Fragments on Hebrews

The Supersession of Law by Faith in Christ§1

1The manner of his leadership has become exceedingly wise, subtly and ingeniously prepared.

He said, 'Speaking to the fathers in the prophets.'

For it draws from legal writings, from spiritual conceptions, and from the many-turned forewarning of the holy prophets.

And his goal is to teach everywhere and to persuade those who approach that the types given through Moses were indeed the labor pains of truth, but that truth itself is Christ.

He shows that the notion of deriving necessity from mere type and shadow is superfluous for those of old who sought to exhibit it.

Moreover, he makes this evident to us: even those who have lived splendidly under the law have come to glory and esteem, not by any other means, but through faith toward God—faith which is an ancient thing, deeply ingrained in the holy fathers.

He did not resort to his customary openings and prefaces, because he was under suspicion and slander from believers among the Jews, who regarded him as one approaching from the Gentiles, teaching everywhere that the law and the paternal customs were to be regarded as nothing, and that one ought to go another way.

Economically, therefore, he surrounds the customary, and has indeed been silent concerning the grace of the apostleship.

He has withdrawn more to remember that it is necessary to remember fathers and holy prophets, expecting their word to be well-received through this.

Therefore he said, 'Speaking to the fathers in the prophets.'

Divine Humility for Human Exaltation§2

2In the fullness of the ages, God spoke to us through His Son, without any mediation by prophets or holy voices, but directly through the Only-Begotten, who became flesh for our sake.

Through the prophets, God multiplied visions and became like them in their hands, and He who speaks is present, announcing peace and good things as the feet of one bringing good news on the mountains.

And again, He who speaks is present, as the one who brings good news on the mountains, proclaiming peace and announcing good things.

He did not take on flesh merely to remain poor alongside us, having cast aside his own inherent and divine riches; rather, it was so that we, who languish in want of heavenly gifts, might be made rich through his poverty.

And his name is called Angel of Great Counsel.

Though he is by nature the Son and co-heir with the Father, he submitted to birth from the holy Virgin and endured the conditions of human life for our sake.

As one being led toward the origin of sonship, he declared through David: 'The Lord said to me, You are my Son, today I have begotten you' (Psalm 2:7).

This 'today' points to the present time in which he became flesh, thereby making the declaration effective.

He exists by nature as Lord over all creation.

John bore witness to him, saying, 'He came to his own,' referring to the world as his domain, yet proclaiming an unfamiliar glory of the kingdom when he said, 'But I have been appointed king by him'—clearly indicating kingship under God the Father (John 1:11).

He endured these things so that, as a man made a son while remaining by nature God, he might forge a path through himself whereby human nature could share in sonship, and summon to the heavenly kingdom those who groan under sin’s tyranny.

Just as a hereditary burden—like an inheritance passed from father to all his descendants—comes to us from Adam’s transgression, weighed down with labor and mortality, so too does this divine provision extend to the entirety of the human race…

For in the fullness of the ages, He Himself spoke to us through Himself, the Son, without a prophet mediating anymore and without the holy voice, but through Himself having become for us the Only-Begotten, He made the words toward us.

We say that the Father speaks in the Son, not as through some particular human thing by means of something placed in between and carrying through to us not private words but rather the words from another, but in a particular voice, the one through the body speaking to us of the Son; for it was His, the Only-Begotten’s, flesh, and not another’s; for God being by nature became human while remaining God; then He made known to us the unutterable counsel of God and the Father; therefore it is called, 'And His name is called Angel of Great Counsel.'

Therefore rightly Paul speaks at the end of the days, having spoken in the Son to us God and Father; for He knew Him to be God, Emmanuel, having become also in humanity with us the God from Logos, He perceived the free 365 in the form of the servant, He confessed the fullness of Himself having emptied Himself for us, He beheld the height of the glory of Him who humbled Himself for us into lowliness, whoever also because of this cause is said to be appointed heir of all things, and yet ruling over all things as it is conceived and as it is God; again He returns into His own riches and after flesh; for He has not remained at all in our poverty.

Christ as the Divine Heir Who Enriches Creation§3

3The divine attributes run through Christ splendidly. He receives these gifts not for himself but for us, for the Only-begotten, who is full and possesses the very nature of God, lacks nothing, yet enriches the entire creation with the blessings from above. Thus, in the economy of salvation, he has been appointed heir of all things as a man, so that he may recover as his own rightful inheritance those upon the earth who have been lawlessly plundered by the devil and the evil powers allied with him. God the Father said to him, 'Ask of me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance.' Having brought this request to its completion, he speaks to his own Father concerning us: 'Those whom you gave me from the world were yours, and they were mine; you gave them to me.' Therefore, let us consider how he advances into his existing wealth according to nature, both with and without flesh. For if those in the world belonged to the Father, how would they be perceived by the co-reigning Word with him? For he also said, 'All that is mine is yours, and all that is yours is mine,' and 'I have been glorified in them.' How then can he be commanded to ask? Yet he indeed receives the nations as inheritance and takes possession of the ends of the earth. Having cast off humanity's slavery under God, wishing to save them, the Maker of all things and Father sent forth into this world the Only-begotten God, the Word, so that having become flesh and conversed with men as a man, he might proclaim release to captives, sight to the blind, and announce the acceptable year of the Lord. Even if it were said that he takes and is appointed heir because of his humanity, we would not ignore the economy.

He receives these gifts not for himself but for us, for the Only-begotten, who is full and possesses the very nature of God, lacks nothing, yet enriches the entire creation with the blessings from above.

For how could he have become poor at all, unless it was by becoming among us—that is, a man who remains with God? The divine Paul urges us to think this way, and he necessarily adds that it is through him that God also made the ages. How then could this also be true? If indeed, in the last times of the age, the holy virgin bore to us Emmanuel, how can he say that through him the ages were made? And this is most rightly said.

For the Word from God the Father, who was begotten before every age and time, is declared to have become fleshly from a woman at the end of these days. He will in no way diminish the ancient dignity that belongs to God by possessing this nature—neither the newer aspect of the economy nor the eldest aspect of his existence will lose its own glory. For it is written: 'Jesus Christ yesterday and today the same and into the ages.' And that he, having appeared in flesh, bore witness to himself as the eldest in divine nature, will be confirmed when he says to the Jews: 'Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.' And the divine John the Evangelist also declared: 'He who comes after me has become before me, because he was before me.' For he is rich in all things, and Christ holds the first place.

Who is the radiance of glory. Just as the Father is unchanging, always remaining as he is.

The Eternal Word and Divine Substance§4

4It is clear that the Father is not the Son, and so the Son dwells in what is his own, always remaining and never being turned toward the Father, in order that this character might be seen as truly belonging to the substance of the Father.

One might behold in him the surpassing excellence and glorious beauty that befit the one who begot him.

For he is true God from true God, light from light, life from life.

Yet he has surpassed the entire creation by as much as the Father himself can conceive.

He is unbegotten from one who is unbegotten, and not counted among those who are brought into being from non-existence.

For the Word was in the beginning, and the Word was God.

How then could it be true to say of him, 'He was not,' as those who wage war against the divine writings claim? For if they regard him as begotten, he must necessarily be made subject to all other things and accept the yoke of slavery, yet in no way does this apply to any of his own occurrences.

Therefore God is more rightly understood as proceeding from God.

For he upholds all things by the word of his power.

He has indeed become 'through him all things came to be, and without him not even one thing came to be,' yet he himself sustains all things toward an unshakable endurance.

We previously said that among the ancients, God established his will through Moses and the prophets.

But we have become, according to the prophet's voice, 'those taught by God,' for we have accepted him as our teacher—the Word from God who became incarnate for our sake, the maker of all ages, the radiance of the Father's glory, the very imprint of his substance.

Having observed these things from time to time, we will now add what follows.

These things are.....

The Word, who is God the Father’s Almighty, spoke and all things came into being; He commanded and they were created. He established them firm for the age and for the age of ages, issuing a decree that shall not pass away. For the nature of things brought into being does not possess incorruption, nor can it always remain as it is.

This is peculiar to the substance of the Highest over all. He upholds all things by the utterance of His own power. He indeed is subsistent Word, begotten from God the Father according to nature, while His utterance is all-powerful and active, easily accomplishing all things in strength.

Moreover, having made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in the heights, having become so much better than the angels, as He has inherited a name more excellent than theirs. He shows the character of the Father’s substance and is the radiance of His glory, necessarily proceeding into the economy of the incarnation, through which we have been saved, enriched with the forgiveness of sins, and sanctified through His blood.

