Romans 9:1–5

Since above Paul seems to speak against the Jews, who think they are justified by the Law, now, to show his wish and affection toward them, he says, with his conscience bearing witness, that he speaks in Christ Jesus and in the Holy Spirit, so that his faith may not be regarded as impossible because he is their enemy. Therefore he gives Christ and the Holy Spirit, from whom nothing is hidden, as witnesses; their testimony cannot be rejected, and they therefore bear witness to the Apostle while commending him through the power of the signs they performed through him. For because Christ is such a great protection, has shown special love toward the human race, and through his glorious condescension promised immortal rewards, he grieves for his own people, who are his kin according to the flesh; because by their unbelief they deprived themselves of this perpetual and saving benefit. Therefore, he says, "I could wish," not "I wish," because he knows it is impossible that so honorable a member, without any preceding fault, should be cut off from the Christian body; nevertheless, he shows his affection and love toward his own people.

The Jews who opposed the apostles and their message said that one or another of the following propositions must be true. Either the gospel is a lie, or God is a liar.… For God promised Abraham that he would bless his offspring, but now he has shown favor to impure and foreign people, i.e., the Gentiles, instead of us. Now if your preaching is a way out of these promises, as you claim, then it is clear that God lied to our ancestors. On the other hand, if it is wrong to speak of God in this way, then you and your message are a lie.It was to answer this kind of charge that the apostle Paul wanted to work out an alternative position and demonstrate both that the message of the gospel was true and that God was not lying.

"I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost." Did I not seem yesterday to you to have spoken some great and exorbitant things of Paul's love toward Christ? And great indeed they were, too great for any words to express. Yet what you have heard to-day are as far above those things, as those things were above ours. And yet I did not think they could be exceeded, still when I came to what has been read to-day it did appear far more glorious than the whole of the former. And that he was aware of this himself he shows by his exordium. For as on the point of entering upon greater things than those, and therefore liable to be disbelieved by the generality, he first uses a strong asseveration about the matter he is going to speak of; which many are in the habit of doing when they are going to say somewhat which is not believed by the generality, and about which they feel the utmost certainty in their own minds. Hence he says, "I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, and my conscience beareth witness."

Paul, seeing that if, according to those things which he set forth above, he could be separated from the love of Christ by no power, whether heavenly or earthly, present or future, opposing him, it would seem contrary and incredible—what he was now proposing to say: that he wished to become anathema from that Christ whom he loved so inseparably, that is, to be made a stranger to him—lest he should seem to incur the mark of a lie, he sends ahead a satisfaction, so that his word may in no way be doubted, and he says: "I speak the truth in Christ, I do not lie, my conscience bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit." But let us see why he said, "I speak the truth in Christ," as though showing that there is some truth which is not in Christ. And see whether we can in some such way distinguish the truth which is in Christ from that which is not in Christ: for elsewhere too the same Apostle says, "The truth of Christ is in me, that I do not lie." The truth of Christ, therefore, must be believed to be there where the remaining virtues also are, which are described as being Christ: that is, where righteousness is, where peace is, where the Word of God is, there also is the truth of Christ. But there is truth even in injustice: as if, for example, we should say that that demon of Python, which in the Acts of the Apostles is reported to have dwelt in a certain servant girl and to have cried out after the apostles, that "these are servants of the Most High God, who announce to men the way of God"—there was truth in these words, for what was said was true; but that truth was not in Christ; and therefore Paul, turning to her, said: "Be silent, and come out of her." But that also was truth which Caiaphas said: "It is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish"; but nevertheless that truth was not in Christ. And therefore the Apostle, to distinguish it from that truth which is outside Christ, says that he speaks the truth in Christ. But this also, which he says, "my conscience bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit," seems to me to bear a similar understanding. For conscience renders testimony even to the Gentiles, according to what the same Apostle says in the earlier passages: "their conscience rendering them testimony, and their thoughts among themselves accusing or even defending one another." In those, therefore, in whom their own thoughts have something to accuse, and conscience comes forward for testimony, it cannot be said that for evil deeds conscience renders testimony in the Holy Spirit. But in the Apostle, where thought no longer has anything to accuse, rightly does conscience render testimony in the Holy Spirit.

Because Paul says that his conscience bears him witness, he shows that he is telling the truth, which conscience corroborates in everyone, and he establishes that he is not charged with lying by an accusation from within.

In the following discourse he intends to prove that not all who descended from Abraham are his seed, and lest anyone think that he says this in strong agitation of spirit, he anticipates and, removing such a supposition, speaks favorably of the Jews, declaring that he loves them greatly. That you may believe me, he says, I speak the truth in Christ, I do not lie. As proof of this he brings forward three witnesses: Christ, his own conscience, and the Holy Spirit.

Having shown the need and power of grace, the Apostle begins to discuss the origin of grace and ask whether it is conferred solely by God's choice or from the merits of previous works. He raises this question because the Jews, seemingly called to God's special protection, had fallen from grace; whereas the gentiles, previously alienated from God, had been admitted to it. First, therefore, he discusses the election of the gentiles; second, the fall of the Jews, at brethren, the will of my heart (Rom 10:1). In regard to the first he does two things. First, he recounts the greatness of the Jews; second, he shows how the gentiles have been drawn into that greatness, at not as though the word of God has failed (Rom 9:6). In regard to the first, he does two things. First, the Apostle shows his affection for the Jewish people, lest anything he had said or was about to say against them should seem to proceed from hatred; second, he shows their dignity, at who are Israelites. Concerning the first he does two things. First, he confirms what he was about to say; second, he demonstrates his affection, at that I have great sadness. Concerning the first he does two things. First, he confirms what he is about to say with a simple assertion, I speak the truth, which especially befits the preacher who is a witness to the truth: my mouth will utter truth (Prov 8:7); love truth and peace (Zech 8:19). And because a person sometimes mixes falsehood with the truth, he excludes this when he adds, I am not lying: putting away falsehood, let everyone speak the truth to his neighbor (Eph 4:25). Second, he confirms what he is about to say with an oath, which is a confirmation supported by the testimony of infallible truth. Such are the witnesses of the saints. First, God himself, as it says in Job: my witness is in heaven (Job 16:19). Hence Paul says, in Christ, i.e., through Jesus Christ who is the truth without falsehood: the Son of God whom we preached among you was not yes and no (2 Cor 1:19). Second, the infallible witness of the saints is their conscience; hence he adds: my conscience bearing me witness: our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience (2 Cor 1:12). But because one's conscience is sometimes erroneous unless it is corrected by the Holy Spirit, he adds: in the Holy Spirit: the Spirit himself gives testimony to our spirit (Rom 8:16).

