A sits at the right hand of the Father as a Son, while the others stand by as servants, and are sent, and minister.
Since these things are thus written, B O Arians, it is not a "made" Son who is indicated by them, but rather one who is distinct from created things, proper to the Father, and residing in His bosom. For the fact that "made" is written here does not signify a created Son, as you think. For if he had said simply "made" and then remained silent, you would have had a handle from this. But since he had previously said "Son," demonstrating throughout the whole period that He is distinct from created things, he did not even set down the word "made" absolutely; rather, he joined the word "better" with "made." For he judged the expression to be indifferent, knowing well that one who refers to the genuine, indubitable Son as "made"—an expression that is effectively the same as "begotten"—intends to affirm that He is "better." For it makes no difference whether one says "made" or "effected." C But since created things are "made," they cannot be called "begotten" unless by chance they participate with the begotten Son, and are even themselves called "begotten," not because of their own nature, but because of their participation with the Son in the Father. And the divine Scripture also knows this, saying of created things: "All things were made by Him," and, "In wisdom He hath made all things." But concerning begotten sons: "And there were born to Job seven sons and three daughters," and, "Abraham was an hundred years old when Isaac his son was born unto him." If, therefore, the Son is indeed distinct from created things, and is alone the proper progeny of the Father's essence, then the pretext D of the Arians concerning the word "made" is rendered vain. For even if, being ashamed in these matters, they should forcefully try to say again that these words are stated in a comparative sense, and that for this reason the things being compared are of the same kind, so that the Son is of the nature of the angels—they will be ashamed primarily inasmuch as they are uttering the dogmas of Valentinus and Carpocrates: of whom the one said that angels are of the same kind as Christ, and the other affirmed that angels are the creators of the world. For perhaps Arians, having been taught by them, compare the Word of God to angels. But those who imagine such things will be confounded by the Psalmist saying: "Who shall be likened unto the Lord among the sons of God? and who is like unto Thee among the gods, O Lord?" They will hear, however, if they are willing to learn, that comparison is wont to occur between things that are entirely of the same kind, and not between those that are of different kinds. No one, therefore, compares God with man, nor again man with brute animals, nor wood with stones, because of the dissimilarity of their nature. But while God is an incomparable being, man is compared with man, wood with wood, and stone with stone. And no one would apply the term "better" to these...
A in the sense of a different nature. But in the case of things that are heterogeneous, when someone compares them to one another, then the term "better" is used to signify difference, as we have said regarding wisdom and stones. Therefore, if the Apostle had said, "By as much the Son proceeds before the angels," or "By so much he is greater," there might be an excuse for you to think that the Son was being compared with the angels. But now, by saying that he is better, and that he differs by as much as a Son differs from slaves, he shows that he is of a different nature from that of the angels. And by saying again that he is the one who founded all things, he shows him to be different from all created things.
But if he is different and of a different substance from the nature of created things, what comparison or similarity of his substance can there be with created things? For this reason, the Son himself did not say, "My Father is better than I," B lest anyone should suppose him to be an alien to that nature; but he said "greater," not in terms of any magnitude or time, but because of his generation from the Father. Nevertheless, even in saying "greater," he again demonstrated the uniqueness of his substance. And the Apostle, not because he primarily wished to distinguish the substance of the Word from created things, said, "Having become so much better than the angels." For he is rather incomparable and different; but looking toward the incarnation of the Word and the economy performed by him at that time, he wished to show that this is not similar to the previous things; so that by as much as he differs in nature from those sent before him, by so much more also the grace C brought about by him and through him might appear better than the ministry of the angels. For the duty of a slave is only to exact the fruits, but that of a son and master is to remit debts and to transfer the vineyard.
These things are sufficient to put to shame those who oppose the truth. But if, because it is written "having become," they do not wish it to be understood as said of the Son, as if it were the same as "is," or to accept and understand the word "having become" because of the better ministry that was performed, as we have said; but they think that by this expression "the Word" is denoted as created, let them hear again. If the Son is one of the angels, then let the term "having become" be applied to him as it is to them; D and let him differ from them in nothing according to his nature, but let them either be sons as well, or let him be an angel. And let all sit together at the right hand of the Father, or let the Son also stand with them as a ministering spirit, sent for ministries just as they are. But if Paul separates the Son from created things, saying, "For to which of the angels did he ever say: 'You are my Son, today I have begotten you'?" and again, "I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son"...
"… A 1, 8. *Ad Filium autem:* Thronus tuus, Deus. Those who say that the Son is of a different nature and alien to the substance of God the Father are demented. For it is impossible that He who is naturally from God should be created and made. For whatever is naturally suited to beget, begets that which is consubstantial with itself; and if the Father has truly begotten the Son, He has surely begotten Him consubstantial with Himself. Certainly it is not absurd that from a man a creature of a different kind is not born, and likewise not from an ox or a horse, for each begets what is by nature similar to itself—but shall we think that the divine and supreme nature is not even endowed with this prerogative, in which the creature is not lacking? Therefore, if he who is generated is a creature, he who begets is surely created as well. But the Father is uncreated, nor is He from anyone; therefore, the Son is also uncreated. Furthermore, if the Son is the figure of the substance of the Begetter, and He who begets is truly God, then His figure is also God. For God characterizes God, and a creature characterizes a creature. For just as if someone wished to point out to others a created and fashioned creature, he could not say, "Observe with me the nature of the divinity, and from it you will recognize that one." For he who speaks thus will appear unlearned. For the nature of deity will not show in itself a created substance. So if anyone wishes to see the uncreated nature, he will certainly not see it in a creature as in an image. Wherefore the Lord said to Philip: "He who sees me, sees the Father." And the likeness of the Son to the Father is B certainly natural, and the character is essential.
How then is it not imprudent and bold to curiously scrutinize that nature by which all things were brought into existence, which is older than all time? For all things have been made through It, and the Word from God the Father is before every age. But those who dare all things accuse Him of being more recent, and say that He is created, not knowing that they contradict the words of the Holy Spirit; for those who speak in the Spirit say that the ages were made through Him; yet they insist that the Word who exceeds every mind is created. Neither can they comprehend this in their mind: C that God the Father did not come into existence in time, but was always and in the beginning; and since this is so, it is absolutely necessary to think of the Son as coexisting with Him, so that God may truly exist as Father. Furthermore, let them teach us, if the Son is the Word of the Father, and wisdom, and power, and the figure of His substance, what time could there have been in which the Father was without the Word, the Son evidently not existing? When was He who is the fountain of wisdom without His own wisdom? When was He without power? When was the effulgence of His glory not in God? Or how D is his likeness not with Him and in Him continually? If, therefore, in time—
A these things came to be, the Father was not, before they were; He was without word and without wisdom, and having no power, and was void of likeness and effulgence. But I think it is impious to conceive of this, and it carries with it proof of the utmost impiety. But the Father was always; hence the Son also was—co-existing always with His own Begetter.
*A rod of equity is the rod of thy kingdom.*
For in many ways is a rod understood: sometimes it denotes the kingdom, as here; sometimes power, as in the passage: *The rod of thy power he will send forth unto thee*; it is also taken for the pastoral art, according to that which was said to the Son: *Rule thy people with a rod.* Christ is truly king, because although He became man, He remained B in His own preeminences. For He reigns in justice; therefore, having taken the example from kings on earth who are accustomed to bear a scepter, the figure of the discourse is fashioned. For a rod is a symbol of royalty.
