The Circumference of Truth and Divine Light
He does not use mere words, but promises an unchangeable and unalterable will. Since his will regarding the man from David becoming his son is unalterable, it is fitting that the Lord said to my servant, 'You are my son' (Ps 88:7). No one of those born from God, having received the spirit of adoption, will be able to become like the Lord. For he alone, according to truth, is the offspring of God, while the others are called sons of God to partake in him.
For the sake of a perfect understanding of what is set forth, we shall use the apostolic voice, which sounds thus: 'Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ' (2 Cor 13:14). For having called God Father of himself and of those near him, he was reverent, not assigning to himself an equality with any glory to the only-begotten Son; therefore he added, 'And the Lord Jesus Christ,' having cried out only once: 'if indeed we have become sons by the grace of God, and he himself becomes our Father, yet also we are slaves of Jesus Christ according to the nature of our Lord who is' (Rom 8:17).
This very thought is confirmed by the set-forth word: 'For who shall be like the Lord among the sons of God?' (Exod 35:19). No one is, according to essence, a son of God, except the Savior alone, who is the only one consubstantial with the Father; but those who are not according to essence, but according to quality, shall be made like him, just as they become merciful like the Father and perfect as the Father becomes: 'You shall be holy, because I am holy' (Lev 11:44). For the Lord comes upon the clouds of heaven with much power and glory, and the saints shall be caught up in clouds to meet the Lord in the air, to be with him forever (1 Thess 4:17).
Therefore, of the Lord and the saints being in the clouds, no one of those caught up in clouds shall be equal to the one coming upon the clouds of heaven with much power and glory. For each one was caught up with power, but not with much glory. For that power and glory he possessed, but the Savior will come with much power and glory; and each of those was in a cloud, but not upon the clouds. The expression 'upon the clouds' establishes the authoritative and kingly, whence no one in clouds shall be equal to the Lord; for truly, the cloud of each of the saints, being spiritual, is the intelligible moisture (the clouds...
For he says, 'justice has overwhelmed' (Ps 88:8), no such clouds can be found equal to the Lord, who is also a cloud, since each of them only waters a little, but He waters not only all men but also all rational things.
He is also fearful to those who are opposed, threatening punishments and bringing them down against those who fall away from His divine commands. For you, being near Him in receiving His divine teaching, while sinning, are near the fire, as the words of the Savior say: 'He who is near me is near the fire, and he who is far from me is far from the kingdom.' Thus, in the present word, He is fearful to those around Him who, through having believed in Him, disobey His commandments; how great is He to those held by His virtue.
The truth about God is none other than the one saying, 'I am the truth' (John 14:6). If it is around God, it can never not be, lest God should descend from not being once surrounded by truth to this. But it is surrounded by this, generating it, and He alone is the true God. For just as He alone is wise, not participating in wisdom but generating wisdom, so He alone is true and has truth around Him, not taking part in it but being with others and giving it to them.
For the Father exists with the Son in every thought and energy; for the Word, being with God, is God the Word, since the Father is in the Son and the Son is in the Father; for it is fitting for a God-Word to be with God the Father. But also as light, God has light with Him, the Son, as it is said in Daniel: 'And the light is with Him.' For it is not 'was' or 'will be' but 'is,' for this shows eternity, and thus it is said to be an emanation of eternal light. And the truth is said not to have 'become' or 'be going to be' around, but to 'be' of the almighty God. And the eternal power will be present to the almighty God, which exists the same as the wisdom, truth, light, and Word of God, but also 'your truth is around you.'
Understand this (Ps 88:10): faith in Him ruling all creation and the sea, regarding what is written about Jonah; for there it is said that waves were stirred up in the sea, and again, the sea will be to Him from the...
