are considered as they are in themselves, then | |
| 1286 it is not true that all things are life or even alive, but some | |
| 1287 lack life and some are alive. For example, the earth was made and | |
| 1288 metals were made, but none is life, none is living; animals and men | |
| 1289 were made, and these, considered in themselves, are not life, but | |
| 1290 merely living. Yet considered as they are in the Word, they are not | |
| 1291 merely living, but also life. For the archetypes which exist | |
| 1292 spiritually in the wisdom of God, and through which things were | |
| 1293 made by the Word, are life, just as a chest made by an artisan is | |
| 1294 in itself neither alive nor life, yet the exemplar of the chest in | |
| 1295 the artisan’s mind prior to the existence of the chest is in | |
| 1296 some sense living, insofar as it has an intellectual existence in | |
| 1297 the mind of the artisan. Nevertheless it is not life, because it is | |
| 1298 neither in his essence nor is it his existence through the act of | |
| 1299 understanding of the artisan. But in God, his act of understanding | |
| 1300 is his life and his essence. And so whatever is in God is not only | |
| 1301 living, but is life itself, because whatever is in God is his | |
| 1302 essence. Hence the creature in God is the creating essence. Thus, | |
| 1303 if things are considered as they are in the Word, they are life. | |
| 1304 This is explained in another place.</p> | |
| 1305 <p>92 Origen, commenting on John, gives another reading, thus: | |
| 1306 <span style="font-weight: bold">That which was made in him;</span> | |
| 1307 and then, <span style="font-weight: bold">was life.</span> Here we | |
| 1308 should note that some things are said of the Son of God as such; | |
| 1309 for example, that he is God, omnipotent, and the like. And some | |
| 1310 things are said of him in relation to ourselves; for example, we | |
| 1311 say he is Savior and Redeemer. Some things are said in both ways, | |
| 1312 such as wisdom and justice. Now in all things said absolutely and | |
| 1313 of the Son as such, it is not said that he was “made”, | |
| 1314 for example, we do not say that the Son was made God or omnipotent. | |
| 1315 But in things said in reference to us, or in both ways, the notion | |
| 1316 of being made can be used, as in, “God made him [Jesus | |
| 1317 Christ] our wisdom, our justice, our sanctification and | |
| 1318 redemption” (1 Cor 1:30). And so, although he was always | |
| 1319 wisdom and justice in himself, yet it can be said that he was newly | |
| 1320 made justice and wisdom for us.</p> | |
| 1321 <p>And so Origen, explaining it along these lines, says that | |
| 1322 although in himself the Son is life, yet he was made life for us by | |
| 1323 the fact that he gave us life, as is said, “Just as in Adam | |
| 1324 all die, so in Christ all will come to life” (1 Cor 15:22). | |
| 1325 And so he says “the Word that was made” life for us | |
| 1326 <span style="font-weight: bold">in himself was life,</span> so that | |
| 1327 after a time he could become life for us; and so he immediately | |
| 1328 adds, <span style="font-weight: bold">and that life was the light | |
| 1329 of men.</span></p> | |
| 1330 <p>93 Hilary reads the clause differently, thus: <span style= | |
| 1331 "font-weight: bold">And without him was made nothing, which was | |
| 1332 made in him,</span> and later it says, <span style= | |
| 1333 "font-weight: bold">he was life.</span> For he says (<i>The | |
| 1334 Trinity</i> II) that when the Evangelist says <span style= | |
| 1335 "font-weight: bold">without him nothing was made,</span> one might | |
| 1336 be perplexed and ask whether there are still other things made by | |
| 1337 him, that were not made through him, although not without him, but | |
| 1338 with respect to which he was associated with the maker; and this | |
| 1339 clause is added to correct the aforesaid error. Therefore lest this | |
| 1340 be so understood, when the Evangelist says, <span style= | |
| 1341 "font-weight: bold">All things were made through him,</span> he | |
| 1342 adds, <span style="font-weight: bold">and without him nothing was | |
| 1343 made,</span> which was made, in him, that is, through him; and the | |
| 1344 reason for this is that <span style="font-weight: bold">he was | |
| 1345 life.</span></p> | |
| 1346 <p>For it is plain that all things are said to have been made | |
| 1347 through the Word inasmuch as the Word, who proceeds from the | |
| 1348 Father, is God. But let us suppose that some father has a son who | |
| 1349 does not perfectly exercise the operations of a man, but reaches | |
| 1350 such a state gradually. In that case the father will do many | |
| 1351 things, not through the son, yet not without [having] him. Since, | |
| 1352 therefore, the Son of God has from all eternity the same life that | |
| 1353 the Father has—“Just as the Father possesses life in | |
| 1354 himself, so has he granted it to the Son to have life in | |
| 1355 himself” (below 5:26)—one cannot say that God the | |
| 1356 Father, although he made nothing without the Son, nevertheless made | |
| 1357 some things not through him, because he was life. For in living | |
| 1358 things which participate life, it can happen that imperfect life | |
| 1359 precedes perfect life; but in <i>per se</i> life, which does not | |
| 1360 participate life but is simply and absolutely life, there can be no | |
| 1361 imperfection at all. Accordingly, because the Word is <i>per se</i> | |
| 1362 life, there was never imperfect life in him, but always perfect | |
| 1363 life. And so in such a way that nothing was made without him that | |
| 1364 was not also made in him, i.e., through him.</p> | |
| 1365 <p>94 Chrysostom has a different reading and punctuation, thus: | |
| 1366 <span style="font-weight: bold">And without him was made nothing | |
| 1367 that was made.</span> The reason for this is that someone might | |
| 1368 believe that the Holy Spirit was made through the Word. So to | |
| 1369 exclude this, the Evangelist says, <span style= | |
| 1370 "font-weight: bold">that was made,</span> because the Holy Spirit | |
| 1371 is not something that is made. And afterward follows, <span style= | |
| 1372 "font-weight: bold">In him was life,</span> which is introduced for | |
| 1373 two reasons. First, to show that after the creation of all things | |
| 1374 his causality was indefectible not only with respect to the things | |
| 1375 already produced, but also with respect to things yet to be | |
| 1376 produced. As if to say: <span style="font-weight: bold">In him was | |
| 1377 life,</span> by which he could not only produce all things, but | |
| 1378 which has an unfailing flow and a causality for producing things | |
| 1379 continually without undergoing any change, being a living fountain | |
| 1380 which is not diminished in spite of its continuous outflow; whereas | |
| 1381 collected water, that is not living [i..e., running] water, is | |
| 1382 diminished when it flows out, and is used up. So the Psalm (35:10) | |
| 1383 says, “With you is the fountain of life.” The second | |
| 1384 reason is to show that things are governed by the: Word. For since | |
| 1385 <span style="font-weight: bold">In him was life,</span> this shows | |
| 1386 that he produced things by his intellect and will, not by a | |
| 1387 necessity of his nature, and that he governs the things he made. | |
| 1388 “The Word of God is living” (Heb 4:12).</p> | |
| 1389 <p>Chrysostom is held in such esteem by the Greeks in his | |
| 1390 explanations that they admit no other where he expounded anything | |
| 1391 in Holy Scripture. For this reason, this passage in all the Greek | |
| 1392 works is found to be punctuated exactly as Chrysostom did, namely, | |
| 1393 <span style="font-weight: bold">And without him was made nothing | |
| 1394 that was made.</span></p> | |
| 1395 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in"> | |
| 1396 </p> | |
| 1397 <center> | |
| 1398 <p><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE 3</span></p> | |
| 1399 <p>4b And that life was the light of men.<br /> | |
| 1400 5 And the light shines in the darkness,<br /> | |
| 1401 and the darkness did not overcome it.</p> | |
| 1402 </center> | |
| 1403 <p>95 Above, the Evangelist described the power of the Word insofar | |
| 1404 as he brought all things into existence; here he describes his | |
| 1405 power as it is related to men, saying that this Word is a light to | |
| 1406 men. First, he introduces a certain light to us (v 4b); secondly, | |
| 1407 the light’s irradiation (v 5a); thirdly, participation in the | |
| 1408 light (v 5b). This whole section may be explained in two ways: | |
| 1409 first, according to the influx of natural knowledge; secondly, | |
| 1410 according to participation in grace.</p> | |
| 1411 <p>As to the first point he says, <span style= | |
| 1412 "font-weight: bold">And that life was the light of men.</span></p> | |
| 1413 <p>96 Here we should note first that, according to Augustine and | |
| 1414 many others, light is more properly said of spiritual things than | |
| 1415 of sensible things. Ambrose, however, thinks that brightness is | |
| 1416 said metaphorically of God. But this is not a great issue, for in | |
| 1417 whatever way the name “light” is used, it implies a | |
| 1418 manifestation, whether that manifesting concerns intelligible or | |
| 1419 sensible things. If we compare sensible and intelligible | |
| 1420 manifestation, then, according to the nature of things, light is | |
| 1421 found first in spiritual things. But for us, who give names to | |
| 1422 things on the basis of their properties as known to us, light is | |
| 1423 discovered first in sensible things, because we first used this | |
| 1424 name to signify sensible light before intelligible light; although | |
| 1425 as to power, light belongs to spiritual things in a prior and truer | |
| 1426 way than to sensible things.</p> | |
| 1427 <p>97 To clarify the statement, <span style="font-weight: bold">And | |
| 1428 that life was the light of men,</span> we should remark that there | |
| 1429 are many grades of life. For some things live, but do so without | |
| 1430 light, because they have no knowledge; for example, plants. Hence | |
| 1431 their life is not light. Other things both live and know, but their | |
| 1432 knowledge, since it is on the sense level, is concerned only with | |
| 1433 individual and material things, as is the case with the brutes. So | |
| 1434 they have both life and a certain light. But they do not have the | |
| 1435 light of men, who live, and know, not only truths, but also the | |
| 1436 very nature of truth itself. Such are rational creatures, to whom | |
| 1437 not only this or that are made manifest, but truth itself, which | |
| 1438 can be manifested and is manifestive to all.</p> | |
| 1439 <p>And so the Evangelist, speaking of the Word, not only says that | |
| 1440 he is life but also <span style="font-weight: bold">light,</span> | |
| 1441 lest anyone suppose he means life without knowledge. And he says | |
| 1442 that he is the <span style="font-weight: bold">light of men,</span> | |
| 1443 lest anyone suppose he meant only sensible knowledge, such as | |
| 1444 exists in the brutes.</p> | |
| 1445 <p>98 But since he is also the light of angels, why did he say, of | |
| 1446 men? Two answers have been given to this. Chrysostom says that the | |
| 1447 Evangelist intended in this Gospel to give us a knowledge of the | |
| 1448 Word precisely as directed to the salvation of men and therefore | |
| 1449 refers, in keeping with his aim, more to men than to angels. | |
| 1450 Origen, however, says that participation in this light pertains to | |
| 1451 men insofar as they have a rational nature; accordingly, when the | |
| 1452 Evangelist says, <span style="font-weight: bold">the light of | |
| 1453 men,</span> he wants us to understand every rational nature.</p> | |
| 1454 <p>99 We also see from this the perfection and dignity of this | |
| 1455 life, because it is intellectual or rational. For whereas all | |
| 1456 things that in some way move themselves are called living, only | |
| 1457 those that perfectly move themselves are said to have perfect life; | |
| 1458 and among lower creatures only man moves himself, properly | |
| 1459 speaking, and perfectly. For although other things are moved by | |
| 1460 themselves by some inner principle, that inner principle is | |
| 1461 nevertheless not open to opposite alternatives; hence they are not | |
| 1462 moved freely but from necessity. As a result, those things that are | |
| 1463 moved by such a principle are more truly made to act than act | |
| 1464 themselves. But man, since he is master of his act, moves himself | |
| 1465 freely to all that he wills. Consequently, man has perfect life, as | |
| 1466 does every intellectual nature. And so the life of the Word, which | |
| 1467 is the light of men, is perfect life.</p> | |
| 1468 <p>100 We find a fitting order in the above. For in the natural | |
| 1469 order of things, existence is first; and the Evangelist implies | |
| 1470 this in his first statement, <span style="font-weight: bold">In the | |
| 1471 beginning was the Word.</span> Secondly, comes life; and this is | |
| 1472 mentioned next, <span style="font-weight: bold">In him was | |
| 1473 life.</span> Thirdly comes understanding; and that is mentioned | |
| 1474 next; <span style="font-weight: bold">And that life was the light | |
| 1475 of men.</span> And, according to Origen, he fittingly attributes | |
| 1476 light to life because light can be attributed only to the | |
| 1477 living.</p> | |
| 1478 <p>101 We should note that light can be related in two ways to what | |
| 1479 is living: as an object and as something in which they participate, | |
| 1480 as is clear in external sight. For the eyes know external light as | |
| 1481 an object, but if they are to see it, they must participate in an | |
| 1482 inner light by which the eyes are adapted and disposed for seeing | |
| 1483 the external light. And so his statement, <span style= | |
| 1484 "font-weight: bold">And that life was the light of men,</span> can | |
| 1485 be understood in two ways. First, that the <span style= | |
| 1486 "font-weight: bold">light of men</span> is taken as an object that | |
| 1487 man alone can look upon, because the rational creature alone can | |
| 1488 see it, since he alone is capable of the vision of God who | |
| 1489 “teaches us more than the beasts of the earth, and enlightens | |
| 1490 us more than the birds of the air” Jb 35:11); for although | |
| 1491 other animals may know certain things that are true, nevertheless, | |
| 1492 man alone knows the nature itself of truth.</p> | |
| 1493 <p>The <span style="font-weight: bold">light of men</span> can also | |
| 1494 be taken as a light in which we participate. For we would never be | |
| 1495 able to look upon the Word and light itself except through a | |
| 1496 participation in it; and this participation is in man and is the | |
| 1497 superior part of our soul, i.e., the intellectual light, about | |
| 1498 which the Psalm (4:7) says, “The light of your countenance, O | |
| 1499 Lord, is marked upon us,” i.e., of your Son, who is your | |
| 1500 face, by whom you are manifested.</p> | |
| 1501 <p>102 Having introduced a certain light, the Evangelist now | |
| 1502 considers its irradiation, saying, And the light shines in the | |
| 1503 darkness. This can be explained in two ways, according to the two | |
| 1504 meanings of “darkness.”</p> | |
| 1505 <p>First, we might take “darkness” as a natural defect, | |
| 1506 that of the created mind. For the mind is to that light of which | |
| 1507 the Evangelist speaks here as air is to the light of the sun; | |
| 1508 because, although air is receptive of the light of the sun, | |
| 1509 considered in itself it is a darkness. According to this the | |
| 1510 meaning is: the light, i.e., that life which is the light of men, | |
| 1511 shines in the darkness, i.e., in created souls and minds, by always | |
| 1512 shedding its light on all. “On a man from whom the light is | |
| 1513 hidden” (Jb 3:23).</p> | |
| 1514 <p><span style="font-weight: bold">And the darkness did not | |
| 1515 overcome it,</span> i.e., enclose it [i.e., intellectually]. For to | |
| 1516 overcome something [<i>comprehendere,</i> to overcome, to | |
| 1517 comprehend, to seize or apprehend, and so forth], is to enclose and | |
| 1518 understand its boundaries. As Augustine says, to reach God with the | |
| 1519 mind is a great happiness; but to overcome [comprehend] him is | |
| 1520 impossible. And so, the darkness did not overcome it. | |
| 1521 “Behold, God is great, exceeding our knowledge” (Jb | |
| 1522 36:26); “Great in counsel, incomprehensible in thought” | |
| 1523 as Jeremiah (32:19) says. This explanation is found in that homily | |
| 1524 which begins, “The spiritual voice of the eagle.”</p> | |
| 1525 <p>103 We can explain this passage in another way by taking | |
| 1526 “darkness” as Augustine does, for the natural lack of | |
| 1527 wisdom in man, which is called a darkness. “And I saw that | |
| 1528 wisdom excells folly as much as light excells knowledge” (Ecc | |
| 1529 2:13). Someone is without wisdom, therefore, because he lacks the | |
| 1530 light of divine wisdom. Consequently, just as the minds of the wise | |
| 1531 are lucid by reason of a participation in that divine light and | |
| 1532 wisdom, so by the lack of it they are darkness. Now the fact that | |
| 1533 some are darkness is not due to a defect in that light, since on | |
| 1534 its part it shines in the darkness and radiates upon all. Rather, | |
| 1535 the foolish are ‘without that light because <span style= | |
| 1536 "font-weight: bold">the darkness did not overcome it,</span> i.e., | |
| 1537 they did not apprehend it, not being able to attain a participation | |
| 1538 in it due to their foolishness; after having been lifted up, they | |
| 1539 did not persevere. “From the savage,” i.e., from the | |
| 1540 proud, “he hides his light,” i.e., the light of wisdom, | |
| 1541 “and shows his friend that it belongs to him, and that he may | |
| 1542 approach it” (Jb 36:32); “They did not know the way to | |
| 1543 wisdom, nor did they remember her paths” (Bar 3:23).</p> | |
| 1544 <p>Although some minds are darkness, i.e., they lack savory and | |
| 1545 lucid wisdom, nevertheless no man is in such darkness as to be | |
| 1546 completely devoid of divine light, because whatever truth is know | |
| 1547 by anyone is due to a participation in that light which shines in | |
| 1548 the darkness; for every truth, no matter by whom it is spoken, | |
| 1549 comes from the Holy Spirit. Yet the darkness, i.e., men in | |
| 1550 darkness, did not overcome it, apprehend it in truth. This is the | |
| 1551 way, [ i.e., with respect to the natural influx of knowledge] that | |
| 1552 Origen and Augustine explain this clause.</p> | |
| 1553 <p>104 Starting from <span style="font-weight: bold">And that life | |
| 1554 was the light of men,</span> we can explain this in another way, | |
| 1555 according to the influx of grace, since we are illuminated by | |
| 1556 Christ.</p> | |
| 1557 <p>After he had considered the creation of things through the Word, | |
| 1558 the Evangelist considers here the restoration of the rational | |
| 1559 creature through Christ, saying, <span style= | |
| 1560 "font-weight: bold">And that life,</span> of the Word, was the | |
| 1561 <span style="font-weight: bold">light of</span> men, i.e., of all | |
| 1562 men in general, and not only of the Jews. For the Son of God | |
| 1563 assumed flesh and came into the world to illumine all men with | |
| 1564 grace and truth. “I came into the world for this, to testify | |
| 1565 to the truth” (below 18:37); “As long as I am in the | |
| 1566 world I am the light of the world” (below 9:5). So he does | |
| 1567 not say, “the light of the Jews,” because although | |
| 1568 previously he had been known only in Judea, he later became known | |
| 1569 to the world. “I have given you as a light to the nations, | |
| 1570 that you might be my salvation to the ends of the earth” (Is | |
| 1571 49:6).</p> | |
| 1572 <p>It was fitting to join light and life by saying, <span style= | |
| 1573 "font-weight: bold">And that life was the light of men,</span> in | |
| 1574 order to show that these two have come to us through Christ: life, | |
| 1575 through a participation in grace, “Grace and truth have come | |
| 1576 through Jesus Christ” (below 1:17); and light, by a knowledge | |
| 1577 of truth and wisdom.</p> | |
| 1578 <p>105 According to this explanation, <span style= | |
| 1579 "font-weight: bold">the light shines in the darkness,</span> can be | |
| 1580 expounded in three ways, in the light of the three meanings of | |
| 1581 “darkness.”</p> | |
| 1582 <p>In one way, we can take “darkness” for punishment. | |
| 1583 For any sadness and suffering of heart can be called a darkness, | |
| 1584 just as any joy can be called a light. “When I sit in | |
| 1585 darkness and in suffering the Lord is my light,” i.e., my joy | |
| 1586 and consolation (Mi 7:8). And so Origen says: In this explanation, | |
| 1587 <span style="font-weight: bold">the light shines in the | |
| 1588 darkness,</span> is Christ coming into the world, having a body | |
| 1589 capable of suffering and without sin, but “in the likeness of | |
| 1590 sinful flesh” (Rom 8:3). The light is in the flesh, that is, | |
| 1591 the flesh of Christ, which is called a darkness insofar as it has a | |
| 1592 likeness to sinful flesh. As if to say: The light, i.e., the Word | |
| 1593 of God, veiled about by the darkness of the flesh, shines on the | |
| 1594 world; “I will cover the sun with a cloud” (Ez | |
| 1595 32:7).</p> | |
| 1596 <p>106 Secondly, we can take “darkness” to mean the | |
| 1597 devils, as in Ephesians (6:12), “Our struggle is not against | |
| 1598 flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the | |
| 1599 rulers of the world of this darkness.” Looked at this way he | |
| 1600 says, <span style="font-weight: bold">the light,</span> i.e., the | |
| 1601 Son of God, <span style="font-weight: bold">shines in the | |
| 1602 darkness,</span> i.e., has descended into the world where darkness, | |
| 1603 i.e., the devils, hold sway: “Now the prince of this world | |
| 1604 will be cast out” (below 12:31). <span style= | |
| 1605 "font-weight: bold">And the darkness,</span> i.e., the devils, | |
| 1606 <span style="font-weight: bold">did not overcome it,</span> i.e., | |
| 1607 were unable to obscure him by their temptations, as is plain in | |
| 1608 Matthew (c 4)</p> | |
| 1609 <p>107 Thirdly, we can take “darkness” for the error or | |
| 1610 ignorance which filled the whole world before the coming of Christ, | |
| 1611 “You were at one time darkness” (Eph 5:8). And so he | |
| 1612 says that <span style="font-weight: bold">the light,</span> i.e., | |
| 1613 the incarnate Word of God, <span style="font-weight: bold">shines | |
| 1614 in the darkness,</span> i.e., upon the men of the world, who are | |
| 1615 blinded by the darkness or error and ignorance. “To enlighten | |
| 1616 those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death” (Lk | |
| 1617 1:79), “The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great | |
| 1618 light” (Is 9:2).</p> | |
| 1619 <p><span style="font-weight: bold">And the darkness did not | |
| 1620 overcome it,</span> i.e., did not overcome him. For in spite of the | |
| 1621 number of men darkened by sin, blinded by envy, shadowed over by | |
| 1622 pride, who have struggled against Christ (as is plain from the | |
| 1623 Gospel) by upbraiding him, heaping insults and calumnies upon him, | |
| 1624 and finally killing him, nevertheless they did not overcome it, | |
| 1625 i.e., gain the victory of so obscuring him that his brightness | |
| 1626 would not shine throughout the whole world. Wisdom (7:30) says, | |
| 1627 “Compared to light, she takes precedence, for night supplants | |
| 1628 it, but wisdom,” that is, the incarnate Son of God, “is | |
| 1629 not overcome by wickedness,” that is, of the Jews and of | |
| 1630 heretics, because it says, “She gave him the prize for his | |
| 1631 stern struggle that he might know that wisdom is mightier than all | |
| 1632 else” (Wis 10:12).</p> | |
| 1633 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in"> | |
| 1634 </p> | |
| 1635 <center> | |
| 1636 <p>LECTURE 4</p> | |
| 1637 <p>6 There was a man sent by God, whose name was John.<br /> | |
| 1638 7 He came as a witness, that he might bear witness to the | |
| 1639 light,<br /> | |
| 1640 so that through him all men might believe. 8 He was not the | |
| 1641 light,<br /> | |
| 1642 but [he came] in order to bear witness to the light.</p> | |
| 1643 </center> | |
| 1644 <p>108 Above, the Evangelist considered the divinity of the Word; | |
| 1645 here he begins to consider the incarnation of the Word. And he does | |
| 1646 two things concerning this: first, he treats of the witness to the | |
| 1647 incarnate Word, or the precursor; secondly, of the coming of the | |
| 1648 Word ( 1:9). As to the first, he does two things: first, he | |
| 1649 describes the precursor who comes to bear witness; secondly, he | |
| 1650 shows that he was incapable of the work of our salvation (1:8).</p> | |
| 1651 <p>He describes the precursor in four ways. First, according to his | |
| 1652 nature, <span style="font-weight: bold">There was a man.</span> | |
| 1653 Secondly, as to his authority, <span style="font-weight: bold">sent | |
| 1654 by God.</span> I’hirdly, as to his suitability for the | |
| 1655 office, <span style="font-weight: bold">whose name was John.</span> | |
| 1656 Fourthly, as to the dignity of his office, <span style= | |
| 1657 "font-weight: bold">He came as a witness.</span></p> | |
| 1658 <p>109 We should note with respect to the first that, as soon as | |
| 1659 the Evangelist begins speaking of something temporal, he changes | |
| 1660 his manner of speech. When speaking above of eternal things, he | |
| 1661 used the word “was” (<i>erat</i>), which is the past | |
| 1662 imperfect tense; and this indicates that eternal things are without | |
| 1663 end. But now, when he is speaking of temporal things, he uses | |
| 1664 “was” (<i>fuit</i>, i.e., “has been”); this | |
| 1665 indicates temporal things as having taken place in the past and | |
| 1666 coming to an end there.</p> | |
| 1667 <p>110 And so he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">There was a | |
| 1668 man</span> (<i>Fuit homo</i>). This excludes at the very start the | |
| 1669 incorrect opinion of certain heretics who were in error on the | |
| 1670 condition or nature of John. They believed that John was an angel | |
| 1671 in nature, basing themselves on the words of the Lord, “I | |
| 1672 send my messenger [in Greek, <i>angelos</i>] before you, who will | |
| 1673 prepare your way” (Mt 11:10); and the same thing is found in | |
| 1674 Mark (1:2). But the Evangelist rejects this, saying, <span style= | |
| 1675 "font-weight: bold">There was a man</span> by nature, not an angel. | |
| 1676 “The nature of man is known, and that he cannot contend in | |
| 1677 judgment with one who is stronger than himself” (Ecc | |
| 1678 6:10).</p> | |
| 1679 <p>Now it “ is fitting that a man be sent to men, for men are | |
| 1680 more easily drawn to a man, since he is like themselves. So in | |
| 1681 Hebrews (7:28) it says, “The law appoints men, who have | |
| 1682 weakness, priests.” God could have governed men through | |
| 1683 angels, but he preferred men so that we could be more instructed by | |
| 1684 their example. And so John was a man, and not an angel.</p> | |
| 1685 <p>11 1 John is described by his authority when it says, sent by | |
| 1686 God. Indeed, although John was not an angel in nature, he was so by | |
| 1687 his office, because he was sent by God. For the distinctive office | |
| 1688 of angels is that they are sent by God and are messengers of God. | |
| 1689 “All are ministering spirits, sent to serve” (Heb | |
| 1690 1:14). Hence it is that “angel” means | |
| 1691 “messenger.” And so men who are sent by God to announce | |
| 1692 something can be called angels. “Haggai the messenger of the | |
| 1693 Lord” (Hg 1:13).</p> | |
| 1694 <p>If someone is to bear witness to God, it is necessary that he be | |
| 1695 sent by God. “How can they preach unless they are | |
| 1696 sent?” as is said in Romans (10:15). And since they are sent | |
| 1697 by God, they seek the things of Jesus Christ, not their own. | |
| 1698 “We do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ” (2 Cor | |
| 1699 4:5). On the other hand, one who sends himself, and is not sent by | |
| 1700 God, seeks his own things or those of man, and not the things of | |
| 1701 Christ. And so he says here, <span style="font-weight: bold">There | |
| 1702 was a man sent by God,</span> so that we would understand that John | |
| 1703 proclaimed something divine, not human.</p> | |
| 1704 <p>112 Note that there are three ways in which we see men sent by | |
| 1705 God. First, by an inward inspiration. “And now the Lord God | |
| 1706 has sent me, and his spirit” (Is 48:16). As if to say: I have | |
| 1707 been sent by God through an inward inspiration of the spirit. | |
| 1708 Secondly, by an expressed and clear command, perceived by the | |
| 1709 bodily senses or the imagination. Isaiah was also sent in this way; | |
| 1710 and so he says, “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, | |
| 1711 ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I | |
| 1712 said, ‘Here I am! Send me’” (Is 6:8). Thirdly, by | |
| 1713 the order of a prelate, who acts in the place of God in this | |
| 1714 matter. “I have pardoned in the person of Christ for your | |
| 1715 sake” as it says in 2 Corinthians (2:10). This is why those | |
| 1716 who are sent by a prelate are sent by God, as Barnabas and Timothy | |
| 1717 were sent by the Apostle.</p> | |
| 1718 <p>When it is said here, <span style="font-weight: bold">There was | |
| 1719 a man sent by</span> God, we should understand that he was sent by | |
| 1720 God through an inward inspiration, or perhaps even by an outward | |
| 1721 command. “He who sent me to baptize with water had said to | |
| 1722 me: ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and rest is | |
| 1723 the one who is to baptize with the Holy Spirit’ “ | |
| 1724 (below 1:33).</p> | |
| 1725 <p>113 We should not understand, <span style= | |
| 1726 "font-weight: bold">There was a man sent by God,</span> as some | |
| 1727 heretics did, who believed that from the very beginning human souls | |
| 1728 were created without bodies along with the angels, and that | |
| 1729 one’s soul is sent into the body when he is born, and that | |
| 1730 John was sent to life, i.e., his soul was sent to a body. Rather, | |
| 1731 we should understand that he was sent by God to baptize and | |
| 1732 preach.</p> | |
| 1733 <p>114 John’s fitness is given when he says, <span style= | |
| 1734 "font-weight: bold">whose name was John.</span> One must be | |
| 1735 qualified for the office of bearing witness, because unless a | |
| 1736 witness is qualified, then no matter in what way he is sent by | |
| 1737 another, his testimony is not acceptable. Now a man becomes | |
| 1738 qualified by the grace, of God. “By the grace of God I am | |
| 1739 what I am” (1 Cor 15:10); “who has made us fit | |
| 1740 ministers of a new covenant” (2 Cor 3:6). So, the Evangelist | |
| 1741 appropriately implies the precursor’s fitness from his name | |
| 1742 when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">whose name was | |
| 1743 John,</span> which is interpreted, “in whom is | |
| 1744 grace.”</p> | |
| 1745 <p>This name was not given to him meaninglessly, but by divine | |
| 1746 preordination and before he was born, as is clear from Luke (1:13), | |
| 1747 “You will name him John,” as the angel said to | |
| 1748 Zechariah. Hence he can say what is said in Isaiah (49:1), | |
| 1749 “The Lord called me from the womb”; “He who will | |
| 1750 be, his name is already called” (Ecc 6:10). The Evangelist | |
| 1751 also indicates this from his manner of speaking, when he says was, | |
| 1752 as to God’s preordination.</p> | |
| 1753 <p>115 Then he is described by the dignity of his office. First, | |
| 1754 his office is mentioned. Secondly, the reason for his office, | |
| 1755 <span style="font-weight: bold">to bear witness to the | |
| 1756 light.</span></p> | |
| 1757 <p>116 Now his office is to bear witness; hence he says, | |
| 1758 <span style="font-weight: bold">He came as a witness.</span></p> | |
| 1759 <p>Here it should be remarked that God makes men, and everything | |
| 1760 else he makes, for himself. “The Lord made all things for | |
| 1761 himself” (Prv 16:4). Not, indeed, to add anything to himself, | |
| 1762 since he has no need of our good, but so that his goodness might be | |
| 1763 made manifest in all of the things made by him, in that “his | |
| 1764 eternal power and divinity are clearly seen, being understood | |
| 1765 through the things that are made”(Rom 1:20). Thus, each | |
| 1766 creature is made as a witness to God in so far as each creature is | |
| 1767 a certain witness of the divine goodness. So, the vastness of | |
| 1768 creation is a witness to God’s power and omnipotence; and its | |
| 1769 beauty is a witness to the divine wisdom. But certain men are | |
| 1770 ordained by God in a special way, so that they hear witness to God | |
| 1771 not only naturally by their existence, but also spiritually by | |
| 1772 their good works. Hence all holy men are witnesses to God inasmuch | |
| 1773 as God is glorified among men by their good works. “Let your | |
| 1774 light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and | |
| 1775 glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Mt 5:16). But those | |
| 1776 who not only share in God’s gifts in themselves by acting | |
| 1777 well through the grace of God, but also spread them to others by | |
| 1778 their teaching, influencing and encouraging others, are in a more | |
| 1779 special way witnesses to God. “Everyone who calls upon my | |
| 1780 name, I have created for my glory” (Is 43:7). And so John | |
| 1781 came as a witness in order to spread to others the gifts of God and | |
| 1782 to proclaim his praise.</p> | |
| 1783 <p>117 This office of John, that of bearing witness, is very great, | |
| 1784 because no one can testify about something except in the manner in | |
| 1785 which he has shared in it. “We know of what we speak, and we | |
| 1786 bear witness of what we see” (below 3:11). Hence, to bear | |
| 1787 witness to divine truth indicates a knowledge of that truth. So | |
| 1788 Christ also had this office: “I have come into the world for | |
| 1789 this, to testify to the truth” (below 18:37). But Christ | |
| 1790 testifies in one way and John in another. Christ bears witness as | |
| 1791 the light who comprehends all things, indeed, as the existing light | |
| 1792 itself. John bears witness only as participating in that light. And | |
| 1793 so Christ gives testimony in a perfect manner and perfectly | |
| 1794 manifests the truth, while John and other holy men give testimony | |
| 1795 in so far as they have a share of divine truth. John’s | |
| 1796 office, therefore, is great both because of his participation in | |
| 1797 the divine light and because of a likeness to Christ, who carried | |
| 1798 out this office. “I made him a witness to the peoples, a | |
| 1799 leader and a commander of the nations” (Is 55:4).</p> | |
| 1800 <p>118 The purpose of this office is given when he says, | |
| 1801 <span style="font-weight: bold">that he might bear witness to the | |
| 1802 light.</span> Here we should understand that there are two reasons | |
| 1803 for bearing witness about something. One reason can be on the part | |
| 1804 of the thing with which the witness is concerned; for example, if | |
| 1805 there is some doubt or uncertainty about that thing. The other is | |
| 1806 on the part of those who hear it; if they are hard of heart and | |
| 1807 slow to believe. John came as a witness, not because of the thing | |
| 1808 about which he bore witness, for it was light. Hence he says, | |
| 1809 <span style="font-weight: bold">bear witness to the light,</span> | |
| 1810 i.e., not to something obscure, but to something clear. He came, | |
| 1811 therefore, to bear witness on account of those to whom he | |
| 1812 testified, <span style="font-weight: bold">so that through | |
| 1813 him</span> (i.e., John) <span style="font-weight: bold">all men | |
| 1814 might believe.</span> For as light is not only visible in itself | |
| 1815 and of itself, but through it all else can be seen, so the Word of | |
| 1816 God is not only light in himself, but he makes known all things | |
| 1817 that are known. For since a thing is made known and understood | |
| 1818 through its form, and all forms exist through the Word, who is the | |
| 1819 art full of living forms, the Word is light not only in himself, | |
| 1820 but as making known all things; “all that appears is | |
| 1821 light” (Eph 5:13).</p> | |
| 1822 <p>And so it was fitting for the Evangelist to call the Son | |
| 1823 “light,” because he came as “a revealing light to | |
| 1824 the Gentiles” (Lk 2:32). Above, he called the Son of God the | |
| 1825 Word, by which the Father expresses himself and every creature. Now | |
| 1826 since he is, properly speaking, the light of men, and the | |
| 1827 Evangelist is considering him here as coming to accomplish the | |
| 1828 salvation of men, he fittingly interrupts the use of the name | |
| 1829 “Word” when speaking of the Son, and says, | |
| 1830 “light.”</p> | |
| 1831 <p>119 But if that light is adequate of itself to make known all | |
| 1832 things, and not only itself, what need does it have of any witness? | |
| 1833 This was the objection of the Manichaeans, who wanted to destroy | |
| 1834 the Old Testament. Consequently, the saints gave many reasons, | |
| 1835 against their opinion, why Christ wanted to have the testimony of | |
| 1836 the prophets.</p> | |
| 1837 <p>Origen gives three reasons. The first is that God wanted to have | |
| 1838 certain witnesses, not because he needed their testimony, but to | |
| 1839 ennoble those whom he appointed witnesses. Thus we see in the order | |
| 1840 of the universe that God produces certain effects by means of | |
| 1841 intermediate causes, not because he himself is unable to produce | |
| 1842 them without these intermediaries, but he deigns to confer oil them | |
| 1843 the dignity of causality because he wishes to-ennoble these | |
| 1844 intermediate causes. Similarly, even though God could have | |
| 1845 enlightened all men by himself and lead them to a knowledge of | |
| 1846 himself, yet to preserve due order in things and to ennoble certain | |
| 1847 men, he willed that divine knowledge reach men through certain | |
| 1848 other men. “‘You are my witnesses,’ says the | |
| 1849 Lord” (Is 43:10).</p> | |
| 1850 <p>A second reason is that Christ was a light to the world through | |
| 1851 his miracles. Yet, because they were performed in time, they passed | |
