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| On the Clause, and in One Lord Jesus Christ, with a Reading from the First Epistle to the Corinthians.
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Lecture X.
On the Clause, and in One Lord Jesus
Christ, with a Reading from the First Epistle
to the Corinthians
For though there be that are called gods, whether in
heaven or on earth1114
| 1114 1 Cor. viii. 5, 6. Cyril omits the
clause: as there be gods many and lords many. | ; yet to us there
is One God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and One
Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through
Him.
1. They who have
been taught to believe “In One God the Father
Almighty,” ought also to believe in His Only-begotten
Son. For he that denieth the Son, the same hath not the
Father1115
. I am the
Door1116
, saith Jesus; no
one cometh unto the Father but through Me1117
. For if thou deny the Door, the
knowledge concerning the Father is shut off from thee. No man
knoweth the father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son shall
reveal Him1118
. For if thou
deny Him who reveals, thou remainest in ignorance. There is a
sentence in the Gospels, saying, He that believeth not on the Son,
shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.1119
For the Father hath indignation when
the Only-begotten Son is set at nought. For it is grievous to a
king that merely his soldier should be dishonoured; and when one of his
nobler officers or friends is dishonoured, then his anger is greatly
increased: but if any should do despite to the king’s
only-begotten son himself, who shall appease the father’s
indignation on behalf of his only-begotten son?
2. If, therefore, any one wishes to shew
piety towards God, let him worship the Son, since otherwise the Father
accepts not his service. The Father spake with a loud voice from
heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased1120
. The Father
was well pleased; unless thou also be well pleased in Him, thou hast
not life. Be not thou carried away with the Jews when they
craftily say, There is one God alone; but with the knowledge that God
is One, know that there is also an Only-begotten Son of God. I am
not the first to say this, but the Psalmist in the person of the Son
saith, The Lord said unto Me, Thou art My Son1121
. Heed not therefore what the Jews say,
but what the Prophets say. Dost thou wonder that they who stoned
and slew the Prophets, set at nought the Prophets’
words?
3. Believe thou In One
Lord Jesus Christ, the Only-Begotten Son of God. For we
say “One Lord Jesus Christ,” that His Sonship may be
“Only-begotten:” we say “One,” that thou
mayest not suppose another: we say “One,” that thou
mayest not profanely diffuse the many names1122
| 1122 τὸ
πολυώνυμον, a word used by the Greek Poets of their gods, as by Homer (Hymn to
Demeter, 18, 32) of Zeus, Κρόνου
πολυώνυμος
υἱός. Cf. Soph. Ant.
1115; Æschyl. Prom. V. 210. | of
His action among many sons. For He is called a Door1123
| 1123 John x. 7; 9. Cyril calls Christ a
“spiritual,” or “rational” (λογική) door,
and applies the same term to His sheep, below. Origen (In
Evang. Joh. Tom. i. cap. 29): Θύρα ὁ Σωτηρ
ἀναγέγραπται, ibid. φιλάνθρωπος
δὲ ὢν…ποιμὴν
γινεται. | ; but take not the name literally for a thing
of wood, but a spiritual, a living Door, discriminating those who enter
in. He is called a Way1124
, not one trodden by
feet, but leading to the Father in heaven; He is called a
Sheep1125
| 1125 Ib. i. 29; Is. liii. 7, 8; Acts viii.
32. | , not an irrational one, but the one which
through its precious blood cleanses the world from its sins, which is
led before the shearers, and knows when to be silent. This Sheep
again is called a Shepherd, who says, I am the Good
Shepherd1126
: a Sheep
because of His manhood, a Shepherd because of the loving-kindness of
His Godhead. And wouldst thou know that there are rational sheep?
the Saviour says to the Apostles, Behold, I send you as sheep in the
midst of wolves1127
. Again, He is
called a Lion1128
, not as a devourer
of men, but indicating as it were by the title His kingly, and
stedfast, and confident nature: a Lion He is also called in
opposition to the lion our adversary, who roars and devours those who
have been deceived1129
. For the
Saviour came, not as having changed the gentleness of His own nature,
but as the strong Lion of the tribe of Judah1130
, saving them that believe, but treading down
the adversary. He is called a Stone, not a lifeless stone, cut
out by men’s hands, but a chief corner-stone1131
, on whom whosoever believeth shall not be
put to shame.
