Christ’s discourse after his last supper.
They being sad, because he said that he must goe from them, he comforteth them many waies, as, putting them in hope to folovv him vnto the same place, so that they keepe his commaundements. Where he telleth them, that him self is the vvay thither according to his Humanitie, and also the end according to his Diuinitie, no lesse then his Father, because he is consubstantial, 15 promising also to send vnto them (that is, to his Church) the Holy Ghost to be after his departure with them for euer. 28 And saying that it is his promotion (according to his Humanitie) to goe to the Father, for, whose obediēce this his death shalbe, & not for any guilt of his owne.
1Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God: believe also in me.Non si turbi il cuor vostro. Credete in Dio, credete anche in me.LET not your hart be troubled. You beleeue in God, beleeue in me also.Non turbetur cor vestrum. Creditis in Deum, et in me credite. 2In my Father’s house there are many mansions. If not, I would have told you: because I go to prepare a place for you.Nella casa del Padre mio vi sono molte mansioni. Se così non fosse, te lo avrei detto. Vo a preparare il luogo per voi.In my fathers house there be many mansions. If not, I vvould haue told you, Because I goe to prepare you a place.In domo Patris mei mansiones multæ sunt; si quominus dixissem vobis: quia vado parare vobis locum. 3And if I shall go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself: that where I am, you also may be.E quando sarò partito, e avrò preparato il luogo per voi, verrò di nuovo, e vi prenderò meco, affinchè dove son io, siate anche voi.And if I goe, and prepare you a place: I come againe and vvil take you to my self, that vvhere I am, you also may be.Et si abiero, et præparavero vobis locum, iterum venio, et accipiam vos ad meipsum: ut ubi sum ego, et vos sitis. 4And whither I go you know: and the way you know.E dove io vo, lo sapete, e la via la sapete.And vvhither I goe you knovv, and the vvay you knovv.Et quo ego vado scitis, et viam scitis. 5Thomas saith to him: Lord, we know not whither thou goest. And how can we know the way?Dissegli Tommaso: Signore, non sappiamo, dove tu vada: e come possiamo saper la via?Thomas saith to him, Lord, vve knovv not vvhither thou goest: and hovv can vve knovv the vvay?Dicit ei Thomas: Domine, nescimus quo vadis: et quomodo possumus viam scire ? 6Jesus saith to him: I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father, but by me.Dissegli Gesù: Io sono via, verità, e vita: nissuno va al Padre, se non per me.IESVS saith to him, I am the vvay, and the veritie, and the life no man commeth to the Father, but by me.Dicit ei Jesus: Ego sum via, et veritas, et vita. Nemo venit ad Patrem, nisi per me. 7If you had known me, you would without doubt have known my Father also: and from henceforth you shall know him. And you have seen him.Se conosceste me, conoscereste anche il Padre mio: e fin d'adesso lo conoscerete, e lo avete veduto.If you had knovven me, my father also certes you had knovven: and from hence forth you shal knovv' him, and you haue seen him.Si cognovissetis me, et Patrem meum utique cognovissetis: et amodo cognoscetis eum, et vidistis eum.
8Philip saith to him: Lord, shew us the Father; and it is enough for us.Dissegli Filippo: Signore, facci vedere il Padre: e siamo contenti.Philippe saith to him, Lord shevv vs the Father, and it sufficeth vs.Dicit ei Philippus: Domine, ostende nobis Patrem, et sufficit nobis. 9Jesus saith to him: Have I been so long a time with you and have you not known me? Philip, he that seeth me seeth the Father also. How sayest thou: Shew us the Father?Dissegli Gesù: Per tanto tempo sono con voi, e non mi avete conosciuto? Filippo, chi vede me, vede anche il Padre. E come dici tu: Facci vedere il Padre?IESVS saith to him, So long time I am vvith you: & haue you not knovvē me? Philippe, he that seeth me, seeth the Father also. Hovv saiest thou, Shevv vs the father?Dicit ei Jesus: Tanto tempore vobiscum sum, et non cognovistis me ? Philippe, qui videt me, videt et Patrem. Quomodo tu dicis: Ostende nobis Patrem ? 10Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me? The words that I speak to you, I speak not of myself. But the Father who abideth in me, he doth the works.Non credi, che io sono nel Padre, e il Padre è in me? Le parole, che io vi parlo, non le parlo da me stesso. Ma il Padre, che sta in me, egli è, che agisce.Doest thou not beleeue that I am in the Father, & the Father in me? The vvordes that I speake to you, of my self I speake not. But my father that abideth in me, he doeth the vvorkes.Non creditis quia ego in Patre, et Pater in me est ? Verba quæ ego loquor vobis, a meipso non loquor. Pater autem in me manens, ipse fecit opera. 11Believe you not that I am in the Father and the Father in me?Non credete voi, che io sono nel Padre, e il Padre è in me?Beleeue you not, that I am in the Father and the Father in me? Othervvise for the vvorkes them selues beleeue.Non creditis quia ego in Patre, et Pater in me est ? 12Otherwise believe for the very works’ sake. Amen, amen, I say to you, he that believeth in me, the works that I do, he also shall do: and greater than these shall he do.Se non altro credetelo a riflesso delle stesse opere. In verità, in verità vi dico: Chi crede in me, farà anche egli le opere, che fo io, e ne farà delle maggiori di queste: imperocché io vo al Padre.Amen, amen I say to you, he that beleeueth in me, the vvorkes that I doe, he also shal doe, and greater then these shal he doe,alioquin propter opera ipsa credite. Amen, amen dico vobis, qui credit in me, opera quæ ego facio, et ipse faciet, et majora horum faciet: quia ego ad Patrem vado. 13Because I go to the Father: and whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my name, that will I do: that the Father may be glorified in the Son.E qualunque cosa domanderete al Padre nel nome mio, la farò, affinché sia glorificato il Padre nel Figliuolo.because I goe to the Father, and vvhatsoeuer you shal aske in my name, that wil I doe: that the Father may be glorified in the Sonne.Et quodcumque petieritis Patrem in nomine meo, hoc faciam: ut glorificetur Pater in Filio.
14If you shall ask me any thing in my name, that I will do.Se alcuna cosa domanderete nel nome mio, io la farò.If you aske me any thing in my name, that vvil I doe.Si quid petieritis me in nomine meo, hoc faciam. 15If you love me, keep my commandments.Se mi amate, osservate i miei comandamenti.If you loue me, keepe my commaundements.Si diligitis me, mandata mea servate: 16And I will ask the Father: and he shall give you another Paraclete, that he may abide with you for ever:E io pregherò il Padre, e vi darà un altro Avvocato, affinchè resti con voi eternamente.And I vvil aske the father, and he vvil giue you an other Paraclete, that he may abide vvith you for euer,et ego rogabo Patrem, et alium Paraclitum dabit vobis, ut maneat vobiscum in æternum, 17The spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, nor knoweth him. But you shall know him; because he shall abide with you and shall be in you.Lo Spirito di verità, cui il mondo non può ricevere, perché non lo vede, né lo conosce; voi però lo conoscerete: perché abiterà con voi, e sarà in voi.the Spirit of truth, vvhom the vvorld can not receiue, because it seeth him not, neither knovveth him, but you knovv' him: because he shal abide vvith you, and shal be in you.Spiritum veritatis, quem mundus non potest accipere, quia non videt eum, nec scit eum: vos autem cognoscetis eum, quia apud vos manebit, et in vobis erit. 18I will not leave you orphans: I will come to you.Non vi lascerò orfani: tornerò a voi.I vvil not leaue you orphanes: I vvil come to you.Non relinquam vos orphanos: veniam ad vos. 19Yet a little while and the world seeth me no more. But you see me: because I live, and you shall live.V'è poco più tempo: e il mondo più non mi vede. Ma voi mi vedete, perché io vivo, e vivrete anche voi.Yet a litle vvhile: and the vvorld seeth me no more. But you see me: because I liue, and you shal liue.Adhuc modicum, et mundus me jam non videt. Vos autem videtis me: quia ego vivo, et vos vivetis. 20In that day you shall know that I am in my Father: and you in me, and I in you.In quel giorno voi conoscerete, che io sono nel Padre mio, e voi in me, e io in voi.In that day you shal knovv that I am in my father, and you in me, and I in you.In illo die vos cognoscetis quia ego sum in Patre meo, et vos in me, et ego in vobis. 21He that hath my commandments and keepeth them; he it is that loveth me. And he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father: and I will love him and will manifest myself to him.Chi ritiene i miei comandamenti, e gli osserva, questi è, che mi ama. E chi ama me, sarà amato dal Padre mio: e io lo amerò, e gli manifesterò me medesimoHe that hath my commaundements, and keepeth them: he it is that loueth me. And he that loueth me, shal be loued of my father: and I vvil loue him, and vvil manifest my self to him.Qui habet mandata mea, et servat ea: ille est qui diligit me. Qui autem diligit me, diligetur a Patre meo: et ego diligam eum, et manifestabo ei meipsum.
22Judas saith to him, not the Iscariot: Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself to us, and not to the world?Disselli Giuda (non l'Iscariote): Signore, donde viene, che manifesterai te stesso a noi, e non al mondo?Iudas saith to him, not that Iscariote, Lord, vvhat is done, that thou vvilt manifest thy self to vs, and not to the vvorld?Dicit ei Judas, non ille Iscariotes: Domine, quid factum est, quia manifestaturus es nobis tepisum, et non mundo ? 23Jesus answered and said to him: If any one love me, he will keep my word. And my Father will love him and we will come to him and will make our abode with him.Rispose Gesù, e gli disse: Chiunque mi ama, osserverà la mia parola, e il Padre mio lo amerà, e verrem da lui, e faremo dimora presso di lui.IESVS ansvvered, and said to him, If any loue me, he vvil keepe my vvord, and my father vvil loue him, and vve vvil come to him, and vvil make abode vvith him.Respondit Jesus, et dixit ei: Si quis diligit me, sermonem meum servabit, et Pater meus diliget eum, et ad eum veniemus, et mansionem apud eum faciemus; 24He that loveth me not keepeth not my words. And the word which you have heard is not mine; but the Father’s who sent me.Chi non mi ama, non osserva le mie parole. E la parola, che udiste, non è mia: ma del Padre, che mi ha mandato.He that loueth me not, keepeth not my vvordes. And the vvord vvhich you haue heard, is not mine: but his that sent me, the Fathers.qui non diligit me, sermones meos non servat. Et sermonem, quem audistis, non est meus: sed ejus qui misit me, Patris. 25These things have I spoken to you, abiding with you.Queste cose ho detto a voi, conversando tra voi.These things haue I spoken to you abiding vvith you.Hæc locutus sum vobis apud vos manens. 26But the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you.Il Paracleto poi, lo Spirito santo, che il Padre manderà nel nome mio, egli insegnerà a voi ogni cosa, e vi ricorderà tutto quello, che ho detto a voi.But the Paraclete the holy Ghost, vvhom the Father vvil send in my name, he shal teach you al things, & suggest vnto you al things vvhatsoeuer I shal say to you.Paraclitus autem Spiritus Sanctus, quem mittet Pater in nomine meo, ille vos docebit omnia, et suggeret vobis omnia quæcumque dixero vobis. 27Peace I leave with you: my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, do I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled: nor let it be afraid.La pace lascio a voi, la pace mia ciò a voi: ve la do io non in quel modo, che la da il mondo. Non si turbi il cuor vostro, né s'impaurisca.Peace I leaue to you, my peace I giue to you. not as the vvorld giueth, doe I giue to you. Let not your hart be troubled, nor feare.Pacem relinquo vobis, pacem meam do vobis: non quomodo mundus dat, ego do vobis. Non turbetur cor vestrum, neque formidet.
28You have heard that I said to you: I go away, and I come unto you. If you loved me you would indeed be glad, because I go to the Father: for the Father is greater than I.Avete udito, come io vi ho detto. Vo, e vengo a voi. Se mi amaste, vi rallegrereste certamente, perché ho detto, vo al Padre: conciossiachè il Padre è maggiore di me.You haue heard that I said to you, I goe and I come to you. If you loued me, you vvould be glad verily, that I goe to the Father: because the Father is greater then I.Audistis quia ego dixi vobis: Vado, et venio ad vos. Si diligeretis me, gauderetis utique, quia vado ad Patrem: quia Pater major me est. 29And now I have told you before it come to pass: that when it shall come to pass, you may believe.Ve l'ho detto adesso, prima che succeda: affinchè, quando sia avvenuto, crediate.And novv I haue told you before it come to passe: that vvhen it shal come to passe, you may beleeue.Et nunc dixi vobis priusquam fiat: ut cum factum fuerit, credatis. 30I will not now speak many things with you. For the prince of this world: cometh: and in me he hath not any thing.Non parlerò ancor molto con voi: imperocché viene il Principe di questo mondo, e non ha da far nulla con me.Novv I vvil not speake many things vvith you. for the prince of this vvorld commeth, and in me he hath not any thing.Jam non multa loquar vobiscum: venit enim princeps mundi hujus, et in me non habet quidquam. 31But that the world may know that I love the Father: and as the Father hath given me commandment, so do I. Arise, let us go hence.Ma affinchè il mondo conosca, che io amo il Padre, e come il Padre prescrissemi, così fo. Alzatevi, partiam di qui.But that the vvorld may knovv that I loue the Father: and as the Father hath giuen me commaundement, so doe I: Arise, let vs goe hence.Sed ut cognoscat mundus quia diligo Patrem, et sicut mandatum dedit mihi Pater, sic facio. Surgite, eamus hinc.
14:1
St. Chrysostom
After having answered the questions of St. Peter, Jesus again addresses himself to his disciples, and bids them not to be afflicted or troubled, at what he says to them. Many Greeks and Latins begin this chapter thus: Jesus said to his disciples, let not your hearts be troubled. (St. Chrysostom)
Euthymius; Leont.; Theophylactus; Theodor.; etc. agree, that our Saviour wished to encourage his apostles, who were so much troubled, because he had said, that Peter should deny him. They thought within themselves, if Peter, who is the strongest, and most resolute amongst us, shall so far forget himself, as to deny his master, what will become of us? Jesus seeing their anxiety, tells them not to be troubled; but to believe in him, and in his words, for he had said, that he would not lose any, whom his Father had given him; (John 6:39.) and that whosoever should believe in him, should have life everlasting. (chap. 3:15.)
Witham
Let not your heart be troubled. Christ here begins those incomparable discourses to his apostles, which are set down in the four next chapters. His sufferings and death now approaching, he forewarns them not to be troubled. You believe in God, and put your trust in him; believe also, and trust in me, no less than in him. (Witham)
14:2
Witham
In my Father's house. He does not say of your Father: for though God be the Father of all by creation, and of the just, by the grace of adoption; yet Christ in several places, calls him his Father, in a quite different sense, that is, as he was his eternal Father, as the ancient interpreters observe. (Witham)
St. Jerome
These many mansions signify different degrees of glory in heaven. (St. Jerome, lib. 2:adv. Jovin.)
14:3
I will come again: not only by rising the third day, but at your death, and at the day of judgment: that where I am, you also may be, and may receive the reward of eternal happiness in my kingdom.