"That I have a great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ." What sayest thou, O Paul? from Christ, thy beloved One, from Whom neither kingdom nor hell, nor things visible nor intelligible, nor another world as great, would separate thee, is it from Him that thou wouldest now be accursed? What has happened? Hast thou changed, hast thou given over that love? No, he replies, fear not. Rather I have even made it more intense. How then is it that thou wouldest fain be accursed, and seekest a separation, and a removal to such a distance, that after it there is no possibility of finding a more distant one? Because I love Him exceedingly, he may reply.

How, pray, and in what manner? For the things seem a riddle. Or rather, if you will, let us learn what the curse is, and then we will question him upon these points, and shall understand this unspeakable and extraordinary love. What then is the curse? Hear his own words, "If any man love not our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed." That is, let him be set apart from all, removed from all. For as in the case of a thing dedicated, which is set apart for God, no one would venture so much as to touch it with his hand or even to come near it; so too with a man who is put apart from the Church, in cutting him off from all, and removing him as far off as possible, he calls him by this name anathema in a contrary sense, thus with much fear denouncing to all men to keep apart from him, and to spring away from him.

And the answer he does not produce forthwith, it being a useful thing not to do so, but he first stops the disputant's mouth, saying as follows, for he does not say, it is impossible to answer questions of this kind, but that it is presumptuous to raise them. For our business is to obey what God does, not to be curious even if we do not know the reason of them. Wherefore he said, "Who art thou that repliest against God?" You see how very light he makes of him, how he bears down his swelling spirit! "Who art thou?" art thou a sharer of His power? nay, art thou sitting in judgment upon God? Why in comparison with Him thou canst not have a being even! nor this or that sort of being, but absolutely none! For the expression, "who art thou?" doth much more set him at naught than "thou art nothing." And he takes other ways of showing further his indignation in the question, and does not say, "Who art thou that" answerest "God?" but, "that repliest against," that is, that gainsayest, and that opposest.

Consider, however, the greatness of the apostolic breast. He cannot be separated from the love of God; what he speaks, he speaks in Christ; what he holds in his conscience is contained by the Holy Spirit. What heavens, I ask, what thrones, what most ample minds of the heavenly powers will be able to contain the whole Trinity in seats so ample? "For," he says, "I have great sadness and continual sorrow in my heart." Very well, you have sadness; very well, you take sorrow at the perdition of your brothers "who are kinsmen according to the flesh"; but is it to such a point that you wish to become anathema from Christ? And what does their salvation profit you, if you are separated from salvation? And how will you save others, if you yourself perish? It is not so, he says: rather, I have learned from my Master and Lord that "he who wishes to save his soul will lose it; and he who loses it will find it." What wonder, then, if the Apostle wishes to become anathema for his brothers, who knows that he who was in the form of God emptied himself of it, and took the form of a servant, and was made a curse for us? What wonder, then, if, when the Lord was made a curse for his servants, a servant should become anathema for his brothers? And this, I think, is what Moses also said to the Lord when the people had sinned: "And now, if indeed you forgive them their sin, forgive; but if not, blot me out of the book of life which you have written." What then? Do you wish Paul to seem inferior to Moses? He asks to be blotted out of the book of life for his brothers; ought Paul not to wish to be anathema for his brothers? But perhaps someone may say that Moses, in offering this, deserved to obtain salvation for the people, whereas Paul indeed wishes it, but was not heard. What if I show you that Paul was heard even more than Moses? For all those who had gone out of Egypt through Moses fell in the desert. But the descendants of those who received the land of promise even now wander from it, exiles and outcasts. But hear what Paul says about Israel: "I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of this mystery, that blindness in part has befallen Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles should enter in, and so all Israel should be saved." You see, therefore, that Paul was heard, and that because he offered himself as anathema, he deserved salvation for his brothers. And therefore it seems to me that he set down all those things beforehand—that he could by no power be torn away from the love of God—so that when he offers himself as anathema for his brothers, you should not judge his fall to be possible: but just as he who is inseparable from the Father by nature, and immortal, came into death and descended into the lower regions, so this man too, imitating his Master, though he cannot be separated from the love of Christ, becomes anathema from Christ for his brothers—by devotion, certainly, not by transgression. But that the Israelites are Paul's "kinsmen according to the flesh" needs no exposition.

Because Paul intends to proceed against the Jews, he first assures them that he does not speak out of hatred for them, but out of love, for it pains him that they do not believe in Christ, who had come to save them as soon as possible.

The construction here is incomplete. Paul should have added that his unceasing anguish was due to the rejection or unbelief of the Jews.

I have great sorrow, he says, consuming my heart at the thought of the Jews, that they are outside of grace; which is what he intends to speak about.

Then he shows his affection for the Jews by the pain he suffered from their fall, when he says, that I have great sadness. First, he describes this pain; second, he mentions a sign of it, when he says, for I wished myself. He emphasizes how much pain he has suffered in three ways. First by its magnitude: that I have great sadness, because it concerns a great evil, namely, the exclusion of such a great people: vast as the sea is your ruin (Lam 2:13). But this seems to conflict with Sirach where it says, give not up your soul to sadness (Sir 30:22), which seems to agree with the opinion of the Stoics, who admitted no sadness at all in the soul of a wise man. For since sadness is a reaction to a present evil, it cannot exist in a wise man to whom no evil is present. For they supposed that virtue was the only good and sin the only evil. But this opinion is refuted in two ways. First, because bodily defects, although they are not such evils as make men evil, are nevertheless among the evils which nature abhors. Hence, even the Lord is described as saddened by them: my soul is sorrowful, even to death (Matt 26:38). Second, since charity requires that a person love his neighbor as himself, it is laudable for a wise man to grieve over a son of his neighbor as over his own. Hence the Apostle says: I fear that I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned (1 Cor 12:2). Thus, worldly sadness, which works death, springing from love of the world, is rejected, but sadness which is godly and springs from divine love works salvation (2 Cor 7:10). Such was Paul's sadness. Second, he emphasizes his grief by its duration, when he says, and continual sorrow; not that he never ceased to grieve actually, but habitually: that I might weep day and night for the slain of my people (Jer 9:1). Third, he emphasizes how real it was when he says, in my heart; for it was not superficial but rooted in the heart: my eyes are spent in weeping and my heart is poured out in grief (Lam 2:11).