As He Himself says, the most wise Paul: 'In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.'

Divinity of Christ§5

5Through the blood of Jesus Christ, we have been cleansed from all sin, and we have communion with God and the Father (1 John 1:7). This is because the Word became flesh, yet remained the radiance of the Father's glory and the exact representation of his being, and he endured the cross, despising shame, and insults, and blows, in order to free us from all defilement. As the Son of God, he has become superior to the angels, inheriting a more excellent name, and he is the door and the way to God and the Father (John 14:6). Although he was made a little lower than the angels, because of the measure of humanity, he was in glory and in the nature of divinity, and did not depart from the thrones of the Father. He was a man on earth, yet filled heaven again, and all things were full of him, and through him we have access to God and the Father.

The Word, who is the radiance of the Father's glory and the exact representation of his being, became flesh and dwelled among us, making his own body from the holy virgin (John 1:14). He endured the sufferings of humanity, including the cross, shame, and insults, in order to cleanse us from all sin and join us to God and the Father through himself. As our Savior, he has sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, and he is the one through whom we have access to God and the Father, and he is the door and the way.

Christ's supremacy is evident in his position above all authority, power, and dominion, as well as every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come (Ephesians 1:21). The apostle Paul, aware of this, writes about the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, despite being rich, became poor for our sake, so that we might become rich through his poverty (2 Corinthians 8:9). This makes him far superior to the angels.

The terms 'Angel' and 'Son' have distinct meanings, with 'Angel' signifying a name of ministry and indicating a domestic measure, while 'Son' reveals the substantial and natural existence from the Father. Therefore, he did not say 'greater' or 'more honorable' comparatively, so that someone might not think of these and those as of the same kind. But he said 'better', so that the difference in the Son's nature to the created things might be known. This is supported by scripture, where David sings that one day in God's courts is better than a thousand (Psalm 84:10), and Solomon proclaims that wisdom is better than precious stones (Proverbs 3:15). How are wisdom and earthly stones not of a different substance and nature? What kinship is there between the heavenly courts and earthly houses? Thus, there is no kinship between the Son and the angels. Since there is no kinship, the 'better' was not spoken comparatively, but distinctively because of the difference of his nature from theirs.

The Eternal Sonship Distinct from Creation§6

6Or again, in the distinction the Son bears toward creation, he declares: the Son is indeed the Son, but the created things are slaves. The Son, as Son, sits at the Father’s right hand; but the created things, as slaves, stand ready, are dispatched, and render service.

Given that these things are written in this way, the Son is not to be understood as begotten from them, O Arians; on the contrary, he is truly another—indeed, one of the created order in origin, yet properly belonging to the Father, dwelling in the Father’s bosom.

Moreover, the very wording here—‘Having become’—does not intend to mark the Son as unbegotten, as you mistakenly suppose. For if he had merely said ‘Having become’ and then fallen silent, that might have given you a pretext.

But since he had already affirmed the title ‘Son’ and demonstrated throughout this passage that the Son is essentially distinct from the created things, he did not leave the term ‘Having become’ isolated or insignificant; rather, he bound it to the greater reality.

For he regarded the word as indifferent in weight. Knowing full well that when one speaks of ‘Having become’ in reference to a genuine Son, the meaning is equivalent to ‘having been begotten’—and thus affirms the Son’s superiority—he declares it accordingly.

For the created thing, in its very nature, does not differ whether one says it ‘has come to be’ or ‘has been made.’

But the created things, as they are mere creations, cannot properly be called begotten—unless, that is, they have somehow received a share in the begotten Son, and thus, by participation, are spoken of as begotten themselves.

And this, too, the divine Scripture acknowledges: when speaking of the created things, it declares, ‘All things came to be through him,’ and ‘All things were made in wisdom.’

Indeed, when we look at sons born according to nature—like Job’s seven sons and three daughters, or Abraham, who was a hundred years old when Isaac was born to him—we see a clear distinction. Those born in the course of nature are one kind of thing, but the substance of the Father alone is the proper offspring of the Son. Therefore, the Arians’ pretext concerning the one who became is refuted. Even if, ashamed of this, they try again to speak comparatively, claiming that the things said are spoken only in comparison and that therefore the things compared must be of the same kind, they would still be ashamed beforehand, just like those who follow Valentinus and Carpocrates. For one of them says the angels are consubstantial with Christ, while the other says the angels of the world are creators. And perhaps these Arians, having learned from them, now compare the Word of God to the angels. Yet they would be ashamed to imagine such things, especially when the hymn-singer asks, 'Who shall be likened to the Lord among the sons of God?' and 'Who is like you among the gods, O Lord?' Still, if they were to learn, they would find that among consubstantial beings, likeness is commonly affirmed in comparison, but not among those of different kinds. For no one would compare God to man, or man to the irrational beasts, or wood to stone, because of the utter dissimilarity of their natures. Rather, God is an incomparable thing in Himself, while man is compared to man, wood to wood, and stone to stone. And concerning these things, no one would say 'the stronger,' but only 'the more' or 'the greater.' Thus Joseph was more handsome than his brothers, and Rachel than Leah; and one star is not stronger than another.

Therefore, the Son’s relation to the Father cannot be understood by comparing Him to creatures, even the highest, for such comparison assumes a likeness of nature that does not exist. The Arians err by treating the eternal Son as if He were merely the greatest among creatures, like the most handsome man.

Nature of the Son§7

7The difference between the Son and the angels is one of kind, not just degree, for when someone compares these things to each other, the stronger is said to differ from the weaker, as is the case with wisdom and stones.

If the apostle had said that the Son advances more than the angels, it would have provided a pretext for comparing the Son to the angels, but instead, he says the Son is stronger and differs from them, showing that the Son is of a different nature.

The Son's nature is distinct from that of all created things, for as the founder of all, he is different from everything that has been created, and his substance is not comparable to that of created things.

The Son did not say 'My Father is stronger than I' because he did not want anyone to think he is foreign to the Father's nature, but rather said 'My Father is greater' - not in terms of size or time, but through birth from the Father, which demonstrates the distinctness of his substance, and also when he said 'greater', he showed the distinctness of his substance.

The Word's incarnate economy is distinct from previous economies, and the apostle, looking at this economy and the one that took place through him at that time, wanted to show that this one is not like the previous ones, so that to the extent that he differs in nature from those sent before by him, to that extent the grace that came through him and from him is greater than the service through angels.

For it was the role of servants to demand only the fruits, but of the Son and Master to grant debts and transfer the vineyard.

These things are sufficient to shame those fighting against the truth, for if the Son is considered to be from angels, then the 'became' should also apply to him as it does to them, and none of them should differ in nature, but either they should be sons or he should be an angel, and all should sit together at the right hand of the Father, or the Son should stand with all as a ministering spirit sent for services like theirs.

However, Paul distinguishes the Son from created things, saying 'For which of the angels did he ever say "You are my Son, today I have begotten you?"' (Hebrews 1:5), and when he introduces the firstborn again, he says it not as those who distort the truth to fit their view of creation arrange this, but because he himself is first in all things.

As people marveled at his presence, they asked, 'Who is this one coming from Edom?' (Psalm 110:1, Isaiah 63:1)

The term 'firstborn' is used to describe the Son.

The Son became greater than the angels.

The apostle says the Son is stronger and differs from the angels, showing that the Son is of a different nature.

The Co-eternity of the Son§8

8…That is, from the earth; a staining of garments from Bosporus?"—a term which in the Greek tongue signifies compression or affliction—"that your garments and your clothing are red, as if from the tread of a winepress?" They were approaching him there, saying, "What are these wounds which are in the midst of your hands?" And he replied to them, "As I was struck in my beloved house." No one would have clearly asserted that it was necessary for him to retain the marks of the nails after the resurrection and to ascend into heaven with them.

It is more worthy to contemplate that matter.

Just as he showed the side to the unbelieving Thomas, along with the marks of the nails, so that he might finally believe and say with a learning mind, "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28), so also he appeared through the signs of the passion, making the manner of the economy after the flesh manifest to the holy angels. Indeed, he bore red garments and the marks of the nails so that they too might believe that, being by nature and truly existing God, he had become a son of man, having taken a body from the holy Virgin and having seated himself in self-emptying, so that, having offered himself as a sacrifice and a victim for all as a fragrance of sweetness to God and the Father, he might save those under heaven.

The holy multitude of the angels also worships him. They do not refuse this worship because he was a firstborn and a man among many brothers, but having been taught the economy, they recognize the Son from God according to nature and the moment when he became flesh.

…But to the Son: "Your throne, O God" (Psalm 45:7).