4. He is called Christ, not as having been anointed by men’s hands,
but eternally anointed by the Father to His High-Priesthood on behalf
of men1132
| 1132 The reading of the
earlier Editions ὑπὲρ
ἀνθρώπων is free from
all difficulty, and so the more likely to have been substituted for
what is at first sight more difficult ὑπὲρ
ἄνθρωπον, the reading
of Cod. Coislin. adopted by the Benedictine and subsequent
Editors. The idea of a super-human Priesthood to which the Son in
His Divine nature was anointed by the Father from eternity is repeated
by Cyril in § 14 of this Lecture, and in Cat. xi. 1, 14. See
Index, “Priesthood,” and the reference there given to a
fuller consideration of the subject in the Introduction. | . He is called
Dead, not as having abode among the dead, as all in Hades, but as being
alone free among the dead1133
. He is
called Son of Man, not as having had His generation from earth, as each
of us, but as coming upon the clouds To Judge Both
Quick and Dead1134
| 1134 John v. 27. Comparing what Cyril says here
with Cat. iv. 15, and xv. 10, we see that he means to explain why
Christ is called the “Son of Man” when “He cometh
again from heaven,” and “no more from earth.”
The preceding clause refers to His first coming in the flesh, as
differing in the manner of His conception and birth from other men. | . He is
called Lord, not improperly as those who are
so called among men, but as having a natural and eternal
Lordship1135
| 1135 Cf. Athanas.
(c. Arian. II. xv. 14), “That very Word who was by nature
Lord, and was then made man, hath by means of a servant’s form
been made Lord of all and Christ.” | . He is called
Jesus by a fitting name, as having the
appellation from His salutary healing. He is called Son, not as advanced by adoption, but as naturally
begotten. And many are the titles of our Saviour; lest,
therefore, His manifold appellations should make thee think of many
sons, and because of the errors of the heretics, who say that Christ is
one, and Jesus another, and the Door another, and so on1136
| 1136 Cf. Irenæus (III.
xvi. 8): “All therefore are outside the Dispensation, who
under pretence of knowledge understand that Jesus was one, and Christ
another, and the Only-begotten another (from whom again is the Word),
and the Saviour another.” The Cerinthians, Ebionites,
Ophites, and Valentinians are mentioned by Irenæus as thus
separating the Christ from Jesus. | , the Faith secures thee beforehand, saying
well, In One Lord Jesus Christ: for
though the titles are many, yet their subject is one.
5. But the Saviour comes in various forms to
each man for his profit1137
| 1137 Cf. Athanas.
(Epist. X.): “Since He is rich and manifold, He
varies Himself according to the individual capacity of each
soul.” | . For to those
who have need of gladness He becomes a Vine; and to those who want to
enter in He stands as a Door; and to those who need to offer up their
prayers He stands a mediating High Priest. Again, to those who
have sins He becomes a Sheep, that He may be sacrificed for them.
He is made all things to all men1138
,
remaining in His own nature what He is. For so remaining, and
holding the dignity of His Sonship in reality unchangeable, He adapts
Himself to our infirmities, just as some excellent physician or
compassionate teacher; though He is Very Lord, and received not the
Lordship by advancement1139
| 1139 ἐκ
προκοπῆς. We
learn from Athanasius (c. Arian. i. 37, 38, 40), that from
St. Paul’s language Philipp. ii. 9: “Wherefore
also God highly exalted Him, &c.,” and from
Ps. xlv. 7: “Thou hast loved
righteousness and hated iniquity: therefore God, thy God, hath
anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows,” the
Arians argued that Christ first received Divine honour as Son and Lord
as the reward of His obedience as Man. Athanasius replies (c.
40): “He was not from a lower state promoted; but rather,
existing as God, He took the form of a servant, and in taking it was
not promoted but humbled Himself. Where then is there here any
reward of virtue, or what advancement (προκοπή) and promotion
in humiliation?”
The same doctrine had been previously
held by the disciples of Paul of Samosata, who said that Christ was not
originally God, but after His Incarnation was by advance (ἐκ
προκοπῆς) made God,
from being made by nature a mere man: see Athanas. (de
Decretis, § 24, c. Arian. i. 38). S. Cyril
refers to the error and uses the same word, in xi. 1, 7, 13, 15, 17,
and xiv. 27. | , but has the
dignity of His Lordship from nature, and is not called Lord
improperly1140
| 1140 καταχρηστικῶς,
i.e. in a secondary or metaphorical sense. Cf. vii. 5. | , as we are, but is
so in verity, since by the Father’s bidding1141
| 1141 νεύματι,
“command” or “bidding,” as expressed by nodding
the head. | He is Lord of His own works. For our
lordship is over men of equal rights and like passions, nay often over
our elders, and often a young master rules over aged servants.
But in the case of our Lord Jesus Christ the Lordship is not so:
but He is first Maker, then Lord1142
| 1142 Origen (De Principiis, I. ii. 10) had
argued that “even God cannot be called omnipotent, unless there
exist those over whom He may exercise His power,” and therefore
creation must have been eternal, or God could not have been eternally
Omnipotent. In other passages Origen declares it an impiety to
hold that matter is co-eternal with God (De Princip. II. i. 4),
and yet maintains that there were other worlds before this, and that
there was never a time when there was no world existing.
