希伯來書講道集 第 2 章

Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself made purification of our sins.

Everywhere a reverent mind is needful, but most of all when we say or hear anything concerning God;

for neither can the tongue speak, nor the ear hear, anything worthy of God;

And why do I speak of tongue and ear? For not even the mind, which far surpasses these, will be able to grasp anything with exactness, whenever we desire to utter anything concerning God.

For if the peace of God surpasses all understanding, and the things prepared for those who love Him have not entered into the heart of man;

how much more does the God of peace Himself, the Creator of all things, transcend our reasoning by a great measure.

We ought therefore to receive all things with faith and reverence;

and when speech grows weak, and cannot set forth the things spoken with exactness, then most of all to glorify God, that we have such a God, who transcends both our understanding and our speech;

for many of the things we conceive concerning God we are unable to express;

or, many things indeed we express, but we have not strength to conceive.

As, for example, I mean this: that God is everywhere we know, but how, this we no longer conceive.

That there is a certain incorporeal power, the cause of all good things, we know; but how it is, we know not.

Behold, we express it, and we do not conceive it.

I said that He is everywhere, but I do not comprehend it;

I said that He is without beginning, but I do not comprehend it;

I said that He begat out of Himself, and again I know not how I am to conceive it.

There are, then, certain things which it is not even possible to express;

as, for example, I mean this: the understanding conceives it, but cannot utter it.

And that you may know that even Paul is weak, and does not set forth his examples with exactness, and that you may shudder and seek nothing further, listen:

for having said 'Son,' and having set Him forth as Creator, what does he add? 'Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person.'

But this we must take with reverence, and cut away whatever is unfitting.

'The brightness of His glory,' he says.

But observe with what intent he takes it up, and so do you also receive it:

namely, that it is from Him, that it is without any suffering, that it is without His being diminished or lessened;

since there are some who take up certain unfitting notions from the illustration.

For the radiance, they say, has no substance of its own, but has its being in another.

Do not, then, take it thus, O man, nor fall sick with the sickness of Marcellus and Photinus.

For close at hand he heals you, so that you may not fall into that notion, nor does he permit you to be carried down into that ruinous disease;

for what does he say? 'And the express image of His person.'

showing by this addition that, just as the Father subsists as a distinct person and needs nothing else for His subsistence,

For here, showing the unvarying likeness, he says this, both referring you to the peculiar impress of the prototype, and teaching that He subsists in His own person, in Himself.

And having said above that God made all things through Him, here he ascribes to Him the sovereign authority.

For what does he add? 'And upholding all things by the word of His power;'

so that from this we may apprehend not only the express image of His person, but also His governing all things with sovereign authority.

See, then, how that which is proper to the Father, this he attaches to the Son.

For on this account he did not say simply,

'upholding all things,' nor did he say,

'by His power,' but, 'by the word of His power.'

For just as a little while ago he was ascending and descending with us by little and little,

now, as if by certain steps, he ascends to a height, then again descends, and says:

'through whom also He made the ages.'

See how here also he cuts two ways.

For wishing to lead us away from the innovation of Sabellius and Arius—the one doing away with the distinctness of the person, the other cutting the one nature into inequality—he abundantly overthrows them both.

How, then, does he do this? Up and down he turns the same things and utters them, so that He may not be thought without beginning, nor alien to God.

And be not startled at the saying, beloved;

for if even after so great a demonstration there are some who have said that He is alien, and have given Him another father, and say that He wars against this one;

if he had not said these things, what would they not have uttered? When, therefore, he is compelled to heal, then he is also compelled to utter lowly things;

as, for instance, that 'He appointed Him,' he says, 'heir of all things,' and that 'through Him He made the ages.'

Then, that he may not do harm in another way, from the words of lowliness he leads Him back again to sovereign authority, and shows Him to be of equal honor with the Father, and so equal in honor that many have supposed that He Himself is the Father.

And behold his great sagacity;

he first lays down that point, and secures it with exactness;

and when this has been shown—that He is Son of God, and that He is not alien to Him—then thenceforth with confidence he utters all the exalted things he wishes.

