Tertullian — Against Marcion 3.2
From here finally I join step: whether he ought to have come so suddenly—first inasmuch as he himself is also his God’s son—for this had been of order, that the Father should profess the Son before the Son the Father and the Father testify about the Son before the Son about the Father—next also inasmuch as sent, besides the Son’s name. For likewise the sender’s patronage ought to have preceded unto testimony of the sent, because no one coming from another’s authority defends it for himself from his own affirmation, but rather expects to be defended by it with the suggest of him who furnishes authority going before.
Otherwise neither will a son be recognized whom a father never named, nor will one sent be believed whom a commander never designated. The Father would name and the commander designate, if there had been one. Everything will be held suspect that has swerved from the rule of things which does not allow principal steps to be recognized later: father after son and commander after mandate and God after Christ. Nothing is prior to its origin in recognition, because neither in disposition. ‘Suddenly son and suddenly sent and suddenly Christ.’ Yet I would think nothing sudden from God, because nothing not disposed by God. But if disposed, why not also preached, so that it could be proved both disposed from preaching and divine from disposition?
And assuredly so great a work—which of course was being prepared for human salvation—would not have been sudden even to that extent, inasmuch as it would profit through faith. For insofar as it had to be believed in order to profit, to that extent it desired preparation so that it could be believed, under-built with foundations of disposition and preaching, by which order faith, having been formed, would deservedly both be declared to the human by God and be exhibited to God by the human, owing to believe from recognition—because it could, which of course it had learned to believe from preaching.
Latin
Hinc denique gradum consero, an debuerit tam subito uenisse, primo qua et ipse dei sui filius, — hoc enim ordinis fuerat, ut ante pater filium profiteretur quam patrem filius et ante pater de filio testaretur quam filius de patre — dehinc et qua missus, praeter filii nomen. proinde enim praecessisse debuerat mittentis patrocinium in testimonium missi, quia nemo ueniens ex alterius auctoritate ipse eam sibi ex sua adfirmatione defendit, sed ab ipsa defendi se potius expectat praeeunte suggestu eius, qui auctoritatem praestat. ceterum nec filius agnoscetur quem numquam pater nuncupauit nec missus credetur quem numquam mandator designauit. nuncupaturus pater et designaturus mandator, si fuisset. suspectum habebitur omne quod exorbitarit a regula rerum, quae principales gradus non sinit posterius agnosci: patrem post filium et mandatorem post mandatum et deum post Christum. nihil origine sua prius est in agnitione, quia nec in dispositione. \'subito filius et subito missus et subito Christus\'. atquin nihil putem a deo subitum. quia nihil a deo non dispositum. si autem dispositum, cur non et praedicatum, ut probari posset et dispositum ex praedicatione et diuinum ex dispositione? et utique tantum opus, quod scilicet humanae saluti parabatur, uel eatenus subitum non fuisset, qua per fidem profuturum. in quantum enim credi habebat, ut prodesset, in tantum paraturam desiderabat, ut credi posset, substructum fundamentis dispositionis et praedicationis, quo ordine fides informata merito et homini indiceretur a deo et deo exhiberetur ab homine, ex agnitione debens credere. : quia posset, quae scilicet credere didicisset ex praedicatione.