| 1852 away with time and did not reach everyone. But the words of the | |
| 1853 prophets, preserved in Scripture, could reach not only those | |
| 1854 present, but could also reach those to come after. Hence the Lord | |
| 1855 willed that men come to a knowledge of the Word through the | |
| 1856 testimony of the prophets, in order that not only those present, | |
| 1857 but also men yet lo come, might be enlightened about him. So it | |
| 1858 says expressly, <span style="font-weight: bold">so that through him | |
| 1859 all men might believe,</span> i.e., not only those present, but | |
| 1860 also future generations.</p> | |
| 1861 <p>The third reason is that not all men are in the same condition, | |
| 1862 and all are not led or disposed to a knowledge of the truth in the | |
| 1863 same way. For some are brought to a knowledge of the truth by signs | |
| 1864 and miracles; others are brought more by wisdom. “The Jews | |
| 1865 require signs, and the Greeks seek wisdom” (1 Cor 1:22). And | |
| 1866 so the Lord, m order to show the path of salvation to all, willed | |
| 1867 both ways to be open. i.e., the way of signs and the way of wisdom, | |
| 1868 so that those who would not be brought to the path of salvation by | |
| 1869 the miracles of the Old and New Testaments, might be brought to a | |
| 1870 knowledge of the truth by the path of wisdom, as in the prophets | |
| 1871 and other books of Sacred Scripture.</p> | |
| 1872 <p>A fourth reason, given by Chrysostom, is that certain men of | |
| 1873 weak understanding are unable to grasp the truth and knowledge of | |
| 1874 God by themselves. And so the Lord chose to come down to them and | |
| 1875 to enlighten certain men before others about divine matters, so | |
| 1876 that these others might obtain from them in a human way the | |
| 1877 knowledge of divine things they could not reach by themselves. And | |
| 1878 so he says, that <span style="font-weight: bold">through him all | |
| 1879 men might believe.</span> As if to say: he came as a witness, not | |
| 1880 for the sake of the light, but for the sake of men, so <span style= | |
| 1881 "font-weight: bold">that through him all men might believe.</span> | |
| 1882 And so it is plain that the testimonies of the prophets are fitting | |
| 1883 and proper, and should be received as something needed by us for | |
| 1884 the knowledge of the truth.</p> | |
| 1885 <p>120 He says believe, because there are two ways of participating | |
| 1886 in the divine light. One is the perfect participation which is | |
| 1887 present in glory, “In your light, we shall see the | |
| 1888 light” (Ps 3 5:10). The other in imperfect and is acquired | |
| 1889 through faith, since he came as a witness. Of these two ways it is | |
| 1890 said, “Now we see through a mirror, in an obscure manner, but | |
| 1891 then we shall see face to face” (1 Cor 13:12). And in the | |
| 1892 same place we find, “Now I know in part, but then I shall | |
| 1893 know even as I am known.” Among these two ways, the first is | |
| 1894 the way of participation through faith, because through it we are | |
| 1895 brought to vision. So in Isaiah (7:9) where our version has, | |
| 1896 “If you do not believe, you will not persist,” another | |
| 1897 version has, “If you do not believe, you will not | |
| 1898 understand.” “All of us, gazing on the Lord’s | |
| 1899 glory with unveiled faces, are being transformed from glory to | |
| 1900 glory into his very image,” which we have lost (2 Cor 3:18). | |
| 1901 “From the glory of faith to the glory of vision,” as a | |
| 1902 Gloss says.</p> | |
| 1903 <p>And so he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">that through him | |
| 1904 all men might believe,</span> not as though all would see him | |
| 1905 perfectly at once, but first they would believe through faith, and | |
| 1906 later enjoy him through vision in heaven.</p> | |
| 1907 <p>121 He says through him, to show that John is different than | |
| 1908 Christ. For Christ came so that all might believe in him. “He | |
| 1909 who believes in me, as Scripture says, “Out of his heart | |
| 1910 shall flow rivers of living water” (below 7:38). John, on the | |
| 1911 other hand, <span style="font-weight: bold">came that all men might | |
| 1912 believe,</span> not in him, but in Christ <span style= | |
| 1913 "font-weight: bold">through him.</span></p> | |
| 1914 <p>One may object that not all have believed. So if John came to | |
| 1915 that all might believe through him, he failed. I answer that both | |
| 1916 on the part of God, who sent John, and of John, who came, the | |
| 1917 method used is adequate to bring all to the truth. But on the | |
| 1918 <span style="font-weight: bold">part</span> of those “who | |
| 1919 have fixed their eyes on the ground” (Ps 16:11 ), and refused | |
| 1920 to see the light, there was a failure, because all did not | |
| 1921 believe.</p> | |
| 1922 <p>122 Now although John, of whom so much has been said, even | |
| 1923 including that he was sent by God, is an eminent person, his coming | |
| 1924 is not sufficient to save men, because the salvation of man lies in | |
| 1925 participating in the light. If John had been the light, his coming | |
| 1926 would have sufficed to save men; but he was not the light. So he | |
| 1927 says, <span style="font-weight: bold">he was not the light</span>. | |
| 1928 Consequently, a light was needed that would suffice to save | |
| 1929 men.</p> | |
| 1930 <p>Or, we could look at it another way. John came to bear witness | |
| 1931 to the light. Now it is the custom that the one who testifies is of | |
| 1932 greater authority than the one for whom he bears witness. So, lest | |
| 1933 John be considered to have greater authority than Christ, the | |
| 1934 Evangelist says, he was <span style="font-weight: bold">not the | |
| 1935 light, but he came in order to bear witness to the light.</span> | |
| 1936 For he bears witness not because he is greater, but because he is | |
| 1937 better known, even though he is not as great.</p> | |
| 1938 <p>123 There is a difficulty about his saying, he was not the | |
| 1939 light. Conflicting with this is, “You were at one time | |
| 1940 darkness, but now you are light in the Lord” (Eph 5:8); and | |
| 1941 “You are the light of the world” (Mt 5:14). Therefore, | |
| 1942 John and the apostles and all good men are a light.</p> | |
| 1943 <p>I answer that some say that John was not the light, because this | |
| 1944 belongs to God alone. But if “light” is taken without | |
| 1945 the article, then John and all holy men were made lights. The | |
| 1946 meaning is this: the Son of God is light by his very essence; but | |
| 1947 John and all the saints are light by participation. So, because | |
| 1948 John participated in the true light, it was fitting that he bear | |
| 1949 witness to the light; for fire is better exhibited by something | |
| 1950 afire than by anything else, and color by something colored.</p> | |
| 1951 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in"> | |
| 1952 </p> | |
| 1953 <center> | |
| 1954 <p><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE 5</span></p> | |
| 1955 <p>9 He [the Word] was the true light,<br /> | |
| 1956 which enlightens every man coming into this world.<br /> | |
| 1957 10 He was in the world, and through him the world was made,<br /> | |
| 1958 and the world did not know him.</p> | |
| 1959 </center> | |
| 1960 <p>124 Above, the Evangelist considered the precursor and his | |
| 1961 witness to the incarnate Word; in the present section he considers | |
| 1962 the incarnate Word himself. As to this he does three things. First, | |
| 1963 he shows why it was necessary for the Word to come. Secondly, the | |
| 1964 benefit we received from the coming of the Word (I:11). And | |
| 1965 thirdly, the way he came (1:14).</p> | |
| 1966 <p>The necessity for the Word’s coming is seen be the lack of | |
| 1967 divine knowledge in the world. He points out this need for his | |
| 1968 coming when he says, “For this was I born, and I came into | |
| 1969 the world for this, to testify to the truth” (below 18:37). | |
| 1970 To indicate this lack of divine knowledge, the Evangelist does two | |
| 1971 things. First, he shows that this lack does not pertain to God or | |
| 1972 the Word. Secondly, that it does pertain to men (v 10b).</p> | |
| 1973 <p>He shows in three ways that there was no defect in God or in the | |
| 1974 Word that prevented men from knowing God and from being enlightened | |
| 1975 by the Word. First, from the efficacy of the divine light itself, | |
| 1976 because <span style="font-weight: bold">He was the true light, | |
| 1977 which enlightens every man coming into this world.</span> Secondly, | |
| 1978 from the presence of the divine light, because <span style= | |
| 1979 "font-weight: bold">He was in the world.</span> Thirdly, from the | |
| 1980 obviousness of the light, because <span style= | |
| 1981 "font-weight: bold">through him the world was made.</span> So the | |
| 1982 lack of divine knowledge in the world was not due to the Word, | |
| 1983 because it is sufficient. First, he shows the nature of this | |
| 1984 efficiency, that is, <span style="font-weight: bold">He was the | |
| 1985 true light.</span> Secondly, its very efficiency, <span style= | |
| 1986 "font-weight: bold">which enlightens every man.</span></p> | |
| 1987 <p>125 The divine Word is efficacious in enlightening because | |
| 1988 <span style="font-weight: bold">He was the true light.</span> How | |
| 1989 the Word is light, and how he is the light of men need not be | |
| 1990 discussed again, because it was sufficiently explained above. What | |
| 1991 we must discuss at present is how he is the true light. To explain | |
| 1992 this, we should note that in Scripture the “true” is | |
| 1993 contrasted with three things. Sometimes it is contrasted with the | |
| 1994 false, as in “Put an end to lying, and let everyone speak the | |
| 1995 truth” (Eph 4:25). Sometimes it is contrasted with what is | |
| 1996 figurative, as in “The law was given through Moses; grace and | |
| 1997 truth have come through Jesus Christ” (below 1:17), because | |
| 1998 the truth of the figures contained in the law was fulfilled by | |
| 1999 Christ. Sometimes it is contrasted with what is something by | |
| 2000 participation, as in “that we may be in his true Son” | |
| 2001 (1 Jn 5:20), who is not his Son by participation.</p> | |
| 2002 <p>Before the Word came there was in the world a certain light | |
| 2003 which the philosophers prided themselves on having; but this was a | |
| 2004 false light, because as is said, “They became stultified in | |
| 2005 their speculations, and their foolish hearts were darkened; | |
| 2006 claiming to be wise, they became fools” (Rom 1:21); | |
| 2007 “Every man is made foolish by his knowledge” (Jer | |
| 2008 10:14). There was another light from the teaching of the law which | |
| 2009 the Jews boasted of having; but this was a symbolic light, | |
| 2010 “The law has a shadow of the good things to come, not the | |
| 2011 image itself of them” (Heb 10:1). There was also a certain | |
| 2012 light in the angels and in holy men in so far as they knew God in a | |
| 2013 more special way by grace; but this was a participated light, | |
| 2014 “Upon whom does his light not shine?” (Jb 25:3), which | |
| 2015 is like saying: Whoever shine, shine to the extent that they | |
| 2016 participate in his light, i.e., God’s light.</p> | |
| 2017 <p>But the Word of God was not a false light, nor a symbolic light, | |
| 2018 nor a participated light, but the true light, i.e., light by his | |
| 2019 essence. Therefore he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">He was | |
| 2020 the true light.</span></p> | |
| 2021 <p>126 This excludes two errors. First, that of Photinus, who | |
| 2022 believed that Christ derived his beginning from the Virgin. So, | |
| 2023 lest anyone suppose this, the Evangelist, speaking of the | |
| 2024 incarnation of the Word, says, <span style="font-weight: bold">He | |
| 2025 was the true light,</span> i.e., eternally, not only before the | |
| 2026 Virgin, but before every creature. This also excludes the error of | |
| 2027 Arius and Origen; they said that Christ was not true God, but God | |
| 2028 by participation. If this were so, he could not be the true light, | |
| 2029 as the Evangelist says here, and as in “God is light” | |
| 2030 (1 Jn 1:5), i.e., not by participation, but <span style= | |
| 2031 "font-weight: bold">the true light.</span> So if the Word was the | |
| 2032 true light, it is plain that he is true God. Now it is clear how | |
| 2033 the divine Word is effective in causing divine knowledge.</p> | |
| 2034 <p>127 The effectiveness or efficiency of the Word lies in the fact | |
| 2035 that he <span style="font-weight: bold">enlightens every man coming | |
| 2036 into this world.</span> For everything which is what it is by | |
| 2037 participation is derived from that which is such by its essence; | |
| 2038 just as everything afire is so by participation in fire, which is | |
| 2039 fire by its very essence. Then since the Word is the true light by | |
| 2040 his very essence, then everything that shines must do so through | |
| 2041 him, insofar as it participates in him. And so he <span style= | |
| 2042 "font-weight: bold">enlightens every man coming into this | |
| 2043 world.</span></p> | |
| 2044 <p>128 To understand this, we should know that “world” | |
| 2045 is taken in three ways in Scripture. Sometimes, from the point of | |
| 2046 view of its creation, as when the Evangelist says here, | |
| 2047 “through him the world was made” (v 10). Sometimes, | |
| 2048 from the point of view of its perfection, which it reaches through | |
| 2049 Christ, as in “God was, in Christ, reconciling the world to | |
| 2050 himself” (2 Cor 5:19). And sometimes it is taken from the | |
| 2051 point of view of its perversity, as in “The whole world lies | |
| 2052 under the power of the evil one” (1 Jn 5:19).</p> | |
| 2053 <p>On the other hand, “enlightenment” or “being | |
| 2054 enlightened” by the Word is taken in two ways. First, in | |
| 2055 relation to the light of natural knowledge, as in “The light | |
| 2056 of your countenance, O Lord, is marked upon us” (Ps 4:7). | |
| 2057 Secondly, as the light of grace, “Be enlightened, O | |
| 2058 Jerusalem” (Is 60:1).</p> | |
| 2059 <p>129 With these two sets of distinctions in mind, it is easy to | |
| 2060 solve a difficulty which arises here. For when the Evangelist says, | |
| 2061 he <span style="font-weight: bold">enlightens every man,</span> | |
| 2062 this seems to be false, because there are still many in darkness in | |
| 2063 the world. However, if we bear in mind these distinctions and take | |
| 2064 “world” from the standpoint of its creation, and | |
| 2065 “enlighten” as referring to the light of natural | |
| 2066 reason, the statement of the Evangelist is beyond reproach. For all | |
| 2067 men coming into this visible world are enlightened by the light of | |
| 2068 natural knowledge through participating in this true light, which | |
| 2069 is the source of all the light of natural knowledge participated in | |
| 2070 by men.</p> | |
| 2071 <p>When the Evangelist speaks of <span style= | |
| 2072 "font-weight: bold">man coming into this world,</span> he does not | |
| 2073 mean that men had lived for a certain time outside the world and | |
| 2074 then came into the world, since this is contrary to the teaching of | |
| 2075 the Apostle in Romans (9:11), “When the children were not yet | |
| 2076 born nor had they done anything good or evil.” Therefore, | |
| 2077 since they had done nothing before they were born, it is plain that | |
| 2078 the soul does not exist p3or to its union with the body. He refers | |
| 2079 to <span style="font-weight: bold">every man coming into this | |
| 2080 world,</span> to show that men are enlightened by God with respect | |
| 2081 to that according to which they came into the world, i.e., with | |
| 2082 respect to the intellect, which is something external [to the | |
| 2083 world]. For man is constituted of a twofold nature, bodily and | |
| 2084 intellectual. According to his bodily or sensible nature, man is | |
| 2085 enlightened by a bodily and sensible light; but according to his | |
| 2086 soul and intellectual nature, he is enlightened by an intellectual | |
| 2087 and spiritual light. Now man does not come into this world | |
| 2088 according to his bodily nature, but under this aspect, he is from | |
| 2089 the world. His intellectual nature is derived from a source | |
| 2090 external to the world, as has been said, i.e., from God through | |
| 2091 creation; as in “Until all flesh returns to its origin, and | |
| 2092 the spirit is directed to God, who made it” (Ecc 12:7). For | |
| 2093 these reasons, when the Evangelist speaks of <span style= | |
| 2094 "font-weight: bold">every man coming into this world</span>, he is | |
| 2095 showing that this enlightenment refers to what is from without, | |
| 2096 that is, the intellect.</p> | |
| 2097 <p>130 If we understand “enlightenment” with respect to | |
| 2098 the light of grace, then <span style="font-weight: bold">he | |
| 2099 enlightens every man</span> may be explained in three ways. The | |
| 2100 first way is by Origen in his homily, “The great | |
| 2101 eagle,” and is this. “World” is understood from | |
| 2102 the point of view of its perfection, which man attains by his | |
| 2103 reconciliation through Christ. And so we have, he enlightens every | |
| 2104 man coming, by faith, into this world, i.e., this spiritual world, | |
| 2105 that is, the Church, which has been enlightened by the light of | |
| 2106 grace.</p> | |
| 2107 <p>Chrysostom explains it another way. He takes “world” | |
| 2108 under the aspect of creation. Then the sense is: He <span style= | |
| 2109 "font-weight: bold">enlightens,</span> i.e., the Word does, in so | |
| 2110 far as it depends on him, because he fails no one, but rather | |
| 2111 “wants all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of | |
| 2112 the truth” (1 Tim 2:4); <span style="font-weight: bold">every | |
| 2113 man coming</span>, i.e., who is born into this sensible world. If | |
| 2114 anyone is not enlightened, it is due to himself, because he turns | |
| 2115 from the light that enlightens.</p> | |
| 2116 <p>Augustine explains it a third way. For him, “every” | |
| 2117 has a restricted application, so that the sense is: He <span style= | |
| 2118 "font-weight: bold">enlightens every man coming into this | |
| 2119 world,</span> not every man universally, but every man who is | |
| 2120 enlightened, since no one is enlightened except by the Word. | |
| 2121 According to Augustine, the Evangelist says, <span style= | |
| 2122 "font-weight: bold">coming into this world,</span> in order to give | |
| 2123 the reason why man needs to be enlightened, and he is taking | |
| 2124 “world” from the point of view of its perversity and | |
| 2125 defect. It is as though he were saying: Man needs to be enlightened | |
| 2126 because he is coming into this world which is darkened by | |
| 2127 perversity and defects and is full of ignorance. (This followed the | |
| 2128 spiritual world of the first man.) As Luke says (1:79), “To | |
| 2129 enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of | |
| 2130 death.”</p> | |
| 2131 <p>131 The above statement refutes the error of the Manichaeans, | |
| 2132 who think than men were created in the world from an opposing | |
| 2133 principle, i.e., the devil. For if man were a creature of the devil | |
| 2134 when coming into this world, he would not be enlightened by God or | |
| 2135 by the Word, for “Christ came into the world to destroy the | |
| 2136 works of the devil” (1 Jn 3:8).</p> | |
| 2137 <p>132 So it is clear, from the efficacy of the divine Word, that | |
| 2138 the lack of knowledge in men is not due to the Word, because he is | |
| 2139 effective in enlightening all, being <span style= | |
| 2140 "font-weight: bold">the true light, which enlightens</span> every | |
| 2141 <span style="font-weight: bold">man coming into this | |
| 2142 world.</span></p> | |
| 2143 <p>But so you do not suppose this lack arose from the withdrawal or | |
| 2144 absence of the true light, the Evangelist rules this out adding, | |
| 2145 <span style="font-weight: bold">He was in the world</span>. A | |
| 2146 comparable statement is found in “He is not far from any one | |
| 2147 of us,” that is, God, “for in him we live, and move, | |
| 2148 and are” (Acts 17:28). It is as though the Evangelist were | |
| 2149 saying: The divine Word is effective and is at hand in order to | |
| 2150 enlighten us.</p> | |
| 2151 <p>133 We should remark that something is said to be “in the | |
| 2152 world” in three ways. In one way, by being contained, as a | |
| 2153 thing in place exists in a place: “They are in the | |
| 2154 world” (below 17:11). In another way, as a part in a whole; | |
| 2155 for a part of the world is said to be in the world even though it | |
| 2156 is not in a place. For example, supernatural substances, although | |
| 2157 not in the world as in a place, are nevertheless in it as parts: | |
| 2158 “God ... who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all things | |
| 2159 that are in them” (Ps 145:6). But the true light was not in | |
| 2160 the world in either of these ways, because that light is neither | |
| 2161 localized nor is it a part of the universe. Indeed, if we can speak | |
| 2162 this way, the entire universe is in a certain sense a part, since | |
| 2163 it participates in a partial way in his goodness.</p> | |
| 2164 <p>Accordingly, the true light was in the world in a third way, | |
| 2165 i.e., as an efficient and preserving cause: “I fill heaven | |
| 2166 and earth” as said in Jeremiah (23:24). However, there is a | |
| 2167 difference between the way the Word acts and causes all things and | |
| 2168 the way in which other agents act. For other agents act as existing | |
| 2169 externally: since they do not act except by moving and altering a | |
| 2170 thing qualitatively in some way with respect to its exterior, they | |
| 2171 work from without. But God acts in all things from within, because | |
| 2172 he acts by creating. Now to create is to give existence | |
| 2173 (<i>esse</i>) to the thing created. So, since esse is innermost in | |
| 2174 each thing, God, who by acting gives <i>esse</i> acts in things | |
| 2175 from within. Hence God was in the world as one giving <i>esse</i> | |
| 2176 to the world.</p> | |
| 2177 <p>134 It is customary to say that God is in all things by his | |
| 2178 essence, presence and power. To understand what this means, we | |
| 2179 should know that someone is said to be by his power in all the | |
| 2180 things that are subject to his power; as a king is said to be in | |
| 2181 the entire kingdom subject to him, by his power. He is not there, | |
| 2182 however, by presence or essence., Someone is said to be by presence | |
| 2183 in all the things that are within his range of vision; as a king is | |
| 2184 said to be in his house by presence. And someone is said to be by | |
| 2185 essence in those things in which his substance is; as a king is in | |
| 2186 one determinate place.</p> | |
| 2187 <p>Now we say that God is everywhere by his power, since all things | |
| 2188 are subject to his power: “If I ascend into heaven, you are | |
| 2189 there.... If I take my wings early in the morning, and dwell in the | |
| 2190 furthest part of the sea, even there your hand will lead me, and | |
| 2191 your right hand will hold me” (Ps 138:8). He is also | |
| 2192 everywhere by his presence, because “all things are bare and | |
| 2193 open to his eyes,” as is said in Hebrews (4:13). He is | |
| 2194 present everywhere by his essence, be cause his essence is | |
| 2195 innermost in all things. For every agent, as acting, has to be | |
| 2196 immediately joined to its effect, because mover and moved must be | |
| 2197 together. Now God is the maker and preserver of all things with | |
| 2198 respect to the <i>esse</i> of each. Hence, since the <i>esse</i> of | |
| 2199 a thing is innermost in that thing, it is plain that God, by his | |
| 2200 essence, through which he creates all things, is in all things.</p> | |
| 2201 <p>135 It should be noted that the Evangelist significantly uses | |
| 2202 the word “was,” when he says, <span style= | |
| 2203 "font-weight: bold">He was in the world,</span> showing that from | |
| 2204 the beginning of creation he was always in the world, causing and | |
| 2205 preserving all things; because if God for even a moment were to | |
| 2206 withhold his power from the things he established, all would return | |
| 2207 to nothing and cease to be. Hence Origen uses an apt example to | |
| 2208 show this, when he says that as a human vocal sound is to a human | |
| 2209 word conceived in the mind, so is, the creature to the divine Word; | |
| 2210 for as our vocal sound is the effect of the word conceived in our | |
| 2211 mind, so the creature is the effect of the Word conceived in the | |
| 2212 divine mind. “For he spoke, and they were created” (Ps | |
| 2213 148:5). Hence, just as we notice that as soon as our inner word | |
| 2214 vanishes, the sensible vocal sound also ceases, so, if the power of | |
| 2215 the divine Word were withdrawn from things, all of them would | |
| 2216 immediately cease to be at that moment. And this is because he is | |
| 2217 “sustaining all things by his powerful word” (Heb | |
| 2218 1:3).</p> | |
| 2219 <p>136 So it is plain that a lack of divine knowledge in minds is | |
| 2220 not due to the absence of the Word, because <span style= | |
| 2221 "font-weight: bold">He was in the world</span>; nor is it due to | |
| 2222 the invisibility or concealment of the Word, because he has | |
| 2223 produced a work in which his likeness is clearly reflected, that | |
| 2224 is, the world: “For from the greatness and beauty of | |
| 2225 creatures, their creator can be seen accordingly” (Wis 13:5), | |
| 2226 and “The invisible things of God are clearly seen, being | |
| 2227 understood through the things that are made” (Rom 1:20). And | |
| 2228 so the Evangelist at once adds, <span style="font-weight: bold">and | |
| 2229 through him the world was made,</span> in order that that light | |
| 2230 might be manifested in it. For as a work of art manifests the art | |
| 2231 of the artisan, so the whole world is nothing else than a certain | |
| 2232 representation of the divine wisdom conceived within the mind of | |
| 2233 the Father, “He poured her [wisdom] out upon all his | |
| 2234 works,” as is said in Sirach (1:10).</p> | |
| 2235 <p>Now it is clear that the lack of divine knowledge is not due to | |
| 2236 the Word, because he is efficacious, being <span style= | |
| 2237 "font-weight: bold">the true light;</span> and he is at hand, since | |
| 2238 he <span style="font-weight: bold">was in the world;</span> and he | |
| 2239 is knowable, since <span style="font-weight: bold">through him the | |
| 2240 world was made.</span></p> | |
| 2241 <p>137 The Evangelist indicates the source of this lack when he | |
| 2242 says, <span style="font-weight: bold">and the world did not know | |
| 2243 him.</span> As if to say: It is not due to him, but to the world, | |
| 2244 who did not know him.</p> | |
| 2245 <p>He says him in the singular, because earlier he had called the | |
| 2246 Word not only the “light of men,” but also | |
| 2247 “God”; and so when he says him, he means God. Again, he | |
| 2248 uses “world” for man. For the angels knew him by their | |
| 2249 understanding, and the elements by their obeying him; but | |
| 2250 <span style="font-weight: bold">the world,</span> i.e., man, who | |
| 2251 lives in the world, <span style="font-weight: bold">did not know | |
| 2252 him.</span></p> | |
| 2253 <p>138 We attribute this lack of divine knowledge either to the | |
| 2254 nature of man or to his guilt. To his nature, indeed, because | |
| 2255 although all the aforesaid aids were given to man to lead him to | |
| 2256 the knowledge of God, human reason in itself lacks this knowledge. | |
| 2257 “Man beholds him from afar” (Jb 36:25), and immediately | |
| 2258 after, “God is great beyond our knowledge.” But if some | |
| 2259 have known him, this was not insofar as they were in the world, but | |
| 2260 above the world; and the kind for whom the world was not worthy, | |
| 2261 because <span style="font-weight: bold">the world did not know | |
| 2262 him.</span> Hence if they mentally perceived anything eternal, that | |
| 2263 was insofar as they were not of this world.</p> | |
| 2264 <p>But if this lack is attributed to man’s guilt, then the | |
| 2265 phrase, <span style="font-weight: bold">the world did not know | |
| 2266 him,</span> is a kind of reason why God was not known by man; in | |
| 2267 this sense <span style="font-weight: bold">world</span> is taken | |
| 2268 for inordinate lovers of the world. It is as though it said, | |
| 2269 <span style="font-weight: bold">The world did not know him,</span> | |
| 2270 because they were lovers of the world. For the love of the world, | |
| 2271 as Augustine says, is what chiefly withdraws us from the knowledge | |
| 2272 of God, because “Love of the world makes one an enemy to | |
| 2273 God” (Jas 4:4); “The sensual man does not perceive the | |
| 2274 things that pertain to the Spirit of God” ( 1 Cor 2:14).</p> | |
| 2275 <p>139 From this we call answer the question of the Gentiles who | |
| 2276 futilely ask this: If it is only recently that the Son of God is | |
| 2277 set before the world as the Savior of men, does it not seem that | |
| 2278 before that time he scorned human nature? We should say to them | |
| 2279 that he did not scorn the world but was always in the world, and on | |
| 2280 his part is knowable by men; but it was due to their own fault that | |
| 2281 some have not known him, because they were lovers of the world.</p> | |
| 2282 <p>140 We should also note that the Evangelist speaks of the | |
| 2283 incarnation of the Word to show that the incarnate Word and that | |
| 2284 which “was in the beginning with God,” and God, are the | |
| 2285 same. He repeats what he had said of him earlier. For above he had | |
| 2286 said he [the Word] “was the light of men”; here he says | |
| 2287 he was <span style="font-weight: bold">the true light.</span> | |
| 2288 Above, he said that “all things were made through him”; | |
| 2289 here he says that through him the world was made. Earlier he had | |
| 2290 said, “without him nothing was made,” i.e., according | |
| 2291 to one explanation, he conserves all things; here he says, he was | |
| 2292 in the world, creating and conserving the world and all things. | |
| 2293 There he had said, “the darkness did not overcome it”; | |
| 2294 here he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">the world did not | |
| 2295 know him.</span> And so, all he says after he was the <span style= | |
| 2296 "font-weight: bold">true light,</span> is an explanation of what he | |
| 2297 had said before.</p> | |
| 2298 <p>141 We can gather three reasons from the above why God willed to | |
| 2299 become incarnate. One is because of the perversity of human nature | |
| 2300 which, because of its own malice, had been darkened by vices and | |
| 2301 the obscurity of its own ignorance. And so he said before, the | |
| 2302 darkness did not overcome it. Therefore, God came in the flesh so | |
| 2303 that the darkness might apprehend the light, i.e., obtain a | |
| 2304 knowledge of it. “The people who walked in darkness saw a | |
| 2305 great light” (Is 9:2).</p> | |
| 2306 <p>The second reason is that the testimony of the prophets was not | |
| 2307 enough. For the prophets came and John had come; but they were not | |
| 2308 able to give sufficient enlightenment, because <span style= | |
| 2309 "font-weight: bold">he was not the light.</span> And so, after the | |
| 2310 prophecies of the prophets and the coming of John, it was necessary | |
| 2311 that the light itself come and give the world a knowledge of | |
| 2312 itself. And this is what the Apostle says: “In past times, | |
| 2313 God spoke in many ways and degrees to our fathers through the | |
| 2314 prophets; in these days he has spoken to us in his Son” as we | |
| 2315 find in Hebrews (1:1). “We have the prophetic message, to | |
| 2316 which you do well to give attention, until the day dawns” (2 | |
| 2317 Pt 1:19).</p> | |
| 2318 <p>The third reason is because of the shortcomings of creatures. | |
| 2319 For creatures were not sufficient to lead to a knowledge of the | |
| 2320 Creator; hence he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">through him | |
| 2321 the world was made, and the world did not know him.</span> Thus it | |
| 2322 was necessary that the Creator himself come into the world in the | |
| 2323 flesh, and be known through himself. And this is what the Apostle | |
| 2324 says: “Since in the wisdom of God the world did not know God | |
| 2325 by its wisdom, it pleased God to save those who believe by the | |
| 2326 foolishness of our preaching” (1 Cor 1:21).</p> | |
| 2327 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in"> | |
| 2328 </p> | |
| 2329 <center> | |
| 2330 <p style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 0.125in"><span style= | |
| 2331 "font-weight: bold">LECTURE 6</span></p> | |
| 2332 <p>11 He came unto his own, and his own did not receive him;<br /> | |
| 2333 12 but whoever received him, he gave them power to become<br /> | |
| 2334 the sons of God, to all who believe in his name,<br /> | |
| 2335 13 who are born not from blood, nor from the desires of the | |
| 2336 flesh,<br /> | |
| 2337 nor from man’s willing it, but from God.</p> | |
| 2338 </center> | |
| 2339 <p>142 Having given the necessity for the incarnation of the Word, | |
| 2340 the Evangelist then shows the advantage men gained from that | |
| 2341 incarnation. First, he shows the coming of the light (v 11); | |
| 2342 secondly, its reception by men (v 11b); thirdly, the fruit brought | |
| 2343 by the coming of the light (v 12).</p> | |
| 2344 <p>143 He shows that the light which was present in the world and | |
| 2345 evident, i.e., disclosed by its effect, was nevertheless not known | |
| 2346 by the world. Hence, he came unto his own, in order to be known. | |
| 2347 The Evangelist says, <span style="font-weight: bold">unto his | |
| 2348 own,</span> i.e., to things that were his own, which he had made. | |
| 2349 And he says this so that you do not think that when he says, he | |
| 2350 came, he means a local motion in the sense that he came as though | |
| 2351 ceasing to be where he previously was and newly beginning to be | |
| 2352 where he formerly had not been. He came where he already was. | |
| 2353 “I came forth from the Father, and have come into the | |
| 2354 world,” as said below ( 16:2 8).</p> | |
| 2355 <p>He came, I say, unto his own, i.e., to Judea, according to some, | |
| 2356 because it was in a special way his own. “In Judea God is | |
| 2357 known” (Ps 75:1); “The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is | |
| 2358 the house of Israel” (Is 5:7). But it is better to say, unto | |
| 2359 his own, i.e., into the world created by him. “The earth is | |
| 2360 the Lord’s” (Ps 23:1).</p> | |
| 2361 <p>144 But if he was previously in the world, how could he come | |
| 2362 into the world? I answer that “coming to some place” is | |
| 2363 understood in two ways. First, that someone comes where he | |
| 2364 absolutely had not been before. Or, secondly, that someone begins | |
| 2365 to be in a new way where he was before. For example, a king, who up | |
| 2366 to a certain time was in a city of his kingdom by his power and | |
| 2367 later visits it in person, is said to have come where he previously | |
| 2368 was: for he comes by his substance where previously he was present | |
| 2369 only by his power. It was in this way that the Son of God came into | |
| 2370 the world and yet was in the world. For he was there, indeed, by | |
| 2371 his essence, power and presence, but he came by assuming flesh. He | |
| 2372 was there invisibly, and he came in order to be visible.</p> | |
| 2373 <p>145 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">and his | |
| 2374 own did not receive him,</span> we have the reception given him by | |
| 2375 men, who reacted in different ways. For some did receive him, but | |
| 2376 these were not his own; hence he says, <span style= | |
| 2377 "font-weight: bold">his own did not receive him.</span> “His | |
| 2378 own” are men, because they were formed by him. “The | |
| 2379 Lord God formed man” (Gn 2:7); “Know that the Lord is | |
| 2380 God: he made us” (Ps 99:3). And he made them to his own | |
| 2381 image, “Let us make man to our image” (Gn 1:26).</p> | |
| 2382 <p>But it is better to say, <span style="font-weight: bold">his | |
| 2383 own,</span> i.e., the Jews, <span style="font-weight: bold">did not | |
| 2384 receive him,</span> through faith by believing, and by showing | |
| 2385 honor to him. “I have come in the name of my Father, and you | |
| 2386 do not receive me” (below 5:43), and “I honor my Father | |
| 2387 and you have dishonored me” (below 8:49). Now the Jews are | |
| 2388 his own because they were chosen by him to be his special people. | |
| 2389 “The Lord chose you to be his special people” (Dt | |
| 2390 26:18). They are his own because related according to the flesh, | |
| 2391 “from whom is Christ, according to the flesh,” as said | |
| 2392 in Romans (9:3). They are also his own because enriched by his | |
| 2393 kindness, “I have reared and brought up sons” (Is 1:2). | |
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2394 But although the Jews were his own, they did not receive him.</p> |
| 35 | 2395 <p>146 However, there were not lacking those who did receive him. |
| 2396 Hence he adds, <span style="font-weight: bold">but whoever received | |
| 2397 him.</span> The Evangelist uses this manner of speaking, saying, | |
| 2398 but whoever, to indicate that the deliverance would be more | |
| 2399 extensive than the promise, which had been made only to his own, | |
| 2400 i.e., to the Jews. “The Lord is our law giver, the Lord is | |
| 2401 our king; he will save us” (Is 33:22). But this deliverance | |
| 2402 was not only for his own, but for <span style= | |
| 2403 "font-weight: bold">whoever received him,</span> i.e., whoever | |
| 2404 believe in him. “For I say that Christ was a minister to the | |
| 2405 circumcised, for the sake of God’s truth, to confirm the | |
| 2406 promises made to the fathers” (Rom 15:8). The Gentiles, | |
| 2407 however, [are delivered] by his mercy, because they were received | |
| 2408 through his mercy.</p> | |
| 2409 <p>147 He says, whoever, to show that God’s grace is given | |
| 2410 without distinction to all who receive Christ. “The grace of | |
| 2411 the Holy Spirit has been poured out upon the Gentiles”(Acts | |
| 2412 10:45). And not only to free men, but to slaves as well; not only | |
| 2413 to men, but to women also. “In Christ Jesus there is neither | |