How, then, is it not foolish and impudent to scrutinize that nature through which all things were provided toward existence, a nature older than all time? For through it the Word has come to be, and before all ages, the Word is from God the Father.

Yet the wanderers accuse him of being recent, claiming that he is a created being, not realizing that they are opposing the words of the Holy Spirit.

For those who speak in the Spirit say that the ages were made through him.

But those who insist he is a created being base their argument on what lies beyond intellect and reason, failing to grasp even that through the lens of intellect.

For God did not become Father within time, but he was always so, even in the beginning.

Since this is the case, it is a necessity in every respect to conceive of the Son as co-existing, so that God may truly be called Father.

Since they have taught that if the Son is the Word of the Father, and wisdom, and power, and the character and radiance of his subsistence, then what sort of time was it during which the Father was without the Logos, lacking the Son? When was the source of wisdom without wisdom itself? When was power without its power? When was the radiance of his glory not present in God? Or how could his own character not be continuously with him and in him? If indeed these things came to pass within time, then he was not Father before he was begotten; he would have been without Logos, without wisdom, and without strength, lacking both character and radiance.

But I consider it impious to conceive of such a thing, and it is the highest impiety…

Divine Nature of Christ§9

9It has proof. He was always the Father, and therefore the Son also existed, coexisting eternally with his own begetter.

You loved righteousness.

The divine David, addressing the Father in heaven and God as if with a voice common to all humanity, cried out this prayer: 'God, command by your power, strengthen,' and 'God accomplishes what he has worked in us.' (Psalm 67:30)

But the power of the Father is the Son, through whom he made the heavens firm and established the earth, and has brought about the adornment of this world.

Moreover, he made man according to his own image and likeness, a worker of righteousness who surpasses corruption and death.

Yet because death has reigned through sin and we have become subject to corruption, and 'all have gone astray, together become useless,' the Maker and Lord of all things necessarily foresaw this among his own creations.

For God and Father was pleased to sum up all things in Christ and to renew them to their original state.

Therefore David, penetrating the deep mystery of the incarnation, proclaims to the Son who is from God by nature: 'You loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore, God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.' (Psalm 44:7-8)

Some think these words do not belong to the Only-begotten but should rather be spoken to a mere man, the one begotten from the holy virgin.

Yet such thinking is foolish, as demonstrated by many arguments.

It was not an ordinary man who was born to us, merely sharing our nature but stripped of any true unity with God, so that one might claim, following their own reasoning, to have foreknown him—the God of all things—as one who loves righteousness and hates lawlessness based solely on a private opinion.

Yet we may fittingly apply the voice of the Psalmist to the Only-Begotten who has appeared in human form, and direct our attention to Isaiah’s prophecies concerning him.

For he declared: 'Behold, the virgin shall conceive in her womb and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel.' (Isaiah 7:14)

He shall eat butter and honey before he knows how to refuse evil and choose the good.

For before the child knows either good or evil, he refuses wickedness in order to choose the good; he has loved righteousness and hated iniquity by his very nature, being righteousness and God himself.

For as yet, from the time of his birth, the child does not know what is hardened, nor does he praise what is not so constituted; how then could he have disobeyed wickedness in order to choose the good?

But he was, as I have said, God in the flesh—those naturally good things which belong to him being carried forth outside himself.

I do not merely praise what I wish to say; let it stand if it seems right according to the reasoning of the envious and the special virtue of one who dwells in face-to-face union and has been honored.

But since they say these things, I will ask: From what works then will this one be such—and yet, being a man according to nature, just as those of the divine order—be deemed worthy to receive thrones, to sit in counsel with God and the Father, and to be proclaimed Lord, equal with the One who is according to nature?

The Anointing of the Son in Humanity§10

10They treat angels as worthy of worship, yet they pay divine service to the whole creation, even though Scripture declares, 'You shall worship the Lord your God and serve him alone,' and despite the fact that among us no one has recently claimed to be a god. Perhaps they rush to that common thing, the girl of 378, and say that through union with God, the divine nature according to its own essence is surrounded by glory. Therefore they confess the union is true and do not sophisticate the matter, but instead distinguish the natures and place each part separately, declaring them to be separate from one another. As for the union of persons among us, I do not know how they claim to have discovered it.

Therefore we affirm with confidence concerning the Son who comes from God according to nature and has become as one of us—that is, a man—you have loved righteousness and hated iniquity; for this reason, God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions. This is because the first man transgressed the divine command, and then human nature became exceedingly prone to sin. Therefore, the Logos who comes from God, by nature untrippable, holy, just, and hating injustice, has become as one of us and has been anointed as a servant. He has inscribed God the Father because of the human condition, and yet God as he truly exists; and from him it is said that he is anointed through the Holy Spirit, not receiving this anointing for himself alone.

For he is by nature holy as God. But by his own action he leads us to grace and declares us worthy of the blessing from the Father, although we have long stumbled by the transgression in Adam and by the tyranny of sin that has ruled over us since then.

It was not an elder, nor an angel, but the Lord himself who saved us. Yet if anyone imagines receiving the Word from God the Father into a distinct nature as the sanctification, he will launch himself into a vast ocean of disgrace. For if we claim that the sanctification spoken of here was accomplished in the last times of the age, how can we avoid being compelled, even against our will, to admit that he would not be holy by nature? Indeed, we would have to say he is not holy at all when compared to those who existed from the beginning, before the times of the anointing—those endless ages—and before he came into being, when he shared with us only 379 units of sanctification. And if this is true, then he was not free from sin. How then does the wisest Paul declare that the Son is the radiance of the Father’s glory and the exact imprint of his substance? For the character always reproduces the archetype upon itself. Therefore, the Father himself is not holy by nature. Who, then, sanctifies him? Let those who spoke these things to me be well: we confess that the Son exists by nature as holy, just as we do the Father himself, and we affirm that he was sanctified according to the flesh at the moment when he is said to have emptied himself—having been called a man—in whom, by participation with God and not by his own nature, the sanctification dwells. And it is no surprise that God, being the Word, treats the particularities of humanity with affection and in keeping with the divine economy. For the one who altogether willed to experience the emptying...

...how would he not also sanctify humanity in like manner? But the text breaks off here, leaving the thought incomplete.

Divine Anointing§11

11The Word from God the Father would not reasonably decline His own things, for if considered in Himself, He is in need of no good, and the Holy Spirit is said to be His own. Since, as I said, He became flesh with His own Spirit, anointing His own temple, the Father works all things through the Son alone in Israel. The Spirit is said to be received economically, as a man, for it is said that Jesus from Nazareth was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit and power (Luke 4:18).

But as God, He gives the Spirit to those worthy to receive it, and indeed, He breathed on the holy apostles, saying 'Receive the Holy Spirit' (John 20:22). The divine Peter proclaimed to the Jewish crowds concerning the Spirit, saying that Jesus, having been exalted to the right hand of God, received the promise of the Spirit from the Father and poured it out (Acts 2:33). You hear in these words that He was exalted to the right hand of God, received and gave the Spirit; He was exalted, of course, when He humbled Himself. Just as He willingly humbled Himself for this purpose, so again He exalts Himself, being the hand of the Father by which all things are worked in a godly manner. He is exalted through Himself according to the will of the Father, when, having broken the bonds of death and having said to the spirits below 'Come out' (Luke 23:43), He sat at the right hand of the Father.

When Jesus said to his apostles, 'I am going to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God' (John 20:17), he clearly referred to his own Father as God, speaking from his human perspective. Through him, we have been called to adoption, and he has given us his Father as our own. Just as we, though called sons of the Father, are still human and have not forgotten the grace of the one who honored us, so too the natural Son and Lord, though he recognized God as his Father through his flesh and his likeness to us, did not cease to be what he is.

The Word of God, who became human through us, anoints his own temple with his own Spirit, not imparting a partial energy, nor in a hierarchical order as he gives to us, but rather filling it with sanctification and his own power and glory. For he said, 'I sanctify myself for their sake, so that they also may be' (John 17:19). We, on the other hand, have been anointed with the Holy Spirit, and by nature, we have been defined as being such, to the extent that the nature of divinity of all created things is understood. How then can it be said that he was anointed apart from those who share in him? Let us consider this question and try to provide an answer.