14:4
And whither I go, you know, and the way you know. Thomas replied, we know neither. Jesus saith to him, I am the way. They knew it, says St. Augustine, (tract. 69.) but they did not know, that they knew it: they knew their Master, Jesus Christ, and he was the way: they also knew, that is, believed, the kingdom of heaven, but they knew not, that he was returning thither: for as yet their imaginations were upon a temporal kingdom.
Witham
I am the way, by my doctrine and example: I am the Truth, by my promises; and I am Life, by the graces I offer and give. (Witham)
14:7
If you know me, you would surely[Ver. 7. Cognoscetis eum, in the present Greek copies (one excepted) we read, cognoscitis, ginoskete; Maldonatus judges it the true reading. But not only St. Augustine and the Latin Fathers, but even St. Chrysostom reads it in the future tense, gnosesthe: and takes particular notice of this reading. to men mellontos, hom. lxxiii. tom. 8. p. 432. Ed. Montfaucon.] have known my Father also. That is, (says St. Chrysostom; St. Cyril; etc.) did you know me to be his true, and eternal Son, you would always know him to be the Father from all eternity. And from henceforth, especially from the coming of the Holy Ghost, you shall know him with a more perfect knowledge. And you have seen him, not as to the divine nature: in this manner, you have neither seen him, nor me. But,
14:9
Witham
He that seeth me, seeth the Father also:[Ver. 9. Qui videt me, videt et Patrem. See St. Chrysostom, om od. p. 435. Nov. Ed. si alterius esset substantiae, non hoc dixisset, ei de eteras ousias en, ouk an touto eipen. See St. Cyril, p. 777.] that is, he seeth him, who is not a man only, but who also, by my divine nature, am one and the same with the Father: so that he who believes, and as it were sees, or knows by faith, who I am, cannot but know, that I am one with my eternal Father; not one person, as the Sabellians fancied, but one in nature and substance. The ancient Fathers take notice against the Arians, that these words, and others that follow in this chapter, could not be true, if Christ was no more than a creature, though ever so perfect, there being an infinite distance betwixt God and the highest of his creatures. (Witham)
14:10
Witham
Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? These words confirm the equality of the Father and the Son: nor can they be expounded of an union of affection only, by what Christ told them before. (John 5:17-19.) As the Father worketh till now, so I work: and whatsoever things the Father worketh, these also in like manner the Son doth. (Witham)
In the Son and in the Father, there is one and the same essence, the same wisdom, the same power; so that what the Son says, he does not say it of himself, and what the Son does, he does not do it of himself; but it is the Father, who abideth in the Son, who both acts and speaks.
14:12
Witham
And greater than these shall he do, because I go to the Father. Christ speaks of the greatness of visible miracles, and tells them, that after his ascension, they shall be enabled, even to do greater miracles than he has yet shewn to the world. He would give this power to his disciples, who were to convert the world; and perhaps the greatest miracle of all, was the conversion of the whole world. (Witham)
Calmet
Behold another proof of my divinity, viz. the wonderful miracles those perform, who believe in me. An impostor may seduce the vulgar with false miracles, or, perhaps, with real wonderful prodigies; but he cannot confer that power on others. Behold, I have performed miracles by my own power, without any deceit, and always with a sovereign authority. I have given those, who believed in me, power to work in my name, as great, and even greater miracles, than I have done myself. All this I have done, to shew you, that I am equally God with the Father. I truly am so, then, for it would be impossible for God to assist an impostor, a liar, and an enemy to his honour and glory. (Calmet)
14:13
Witham
That will I do. He does not now say, this the Father will do: to shew that the power of both is equal, and the same. (Witham)
14:15
St. Chrysostom
Instead of afflicting yourselves at our separation, and my going to the Father, you ought, if you truly love me, to testify your affection, by a faithful observance of my commandments. Behold, this is the best proof you can give me of your attachment: better far than any exterior sign of grief and tenderness. (St. Chrysostom)
14:16
Paraclete. This is a comforter: or also an advocate: inasmuch as by inspiring prayer, he prays, as it were, in us, and pleads for us.
Challoner
For ever. Hence it is evident, that this spirit of truth was not only promised to the persons of the apostles, but also to their successors, through all generations. (Challoner)
Witham
I have not changed the word Paraclete, which signifies, both and advocate and a comforter. He shall remain with you, and in you, for ever. What greater happiness, what greater security for the faithful, than to have this divine promise, the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of truth, remaining with the Church for ever, to protect her, and preserve her from all errors and heresies? (Witham)
If the Holy Ghost had been promised only to the apostles, their successors could not have challenged the promise. But the promises and privileges were not merely personal, but attached to their office perpetually. Hence, the Holy Ghost, in every age and clime, perpetually watches over the Catholic Church, and preserves her from both open and secret attacks of her enemies.
14:19
Witham
The world seeth me no more, after my death; but you shall see me, conversing with you for forty days, after my resurrection. (Witham)
14:20
Witham
In that day, when I am risen again, or when the Holy Ghost is come, you shall know that I am in the Father, and how, and in what manner: as also, how I am in you, and you in me. Our Saviour Christ, on several occasions, speaks of different ways of being united, or of being one; as first, of being one in nature and substance, and by such an union, as agrees only with the divine persons, who are one in all things. 2ndly, Persons may be one, or united in affection and love, which also, as to its most perfect manner, agrees only with the three divine persons; but a similitude, and an imitation of this union of love, is found among creatures, both when they love God, and when for God's sake, they love one another: yet these unions are as different as God, and his creatures. The Arians and Socinians lay hold on these expressions, and of the words, (chap. 17:21.) when Christ prays, that his disciples may be one, as he and his Father are one, which words imply no more than a similitude, and an imitation of that union of love (with which the three divine persons love one another) though at an infinite distance. If the old or new Arians examined, with a sincere desire of finding the truth (which they ought to seek from many passages in the New Testament, as well as from the sense and tradition of the Church, guided by the promised Spirit of Truth) they might certainly find how different is the union of nature and substance of the eternal Son with his eternal Father, and of that union of the three divine persons, when they are said to be one, from that inferior and lesser union of love and affection, by which either God loves his adoptive children, his faithful servants, or they love one another: they would easily discover, that many things are said of the unity and union of the divine persons, which could not be true, unless they were one and the same God, coeternal and consubstantial, which by no means can be said of God and his creatures, nor of the union of affection only, by which the creatures love one another. (Witham)
14:21
Witham
Now that Christ in this place speaks only of this imperfect union of affection, appears by the following words: he that keepeth my commandments, loveth me: and he that loveth me, shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and I will manifest myself to him: that is, by particular graces and favours, and by a recompense of glory in the next life. (Witham)
14:22
Witham
Lord, how is it? Literally, what is done, or, what will be done, that thou art about to manifest thyself to us, and not to the world? This apostle imagined, that the Messias would make manifest his glory of a temporal kingdom, not to them only, but to all the world. But Christ, by his answer, lets him know, that he spoke only of a manifestation of his love to those that loved him. If any man love me, my Father will love him, and we will come to him, that is, the three divine persons, will come to his soul, in a special manner, so as to bless him with an infusion of graces, and make our abode in his soul. (Witham)
14:26
Witham
The Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, as proceeding also from me: and therefore Christ saith, in the next chapter, (ver. 26) that he himself will send him from the Father. He will teach you all things, etc. He will give you a more perfect knowledge of all those truths, which I have taught you. (Witham)
Challoner
Teach you all things. Here the Holy Ghost is promised to the apostles, and their successors, particularly, in order to teach them all truth, and to preserve them from error. (Challoner)
Calmet
The Scripture, in different places, remarks, that the apostles did not understand the accomplishment of prophecies, as soon as they were fulfilled. (Luke 24:27.) They could not draw the comparison between the actions of our Saviour, and the figures of the old law: but no sooner had the Holy Ghost descended upon them, than they explained the Scriptures, their hearts and eyes being opened and enlightened by the light of the Holy Spirit. (Calmet)
See John 16:12-13.
14:28
Witham
The Father is greater than I.[Ver. 28. Pater major me est, o pater meizon mou estin. St. Chrysostom, hom. oe. p. 443. Nov. Ed. Si quis verò dixerit majorem esse Patrem, ut filii principium, non huic contradicemus, kath o aitios tou uiou, oude touto anteroumen. See St. Athanasius, Orat. 1. Cont. Arianos, p. 362. Ed. Ben. non dixit, Pater praestantior est me, kreiton mon esti, ne quis eum alium à Patris naturà, esse suspicaretur, sed major dixit, non quidem magnitudine quadam, aut tempore, sed quià ex ipso Patre gignitur, etc. See St. Augustine, tract. 78. p. 699. propter forman servi, dicit, Pater major me est, etc.] According to the common exposition, Christ here speaks of himself, as made man, which interpretation is drawn from the circumstances of the text, Christ being at that time, going to suffer, and die, and shortly after to rise again, and ascend into heaven, all which agree with him, as man, and according to his human nature. But the Arians can take no advantage from these words, (though with divers of the ancient Fathers, we should allow them to be spoken of Christ, as the Son of God:) the Father may be said in some manner to be greater than the Son, if we consider the order of the divine processions, that is, that the Father is the first person, and proceeds from no other; whereas the Son proceeds from the Father. If any one, says St. Chrysostom, will contend, that the Father is greater, inasmuch as he is the cause, from which the Son proceedeth, we will bear with him, and this way of speaking: provided he grant that the Son is not of a different substance, or nature. St. Athanasius allows the same, and takes notice, that though the Father is said to be greater, yet he is not said to be better, nor more excellent, than the Son; because they are one and the same in substance, nature, and other perfections. (Witham)
St. Basil
The enemies of the divinity of Christ here triumph, and think they have the confession of Christ himself, that he is less than the Father. But if they would distinguish the two natures of Christ, their arguments would all fall to the ground. Jesus Christ, as man, and a creature, is inferior to his Father, the Creator; but, as God, he is, in every respect, equal to him. (St. Basil, St. Augustine, etc.)
St. Chrysostom
Others, likewise, answer it thus: Following the confused opinion of the world, and even of the apostles themselves, who as yet only considered Christ as a prophet, and as a man, eminent in virtue and sanctity, he was less than the Father. (St. Chrysostom; Leont.; Theophylactus; Euthymius)
Calmet
And likewise the title of Father, (as we generally use the word) is greater, and much more honourable, than that of Son; and in this respect, Christ is inferior to his Father. (St. Athanasius; St. Hilary; St. Epiphanius; St. Gregory of Nazianzus; and St. Cyril) ---But this appellation, though really true, does not destroy the equality of the persons, because Christ has declared, in numerous other places, that he is equal to the Father; that he is in the Father; and that he and the Father are one. The apostles ought to have rejoiced that Christ was going to the Father, who was superior to him, considering him in his human nature; because, then, would the Son shew forth his honour and glory to be equal to the Father's, in heaven. This would have been a mark of a pure, solid, and disinterested love, which ought to have inspired the apostles, if they truly loved their divine Master. (Calmet)
Protestants assume to themselves the liberty of making the Bible only, the exclusive rule of faith, yet refuse this privilege to others. Thus Luther insisted, that his catechism should be taught, and followed. Calvin burnt Servetus for explaining his faith, by his own interpretation of the Bible, particularly of these words, the Father is greater than 1:The Church of England compels every clergyman to swear to the Thirty-nine Articles, and has inflicted the severest penalties on such as interpreted the Bible according to the principles of Socinus; and on Catholics, who understand the words of Jesus Christ, This is my body: this is my blood, in the literal and obvious sense of the words. As long as each individual is at liberty to expound Scripture by the private spirit, it is a great injustice to compel any one, by penal laws, to yield his judgment to any authority, that is not less fallible than his own.
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As the Father hath given me commandment, so I do.
Witham
He again speaks of himself, as man. Arise, let us go hence. Yet by John 18:1. Christ still continued the like instructions, either in the same place, or in the way to Gethsemani. (Witham)
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Paraclete.... That is, a comforter: or also an advocate; inasmuch as by inspiring prayer, he prays, as it were, in us, and pleads for us. For ever.... Hence it is evident that this Spirit of Truth was not only promised to the persons of the apostles, but also to their successors through all generations.
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Teach you all things.... Here the Holy Ghost is promised to the apostles and their successors, particularly, in order to teach them all truth, and to preserve them from error.
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For the Father is greater than I.... It is evident, that Christ our Lord speaks here of himself as he is made man: for as God he is equal to the Father. (See Phil. 2.) Any difficulty of understanding the meaning of these words will vanish, when the relative circumstances of the text here are considered: for Christ being at this time shortly to suffer death, signified to his apostles his human nature by these very words: for as God he could not die. And therefore as he was both God and man, it must follow that according to his humanity he was to die, which the apostles were soon to see and believe, as he expresses, ver. 29. And now I have told you before it come to pass: that when it shall come to pass, you may believe.
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In the liturgy The Gospel vpō SS. Philip and Iacobs day Maij. 1.
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These mansiōs signifie differences of glorie in heauen. Hiero. li. •. adu. Iouin.
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doe knovv
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12. Greater then these.) li. de Babyla mart. •o. 5. S. Chrysostom in a whole booke against the Pagans proueth that this was fulfilled not onely in Peters shadow, We may and must easely beleeue the miracles of Saincts & of their relikes, whē Christ him self foretelleth they shal doe such wonderful things. and Paules garments, which as we read in the Act. 5, 15, 19, 1•. Actes, healed infirmities: but also by the Relikes and monuments of Saincts, namely of S. Babylas, of whom he there treateth: thereby inferring that Christ is God, who could and did performe these wonderful wordes, by the very ashes of his seruants. The Protestants cleane contrarie, as patrones of the Pagans infidelitie, as though our Sauiour had promised these & the like miraculous workes in vaine, either not meaning or not able to fulfil thē, so do they discredite al the approued histories of the Church concerning miracles wrought by Saincts, namely that S. Gregorie Thaumaturgus See Annot. Mat. 1•, •0. remoued a mountaine, the miracles of S. Paul the eremite and S. Hilarion written by S. Hierom, the miracles of S. Martin written by Seuerus Sulpitius, the miracles testified by S. Augustine de Ciuit. Dei, the miracles approued by S. Gregorie in his Dialoges, the miracles reported by S. Bede in his Ecclesiastical storie and liues of Saincts: The Heretikes as faithles ī this point, as the old Pagans. and al other miracles neuer so faithfully recorded in Ecclesiastical writers. In al which things aboue their reach of reason and nature, they are as litle persuaded and haue no more faith then had the Pagans, against whom S. Chrysostom in the foresaid booke, and S. Augustine de Ciu. Dei li. 22 c. 8, and other Fathers heretofore haue written. No man therfore needeth to maruel that the very Image of our Lady, & the like, doe miracles, euen as Peters shadow did: nor wonder, if such things seeme stranger and greater then those which Christ him self did: whereas our Sauiour to put vs out of doubt, saith expresly that his Saincts shal doe greater things then him self did.
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In the liturgy The Gospel in a votiue Masse for the election of the Pope, & vpon whitsun eue.
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It is then possible both to loue Christ, and to keepe his cō maundements.
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16. For euer.) The HOLY GHOST is promised to the CHVRCH for euer. If the Holy Ghost had been promised onely to the Apostles, their successors and the Church after them could not haue chalenged it, but it vvas promised them for euer. Whereby we may learne, both that the priuileges and promisses made to the Apostles were not personal, but pertaining to their offices perpetually: and also that the Church and Pastors in al ages had and haue the same Holy Ghost to gouerne them, that the Apostles and primitiue Church had.
