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| Chapter XLIII
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Chapter
XLIII.
Observe that when Plato says, that “after
having found out the Creator and Father of the universe, it is
impossible to make Him known to all men,” he does not speak of
Him as unspeakable, and as incapable of being expressed in words.
On the contrary, he implies that He may be spoken of, and that there
are a few to whom He may be made known. But Celsus, as if
forgetting the language which he had just quoted from Plato,
immediately gives God the name of “the unspeakable.”
He says: “since the wise men have found out this way, in
order to be able to give us some idea of the First of Beings, who is
unspeakable.” For ourselves, we hold that not God alone is
unspeakable, but other things also which are inferior to Him.
Such are the things which Paul labours to express when he says,
“I heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to
utter,”4780
where the word
“heard” is used in the sense of “understood;”
as in the passage, “He who hath ears to hear, let him
hear.” We also hold that it is a hard matter to see the
Creator and Father of the universe; but it is possible to see Him in
the way thus referred to, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for
they shall see God;”4781
and not only so,
but also in the sense of the words of Him “who is the image of
the invisible God;” “He who hath seen Me hath seen the
Father who sent Me.”4782
No sensible
person could suppose that these last words were spoken in reference to
His bodily presence, which was open to the view of all; otherwise all
those who said, “Crucify him, crucify him,” and Pilate, who
had power over the humanity of Jesus, were among those who saw God the
Father, which is absurd. Moreover, that these words, “He
that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father who sent Me,” are not to
be taken in their grosser sense, is plain from the answer which He gave
to Philip, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet dost thou
not know Me, Philip?” after Philip had asked, “Show us the
Father, and it sufficeth us.” He, then, who perceives how
these words, “The Word was made flesh,” are to be
understood of the only-begotten Son of God, the first-born of all
creation, will also understand how, in seeing the image of the
invisible God, we see “the Creator and Father of the
universe.”E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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