For since to say something great concerning Him led many to that notion, having first laid down the lowly things, then with security he ascends to as great a height as he wishes;

'whom He appointed heir of all things, and that through Him He made the ages,'—then he adds:

'and upholding all things by the word of His power.'

For He who governs all things by a word alone would need nothing in order to bring all things into being.

And that this is so, see how again, as he proceeds, he ascribes to Him the sovereign authority, taking away even the 'through whom.'

For since He wrought through Him what He willed, thereupon, standing apart from Him, what does he say? 'You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of Your hands.'

Nowhere the 'through whom,' nor that He made the ages through Him.

What then? Were they not made by Him? Yes;

but not as you say, nor as you suppose, as through an instrument, nor as though He would not have made them unless the Father had reached out a hand to Him.

For just as He judges no one, and yet is said to judge through the Son, because He begat Him to be judge;

So too He creates through Him, because He begot Him as a Creator.

For if the Father is the cause of Him, much more is He the cause of the things that have come into being through Him.

Whenever, therefore, He wishes to show that the Son is from Himself, He necessarily utters lowly things;

but whenever He wishes to speak lofty things, Marcellus and Sabellius seize hold of the occasion.

Yet the Church, fleeing the excess of both, has trodden the middle way.

For neither does she abide in lowliness, lest Paul of Samosata find room, nor does she remain forever among lofty things;

and again she shows His great nearness to the Father, lest Sabellius spring upon it.

He said 'Son,' and immediately Paul of Samosata stands forth, saying that He is a Son as are the many.

But He dealt him a mortal blow by saying 'Heir.'

Yet still he acts shamelessly along with Arius;

for the phrase 'He appointed Him heir' both of them lay hold of;

the one saying that it is a mark of weakness, the other that it is a matter of assigning, undertaking also what follows.

And when Paul had said, 'Through whom also He made the ages,' he laid the shameless Samosatene flat on his back, while Arius still seems to be strong.

But behold how he casts down this one too, again saying:

'Who being the radiance of His glory,'

But lo, again Sabellius, and Marcellus, and Photinus spring upon it.

Yet to all these also he gives a single blow, saying:

'And the express image of His person, upholding all things by the word of His power.'

Here again he smites Marcion also—not, indeed, very forcefully, yet he smites him.

For throughout the whole Epistle he contends against them.

But, as I said, he called the Son 'the radiance of the glory';

and that this was rightly said, hear Christ speaking concerning Himself: 'I am the light of the world.'

He Himself said 'radiance,' that he might show that there too it is spoken thus;

and it is plain, as light of light.

And not this only is shown, but also that He has enlightened our souls.

And by 'radiance' he signified the equality of the essence, and His nearness to the Father.

Consider the exactness of what is said;

he took one essence and one hypostasis for the presentation of two hypostases;

which he does also in the matter of the knowledge of the Spirit.

For just as he says that the knowledge of the Father and of the Spirit is one, as being truly one and in no way divided against itself,

so here too he laid hold of some single expression for the manifestation of the two hypostases.

Then he added, 'And the express image.'

For the express image is something other than the prototype;

yet not altogether other, but only in respect of subsisting in its own hypostasis;

since here too the express image denotes the unvarying likeness of that of which it is the image, being like in all respects.

When, therefore, He calls Him both 'form' and 'express image,' what will they say? 'But man too,' one says, 'is called the image of an image.'

What then? In the same way as the Son? 'No,' he says, 'but because "image" does not indicate the likeness.'

And yet, in the sense in which man is called an image, it does indicate the likeness, as in a man.

For what God is in heaven, that man is upon the earth—I speak with respect to dominion;

and just as man rules over all things upon earth, so also God rules over all things in heaven and upon the earth.

But otherwise: man is not called 'express image,' is not called 'radiance,' is not called 'form';

each of which sets forth the essence, or a likeness according to essence.

As, therefore, the form of a servant sets forth nothing else than a man in all respects the same,

so also the form of God sets forth nothing else than God.