*Therefore God hath anointed thee.*
Thou seest that God is anointed by God? For when He became man, while remaining what He was, then also according to us He is anointed in a human manner for the apostleship. For the humanity is anointed by the divine Spirit, yet it is not operated upon as is the case with mere men, such as prophets and patriarchs. But the anointing is, as it were, the whole presence of Him who anoints. And the Son is anointed when He was introduced into the world, that is, when He was incarnate. For then He communicated with the creature, joining the created to Himself, and anointing the humanity with the Godhead, so as to make both one.
*Thou hast made him a little less than the angels.*
How is He made less than the angels, He who is worshipped by them, except because He descended to the measures of humanity, and having taken a body C of a nature to die, He suffered in it willingly, and is crowned with the highest glories on account of the passion, as having by it rendered death inoperative and shown corruption to be of no effect, since He is Himself incorruption and life? But those things of pre-eminence belong to the angels, in that they are both outside of flesh and superior to death; both of which the Son experienced on account of the voluntary emptying. But He who was made a little less than the angels on account of the measure of humanity, yet, being in the pre-eminence of the Godhead, is worshipped by them, and is seated upon the thrones which they surround, D always glorifying Him and calling Him Lord of the powers.
A “And Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth” (Ps. 101:26). Thus also in this place, he says, some one testified. [But I think this very thing—to conceal and not name the one who uttered the testimony, but to introduce it as being well-known and manifest—shows that he considers the readers to be very experienced in the Scriptures.] But the words, “What is man?” and what follows, even if they are spoken of the common human nature, yet they would more properly be fitted to Christ according to the flesh. For the statement, “Thou hast put all things under his feet” (Ps. 8:7), relates more to Him than to us. For the Son of God visited us who were nothing, and taking our nature and uniting it to Himself, He became higher than all. “With honor Thou hast crowned Him.”
But He has crowned us with glory and honor, in that, while He is by nature God, He was humbled for our sakes, so that we might become rich in Him beyond our nature. “For He raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 2:6). For when He sits, the boast redounds to the whole human nature. For thus we have become rich from His poverty, by whom He in turn is crowned with glory and honor, although He is the Lord and God of glory. For from being dishonored through the transgression of Adam, we have obtained glory through Christ, who became obedient for our sakes. B “I will declare Thy name.” And here he calls glory the name, according to the passage, “I have manifested Thy name to men, etc.”
II, 14. “Since the children have shared in flesh and blood” (Heb. 2:14).
It might perhaps be thought by us that He who has in like manner shared blood and flesh with us is another than we are, according to nature. For no one would say that it is fitting for a man to share in humanity. For how could a person be thought to assume what he has naturally, as if it were something foreign to him? What, then, is the meaning of “He has in like manner shared in the same,” unless it is clearly that, being man like us, He came to be in blood and flesh, having taken a body from the holy Virgin, not inanimate, as it seemed to some of the heretics, but endowed with a rational soul? And thus He came forth man from a woman, not ceasing to be God, but even in the assumption of flesh remaining what He always was. C But since the teaching is profound, attend with a roused mind to how we have shared in blood and flesh. For the soul is of a different nature from blood and flesh, but yet we have been compacted into one man from both, by the artful skills of Him who fashioned us, and they have come together in an ineffable union.
Do you wish, as Isaiah says, that we measure the water with our hand, and the heaven with a span, and the whole earth with a fist? Do you wish that we understand those things which are above us by means of those things which are our own? Let us therefore set before us as a brief example man, who is composed of soul and body, and let us then lift our minds to Christ. We say that a true union took place when the Word assumed human nature. And it may be said that, in a certain way, what belongs to the Word belongs also to each one of us; and I think this is what is signified by the words that the Word "became flesh," not through conversion or change—for the divine nature is unchangeable—but because it is customary for divine Scripture sometimes to denote the whole man by the flesh alone, as in that passage: "I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh." B We therefore confess one Son, God, begotten indeed divinely from the Father, in so far as He is understood and is the Word, but also brought forth from a woman according to the flesh. For thus will He be considered to have participated in blood and flesh in like manner to us, so that by His own death He might destroy the devil, by whose envy death entered into the world. For the death of Christ has become, as it were, a root of life, and the destruction of corruption, and the removal of sin, and the end of wrath. We were condemned and under the sentence of death in Adam, but the Word, who knew no sin, has been named Son of Adam, and the charges of the first transgression have been loosed through Him. For the nature of man was seen in Christ to be in a healthy state; this freedom from sin has saved the inhabitants of the earth.
To be made like to His brethren in all things.
He was made like to His brethren in all things, in that He deigned to take the form of a servant. For He was thus named also Son of man, and became a brother to those who are of the seed of Abraham, that is to say, to those in blood and flesh.
That He might become a merciful and faithful high priest.
He Himself became high priest according to the human. And although, as God, He receives sacrifices from all, yet He Himself is the victim according to the flesh; He Himself, I say, who forgives our sins according to the power of His divinity. There is therefore one Lord Jesus Christ.
C Not, however, for the very nature of the Word is it called high priest and such names of this kind, but on account of the dispensation in the flesh and the measures that belong to our nature. And come, let us first examine this: who was He who, while being able and having the authority to take hold of angels, if this had been judged expedient, yet took hold not of them, but of the seed of Abraham? If, therefore, some think that these things are said concerning a common man, how could it have been possible that He who was not yet born nor even existed, could take hold of the nature of the holy angels...
if He had willed to do so, yet failed to do that, but rather took hold of the seed of Abraham? A Furthermore, I think it is also necessary to observe that to say a man takes hold of humanity is altogether foolish. Therefore, He who is outside the nature of man, being God, takes hold of the seed of Abraham. For having thus taken a body endowed with a soul and mind from the holy Theotokos Mary, He was made like His brothers in all things, that is, like us. Then He became a merciful high priest for us, and faithful in addition to this. It remains to see how He became so. For was He not merciful even before He assumed our nature? Was He not good, as being from a good Father? But was it only when He became man that He became merciful? Therefore, did the Word of God the Father progress, and become better than Himself, when He took hold of the seed of Abraham? Therefore, did that which was not before come to be, and did He rather gain an advantage by becoming man? How then was He still immutable according to nature, if He became what He was not before? How did He who was, remain? How was He emptied and did He lower Himself to a humble condition, if He became better than He was before? But that these things are so is far from the truth. For He was merciful, and is so always; and because this is so, He took hold of the seed of Abraham, so that He might become a merciful high priest for us. And I will say in what manner. It was not possible for man to be justified by the law; it was not permitted to transgress the given commandment without immediately suffering capital punishment. Paul will bear witness to this, writing: “Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy before two or three witnesses.” B In order, therefore, to deliver us from the punishment and the curse and the severity that is in the law, He became our high priest—not to demand the penalties for our sins, not to present those who had sinned through human infirmity as guilty before the judgment, but rather to justify them by faith, and to absolve them from their crimes, and to show them to be holy and partakers of His own nature, and thus through Himself to join them to God the Father. Christ has thus become a merciful high priest for us, no longer permitting us to be held by the rigors of the law, but rather delivering those who have become weak from the ancient accusations. And He is faithful because He is constant and permanent, and faithful to His promises, and has an everlasting priesthood. Therefore, having become a merciful and faithful high priest—that is, always remaining—when He took hold of the seed of Abraham, being God the Word, and in the form and equality of the Father. D Why then do they slander the truth? Why do they deny that He is the Son, as He really is, on account of the charity shown toward us?
