約翰福音講道集 第 15 章

No one has ever seen God;

the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

As for the names and the words that lie in the Scriptures, God wills that we should attend to them not carelessly, but with much understanding.

For this reason the blessed David inscribed over many of his own Psalms the words, 'For understanding,' and said:

'Open my eyes, that I may perceive the wondrous things out of Your law.'

And after him his son too, giving counsel, shows that one must seek out wisdom as though it were silver;

or rather, must trade for it above gold.

And the Lord too, exhorting the Jews to search the Scriptures, urges us all the more to inquiry.

For He would not have spoken thus, if it were possible to grasp them at once and from the very first reading.

For that which lies out in the open and ready to hand, no one would ever search out, but rather that which is overshadowed and found only with much inquiry.

For this reason He also calls them a hidden treasure, rousing us to the search.

These things have been said by us, that we may not approach the words of the Scriptures carelessly nor at random, but with great exactness.

For if one were to listen without examination to the things spoken in them, and receive everything just so,

according to the letter as it is stated, he will suppose many absurd things concerning God.

For indeed he will admit doctrines about Him such as that He is a man, and composed of bronze, and irascible, and full of wrath, and many things yet worse than these.

But if he learns the meaning that lies in the depth, he will be delivered from all this absurdity.

Since indeed the very passage now set before us says that God has a bosom, which is proper to bodies.

But no one is so mad as to suppose that the Bodiless One is a body.

In order, then, that we may take the whole in a way worthy of the spiritual conception, come, let us examine the passage from the beginning.

No one has ever seen God.

By what sequence of thought did the Evangelist come to this? Having shown the great surpassing excellence of the gifts of Christ, so that the difference between these and the things administered through Moses is infinite, he now wishes also to state a reasonable cause for the difference.

For the one, being a servant, became a minister of lowlier matters;

but this One, being Master and King and Son of the King, brought us things far greater, being ever with the Father and beholding Him continually.

Therefore he added, saying:

No one has ever seen God.

What then shall we say to the most loud-voiced Isaiah, who says:

'I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up'? And what to John, who bears witness of him that he said these things when he saw His glory? And what to Ezekiel? For he too sees Him seated upon the Cherubim;

and what to Daniel? For he too says:

'The Ancient of Days was seated';

and what to Moses himself, saying:

'Show me Your glory, that I may see You knowingly'? And Jacob too received his name from this, being called Israel;

for Israel means 'he who sees God.'

And others too have seen Him.

How then did John say, No one has ever seen God? He was making clear that all those were matters of condescension, not a vision of the bare essence itself.

For if they had seen the very nature, they would not have beheld it in different ways.

For it is simple and without shape, uncompounded and uncircumscribed; it neither sits, nor stands, nor walks.

And how it exists, He alone knows.

And this God the Father made plain through a certain prophet, saying:

'I,' He says, 'have multiplied visions, and in the hands of the prophets I was made like';

that is, 'I condescended; I appeared not as that which I was.'

For since His Son was to appear to us through true flesh, He was from of old training them beforehand to behold the essence of God, as far as it was possible for them to see.

Since that very thing which God is, not only prophets, but not even angels have seen, nor archangels;

but if you ask them, you will hear them answering nothing concerning the essence, but only singing, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill among men.'

And if you should desire to learn something from the Cherubim or the Seraphim, you will hear the mystic hymn of sanctification, and that 'The heaven and the earth are full of His glory.'

If you examine the higher powers, you will find nothing else but that they have one work: to praise God;

for 'Praise Him,' it says, 'all His powers.'

Therefore the Son alone sees Him, and the Holy Spirit.

For how shall the whole created nature be able even to see the Uncreated? For if we cannot receive a clear vision even of any bodiless power whatsoever, though it be created, and this has often been shown in the case of the angels;

how much less of the essence that is both bodiless and uncreated.

For this reason Paul too says, 'Whom no one of men has seen nor can see.'

Does this prerogative, then, belong to the Father alone, and no longer to the Son? Away with the thought!

That it belongs to Him too, hear Paul making this plain, and saying:

'Who is the image of the invisible God.'

And He who is the image of the Invisible is Himself also invisible;

and if elsewhere he says, 'God was manifested in the flesh,' do not marvel;

for the manifestation came about through the flesh, and not indeed according to the essence.

For that He too is invisible, not only to men but also to the powers above, Paul shows.