'Who being the radiance,' he says, 'of the glory.'

'Who being the radiance of His glory,' he added again:

'He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty';

such are the names he employs, nowhere finding a name of the essence itself.

For neither 'Majesty' nor 'glory' presents the name he wishes to speak—rather, it has no name to be found.

For this is what I was saying from the beginning, that often we conceive of something and cannot express it;

since not even 'God' is a name of the essence, nor is it at all possible to find a name of that essence.

And what wonder is it in the case of God, when not even in the case of an angel could one find a name indicative of the essence? And perhaps not even in the case of the soul;

for this name does not seem to me to be indicative of the essence itself, but of its 'cooling.'

For one may see the same thing called 'soul,' and 'heart,' and 'mind.'

'Create in me a clean heart, O God,' it says.

And not only these, but in many places one may see it called 'spirit' as well.

'Upholding all things by the word of His power.'

How then, tell me, heretic, do you say—because it is said in the Scripture:

'God said, Let there be light,' that the Father commanded and the Son obeyed? But behold, here too He Himself makes by a word:

'For upholding,' he says, 'all things';

that is, governing, holding together the things that are falling apart.

For to hold the world together is no less than to have made it, but—if one may say something wonderful—it is even greater.

For the one is to bring something forth out of things that are not;

but the other—to hold together things that have come into being and are about to depart into non-being, and to bind together things that are at variance with one another—this is the great and wonderful thing, and the proof of much power.

Then, showing also the ease of it, he said:

'Governing,' by a metaphor drawn from those who move something simply with a finger and make it revolve.

Here he showed both that the mass of the creation is great, and that its greatness is as nothing to Him.

Then again he shows the effortlessness, saying:

'By the word of His power';

for since among us a word seems to be a bare thing, he shows that in the case of God it is not bare.

But that He upholds all things by His word he did say; yet how He upholds them by His word he did not further add.

Then he went on to speak concerning His majesty.

For John also did the very same;

for having said that He is God, he went on to speak of the fashioning of creation.

For what that one intimated when he said,

'In the beginning was the Word,' and, 'All things were made by Him,' this one too showed by 'the word' and

by saying, 'By whom also He made the worlds,' he made manifest;

for indeed he shows Him to be both Creator, and existing before all the ages.

What then, when the Prophet says concerning the Father, 'From everlasting to everlasting Thou art';

and concerning the Son, that He is before all the ages and the Creator of all things—what would they say? Rather, that which was said concerning the Father,

'He that existeth before the ages,' one may see this also said concerning the Son. And just as that one says,

'Life was in Him,' declaring what sustains creation, that He Himself is the life of all things;

'And upholding all things by the word of His power';

not as the Greeks do, who, so far as it lies in them, deprive Him even of the very work of creation and of His providence, shutting up His power as far as the moon.

'For by Himself,' he says, 'having made purification of our sins.'

Having spoken concerning those wonderful and great things, the highest of all, he now speaks also concerning His care for men.

For that too was in the highest degree universal, the saying, 'And upholding all things';

yet this is far greater.

For His part indeed saved all men;

since John also, having said,

'Life was in Him,' and having declared His providence, again says that 'He is also Light,' showing this very same thing.

'By Himself,' he says, 'having made purification of our sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.'

Here he sets down two very great proofs of His care:

both the purifying us from our sins, and the doing of this by Himself.

And in many places you see him glorying in this, not only in the reconciliation to God, but also in that this was accomplished through the Son;

for thus the great gift became yet greater, in that it was through the Son.

'He sat down at the right hand,' and, 'Having by Himself made purification of our sins,' and having reminded us of the cross, he quickly introduced the discourse concerning the resurrection and the ascension.

And behold his unspeakable wisdom;

then again, lest you should think that He is standing, he adds,

'For to which of the angels said He at any time, Sit thou on My right hand?' 'He sat down,' he says, 'at the right hand of the Majesty on high.'

What is the meaning of 'on high'? Does he shut up God within a place? Away with the thought!

