Eternal life is knowing Father and Christ; glory and oneness
“…the Father loves you, because you have loved me, because I came forth from the Father.” (John 16:27)
“And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you sent.” (John 17:3) If knowledge of Jesus Christ is necessarily joined to, and enters together with, knowledge of the only true God, and this procures eternal life, how is it not clear to all that Christ is true God? For the Word became flesh, and remained Word.
“That the world may believe that you sent me; and the glory that you have given me I have given them, that they may be one as we are one; I in them and you in me, that they may be perfected into one.” (John 17:21–23) Setting the eye of understanding carefully on the force of what is before us, let us consider what is in it. What glory does the Son say he has received from the Father and given to us? He himself will free us from searching this out when he says “that they may be one as we are one.” For in natural identity the Word from God is one with his own Father, even if each is understood in his own hypostasis. And how has he also come to be in us? In the same way — I mean essentially and naturally? Yet God’s nature would be wholly incompatible with creation, I mean in identity according to essence. How then has the One above creation come to be in us naturally? He became human, so that just as he is one with the Father in the nature of the deity, so he may also become one with us in the relation according to humanity; for in this way we too are perfected into one.
Greek
* o πατὴρ φιλεῖ υμᾶς, Or. ὑμεῖς eue πεφιλήκατε, ori ἐγὼ
M ^ Ν ^ 35 * παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐξῆλθον. ἐς eo , 5» ε 9 7 N ῳ , ' bl Αὕτη δέ ἐστιν ἡ αἰώνιος ζωὴ, ἵνα γινώσκωσί σε rov
* μόνον ἀληθινὸν Θεὸν kai ὃν ἀπέστειλας ᾿Ιησοῦν Χριστον.
εἰ τῇ ἐπιγνώσει τοῦ μόνου καὶ ἀληθινοῦ Θεοῦ, συνέζευκ- 5
ταί T€ καὶ συνεισβαίνειν ἀνάγκη τὴν ἐπίγνωσιν Ιησοὺ
ὁ Χριστοῦ, καὶ ζωὴν τοῦτο τὴν αἰώνιον προξενεῖ, πῶς οὐχ
ἅπασιν ἐναργὲς, ὅτι Θεὸς ἐστιν ἀληθὴς ὁ Χριστὸς ; γέγονε
γὰρ σὰρξ o Λογος, καὶ μεμένηκε. Λόγος.
*"Iya ὁ κόσμος πιστεύσῃ ὅτι σύ με ἀπεστειλας" καγὼ τὸ
* τὴν δόξαν ἣν δέδωκας μοι δέδωκα αὐτοῖς, ἵνα ὦσιν ἐν
καθὼς ἡμεῖς ἐν, ἐγὼ ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ σὺ ἐν ἐμοὶ, ἵνα ὦσι
* χετελειωμένοι εἰς ἕν." ἀκριβῆ τῆς διανοίας τὸν ὀφθαλμον
86 Α. «ἐπιστήσαντες τῇ TOU προκειμένου δυνάμει, θεωρήσωμεν τα
ἐν αὐτῷ. ποίαν δόξαν εἰληφέναι φησὶ παρὰ τοῦ llarpos o1;
Yios, kai ταύτην ἡμῖν ἐπιδοῦναι ; avrog δὲ ἡμᾶς τῆς emi
τούτοις ἐρεύνης ἀπαλλάξει λέγων "Iva ὦσι καθὼς ἡμεῖς
ἕν." ἐν μὲν γὰρ τῇ φυσικῇ ταυτότητι, ἕν ἐστιν ὁ ἐκ Θεοῦ
Λογος πρὸς TOv ἑαυτοῦ Πατέρα, εἰ καὶ νοεῖται καθ᾽ vmo-
στασιν ἑκάτερος iÓuc]v. πῶς δὲ kal ἐν ἡμῖν γέγονε ; κατὰ τον 2o
ἴσον τρόπον, οὐσιωδῶς δὴ λέγω kal φυσικῶς" καίτοι Θεοῦ
b φύσις ἀσύμβατος παντελῶς εἴη ἂν πρὸς τὴν κτίσιν, ὡς ἐν
ταυτότητι λέγω τῇ kar οὐσίαν. πῶς οὖν ἐν ἡμῖν γέγονε
φυσικῶς ὁ ὑπὲρ τὴν κτίσιν; γέγονε yàp ἄνθρωπος, ἵνα
ὥσπερ ἐστὶν ἐν τῇ τῆς θεότητος φύσει πρὸς τὸν Tarepa, :;
οὕτω καὶ πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἐν γένηται σχέσει τῇ κατὰ avÜpa-
πότητα" τετελειώμεθα γὰρ οὕτω καὶ ἡμεῖς εἰς ἕν.
Ovovs οὖν οψίας τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ τῇ μιᾷ τῶν σαββα-
* των, kai τῶν θυρῶν κεκλεισμένων ὅπου ἦσαν οἱ μαθηταὶ
I. πεφιλήκατε -- καὶ πεπιστεύκατε Edd. 5. καὶ ἀληθινοῦ om. 8“. συνέζευκταί C. Cod. συνεζεῦχθαί e. Comm. Edd. 7. αἰώνιον εἰς αἰῶνα 8.6. 8. ἐναργὲς] -ἰ ἐστιν a.e. II. ἔδωκας C. Comm. I5. φησυ εἴληφέναι inverso ordine C. Comm. 18. ἐν μὲν γὰρ 7) τῇ μὲν γὰρ [ἐν cum
33. ὑμῖν C. 29. μαθηταὶ] -- αὐτοῦ C. Comm.