Paraclete by interpretation is either a comforter, or an aduocate: and therfore to trāslate it by any one of them only, is ꝑhaps to abridge the sense of this place.
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17. The spirit of truth.) They had many particular giftes and graces of the Holy Ghost before, and many vertues by the same, The Spirit of truth shal assist the CHVRCH alvvaies. as al holy men haue at al times: but the Holy Ghost here promised to the Apostles and their successors for euer, is to this vse specially promised, to direct them in al truth and veritie: and is contrarie to the spirit of errour, heresie, and falshod. And therefore the Church can not fall to Apostasie or Heresie, or to nothing, as the Aduersaries say.
shal knovv
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In the liturgy The Gospel vpō whitsunday. And in a Votiue Masse of the holy Ghost.
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See the Annot. vpō the 16 Chap. vs. 12 & 13.
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28. Father greater then I.) There is no place of Scripture that seemeth any thing so much to make for the Sacramentaries, The Arians alleage as plaine Scriptures as the Protestāts. as this and other in outward shew of wordes seemed to make for the Arians, who denied the equalitie of the Sonne with the Father. Which wordes yet in deede rightly vnderstood after the Churches sense, make nothing for their false secte, but only signifie that Christ according to his Manhod wa• inferior in deede, and that according to his Diuinitie he came of the Father. And if the Heresie or disease of this time were Arianisme, we should stand vpon these places and the like against the Arians, as we now do vpon others against the Protestants, whose secte is the disease and bane of this time.
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Tatian † AD 180 The Diatessaron 45
… for it hath not seen him, nor known him: but ye know him; for he hath dwelt [46] with you, and is in you. I will not leave you orphans: I will come unto you. [47] Another little while , and the world seeth me not; but ye see me that I live, and ye [48] shall live also. And in that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 9.19
… So He can neither be separated from God nor merged in God. Hence He speaks in words deliberately chosen, so that whatever He claims for the Father, He signifies in modest language to be appropriate to Himself also. Take as an instance the command, Believe in God, and believe also in Me
St Basil the Great † AD 379 The Letters 8.3
… Such is the force of the words “That they may know Thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent,” and again “Ye believe in God, believe also in me.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 5.10
… “That whosoever believeth on Me should not abide in darkness;” and in another place again: “For this is the will of My Father that sent Me, that every one that seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have eternal life;” and again: “Ye believe in God, believe also in Me.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 69
… Anyhow, conversing with the disciples, He did speak thus: “Ye believe on the Father, believe also on Me” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 73
Chap. xiv. ver. 1 . “Let not your heart be troubled.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 1.12
… but that men might so believe on Himself, as they believe on the Father, to whom He is equal. And this He says in express terms in another place, “Ye believe in God, believe also in me:”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Profit of Believing 32
… He used to cry out, that He should be believed in, ye cry out against it. He used to praise such as believe in Him, ye blame them. But unless either He should change water into wine, to omit other (miracles), if men would follow Him, doing no such, but (only) teaching; either we must make no account of that saying, “Believe ye God, believe also Me;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins, and on the Baptism of Infants 1.18
… the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Now if any man had it in his power confidently to declare, “I justify you,” it would necessarily follow that he could also say, “Believe in me.” But it has never been in the power of any of the saints of God to say this except the Saint of saints, who said: “Ye believe in God, believe also in me;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Predestination of the Saints 2.34
… or because he said, “He who hath begun a good work in you shall carry it on even unto the day of Christ Jesus,” did he on that account cease to persuade men to begin and to persevere unto the end? Doubtless, our Lord Himself commanded men to believe, and said, “Believe in God, believe also in me:”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Harmony of the Gospels 3.3
… Thus, then, after the prediction in question had been made to Peter, according to John’s version, the same John proceeds with his statement, and introduces in this connection the Lord’s discourse, which was to the following effect: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 54.3
… “He that receiveth you, receiveth me; and he that receiveth me, receiveth Him that sent me.” For the master is honored in the servant, and the father in the son: but then the father is as it were in the son, and the master as it were in the servant. But the only-begotten Son could rightly say, “Believe on God, and believe on me;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 69.10
10. “Let them not blush in Me, that wait for Thee, O Lord, Lord of virtues” ( ver. 6 ). Again, the voice of the Head, “Let them not blush in Me:” let it not be said to them, Where is He on whom ye were relying? Let it not be said to them, Where is He that was saying to you, Believe ye in God, and in Me believe?
Jacob of Serugh † AD 521 Homily on Habib the Martyr 1
For this—that he might speak of Him without hindrance.
St John of Damascus † AD 749 An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith 4.18
Of the things that refer to the period after the union there are three modes. The first declares His divine nature, as, I am in the Father and the Father in Me
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St Papias † AD 150 Fragments of Papias, V 1
… for the first will be taken up into the heavens, the second class will dwell in Paradise, and the last will inhabit the city; and that on this account the Lord said, “In my Father’s house are many mansions:”
Tatian † AD 180 The Diatessaron 45
[29] Then Jesus said unto them, Let not your hearts be troubled: believe in God, [30] and believe in me.
St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 3.19.3
… For there are many mansions in the Father’s house,
St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 5.36.2
… for the first will be taken up into the heavens, the second will dwell in paradise, the last will inhabit the city; and that was on this account the Lord declared, “In My Father’s house are many mansions.”
Tertullian † AD 220 On the Resurrection of the Flesh 41
… Because, however, he had called the flesh a house , he wished elegantly to use the same term in his comparison of the ultimate reward; promising to the very house, which undergoes dissolution through suffering, a better house through the resurrection. Just as the Lord also promises us many mansions as of a house in His Father’s home;
Tertullian † AD 220 On Monogamy 10
… if we shall be re- formed in substance, not in consciousness? Consequently, we who shall be with God shall be together; since we shall all be with the one God—albeit the wages be various, albeit there be “many mansions”, in the house of the same Father
Aphrahat † AD 346 Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations 22.23
… and outside the prison house he is kept in freedom, without chains and without bonds. He that is put to death is distinguished from him that is bound; and the punishment of one exceeds that of another, according to the desert of his offence. But come thou to our Redeemer, Who said:— Many are the mansions in My Father’s house.
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Festal and Personal Letters of Athanasius 10
… For in sowing, He did not compel the will beyond the power. Nor is mercy confined to the perfect, but it is sent down also among those who occupy the middle and the third ranks, so that He might rescue all men generally to salvation. To this intent He hath prepared many mansions
St Basil the Great † AD 379 De Spiritu Sancto 16
… For among the glories of the saints are “many mansions” in the Father’s house,
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 An Exhortation to Theodore After His Fall 1
… And these things are not merely sug gested by our own reasoning, but declared also by the divine oracles; for He Himself saith, “He shall reward every man according to his works.” And not only in hell, but also in the kingdom one will find many differences; for He saith “in my Fathers house are many mansions;”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Second Corinthians 10
… For having said “earthly” he hath opposed to it “the heavenly;” having said, “house of tabernacle,” thereby declaring both that it is easily taken to pieces and is temporary, he hath opposed to it the “eternal,” for the name “tabernacle” often times denotes temporariness. Wherefore He saith, “In My Father’s house are many abiding places.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 73
Ver. 2 . “In My Father’s house are many mansions.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Hebrews 25
What then awaiteth him who is become a servant (tell me)? Hear Christ saying, “The servant abideth not in the house for ever.” ( John viii. 35 .) Thou hast a declaration complete in itself, that he never entereth into the Kingdom; for this is what “the House” means. For, He says, “in My Father’s House are many mansions.” (
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 3.5
… I have before me the declaration of Thy majesty: “Whosoever shall teach and not do shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven.” May he enjoy the crown of virtue, and in return for his daily martyrdoms may he follow the Lamb robed in white raiment! For “in my Father’s house are many mansions,”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 77.12
… Happy indeed is she in her encomium who throughout her life has been stained by no defilement. But let envy depart and censoriousness be silent. If the father of the house is good why should our eye be evil? The soul which fell among thieves has been carried home upon the shoulders of Christ. In our father’s house are many mansions.
St Jerome † AD 420 Against Jovinianus 2.10
… and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” He that is righteous, loves Christ: and if a man thus loves, the Father and the Son come to him, and make their abode with him. Now I suppose that when the guest is such as this the host cannot possibly lack anything. And if our Lord says,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Of Holy Virginity 26
… and, whatever else there is, it hath its own property, although it have health equally with all. Thus because life eternal itself shall be alike to all, an equal penny was assigned to all; but, because in that life eternal itself the lights of merits shall shine with a distinction, there are “many mansions” in the house of the Father:
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Soul and its Origin 2.14
… the words remaining accordingly in full force, ‘Except a man be born again of water and of the Holy Ghost, he shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.’ This is especially true, inasmuch as the Lord acknowledges that in His Father’s house are many mansions,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Soul and its Origin 3.15
… but He plainly says, “In my Father’s house are many mansions.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 61.5
… Here therefore a sojourner thou art. Whence also is said in another Psalm, “A sojourner I am with Thee and a stranger, as all my fathers were.” Here therefore sojourners we are; there the Lord shall give to us mansions everlasting: “Many are,” He saith, “the mansions in My Father’s house.”
John Cassian † AD 435 The Conferences of John Cassian 11.12
… For the Saviour says that in His Father’s house are “many mansions,”
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Tatian † AD 180 The Diatessaron 45
[29] Then Jesus said unto them, Let not your hearts be troubled: believe in God, [30] and believe in me. The stations in my Father’s house are many, else I should [31] have told you. I go to prepare for you a place.
Origen † AD 254 Origen Against Celsus 6.20
… for His words are: “That where I go, ye may be also.”
Aphrahat † AD 346 Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations 6.10
… Our Lord took from us a pledge when He went, and He left us a pledge of His own when he ascended. He that was without need, because of our need devised this expedient. What was ours was His even from the beginning, but that which was His, who would have given us? But true is that which our Lord promised us:— Where I am there ye also shall be .
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 2.21
… Psalm, ‘The generation to come shall declare unto the Lord, and they shall declare His righteousness, unto a people that shall be born whom the Lord made .’ For we shall no more hear, ‘In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die ,’ but ‘Where I am, there ye’ shall ‘be also;’ so that we may say, ‘We are His workmanship, created unto good works
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 5.12
… “For to depart and be with Christ is far better.” Though we are under sin in this world, Christ is with us, that “by the obedience of one man many may be made just.” And if I escape the sin of this world, I shall begin to be with Christ. And so He says: “I will come again, and receive you unto Myself;”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 73
… Then that He may not seem to speak as though enticing them, but that they may believe the thing to be so, He addeth,
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 86
[2.] Some assert, that she asked for spiritual grace, because she had heard Him when with the disciples say, “If I go to the Father, ‘I will ask Him, and He shall give you another Comforter.’” (
St Jerome † AD 420 Against Jovinianus 2.10
… There are, He says, prepared in heaven, many different mansions, destined for many different virtues, and they will be awarded not to persons, but to persons’ works. In vain therefore do you ask of me what rests with yourselves, a reward which my Father has prepared for those whose virtues will entitle them to rise to such dignity. Again when He says:
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Reply to Faustus the Manichæan 16.19
… This successor was called Osea, and Moses gave him the name of Jesus. Why then did he give him this name when he sent him from the valley of Pharan into the land into which he was to lead the people? The true Jesus says, "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself."
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Tatian † AD 180 The Diatessaron 45
[29] Then Jesus said unto them, Let not your hearts be troubled: believe in God, [30] and believe in me. The stations in my Father’s house are many, else I should [31] have told you. I go to prepare for you a place. And if I go to prepare for you a place, I shall return again, and take you unto me: and so where I am, there ye [32, 33] shall be also.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 73
[2.] Ver. 4 . “And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.”
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Tatian † AD 180 The Diatessaron 45
… believe in God, [30] and believe in me. The stations in my Father’s house are many, else I should [31] have told you. I go to prepare for you a place. And if I go to prepare for you a place, I shall return again, and take you unto me: and so where I am, there ye [32, 33] shall be also. And the place that I go ye know, and the way ye know.
Tertullian † AD 220 Against Praxeas 24
… For Thomas, who was so long incredulous, said: “Lord, we know not whither Thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye would have known the Father also: but henceforth ye know Him, and have seen Him.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 73
Ver. 5 . “Lord, we know not whither Thou goest.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 76
“Arise, let us go hence. I am the true Vine, (ye are the branches,
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 78
… And now when it has overthrown the disciples who were not yet perfect, see how Christ raiseth them again by His rebuke. They who before this had asked Him ten thousand questions, (for Peter said, “Whither goest Thou?” [ c. xiii. 36 ]; and Thomas, “We know not whither Thou goest, and how can we know the way?” [
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St Ignatius of Antioch † AD 108 Epistle to the Ephesians: Shorter and Longer Versions 9
… For, says [the Scripture], “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord.” Now the way is unerring, namely, Jesus Christ. For, says He, “I am the way and the life.”
St Ignatius of Antioch † AD 108 Epistle to the Philadelphians: Shorter and Longer Versions 9
… but the High Priest is better, to whom the holy of holies has been committed, and who alone has been entrusted with the secrets of God. The ministering powers of God are good. The Comforter is holy, and the Word is holy, the Son of the Father, by whom He made all things, and exercises a providence over them all. This is the Way
Tatian † AD 180 The Diatessaron 45
… I go to prepare for you a place. And if I go to prepare for you a place, I shall return again, and take you unto me: and so where I am, there ye [32, 33] shall be also. And the place that I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas said unto him, Our Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how is the way for [34] us to the knowledge of that?
St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 1.15.2
… of six letters was manifested (the person bearing it clothing Himself in flesh, that He might come under the apprehension of man’s senses, and having in Himself these six and twenty-four letters), then, becoming acquainted with Him, they ceased from their ignorance, and passed from death unto life, this name serving as their guide to the Father of truth.
St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 3.5.1
1. Since, therefore, the tradition from the apostles does thus exist in the Church, and is permanent among us, let us revert to the Scriptural proof furnished by those apostles who did also write the Gospel, in which they recorded the doctrine regarding God, pointing out that our Lord Jesus Christ is the truth,
St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 4.7.3
… and neither without the goodwill of the Father nor without the agency of the Son, can any man know God. Wherefore did the Lord say to His disciples, “I am the way, the truth, and the life and no man cometh unto the Father but by Me. If ye had known Me, ye would have known My Father also: and from henceforth ye have both known Him, and have seen Him.”
Tertullian † AD 220 Against Praxeas 24
… And now it may be seen in what sense it was said, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father,” —even in the same in which it was said in a previous passage, “I and my Father are one.” Wherefore? Because “I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world ” and, “I am the way: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me;”
Tertullian † AD 220 On Repentance 4
… that you, who sometime were in God’s sight nothing but “a drop of a bucket,” and “dust of the threshing-floor,” and “a potter’s vessel,” may thenceforward become that “tree which is sown beside the waters, is perennial in leaves, bears fruit at its own time,” and shall not see “fire,” nor “axe.” Having found “the truth,”
Tertullian † AD 220 On the Veiling of Virgins 1
… For these, for the most part, are the sources whence, from some ignorance or simplicity, custom finds its beginning; and then it is successionally confirmed into an usage, and thus is maintained in opposition to truth. But our Lord Christ has surnamed Himself Truth,
St Hippolytus † AD 235 Expository Treatise Against the Jews 6
6. And then hear what follows: “Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not.” And surely ye have been darkened in the eyes of your soul with a darkness utter and everlasting. For now that the true light has arisen, ye wander as in the night, and stumble on places with no roads, and fall headlong, as having forsaken the way that saith, “I am the way.”