That Christ is God. In Genesis: "And God said unto Jacob, Arise, and go up to the place of Bethel, and dwell there; and make there an altar to that God who appeared unto thee when thou reddest from the face of thy brother Esau." Also in Isaiah: "Thus saith the Lord, the God of Sabaoth, Egypt is wearied; and the merchandise of the Ethiopians, and the tall men of the Sabeans, shall pass over unto Thee, and shall be Thy servants; and shall walk after Thee bound with chains; and shall worship Thee, and shall pray to Thee, because God is in Thee, and there is no other God beside Thee. For Thou art God, and we knew it not, O God of Israel, our Saviour. They shall all be confounded and fear who oppose Thee, and shall fall into confusion." Likewise in the same: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight the paths of our God. Every channel shall be filled up, and every mountain and bill shall be made low, and all crooked places shall be made straight, and rough places plain; and the glory of the Lord shall be seen, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God, because the Lord hath spoken it." Moreover, in Jeremiah: This is our God, and no other shall be esteemed beside Him, who hath found all the way of knowledge, and hath given it to Jacob His son, and to Israel His beloved. After this He was seen upon earth, and He conversed with men." Also in Zechariah God says: "And they shall cross over through the narrow sea, and they shall smite the waves in the sea, and they shall dry up all the depths of the rivers; and all the haughtiness of the Assyrians shall be confounded, and the sceptre of Egypt shall be taken away. And I will strengthen them in the Lord their God, and in His name shall they glory, saith the Lord." Moreover, in Hosea the Lord saith: "I will not do according to the anger of mine indignation, I will not allow Ephraim to be destroyed: for I am God, and there is not a holy man in thee: and I will not enter into the city; I will go after God." Also in the forty-fourth Psalm: "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity: wherefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows." So, too, in the forty-fifth Psalm: "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, and I will be exalted in the earth." Also in the eighty-first Psalm: "They have not known, neither have they understood: they will walk on in darkness." Also in the sixty-seventh Psalm: "Sing unto God, sing praises unto His name: make a way for Him who goeth up into the west: God is His name." Also in the Gospel according to John: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word." Also in the same: "The Lord said to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands: and be not faithless, but believing. Thomas answered and said unto Him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed." Also Paul to the Romans: "I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren and my kindred according to the flesh: who are Israel-ires: whose are the adoption, and the glory, and the covenant, and the appointment of the law, and the service (of God), and the promises; whose are the fathers, of whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is God over all, blessed for evermore." Also in the Apocalypse: "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end I will give to him that is athirst, of the fountain of living water freely. He that overcometh shall possess these things, and their inheritance; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son." Also in the eighty-first Psalm: "God stood in the congregation of gods, and judging gods in the midst." And again in the same place: "I have said, Ye are gods; and ye are all the children of the Highest: but ye shall die like men." But if they who have been righteous, and have obeyed the divine precepts, may be called gods, how much more is Christ, the Son of God, God! Thus He Himself says in the Gospel according to John: "Is it not written in the law, that I said, Ye are gods? If He called them gods to whom the word of God was given, and the Scripture cannot be relaxed, do ye say to Him whom the Father hath sanctified and sent into the world, that thou blasphemest, because I said, I am the Son of God? But if I do not the works of my Father, believe me not; but if I do, and ye will not believe me, believe the works, and know that the Father is in me, and I in Him." Also in the Gospel according to Matthew: "And ye shall call His name Emmanuel, which is, being interpreted, God with us."

Why the Apostle Paul writes in the same Epistle to the Romans: I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ, for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: Who are Israelites, to whom the adoption belongs, and the glory, and the testament, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises: Whose are the fathers, and of whom is Christ, according to the flesh, who is over all things, God blessed for ever. Amen. (Romans 9:3 et seqq.) Indeed, a valid question, how can the Apostle who said above: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Tribulation or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? (Romans 8:35) And again: But I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39), now confirm under oath and say: I speak the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost: That I have great sadness, and continual sorrow in my heart. For I wished myself to be an anathema from Christ, for my brethren, who are my kinsmen according to the flesh. And so on. For if someone's love for God is so strong that he cannot be separated from His love, by neither the fear of death, nor the hope of life, nor persecution, nor hunger, nor nudity, nor danger, nor sword; and if Angels also, and Powers, both present and future, and all the Forces of heaven, and both the high and the deep, and every creature at once were to assail him, which cannot possibly be done: yet he would not be separated from the love of God, which he has in Christ Jesus: what is this great change, rather unheard-of prudence, that for the love of Christ, he would not want to have Christ? And lest we do not believe him, he swears and confirms in Christ, and calls his conscience as a witness, the Holy Spirit, that he has sadness, not light or casual, but great and unbelievable, and has sorrow in his heart, which does not sting for an hour and pass, but which continually remains in his heart. Where does this sadness lead? What profit is there in unceasing pain? Is it wished to be anathema from Christ, and to perish, so that others may be saved? But if we consider the voice of Moses asking God for the people of the Jews, and saying, "If thou wilt forgive them their sin, forgive; but if not, blot me out of thy book, which thou hast written" (Exod. 32. 31. 32), we will see the same feelings in Moses and Paul towards the flock entrusted to them. For a good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. But a hireling, who is not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and flees. And to say this same thing: I wished to be cursed by Christ; and erase me from your book which you have written. For those who are erased from the book of the living, and are not written with the just, are made anathema by the Lord. At the same time, see how great is the love of the Apostle for Christ, that he desires to die for him, and to perish alone, provided that the whole human race believes in him. To perish, however, not forever, but for the present. For whoever shall lose his life for Christ, shall save it (Matt. 10:39). Hence, he takes as an example the Forty-Third Psalm: For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter (Ps. 43:22). Therefore, the Apostle wishes to die in the flesh, so that others may be saved in the spirit; to pour out his blood so that many souls may be preserved. However, that anathema sometimes signifies slaying can be proved by many testimonies of the Old Testament. And lest we think the grief to be slight, and the cause of sorrow small, he joins it and says: For my brethren and kinsmen according to the flesh. When he calls them kinsmen and brethren according to the flesh, he shows that they are strangers to him in spirit. Whose adoption," he says, "is signified more significantly in Greek as ὑιοθεσία; these things were spoken of by the Lord: 'You are my firstborn son, Israel,' and 'I have begotten sons and exalted them' (Isaiah 1:2), but now he says, 'Alien sons have lied to me' (Psalm 17:46). And their glory is that they were chosen from all nations to be a special people of God, and their covenants, one in the letter and the other in the spirit, meant that those who once served ceremonies of the abolished Law in the flesh would afterwards serve in the spirit the commands of the eternal Gospel. And the law addresses both the new and the old Testament. And worship, that is, true religion. And promises; to fulfill whatever was promised to the fathers in their descendants. And (which is greater than all) from whom Christ was born of the Virgin Mary. And in order that we might know who this Christ is, he embraces the causes of his pain in one speech, who is blessed above all God forever, amen. And this great and such, is not received from those from whom he was born. And nevertheless, he praises the truth of judgement, so that the sentence of God may not seem displeasing to his kindred and brothers, and be either austere or excessive. In which, therefore, such great goods were present, he laments why so many evils are present now.