Methodius, in a fragment of his work On things
Created, preserved by Photius, and quoted by Bishop Bull
(Def. Fid. Nic. II. xiii. 9), argues against these
theories of Origen, that in John i. 2 the words “The same was in the
beginning with God” indicate the authority (τὸ
ἐξουσιαστικόν)
of the Word which He had with the Father before the world came into
existence; since from all eternity God the Father, together with His
Word, possessed the Almighty power whereby whenever He would He could
create worlds to rule over.
Dean Church remarks that “On the other hand
Tertullian, contra Hermog. 3, considering the attributes
in question to belong not to the Divine Nature, but Office, denies that
God was Almighty (Lord?) from eternity; while the Greeks affirmed this
(vid. Cyril Alex. in Joann. xvii. 8, p. 963; Athan.
Orat. ii. 12–14), as understanding by the term the
inherent but latent attribute of doing what He had not yet done,
τὸ
ἐξουσιαστικόν.”
Cleopas, the Jerusalem Editor,
regards the passage as directed against Paul of Samosata, who asserted
that Christ had become God, and received His kingdom and Lordship only
after His Incarnation, and remarks:—“S. Cyril evidently
regards the Lordship of Jesus Christ as twofold: one that which
from eternity belonged to Him as God, which he calls natural, according
to which ‘He was ever both Lord and King, as being by nature
God’ (Cyril Alex. in Johann. cap. xvii.); and the other
the Lordship in time relative to the creatures, by which He exercises
dominion over the works created by Him, as being their
Maker.“ | : first
He made all things by the Father’s will, then, He is Lord of the
things which were made by Him.
6. Christ the Lord is He who was
born in the city of David1143
. And
wouldest thou know that Christ is Lord with the Father even
before His Incarnation1144
| 1144 Among those who denied
the Divine præ-existence of Christ Cleopas enumerates Ebion,
Carpocrates, Theodotus, Artemon, Paul of Samosata, Marcellus, and
Photinus. | , that thou mayest
not only accept the statement by faith, but mayest also receive proof
from the Old Testament? Go to the first book, Genesis: God
saith, Let us make man, not ‘in My image,’ but,
in Our image1145
. And after
Adam was made, the sacred writer says, And God created man; in the
image of God created He him1146
. For he
did not limit the dignity of the Godhead to the Father alone, but
included the Son also: that it might be shewn that man is not
only the work of God, but also of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is Himself
also Very God. This Lord, who works together with the Father,
wrought with Him also in the case of Sodom, according to the
Scripture: And the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah fire
and brimstone from the Lord out of heaven1147
. This Lord is He who afterwards was
seen of Moses, as much as he was able to see. For the Lord is
loving unto man, ever condescending to our infirmities.
7. Moreover, that you may be sure that this
is He who was seen of Moses, hear Paul’s testimony, when he says,
For they all drank of a spiritual rock that followed them; and the
rock was Christ1148
. And
again: By faith Moses forsook Egypt1149
, and shortly after he says, accounting
the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in
Egypt1150
| 1150 Heb. xi. 26. Quoting from memory Cyril
mistakes the order of the two sentences. | . This Moses
says to Him, Shew me Thyself. Thou seest that the Prophets
also in those times saw the Christ, that is, as far as each was
able. Shew me Thyself, that I may see Thee with
understanding1151
| 1151 Ex. xxxiii. 13. Cyril means that even before His
Incarnation Christ was seen as far as was possible by Prophets such as
Moses. This view was held by many of the Fathers before
Cyril. See Justin M. (Tryph. § 56 ff.); Tertull.
(adv. Praxean, § 16); Euseb. (Demonstr. Evang.
V. 13–16). | . But He
saith, There shall no man see My face, and live1152
. For this reason then, because no man
could see the face of the Godhead and live, He took on Him the face of
human nature, that we might see this and live. And yet when He
wished to shew even that with a little majesty, when His face did
shine as the sun1153
, the disciples fell
down affrighted. If then His bodily countenance, shining not in
the full power of Him that wrought, but according to the capacity of
the Disciples, affrighted them, so that even thus they could not bear
it, how could any man gaze upon the majesty of the Godhead?
‘A great thing,’ saith the Lord, ‘thou desirest, O
Moses: and I approve thine insatiable desire, and I will do
this thing1154
| 1154 Ex. xxxiii. 17. Gr. λόγον, “word,” in
imitation of the Hebrew idiom. | for thee, but
according as thou art able. Behold, I will put thee in the
clift of the rock1155
: for as being
little, thou shalt lodge in a little space.’
8. Now here I wish you to make safe what I
am going to say, because of the Jews. For our object is to prove
that the Lord Jesus Christ was with the Father. The Lord then says to Moses, I will pass by before thee
with My glory, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee1156
. Being
Himself the Lord, what Lord doth He proclaim? Thou seest how He was
covertly teaching the godly doctrine of the Father and the Son.
