The Image and Likeness in the Trinity
Again, the Holy Spirit shone forth without effort and as if spontaneously, being a co-creator and equal-worker with the Creator God who established it from the beginning, as it is fitting for us to know, from which these things were declared: Job says, 'A divine spirit made me; and the breath of the Almighty teaches me' (Job 33:4). David says in Psalm 33: 'You send out your spirit and they are created, and you renew the face of the earth' (Ps 33:6). This is confirmed by the apostle writing to the Corinthians the second time: 'So if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new' (2 Cor 5:17). And in Psalm 77: 'By the word of the Lord the heavens were established, and by the spirit of his mouth all the powers of them' (Ps 77:9).
Do not let it pass by that these can be heard from the original sources; but see, because as a creator and good God, the Spirit of God, remaining for ever, provides a constant friendship to the creation and has bound it with unbreakable bonds and made it thrive. It is unshakeable and supports all things by its own power; and it is unlawful to call the one who creates a 'creation' or to call the creations the 'strengtheners' of God. For it is a fellow-worker and consubstantial with God, since it is his spirit and his finger, as it was shown in the first book, mystically representing in Psalm 84: 'For I shall see the heavens, the works of your fingers' (Ps 84:4).
And Moses says in Genesis, from God and Father toward the Son and his Holy Spirit: 'Let us make man according to our image and likeness, and let them rule over those on the earth' (Gen 1:26). For God did not take angels or other spirits as co-workers or counselors: 'Since the servant does not know what his master is doing' (Job 42:8). Nor is a creation ever found to have participated alongside God in creation, just as David sings in Psalm 77: 'He who formed the dwellings of their hearts' (Ps 77:12), and in Psalm 50: 'My bone was not hidden from you, you who made it in secret' (Ps 50:3). And as Paul writes to the Romans: 'For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become his counselor?' (Rom 11:34); that is to say, no one of the creation. For this 'who' shows a breadth. And he showed to the one God not to say 'make,' but 'let us make,' as the Son and the Holy Spirit are not subordinates, but of one power and will; and to the other God to lead in 'according to our image and likeness,' as they are one essence in the...
Just as it is said not to angels, those who are unlearned and without comparison have a diminished 'image and likeness'—if it is safe to say this regarding the unutterable, formless, and unspeakable Trinity—the cosmographer therefore brought forward: 'And God made man; in the image of God he made him; male and female he made them; and he blessed them;' (Genesis 1:26-28) and again: 'God saw that it was good.' (Genesis 1:31) In these, the perfect, harmonious, beautiful, and overflowing nature of the self-existent and generating Trinity is again mystically signified through spoken words.
Since Moses did not consider these things worthy of a theater or a crowd—for God had thundered to him—of such things as those whom he was about to lead without transgression. For 'God' made them, that is, the Son, 'man in the image of God,' that is, of the Father, 'he made him, and God saw' (Genesis 1:31), that is, the Spirit, 'that it was good, and he blessed them,' that is, he sanctified them. And the 'in the image' part, as it seems to me, is to be understood: that from the divine breath we have the immortal Spirit and a mind always thinking and governing according to what is needed, and a wise reason pleasing to the One who gave it, and capable, along with faith, to become the cause of procreation and of life and of the resurrection of the dead and the translation of mountains; in addition to these, that we have also partaken of His goodness.
Furthermore, Paul, as it was said briefly: 'He will also give life to our mortal bodies through the Spirit who dwells in us.' (Romans 8:11) And announcing that the ages have come to be and the creation was established by the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit is the word of God, as has already been remembered, he writes, approaching the subject: 'By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are apparent' (Hebrews 11:3), and again: 'for he upholds all things by the word of his power' (Hebrews 1:3), and the Psalmist: 'You made all things in wisdom' (Psalm 104:24), that is, in your Spirit and in your Son. How then is the divine Spirit, inseparable from the One who breathed it and from the Creator's Son, not without beginning, and creator, and truly God: the one who constructed the ages, through whom both heaven and that which is in it and everything that is created was provided; and the one who carries and governs all things by his own power; the one who immediately...