And the Apostle also says, "I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh". He prays to be accursed from Christ for the salvation of others.

Paul wished this at one time, before he became a follower of Christ.… But after he recognized the truth, he abandoned those whom he used to love in this way, yet still they do not repent.

First learn what anathema is. It is separation, alienation. Just as no one dares to touch a gift dedicated to God, so too with the one who is anathematized, only with a different feeling. No one dares to approach the sacred gift out of reverence, as something consecrated to God, while with the anathematized person everyone severs ties, as with one who is defiled and estranged from God. What then does Paul mean by what he says? He seems to be saying here the opposite of what was spoken of above. There he said that nothing shall separate us from the love of God, but here he says that he could wish to be separated from Christ. He seems to contradict what was said before; but in reality he does not. Here too he expresses his wish to be separated from Christ out of love for God. Everyone was accusing God of having cast out and dishonored the Jews, who had been deemed worthy of adoption, who had enjoyed special glory and were called the ancestors of Christ, and of having brought in their place people who had never known God — the Gentiles — and they were murmuring and blaspheming Providence, as though this were done unjustly and God had deceived the forefathers to whom He had promised gifts. For this reason Paul was in anguish, grieving for the glory of God, and wished himself to be separated, if only the Jews might be saved and their blasphemy against God might cease. Do you see that out of fervent love for God he desires, if possible, to be separated from the company of those who live eternally with Christ — not from His love, but from His glory and the enjoyment of it? So too fathers often separate themselves from their sons so that the sons may be glorified, by no means estranging themselves from love for their sons, but desiring themselves to be in dishonor so that they may become glorious. Thus the apostle reasons: I, who have accomplished countless labors and who love God beyond measure, desire for the glory of God to be deprived of the glory of Christ. But this does not mean to lose, but rather to gain. With the words "for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh," he indicates his most tender and fervent love for the Jews.

Then he presents the sign of his sadness, saying, for I, who am so fervent in the love of Christ, as was shown above, wished myself to be an anathema from Christ, for my brethren. Here it should be noted that anathema is a Greek word formed by combining ana which means 'above' and thesis which means 'placing,' so that something placed above is said to be anathema. For when they found among the spoils of war something they did not wish men to use, they hung it in the temple. From this, the custom arose that things cut off from the common use of men were said to be anathema; hence, it says in Joshua: let this city be anathema, and all things that are in it, to the Lord (Josh 6:17). He says, therefore: for I wished myself to be an anathema from Christ, i.e., separated from him. One is separated from Christ in two ways. In one way by a sin, through which one is separated from the love of Christ for not obeying his commandment: if you love me, keep my commandments (John 14:15). But the Apostle could not wish to be separated from Christ in this way for any reason, as is clear from what was said above (Rom 8:35). For this is against the order of charity, by which a person is bound to love God above all things and his own salvation more than that of others. So he does not say, I wish, but, I wished, during his days of unbelief. But according to this explanation the Apostle is not saying anything great, because in those days he was willing to be separated from Christ even for himself. Hence, a Gloss explains that he says, I have great sadness, referring to the sorrow with which he grieved over his past state of sin, during which he willed to be separated from Christ. In another way one can be separated from Christ, i.e., from the fruition of Christ possessed in glory. This is the way the Apostle wished to be separated from Christ, for the salvation of the gentiles, not to mention the conversion of the Jews. For he says in Philippians: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account (Phil 1:23). This he now says: I wished, namely, if it were possible, to be an anathema, i.e., separated from glory either absolutely or temporarily from Christ's honor, which would be enhanced by the conversion of the Jews, as it says in Proverbs: in the multitude of the people is the dignity of the king (Prov 14:28). Hence, Chrysostom says: love so ruled his mind that to please Christ he would not only sacrifice being with Christ, which he deemed more desirable than anything else, but also the kingdom of heaven, which would be the reward of his labor for Christ. The cause of this attitude is shown when he says: for my brethren. Hence Sirach says: three things are approved before God and men: the concord of brethren, the love of neighbors, and a wife and husband who live in harmony (Sir 25:1). Then to show that he was not referring to those who were his spiritual brethren in Christ, he adds: and all you are brethren, adding who are my kinsmen according to the flesh: are they descendants of Abraham? So am I (2 Cor 11:22).

Paul proves himself to be rightly grieved when he proclaims the praise of their lineage, because formerly the adopted sons had the affection and grace of God the Father in vain. He further added that he might make others grieve for them also.

"To whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the Law, and the service of God, and the promises; whose are the father's, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, Who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen."

And what is this? one asks. For if with a view to the belief of others he was willing to become accursed, he ought to have also wished for this in the Gentiles' behalf. But in fact if he had prayed for the Gentiles only, this would not have been equally clear. But since it is for the Jews only, it is a clear proof that it is only for Christ's glory that he is thus earnest.

For what he means is something of this kind: all were talking and accusing God, that after being counted worthy of the name of sons, and receiving the Law, and knowing Him beyond all men, and enjoying such great glory, and serving him beyond the whole world, and receiving the promises, and being from fathers who were His friends, and what was the greatest thing of all, having been forefathers of Christ Himself (for this is the meaning of the words, "of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came"), they are now cast out and disgraced; and in their place are introduced men who had never known Him, of the Gentiles. Now since they said all this, and blasphemed God, Paul hearing it, and being cut to the heart, and vexed for God's glory's sake, wished that he were accursed, had it been possible, so that they might be saved, and this blasphemy be put a stop to, and God might not seem to have deceived the offspring of those to whom He promised the gifts.

"Whose," he says, "is the adoption of sons." For the sons of Israel were adopted by God at that time "when the Most High divided the nations, and scattered the sons of Adam according to the number of the angels of God, and the Lord's portion was Jacob, and Israel the cord of his inheritance." This, then, is the adoption of sons. "And the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law." Concerning the glory of the law that was given, it has often already been said, as the Apostle himself also says: "For if that which is being abolished is through glory," that is, the Old Testament, "much more is that which remains in glory," namely the preaching of the Gospel.

But as for what he says, "the covenants and the giving of the law," it might perhaps seem that he is saying one and the same thing. For the law which was given is itself also called a covenant. But I think the distinction is this: that the giving of the law was indeed one, and took place once through Moses; whereas covenants were established frequently. For as often as they sinned and were cast off, so often do they appear to have been disinherited. And again, as often as God, being made propitious once more, called them back and led them into the inheritance of his own possession, so often must he be believed to have restored the covenants and to have written them down as heirs. "And the worship, and the promises." By "worship" he means the priestly offices; by "the promises," those which were made to the fathers, and which are hoped to be given to those who through faith are called sons of Abraham.