Christ's Divine Superiority Over Angels§12

12For indeed, with him nothing is imperishable and indestructible. Moreover, he adds to these points a clear and most evident demonstration of his natural superiority, quoting Scripture: 'To which of the angels did he ever say, Sit at my right hand?' Are not all spirits ministering, sent forth for service on account of those who are about to inherit salvation? For if one who partakes of the divine nature—even if imagined as surrounded by lordly dignity, even if conceived as son of David having taken a body from the holy virgin—yet those who stand present as God and king of all things, to which of the existing beings is the difference lying between Christ and angels invisible? For the one indeed is Son and God, but the others, holding only the measure of servility, reckon that genuine worth consists in obedience to the highest glory; they consider the true to be found in submission, not in innate honor.

But if anyone should say, And who will persuade us in what way one might think him, having been born in the last times of the age through the holy virgin, to have founded the earth at the beginning and themselves to have raised up the heavens, he will receive back from us as if he had chosen to conceive the power of the true union—not the union understood merely in distinct persons or according to will and good pleasure—he will indeed find, through the economy of God, that the human things have come to pass, and that they are not foreign to the divine purpose.

The Recapitulation of Humanity in Christ§13

13…things belonging to humanity that alone are fitting to the united Word; since indeed the Emmanuel is the one, alone, and true Son, he is understood toward us to be both God and man. "You have subjected all things under his feet."

He begins, he says, with the thoughts toward the construction of man in the beginning and what first became; but he is occupied with how we have been made by God according to his image and likeness, and we have been richly honored, having received to rule over the things upon the earth. Since indeed the beginning of the race, that is, Adam, has grieved the divine commandment, and the human intellect has moreover become very easy toward wrongdoing, by this we are deprived in the world of glory and incorruption and of the good things in the beginning; yet we have been saved through Christ, and by the grace from him we have acquired the things formerly given toward ascension.

The breadth of the following word widens to include such narrations; for the divinely-inspired David has laid down the excess of the day toward us: "What indeed is man," he says, "that you should remember him, or son of man, that you should visit him?" He is small, thus, also and humble, and an animal from the earth. Yet he made him to differ a little from the angels, for we are defeated, as is confessed, of the nature and glory of the holy angels. Not indeed with honor and glory did the God of all things deem worthy and show bright ones; for he has grasped him for a beginning upon the earth and has established him "over the works of his hands."

And the blessed David has indeed marveled appropriately at what is upon us. And the most wise Paul, being a very skilled craftsman in spiritual thoughts, indeed turns wittily toward an explanation of the mystery of the things said, but names the state of the age following this one, and the repetition according to the seasons of the things given to us, or rather their fulfillment. For we have pierced through, as I said, the grace in Adam. For it is indeed said regarding him, as the first in human nature, 'Increase and multiply and have dominion' over it (Gen 1:28); but now he does not say, 'we see all things subjected to him.'

Therefore, let us seek a different time of the matter, according to which it shall be, and the truth of that which is said to us, from being a lie of a God not knowing. He says thus that the inhabited world to come is to be subjected not rather by angels, but that this is to be given to those upon the earth. Since the mystagogues debate concerning the inhabited world coming to us, how could anyone be indifferent? For, turning away from the things having come, they seek to find the things coming, and they advise that one must hasten toward the prize of the higher calling, and they thirst for the hope of the saints, according to which all things will be subjected to them and they will have dominion over the earth.

And the Savior himself was remembering, saying, "Blessed are the gentle, for they themselves shall inherit the earth" (Matt 5:5). Who then is it that through whom the recapitulation of all things concerning us has become from God and the Father? It is evident that it is Christ, which also follows us to say, as through the lyre of the singer, "The Lord is a part of my inheritance and of my cup; you are the one restoring my inheritance to me" (Ps 16:5); for through him we have had the repetition of those good things granted in the beginning according to nature, and the certainty into possession. And it is unceasing to see this in no other way than having been written about it by the divine Paul: "The one a little being diminished by angels" we see Jesus through the passion of death "with glory and honor being crowned" (Heb 2:9).

You hear how above all things, the most supreme throne, which is worshiped with the Father by the spirits above in order of God, to whom thousands of thousands of angels serve, and also myriads of myriads stand by, the mystagogue brings down again among us and the manner of approaching the emptying he relates immediately, and whatever through it is made firm to the human nature as good things. Understand indeed being diminished a little…

The Incarnation and the Humiliation of the Word§14

14Through the good-will of God and the Father, we are enriched in our supernatural nature by being in Christ, who raised us up and seated us in the heavenly places (Psalm 8:4-6).

For because He, the Savior of us all, is seated, He surpasses the whole boast of human nature.

We have become rich through Christ's poverty, but only if we are superior to all creation, for it is through His humility that we are exalted.

Therefore, let man be diminished a little from the angels, having become such, so that he might honor the human nature and recover it again to its original state, in glory and honor, being crowned in it, even though he is a lord of glory as God.

Just as the transgression of Adam demonstrated the most dishonorable state, so shall we be glorified through the obedience of Christ on our behalf, He having set forth His own soul so that He might rule both over the dead and the living (Psalm 8:4-6).

How is Christ diminished from the angels, He who is worshiped among them? It is because He sat within the measures of humanity; having received a body destined to die, He willingly suffered in it.

Yet through Him, having abolished death and rendered corruption inactive, He is crowned with the highest glories, being incorruption and life.

As for the things of superiority, they belong to the angels, for they are better off outside of flesh and of death, it having happened in these things of the Son through His voluntary emptying.

But Christ, though briefly diminished from the angels because of the measure of humanity, is worshiped by them in the excellence of His divinity; He is established upon thrones, which those standing around Him always glorify, calling Him Lord by the powers.

That He might taste death above all by the grace of God (Hebrews 2:9).

For as I think, what it means to have 'tasted all' is clear, as it is written, 'That he might taste death above all by the grace of God' (Hebrews 2:9).

For having given His own body to death, and as if having fleshly tasted that which occurred, He lived again and has immediately trampled the power of death.

Therefore, the One said to be briefly diminished from the angels is the Word who is from God; He did not suffer this diminishment into His own nature, for He is always the same, possessing the same nature, unshakeable and unchangeable, yet He has endured this also through us in a human way.

For He was sustaining Himself, even though by nature He is God, according to the measures of humanity because of the divine economy, and this is part of the mystery according to Him, that it is most proper to marvel at.

So also the prophet Habakkuk said, 'Lord, I have heard the sound of your hearing and I was afraid, I understood your works and was astonished' (Habakkuk 3:2), for truly, what has happened is an ecstasy and a wonder beyond all.

But I do not know how some, not having understood the mystery correctly, vaunt themselves and desire to interpret what is written in the eighth psalm, specifically the verse 'What is man, that you remember him, or a son of man, that you visit him?' (Psalm 8:4).

Let us therefore observe what kind of man it is that causes one to be struck with wonder, marveling that the Only-begotten was indeed worthy to be remembered by him and to have performed an inspection, as it is written, 'What is man, that you remember him, or a son of man, that you visit him?' (Psalm 8:4).

He proceeds from this to argue most clearly, as if the following had never been said of any man, that the blessed Paul, speaking of his own person, applied the words of the Psalm, saying 'made a little lower than the angels' (Psalm 8:5), we see Jesus being crowned with 'glory and honor' through the passion of death.

Furthermore, by distinguishing between natures, they claim privately that the man born of the Holy Virgin is a man of a strange sort; regarding this, they say that David marvels that he was worthy of both remembrance and visitation, and that he was worthy also of a unique nature above nature, as one receiving benefit from the Divine Word.

But they have failed to understand, as it appears, that Christ Jesus is not a man in Himself, understood and spoken of among us in a common or private sense; rather, it is the Word from God who has become man, and in order that the expression of the concepts may be properly understood…

The prophet David says, 'You have made him a little lower than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor' (Psalm 8:5), and 'You have put all things under his feet' (Psalm 8:6).

Divine Promise and Human Nature§15

15As the world unfolds in the necessary world, the wonder of Christ's name becomes apparent, and it is worth considering the theory presented in the psalm that has been placed before us.

The prophet David knew that according to the true and divine promise, Christ would be born from the fruit of his loins, and God, existing by nature, would sit among us in due time, speaking in the eighth psalm and making words to him as to a human and also to God, recognizing the one God from both.

He says, 'Lord, our Lord, how wonderful is your name in all the earth, for your magnificence has been lifted up above the heavens' (Psalm 8:1).

For where or among whom is Christ not wondered at, or how has his magnificence not been lifted up above the heavens?

If it is true that in the name of Jesus Christ every knee bends and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10-11), then it is clear that Christ's name is indeed wonderful and his magnificence has been lifted up above the heavens.

When Christ raised Lazarus from the dead, all were amazed, and as he sat on a donkey, children waved palm branches and cried out 'Hosanna to the son of David, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord' (Matthew 21:9).