| 2414 male nor female, Jew or Greek, the circumcised or | |
| 2415 uncircumcised” (Gal 3:28).</p> | |
| 2416 <p>148 Then when he says, he gave them power to become the sons of | |
| 2417 God, we have the fruit of his coming. First, he mentions the | |
| 2418 grandeur of the fruit, for he gave them power. Secondly, he shows | |
| 2419 to whom it is given, <span style="font-weight: bold">to all who | |
| 2420 believe.</span> Thirdly, he indicates the way it is given, | |
| 2421 <span style="font-weight: bold">not from blood,</span> and so | |
| 2422 forth.</p> | |
| 2423 <p>149 The fruit of the coming of the Son of God is great, because | |
| 2424 by it men are made sons of God. “God sent his Son made from a | |
| 2425 woman ... so that we might receive our adoption as sons” (Gal | |
| 2426 4:5). And it was fitting that we, who. are sons of God by the fact | |
| 2427 that we are made like the Son, should be reformed through the | |
| 2428 Son.</p> | |
| 2429 <p>150 So he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">he gave them | |
| 2430 power to become the sons of God.</span> To understand this we | |
| 2431 should remark that men become sons of God by being made like God. | |
| 2432 Hence men are sons of God according to a threefold likeness to God. | |
| 2433 First, by the infusion of grace; hence anyone having sanctifying | |
| 2434 grace is made a son of God. “You did not receive the spirit | |
| 2435 of slavery ... but the spirit of adoption as sons,” as said | |
| 2436 in Romans (8:15). “Because you are sons of God, God sent the | |
| 2437 Spirit of his Son into your hearts” (Gal 4:6).</p> | |
| 2438 <p>Secondly, we are like God by the perfection of our actions, | |
| 2439 because one who acts justly is a son: “Love your enemies ... | |
| 2440 so that you may be the children of your Father” (Mt | |
| 2441 5:44).</p> | |
| 2442 <p>Thirdly, we are made like God by the attainment of glory. The | |
| 2443 glory of the soul by the light of glory, “When he appears we | |
| 2444 shall be like him” (1 Jn 3:2); and the glory of the body, | |
| 2445 “He will reform our lowly body” (Phil 3:21). Of these | |
| 2446 two it is said in Romans (8:23), “We are waiting for our | |
| 2447 adoption as sons of God.”</p> | |
| 2448 <p>151 If we take the power to become the sons of God as referring | |
| 2449 to the perfection of our actions and the attainment of glory, the | |
| 2450 statement offers no difficulty. For then when he says, he gave them | |
| 2451 power, he is referring to the power of grace; and when a man | |
| 2452 possesses this, he can perform works of perfection and attain | |
| 2453 glory, since “The grace of God is eternal life” (Rom | |
| 2454 6:23). According to this way we have, he gave them, to those who | |
| 2455 received him, power, i.e., the infusion of grace, to become the | |
| 2456 sons of God, by acting well and acquiring glory.</p> | |
| 2457 <p>152 But if this statement refers to the infusion of grace, then | |
| 2458 his saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">he gave them | |
| 2459 power,</span> gives rise to a difficulty. And this is because it is | |
| 2460 not in our power to be made sons of God, since it is not in our | |
| 2461 power to possess grace. We can understand, he gave them power, as a | |
| 2462 power of nature; but this does not seem to be true since the | |
| 2463 infusion of grace is above our nature. Or we can understand it as | |
| 2464 the power of grace, and then to have grace is to have power to | |
| 2465 <span style="font-weight: bold">become the sons of God.</span> And | |
| 2466 in this sense he did not give them power to become sons of God, but | |
| 2467 to be sons of God.</p> | |
| 2468 <p>153 The answer to this is that when grace is given to an adult, | |
| 2469 his justification requires an act of consent by a movement of his | |
| 2470 free will. So, because it is in the power of men to consent and not | |
| 2471 to consent, <span style="font-weight: bold">he gave them | |
| 2472 power.</span> However, he gives this power of accepting grace in | |
| 2473 two ways: by preparing it, and by offering it to him. For just as | |
| 2474 one who writes a book and offers it to a man to read is said to | |
| 2475 give the power to read it, so Christ, through whom grace was | |
| 2476 produced (as will be said below), and who “accomplished | |
| 2477 salvation on the earth” (Ps 73:12), <span style= | |
| 2478 "font-weight: bold">gave us power to become the sons of God</span> | |
| 2479 by offering grace.</p> | |
| 2480 <p>154 Yet this is not sufficient since even free will, if it is to | |
| 2481 be moved to receive grace, needs the help of divine grace, not | |
| 2482 indeed habitual grace, but movent grace. For this reason, secondly, | |
| 2483 he gives power by moving the free will of man to consent to the | |
| 2484 reception of grace, as in “Convert us to yourself, 0 | |
| 2485 Lord,” by moving our will to your love, “and we will be | |
| 2486 converted” (Lam 5:21). And in this sense we speak of an | |
| 2487 interior call, of which it is said, “Those whom he | |
| 2488 called,” by inwardly moving the will to consent to grace, | |
| 2489 “he justified,” by infusing grace (Rom 8:3).</p> | |
| 2490 <p>155 Since by this grace man has the power of maintaining himself | |
| 2491 in the divine sonship, one may read these words in another way. He | |
| 2492 gave them, i.e., those who receive him, <span style= | |
| 2493 "font-weight: bold">power to become the sons of God,</span> i.e., | |
| 2494 the grace by which they are able to be maintained in the divine | |
| 2495 sonship. “Everyone who is born from God does not sin, but the | |
| 2496 grace of God,” through which we are reborn as children of | |
| 2497 God, “preserves him” (1 Jn 5:18).</p> | |
| 2498 <p>156 Thus, <span style="font-weight: bold">he gave them power to | |
| 2499 become the sons of God,</span> through sanctifying grace, through | |
| 2500 the perfection of their actions, and through the attainment of | |
| 2501 glory; and he did this by preparing this grace, moving their wills, | |
| 2502 and preserving this grace.</p> | |
| 2503 <p>157 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">to all | |
| 2504 who believe in his name,</span> he shows those on whom the fruit of | |
| 2505 his coming is conferred. We can understand this in two ways: either | |
| 2506 as explaining what was said before, or as qualifying it. We can | |
| 2507 regard it as explaining as the Evangelist had said, whoever | |
| 2508 received him, and now to show what it is to receive him, he adds by | |
| 2509 way of explanation, <span style="font-weight: bold">who believe in | |
| 2510 his name.</span> It is as though he were saying: To receive him is | |
| 2511 to believe in him, because it is through faith that Christ dwells | |
| 2512 in your hearts, as in “that Christ may dwell in your hearts | |
| 2513 through faith” (Eph 3:17). Therefore, they <span style= | |
| 2514 "font-weight: bold">received him, who believe in his | |
| 2515 name.</span></p> | |
| 2516 <p>158 Origen regards this as a qualifying statement, in his | |
| 2517 homily, “The spiritual voice.” In this sense, many | |
| 2518 receive Christ, declaring that they are Christians, but they are | |
| 2519 not sons of God, because they do not truly believe in his name; for | |
| 2520 they propose false dogmas about Christ by taking away something | |
| 2521 from his divinity or humanity, as in “Every spirit that | |
| 2522 denies Christ is not from God” (1 Jn 4:3). And so the | |
| 2523 Evangelist says, as though contracting his meaning, <span style= | |
| 2524 "font-weight: bold">he gave them,</span> i.e., those who receive | |
| 2525 him by faith, <span style="font-weight: bold">power to become the | |
| 2526 sons of God,</span> to those, however, <span style= | |
| 2527 "font-weight: bold">who believe in his name,</span> i.e., who keep | |
| 2528 the name of Christ whole, in such a way as not to lessen anything | |
| 2529 of the divinity or humanity of Christ.</p> | |
| 2530 <p>159 We can also refer this to formed faith, in the sense that to | |
| 2531 all, that is, <span style="font-weight: bold">he gave power to | |
| 2532 become the sons of God, who believe in his name,</span> i.e., those | |
| 2533 who do the works of salvation through a faith formed by charity. | |
| 2534 For those who have only an unformed faith do not believe in his | |
| 2535 name because they do not work unto salvation.</p> | |
| 2536 <p>However, the first exposition, which is taken as explaining what | |
| 2537 preceded, is better.</p> | |
| 2538 <p>160 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">who are | |
| 2539 born not from blood,</span> he shows the way in which so great a | |
| 2540 fruit is conferred on men. For since he had said that the fruit of | |
| 2541 the light’s coming is the power given to men to become the | |
| 2542 sons of God, then to forestall the supposition that they are born | |
| 2543 through a material generation he says, <span style= | |
| 2544 "font-weight: bold">not from blood.</span> And although the word | |
| 2545 “blood” (<i>sanguis</i>) has no plural in Latin, but | |
| 2546 does in Greek, the translator [from Greek into Latin] ignored a | |
| 2547 rule of grammar in order to teach the truth more perfectly. So he | |
| 2548 does not say, “from blood,” in the Latin manner, but | |
| 2549 “from bloods” (<i>ex sanguinibus</i>)<i>.</i> This | |
| 2550 indicates whatever is generated from blood, serving as the matter | |
| 2551 in carnal generation. According to the Philosopher [<i>On the | |
| 2552 Generation of Animals, 1,</i> c 18, 726a26-8], “semen is a | |
| 2553 residue derived from useful nourishment in its final form.” | |
| 2554 So “blood” indicates either the seed of the male or the | |
| 2555 menses of the female.</p> | |
| 2556 <p>The cause moving to the carnal act is the will of those coming | |
| 2557 together, the man and the woman. For although the act of the | |
| 2558 generative power as such is not subject to the will, the | |
| 2559 preliminaries to it are subject to the will. So he says, | |
| 2560 <span style="font-weight: bold">nor from the desires of the | |
| 2561 flesh,</span> referring to the woman; <span style= | |
| 2562 "font-weight: bold">nor from man’s willing it,</span> as from | |
| 2563 an efficient cause; <span style="font-weight: bold">but from | |
| 2564 God.</span> It is as though he were saying: They became sons of | |
| 2565 God, not carnally, but spiritually.</p> | |
| 2566 <p>According to Augustine, “flesh” is taken here for | |
| 2567 the woman, because as the flesh obeys the spirit, so woman should | |
| 2568 obey man. Adam (Gn 2:23) said of the woman, “This, at last, | |
| 2569 is bone of my bones.” And note, according to Augustine, that | |
| 2570 just as the possessions of a household are wasted away if the woman | |
| 2571 rules and the man is subject, so a man is wasted away when the | |
| 2572 flesh rules the spirit. For this reason the Apostle says, “We | |
| 2573 are not debtors to the flesh, so that we should live according to | |
| 2574 the flesh” (Rom 8:12). Concerning the manner of this carnal | |
| 2575 generation, we read, “In the womb of my mother I was molded | |
| 2576 into flesh” (Wis 7:1).</p> | |
| 2577 <p>161 Or, we might say that the moving force to carnal generation | |
| 2578 is twofold: the intellectual appetite on the one hand, that is, the | |
| 2579 will; and on the other hand, the sense appetite, which is | |
| 2580 concupiscence. So, to indicate the material cause he says, | |
| 2581 <span style="font-weight: bold">not from blood.</span> To indicate | |
| 2582 the efficient cause, in respect to concupiscence, he says, | |
| 2583 <span style="font-weight: bold">nor from the desires of the | |
| 2584 flesh</span> [<i>ex voluntate carnis</i>, literally, “from | |
| 2585 the will of the flesh”], even though the concupiscence of the | |
| 2586 flesh is improperly called a “will” in the sense of | |
| 2587 Galatians (5:17), “The flesh lusts against the spirit.” | |
| 2588 Finally, to indicate the intellectual appetite he says, | |
| 2589 <span style="font-weight: bold">nor from man’s willing | |
| 2590 it.</span> So, the generation of the sons of God is not carnal but | |
| 2591 spiritual, because they were born <span style= | |
| 2592 "font-weight: bold">from God.</span> “Every one who is born | |
| 2593 from God conquers the world” (1 Jn 5:4).</p> | |
| 2594 <p>162 Note, however, that this preposition <i>de</i> | |
| 2595 (“of,” or “from”), always signifies a | |
| 2596 material cause as well as an efficient and even a consubstantial | |
| 2597 cause. Thus we say a blacksmith makes a knife <i>de ferro</i> | |
| 2598 (“from” iron), and a father generates his son <i>de | |
| 2599 seipso</i> (“from” himself), because something of his | |
| 2600 concurs somehow in begetting. But the preposition <i>a</i> | |
| 2601 (“by”) always signifies a moving cause. The preposition | |
| 2602 <i>ex</i> (“from,” or “by”)—[in the | |
| 2603 sense of “out of” or “by reason | |
| 2604 of”]—is taken as something common, since it implies an | |
| 2605 efficient as well as a material cause, although not a | |
| 2606 consubstantial cause.</p> | |
| 2607 <p>Consequently, since only the Son of God, who is the Word, is | |
| 2608 “<i>of</i>” (<i>de</i>) the substance of the Father and | |
| 2609 indeed is one substance with the Father, while the saints, who are | |
| 2610 adopted sons, are not of his substance, the Evangelist uses the | |
| 2611 preposition <i>ex,</i> saying of others that they are born | |
| 2612 <span style="font-weight: bold">from God</span> (<i>ex | |
| 2613 Deo</i>)<i>,</i> but of the natural Son, he says that he is born of | |
| 2614 the Father (<i>de Patre</i>)<i>.</i></p> | |
| 2615 <p>163 Note also that in the light of our last exposition of carnal | |
| 2616 generation, we can discern the difference between carnal and | |
| 2617 spiritual generation. For since the former is from blood, it is | |
| 2618 carnal; but the latter, because it is not from blood, is spiritual. | |
| 2619 “What is born from flesh is itself flesh; and what is born | |
| 2620 from Spirit is itself spirit” (below 3:6). Again, because | |
| 2621 material generation is from the desires of the flesh, i.e., from | |
| 2622 concupiscence, it is unclean and begets children who are sinners: | |
| 2623 “We were by nature children of wrath” as it says in | |
| 2624 Ephesians (2:3). Again, because the former is <span style= | |
| 2625 "font-weight: bold">from man’s willing it,</span> that is, | |
| 2626 from man, it makes children of men; but the latter, because it is | |
| 2627 from God, makes children of God.</p> | |
| 2628 <p>164 But if he intends to refer his statement, <span style= | |
| 2629 "font-weight: bold">he gave them power,</span> to baptism, in | |
| 2630 virtue of which we are reborn as sons of God, we can detect in his | |
| 2631 words the order of baptism: that is, the first thing required is | |
| 2632 faith, as shown in the case of catechumens, who must first be | |
| 2633 instructed about the faith so that they may believe in his name; | |
| 2634 then through baptism they are reborn, not carnally froin blood, but | |
| 2635 spiritually from God.</p> | |
| 2636 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in"> | |
| 2637 </p> | |
| 2638 <center> | |
| 2639 <p><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE 7</span></p> | |
| 2640 <p>14a And the Word was made flesh, and made his dwelling among | |
| 2641 us.</p> | |
| 2642 </center> | |
| 2643 <p>165 Having explained the necessity for the Word’s coming | |
| 2644 in the flesh as well as the benefits this conferred, the Evangelist | |
| 2645 now shows the way he came (v 14a). He thus resumes the thread with | |
| 2646 his earlier statement, <span style="font-weight: bold">he came unto | |
| 2647 his own.</span> As if to say: The Word of God came unto his own. | |
| 2648 But lest anyone suppose that he came by changing his location, he | |
| 2649 shows the manner in which he came, that is, by an incarnation. For | |
| 2650 he came in the manner in which he was sent by the Father, by whom | |
| 2651 he was sent, i.e., he was made flesh. “God sent his Son made | |
| 2652 from a woman” (Gal 4:4). And Augustine says about this that | |
| 2653 “He was sent in the manner in which he was made.”</p> | |
| 2654 <p>According to Chrysostom, however, he is here continuing the | |
| 2655 earlier statement, <span style="font-weight: bold">he gave them | |
| 2656 power to become the sons of God.</span> As if to say: If you wonder | |
| 2657 how he was able to give this power to men, i.e., that they become | |
| 2658 sons of God, the Evangelist answers: because <span style= | |
| 2659 "font-weight: bold">the Word was made flesh,</span> he made it | |
| 2660 possible for us to be made sons of God. “God sent his Son ... | |
| 2661 so that we might receive our adoption as sons” (Gal 4:5).</p> | |
| 2662 <p>But according to Augustine, he is continuing the earlier | |
| 2663 statement, <span style="font-weight: bold">who are born from | |
| 2664 God.</span> For since it seemed a hard saying that men be born from | |
| 2665 God, then, as though arguing in support of this and to produce | |
| 2666 belief in the existence of the Word, the Evangelist adds something | |
| 2667 which seems less seemly, namely, that <span style= | |
| 2668 "font-weight: bold">the Word was made flesh.</span> As if to say: | |
| 2669 Do not wonder if men are born from God, because <span style= | |
| 2670 "font-weight: bold">the Word was made flesh,</span> i.e., God | |
| 2671 became man.</p> | |
| 2672 <p>166 It should be noted that this statement, <span style= | |
| 2673 "font-weight: bold">the Word was made flesh,</span> has been | |
| 2674 misinterpreted by some and made the occasion of error. For certain | |
| 2675 ones have presumed that the Word became flesh in the sense that he | |
| 2676 or something of him was turned into flesh, as when flour is made | |
| 2677 into bread, and air becomes fire. One of these was Eutyches, who | |
| 2678 postulated a mixture of natures in Christ, saying that in him the | |
| 2679 nature of God and of man was the same. We can clearly see that this | |
| 2680 is false because, as was said above, “the Word was | |
| 2681 God.” Now God is immutable, as is said, “I am the Lord, | |
| 2682 and I do not change” (Mal 3:6). Hence in no way can it be | |
| 2683 said that he was turned into another nature. Therefore, one must | |
| 2684 say in opposition to <span style="font-weight: bold">Eutyches, the | |
| 2685 Word was made flesh,</span> i.e., the Word assumed flesh, but not | |
| 2686 in the sense that the Word himself is that flesh. It is as if we | |
| 2687 were to say: “The man became white,” not that he is | |
| 2688 that whiteness, but that he asstinled whiteness.</p> | |
| 2689 <p>167 There were others who, although they believed that the Word | |
| 2690 was not changed into flesh but assumed it, nevertheless said that | |
| 2691 he assumed flesh without a soul; for if he had assumed flesh with a | |
| 2692 soul, the Evangelist would have said, “the Word was made | |
| 2693 flesh with a soul.” This was the error of Arius, who said | |
| 2694 that there was no soul in Christ, but that the Word of God was | |
| 2695 there in place of a soul.</p> | |
| 2696 <p>The falsity of this opinion is obvious, both because it is in | |
| 2697 conflict with Sacred Scripture, which often mentions the soul of | |
| 2698 Christ, as: “My soul is sad, even to the point of | |
| 2699 death” (Mt 26:38), and because certain affections of the soul | |
| 2700 are observed in Christ which can not possibly exist in the Word of | |
| 2701 God or in flesh alone: “He began to be sorrowful and | |
| 2702 troubled” (Mt 26:37). Also, God cannot be the form of a body. | |
| 2703 Nor can an angel be united to a body as its form, since an angel, | |
| 2704 according to its very nature, is separated from body, whereas a | |
| 2705 soul is united to a body as its form. Consequently, the Word of God | |
| 2706 cannot be the form of a body.</p> | |
| 2707 <p>Furthermore, it is plain that flesh does not acquire the | |
| 2708 specific nature of flesh except through its soul. This is shown by | |
| 2709 the fact that when the soul has withdrawn from the body of a man or | |
| 2710 a cow, the flesh of the man or the cow is called flesh only in an | |
| 2711 equivocal sense. So if the Word did not assume flesh with a soul, | |
| 2712 it is obvious that he did not assume flesh. <span style= | |
| 2713 "font-weight: bold">But the Word was made flesh;</span> therefore, | |
| 2714 he assumed flesh with a soul.</p> | |
| 2715 <p>168 And there were others who, influenced by this, said that the | |
| 2716 Word did indeed assume flesh with a soul, but this soul was only a | |
| 2717 sensitive soul, not an intellectual one; the Word took the place of | |
| 2718 the intellectual soul in Christ’s body. This was the error of | |
| 2719 Apollinaris. He followed Arius for a time, but later in the face of | |
| 2720 the [scriptural] authorities cited above, was forced to admit a | |
| 2721 soul in Christ which could be the subject of these emotions. But he | |
| 2722 said this soul lacked reason and intellect, and that in the man | |
| 2723 Christ their place was taken by the Word.</p> | |
| 2724 <p>This too is obviously false, because it conflicts with the | |
| 2725 authority of Sacred Scripture in which certain things are said of | |
| 2726 Christ that cannot be found in his divinity, nor in a sensitive | |
| 2727 soul, nor in flesh alone; for example, that Christ marvelled, as in | |
| 2728 Matthew (8:10). For to marvel or wonder is a state which arises in | |
| 2729 a rational and intellectual soul when a desire arises to know the | |
| 2730 hidden cause of an observed effect. Therefore, just as sadness | |
| 2731 compels one to place a sensitive element in the soul of Christ, | |
| 2732 against Arius, so marvelling or amazement forces one to admit, | |
| 2733 against Apollinaris, an intellectual element in Christ.</p> | |
| 2734 <p>The same conclusion can be reached by reason. For as there is no | |
| 2735 flesh without a soul, so there is no human flesh without a human | |
| 2736 soul, which is an intellectual soul. So if the Word assumed flesh | |
| 2737 which was animated with a merely sensitive soul to the exclusion of | |
| 2738 a rational soul, he did not assume human flesh; consequently, one | |
| 2739 could not say: “God became man.”</p> | |
| 2740 <p>Besides, the Word assumed human nature in order to repair it. | |
| 2741 Therefore, he repaired what he assumed. But if he did not assume a | |
| 2742 rational soul, he would not have repaired it. Consequently, no | |
| 2743 fruit would have accrued to us from the incarnation of the Word; | |
| 2744 and this is false. <span style="font-weight: bold">Therefore, the | |
| 2745 Word was made flesh,</span> i.e., assumed flesh which was animated | |
| 2746 by a rational soul.</p> | |
| 2747 <p>169 But you may say: If the Word did assume flesh with such a | |
| 2748 soul, why did the Evangelist not mention “rational | |
| 2749 soul,” instead of only “flesh,” saying, | |
| 2750 <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word was made flesh?</span> I | |
|
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2751 answer that the Evangelist had four reasons for doing this.</p> |
| 35 | 2752 <p>First, to show the truth of the incarnation against the |
| 2753 Manichaeans, who said that the Word did not assume true flesh, but | |
| 2754 only imaginary flesh, since it would not have been becoming for the | |
| 2755 Word of the good God to assume flesh, which they regarded as a | |
| 2756 creature of the devil. And so to exclude this the Evangelist made | |
| 2757 special mention of the flesh, just as Christ showed the truth of | |
| 2758 the resurrection to the disciples when they took him for a spirit, | |
| 2759 saying: “A spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see | |
| 2760 that I have” (Lk 24:39).</p> | |
| 2761 <p>Secondly, to show the greatness of God’s kindness to us. | |
| 2762 For it is evident that the rational soul has a greater conformity | |
| 2763 to God than does flesh, and that it would have been a great sign of | |
| 2764 compassion if the Word had assumed a human soul, as being conformed | |
| 2765 to himself. But to assume flesh too, which is something far removed | |
| 2766 from the simplicity of his nature, was a sign of a much greater, | |
| 2767 indeed, of an incomprehensible compassion. As the Apostle says (1 | |
| 2768 Tim 3:16): “Obviously great is the mystery of godliness which | |
| 2769 appeared in the flesh.” And so to indicate this, the | |
| 2770 Evangelist mentioned only flesh.</p> | |
| 2771 <p>Thirdly, to demonstrate the truth and uniqueness of the union in | |
| 2772 Christ. For God is indeed united to other holy men, but only with | |
| 2773 respect to their soul; so it is said: “She [wisdom] passes | |
| 2774 into holy souls, making them friends of God and prophets” | |
| 2775 (Wis 7:27). But that the Word of God is united to flesh is unique | |
| 2776 to Christ, according to the Psalmist: “I am alone until I | |
| 2777 pass” (Ps 140:10). “Gold cannot equal it” (Jb | |
| 2778 28:17). So the Evangelist, wishing to show the uniqueness of the | |
| 2779 union in Christ, mentioned only the flesh, saying, <span style= | |
| 2780 "font-weight: bold">the Word was made flesh.</span></p> | |
| 2781 <p>Fourthly, to suggest its relevance to man’s restoration | |
| 2782 For man was weak because of the flesh. And thus the Evangelist, | |
| 2783 wishing to suggest that the coming of’ the Word was suited to | |
| 2784 the task of our restoration, made special mention of the flesh in | |
| 2785 order to show that the weak flesh was repaired by the flesh of the | |
| 2786 Word. And this is what the Apostle says: “The law was | |
| 2787 powerless because it was weakened by the flesh. God, sending his | |
| 2788 Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and in reparation for sin, | |
| 2789 condemned sin in his flesh” (Rom 83).</p> | |
| 2790 <p>170 A question arises as to why the Evangelist did not say that | |
| 2791 the Word assumed flesh, but rather that <span style= | |
| 2792 "font-weight: bold">the Word was made flesh.</span> I answer that | |
| 2793 he did this to exclude the error of Nestorius. He said that in | |
| 2794 Christ there were two persons and two sons, [one being the Son of | |
| 2795 God] the other being the son of the Virgin. Thus he did not admit | |
| 2796 that the Blessed Virgin was the mother of God.</p> | |
| 2797 <p>But if this were so, it would mean that God did not become man, | |
| 2798 for one particular <i>suppositum</i> cannot be predicated of | |
| 2799 another. Accordingly, if the person or <i>suppositum</i> of the | |
| 2800 Word is different than the person or <i>suppositum</i> of the man, | |
| 2801 in Christ, then what the Evangelist says is not true, namely, | |
| 2802 <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word was made flesh.</span> For | |
| 2803 a thing is made or becomes something in order to be it; if, then, | |
| 2804 the Word is not man, it could not be said that the Word became man. | |
| 2805 And so the Evangelist expressly said was made, and not | |
| 2806 “assumed,” to show that the union of the Word to flesh | |
| 2807 is not such as was the “lifting up” of the prophets, | |
| 2808 who were not “taken up” into a unity of person, but for | |
| 2809 the prophetic act. This union is such as would truly make God man | |
| 2810 and man God, i.e., that God would be man.</p> | |
| 2811 <p>171 There were some, too, who, misunderstanding the manner of | |
| 2812 the incarnation, did indeed admit that the aforesaid assumption was | |
| 2813 terminated at a oneness of person, acknowledging in God one person | |
| 2814 of God and man. But they said that in him there were two | |
| 2815 hypostases, i.e., two <i>supposita;</i> one of a human nature, | |
| 2816 created and non-eternal, ‘and the other of the divine nature, | |
| 2817 non-created and eternal. This is the first opinion presented in the | |
| 2818 <i>Sentences</i> (III, d6).</p> | |
| 2819 <p>According to this opinion the proposition, “God was made | |
| 2820 man and man was made God,” is not true. Consequently, this | |
| 2821 opinion was condemned as heretical by the Fifth Council, where it | |
| 2822 is said: “If anyone shall assert one person and two | |
| 2823 hypostases in the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema.” | |
| 2824 And so the Evangelist, to exclude any assumption not terminated at | |
| 2825 a oneness of person, says, was made.</p> | |
| 2826 <p>172 If you ask how the Word is man, it must be said that he is | |
| 2827 man in the way that anyone is, man, namely, as having human nature. | |
| 2828 Not that the Word is human nature itself, but he is a divine | |
| 2829 suppo<i>situm</i> united to a human nature. The statement, | |
| 2830 <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word was made flesh,</span> | |
| 2831 does not indicate any change in the Word, but only in the nature | |
| 2832 newly assumed into the oneness of a divine person. <span style= | |
| 2833 "font-weight: bold">And the Word was made flesh</span> through a | |
| 2834 union to flesh. Now a union is a relation. And relations newly said | |
| 2835 of God with respect to creatures do not imply a change on the side | |
| 2836 of God, but on the side of the creature relating in a new way to | |
|
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2837 God.</p> |
| 35 | 2838 <p>173 Now follows, <span style="font-weight: bold">and made his |
| 2839 dwelling among us.</span> This is distinguished in two ways from | |
| 2840 what went before. The first consists in stating that above the | |
| 2841 Evangelist dealt with the incarnation of the Word when he said, | |
| 2842 <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word was made flesh;</span> but | |
| 2843 now he touches on the manner of the incarnation, saying, | |
| 2844 <span style="font-weight: bold">and made his dwelling among | |
| 2845 us.</span> For according to Chrysostom and Hilary, by the | |
| 2846 Evangelist saying <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word was made | |
| 2847 flesh,</span> someone might think that he was converted into flesh | |
| 2848 and that there are not two distinct natures in Christ, but only one | |
| 2849 nature compounded from the human and divine natures. And so the | |
| 2850 Evangelist, excluding this, added, <span style= | |
| 2851 "font-weight: bold">and made his dwelling among us,</span> i.e., in | |
| 2852 our nature, yet so as to remain distinct in his own. For what is | |
| 2853 converted into something does not remain distinct in its nature | |
| 2854 from that into which it is converted.</p> | |
| 2855 <p>Furthermore, something which is not distinct from another does | |
| 2856 not dwell in it, because to dwell implies a distinction between the | |
| 2857 dweller and that in which it dwells. But the Word dwelt in our | |
| 2858 nature; therefore, he is distinct in nature from it. And so, | |
| 2859 inasmuch as human nature was distinct from the nature of the Word | |
| 2860 in Christ, the former is called the dwelling place and temple of | |
| 2861 the divinity, according to John (2:21): “But he spoke of the | |
| 2862 temple of his body.”</p> | |
| 2863 <p>174 Now although what is said here by these holy men is | |
| 2864 orthodox, care must be taken to avoid the reproach which some | |
| 2865 receive for this. For the early doctors and saints were so intent | |
| 2866 upon refuting the emerging errors concerning the faith that they | |
| 2867 seemed meanwhile to fall into the opposite ones. For example, | |
| 2868 Augustine, speaking against the Manichaeans, who destroyed the | |
| 2869 freedom of the will, disputed in such terms that he seemed to have | |
| 2870 fallen into the heresy of Pelagius. Along these lines, John the | |
| 2871 Evangelist added, <span style="font-weight: bold">and made his | |
| 2872 dwelling among us,</span> so that we would not think there was a | |
| 2873 mingling or transformation of natures in Christ because he had | |
| 2874 said, <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word was made | |
| 2875 flesh.</span></p> | |
| 2876 <p>Nestorius misunderstood this phrase, <span style= | |
| 2877 "font-weight: bold">and made his dwelling among us,</span> and said | |
| 2878 that the Son of God was united to man in such a way that there was | |
| 2879 not one person of God and of man. For he held that the Word was | |
| 2880 united to human nature only by an indwelling through grace. From | |
| 2881 this, however, it follows that the Son of God is not man.</p> | |
| 2882 <p>175 To clarify this we should know that we can consider two | |
| 2883 things in Christ: his nature and person. In Christ there is a | |
| 2884 distinction in nature, but not in person, which is one and the same | |
| 2885 in the two natures, since the human nature in Christ was assumed | |
| 2886 into a oneness of person. Therefore, the indwelling which the | |
| 2887 saints speak of must be referred to the nature, so as to say, he | |
| 2888 <span style="font-weight: bold">made his dwelling among us,</span> | |
| 2889 i.e., the nature of the Word inhabited our nature; not according to | |
| 2890 the hypostasis or person, which is the same for both natures in | |
| 2891 Christ.</p> | |
| 2892 <p>176 The blasphemy of Nestorius is further refuted by the | |
| 2893 authority of Sacred Scripture. For the Apostle calls the union of | |
| 2894 God and man an emptying, saying of the Son of God: “He, being | |
| 2895 in the form of God ... emptied himself, taking the form of a | |
| 2896 servant” (Phil 2:6). Clearly, God is not said to empty | |
| 2897 himself insofar as he dwells in the rational creature by grace, | |
| 2898 because then the Father and the Holy Spirit would be emptying | |
| 2899 themselves, since they too are said to dwell in man through grace: | |
| 2900 for Christ, speaking of himself and of the Father says, “We | |
| 2901 will come to him and make our home with him” (below 14:23); | |
| 2902 and of the Holy Spirit the Apostle says: “The Spirit of God | |
| 2903 dwells in us” (1 Cor 3:16).</p> | |
| 2904 <p>Furthermore, if Christ was not God as to his person, he would | |
| 2905 have been most presumptuous to say: “I and the Father are | |
| 2906 one” (below 10:30), and “Before Abraham came to be, I | |
| 2907 am,” as is said below (8:58). Now “I” refers to | |
| 2908 the person of the speaker. And the one who was speaking was a man, | |
| 2909 who, as one with the Father, existed before Abraham.</p> | |
| 2910 <p>177 However, another connection [besides that given in 173] with | |
| 2911 what went before is possible, by saying that above he dealt with | |
| 2912 the incarnation of the Word, but that now he is treating the manner | |
| 2913 of life of the incarnate Word, saying, he <span style= | |
| 2914 "font-weight: bold">made his dwelling among us,</span> i.e., he | |
| 2915 lived on familiar terms with us apostles. Peter alludes to this | |
| 2916 when he says, “During all the time that the Lord Jesus came | |
| 2917 and went among us” (Acts 1:21). “Afterwards, he was | |
| 2918 seen on earth” (Bar 3:38).</p> | |
| 2919 <p>178 The Evangelist added this for two reasons. First, to show | |
| 2920 the marvelous likeness of the Word to men, among whom he lived in | |
| 2921 such a way as to seem one of them. For he not only willed to be | |
| 2922 like men in nature, but also in living with them on close terms | |
| 2923 without sin, in order to draw to himself men won over by the charm | |
| 2924 of his way of life.</p> | |
| 2925 <p>Secondly, to show the truthfulness of his [the | |
| 2926 Evangelist’s] statements. For the Evangelist had already said | |
| 2927 many great things about the Word, and was yet to mention more | |
| 2928 wonderful things about him; and so that his testimony would be more | |
| 2929 credible he took as a proof of his truthfulness the fact that he | |
| 2930 had lived with Christ, saying, he <span style= | |
| 2931 "font-weight: bold">made his dwelling among us.</span> As if to | |
| 2932 say: I can well bear witness to him, because I lived on close terms | |
| 2933 with him. “We tell you ... what we have heard, what we have | |
| 2934 seen with our eyes” (1 Jn 1:1); “God raised him up on | |
| 2935 the third day, and granted that he be seen, not by all the people, | |
| 2936 but by witnesses preordained by God,” that is, “to us | |
| 2937 who ate and drank with him” (Acts 10:40).</p> | |
| 2938 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in"> | |
| 2939 </p> | |
| 2940 <center> | |
| 2941 <p><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE 8</span></p> | |
| 2942 <p>l4b And we have seen his glory,<br /> | |
| 2943 the glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father,<br /> | |
| 2944 full of grace and truth.</p> | |
| 2945 </center> | |
| 2946 <p>179 Having set forth the incarnation of the Word, the Evangelist | |
| 2947 then begins to give the evidence for the incarnate Word. He does | |
| 2948 two things about this. First, he shows the ways in which the | |
| 2949 incarnate Word was made known. Secondly, he clarifies each way, | |
| 2950 below (1:16). Now the incarnate Word was made known to the apostles | |
| 2951 in two ways: first of all, they obtained knowledge of him by what | |
| 2952 they saw; secondly, by what they heard of the testimony of John the | |
| 2953 Baptist. So first, he states what they saw about the Word; | |
| 2954 secondly, what they heard from John (v 15).</p> | |
| 2955 <p>He states three things about the Word. First, the manifestation | |
| 2956 of his glory; hence he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">we | |
| 2957 have seen his glory.</span> Secondly, the uniqueness of his glory, | |
| 2958 when he adds, as <span style="font-weight: bold">of the Only | |
| 2959 Begotten.</span> Thirdly, the precise nature of this glory, because | |
| 2960 <span style="font-weight: bold">full of grace and truth.</span></p> | |
| 2961 <p>180 <span style="font-weight: bold">And we have seen his | |
| 2962 glory,</span> can be connected in three ways with what went before. | |
| 2963 First, it can be taken as an argument for his having said, | |
| 2964 <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word was made flesh.</span> As | |
| 2965 if to say: I hold and know that the Word of God was incarnate | |
| 2966 because I and the other apostles have seen his glory. “We | |
| 2967 know of what we speak, and we bear witness of what we see” | |
| 2968 (below 3:11). “We tell you ... what we have heard, what we | |
| 2969 have seen with our eyes” (1 Jn 1:1).</p> | |
| 2970 <p>181 Secondly, according to Chrysostom, the connection is made by | |
| 2971 taking this statement as expressing many benefits. As if to say: | |
| 2972 The incarnation of the Word not only conferred on us the benefit of | |
| 2973 becoming sons of God, but also the good of seeing his glory. For | |
| 2974 dull and feeble eyes cannot see the light of the sun; but they can | |
| 2975 see it when it shines in a cloud or on some opaque body. Now before | |
| 2976 the incarnation of the Word, human minds were incapable of seeing | |
