Particulars
of Christianity:
401
First Eight Writers' Consensus
Addendum
1: Eternal Begetting -
Irenaeus and Ignatius
Early
Church Confirmation Rubric
Early
Church Consensus: Introduction
1:
Nature of the Godhead
2:
Covenants & O.T. Saints Relationship to the Church
3:
Kingdom (Hell), Timing of 2nd Advent and Kingdom
4-5:
Age of the World (6000 Years); Communion Meal
6:
Baptisms
7-8:
Law of Christ; Repentance
9-12:
Excommunication; Divorce; Sabbath; Tithing
13:
Freewill (A) Against Original Sin and Total Depravity
13:
Freewill (B) Against Unconditional Election
13:
Freewill (C-D) Against Ltd. Atmt.; Ir. Grace, OSAS
14-15:
Church Authority; Roles of Men and Women
16-18:
Charismatic Gifts; Civil Gov't., War; Men & Angels
Addendum
1: Eternal Begetting - Irenaeus and Ignatius
Addendum
2: Eternal Begetting - Justin Martyr
Addendum
1: Eternal Begetting - Irenaeus and Ignatius (Mathetes and
Clement)
In
considering the view held by Irenaeus,
Ignatius, and Justin Martyr regarding the nature of the Word,
the Word’s existence, and His relationship to the Father,
the analysis of their comments and arguments can be outlined
as follows. It should be noted that the entire nature of the
discussion centers on how and when the term “begotten” is
applied to the Word. Ultimately, it must be concluded that
Irenaeus, Ignatius, and Justin Martyr
held to the idea that the Word was “eternally-begotten” prior
to creation, and therefore, always existed since the begetting
or generation was an eternally occurring phenomenon. Consequently,
they did not hold to the idea that the Word came into being
or was created or was even the first creation. However, even
though this eternally-begotten concept is compatible with
the Trinitarian view (and these three authors wrote as Trinitarians),
the eternally-begotten concept is not scripturally accurate,
and must be rejected. The scriptural analysis of the eternally-begotten
doctrine will follow below after the outline of the views
of Irenaeus, Ignatius, and Justin
Martyr.
Matthetes
and Clement
Concerning
the other “Apostolic Fathers,” Polycarp, Papias, and Barnabas do not make any comments on this particular
topic. Matthetes and Clement do,
but only briefly. In summary, Matthetes
and Clement plainly define the “Son-ship” of the Word to a
particular day in human history, called “today.” Matthetes
seems to comment on the dramatic contrast between the fact
that the Word always existed eternally and the amazing fact
that now, on a particular day, the Word became a Son. Clement’s only comment is to relate the Son-ship of the Word
in terms of this prophecy that describes that the Word existed
before He was a particular day on which He became a Son.
Mathetes –
THE
EPISTLE OF MATHETES TO DIOGNETUS
CHAP.
XI. This is He who was from the beginning, who appeared
as if new, and was found old, and yet who is ever born afresh
in the hearts of the saints. This
is He who, being from everlasting, is to-day called[7]
the Son; through whom the Church is enriched, and grace,
widely spread, increases in the saints.
Clement
–
THE
FIRST EPISTLE OF CLEMENT TO THE CORINTHIANS
CHAP.
XXXVI. But concerning
His Son(4) the Lord spoke thus: "Thou
art my Son, to-day have I begotten Thee. Ask of Me,
and I will give Thee the heathen for Thine
inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy
possession."(5) And again He saith
to Him, "Sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thine
enemies Thy footstool."(6) But who are His enemies? All
the wicked, and those who set themselves to oppose the will
of God.(7)
Irenaeus
Concerning
Irenaeus, it is first important
to note that Irenaues is refuting
the Gnostic system. There are three points about the Gnostic
system that must be understood in order to properly understand
Irenaeus’ own view about the Godhead.
1.
First, the Gnostic system began with an unknown, un-begotten
Being who then produced a series of divine emanations called
Aeons (in masculine-feminine pairs),
each producing another set.
Irenaeus –
AGAINST
HERESIES, BOOK I
CHAP.
I. 1. They
maintain, then, that in the invisible and ineffable heights
above there exists a certain perfect, pre-existent Aeon,(4) whom they call Proarche, Propator, and Bythus, and describe
as being invisible and incomprehensible.
Eternal and unbegotten, he remained
throughout innumerable cycles of ages in profound serenity
and quiescence. There existed along with him Ennoea, whom they also call Charis
and Sige.(5) At
last this Bythus determined to send
forth from himself the beginning of all things, and deposited
this production (which he had resolved to bring forth)
in his contemporary
Sige, even as seed is deposited
in the womb. She
then, having received this seed, and becoming pregnant,
gave birth to Nous,
who was both similar and equal to him who had produced him,
and was alone capable of comprehending his father's greatness.
This Nous they call also Monogenes, and Father,
and the Beginning of all Things. Along with him was also produced Aletheia; and these four constituted the first and first-begotten
Pythagorean Tetrad, which they also denominate the root
of all things. For there are first Bythus
and Sige, and then Nous and Aletheia.
And Monogenes, perceiving for what
purpose he had been produced, also himself sent forth Logos
and Zoe, being the father of all those who were to come after
him, and the beginning and fashioning of the entire Pleroma.
By the conjunction of Logos and Zoo were brought forth Anthropos
and Ecclesia; and thus was formed the first-begotten Ogdoad,
the root and substance of all things, called among them by
four names, viz., Bythus, and Nous, and Logos, and Anthropos.
For each of these is masculo-feminine,
as follows: Propator was united by a conjunction with his Ennoea; then Monogenes, that is Nous, with Aletheia; Logos
with Zoe, and Anthropos with Ecclesia.