Origen † AD 254 Origen De Principiis pref.1
1. All who believe and are assured that grace and truth were obtained through Jesus Christ, and who know Christ to be the truth, agreeably to His own declaration, “I am the truth,”
Origen † AD 254 Origen Against Celsus i.66
We now, believing Jesus Himself, when He says respecting His divinity, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life,”
Origen † AD 254 Origen Against Celsus 6.66
… No Christian, then, would give Celsus, or any accuser of the divine Word, the answer, “How shall I know God?” for each one of them knows God according to his capacity. And no one asks, “How shall I learn the way which leads to Him?” because he has heard Him who says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life,”
Origen † AD 254 Origen Against Celsus 8.12
… and our argument against the worship of other gods still continues valid. And we do not “reverence beyond measure one who has but lately appeared,” as though He did not exist before; for we believe Himself when He says, “Before Abraham was, I am.” Again He says, “I am the truth;”
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John 1.11
… and all these things the Son of God is said to be. And another good thing which one may conceive to be in addition to life or light is the truth. And a fourth in addition to time is the way which leads to the truth. And all these things our Saviour teaches that He is, when He says:
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John 1.22
… This is what John suggested when he said about the Word: “That which was made was life in Him.” Life then came in the Word. And on the one side the Word is no other than the Christ, the Word, He who was with the Father, by whom all things were made; while, on the other side, the Life is no other than the Son of God, who says:
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John 6.3
… Consider if the other things which Christ is said to be in a unity admit of being multiplied in the same way and spoken of in the plural. For example, Christ is our life as the Saviour Himself says,
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on Matthew 12.9
… when the Jews did not know that He was Christ, was indeed a great thing, but greater that he knew Him not only to be Christ, but also “the Son of the living God,” who had also said through the prophets, “I live,” and “They have forsaken Me the spring of living water;” —and He is life also, as from the Father the spring of life, who said, “I am the Life;”
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on Matthew 12.33
But we must seek to understand what is meant by “tasting of death.” And He is life who says, “I am the life,”
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on Matthew 12.40
… But if it were a lie, you will seek to know who caused the lie to be spoken; and especially since according to John, “When he speaketh a lie he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar and the father thereof;” and as there is no truth apart from the working of Him who says, “I am the Truth,”
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on Matthew 13.9
Now we must think that the devil has the power of death,—not of that which is common and indifferent, in accordance with which those who are compacted of soul and body die, when their soul is separated from the body,—but of that death which is contrary to and the enemy of Him who said, “I am the Life,”
St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 The Epistles of Cyprian 72.17
… For they who know God the Father the Creator, ought also to know Christ the Son, lest they should flatter and applaud themselves about the Father alone, without the acknowledgment of His Son, who also said, “No man cometh to the Father but by me.”
St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 The Epistles of Cyprian 73.9
… With her there is no accepting of persons or distinctions; but what is just she does: nor in her judgments is there unrighteousness, but the strength, and the kingdom, and the majesty, and the power of all ages. Blessed be the Lord God of truth!” This truth Christ showed to us in His Gospel, and said, “I am the truth.”
St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 On the Lord's Prayer 3
… For since He says, that “whatsoever we shall ask of the Father in His name, He will give us,” how much more effectually do we obtain what we ask in Christ’s name, if we ask for it in His own prayer!
St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews 2.28
In the Gospel: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one cometh to the Father but by me.”
St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews 3.25
In the Gospel according to John: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 The Seventh Council of Carthage under Cyprian. Concerning the Baptism of Heretics 1
Libosus of Vaga said: In the Gospel the Lord says, “I am the truth.”
Novatian † AD 258 A Treatise of Novatian Concerning the Trinity 28
… “For no one,” says He, “can come to the Father, but by me.”
St Dionysius of Alexandria † AD 265 Exegetical Fragments 1.2
… so the mind of the man who has once been enervated by pleasures is not easily diverted from the tendency thus assumed, because he has not “respect unto all the commandments of the Lord.” Again: “Christ is the head of the Church.” And they, therefore, are the wise who walk in His way; for He Himself has said, “I am the way.”
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 7.33
… How sayest thou, Shew us the Father? Dost thou not believe Me, that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself, but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth His works. Believe Me, that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me; or else believe for the very works’ sake
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 11.33
… Moreover He shall so subject them to Himself, that God shall subject them to Him. Was the Apostle ignorant, think you, of the force of these words in the Gospel, No one cometh to Me, except the Father draw Him to Me which stand side by side with those other words, No one cometh unto the Father but by Me
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 12.45
… And first, since Christ is Wisdom, we must see whether He is Himself the beginning of the way of the works of God. Of this, I think, there is no doubt; for He says, I am the way , and, No man cometh to the Father except through Me
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 Homilies on the Psalms 53.11
… We have shewn that the whole of the foregoing prayer is the utterance of that human nature in which the Son of God was born; so here it is the voice of human nature calling upon God the Father to destroy His enemies in His truth. What this truth is, stands beyond doubt; it is of course He Who said: I am the Life, the Way, the Truth
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Expositio Fidei. (Statement of Faith.) 4
4. Each text then which refers to the creature is written with reference to Jesus in a bodily sense. For the Lord’s Humanity was created as ‘a beginning of ways,’ and He manifested it to us for our salvation. For by it we have our access to the Father. For He is the way (
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 De Decretis. (Defence of the Nicene Definition.) 3
… or who is capable of separating the radiance from the sun, or to conceive of the fountain as ever void of life, that he should madly say, ‘The Son is from nothing,’ who says, ‘I am the life
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Apology to the Emperor. (Apologia Ad Constantium.) 12
Had I been accused before any other, I should have appealed to your Piety; as once the Apostle appealed unto Cæsar, and put an end to the designs of his enemies against him. But since they have had the boldness to lay their charge before you, to whom shall I appeal from you? to the Father of Him who says, ‘I am the Truth
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Apology to the Emperor. (Apologia Ad Constantium.) 19
… But here again I am astonished at those who have spoken falsehood in your ears, that they were not afraid, seeing that lying belongs to the Devil, and that liars are alien from Him who says, ‘I am the Truth
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 1.4
… For if every interval in the ages is measured, and of all the ages the Word is King and Maker, therefore, whereas no interval at all exists prior to Him , it were madness to say, ‘There was once when the Everlasting was not,’ and ‘From nothing is the Son.’ And whereas the Lord Himself says, ‘I am the Truth
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 1.6
… Now the Son is all this, who says, ‘I am the Life
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 1.10
… For they have often expressed this sentiment, but it is not the faith of Christians; as not declaring that He is truly Word and Son of God, or that the wisdom intended is true Wisdom. For what alters and changes, and has no stay in one and the same condition, how can that be true? whereas the Lord says, ‘I am the Truth
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 2.16
… all works shake and tremble at it .’ But if the whole earth hymns the Framer and the Truth, and blesses, and fears it, and its Framer is the Word, and He Himself says, ‘I am the Truth
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 2.20
54. And the Lord Himself has spoken many things in proverbs; but when giving us notices about Himself, He has spoken absolutely ; ‘I in the Father and the Father in Me,’ and ‘I and the Father are one,’ and, ‘He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father,’ and ‘I am the Light of the world,’ and, ‘I am the Truth
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 2.21
… and henceforth we, becoming incorporate with It, are saved after Its pattern. For in It the Lord becomes our guide to the Kingdom of Heaven and to His own Father, saying, ‘I am the way’ and ‘the door
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 3.24
9. If then the Father be called the only true God, this is said not to the denial of Him who said, ‘I am the Truth
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 3.25
… sons through Him by adoption and grace, as partaking of His Spirit (for ‘as many as received Him,’ he says, ‘to them gave He power to become children of God, even to them that believe on His Name ’), and therefore also He is the Truth (saying, ‘I am the Truth,’ and in His address to His Father, He said, ‘Sanctify them through Thy Truth, Thy Word is Truth
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 4.26
… And as the ‘Son’ is ‘Word,’ so ‘God’ must be ‘the Father.’ Moreover, the Son, according to John, is not merely ‘God’ but ‘True God;’ for according to the same Evangelist, ‘And the Word was God;’ and the Son said, ‘I am the Life
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 On the Symbols 'Of the Essence' And 'Coessential.' 1
… Thus they have called the Father the Fount of Wisdom and Life, and the Son the Radiance of the Eternal Light, and the Offspring from the Fountain, as He says, ‘I am the Life,’ and, ‘I Wisdom dwell with Prudence’ (
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Festal and Personal Letters of Athanasius 4
… but instead of death henceforth is life, since our Lord said, ‘I am the life
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Festal and Personal Letters of Athanasius 14
2. But what sprinklings shall we now employ, while we celebrate the feast? Who will be our guide, as we haste to this festival? None can do this, my beloved, but Him Whom you will name with me, even our Lord Jesus Christ Who said, ‘I am the Way.’ For it is He Who, according to the blessed John, ‘taketh away the sin of the world
St Basil the Great † AD 379 De Spiritu Sancto 8
… Then again, on account of the divers manners wherein grace is given to us, which, because of the riches of His goodness, according to his manifold wisdom, he bestows on them that need, Scripture designates Him by innumerable other titles, calling Him Shepherd, King, Physician, Bridegroom, Way,
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 7.2
… And to this day they rage and gather themselves together against the Lord, and against His Anointed , thinking that it is possible to be made friends of the Father apart from devotion towards the Son, being ignorant that no man cometh unto the Father but by
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 10.3
… we say “One,” that thou mayest not profanely diffuse the many names of His action among many sons. For He is called a Door ; but take not the name literally for a thing of wood, but a spiritual, a living Door, discriminating those who enter in. He is called a Way
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 2.4
… But we, even when we are told that God “only hath immortality ,” understand by “immortality” the Son. For life is immortality, and the Lord is that life, Who said, “I am the Life
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 2.6
… If Eunomius does assign them to one only of the Persons acknowledged in the creed, let him dare to call Him “not true in words” Who has said, “I am the Truth
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 2.10
… of the Holy Ghost and of the power of the Highest—whom Paul, the hierophant of unspeakable mysteries, bids us to “put on,” using two phrases to express the garment that is to be put on, saying in one place, “Put on the new man which after God is created ,” and in another, “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ .” For thus it is that He, Who said “I am the Way
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 On Virginity 18
… Therefore it behoves the man who grasps at the transcendent aim of all virginity to be true to himself in every respect, and to manifest his purity equally in every relation of his life. If any of the inspired words are required to aid our pleading, the Truth
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Holy Spirit 1.13
… Christ is the Truth, the Spirit is the Truth, for you find in John’s epistle: “For the Spirit is Truth.” Not only, then, is the Spirit called the Spirit of Truth, but also the Truth, as the Son is also declared to be the Truth, Who says: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Holy Spirit 3.11
… For although there be many truths, since it is written: “Truths are minished from the sons of men;” yet they are given by the Divine Truth, which is Christ, Who says: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 1.7
… How then dost thou say, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?” Yes, he who looks upon the Son sees, in portrait, the Father. Mark what manner of portrait is spoken of. It is Truth, Righteousness, the Power of God:
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 1.10
… If thou shouldst seek to give an account of a man’s birth, thou must needs point to a time. But the Divine Generation is above all things; it reaches far and wide, it rises high above all thought and feeling. For it is written: “No man cometh to the Father, save by Me.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 1.17
108. Hence it is that Christ is not only God, but very God indeed—very God of very God, insomuch that He Himself is the Truth.
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 3.7
51. Now the ways of the Lord are, we may say, certain courses taken in a good life, guided by Christ, Who says, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 4.4
43. Furthermore, what mean the words: “The Son can do nothing of Himself”? Let us put this question, and debate it. Now is there anything impossible to God’s Power and Wisdom? These, observe, are names of the Son of God, Whose Might is certainly not a gift received from another, but just as He is the Life,
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 5.12
149. Let the Son then deliver up His kingdom to the Father. The kingdom which He delivers up is not lost to Christ, but grows. We are the kingdom, for it was said to us: “The kingdom of God is within you.” And we are the kingdom, first of Christ, then of the Father; as it is written: “No man cometh to the Father, but by Me.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Two Homilies on Eutropius 2.6
… or of its purity a virgin, or of its magnificence a queen; or of its relationship to God a daughter; and to express its productiveness it calls her barren who has borne seven: in fact it employs countless names to represent its nobleness. For as the master of the Church has many names: being called the Father, and the way,
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 38
… not “to whomsoever He may be enjoined,” “to whomsoever He may be commanded.” But if He reveals Him, then Himself too. This however He let pass as acknowledged, but the other He hath set down. And everywhere He affirms this; as when He saith, “No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 6
… He does not use the word which means our coming to God, ( πρόσοδος ) but which implies God’s bringing us to Himself, ( προσαγωγή ) for we came not out of ourselves, but we were brought nigh by Him. “No one,” saith Christ, “cometh unto the Father but by Me.” And again, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 5
… For since one of the multitude could not easily have understood how His life was Life Impersonate, he first used that humbler expression, and afterwards leads them (thus) trained to the higher doctrine. For He who had said that “He hath given Him (the Son) to have life” ( c. v. 26 ); the Same saith in another place, “I am the Life” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 8
[1.] Nothing hinders us from handling to-day also the same words, since before we were prevented by the setting forth of doctrines, from considering all that was read. Where now are those who deny that He is true God? for here He is called “the true Light” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 73
Ver. 6 . “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 81
“Whom Thou gavest Me out of the world.” As He saith above, “No man cometh unto Me except it be given him” ( c. vi. 65 ); and, “Except My Father draw him” ( c. vi. 64 ); so here too, “Whom thou gavest Me.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 86
… For things which appear to be peculiar to the Father, these are seen also to belong to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. “How then,” saith some one, “doth none come to the Son, ‘except the Father draw him’?” ( c. vi. 44 .) Why, this very thing is shown to belong to the Son also. “I,” He saith, “am the Way: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me.” (
Rufinus of Aquileia † AD 411 The Apology of Rufinus. Addressed to Apronianus, in Reply to Jerome's Letter to Pammachius 2.10
10. You chose a bad introducer. If you will take my counsel, both you and I will by preference turn to him who introduces us to the Father and who said
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 55.5
… For “cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree.” If Christ then for our sakes was made a curse that He might deliver us from the curse of the law, are you surprised that He is also for our sakes subject to the Father to make us too subject to Him as He says in the gospel: “No man cometh unto the Father but by me,”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 122.1
… Cease not from pursuing me till my wickedness is consumed, and I return to my old husband who will give me my wool and my flax, my oil and my fine flour and will feed me with the richest foods. He it was who hedged up and enclosed my evil ways that I might find Him the true way who says in the gospel, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 4.9
… None loseth Thee but he who leaveth Thee. And he who leaveth Thee, whither goeth he, or whither fleeth he, but from Thee well pleased to Thee angry? For where doth not he find Thy law in his own punishment? “And Thy law is the truth,” and truth Thou.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 7.18
24. And I sought a way of acquiring strength sufficient to enjoy Thee; but I found it not until I embraced that “Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus,” “who is over all, God blessed for ever,” calling unto me, and saying, “I am the way, the truth, and the life,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 8.1
… nor did I now desire to be more certain of Thee, but more stedfast in Thee. As for my temporal life, all things were uncertain, and my heart had to be purged from the old leaven. The “Way,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 10.23
… because that which they are not able to do, they do not so will as to make them able? For I ask of every man, whether he would rather rejoice in truth or in falsehood. They will no more hesitate to say, “in truth,” than to say, “that they wish to be happy.” For a happy life is joy in the truth. For this is joy in Thee, who art “the truth,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Letters of St. Augustin 33.3
… Do not, however, suppose me to mean by this, that I wish it to be understood that you have been corrected by brother Evodius, as by a righteous man; for I fear lest you should think that anything is spoken by me also in an insulting manner, against which I desire to the utmost of my power to be on guard. But He is righteous who hath said, “I am the truth.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Letters of St. Augustin 75.18
… and wherein I have transgressed, lay the blame upon yourself who compelled me to write in reply, and who made me out to be as blind as Stesichorus. And do not bring the reproach of teaching the practice of lying upon me who am a follower of Christ, who said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Letters of St. Augustin 102.8
… “If Christ,” they say, “declares Himself to be the Way of salvation, the Grace and the Truth, and affirms that in Him alone, and only to souls believing in Him, is the way of return to God,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Letters of St. Augustin 104.13
13. In the meantime, however,—and this, I think, may suffice in the present reply to your Excellency,—seeing that Christ has said, “I am the way,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 City of God 10.32
… that Thy way may be known upon earth, Thy saving health among all nations.” And hence, when our Saviour, so long after, had taken flesh of the seed of Abraham, He says of Himself, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 City of God 14.4
… And of man, too, the same apostle says in another place, “If the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie;” —“my lie,” he said, and “God’s truth.” When, then, a man lives according to the truth, he lives not according to himself, but according to God; for He was God who said, “I am the truth.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Christian Doctrine pref.8
… For no one ought to consider anything as his own, except perhaps what is false. All truth is of Him who says, “I am the truth.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Christian Doctrine 1.34
… yet by this way all must commence their journey who desire to attain to the truth, and to rest in eternal life. For He says: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 1.12
… but according to the form of a servant, it is said, “The Lord created me in the beginning of His ways.” Because, according to the form of God, He said, “I am the truth;” and according to the form of a servant, “I am the way.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Enchiridion 74
… And the man who does not from his heart forgive him who repents of his sin, and asks forgiveness, need not suppose that his own sins are forgiven of God. For the Truth cannot lie. And what reader or hearer of the Gospel can have failed to notice, that the same person who said, “I am the Truth,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on Faith and the Creed 2
3. As we believe, therefore, in God the Father Almighty , we ought to uphold the opinion that there is no creature which has not been created by the Almighty. And since He created all things by the Word, which Word is also designated the Truth, and the Power, and the Wisdom of God,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Good of Widowhood 23
… He loves not dyes of deceits; the Truth delighteth in things that are true, and He, if you recognize what you have read, is called the Truth. “I am,” saith He, “the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Morals of the Catholic Church 13
22. Let this same Paul tell us who is this Christ Jesus our Lord. "To them that are called," he says, "we preach Christ the virtue of God, and the wisdom of God." And does not Christ Himself say, "I am the truth?"
