The Unity of Action and Will
Can the Son do anything of his own accord, unless he sees the Father doing it? I say this to overturn the madness of the Jews who think I am acting lawlessly toward the Father; for since they accuse me concerning the loosening of the Sabbath, I said that 'My Father has been working until now, and I am working' (John 5:17), in order to show the equality on both sides. But all the foolish ones, having supposed that I was setting work against work and opposing opinion to opinion, began to move toward envy; therefore, correcting their opinion, I said: 'The Son cannot do anything of his own accord, unless he looks toward the Father doing it.' Why do you thoughtless ones of the Sabbath harass and examine me, saying that I loose the Sabbath? But I do not oppose the Father, for it is not he who wants to set the Sabbath in a certain way and I to loose it; I do not fight against him, I do not stage a rebellion against the opinion; it is not he who wants one thing and I want something else; what he wants, I want; what he wills, I will; what he does, I do.
For in this way I do nothing outside of him, nor do I will, because I say something that makes the matter impossible: Amen, I say, the Son cannot do anything of his own accord; for I do not have a will separated and severed from the Father. For since the nature is one and the will is one, it is necessary that the result be one. Therefore the Son cannot do anything of his own accord, for he cannot do anything without the Father, having the whole of him within himself; for I am in the Father and the Father in me. If indeed the works of soul and body are indistinguishable because of their union, even though the nature is divided—one being a mortal body and the other an immortal soul—how can the works of me and of the Father be distinguished? Where will, and word, and knowledge, and wisdom, and nature, and deity are one, the Son cannot do anything of his own accord because of not being separated from the Father, unless he sees the Father doing it, that is, unless he sees not wanting the Father.
For as having the will as a companion of the same very nature, it brings about the things that come to be; for if they complete the work in a bodily way, it is necessary that the construction of the happening be shared. And since a will is sufficient for the bringing forth of non-beings, for this reason also the creation of all things, I know the Father and the Son to be creators not driven out by the Spirit. For whatever he, the Father, does, the Son likewise does; these are the same things and not different things, for not by imitation are others done.
Greek
δύναται ὁ υἱὸς ποιεῖν ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ οὐδέν, ἐὰν μή τι βλέπῃ τὸν πατέρα ποιοῦντα; Ἵνα τὴν Ἰουδαίων ὑπεκλύσω μανίαν τῶν νομιζόντων με ἀντινομοθετεῖν τῷ πατρί· ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἐγκαλοῦσί μοι περὶ τῆς λύσεως τοῦ σαββάτου, εἶπον ὅτι Ὁ πατήρ μου ἕως ἄρτι ἐργάζεται, κἀγὼ ἐργάζομαι, ἑκατέρωθεν τὸ ὁμότιμον δεῖξαι θέλων. Ἀλλ' οἱ πάντα ἄφρονες νομίσαντές με ἔργα ἔργοις ἐπιτειχίζειν καὶ γνώμῃ γνώμην ἀντεισάγειν ἐκινοῦντο πρὸς φθόνον· ὅθεν διορθούμενος αὐτῶν τὴν γνώμην ἔλεγον Οὐ δύναται ὁ υἱὸς ποιεῖν ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ οὐδέν, ἐὰν μή τι βλέπῃ πρὸς τὸν πατέρα ποιοῦντα ἀντὶ τοῦ Τί μοι οἱ ἄκαιροι τοῦ σαββάτου χολᾶτε ἐξετασταί, ὅτι λύω τὸ σάββατον; Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀντιπολιτεύομαι τῷ πατρί, οὐ γὰρ αὐτὸς στῆσαι τὸ σάββατον θέλει κἀγὼ λῦσαι· οὐκ ἀπομάχομαι πρὸς αὐτόν, οὐ στασιάζω πρὸς τὴν γνώμην, οὐκ αὐτὸς θέλει, ἐγὼ δὲ ἕτερα βούλομαι· ἃ θέλει θέλω, ἃ βούλεται βούλομαι, ἃ ποιεῖ ποιῶ. Οὕτως γὰρ οὐδὲν ἐκτὸς αὐτοῦ οὐ ποιῶ, οὐ θέλω, ὅτι εἰς ἀδύνατον καθιστῶν τὸν λόγον λέγω· Ἀμὴν λέγω οὐ δύναται ὁ υἱὸς ποιεῖν ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ οὐδέν· οὐ γὰρ ἔχω κεχωρισμένην καὶ ἀποτετμημένην τοῦ πατρὸς γνώμην. Μιᾶς γὰρ οὔσης τῆς φύσεως, ἑνὸς ὄντος τοῦ θελήματος, ἀνάγκη τὸ ἀποτέλεσμα ἓν ὑπάρχειν. Οὐ δύναται οὖν ὁ υἱὸς ποιεῖν ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ οὐδέν, οὐ γὰρ δύναται ἄνευ τοῦ πατρὸς ποιῆσαί τι ὅλον αὐτὸν ἐν ἑαυτῷ ἔχων· ἐγὼ γὰρ ἐν τῷ πατρὶ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἐν ἐμοί. Εἰ γὰρ ψυχῆς καὶ σώματος ἀδιάκριτα ἔργα διὰ τὴν ἕνωσιν, καίτοι διῃρημένης τῆς φύσεως, ἄλλο μὲν σῶμα θνητόν, ἄλλο δὲ ἀθάνατος ψυχή, πῶς δύναται ἐμοῦ τε καὶ τοῦ πατρὸς διακριθῆναι τὰ ἔργα; Ὅπου βουλὴ καὶ λόγος καὶ γνῶσις καὶ σοφία καὶ φύσις καὶ θεότης μία, οὐ δύναται οὖν ὁ υἱὸς ποιεῖν ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ οὐδὲν διὰ τὸ μὴ κεχωρίσθαι τοῦ πατρός, ἐὰν μή τι βλέπῃ τὸν πατέρα ποιοῦντα, τουτέστιν ἐὰν μὴ τὸν πατέρα θέλοντα ἴδῃ. Ὡς μιᾶς γὰρ καὶ τῆς αὐτῆς φύσεως σύνδρομον ἔχων τὸ θέλημα ἀποτελῶ τὰ γινόμενα· εἰ μὲν γὰρ σωματικὴν ἐξεπλήρουν τὴν ἐργασίαν, ἀνάγκη διανέμεσθαι τοῦ γινομένου τὴν κατασκευήν· ἐπειδὴ δὲ θέλησις ἐστὶν ἀρκοῦσα πρὸς τὴν τῶν μὴ 2 ὄντων παραγωγήν, διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἡ τῶν ὅλων δημιουργία τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὸν υἱὸν οἶδε δημιουργὸν οὐκ ἐξωθουμένου τοῦ πνεύματος. Ἃ γὰρ ἂν ἐκεῖνος ποιῇ, ὁ πατήρ, ταῦτα καὶ ὁ υἱὸς ὁμοίως ποιεῖ· ταῦτα καὶ οὐχὶ τοιαῦτα, οὐ γὰρ κατὰ μίμησιν ἕτερα
About this text
A bishop unpacks what it means for the Son to act alone, blending scripture and logic to reveal deeper truths about divinity and human limitation.
Catalogue & scope
Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG 39 (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.