The others rebuked them, but Christ said, 'Have you not read that I will perfect praise from the mouth of infants and sucklings?' (Matthew 21:16).

This event shows that even though Christ is God by nature, he humbled himself to such an extent that he allowed himself to be led by the crowd, and Paul declares that he has been stripped of the former glory, saying he has been stripped of it.

The blessed David saw the reason for this emptying and understood that it was so that Christ might rescue us from corruption and sin and the tyrannical hands of the devil.

The mystery of the economy with flesh is worthy of all wonder.

He says, 'Lord, what is man that you remember him, or the son of man that you visit him?' (Psalm 8:4).

For what is human nature in relation to God, and what is this that I say, what is human genus?

What portion is assigned to them on earth in relation to the orders of holy angels?

Even if man is nothing by nature and number, the Creator did not despise us, for he remembered us and deemed us worthy of visitation, as if we were perishing.

In the beginning, God brought us into existence, lowering us briefly below the angels, but then crowning us with honor and glory, setting us over the works of his hands, and subjecting all things under our feet.

The divine Paul skillfully sets forth the things concerning us, which have been renewed through Christ, and the scope of the whole song is in these things, appearing in the necessary world as it unfolds.

The things in Christ are a new creation, and the old things have passed away, and all things have become new.

The Holy Spirit says through one of the prophets, 'Take courage, Zion, do not let your hands weaken; the Lord your God is in you, to save you and renew you in his love' (Isaiah 41:10).

Paul declares us to be stripped of the former glory, and therefore, he says, 'Now we do not yet see all things subjected to him' (1 Corinthians 15:28).

Incarnation§16

16Having sinned through Adam's transgression, humanity is shown to be in need of restoration, so that the one who enriches us may again be revealed. For the Word, being God by nature, humbled himself and became human, a little lower than the angels, to restore humanity to glory and honor. "We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death" (Hebrews 2:9).

If someone says that the man born of the Virgin is worthy of memory and care from God, they will bring shame, for where is Christ as a mere human, and when is he thought of without the united Word? How then can he be said to be worthy of care and memory from God?

The Lord is one, and our faith is one, and we have one baptism. Although the difference between natures is significant, the mode of union has revealed one Son from both. If we are worthy of memory from God the Word, then we are certainly psychic, lacking the spirit as it is written (1 Corinthians 14:14). We divide the one into two.

The body of the Word is not foreign to the Word itself. If the one born from the holy virgin has undergone emptying, how can he be emptied if he is glorified? Is it not an honor and glory for a human to be deemed worthy of oversight and memory, and to attain union with God? If they say that the emptying was done to the Monogenes, then he has been emptied by having suffered. For the one to whom suffering has happened, it is fitting that the matter of emptying has also happened.

Christ, as God, is deemed worthy of memory from God and has become one of the beneficiaries, and we approach Him as God in prayer, requesting the supply of heavenly goods, as He distributes the requests to all creation in a God-pleasing manner. This is evident because the children have shared in blood and flesh, and Christ has similarly shared in these things.

It is necessary to carefully examine which children the word is about, who have shared in flesh and blood, and how Christ has similarly participated in these things. When the Only-Begotten Word of God, being God and Lord by nature and co-throned with God the Father, was measured to the level of humanity, He was composed as a brother to those called through faith to the adoption of God. Then the economy's cleverness is well done.

The Recapitulation of Humanity in Christ§17

17He has declared concerning us at times, 'I will proclaim your name to my brothers,' and at other times, 'Behold, I and the children which God gave to me' (Ps 27:10; Ps 68:5). For all things are being handed over to him by God and the Father, and we have become his inheritance, even though we were formerly like portions of foxes, as David says.

For we the cowardly lie underneath the herds of the demons.

But Christ slew all of us with his own blood and has inherited.

And indeed he spoke toward the Father and God in the heavens, 'Those whom you gave to me out of the world were yours, and you gave them to me, and the glory which you gave to me, I have given to them' (John 17:6, 10). For even though he is Son by nature, he says that through the human he partook of such glory by grace with us, while having remained what he had given to us, his own glory.

For he sealed us with his own Spirit toward adoption, and in him we cry, 'Abba, Father' (Rom 8:15). Do we not, we who are numbered among children, partake of God in blood and flesh—that is, we are in blood and in flesh, and in corruptible and earthly bodies?

Because of this cause, the Only-begotten Word of God, being life by nature, partook of these same things, and not by any other way but similarly, in order that he might abolish the one having power over death.

Because it was not possible for that which is overcome by death, corruption, and sin to be brought back to its beginning except through Christ alone—the mystery of the incarnation to be fulfilled in its appointed time—the blessed David exhorted us, saying: 'Why, Lord, have you set me far off, and do you look on in times of trouble?' (Psalm 21:13). This is why he is called Emmanuel.

For he has not set us far off any longer, but the Word of God, having become man, has indeed become nearer to us.

In a similar way he partook of blood and flesh for our sake; for the human race upon the earth is ruled by death and corruption. It seemed good to God, the All, through great gentleness and philanthropy, to 'recapitulate' all things in Christ (1 Cor 15:22), so that death might be rendered powerless and, just as it was in the first Christ, those overcoming in their earthly bodies might find life.

Thus, the power of incorruption is being extended into our entire race. The divine Paul will be believed when he writes: 'For through man came death, and through man the resurrection of the dead' (1 Cor 15:22). It was necessary that the one who suffered be healed, and that death be abolished through the flesh which is tyrannized by death.

Just as in Adam, having stumbled through transgression, humanity fell under death, so too, because he became well-pleasing in Christ through obedience, the yokes of death are torn away and its terrors are scattered. As they spring upon us, he cries out: 'O Death, where is your victory? O Hades, where is your sting?' (1 Cor 15:55). For the Only-begotten Word of God, existing as life, essentially joined himself to the earth and died in the flesh, so that even to him, just as to one of the unhonored...

The Incarnation and Christ's High Priesthood§18

18…The death resulting from the attacks of beasts is rendered weak in its aftermath.

For it was not possible to surrender life to death.

For he does not seize upon demons, but rather he takes hold of the seed of Abraham, from which it was necessary for him to be made like his brothers in every respect.

If the Only-begotten Word of God had not become man, and had instead assumed the human countenance unto himself—as those who discern the mystery seem to suggest, that it occurred through good-will alone or by a mere inclination of will—how could he have been made like his brothers in all things? Furthermore, how could anyone fully conceive of him as a brother, when he is the one who transcends all, surpassing those incomparable excellencies which I call natural, and surpassing even creation? How could he have shared in blood and flesh unless these things had become his own, just as they are ours? Thus, there is truly one Son and Lord, having been joined in unity of subsistence through the Word's participation in human flesh and blood and having been made like his brothers in every respect.

This was so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest.

Moses, the divinely inspired lawgiver, came to bring Israel into the knowledge of God through type and shadow, and showed the way of righteousness through the law; yet he was slow of voice and slow of tongue.

Because of this, the God of all was known even to those in Judah alone, from Dan even unto Beersheba, and by the river and the sea.

For these are the boundaries of the land of the Jews.

And his name was great and most widely known.

Seeing this, the prophet David sings a psalm and speaks concerning those from Israel, saying, 'A vine you brought up out of Egypt; you expelled the nations and uprooted her' (Psalm 80:9). He applies this to the borders reaching the Euphrates river, and indeed even to the sea toward the south and to India, limiting the territory of the Jews: 'He stretched out its camps even to the sea, and its branches even to the rivers' (Psalm 80:10). Thus, even though it was contracted to barely encompass the nations, the proclamation of the all-wise Moses is seen; he offers to those called by obedience the honors and the fleeting, imminent rewards of life under the law.

I say that he names the land of promise everywhere.

For the law has justified no one.

No one is justified in the law before God, for it is 'impossible for the blood of goats and of bulls to take away sin' (Hebrews 10:4). But our Lord Jesus Christ has become a merciful and faithful High Priest for the propitiation of the sins of the people, and in Him, having been tested, He was helped by those who are being tested.

For He has called the inhabited world to a holy and heavenly calling, and He has become High Priest; for He was not a minister of the law that condemns, but rather, through forgetfulness and by grace and love, He has justified through faith and has granted us the washing of the ancient sins.