11, 18. *In that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, etc.* The words "being tempted, He is able to help" are of a very humble nature, but nevertheless they do not depart from the measure of the union. Besides the fact that what has been said is also
A for the consolation of those who heard it. For since, he says, He Himself has suffered, being tempted in His own body, He will more readily help those who are tempted. B Observe, moreover, how He did not become a priest for the condemnation of those who have sinned, but rather for the propitiation of their sins. But what, then, is the manner of the temptation and the sacrifice? He endured, he says, being tempted, and He underwent the cross. Furthermore, the Son offered Himself to the Father as a blameless victim, so that by His own flesh He might help those who are struggling and being tempted. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
*III, 1. The Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Jesus Christ.*
But the enemies of Christ, gathering from every side for their own support the inventions of malice, slander even the divine Scriptures themselves. And so they say that the blessed Paul called Jesus an apostle and high priest; and that apostleship and priesthood are a type of ministry; for it is certain that the disciples were sent out to an apostleship, and Aaron and his sons held the priesthood. And if, they say, the measure of the Son is contained within these limits, how can He be consubstantial with God and the Father? O great perversity! They feign that they do not know the truth, and their purpose is to think or to say nothing that is sound. For though they confess with us that the Son, even while existing in the form of God and the Father, voluntarily emptied Himself, they do not accept the mystery of the dispensation in the flesh. Hearing, however, the Apostle saying, "The High Priest and Apostle Jesus," they do not consider in their minds C that when the Only-Begotten became man, He was then also named Jesus, even by the voice of the angel; and then He also took on the office of apostle and high priest. Therefore, let them either openly deny that the Word became flesh—that is, that He became man, having taken on a body endowed with soul and mind—and then let them redirect all that has been written about Him to their own purpose; or, if they are afraid to deny the mystery, let them marvel with us at Him who for our sake became man, while remaining even in this state God. For then, examining the measure of the emptying, they will find the same one to be both apostle in a human way, and God as preached by the apostles. For whom were the blessed apostles preaching to the nations, and this as the true God? Was it not our Lord Jesus Christ? Was He not an apostle in so far as He is man? Was He not God, in that He was the Word of the Father? How shall we contemplate Him as having become high priest? Was it according to Aaron? Or according to the law of Moses, sacrificing lambs from the flock to God? Or offering turtledoves and pigeons, and fine flour soaked in oil? And yet Emmanuel did none of these things; for He performs a priesthood that is above the law—He Himself was the victim, D the true lamb, He Himself the immaculate and innocent high priest, not the one to take hold of the offspring of Abraham,
but A in order to dissolve the sin of the world. He became, therefore, the minister of His own offering. For it was not fitting for a common man to offer the sacrifice for the life of the world.
But come, let us ponder more diligently what blessed Paul says: "Consider the apostle and high priest of our confession." This is, clearly, the word of faith which we preach. What, then, does He sacrifice to Himself and to the Father? "For we believe in one God the Father Almighty, maker of all things visible and invisible, and in one Lord Jesus Christ, His Son." Therefore, let those who say that He was made a priest, and are scandalized by this, teach us what priest performs the liturgy for himself, or offers the sacrifice to himself. What priest appears in equal order and glory as the one who receives the liturgy from him? But although the Son became high priest on account of his humanity, He offered to Himself, and through Himself to the Father, our confession, and is seen on the thrones of the divinity. And Paul will confirm this, writing: "Now the main point of B the things which are being said is this: we have such a high priest, who has sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister of the holy places, and of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, and not man." Therefore, He exercises the priesthood humanly, because He became man, but He sits as a fellow-ruler divinely, because He remained the Word.
III, 12; IV, 12. *Departing from the living God.* He calls Christ the living God, from whom those depart entirely and absolutely who flee from the dogmas of the truth. But what does the disciple [Paul] say? "As therefore you have received Christ Jesus, walk in Him." Moreover, the words, "piercing even to the division of soul and spirit," can also be understood in this way: that the doctrine of God, penetrating the parts of the soul, divides it, making it docile and capable of receiving the things which are imparted.
IV, 14. *Having therefore a great high priest.* For the Word, having become like us and having suffered in the flesh for us, then became our high C priest, not as one offering a foreign victim, but as He Himself serving as the lamb, the intellectual holocaust, the most vocal turtledove, the innocent dove, the living bread, the golden censer; for we are the sweet odor of Christ. D He says that He penetrated the heavens both corporally and in a manner worthy of God. For He ascended to present Himself to the face of God. He penetrates the heavens also in another
way, sitting above every principality as Son to the Father, even if He has become like us by the economy.
Even if the Word of God had not become man, He would still have known human infirmity as Creator; for He Himself knew our formation A. But since He clothed Himself in our flesh, He has been tested in all things; and we do not say this as if He had been ignorant, but because, with the knowledge befitting God already existing beforehand, He also wished to learn it through the experience of it. And He became compassionate, yet not as a result of being tested—for whence would that be? He was merciful by nature and is so as God; but because, while remaining what He is, He also became man among us in a manner worthy of humanity, for this reason these things are also said of Him.
V, 5. Christ did not glorify Himself to become high priest.
Lowering Himself into emptying, He awaits the call from the Father that brings Him to the most appropriate priesthood, not according to His own nature, but according to ours. Since He has entered into it, He endures its lot while being in no way wronged by it, but rather skillfully employing the economy of the flesh. For just as He, while being Lord by nature, remained what He was, even if He had come in the form of a slave; so we say that, even though He has myriads in heaven who minister to Him—those who offer the intellectual and bloodless sacrifices, that is, hymns B and doxologies—He nevertheless renders our priesthood acceptable, everywhere preserving what is fitting to the measures of humanity. He is therefore called [priest] just as Aaron was, though not in the same way. For the one was anointed for the priesthood and was a servant, but the Other is called Son, and He exercises priesthood to the Father according to the order of Melchizedek. For as God by nature and Word, He is Son by an eternal generation; but as man, He is Son according to the most recent generation in the flesh, which the "today" also demonstrates. For it signifies to us the present time. Indeed, the Father also adopts His carnal generation as His own; for He knows that the Son born of Him divinely is the same One born of a woman humanely.
V, 12. When by reason of the time you ought to be teachers.
Good heavens, what a difference! When you ought to be teaching others, you are not even simple disciples, but the very last of disciples C. Yet that for which you are most slothful and have become remiss—that is the very reason why you ought to be strong: namely, because of the time. Those who are being taught do not always spend their time in learning, since they are not being taught [to do so forever]; if you are always learning, you will never learn. Do not come [to the lessons] thinking that you will always be a learner, for then you will never reach the finish, but come also as one who will teach another. If you are always learning, it is proof that you have learned nothing. God, reproaching the Jews for this, said: "Carried from the womb and instructed until old age" D. Observe, therefore, how Paul is also indignant at this, because the hearers had spent a long time in the former teachings and were still clinging to the first elements, a thing which is sufficient to cause a teacher much...