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Morals of the Catholic Church 16
… His being called the brightness of the Father (for there is nothing round about the sun but its brightness which is produced from it), what is there in the Old Testament more plainly and obviously in accordance with this than the words, "Thy truth is round about Thee?" Once more, Wisdom herself says in the gospel, "No man cometh unto the Father but by me;"
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Two Souls, Against the Manichæans 1
… or, if they live so that they can be souls, and act as the Manichæans suppose, in no way do they live unless by life, and if it be an established fact, as it is, that Christ has said: "I am the life,"
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Reply to Faustus the Manichæan 16.22
… The words may be differently interpreted; but that they cannot be understood of Christ is not said by Faustus, nor can be said by anyone who does not deny that Christ is life, or that He was seen by the Jews hanging on the cross, or that they did not believe Him. Since Christ Himself says, "I am the life,"
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Baptism, Against the Donatists 3.6
Chapter 6.— 9. Libosus also of Vaga says: "The Lord says in the gospel, ‘I am the Truth.’
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Baptism, Against the Donatists 6.37
Chapter 37.— 71. Libosus of Vaga said: "The Lord says in the gospel, ‘I am the truth;’
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins, and on the Baptism of Infants 1.40
… and they shall never perish.” Now, inasmuch as infants are only able to become His sheep by baptism, it must needs come to pass that they perish if they are not baptized, because they will not have that eternal life which He gives to His sheep. So in another passage He says: “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on Nature and Grace 36
… For there is a way of righteousness of which they are ignorant “who have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge,” and who, wishing to frame a righteousness of their own, “have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God.” “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth;” and He has said, “I am the way.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Grace of Christ, and on Original Sin 2.32
… “So hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself.” Here the life is nothing less than Himself. So we understand the Son Himself to be the life, when He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Soul and its Origin 3.18
… nor do you associate yourself with them (the least you could do) for inquiry; but you put yourself before them by your proud assumption of judgment. Away, my son, with all this pretension; men walk not so arrogantly in the Way, which the Humble Christ taught that He Himself is.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 14.3
… He would not that that part of him should be struck, where he knows that his life resides. And our Life is Christ, for He hath said Himself, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 78.1
1. We have heard the words of the holy Gospel; and this that the Lord Jesus saith, “If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true,” may perplex some. How then is not the witness of the Truth true? Is it not Himself who hath said, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life”?
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 84.6
… Therefore, brethren, let us who believe in Christ, continue in His word. For if we shall continue in His word, we are His disciples indeed. For not those twelve only, but all we who continue in His word are His disciples indeed. And “we shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall free us;” that is, Christ the Son of God who hath said, “I am the Truth,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 91.0
On the words of the Gospel, John xiv. 6 , “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 91.1
1. Amongst other things, when the Holy Gospel was being read, ye heard what the Lord Jesus said, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 92.0
On the same words of the Gospel, John xiv. 6 , “I am the way,” etc.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 92.1
… The divine lessons raise us up, that we be not broken by despair; and terrify us again, that we be not tossed to and fro by pride. But to hold the middle, the true, the strait way, as it were between the left hand of despair, and the right hand of presumption, would be most difficult for us, had not Christ said, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 92.5
… Let not him that is swollen fancy himself of great size; that he may be great, and substantial, and solid, let him bring down his swelling. Let him not long after these present things, let him not glory in this pomp of things failing and corruptible; let him hearken to Him who said, “Enter in by the strait gate,” saying also, “I am the Way.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 5
… If then “he that speaketh a lie speaketh of his own,” he who speaketh the truth speaketh of God. John is true, Christ is the Truth; John is true, but every true man is true from the Truth. If, then, John is true, and a man cannot be true except from the Truth, from whom was he true, unless from Him who said, “I am the truth”?
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 8.5
… For it is for this object they speak, that the serpent may possess, and Christ be shut out. How doth the serpent possess? When a lie possesses. When falsehood possesses, then the serpent possesses; when truth possesses, then Christ possesses. For Himself has said, “I am the truth;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 22
8. “The hour cometh, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live.” From what source shall they live? From life. From what life? From Christ. How do we prove that the source is Christ the life? “I am,” saith He, “the way, the truth, and the life.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 39.7
… If then the term piety implies more than the term pious, comeliness more than comely, chastity than chaste, shall we say that the Truth is more than the True One? If we say so, we shall begin to say that the Son is greater than the Father. For the Lord Himself says most distinctly, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 45.8
… Do you wish to know that they came with Him, who is Himself ever existent? Certainly He assumed human flesh at the time appointed. But what means that “ever”? “In the beginning was the Word.” With Him, therefore, came those who came with the word of God. “I am,” said He, “the way, and the truth, and the life.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 108.2
… and when they are sanctified in the truth, they are in other words sanctified in Christ, who said in truth, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 111.1
… Listen, I say, and weigh well to what it is that our hopes are exalted. Christ Jesus saith, The Son of God, the Only-begotten, who is co-eternal and equal with the Father, saith: He, who for our sakes became man, but became not, like every man besides, a liar, saith: the Way, the Life, the Truth saith:
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 115.4
… When Christ, therefore, beareth witness unto the truth, He beareth witness, of course, unto Himself; for from His own lips are the words, “I am the truth;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Ten Homilies on the First Epistle of John 3.6
6. “I write unto you not because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.” Behold, we are admonished how we may know antichrist. What is Christ? Truth. Himself hath said “I am the Truth.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Ten Homilies on the First Epistle of John 10.1
… It is for us, then, both to run, and to run in the way. He that runs aside from the way, runs to no purpose, or rather runs but to toil. He goes the more astray, the more he runs aside from the way. What is the way by which we run? Christ hath told us, “I am the Way.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 4.8
… For Christ dwelleth in the inner man, as the Apostle says; for to Him doth it appertain to see truth, since He hath said, “I am the truth.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 5.3
… and if asked of the Holy Ghost, we must give no other answer than that He is God; and when the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are mentioned together, we must understand nothing else, than One God; nevertheless Scripture is wont to give the appellation of King to the Son. According then to that which is said, “By Me man cometh to the Father,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 38.10
… that is, from the human race. He manifested himself to the eyes of the Flesh, that He might “by faith” heal those to whom He was going to reveal the Truth hereafter, that Truth might be manifested to the now healed eye. For He is Himself “the Truth,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 40.17
17. “I have declared Thy Truth and Thy Salvation.” I have declared Thy Christ. This is the meaning of, “I have declared Thy Truth and Thy Salvation.” How is “Thy Truth” Christ? “I am the Truth.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 49.1.6
… the evil day, the last day, shall not be evil to him.…Now while they live, let them take heed to themselves, let them put away iniquity from their heel: let them walk in that way, let them walk in the way of which He saith Himself, “I am the way, the truth, and the life:”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 56.18
… Our patrimony let Him be, our hope let Him be, our safety let Him be. He is Himself here a comforter, there a remunerator, everywhere Maker-alive, and of life the Giver, not of another life, but of that whereof hath been said, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life:”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 63.6
… it is besides, both “without way, and without water.” O that the same desert had even a way: O that into this a man running, even knew where he might thence get forth!…Evil is the desert, horrible, and to be feared: and nevertheless God hath pitied us, and hath made for us a way in the desert, Himself our Lord Jesus Christ:
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 63.10
… For whereas those hands are lifted up that thou mayest obtain that which thou wilt, those same hands thou thinkest in good works to exercise, that they may not blush to be lifted up to God. “In thy name I will lift up my hands.” Those are our prayers in this Idumæa, in this desert, in the land without water and without way, where for us Christ is the Way,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 66.13
… 9 ) Behold the voice of his praise: “Who hath set my Soul unto life.” Therefore in death she was: in death she was, in thyself. Thence it is that ye ought not to have been exalted in yourselves. Therefore in death she was, in thyself: where will it be in life, save in Him that said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life”?
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 67.5
… Afar Thou art from men sojourning, a way to us Thou hast presented, through which we must return to Thee. “Let us acknowledge on earth Thy way.” What is His way wherein we have desired, “That we may know on earth Thy way”? We are going to enquire this ourselves, not of ourselves to learn it. We can learn of it from the Gospel: “I am the Way,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 71.8
… but Thou art a strong helper.” Be Thou with me, O Lord Jesus, to say to me, faint not in the narrow way, I first have gone along it, I am the way itself,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 77.14
14. “O God, Thy way is in the Holy One” ( ver. 13 ). He is contemplating now the works of the mercy of God around us, out of these he is babbling, and in these affections he is exulting. At first he is beginning from thence, “Thy way is in the Holy One?” What is that way of Thine which is in the Holy One? “I am,” He saith, “the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 80.6
6. “A way Thou hast made in the sight of her, and hast planted the roots of her, and she hath filled the land” ( ver. 9 ). Would she have filled the land, unless a way had been made in the sight of her? What was the way which was made in the sight of her? “I am,” He saith, “the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 85.1
… for, “Christ is the end of the law.” Therefore when at the head of the title of the Psalm he placed the words, “for the end,” he directed our heart to Christ. If we fix our gaze on Him, we shall not stray: for He is Himself the Truth unto which we are eager to arrive, and He Himself the Way
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 86.14
14. “Lead me, O Lord, in Thy way, and I will walk in Thy truth” ( ver. 11 ). Thy way, Thy truth, Thy life, is Christ. Therefore belongeth the Body to Him, and the Body is of Him. I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 104.21
… hunger inwardly, thirst inwardly: “Blessed are they,” saith our Lord, “who hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled.” That bread is righteousness, that wine is righteousness: it is truth, Christ is truth.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 119.5
… and quicken Thou me in Thy way” ( ver. 37 ). Vanity and truth are directly contrary to one another. The desires of this world are vanity: but Christ, who freeth us from the world, is truth. He is the way, too, wherein this man wisheth to be quickened, for He is also the life: “I am the way, the truth, and the life,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 139.20
… 24 ). “Search,” he saith, “my paths,” that is, my counsels and thoughts. What else saith he, but “lead me in Christ”? For who is “the way everlasting,” save He that is the life everlasting? For everlasting is He who said, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.”
John Cassian † AD 435 The Seven Books of John Cassian on the Incarnation of the Lord, Against Nestorius 5.5
… “Truth has sprung from the earth and righteousness hath looked down from heaven,” that we may know that when the Son of God looked down from heaven (i.e., came and descended), righteousness was born of the flesh of the Virgin, no phantasm of a body, but the Truth: for He is the Truth, according to His own witness of Truth: “I am the Truth and the life.”
Pope St Leo I the Great † AD 461 Sermons 51
“Hear ye Him,” therefore, unhesitatingly, in Whom I am throughout well pleased, and by Whose preaching I am manifested, by Whose humiliation I am glorified; because He is “the Truth and the Life
Pope St Leo I the Great † AD 461 Sermons 72
… For if the world’s wisdom so prides itself in its error that every one follows the opinions and habits and whole manner of life of him whom he has chosen as his leader, how shall we share in the name of Christ save by being inseparably united to Him, Who is, as He Himself asserted, “the Way, the Truth, and the Life
Pope St Gregory I the Great † AD 604 Register of the Epistles of St. Gregory the Great 11.64
… For which thing also John the Baptist was beheaded, and crowned with holy martyrdom. He was not bidden to deny Christ; and yet for confessing Christ he was slain; because the same our Lord Jesus Christ had said, I am the truth (
14:7
Tatian † AD 180 The Diatessaron 45
… and so where I am, there ye [32, 33] shall be also. And the place that I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas said unto him, Our Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how is the way for [34] us to the knowledge of that? Jesus said unto him, I am the way, and the truth, [35] and the life: and no man cometh unto my Father, but through me.
St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 3.13.2
2. And again, the Lord replied to Philip, who wished to behold the Father, “Have I been so long a time with you, and yet thou hast not known Me, Philip? He that sees Me, sees also the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? For I am in the Father, and the Father in Me; and henceforth ye know Him, and have seen Him.”