For being both always and by nature merciful, His only-begotten Word has been set as our mediator and the mediator of God through the Incarnation, so that just as He was always kind and merciful, so indeed, having been shown as High Priest again, He dwells among those on the earth, acting as a friend to those who are beloved by Him and not departing from His own…

Heavenly Citizenship in Christ§19

19Heavenly indeed, and most fittingly, he names the vocation that comes through Christ. For the God of all graciously bestows on those summoned through him not fleeting blessings nor the transient gifts given by the law through Moses to the ancients, but rather the very things that those once called have chosen—namely, eternal life—which he sustains and secures as an irrevocable possession.

We too have been designated heavenly in another way, with Christ taking the lead, and the way and the door having become ours. And truly Paul says, 'Just as we have borne the image of the earthly, let us also bear the image of the heavenly' (1 Corinthians 15:49), and again, 'The first man is from the earth, earthly; the second is from heaven' (1 Corinthians 15:47). Such as the earthly one is, such are the earthly people; and such as the heavenly one is, such are the heavenly people. Therefore we have become heavenly, for we are being shaped into Christ through the Spirit, who comes from heaven.

And because of this, even as we walk upon the earth, we hold our citizenship in heaven. We have not approached in equal measure the ancient manifestations of God—those accompanied by blazing fire, darkness, gloom, tempest, trumpet blast, and the voice of words—but we have drawn near rather to Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, amidst myriads of angels in festal assembly, the congregation of the firstborn whose names are inscribed in heaven, before the Judge who is God of all, and the spirits of the just made perfect.

Faithfulness of Jesus§20

20Having been perfected and inaugurated as the mediator of a new covenant, Jesus speaks with a blood superior to Abel's, for while Abel's blood cried out against his murderer and brother-killer, Jesus' precious blood not only pleads for mercy from the Father on behalf of the world but also cleanses us for justification through its sanctifying power. Therefore, we ought to consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who remained faithful to the One who appointed him.

He is indeed a high priest and apostle who proved faithful even unto death and the cross, having offered himself in accordance with the Father's good pleasure, so that we might become his imitators, unafraid to endure death should it come to us through piety and obedience to God. The blessed Peter affirms this, declaring that Christ died for us, leaving us an example to follow in his footsteps, and the Savior himself declares that whoever wishes to follow him must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow him, as stated in Matthew 16:24.

To call the Son faithful does not diminish his glory, for this attribute is most befitting of God and the Father alone. As it is written, God is faithful, and there is no unrighteousness in him; he is righteous and holy, the Lord. One of Christ's disciples taught that those who suffer according to God's will should commit their souls to the faithful Creator, and Paul affirmed that God is faithful, through whom we were called into fellowship with his Son. In these contexts, 'faithful' signifies nothing less than what is safe, reliable, and worthy of trust in regard to what God says or does.

The Son demonstrated this faithfulness to the Father even in his humanity, enduring the cross and death to fulfill what he knew to be right. He declared that he came down from heaven not to do his own will but the will of the One who sent him, as recorded in John 6:38. And this is the will of the One who sent him: that he should lose nothing of all that has been given him, but raise it up on the last day, as also stated in John 6:39-40. We were given to the Son as Savior and life-giver, and this was the work entrusted to him by the Father.

For the Father accomplishes all that he wills through the Son in a manner worthy of God, because the Son is the Father's power and wisdom. The Son himself testified that his witness is greater than John's, for the works the Father gave him to complete bear witness that the Father sent him. David also sang, 'Command, O God, your power; strengthen, O God, what you have worked in us.' Let us consider, if it seems right, what kind of priesthood the Son possesses—whether it is servile and ministering to another's glory, or whether it rightly belongs to the Son himself.

The Incarnation and the New Covenant§21

21…This is most harmonious with nature and not incompatible with the logic of human existence.

For in former times, according to the law given by Moses, those performing divine service to God approached worship as a mere type and shadow; they sacrificed the Son to the Father, many times offering up lambs, calves, and goats as an aroma of sweetness through a veil.

A struggle concerning sin was being conducted according to the faith of the holy writings, yet in those writings there was only the form of the truth.

The most wise Paul has written to us: 'But Christ, having come as a High Priest of the things about to come through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made by hands—that is, not of this creation—neither through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, entered once into the holy places, having found eternal redemption' (Hebrews 9:11-12). For the power of the service was being exercised through the blood of another by those who performed divine service according to the law.

For they have worshiped the heavenly things only by a pattern and a shadow.

But Christ did not do so—and indeed much more is required—for he has saved those under heaven by his own blood, 'not according to a commandment of fleshly things has become a priest, but according to the power of an indestructible life' (Hebrews 7:16). He offered himself for us, since the worship of the type was powerless to achieve justification, for 'it was impossible to take away the sin of these' goats and calves (Hebrews 10:4); from this, a second covenant was sought, because the first did not possess blamelessness within itself.

Knowing the will of God and the Father, the Son who is from Him according to nature, has become a man for all of us, both offering himself and performing divine service to Him.

The blessed Paul, who was no false-speaker, would become a witness to this for us; for he said again concerning him, 'Therefore, entering into the world, he says: Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me' (Hebrews 10:5).

'Burnt offerings and concerning sin you did not seek' (Hebrews 10:6); then I said, 'Behold, I have come, as it is written of me at the head of a book, to do your will' (Hebrews 10:7). Who then is it that is entering into the world? And how is it said that he has fully entered in? Is it not that he previously existed outside of him, as if exiled? The Word from God has indeed entered into this world, not in a local sense but rather naturally, when he himself became a part of the world, having prepared for him the body of God and Father, so that he might become an exchange for the life of all, having died in the flesh according to the writings.

For it has become, 'because of this, a mediator of a new covenant, so that having death occurring, for the redemption of the transgressions upon the first covenant, the called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance' (Hebrews 9:15). He has been named therefore high priest and apostle of our confession; being very much persuaded, he has presented himself to the Father as a scent of spiritual sweet fragrance, and as those already having been cleansed, for we approach, teaching the doctrine of our faith.

When we are therefore commanded to make the confession of the unclouded faith and the consubstantial Trinity, how is it not manifest to all, not as to another…

The Builder Greater Than the House§22

22She rather fulfills the sacred rite, exalted and placed above according to her nature, while he is more closely united with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Thus God, having become flesh, would reasonably consider: we who confess that flesh came to be, the Word remained, and has overcome the power of death on our behalf—life by nature existing as from the Father’s life—are justified. For he who is truly God by nature and the Son Emmanuel will no less convince us, as the blessed Paul declares, that he became our apostle and high priest of confession, faithful in this role just as Moses was faithful in God’s house, yet having been deemed worthy of greater glory than Moses, because the builder of the house possesses greater honor than the house itself.

Again I am amazed by this in the mystagogue’s handling: he subtly undermines Israel, not merely turning them away from the sixth hour but also inclining them toward opposing Christ. He takes hold of the words and praises directed toward Moses, declaring them faithful while introducing them with wit, thereby exalting the surpassing greatness of our Savior. For he said Christ became an apostle and high priest and faithful in this, just as Moses himself had become, easily bearing the name of Moses and the praises upon him—having first set them before the Word—he immediately demonstrated that these things exist afterward in the glory of Christ. For he said Christ is to be honored more greatly, precisely because the builder of the house has greater honor than the house itself.

You see how the Word of God, having become flesh and taken the form of a servant, still orders the measures of our humanity and sets beyond the bounds of servitude, declaring himself the begetter of all things and, plainly, Moses, and crowning these works with the glory of his natural lordship.

For if it is true that none of the works share the same substance as their maker, how could anyone suppose that the maker would not be altogether and certainly superior in glory? The apostle and high priest of our confession bears witness that he was faithful to the one who made him, just as he himself was Moses the high priest, and has been counted worthy of greater glory by him, in proportion as the builder of the house has more honor than the house.

He adds to this, pointing to show that Jesus is God: every house is built by someone, but the one who built all things is God.

Therefore, if Christ were merely one of us, a man, it would be necessary to judge all things concerning him only by the time of his birth in the flesh.

But since he who is also among them the eldest of the ages, the Only-begotten Son, became a man in the good pleasure of God and Father, and this one has been named Christ Jesus, for this is a new name to him and to those who share in the times of the economy, and again it belongs to him, and if he became flesh who was before all time to be, it is necessary to confess to us that he is of all things.

The Eternal Nature and Supremacy of Christ§23

23The Creator.

For there is one God, the Father, from whom all things proceed, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were made; and again, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever, into the ages. How then can he be the same as he was yesterday, even though he was born in the most recent times of this age? It is because the most ancient nature of the Word of God has remained necessarily unshakeable, even during the era of the incarnation and this most recent dispensation.