"The sonship" belongs to the Jews, for of them it was said: "Israel, my firstborn son." They had the old law and the promise of the new law.

For although the Jew withal be called "a son," and an "elder one," inasmuch as he had priority in adoption; although, too, he envy the Christian the reconciliation of God the Father,-a point which the opposite side most eagerly catches at,-still it will be no speech of a Jew to the Father: "Behold, in how many years do I serve Thee, and Thy precept have I never transgressed.

Here he praises and exalts the Jews, so that no one, as I said, would think he speaks in great agitation of spirit. He subtly expresses that God desired their salvation as well. This is evident from the fact that He deemed them worthy of adoption and glory, gave promises to their fathers, furnished them with all other advantages, and willed that Christ be born from them.

Then, when he says who are Israelites, he shows the greatness of the Jews in order that his sadness appear reasonable on account of the ancient dignity of a deteriorating people, for it is a weightier evil to lose greatness than never to have possessed it, as the Gloss says, and not as though it arose solely from worldly love. But he shows their greatness in three ways. First, from their race when he says, who are Israelites, i.e., descending from the stock of Jacob who was called Israel (Gen 32:28). This pertains to their greatness, for it is said: neither is there any nation so great as to have their gods coming to them (Deut 4:7). Second, he shows the greatness of that race from God's blessings: first, the spiritual blessings, one of which refers to the present: to whom belongs the adoption of sons of God. Hence it says in Exodus: Israel is my son, my firstborn (Exod 4:22). This refers to the spiritual men who arose among that people: but as to worldly men he stated above that they received the spirit of slavery in fear (Rom 8:15). Another spiritual blessing refers to the future when he says, the glory, namely, of the sons of God promised to them. A reference to this is found in Exodus: the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle (Exod 40:32). Then he sets out other, figural benefits, of which three are figures of present spiritual benefit. The first of these is the testament, i.e., the pact of circumcision given to Abraham, as is recorded in Genesis 17, although this could be referred to the new covenant preached first to the Jews. Hence, the Lord himself said: I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matt 15:24); and Jeremiah: I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel (Jer 31:31). The second is the law given through Moses; hence, he continues: the giving of the law: Moses commanded a law to us (Sir 24:33). The third is divine worship when he says: the service with which they served God, when all the other nations were serving idols: but now hear, O Jacob my servant, Israel whom I have chosen (Isa 44:1). Then he mentions the blessing which pertains to future glory when he says: and the promises. For the promises made in the Old Testament and fulfilled by Christ seem made especially to the Jews; hence he says below: I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs (Rom 15:8). Now many other promises were made to them about earthly goods, as is recorded in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 18, but by these temporal goods spiritual things were prefigured.

Paul reckons so many praises of the nobility and dignity of the Jewish race and of the promises that he might instill grief in everyone over these things; because, by not receiving the Savior, they lost the privilege of the Fathers and the merit of the promise, becoming worse than the Gentiles, whom previously, because they were without God, they hated: for it is worse to have lost dignity than never to have had it. Meanwhile, concerning the Savior he says: For when no mention is made of the Father's name, and the discourse concerns Christ, it cannot be otherwise than that he is called God. Frequently, indeed, Scripture, because of its confession of one God, when it speaks of God the Father and joins the Son to God, calls the Father God and the Son Lord. But if anyone does not think that this was said of Christ: Who is God, let him identify the person of whom it was said: for no mention of God the Father has been made in this passage. But what wonder if in this passage he openly spoke of Christ as God over all, of whom elsewhere in the epistle Paul confirmed this meaning in such words, saying: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth (Phil. 2:10)? These are all things over which Christ is God. For there are no others, apart from these, so that Christ is not God over all; nor can every creature bow the knee except to God. Finally, when the apostle John, unknowingly wishing to worship an angel as God, heard from him: Do not do this, for I am your fellow servant. Worship God, he says (Rev. 19:10). Nor, certainly, would the Lord allow himself to be worshiped unless he were God; otherwise he would have to be accused of trespass and sin, which is impossible; since he himself, rebuking the Devil, shows that the Lord God is to be worshiped and that he alone is to be served (Matt. 4:10). Therefore nothing is unjust against God the Father when Christ is worshiped as God; because, although it is said that only God is to be served, Christ too is served. For he says elsewhere: Whoever serves Christ in these things is pleasing to God (Jn. 10:4). What, then, remains except that the Father is God and the Son is God, and nevertheless both are believed to be one God? For whether one worships the Father or the Son, he is said to worship one God; and whether one serves the Father or the Son, service is rendered to one God. Therefore there is no distinction; because whoever worships the Son also worships the Father, and whoever serves the Father also serves the Son. And to show that this confession of deity was without flattery, he placed Amen at the conclusion, that is, true, so that he might show Christ, God over all, to be truly blessed forever.