Greek
πάλιν καὶ ἀνέθαλψε τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ἄνευ πραγματείας καὶ οἷον αὐτομάτως, ἅτε συνδημιουργὸς καὶ ἰσουργὸς τοῦ ὑποστήσαντος αὐτὴν κατ' ἀρχὰς ἀρχιτέχνου θεοῦ, ὡς γνῶναι ἡμῖν ἐφίεται, ἐξ ὧν ἐξέφηναν οὗτοι· Ἰώβ· «πνεῦμα θεῖον τὸ ποιῆσάν με· πνοὴ δὲ παντοκράτορος, ἡ διδάσκουσά με.» ∆αυὶδ ἐν μὲν ργʹ ψαλμῷ· «ἐξαποστελεῖς τὸ πνεῦμα σου καὶ κτισθήσονται, καὶ ἀνακαινιεῖς τὸ πρόσωπον τῆς γῆς.» τοῦτο βεβαιοῖ ὁ ἀπόστολος γράφων Κορινθίοις τὸ δεύτερον· «ὥστε εἴ τις ἐν Χριστῷ, καινὴ κτίσις· τὰ ἀρχαῖα παρῆλθεν, ἰδοὺ γέγονε καινὰ τὰ πάντα.» ἐν δὲ λβʹ ψαλμῷ· «τῷ λόγῳ κυρίου οἱ οὐρανοὶ ἐστερεώθησαν, καὶ τῷ πνεύματι τοῦ στό ματος αὐτοῦ πᾶσαι αἱ δυνάμεις αὐτῶν» μὴ παραδράμῃς τὰ αὐτόθεν ἀκούεσθαι δυνάμενα· ἀλλ' ἴδε, ὅτιπερ–ὡς δημιουργὸς καὶ ἀγαθὸς θεός–μένον εἰς ἀεὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ θεοῦ φιλίαν μόνιμον τῇ κτίσει χορηγεῖ καὶ ἀλύτοις αὐτὴν ἔσφιγξε δεσμοῖς καὶ ἥδρασεν. ἀκατάσειστον καὶ πάντα τῇ ἑαυτοῦ δυνάμει στηρίζει· καὶ ὅτι ἀθέμιτόν ἐστι κτίσμα καλεῖν τὸ κτίζον καὶ ἐνδυναμοῦν τοῦ θεοῦ τὰ κτίσματα. συνεργὸν γὰρ καὶ 69 ὁμοούσιον αὐτὸ τῷ θεῷ ἅτε πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ καὶ δάκτυλον, ὡς ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ ἐδείχθη βιβλίῳ, μυστικῶς παριστῶν ἐν ηʹ ψαλμῷ προφητεύει· «ὅτι ὄψομαι τοὺς οὐρανούς, ἔργα τῶν δακτύλων σου.» καὶ Μωυσῆς δὲ ἐν τῇ γενέσει ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς πρὸς τὸν υἱὸν καὶ τὸ ἅγιον αὐτοῦ πνεῦμα φησίν· «ποιήσωμεν ἄνθρωπον κατ' εἰκόνα καὶ ὁμοίωσιν ἡμετέραν καὶ ἀρχέτω σαν τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς.» οὐ γὰρ ἀγγέλους ἢ ἄλλα πνεύματα ἔλαβεν συγχειρουργοὺς ἢ γνωμοδότας ὁ θεός· «ἐπειδὴ ὁ δοῦλος οὐκ οἶδεν, τί ποιεῖ αὐτοῦ ὁ δεσπότης.» οὐδὲ εὑρίσκεται πώποτε εἰς δημιουργίαν συμπαραλαβὼν κτίσμα, καθὰ ∆αυὶδ ψάλλει ἐν λβʹ ψαλμῷ· «ὁ πλάσας καταμονὰς τὰς καρδίας αὐτῶν,» καὶ ἐν ρληʹ· «οὐκ ἐκρύβη τὸ ὀστοῦν μου ἀπὸ σοῦ, ὃ ποίησας ἐν κρυφῇ.» καὶ ὡς Παῦλος Ῥωμαίοις γράφει· «τίς γὰρ ἔγνω νοῦν κυρίου; ἢ τίς σύμβουλος αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο;» τουτέστιν, τῆς κτίσεως οὐδείς. πλάτος γὰρ ἔχον τὸ «τίς» τοῦτο προφαίνει. ἔδειξεν δὲ τῷ μὲν μὴ εἰπεῖν «ποιήσατε», ἀλλὰ «ποιήσωμεν», ὡς οὐκ ἔστιν ὑπουργὸς ὁ υἱὸς καὶ τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα, ἀλλὰ δυνάμεως καὶ θελήσεως μιᾶς· τῷ δὲ ἐπαγαγεῖν «κατ' εἰκόνα καὶ ὁμοίωσιν ἡμετέραν», ὡς μία ἐστὶν οὐσία τῇ τριάδι· καὶ ὡς οὐ πρὸς ἀγγέλους εἴρηται τοῦτο τοῖς ἀπείρως καὶ ἀσυνεικάστως ἔν μείω τὴν «εἰκόνα καὶ ὁμοίωσιν» ἔχουσιν εἰ ἀκίνδυνον τοῦτο, ὡς