| 2977 the divine light in itself, the light which enlightens every | |
| 2978 rational nature. And so, in order that it might be more easily seen | |
| 2979 and contemplated by us, he covered it with the cloud of our flesh: | |
| 2980 “They looked towards the desert, and saw the glory of the | |
| 2981 Lord in a cloud” (Ex 16:10), i.e., the Word of God in the | |
| 2982 flesh.</p> | |
| 2983 <p>182 According to Augustine, however, the connection refers to | |
| 2984 the gift of grace. For the failure of the spiritual eyes of men to | |
| 2985 contemplate the divine light is due not only to their natural | |
| 2986 limitations but also to the defects incurred by sin: | |
| 2987 “Fire,” that is, of concupiscence, “fell on them, | |
| 2988 and they did not see the sun,” of justice (Ps 57:9). Hence in | |
| 2989 order that the divine light might be seen by us, he healed our | |
| 2990 eyes, making an eye salve of his flesh, so that with the salve of | |
| 2991 his flesh the Word might heal our eyes, weakened by the | |
| 2992 concupiscence of the flesh. And this is why just after saying, | |
| 2993 <span style="font-weight: bold">the Word was made flesh,</span> he | |
| 2994 says, <span style="font-weight: bold">we have seen his | |
| 2995 glory.</span> To indicate this the Lord made clay from his saliva | |
| 2996 and spread the clay upon the eyes of the man born blind (below | |
| 2997 9:6). For clay is from the earth, but saliva comes from the head. | |
| 2998 Similarly, in the person of Christ, his human nature was assumed | |
| 2999 from the earth; but the incarnate Word is from the head, i.e., from | |
| 3000 God the Father. So, when this clay was spread on the eyes of men, | |
| 3001 <span style="font-weight: bold">we saw his glory.</span></p> | |
| 3002 <p>183 This is the glory of the Word Moses longed to see, saying, | |
| 3003 “Show me your glory” (Ex 32:18). But he did not deserve | |
| 3004 to see it; indeed, he was answered by the Lord: “You shall | |
| 3005 see my back” (Ex 33:23), i.e., shadows and figures. But the | |
| 3006 apostles saw his brightness: “All of us, gazing on the | |
| 3007 Lord’s glory with unveiled faces, are being transformed from | |
| 3008 glory to glory into his very image” (2 Cor 3:18). For Moses | |
| 3009 and the other prophets saw in an obscure manner and in figures the | |
| 3010 glory of the Word that was to be manifested to the world at the end | |
| 3011 of their times; hence the Apostle says: “Now we see through a | |
| 3012 mirror,,in an obscure manner, but then face to face” in 1 | |
| 3013 Corinthians (13:12); and below (12:41), “Isaiah said this | |
| 3014 when he saw his glory.” But the apostles saw the very | |
| 3015 brilliance of the Word through his bodily presence: “All of | |
| 3016 us, gazing on the Lord’s glory,” and so forth (2 Cor | |
| 3017 3:18); “Blessed are the eyes which see what you see. For many | |
| 3018 kings and prophets desired to see what you see, and did not see | |
| 3019 it” (Lk 10:23).</p> | |
| 3020 <p>184 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">the glory | |
| 3021 as of the Only Begotten,</span> he shows the uniqueness of his | |
| 3022 glory. For since it is written of certain men that they were in | |
| 3023 glory, as of Moses it says that “his face shone” (Ex | |
| 3024 34:29), or was “horned,” according to another text, | |
| 3025 someone might say that from the fact that they saw him [Jesus] in | |
| 3026 glory, it should not be said that the Word of God was made flesh. | |
| 3027 But the Evangelist excludes this when he says, <span style= | |
| 3028 "font-weight: bold">the glory as of the Only Begotten of the | |
| 3029 Father.</span> As if to say: His glory is not like the glory of an | |
| 3030 angel, or of Moses, or Elijah, or Elisha, or anything like that. | |
| 3031 but <span style="font-weight: bold">the glory as of the Only | |
| 3032 Begotten;</span> for as it is said, “He [Jesus] was counted | |
| 3033 worthy of more glory than Moses” (Heb 3:3); “Who among | |
| 3034 the sons of God is like God?” (Ps 88:7).</p> | |
| 3035 <p>185 The word as, according to Gregory, is used to express the | |
| 3036 fact. But according to Chrysostom, it expresses the manner of the | |
| 3037 fact: as if someone were to see a king approaching in great glory | |
| 3038 and being asked by another to describe the king he saw, he could, | |
| 3039 if he wanted to be brief, express the grandeur of his glory in one | |
| 3040 word, and say that he approached “as” a king, i.e., as | |
| 3041 became a king. So too, here, the Evangelist, as though asked by | |
| 3042 someone to describe the glory of the Word which he had seen, and | |
| 3043 being unable to fully express it, said that it was “as” | |
| 3044 of the Only Begotten of the Father, i.e., such as became the Only | |
| 3045 Begotten of God.</p> | |
| 3046 <p>186 The uniqueness of the glory of the Word is brought out in | |
| 3047 four ways. First, in the testimony which the Father gave to the | |
| 3048 Son. For John was one of the three who had seen Christ transfigured | |
| 3049 on the mountain and heard the , voice of the Father saying: | |
| 3050 “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” | |
| 3051 (Mt 17:5). Of this glory it is said, “He received honor and | |
| 3052 glory from God the Father ... ‘This is my beloved | |
| 3053 Son’” (2 Pt 1:17)</p> | |
| 3054 <p>Secondly, it is brought out by the service of the angels. For | |
| 3055 prior to the incarnation of Christ, men were subject to the angels. | |
| 3056 But after it, angels ministered, as subjects, to Christ. | |
| 3057 “Angels came and ministered to him” (Mt 4:11).</p> | |
| 3058 <p>Thirdly, it is brought out by the submission of nature. For all | |
| 3059 nature obeyed Christ and heeded his slightest command, as something | |
| 3060 established by him, because “All things were made through | |
| 3061 him” (above 1:3). This is something granted neither to angels | |
| 3062 nor to any creature, but to the incarnate Word alone. And this is | |
| 3063 what we read, “What kind of man is this, for the winds and | |
| 3064 the sea obey him?” (Mt 8:27).</p> | |
| 3065 <p>Fourthly, we see it in the way he taught and acted. For Moses | |
| 3066 and the other prophets gave commands to men and taught them not on | |
| 3067 their own authority, but on the authority of God. So they said: | |
| 3068 “The Lord says this”; and “The Lord spoke to | |
| 3069 Moses.” But Christ speaks as the Lord, and as one having | |
| 3070 power, i.e., by reason of his own power. Hence he says, “I | |
| 3071 say to you” (Mt 5:22). This is the reason why, at the end of | |
| 3072 the Sermon on the Mountain, it is said that he taught as one | |
| 3073 “having authority” (Mt 7:29). Furthermore, other holy | |
| 3074 men worked miracles, but not by their own power. But Christ worked | |
| 3075 them by his own power. In these ways, then, the glory of the Word | |
| 3076 is unique.</p> | |
| 3077 <p>187 Note that sometimes in Scripture we call Christ the Only | |
| 3078 Begotten, as here, and below (1 :18): “it is the Only | |
| 3079 Begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, who has made him | |
| 3080 known.” At other times we call him the First-born: | |
| 3081 “When he brings the Firstborn into the world, he says, | |
| 3082 ‘Let all the angels of God adore him’ “ (Heb | |
| 3083 1:6). The reason for this is that just as it belongs to the whole | |
| 3084 Blessed Trinity to be God, so it belongs to the Word of God to be | |
| 3085 God Begotten. Sometimes, too, he is called God according to what he | |
| 3086 is in himself; and in this way he alone is uniquely God by his own | |
| 3087 essence. It is in this way that we say there is but one God: | |
| 3088 “Hear, O Israel: the Lord your God is one” (Dt 6:4). At | |
| 3089 times, we even apply the name of deity to others, insofar as a | |
| 3090 certain likeness of the divinity is given to men; in this sense we | |
| 3091 speak of many gods: “Indeed, there are many gods and many | |
| 3092 lords” (1 Cor 8:5).</p> | |
| 3093 <p>Along these lines, if we consider what is proper to the Son as | |
| 3094 Begotten, and consider the way in which this sonship is attributed | |
| 3095 to him, that is, through nature, we say that he is the Only | |
| 3096 Begotten of God: because, since he alone is naturally begotten by | |
| 3097 the Father, the Begotten of the Father is one only. But if we | |
| 3098 consider the Son, insofar as sonship is conferred on others through | |
| 3099 a likeness to him, then there are many sons of God through | |
| 3100 participation. And because they are called sons of God by a | |
| 3101 likeness to him, he is called the First-born of all. “Those | |
| 3102 whom he foreknew, he predestined to become conformed to the image | |
| 3103 of his Son, so that he might be the First-born of many | |
| 3104 brothers” (Rom 8:29).</p> | |
| 3105 <p>So, Christ is called the Only Begotten of God by nature; but he | |
| 3106 is called the First-born insofar as from his natural sonship, by | |
| 3107 means of a certain likeness and participation, a sonship is granted | |
| 3108 to many.</p> | |
| 3109 <p>188 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">full of | |
| 3110 grace and truth,</span> he determines the glory of the Word. As if | |
| 3111 to say: His glory is such that he is full of grace and divinity. | |
| 3112 Now these words can be applied to Christ in three ways.</p> | |
| 3113 <p>First, from the point of view of union. For grace is given to | |
| 3114 someone so that he might be united to God through it. So he who is | |
| 3115 most perfectly united to God is full of grace. Now some are joined | |
| 3116 to God by participating in a natural likeness: “Let us make | |
| 3117 man to our image and likeness” (Gn 1:26). Some are joined by | |
| 3118 faith: “That Christ may dwell in your hearts through | |
| 3119 faith” (Eph 3:17). And others are united by charity, because | |
| 3120 “He who abides in love abides in God” (1 Jn 4:16). But | |
| 3121 all these ways are partial: because one is not perfectly united to | |
| 3122 God by participating a natural likeness; nor is God seen as he is | |
| 3123 by faith; nor is he loved to the extent that he is lovable by | |
| 3124 charity—for since he is the infinite Good, his lovableness is | |
| 3125 infinite, and the love of no creature is able to love this | |
| 3126 infinitely. And so these unions are not full.</p> | |
| 3127 <p>But in Christ, in whom human nature is united to the divinity in | |
| 3128 the unity of a <i>suppositum</i>, we find a full and perfect union | |
| 3129 with God. The reason for this is that this union was such that all | |
| 3130 the acts not only of his divine but also of his human nature were | |
| 3131 acts of the <i>suppositum</i> [or person]. So he was <span style= | |
| 3132 "font-weight: bold">full of grace</span> insofar he did not receive | |
| 3133 any special gratuitous gift from God, but that he should be God | |
| 3134 himself. “He gave him,” i.e., God the Father gave to | |
| 3135 the Son, “a name which is above every name” (Phil 2:9). | |
| 3136 “He was foreordained to be the Son of God in power” | |
| 3137 (Rom 1:4). He was also <span style="font-weight: bold">full of | |
| 3138 truth,</span> because the human nature in Christ attained to the | |
| 3139 divine truth itself, that is, that this man should be the divine | |
| 3140 Truth itself. In other men we find many participated truths, | |
| 3141 insofar as the First Truth gleams back into their minds through | |
| 3142 many likenesses; but Christ is Truth itself. Thus it is said: | |
| 3143 “In whom all the treasures of wisdom are hidden” (Col | |
| 3144 2:3).</p> | |
| 3145 <p>189 Secondly, these words can be applied in relation to the | |
| 3146 perfection of his soul. Then he is said to be <span style= | |
| 3147 "font-weight: bold">full of grace and truth</span> inasmuch as in | |
| 3148 his soul there was the fulness of all graces without measure: | |
| 3149 “God does not bestow the Spirit in fractions,” as we | |
| 3150 read below (3:34). Yet it was given in fractions to all rational | |
| 3151 creatures, both angels and men. For according to Augustine, just as | |
| 3152 there is one sense common to all the parts of the body, namely, the | |
| 3153 sense of touch, while all the senses are found in the head, so in | |
| 3154 Christ, who is the head of every rational creature (and in a | |
| 3155 special way of the saints who are united to him by faith and | |
| 3156 charity), all virtues and graces and gifts are found | |
| 3157 superabundantly; but in others, i.e., the saints, we find | |
| 3158 participations of the graces and gifts, although there is a gift | |
| 3159 common to all the saints, and that is charity. We read about this | |
| 3160 fulness of Christ’s grace: “There shall come forth a | |
| 3161 shoot out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall spring up out of | |
| 3162 his root. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: the | |
| 3163 spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and of | |
| 3164 fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and of piety” (Is | |
| 3165 11:1).</p> | |
| 3166 <p>Further, Christ was also <span style="font-weight: bold">full of | |
| 3167 truth</span> because his precious and h1essed soul knew every | |
| 3168 truth, human and divine, from the instant of his conception. And so | |
| 3169 Peter said to him, “You know all things” (below 21:17). | |
| 3170 And the Psalm (88:25) says: “My truth,” i.e., the | |
| 3171 knowledge of every truth, “and my mercy,” i.e., the | |
| 3172 fulness of all graces, “shall be with him.”</p> | |
| 3173 <p>190 In a third way these words can be explained in relation to | |
| 3174 his dignity as head, i.e., inasmuch as Christ is the head of the | |
| 3175 Church. In this way it is his prerogative to communicate grace to | |
| 3176 others, both by producing virtue in the minds of men through the | |
| 3177 inpouring of grace and by meriting, through his teaching and works | |
| 3178 and the sufferings of his death, superabundant grace for an | |
| 3179 infinite number of worlds, if there were such. Therefore, he is | |
| 3180 <span style="font-weight: bold">full of grace</span> insofar as he | |
| 3181 conferred perfect justice upon us. We could not acquire this | |
| 3182 perfect justice through the law, which was infirm and could make no | |
| 3183 one just or bring anyone to perfection. As we read: “The law | |
| 3184 was powerless because it was weakened by the flesh. God, sending | |
| 3185 his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and in reparation for sin, | |
| 3186 condemned sin in his flesh” (Rom 8:3).</p> | |
| 3187 <p>Again, he was <span style="font-weight: bold">full of | |
| 3188 truth</span> insofar as he fulfilled the figures of the Old Law and | |
| 3189 the promises made to the fathers. “Christ was a minister to | |
| 3190 the circumcised to confirm the promises made to the fathers” | |
| 3191 (Rom 15:8); “All the promises of God are fulfilled in | |
| 3192 him” (2 Cor 1:20).</p> | |
| 3193 <p>Further, he is said to be <span style="font-weight: bold">full | |
| 3194 of grace</span> because his teaching and manner of life were most | |
| 3195 gracious. “Grace is poured out upon your lips” (Ps | |
| 3196 44:3). And so it is said, “All the people came to him early | |
| 3197 in the morning,” i.e., in the morning they were eager to come | |
| 3198 (Lk 21:38). He was <span style="font-weight: bold">full of | |
| 3199 truth,</span> because he did not teach in enigmas and figures, nor | |
| 3200 gloss over the vices of men, but preached the truth to all, openly | |
| 3201 and without deception. As it says below: “Now you are | |
| 3202 speaking plainly” (16:29).</p> | |
| 3203 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in"> | |
| 3204 </p> | |
| 3205 <center> | |
| 3206 <p><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE 9</span></p> | |
| 3207 <p>15 John bore witness to him, and he cried out saying:<br /> | |
| 3208 “This is the one of whom I said:<br /> | |
| 3209 ‘He who comes after me, ranks ahead of me,<br /> | |
| 3210 because he existed before me.’”</p> | |
| 3211 </center> | |
| 3212 <p>191 Having given the evidence by which the Word was made known | |
| 3213 to the apostles by sight, the Evangelist then presents the evidence | |
| 3214 by which the Word was made known to persons other than the apostles | |
| 3215 by their hearing the testimony of John. He does three things about | |
| 3216 this. First, the witness is presented. Secondly, his manner of | |
| 3217 testifying is indicated. Thirdly, his testimony is given.</p> | |
| 3218 <p>192 So he says: We indeed have seen his glory, the glory as of | |
| 3219 the Only Begotten of the Father. But we are not believed, perhaps | |
| 3220 because we are held in suspicion. So let his witness come forth, | |
| 3221 that is, John the Baptist, who bears witness to Christ. He is a | |
| 3222 faithful witness who will not lie: “A faithful witness will | |
| 3223 not lie” (Prv 14:5), “You sent [messengers] to John, | |
| 3224 and he bore witness to the truth” (below 5:33). John gives | |
| 3225 his testimony here and fulfills his office with perseverance | |
| 3226 because he came as a witness. As Proverbs (12:19) says, | |
| 3227 “Truthful lips endure forever.”</p> | |
| 3228 <p>193 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">John bore | |
| 3229 witness to him, and he cried out,</span> he describes the way he | |
| 3230 bore witness, that is, it was with a cry. So he says, <span style= | |
| 3231 "font-weight: bold">he cried out,</span> i.e., freely without fear. | |
| 3232 “Cry out in a loud voice.... Say to the cities of Judah: Here | |
| 3233 is your God” (Is 40:9). He cried out ardently and with great | |
| 3234 fervor, because it is said, “His word burned like a | |
| 3235 torch” (Si 48:1); “Seraphim cried one to another” | |
| 3236 (Is 6:3), which is expressive of a more interior eagerness of | |
| 3237 spirit. The use of a cry shows that the statements of the witness | |
| 3238 are not made to a few in figurative language or secretly, but that | |
| 3239 a truth is being declared openly and publicly, and told not to a | |
| 3240 few but to many. “Cry out, and do not stop” (Is | |
| 3241 58:1).</p> | |
| 3242 <p>194 Then he adds his testimony. And he does two things. First, | |
| 3243 he shows that his testimony was continuous. Secondly, he describes | |
| 3244 the person to whom he bore witness.</p> | |
| 3245 <p>195 The testimony of the Baptist was continuous because he bore | |
| 3246 witness to him not only once but many times, and even before Christ | |
| 3247 had come to him. And so he says, <span style= | |
| 3248 "font-weight: bold">This is the one of whom I</span> said, i.e., | |
| 3249 before I saw him in the flesh I bore witness to him. “And | |
| 3250 you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High” (Lk | |
| 3251 1:76). He pointed him out both as present and when about to come. | |
| 3252 And his testimony is certain because he not only predicted that he | |
| 3253 would come, but pointed him out when he was present, saying, | |
| 3254 <span style="font-weight: bold">Look! There is the Lamb of | |
| 3255 God.</span> This implies that Christ was physically present to | |
| 3256 John; for he had often come to John before being baptized.</p> | |
| 3257 <p>196 Then he describes the one to whom he bore witness, saying, | |
| 3258 <span style="font-weight: bold">He who comes after me, ranks ahead | |
| 3259 of me.</span> Here we should note that John does not at once preach | |
| 3260 to his disciples that Christ is the Son of God, but he draws them | |
| 3261 little by little to higher things: first, by preferring Christ to | |
| 3262 himself, even though John had such a great reputation and authority | |
| 3263 as to be considered the Christ or one of the great prophets. Now he | |
| 3264 compares Christ to himself: first, with regard to the order of | |
| 3265 their preaching; secondly, as to the order of dignity; and thirdly, | |
| 3266 as to the time of their existence.</p> | |
| 3267 <p>197 With respect to the order of their preaching, John preceded | |
| 3268 Christ as a servant precedes his master, and as a soldier his king, | |
| 3269 or as the morning star the sun: “See, I am sending my | |
| 3270 messenger, and he will prepare the way before me” (Mal 3:1 ). | |
| 3271 So, He comes after me, in being known to men, through my preaching. | |
| 3272 Observe that <span style="font-weight: bold">comes</span> is in the | |
| 3273 present tense, became in Greek the present participle is used.</p> | |
| 3274 <p>Now John preceded Christ for two reasons. First, according to | |
| 3275 Chrysostom, because John was a blood relation of Christ according | |
| 3276 to the flesh: “your relative, Elizabeth” (Lk 1.36). | |
| 3277 Therefore, had he borne witness to Christ after knowing him, his | |
| 3278 testimony might have been open to question; accordingly, John came | |
| 3279 preaching before he was acquainted with Christ, in order that his | |
| 3280 testimony might have more force. Hence he says, “And I did | |
| 3281 not know him! And yet it was to reveal him to Israel that I came | |
| 3282 baptizing with water” (below 1:31).</p> | |
| 3283 <p>Secondly, John preceded Christ because in things that pass into | |
| 3284 act from potency, the imperfect is naturally prior to the perfect; | |
| 3285 hence it is said in 1 Corinthians (15:46): “The spiritual is | |
| 3286 not first, but the animal.” Accordingly, the perfect doctrine | |
| 3287 of Christ should have been preceded by the less perfect teaching of | |
| 3288 John, which was in a certain manner midway between the doctrine of | |
| 3289 the law and the prophets (which announced the coming of Christ from | |
| 3290 afar), and the doctrine of Christ, which was clear and plainly made | |
| 3291 Christ known.</p> | |
| 3292 <p>198 He [John] compares him to himself with respect to dignity | |
| 3293 when he says, he <span style="font-weight: bold">ranks ahead of | |
| 3294 me</span> [<i>ante me factus est,</i> literally, he “was made | |
| 3295 before me”]. It should be noted that it is from this text | |
| 3296 that the Arians took occasion for their error. For they said that | |
| 3297 “He who comes after me,” is to be understood of Christ | |
| 3298 as to the flesh he assumed, but what follows, “was made | |
| 3299 before me,” can only be understood of the Word of God, who | |
| 3300 existed before the flesh; and for this reason Christ as the Word | |
| 3301 was made, and was not coeternal with the Father.</p> | |
| 3302 <p>According to Chrysostom, however, this exposition is stupid, | |
| 3303 because if it were true, the Baptist would not have said, he | |
| 3304 “was made before me, because he existed before me,” | |
| 3305 since no one is unaware that if he was before him, he was made | |
| 3306 before him. He rather would have said the opposite: “He was | |
| 3307 before me, because he was made before me.” And so, according | |
| 3308 to Chrysostom, these words should be taken as referring to his | |
| 3309 [Christ’s] dignity, that is, he was preferred to me and | |
| 3310 placed ahead of me. It is as though he said: Although Jesus came to | |
| 3311 preach after me, he was made more worthy than I both in eminence of | |
| 3312 authority and in the repute of men: “Gold will not be equal | |
| 3313 to it” (Jb 28:17). Or alternatively: he is preferred | |
| 3314 <span style="font-weight: bold">ahead of me,</span> that is, before | |
| 3315 my eyes, as the Gloss says and as the Greek text reads. As if to | |
| 3316 say: Before my eyes, i.e., in my sight, because he came into my | |
| 3317 view and was recognized.</p> | |
| 3318 <p>199 He compares him to himself with respect to their duration, | |
| 3319 saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">because he existed before | |
| 3320 me.</span> As if to say: He was God from all eternity, I am a frail | |
| 3321 man of time. And therefore, even though I came to preach ahead of | |
| 3322 him, yet it was fitting that he rank before me in the reputation | |
| 3323 and opinion of men, because he preceded all things by his eternity: | |
| 3324 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and | |
| 3325 forever” (Heb 13:8). “Before Abraham came to be, I | |
| 3326 am,” as we read below (8:58).</p> | |
| 3327 <p>If we understand this passage as saying that he “was made | |
| 3328 before me,” it can be explained as referring to the order of | |
| 3329 time according to the flesh. For in the instant of his conception | |
| 3330 Christ was perfect God and perfect man, having a rational soul | |
| 3331 perfected by the virtues, and a body possessed of all its | |
| 3332 distinctive features, except that it lacked perfect size: “A | |
| 3333 woman shall enclose a man,” i.e., a perfect man (Jer 31:22). | |
| 3334 Now it is evident that Christ was conceived as a perfect man before | |
| 3335 John was born; consequently he says that he “was made before | |
| 3336 me,” because he was a perfect man before I came forth from | |
| 3337 the womb.</p> | |
| 3338 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in"> | |
| 3339 </p> | |
| 3340 <center> | |
| 3341 <p><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE10</span></p> | |
| 3342 <p>16 Of his fullness we have all received—indeed, grace upon | |
| 3343 grace;<br /> | |
| 3344 17 because, while the law was given through Moses,<br /> | |
| 3345 grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ.</p> | |
| 3346 </center> | |
| 3347 <p>200 He follows with, <span style="font-weight: bold">Of his | |
| 3348 fullness we have all received</span> words and those that follow to | |
| 3349 (v 19), “This is the testimony of John,” are taken in | |
| 3350 two ways. According to Origen, these are the words of John the | |
| 3351 Baptist and are added by him to support what he had said | |
| 3352 previously. It is as though he said: Truly, <span style= | |
| 3353 "font-weight: bold">he existed before me,</span> because | |
| 3354 <span style="font-weight: bold">of his fullness,</span> i.e., of | |
| 3355 his grace, not only I but all, including the prophets and | |
| 3356 patriarchs, <span style="font-weight: bold">have received,</span> | |
| 3357 because all had the grace they possessed by faith in the incarnate | |
| 3358 Word. According to this explanation, John the Baptist began weaving | |
| 3359 the story of the incarnation at, “John bore witness to | |
| 3360 him” (v 15).</p> | |
| 3361 <p>But according to Augustine and Chrysostom, the words from | |
| 3362 “John bore witness to him” (v 15), are those of John | |
| 3363 the Evangelist. And they are connected with the previous words, | |
| 3364 “full of grace and truth,” as though he were saying: | |
| 3365 Above, the Evangelist gave the evidence for the Word which was | |
| 3366 learned through sight and by hearing, but here he explains each. | |
| 3367 First, how he was made known to the apostles through sight, which | |
| 3368 was tantamount to receiving the evidence from Christ. Secondly, how | |
| 3369 John bore witness to him, at “This is the testimony of | |
| 3370 John” (v 19). As to the first he does two <span style= | |
| 3371 "font-weight: bold">things.</span> First, he shows that Christ is | |
| 3372 the origin, as a fountain, of every spiritual grace. Secondly, he | |
| 3373 shows that grace is dispensed to us through him and from him.</p> | |
| 3374 <p>201 He says first of all: We know from our own experience that | |
| 3375 we have seen him full of grace and truth, because <span style= | |
| 3376 "font-weight: bold">of his fullness we have all received.</span> | |
| 3377 Now one fullness is that of sufficiency, by which one is able to | |
| 3378 perform acts that are meritorious and excellent, as in the case of | |
| 3379 Stephen. Again, there is a fullness of superabundance, by which the | |
| 3380 Blessed Virgin excels all the saints because of the eminence and | |
| 3381 abundance of her merits. Further, there is a fullness of efficiency | |
| 3382 and overflow, which belongs only to the man Christ as the author of | |
| 3383 grace. For although the Blessed Virgin superabounds her grace into | |
| 3384 us, it is never as authoress of grace. But grace flowed over from | |
| 3385 her soul into her body: for through the grace of the Holy Spirit, | |
| 3386 not only was the mind of the Virgin perfectly united to God by | |
| 3387 love, but her womb was supernaturally impregnated by the Holy | |
| 3388 Spirit. And so after Gabriel said, “Hail, full of | |
| 3389 grace,” he refers at once to the fullness of her womb, | |
| 3390 adding, “the Lord is with you” (Lk 1:28). And so the | |
| 3391 Evangelist, in order to show this unique fullness of efficiency and | |
| 3392 overflow in Christ, said, <span style="font-weight: bold">Of his | |
| 3393 fullness we have all received,</span> i.e., all the apostles and | |
| 3394 patriarchs and prophets and just men who have existed, do now | |
| 3395 exist, and will exist, and even all the angels.</p> | |
| 3396 <p>202 Note that the preposition <i>de</i> [of, from] sometimes | |
| 3397 signifies efficiency, i.e., an originative cause, as when it is | |
| 3398 said that a ray is or proceeds “from” the sun. In this | |
| 3399 way it signifies the efficiency of grace in Christ, i.e., | |
| 3400 authorship, because the fullness of grace in Christ is the cause of | |
| 3401 all graces that are in intellectual creatures. “Come to me, | |
| 3402 all you who desire me, and be filled with my fruits,” that is | |
| 3403 to say, share in the fullness of those fruits which come from me | |
| 3404 (Si 24:26).</p> | |
| 3405 <p>But sometimes this preposition <i>de</i> signifies | |
| 3406 consubstantiality, as when it is said that the Son is | |
| 3407 “of” the Father [<i>de Patre</i>]<i>.</i> In this | |
| 3408 usage, the fullness of Christ is the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from | |
| 3409 him, consubstantial with him in nature, in power and in majesty. | |
| 3410 For although the habitual gifts in the soul of Christ are other | |
| 3411 than those in us, nevertheless it is one and the same Holy Spirit | |
| 3412 who is in him and who fills all those to be sanctified. “One | |
| 3413 and the same Spirit produces all these” (1 Cor 12:11); | |
| 3414 “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh” (JI 2:28); | |
| 3415 “If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not | |
| 3416 belong to him” (Rom 8:9). For the unity of the Holy Spirit | |
| 3417 produces unity in the Church: “The Spirit of the Lord filled | |
| 3418 the whole world” (Wis 1:7).</p> | |
| 3419 <p>In a third way, the preposition de [of, from] can signify it | |
| 3420 portion, as when we say “take ‘from’ this bread | |
| 3421 or wine [<i>de hoc pane, vel vino</i>],” i.e., take a portion | |
| 3422 and not the whole. Taken in this way it signifies that those who | |
| 3423 take a part derive it from the fullness. For he [Christ] received | |
| 3424 all the gifts of the Holy Spirit without measure, according to a | |
| 3425 perfect fullness; but we participate through him some portion of | |
| 3426 his fullness; and this is according to the measure which God grants | |
| 3427 to each. “Grace has been given to each of us according to the | |
| 3428 degree to which Christ gives it” (Eph 4:7).</p> | |
| 3429 <p>203 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">grace | |
| 3430 upon grace,</span> he shows the distribution of graces into us | |
| 3431 through Christ. Here he does two things. First, he shows that we | |
| 3432 receive grace from Christ, as its author. Secondly, that we receive | |
| 3433 wisdom from him (1:18). As to the first he does two things. First, | |
| 3434 he shows that we have received of his fullness. Secondly, our need | |
| 3435 to receive it.</p> | |
| 3436 <p>204 First, he says that we have received of the fullness of | |
| 3437 Christ what is described as <span style="font-weight: bold">grace | |
| 3438 upon grace.</span> In the light of what is said, we are forced to | |
| 3439 understand that of his fullness we have received grace, and that | |
| 3440 upon that grace we have received another. Accordingly, we must see | |
| 3441 what that first grace is upon which we have received a second one, | |
| 3442 and also what that second grace is.</p> | |
| 3443 <p>According to Chrysostom, the first grace, which was received by | |
| 3444 the whole human race, was the grace of the Old Testament received | |
| 3445 in the law. And this was indeed a great grace: “I will give | |
| 3446 you a good gift” (Prv 4:2). For it was a great benefit for | |
| 3447 idolatrous men to receive precepts from God, and a true knowledge | |
| 3448 of the one true God. “What is the advantage of being a Jew, | |
| 3449 or the benefit of circumcision? It is great in every way. First | |
| 3450 indeed, because the words of God were entrusted to them” (Rom | |
| 3451 3:1). Upon that grace, then, which was first, we have received a | |
| 3452 second far better. “He will follow grace with grace” | |
| 3453 (Zec 4:7).</p> | |
| 3454 <p>But was not the first grace sufficient? I answer that it was | |
| 3455 not, because the law gives only a knowledge of sin, but does not | |
| 3456 take it away. “The law brought nothing to perfection” | |
| 3457 (Heb 7:19). Hence it was necessary that another grace come that | |
| 3458 would take away sin and reconcile one with God.</p> | |
| 3459 <p>205 And so he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">because, | |
| 3460 while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth have come | |
| 3461 through Jesus Christ.</span> Here the Evangelist ranks Christ above | |
| 3462 Moses the lawgiver, whom the Baptist ranked above himself. Now | |
| 3463 Moses was regarded as the greatest of the prophets: “There | |
| 3464 did not arise again in Israel a prophet like Moses” (Dt | |
| 3465 34:10). But he ranks Christ above Moses in excellence Mid in | |
| 3466 dignity of’ works, <span style="font-weight: bold">because | |
| 3467 the law was given through Moses;</span> and between these two, the | |
| 3468 One excels the other as the reality excels the symbol and the truth | |
| 3469 the shadow: “The law had a shadow of the good things to | |
| 3470 come” (Heb 10:1). Further, Christ excels him in the way he | |
| 3471 works, because the law was given by Moses as by one proclaiming it, | |
| 3472 but not originating it; for “The Lord alone is our | |
| 3473 lawgiver” (Is 33:22). But <span style= | |
| 3474 "font-weight: bold">grace and truth have come through Jesus | |
| 3475 Christ,</span> as through the Lord and Author of truth and grace, | |
| 3476 as was explained above.</p> | |
| 3477 <p>206 According to Augustine, however, the first grace is | |
| 3478 justifying and prevenient grace, which is not given to us because | |
| 3479 of our works: “If it is by grace, it is not now by | |
| 3480 works” (Rom 11:6). Upon that grace, then, which is imperfect, | |
| 3481 we have received another grace which is perfect, i.e., the grace of | |
| 3482 eternal life. And although eternal life is in some way acquired by | |
| 3483 merits, nevertheless, because the principle of meriting in everyone | |
| 3484 is prevenient grace, eternal life is called a grace: “The | |
| 3485 grace of God is eternal life” (Rom 6:23). To be brief, | |
| 3486 whatever grace is added to prevenient grace, the whole is called | |
| 3487 <span style="font-weight: bold">grace upon grace.</span></p> | |
| 3488 <p>The need for this second grace arises from the insufficiency of | |
| 3489 the law, which showed what was to be done and what avoided; but it | |
| 3490 gave no help to fulfill what was commanded. Indeed, what seemed to | |
| 3491 have been directed to life was the occasion for producing death. | |
| 3492 Hence the Apostle says that the law was a minister of death: | |
| 3493 “If the ministry that condemned had glory, the ministry that | |
| 3494 justifies has much more glory” (2 Cor 3:9). Also, it promised | |
| 3495 the help of grace but did not fulfill, because “The law | |
| 3496 brought nothing to perfection” (Heb 7:19). Again, it | |
| 3497 prefigured the truth of the new grace by its sacrifices and | |
| 3498 ceremonies; indeed, its very rites proclaimed that it was a figure. | |
| 3499 Hence is was necessary that Christ come, who by his own death would | |
| 3500 destroy other deaths and grant the help of new grace, in order that | |
| 3501 we might both fulfill his precepts with ease and joy, and die to | |
| 3502 our sins and our old way of life: “Our old self was crucified | |
| 3503 with him” (Rom 6:6), and in order that the truth of the | |
| 3504 figures contained in the law might be revealed and the promises | |
| 3505 made to the fathers be fulfilled.</p> | |
| 3506 <p>This can be explained in another way: <span style= | |
| 3507 "font-weight: bold">truth has come through Jesus Christ,</span> as | |
| 3508 to the wisdom and truth which was hidden for centuries, and which | |
| 3509 he openly taught when he came into the world: “I came into | |
| 3510 the world for this, to testify to the truth,” as we read | |
| 3511 below (18:37).</p> | |
| 3512 <p>207 But if Christ is the Truth, as it says below (14:6), how did | |
| 3513 truth come [i.e., come to be, be made] through him, because nothing | |
| 3514 can make itself? I answer that by his essence he is the uncreated | |
| 3515 Truth, which is eternal and not made, but is begotten of the | |
| 3516 Father; but all created truths were made through him, and these are | |
| 3517 certain participations and reflections of the first Truth, which | |
| 3518 shines out in those souls who are holy.</p> | |
| 3519 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in"> | |
| 3520 </p> | |
| 3521 <center> | |
| 3522 <p><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE 11</span></p> | |
| 3523 <p>18 No one has ever seen God;<br /> | |
| 3524 it is the Only Begotten Son,<br /> | |
| 3525 who is in the bosom of the Father,<br /> | |
| 3526 who has made him known.</p> | |
| 3527 </center> | |
| 3528 <p>208 Above, the Evangelist showed how the apostles received grace | |
| 3529 from Christ as its author; here he shows how they received it from | |
| 3530 him as a teacher. About this he does three things. First, he shows | |
| 3531 the need for this teaching. Secondly, the competency of the | |
| 3532 teacher. Thirdly, the teaching itself.</p> | |
| 3533 <p>209 The need for this teaching arose from the lack of wisdom | |
| 3534 among men, which the Evangelist implies by alluding to the | |
| 3535 ignorance concerning God which prevailed among men, saying: | |
| 3536 <span style="font-weight: bold">No one has ever seen God.</span> | |
| 3537 And he does this fittingly, for wisdom consists properly in the | |
| 3538 knowledge of God and of divine things. Hence Augustine says that | |
| 3539 wisdom is the knowledge of divine things, as science is the | |
| 3540 knowledge of human things.</p> | |
| 3541 <p>2 10 But this statement of the Evangelist, <span style= | |
| 3542 "font-weight: bold">No one has ever seen God,</span> seems to | |
| 3543 contradict many passages of divine Scripture. For it is said in | |