Tertullian † AD 220 Against Praxeas 24
… no man cometh unto the Father, but by me;” and, “No man can come to me, except the Father draw him;” and, “All things are delivered unto me by the Father;” and, “As the Father quickeneth (the dead), so also doth the Son;” and again, “If ye had known me, ye would have known the Father also.”
Novatian † AD 258 A Treatise of Novatian Concerning the Trinity 28
… although, on the other hand, he had frequently heard, and had often learned, rather that He was the Son, not that He was the Father. For what the Lord said, “If ye have known me, ye have known my Father also: and henceforth ye have known Him, and have seen Him,”
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 8.18
… They are one, for the things which are not plucked out of His hand are not plucked out of the hand of the Father , for, when He is known, the Father is known, for, when He is seen, the Father is seen, for what He speaks the Father speaks as abiding in Him, for in His works the Father works, for He is in the Father and the Father in Him
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 73
Ver. 7 . “If ye had known Me, ye should have known My Father also; and from henceforth ye know Him, and have seen Him”?
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 74
… On this account He said not, “hast thou not known Him,” but, “hast thou not known Me,” declaring nothing else but this, that the Son is no other than what the Father is, yet continuing to be a Son. But how came Philip to ask this question? Christ had said, “If ye had known Me, ye should have known My Father also” (
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 Counter-statements of Theodoret 1
… memory is joy and release from tears, “For he has wiped away tears from off all faces,” and again the prophet says, “I remembered God and was glad,” Who crowneth them that live in godly fear, “Who knoweth all things before they be,” “Who hath all things that the Father hath;” Who is the unchangeable image of the Father, “Who sheweth the Father in himself.”
14:8
Tatian † AD 180 The Diatessaron 45
… Thomas said unto him, Our Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how is the way for [34] us to the knowledge of that? Jesus said unto him, I am the way, and the truth, [35] and the life: and no man cometh unto my Father, but through me. And if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father: and from henceforth ye know him, [36] and have seen him.
Tertullian † AD 220 Against Praxeas 24
… no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye would have known the Father also: but henceforth ye know Him, and have seen Him.” And now we come to Philip, who, roused with the expectation of seeing the Father, and not understanding in what sense he was to take “seeing the Father,” says: “Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.”
St Hippolytus † AD 235 Against the Heresy of One Noetus 7
… “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?”
Novatian † AD 258 A Treatise of Novatian Concerning the Trinity 28
… For again and again, and frequently, he objects that it was said, “Have I been so long time with you, and do ye not know me, Philip? He who hath seen me, hath seen the Father also.” But let him learn what he does not understand. Philip is reproved, and rightly, and deservedly indeed, because he has said, “Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.”
St Alexander of Alexandria † AD 326 Epistles on the Arian Heresy and the Deposition of Arius 1.9
… Whence, also, to Philip, who then was desirous to see Him, the Lord shows this abundantly. For when he said, “Show us the Father,”
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 1.4
… And if, as the Saviour also says, ‘No one knoweth the Father, save the Son, and he to whom the Son shall reveal Him ,’ and if on Philip’s asking, ‘Shew us the Father,’ He said not, ‘Behold the creation,’ but, ‘He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 8.1
… and in this respect, more especially, is seen the complete absence of divergence in the Likeness, as compared with Him Whose Likeness He is. And herein is His saying found true which tells us, “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 42
Wherefore then doth He ask “Philip”? He knew which of His disciples needed most instruction; for this is he who afterwards said, “Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 4.4
… I became a great puzzle to myself, and asked my soul why she was so sad, and why she so exceedingly disquieted me; but she knew not what to answer me. And if I said, “Hope thou in God,” she very properly obeyed me not; because that most dear friend whom she had lost was, being man, both truer and better than that phantasm
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 1.8
… For, that he might understand this, the Lord replied to him, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” But because He intended him, before he could see this, to live by faith, He went on to say, “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Spirit and the Letter 59
… for it shall be enough for it to have this and nothing else,—there being nothing more for it to desire, to aspire to, or to require. It was with a craving after this full joy that his heart glowed who said to the Lord Christ, “Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us;” and to whom the answer was returned, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 38.4
4. Again, what eyes did He look for when He spake to those who saw indeed, but who saw only with the eyes of the flesh? For when Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 75.3
… But He well knew that He was equal, but wherein they saw not. For that which they saw they wished to crucify; by That which they saw not, they were judged. What did the Jews see? What the Apostles also saw, when Philip said, “Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 75.11
… For nought, O soul, sufficeth thee, save He who created thee. Whatsoever else thou apprehendest is wretched; for He Alone can suffice thee who made thee after His Own likeness. Thus it was expressly said, “Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 76.14
… He whom they saw already, promised that He would manifest Himself to them. To whom? Those by whom He was seen, or those also by whom He was not seen? Thus speaking to a certain Apostle, who asked to see the Father, that it might suffice him, and said, “Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 95.6
… “Ask, that your joy may be full;” that is, that ye may be satisfied, not feel delight only for a time. Ask what may suffice you; speak Philip’s language, “Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 14.12
… “Am I so long time with you, and ye have not known me, Philip?” Here Philip might have answered, Thee we have known, but did we say to Thee, Show us Thyself? We have known Thee, but it is the Father we seek to know. He immediately adds, “He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father also.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 37.5
… and thus, be cause we know Thee, but it is not enough until we know the Father, show us the Father and it sufficeth us. And the Lord, that they might understand that they knew not what they thought they did already know, said, “Am I so long time with you, and ye know me not, Philip? he who hath seen me hath seen the Father.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 101.5
… He will therefore be eternal; for no end can satisfy us, save that which is found in Him who is endless. With this was Philip inspired, when he said, “Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.” And in that showing the Son gave promise also of His own presence, when He said, “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 38.10
… For it was not Himself that Christ showed forth on earth; but it was His Flesh that He showed. For had He showed Himself, the Jews would have seen and known Him; but had they “known Him, they would never have crucified the Lord of Glory.” But perhaps His disciples saw Him, when they said unto Him, “Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 46.1
… For this thought Philip also, when he said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.” When he said, “It sufficeth us,” he sought the end of satisfaction and perfection. Then said He, “Have I been so long time with you, and hast thou not known Me, Philip: he that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 90.15
… As he says elsewhere, “I shall be satisfied, when Thy glory shall be revealed.” So it is said, “Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us:” and our Lord Himself answereth, “I will manifest Myself to Zion;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 110.8
… But when the Beginning shall appear to be with Thee, then shall it be manifest unto all who are made like Thee; since they shall see Thee as Thou art; for Philip saw Thee here, and sought the Father.
14:9
Tatian † AD 180 The Diatessaron 45
… Jesus said unto him, I am the way, and the truth, [35] and the life: and no man cometh unto my Father, but through me. And if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father: and from henceforth ye know him, [36] and have seen him. Philip said unto him, Our Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth [37] us.
Tertullian † AD 220 Against Praxeas 20
… For as in the Old Testament Scriptures they lay hold of nothing else than, “I am God, and beside me there is no God;” so in the Gospel they simply keep in view the Lord’s answer to Philip, “I and my Father are one;” and, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and I am in the Father, and the Father in me.”
Tertullian † AD 220 Against Praxeas 24
… but henceforth ye know Him, and have seen Him.” And now we come to Philip, who, roused with the expectation of seeing the Father, and not understanding in what sense he was to take “seeing the Father,” says: “Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.” Then the Lord answered him: “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip?”
Origen † AD 254 Origen De Principiis 1.2.6
… And the method of revealing Him is through the understanding. For He by whom the Son Himself is understood, understands, as a consequence, the Father also, according to His own words: “He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father also.”
Origen † AD 254 Origen De Principiis 2.4.3
… But they will say, God is invisible. And what will you do? If you say that He is invisible by nature, then neither ought He to be visible to the Saviour. Whereas, on the contrary, God, the Father of Christ, is said to be seen, because “he who sees the Son,” he says, “sees also the Father.”
Origen † AD 254 Origen Against Celsus 7.43
… but it is possible to see Him in the way thus referred to, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God;” and not only so, but also in the sense of the words of Him “who is the image of the invisible God;” “He who hath seen Me hath seen the Father who sent Me.”
Novatian † AD 258 A Treatise of Novatian Concerning the Trinity 28
… For again and again, and frequently, he objects that it was said, “Have I been so long time with you, and do ye not know me, Philip? He who hath seen me, hath seen the Father also.”
St Gregory Thaumaturgus † AD 270 Four Homilies 4
… This Son of mine and this son of Mary are not two distinct persons; but this is my beloved Son,—this one who is both seen with the eye and apprehended with the mind. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear Him. If He shall say, I and my Father are one, hear Him. If He shall say, He that hath seen me hath seen the Father,
St Alexander of Alexandria † AD 326 Epistles on the Arian Heresy and the Deposition of Arius 2.3
… And how can He be made of things which are not, when the Father says, “My heart belched forth a good Word;” and, “From the womb, before the morning have I begotten Thee?” Or how is He unlike to the substance of the Father, who is the perfect image and brightness of the Father, and who says, “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father?”
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 1.30
… we make the circumstances explain the words, and do not force the former into consistency with the latter. Thus each case of variance, that for instance between The Father is greater than I , and I and the Father are One , or between None is good save One, even God , and He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father also
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 2.8
… It is no rending or severance, for He that begat is without passions, and He that was born is the Image of the invisible God and bears witness, The Father is in Me and I in the Father . It is no mere adoption, for He is the true Son of God and cries, He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father also
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 2.10
10. Listen then to the Unbegotten Father, listen to the Only-begotten Son. Hear His words, The Father is greater than I , and I and the Father are One , and He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father also
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 2.20
… I and the Father are One , are the words of the Only-begotten Son of the Unbegotten. It is the voice of the One God proclaiming Himself to be Father and Son; Father speaking in the Son and Son in the Father. Hence also He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father also
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 7.5
… but he does not doubt that the mighty Nature, which acted in the human Christ, was God. He shuts his eyes to the revealed mystery of the Sonship; the works done seem to him so marvellous that he cannot believe that He who performed them could undergo a true generation. When he hears the words, He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father also
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 8.48
48. But there is no danger that the one faith will cease to be such through diversity in its preaching. The Evangelist had taught that our Lord said, He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father also
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 9.1
… and on the other hand, if God dwelt in Christ, this proves the birth of the personal Christ in Whom He dwelt . We have thus, it seems to me, more than answered the irreverence of those who refer to a unity or agreement of will such words of the Lord as, He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 9.29
… and, Do ye not believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me? The words that I say unto you, I speak not from Myself; but the Father abiding in Me, Himself doeth His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me: or else believe Me for the very works’ sake
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 9.52
52. Therefore, in the discourse we have expounded above, He had borne witness to the unity of His nature with the Father’s: He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father also
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 9.69
… But let us cast aside these empty illustrations of material things, and measure God born of God, Spirit of Spirit, by His own powers and not by earthly conditions. Let us measure Him not by our own senses, but by His divine claims. Let us believe Him Who said, He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father also
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 11.12
… He does not withhold the homage due from Him as the Begotten, Who owed to His Author His very existence, but He manifests by His confident bearing the consciousness of participation in that nature, which belongs to Him by virtue of the origin whereby He was born as God. Take, for instance, the words, He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father also
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Heathen (Contra Gentes) 45
… for if when a word proceeds from men we infer that the mind is its source, and, by thinking about the word, see with our reason the mind which it reveals, by far greater evidence and incomparably more, seeing the power of the Word, we receive a knowledge also of His good Father, as the Saviour Himself says, “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Deposition of Arius 3
… how can He be “made of things that were not,” when the Father saith, “My heart hath uttered a good Word,” and “Out of the womb I have begotten Thee before the morning star ?” Or again, how is He “unlike in substance to the Father,” seeing He is the perfect “image” and “brightness ” of the Father, and that He saith, “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Expositio Fidei. (Statement of Faith.) 1
… this is the true God and everlasting life’ ( 1 Joh. v. 20 ): Almighty of Almighty. For all things which the Father rules and sways, the Son rules and sways likewise: wholly from the Whole, being like the Father as the Lord says, ‘he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father’ (
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Expositio Fidei. (Statement of Faith.) 2
… But we do not regard God the Creator of all, the Son of God, as a creature, or thing made, or as made out of nothing, for He is truly existent from Him who exists, alone existing from Him who alone exists, in as much as the like glory and power was eternally and conjointly begotten of the Father. For ‘He that hath seen’ the Son ‘hath seen the Father (
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 De Decretis. (Defence of the Nicene Definition.) 3
… or who is capable of separating the radiance from the sun, or to conceive of the fountain as ever void of life, that he should madly say, ‘The Son is from nothing,’ who says, ‘I am the life ,’ or ‘alien to the Father’s essence,’ who, says, ‘He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 De Decretis. (Defence of the Nicene Definition.) 7
… but the former is simple and scriptural, and more accurate, and alone implies the Son. And ‘Unoriginated’ is a word of the Greeks who know not the Son: but ‘Father’ has been acknowledged and vouchsafed by our Lord; for He knowing Himself whose Son He was, said, ‘I in the Father and the Father in Me
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 1.3
… while other beings, to whom He said, ‘I said ye are Gods ,’ had this grace from the Father, only by participation of the Word, through the Spirit. For He is the expression of the Father’s Person, and Light from Light, and Power, and very Image of the Father’s essence. For this too the Lord has said, ‘He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 1.6
21. Proceed we then to consider the attributes of the Father, and we shall come to know whether this Image is really His. The Father is eternal, immortal, powerful, light, King, Sovereign, God, Lord, Creator, and Maker. These attributes must be in the Image, to make it true that he ‘that hath seen’ the Son ‘hath seen the Father
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 2.16
… for by the Word the things which were not have come to be. And if through Him He creates and makes, He is not Himself of things created and made; but rather He is the Word of the Creator God and is known from the Father’s works which He Himself worketh, to be ‘in the Father and the Father in Him,’ and ‘He that hath seen Him hath seen the Father
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 2.22
… God (as Solomon says , ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom’), then advancing upwards in his thoughts and perceiving the Framing Wisdom which is in the creation, will perceive in It also Its Father , as the Lord Himself has said, ‘He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father,’ and as John writes, ‘He who acknowledgeth the Son, hath the Father also
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 3.23.5
… And the Son, being the proper Offspring of the Father’s Essence, reasonably says that the Father’s attributes are His own also; whence suitably and consistently with saying, ‘I and the Father are One,’ He adds, ‘that ye may know that I am in the Father and the Father in Me .’ Moreover, He has added this again, ‘He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 3.25
… that the Patriarch Jacob having seen, received a blessing from Him and the name of Israel instead of Jacob, as divine Scripture witnesses, saying, ‘And as he passed by the Form of God, the Sun rose upon him .’ And This it was who said, ‘He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father,’ and, ‘I in the Father and the Father in Me,’ and, ‘I and the Father are one
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 4.15
… Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto the Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in My Name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 On the Symbols 'Of the Essence' And 'Coessential.' 1
… and the Unlike cannot be an Image. And if so, then it does not hold that ‘he that hath seen the Son, hath seen the Father’ (
St Basil the Great † AD 379 De Spiritu Sancto 6
… We ask them to listen to the Lord Himself, distinctly setting forth the equal dignity of His glory with the Father, in His words, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father;”
St Basil the Great † AD 379 De Spiritu Sancto 8
21. “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father;
St Basil the Great † AD 379 The Letters 38.8
8. Since then, as says the Lord in the Gospels,
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 11.18
18. He who hath seen the Son, hath seen the Father
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 30
… Perhaps too this relation might be compared to that between the Definition and the Thing defined since this also is called Λόγος . For, it says, he that hath mental perception of the Son (for this is the meaning of Hath Seen) hath also perceived the Father;
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 2.4
… that He speaks the truth Who says, “I am in the Father, and the Father in Me ,”—plainly, the One in His entirety, in the Other in His entirety, the Father not superabounding in the Son, the Son not being deficient in the Father,—and Who says also that the Son should be honoured as the Father is honoured , and “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 2.6
… for we who are initiated into the mystery of godliness by the Divinely inspired words of the Scripture do not see between the Father and the Son a partnership of Godhead, but unity, inasmuch as the Lord hath taught us this by His own words, when He saith, “I and the Father are one ,” and “he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 2.7
… so that the reductio ad absurdum , which Eunomius here invents, turns out to be a support of the truth, when the notion is expanded by us so as to display it more clearly, under the guidance of the Gospel. For if “he that hath seen the Son seeth the Father
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 4.8
… involved in the sense of “form,” so, surely, he who says that He is “in the form of God” signified essence by “form.” If, therefore, He is “in the form of God,” and being in the Father is sealed with the Father’s glory, (as the word of the Gospel declares, which saith, “Him hath God the Father sealed ,”—whence also “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 6.3
… for he that hath seen Me—not Him Who appears in a state of change, but My very self, Who am in the Father—will have seen that Father Himself in Whom I am, because the very same character of Godhead is beheld in both
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 8.5
… nor do we find any one at all of those names which are employed by Scripture for the glory of the Only-begotten, either belonging to the creation or employed concerning it,—not to speak of those more exalted words, “I am in the Father, and the Father in Me ,” and, “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Answer to Eunomius' Second Book 1
… Why no one, I imagine, can be so densely stupid as to be ignorant that God the Only-begotten, Who is in the Father
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Holy Spirit 3.22
167. There is, indeed, a difference of words, not of meaning. For though they said different things, neither was in error, for both the Father is seen in the Son, Who said, “He that seeth Me seeth the Father also,”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 1.7
50. By means of this image the Lord showed Philip the Father, saying, “Philip, he that sees Me, sees the Father also. How then dost thou say, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Selections from the Letters of St. Ambrose sermon-against-auxentius-on-th.32
… “Let us make man in Our image and Our likeness;” that Image of Which it is written, that Christ is the Brightness of His glory and the Image of His Person. In that Image I perceive the Father, as the Lord Jesus Himself has said: “He that seeth Me seeth the Father.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 3
… As, “I am in the Father, and the Father in Me” ( xiv. 11 ); and, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? he that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 64
… xiv. 10 ), intimateth to us the equality. It would have behooved, if He had been inferior, to refute this opinion with much vehemence, and not at all to have said, “I am in the Father and the Father in me” ( c. x. 30 ), or that, “We are One,” or that, “He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father.” (
Rufinus of Aquileia † AD 411 A Commentary on the Apostles' Creed 4
… for it is not lawful for a servant to dispute about the nativity of his lord. The Father hath borne witness from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased: hear Him.” The Father saith that He is His Son and bids us hear Him. The Son saith, “He who seeth Me seeth the Father also,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 4.19
… He was seen, as He had been made in being sent; He was not seen, as by Him all things were made. Or how does He say this too, “He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on Faith and the Creed 9
… Now all these have had a place given them, [certainly] not with the object of signifying an inequality of nature and substance; for to take them so would be to falsify a different class of statements, such as, “I and my Father are one” ( unum ); and, “He that hath seen me hath seen my Father also;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Reply to Faustus the Manichæan 13.8
… For even as regards His own disciples His heart was sorrowful, when He said, "Have I been so long time with you, and yet have ye not known me?" "Have I been so long time with you" answers to the words "He is man," and "Have ye not known me?" to "Who shall know Him?" And the person is none other but He who says, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father."