2. These Aeons having
been produced for the glory of the Father, and wishing, by
their own efforts, to effect this
object, sent forth emanations by means of conjunction.
2.
Second, finally, after many pairs of emanations arise
after the original un-begotten Being, a pair is produced that
ends up producing in error another, lower divine being who
himself creates the material world in error and ignorance
of the will of the original, supreme, unknown, and un-begotten
Being. Specifically, the Gnostics viewed Christ (also called
the Son) and the Holy Spirit to be a pair of Aeons
produced near the end of the line of emanations, leading to
the creation of the material world.
CHAP.
II. 2. But there rushed
forth in advance of the rest that Aeon
who was much the latest of them, and was the youngest
of the Duodecad which sprang from
Anthropos and Ecclesia, namely Sophia, and suffered passion apart
from the embrace of her consort Theletos…3.
But others of them fabulously describe the
passion and restoration of Sophia as follows: They say that
she, having engaged in an impossible and impracticable
attempt, brought forth an amorphous substance, such as her female nature enabled
her to produce.(4) When she looked
upon it, her first feeling was one of grief, on account of
the imperfection of its generation, and then of fear lest
this should end(5) her own existence… And hence they declare material substance(1) had its beginning from ignorance and grief, and
fear and bewilderment… 4. …This
enthymesis was, no doubt, a spiritual substance, possessing
some of the natural tendencies of an AEon,
but at the same time shapeless and without form, because it
had received nothing.(5) And on this account they say that it was an
imbecile and feminine production.(6) 5. After this substance had been placed outside of the Pleroma
of the Aeons, and its mother
restored to her proper conjunction, they
tell us that Monogenes, acting in accordance with the prudent forethought
of the Father, gave origin to another conjugal pair, namely
Christ and the Holy Spirit (lest any of the Aeons
should fall into a calamity similar to that of Sophia), for
the purpose of fortifying and strengthening the Pleroma,
and who at the same time completed the number of the Aeons…And
the reason why the rest of the Aeons
possess perpetual existence is found in that part of the Father's
nature which is incomprehensible; but the reason of their
origin and formation was situated in that which may be comprehended
regarding him, that is, in
the Son,(8) Christ, then, who had just been produced,
effected these things among them. …CHAP. IV. 1. The
following are the transactions which they narrate as having
occurred outside of the Pleroma: The enthymesis of that
Sophia who dwells above, which they also term Achamoth,(14) being removed from the Pleroma,
together with her passion, they relate to have, as a matter
of course, become violently excited in those places
of darkness and vacuity [to which she had been banished]…2.
This collection [of passions] they declare
was the substance of the matter from which this world was
formed. For from [her desire of] returning [to him who
gave her life], every soul belonging to this world, and that
of the Demiurge(3) himself, derived its origin. All other things
owed their beginning to her terror and sorrow. For from her
tears all that is of a liquid nature was formed; from her
smile all that is lucent; and from her grief and perplexity
all the corporeal elements of the world… CHAP. V. 1. …And she,
in the image(7) of the invisible
Father, kept herself concealed from the Demiurge…3. They
go on to say that the Demiurge imagined that he created all
these things of himself, while he in reality made them in
conjunction with the productive power of Achamoth.
He formed the heavens, yet was ignorant of the heavens; he
fashioned man, yet knew not man; he brought to light the earth,
yet had no acquaintance with the earth; and, in like manner.
they declare that he
was ignorant of the forms of all that he made, and knew not
even of the existence of his own mother, but imagined that
he himself was all things… 4. And on this account,
he (the Demiurge), being incapable of recognising
any spiritual essences, imagined himself to be God alone,
and declared through the prophets, "I am God, and besides
me there is none else."(3)
3.
Third, the Gnostics viewed these produced Aeons
as a collective whole, which they called the Pleroma,
meaning “Fullness.” This Pleroma
consists of all the proper divine beings. And everything else
outside of the Pleroma exists in
error as part of the material, lower world.
CHAP.
II. 6. Then, out of
gratitude for the great benefit which had been conferred on
them, the whole Pleroma of the AEons,
with one design and desire, and with the concurrence of Christ
and the Holy Spirit, their Father also setting the seal of
His approval on their conduct, brought together whatever each
one had in himself of the greatest beauty and preciousness;
and uniting all these contributions so as skilfully
to blend the whole, they produced, to the honour
and glory of Bythus, a being of
most perfect beauty, the very star of the Pleroma,
and the perfect fruit [of it], namely Jesus…CHAP. III.
6. Such, then, is the
account which they all give of their Pleroma,
and of the formation(12) of the universe,
striving, as they do, to adapt the good words of revelation
to their own wicked inventions.
Consequently,
Irenaeus argues against this system
in three corresponding ways.
1.
First, he argues that the idea of an order of production
in which you first have one pair then another pair then another
pair is utterly absurd. For example, Irenaeus points the Gnostics aeon
called Nous, who they equate with “the principle and source
of all understanding,” is produced later after other Aeon
pairs, which implies that the earlier Aeons
lacked all understanding. In this argument, Irenaeus
is arguing that a chronological progression of additional
beings who contribute in some way toward the creation of the
world is absurd.
CHAP.
XIII. 1. I now proceed
to show, as follows, that the first order of production, as
conceived of by them, must be rejected. For
they maintain that Nous and Aletheia
were produced from Bythus and his
Ennoea, which is proved to be
a contradiction. For
Nous is that which is itself chief, and
highest, and, as it were, the principle and source
of all understanding. Ennoea, again, which arises from him, is any sort of emotion concerning any subject. It cannot be, therefore,
that Nous was produced by Bythus
and Ennoea; it would be more like the truth for them to maintain
that Ennoea was produced as the
daughter of the Propator and this
Nous.
