論三位一體 第 1-1 章 第 12/12 段

'Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, saw the heavens opened.' So that what was said by the ancient poet applies here:

'and from heaven, then, the boundless ether was rent asunder.'

[Heading:] That the Spirit is a knower of things to come, in that he foreknows, just as the Father and the Son foreknow;

and that it belongs to the divine nature alone to know future things with precision.

For creation, of itself, brings forth all things only in a conjectural manner, and foresees without error and without deviation only that one thing which the Holy Spirit teaches it.

...with his divine rays, well nigh not only illumining the powers in heaven, but also brightening the eyes of our souls; and he often variously foreshows the things that are to come, and, on account of his own goodness and love for mankind, permits creation, at times, to declare the things that contribute to what is beneficial for human nature.

which things our material nature sometimes ascribes, not to him who granted them through the mediation of creation, but to creation itself.

And the testimonies concerning the foreknowledge of the Spirit, drawn from the Acts of the Apostles, are as follows:

From Peter, to the Jews:

'Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became guide to them that took Jesus.' Well, then, did he say 'must needs':

for of God alone is it true that no word of his is ever left without fulfillment.

'The Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me.' And through the prophet Agabus he foretold, as one who is good, a famine that was to come upon the whole world under heaven on account of the transgressions of men — just as also in the case of Nineveh — so that men, taking heed, might by repentance flee the evil; which indeed came to pass many years later, under Claudius.

And in the Gospel too, Christ says concerning the Spirit:

'and he will declare to you the things that are coming,' that is, the things that are to be.