| 3544 Isaiah (6:1): “I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty | |
| 3545 throne.” And about the same is found in 2 Samuel (6:2). Again | |
| 3546 in Matthew (5:8), the Lord says: “Blessed are the pure in | |
| 3547 heart, for they shall see God.”If someone were to answer this | |
| 3548 last statement by saying that it is true that in the past no one | |
| 3549 has seen God, but will see him in the future, as the Lord promises, | |
| 3550 the Apostle would exclude this, saying, “He dwells in | |
| 3551 unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see” (1 Tim | |
| 3552 6:16).</p> | |
| 3553 <p>Because the Apostle says, “no man has seen,” someone | |
| 3554 might say that if he cannot be seen by men, then at least he can be | |
| 3555 seen by angels; especially since God says, “Their angels in | |
| 3556 heaven always see the face of my Father” (Mt 18:10). But it | |
| 3557 cannot be taken in this way either, because it is said, “The | |
| 3558 sons of the resurrection will be like the angels of God in | |
| 3559 heaven” (Mt 22:30). If, therefore, the angels see God in | |
| 3560 heaven, then it is plain that the sons of the resurrection also see | |
| 3561 him: “When he appears we shall be like him, and we shall see | |
| 3562 him as he is” (1 Jn 3:2).</p> | |
| 3563 <p>211 How then are we to understand what the Evangelist says: | |
| 3564 <span style="font-weight: bold">No one has ever seen God</span>? To | |
| 3565 understand it we must know that God is said to be seen in three | |
| 3566 ways. First, through a created substitute presented to the bodily | |
| 3567 sight; as Abraham is believed to have seen God when he saw three | |
| 3568 [men] and adored one (Gn 18). He adored one because he recognized | |
| 3569 the mystery of the Trinity in the three, whom he first thought to | |
| 3570 be men, and later believed to be angels. In a second way, through a | |
| 3571 representation in the imagination; and in this way Isaiah saw the | |
| 3572 Lord seated on a high and lofty throne. Many visions of this sort | |
| 3573 are recorded in the Scriptures. In a third way, he is seen through | |
| 3574 an intelligible species abstracted from material things; and in | |
| 3575 this way he is seen by those who, considering the greatness of | |
| 3576 creatures, see with their intellect the greatness of the Creator, | |
| 3577 as it is said: “From the greatness and beauty of creatures, | |
| 3578 their Creator can be seen accordingly” (Wis 13:5); “The | |
| 3579 invisible things of God are clearly seen, being understood through | |
| 3580 the things that are made,” as found in Romans (1:20). In | |
| 3581 another way, God is seen through a certain spiritual light infused | |
| 3582 by God into spiritual minds during contemplation; and this is the | |
| 3583 way Jacob saw God face to face, as it says in Genesis (32:30). | |
| 3584 According to Gregory, this vision came about through his lofty | |
|
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3585 contemplation.</p> |
| 35 | 3586 <p>But the vision of the divine essence is not attained by any of |
| 3587 the above visions: for no created species, whether it be that by | |
| 3588 which an external sense is informed, or by which the imagination is | |
| 3589 informed, or by which the intellect is informed, is representative | |
| 3590 of the divine essence as it is. Now man knows as to its essence | |
| 3591 only what the species he has in his intellect represents as it is. | |
| 3592 Therefore, the vision of the divine essence is not attained through | |
| 3593 any species.</p> | |
| 3594 <p>The reason why no created species can represent the divine | |
| 3595 essence is plain: for nothing finite can represent the infinite as | |
| 3596 it is; but every created species is finite; therefore [it cannot | |
| 3597 represent the infinite as it is]. Further, God is his own | |
| 3598 <i>esse;</i> and therefore his wisdom and greatness and anything | |
| 3599 else are the same. But all those cannot be represented through one | |
| 3600 created thing. Therefore, the knowledge by which God is seen | |
| 3601 through creatures is not a knowledge of his essence, but a | |
| 3602 knowledge that is dark and mirrored, and from afar. “Everyone | |
| 3603 sees him,” in one of the above ways, “from afar” | |
| 3604 (Jb 36:25), because we do not know what God is by all these acts of | |
| 3605 knowing, but what he is not, or that he is. Hence Denis says, in | |
| 3606 his <i>Mystical Theology,</i> that the perfect way in which God is | |
| 3607 known in this present life is by taking away all creatures and | |
| 3608 every thing understood by us.</p> | |
| 3609 <p>212 There have been some who said that the divine essence will | |
| 3610 never by seen by any created intellect, and that it is seen neither | |
| 3611 by the angels nor by the blessed. But this statement is shown to be | |
| 3612 false and heretical in three ways, First, because it is contrary to | |
| 3613 the authority of divine Scripture: “We shall see him as he | |
| 3614 is” (1 Jn 3:2); “This is eternal life, that they know | |
| 3615 you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” | |
| 3616 (below 17:3). Secondly, because the brightness of God is the same | |
| 3617 as his substance; for he does not give forth light by participating | |
| 3618 in light, but through himself. And thirdly, because it is | |
| 3619 impossible for anyone to attain perfect happiness except in the | |
| 3620 vision of the divine essence. This is because the natural desire of | |
| 3621 the intellect is to understand and know the causes of all the | |
| 3622 effects that it knows; but this desire cannot be fulfilled unless | |
| 3623 it understands and knows the first universal cause of all things, | |
| 3624 which is a cause that is not composed of cause and effect, as | |
| 3625 second causes are. Therefore, to take away the possibility of the | |
| 3626 vision of the divine essence by man is to fake away happiness | |
| 3627 itself. Therefore, in order for the created intellect to be happy, | |
| 3628 it is necessary that the divine essence be seen. “Blessed are | |
| 3629 the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Mt 5:8).</p> | |
| 3630 <p>213 Three things should be noted about the vision of the divine | |
| 3631 essence. First, it will never be seen with a bodily eye, either by | |
| 3632 sense or imagination, since only sensate bodily things are | |
| 3633 perceived by the senses, and God is not bodily: “God is | |
| 3634 spirit” (below 4:24). Secondly, that as long as the human | |
| 3635 intellect is in the body it cannot see God, because it is weighed | |
| 3636 down by the body so that it cannot attain the summit of | |
| 3637 contemplation. So it is that the more a soul is free of passions | |
| 3638 and is purged from affections for earthly things, the higher it | |
| 3639 rises in the contemplation of truth and tastes how sweet the Lord | |
| 3640 is. Now the highest degree of contemplation is to see God through | |
| 3641 his essence; and so as long as a man lives in a body which is | |
| 3642 necessarily subject to many passions, he cannot see God through his | |
| 3643 essence. “Man will not see me and live” (Ex 33:20). | |
| 3644 Therefore, if the human intellect is to see the divine essence it | |
| 3645 must wholly depart from the body: either by death, as the Apostle | |
| 3646 says, “We would prefer to be absent from the body and present | |
| 3647 with the Lord” (2 Cor 5:8); or by being wholly abstracted by | |
| 3648 rapture from the senses of the body, as is mentioned of Paul in 2 | |
| 3649 Corinthians (12:3).</p> | |
| 3650 <p>Thirdly, no created intellect (however abstracted, either by | |
| 3651 death, or separated from the body) which does see the divine | |
| 3652 essence, can comprehend it in any way. And so it is commonly said | |
| 3653 that although the whole divine essence is seen by the blessed, | |
| 3654 since it is most simple and has no parts, yet it is not wholly | |
| 3655 seen, because this would be to comprehend it. For | |
| 3656 “wholly” implies a certain mode. But any mode of God is | |
| 3657 the divine essence. Hence one who does not see him wholly does not | |
| 3658 comprehend him. For one is properly said to comprehend a thing | |
| 3659 through knowledge when he knows that thing to the extent that it is | |
| 3660 knowable in itself; otherwise, although he may know it, he does not | |
| 3661 comprehend it. For example, one who knows this proposition, | |
| 3662 “A triangle has three angles equal to two right | |
| 3663 angles,” by a dialectical syllogism, does not know it as well | |
| 3664 as it is knowable in itself; thus he does not know it wholly. But | |
| 3665 one who knows this by a demonstrative syllogism does know it | |
| 3666 wholly. For each thing is knowable to the extent that it has being | |
| 3667 and truth; while one is a knower according to his amount of | |
| 3668 cognitive power. Now a created intellectual substance is finite; | |
| 3669 hence it knows in a finite way. And since God is infinite in power | |
| 3670 and being, and as a consequence is infinitely knowable, he cannot | |
| 3671 be known by any created intellect to the degree that he is | |
| 3672 knowable. And thus he remains incomprehensible to every created | |
| 3673 intellect. “Behold, God is great, exceeding our | |
| 3674 knowledge” (Jb 36:26). He alone contemplates himself | |
| 3675 comprehensively, because his power to know is as great as his | |
| 3676 entity in being. “O most mighty, great, powerful, your name | |
| 3677 is Lord of hosts, great in counsel, incomprehensible in | |
| 3678 thought” (Jer 32:18).</p> | |
| 3679 <p>214 Using the above explanations, we can understand, | |
| 3680 <span style="font-weight: bold">No one has ever seen God.</span> | |
| 3681 First, No one, i.e, no man, has seen God, that is, the divine | |
| 3682 essence, with the eye of the body of or the imagination. Secondly, | |
| 3683 No one, living in this mortal life, has seen the divine essence in | |
| 3684 itself. Thirdly, No one, man or angel, has seen God by a vision of | |
| 3685 comprehension. So when it is said that certain ones have seen God | |
| 3686 with their eyes or while living in the body, he is not seen through | |
| 3687 his essence, but through a creature acting as a substitute, as was | |
| 3688 said. And thus it was necessary for us to receive wisdom, because | |
| 3689 No one has ever seen God.</p> | |
| 3690 <p>215 The Evangelist mentions the competent teacher of this wisdom | |
| 3691 when he adds, <span style="font-weight: bold">it is the Only | |
| 3692 Begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father.</span> He shows | |
| 3693 the competence of this teacher in three ways: by a natural | |
| 3694 likeness, by a singular excellence, and by a most perfect | |
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3695 consubstantiality.</p> |
| 35 | 3696 <p>216 By natural likeness, because a son is naturally like his |
| 3697 father. Wherefore it also follows that one is called a son of God | |
| 3698 insofar as he shares in the likeness of his natural son; and one | |
| 3699 knows him insofar he has a likeness to him, since knowledge is | |
| 3700 attained through assimilation [or “likeness to”]. Hence | |
| 3701 1 John (3:2) says, “Now we are sons of God,” and he | |
| 3702 immediately adds, “when he comes, we will be like him, and we | |
| 3703 will see him as he is.” Therefore, when the Evangelist says | |
| 3704 Son, he implies a likeness as well as all aptitude for knowing | |
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3705 God.</p> |
| 35 | 3706 <p>217 Because this teacher knows God in a more special way than |
| 3707 other sons do, the Evangelist suggests this by his singular | |
| 3708 excellence, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">the Only | |
| 3709 Begotten.</span> As if to say: He knows God more than other sons | |
| 3710 do. Hence, because he is the natural Son, having the same nature | |
| 3711 and knowledge as the Father, he is <span style= | |
| 3712 "font-weight: bold">called the Only Begotten.</span> “The | |
| 3713 Lord said to me: ‘You are my Son’” (Ps 2:7).</p> | |
| 3714 <p>218 Although he may know in a unique way, he would be lacking | |
| 3715 the ability to teach if he were not to know wholly. Hence he adds a | |
| 3716 third point, namely, his consubstantiality to the Father, when he | |
| 3717 says, <span style="font-weight: bold">who is in the bosom of the | |
| 3718 Father.</span> “Bosom” is not to be taken here as | |
| 3719 referring to men in their garments, but it indicates the secret | |
| 3720 things of the Father. For what we carry in our bosom we do in | |
| 3721 secret. The secret things of the Father refer to his unsurpassed | |
| 3722 power and knowledge, since the divine essence is infinite. | |
| 3723 Therefore, in that bosom, i.e., in the most secret things of the | |
| 3724 paternal nature and essence, which transcends all the power of the | |
| 3725 creature, is <span style="font-weight: bold">the Only Begotten | |
| 3726 Son;</span> and so he is consubstantial with the Father.</p> | |
| 3727 <p>What the Evangelist signifies by “bosom,” David | |
| 3728 expressed by “womb,” saying: “From the womb, | |
| 3729 before the daystar,” i.e., from the inmost secret things of | |
| 3730 my essence, incomprehensible to every created intellect, “I | |
| 3731 begot you” (Ps 109:3), consubstantial with me, and of the | |
| 3732 same nature and power, and virtue and knowledge. “What man | |
| 3733 knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man that is in | |
| 3734 him? So also, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of | |
| 3735 God” (1 Cor 2:11). Therefore, he comprehends the divine | |
| 3736 essence, which is his own.</p> | |
| 3737 <p>219 But the soul of Christ, which knows God, does not comprehend | |
| 3738 him, because this is attributed only to the Only Begotten Son who | |
| 3739 is in the bosom of the Father. So the Lord also says: “No one | |
| 3740 knows the Father except the Son, and any to whom the Son wishes to | |
| 3741 reveal him”(Mt 11:27); we should understand this as referring | |
| 3742 to the knowledge of comprehension, about which the Evangelist seems | |
| 3743 to be speaking here. For no one comprehends the divine essence | |
| 3744 except the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And so we have | |
| 3745 shown the competence of the teacher.</p> | |
| 3746 <p>220 We should note that the phrase, <span style= | |
| 3747 "font-weight: bold">who is in the bosom of the Father,</span> | |
| 3748 rejects the error of those who say that the Father is invisible, | |
| 3749 but the Son is visible, though he was not seen in the Old | |
| 3750 Testament. For from the fact that he is among the hidden things of | |
| 3751 the Father, it is plain that he is naturally invisible, as is the | |
| 3752 Father. So it is said of him: “Truly, you are a hidden | |
| 3753 God” (Is 45:15). And so Scripture mentions the | |
| 3754 incomprehensibility of the Son: “No one knows the Son except | |
| 3755 the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son” (Mt | |
| 3756 11:27), “What is the name of his son, if you know?” as | |
| 3757 we read in Proverbs (30:4)</p> | |
| 3758 <p>221 Then the Evangelist indicates the way in which this teaching | |
| 3759 is handed down, saying that it is the Only Begotten Son | |
| 3760 <span style="font-weight: bold">who has made him known.</span> For | |
| 3761 in the past, the Only Begotten Son revealed knowledge of God | |
| 3762 through the prophets, who made him known to the extent that they | |
| 3763 shared in the eternal Word. Hence they said things like, “The | |
| 3764 Word of the Lord came to me.” But now the Only Begotten Son | |
| 3765 <span style="font-weight: bold">has made him known</span> to the | |
| 3766 faithful: “It is I who spoke; here I am” (Is 52:6); | |
| 3767 “God, who in many and varied ways, spoke to the fathers in | |
| 3768 past times through the prophets, has spoken to us in these days in | |
| 3769 his Son” (Heb 1:1).</p> | |
| 3770 <p>And this teaching surpasses all other teachings in dignity, | |
| 3771 authority and usefulness, because it was handed on immediately by | |
| 3772 the Only Begotten Son, who is the first Wisdom. “It was first | |
| 3773 announced by the Lord, and confirmed to us by those who heard | |
| 3774 him” (Heb 2:3).</p> | |
| 3775 <p>222 But what did he make known except the one God? And even | |
| 3776 Moses did this: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord your God is | |
| 3777 one” (Dt 6:4). What did this add to Moses? It added the | |
| 3778 mystery of the Trinity, and many other things that neither Moses | |
| 3779 nor any of the prophets made known.</p> | |
| 3780 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in"> | |
| 3781 </p> | |
| 3782 <p style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 0.125in"><span style= | |
| 3783 "font-weight: bold">LECTURE12</span></p> | |
| 3784 <blockquote> | |
| 3785 <p>19 This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and | |
| 3786 Levites from Jeru’salem to him, to ask him: “Who are | |
| 3787 you?” 20 He declared openly, and did not deny, and stated | |
| 3788 clearly, “I am not the Messiah.” 21 And they questioned | |
| 3789 him, “Who then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I | |
| 3790 am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he responded, | |
| 3791 “No.” 22 They therefore said to him, “Who are | |
| 3792 you? We must take back an answer to those who sent us. What have | |
| 3793 you to say about yourself9" 23 He said, quoting the prophet Isaiah, | |
| 3794 “I am 6 a voice that cries in the wilderness: Make a straight | |
| 3795 way for the Lord’” [Is 40:3].</p> | |
| 3796 </blockquote> | |
| 3797 <p>223 Above, the Evangelist showed how Christ was made known to | |
| 3798 the apostles through the testimony of John; here he develops this | |
| 3799 testimony more fully. First, he presents John’s testimony to | |
| 3800 the people. Secondly, the testimony he gave of Christ to his own | |
| 3801 disciples (below 1:35). If we carefully consider what was said, we | |
| 3802 discover a twofold testimony of John to Christ: one which he gave | |
| 3803 to Christ in his presence, the other in his absence. For he would | |
| 3804 not have said, “It is he” (below 1:30), unless he had | |
| 3805 given testimony in Christ’s presence; and he would not have | |
| 3806 said, “of whom I said,” unless he gave testimony to him | |
| 3807 in his absence. So first, the Evangelist develops the testimony | |
| 3808 John gave to Christ in his absence; secondly, that he gave in his | |
| 3809 presence (v 29).</p> | |
| 3810 <p>Now these two testimonies differ, because the first was given | |
| 3811 when he was questioned; the other was spontaneous. So in the first | |
| 3812 instance, we are given not only his testimony, but also the | |
| 3813 questions. First, he was asked about himself; secondly, about his | |
| 3814 office (v 24). First we are shown how John stated that he was not | |
| 3815 what he really was not; secondly, that he did not deny what he | |
| 3816 was.</p> | |
| 3817 <p>224 As to the first, there are three questions and three | |
| 3818 answers, as is plain from the text. In the first question there is | |
| 3819 great respect for John shown by the Jews. They had sent certain | |
| 3820 ones to him to ask about his testimony. The greatness of their | |
| 3821 respect is gathered from four facts. First, from the dignity of | |
| 3822 those who sent the questioners; for they were not sent by | |
| 3823 Galileans, but by those who were first in rank among the people of | |
| 3824 Israel, namely, Judeans, of the tribe of Juda, who lived about | |
| 3825 Jerusalem. It was from Juda that God chose the princes of the | |
| 3826 people.</p> | |
| 3827 <p>Secondly, from the preeminence of the place, that is, from | |
| 3828 Jerusalem, which is the city of the priesthood, the city dedicated | |
| 3829 to divine worship: “You people claim that Jerusalem is the | |
| 3830 place where men must worship God” (below 4:20); “They | |
| 3831 will worship him with sacrifices and offerings” (Is 19:21). | |
| 3832 Thirdly, from the authority of the messengers, who were religious | |
| 3833 and from among the holier of the people, namely, priests and | |
| 3834 Levites; “You will be called the priests of the Lord” | |
| 3835 (Is 61:6).</p> | |
| 3836 <p>Fourthly, from the fact that they sent them so that John might | |
| 3837 bear witness to himself, indicating that they put such trust in his | |
| 3838 words as to believe John even when giving testimony about himself. | |
| 3839 Hence he says they were sent to ask him, Who are you? They did not | |
| 3840 do this to Christ; in fact they said to him: “You are bearing | |
| 3841 witness to yourself; your testimony is not true” (below | |
| 3842 8:13).</p> | |
| 3843 <p>225 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">He | |
| 3844 declared openly, and did not deny,</span> John’s answer is | |
| 3845 given. The Evangelist twice mentioned that John spoke forth to show | |
| 3846 his humility; for although he was held in such high esteem among | |
| 3847 the Jews that they believed he might be the Messiah, he, on his | |
| 3848 part, usurped no honor what was not due him; <span style= | |
| 3849 "font-weight: bold">indeed, he stated clearly, I am not the | |
| 3850 Messiah.</span></p> | |
| 3851 <p>226 What of’ the statement, <span style= | |
| 3852 "font-weight: bold">He declared openly, and did not deny</span>? | |
| 3853 For it seems that he did deny, because he said that he was not the | |
| 3854 Messiah. It must be answered that he did not deny the truth, for he | |
| 3855 said he was not the Messiah; otherwise he would have denied the | |
| 3856 truth. “A very great iniquity, and a denial of the most high | |
| 3857 God” (Jb 31:28). Thus he did not deny the truth, because | |
| 3858 however great he might have been considered, he did not become | |
| 3859 proud, usurping for himself the honor of another. He stated | |
| 3860 clearly, <span style="font-weight: bold">I am not the | |
| 3861 Messiah;</span> because in truth he was not. “He was not the | |
| 3862 light,” as was said above (1:8).</p> | |
| 3863 <p>227 Why did John answer, <span style="font-weight: bold">I am | |
| 3864 not the Messiah,</span> since those who had been sent did not ask | |
| 3865 if he was the Messiah, but who he himself was? I answer that John | |
| 3866 directed his answer more to the mind of the questioners than to | |
| 3867 their question. And we can understand this in two ways. According | |
| 3868 to Origen, the priests and Levites came to John with a good | |
| 3869 intention. For they knew from the Scriptures, and particularly from | |
| 3870 the prophecy of Daniel, that the time for the coming of the Messiah | |
| 3871 had arrived. So, seeing John’s holiness, they suspected that | |
| 3872 he might be the Messiah. So they sent to John, wishing to learn by | |
| 3873 their question, <span style="font-weight: bold">Who are you?</span> | |
| 3874 whether John would admit that he was the Messiah. And so he directs | |
| 3875 his answer to their thoughts: <span style="font-weight: bold">I am | |
| 3876 not the Messiah.</span></p> | |
| 3877 <p>Chrysostom, however, says that they questioned him as a | |
| 3878 stratagem. For John was related to priests, being the son of a | |
| 3879 chief priest, and he was holy. Yet, he bore witness to Christ, | |
| 3880 whose family seemed lowly; for that reason they even said, | |
| 3881 “Is not this the son of the carpenter?”; and they did | |
| 3882 not know him. So, preferring to have John as their master, not | |
| 3883 Christ, they sent to him, intending to entice him by flattery and | |
| 3884 persuade him to take this honor for himself, and to state that he | |
| 3885 was the Messiah. But John, seeing their evil intent, said, | |
| 3886 <span style="font-weight: bold">I am not the Messiah.</span></p> | |
| 3887 <p>228 The second question is stated when they ask him, | |
| 3888 <span style="font-weight: bold">Who then? Are you Elijah?</span> | |
| 3889 Here we should note that just as the Jews awaited the Lord who was | |
| 3890 to come, so to they waited for Elijah, who would precede the | |
| 3891 Messiah: “I will send you Elijah, the prophet” (Mal | |
| 3892 4:5). And so those who were sent, seeing that John did not say that | |
| 3893 he was the Messiah, pressed him that at least he state if he were | |
| 3894 Elijah. And this is what they ask: <span style= | |
| 3895 "font-weight: bold">Who then? Are you Elijah?</span></p> | |
| 3896 <p>229 There are certain heretics who say that souls migrate from | |
| 3897 one body to another. And this belief was current among the Jews of | |
| 3898 that time. For this reason they believed that the soul of Elijah | |
| 3899 was in John’s body, because of the similarity of John’s | |
| 3900 actions to those of Elijah. And they say that these messengers | |
| 3901 asked John whether he was Elijah, i.e., whether the soul of Elijah | |
| 3902 was in John. They support this with Christ’s statement, | |
| 3903 “He is Elijah who is to come,” as is found in Matthew | |
| 3904 (11:14). But John’s answer conflicts with their opinion, as | |
| 3905 he says, I am not. i.e., Elijah.</p> | |
| 3906 <p>They counter this by saying that John answered in ignorance, not | |
| 3907 knowing whether his soul was the soul of Elijah. But Origen says in | |
| 3908 answer to this that it seems most unreasonable that John, a prophet | |
| 3909 enlightened by the Spirit, and telling such things about the Only | |
| 3910 Begotten Son of God, should be ignorant of himself, and not know | |
| 3911 whether his soul had been in Elijah.</p> | |
| 3912 <p>230 So this was not the reason John was asked, <span style= | |
| 3913 "font-weight: bold">Are you Elijah?</span> Rather it was because | |
| 3914 they took it from Scripture (2 Kings 2:11) that Elijah did not die, | |
| 3915 but had been carried alive by a whirlwind into heaven. Accordingly, | |
| 3916 they believed that he had suddenly appeared among them.</p> | |
| 3917 <p>But against this opinion is the fact that John was born from | |
| 3918 parents who were known, and his birth had been known to everyone. | |
| 3919 So it says in Luke (1:66) that all said, “What do you think | |
| 3920 this child will be?” One might say to this that it is not | |
| 3921 incredible that they should regard John in the manner described. | |
| 3922 For a similar situation in found in Matthew (14:1): for Herod | |
| 3923 thought that Christ was John, whom he had beheaded, even though | |
| 3924 Christ had been preaching and was known for some time before John | |
| 3925 had been beheaded. And so from a similar stupidity and madness the | |
| 3926 Jews asked John whether he was Elijah.</p> | |
| 3927 <p>231 Why does John say, I am not Elijah, while Christ said, | |
| 3928 “He is Elijah” (Mt 11:14). The angel gives us the | |
| 3929 answer: “He will go before him in the spirit and power of | |
| 3930 Elijah” (Lk 1:17), i.e., in his works. Thus he was not Elijah | |
| 3931 in person, but in spirit and power, i.e., because he showed a | |
| 3932 similarity to Elijah in his works.</p> | |
| 3933 <p>232 This likeness can be found in three matters. First, in their | |
| 3934 office: because as Elijah will precede the second coming of Christ, | |
| 3935 so John preceded the first. Thus the angel said, “He will go | |
| 3936 before him.” Secondly, in their manner of living. For Elijah | |
| 3937 lived in desert places, ate little food and wore coarse clothing, | |
| 3938 as recorded in 1 and 2 Kings. John, also, lived in the desert, his | |
| 3939 food was locusts and wild honey, and he wore clothing of | |
| 3940 camel’s hair. Thirdly, in their zeal. For Elijah was filled | |
| 3941 with zeal; thus it was said, “I have been very zealous for | |
| 3942 the Lord” (1 Kgs 19:10). So, also, John died because of his | |
| 3943 zeal for the truth, as is clear from Matthew (14:6)</p> | |
| 3944 <p>233 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Are you | |
| 3945 the Prophet?</span> the third question is presented. Here there is | |
| 3946 a difficulty, for since it is said in Luke (1:76), “And you, | |
| 3947 child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,” why | |
| 3948 does John, when asked if he is a prophet, answer that he is not a | |
| 3949 prophet?</p> | |
| 3950 <p>There are three ways of answering this. One is that John is not | |
| 3951 just a prophet, but more than a prophet. For the other prophets | |
| 3952 only predicted future things from afar: “if there is a delay, | |
| 3953 wait for it” (Hb 2:2).. But John proclaimed that the Messiah | |
| 3954 was present, pointing him out with his finger: “Look, there | |
| 3955 is the Lamb of God,” as it says below (1:36). And so the Lord | |
| 3956 says that he is more than a prophet (Mt 11:9).</p> | |
| 3957 <p>Again, in another way, according to Origen, because through a | |
| 3958 misunderstanding the Jews associated three great personages with | |
| 3959 the coming of Christ: Christ himself, Elijah, and some other | |
| 3960 person, the greatest of the prophets, about whom Deuteronomy | |
| 3961 (18:15) says: “The Lord your God will raise up a prophet for | |
| 3962 you.” And although this greatest of the prophets is in fact | |
| 3963 none other than Christ, according to the Jews he is someone other | |
| 3964 than Christ. And so they do not ask simply whether he is a prophet, | |
| 3965 but whether he is that “greatest of the prophets.” And | |
| 3966 this is clear from the order of their questions. For they first ask | |
| 3967 whether he is the Messiah; secondly, whether he is Elijah; thirdly, | |
| 3968 whether he is that prophet. Accordingly, in Greek, the article is | |
| 3969 used here as signifying <i>the</i> prophet, as it were, | |
| 3970 antonomastically.</p> | |
| 3971 <p>In a third way, because the Pharisees were indignant at John for | |
| 3972 assuming the office of baptizing outside the order of the law and | |
| 3973 their tradition. For the Old Testament mentions three persons to | |
| 3974 whom this office could belong. First, to the Messiah, since | |
| 3975 “I will pour clean water upon you, and you will be | |
| 3976 cleansed” (Ez 36:25), are words considered as spoken by the | |
| 3977 person of the Messiah. Secondly, to Elijah, of whom it says in 2 | |
| 3978 Kings that he divided the water of the Jordan, and crossing over, | |
| 3979 was taken up. Finally, to Elisha, who made Naaman the Syrian wash | |
| 3980 seven times in the Jordan so as to be cured of leprosy, as | |
| 3981 mentioned in 2 Kings (c 5). And so when the Jews saw that John was | |
| 3982 baptizing, they believed that he was one of those three: the | |
| 3983 Messiah, or Elijah, or Elisha. Accordingly, when they ask here, | |
| 3984 <span style="font-weight: bold">Are you the Prophet?</span> they | |
| 3985 are asking whether he is Elisha, who is called | |
| 3986 “prophet” in a special way because of the many miracles | |
| 3987 he had performed; hence he himself says, “Let him come to me, | |
| 3988 so that he may know that there is a prophet in Israel” (2 Kgs | |
| 3989 5:8). And to this John answers, No, I am not Elisha.</p> | |
| 3990 <p>234 Then he shows how he declared who he was. First, the | |
| 3991 question of the messengers is given; secondly, his answer (v | |
| 3992 23).</p> | |
| 3993 <p>235 They said, <span style="font-weight: bold">Who are you? We | |
| 3994 must take back an answer to those who sent us.</span> As if to say: | |
| 3995 We were sent to learn who you are; so tell us, <span style= | |
| 3996 "font-weight: bold">What have you to say about yourself?</span></p> | |
| 3997 <p>Notice John’s devotion. He has already fulfilled what the | |
| 3998 Apostle says, “It is not I who now live, but Christ lives in | |
| 3999 me” (Gal 2:20). And so he does not answer, “I am the | |
| 4000 son of Zachary,” or this or that, but only the way in which | |
| 4001 he followed Christ.</p> | |
| 4002 <p>236 So he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">I am a voice | |
| 4003 that cries in the wilderness.</span> And he says that he is a voice | |
| 4004 because from the point of view of origin, a voice comes after the | |
| 4005 [mental, interior] word, but before the knowledge it causes. For we | |
| 4006 know a [mental, interior] word conceived in the heart by means of | |
| 4007 the voice which speaks it, since it is its sign. But God the Father | |
| 4008 sent the precursor John, who came to be in time, in order to make | |
| 4009 known his Word, which was conceived from eternity. And so he | |
| 4010 fittingly says, <span style="font-weight: bold">I am a | |
| 4011 voice.</span></p> | |
| 4012 <p>237 The addition, <span style="font-weight: bold">that | |
| 4013 cries,</span> can be understood in two ways: as referring to John, | |
| 4014 crying and preaching in the wilderness; or to Christ crying in him, | |
| 4015 according to, “Do you want proof that Christ is speaking in | |
| 4016 me” (2 Cor 13:3).</p> | |
| 4017 <p>Now he cries for four reasons. First of all, a cry implies a | |
| 4018 showing; and so he cries in order to show that Christ is clearly | |
| 4019 speaking in John and in himself: “Now on the last, the great | |
| 4020 day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If any | |
| 4021 one thirsts, let him come to me and drink’” (below | |
| 4022 7:37). But he did not cry out in the prophets because prophecies | |
| 4023 were given in enigmas and figures; so it is said that he was | |
| 4024 “wrapped in dark rain-clouds” (Ps 17:12). Secondly, | |
| 4025 because a cry is made to those who are at a distance; and the Jews | |
| 4026 were far from God. Thus it was necessary that he cry: “You | |
| 4027 have taken my friends and neighbors away from me” (Ps 88:19). | |
| 4028 He cries, in the third place, because they were deaf: “Who is | |
| 4029 deaf, but my servant?” (Is 42:19). He cries, fourthly, | |
| 4030 because he speaks with indignation, for they deserved God’s | |
| 4031 wrath: “He will speak to them in his anger” (Ps | |
| 4032 2:5).</p> | |
| 4033 <p>238 Note that he cries <span style="font-weight: bold">in the | |
| 4034 wilderness,</span> because “The word of the Lord came to | |
| 4035 John, the son of Zechariah, in the desert,” as we read in | |
| 4036 Luke (3:2). There can be both a literal and a mystical reason for | |
| 4037 this. The literal reason is that by living in the desert he would | |
| 4038 be immune from all sin, and so be more worthy to bear witness to | |
| 4039 Christ, and his testimony would be more credible to men because of | |
| 4040 his life.</p> | |
| 4041 <p>The mystical reason is twofold. For the wilderness or desert | |
| 4042 designates paganism, according to Isaiah (54:1); “She who is | |
| 4043 deserted has more children than she who has a husband.” | |
| 4044 Accordingly, in order to show that God’s teaching would from | |
| 4045 now on not be in Jerusalem alone, but also among the pagans, he | |
| 4046 cried <span style="font-weight: bold">in the wilderness.</span> | |
| 4047 “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and given to | |
| 4048 a people that will produce its fruits” (Mt 21:43). Again, the | |
| 4049 desert can indicate Judea, which was already deserted: “Your | |
| 4050 house will be left to You, deserted” (Mt 23:38). And so he | |
| 4051 cried in the desert, <span style="font-weight: bold">in the | |
| 4052 wilderness,</span> i.e., in Judea, to indicate that the people to | |
| 4053 whom he was preaching had already been deserted by God: “in a | |
| 4054 desert land, where there is no way or water, so I have come to your | |
| 4055 sanctuary” (Ps 62:3).</p> | |
| 4056 <p>239 Why does he cry, <span style="font-weight: bold">Make a | |
| 4057 straight way for the Lord?</span> Because this is the task for | |
| 4058 which he was sent. “And you, child, will be called the | |
| 4059 prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the face of the | |
| 4060 Lord to prepare his way” (Lk 1:76). The way, prepared and | |
| 4061 straight, for receiving the Lord is the way of justice, according | |
| 4062 to Isaiah (26:7): “The way of the just is straight.” | |
| 4063 For the way of the just is straight when the whole man is subject | |
| 4064 to God, i.e., the intellect through faith, the will through love, | |
| 4065 and actions through obedience, are all subject to God.</p> | |
| 4066 <p>And this was spoken, i.e., predicted, by <span style= | |
| 4067 "font-weight: bold">the prophet Isaiah.</span> As if to say: I am | |
| 4068 the one in whom these things are fulfilled.</p> | |
| 4069 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in"> | |
| 4070 </p> | |
| 4071 <p style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 0.125in"><span style= | |
| 4072 "font-weight: bold">LECTURE13</span></p> | |
| 4073 <blockquote> | |
| 4074 <p>24 Now these men had been sent from the Pharisees, 25 and they | |
| 4075 put this further question to him: “Why then do you baptize, | |
| 4076 if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 | |
| 4077 John replied, “I baptize with water. But there is one | |
| 4078 standing in your midst whom you do not recognize—27 the one | |
| 4079 who is to come after me, who ranks ahead of me—the strap of | |
| 4080 whose sandal I am not worthy to unfasten.” 28 This happened | |
| 4081 at Bethany, on the far side of the Jordan, where John was | |
| 4082 baptizing.</p> | |
| 4083 </blockquote> | |
| 4084 <p>240 Above, we saw John bear witness to Christ as he was being | |
| 4085 questioned on matters concerning himself; here, on matters | |
| 4086 concerning his office. Four things are set forth: first, those who | |
| 4087 question him; secondly, their questions; thirdly, his answer, in | |
| 4088 which he bore witness; and fourthly, the place where all this | |
| 4089 happened.</p> | |
| 4090 <p>241 His interrogators were Pharisees. Hence he says, | |
| 4091 <span style="font-weight: bold">Now these men had been sent from | |
| 4092 the Pharisees.</span> According to Origen, what is being said from | |
| 4093 this point on describes a different testimony given by John; and | |
| 4094 further, those who were sent from the Pharisees are not the same as | |
| 4095 those priests and Levites sent by the generality of the Jews, but | |
| 4096 others who were specifically sent by the Pharisees. And according | |
| 4097 to this it says: <span style="font-weight: bold">Now these men had | |
| 4098 been sent,</span> not by the Jews, as the priests and Levites had | |
| 4099 been, but were others, <span style="font-weight: bold">from the | |
| 4100 Pharisees.</span> So he says about this that because the priests | |
| 4101 and Levites were educated and respectful, they ask John humbly and | |
| 4102 respectfully whether he is the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet. | |
| 4103 But these others, who were from the Pharisees, according to their | |
| 4104 name “separated” and importunate, used disdainful | |
| 4105 language. Thus they asked him, <span style="font-weight: bold">Why | |
| 4106 then do you baptize, if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor | |
| 4107 the Prophet?</span></p> | |