Greek
κατωμοτικοῖς χρᾶται ἐπιρρήμασιν ἀλλ' ὡς α τρεπτος καὶ ἀμετάβλητον βουλὴν ε χων ὑπισχνεῖται. ἐπεὶ ου ν καὶ ἡ βούλησις αὐτοῦ ἡ περὶ τοῦ ἐκ ∆αυὶδ α νθρωπον γενέσθαι τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ ἀμετάθετος η ν, εἰκότως τὸ Ωμοσα ∆αυὶδ τῷ δούλῳ μου ει πεν. 882 Ps 88,7 Οὐδεὶς τῶν ἐκ θεοῦ γεγεννημένων τῷ παραδεδέχθαι τὸ τῆς υἱοθεσίας πνεῦμα ὁμοιωθῆναι τῷ κυρίῳ δυνήσεται. αὐτὸς γὰρ μόνος κατὰ ἀλήθειαν γέννημα θεοῦ, οἱ δ' α λλοι τῷ μετέχειν αὐτοῦ υἱοὶ θεοῦ καλοῦνται. ὑπὲρ τελείας δὲ νοήσεως τῶν προκειμένων χρησόμεθα ἀποστολικῇ φωνῇ ου τως ἐχούσῃ· Χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ κυρίου ̓Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ. εἰπὼν γὰρ τὸν θεὸν πατέρα ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τῶν παραπλησίων ηὐλαβήθη, μὴ δόξῃ τισὶν ἰσοτιμίαν ἑαυτῷ νέμειν πρὸς τὸν μονογενῆ υἱόν· διὸ ἐπήνεγκε Καὶ κυρίου ̓Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ, μονονουχὶ κεκραγώς· εἰ καὶ θεοῦ χάριτι γεγόναμεν υἱοί, καὶ αὐτὸς ἡμῶν τυγχάνει πατήρ, ἀλλά γε καὶ δοῦλοι ̓Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐσμεν κατὰ φύσιν κυρίου ἡμῶν ο ντος. ταύτην τὴν διάνοιαν παρεμφαίνει καὶ ἡ προκειμένη λέξις· Τίς γὰρ ὁμοιωθήσεται τῷ κυρίῳ ἐν υἱοῖς θεοῦ; οὐδεὶς κατ' οὐσίαν υἱὸς θεοῦ η μόνος ὁ σωτὴρ ι διος καὶ μόνος ὁμοούσιός ἐστι τῷ πατρί, ὁμοιωθήσονται δὲ αὐτῷ ου τοι οἱ οὐ κατ' οὐσίαν ἀλλὰ κατὰ ποιότητα ω σπερ καὶ τῷ πατρὶ οἰκτίρμονες ὡς αὐτὸς γινόμενοι καὶ τέλειοι ὡς ὁ πατὴρ γινόμενοι· Αγιοι γὰρ ε σεσθε, διότι ἐγὼ α γιός εἰμι. Ου τος δὴ ὁ κύριος ε ρχεται ἐπὶ τῶν νεφελῶν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ μετὰ δυνάμεως καὶ δόξης πολλῆς, καὶ οἱ α γιοι ἁρπαγήσονται ἐν νεφέλαις εἰς ἀπάντησιν τῷ κυρίῳ εἰς ἀέρα ἐπὶ τῷ πάντοτε σὺν αὐτῷ ει ναι. τοῦ τοίνυν κυρίου καὶ τῶν ἁγίων ἐν νεφέλαις ο ντων, οὐδεὶς τῶν ἁρπαγέντων ἐν νεφέλαις ἰσωθήσεται τῷ ἐρχομένῳ ἐπὶ τῶν νεφελῶν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ μετὰ δυνάμεως καὶ δόξης πολλῆς. εἰ γὰρ καὶ ε καστος μετὰ δυνάμεως καὶ δόξης ἡρπάγη, ἀλλ' οὐ πολλῆς. ἐκείνην γὰρ τὴν δύναμιν καὶ δόξαν ει χεν η ν ε λαβεν, ὁ δὲ σωτὴρ μετὰ δυνάμεως καὶ δόξης πολλῆς η ς παρέχει ἐλεύσεται· καὶ ε καστος ἐκείνων ἐν νεφέλῃ, ου τος δ' ἐπὶ τῶν νεφελῶν. παρίστησι δὲ ἡ ̓Επὶ τῶν νεφελῶν λέξις τὸ αὐθεντικὸν καὶ βασιλικόν, ο θεν οὐδεὶς ἐν νεφέλαις ἰσωθήσεται τῷ κυρίῳ· ε τι μὴν ἑκάστου τῶν ἁγίων νεφέλης ο ντος πνευματικῆς ὑούσης τὸν νοητὸν ὑετόν (Αἱ νεφέλαι γάρ φησι ῥανάτωσαν δικαιοσύνην), οὐδεμία τῶν τοιούτων νεφελῶν ἰσωθῆναι τῷ κυρίῳ δυνήσεται τυγχάνοντι καὶ αὐτῷ νεφέλῃ, ἐπείπερ ἑκάστη ἐκείνων ὀλίγους ποτίζει, αυ τη δὲ οὐ πάντας ἀνθρώπους μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ λογικὰ πάντα. 