A weariness. By "elements" here he means the discourses concerning the humanity of Christ. For as in secular letters the first elements must be learned, so also here they were first taught concerning the humanity and the more humble discourses about Christ.
VI, 8. Earth bringing forth thorns.
The slothful soul may justly be compared to bad and marshy land, which, often receiving the casting of seeds from those accustomed to till the earth, yet brings forth nothing at all. But what end will its slothfulness have, which has rendered the gift given by God unfruitful? Paul will teach us, saying: "Whose end is to be burned." Do you wish to understand the truth of his statement from facts as well? Israel was once fertile land, a leafy vine, as it is written. The blessed prophets, like clouds, existed for it, and seeking to benefit it, watered it with divine words; but it produced thorns, it became wild and overgrown. It is given up, therefore, to burning—that is, it has turned out entirely useless—and is reserved for the fire.
VII, 27. Who has no need daily, as the priests, etc.
For the B ministers under the Law, there was not need of one sacrifice, but of many, both because they had to offer daily for themselves and for the sins of the people, and because it happened to them very often to be weak and to suffer lanquor on account of various sins. But Christ, unconquered by any sin as God, offered up himself, and has become our high priest, being called minister in a human way, but immolating his own body to the Father. Therefore, by his divine dignity he possessed the inability to sin; not because he had a created nature that essentially lacked mutability and impeccability, but because, as the Son, he was most perfect; and without the help of any, he possessed the proper power for the sanctification of his own nature—that is, for impeccability. For the law, he says, appoints men having infirmity; but grace the Son, who is perfect—that is, lacking infirmity. For I consider it enough to say that this means he is perfect in everything good; a thing which indeed does not happen to those who are under the law, for whom to labor with infirmity is not an unusual thing. Nevertheless, observe how the same one is believed to be unconquered C against infirmity, namely, insofar as he is the perfect Son. Otherwise, because of infirmity, he is crucified; from which it follows that we should understand that it was in the flesh that he, being weak, endured the cross. He is, indeed, as God, above infirmity; "for the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." But if any should interpret the infirmity as signifying that the priests who offered under the law were sinners, I shall not gainsay it; rather, I shall assent to those who desire to think rightly in this way as well. D
VIII, 2. Minister of the holy places and of the true tabernacle.
A The ancient tabernacle was erected in the desert by Moses, and it was most fitting for those who offered sacrifices according to the law. But a dwelling place suitable for Christ is the supernal fair city—that is to say, heaven itself—the divine tabernacle, not fashioned by human art, but august and with God himself as its architect. Having been brought there, Christ offers to God and the Father those who have believed in him, sanctified through the Spirit. "For no one," he says, "comes to the Father except through me." And this is the manner of that ministry mentioned here; a thing surely worthy of God, even if it is explained in human language. For why should it not be worthy of God to be able to sanctify by His own Spirit those who believe, justified by mercy and grace, B and to offer them, as it were, to God—being dead to the world, made alive by the Spirit, and shining forth with a life of virtue? But that He who is said to be a minister is not less than the Father, nor beneath His majesty, He has already shown beforehand, where He openly says that He sits on the divine throne and at the right hand of Him who begat Him. For if it is true that every priest stands always ministering, and can never be thought of as a co-assessor and endowed with equal glory, since he offers worship to God, why is Christ not an unusual priest, who occupies the throne of the Godhead as God, and at the same time ministers as man?
IX, 4. Having a golden censer, etc.
C Those who observe the shadow after the manifestation of the truth will be liable to punishment, according to that saying: "Whoever of you are justified by the law, you have fallen from grace." For the manna being kept and breeding worms would be an indication of punishment and corruption. But these things have been spoken of at greater length regarding the tabernacle and the things in it. Now, however, resuming, we shall say briefly that there were three places in the tabernacle. The first was the exterior one, assigned to all, after which was the first veil—also called the "funiculus" (curtain) because it is drawn—and by it the separation was made from the courtyard, into which all entered indiscriminately, and where they sacrificed upon the bronze altar. The middle place, after the curtain, was where the priests entered D to perform the rites each day; this place was called the Holy, and it was a figure of the Old Covenant, in which bloody sacrifices were performed there. The innermost place was named the Holy of Holies, and this was a figure of the mystery among us. Therefore, the Apostle calls the tabernacle after the bronze altar the "first," as being toward the Holy of Holies; since it was, in the middle, separated from the courtyard by the curtain. And after this middle tabernacle, again, the veil was stretched; and within this was the tabernacle called the
A Holy of Holies, which no one entered save the high priest alone, and he only once in the year. And there was deposited the ark, which bore the tablets of the law, and the pot of manna, and the rod of Aaron. And although the books of Kings mention only the tablets as being deposited in the ark, yet perhaps instructed by tradition, Paul added the rod and the vessel as well. And above it—that is, above the ark—were the Cherubim of glory, or glorious ones, or those which belong to the glory, that is, of God. He elevates these things advisedly in his discourse, so that he might show that those things which come after them—that is, our things—are greater B to wit, the things "overshadowing the propitiatory." The propitiatory was the name given to the covering, that is, the lid of the ark, which was as it were a certain quadrangular table, which typified Christ, who became for us a propitiatory.
IX, 5. And above it were the Cherubim of glory overshadowing the propitiatory.
Understand, therefore, how he made the propitiatory in the image of the Son who underwent humanization: for then it truly became a propitiatory. Moreover, he commands the Cherubim to stand around it, and to overshadow it with their wings, always turned toward and looking upon Him. Furthermore, how does the prophet report to us what he saw himself? Namely, when he saw the glory, and spoke thus: "I saw the Lord Sabaoth sitting upon a throne high C and lifted up: and the Seraphim stood around it, and were praising the Lord who was upon the throne, extending their wings." Thus, clearly, they were stationed also in the holy tabernacle, overshadowing the propitiatory with their wings. And if there could have been in those Cherubim fashioned of gold any voice or speech, they would certainly have praised the Lord Sabaoth—namely, this Son, the Only-begotten, who appeared in the form of a servant, naturally born of God the Father.
Solummodo in cibis et potibus.