2.
Second, he argues that no other being or god created the
world besides Supreme God, whether in God’s bosom or not and
whether in ignorance of God’s will or not. For Irenaeus,
God created the world and was unaided by any other god or
angel or created entity and God himself neither needed nor
made use of any assistance in this.
Irenaeus –
AGAINST
HERESIES, BOOK II
CHAP.
II. …4. But it will
not be regarded as at all probable by those who know that
God stands in need of nothing, and that He created and made
all things by His Word, while He neither required angels to
assist Him in the production of those things which are made,
nor of any power greatly inferior to Himself, and ignorant
of the Father, nor of any defect or ignorance, in order that
he who should know Him might become man.(4) But
He Himself in Himself, after a fashion which we can neither
describe nor conceive, predestinating all things, formed them
as He pleased…He formed all things that were made by His Word that never wearies. For
this is a peculiarity of the pre-eminence of God, not to stand
in need of other instruments for the creation of those things
which are summoned into existence. His own Word is both suitable
and sufficient for the formation of all things, even as John,
the disciple of the Lord, declares regarding Him: "All
things were made by Him, and without Him was nothing made."(1)…Whom,
therefore, shall we believe as to the creation of the world--these
heretics who have been mentioned that prate so foolishly
and inconsistently on the subject, or
the disciples of the Lord, and Moses, who was both a faithful
servant of God and a prophet? He at first narrated the formation
of the world in these words: "In the beginning God created
the heaven and the earth,"(3) and all other things in
succession; but neither gods nor angels [had any share in
the work].
CHAP.
VIII. 3. Nor, again,
is it allowable, for the reasons(1) already stated, to allege
that some other being formed so vast a creation in the bosom
of the Father, either with or without His consent.
Irenaeus –
AGAINST
HERESIES, BOOK IV
CHAP.
VII. 4. For the Son,
who is the Word of God, arranged these things beforehand from
the beginning, the Father being in no want of angels, in order
that He might call the creation into being, and form man,
for whom also the creation was made; nor,
again, standing in need of any instrumentality for the framing
of created things, or for the ordering of those things
which had reference to man; while, [at the same time,] He
has a vast and unspeakable number of servants. For
His offspring and His similitude(12) do minister to Him in
every respect; that is, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Word
and Wisdom; whom all the angels serve, and to whom they are
subject.
CHAP.
XX. 1. As regards His greatness, therefore, it is not possible
to know God, for it is impossible that the Father can be measured;
but as regards His love (for this it is which leads us to
God by His Word), when we obey Him, we
do always learn that there is so great a God, and that it
is He who by Himself has established, and selected, and adorned,
and contains all things; and among the all things, both
ourselves and this our world. We also then were made, along
with those things which are contained by Him. And this is
He of whom the Scripture says, "And God formed man, taking
clay of the earth, and breathed into his face the breath of
life."(5) It was
not angels, therefore, who made us, nor who formed us, neither
had angels power to make an image of God,
nor any one else, except the Word of the Lord, nor
any Power remotely distant from the Father of all things.
For God did not stand in need of these [beings], in order
to the accomplishing of what He had Himself determined with
Himself beforehand should be done, as if He did not possess
His own hands. For with Him were always present the Word and
Wisdom, the Son and the Spirit, by whom and in whom, freely
and spontaneously, He made all things, to whom also He speaks,
saying, "Let Us make man after Our image and likeness;"(1)
He taking from Himself the substance of the creatures [formed],
and the pattern of things made, and the type of all the adornments
in the world. 2. Truly,
then, the Scripture declared, which says, "First(2) of
all believe that there is one God, who has established all
things, and completed them, and having caused that from what
had no being, all things should come into existence..."
CHAP.
XLI. 1. For we do not
find that the devil created anything whatsoever, since indeed
he is himself a creature of God, like the other angels. For God made all things, as also David says with regard to all things
of the kind: "For
He spake the word, and they were
made; He commanded, and they were created."(11)
Irenaeus –
AGAINST
HERESIES, BOOK V.
CHAP.
VI. 1. Now God shall be glorified in His handiwork,
fitting it so as to be conformable to, and modelled after, His own Son. For by the hands of the Father, that is, by the Son and the Holy Spirit,
man, and not [merely] a part of man, was made in the likeness
of God.
CHAP.
XVIII. 2. And again, showing the dispensation with
regard to His human nature, John said: "And the Word
was made flesh, and dwelt among us."(8) And in continuation
he says, "And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten by the Father,
full of grace and truth." He thus plainly points out
to those willing to hear, that is, to those having ears, that there is one God, the Father over all, and one Word of God, who is
through all, by whom all things have been made; and that this
world belongs to Him, and was made by Him, according to the
Father's will, and not by angels; nor by apostasy, defect,
and ignorance; nor by any power of Prunicus,
whom certain of them also call "the Mother;" nor
by any other maker of the world ignorant of the Father. 3.
For the Creator of
the world is truly the Word of God: and this is our Lord, who in the last times was made man, existing
in this world…
CHAP.
XXVIII. 4. And therefore throughout all time, man, having
been moulded at the beginning by the hands of God, that is, of the Son and
of the Spirit, is made after the image and likeness of
God: the chaff, indeed, which is the apostasy, being cast
away; but the wheat, that is, those who bring forth fruit
to God in faith, being gathered into the barn.
3.
Third, he argues that God is not a compound “Fullness”
derived from distinct beings, such as the “Pleroma”
is a compound whole of all the produced Aeons.
Specifically, he argues that it is not possible to distinguish
the Nous, or Intelligence of God, from God Himself, or in
any way to divide God’s intelligence into two beings.