| 4108 <p>But according to others, such as Gregory, Chrysostom, and | |
| 4109 Augustine, these Pharisees are the same priests and Levites who had | |
| 4110 been sent by the Jews. For there was among the Jews a certain sect | |
| 4111 which was separated from the others by reason of its external cult; | |
| 4112 and for this reason its members were called Pharisees, i.e., | |
| 4113 “divided.” In this sect there were some priests and | |
| 4114 Levites, and some of the people. And so, in order that the | |
| 4115 delegates [to John] might possess a greater authority, they sent | |
| 4116 priests and Levites, who were Pharisees, thus furnishing them with | |
| 4117 the dignity of a priestly caste and with religious authority.</p> | |
| 4118 <p>242 The Evangelist adds, <span style="font-weight: bold">these | |
| 4119 men had been sent from the Pharisees,</span> to disclose, first, | |
| 4120 the reason why they asked about John’s baptizing, which was | |
| 4121 not why they were sent. It is as though he were saying: They were | |
| 4122 sent to ask John who he was. But they asked, <span style= | |
| 4123 "font-weight: bold">Why do you baptize?</span> because they were | |
| 4124 from the Pharisees, whose religion was being challenged. Secondly, | |
| 4125 as Gregory says, in order to show with what intention they asked | |
| 4126 John, “Who are you?” (1:19). For the Pharisees, more | |
| 4127 than all the others, showed themselves crafty and insulting to | |
| 4128 Christ. Thus they said of him: “He casts out devils by | |
| 4129 Beelzebub, the prince of devils” (Mt 12:24). Further, they | |
| 4130 consulted with the Herodians on how to trap Jesus in his speech (Mt | |
| 4131 22:15). And so in saying that <span style="font-weight: bold">these | |
| 4132 men had been sent from the Pharisees,</span> he shows that they | |
| 4133 were disrespectful and were questioning him out of envy.</p> | |
| 4134 <p>243 Their questions concerned his office of baptizing. Hence he | |
| 4135 says that they asked him, <span style="font-weight: bold">Why then | |
| 4136 do you baptize?</span> Here we should note that they are asking not | |
| 4137 to learn, but to obstruct. For since they saw many people coming to | |
| 4138 John because of the new rite of baptism, foreign both to the rite | |
| 4139 of the Pharisees and of the law, they became envious of John and | |
| 4140 tried all they could to hinder his baptism. But being unable to | |
| 4141 contain themselves any longer, they reveal their envy and say, | |
| 4142 <span style="font-weight: bold">Why then do you baptize if you are | |
| 4143 not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?</span> As if to say: | |
| 4144 You should not baptize, since you deny that you are any of those | |
| 4145 three persons in whom baptism was prefigured, as was said above. In | |
| 4146 other words, <span style="font-weight: bold">if you are not the | |
| 4147 Messiah,</span> who will possess the fountain by which sins are | |
| 4148 washed away, <span style="font-weight: bold">nor Elijah, nor the | |
| 4149 Prophet,</span> i.e., Elisha, who made a dry passageway through the | |
| 4150 Jordan (2 Kgs 2:8), how do you dare baptize’? They are like | |
| 4151 envious persons who hinder the progress of souls, “who say to | |
| 4152 the seers, ‘See no visions’” (Is 30:10).</p> | |
| 4153 <p>244 His answer is true: and so he says that John answered, | |
| 4154 <span style="font-weight: bold">I baptize with water.</span> As if | |
| 4155 to say: You should not be disturbed, if I, who am not the Messiah, | |
| 4156 nor Elijah, nor the Prophet, baptize; because my baptism is not | |
| 4157 completive but imperfect. For the perfection of baptism requires | |
| 4158 the washing of the body and of the soul; and the body, by its | |
| 4159 nature, is indeed washed by water, but the soul is washed by the | |
| 4160 Spirit alone. So, <span style="font-weight: bold">I baptize with | |
| 4161 water,</span> i.e., I wash the body with something bodily; but | |
| 4162 another will come who will baptize perfectly, namely, with water | |
| 4163 and with the Holy Spirit; God and man, who will wash the body with | |
| 4164 water and the spirit with the Spirit, in such a way that the | |
| 4165 sanctification of the spirit will be distributed throughout the | |
| 4166 body. “For John indeed baptized with water but you will be | |
| 4167 baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts | |
| 4168 1:5).</p> | |
| 4169 <p>245 Then he bears witness to Christ. First, in relation to the | |
| 4170 Jews. Secondly, in relation to himself (v 27).</p> | |
| 4171 <p>246 He relates him to the Jews when he says, <span style= | |
| 4172 "font-weight: bold">But there is one standing in your midst.</span> | |
| 4173 As if to say: I have done an incomplete work, but there is another | |
| 4174 who will complete my work, and he is <span style= | |
| 4175 "font-weight: bold">standing in your midst.</span></p> | |
| 4176 <p>This is explained in a number of ways. First, according to | |
| 4177 Gregory, Chrysostom and Augustine, it refers to the ordinary way | |
| 4178 Christ lived among men, because according to his human nature he | |
| 4179 appeared to be like other men: “He, being in the form of God | |
| 4180 ... emptied himself, taking the form of a servant” (Phil | |
| 4181 2:6). And according to this he says, <span style= | |
| 4182 "font-weight: bold">there is one standing in your midst,</span> | |
| 4183 i.e., in many ways he lived as one of you: “I am in your | |
| 4184 midst” (Lk 22:27), <span style="font-weight: bold">whom you | |
| 4185 do not recognize,</span> i.e., you cannot grasp the fact that God | |
| 4186 was made man. Likewise, you do not recognize how great he is | |
| 4187 according to the divine nature which is concealed in him: | |
| 4188 “God is great, and exceeds our knowledge” (Jb 36:26). | |
| 4189 And so, as Augustine says, “The lantern was lighted,” | |
| 4190 namely, John, “so that Christ might be found.” “I | |
| 4191 have prepared a lamp for my anointed” (Ps 131:17).</p> | |
| 4192 <p>It is explained differently by Origen; and in two ways. First, | |
| 4193 as referring to the divinity of Christ: and according to this, | |
| 4194 <span style="font-weight: bold">there is one standing,</span> | |
| 4195 namely, Christ, <span style="font-weight: bold">in your | |
| 4196 midst,</span> that is, in the midst of all things; because he, as | |
| 4197 Word, has filled all from the beginning of creation: “I fill | |
| 4198 heaven and earth” (Jer 23:24). <span style= | |
| 4199 "font-weight: bold">Whom you do not recognize,</span> because, as | |
| 4200 was said above (1:10), “He was in the world ... and the world | |
| 4201 did not know him.”</p> | |
| 4202 <p>It is explained another way as referring to his causality of | |
| 4203 human wisdom. <span style="font-weight: bold">But there is one | |
| 4204 standing in your midst,</span> i.e., he shines in everyone’s | |
| 4205 understanding; because whatever light and whatever wisdom exists in | |
| 4206 men has come to them from participating in the Word. And he says, | |
| 4207 <span style="font-weight: bold">in your midst,</span> because in | |
| 4208 the midst of man’s body lies the heart, to which is | |
| 4209 attributed a certain wisdom and understanding; hence, although the | |
| 4210 intellect has no bodily organ, yet because the heart is our chief | |
| 4211 organ, it is the custom to take it for the intellect. So he is said | |
| 4212 to stand among men because of this likeness, insofar as he | |
| 4213 “enlightens every man coming into this world” (1:9). | |
| 4214 <span style="font-weight: bold">Whom you do not recognize,</span> | |
| 4215 because, as was said above (1:5), “The light shines in the | |
| 4216 darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”</p> | |
| 4217 <p>In a fourth way, it is explained as referring to the prophetic | |
| 4218 foretelling of the Messiah. In this sense the answer is directed | |
| 4219 chiefly to the Pharisees, who continually searched the writings of | |
| 4220 the Old Testament in which the Messiah was foretold; and yet they | |
| 4221 did not recognize him. And according to this it says, <span style= | |
| 4222 "font-weight: bold">there is one standing in your midst,</span> | |
| 4223 i.e., in the Sacred Scriptures which you are always considering: | |
| 4224 “Search the Scriptures” (below 5:39); <span style= | |
| 4225 "font-weight: bold">whom you do not recognize,</span> because your | |
| 4226 heart is hardened by unbelief, and your eyes blinded, so that you | |
| 4227 do not recognize as present the person you believe is to come.</p> | |
| 4228 <p>247 Then John compares Christ to himself. First, he states the | |
| 4229 superiority of Christ as compared to himself. Secondly, he shows | |
| 4230 the greatness of this superiority.</p> | |
| 4231 <p>248 He shows the superiority of Christ in comparison to himself | |
| 4232 both in preaching and in dignity. Now, as to the order of | |
| 4233 preaching, John was the first to become known. Thus he says, the | |
| 4234 one who is to come after me, to preach, to baptize and to die; | |
| 4235 because as was said in Luke (1:76): “You will go before the | |
| 4236 face of the Lord to prepare his way.” John preceded Christ as | |
| 4237 the imperfect the perfect, and as the disposition the form; for as | |
| 4238 is said, “The spiritual is not first, but the animal” | |
| 4239 (1 Cor 15:46). For the entire life of John was a preparation for | |
| 4240 Christ; so he said above, that he was “a voice that cries in | |
| 4241 the wilderness.”</p> | |
| 4242 <p>But Christ preceded John and all of us as the perfect precedes | |
| 4243 the imperfect and the exemplar precedes the copy: “If any one | |
| 4244 wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his | |
| 4245 cross, and follow me” (Mt 16:24); “Christ suffered for | |
| 4246 us, leaving you an example” (1 Pt 2:21).</p> | |
| 4247 <p>Then he compares Christ to himself as to dignity, saying, | |
| 4248 <span style="font-weight: bold">who ranks ahead of me,</span> i.e., | |
| 4249 he has been placed above me and is above me in dignity, because as | |
| 4250 he says (below 3:30), “he must increase, and I must | |
| 4251 decrease.”</p> | |
| 4252 <p>249 He touches on the greatness of his superiority when he says, | |
| 4253 <span style="font-weight: bold">the strap of whose sandal I am not | |
| 4254 worthy to unfasten</span>. As if to say: You must not suppose that | |
| 4255 he ranks ahead of me in dignity in the way that one man is placed | |
| 4256 ahead of another, rather he is ranked so far above me that I am | |
| 4257 nothing in comparison to him. And this is clear from the fact that | |
| 4258 it is he <span style="font-weight: bold">the strap of whose sandal | |
| 4259 I am not worthy to unfasten,</span> which is the least service that | |
| 4260 can be done for men. It is clear from this that John had made great | |
| 4261 progress in the knowledge of God, so far that from the | |
| 4262 consideration of God’s infinite greatness, he completely | |
| 4263 lowered himself and said that he himself was nothing. So did | |
| 4264 Abraham, when he recognized God, and said (Gn 18:27), “1 will | |
| 4265 speak to my Lord, although I am but dust and ashes.” And so | |
| 4266 also did Job, saying, “Now I see you, and so I reprove | |
| 4267 myself, and do penance in dust and ashes” (Jb 42:5). Isaiah | |
| 4268 also said, after he had seen the glory of God, “Before him | |
| 4269 all the nations are as if they are not” (Is 40:17). And this | |
| 4270 is the literal explanation.</p> | |
| 4271 <p>250 This is also explained mystically. Gregory explains it so | |
| 4272 that the sandal, made from the hides of dead animals, indicates our | |
| 4273 mortal human nature, which Christ assumed: “I will stretch | |
| 4274 out my sandal to Edom” (Ps 59:10). The strap of | |
| 4275 Christ’s sandal is the union of his divinity and humanity, | |
| 4276 which neither John nor anyone can unfasten or fully investigate, | |
| 4277 since it is this which made God man and made man God. And so he | |
| 4278 says, <span style="font-weight: bold">the strap of whose sandal I | |
| 4279 am not worthy to unfasten,</span> i.e., to explain the mystery of | |
| 4280 the incarnation perfectly and fully. For John and other preachers | |
| 4281 unfasten the strap of Christ’s sandal in some way, although | |
| 4282 imperfectly.</p> | |
| 4283 <p>It is explained in another way by recalling that it was ordered | |
| 4284 in the Old Law that when a man died without children, his brother | |
| 4285 was obligated to marry the wife of the dead man and raise up | |
| 4286 children from her as his brother’s. And if he refused to | |
| 4287 marry her, then a close relative of the dead man, if willing to | |
| 4288 marry her, was to remove the sandals of the dead man as a sign of | |
| 4289 this willingness and marry her; and his home was then to be called | |
| 4290 the home of the man whose sandals were removed (Dt 25:5). And so | |
| 4291 according to this he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">the | |
| 4292 strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to unfasten,</span> i.e., I | |
| 4293 am not worthy to have the bride, that is, the Church, to which | |
| 4294 Christ has a right. As if to say: I am not worthy to be called the | |
| 4295 bridegroom of the Church, which is consecrated to Christ in the | |
| 4296 baptism of the Spirit; but I baptize only in water. As it says | |
| 4297 below (3:29): “It is the groom who has the bride.”</p> | |
| 4298 <p>251 The place where these events happened is mentioned when he | |
| 4299 says, <span style="font-weight: bold">This happened at Bethany, on | |
| 4300 the far side of the Jordan.</span> A question arises on this: Since | |
| 4301 Bethany is on the Mount of Olives, which is near Jerusalem, as is | |
| 4302 said in John (11:1 ) and also in Matthew (26:6), how can he say | |
| 4303 that these things happened beyond the Jordan, which is quite far | |
| 4304 from Jerusalem? Origen and Chrysostom answer that it should be | |
| 4305 called Bethabora, not Bethany, which is a village on the far side | |
| 4306 of the Jordan; and that the reading “Bethany” is due to | |
| 4307 a copyist’s error. However, since both the Greek and Latin | |
| 4308 versions have Bethany, one should rather say that there are two | |
| 4309 places called Bethany: one is near Jerusalem on the side of the | |
| 4310 Mount of Olives, and the other is on the far side of the Jordan | |
| 4311 where John was baptizing.</p> | |
| 4312 <p>252 The fact that he mentions the place has both a literal and a | |
| 4313 mystical reason. The literal reason, according to Chrysostom, is | |
| 4314 that John wrote this Gospel for certain ones, perhaps still alive, | |
| 4315 who would recall the time and who saw the place where these things | |
| 4316 happened. And so, to lead us to a greater certitude, he makes them | |
| 4317 witnesses of the things they had seen.</p> | |
| 4318 <p>The mystical reason is that these places are appropriate for | |
| 4319 baptism. For in saying “Bethany,” which is interpreted | |
| 4320 as “house of obedience,” he indicates that one must | |
| 4321 come to be baptized through obedience to the faith. “To bring | |
| 4322 all the nations to have obedience to the faith” (Rom 1:5). | |
| 4323 But if the name of the place is “Bethabora,” which is | |
| 4324 interpreted as “house of preparation,” it signifies | |
| 4325 that a man is prepared for eternal life through baptism.</p> | |
| 4326 <p>There is also a mystery in the fact that this happened on the | |
| 4327 far side of the Jordan. For “Jordan” is interpreted as | |
| 4328 “the descent of them”; and according to Origen it | |
| 4329 signifies Christ, who descended from heaven, as he himself says | |
| 4330 that he descended from heaven to do the will of his Father (below | |
| 4331 6:38).</p> | |
| 4332 <p>Further, the river Jordan aptly signifies baptism. For it is the | |
| 4333 border line between those who received their inheritance from Moses | |
| 4334 on one side of the Jordan, and those who received it from Josue on | |
| 4335 the other side. Thus baptism is a kind of border between Jews and | |
| 4336 Gentiles, who journey to this place to wash themselves by coming to | |
| 4337 Christ so that they might put off the debasement of sin. Forjust as | |
| 4338 the Jews had to cross the Jordan to enter the promised land, so one | |
| 4339 must pass through baptism to enter into the heavenly land. And he | |
| 4340 says, <span style="font-weight: bold">on the far side of the | |
| 4341 Jordan,</span> to show that John preached the baptism of repentance | |
| 4342 even to those who trangressed the law and sinners; and so the Lord | |
| 4343 also says, “I did not come to call the righteous, but | |
| 4344 sinners” (Mt 9:13).</p> | |
| 4345 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in"> | |
| 4346 </p> | |
| 4347 <p style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 0.125in"><span style= | |
| 4348 "font-weight: bold">LECTURE14</span></p> | |
| 4349 <blockquote> | |
| 4350 <p>29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and he said, | |
| 4351 “Look! There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of | |
| 4352 the world. 30 It is he of whom I said:</p> | |
| 4353 <p style="margin-left: 0.259167in; margin-right: 0.259167in"> | |
| 4354 ‘After me is to come a man, who ranks ahead of me, because he | |
| 4355 existed before me.’<br /> | |
| 4356 31 And I did not know him! And yet it was to reveal him to Israel | |
| 4357 that I came baptizing with water.”</p> | |
| 4358 <p>32 John gave this testimony also:</p> | |
| 4359 <p style= | |
| 4360 "margin-left: 0.259167in; margin-right: 0.259167in; margin-bottom: 0.125in"> | |
| 4361 “I saw the Spirit coming down on him from heaven like a dove, | |
| 4362 and resting on him. 33 And I did not know him, but he who sent me | |
| 4363 to baptize with water had said to me: ‘The man on whom you | |
| 4364 see the Spirit come down and rest is the one who is to baptize with | |
| 4365 the Holy Spirit.’ 34 Now I have seen for myself and have | |
| 4366 given testimony that he is the Son of God.”</p> | |
| 4367 </blockquote> | |
| 4368 <p>253 Above, John had given testimony to Christ when he was | |
| 4369 questioned. Here, he gives testimony to him on his own initiative. | |
| 4370 First, he gives the testimony; secondly, he confirms it (v 32). As | |
| 4371 to the first: first, the circumstances of the testimony are given; | |
| 4372 and secondly, the testimony itself is given (v 29); thirdly, | |
| 4373 suspicion is removed from the witness (v 3 1).</p> | |
| 4374 <p>254 The circumstances are first described as to the time. Hence | |
| 4375 he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">The next day.</span> This | |
| 4376 gives credit to John for his steadfastness, because he bore witness | |
| 4377 to Christ not for just one day or once, but on many days and | |
| 4378 frequently: “Every day I will bless you” (Ps 144:2). | |
| 4379 His progress, too, is cited, because one day should not be just | |
| 4380 like the day before, but the succeeding day should be different, | |
| 4381 i.e., better: “They will go from strength to strength” | |
| 4382 (Ps 83:8).</p> | |
| 4383 <p>Another circumstance mentioned is his manner of testifying, | |
| 4384 because <span style="font-weight: bold">John saw Jesus.</span> This | |
| 4385 shows his certitude, for testimony based on sight is most certain. | |
| 4386 The last circumstance he mentions is about the one to whom he bore | |
| 4387 witness. Hence he says that he saw <span style= | |
| 4388 "font-weight: bold">Jesus coming toward him,</span> i.e., from | |
| 4389 Galilee, as it says, “Jesus came from Galilee” (Mt | |
| 4390 3:13). We should not understand this as referring to the time when | |
| 4391 he came to be baptized, of which Matthew is here speaking, but of | |
| 4392 another time, i.e., a time when he came to John after he had | |
| 4393 already been baptized and was staying near the Jordan. Otherwise, | |
| 4394 he Would not have said, “‘The man on whom yoti see the | |
| 4395 Spirit come down and rest is the one who is to baptize with the I | |
| 4396 loly Spirit.’ Now I have seen” (v 33). Therefore, he | |
| 4397 had already seen him and the Spirit come down as a dove upon | |
| 4398 him.</p> | |
| 4399 <p>255 One reason why Christ now came to John was to confirm the | |
| 4400 testimony of John. For John had spoken of Christ as “the one | |
| 4401 who is to come after me” (v 27). But since Christ was now | |
| 4402 present, some might not understand who it was that was to come. So | |
| 4403 Christ came to John to be pointed out by him, with John saying, | |
| 4404 <span style="font-weight: bold">Look! There is the Lamb of | |
| 4405 God.</span> Another reason Christ came was to correct an error. For | |
| 4406 some might believe that the first time Christ came, i.e., to be | |
| 4407 baptized, he came to John to be cleansed from his sins. So, in | |
| 4408 order to preclude this, Christ came to him even after his baptism. | |
| 4409 Accordingly, John clearly says, <span style= | |
| 4410 "font-weight: bold">There is the Lamb of God who takes away the | |
| 4411 sins of the world.</span> He committed no sin, but came to take | |
| 4412 away sin. He also came to give us an example of humility, because | |
| 4413 as it is said, “The greater you are the more humble you | |
| 4414 should be in all matters” (Sir 3:20).</p> | |
| 4415 <p>Note that after the conception of Christ, when his mother, the | |
| 4416 Virgin, went in haste to the mountainous country to visit | |
| 4417 John’s mother, Elizabeth, that John, still in his | |
| 4418 mother’s womb and unable to speak, leaped in her womb as | |
| 4419 though performing a religious dance out of reverence for Christ. | |
| 4420 And as then, so even now; for when Christ comes to John out of | |
| 4421 humility, John offers his testimony and reverence and breaks out | |
| 4422 saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">Look! There is the Lamb of | |
| 4423 God.</span></p> | |
| 4424 <p>256 With these words John gives his testimony showing the power | |
| 4425 of Christ. Then Christ’s dignity is shown (v 30). He shows | |
| 4426 the power of Christ in two ways: first, by means of a symbol; | |
| 4427 secondly, by explaining it (v 29).</p> | |
| 4428 <p>257 As to the first, we should note, as Origen says, that it was | |
| 4429 customary in the Old Law for five animals to be offered in the | |
| 4430 temple: three land animals, namely, the heifer, goat and sheep | |
| 4431 (although the sheep might be a ram, a sheep or a lamb) and two | |
| 4432 birds, namely, the turtle-dove and the dove. All of these | |
| 4433 prefigured the true sacrifice, which is Christ, who “gave | |
| 4434 himself for us as an offering to God,” as is said in | |
| 4435 Ephesians (5:2).</p> | |
| 4436 <p>Why then did the Baptist, when giving witness to Christ, | |
| 4437 specifically call him a Lamb? The reason for this is that, as | |
| 4438 stated in Numbers (28:3), although there were other sacrifices in | |
| 4439 the temple at other times, yet each day there was a time in which a | |
| 4440 lamb was offered every morning, and another was offered in the | |
| 4441 evening. This never varied, but was regarded as the principal | |
| 4442 offering, and the other offerings were in the form of additions. | |
| 4443 And so the lamb, which was the principal sacrifice, signified | |
| 4444 Christ, who is the principal sacrifice. For although all the saints | |
| 4445 who suffered for the faith of Christ contribute something to the | |
| 4446 salvation of the faithful, they do this only inasmuch its they are | |
| 4447 immolated upon the oblation of the Lamb, they being, as it were, in | |
| 4448 oblation added to the principal sacrifice. The lamb is offered in | |
| 4449 the morning and in the evening because it is through Christ that | |
| 4450 the way is opened to the contemplation and enjoyment of the | |
| 4451 intelligible things of God, and this pertains to “morning | |
| 4452 knowledge”; and we are instructed how to use earthly things | |
| 4453 without staining ourselves, and this pertains to “evening | |
| 4454 knowledge.” And so he says, Look! <span style= | |
| 4455 "font-weight: bold">There is the Lamb of God,</span> i.e., the one | |
| 4456 signified by the lamb.</p> | |
| 4457 <p>He says, of God, because there are two natures in Christ, a | |
| 4458 human nature and a divine nature. And it is due to the power of the | |
| 4459 divinity that this sacrifice has the power to cleanse and sanctify | |
| 4460 us from our sins, inasmuch as “God was, in Christ, | |
| 4461 reconciling the world to himself” (2 Cor 5:19). Or, he is | |
| 4462 called <span style="font-weight: bold">the Lamb of God,</span> | |
| 4463 because offered by God, i.e., by Christ himself, who is God; just | |
| 4464 as we call what a man offers the offering of the man. Or, he is | |
| 4465 called <span style="font-weight: bold">the Lamb of God,</span> that | |
| 4466 is, of the Father, because the Father provided man with an oblation | |
| 4467 to offer that satisfied for sins, which man could not have through | |
| 4468 himself. So when Isaac asked Abraham, “Where is the victim | |
| 4469 for the holocaust?” he answered, “God himself will | |
| 4470 provide a victim for the holocaust” (Gn 22:7); “God did | |
| 4471 not spare his own Son, but delivered him up for all of us” | |
| 4472 (Rom 8:32).</p> | |
| 4473 <p>258 Christ is called a Lamb, first, because of his purity: | |
| 4474 “Your lamb will be without blemish” (Ex 12:5); | |
| 4475 “You were not redeemed by perishable gold or silver” (1 | |
| 4476 Pt 1:18). Secondly, because of his gentleness: “Like a lamb | |
| 4477 before the shearer, he will not open his mouth” (Is 53:7). | |
| 4478 Thirdly, because of his fruit; both with respect to what we put on: | |
| 4479 “Lambs will be your clothing” (Prv 27:26), “Put | |
| 4480 on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 13:14); and with respect to | |
| 4481 food: “My flesh is for the life of the world” (below | |
| 4482 6:52). And so Isaiah said (16:1 ): “Send forth, O Lord, the | |
| 4483 lamb, the ruler of the earth.”</p> | |
| 4484 <p>259 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">who takes | |
| 4485 away the sins of the world,</span> he explains the symbol he used. | |
| 4486 In the law, sin could not be taken away either by a lamb or by any | |
| 4487 other sacrifice, because as is said in Hebrews (10:4), “It is | |
| 4488 impossible that sins be taken away by the blood of bulls and | |
| 4489 goats.” This blood takes away, i.e., removes, <span style= | |
| 4490 "font-weight: bold">the sins of the world.</span> “Take away | |
| 4491 all iniquity” (Hos 14:3). Or, <span style= | |
| 4492 "font-weight: bold">takes away,</span> i.e., he takes upon himself | |
| 4493 the sins of the whole <span style="font-weight: bold">world,</span> | |
| 4494 as is said, “He bore our sins in his own body” (1 Pt | |
| 4495 2:24); “It was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings | |
| 4496 that he endured,” as we read in Isaiah (53:4).</p> | |
| 4497 <p>However, according to a Gloss, he says sin, and not | |
| 4498 “sins,” in order to show in a universal way that he has | |
| 4499 taken away every kind of sin: “He is the offering for our | |
| 4500 sins” (1 Jn 2:2); or because he died for one sin, that is, | |
| 4501 original sin: “Sin entered into this world through one | |
| 4502 man” (Rom 5:12).</p> | |
| 4503 <p>260 Above, the Baptist bore witness to the power of Christ; now | |
| 4504 he bears witness to his dignity, comparing Christ to himself in | |
| 4505 three respects. First, with respect to their office and order of | |
| 4506 preaching. So he says, It is he, pointing him out, that is, the | |
| 4507 Lamb, <span style="font-weight: bold">of whom I said,</span> i.e., | |
| 4508 in his absence, <span style="font-weight: bold">After me is to come | |
| 4509 a man,</span> to preach and baptize, who in birth came after | |
| 4510 me.</p> | |
| 4511 <p>Christ is called a man by reason of his perfect age, because | |
| 4512 when he began to teach, after his baptism, he had already reached a | |
| 4513 perfect age: “Jesus was now about thirty years of age” | |
| 4514 (Lk 3:23). He is also called a man because of the perfection of all | |
| 4515 the virtues that were in him: “Seven women,” i.e., the | |
| 4516 virtues, “will take hold of one man,” the perfect | |
| 4517 Christ (Is 4:1); “Look, a man! His name is the Orient,” | |
| 4518 because he is the origin of all the virtues found in others (Zec | |
| 4519 6:12). He is also called a man because of his espousal, since he is | |
| 4520 the spouse of the Church: “You will call me ‘my | |
| 4521 husband’” (Hos 2:16); “I espoused you to one | |
| 4522 husband” (2 Cor 11:2).</p> | |
| 4523 <p>261 Secondly, he compares himself to Christ with respect to | |
| 4524 dignity when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">who ranks | |
| 4525 ahead of me.</span> As if to say: Although he comes to preach after | |
| 4526 me, yet he ranks before me in dignity. “See, he comes, | |
| 4527 leaping upon the mountains, skipping over the hills” (Sg | |
| 4528 2:8). One such hill was John the Baptist, who was passed over by | |
| 4529 Christ, because as is said below (3:30), “He must increase, | |
| 4530 and I must decrease.”</p> | |
| 4531 <p>262 Thirdly, he compares himself to Christ with respect to | |
| 4532 duration, saying, because he existed before me. As if to say: It is | |
| 4533 not strange if he ranks ahead of me in dignity; because although he | |
| 4534 is after me in time, he is before me in eternity, <span style= | |
| 4535 "font-weight: bold">because he existed before me.</span></p> | |
| 4536 <p>This statement refutes a twofold error. First, that of Arius, | |
| 4537 for John does not say that “he was made before me,” as | |
| 4538 though he were a creature, but he existed before me, from eternity, | |
| 4539 before every creature: “The Lord brought me forth before all | |
| 4540 the hills,” as is said in Proverbs (8:25). The second error | |
| 4541 refuted is that of Paul of Samosata: for John said, he existed | |
| 4542 before me, in order to show that he did not take his beginning from | |
| 4543 Mary. For if he had taken the beginning of his existence from the | |
| 4544 Virgin, he would not have existed before the precursor, who, in the | |
| 4545 order of human generation, preceded Christ by six months.</p> | |
| 4546 <p>263 Next (v 31), he precludes an erroneous conjecture from his | |
| 4547 testimony. For someone might say that John bore witness to Christ | |
| 4548 because of his affection for him, coming from a special friendship. | |
| 4549 And so, excluding this, John says, <span style= | |
| 4550 "font-weight: bold">And I did not know him!;</span> for John had | |
| 4551 lived in the desert from boyhood. And although many miracles | |
| 4552 happened during the birth of Christ, such as the Magi and the star | |
| 4553 and so on, they were not known to John: both because he was an | |
| 4554 infant at the time, and because, after withdrawing to the desert, | |
| 4555 he had no association with Christ. In the interim between his birth | |
| 4556 and baptism, Christ did not perform any miracles, but led a life | |
| 4557 similar to any other person, and his power remained unknown to | |
| 4558 all.</p> | |
| 4559 <p>264 It is clear that he worked no miracles in the interim until | |
| 4560 he was thirty years old from what is said below (2:11): “This | |
| 4561 beginning of signs Jesus worked in Cana of Galilee.” This | |
| 4562 shows the error of the book, <i>The Infancy of the Savior.</i> The | |
| 4563 reason he performed no miracles during this period was that if his | |
| 4564 life had not been like that of other infants, the mystery of the | |
| 4565 circumcision and incarnation might have been regarded as pure | |
| 4566 fancy. Accordingly, he postponed showing his knowledge and power to | |
| 4567 another time, corresponding to the age when other men reach the | |
| 4568 fulness of their knowledge and power. About this we read, | |
| 4569 “And Jesus increased in grace and wisdom” (Lk 2:52); | |
| 4570 not that he acquired a power and wisdom that he previously lacked, | |
| 4571 for in this respect he was perfect from the instant of his | |
| 4572 conception, but because his power and wisdom were becoming known to | |
| 4573 men: “Indeed, you are a hidden God” (Is 45:15).</p> | |
| 4574 <p>265 The reason why John did not know him was that he had so far | |
| 4575 seen no signs, and no one else had known Christ through signs. | |
| 4576 Hence he adds: <span style="font-weight: bold">It was to reveal him | |
| 4577 to Israel that I came baptizing with water.</span> As if to say: My | |
| 4578 entire ministry is to reveal: “He was not the light, but he | |
| 4579 came in order to bear witness to the light,” as was said | |
| 4580 above (1:8).</p> | |
| 4581 <p>266 He says, <span style="font-weight: bold">I came baptizing | |
| 4582 with water,</span> to distinguish his baptism from that of Christ. | |
| 4583 For Christ baptized not just in water, but in the Spirit, | |
| 4584 conferring grace; and so the baptism of John was merely a sign, and | |
| 4585 not causative.</p> | |
| 4586 <p>John’s baptism made Christ known in three ways. First, by | |
| 4587 the preaching of John. For although John could have prepared the | |
| 4588 way for the Lord and led the people to Christ without baptizing, | |
| 4589 yet because of the novelty of the service many more came to him | |
| 4590 than would have come if his preaching were done without baptism. | |
| 4591 Secondly, John’s baptism was useful because of Christ’s | |
| 4592 humility, which he showed by willing to be baptized by John: | |
| 4593 “Christ came to John, to be baptized by him” (Mt 3:13). | |
| 4594 This example of humility he gives us here is that no one, however | |
| 4595 great, should disdain to receive the sacraments from any person | |
| 4596 ordained for this purpose. Thirdly, because it was during | |
| 4597 Christ’s baptisin by John that the power of the Father was | |
| 4598 present in the voice, and the Holy Spirit was present in the dove, | |
| 4599 by which the powerand dignity of’Christ were all the more | |
| 4600 shown: “And the voice of the Father was heard: ‘This is | |
| 4601 my beloved Son’” (Lk 3:22).</p> | |
| 4602 <p>267 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">John gave | |
| 4603 this testimony also,</span> he confirms by the authority of God the | |
| 4604 great things he testified to about Christ, that Christ alone would | |
| 4605 take away the sins of the whole world. As to this he does three | |
| 4606 things. First, he presents a vision. Secondly, he tells us the | |
| 4607 meaning of the vision (v 33). Thirdly, he shows what he learned | |
| 4608 from this vision (v 34).</p> | |
| 4609 <p>268 He presents the vision when he says, <span style= | |
| 4610 "font-weight: bold">I saw the Spirit coming down on him from | |
| 4611 heaven.</span> When this actually happened John the Evangelist does | |
| 4612 not tell us, but Matthew and Luke say that it took place when | |
| 4613 Christ was being baptized by John. And it was indeed fitting for | |
| 4614 the Holy Spirit to be present at this baptism and to the person | |
| 4615 being baptized. It was appropriate for the one baptized, for as the | |
| 4616 Son, existing by the Father, manifests the Father, “Father, I | |
| 4617 have manifested your name” (below 17:6), so the Holy Spirit, | |
| 4618 existing by the Son, manifests the Son, “He will glorify me, | |
| 4619 because he will receive from me” (below 16:14). It was | |
| 4620 appropriate for this baptism because the baptism of Christ begins | |
| 4621 and consecrates our baptism. Now our baptism is consecrated by | |
| 4622 invoking the whole Trinity: “Baptizing them in the name of | |
| 4623 the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt | |
| 4624 28:19). Thus, the ones we invoke in our baptism were present at the | |
| 4625 baptism of Christ: the Father in the voice, the Holy Spirit in the | |
| 4626 dove, and the Son in his human nature.</p> | |
| 4627 <p>269 He says, <span style="font-weight: bold">coming down,</span> | |
| 4628 because descent, since it has two termini, the start, which is from | |
| 4629 above, and the end, which is below, suits baptism in both respects. | |
| 4630 For there is a twofold spirit: one of the world and the other of | |
| 4631 God. The spirit of the world is the love of the world, which is not | |
| 4632 from above; rather, it comes up to man from below and makes him | |
| 4633 descend. But the spirit of God, i.e., the love of God, comes down | |
| 4634 to man from above and makes him ascend: “We have not received | |
| 4635 the spirit of this world, but the spirit of God,” as is said | |
| 4636 in 1 Corinthians (2:12). And so, because that spirit is from above, | |
| 4637 he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">coming down.</span></p> | |
| 4638 <p>Similarly, because it is impossible for the creature to receive | |
| 4639 God’s goodness in the fulness in which it is present in God, | |
| 4640 the communication of this goodness to us is in a way a certain | |
| 4641 coming down: “Every perfect gift is from above, coming down | |
| 4642 from the Father of lights” (Jas 1:17).</p> | |
| 4643 <p>270 The Evangelist, in describing the manner of the vision and | |
| 4644 of the coming down, says that the Holy Spirit did not appear in the | |
| 4645 spirit, i.e., in his nature, but in the form of a dove, saying, | |
| 4646 that he came like a ove. The reason for this is that the Holy | |
| 4647 Spirit cannot be seen in his nature, as is said, “The Spirit | |
| 4648 blows where it wills, and you hear its sound, but you do not know | |
| 4649 where it comes from or where it goes” (below 3:8), and | |
| 4650 because a spirit does not come down but goes up, “The spirit | |
| 4651 lifted me up” (Ez 8:3).</p> | |
| 4652 <p>It was appropriate that the Son of God, who was made visible | |
| 4653 through flesh, should be made known by the Holy Spirit in the | |
| 4654 visible form of a dove. However, the Holy Spirit did not assume the | |
| 4655 dove into a unity of person, as the Son of God assumed human | |
| 4656 nature. The reason for this is that the Son did not appear as a | |
| 4657 manifester but as a Savior. And so, according to Pope Leo, it was | |
| 4658 appropriate that he be God and man: God, in order to provide a | |
| 4659 remedy; and man, in order to offer an example. But the Holy Spirit | |
| 4660 appeared only to make known, and for this it was sufficient merely | |
| 4661 to assume a visible form which was suitable for this purpose.</p> | |
| 4662 <p>271 As to whether this dove was a real animal and whether it | |
| 4663 existed prior to its appearance, it seems reasonable to say that it | |
| 4664 was a real dove. For the Holy Spirit came to manifest Christ, who, | |
| 4665 being the Truth, ought to have been manifested only by the truth. | |
| 4666 As to the other part of the question, it would seem that the dove | |
