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| Doctrine of Scripture on the subject of Part 3.
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§46. Doctrine of Scripture
on the subject of Part 3.
Has then the divine teaching, which abolished the
godlessness of the heathen or the idols, passed over in silence, and
left the race of mankind to go entirely unprovided with the knowledge
of God? Not so: rather it anticipates their understanding when it
says179
: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord thy God is
one God;” and again, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart and with all thy strength;” and again, “Thou
shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve, and
shalt cleave to Him.” 2. But that the providence and ordering
power of the Word also, over all and toward all, is attested by all
inspired Scripture, this passage suffices to confirm our argument,
where men who speak of God say180
: “Thou hast
laid the foundation of the earth and it abideth. The day continueth
according to Thine ordinance.” And again181
:
“Sing to our God upon the harp, that covereth the heaven with
clouds, that prepareth rain for the earth, that bringeth forth grass
upon the mountains, and green herb for the service of man, and giveth
food to the cattle.” 3. But by whom does He give it, save by Him
through Whom all things were made? For the providence over all things
belongs naturally to Him by Whom they were made; and who is this save
the Word of God, concerning Whom in another psalm182
he says: “By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all
the host of them by the Breath of His mouth.” For He tells us
that all things were made in Him and through Him. 4. Wherefore He also
persuades us and says183
, “He spake and they were made, He
commanded and they were created;” as the illustrious Moses also
at the beginning of his account of Creation confirms what we say by his
narrative184
, saying: and God said, “let us
make man in our image and after our likeness:” for also when He
was carrying out the creation of the heaven and earth and all things,
the Father said to Him185
, “Let the
heaven be made,” and “let the waters be gathered together
and let the dry land appear,” and “let the earth bring
forth herb” and “every green thing:” so that one must
convict Jews also of not genuinely attending to the Scriptures. 5. For
one might ask them to whom was God speaking, to use the imperative
mood? If He were commanding and addressing the things He was creating,
the utterance would be redundant, for they were not yet in being, but
were about to be made; but no one speaks to what does not exist, nor
addresses to what is not yet made a command to be made. For if God were
giving a command to the things that were to be, He must have said,
“Be made, heaven, and be made, earth, and come forth, green herb,
and be created, O man.” But in fact He did not do so; but He
gives the command thus: “Let us make man,” and “let
the green herb come forth.” By which God is proved to be speaking
about them to some one at hand: it follows then that some one was with
Him to Whom He spoke when He made all things. 6. Who then could it be,
save His Word? For to whom could God be said to speak, except His Word?
Or who was with Him when He made all created Existence, except His
Wisdom, which says186
: “When He was
making the heaven and the earth I was present with Him?” But in
the mention of heaven and earth, all created things in heaven and earth
are included as well. 7. But being present with Him as His Wisdom and
His Word, looking at the Father He fashioned the Universe, and
organised it and gave it order; and, as He is the power of the Father,
He gave all things strength to be, as the Saviour says187
: “What things soever I see the Father
doing, I also do in like manner.” And His holy disciples teach
that all things were made “through Him and unto Him;” 8.
and, being the good Offspring of Him that is good, and true Son, He is
the Father’s Power and Wisdom and Word, not being so by
participation188
| 188 μετοχή, cf.
de Syn. 48, 51, 53. This was held by Arians, but in common with
Paul Samos. and many of the Monarchian heretics. The same principle in
Orig. on Ps. 135 (Lomm. xiii. 134) οὐ κατὰ
μετουσίαν
ἀλλὰ κατ᾽
οὐσίαν
θεός. | , nor as if these qualifies were
imparted to Him from without, as they are to those who partake of Him
and are made wise by Him, and receive power and reason in Him; but He
is the very Wisdom, very Word, and very own Power of the Father, very
Light, very Truth, very Righteousness, very Virtue, and in truth His
express Image, and Brightness, and Resemblance. And to sum all up, He
is the wholly perfect Fruit of the Father, and is alone the Son, and
unchanging Image of the Father.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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