Irenaeus –
AGAINST
HERESIES, BOOK II
CHAP.
XIII. 3. For the Father of all is at a vast distance from those affections
and passions which operate among men. He
is a simple, uncompounded Being, without diverse members,(3)
and altogether like, and equal to himself, since He is wholly
understanding, and wholly spirit, and wholly thought, and
wholly intelligence, and wholly reason, and wholly hearing,
and wholly seeing, and wholly light, and the whole source
of all that is good--even as the religious and pious are
wont to speak concerning God…4. If
then, even in the case of human beings, understanding
itself does not arise from emission, nor is that intelligence
which produces other things separated from the living man,
while its motions and affections come into manifestation,
much more will the
mind of God, who is all understanding, never by any means
be separated from Himself; nor can anything (4) [in His
case] be produced as if by a different Being.
5. For if He produced
intelligence, then He who did thus produce intelligence must
be understood, in accordance with their views, as a compound
and corporeal Being; so that God, who sent forth [the intelligence
referred to], is separate from it, and the intelligence which
was sent forth separate [from Him]. But if they affirm
that intelligence was sent forth from intelligence, they
then cut asunder the intelligence of God, and divide it into
parts. And whither has it gone? Whence was it sent forth?
For whatever is sent forth from any place, passes of necessity
into some other. But what existence was there more ancient than the intelligence of God,
into which they maintain it was sent forth?...
8. …But I have now plainly shown that the first
production of Nous, that is, of the intelligence they speak
of, is an untenable and impossible opinion. And let us
see how the matter stands with respect to the rest [of the
AEons]. For they maintain that Logos
and Zoe were sent forth by him (i.e., Nous) as fashioners
of this Pleroma; while they
conceive of an emission of Logos, that is, the Word after
the analogy of human feelings, and rashly form conjectures
respecting God, as if they had discovered something wonderful
in their assertion that Logos was I produced by Nous. All
indeed have a clear perception that this may be logically
affirmed with respect to men.(1)
But in Him who is God over all, since He is all Nous, and
all Logos, as I have said before, and has in Himself nothing
more ancient or late than another, and nothing at variance
with another, but continues
altogether equal, and similar, and homogeneous, there is no
longer ground for conceiving of such production in the order
which has been mentioned. Just
as he does not err who declares that God is all vision,
and all hearing (for in what manner He sees, in that also
He hears; and in what manner He hears, in that also He sees),
so also he who affirms that He is all intelligence, and all word, and that,
in whatever respect He is intelligence, in that also He is
Word, and that this Nous is His Logos, will
still indeed have only an inadequate conception of the Father
of all, but will entertain far more becoming [thoughts regarding
Him] than do those who transfer the generation of the word
to which men gave utterance to the eternal Word of God, assigning
a beginning and course of production [to Him], even as they
do to their own word. And in what respect will the Word of
God--yea, rather God Himself, since He is the Word--differ
from the word of men, if He follows the same order and process
of generation?
Irenaeus –
AGAINST
HERESIES, BOOK IV
CHAP.
XI. 2. God also is truly perfect in all things, Himself
equal and similar to Himself, as He is all light, and all
mind, and all substance, and the fount of all good; but
man receives advancement and increase towards God.
Conclusions
on Irenaeus: From these arguments, Irenaeus’
own view emerges, even as he articulates plainly. Since he
rejects the idea of a sequential production of divine beings
who contribute to creation, in his own view there is no sequential
production of divine beings who contribute to creation. Consequently,
the Word must not be the result of sequential production in
Irenaeus’ view.
Since
he rejects the idea that any other being, whether termed god
or otherwise, aided the Supreme God in creation, the Word
must not be a secondary being in Irenaeus’
view. Since
he rejects the idea of God as a collective produced by diverse
created beings in combination with the original, un-begotten
Being, in Irenaeus’ view the Word and the Father must not be a collective
whole comprised of two distinct beings, such as the Pleroma of the Gnostics. More specifically, as indicated by
the last quote above, Irenaeus states
that it is impossible to even suggest a “first” production
of the Nous, or Logos, or Word, because God “is Word, and
that this Nous is His Logos” because in Irenaues’ view God “has in Himself nothing more ancient or
late than another, and nothing at variance with another, but
continues altogether equal, and similar, and homogeneous,
there is no longer ground for conceiving of such production
in the order which has been mentioned.” Similarly, he states
that “the Word of God” is “God Himself, since He is the Word.”
Consequently, he goes on to say call the Word, “the eternal
Word of God” and to say that it is wrong to “assign a beginning
and course of production to Him.”
In
summary, Irenaeus does believe the
“Son-ship” of the Word describes his eternal relationship
with the Father, instead of the scriptural view that “Son-ship”
strictly refers to the incarnation of the Word. With regard
to this eternal relationship, Irenaeus does at times refer to the Word as the “first-born”
of all creation. However, for Irenaeus,
the “begetting” involved in that pre-creation Son-ship is
decisively not the same as the Gnostic view in which the Nous,
or Word, or Logos, were produced as separate beings, each
one having their own beginning. Instead, he believes the “begetting”
behind this “eternal Son-ship” is a timeless begetting, one
without beginning or process, and one that does not in any
way separate the Word as a different Being from God. Consequently,
Irenaues’ always refers to the Word
and the Holy Spirit as aspects of the single Being of God,
(such as God’s “hands”) rather than as separate beings forming
a compound whole as is the case with the Gnostic Pleroma.
(The
conclusions summarized above are articulated by Irenaeus
in the quotes below.)
Irenaeus –
AGAINST
HERESIES, BOOK II
CHAP.