Indeed, he at times used words concerning the forefather Abraham to address Israel, saying, "Your father Abraham rejoiced so that he might see my day, and he saw it and was glad" (John 8:56). But those who did not understand the mystery resting upon him—viewing him merely as a man like ourselves and nothing more—incoherently asked, "Do you not yet have fifty years, and you have seen Abraham?" (John 8:57). But he said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:56-58). Therefore, he is the artisan and the creator of both Abraham and Moses and of all things; and it is necessary that the maker pre-announce all his own works, and that the beauty of the archetype be pre-manifested in those created according to his image.

In this way, the measure of Moses is unequally surpassed; rather, the glory of Christ will exceed all that has been called into existence.

Furthermore, by another method, the lawgiver Paul seeks to demonstrate that the word concerning these matters has become both wise and true.

For he says that Moses was faithful in all his house as a servant for the testimony of the things to be spoken, but Christ is as a Son upon his house, which is the house of whom we are.

So look, then, in order that you might assign to the blessed Moses a certain measure of that householder-like genuineness.

For they say that he is to be in the house faithful as a witness of the things to be spoken—that is, for the service of the words from God—but Christ is not so.

For He is not found as a faithful householder in the house, but as Son and Master over the house of the Father; that is to say, over us, the ones having been justified in faith and sanctified in the Spirit.

For Moses indeed was brought up through the shadow of the law, and the qualities of householder-like genuineness were brought to him as a prize, as God was saying to him, 'You shall stand beside him with me' (Hebrews 3:5), and he was greatly esteemed among the better ones in Christ.

For He has sat 'at the right hand of the throne of majesty in the high places' (Hebrews 1:3), and He has dwelt as Son and Lord in the house of His own Father.

For He encamps for us as God through His own Spirit, even though the all-wise Moses inhabited in nothing; for we have not become partakers of Moses, nor even of any other of the saints, but we have partaken of Christ through the Spirit and the blessing of the mystery.

For even though God says through one of the holy prophets, 'I will dwell in them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be a people to me' (Ezekiel 37:27).

Unity in Christ§24

24Since the time had now come for this promise to be fulfilled, Christ took up his dwelling in us according to the ancient pledge, so that he might declare us to be temples of the living God—indeed, temples of himself—and might unite us to God the Father through himself.

He said to his holy apostles, 'On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.' (John 14:20)

For whoever is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him, as the Scripture declares. (1 Corinthians 6:17)

Again, committing us to God and the Father in this same way, he said, 'I do not pray for these alone, but also for all who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you, so that they too may be one in us, in order that the world may believe that you sent me.' (John 17:20-21)

And the glory which you gave me I have given to them, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. (John 17:22-23)

Therefore, in Christ we have obtained the blessing of unity toward God and Father, and this blessing remains firmly in us: that radiant and manifest adornment which belongs to those who preserve their boldness and the boast of their hope.

Moreover, in regard to this, they do not believe that alongside God the Father there exists another son who is distinct and merely partial, the one born of the holy virgin and made a temple.

Instead, they believe that he has come in accordance with the writings—that the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us—and that he has not ceased to be God, but that he is One Son and One Lord, Jesus Christ.

And he scrutinizes even to the point of division.

...

Tabernacle and Covenant§25

25The tabernacle had three sections: the altar, the middle section where the priests performed their daily services after passing through the veil, and the innermost section.

This middle section was called the Holy Place, and it was here that the priests would enter to perform their services, which were a type of the old covenant, where the blood sacrifices were offered.

The innermost section was known as the Holy of Holies, which was a type of the mystery among us.

The apostle Paul refers to the first tabernacle, located after the bronze altar, as being towards the Holy of Holies, since it was in the middle, separated from the court by the veil.

After the middle tabernacle, there was another veil, and behind this veil was the Holy of Holies, into which no one entered except the high priest, and he only once a year.

Inside the Holy of Holies was the ark of the covenant, which contained the tablets of the law, the jar of manna, and Aaron's rod; however, some traditions say that only the tablets were placed in the ark, but Paul may have added the rod and jar from tradition.

Above the ark were the cherubim of glory, overshadowing the mercy seat.

The prophet declares that he was shown to us, 'when he saw the glory, and spoke about it' (Isaiah 6:1-3).

For he says, 'I saw the Lord Sabaoth sitting on a high and exalted throne' (Isaiah 6:1), and the seraphim stood around him, and the Lord on the throne was glorified, stretching out their wings, and they glorified him.

Thus it was arranged and in the holy tabernacle the cherubim with their wings overshadowing the mercy seat.

If the golden cherubim had a voice, they would have glorified the Lord Sabaoth, the Son of God who appeared in the form of a servant, the only begotten from God the Father according to nature.

The Spirit of grace was insulted.

Various baptisms and ordinances of the flesh were in place until the time of correction, but they were limited in their ability to perfect anyone in conscience.

The law introduced teachings of baptisms and narratives of purifications for the cleanliness of the flesh, but these were merely fleshly commandments, justifying those who seemed unclean according to the flesh.

Even if someone touched a dead person or a leper or became unclean, they would be baptized and thus seemed to be cleansed.

God did not allow those from the blood of Israel to dwell among the shadows of the law, for He commanded the lamb to be sacrificed as a type of Christ, signifying that the things in types would not stand forever, but would run towards the truth (Exodus 12:1-28).

Consider how the mercy seat was made into an image of the Son who became human; for then it became a mercy seat; but the cherubim were commanded to stand around and overshadow with their wings, always turned towards and looking at him.

The Necessity of Faith and the Example of Noah§26

26I believe that because they have overstepped bounds in such a contemptuous and unworthy manner, they will not be granted a second honor of the Spirit, the first having been set aside; rather, it is fitting that they undergo punishments.

For it is not so that "their unfaithfulness will nullify the faith of God" (Rom 3:3), nor, since some have gone about treating it with contempt, shall we record the uncertain nature of divine grace as being lost.

Rather, the Judge of all things will not refuse to let those who have been shaken into such impiety undergo punishments, seeing as they have trampled upon the Son of God and insulted the Spirit of grace, in whom they were sanctified and became partakers of the divine nature.

This judgment carries a great recompense.

This is because, through endurance, we must not be satisfied with the exceptional things granted to the perfected, but must always be thirsty, possessing an insatiable state and an unceasing desire for every good thing. We must accumulate for ourselves a good reputation through our actions, maintaining such dispositions as those who love wealth possess, concerning whom it is written, "He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver" (Eccl 5:10). If those earthly, temporary, and fleeting things do not satisfy them, how much more necessary is it for us to employ more ardent desires, so that we may gain those things from God which extend into infinite ages and possess an ungraspable joy? By faith we understand that the ages were prepared by the word of God, so that the things seen did not come from the things appearing (Heb 11:3).

Faith is, therefore, a truly great and exceptional good.

For it is a wealth that puts away sins and a cleansing from every defilement.

Furthermore, there is a reminder of that which comes from God; it is a path toward sanctification and sonship, and serves altogether as a reminder of every good thing. In this way, the fathers became well-pleasing, and they possessed a glory that is both bright and unsung.

Many have endured even his death, putting on the unfading crown of glory.

Noah, having been charged by faith concerning things not yet seen, stepped forward in piety and was constructing an ark for the salvation of his household.

Because the whole earth had destroyed its way, as it is written, and the heart of man has inclined toward evil from youth, God sent a flood upon all the earth. It was like a garden that had been plundered and watered, yet preserved a noble plant within it—the most excellent Noah—so that the human race might be transformed into a new beginning and be saved upon the earth once more.

Thus, Noah, having been charged by faith, constructed the ark for the salvation of his house, 'into which a few, that is to say, eight souls were saved through water.' For a decree of death has gone out against all those upon the earth, as they were clearly filled with sin, calling down the Creator into irretrievable wrath.

But Noah, being righteous, was being saved universally.

For he believed in God, who commanded the construction of the ark; and while the whole earth was baptized, it was carried along by the waters, taking as its pilot God, the Savior of all. And there was in...

Faith and Obedience§27

27A remnant of humanity is left to women and children, while the one who has faith has something to boast about.

Abraham, who had faith, offered his son Isaac when he was being tested, and this is a great wonder that I am unable to depart from.

The blessed Abraham, an old man who was childless, sought an heir from God, and after receiving Isaac, he was commanded to sacrifice him.

Abraham's faith was so strong that he overcame the storm of testing, and this is a testament to the stability and safety of holy thoughts, as the most law-abiding Paul will teach, saying Abraham offered Isaac when being tested, having calculated that God is able to raise even from the dead (Hebrews 11:19).