HOW TO BE SOUGHT IS HOW TO CONTRADICT THE ARGUMENTS OF PHOTINUS, WHO SAYS THAT CHRIST DID NOT EXIST BEFORE MARY. — But before we speak of John, let us first examine the Baptist, whom the Savior Himself declared to be His witness. For among other things he says of the Lord: “He who comes from above is above all; he who is from the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. But He who comes from heaven testifies to what He has seen and heard, and no one receives His testimony” (Jn. 3:31–32). See how John, in comparison with the Lord, calls all others together with himself earthly, because he bears witness that He came from heaven, while all the rest are from the earth, that is, from the lower regions. And the Lord Himself, among other similar statements, says: “For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent Me, the Father” (Jn. 6:38). And again the Lord, speaking in the same sense, says: “And I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf. For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God. For I came forth from the Father and have come into this world; again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” (Jn. 16:26-28) Then, seeing that He had spoken plainly, the disciples say to Him: “Behold, now You speak openly and You are not using any figure of speech. Now we know that You know all things and have no need that anyone should question You; in this we believe that You came forth from God” (Jn. 16:29–30). These statements need no interpretation, since this is the very summit of our faith: that we believe Christ to have been with God in heaven before His incarnation, as the Son with the Father. For if, because of His righteous life and heavenly teaching, He had said that He came from heaven and from God and came into the world, then all the Prophets and Apostles ought to have said the same of themselves. And because He said, “Again I am leaving the world and going to the Father,” (Jn. 16:28) perhaps someone might say that He meant this: that the teaching which came from God, after leaving the world, returned to God? For they have nothing else to say. For if His coming from heaven, His going forth from God, and His coming into this world refer to the cause of virtue and teaching, and not to the person of the Savior, then when He says, “Again I am leaving the world and going to the Father,” He naturally returns to the place from which He came. Yet we see that after the Lord’s departure, both His power and His teaching remained in the world. You see therefore that the Lord did not speak of power and teaching, but specifically spoke of Himself. But if you say that these words refer to the power which worked in Christ, that very power itself calls God its Father. You fall into the very thing you fear: for if the power of God is the Son of God, then that very power is the power of God of which the Apostle says that Christ is “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:24): this power went forth from God and returned again to Him. Therefore this very Power, which is Christ, bears witness that He casts out demons by the Spirit of God (Matt. 12:28); this Spirit worked through the Apostles, so that you may know that the Holy Spirit, through whom the Lord worked, after the Lord’s departure worked here in the world through the Apostles. Therefore it is more clearly shown that the Lord spoke of His own person, for He left the world and returned to God. But if you think this power is not Christ, then there will be two powers and two sons of God; and where, then, is that which is written: “The only-begotten Son of God, who is in the bosom of the Father” (Jn. 1:18)? And again: “For God so loved this world, that He gave His only Son for it” (Jn. 3:16)? You now see that the power of God which worked visibly in the world is that same one which is called both the Power of God and the Son of God. And let us see what the Apostles believed, or in whom they believed, when they heard the Lord say: “Behold, again I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” For they answered: “Behold, now You speak openly and You are not using any figure of speech. Now we know that You know all things and have no need that anyone should question You; in this we believe that You came forth from God.” Now let us see whether the disciples were in doubt about the powers, whether they came from God, after they had seen Lazarus, already stinking on the fourth day, raised from the dead (Jn. 11:44), the eyes of a man blind from birth restored (Jn. 9:7), a woman delivered from her issue of blood by touching the hem of His garment (Matt. 9:20–22), and the nature of water changed into wine (Jn. 2:9). But concerning the person of the Lord no one at all doubted, nor concerning the powers, since some were saying that He was Elijah, others Jeremiah, or one of the Prophets (Matt. 16:14). For when the Jews wanted to stone Him, Jesus answered them: “I have shown you many good works from My Father; for which of those works do you stone Me?” The Jews answered Him: “We are not stoning You for a good work, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a man, make Yourself God” (Jn. 10:31–33). If, then, the Jews did not doubt that these were works of God, did the Apostles doubt? Since therefore all the doubt concerned the person of the Savior (for this was something unheard of, and beyond human understanding, which caused amazement in people when they heard Him say that He had come forth from God and that God was His own Father), the disciples, acknowledging that the Lord’s words had given them full assurance, said to Him: “Now we know that You know all things and have no need that anyone should question You; in this we believe that You came forth from God.” (Jn. 16:30) For if He did not truly come forth from God, the faith of the Apostles is emptied; but this cannot be, since it was confirmed by the Savior. For He answered them, “Do you now believe?” that is, seeing so many signs, you did not believe before. Therefore it was proved to the Apostles that Christ came forth from God and came, so that by this going forth it would no longer be doubtful to believe that this is the Son of God. For if “no one has seen God except Him who is from God; He has seen the Father” (Jn. 6:46), and if “no one knows the Father except the Son” (Matt. 11:27), this is truly to have been with God the Father, and to have gone forth from Him, and to have come. For no one else could go forth from God except Him who in the beginning was with God (Jn. 1:1); since no one else knew or had seen God. Therefore it is not incredible for us to believe that this is truly the Son of God. As John says in his first Epistle: “And we are,” he says, “in His true Son, Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life (1 Jn. 5:20); and the Apostle says, “He who did not spare His own Son” (Rom. 8:32); and the Evangelist, “Because He called God His own Father” (Jn. 5:18). If therefore Christ is truly the Son of God, how is He only a man? For He would not be called a true Son unless He were properly begotten of Him. Or let Photinus say why He is believed to be the true Son of God, if He is not true. Or what need was there to believe this One to be the Son of God, if He were one of the other saints who are worthy to be called sons of God? Or is there perhaps some unworthiness in this, by which He, as the Son of God, could not be believed as the others are; and therefore it is said that this One, about whom there seems to be unbelief, should be believed to be the Son of God? For if He is greater than the others, what need is there that it should be said, “Believe that Christ is the Son of God,” if He were one of the others, unless because it is commanded that we believe differently about Him than about the others? So that, because many are called sons of God on account of holiness, this One alone may be believed to be the true Son of God, for which reason He is also called the Only-begotten. For which of the saints would have dared to call himself the Son of God, not to say the only-begotten, except the Savior, conscious of His birth proceeding from God? And how would He have allowed Himself to be adored, if He did not know that He is from God, when it is written, “The Lord your God you shall adore, and Him only shall you serve” (Deut. 6:13)? For when John wished to adore the angel, the angel reproved him, saying, “Do not do that, for I am your fellow servant; adore God” (Rev. 19:10; 22:9). And although Scripture testifies that God alone is to be served, yet the Apostle says, “He who serves Christ pleases God” (Rom. 14:18). Why? Because God and Christ, the Father and the Son, are one. The Apostle confesses himself to be the servant of Christ, and says to the Corinthians, “Do not become the servants of men” (1 Cor. 7:23). And to the Galatians, “Paul, an apostle, not from men nor through a man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead” (Gal. 1:1): he clearly shows that Christ is God and man, so that he might demonstrate that his apostleship is not from a man, but from Christ, inasmuch as He is God, and from God the Father. Finally, in what follows he says, “For I neither received it from man nor was I taught it, but through a revelation of Jesus Christ” (Gal. 1:12). What could be clearer? For he says that he attained the doctrine of God not through a man, but that he was taught by God Himself. We, indeed, receive the doctrine of God through men; but the “chosen vessel” claims that he attained nothing from the Apostles, that is, from men. For if, because it is the doctrine of God, it is therefore not learned through a man, what praise is the Apostle claiming for himself if he learned in the same way as the other Apostles? Why does he say, “For I neither received it from man nor was I taught it, but through a revelation of Jesus Christ”? Who can doubt that in this passage Christ is signified as God? But what wonder is it, when among other things he says to the Romans, “Theirs are the fathers, and from them, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever” (Rom. 9:5)? What does “from them, according to the flesh, is the Christ” mean? He would not have said this if He were not also according to God; so that, according to the flesh, He is from the fathers, but according to His divinity Christ is from God, God over all. But perhaps it might be said that this relates to the person of the Father? Yet in this passage there is no mention of the name of the Father. Therefore, if it is denied that this is said of Christ, let a person be given to whom it fittingly applies. And why should it not fit Christ, in whose name every knee bows in heaven and on earth and under the earth (Philip. 2:10)? that is, that He is God over all. For besides these there are no others. Let Photinus now say whether these bend the knee to a man; or whether God has decreed that those heavenly powers and holy angels should adore a man. Far be it, for God has decreed nothing foolish; especially since it is not permitted to adore any but God, how much less in heaven? For a king is adored on earth as the minister of God. Christ, however, after completing His mediated dispensation, is adored in heaven and on earth. We read, in fact, that “the Word was made flesh” (Jn. 1:14): that is, that this Word, which in the beginning was with God and was God, was, by the ministry of the Holy Spirit, made flesh of Mary, and that this is also called the Son of God. How then is that which was in the beginning and was God not prior to Mary? Even if, being blinded, you deny that this is God, yet you do not deny that it is the Word; nor do you ignore that this Word is called the Son of God, and that it was with God in the beginning. On what grounds, then, do you say that what you read was in the beginning is after Mary? For in the Apocalypse we read of Christ, “And His name is the Word of God” (Rev. 19:13). This “Word” has many meanings. For nothing that is from God fails to be called God; but, because of the authority of the one God, He called that which is born from Him “Word,” so that, guided by this reasoning, by which we know that our words are from none other than ourselves, we might believe that Christ is from God. Nor indeed ought it to have been said otherwise, so that He might be believed to be from Him and not outside Him. In a similar way, too, He is called the Power and the Wisdom of God, so that in the same manner He may be understood to be from Him. For if He had said “God and God,” He would not have signified that the latter was from Himself, but would have made two gods, which is contrary to unity. This is the method in the divine Scriptures: that, while Christ is signified as God, He does not exceed the measure of the one God. But how foolish is that notion of yours, Photinus, by which you so punctuate the beginning of the Gospel of John that the Word may not be called God! For you read therefore: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was. The Word was in the beginning with God.” What is the meaning of this punctuation? What sense does it convey? What principle of virtue does it express, except sheer hostility against the Son of God? For what meaning is there in pronouncing, “And the Word was with God, and God was”? Is this then the wisdom of our Scripture, to teach that God exists? What tongue, what nation, what land, what sect denies that God exists And so, to suggest what he means, he says, “And the Word was with God.” Or what does he wish this word to be understood as, unless he is showing forth His reason? For the Gospel is not written on account of God, about whom no one doubts, but on account of the Word, about whom questions arise. For it is the mystery of God, which is believed precisely because it is not revealed to all. Therefore Scripture strives to teach what the Word is, saying: “And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” This agrees with reason, and the statement is complete. For it shows that this Word, which in the beginning was with God and was God, in the sacrament of the eternal mystery of God, which was unknown from ages and generations, is to be believed to have been God the Word with God the Father. And because this comes into doubt for those who are carnal, who want Scripture to speak according to the capacity of their own understanding, faith has been established, so that by following the sense of Scripture it may deserve its reward. When Solomon had asked wisdom of God, the Lord answered: “Behold, I have given you,” he says, “a wise and understanding heart, such as no one has had before you, and after you no man like you shall arise” (1 Kings 3:12). What shall we say? Is what God promised true? Yes, it is true. Therefore no man will be like Solomon. And what will be thought of Christ, who among other things says, “The queen of the South came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here” (Matt. 12:42)? Now choose whom you will believe, Photinus: God or Christ, the Father or the Son? If you believe the Father, you accuse the Son; if you believe the Son, you accuse the Father. For if Christ is only a man, He has vainly set Himself above Solomon contrary to the promise of God; but if He is understood also to be God, He has rightly set Himself before Solomon, and the promise of God remains unstained, because no man like Solomon has arisen. For Christ has shown Himself superior for this reason, that He is God. O madness of Photinus, who does not wish to confess that Christ existed before Mary, when he hears Him with his own ears testifying that He existed before Abraham! For when the Jews were disputing with Him about time, saying, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” He answered them, “Amen, I say to you, before Abraham was made, I am” (Jn. 8:57–58). He did not say, “I am better,” but answered the question by declaring that He existed before the time the Jews supposed. Photinus clearly cannot escape the curse of the Law, because he has his hope in Christ, whom he declares to be only a man, while he reads, “Cursed is the man who has his hope in man” (Jer. 17:5). But the Apostle, knowing that Christ is God, therefore says that our hope is in Him both in the present and in the future: “If in this life only,” he says, “we are hoping in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable” (1 Cor. 15:19). Therefore He is not merely a man, in whom we are taught to have hope; for hope placed in a man is vain. We have said these few things out of many; indeed it would have been enough, had he possessed a sound mind. For Photinus this last point alone which we have set forth would be sufficient.