XXVII. 6. But, beyond reason inflated [with your own wisdom],
ye presumptuously maintain that ye are acquainted with the
unspeakable mysteries of God; while even the Lord, the very
Son of God, allowed that the Father alone knows the very day
and hour of judgment, when He plainly declares, "But
of that day and that hour knoweth
no man, neither the Son, but the Father only."(1) If, then, the Son was not ashamed to ascribe the knowledge of that day
to the Father only, but declared what was true regarding the
matter, neither let us be ashamed to reserve for God those
greater questions which may occur to us. For no man is
superior to his master.(2) If any one, therefore, says to us, "How then was the Son produced
by the Father?" we reply to him, that no man understands
that production, or generation, or calling, or revelation,
or by whatever name one may describe His
generation, which is in fact altogether indescribable. Neither
Valentinus, nor Marcion,
nor Saturninus, nor Basilides,
nor angels, nor archangels, nor principalities, nor powers
[possess this knowledge], but the Father only who begat, and
the Son who was begotten. Since therefore His generation is unspeakable, those who strive to
set forth generations and productions cannot be in their right
mind, inasmuch as they undertake to describe things which
are indescribable. For that a word is uttered at the bidding
of thought and mind, all men indeed well understand. Those,
therefore, who have excogitated [the theory of] emissions
have not discovered anything great, or revealed any abstruse
mystery, when they
have simply transferred what all understand to the only-begotten
Word of God; and while they style Him unspeakable and
unnameable, they nevertheless set
forth the production and formation of His first generation, as if they themselves had assisted at His birth,
thus assimilating Him to the word of mankind formed by emissions.
CHAP.
XXX. 9. But there is one only God, the Creator--He who is above every Principality,
and Power, and Dominion, and Virtue: He is Father, He is God, He the Founder, He the Maker, He the Creator,
who made those things by Himself, that is, through His Word
and His Wisdom--heaven and earth, and the seas, and all
things that are in them: He is just; He is good; He it is
who formed man, who planted paradise, who made the world,
who gave rise to the flood, who saved Noah; He
is the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob, the God of the living: He it is whom the law proclaims,
whom the prophets preach, whom Christ reveals, whom the apostles
make known s to us, and in whom the Church believes. He is
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: through His Word, who
is His Son, through Him He is revealed and manifested to all
to whom He is revealed; for those [only] know Him to whom
the Son has revealed Him. But the Son, eternally co-existing with the
Father, from of old, yea, from the beginning, always reveals
the Father to Angels, Archangels, Powers, Virtues, and all
to whom He wills that God should be revealed.
CHAP.
XXVII. 4. Now this blindness and foolish talking flow to you
from the fact that ye reserve nothing for God, but ye wish to proclaim the nativity and production both of God Himself, of
His Ennoea, of His Logos, and Life,
and Christ; and ye form the idea of these from no other than
a mere human experience; not understanding, as I said
before, that it is possible, in the case of man, who is a compound being, to speak in this way of the
mind of man and the thought of man; and to say that thought
(ennoea) springs from mind (sensus),
intention (enthymesis) again from
thought, and word (logos) from intention (but which logos?(4)
for there is among the Greeks one logos which is the principle that thinks,
and another which is the instrument by means of which thought
is expressed); and [to say] that a man sometimes is at rest
and silent, while at other times he speaks and is active.
But since God is(5)
all mind, all reason, all active spirit, all light, and always
exists one and the same, as it is both beneficial for us to
think of God, and as we learn regarding Him from the Scriptures,
such feelings and divisions
[of operation] cannot fittingly be ascribed to Him. …CHAP.
XXV. 5. But God being all Mind,
and all Logos, both speaks exactly what He thinks, and thinks
exactly what He speaks. For His thought
is Logos, and Logos is Mind, and Mind comprehending all things
is the Father Himself. He, therefore, who speaks of the mind of God, and ascribes to it a special
origin of its own, declares Him a compound Being, as if God
were one thing, and the original Mind another. So,
again, with respect to Logos, when one attributes to him the
third(7) place of production from the Father; on which
supposition he is ignorant of His greatness; and thus
Logos has been far separated from God. As
for the prophet, he declares respecting Him, "Who shall
describe His generation?"(8) But ye pretend to set forth
His generation from the Father, and ye transfer the production
of the word of men which takes place by means of a tongue
to the Word of God, and thus are righteously exposed by
your own selves as knowing neither things human nor divine.
Irenaeus –
AGAINST
HERESIES, BOOK III
CHAP.
XXXIV. 2. ...let them learn that God alone, who is Lord of all, is without beginning and without end, being
truly and for ever the same, and always remaining the same
unchangeable Being. But
all things which proceed from Him, whatsoever have been
made, and are made, do indeed receive their own beginning of generation, and on this account
are inferior to Him who formed them, inasmuch as they are
not unbegotten. ...CHAP. XXXV. 4. Now, that the preaching of the apostles, the authoritative teaching of
the Lord, the announcements of the prophets, the dictated
utterances of the apostles,(3) and the ministration of the
law--all of which praise one and the same Being, the God and
Father of all, and not many diverse beings, nor one deriving
his substance from different gods or powers, but [declare] that all things [were formed] by one and the same Father
(who nevertheless adapts this works] to the natures and
tendencies of the materials dealt with), things
visible and invisible, and, in short, all things that have
been made [were created] neither by angels, nor by any other power,
but by God alone, the Father--are all in harmony with our
statements, has, I think, been sufficiently proved, while
by these weighty arguments it has been shown that there
is but one God, the Maker of all things.
CHAP.