| 4667 did not exist prior to its appearance, but was formed at the time | |
| 4668 by the divine power, without any parental union, as the body of | |
| 4669 Christ was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and not from | |
| 4670 a man’s seed. Yet it was a real dove, for as Augustine says | |
| 4671 in his work, <i>The Christian Combat:</i> “It was not | |
| 4672 difficult for the omnipotent God, who produced the entire universe | |
| 4673 of creatures from nothing, to form a real body for the dove without | |
| 4674 the aid of other doves, just as it was not difficult to form the | |
| 4675 true body of Christ in the womb of the Blessed Virgin without | |
| 4676 natural semen.”</p> | |
| 4677 <p>Cyprian, in his <i>The Unity of the Church,</i> says: “It | |
| 4678 is said that the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove because | |
| 4679 the dove is a simple harmless animal, not bitter with gall, not | |
| 4680 savage with its bites, not fierce with rending talons; it loves the | |
| 4681 dwellings of men, is able to live together in one nest, together it | |
| 4682 raises its young, they remain together when they fly, spend their | |
| 4683 life in mutual association, signify the concord of peace with the | |
| 4684 kiss of their bill, and fulfill the law of harmony in all | |
| 4685 things.”</p> | |
| 4686 <p>272 Many reasons are given why the Holy Spirit appeared as a | |
| 4687 dove rather than in some other form. First, because of its | |
| 4688 simplicity, for the dove is simple: “Be wise as serpents, and | |
| 4689 simple as doves” (Mt 10:16). And the Holy Spirit, because he | |
| 4690 inclines souls to gaze on one thing, that is, God, makes them | |
| 4691 simple; and so he appeared in the form of a dove. Further, | |
| 4692 according to Augustine, the Holy Spirit also appeared in the form | |
| 4693 of fire over the heads of the assembled apostles. This was done | |
| 4694 because some are simple, but lukewarm; while others are fervent but | |
| 4695 guileful. And so in order that those sanctified by the Spirit may | |
| 4696 have no guile, the Spirit is shown in the form of a dove; and in | |
| 4697 order that their simplicity may not grow tepid, the Spirit is shown | |
| 4698 in fire.</p> | |
| 4699 <p>A dove was used, secondly, because of the unity of charity; for | |
| 4700 the dove is much aglow with love: “One is my dove” (Sg | |
| 4701 6:9). So, in order to show the unity of the Church, the Holy Spirit | |
| 4702 appears in the form of a dove. Nor should it disturb you that when | |
| 4703 the Holy Spirit rested on each of the disciples, there appeared | |
| 4704 separate tongues of fire; for although the Spirit appears to be | |
| 4705 different according to the different functions of his gifts, he | |
| 4706 nevertheless unites us through charity. And so, because of the | |
| 4707 first he appeared in separate tongues of fire, as is said, | |
| 4708 “There are different kinds of gifts” (1 Cor 12:4); but | |
| 4709 he appears in the form of a dove because of the second.</p> | |
| 4710 <p>A dove was used, thirdly,because of its groaning, for the dove | |
| 4711 has a groaning chant; so also the Holy Spirit “pleads for us | |
| 4712 with indescribable groanings” (Rom 8:26); “Her maidens, | |
| 4713 groaning like doves” (Na 2:7). Fourthly, because of the doves | |
| 4714 fertility, for the dove is a very prolific animal. And so in order | |
| 4715 to signify the fecundity of spiritual grace in the Church, the Holy | |
| 4716 Spirit appeared in the form of a dove. This is why the Lord | |
| 4717 commanded an offering of two doves (Lv 5:7).</p> | |
| 4718 <p>A dove was used, fifthly, because of its cautiousness. For it | |
| 4719 rests upon watery brooks, and gazing into them can see the hawk | |
| 4720 flying overhead and so save itself: “His eyes are like doves | |
| 4721 beside brooks of water” (Sg 5:12). And so, because our refuge | |
| 4722 and defense is found in baptism, the Holy Spirit appropriately | |
| 4723 appeared in the form of a dove.</p> | |
| 4724 <p>The dove also corresponds to a figure in the Old Testament. For | |
| 4725 as the dove bearing the green olive branch was a sign of | |
| 4726 God’s mercy to those who survived the waters of the deluge, | |
| 4727 so too in baptism, the Holy Spirit, coming in the form of a dove, | |
| 4728 is a sign of the divine mercy which takes away the sins of those | |
| 4729 baptized and confers grace.</p> | |
| 4730 <p>273 He says that the Holy Spirit was <span style= | |
| 4731 "font-weight: bold">resting on him.</span> If the Holy Spirit does | |
| 4732 not rest on someone, it is due to two causes. One is sin. For all | |
| 4733 men except Christ are either suffering from the wound of mortal | |
| 4734 sin, which banishes the Holy Spirit, or are darkened with the stain | |
| 4735 of venial sin, which hinders some of the works of the Holy Spirit. | |
| 4736 But in Christ there was neither mortal nor venial sin; so, the Holy | |
| 4737 Spirit in him was never disquieted, but was <span style= | |
| 4738 "font-weight: bold">resting on him.</span></p> | |
| 4739 <p>The other reason concerns charismatic graces, for the other | |
| 4740 saints do not always possess their power. For example, the power to | |
| 4741 work miracles is not always present in the saints, nor is the | |
| 4742 spirit of prophecy always in the prophets. But Christ always | |
| 4743 possessed the power to accomplish any work of the virtues and the | |
| 4744 graces. So to indicate this, he says, <span style= | |
| 4745 "font-weight: bold">resting on him.</span> Hence this was the | |
| 4746 characteristic sign for recognizing Christ, as the Gloss says. | |
| 4747 “The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him” (Is 11:2), | |
| 4748 which we should understand of Christ as man, according to which he | |
| 4749 is less than the Father and the Holy Spirit.</p> | |
| 4750 <p>274 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">I did not | |
| 4751 know him,</span> he teaches us how this vision should be | |
| 4752 understood. For certain heretics, as the Ebionites, said that | |
| 4753 Christ was neither the Christ nor the Son of God from the time he | |
| 4754 was born, but only began to be the Son of God and the Christ when | |
| 4755 he was anointed with the oil of the Holy Spirit at his baptism. But | |
| 4756 this is false, because at the very hour of his birth the angel said | |
| 4757 to the shepherds: “This day a Savior has been born for you in | |
| 4758 the city of David, Christ the Lord” (Lk 2:11). Therefore, so | |
| 4759 that we do not believe that the Holy Spirit descended upon Christ | |
| 4760 in his baptism as though Christ needed to receive the Spirit anew | |
| 4761 for his sanctification, the Baptist gives the reason for the | |
| 4762 Spirit’s coming down. He says that the Spirit descended not | |
| 4763 for the benefit of Christ, but for our benefit, that is, so that | |
| 4764 the grace of Christ might be made known to us. And so he says, | |
| 4765 <span style="font-weight: bold">And I did not know him! And yet it | |
| 4766 was to reveal him to Israel that I came baptizing with | |
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4767 water.</span></p> |
| 35 | 4768 <p>275 There is a problem here. For he says, <span style= |
| 4769 "font-weight: bold">he who sent me to baptize.</span> If he is | |
| 4770 saying that the Father sent him, it is true. Also, if he is saying | |
| 4771 that the Son sent him, it is even more clear, since it is said that | |
| 4772 both the Father and the Son sent him, because John is not one of | |
| 4773 those referred to in Jeremiah (23:21), “1 did not send the | |
| 4774 prophets, yet they ran.” But if the Son did send him, how can | |
| 4775 he then say, <span style="font-weight: bold">I did not know | |
| 4776 him?</span> If it is said that although he knew Christ according to | |
| 4777 his divinity, yet he did not know him according to his humanity | |
| 4778 until after he saw the Spirit coming down upon him, one might | |
| 4779 counter that the Holy Spirit descended upon Christ when he was | |
| 4780 being baptized, and John had already known Christ before he was | |
| 4781 baptized, otherwise he would not have said: “I ought to be | |
| 4782 baptized by you, and you come to me?” (Mt 3:14).</p> | |
| 4783 <p>So we must say that this problem can be resolved in three ways. | |
| 4784 In one way, according to Chrysostom, so that the meaning is to know | |
| 4785 familiarly; the sense being that <span style="font-weight: bold">I | |
| 4786 did not know him,</span> i.e., in a familiar way. And if the | |
| 4787 objection is raised that John says, “I ought to be baptized | |
| 4788 by you,” it can be answered that two different times are | |
| 4789 being discussed: so that <span style="font-weight: bold">I did not | |
| 4790 know him,</span> refers to a time long before baptism, when he was | |
| 4791 not yet familiar with Christ: but when he says, “I ought to | |
| 4792 be baptized by you,” he is referring to the time when Christ | |
| 4793 was being baptized, when he was now familiar with Christ because of | |
| 4794 his frequent visits. In another way, according to Jerome, it could | |
| 4795 be said that Christ was the Son of God and the Savior of the world, | |
| 4796 and that John did in fact know this; but it was not through the | |
| 4797 baptism that he knew that he was the Savior of the world. And so to | |
| 4798 remedy this ignorance he adds, he <span style= | |
| 4799 "font-weight: bold">is the one who is to baptize with the Holy | |
| 4800 Spirit.</span> But it is better to say with Augustine that John | |
| 4801 knew certain things and was ignorant of others. Explaining what he | |
| 4802 did not know, he adds that the power of baptizing, which Christ | |
| 4803 could have shared with his faithful followers, would be reserved | |
| 4804 for himself alone. And this is what he says, <span style= | |
| 4805 "font-weight: bold">he who sent me to baptize with water ... is the | |
| 4806 one,</span> exclusively and solely, <span style= | |
| 4807 "font-weight: bold">who is to baptize with the Holy Spirit,</span> | |
| 4808 i.e., he and no one else, because this power he reserved for | |
| 4809 himself alone.</p> | |
| 4810 <p>276 We should note that a threefold power of Christ is found in | |
| 4811 baptism. One is the power of efficiency, by which he interiorly | |
| 4812 cleanses the soul from the stain of sin. Christ has this power as | |
| 4813 God, but not as man, and it cannot be communicated to any other. | |
| 4814 Another is the power of ministry, which he does share with the | |
| 4815 faithful: “Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of | |
| 4816 the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt 28:19). Therefore | |
| 4817 priests have the power to haptize as ministers. Christ too, as man, | |
| 4818 is called a minister, as the Apostle says. But he is also the head | |
| 4819 of all the ministers of the Church.</p> | |
| 4820 <p>Because of this he alone has the power of excellence in the | |
| 4821 sacraments. And this excellence shows itself in four things. First, | |
| 4822 in the institution of the sacraments, because no mere man or even | |
| 4823 the entire Church could institute sacraments, or change the | |
| 4824 sacninients, or dispense with the sacraments. For by their | |
| 4825 institution the sacraments give invisible grace, which only God can | |
| 4826 give. Therefore, only one who is true God can institute sacraments. | |
| 4827 The second lies in the efficacy of Christ’s merits, for the | |
| 4828 sacraments have their power from the merit of Christ’s | |
| 4829 passion: “All of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus, | |
| 4830 have been baptized into his death” (Rom 6:3). The third is | |
| 4831 that Christ can confer the effect of baptism withmit the sacrament; | |
| 4832 and this is peculiar to Christ. Fourthly, because at one time | |
| 4833 baptism was conferred in the name of Christ, although this is no | |
| 4834 longer done.</p> | |
| 4835 <p>Now he did not communicate these four things to anyone; although | |
| 4836 he could have communicated some of them, for example, that baptism | |
| 4837 be conferred in the name of Peter or of someone else, and perhaps | |
| 4838 one of the remaining three. But this was not done lest schisins | |
| 4839 arise in the Church by men putting their trust in those in whose | |
| 4840 name they were baptized.</p> | |
| 4841 <p>And so John, in stating that the Holy Spirit came down upon | |
| 4842 Christ, teaches that it is Christ alone who baptizes interiorly by | |
| 4843 his own power.</p> | |
| 4844 <p>277 One might also say that when John said, “I ought to be | |
| 4845 baptized by you,” he recognized Christ. through an interior | |
| 4846 revelation, but that when he saw the Holy Spirit coming down upon | |
| 4847 him, he knew him through an exterior sign. And so he mentions both | |
| 4848 of these ways of knowing. The first when he says, <span style= | |
| 4849 "font-weight: bold">he who sent me to baptize with water had said | |
| 4850 to me,</span> i.e., revealed something in an interior way. The | |
| 4851 second when he adds, <span style="font-weight: bold">The man on | |
| 4852 whom you see the Spirit come down and rest is the one who is to | |
| 4853 baptize with the Holy Spirit.</span></p> | |
| 4854 <p>278 Then he shows what the Baptist understood from this vision, | |
| 4855 that is, that Christ is the Son of God. And this is what he says, | |
| 4856 Now I have seen for myself, that is, the Spirit coming down on him, | |
| 4857 and have given testimony that he, that is, Christ, is the Son of | |
| 4858 God, that is, the true and natural Son. For there were adopted sons | |
| 4859 of the Father who had a likeness to the natural Son of God: | |
| 4860 “Conformed to the image of his Son” (Rom 8:29). So he | |
| 4861 who baptizes in the Holy Spirit, through whom we are adopted as | |
| 4862 sons, ought to fashion sons of God. “You did not receive the | |
| 4863 spirit of slavery ... but the spirit of adoption” (Rom 8:15). | |
| 4864 Therefore, because Christ is the one who baptizes in the Holy | |
| 4865 Spirit, the Baptist correctly concludes that he is the true and | |
| 4866 pure Son of God: “that we may be in his true Son” (1 Jn | |
| 4867 5:20).</p> | |
| 4868 <p>279 But if there were others who saw the Holy,Spirit coming down | |
| 4869 upon Christ, why did they not also believe? I answer that they had | |
| 4870 not been so disposed for this. Or perhaps, this vision was seen | |
| 4871 only by the Baptist.</p> | |
| 4872 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in"> | |
| 4873 </p> | |
| 4874 <p style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 0.125in"><span style= | |
| 4875 "font-weight: bold">LECTURE15</span></p> | |
| 4876 <blockquote> | |
| 4877 <p>35 On the following day John was standing there again with two | |
| 4878 of his disciples. 36 And seeing Jesus walking by, he said, | |
| 4879 “Look! There is the Lamb of God.” 37 Hearing this, the | |
| 4880 two disciples followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned around, and seeing | |
| 4881 them following him said, “What are you looking for?” | |
| 4882 They replied, “Rabbi (which means Teacher), where do you | |
| 4883 live?” 39 “Come and see,” he replied. They went | |
| 4884 and saw where he lived, and they stayed with him the rest of that | |
| 4885 day. It was about the tenth hour.</p> | |
| 4886 </blockquote> | |
| 4887 <p>40 One of the two who had followed him after hearing John was | |
| 4888 Simon Peter’s brother, Andrew. 41 The first thing fie did was | |
| 4889 to look for his brother Simon, and say to him, “We have found | |
| 4890 the Messiah” (which means the Christ), 42 and he brought him | |
| 4891 to Jesus. Looking at hini intently Jesus said, “You are | |
| 4892 Simon, son of John; you are to be called Cephas” (which is | |
| 4893 translated Peter).</p> | |
| 4894 <p>280 Above, the Evangelist presented the Baptist’s | |
| 4895 testimony to the people; here he presents his testimony to | |
| 4896 John’s disciples. First, his testimony is given; secondly, | |
| 4897 the fruit of this testimony (v 37). As to the first he does three | |
| 4898 things: first, the one giving the testimony is described; secondly, | |
| 4899 his way of testifying is given (v 36); and thirdly, his testimony | |
| 4900 itself, Look! <span style="font-weight: bold">There is the Lamb of | |
| 4901 God.</span></p> | |
| 4902 <p>281 The witness is described when he says, <span style= | |
| 4903 "font-weight: bold">On the following day John was standing there | |
| 4904 again with two of his disciples.</span> In saying standing, three | |
| 4905 things are noted about John. First, his manner of teaching, which | |
| 4906 was different from that of Christ and his disciples. For Christ | |
| 4907 went about teaching; hence it is said: “Jesus traveled over | |
| 4908 all Galilee” (Mt 4:23). The apostles also traveled the world | |
| 4909 teaching: “Go to the whole world, and preach the good news to | |
| 4910 every creature” (Mkl6:15). But John taught in one place; | |
| 4911 hence he says, standing, that is, in one place, on the far side of | |
| 4912 the Jordan. And John spoke of Christ to all who came to him.</p> | |
| 4913 <p>The reason why Christ and his disciples taught going about is | |
| 4914 that the preaching of Christ was made credible by miracles, and so | |
| 4915 they went to various places in order that the miracles and powers | |
| 4916 of Christ might be made known. But the preaching of John was not | |
| 4917 confirmed by miracles, so that is is written, “John performed | |
| 4918 no sign” (below 10:41), but by the merit and sanctity of his | |
| 4919 life. And so he was <span style="font-weight: bold">standing</span> | |
| 4920 in one place so that various people might stream to him and be led | |
| 4921 to Christ by his holiness. Furthermore, if John had gone from place | |
| 4922 to place to announce Christ without performing any miracles, his | |
| 4923 testimony would have been quite unbelievable, since it would seem | |
| 4924 to be inopportune and he would seem to be forcing himself upon the | |
| 4925 people.</p> | |
| 4926 <p>Secondly, John’s perseverence in the truth is noted, | |
| 4927 because John was not a reed shaken by the wind, but was firm in the | |
| 4928 faith; “Let him who thinks that he stands, take heed so he | |
| 4929 will not fall” (1 Cor 10:12); “1 will stand my | |
| 4930 watch” (Hb 2:1).</p> | |
| 4931 <p>Thirdly, and allegorically, it is noted that to stand is, in an | |
| 4932 allegorical sense, the same as to fail or cease: “The oil | |
| 4933 stood,” i.e., failed (2 Kgs 4:6). So when Christ came John | |
| 4934 was standing, because when the truth comes the figure ceases. John | |
| 4935 stands because the law passes away.</p> | |
| 4936 <p>282 The manner of his testifying is presented as being certain, | |
| 4937 hecause based on sight. So he says, <span style= | |
| 4938 "font-weight: bold">seeing Jesus walking by.</span> Here it should | |
| 4939 be remarked that the prophets bore witness to Christ: “All | |
| 4940 the prophets bear witness to him” (Acts 10:43). So did the | |
| 4941 apostles as they traveled the world: “You will be my | |
| 4942 witnesses in Jerusalem and in all of’ Judea and Samaria, and | |
| 4943 to the remotest parts of the world” (Acts 1:8). However, | |
| 4944 their testimony was not about a person then visible or present, but | |
| 4945 on one who was absent. In the case of the prophets about one who | |
| 4946 was to come; in the case of the apostles, about one who was now | |
| 4947 gone. But John bore witness when Christ was present and seen by | |
| 4948 him; and so he says, seeing Jesus, with the eyes of his body and of | |
| 4949 his mind: “Look on the face of your Christ” (Ps 83:10); | |
| 4950 “They will see eye to eye” (Is 5 2:8).</p> | |
| 4951 <p>He says, <span style="font-weight: bold">walking,</span> to | |
| 4952 point out the mystery of the incarnation, in which the Word of God | |
| 4953 assumed a changeable nature: “I came forth from the Father, | |
| 4954 and have come into the world,” as it says below (16:2 8).</p> | |
| 4955 <p>283 Then he gives John’s testimony in saying, <span style= | |
| 4956 "font-weight: bold">Look! There is the Lamb of God.</span> He says | |
| 4957 this not just to point out the power of Christ, but also in | |
| 4958 admiration of it: “His name will be called Wonderful” | |
| 4959 (Is 9:6). And this Lamb did possess truly wonderful power, because | |
| 4960 being slain, it killed the lion—that lion, I say, of which it | |
| 4961 says: “Your enemy, the devil, goes about like a roaring lion, | |
| 4962 seeking whom he can devour” (1 Pt 5:8). And so this Lamb, | |
| 4963 victorius and glorious, deserved to be called a lion: “Look! | |
| 4964 The Lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered” (Rv 5:5).</p> | |
| 4965 <p>The testimony he bears is brief, <span style= | |
| 4966 "font-weight: bold">Look! There is the Lamb of God.</span> It is | |
| 4967 brief both because the disciples before whom he testified had | |
| 4968 already been sufficiently instructed about Christ from the things | |
| 4969 they had heard from John, and also because this is sufficient for | |
| 4970 John’s intention, whose only aim was to lead them to Christ. | |
| 4971 Yet he does not say, “Go to him,” so that the disciples | |
| 4972 would not seem to be doing Christ a favor by following him. But he | |
| 4973 does praise the grace of Christ so that they would regard it as of | |
| 4974 benefit to themselves if they followed Christ. And so he says, | |
| 4975 Look! <span style="font-weight: bold">There is the Lamb of | |
| 4976 God,</span> i.e., here is the One in whom is found the grace and | |
| 4977 the power which cleanses from sin; for the lamb was offered for | |
|
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4978 sins, as we have said.</p> |
| 35 | 4979 <p>284 The fruit of his testimony is given when he says, |
| 4980 <span style="font-weight: bold">Hearing this, the two disciples | |
| 4981 followed Jesus.</span> First, the fruit resulting from the | |
| 4982 testimony of John and his disciples is given. Secondly, the fruit | |
| 4983 resulting from the preaching of Christ (v 43). In relation to the | |
| 4984 first: first, the fruit arising from John’s testimony is | |
| 4985 given; secondly, the fruit coming from the preaching of one of his | |
| 4986 disciples (v 40). With respect to the first he does two things. | |
| 4987 First, he shows the very beginning of the fruit coming from | |
| 4988 John’s testimony. Secondly, its consummation as accomplished | |
| 4989 by Christ (v 38).</p> | |
| 4990 <p>285 He says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Hearing | |
| 4991 this,</span> John saying, “Look! There is the Lamb of | |
| 4992 God,” <span style="font-weight: bold">the two | |
| 4993 disciples,</span> who were with him, <span style= | |
| 4994 "font-weight: bold">followed Jesus,</span> literally. going with | |
| 4995 him, First, the fact that it is John who speaks while Christ is | |
| 4996 silent, and that disciples gather to Christ through the words of | |
| 4997 John, all this points out a mystery. For Christ is the groom of the | |
| 4998 Church, and John, the friend and groomsman of the groom. Now the | |
| 4999 function of the groomsman is to present the bride to the groom, and | |
| 5000 verbally make known the agreements; the role of the groom is to be | |
| 5001 silent, from modesty, and to make arrangements for his new bride as | |
| 5002 he wills. Thus, the disciples are presented by John to Christ and | |
| 5003 espoused in faith. John speaks, Christ is silent; yet after Christ | |
| 5004 accepts them, he carefully instructs them.</p> | |
| 5005 <p>We can note, secondly, that no one was converted when John | |
| 5006 praised the dignity of Christ, saying, he “ranks ahead of | |
| 5007 me,” and “I am not worthy to unfasten the strap of his | |
| 5008 sandal.” But the disciples followed Christ when John revealed | |
| 5009 Christ’s humility and about the mystery of the incarnation; | |
| 5010 and this is because we are more moved by Christ’s humility | |
| 5011 and the sufferings he endured for us. So it is said: “Your | |
| 5012 name is like oil poured out,” i.e., mercy, by which you have | |
| 5013 obtained salvation for all; and the text immediately follows with, | |
| 5014 “young maidens have greatly loved you” (Sg 1:2).</p> | |
| 5015 <p>We can note, thirdly, that the words of a preacher are like seed | |
| 5016 falling on different kinds of ground: on one they bear fruit, and | |
| 5017 on another they do not. So too, John, when he preaches, does not | |
| 5018 convert all his disciples to Christ, but only two, those who were | |
| 5019 well disposed. The others are envious of Christ, and they even | |
| 5020 question him, as mentioned in Matthew (9:14).</p> | |
| 5021 <p>Fourthly, we may note that John’s disciples, after hearing | |
| 5022 his witness to Christ, did not at once thrust themselves forward to | |
| 5023 speak with him hastily; rather, seriously and with a certain | |
| 5024 modesty, they tried to speak to Christ alone and in a private | |
| 5025 place: “There is a time and fitness for everything” | |
| 5026 (Ecc 8:6).</p> | |
| 5027 <p>286 The consummation of this fruit is now set forth (v 38), for | |
| 5028 what John began is completed by Christ, since “the law | |
| 5029 brought nothing to perfection” (Heb 7:19). And Christ does | |
| 5030 two things. First, he questions the disciples who were following | |
| 5031 him. Secondly, he teaches them (v 39). As to the first we have: | |
| 5032 first, the question of Christ is given; secondly, the answer of the | |
| 5033 disciples.</p> | |
| 5034 <p>287 He says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Jesus turned | |
| 5035 around, and seeing them following him said.</span> According to the | |
| 5036 literal sense we should understand that Christ was walking in front | |
| 5037 of them, and these two disciples, following him, did not see his | |
| 5038 face at all; and so Christ turns to them to holster their | |
| 5039 confidence. This lets us know that Christ gives confidence and hope | |
| 5040 to all who begin to follow hini with a pure heart: “She goes | |
| 5041 to meet those who desire her” (Wis 6:14). Now Jesus turns to | |
| 5042 us in order that we may see him; this will happen in that blessed | |
| 5043 vision when he will show us his face, as is said: “Show us | |
| 5044 your face, and we will be saved” (Ps 79:4). For as long as we | |
| 5045 are in this world we see his back, because it is through his | |
| 5046 effects that we acquire a knowledge of him; so it is said, | |
| 5047 “You will see my back” (Ex 33:23). Again, he turns to | |
| 5048 give us the riches of his mercy. This is requested in Psalm 89 | |
| 5049 (13): “Turn to us, 0 Lord.” For as long as Christ | |
| 5050 withholds the help of his mercy he seems to be turned away from us. | |
| 5051 And so Jesus turned to the disciples of John who were following him | |
| 5052 in order to show them his face and to pour his grace upon them.</p> | |
| 5053 <p>288 Christ examines them specifically about their intention. For | |
| 5054 all who follow Christ do not have the same intention: some follow | |
| 5055 him for the sake of temporal goods, and others for spiritual goods. | |
| 5056 And so the Lord asks their intention, saying, <span style= | |
| 5057 "font-weight: bold">What are you looking for?</span>; not in order | |
| 5058 to learn their intention, but so that, after they showed a proper | |
| 5059 intention, he might make them more intimate friends and show that | |
| 5060 they are worthy to hear him.</p> | |
| 5061 <p>289 It may be remarked that these are the first words which | |
| 5062 Christ speaks in this Gospel. And this is appropriate, because the | |
| 5063 first thing that God asks of a man is a proper intention. And, | |
| 5064 according to Origen, after the six words that John had spoken, | |
| 5065 Christ spoke the seventh. The first words spoken by John were when, | |
| 5066 bearing witness to Christ, he cried out, saying, “This is the | |
| 5067 one of whom I said.” The second is when he said, “I am | |
| 5068 not worthy to unfasten the strap of his sandal.” The third | |
| 5069 is, “I baptize with water. But there is one standing in your | |
| 5070 midst whom you do not recognize.” The fourth is, “Look! | |
| 5071 There is the Lamb of God.” The fifth, “I saw the Spirit | |
| 5072 coming down on him from heaven like a dove.” The sixth, when | |
| 5073 he says here, “Look! There is the Lamb of God.” But it | |
| 5074 is Christ who speaks the seventh words so that we may understand, | |
| 5075 in a mystical sense, that rest, which is signified by the seventh | |
| 5076 day, will come to us through Christ, and that in him is found the | |
| 5077 fulness of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.</p> | |
| 5078 <p>290 The disciples answer; and although there was one question, | |
| 5079 they gave two answers. First, why they are following Christ, | |
| 5080 namely, to learn; thus they call him Teacher, <span style= | |
| 5081 "font-weight: bold">Rabbi (which means Teacher).</span> As if to | |
| 5082 say: We ask you to teach us. For they already knew what is stated | |
| 5083 in Matthew (23:10): “You have one Teacher, the Christ.” | |
| 5084 The second answer is what they want in following him, that is, | |
| 5085 <span style="font-weight: bold">Where do you live?</span> And | |
| 5086 literally, it can be said that in truth they were looking for the | |
| 5087 home of Christ. For because of the great and wonderful things they | |
| 5088 had heard about him from John, they were not satisfied with | |
| 5089 questioning him only once and in a superficial way, but wanted to | |
| 5090 do so frequently and seriously. And so they wanted to know where | |
| 5091 his home was so that they might visit him often, according to the | |
| 5092 advice of the wise man: “If you see a man of understanding, | |
| 5093 go to him early” (Sir 6:36), and “Happy is the man who | |
| 5094 hears me, who watches daily at my gates” (Prv 8:34).</p> | |
| 5095 <p>In the allegorical sense, God’s home is in heaven, | |
| 5096 according to the Psalm (122:1 ): “I have lifted up my eyes to | |
| 5097 you, who live in heaven.” So they asked where Christ was | |
| 5098 living because our purpose in following him should be that Christ | |
| 5099 leads us to heaven, i.e., to heavenly glory.</p> | |
| 5100 <p>Finally, in the moral sense, they ask, <span style= | |
| 5101 "font-weight: bold">Where do you live?</span> as though desiring to | |
| 5102 learn what qualities men should possess in order to be worthy to | |
| 5103 have Christ dwell in them. Concerning this dwelling Ephesians | |
| 5104 (2:22) says: “You are being built into a dwelling place for | |
| 5105 God.” And the Song (1:6) says: “Show me, you whom my | |
| 5106 soul loves, where you graze your flock, where you rest at | |
| 5107 midday.”</p> | |
| 5108 <p>291 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Come | |
| 5109 and</span> see, Christ’s instruction of the disciples is | |
| 5110 given. First we have the instruction of the disciples by Christ; | |
| 5111 secondly, their obedience is cited; and thirdly, the time is | |
| 5112 given.</p> | |
| 5113 <p>292 First he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Come and | |
| 5114 see,</span> that is, where I live. There is a difficulty here: for | |
| 5115 since the Lord says, “The Son of Man does not have any place | |
| 5116 to lay his head” (Mt 8:20), why does he tell them to | |
| 5117 <span style="font-weight: bold">Come and see</span> where he lives? | |
| 5118 I answer, according to Chrysostom, that when the Lord says, | |
| 5119 “The Son of Man does not have any place to lay his | |
| 5120 head,” he showed that he had no home of his own, but not that | |
| 5121 he did not remain in someone else’s home. And such was the | |
| 5122 home he invited them to see, saying, <span style= | |
| 5123 "font-weight: bold">Come and see.</span></p> | |
| 5124 <p>In the mystical sense, he says, <span style= | |
| 5125 "font-weight: bold">Come and see,</span> because the dwelling of | |
| 5126 God, whether of glory or grace, cannot be known except by | |
| 5127 experience: for it cannot be explained in words: “I will give | |
| 5128 him a white stone upon which is written a new name, which no one | |
| 5129 knows but he who receives it” (Rv 2:17). And so he says, | |
| 5130 <span style="font-weight: bold">Come and see: Come</span>, by | |
| 5131 believing and working; <span style="font-weight: bold">and | |
| 5132 see,</span> by experiencing and understanding.</p> | |
| 5133 <p>293 It should be noted that we can attain to this knowledge in | |
| 5134 four ways. First, by doing good works; so he says, Come: | |
| 5135 “When shall I come and appear before the face of God” | |
| 5136 (Ps 41:3). Secondly, by the rest or stillness of the mind: | |
| 5137 “Be still and see” (Ps 45:10). Thirdly, by tasting the | |
| 5138 divine sweetness: “Taste and see that the I.ord is | |
| 5139 sweet” O’s 33:9). Fourthly, by acts of devotion: | |
| 5140 “Let us lift up our hearts and hands in prayer” (Lam | |
| 5141 3:41). And so the Lord says: “it is I myself. Feel and | |
| 5142 see” (Lk 24:39).</p> | |
| 5143 <p>294 Next the obedience of the disciples is mentioned; for | |
| 5144 immediately <span style="font-weight: bold">they went and | |
| 5145 saw,</span> because by coming they saw him, and seeing they did not | |
| 5146 leave him. Thus it says, <span style="font-weight: bold">and they | |
| 5147 stayed with him the rest of that day,</span> for as stated below | |
| 5148 (6:45): “Every one who hears the Father, and has learned, | |
| 5149 comes to me.” For those who leave Christ have not yet seen | |
| 5150 him as they should. But those who have seen him by perfectly | |
| 5151 believing <span style="font-weight: bold">stayed with him the rest | |
| 5152 of that day;</span> hearing and seeing that blessed day, they spent | |
| 5153 a blessed night: “Happy are your men, and happy are your | |
| 5154 servants, who always stand before you” (1 Kgs 8:10). And as | |
| 5155 Augustine says: “Let us also build a dwelling in our heart | |
| 5156 and fashion a home where he may come and teach us.”</p> | |
| 5157 <p>And he says, that day, because there can be no night where the | |
| 5158 light of Christ is present, where there is the Sun of justice.</p> | |
| 5159 <p>295 The time is given when he says, <span style= | |
| 5160 "font-weight: bold">It was about the tenth hour.</span> The | |
| 5161 Evangelist mentions this in order that, considering the literal | |
| 5162 sense, he might give credit to Christ and the disciples. For the | |
| 5163 tenth hour is near the end of the day. And this praises Christ who | |
| 5164 was so eager to teach that not even the lateness of the hour | |
| 5165 induced him to postpone teaching them; but he taught them at the | |
| 5166 tenth hour. “In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening | |
| 5167 do not let your hands be idle” (Ecc 11:6).</p> | |
| 5168 <p>296 The moderation of the disciples is also praised, because | |
| 5169 even at the tenth hour, when men usually have eaten and are less | |
| 5170 self-possessed for receiving wisdom, they were both self-possessed | |
| 5171 and prepared to hear wisdom and were not hindered because of food | |
| 5172 or wine. But this is not unexpected, for they had been disciples of | |
| 5173 John, whose drink was water and whose food was the locust and wild | |
| 5174 honey.</p> | |
| 5175 <p>297 According to Augustine, however, the tenth hour signifies | |
| 5176 the law, which was given in ten precepts. And so the disciples came | |
| 5177 to Christ at the tenth hour and remained with him to be taught so | |
| 5178 that the law might be fulfilled by Christ, since it could not be | |
| 5179 fulfilled by the Jews. And so at that hour he is called Rabbi, that | |
| 5180 is, Teacher.</p> | |
| 5181 <p>298 Then (v 40), he sets forth the fruit produced by the | |
| 5182 disciple of John who was converted to Christ. First, the disciple | |
| 5183 is described; secondly, the fruit begun by him (v 41); thirdly, the | |
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5184 consummation of this fruit by Christ (v 42).</p> |
| 35 | 5185 <p>299 The disciple is described by name when he says, <span style= |
| 5186 "font-weight: bold">Andrew,</span> i.e., “manly”. | |
| 5187 “Act manfully, and let Your heart be strong,” as it | |
| 5188 says in Psalm 30 (v 25). he mentions his name in order to show his | |
| 5189 privilege: he was not only the first to be perfectly converted to | |
| 5190 Christ, but he also preached Christ. So, as Stephen was the first | |
| 5191 martyr after Christ, so Andrew was the first Christian.</p> | |
| 5192 <p>He is described, secondly, by his relationship, that is, as | |
| 5193 <span style="font-weight: bold">Simon Peter’s brother,</span> | |
| 5194 for he was the younger. And this is mentioned to commend him, for | |
| 5195 although younger in age, he became first in faith.</p> | |
| 5196 <p>He is described, thirdly, by his discipleship, because he was | |
| 5197 <span style="font-weight: bold">one of the two who had followed | |
| 5198 him.</span> His name is mentioned in order to show that | |
| 5199 Andrew’s privilege was remarkable. For the name of the other | |
| 5200 disciple is not mentioned: either because it was John the | |
| 5201 Evangelist himself, who through humility followed the practice in | |
| 5202 his Gospel of not mentioning his own name when he was involved in | |
| 5203 some event; or, according to Chrysostom, because the other one was | |
| 5204 not a notable person, nor had he done anything great, and so there | |
| 5205 was no need to mention his name. Luke does the same in his Gospel | |
| 5206 (10:1), where he does not mention the names of the seventy-two | |
| 5207 disciples sent out by the Lord, because they were not the | |
| 5208 outstanding and important persons that the apostles were. Or, | |
| 5209 according to Alcuin, this other disciple was Philip: for the | |
| 5210 Evangelist, after discussing Andrew, begins at once with Philip, | |
| 5211 saying: “On the following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, | |
| 5212 and coming upon Philip” (below 1:43).</p> | |
| 5213 <p>He is commended, fourthly, for the zeal of his devotion; hence | |
| 5214 he says that Andrew followed him, i.e., Jesus: “My foot has | |
| 5215 followed in his steps” (Jb 23:11).</p> | |
| 5216 <p>300 The fruit begun by Andrew is mentioned when he says, | |
| 5217 <span style="font-weight: bold">The first thing he did was to look | |
| 5218 for his brother Simon.</span> He first mentions the one for whom he | |
| 5219 bore fruit, that is, his brother, in order to mark the perfection | |
| 5220 of his conversion. For as Peter says, in the <i>Itinerary of | |
| 5221 Clement,</i> the evident sign of a perfect conversion of anyone is | |
| 5222 that, once converted, the closer one is to him the more he tries to | |
| 5223 convert him to Christ. And so Andrew, being now perfectly | |