God forbade the eating of the coney, the camel, the lizard, and the like. This, however, is not to disparage such animals, but to prohibit the following of wicked lives and customs. D For do we not also call a bull that is accustomed to strike with its horns an "evil" man? A lion, an "irascible" one? A pig, an "impure" one? But He bids us eat those animals which divide the hoof and chew the cud. For all virtue is twofold: for either we do well toward ourselves, as when we cut off pleasures, purify the heart, and restrain desires; or we do equally well toward others, by loving enemies, cheering the wrathful, being indulgent, and sympathizing. There is, therefore, a dual mode of justice: namely, if we gratify either ourselves or others. Now, indeed, it is a figure of the progressing work
A of justice and of the rectitude of the mind, according to that: "My foot stood in plainness," 17 and, "Lest thy foot should stumble," 18 also, "Make straight paths for thy feet." 19 To divide the hoof signifies our desire to walk rightly, both by working for our own benefit and by doing good to others. Therefore, he who has a right life, and has corrected his own character, and demonstrates virtues toward others, and in addition to these, turns over the divine dogmas in his own heart, and ruminates on the divine words, and knows and recognizes them, and feeds himself from them, and teaches others—this man truly divides the hoof, and brings up the cud, and is pure as being perfect in word and deed, minutely breaking down the Scriptures and searching them accurately. But he calls him who has only one of these things, unclean. For he who has a right life, but a perverted dogma, is unclean; and likewise he who has the doctrine without the life. Therefore, we ought to avoid those who possess but one of these. "For," he says, "you shall not eat of their flesh, nor shall you touch their bones," 20 that is, you shall not taste of the doctrines of the heretics, not even after their death. He calls the noble and rich man a camel; and the poor man a hare, or, as it were, a shaggy-footed one. He says, therefore, that neither the poor nor the rich will be saved unless they possess both of these. And whatever, he says, has wings and scales in the waters, these you shall eat. The sea is clearly this life; and the fish are the men in this life who think on earthly things, and are turned hither and thither by preoccupations, being unable to look up to heaven. Therefore, B the fish that have scales and wings are swift-running, beating the sea mightily, and leaping up, and looking at the sun, and avoiding the depths, but swimming above, and not like other shelled creatures, which, near the earth, are always eating the matter of the sea. By scaly ones he means those who indeed sin in small ways, because they are under the sea of this life, yet do not sin openly in such a way, but with restraint and under cover, and who sometimes leap up and look at the sun. But those who do not have scales, but are uncovered—that is, those who are divided between God and the world, or who do not possess virginity and temperance, though they have some other virtues—these also he calls unclean. C Of the birds, he rejects those that fly high and do not associate with the lowly—that is, the arrogant; and the raven and the vulture, as being rapacious and cruel in mischief; the ostrich and the gull, as being insatiable, for it eats everything; the hawk, as one that attacks every weaker bird and brings it to death. The purple moorhen, and the ibis, and the kite consume the little fish in the waters; and these are the voluptuous men, eager for luxuries. The bat, and the hoopoe, and the heron, are nocturnal animals accustomed to darkness; such are the drunkards, the thieves, and all who love the works of darkness. The wild beasts also are unclean: robbers, murderers, the irascible, and the merciless. D He also forbids the weasel, and the mouse, and the stellion, as being fearful,
A as thieves and hypocrites; and he who touches them, he says, is unclean: for he who has communion with a thief and a robber is punished equally. Or certainly he shall wash his garments, and shall be unclean until evening, that is, until the advent of Christ. For in the evening His mystery, having been accomplished, freed all from sins. The Apostle, therefore, hinting at these things, said that those things which were performed according to the law pertained to foods and drinks. For the Lord said, he says, to Aaron: "You shall not drink wine and strong drink, you and your sons, when you enter into the tabernacle." Then he adds:
IX, 10. *And with various baptisms and justifications of the flesh, imposed until a time of amendment.*
The law perfected no one B according to conscience; but rather introduced teachings of baptisms, explanations of sprinklings for the purification of the flesh. For in these the function of the priesthood was almost entirely consumed. And if anyone had touched a dead body or a leper, or if anyone suffered from a discharge, he was baptized, and thus he seemed to be cleansed. But these were justifications of the flesh, that is, carnal commandments, carnaliter justifying those who seemed impure in the flesh. But that God would not permit the Israelites to dwell foolishly even in the legal shadows, we shall know from the sacred Scriptures themselves. For He commanded the lamb to be sacrificed as a figure of Christ, and them to eat it as those prepared for a journey C and girded; signifying that the types would not remain forever, but move as it were toward the truth.
IX, 12. *Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood.*
How, then, could He who is at the right hand of the Father as God be said to have His own blood, unless we believe that He who by nature is the Son of God the Father also became the Son of man, and having given His own blood as a ransom for the life of all, found for the world this eternal redemption? For no one would say that it is necessary, as happened in the case of brute D animals, for Emmanuel to be sacrificed frequently.
For so it is written in Leviticus, that: "Aaron shall enter into the sanctuary, having taken a calf for sin, and a ram for a burnt offering. And he shall take also from the congregation two goats for sin, and a ram for a burnt offering; and he shall offer the calf, and shall set the goats before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of testimony; and he shall sprinkle with his finger of the blood of the calf and of the goat seven times upon the propitiatory, and then upon the altar." Now the calf, indeed, is taken as a figure of Christ, as He is blameless and not infected by sin. And he is led to the very doors of the tabernacle, not refusing to suffer for His own Church, according to that: "For them I sanctify myself," i.e., I lead and offer. After, indeed, he who has sinned,
hand lays upon it, then the slaughter occurs. For He takes away our sins, and suffers for our sake, and for the sake of our works; for the hand is a figure of work and deed. Moreover, the lamb was slaughtered before the Lord; for it was by the will of the Father that the passion of Christ the Saviour took place. He takes of His blood, and sprinkles it seven times upon the mercy-seat of the ark; for Christ has become our propitiation through the blood of an eternal covenant. This He sprinkles seven times, because perfect remission has been given to us through His blood; for seven is indeed a perfect number. He also anoints the horns of the altar of incense; for His death was a savor unto the salvation of the world. And the rest of the blood was poured out upon the altar of burnt offerings; for He suffered not for the Gentiles only, but also for the Jews, that He might save both Jews and heathens. Finally, upon the removal of His inward parts, it was offered: for Christ suffered in the flesh outside the gate, but committed His soul to the Father. The outer altar is also anointed; for the law is holy, calling those who hear it to the knowledge of Christ. B However, the legal high priest would enter once into the holy of holies with the blood of bulls and goats; but Christ entered once for all into the holy places through His own blood, that is, into heaven; for He has now called it the holy place.
For Christ did not enter into holy places made with hands, etc. (IX, 24).
When God says, "Heaven is my throne," we say that the Son also rests upon the spiritual, having heaven as if it were a holy tabernacle; and he does not enter as those who perform the priesthood corporeally on earth, and who perform bloody sacrifices—images of the true—according to the institution of the law. But in what way does He now appear for us before the face of God? Does He not always appear to Him, even before the incarnation? C It is truly easy to perceive that He is the creative wisdom of God, by whom all things were brought into existence, according to His good pleasure. But now He does not appear as the Word naked and without flesh, as He was in the beginning, but in the form and nature that is ours. For we say that Christ thus appears now for us, and as it were brings our own nature before the sight of God the Father, even though it had once turned away because of the transgression in Adam. Therefore, He presents us to the eyes of the Father as in Himself and as the first, inasmuch as He became man for this very reason: that He might lead us to the Father, D and might deliver us from ancient causes of sin, and might transform us into newness of life in the Spirit, so that we might henceforth seem worthy of the Father's regard, already held in the place of sons.
For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins (X, 4).
Shall we, then, judge the law to be lying? For if the blood of bulls and goats were not sufficient for the washing away of sins, why does the legislator say that he shall sprinkle the blood and perform the cleansing of the uncleannesses of the children
of Israel? A For is he a speaker of vain words? Far be it. It is clear that the truth of the matter is revealed not so much in the enigmas, but rather in the things signified by them. For the immaculate victim is Christ, by whose dying in the flesh for our sake we have been made messengers, that is to say, we have escaped from death and corruption; for we have been redeemed by his blood, and we have been delivered from every impurity. Therefore, he makes his argument more robust, both from the baseness of the ancient offerings and from the magnitude of the disease. For the disease required a more potent remedy; yet mere blood is nothing great. For what murderer or patricide would the blood of brute animals expiate? For this reason, the blessed David cried out: “If you had desired sacrifice, I would have given it; you will not be pleased with burnt offering.” B X, 5. Therefore, entering the world, he says: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you have prepared for me.”