VIII. 2. …not one of
created and subject things, shall ever be compared to the
Word of God, by whom all things were made, who is our
Lord Jesus Christ. 3. For that all things, whether Angels, or Archangels,
or Thrones, or Dominions, were both established and created
by Him who is God over all, through His Word, John has
thus pointed out. For when he had spoken of the Word of God
as having been in the Father, he added, "All things
were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made."(7)
…But the things established are distinct from Him who has established them,
and what have been
made from Him who has made them. For
He is Himself uncreated, both without beginning and end, and
lacking nothing. He is Himself sufficient for Himself; and
still further, He grants to all others this very thing, existence;
but the things which have been made by Him have
received a beginning. But
whatever things had a beginning, and are liable to dissolution,
and are subject to and stand in need of Him who made them,
must necessarily in
all respects have a different term [applied to them], even
by those who have but a moderate capacity for discerning such
things; so that He indeed who made all things can
alone, together with His Word, properly be termed God and
Lord: but the things which have been made cannot have this
term applied to them, neither should they justly assume that appellation
which belongs to the Creator… CHAP. IX. 2. But Matthew
says that the Magi, coming from the east, exclaimed "For
we have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship
Him;"(2) and that, having been led by the star into the
house of Jacob to Emmanuel, they showed, by these gifts which they offered, who it was that was worshipped;
myrrh, because it was He who should die and be buried
for the mortal human met; gold, because He was a King, "of
whose kingdom is no end;"(3) and
frankincense, because He was God, who also "was made
known in Judea,"(4) and was "declared to those who
sought Him not."(5) … CHAP. X. 2.
…men were taught to
worship God after a new fashion, but
not another god, because in truth there is but "one God,
who justifieth the circumcision by faith, and the uncircumcision through faith."(7)
…CHAP.
XI. 1. The disciple
of the Lord therefore desiring to put an end to all such doctrines,
and to establish the rule of truth in the Church, that
there is one Almighty God, who made all things by His Word,
both visible and invisible; showing at the same time,
that by the Word, through whom God made the creation, He also
bestowed salvation on the men included in the creation; thus
commenced His teaching in the Gospel: "In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things
were made by Him, and without Him was nothing made.(5)
…5. showing that the
God who made the earth, and commanded it to bring forth
fruit, who established the waters, and brought forth the fountains,
was He who in these last times bestowed upon mankind, by His Son, the blessing of food and the
favour of drink: the Incomprehensible [acting thus] by means of the comprehensible, and
the Invisible by the visible; since there
is none beyond Him, but He exists in the bosom of the Father.
6. For "no man," he says, "hath seen God at
any time," unless "the
only-begotten Son of God, which is in the bosom of the Father,
He hath declared [Him]."(11) …7. Such, then, are the first principles of the
Gospel: that there
is one God, the Maker of this universe; He who was also
announced by the prophets, and who by Moses set forth the dispensation of the
law,--[principles] which proclaim the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and ignore any other God or Father except Him…
8. For that according to John relates His original, effectual, and glorious
generation from the Father, thus declaring, "In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."(8)
Also, "all things were made by Him, and without Him was
nothing made." …And the Word of God Himself used to converse
with the ante-Mosaic patriarchs, in accordance with His divinity
and glory; but for those under the law he instituted a
sacerdotal and liturgical service.(1) Afterwards,
being made man for us… CHAP. XXI. 3. …Then, when a multitude
had gathered around them from all quarters because of this
unexpected deed, Peter addressed them: "Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this;
or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power
we had made this man to walk? The
God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the
God of our fathers, hath glorified His Son, whom ye delivered
up for judgment,(10) and denied in the presence of Pilate,
when he wished to let Him go. But ye were bitterly set against(10) the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer
to be granted unto you; but
ye killed the Prince
of life, whom God hath raised from the dead, whereof we
are witnesses… 4. Thus the apostles did not change God, but preached to the people that
Christ was Jesus the
crucified One, whom
the same God that had sent the prophets, being God Himself,
raised up, and gave in Him salvation to men. …CHAP. XII.
7. But it is evident from Peter's words that he did indeed
still retain the God who was already known to them; but he
also bare witness to them that Jesus
Christ was the Son of God, the Judge of quick and dead,
into whom he did also command them to be baptized for the
remission of sins; and not this alone, but
he witnessed that Jesus was Himself the Son of God, who also,
having been anointed with the Holy Spirit, is called Jesus
Christ… CHAP. XIII. 1. ...And again, in the Epistle to
the Corinthians, when he had recounted all those who had seen God (9) after the resurrection,
he says in continuation, "But whether it were I or
they, so we preach, and so ye believed, "(1) acknowledging as one and the same, the preaching of all those who saw
God (2) after the resurrection from the dead. 2. And again, the Lord replied to Philip, who wished to behold the Father,
"Have I been so long a time with you, and yet thou hast
not known Me, Philip? He that sees Me,
sees also the Father; and how sayest
thou then, Show us the Father? For I am in the Father, and
the Father in Me; and henceforth
ye know Him, and have seen Him." (3) To these men, therefore,
did the Lord bear witness, that in Himself they had both known
and seen the Father (and the Father is truth)… CHAP. XV.
3. But let us revert to the same line of argument [hitherto
pursued]. For when it has been manifestly declared, that they
who were the preachers of the truth and the
apostles of liberty termed no one else God, or named him Lord,
except the only true God the Father, and His Word, who has
the pre-eminence in all things; it shall then be clearly
proved, that they (the
apostles) confessed as the Lord God Him who was the Creator
of heaven and earth, who also spoke with Moses, gave to him
the dispensation of the law, and who called the fathers; and
that they knew no other. The opinion of the apostles,
therefore, and of those (Marks and Luke) who
learned from their words, concerning God, has been made manifest.