Oh, the stability of faith; oh, the safety of holy thoughts; he gave to God the power to accomplish all.

Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6), for he endured the cross, despising shame, instead of the joy set before him.

He emptied himself, sitting among us, so that, having overcome death in the flesh, then, having conquered it through the resurrection from the dead, he would declare to us that it is possible to return to life.

As the Son of God, he voluntarily took on the most dishonorable and inglorious death, without sparing himself from it, but through his resurrection, he was glorified and abolished the shame and ugliness of his humiliation.

The Son's glory is undeniable, and his resurrection has overcome corruption and abolished shame, declaring to us that it is possible to return to life.

Daniel writes that the Ancient of Days sits on a throne, with a thousand thousands of those ordained for service and ten thousand times ten thousand of those who attend, standing around him (Daniel 7:9-10).

Isaiah also saw the Son in glory, saying 'I saw the Lord Sabaoth sitting on a high throne, and the house was full of his glory, and Seraphim stood around him' (Isaiah 6:1-3).

Christ sat at the right hand of the throne of God.

The scripture teaches that Abraham's faith led him to a great end, for it is written, 'He believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness' (Genesis 15:6).

Divine Dominion§28

28The Son's glory is equal to the Father's, and he shares in the dominion of the highest throne.

The heavenly powers are arranged in a circle around him, and the measure of servitude of created beings is a witness to his glory.

As the Lord sits at the right hand of the Father, he seems to be elevated to the beginnings of such manifest and transcendent glory through the flesh and the economy with the flesh, not having acted humanly, not even because he became flesh.

He hears the words 'Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool' (Psalm 110:1), and whatever the divine nature would subdue, this is borne by the feet of our Savior.

The lowly aspect of humanity is elevated to the dignity of the highest nature, and the Only-begotten Word of God, having established himself in the throne of divinity with flesh, dominates all things not without the Father.

For all things are through both equally, the Father acting and having the energy and will in the Spirit through the Son and with him.

Paul now recalls the story of God's appearance on Mount Sinai, where the Lord dwelled in a fiery manifestation, and the sound of the trumpet was incredibly loud.

The vision was untouchable to the onlookers, and the sound of the trumpet was unbearable.

However, Paul now reminds us that God has promised to shake not only the earth but also the heaven.

This is a reference to the mysterious and renowned event that has been known to both heaven and earth.

There have been two visible changes in the course of human history: one from idolatry to the law, and the other from the law to the gospel.

We are now announcing a third earthquake, a transfer from this world to the next, which will be unshakeable and unmovable.

Therefore, as we receive an unshakeable kingdom, let us have gratitude.

I would gladly ask those who think the kingdom of Christ has been destroyed: whose kingdom does the apostle now remember?

He says it will be shaken and yet always possesses the unshakeable.

Christ's Eternal Reign§29

29Those who oppose the Son's superiority will, I think, foolishly despise it and talk nonsense.

If they claim that the saints will reign without the Son, they will first appear to be better than Christ Himself, having already received a share that surpasses His, if He rejects the rule, while they, having received an untroubled joy and a secure glory, will possess it; but the slander is rustic, and it is inevitable that it will be rejected.

For it is necessary for Christ to rule and reign over all, a necessity that is not something that can be acquired or given to someone who has wealth like us, but rather it is those who follow the words of natural lordship who will truly reign.

As it is written, we who suffer with Christ will also reign with Him, for they will reign with the reigning Christ, and Christ is the Lord of beginning, and we are introduced and honored in a way of participation.

But how can they maintain their unshakeable ambition and continue to reign if Christ's power is shaken and ceases, given that they are partakers of it?

If the provider and ruler of their kingdom rests from rule, their situation will be precarious, with a vast chasm opening up, and they will no longer be able to participate in the glory, as the called to glory weakens.

It is inevitable that they will sink with those who endure the endured, and the things that have been lifted will sink when the lifting thing is removed.

When the foundation of glory and the base of prosperity are shaken against them, all hope of others will be shut into the disreputable and inferior.

The phrase 'when he hands over the kingdom' does not mean that he will put it away, but rather that he will take it from others and bring it to the Father, and he will co-reign, full of this.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and he remains the same into the ages (Hebrews 13:8).

Christ spoke words such as 'I am in the Father and the Father is in me' (John 14:10), and 'now you seek to kill me, a man who spoke the truth to you' (John 8:40).

The spirit-bearer, who learned the mystery about him from Christ himself, says that Christ is the same yesterday and today and into the ages.

Steadfastness in the Cross of Christ§30

30And yet Paul cries out, 'Be steadfast, immovable!' But the Lord himself, in his most approachable and persuasive manner, sets the highest value on those who possess anything, only to meet with slander. He draws a boundary against the disease of turning away.

For he said of certain ones, 'They loved to move their feet and did not spare themselves, and God did not approve in them.' For what is firmly and immovably established toward anything useful is safe and inviolable. Indeed, the blood of animals is brought forth, and so on.

But there are also many other words about these matters; however, let them pass by now because of their multitude. Nevertheless, Christ died according to the flesh, that he might cleanse us by his own blood.

Therefore we go forth to him. Let us then bear his reproach, that is, the cross on our behalf. Thus he also said, 'Whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.'

The Union of the Word and the Saints§31

31…It seems to think outside the gate, outside the world; for wanting to follow Christ unsettles our worldly life.

But the one who does good and is in communion is accepted by God, who rewards each according to their works, and says, 'Come, inherit the kingdom prepared for you, for I was hungry and you gave me food to eat' (Matt 25:34-35), and the following, how God is thus called by the pure voice of the saints, while accepting the sacrifices of those who do good, repaying each with the due reward, and admitting the chorus of the saints into the kingdom of heaven.

Paul calls the Son God; for if He is indeed the one who drives all creation toward judgment, and repays each according to their works, accepting those who do good to their neighbor and saying, 'Come, inherit the kingdom prepared for you, for I was hungry and you gave me food to eat' (Matt 25:34-35).

If it were said that the only-begotten Word of God happened to be united to the flesh by hypostasis, we do not say that any confusion of the two natures has occurred, but rather that the Word is understood to be united to the flesh while the other remains as it is.

'Those who think themselves wise have become foolish' (1 Cor 3:19); for they, having denied the two natures from one another and showing each part of us to be an incompatible stranger, say that the union exists only in persons, as if it were in mere agreement, common purpose, and the impulses of wills.

According to that, perhaps, what is written in the acts of the holy apostles (Acts 4:32), that 'the heart and the soul of the multitude of those who believed were one.' For each of those who believed, insofar as they were divided from the others by the logic of their own hypostasis, yet reached a common purpose and unity of faith, is said to have one soul and one heart; do they, then, acknowledge the unity of persons in this same way?

And not yet do we say that the nature of the Word of God is circumscribed in the human body, for the divine is incomprehensible.

Furthermore, it proceeds: one will see the human being completely in Christ, according to the logic of His own nature; and similarly, the Word born from God is seen as perfect; yet only one Christ and Son is confessed from both…

Incarnation of the Logos§32

32The union of natures is not merely a matter of the union of persons, but rather the natures are gathered into one, ineffably and beyond reason, as God himself has known.

We do not say that there is a confusion or disruption of the natures, as if the nature of the Logos were changed into that of man, or the human into that of the Logos, but rather that each nature remains within its own limit.

The union has been realized by the Logos dwelling bodily in the temple born of the virgin.

If anyone claims that the union is only of persons and completely separates the natures from each other, they stray from the straight path, as Cyril notes in his interpretation.

We see the one Christ, who is God incarnate, dying bodily for sin, so that by the sprinkling of his own blood he may wholly sanctify the Church, and remaining again impassible in his divinity.

As Cyril explains in his interpretation of the pros Hebraeous epistle, if he has perfected us by water and Spirit, then he must act both divinely and humanly at once, being the same one who exists.

It is a mystery that happened ineffably and beyond mind, that divinity and humanity were united, and though the natures are distinct, yet there is one and only Son from both.

Even if the natures were diverse and unequal to one another, and ran together into unity, there is still one and only Son from both, who is truly possessed of a rational soul and is the temple united to the Logos.

As Cyril notes, it was not a bare man, one of us, who could complete the energy of the according-to-nature life, but rather, as the most holy Paul says, it was by the grace of God that the body of the Logos, who became incarnate for us, tasted death, in order that the work of abolishing death might not be attributed to the earthly body, but rather to the Logos who is united to it and subsists alongside it.

The most holy Paul says, 'by the grace of God' (Hebrews 2:9), indicating that it was God's grace that allowed the Logos to taste death for the salvation of all.