He set down a discipline of shadows and figures suitable for the pupils of the law, not, however, so that they should always remain fixed in these material things. For just as workers in metal, imitating the shapes of future work in soft wax, usefully demonstrate to themselves beforehand—not in order that their art should proceed no further than this, but so that in it the beauty of the thing soon to be wrought may shine forth beforehand—yet when the work is finished, we would not in justice blame the craftsman if he thereafter neglects the figure; so too, when Christ, who is the truth, has appeared, and his religion has been introduced, we shall deservedly condemn the inadequacy of the figures; for these were material images of intellectual realities. But he ascends in an odor of sweetness to God the Father with his own body, which he said he had received from the Father himself: “A body,” he says, “you have prepared for me.” C
X, 14. For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified.
By one offering, that is, the one which he offered through his own body, Christ has perfected us intellectually through faith and sanctification, whereas the legal worship perfected nothing. For this reason, the figures have reached their end, and the uselessness of the Old Testament with its shadows has ceased; and there has followed of necessity the introduction of a better hope, through which we draw near to God, with Christ as mediator, who performs the office of high priest on account of his assumed likeness to us. For he offered himself for us in an odor of sweetness to God the Father. Observe also what he says, that those sacrifices are no longer offered. He evidently took this from unwritten tradition. Then he also brought forward a prophetic statement saying: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire.” He said that God has forgiven sins, and this too he confirms again by a written testimony, saying: D “And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us.” What does he testify? That our sins have been forgiven, because Christ has perfectly delivered us by the one offering, so that we have no need of a second.
A “A man who has violated the law of Moses dies without mercy” (Heb. X, 28). For He has ordained that adulterers, and murderers, and sorcerers and enchanters, and furthermore the apostates, should pay the penalty in blood without mercy.
B “And has treated the Spirit of grace with contempt.” For just as a soldier who throws away his shield and flees from battle ought not to be honored with second-rank insignia, but rather must be punished and pay the account for his cowardice, in the same way, I think, those who treat so holy and admirable a grace with insult ought not to be honored with the gift of a second Spirit, the first having been set aside; but rather, they ought to be subjected to penalties. For their unbelief will not nullify the faith of God, nor, because some have despised Him by turning back, shall we describe the divine grace as uncertain; but rather, the Judge of all will assign to penalties those who do not decline to slip into such impiety, so as to have trampled underfoot the Son of God, and to have insulted the Spirit of grace, in whom they were sanctified and became partakers of the divine nature.
“Which has a great reward.” He teaches also how it is possible to attain the prizes: that it is through patience and not being faint-hearted about fulfilling the choice deeds [of virtue], but rather always, and insatiably, and with endless desire, to love every good thing, and to heap up for ourselves the approval that comes from deeds, and to be in such eagerness as those who are lovers of wealth might be, about whom it is written: “He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver” C. But if earthly, temporary, and fading things do not satisfy them, how is it not necessary for us to use warmer desires, so that we may win the things from God, which extend even into endless ages and possess an unending happiness?
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the proof of things not seen” (Heb. XI, 1). That which is accepted by faith ought, at any rate, to be beyond investigation, and not subjected to overly bold inquiries. For faith is no longer [faith] if it is something sought into. For how can that which is scrutinized still be believed? For in the same way that hope when seen is no longer a matter of seeking, faith would not be [faith] on the same account as hope; for that which is honored by faith is entirely free from examination.
“By faith we understand that the ages were brought into order by the word of God, so that the things that are seen were not made from things that are apparent” (Heb. XI, 3). Great, then, and singular is the good that is faith; for it obtains the putting away of sins, of every stain...
A and is a mediator of betrothal to God, and a way unto sanctification and adoption, and in short, the provider of every good. Thus our fathers became illustrious, thus they obtained a bright and famous glory. Many also bravely endured death, and wreathed for themselves the unfading crown of glory. But why do I say these things, passing over the ancients? Let the admirable Paul come calling out: XI, 7. "By faith Noah, being warned of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house." Because the whole earth had corrupted its way, as it is written, and the heart of man looked toward evil works from his youth, God brought a flood upon the inhabitants of the whole world, as if to restore a garden that had run wild and become deserted, while preserving in it a noble tree, the most excellent Noah, that through him the human race might be recalled to another, as it were, beginning, and thus remain safe for the world. B Therefore Noah, applying faith to the divine oracle, built an ark for the salvation of his family, in which a few, that is to say, eight souls, were saved through water. For a general sentence of death had been issued against those who dwelt on the earth, which, being filled with sins, had provoked the Creator to unrestrained wrath. Yet Noah was saved with all his house, because he believed God commanding him to prepare the ark. And while the whole earth was submerged, this alone floated upon the waters, having as its helmsman and savior the God of all: and in it were the remnants of the human race, Noah with his wives and children. He who had faith as his boast... C XI, 17. "By faith Abraham offered up Isaac, when he was tried:" Indeed, I cannot pass over a matter so worthy of admiration. The blessed Abraham was an old man, he lamented the childlessness of his house, he asked of God an heir from a free woman: when he had obtained him, and saw in him the whole hope of his race and the outcome of the divine promise placed, he was commanded to sacrifice him. What then did the old man feel? I sufficiently understand into what anguish of soul he fell. Nature compelled him toward affection for his son, the divine command called him to obedience; he clung to the boy whom he alone had, he feared to offend God. And just as a tree, great and very tall, tossed here and there by the contrary blasts of the winds, almost yields and is shaken, so did the soul of the righteous man D behave. By what means then did he overcome the storm of temptation? The most skilled in the law, Paul, will teach us, saying: "By faith Abraham offered up Isaac, when he was tried, accounting that God is able to raise him up even from the dead." O constancy of faith! O security of mind worthy of a holy man! He granted that God could bring all things to a successful conclusion. And what follows from this? To what end...
has his faith run its course? The sacred Letter will teach us: "For he believed," it says, "Abraham in God, and it was reckoned to him unto righteousness." A
XI, 38. Of whom the world was not worthy.
If, therefore, those of whom the world was not worthy (for he omits going further, rightly struck with awe at the greatness of their good deeds; but it is proper here to understand by "the world" those who are in the world), if, therefore, those men, having been tested like gold in a furnace through great tribulations, demonstrated their probity, yet had not yet received it, let us be wary of asking for our reward in the present time, and let us not be so wretched as to desire such small things.
XII, 2. Who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame. B
It is, however, more fitting to understand this passage as referring to Christ; for although it was within his power to enjoy the dignities of his own nature and to boast in a manner worthy of God in his incomparable superiority over all (for this is what we say is the joy set before him), he emptied himself, descending to our condition, so that, having endured death in the flesh for the sake of the world, and afterwards having trampled upon it through his resurrection from the dead, he might make the return to life possible and accessible for us as well. And it was, indeed, a source of shame and disgrace for him to suffer. But since he raised up his own temple, having broken the new path through death and overcome corruption—as God from God, though he had appeared in the flesh—the shame and the ugliness of that retreat in those past events have been C utterly blotted out by the subsequent victory, and the Son has been glorified through the resurrection, though before it he had not shrunk from a most dishonorable and inglorious death on account of his voluntary emptying.