…CHAP. XVIII. 1.(12) As
it has been clearly demonstrated that the Word, who existed
in the beginning with God, by whom all things were made,
who was also always present with mankind, was in these last
days, according to the time appointed by the Father, united
to His own workmanship, inasmuch
as He became a man liable to suffering, [it follows] that
every objection is set aside of those who say, "If our
Lord was born at that time, Christ had therefore no previous
existence." For
I have shown that the Son of God did not then begin to exist,
being with the Father from the beginning; but when He
became incarnate, and was made man, He commenced afresh(1)
the long line of human beings, and furnished us, in a brief,
comprehensive manner, with salvation; so that what we had
lost in Adam--namely, to be according to the image and likeness
of God--that we might recover in Christ Jesus.
CHAP.
XIX. 2. For I have shown from the Scriptures,(5) that no one of the sons of Adam is as to everything,
and absolutely, called God, or named Lord. But that He is
Himself in His own right, beyond all men who ever lived, God,
and Lord, and King Eternal, and the Incarnate Word, proclaimed
by all the prophets, the apostles, and by the Spirit Himself,
may be seen by all who have attained to even a small portion
of the truth… But that
He had, beyond all others, in Himself that pre-eminent birth
which is from the Most High Father, and also experienced that
pre-eminent generation which is from the Virgin,(6) the
divine Scriptures do in both respects testify of Him…
CHAP.XXI.
10. And as the protoplast himself Adam,
had his substance from untilled and as yet virgin soil ("for
God had not yet sent rain, and man had not tilled the ground"(4)),
and was formed by the hand of God, that is, by
the Word of God, for "all things were made by Him,"(5)...
CHAP.
XXV. 5. And God indeed, as He is also the ancient Word, possessing the beginning,
the end, and the mean of all existing things, does everything
rightly, moving round about them according to their nature;
but retributive justice always follows Him against those who
depart from the divine law."(5) Then,
again, he points out that the Maker and Framer of the universe
is good.
Irenaeus –
AGAINST
HERESIES, BOOK IV
PREFACE.
Now man is a mixed organization of soul and flesh, who
was formed after the likeness of God, and moulded
by His hands, that is, by the Son and Holy Spirit, to
whom also He said, "Let Us make man."(1)
CHAP.II.
2. …or shall it be (what is really the case) the
Maker of heaven and earth, whom also the prophets proclaimed,--whom Christ, too, confesses as His Father,--whom also the law announces,
saying: "Hear, O Israel; The
Lord thy God is one God?"(2)
CHAP.II.
5. For they do not receive from the Father the knowledge
of the Son; neither do they learn who the Father is from the
Son, who teaches clearly and without parables Him who truly
is God. He says: "Swear not at all; neither by heaven,
for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool;
neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King."(7)
For these words are evidently spoken with reference to the
Creator, as also Esaias says: "Heaven
is my throne, the earth is my footstool."(8) And besides this Being there is no other God; otherwise He would not be
termed by the Lord either" God" or" the great
King;" for a Being who can be so described admits neither
of any other being compared with nor set above Him.
CHAP.
VI. 5. …The Father therefore has revealed Himself to all, by making His Word visible
to all; and, conversely, the Word has declared to all the Father and the Son, since He has become visible to all. And therefore the righteous judgment of God [shall fall] upon all who,
like others, have seen, but have not, like others, believed.
6. For by means of the creation itself, the Word
reveals God the Creator; and by means of the world [does
He declare] the Lord the Maker of the world; and by means
of the formation [of man] the Artificer who formed him; and
by the Son that Father who begat the Son: and these things do indeed address all men
in the same manner, but all do not in the same way believe
them. But by the law and the prophets did the Word preach
both Himself and the Father alike [to all]; and all the
people heard Him alike, but all did not alike believe. And
through the Word Himself who had been made visible and palpable,
was the Father shown forth, although all did not equally believe
in Him; but all saw the Father in the Son... For the Son is
the knowledge of the Father; but the knowledge of the Son
is in the Father, and has been revealed through the Son; and
this was the reason why the Lord declared: "No man knoweth
the Son, but the Father; nor the Father, save the Son, and
those to whomsoever the Son shall reveal [Him]."(5) For "shall reveal" was said not
with reference to the future alone, as if then [only] the
Word had begun to manifest the Father when He was born of
Mary, but it applies indifferently throughout all time. For
the Son, being present with His own handiwork from the beginning,
reveals the Father to all; to whom He wills, and when He wills,
and as the Father wills.
CHAP.
VI. And through the
Word Himself who had been made visible and palpable, was
the Father shown forth, although all did not equally believe
in Him; but all saw the Father in the Son: for the
Father is the invisible of the Son, but the Son the visible of the Father. And for this reason all spake with Christ when He was present [upon earth], and they
named Him God. Yea, even the demons exclaimed, on beholding
the Son: "We know
Thee who Thou art, the Holy One of God."' And the
devil looking at Him, and tempting Him, said: "If Thou
art the Son of God;"(2)--all
thus indeed seeing and speaking of the Son and the Father,
but all not believing [in them].
CHAP.
XXXIII. 11. Again,
there are those who say, "He is a man, and who shall
know him?"(14) and, "I came unto the prophetess,
and she bare a son, and His name is called Wonderful, Counsellor,
the Mighty God;"(15) and those [of them] who proclaimed
Him as Immanuel, [born] of the Virgin, exhibited the union
of the Word of God with His own workmanship, [declaring] that
the Word should become flesh, and the Son of God the Son of
man (the pure One opening purely that pure womb which
regenerates men unto God, and which He Himself made pure);
and having become this which we also are, He
[nevertheless] is the Mighty God, and possesses a generation
which cannot be declared.
CHAP.
XXXVI. 1. Which [God]
the Lord does not reject, nor does He say that the prophets [spake] from another god
than His Father; nor from any other essence, but from one
and the same Father; nor that any other being made the things
in the world, except His own Father…
Irenaeus –
AGAINST
HERESIES, BOOK V.