And again, in what follows it is written word for word: And
the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood
with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed
by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, the
Lord God, merciful and gracious,
long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, both keeping
righteousness and shewing mercy unto thousands, taking away iniquities,
and transgressions, and sins1157
. Then in
what follows, Moses bowed his head and worshipped1158
before the Lord who proclaimed the Father,
and said: Go Thou then, O Lord, in the midst of us1159
.
9. This is the first proof: receive
now a second plain one. The Lord said
unto my Lord, sit Thou on My right hand1160
| 1160 Ps. cx. 1. Heb. “An oracle of Jehovah
unto my lord.” Cyril’s argument is based upon the
common mistake of supposing that Κύριος represents the same
Hebrew word in both parts of the sentence. | . The Lord
says this to the Lord, not to a servant, but to the Lord of all, and
His own Son, to whom He put all things in subjection. But when
He saith that all things are put under Him, it is manifest that He is
excepted, which did put all things under Him, and what follows;
that God may be all in all1161
. The
Only-begotten Son is Lord of all, but the obedient Son of the Father,
for He grasped not the Lordship1162
| 1162 Cyril evidently
alludes to Philip. ii.
6, “Who being in
the form of God thought it not a prize to be on an equality with
God:” for the right interpretation of which passage, see
Dean Gwynn’s notes in the Speaker’s
Commentary. | , but received
it by nature of the Father’s own will. For neither did the
Son grasp it, nor the Father grudge to impart it. He it is who
saith, All things are delivered unto Me of My Father1163
| 1163 Matt. xi. 27; Luke x. 22. On this text Athanasius wrote a
special treatise (In illud ‘Omnia,’ &c.),
against the arguments of Arius, Eusebius, and their fellows, who
said,—“If all things were delivered (meaning by
‘all’ the Lordship of Creation), there was once a time when
He had them not. But it He had them not, He is not of the Father,
for if He were, He would on that account have had them
always.”
Again (contr. Arian. Orat.
III. cap. xxvii. § 36), Athanasius argues: “Lest a
man, perceiving that the Son has all that the Father hath, from the
exact likeness and identity of what He hath, should wander into the
impiety of Sabellius, considering Him to be the Father, therefore He
has said, Was given unto Me, and I received, and Were
delivered to Me, only to shew that He is not the Father, but the
Father’s Word, and the Eternal Son, who, because of His likeness
to the Father, has eternally what He has from Him, and because He is
the Son, has from the Father what eternally He hath.” | ; “delivered unto Me, not as
though I had them not
before; and I keep them well, not robbing Him who hath given
them.”
10. The Son of God then is Lord: He is
Lord, who was born in Bethlehem of Judæa, according to the Angel
who said to the shepherds, I bring you good tidings of great joy,
that unto you is born this day in the city of David Christ the
Lord1164
: of whom an
Apostle says elsewhere, The word which God sent unto the children of
Israel, preaching the gospel of peace by Jesus Christ: He is Lord
of all1165
. But when he
says, of all, do thou except nothing from His Lordship:
for whether Angels, or Archangels, or principalities, or powers, or any
created thing named by the Apostles, all are under the Lordship of the
Son. Of Angels He is Lord, as thou hast it in the Gospels,
Then the Devil departed from Him, and the Angels came and ministered
unto Him1166
; for the Scripture
saith not, they succoured Him, but they ministered unto Him,
that is, like servants. When He was about to be born of a Virgin,
Gabriel was then His servant, having received His service as a peculiar
dignity. When He was about to go into Egypt, that He might
overthrow the gods of Egypt made with hands1167
| 1167 Isa. xix. 1. “Behold, the Lord
rideth upon a swift cloud, and cometh unto Egypt: and the idols
of Egypt shall be moved at His presence.” The prophecy was
supposed by many of the Fathers to have been fulfilled by the flight
into Egypt. Cf. Athanas. (Ep. LXI. ad
Maximum, § 4): “As a child He came down to Egypt,
and brought to nought its idols made with hands:” and
(de Incarn. § 36): “Which of the
righteous men or kings went down into Egypt, so that at his coming the
idols of Egypt fell?” On the passage of Isaiah see
Delitzsch, and Kay (Speaker’s Commentary). | ,
again an Angel appeareth to Joseph in a dream1168
. After He had been crucified, and had
risen again, an Angel brought the good tidings, and as a trustworthy
servant said to the women, Go, tell His disciples that He is risen,
and goeth before you into Galilee; lo, I have told you1169
: almost as if he had said, “I
have not neglected my command, I protest that I have told you; that if
ye disregard it, the blame may not be on me, but on those who disregard
it.” This then is the One Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the
lesson just now read speaks: For though there be many that are
called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, and so on, yet to us
there is One God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him;
and One Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through
Him1170
.
