...but pious, for he does nothing which the Father does not do: for the things that He (the Father) does here, these also He (the Son) does. That statement, therefore, "The Son can do nothing of himself," removes neither freedom nor power, but demonstrates concord, consent, and close conjunction, and is a sign of perfect union. For when He was breaking the Sabbath, and they were accusing Him of transgression, saying: "God has commanded one thing, and you do another," He, A curbing this impudence of theirs, says: "Nothing has been done by me other than what has been done by the Father; nor am I contrary or hostile to Him." But if He did not speak in that way, He fashioned his speech in a more human and crasser manner, considering that He was conversing with Jews who thought Him to be contrary to God. Therefore, lest anyone suspect any such thing, He immediately added: "For the works which He does, these also the Son does in like manner" (John 5:19). But if He does nothing of Himself, how does He do it in like manner? For to do it (at all) is not the great thing: for the apostles were doing that too—they were raising the dead, they were cleansing lepers—but not "in like manner" as He. But how did they? "Why do you look at us, as though by our own power or authority we had made this man walk?" (Acts 3:12). But how does Jesus? "That you may know that the Son of Man has power to forgive sins on earth" (Mark 2:10; Luke 5:24); and again concerning the resurrection of the dead: "As the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wills" (John 5:21). Although it would have been enough to have said "So," yet out of abundance, B so as to blunt the impudence of those who wished to contradict, He added: "To whom He wills," certainly with all power. For that reason He says: "The works, indeed, which He does": He does not say, "The Son does similar works," but "The Son does the self-same things." "For all things were made through Him, and without Him was made nothing" (John 1:3). You see how He aims His discourse to indicate the most intimate union, conjunction, and consent, not saying "similar things," but "the self-same things," and "in like manner," as the Father? For that reason, tempering Himself and condescending, He used a statement of this kind even there with great caution. For He did not say, "Unless He be taught somewhat by the Father," lest you should introduce Him as a learner; nor did He say, "Unless He be ordered," lest you should suspect Him to be in the order of servants: but, "Unless He sees the Father doing it." And this, too, said in that way, indicates great conjunction with the Father. For if He is able to see the Father working, and know how He works, He is of the same substance. For we have often shown before that no one is able to see the substance of God accurately, nor to know it clearly, C unless he be of the same nature. A human being, indeed, adorned though he be with great virtue—Daniel, for instance—could not see an angel in his naked substance. Therefore, he was extolling this as a unique prerogative of His nature, saying: "No one has ever seen God; the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has revealed Him" (John 1:18). And again: "Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father" (John 6:46). Although many others, prophets, patriarchs, righteous men, and angels, had seen Him: but He speaks of perfect knowledge. Let us not, therefore, say that He does it then when He sees Him: for by what reason would that stand, "All things were made through Him, and without Him was made nothing" (John 1:3)? And likewise that, "The works which He does, these also the Son does in like manner" (John 5:19)? For if He does it in like manner, how does He do it only when He has first seen Him? For it will be necessary, from this statement of yours, that the Father also works only when He sees another working; which would be the height of madness and insanity.
But that we may not draw out our discourse D further, we shall add this: because He was conversing with Jews who said He was contrary to God and an enemy to the Lawgiver—which they concluded from the things that had been done—in this way He formulated His discourse in a more human and crasser manner, leaving it to the prudent hearer to form the right opinion concerning these things, and correcting those who understood in a crasser way; wherefore He was saying: "For the works which He does, these also the Son does in like manner." For He does not wait until He sees the Father doing it, so as to act then, nor does He have need of instruction: but He sees His substance, and clearly knows it. "As the Father knows me, and I know the Father" (John 10:15); but He works and effects all things with a power becoming to Him, with intelligence and wisdom accompanying Him, to whom there is no need either to learn or to see. For how would there be a need, when He is the perfect image of the Father, and does all things that He does, in like manner, and with the same power? For speaking of power He added this: "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30). Knowing and understanding, therefore, all these things that have been said, let us turn away from the gatherings of the heretics, and let us adhere perpetually to the right faith, and let us institute a life that is accurate and equal to the doctrines, so that we may obtain the good things to come, by the grace and mercies of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and empire, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always, and for ever and ever. Amen.