And he has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Daniel, therefore, describing to us divine revelations and prophetic visions, seats the Ancient of Days upon a throne; and he surrounds him with thousands of thousands of those appointed for service, and myriads of myriads of those standing by. Isaiah, likewise, says he saw the Son in no less glory: "For I saw," he said, "the Lord Sabaoth sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and the house was full of his glory." D And the Seraphim stood around him, and they cried out the hymn that begins with the Trinity but ends in unity and one lordship, the Trisagion, I say. Does not the weight of the Son in his own majesty seem to you now evident? For where there is the supreme throne, and an equal sublimity, and the standing of the heavenly powers as if in a circuit—which indicates the measure of the servitude of generated beings and bears witness to the glory of the lordship of him who is seated—what place could possibly remain for doubt...?
A Yet, although he is equal in majesty and sits upon the same throne as the Lord—as Son in relation to the Father, and God in relation to God—he nevertheless appears, as if for the first time, to be raised up to such a sublime and super-mundane glory through his flesh and the economy of his incarnation, when he hears: "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool." For the divine nature, by occupying its throne, subjects to itself what it has made subservient, and this it places entirely beneath the feet of our Savior—not that he acts in a human manner, nor because he became flesh is he therefore capable of ruling over those who rebel against him, but because he has exalted the humility of his humanity to the dignity of the supreme and transcendent nature; and by establishing himself upon the throne of divinity, the only-begotten Word of God, together with his flesh, holds dominion over all things along with the Father. For the Father works all things equally through both, having with the Son, and likewise with the Spirit, one operation and one will in the accomplishment of everything.
XII, 18-21. *For you have not approached, etc., I am terrified,* etc. Paul now makes mention of this history, and of the time when God descended upon Sinai in the appearance of fire, and the voice of the trumpet sounded loudly. The vision was inaccessible to those who looked upon it, and the clanging of the trumpets was intolerable. Therefore they said: "Would that we might not see this great fire again, neither hear the voice of the Lord our God."
XII, 26. *But now he has promised, saying: Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.* C The heaven indeed knew the mystery, and in like manner the whole earth knew it. For two illustrious transformations of human life have occurred from all eternity, which are called the two Testaments, and they are like earthquakes because of the fame of the event: the first indeed from idols to the Law, the second from the Law to the Gospel. And now a third commotion is announced to us, namely the transition from this life to the next, which shall no longer be shaken or totter.
XII, 28. *Therefore, receiving an immovable kingdom, let us have grace.* D Here I would willingly ask those who think that the kingdom of Christ will some day come to an end, of what kingdom we are to say the Apostle is now speaking, which he says will be firm and endowed with eternal stability? For I think this is signified by the word "immovable." Does he denote the kingdom of the Son by these words, or that which is to be attributed to the saints? If they say that the kingdom and eminence of the Son is invincible to chance, then let the adversaries be ashamed of their own absurdities. But if, leaving aside the Son, they say that this is without doubt the kingdom of the saints, then, in the first place, they will seem to be in a better condition than Christ, and superior...
A to him, having already obtained a lot beyond his, if he is to cast aside his authority, while they have obtained unalloyed joy and will possess their glory in security. But to offer such an unsophisticated slander, how is it not utterly to be rejected? For the necessity to hold sway and to rule over all would belong to no one more than to Christ himself, who possesses this not as something acquired or given, as we do, but by the terms of his natural sovereignty. But we who have suffered with him shall also reign with him, as it is written. Therefore, he is Lord by nature, while we are adopted and honored in a manner through participation; for they shall reign by reigning with the Lord. Then how will they have their dignity in this matter unshaken, and reign perpetually, if the power of Christ, of B whom we say they are participants, is to be shaken and brought to an end? And if the giver and president of the kingdom is to be stripped of his authority, where will the things of those who rest on such a foundation still stand? How will they participate, if he who called them into a portion is infirm? Must not the thing carried necessarily fall with the one who carries it, and must not whatever was leaning there sink into the lowest pits, once the support has been pulled out? When, therefore, the foundation of excellence and the basis of prosperity is shaken according to them, the hope of others also will surely sink instantly into disgrace and decline. The expression, therefore, "when he delivers up the kingdom," does not signify that Christ will abdicate this, but that he will reclaim it for the Father, having taken it from those who hold it; and he will reign with him. C Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and for ever.
Some expressions are worthy of God, such as, "I am in the Father, and the Father is me"; others are worthy of man, such as, "But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth." There are middle ones, of which this is one. For when he says that Christ is yesterday and today and for ever, see how clearly the inspired man, having learnt the mystery concerning him from Christ himself, confesses that the Son exists in an unchangeable and unalterable nature, which is peculiar to God the Father alone and belongs to no other of created things. Therefore, if God the Father is alone unchangeable, and the Son is of the same nature, always being what the one who begat him is, how could he be one of D created things, he who alone rivals his Begetter by an ineffable manner of substance, and is by nature what the Father is, with the sole exception that he is not the Father? For the inspired man has indicated in these words that the Word, having become man similar to us, is in no way changed; for the word "yesterday" denotes the past time, "today" the present, and the expression "for ever" denotes the future and the remainder. Now if some, taking yesterday and today...
to mean A recent time, insist upon it, how can "yesterday and today" also be "for ever"? Let us also turn the force of the question to the contrary. For if the Word is for ever, how could He receive "yesterday and today" upon Himself, if Christ is one and undivided, according to Paul's voice? Or is it clearly Jesus Christ yesterday and today bodily, the same spiritually and for ever?
XIII, 9. Be not carried away by diverse and strange doctrines. B To be carried away is spoken by a metaphor from madmen, who are driven hither and thither: or from those who are easily shaken, after the manner of reeds which immediately incline at the force of the wind, having no stability. Otherwise Paul cries out: "Be ye steadfast and immovable" (I Cor. xv, 58). The Lord Himself also greatly condemns those who display lightness and inconstancy of morals, and decrees the punishment of rejection for this disease. For thus He says of some: "They have loved to move their feet, and have not rested, and they have not pleased the Lord" (Jer. xiv, 10). Therefore, that which stands firmly and unyieldingly to every good work is safe and fortified. "For it is good to establish the heart by grace, not by foods, in which they who have walked have not been profited."
XIII, 11. For the blood of those animals is brought in, etc. C There are also many other discourses about these matters, but they are omitted now on account of their number. Certainly Christ died in the flesh, that He might cleanse us with His own blood.
XIII, 13. Let us go forth, therefore, to Him, etc. Let us therefore bear His reproach, that is, the cross which He suffered for our sake. Thus He Himself also said: "He who does not take his cross, and follow after me, is not worthy of me" (Matth. x, 38). And the "outside the gate" is understood as outside the world. For the will to follow Christ withdraws us from a worldly life.
XIII, 14. For we have not here a lasting city, etc. Those who are fashioned into the beauty of the Son are truly sojourners in the world, and have no lasting city here: for walking on earth, they live as citizens in heaven, and they do not in any way desire the things D of this world, but reach out vehemently for the things of the future age. For they know how to follow, by this frugal and exact life, Him who for our sake, and being like us, lived in this world, Christ: who indeed did not think upon the things that are of the world, but rather stood forth as a model to us of a supermundane and most just life.
