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| Concerning what is affirmed about God as though He had body.
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Chapter
XI.—Concerning what is affirmed about God as
though He had body.
Since we find many terms used symbolically in the
Scriptures concerning God which are more applicable to that which has
body, we should recognise that it is quite impossible for us men
clothed about with this dense covering of flesh to understand or speak
of the divine and lofty and immaterial energies of the Godhead, except
by the use of images and types and symbols derived from our own
life1596
| 1596 Dionys., De div.
nom., c. 1; De Cæl. Hier., c. 15. | . So then all the statements
concerning God, that imply body, are symbols, but have a higher
meaning: for the Deity is simple and formless. Hence by
God’s eyes and eyelids and sight we are to understand His power
of overseeing all things and His knowledge, that nothing can
escape: for in the case of us this sense makes our knowledge more
complete and more full of certainty. By God’s ears and
hearing is meant His readiness to be propitiated and to receive our
petitions: for it is this sense that renders us also kind to
suppliants, inclining our ear to them more graciously.
God’s mouth and speech are His means of indicating His will; for
it is by the mouth and speech that we make clear the thoughts that are
in the heart: God’s food and drink are our concurrence to
His will, for we, too, satisfy the necessities of our natural appetite
through the sense of taste. And God’s sense of smell is His
appreciation of our thoughts of and good will towards Him, for it is
through this sense that we appreciate sweet fragrance. And
God’s countenance is the demonstration and manifestation of
Himself through His works, for our manifestation is through the
countenance. And God’s hands mean the effectual nature of
His energy, for it is with our own hands that we accomplish our most
useful and valuable work. And His right hand is His aid in
prosperity, for it is the right hand that we also use when making
anything of beautiful shape or of great value, or where much strength
is required. His handling is His power of accurate discrimination
and exaction, even in the minutest and most secret details, for those
whom we have handled cannot conceal from us aught within
themselves. His feet and walk are His advent and presence, either
for the purpose of bringing succour to the needy, or vengeance against
enemies, or to perform any other action, for it is by using our feet
that we come to arrive at any place. His oath is the
unchangeableness of His counsel, for it is by oath that we confirm our
compacts with one another. His anger and fury are His hatred of
and aversion to all wickedness, for we, too, hate that which is
contrary to our mind and become enraged thereat1597
| 1597 Greg. Naz.,
Orat. 37. | . His forgetfulness and sleep and
slumbering are His delay in taking vengeance on His enemies and the
postponement of the accustomed help to His own. And to put it
shortly, all the statements made about God that imply body have some
hidden meaning and teach us what is above us by means of something
familiar to ourselves, with the exception of any statement concerning
the bodily sojourn of the God-Word. For He for our safety took
upon Himself the whole nature of man1598
| 1598 Text, πάντα τὸν
ἄνθρωπον:
variant, ἅπαντα. | , the
thinking spirit, the body, and all the properties of human nature, even
the natural and blameless passions.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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