11. And He is called by two names, Jesus
Christ; Jesus, because He saves,—Christ, because He is a
Priest1171
| 1171 Compare Eusebius
(Eccl. Hist. I. cap. iii.), a passage which Cyril seems to have
followed in his explanation of the names ‘Jesus’ and
‘Christ.’ | . And knowing
this the inspired Prophet Moses conferred these two titles on two men
distinguished above all1172
| 1172 For the common reading
ἐγκρίτοις
πάντων Cod. Mon. I. has
ἐκκρίτοις π.
which is required both by the construction and the sense. The
change may have been caused by the occurrence of ἐγκρίτων just
below. | : his own
successor in the government, Auses1173
| 1173 Eusebius
(u.s): “His successor, therefore, who had not
hitherto borne the name Jesus, but had been called by another name,
Auses, which had been given him by his parents, he now called Jesus,
bestowing the name upon him as a gift of honour far greater than any
kingly diadem.” Auses is a common corruption of the name
Oshea. See the note on the passage of Eusebius in this
series. | , he renamed
Jesus; and his own brother Aaron he surnamed Christ1174
| 1174 Eusebius:
“He consecrated a man high-priest of God, in so far as that was
possible, and him he called Christ.” Cf. Lev. iv. 5, 16; vi. 22: ὁ ἱερεὺς ὁ
Χριστός | , that by two well-approved men he might
represent at once both the High Priesthood, and the Kingship of the One
Jesus Christ who was to come. For Christ is a High Priest like
Aaron; since He glorified not Himself to be made a High Priest, but
He that spake unto Him, Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of
Melchizedek1175
| 1175 Heb. v. 4, 5, 6. Cyril omits from his quotation
the reference to Ps. ii.
7: “Thou art My
Son: this day have I begotten Thee.” | . And Jesus
the son of Nave was in many things a type of Him. For when he
began to rule over the people, he began from Jordan1176
, whence Christ also, after He was baptized,
began to preach the gospel. And the son of Nave appoints twelve
to divide the inheritance1177
; and twelve
Apostles Jesus sends forth, as heralds of the truth, into all the
world. The typical Jesus saved Rahab the harlot when she
believed: and the true Jesus says, Behold, the publicans and
the harlots go before you into the kingdom of God1178
. With only a shout the walls of
Jericho fell down in the time of the type: and because Jesus
said, There shall not be left here one stone upon
another1179
, the Temple of the
Jews opposite to us is fallen, the cause of its fall not being the
denunciation but the sin of the transgressors.
12. There is One Lord Jesus Christ, a
wondrous name, indirectly announced beforehand by the Prophets.
For Esaias the Prophet says, Behold, thy Saviour cometh, having His
own reward1180
. Now Jesus in
Hebrew is by interpretation Saviour. For the Prophetic
gift, foreseeing the murderous spirit of the Jews against their
Lord1181
| 1181 τὸ
κυριοκτόνον
τῶν
᾽Ιουδαίων. | , veiled His name, lest from knowing it
plainly beforehand they might plot against Him readily. But He
was openly called Jesus not by men, but by an Angel, who came not by
his own authority, but was sent by the power of God, and said to
Joseph, Fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife; for that which is
conceivedin her is of the Holy
Ghost. And she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His
name Jesus1182
. And
immediately he renders the reason of this name, saying, for He shall
save His people from their sins. Consider how He who was not
yet born could have a people, unless He was in being before He
was born1183
| 1183 The Anathema appended
to the Creed of Nicæa condemns those who said πρὶν
γεννηθῆναι
οὐκ ἦν. On this Eusebius
of Cæsarea (Epist. § 9) remarks: “Moreover
to anathematize ‘Before His generation He was not,’ did not
seem preposterous, in that it is confessed by all, that the Son of God
was before the generation according to the flesh.” | . This also
the Prophet says in His person, From the bowels of my mother hath He
made mention of My name1184
; because the Angel
foretold that He should be called Jesus. And again concerning
Herod’s plot again he says, And under the shadow of His hand
hath He hid Me1185
.
13. Jesus then means according to the Hebrew
“Saviour,” but in the Greek tongue “The
Healer;” since He is physician of souls and bodies, curer of
spirits, curing the blind in body1186
, and leading
minds into light, healing the visibly lame, and guiding sinners’
steps to repentance, saying to the palsied, Sin no more, and,
Take up thy bed and walk1187
. For
since the body was palsied for the sin of the soul, He ministered first
to the soul that He might extend the healing to the body. If,
therefore, any one is suffering in soul from sins, there is the
Physician for him: and if any one here is of little faith, let
him say to Him, Help Thou mine unbelief1188
. If any is encompassed also with
bodily ailments, let him not be faithless, but let him draw nigh; for
to such diseases also Jesus ministers1189
| 1189 Compare the
fragment of the Apology of Quadratus presented to Hadrian 127
a.d., preserved by Eusebius (H.E. IV.
iii.): “But the works of our Saviour were always present,
for they were genuine:—those that were healed, and those that
arose from the dead, who were seen not only when they were healed and
when they were raised, but were also always present; and not merely
while the Saviour was on earth, but also after His death they were
alive for a long while, so that some of them survived even to our
times.” See the notes on the passage of Eusebius, in this
series. | ,
and let him learn that Jesus is the Christ.