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Harmony of the Gospels 1.4
… And the same John is also the only one who has recorded that witness which the Lord gave concerning Himself, when He said: “He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father also;” and, “I am in the Father, and the Father is in me;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Harmony of the Gospels 4.10
… It was in this discourse, over which John lingers long, that He said, “He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father also.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 38.4
… He then who wished to be seen in another way, sought for other eyes. And therefore it was that to him who said, “Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us;” He answered, “Have I been so long time with you; and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? He who hath seen Me, hath seen the Father also.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 75.3
… by That which they saw not, they were judged. What did the Jews see? What the Apostles also saw, when Philip said, “Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.” But what did the Jews not see? What not even the Apostles saw, when the Lord answered, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet have ye not known Me? He that seeth Me, seeth the Father also.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 29.8
… But our Lord Jesus Christ has shown us a great example of humility: for doubtless He is equal with the Father, for “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God;” yea, doubtless, He Himself said, and most truly said, “Am I so long time with you, and ye have not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 48.10
… but can we say, I and God are one? Thou art in God, because God contains thee; God is in thee, because thou art become the temple of God: but because thou art in God, and God is in thee, canst thou say, He that seeth me seeth God; as the Only-begotten said, “He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father also;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Ten Homilies on the First Epistle of John 3.2
… But that is the great thing, to understand the Word God with God, in the beginning, by whom all things were made: such as He would have Himself to be known when He said to Philip, “Am I so long time with you, and have ye not known me, Philip? He that seeth me, seeth also the Father.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 38.10
… “Have I been so long with you, and have ye not known Me, Philip? He that seeth Me, seeth the Father also.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 45.3
… a song for the beloved.” For that “beloved” One was seen by His persecutors, but yet not for “understanding.” For “had they known Him, they would never have crucified the Lord of Glory.” In order to this “understanding,” other eyes were required by Him when He said, “He that seeth Me, seeth My Father also.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 69.12
… Is the Father reproached, and not Christ Himself? Why have “the reproaches of men reproaching Thee fallen upon Me”? Because, “he that hath known Me, hath known the Father also:”
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 The Ecclesiastical History of Theodoret 1.3
… When, therefore, Philip, desirous of seeing the Father, said to Him, ‘ Lord, show us the Father, ’ the Lord with abundant plainness said to him, ‘ He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 Dialogues. The “Eranistes” or “Polymorphus” of the Blessed Theodoretus, Bishop of Cyrus 2
… but the soul and the Son are each of a different substance and different nature. For if the soul of the Son and the Son Himself are one in the same sense in which the Father and the Son are one, then the Father and the Soul will be one and the soul of the Son shall one day say ‘He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father;’
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 Dialogues. The “Eranistes” or “Polymorphus” of the Blessed Theodoretus, Bishop of Cyrus 3
Orth. —No; not like a prophet, but as knowing the power of truth. But now answer me this. When you hear the Lord saying “I and my Father are one,” and “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father,”
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 Letters of the Blessed Theodoret, Bishop of Cyprus 152
… He was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made.” And again, “That was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” And the Lord Himself distinctly teaches us, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.”
St John of Damascus † AD 749 An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith 4.18
… Also of those that refer to the period before the incarnation there are six modes: for some of them declare the union of nature and the identity in essence with the Father, as this, I and My Father are one : also this, He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father
14:10
Tatian † AD 180 The Diatessaron 45
… and from henceforth ye know him, [36] and have seen him. Philip said unto him, Our Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth [37] us. Jesus said unto him, Have I been all this time with you, and dost thou not know me, Philip? whosoever hath seen me hath seen the Father; how then sayest [38] thou, Shew us the Father?
Tertullian † AD 220 Against Praxeas 24
… If, indeed, He meant the Father to be understood as the same with the Son, by saying, “He who seeth me seeth the Father,” how is it that He adds immediately afterwards, “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?”
St Alexander of Alexandria † AD 326 Epistles on the Arian Heresy and the Deposition of Arius 2.3
… It is all one as if they said, that there was a time when God was without reason and wisdom. How, also, can He be changeable and mutable, who says indeed by Himself: “I am in the Father, and the Father in Me,”
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 9.44
… You, who are wise beyond the Gospels, have doubtless obtained from some other secret source of learning the knowledge of the Father’s work, to reveal Him to us. But the Father works in the Son, as the Son Himself says, The words that I say unto you, I speak not from Myself, but the Father who abideth in Me, He doeth His works
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 11.12
… Take, for instance, the words, He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father also , and, The words that I say, I speak not from Myself
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Heathen (Contra Gentes) 47
… Having then such a Son begotten of Himself, good, and Creator, the Father did not hide Him out of the sight of His creatures, but even day by day reveals Him to all by means of the organisation and life of all things, which is His work. 2. But in and through Him He reveals Himself also, as the Saviour says
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 De Sententia Dionysii. (Defence of Dionysius.) 2
… or that the Son is a created thing and not the very offspring of Him that speaks? or again, who that hears Him whom he believes to be Lord and Saviour say, ‘I am in the Father and the Father in Me,’ and ‘I and the Father are one’ (
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 De Sententia Dionysii. (Defence of Dionysius.) 10
… For to the latter class belong the sayings, ‘I am the Vine and My Father the Husbandman’ ( Joh. xv. 1 ), and ‘faithful to Him that made Him’ ( Heb. iii. 2 ), and ‘He created me’ ( Prov. viii. 22 ), and ‘made so much better than the angels’ ( Heb. i. 4 ). But He was not ignorant of the passages, ‘I am in the Father and the Father in Me’ (
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 To the Bishops of Egypt 2
How is it that the Lord has said, ‘I am in the Father, and the Father in Me
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 1.13
… say, ‘I am sent unto thee,’ and, ‘The Lord has commanded;’ but the Son, though He say in human fashion, ‘I am sent ,’ and comes to finish the work and to minister, nevertheless says, as being Word and Image, ‘I am in the Father, and the Father in Me;’ and, ‘He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father;’ and, ‘The Father that abideth in Me, He doeth the works
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 2.18
… And from the operation of the Expression we understand the true Godhead of the Subsistence, as the Saviour Himself teaches when He says, ‘The Father who dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 2.20
… which are not proper to Him, as being the Word, but are ours who are created in Him. And as, since the Father is always, so is His Word, and always being, always says ‘I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him ,’ and ‘I am in the Father and the Father in Me
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 3.23.0
Chapter XXIII .— Texts Explained; Seventhly,
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 3.23.1
… Him ’ have a right sense , and inculcate religiousness towards Christ, so it is that these men still, as if bedewed with the serpent’s poison, not seeing what they ought to see, nor understanding what they read, as if in vomit from the depth of their irreligious heart, have next proceeded to disparage our Lord’s words, ‘I in the Father and the Father in Me
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 3.23.6
… and whoso hears and beholds that what is said of the Father is also said of the Son, not as accruing to His Essence by grace or participation, but because the very Being of the Son is the proper Offspring of the Father’s Essence, will fitly understand the words, as I said before, ‘I in the Father, and the Father in Me;’ and ‘I and the Father are One
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 3.30
67. Therefore call not the Son a work of good pleasure; nor bring in the doctrine of Valentinus into the Church; but be He the Living Counsel, and Offspring in truth and nature, as the Radiance from the Light. For thus has the Father spoken, ‘My heart uttered a good Word;’ and the Son conformably, ‘I in the Father and the Father in Me
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 4.1.2
… This the Lord said, viz. ‘I and the Father are One ;’ for neither is the Word separated from the Father, nor was or is the Father ever Wordless; on this account He says, ‘I in the Father and the Father in Me
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 4.11
… And whence has He gained it? and wherefore? If, when He had the Word within Him, He could make, He begets needlessly, being able to make even in silence. Next, if the Word was in God before He was begotten, then being begotten He is without and external to Him. But if so, how says He now, ‘I in the Father and the Father in Me
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 2.4
… For if he would be of this mind, that everything that is uttered by the Lord is far removed from falsehood, he will of course be persuaded that He speaks the truth Who says, “I am in the Father, and the Father in Me
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 2.9
… notices in the “sons of rams,” that they are not “sons of rams” before the generation which brings them into being,—this our reverend divine now ascribes to the Maker of the worlds and of all creation, Who has the Eternal Father in Himself, and is contemplated in the eternity of the Father, as He Himself says, “I am in the Father, and the Father in Me
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 4.8
… Thus by the text cited is shown the insubstantial character of the adversaries’ blasphemy. For if things at “variance” are not in harmony, and He Who is sealed by the Father, and displays the Father in Himself, both being in the Father, and having the Father in Himself
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 8.5
… Well, the creation has the ages for its beginning, but what beginning can you conceive of the Maker of the ages? If any one should say, “The ‘beginning’ which is mentioned in the Gospel”—it is the Father Who is there signified, and the confession of the Son together with Him is there pointed to, nor can it be that He Who is in the Father
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 9.4
… For this cause the Lord, desiring that His disciples might be far removed from this error (that they might never, by themselves searching for something antecedent to the existence of the Only-begotten, be led by their reasoning to the idea of non-existence), saith, “I am in the Father, and the Father in Me
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 12.3
… and it is secured by the dispensation carried out by the Lord in His human nature; not that the Father remained aloof, as heresy will have it, ineffective and inoperative during the time of this dispensation. For it is not this that He indicates Who said, “He that sent Me is with Me ,” and “The Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Holy Spirit 1.11
120. Lastly, Wisdom so says that she came forth from the mouth of the Most High, as not to be external to the Father, but with the Father; for “the Word was with God;” and not only with God but also in God; for He says: “I am in the Father and the Father is in Me.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Holy Spirit 2.8
… “That his deeds may be manifested, that they are wrought in God;” and Paul: “In God Who created all things;” and again: “Paul and Silvanus and Timotheus to the Church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ;” and in the Gospel: “I in the Father and the Father in Me,” and “the Father that dwelleth in Me.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 1.3
22. “In Thee,” saith he, “is God”—forasmuch as the Father is in the Son. For it is written, “The Father, Who abideth in Me, Himself speaketh,” and “The works that I do, He Himself also doeth.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 3.11
90. But how, indeed, could our adversaries justly deny this, even if they would, when the Scripture saith: “But the Father, Who abideth in Me, even He doeth the works;” and “The works that I do, He Himself worketh”?