ἄνθρωπον, εἰπεῖν τῆς ἀνειδέου καὶ ἀσχηματίστου καὶ ἀρρήτου τριάδος, διὸ ἐπήγαγεν ὁ αὐτὸς κοσμογράφος· «καὶ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον· κατ' εἰκόνα θεοῦ ἐποίησεν αὐτόν· ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ ἐποίησεν αὐτούς· καὶ εὐλόγησεν αὐτούς·» καὶ πάλιν· «εἶδεν ὁ θεός, ὅτι καλόν.» ἐν οἷς ῥητοῖς αὖθις τῆς αὐτοτελοῦς καὶ γενεσιουργοῦ τριάδος τὸ τέλειον καὶ σύμφωνον καὶ κοσμητικὸν καὶ ἐπίπαν ἄφθονον σημαίνεται μυστικῶς. ἐπειδὴ ταῦτα θεάτρων μὲν καὶ πλήθους ἄξια οὐχ ἡγήσατο εἶναι ὁ Μωυσῆς ἤγουν ὁ ἐνηχήσας αὐτῷ θεός· τοσούτων δέ, ὅσοι μὴ παρανομεῖν ἐς ταῦτα ἔμελλον. «ἐποίησεν» γὰρ «ὁ θεός», τουτέστιν ὁ υἱός, «τὸν ἄνθρωπον κατ' εἰκόνα θεοῦ», τουτέστιν τοῦ πατρός, «ἐποίησεν αὐτόν, καὶ εἶδεν ὁ θεός», τουτέστιν τὸ πνεῦμα «ὅτι καλόν, καὶ εὐλόγησεν αὐτούς», τουτέστιν ἡγίασεν. τὸ δὲ «κατ' εἰκόνα», ὡς ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ, νοητέον, ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ θεϊκοῦ φυσήματος τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἀθάνατον ἔχομεν καὶ νοῦν ἀεὶ θέοντα καὶ κυβερνῶντα ἐφ' ὃ χρή, καὶ λόγον σοφὸν ἀρέσκοντα τῷ δεδωκότι καὶ δυνάμενον σὺν πίστει τεκνογονίας αἴτιον γίνεσθαι καὶ ζωῆς καὶ νεκρῶν ἐγέρσεως καὶ ὀρέων μεταθέσεως· πρὸς τούτοις, ὅτι μετειλήφαμεν καὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ ἀγαθότητος. εἶτα καὶ Παῦλος, ὡς μικρῷ πρόσθεν ἐλέχθη· «ζωοποιήσει καὶ τὰ θνητὰ ἡμῶν σώματα, διὰ τοῦ ἐνοικοῦντος αὐτοῦ πνεύματος ἐν ἡμῖν.» καὶ Ἑβραίοις τοὺς αἰῶνας γεγενῆσθαι καὶ τὴν κτίσιν ἐστηρίχθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος καταγγέλλων καὶ ῥῆμα θεοῦ τὸ πνεῦμα, καθὰ ἤδη ἐμνημονεύθη, προσαγορεύων γράφει· «πίστει νοοῦμεν κατηρτίσθαι τοὺς αἰῶνας ῥήματι θεοῦ, εἰς τὸ μὴ ἐκ φαινομένων τὸ βλεπόμενον γεγονέναι,» καὶ πάλιν· «φέρων γὰρ τὰ πάντα τῷ ῥήματι τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ,» καὶ ὁ ψαλμῳδός· «πάντα ἐν σοφίᾳ ἐποίησας,» τουτέστιν ἐν τῷ πνεύματί σου καὶ τῷ υἱῷ σου. πῶς οὖν οὐκ ἄναρχον καὶ δημιουργὸν καὶ κυρίως θεὸς τὸ θεϊκὸν πνεῦμα τὸ ἀχώριστον τοῦ πνεύσαντος αὐτὸ καὶ τοῦ δημιουργοῦ υἱοῦ· τὸ τοὺς αἰῶνας κατασκευάσαν, μεθ' ὧν οὐρανός τε καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῷ καὶ πᾶν, εἴ τί ἐστιν κτιστὸν παρήχθη· καὶ πάντα τῇ ἑαυτοῦ δυνάμει φέρον τε καὶ διοικοῦν· τὸ παραυτίκα τοῦ
About this text
Didymus the Blind defends the full divinity of Father, Son, and Spirit against those who rank them.
Catalogue & scope
Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG (Khazarzar) (Greek)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.