14. For that He is Jesus the Jews allow, but
not further that He is Christ. Therefore saith the Apostle,
Who is the liar, but he that denieth that Jesus is the
Christ1190
? But Christ
is a High Priest, whose priesthood passes not to
another1191
, neither having
begun His Priesthood in time1192
| 1192 On the opinion
that Christ was from all eternity the true High Priest of the Creation,
see Index, Priesthood, and the reference there given to the
Introduction. Cf. x. 4: xi. 1. Athan (c. Arian.
Or. ii. 12, J. H. N.). | , nor having any
successor in His High-Priesthood: as thou heardest on the
Lord’s day, when we were discoursing in the congregation1193
| 1193 The word
‘synaxis’ was used by the early Christians to distinguish
their assemblies from the Jewish ‘synagogue,’ a word formed
from the same root and more regularly. ‘Synaxis’ came
to be used more especially of a celebration of the Eucharist. See
Suicer, Thesaurus, Σύναξις. | on the phrase, After the Order of
Melchizedek. He received not the High-Priesthood from bodily
succession, nor was He anointed with oil prepared by man1194
| 1194 σκευαστῷ,
Ex. xxx.
22–25: “a
perfume compounded (μυρεψικόν
) after the art of the perfumer” (R.V.). | , but before all ages by the Father; and He
so far excels the others as with an oath He is made
Priest: For they are priests without an oath, but He with an
oath by Him that said, The Lord sware, and will not repent1195
. The mere purpose of the Father was
sufficient for surety: but the mode of assurance is twofold,
namely that with the purpose there follows the oath also, that by
two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we
might have strong encouragement1196
for our faith,
who receive Christ Jesus as the Son of God.
15. This Christ, when He was come, the Jews
denied, but the devils confessed. But His forefather David was
not ignorant of Him, when he said, I have ordained a lamp for mine
Anointed1197
: which lamp
some have interpreted to be the brightness of Prophecy1198
| 1198 2 Pet. i. 19. The supposed reference in
the Psalm to the lamp of prophecy is mentioned by Eusebius
(Demonstr. Evang. IV. cap. 16). | , others the flesh which He took upon Him
from the Virgin, according to the Apostle’s word, But we have
this treasure in earthen vessels1199
. The
Prophet was not ignorant of Him, when He said, and announceth unto
men His Christ1200
| 1200 Amos. iv. 13: “and declareth unto man
what is his thought.” For ו&x#o@”־המ,
‘what is his thought,’ the LXX.
read וׂחישִֹמְ,
‘His Anointed,’ τὸν Χριστὸν
αὐτοῦ. | . Moses also
knew Him, Isaiah knew Him, and Jeremiah; not one of the Prophets was
ignorant of Him. Even devils recognised Him, for He rebuked them,
and the Scripture says, because they knew that He was
Christ1201
. The
Chief-priests knew Him not, and the devils confessed Him: the
Chief Priests knew Him not, and a woman of Samaria proclaimed Him,
saying, Come, see a man which told me all things that ever I
did. Is not this the Christ1202
?
16. This is Jesus Christ who came a
High-Priest of the good things to come1203
;
who for the bountifulness of His Godhead imparted His own title to us
all. For kings among men have their royal style which others may
not share: but Jesus Christ being the Son of God gave us the
dignity of being called Christians. But some one will say, The
name of “Christians” is new, and was not in use
aforetime1204
| 1204 οὐκ
ἐπολιτεύετο, “was not in citizenship,” “not
naturalised.” Cf. Sueton. Nero. cap. 16:
“Christiani, genus hominum superstitionis novae et
maleficae.” | : and
new-fashioned phrases are often objected to on the score of strangeness1205
. The prophet made this point safe
beforehand, saying, But upon My servants shall a new name be called,
which shall be blessed upon the earth1206
| 1206 Isa. lxv. 15, 16. The LXX. here depart from
the meaning of the Hebrew: “He shall call His servants
by another name: so that he who blesseth himself in the earth
shall bless himself in the God of truth” (R.V.). | . Let us question the Jews: Are
ye servants of the Lord, or not? Shew then your new name.
For ye were called Jews and Israelites in the time of Moses, and the
other prophets, and after the return from Babylon, and up to the
present time: where then is your new name? But we, since we
are servants of the Lord, have that new name: new indeed,
but the new name, which shall be blessed upon the earth.
This name caught the world in its grasp: for Jews are only in a
certain region, but Christians reach to the ends of the world:
for it is the name of the Only-begotten Son of God that is
proclaimed.
