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| Chapter I.—The Lord acknowledged but one God and Father.
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Chapter I.—The Lord acknowledged but
one God and Father.
1. Since, therefore, this is sure
and stedfast, that no other God or Lord was announced by the Spirit,
except Him who, as God, rules over all, together with His Word, and those
who receive the Spirit of adoption,3805
that is, those who believe in
the one and true God, and in Jesus Christ the Son of God; and likewise
that the apostles did of themselves term no one else as God, or name [no
other] as Lord; and, what is much more important, [since it is true] that
our Lord [acted likewise], who did also command us to confess no one as
Father, except Him who is in the heavens, who is the one God and the one
Father;—those things are clearly shown to be false which these
deceivers and most perverse sophists advance, maintaining that the being
whom they have themselves invented is by nature both God and Father; but
that the Demiurge is naturally neither God nor Father, but is so termed
merely by courtesy (verbo tenus), because of his ruling the
creation, these perverse mythologists state, setting their thoughts
against God; and, putting aside the doctrine of Christ, and of themselves
divining falsehoods, they dispute against the entire dispensation of God.
For they maintain that their Æons, and gods, and fathers, and lords, are
also still further termed heavens, together with their Mother, whom they
do also call “the Earth,” and “Jerusalem,” while
they also style her many other names.
2. Now to whom is it not clear, that if the Lord had
known many fathers and gods, He would not have taught His disciples to
know [only] one God,3806
and to call Him alone
Father? But He did the rather distinguish those who by word merely
(verbo tenus) are termed gods, from Him who is truly God, that
they should not err as to His doctrine, nor understand one [in mistake]
for another. And if He did indeed teach us to call one Being Father and
God, while He does from time to time Himself confess other fathers and
gods in the same sense, then He will appear to enjoin a different course
upon His disciples from what He follows Himself. Such conduct, however,
does not bespeak the good teacher, but a misleading and invidious one.
The apostles, too, according to these men’s showing, are proved to
be transgressors of the commandment, since they confess the Creator as
God, and Lord, and Father, as I have shown—if He is not alone God
and Father. Jesus, therefore, will be to them the author and teacher of
such transgression, inasmuch as He commanded that one Being should be
called Father,3807
thus imposing upon them
the necessity of confessing the Creator as their Father, as has been
pointed out.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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