| 5224 converted, does not keep the treasure he found to himself, but | |
| 5225 hurries and quickly runs to his brother to share with him the good | |
| 5226 things he has received. And so he says the <span style= | |
| 5227 "font-weight: bold">first thing he,</span> that is, Andrew, | |
| 5228 <span style="font-weight: bold">did was to look for his brother | |
| 5229 Simon</span>, so that related in blood he might make him related in | |
| 5230 faith: “A brother that is helped by his brother is like a | |
| 5231 strong city” (Prv 18:19); “Let him who hears say, | |
| 5232 ‘Come’ “ (Rv 22:17).</p> | |
| 5233 <p>301 Secondly, he mentions the words spoken by Andrew, | |
| 5234 <span style="font-weight: bold">We have found the Messiah (which | |
| 5235 means the Christ).</span> Here, according to Chrysostom, he is | |
| 5236 tacitly answering a certain question: namely, that if someone were | |
| 5237 to ask what they had been instructed about by Christ, they would | |
| 5238 have the ready answer that through the testimony of the Scriptures | |
| 5239 he instructed him in such a way that he knew he was the Christ. And | |
| 5240 so he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">We have found the | |
| 5241 Messiah.</span> He implies by this that he had previously sought | |
| 5242 him by desire for a long time: “Happy is the man who finds | |
| 5243 wisdom” (Prv 3:13).</p> | |
| 5244 <p>“Messiah,” which is Hebrew, is translated as | |
| 5245 “Christos” in Greek, and in Latin as | |
| 5246 “Unctus” (anointed), because he was anointed in a | |
| 5247 special way with invisible oil, the oil of the Holy Spirit. So | |
| 5248 Andrew explicitly designates him by this title: “Your God has | |
| 5249 anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows,” | |
| 5250 i.e., above all the saints. For all the saints are anointed with | |
| 5251 that oil, but Christ was singularly anointed and is singularly | |
| 5252 holy. So, as Chrysostom says, he does not simply call him | |
| 5253 “Messiah,” but <span style="font-weight: bold">the | |
| 5254 Messiah.</span></p> | |
| 5255 <p>302 Thirdly, he mentions the fruit he produced, because | |
| 5256 <span style="font-weight: bold">he brought him,</span> that is, | |
| 5257 <span style="font-weight: bold">Peter, to Jesus.</span> This gives | |
| 5258 recognition to Peter’s obedience, for he came at once, | |
| 5259 without delay. And consider the devotion of Andrew: for he brought | |
| 5260 him to Jesus and not to himself (for he knew that he himself was | |
| 5261 weak); and so he leads him to Christ to be instructed by him. This | |
| 5262 shows us that the efforts and the aim of preachers should not be to | |
| 5263 win for themselves the fruits of their preaching, i.e., to turn | |
| 5264 them to their own private benefit and honor, but to bring them to | |
| 5265 Jesus, i.e., to refer them to his glory and honor: “What we | |
| 5266 preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ,” as is said in 2 | |
| 5267 Corinthians (4:5).</p> | |
| 5268 <p>303 The consummation of this fruit is given when he says, | |
| 5269 <span style="font-weight: bold">Looking at him intently Jesus | |
| 5270 said.</span> Here Christ, wishing to raise him up to faith in His | |
| 5271 divinity, begins to perform works of divinity, making know things | |
| 5272 that are hidden. First of all, things which are hidden in the | |
| 5273 present: so <span style="font-weight: bold">looking at him,</span> | |
| 5274 i.e, as soon as Jesus saw him, he considered him by the power of | |
| 5275 his divinity and called him by name, saying, <span style= | |
| 5276 "font-weight: bold">You are Simon.</span> This is not surprising, | |
| 5277 for as it is said: “Man sees the appearances, but the Lord | |
| 5278 sees the heart” (I Sm 16:7). This name is appropriate for the | |
| 5279 mystery. For “Simon” means “obedient,” to | |
| 5280 indicate that obedience is necessary for one who has been converted | |
| 5281 to Christ through faith: “He gives the Holy Spirit to all who | |
| 5282 obey him” (Acts 5:32).</p> | |
| 5283 <p>304 Secondly, he reveals things hidden in the past. Hence he | |
| 5284 says, son of John, because that was the name of Simon’s | |
| 5285 father; or he says, “son of Jonah,” as we find in | |
| 5286 Matthew (16:17), “Simon Bar-Jonah.” And each name is | |
| 5287 appropriate to this mystery. For “John” means | |
| 5288 “grace,” to indicate that it is through grace that men | |
| 5289 come to the faith of Christ: “You are saved by his | |
| 5290 grace” (Eph 2:5). And “Jonah” means | |
| 5291 “dove,” to indicate that it is by the Holy Spirit, who | |
| 5292 has been given to us, that we are made strong in our love for God: | |
| 5293 “The love of God is poured out into our hearts by the Holy | |
| 5294 Spirit” (Rom 5:5).</p> | |
| 5295 <p>305 Thirdly, he reveals things hidden in the future. So he says, | |
| 5296 <span style="font-weight: bold">you are to be called Cephas (which | |
| 5297 is translated Peter),</span> and in Greek, “head.” And | |
| 5298 this is appropriate to this mystery, which is that he who was to be | |
| 5299 the head of the others and the vicar of Christ should remain firm. | |
| 5300 As Matthew (16:18) says: “You are Peter, and upon this rock I | |
| 5301 will build my church.”</p> | |
| 5302 <p>306 There is a question here about the literal meaning. First, | |
| 5303 why did Christ give Simon a name at the beginning of his | |
| 5304 conversion, rather than will that he have this name from the time | |
| 5305 of his birth? Two different answers have been given for this. The | |
| 5306 first, according to Chrysostom, is that divinely given names | |
| 5307 indicate a certain eminence in spiritual grace. Now when God | |
| 5308 confers a special grace upon anyone, the name indicating that grace | |
| 5309 is given at one’s birth: as in the case of John the Baptist, | |
| 5310 who was named before he was born, because he had been sanctified in | |
| 5311 his mother’s womb. But sometimes a special grace is given | |
| 5312 during the course of one’s life: then such names are divinely | |
| 5313 given at that time and not at birth: as in the case of Abraham and | |
| 5314 Sarah, whose names were changed when they received the promise that | |
| 5315 their posterity would multiply. Likewise, Peter is named in a | |
| 5316 divine way when he is called to the faith of Christ and to the | |
| 5317 grace of apostleship, and particularly because he was appointed | |
| 5318 Prince of the apostles of the entire Church—which was not | |
| 5319 done with the other apostles.</p> | |
| 5320 <p>But, according to Augustine, if he had been called Cephas from | |
| 5321 birth, this mystery would not have been apparent. And so the Lord | |
| 5322 willed that he should have one name at birth, so that by changing | |
| 5323 his name the mystery of the Church, which was built on his | |
| 5324 confession of faith, would be apparent. Now “Peter” | |
| 5325 (<i>Petrus</i>) is derived from “rock” (<i>petra</i>). | |
| 5326 But the rock. was Christ. Thus, the name “Peter” | |
| 5327 signifies the Church, which was built upon that solid and immovable | |
| 5328 rock which is Christ.</p> | |
| 5329 <p>307 The second question is whether this name was given to Peter | |
| 5330 at this time, or at the time mentioned by Matthew (16:18). | |
| 5331 Augustine answers that this name was given to Simon at this time; | |
| 5332 and at the event reported by Matthew the Lord is not giving this | |
| 5333 name but reminding him of the name that was given, so that Christ | |
| 5334 is using this name as already given. But others think that this | |
| 5335 name was given when the Lord said, “You are Peter, and upon | |
| 5336 this rock I will build my church” (Mt 16:18); and in this | |
| 5337 passage in the Gospel of John, Christ is not giving this name, but | |
| 5338 foretelling what will be given later.</p> | |
| 5339 <p>308 The third question is about the calling of Peter and Andrew: | |
| 5340 for here it says that they were called near the Jordan, because | |
| 5341 they were John’s disciples; but in Matthew (4:18) it says | |
| 5342 that Christ called them by the Sea of Galilee. The answer to this | |
| 5343 is that there was a triple calling of the apostles. The first was a | |
| 5344 call to knowledge or friendship and faith; and this is the one | |
| 5345 recorded here. The second consisted in the prediction of their | |
| 5346 office: “From now on you will be catching men” (Lk | |
| 5347 5:10). The third call was to their apostleship, which is mentioned | |
| 5348 by Matthew (4:18). This was the perfect call because after this | |
| 5349 they were not to return to their own pursuits.</p> | |
| 5350 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in"> | |
| 5351 </p> | |
| 5352 <p style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 0.125in"><span style= | |
| 5353 "font-weight: bold">LECTURE16</span></p> | |
| 5354 <blockquote> | |
| 5355 <p>43 On the following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and | |
| 5356 coming upon Philip, he said, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip | |
| 5357 came from Bethsaida, the same town as Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip | |
| 5358 sought out Nathanael, and said to him, “We have found the one | |
| 5359 Moses spoke of in the law - the prophets too - Jesus, son of | |
| 5360 Joseph, from Nazareth.” 46 “From Nazareth!” | |
| 5361 Nathanael replied, “What good can come from th1t | |
| 5362 place?” Philip said, “Come and see.” 47 When | |
| 5363 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him: “Here | |
| 5364 is a true Israelite, in whom there is no guile.” 48 Nathanael | |
| 5365 asked him, “How do you know me?” Jesus replied and | |
| 5366 said, “Before Philip called you, I saw you when you were | |
| 5367 sitting under the fig tree.” 49 “Rabbi,” said | |
| 5368 Nathanael, “you are the Son of God; you are the King of | |
| 5369 Israel.” 50 Jesus responded and said, “You believed | |
| 5370 just because I said to you that I saw you sitting under the fig | |
| 5371 tree! You will see greater things than this.” 51 He went on | |
| 5372 to say, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see the heavens | |
| 5373 opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of | |
| 5374 Man.”</p> | |
| 5375 </blockquote> | |
| 5376 <p>309 After having shown the fruit produced by John’s | |
| 5377 preaching and that of his disciples, the Evangelist now shows the | |
| 5378 fruit obtained from the preaching of Christ. First, he deals with | |
| 5379 the conversion of one disciple as the result of Christ’s | |
| 5380 preaching. Secondly, the conversion of others due to the preaching | |
| 5381 of the disciple just converted to Christ (v 45). As to the first he | |
| 5382 does three things: first, the occasion when the disciple is called | |
| 5383 is given; secondly, his calling is described; thirdly, his | |
| 5384 situation.</p> | |
| 5385 <p>310 The occasion of his calling was the departure of Jesus from | |
| 5386 Judea. So he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">On the following | |
| 5387 day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and coming upon Philip.</span> | |
| 5388 There are three reasons why Jesus left for Galilee, two of which | |
| 5389 are literal. One of these is that after being baptized by John and | |
| 5390 desiring to shed honor on the Baptist, he left Judea for Galilee so | |
| 5391 that his presence would not obscure and lessen John’s | |
| 5392 teaching authority (while he still retained that state); and this | |
| 5393 teaches us to show honor to one another, as is said in Romans | |
| 5394 (12:10).</p> | |
| 5395 <p>The second reason is that there are no distinguished persons in | |
| 5396 Galilee: “No prophet is to rise from Galilee” (below | |
| 5397 7:52). And so, to show the greatness of his power, Christ wished to | |
| 5398 go there and choose there the princes of the earth, who are greater | |
| 5399 than the prophets: “He has turned the desert into pools of | |
| 5400 water,” as we read in Psalm 106 (v 35).</p> | |
| 5401 <p>The third reason is mystical: for “Galilee” means | |
| 5402 “passage.” So Christ desired to go from Judea into | |
| 5403 Galilee in order to indicate that on “on the following | |
| 5404 day,” i.e., on the day of grace, that is, the day of the Good | |
| 5405 News, he would pass from Judea into Galilee, i.e., to save the | |
| 5406 Gentiles: “Is he going to go to those who are dispersed among | |
| 5407 the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles?” (below 7:35).</p> | |
| 5408 <p>311 A disciple’s vocation is to follow: hence he says that | |
| 5409 after Christ found Philip he said, <span style= | |
| 5410 "font-weight: bold">Follow me.</span> Note that sometimes man finds | |
| 5411 God, but without knowing it, as it were: “He who finds me | |
| 5412 will find life, and will have salvation from the Lord” (Prv | |
| 5413 8:35). And at other times God finds the man, in order to bestow | |
| 5414 honor and greatness upon him: “I have found David, my | |
| 5415 servant” (Ps 88:2 1 ). Christ found Philip in this way, that | |
| 5416 is, to call him to the faith and to grace. And so he says at once, | |
| 5417 <span style="font-weight: bold">Follow me.</span></p> | |
| 5418 <p>312 There is a question here: Why did not Jesus call his | |
| 5419 disciples at the very beginning? Chrysostorn answers that he did | |
| 5420 not wish to call anyone before someone clung to him spontaneoulsy | |
| 5421 because of John’s preaching, for men are drawn by example | |
| 5422 more than by words.</p> | |
| 5423 <p>313 One might also ask why Philip followed Christ immediately | |
| 5424 after only a word, while Andrew followed Christ after hearing about | |
| 5425 him from John, and Peter after hearing from Andrew.</p> | |
| 5426 <p>Three answers can be given. One is that Philip had already been | |
| 5427 instructed by John: for according to one of the explanations given | |
| 5428 above, Philip was that other disciple who followed Christ along | |
| 5429 with Andrew. Another is that Christ’s voice had power not | |
| 5430 only to act on one’s hearing from without, but also on the | |
| 5431 heart from within: “My words are like fire” (Jer | |
| 5432 23:29). For the voice of Christ was spoken not only to the | |
| 5433 exterior, but it enkindled the interior of the faithful to love | |
| 5434 him. The third answer is that Philip. had perhaps already been | |
| 5435 instructed about Christ by Andrew and Peter, since they were from | |
| 5436 the same town. In fact, this is what the Evangelist seems to imply | |
| 5437 by adding, <span style="font-weight: bold">Now Philip came from | |
| 5438 Bethsaida, the same town as Andrew and Peter.</span></p> | |
| 5439 <p>314 This gives us the situation of the disciples he called: for | |
| 5440 they were from Bethsaida. And this is appropriate to this mystery. | |
| 5441 For “Bethsaida” means “house of hunters,” | |
| 5442 to show the attitude of Philip, Peter and Andrew at that time, and | |
| 5443 because it was fitting to call, from the house of hunters, hunters | |
| 5444 who were to capture souls for life: “I will send my | |
| 5445 hunters” (Jer 16:16).</p> | |
| 5446 <p>315 Now the fruit produced by the disciple who was converted to | |
| 5447 Christ is given. First, the beginning of the fruit, coming from | |
| 5448 this disciple. Secondly, its consummation by Christ (v 47). As to | |
| 5449 the first, he does three things: first, the statement of Philip is | |
| 5450 given; secondly, Nathanael’s response; and thirdly, | |
| 5451 Philip’s ensuing advice.</p> | |
| 5452 <p>316 As to the first, note that just as Andrew, after having been | |
| 5453 perfectly converted, was eager to lead his brother to Christ, so | |
| 5454 too Philip with regard to his brother, Nathanael. And so he says | |
| 5455 that Philip found Nathanael, whom he probably looked for as Andrew | |
| 5456 did for Peter; and this was a sign of a perfect conversion. The | |
| 5457 word “Nathanael” means “gift of God”; and | |
| 5458 it is God’s gift if anyone is converted to Christ.</p> | |
| 5459 <p>He tells him that all the prophecies and the law have been | |
| 5460 fulfilled, and that the desires of their holy forefathers are not | |
| 5461 in vain, but have been guaranteed, and that what God has promised | |
| 5462 was now accomplished. <span style="font-weight: bold">We have found | |
| 5463 the one Moses spoke of in the law—the prophets | |
| 5464 too—Jesus.</span> We understand by this that Nathanael was | |
| 5465 fairly learned in the law, and that Philip, now having learned | |
| 5466 about Christ, wished to lead Nathanael to Christ through the things | |
| 5467 he himself knew, that is, from the law and the prophets. So he | |
| 5468 says, <span style="font-weight: bold">the one Moses spoke of in the | |
| 5469 law.</span> For Moses wrote of Christ: “If you believed | |
| 5470 Moses, you would perhaps believe me, for he wrote of me” | |
| 5471 (below 5:46). <span style="font-weight: bold">The prophets | |
| 5472 too</span> wrote of Christ: “All the prophets bear witness to | |
| 5473 him” (Acts 10:43).</p> | |
| 5474 <p>317 Note that Philip says three things about Christ that are in | |
| 5475 agreement with the law and the prophets. First, the name: for he | |
| 5476 says, <span style="font-weight: bold">We have found Jesus.</span> | |
| 5477 And this agrees with the prophets: “I will send them a | |
| 5478 Savior” (Is 19:20); “1 will rejoice in God, my | |
| 5479 Jesus” (Hb 3:18).</p> | |
| 5480 <p>Secondly, the family from which Christ took his human origin, | |
| 5481 when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">son of Joseph,</span> | |
| 5482 i.e., who was of the house and family of David. And although Jesus | |
| 5483 did not derive his origin from him, yet he did derive it from the | |
| 5484 Virgin, who was of the same line as Joseph. He calls him the son of | |
| 5485 Joseph, because Jesus was considered to be the son of the one to | |
| 5486 whom his mother was married. So it is said: “the son of | |
| 5487 Joseph (as was supposed)” (Lk 3:23). Nor is it strange that | |
| 5488 Philip called him the son of Joseph, since his own mother, who was | |
| 5489 aware of his divine incarnation, called him his son: “Your | |
| 5490 father and I have been looking for you in sorrow” (Lk 2:48). | |
| 5491 Indeed, if one is called the son of another because he is supported | |
| 5492 by him, this is more reason why Joseph should be called the father | |
| 5493 of Jesus, even though he was not so according to the flesh: for he | |
| 5494 not only supported him, but was the husband of his virgin mother. | |
| 5495 However, Philip calls him the son of Joseph (not as though he was | |
| 5496 born from the union of Joseph and the Virgin) because he knew that | |
| 5497 Christ would be born from the line of David; and this was the house | |
| 5498 and family of Joseph, to whom Mary was married. And this also is in | |
| 5499 agreement with the prophets: “I will raise up a just branch | |
| 5500 for David” (Jer 23:5).</p> | |
| 5501 <p>Thirdly, he mentions his native land, saying, <span style= | |
| 5502 "font-weight: bold">from Nazareth;</span> not because he had been | |
| 5503 born there, but because he was brought up there; but he had been | |
| 5504 born in Bethlehem. Philip omits to mention Bethlehem but not | |
| 5505 Nazareth because, while the birth of Christ was not known to many, | |
| 5506 the place where he was brought up was. And this also agrees with | |
| 5507 the prophets: “A shoot will arise from the root of Jesse, and | |
| 5508 a flower (or Nazarene, according to another version) will rise up | |
| 5509 from his roots” (Is I I: I).</p> | |
| 5510 <p>318 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Nathanael | |
| 5511 replied,</span> the answer of Nathanael is given. His answer can be | |
| 5512 interpreted as an assertion or as a question; and in either way it | |
| 5513 is suitable to Philip’s affirmation. If it is taken as an | |
| 5514 assertion, as Augustine does, the meaning is: “Some good can | |
| 5515 come from Nazareth.” In other words, from a city with that | |
| 5516 name it is possible that there come forth to us some very excellent | |
| 5517 grace or some outstanding teacher to preach to us about the flower | |
| 5518 of the virtues and the purity of sanctity; for | |
| 5519 “Nazareth” means “flower.” We can | |
| 5520 understand from this that Nathanael, being quite learned in the law | |
| 5521 and a student of the Scriptures, knew that the Savior was expected | |
| 5522 to come from Nazareth—something that was not so clear even to | |
| 5523 the Scribes and Pharisees. And so when Philip said, <span style= | |
| 5524 "font-weight: bold">We have found Jesus from Nazareth,</span> his | |
| 5525 hopes were lifted and he answered: “Indeed, some good can | |
| 5526 come from Nazareth.”</p> | |
| 5527 <p>But if we take his answer as a question, as Chrysostom does, | |
| 5528 then the sense is: <span style="font-weight: bold">From Nazareth! | |
| 5529 What good can come from that place?</span> As if to say: Everything | |
| 5530 else you say seems credible, because his name and his lineage are | |
| 5531 consistent with the prophecies, but your statement that he is | |
| 5532 <span style="font-weight: bold">from Nazareth</span> does not seem | |
| 5533 possible. For Nathanael understood from the Scriptures that the | |
| 5534 Christ was to come from Bethlehem, according to: “And you, | |
| 5535 Bethlehem, land of Judah, are not the least among the princes of | |
| 5536 Judah: for out of you a ruler will come forth, who will rule my | |
| 5537 people Israel,” as we read in Matthew (2:6). And so, not | |
| 5538 finding Philip’s statement in agreement with the prophecy, he | |
| 5539 prudently and moderately inquires about its truth, <span style= | |
| 5540 "font-weight: bold">What good can come from that place?</span></p> | |
| 5541 <p>319 Then Philip’s advice is given, <span style= | |
| 5542 "font-weight: bold">Come and see.</span> And this advice suits | |
| 5543 either interpretation of Nathanael’s answer. To the assertive | |
| 5544 interpretation it is as though he says: You say that something good | |
| 5545 can come from Nazareth, but I say that the good I state to you is | |
| 5546 of such a nature and so marvelous that I am unable to express it in | |
| 5547 words, so <span style="font-weight: bold">Come and see</span>. To | |
| 5548 the interpretation that makes it a question, it as as though he | |
| 5549 says: You wonder and say: <span style="font-weight: bold">What good | |
| 5550 can come from that place?,</span> thinking that this is impossible | |
| 5551 according to the Scriptures. But if you are willing to experience | |
| 5552 what I experienced, you will understand that what I say is true, so | |
| 5553 <span style="font-weight: bold">Come and see.</span></p> | |
| 5554 <p>Then, not discouraged by his questions, Philip brings Nathanael | |
| 5555 to Christ. He knew that he would no longer argue with him if he | |
| 5556 tasted the words and teaching of Christ. And in this, Philip was | |
| 5557 imitating Christ who earlier answered those who had asked about the | |
| 5558 place where he lived: “Come and see ... “Come to him, | |
| 5559 and be enlightened” (Ps 33:6).</p> | |
| 5560 <p>320 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">When | |
| 5561 Jesus saw Nathanael,</span> the consummation of this fruit by | |
| 5562 Christ is described. We should note that there are two ways in | |
| 5563 which men are converted to Christ: some by miracles they have seen | |
| 5564 and things experienced in themselves or in others; others are | |
| 5565 converted through internal insights, through prophecy and the | |
| 5566 foreknowledge of what is hidden in the future. The second way is | |
| 5567 more efficacious than the first: for devils and certain men who | |
| 5568 receive their help can simulate marvels; but to predict the future | |
| 5569 can only be done by divine power. “Tell us what is to come, | |
| 5570 and we will say that you are gods” (Is 41:23); | |
| 5571 “Prophecies are for those who believe.” And so our Lord | |
| 5572 draws Nathanael to the faith not by miracles but by making known | |
| 5573 things which are hidden. And so he says of him, <span style= | |
| 5574 "font-weight: bold">Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is no | |
| 5575 guile.</span></p> | |
| 5576 <p>321 Christ mentions three hidden matters: things hidden in the | |
| 5577 present, in the heart; past facts; and future heavenly matters. To | |
| 5578 know these three things is not a human but a divine | |
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5579 achievement.</p> |
| 35 | 5580 <p>He mentions things hidden in the present when he says, |
| 5581 <span style="font-weight: bold">Here is a true Israelite, in whom | |
| 5582 there is no guile.</span> Here we have, first, the prior revelation | |
| 5583 of Christ; secondly, Nathanael’s question, <span style= | |
| 5584 "font-weight: bold">How do you know me?</span></p> | |
| 5585 <p>322 First he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">When Jesus | |
| 5586 saw Nathanael coming toward him.</span> As if to say: Before | |
| 5587 Nathanael reached him, Jesus said, <span style= | |
| 5588 "font-weight: bold">Here is a true Israelite.</span> He said this | |
| 5589 about him before he came to him, because had he said it after he | |
| 5590 came, Nathanael might have believed that Jesus had heard it from | |
| 5591 Philip.</p> | |
| 5592 <p>Christ said, <span style="font-weight: bold">Here is a true | |
| 5593 Israelite, in whom there is no guile.</span> Now | |
| 5594 “Israel” has two meanings. One of these, as the Gloss | |
| 5595 says, is “most righteous”.—“Do not fear, my | |
| 5596 most righteous servant, whom I have chosen” (Is 44:2). Its | |
| 5597 second meaning is “the man who sees God.” And according | |
| 5598 to each meaning Nathanael is a true Israelite. For since one in | |
| 5599 whom there is no guile is called righteous, Nathanael is said to be | |
| 5600 a <span style="font-weight: bold">true Israelite, in whom there is | |
| 5601 no guile.</span> As if to say: You truly represent your race | |
| 5602 because you are righteous and without guile. Further, because man | |
| 5603 sees God through cleanness of heart and simplicity, Christ said, | |
| 5604 <span style="font-weight: bold">a true Israelite,</span> i.e., you | |
| 5605 are a man who truly sees God because you are simple and without | |
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5606 guile.</p> |
| 35 | 5607 <p>Further, he said, <span style="font-weight: bold">in whom there |
| 5608 is no guile,</span> so that we do not think that it was with malice | |
| 5609 that Nathanael asked: <span style="font-weight: bold">What good can | |
| 5610 come from that place?</span></p> | |
| 5611 <p>323 Augustine has a different explanation of this passage. It is | |
| 5612 clear that all are born under sin. Now those who have sin in their | |
| 5613 hearts but outwardly pretend to be just are called guileful. But a | |
| 5614 sinner who admits that he is a sinner is not guileful. So Christ | |
| 5615 said, <span style="font-weight: bold">Here is a true Israelite, in | |
| 5616 whom there is no guile,</span> not because Nathanael was without | |
| 5617 sin, or because he had no need of a physician, for no one is born | |
| 5618 in such a way as not to need a physician; but he was praised by | |
| 5619 Christ because he admitted his sins.</p> | |
| 5620 <p>324 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">How do | |
| 5621 you know me?,</span> we have Nathanael’s question. For | |
| 5622 Nathanael, in wonder at the divine power in this revelation of what | |
| 5623 is hidden, because this can only be from God—“The heart | |
| 5624 is depraved and inscrutable, and who is able to know it? I the Lord | |
| 5625 search the heart and probe the loins” (Jer 17:9); “Man | |
| 5626 sees the appearances, but the Lord sees the heart” (I Sin | |
| 5627 16:7)—asks, <span style="font-weight: bold">How do you know | |
| 5628 me?</span> Here we can recognize Nathanael’s humility, | |
| 5629 because, although he had been praised, he did not become elated, | |
| 5630 but held this praise of himself suspect. “My people, who call | |
| 5631 you blessed, they are deceiving you” (Is 3:12).</p> | |
| 5632 <p>325 Then he touches on matters in the past, saying, <span style= | |
| 5633 "font-weight: bold">Before Philip called you, I saw you when you | |
| 5634 were sitting under the fig tree.</span> First we have the statement | |
| 5635 of Christ; secondly, the confession of Nathanael.</p> | |
| 5636 <p>326 As to the first, we should note that Nathanael might have | |
| 5637 had two misgivings about Christ. One, that Christ said this in | |
| 5638 order to win his friendship by flattery; the other, that Christ had | |
| 5639 learned what he knew from others. So, to remove Nathanael’s | |
| 5640 suspicions and raise him to higher things, Christ reveals certain | |
| 5641 hidden matters that no one could know except in a divine way, that | |
| 5642 is, things that related only to Nathanael. He refers to these when | |
| 5643 he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Before Philip called you, | |
| 5644 I saw you when you were sitting under the fig tree.</span> In the | |
| 5645 literal sense, this means that Nathanael was under a fig tree when | |
| 5646 he was called by Philip—which Christ knew by divine power, | |
| 5647 for “The eyes of the Lord are far brighter than the | |
| 5648 sun” (Sir 23:28).</p> | |
| 5649 <p>In the mystical sense, the fig tree signifies sin: both because | |
| 5650 we find a fig tree, bearing only leaves but no fruit, being cursed, | |
| 5651 as a symbol of sin (Mt 11:19); and because Adam and Eve, after they | |
| 5652 had sinned, made clothes from fig leaves. So he says here, when you | |
| 5653 were sitting under the fig tree, i.e., under the shadow of sin, | |
| 5654 before you were called to grace, I saw you, with the eye of mercy; | |
| 5655 for God’s predestination looks upon the predestined, who are | |
| 5656 living under sin, with an eye of pity, for as Ephesians (1:4) says, | |
| 5657 “ He chose us before the foundation of the world.” And | |
| 5658 he speaks of this eye here: I saw you, by predestining you from | |
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5659 eternity.</p> |
| 35 | 5660 <p>Or, the meaning is, according to Gregory: I saw you when |
| 5661 <span style="font-weight: bold">you were sitting under the fig | |
| 5662 tree</span>, i.e., under the shadow of the law. “The law has | |
| 5663 only a shadow of the good things to come” (Heb 10:1).</p> | |
| 5664 <p>327 Hearing this, Nathanael is immediately converted, and, | |
| 5665 seeing the power of the divinity in Christ, breaks out in words of | |
| 5666 conversion and praise, saying, <span style= | |
| 5667 "font-weight: bold">Rabbi, you are the Son of God</span>. Here he | |
| 5668 considers three things about Christ. First, the fullness of his | |
| 5669 knowledge, when he says, <span style= | |
| 5670 "font-weight: bold">Rabbi,</span> which is translated as Teacher. | |
| 5671 As if to say: You are perfect in knowledge. For he had already | |
| 5672 realized what is said in Matthew (23:10): “You have one | |
| 5673 Teacher, the Christ.” Secondly, the excellence of his | |
| 5674 singular grace, when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">you | |
| 5675 are the Son of God</span>. For it is due to grace alone that one | |
| 5676 becomes a son of God by adoption. And it is also through grace that | |
| 5677 one is a son of God through union; and this is exclusive to the man | |
| 5678 Christ, because that man is the Son of God not due to any preceding | |
| 5679 merit, but through the grace of union. Thirdly, he considers the | |
| 5680 greatness of his power when he says, <span style= | |
| 5681 "font-weight: bold">you are the King of Israel</span>, i.e., | |
| 5682 awaited by Israel as its king and defender: “His power is | |
| 5683 everlasting” (Dn 7:14).</p> | |
| 5684 <p>328 A question comes up at this point, according to Chrysostom. | |
| 5685 For since Peter, who after many miracles and much teaching, | |
| 5686 confessed what Nathanael confesses here about Christ, that is, you | |
| 5687 are <span style="font-weight: bold">the Son of God,</span> merited | |
| 5688 a blessing, as the Lord said: “Blessed are you, Simon | |
| 5689 Bar-Jona” (Mt 16:17), why not the same for Nathanael, who | |
| 5690 said the same thing before seeing any miracles or receiving any | |
| 5691 teaching? Chrysostom answers that the reason for this is that even | |
| 5692 though Nathanael and Peter spoke the same words, the meaning of the | |
| 5693 two was not the same. For Peter acknowledged that Christ was the | |
| 5694 true Son of God by nature, i.e., he was man, and yet truly God; but | |
| 5695 Nathanael acknowledged that Christ was the Son of God by means of | |
| 5696 adoption, in the sense of, “I said: You are gods, and all of | |
| 5697 you the sons of the Most High”(Ps 81:6). This is clear from | |
| 5698 what Nathanael said next: for if he had understood that Christ was | |
| 5699 the Son of God by nature, he would not have said, you are the King | |
| 5700 of Israel, but “of the whole world.” It is also clear | |
| 5701 from the fact that Christ added nothing to the faith of Peter, | |
| 5702 since it was perfect, but stated that he would build the Church on | |
| 5703 that profession. But he raises Nathanael to greater things, since | |
| 5704 the greater part of his profession was deficient; to greater | |
| 5705 things, i.e., to a knowledge of his divinity.</p> | |
| 5706 <p>329 And so he said, <span style="font-weight: bold">You | |
| 5707 will</span> see greater <span style="font-weight: bold">things than | |
| 5708 this.</span> Here we have, thirdly, an allusion to the future. As | |
| 5709 if to say: Because I have revealed the past to you, you believe | |
| 5710 that I am the Son of God only by adoption, and the King of Israel; | |
| 5711 but I will bring you to greater knowledge, so that you may believe | |
| 5712 that I am the natural Son of God, and the King of all ages. And | |
| 5713 accordingly he says, Amen, amen, I say to <span style= | |
| 5714 "font-weight: bold">you, you will see the heavens opened and the | |
| 5715 angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.</span> By | |
| 5716 this, according to Chrysostom, the Lord wishes to prove that he is | |
| 5717 the true Son of God, and God. For the peculiar task of angels is to | |
| 5718 minister and be subject: “Bless the Lord, all of you, his | |
| 5719 angels, his ministers, who do his will” (Ps 102:20). So when | |
| 5720 you see angels minister to me, you will be certain that I am the | |
| 5721 true Son of God. “When he leads his First-Begotten into the | |
| 5722 world, he says: ‘Let all the angels of God adore | |
| 5723 him’” (Heb 1:6).</p> | |
| 5724 <p>330 When did the apostles see this? They saw it, I say, during | |
| 5725 the passion, when an angel stood by to comfort Christ (Lk 22:13); | |
| 5726 again, at the resurrection, when the apostles found two angels who | |
| 5727 were standing over the tomb. Again, at the ascension, when the | |
| 5728 angels said to the apostles: “Men of Galilee, why are you | |
| 5729 standing here looking up to heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken | |
| 5730 from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you have seen | |
| 5731 him going into heaven” (Acts 1:11 ).</p> | |
| 5732 <p>331 Because Christ spoke the truth about the past, it was easier | |
| 5733 for Nathanael to believe what he foretells about the future, | |
| 5734 saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">you will see</span>. For | |
| 5735 one who has revealed the truth about things hidden in the past, has | |
| 5736 an evident argument that what he is saying about the future is | |
| 5737 true. He says, <span style="font-weight: bold">the angels of God | |
| 5738 ascending and descending on the Son of Man,</span> because, in his | |
| 5739 mortal flesh, he was a little less than the angels; and from this | |
| 5740 point of view, angels ascend and descend upon him. But insofar as | |
| 5741 he is the Son of God, he is above the angels, as was said.</p> | |
| 5742 <p>332 According to Augustine, Christ is here revealing his | |
| 5743 divinity in a beautiful way. For it is recorded that Jacob dreamed | |
| 5744 of a ladder, standing on the ground, with “the angels of God | |
| 5745 ascending and descending on it” (Gn 28:16). Then Jacob arose | |
| 5746 and poured oil on a stone and said, “Truly, the Lord is in | |
| 5747 this place” (Gn 28:16). Now that stone is Christ, whom the | |
| 5748 builders rejected; and the invisible oil of the Holy Spirit was | |
| 5749 poured on him. He is set up as a pillar, because he was to be the | |
| 5750 foundation of the Church: “No one can lay another foundation | |
| 5751 except that which has been laid” (1 Cor 3:11). The angels are | |
| 5752 ascending and descending inasmuch as they are ministering and | |
| 5753 serving before him. So he said, <span style= | |
| 5754 "font-weight: bold">Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see the | |
| 5755 heavens opened,</span> and so forth, as if to say: Because you are | |
| 5756 truly an Israelite, give heed to what Israel saw, so that you many | |
| 5757 believe that I am the one signified by the stone anointed by Jacob, | |
| 5758 for you also will see angels ascending and descending upon him | |
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5759 [viz. Jesus].</p> |
| 35 | 5760 <p>333 Or, the angels are, according to Augustine, the preachers of |
| 5761 Christ: “Go, swift angels, to a nation rent and torn to | |
| 5762 pieces,” as it says in Isaiah (18:2). They ascend through | |
| 5763 contemplation, just as Paul had ascended even to the third heaven | |
| 5764 (2 Cor 12:2); and they descend by instructing their neighbor. | |
| 5765 <span style="font-weight: bold">On the Son of Man,</span> i.e., for | |
| 5766 the honor of Christ, because “what we preach is not | |
| 5767 ourselves, but Jesus Christ” (2 Cor 4:5). In order that they | |
| 5768 might ascend and descend, the heavens were opened, because heavenly | |
| 5769 graces must be given to preachers if they are to ascend and | |
| 5770 descend. “The heavens broke at the presence of God” (Ps | |
| 5771 67:9); “1 saw the heavens open” (Rv 4:1 ).</p> | |
| 5772 <p>334 Now the reason why Nathanael was not chosen to be an apostle | |
| 5773 after such a profession of faith is that Christ did not want the | |
| 5774 conversion of the world to the faith to be attributed to human | |
| 5775 wisdom, but solely to the power of God. And so he did not choose | |
| 5776 Nathanael as an apostle, since he was very learned in the law; he | |
| 5777 rather chose simple and uneducated men. “Not many of you are | |
| 5778 learned,” and “God chose the simple of the world” | |
| 5779 (1 Cor 1:26).</p> | |
| 5780 </blockquote> | |
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5781 </body> |
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5782 </html> |