It is not that we should suspect this, that he has spoken thus;

'At the right hand'—he did not thereby assign Him a bodily posture, but showed His equality of honour with the Father;

'on high'—he did not shut Him up there, but showed that He has transcended all things;

as though he said, He has attained to the very throne of the Father.

As therefore the Father is 'on high,' so also is He;

for the sitting together shows nothing else than equality of honour.

But if they say that He said—

What then? Did He say it to one standing? Nay, they could not show it.

And besides, he did not say that He commanded or gave order, but that He 'said, Sit thou';

and this for no other reason, but that you should not think Him without beginning and without cause.

For that He has spoken thus for this reason is plain from the place of the sitting;

for if He had wished to declare inferiority, He would not have said,

'On the right hand,' but, 'On the left.'

'Being made,' he says, 'so much better than the angels, as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.'

The word 'Being made' is here used instead of 'having been declared,' as one might say.

Do you see that he knows the name 'Son' to declare genuineness of nature? And indeed, if it were not genuine, he would not have said this.

How so? Because for no other reason is He genuine, but that He is from Him.

From this, then, he draws his argument.

But if He is a Son by grace, He is not only not more excellent, but is even inferior to the angels;

how so? Because righteous men also were called sons, and the name 'son,' unless it be genuine, avails not to show the difference.

And to make plain that there is a certain difference between creatures and the Creator, hear what he says:

'For to which of the angels said He at any time, Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee? And again, I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son?' These things were said also with reference to the flesh;

for the saying, 'I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son,' belongs to the incarnation.

But the saying, 'Thou art My Son,' declares nothing else than that He is from Him.

And as 'He that is' is spoken from the present time,

for this most of all befits Him,

so also the word 'This day' seems to me here to be spoken with reference to the flesh.

For when He has taken hold of it, thenceforth He utters all things without fear.

For indeed the flesh partakes of the exalted things, just as the Godhead also partakes of the lowly.

For God, who did not disdain to become man, and did not decline the deed, how would He have declined the words? [4]

Knowing these things, therefore, let us be ashamed of nothing, nor be high-minded.

For if He Himself, being God and Master and Son of God, did not decline to take the form of a servant,

much more ought we to do all things, even if they be lowly.

For whence, tell me, O man, art thou high-minded? From the things of this life? But these run past before they appear.

But from spiritual things? Nay, this very thing is a spiritual achievement—not to be high-minded.

Why then art thou high-minded? Because thou doest well?

Hear Christ saying:

'When ye shall have done all things, say that We are unprofitable servants;

for what we were bound to do, we have done.'

But are you proud because of your wealth? Why, tell me? Have you not heard that naked we entered into life, and naked shall we depart? Or rather, do you not see those who went before you departing desolate and naked? Who, that possesses what belongs to another, is proud of it? For those who wish to use these things merely for their own enjoyment are stripped of them even against their will—often before death, and at death most certainly of all.

'But,' he says, 'we, while we live, use them as we wish.'

In the first place, one would scarcely see anyone readily using his possessions as he wishes.

And if someone does use them as he wishes, not even this is any great thing;

for the present season is brief in comparison with the ages that have no end.

You are proud, O man, because you are rich? On what ground? For this belongs also to robbers and thieves and murderers and the effeminate and fornicators and to all the wicked.

Why, then, are you proud? For if you have used it as you ought, you have no reason to be proud, lest you spoil the commandment;

but if you have not used it as you ought, then most of all you should be humbled, because you have become a slave of your riches and possessions, and are ruled by them.

For tell me, if a man in a fever should drink much water, which for a little while quenches his thirst but afterward kindles the flame the more, ought he to be proud? And what if a man busies himself needlessly about more things—should he on that account be proud? Why, tell me? Because you have many masters? Because you have countless anxieties? Because many flatter you? But this is to be a slave.

And that you may learn that you are their slave, listen plainly:

the other passions within us are in some cases useful—for instance, anger is in many cases useful;

for it is said, 'Unjust wrath shall not be held guiltless';

so that it is possible even to be angry justly.