17. But wouldest thou know that the Apostles
knew and preached the name of Christ, or rather had Christ Himself
within them? Paul says to his hearers, Or seek ye a proof of
Christ that speaketh in me1207
? Paul
proclaims Christ, saying, For we preach not ourselves, but Christ
Jesus as Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus’
sake1208
. Who then is
this? The former persecutor. O mighty wonder! The
former persecutor himself preaches Christ. But wherefore?
Was he bribed? Nay there was none to use this mode of
persuasion. But was it that he saw Him present on earth, and was
abashed? He had already been taken up into heaven. He went
forth to persecute, and after three days the persecutor is a preacher
in Damascus. By what power? Others call friends as
witnesses for friends but I have presented to you as a witness the
former enemy: and dost thou still doubt? The testimony of
Peter and John, though weighty, was yet of a kind open to
suspicion: for they were His friends. But of one who was
formerly his enemy, and afterwards dies for His sake, who can any
longer doubt the truth?
18. At this point of my discourse I am truly
filled with wonder at the wise dispensation of the Holy Spirit; how He
confined the Epistles of the rest to a small number, but to Paul the
former persecutor gave the privilege of writing fourteen. For it
was not because Peter or John was less that He restrained the gift; God
forbid! But in order that the doctrine might be beyond question,
He granted to the former enemy and persecutor the privilege of writing
more, in order that we all might thus be made believers. For
all were amazed at Paul, and said, Is not this he that
was formerly a persecutor1209
? Did he not
come hither, that he might lead us away bound to Jerusalem? Be
not amazed, said Paul, I know that it is hard for me to kick against
the pricks: I know that I am not worthy to be called an
Apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God1210
; but I did it in ignorance1211
: for I thought that the preaching of
Christ was destruction of the Law, and knew not that He came Himself to
fulfil the Law and not to destroy it1212
. But
the grace of God was exceeding abundant in me1213
.
19. Many, my beloved, are the true
testimonies concerning Christ. The Father bears witness from
heaven of His Son: the Holy Ghost bears witness, descending
bodily in likeness of a dove: the Archangel Gabriel bears
witness, bringing good tidings to Mary: the Virgin Mother of
God1214
| 1214 ἡ θεοτόκος—
Deipara. Gibbon (Chap. xlvii. 34) says, “It is not easy
to fix the invention of this word, which La Croze (Christianisme des
Indes, tom. i. p. 16) ascribes to Eusebius of Cæsarea
and the Arians. The orthodox testimonies are produced by Cyril
(of Alexandria) and Petavius (Dogmat. Theolog. tom. v. L. v.
cap. 15, p. 254, &c.), but the veracity of the Saint is
questionable, and the epithet of θεοτόκος so
easily slides from the margin to the text of a Catholic ms.” This passage is justly described as
“Gibbon’s calumny” by Dr. Newman: see his notes
on the title θεοτόκος
(Athan. c. Arian. Or. ii. cap. 12, n.; Or. iii.
capp. 14, 29, 33). The word is certainly used by Origen
(Deut. xxii. 13, Lommatzch. Tom. x. p. 378): “She
that is already betrothed is called a wife, as also in the case of
Joseph and the Theotokos.” Cf. Archelaus (Disput.
cum Mane, cap. xxxiv. “qui de Maria Dei Genetrice natus
est”); Eusebius (de Vita Constantini, III. cap.
43: “The pious Empress adorned with rare memorials the
place of the travail of the Theotokos”). For other examples
see Suicer’s Thesaurus, θεοτόκος,
Pearson, Creed, Art. iii. notes l, m, n, o, and Routh,
Reliq. Sacr. ii. p. 332. | bears witness: the blessed place of
the manger bears witness. Egypt bears witness, which received the
Lord while yet young in the body1215
| 1215 “Chrysostom
describing the flourishing state of the Church in Egypt in those times,
says: ‘Egypt welcomes and saves Him when a fugitive and
plotted against, and receives a beginning as it were of its
appropriation to Him, in order that when it shall hear Him proclaimed
by the Apostles, it may in their day also be honoured as having been
first to welcome Him’” (Cleopas). | : Symeon
bears witness, who received Him in his arms, and said, Now, Lord,
lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word; for
mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the
face of all people1216
. Anna also,
the prophetess, a most devout widow, of austere life, bears witness of
Him. John the Baptist bears witness, the greatest among the
Prophets, and leader of the New Covenant, who in a manner united both
Covenants in Himself, the Old and the New. Jordan is His witness
among rivers; the sea of Tiberias among seas: blind and lame bear
witness, and dead men raised to life, and devils saying, What have
we to do with Thee, Jesus? we know Thee, who Thou art, the Holy One of
God1217
. Winds bear
witness, silenced at His bidding: five loaves multiplied into
five thousand bear Him
witness. The holy wood of the Cross bears witness, seen among us
to this day, and from this place now almost filling the whole world, by
means of those who in faith take portions from it1218
| 1218 See Cat. iv. 10, note
7. | . The palm-tree1219
| 1219 The Bordeaux
Pilgrim, who visited the Holy Places of Jerusalem, a.d. 333, c. speaks of this palm-tree as still
existing. The longevity of the palm was proverbial: cf.