The Jews, who held only the first part of this confession, are refuted by the Lord. For when he asked them whose son they said Christ was, they answered "David's." This is true according to the flesh. But concerning his divinity … they answered nothing. Therefore the Lord said to them: "Why did David, in the Spirit, call him Lord?" in order that they might realize that they had only confessed that Christ is the son of David and had not said that Christ is Lord of this same David. The first fact is true according to his assumption of flesh, the other accordingto the eternity of his divinity.

Since a mean for reconciling is not suitable unless he has in himself both natures, namely the superior and the inferior, the adorable and the adoring; and this can in no way come about except through a supremely condescending and gratuitous union; therefore it is necessary to posit in Christ a grace above every grace, to be venerated with every manner of reverence, which we call the grace of union, by reason of which Christ as man is God blessed above all things, and therefore to be venerated with the worship of latria.

Whosoever will candidly consider each particular, will recognise the greatness of the gifts which were given by him. For from him have sprung the priests and all the Levites who minister at the altar of God. From him also [was descended] our Lord Jesus Christ according to the flesh. [Romans 9:5] From him [arose] kings, princes, and rulers of the race of Judah. Nor are his other tribes in small glory, inasmuch as God had promised, "Your seed shall be as the stars of heaven." All these, therefore, were highly honoured, and made great, not for their own sake, or for their own works, or for the righteousness which they wrought, but through the operation of His will.

God chose Israel for himself from the beginning, which is why he called it the firstborn. But the Israelites fell because they were proud, wicked and, worst of all, murderers of their Lord. Therefore they perished, for they were rejected and abandoned and excluded from God's company, placed behind even the Gentiles and cut off from the hope promised to their ancestors.