CHAP.
XVII. 2. And when He had said this, He commanded the paralytic
man to take up the pallet upon which he was lying, and go
into his house. By this work of His He confounded the unbelievers,
and showed that He is Himself the voice of God,
by which man received commandments, which he broke, and became
a sinner; for the paralysis followed as a consequence of sins…3.
For if no one can forgive sins but God alone, while the Lord remitted
them and healed men, it is plain that He was Himself the Word
of God made the Son of man, receiving
from the Father the power of remission of sins; since He was
man, and since He was God, in order that since as man
He suffered for us, so as God He might have compassion on
us, and forgive us our debts, in which we were made debtors
to God our Creator.
Endnote:
In addition, it should also be noted that on other occasions,
Irenaeus asserts the contrary interpretation
of the phrase “first-begotten.” In the quotes below, he applies
the term “first-begotten,” not to a pre-creation begetting
of the Word, but to a post-resurrection elevation to pre-eminent
heir of the things of God.
Irenaeus –
AGAINST
HERESIES, BOOK III
CHAP.
XVI. 3. 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; "(4) 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;(5) the Son of God being
made the Son Of man, that through Him we may receive the adoption,--humanity(6)
sustaining, and receiving, and embracing the Son of God. …And
again, the angel said, when bringing good tidings to Mary:
"He shall he great,
and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord shall
give unto Him the throne of His father David;"(11) acknowledging
that He who is the Son of the Highest, the same is Himself
also the Son of David.
CHAP.
XXII. And the prophet, too, indicates the same, saying, "instead
of fathers, children have been born unto thee."(8) For the Lord, having been born "the First-begotten
of the dead,"(9) and receiving into His bosom the
ancient fathers, has regenerated them into the life of God,
He having been made Himself the beginning of those that live,
as Adam became the beginning of those who die.(10)
Irenaeus –
AGAINST
HERESIES, BOOK IV
CHAP.II.
4. But those who scoff [at the truth]
assert that these men were from another essence, and they
do not know the first-begotten from the dead; understanding
Christ as a distinct being, who continued as if He were impassible,
and Jesus, who suffered, as being altogether separate [from
Him].
CHAP.
XX. 2.…"the Word
was made flesh;" that even
as the Word of God had the sovereignty in the heavens, so
also might He have the sovereignty in earth, inasmuch
as [He was] a righteous man, "who did no sin, neither
was there found guile in His mouth;"(7) and that He might have the pre-eminence over
those things which are under the earth, He Himself being made
"the first-begotten of the dead;"(8) and that
all things, as I have already said, might behold their King;
and that the paternal light might meet with and rest upon
the flesh of our Lord, and
come to us from His resplendent flesh, and that thus man might
attain to immortality, having been invested with the paternal
light.
CHAP.
XXI. 3. In the next place, [Jacob] received the rights of the first-born,
when his brother looked on them with contempt; even as
also the younger nation received Him, Christ,
the first-begotten, when the elder nation rejected Him,
saying, "We have no king but Caesar."(6)
CHAP.
XXIV. For the instruction
of the former, [viz., the Jews,] was an easy task, because
they could allege proofs from the Scriptures, and because
they, who were in the habit of hearing Moses and the prophets,
did also readily receive
the First-begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the life
of God…
CHAP.
XXXI. 2. If, then, the Lord observed the law of the dead, that He might become the first-begotten
from the dead, and tarried until the third day "in
the lower parts of the earth;"(8) then afterwards rising
in the flesh, so that He even showed the print of the nails
to His disciples,(9) He thus ascended to the Father;--[if
all these things occurred, I say], how must these men not
be put to confusion, who allege that "the lower parts"
refer to this world of ours, but that their inner man, leaving
the body here, ascends into the super-celestial place?
Ignatius
Ignatius
makes comments similar to some of the comments made by Irenaeus
and it is easy to see how Ignatius has the same view as Irenaeus.
Ignatius’ statement that the Word was “begotten before time
began” not only denotes the same pre-creation begetting of
the Word, but the phrase “before time began” also necessarily
denotes that this “begetting” was timeless and eternal. In
choosing these words, Ignatius signifies that the Word could
not have a beginning, coming into existence at one point in
time without previously existing, because such a sequence
is simply not possible when there is no time in the first
place.
Ignatius
–
THE
EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE EPHESIANS
CHAP.
XVIII. Let my spirit
be courted as nothing(10) for the
sake of the cross, which is a stumbling-block" to those
that do not believe, but to us salvation and the cross of
Christ is indeed a stumbling-block to those that do not believe,
but to the believing it is salvation and life eternal. "Where
is the wise man? where the disputer?"(13)
Where is the boasting of those who are called mighty? For the Son of God, who was begotten before time began(2),
and established all
things according to the will of the Father, He
was conceived in the womb of Mary, according to the appointment
of God, of the seed of David, and by the Holy Ghost. For says
[the Scripture], "Behold, a virgin shall be with child,
and shall bring forth a son, and He shall be called Immanuel."(4)
He was born and was baptized by John, that He might ratify
the institution committed to that prophet.
However,
it should also be noted that Ignatius only makes two comments
on this topic and in his second comment, he mentions the Son-ship
of the Word immediately between two phrases that pertain explicitly
to the incarnation.
Ignatius
–
THE
EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE SMYRNAEANS
CHAP.
I. I glorify God, even Jesus
Christ, who has given you such wisdom. …being fully persuaded with respect to our Lord, that He was truly of the
seed of David according to the flesh,(3) and the Son of God
according to the will and power(4) of God; that He was truly
born of a virgin.