And again, 'He who is angry with his brother without cause shall be liable to hell-fire.'

Again, zeal is good, and desire also—desire, when it is directed toward the begetting of children; and zeal, when it has imitation of what is good.

And it is good to be an object of emulation in what is good, always;

and again, 'Earnestly desire the better gifts.'

Pride, however, is nowhere good, but everywhere useless and harmful.

Yet if one must be proud, one ought to be proud over poverty, not over wealth.

Why? Because the man who can live on little is far greater and better than the one who cannot.

For tell me, if certain men were summoned to a royal city, and some of them needed neither beasts of burden, nor servants, nor parasols, nor lodgings, nor sandals, nor baggage, but it sufficed them merely to have bread and to take water from the springs;

while others should say, 'Unless you give us carriages and a soft bed, we cannot come; unless we have many attendants; unless we can constantly rest, we cannot; unless we use beasts of burden, and travel only a small part of the day;

and we have need of many other things besides';

which should we admire—those, or these? Clearly these, who need nothing.

So too here: some, for the journey of this life, have need of many things, while others have need of none.

So that those in poverty rather ought to be proud.

'But the poor man is despicable,' he says.

Not he, but those who despise him.

For why should I not despise those who do not know how to admire the things they ought? Now if a man is a painter, he will laugh at all who mock him, so long as they are ignorant, and he pays no heed to what they say, but is content with the testimony of his own judgment;

yet shall we make ourselves dependent on the opinion of the many?

And how are these things worthy of any pardon? For this reason we are worthy to be despised—when we do not despise those who despise us on account of our poverty, nor count them wretched.

And I pass over how many sins are begotten of wealth, and how many good things come from poverty;

or rather, neither wealth nor poverty is good in itself, but each becomes so according to those who use it.

The Christian is shown to be approved rather in poverty than in wealth.

How? For being in poverty he will be less puffed up, more temperate, more grave, more reasonable, more prudent;

but abiding in wealth, he has many hindrances to these things.

Let us then see what are the things the rich man does—or rather, he who uses his wealth badly.

That one plunders, is grasping, uses violence.

And what more? Will you not find that unnatural lusts, unlawful unions, sorceries, poisonings, and all the other dreadful things are begotten of wealth? Do you see that it is easier to pursue virtue in poverty than in wealth, and with less toil? For do not, because the rich do not pay the penalty here, suppose that they do not even sin;

for if it were easy for the rich to pay the penalty, you would find the prisons filled from among them;

but along with its other evils, wealth has this too: that he who possesses it, offending in wickedness without punishment, will never cease from doing this, but will receive wounds without remedies, and no one will put a bridle upon him.

And if one wishes, he will find that poverty even affords us more occasions for pleasure.

How? Because it is freed from cares, from hatred, from strife, from contention, from rivalry, from ten thousand dreadful things.

Let us therefore not pursue riches, nor forever envy those who have gained much;

but let those of us who have, use our wealth for what is needful;

and let those who have not, not be grieved on this account, but give thanks to God for all things, because with little toil He prepares for us, if we will, to receive the same reward as the rich—or even a greater—and out of little we shall gain much.

Since he too who brought the two talents was admired and honored equally with him who brought the five.

Why so? Because, although he was entrusted with two talents, yet he fulfilled all that was in his power, and brought in double what had been entrusted to him.

Why then do we hasten to be entrusted with much, when it is possible through little to reap the same fruit, or even more? When the toil is less, but the reward far greater? For a poor man will more easily part with what is his than a rich man who possesses much and great things.

Or do you not know that the more a man wraps himself in, the more he craves? That we may not suffer this, then, let us not seek wealth, nor be impatient toward poverty, nor hasten to be rich; but let even those of us who have use it in such a way as Paul commanded:

'Those who have,' he says, 'as though they had not, and those who use this world, as not using it to the full;'

that we may attain the good things that have been promised;

which may it be granted to us all to attain, by the grace and lovingkindness [of our Lord Jesus Christ].