Let us look next at the apostle's word: "Whose are the fathers, of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever." This word declares the mystery of the truth rightly and clearly. He who is over all is God; for thus He speaks boldly, "All things are delivered unto me of my Father." He who is over all, God blessed, has been born; and having been made man, He is (yet) God for ever. For to this effect John also has said, "Which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty." And well has he named Christ the Almighty. For in this he has said only what Christ testifies of Himself. For Christ gave this testimony, and said, "All things are delivered unto me of my Father; " and Christ rules all things, and has been appointed Almighty by the Father. And in like manner Paul also, in setting forth the truth that all things are delivered unto Him, said, "Christ the first-fruits; afterwards they that are Christ's at His coming. Then cometh the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule, and all authority, and power. For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For all things are put under Him. But when He saith, All things are put under Him, it is manifest that He is excepted which did put all things under Him. Then shall He also Himself be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all." If, therefore, all things are put under Him with the exception of Him who put them under Him, He is Lord of all, and the Father is Lord of Him, that in all there might be manifested one God, to whom all things are made subject together with Christ, to whom the Father hath made all things subject, with the exception of Himself. And this, indeed, is said by Christ Himself, as when in the Gospel He confessed Him to be His Father and His God. For He speaks thus: "I go to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God." If then, Noetus ventures to say that He is the Father Himself, to what father will he say Christ goes away according to the word of the Gospel? But if he will have us abandon the Gospel and give credence to his senselessness, he expends his labour in vain; for "we ought to obey God rather than men."

Paul, when writing to the Romans, has explained this very point: "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, predestinated unto the Gospel of God, which He had promised by His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was made to Him of the seed of David according to the flesh, who was predestinated the Son of God with power through the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead of our Lord Jesus Christ." And again, writing to the Romans about Israel, he says: "Whose are the fathers, and from whom is Christ according to the flesh, who is God over all, blessed for ever." And again, in his Epistle to the Galatians, he says: "But when the fulness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption;" plainly indicating one God, who did by the prophets make promise of the Son, and one Jesus Christ our Lord, who was of the seed of David according to His birth from Mary; and that Jesus Christ was appointed the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead, as being the first begotten in all the creation; the Son of God being made the Son of man, that through Him we may receive the adoption,-humanity sustaining, and receiving, and embracing the Son of God.

We keep festival, not according to the vain customs of the Greek mythology; we keep a feast which brings with it no ridiculous or frenzied banqueting of the gods, but which teaches us the wondrous condescension to us men of the awful glory of Him who is God over all.

Yet it is certain that also according to the flesh, from that very race, that is, from the Israelite race, there came not only the fathers but also Christ, as he says too through the prophet: "Woe to them, for my flesh is from them." But why "woe to them"? Because Jesus was born "for the fall and for the rising again of many," and because he was rejected by those whose flesh he was, and was received by the Gentiles by whom he was not known, as he says also through David: "A people whom I did not know has served me." Of them, therefore, is Christ also according to the flesh. "Who is God over all, blessed for ever." That Christ is one thing according to the flesh and another according to the spirit, he had already indicated in the earlier parts of this Epistle, where he says: "Who was made of the seed of David according to the flesh, who was designated Son of God in power, according to the spirit of sanctification." And how he is Son of God according to the spirit, and son of David according to the flesh, we expounded there more fully as far as our powers allowed. Him, therefore, whom he there called Son of God according to the spirit, here, as the order of teaching advances and his hearers make progress, he declares to be himself God, "who is over all, blessed." And I wonder how certain people, reading what the same Apostle says elsewhere: "One God the Father, from whom are all things, and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things," deny that the Son of God ought to be professed as God, lest they should seem to speak of two gods. And what will they do with this passage of the Apostle, in which Christ is openly declared to be "God over all"? But those who think thus do not notice that, just as he did not say that the Lord Jesus Christ is one Lord in such a way that on this account God the Father should not be called Lord, so also he did not say that God the Father is one God in such a way that God the Son should not be believed to be God. For the Scripture is true which says: "Know that the Lord himself is God." Yet both are one God, because the Son has no other beginning of divinity than the Father; but the Son is, as Wisdom says, the "purest emanation" of that one Paternal fount itself. Christ, then, is "God over all." Which "all"? Those, without doubt, of which we spoke a little before: "above principalities, and powers, and virtues, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in that which is to come." But he who is over all has no one above himself. For he is not after the Father, but from the Father. And this same thing the Wisdom of God gave us to understand concerning the Holy Spirit also, where it says: "The Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world; and he who contains all things has knowledge of the voice." If therefore the Son is called "God over all," and the Holy Spirit is recorded as containing all things, while God the Father is he "from whom are all things," it is plainly shown that the nature and substance of the Trinity is one, which is over all.

The patriarchs are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Paul writes here against the Manicheans, Photinus and Arius because Christ is of the Jews according to the flesh, and God, blessed forever.

Joseph, again, himself was made a figure of Christ in this point alone (to name no more, not to delay my own course), that he suffered persecution at the hands of his brethren, and was sold into Egypt, on account of the favour of God; just as Christ was sold by Israel-(and therefore, ) "according to the flesh," by His "brethren" -when He is betrayed by Judas.

But when Christ alone (is mentioned), I shall be able to call Him "God," as the same apostle says: "Of whom is Christ, who is over all, God blessed for ever." For I should give the name of" sun" even to a sunbeam, considered in itself; but if I were mentioning the sun from which the ray emanates, I certainly should at once withdraw the name of sun from the mere beam.

But they themselves rejected the benefaction. Therefore, marveling at the love of God, he sends up thanksgiving to the Only-Begotten and says: "God over all, blessed forever." Although others argue that the reception of the Gentiles was not well-founded, we, knowing the mysteries of Christ, know that He is worthy of glorification. At this, Arius should be put to shame, because Paul calls Christ God over all.

Third, he describes the Jews' dignity by their origin, when he says, whose fathers, because they were begotten according to the flesh by those ancestors who were especially acceptable to God: I love your fathers and chose their descendants after them (Deut 4:37); like the first fruit on the fig tree I saw their fathers (Hos 9:1). Fourth, he shows their greatness from a descendant when he says, and of whom is Christ, according to the flesh who says: salvation is from the Jews (John 4:22). Then to prevent this from being underestimated he shows the greatness of Christ, saying: who is over all things, God blessed forever. Amen: this is the true God and eternal life (1 John 5:20). In these words four heresies are refuted: first, Manichean, which held that Christ had not a true but imaginary body. This is refuted when he says, according to the flesh. For he has true flesh, as it says in Luke: a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have (Luke 24:39). Second, Valentinus' heresy which claims that Christ's body was not taken from the human line but brought from heaven. This is excluded when he says that Christ was from the Jews according to the flesh, in keeping with Matthew: the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham (Matt 1:1). Third, the heresy of Nestorius according to whom the Son of man was other than the Son of God. Against this the Apostle says here that whose fathers and of whom is Christ, according to the flesh, who is over all things, God. Fourth, the Arian heresy, which claimed that Christ was less than the Father and created from nothing. Against the first he says that he is over all things; against the second that he is blessed forever. For it is true of God alone that his goodness remains forever.