883 Ps 88,8 Φοβερὸς δ' ἐστὶ καὶ τοῖς ἐναντίοις ἀπειλῶν κολάσεις καὶ ἐπιφέρων κατὰ τῶν λειπτοτακτούντων τῶν θείων αὐτοῦ προσταγμάτων. ο σοι γὰρ ἐγγὺς αὐτοῦ τυγχάνοντες τῷ παραδεδέχθαι τὴν θείαν αὐτοῦ διδασκαλίαν ἁμαρτάνοντες ἐγγὺς τοῦ πυρός εἰσιν, ὡς ει ρηταί που ὑπὸ τοῦ σωτῆρος ̔Ο ἐγγύς μου ἐγγὺς τοῦ πυρός, ὁ δὲ μακρὰν ἀπ' ἐμοῦ μακρὰν ἀπὸ τῆς βασιλείας· ο θεν καὶ ἐν τῇ προκειμένῃ λέξει τοῖς περικύκλῳ αὐτοῦ διὰ τοῦ πεπιστευκέναι αὐτῷ παρακούουσι τῶν ἐντολῶν αὐτοῦ φοβερός ἐστιν, μέγας ω ν τοῖς δι' ἀρετὴν περιεχομένοις αὐτοῦ. 884 Ps 88,9b ̔Η περὶ τὸν θεὸν ἀλήθεια οὐκ α λλη τυγχάνει τοῦ εἰπόντος ̓Εγώ εἰμι ἡ ἀλήθεια. εἰ δὲ κύκλῳ τοῦ θεοῦ αυ τη ἐστίν, οὐ δύναταί ποτε μὴ ει ναι, ι να μὴ καταβοᾷ θεὸς ἐκ τοῦ ποτε μὴ κυκλοῦσθαι ὑπὸ ἀληθείας εἰς τοῦτο ἐληλυθόσι. κυκλοῦται δὲ ὑπὸ ταύτης γεννῶν αὐτὴν καὶ μόνος ω ν θεὸς ἀληθινός. ὡς γὰρ μόνος σοφὸς οὐ μετέχων ἀλλὰ καὶ γεννῶν σοφίαν, ου τω μόνος ἀληθινὸς καὶ κύκλῳ ε χει τὴν ἀλήθειαν, οὐ μεταλαμβάνων αὐτῆς ἀλλὰ συνὼν καὶ ἑτέροις αὐτὴν δωρούμενος. καθ' ἑκάστην γὰρ 177 ἐπίνοιαν καὶ ἐνέργειαν συνυπάρχοντα ε χει τὸν υἱὸν ὁ πατήρ· ε στι γὰρ ὁ λόγος πρὸς τὸν θεὸν θεὸς ω ν λόγος, ι ν' ὁ πατὴρ ῃ ἐν τῷ υἱῷ καὶ ὁ υἱὸς ἐν τῷ πατρί· η ρμοζε γὰρ θεῷ πατρὶ συνεῖναι θεὸν λόγον. ἀλλὰ καὶ φῶς ω ν ὁ θεὸς ε χει φῶς σὺν αὐτῷ τὸν υἱὸν ῃ φησι ∆ανιὴλ Καὶ τὸ φῶς μετ' αὐτοῦ ἐστιν. οὐ γὰρ ει πεν Ην η Εσται ἀλλ' ̓Εστίνδηλωτικὸν γὰρ τοῦτο ἀϊδιότητος, ο θεν καὶ ἀπαύγασμα φωτὸς ἀϊδίου ει ρηται. Καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια δὲ οὐ γέγονεν η ε σεσθαι κύκλῳ ἀλλ' ει ναι τοῦ δυνατοῦ θεοῦ ει ρηται. παρέσται δὲ τῷ δυνατῷ θεῷ καὶ ἡ ἀΐδιος δύναμις, ἡ αὐτὴ τῇ σοφίᾳ καὶ ἀληθείᾳ καὶ φωτὶ καὶ λόγῳ τοῦ θεοῦ ὑπάρχουσα, ἀλλὰ καὶ παρὰ τοῖς κυκλοῦσί σε ἡ ἀλήθειά σου. 885 Ps 88,10 Νοήσεις καὶ ου τως· πίστις τοῦ δεσπόζειν αὐτὸν πάσης τῆς κτίσεως καὶ τῆς θαλάσσης τὰ περὶ τοῦ ̓Ιωνᾶ ἀναγραφέντα· ἐκεῖ γὰρ ἐξεγηγερκέναι κλύδωνα ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ λέγεται, καὶ πάλιν θελήσει αὐτοῦ Εστη ἡ θάλασσα ἐκ τοῦ
About this text
Discover how early Christians interpreted the Psalms as divine messages and prophecies about salvation and judgment.
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