For having said that 'He was manifested in the flesh,' he added that

So that He was then seen even by the angels, when He was clothed with flesh;

but before this they did not see Him thus, since to them also the essence was invisible.

And how, one says, did Christ say, 'Take heed that you despise not one of these little ones;

for I say to you, that their angels do always behold the face of My Father who is in heaven'? What then? Does God have a face, and is He circumscribed in the heavens? But no one would be so mad as to say this.

What then is the meaning of what is said? Just as when He says:

'Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God';

He speaks of that vision which is according to the understanding, the one possible for us, and of the conception we have concerning God.

So too may it be said of the angels, that by reason of their pure and sleepless nature they imagine nothing else, but ever behold God alone.

For this cause He Himself again says, 'No one knoweth the Father, save the Son.'

What then? Are we all in ignorance? God forbid.

Rather, none knoweth Him in such manner as the Son.

As therefore many saw Him according to the vision permitted them, yet no one beheld His essence,

so also now we all know God, yet no one knoweth what His essence is in itself, save only He who was begotten of Him.

For here by 'knowledge' He means exact contemplation and comprehension, and that as great as the Father has concerning the Son.

For 'even as the Father knoweth Me, I also know the Father.'

Wherefore observe also with how great fullness the Evangelist utters his words.

For having said that 'No one hath seen God at any time,' he said not, 'The Son, having seen Him, hath declared Him,' but set down something greater than seeing, saying, 'He that is in the bosom of the Father.'

For to dwell in the bosom is far more than to see.

For he who merely sees hath not by any means an exact knowledge of that which appears;

but he who dwells in the bosom can never be ignorant of anything.

Therefore, when thou hearest that 'No one knoweth the Father, save the Son,' lest thou shouldest say that, although He knoweth the Father more than all, yet He knoweth Him not as great as He is,

for this cause both the Evangelist says that He dwells in the bosom of the Father, and Christ Himself says that He knoweth Him as much as the Father knoweth the Son.

Ask therefore the gainsayer:

'Tell me,' say, 'doth the Father know the Son?' And he will surely say, unless he be mad, that He doth.

After this let us ask him yet this also:

'And what then—doth He behold Him with an exact vision and knowledge, and know clearly that very thing which He is?' And most certainly he will say this too.

From this, then, gather henceforth the Son's exact comprehension concerning the Father.

For He Himself said, 'As the Father knoweth Me, so know I also Him;'

and in another place, 'Not that any one hath seen God, save He which is from God.'

For this cause, as I said, the Evangelist also makes mention of the bosom, showing us all things by this one word: that great is the kinship and the unity of essence, that the knowledge is undeviating, that the authority is equal.

For the Father would not have held in His bosom one of a different essence;

nor again would He Himself, being a servant and one of the many, have dared to move within the bosom of the Master;

for this belongs only to a genuine Son, and to one using great boldness toward Him that begat Him, and having nothing less.

Wouldst thou also learn His eternity? Hear what Moses says concerning the Father.

For having asked, in case he should be asked by the Egyptians who it was that had sent him, what then he should answer them, he is commanded to say, 'He that IS hath sent me.'

And the phrase 'He that IS' is significative of always being, and of being without beginning, and of being truly and properly.

This also the words 'In the beginning was' declare, being expressive of ever being.

This expression, then, John here uses, showing that without beginning and eternally the Son is in the bosom of the Father.

In order, therefore, that thou mightest not, on account of the community of the name, suppose Him to be one of those who have become sons by grace, first the article is added, distinguishing Him from those that are by grace.

But if this suffice thee not, but thou still stoopest downward, hear a name more authoritative than this—'Only-begotten.'

And if even after this thou lookest downward again, I will not decline in some sort to utter even a human expression concerning God, namely,

the expression of the 'bosom,' I mean—only that thou mayest suspect nothing lowly.

Seest thou the loving-kindness and tender care of the Master? God clothes Himself with words unworthy of Himself, that even so thou mayest see clearly, and conceive something great and lofty;

and dost thou still remain below? For tell me:

for what reason is the 'bosom' here taken up, this gross and fleshly name? Was it that we should suspect God to be a body? Away with it! By no means, saith he.

For what reason, then, is it said? For if neither the genuineness of the Son is established by it, nor the fact that God is not a body, the expression has been cast in superfluously, fulfilling no need.

For what reason, then, is it said? For I will not desist from inquiring this of thee.