A But do you see again, how here Paul calls the Son God? For if He is the one who brings all creation to judgment, and renders to each according to his works, and for this reason approves those who do good to their neighbor, saying: “Come, inherit the kingdom prepared for you; for I was hungry, and you gave me to eat,” and the rest, how shall He not be God who is thus invoked by the truthful voice of the saints, and who receives the sacrifices of those who do good, and renders to each the reward befitting him, and sends into the kingdom of heaven the choir of the saints? Let us, therefore, offer the sacrifice of praise, the fruit of our lips, to the God who created us. For we must offer to God first fruits not only from the threshing floor and the winepress, but also from words—and we must offer words much more than sheaves, inasmuch as this fruit is more proper to us and more pleasing to God who is honored. For the sides of the earth bring forth the grape and the ear of corn, and the rains bring them up, and the hands of farmers cultivate them; B but a holy hymn is born of the piety of the soul, is nourished by a good conscience, and is received by God into the treasuries of heaven. And by as much as the soul is better than the earth, by so much is its fruit also more excellent. Therefore, even one of the prophets, an admirable and great man, Hosea by name, exhorted those who had offended God and were about to render Him propitious, saying: “Bring with you not herds of oxen, nor measures of fine flour, this much or that, nor a turtledove and a pigeon, nor anything else of this kind, but bring with you words.” And what sacrifice is a word? One might ask. It is, indeed, the greatest and most solemn and better than all others. And who says these things? David himself; for when offering thanksgiving to God for a victory gained in war, he says thus: “I will praise the name of my God with a song, I will magnify Him in praise.” Then, showing us the excellence C of this sacrifice, he added: “And it will please God more than a young calf bringing forth horns and hoofs.” Let us also sacrifice these offerings, and let us bedew the spiritual altar with the blood of such victims.
In the most ancient Syriac Vatican codex, among the expositions of various authors on the Epistles of Paul, this fragment of Cyril is also read, which we shall exhibit here in Latin. Cyril, in his explanation of the Epistle to the Hebrews, says: The most wise Paul says: “It is impossible for those who have once been baptized,” etc. Let us now look at the meaning of such words. Some Jews, drawn by evangelical precepts, believing in Christ, were being baptized, and were becoming partakers of the Holy Spirit D through the laying on of the hands of the apostles, and the divine words.
A And they perceived the powers of the age to come, that is, they spoke of the resurrection of the dead, and that the righteous would be splendid like the sun, and would receive a most noble inheritance. But because some of those among the Jews or Gentiles who had been baptized were not of a right mind, it happened that they became infirm in the truth of the faith which they had tasted; and they retreated, unhappily returning to the shadows of the Law and ancient customs. Then, they would seek the grace of baptism again, following the norm of the Law, which commanded that bodies be washed for any impurity that occurred. Therefore, the great Paul blocks the path of performing penance through a second baptism, saying: “It is impossible for those who have once been baptized, and have tasted the heavenly gifts, to be renewed unto repentance, again crucifying the Son of God and putting him to an open shame.” B The Law indeed commanded those who had defiled their bodies to be washed with water; but Christ cleanses us from the stains of the soul, because “we are baptized into his death, who once died and rose again.” For is it not shameful to wish to be baptized often, as if the grace once given had vanished in vain? The descent of the Holy Spirit is also dishonored, as if it had brought us no utility in the first baptism, and therefore must be invoked for a second.
OTHER FRAGMENTS
Cyril, from the Interpretation of the Epistle to the Hebrews
We understand, rather, that the union was performed while each remained in the definition and limit of its own nature. And again: For even if the Only-Begotten is said to be hypostatically united, we do not say that any confusion of the two natures one into the other has occurred; but rather, while each remains what it is, we understand the Word to be united to flesh.
Cyril, from the second volume of the Commentaries on the Epistle to the Hebrews
“Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,” as the Scripture says. For by separating the two natures from one another, and showing each one separately as disconnected from the other, they say that the union took place only in persons, as if in simple concord and agreement, and in movements of the will: in a manner almost identical to that which is written in the Acts of the holy apostles: “And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and one soul.” For although each of the believers was separated from the others according to the principle of their own hypostasis, nonetheless, regarding the unity of will and faith, the heart and soul of all are said to be one. Do they therefore think that the union of persons should be confessed in the same way? C And after other things: Nor do we say that the nature of the Word of God was circumscribed within the human body: for God lacks any limit. Then he adds: Anyone will perceive in Christ a perfect humanity; and likewise the perfect Word sprung from God: nonetheless, one will confess Christ and the Son to be one from both natures, satisfying the mystery of the incarnation not only by a union of persons, but also by uniting the natures into one subject, in an arcane and ineffable manner, in that way which God knows. Nor do we in any way say a confusion as though
A a certain transition had occurred in the natures, so that the nature of the Word had perchance passed into that of man, nor indeed the human into that of God; but we understand each nature, as they really are, to consist within the definition and limit proper to itself; and thus we say that the union has been brought about, the Word having dwelt bodily in the temple taken from the Virgin. And after a little: If anyone therefore says there is a union of persons only, and keeps the natures entirely apart from one another, he wanders off the straight path.
Cyril from the same interpretation. See, therefore, that in the two goats [there is] one Christ, that is, God made man, both dying carnally for sin, so that by the sprinkling of his own blood he might sanctify the whole Church, while remaining at the same time impassible B divinely.
Cyril from the interpretation of the Epistle to the Hebrews. But if he has perfected us through water and the Spirit, why should the same one, being both God and man in one subject, not have operated divinely and humanly at the same time?
Cyril from the second volume of the interpretation of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Divinity and humanity have come together ineffably and in a manner beyond understanding. And although the natures are admittedly different, yet the Son is one and one only from both.
Cyril from the commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews. (From Anastasius Vat. p. 18, and Col. Vat. f. 16 b.) C For although those natures which have run together into one, that is to say, flesh and God, are understood to be different and unequal to one another, nevertheless there is one and only one Son truly from both, having, in a way consistent with us, that temple which was united to the Word also informed by a rational soul. Nor is the one Lord Jesus Christ to be divided into man separately and into God separately; but we say that Jesus Christ is one and the same, well knowing the difference of the natures, which we maintain unconfused with one another.
Cyril, from the interpretation of the Epistle to the Hebrews. But the law of sin would not have been mortified in us, nor would death itself, most hostile to all, have been destroyed, had that not been made truly the Word’s own in which that same [sin] could be condemned by his own power. For it was not in the power of a common man, nor of him who is understood to be according to us, to destroy the empire of death. Yet it has been destroyed through Christ. It is therefore confessed that he who was truly according to us was of great importance. He was God, therefore, since he was man, very much beyond us, as God. And it was a holy temple that received the fullness of the divinity. Nevertheless, through the dispensatory union, he is believed and called one with him who dwelt within. For just as the Holy Spirit is in us, showing us or making us a temple of God, in the same manner we say that the Word of God dwelt in Christ in the flesh, as in a temple, and sanctified it as one who dwells within. We say, however, that although it is called a temple, nevertheless that which was assumed was his own, so that it is reckoned as one with him; not because it passes over into the nature of the divinity, but rather [because of] the composition regarding the dispensatory union. For God was in the flesh for our sake.