Aristot. (De Longitudine Vitæ, c. iv. 2). | on
the ravine bears witness, having supplied the palm-branches to the
children who then hailed Him. Gethsemane1220
bears witness, still to the thoughtful almost shewing Judas.
Golgotha1221
| 1221 See Index,
Golgotha. | , the holy hill
standing above us here, bears witness to our sight: the Holy
Sepulchre bears witness, and the stone which lies there1222
| 1222 See the passage
of the Introduction referred to in Index, Sepulchre. | to this day. The sun now shining is
His witness, which then at the time of His saving Passion was
eclipsed1223
| 1223 See Cat. ii. 15,
note 8, and xiii. 25, 34, 38. On the supernatural character of
the darkness mentioned in the Gospels see Meyer, Commentary,
Matt. xxvii. 45. An eclipse of the sun was of course impossible,
as the moon was full. Mr. J. R. Hind (Historical Eclipses,
“Times,” 19th July, 1872) states that the solar eclipse,
mentioned by Phlegon the freedman of Hadrian, which occurred on Nov.
24, a.d. 29, and was partial at Jerusalem, is
“the only solar eclipse that could have been visible at Jerusalem
during the period usually fixed for the ministry of
Christ.” He adds, “The Moon was eclipsed on the
generally received date of the Crucifixion, 3 April, a.d. 33. I find she had emerged from the
earth’s dark shadow a quarter of an hour before she rose at
Jerusalem (6:36 p.m.), but the penumbra continued upon her disc for an
hour afterwards.” Thus the “darkness from the sixth
hour unto the ninth” cannot be explained as the natural effect of
an eclipse either solar or lunar. | : the darkness
is His witness, which was then from the sixth hour to the ninth:
the light bears witness, which shone forth from the ninth hour until
evening. The Mount of Olives bears witness, that holy mount from
which He ascended to the Father: the rain-bearing clouds are His
witnesses, having received their Lord: yea, and the gates of
heaven bear witness [having received their Lord1224
| 1224 This clause is omitted
in Codd. Mon. 1, 2, Roe, Casaub., and is probably repeated from the
preceding line: such repetitions, however, are not uncommon in
Cyril’s style. | ],
concerning which the Psalmist said, Lift up your doors, O ye
Princes, and be ye lift up ye everlasting doors; and the King of Glory
shall come in1225
| 1225 Ps. xxiv. 7. The first clause is
mistranslated by the LXX. from whom Cyril
quotes. | . His former
enemies bear witness, of whom the blessed Paul is one, having been a
little while His enemy, but for a long time His servant: the
Twelve Apostles are His witnesses, having preached the truth not only
in words, but also by their own torments and deaths: the
shadow of Peter1226
bears witness,
having healed the sick in the name of Christ. The handkerchiefs
and aprons bear witness, as in like manner by Christ’s power they
wrought cures of old through Paul1227
.
Persians1228
| 1228 The persecution
of the Christians in Persia by Sapor II. is described at length by
Sozomen (E.H. II. cc. ix.–xv., in this Series). It
commenced in a.d. 343, and was going on at the
date of these Lectures and long after. “During fifty years
the Cross lay prostrate in blood and ashes” (Dict. Bib.
‘Sassanidæ’). Compare Neander, Church
History, Tom. III. p 148, Bohn.) | and Goths1229
| 1229 The Goths here
mentioned are the Gothi minores dwelling on the north of
the Danube, where Ulfilas, “the Apostle of the Goths”
(311–381), converted many of his countrymen to
Christianity. After suffering severe persecution, he was allowed
by the Constantius to take refuge with his Arian converts in Mœsia
and Thrace. This migration took place in 348 a.d., the same year in which Cyril’s Lectures were
delivered. | , and all the Gentile converts bear witness,
by dying for His sake, whom they never saw with eyes of flesh:
the devils, who to this day1230
| 1230 See Index,
Exorcism. | are driven out by
the faithful, bear witness to Him.
20. So many and diverse, yea and more than
these, are His witnesses: is then the Christ thus witnessed any
longer disbelieved? Nay rather if there is any one who formerly
believed not, let him now believe: and if any was before a
believer, let him receive a greater increase of faith, by believing in
our Lord Jesus Christ, and let him understand whose name he
bears. Thou art called a Christian: be tender of the name;
let not our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, be blasphemed through
thee: but rather let your good works shine before
men1231
that they who see
them may in Christ Jesus our Lord glorify the Father which is in
heaven: To whom be the glory, both now and for ever and
ever. Amen.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
|