Is it not plain that it is for no other cause than that we should apprehend by it nothing else but the genuineness of the Only-begotten, and His being co-eternal with the Father? 'He declared Him,' saith the Evangelist.

What did He declare? That 'No one hath seen God at any time.'

But this both the rest of the prophets, and Moses, cry aloud again and again:

'The Lord thy God is one Lord;'

'Before Me there was no other God, and after Me there is none.'

What then have we learned more from the Son, as being in the Father's bosom? What from the Only-begotten? That first of all these very things also are of His working;

then, that we received a far clearer teaching, and learned that 'God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth;'

and further this very thing, that it is impossible to see God, and that no one knoweth Him save the Son;

and that He is the Father of a genuine Only-begotten;

and the other things, as many as were discoursed concerning Him.

But the word 'He declared' points to the clearer and plainer teaching, which He gave not to the Jews only, but to the whole world, and brought it to good effect.

For to the prophets not even all the Jews gave heed;

but to the Only-begotten of God the whole world both yielded and was persuaded.

The 'declaration,' therefore, here signifies the greater plainness of the teaching;

wherefore also He is called both 'Word,' and 'Angel of great counsel.'

Since, therefore, we have been deemed worthy of a greater and more perfect teaching, God no longer speaking to us through prophets, but through His Son in these last days, let us show forth a manner of life much greater and worthy of the honor.

For indeed it were absurd that He should have come down so far as to be no longer willing to converse with us through servants, but through Himself;

while we show forth nothing more than they of former times.

They, then, had Moses; but we have the Master of Moses for our teacher.

Let us therefore show forth a wisdom worthy of this honor, and let us have nothing in common with the earth.

For it was for this cause that He brought us teaching from above, out of the heavens, that He might remove our mind thither, that we might become imitators of the Teacher according to our power.

'And how,' saith one, 'is it possible to become imitators of Christ, transacting all things for the common good, and not seeking our own?'

For Christ also, he saith, pleased not Himself, but as it is written:

'The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell upon Me.'

Let no one, therefore, seek his own.

For thus doth a man seek his own, if he look to that of his neighbor;

for indeed their things are ours.

We are one body, and members and parts one of another.

Let us not therefore be disposed as though torn asunder, nor let anyone say:

'Such a one is no friend of mine,' you say, 'nor a kinsman, nor a neighbor, nor have I anything in common with him.'

How then shall I approach him? How shall I converse with him? But even if he is neither kinsman nor friend, still he is a man, sharing the same nature with you, having the same Master, a fellow-servant and a fellow-tenant with you;

for he has come into being in the same world.

And if he also shares in the same faith, behold, he has even become a member of your body.

For what friendship could ever effect so great a union as the kinship of the faith produces? For it is not merely such closeness as friends ought to show toward friends that we must have toward one another, but as great as member has toward member.

but as great a nearness as member has toward member.

For a closer intimacy than this manner of friendship and fellowship one could never find at all.

As therefore you could not say:

'What kinship or nearness have I toward him?'—for that would be ridiculous—

so neither will you be able to say this concerning your brother.

'For we were all baptized into one body,' he says.

Why into one body? So that we should not be torn asunder, but by our meeting together and our love for one another should preserve the coherence of a single body.

Let us then not despise one another, lest we come to overlook our own selves.

'For no one ever hated his own flesh,' he says, 'but nourishes and cherishes it.'

For this reason God gave us this world as one single house; He distributed all things equally, He kindled one sun for all, He stretched out one roof, the heaven, He spread out one table, the earth.

He also gave another table far greater than this one, yet this too is one;

those initiated together know what is meant.

He granted to all one manner of birth, the spiritual;

one fatherland belongs to all, the one in the heavens;

we all drink from the same cup.

He did not grant to the rich man more and something more honorable, and to the poor man something cheaper and less, but He called all alike;

He bestowed material things with equal honor, and spiritual things in like manner.

Whence then comes this great inequality in life? From the greed and arrogance of the rich.

But no, brethren, let these things be no more; nor, when the universal and more necessary things gather us into one, let us be divided by things earthly and paltry—I mean by wealth and poverty, by bodily kinship, by enmity and friendship.

For all these things are a shadow, and cheaper than a shadow, to those who possess the bond of love from above.

Let us therefore keep this bond unbroken, and none of the wicked spirits that divide so great a union will be able to enter in;

which union may it be granted us all to attain, by the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom be glory to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.