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 4.6
… “My Father, Who dwelleth in Me, He it is that speaketh, and the works that I do He Himself doeth.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 5.11
… For, as the Father is seen in the Son, not indeed in bodily appearance, but in the unity of the Godhead, so also the Father speaks in the Son, not with a voice of earth, not with a human sound, but in the unity of Their work. So when He had said: “The Father that dwelleth in Me, He speaketh; and the works that I do, He doeth;”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Against Marcionists and Manichæans 3
… For when He says “grant to them, as I and Thou are one that they also may be one in us,” it is equivalent to saying that the purpose of the Father and of the Son is one. And when He says “The words which I speak I speak not myself, but the Father which dwelleth in me, He doeth these works,”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles 27
… But if this man, because it was said to him, “It is the voice of God and not of a man ( v. 22 ) although he said nothing himself, suffered such things: much more should Christ, had He not Himself been God (have suffered) for saying always as He did, “These words of mine are not Mine” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 35
… Or if not, believe Me for the very works’ sake.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 64
… Since if being less than Him who begat Him, and of a different Substance, He had been deemed equal, would He not have used every means that this might not be thought? But now He doth the contrary, saying, “If I do not the works of Him that sent Me, believe Me not.” ( c. x. 37 .) Indeed His saying, that “I am in the Father and the Father in Me” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 74
Ver. 10 . “Believest thou not that I am in the Father?”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 78
… and so fall into an extreme opinion of impiety, therefore He saith, “He shall receive of Mine,” that is, “whatsoever things I have told you, He shall also tell you.” When He saith, “He shall speak nothing of Himself,” He meaneth, “nothing contrary, nothing of His own opposed to My words.” As then in saying respecting Himself, “I speak not of Myself” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 2.14
… Let us not say therefore that the Father doeth any thing without the Son, or the Son any thing without the Father. But perhaps you have a difficulty as to the miracles which Jesus did, lest peradventure He did some which the Father did not! Where then is that saying, “The Father who dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works?”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 21.25
… For if Christ only, what means His saying, “The Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 21.26
… and when the operation of the Son is spoken of, it is not without the Father and the Holy Spirit; and when the operation of the Holy Spirit is spoken of, it is not without the Father and the Son; it is sufficiently clear to those who have a sound faith, or who even understand as they best can, both that the words, “He doeth the works,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 38.4
… And lest Philip should think that he was to conceive of God under the same form in which he then saw the Lord Jesus Christ in the body, he immediately subjoined; “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 20.6
… Behold how the catholic faith gets clear of this question. The Son walked upon the sea, planted the feet of flesh on the waves: the flesh walked, and the divinity directed. But when the flesh was walking and the divinity directing, was the Father absent? If absent, how doth the Son Himself say, “but the Father abiding in me, Himself doeth the works?”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John chapter21.17
… Hear the Lord Himself saying, “Behold, the hour is coming, when every one shall depart to his own, and ye will leave me alone; but I am not alone, because the Father is with me.” How has He, with whom He came, sent Him? How has He, from whom He has not departed, sent Him? In another place He said, “The Father abiding in me doeth the works.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 111.3
… but He in His own way, we in ours, wherever we may be in body. For if localities are to be understood, and such as contain incorporeal beings, and everything has a place where it is, the eternal place of Christ where He always is, is the Father Himself, and the place of the Father is the Son; for “I,” He said, “am in the Father, and the Father in me;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 35.16
… “My prayer shall return into Mine Own Bosom:” this I understand to be said, because in His Own Bosom He had the Father. “For God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself.” In Himself He had Him to whom He prayed. He was not far from Him, for Himself had said, “I am in the Father, and the Father in Me.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 86.20
… for they shall not see the form of God. For blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. …In the vision of the Father there is also the vision of the Son: and in the vision of the Son there is also the vision of the Father. Therefore He adds a consequence, and says: “Know ye not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 110.8
… Not that the beginning is not with Thee here also. For hast Thou not also said, “Behold, ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave Me alone; but I am not alone, because the Father is with Me”? Here therefore also, the beginning is with Thee. For Thou hast said elsewhere also, “But the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth His works.”
John Cassian † AD 435 The Twelve Books on the Institutes of the Cœnobia, and the Remedies for the Eight Principal Faults 12.17
Lastly , the Author of our salvation teaches us what we ought not merely to think, but also to acknowledge in everything that we do. “I can,” He says, “of mine own self do nothing, but the Father which abideth in me, He doeth the works.”
Socrates Scholasticus † AD 440 The Ecclesiastical History of Socrates Scholasticus 1.6
… ‘He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father’? Again how if the Son is the Word and Wisdom of God, was there a period when he did not exist? for that is equivalent to their saying that God was once destitute both of Word and Wisdom. How can he be mutable and susceptible of change, who says of himself, ‘I am in the Father, and the Father in me’;
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 The Ecclesiastical History of Theodoret 2.6
… for the Father has never been, nor could ever be, without the Son, nor the Son without the Father. It is most absurd to affirm that the Father ever existed without the Son, for that this could never be so has been testified by the Son Himself, who said, ‘ I am in the Father, and the Father in Me
St John of Damascus † AD 749 An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith 4.18
Again, others declare the indwelling of the subsistences in one another, as, I am in the Father and the Father in Me
14:11
Tatian † AD 180 The Diatessaron 45
… Jesus said unto him, Have I been all this time with you, and dost thou not know me, Philip? whosoever hath seen me hath seen the Father; how then sayest [38] thou, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in my Father, and my Father in me? and the saying that I say, I say not of myself: but my Father who dwelleth in [39] me, he doeth these deeds.
St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 5.18.1
… Or how could that creation which was concealed from the Father, and far removed from Him, have sustained His Word? And if this world were made by the angels (it matters not whether we suppose their ignorance or their cognizance of the Supreme God), when the Lord declared, “For I am in the Father, and the Father in Me,”
Tertullian † AD 220 Against Praxeas 8
… “For what man knoweth the things which be in God, but the Spirit which is in Him?” But the Word was formed by the Spirit, and (if I may so express myself) the Spirit is the body of the Word. The Word, therefore, is both always in the Father, as He says, “I am in the Father;”
Tertullian † AD 220 Against Praxeas 24
… “Believest thou not that I am the Father?” With what view else did He so emphatically dwell on this point, if it were not to clear up that which He wished men to understand—namely, that He was the Son? And then, again, by saying, “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me,”
St Hippolytus † AD 235 The Refutation of All Heresies 9.7
… and that all things are full of the Divine Spirit, both those above and those below. And he affirms that the Spirit, which became incarnate in the virgin, is not different from the Father, but one and the same. And he adds , that this is what has been declared by the Saviour : “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?”
Origen † AD 254 Origen Against Celsus 8.12
… “For,” says He, “My Father is in Me, and I in Him.”
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 1.30
… Father is greater than I , and I and the Father are One , or between None is good save One, even God , and He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father also , or a difference so wide as that between Father, all things that are Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine , and That they may know Thee, the only true God , or between I in the Father and the Father in Me
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 2.23
… Let the preachers whose apostleship is of the newest fashion—an apostleship of Antichrist—come forward and pour their mockery and insult upon the Son of God. They must hear, I came out from the Father and The Son in the Father’s bosom , and I and the Father are One , and I in the Father, and the Father in Me
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 3.1
1. The words of the Lord, I in the Father, and the Father in Me
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 8.52
… This says nothing of a nature foreign to Himself, or added by creation to God, or born into Godhead by a partition of God, but it betokens the divinity of One Who by a perfect birth is begotten perfect God, Who has so confident an assurance of His nature that He says, I in the Father and the Father in Me
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 9.52
… to behold the Son is the same as to behold the Father; that the One abides in the One shows that They are inseparable. And, lest they should misunderstand Him, as though when they beheld His body, they beheld the Father in Him, He had added, Believe Me, that I am in the Father and the Father in Me: or else believe Me for the very works’ sake
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 11.12
… He acknowledges that the judgment is given to Him, and therefore He does not put His birth in the background: but He claims equal honour with the Father, and therefore He does not resign His nature. Yet another example, I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 1.9
… And ‘Unoriginate’ is a word of the Greeks, who know not the Son; but ‘Father’ has been acknowledged and vouchsafed by our Lord. For He, knowing Himself whose Son He was, said, ‘I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me;’ and, ‘He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father,’ and ‘I and the Father are One
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Festal and Personal Letters of Athanasius 10
10. I know indeed, that when these things are spoken, they will gnash their teeth upon us, with the devil who stirs them up, since they are troubled by the declaration of the true glory concerning the Redeemer. But the Lord, Who always has scoffed at the devil, does the same even now, saying, ‘I am in the Father, and the Father in Me
St Basil the Great † AD 379 The Letters 38.8
… For all things that are the Father’s are beheld in the Son, and all things that are the Son’s are the Father’s; because the whole Son is in the Father and has all the Father in Himself.
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 11.16
… and soon after, In Thee shall they make supplication, because God is in Thee, and there is no God save Thee. For Thou art God, and we knew it not, the God of Israel, the Saviour . Thou seest that the Son is God, having in Himself God the Father: saying almost the very same which He has said in the Gospels: The Father is in Me, and I am in the Father
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 2.4
… For life is immortality, and the Lord is that life, Who said, “I am the Life .” And if He be said to dwell “in the light that no man can approach unto ,” again we make no difficulty in understanding that the true Light, unapproachable by falsehood, is the Only-begotten, in Whom we learn from the Truth itself that the Father is
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 10.4
… For if they make out that to exist in something is an indication of not existing in the strict sense, then certainly they allow that not even the Father exists absolutely, as they have learnt in the Gospel, that just as the Son abides in the Father, so the Father abides in the Son, according to the words of the Lord
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 3
… as, “Think not that I am begotten of the Father; I am created, not begotten, nor do I share His essence.” But as it is, He does the very contrary, and utters words which compel men, even against their will and desire, to admit the opposite opinion. As, “I am in the Father, and the Father in Me” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 74
Ver. 11 . “Believe that I am in the Father and the Father in Me.”
St John of Damascus † AD 749 An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith 1.8
… For with reference to the uncircumscribed Deity we cannot speak of separation in space, as we can in our own case. For the subsistences dwell in one another, in no wise confused but cleaving together, according to the word of the Lord, I am in the father, and the father in Me
14:12
Tatian † AD 180 The Diatessaron 45
… how then sayest [38] thou, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in my Father, and my Father in me? and the saying that I say, I say not of myself: but my Father who dwelleth in [39] me, he doeth these deeds. Believe that I am in my Father, and my Father in me: [40] [Arabic, p. 173] or else believe for the sake of the deeds.
Novatian † AD 258 A Treatise of Novatian Concerning the Trinity 28
… But if Christ is the Father Himself, in what manner does He immediately add, and say, “Whosoever believeth in me, the works that I do he shall do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to my Father?”
Archelaus † fl. AD 278 The Acts of the Disputation with the Heresiarch Manes 27
… What could we orphans do, having no guardian? We have committed no fault; it is Thou that hast deceived us.” But away with such a supposition in the case of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of every soul. For He did not confine Himself to mere promises; but when He had once said, “I go to my Father, and I send the Paraclete to you,”
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 2.23
23. Let Sabellius, if he dare, confound Father and Son as two names with one meaning, making of them not Unity but One Person. He shall have a prompt answer from the Gospels, not once or twice, but often repeated, This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased . He shall hear the words, The Father is greater than I , and I go to the Father
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 3.11
91. On the other hand, when He would have similarity, not unity, of works, to be understood, He said: “He that believeth in Me, the works which I do, shall he do also.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 5.5
… especially as He Himself has said: “I go unto My Father, and whatsoever ye shall ask of Him in My name, that will I do.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Concerning Repentance 1.8
34. It is the will of the Lord that His disciples should possess great powers; it is His will that the same things which He did when on earth should be done in His Name by His servants. For He said: “Ye shall do greater things than these.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Selections from the Letters of St. Ambrose 22.19
19. But I ask what it is that they do not believe; is it whether any one can be aided by the martyrs? This is the same thing as not to believe Christ, for He Himself said: “Ye shall do greater things than these.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 34
And wherefore said He not only, “Preach on the housetops,” and “Speak in the light,” but added also, “What I tell you in darkness,” and “What ye hear in the ear”? It was to raise up their spirits. As therefore when He said, “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do;”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles 1
… and note in the very facts the bright evidence of Truth which shines in them, and the mighty change which is taking place in the disciples now that the Spirit has come upon them. For example, they heard Christ say, “Whoso believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles 12
… “That at the least the shadow of Peter passing by,” etc. This had not occurred in the history of Christ; but see here what He had told them actually coming to pass, that “they which believe on Me, the works that I do shall they do also; and greater works than these shall they do.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles 41
… 11, 12 .) Not touched the wearer only (and so were healed), but also receiving them, they laid them upon the sick (and so healed them). ( g ) “He that believeth on Me,” saith Christ, “doeth greater works than those which I do.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on Paul's Epistle to the Romans 32
… ii. 11 .) Owing to this did the devils flee not only at hearing him speak, but even at seeing his garments. This is the mouth, the dust whereof I would fain see, through which Christ spake the great and secret things, and greater than in His own person, (for as He wrought, so He also spake greater things by the disciples,
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Second Corinthians 1
… i. 24 .) Yet neither here nor there is it from boldness or any presumptousness. For as they wrought greater miracles than He according to that saying of His, “he that believeth on Me shall do greater works than these,” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Philippians 5
… ( Acts iii. 12 .) And again, “We are men of like passions with you.” ( Acts xiv. 15 .) Now if they thus refused the honors paid them, men who by reason of the humility and power of Christ wrought greater deeds than Christ (for He says, “He that believeth in Me shall do greater works than those that I do” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on 2 Timothy 10
… For, “whatever ye shall bind on earth,” said He, “shall be bound in Heaven.” ( Matt. xviii. 18 .) And greater power than His own did He give them. And that I lie not, appears from His own words. “He that believeth in Me, greater works shall he do than these which I do.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 63
… By this men (are enabled) to do the things of God in His name. And well did Christ say, “If ye have faith ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove, and it shall remove” ( Matt. xvii. 20 ); and again, “He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 74
Ver. 12 . “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do, because I go to the Father.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 44.5
… Was it night when, as the disciples were passing by, the sick were laid in couches, that they might be touched at least by their shadow as they passed? Yet, when the Lord was here, there was no one made whole by His shadow as He passed; but He Himself had said to the disciples, “Greater things than these shall ye do.”
14:13
Tatian † AD 180 The Diatessaron 45
… but my Father who dwelleth in [39] me, he doeth these deeds. Believe that I am in my Father, and my Father in me: [40] [Arabic, p. 173] or else believe for the sake of the deeds. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever believeth in me, the deeds that I do shall he do also; and [41] more than that shall he do: I go unto the Father.
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on Matthew 12.8
… And we might make a like inquiry in regard to other things; but by-way of illustration the narrative about the woman of Samaria sufficeth, “Every one that drinketh of this water shall thirst again; but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst.”
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 2.33
… He shall guide you into all truth, for He shall not speak from Himself, but whatsoever things He shall hear He shall speak, and He shall declare unto you the things that are to come. He shall glorify Me, for He shall take of Mine
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on First Corinthians 32
… What then are His testimonies? To the rich man He saith, “If thou wouldest be perfect, sell what thou hast and give to the poor, and come, follow me.” (S. Matt. xix. 21 .) And discoursing likewise of love to one’s neighbor, He saith, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man may lay down his life for his friends.” (S.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 74
Ver. 13 . “Whatsoever ye shall ask in My Name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in Me.”
14:14
Tatian † AD 180 The Diatessaron 45
… [40] [Arabic, p. 173] or else believe for the sake of the deeds. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever believeth in me, the deeds that I do shall he do also; and [41] more than that shall he do: I go unto the Father. And what ye shall ask in my [42] name, I shall do unto you, that the Father may be glorified in his Son.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 6
“Peace,” saith he, that “peace” which is towards God. He hath reconciled us. For the Lord Himself also saith, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you.” ( John xiv. 27 .) And again, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” ( John xvi. 33 .) And again, “Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name that will I do.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 76
Seest thou that with reason I said above, that He seeketh the proof by works? For when He had said, “Whatsoever ye shall ask I will do it” (
14:15
Tatian † AD 180 The Diatessaron 45
… Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever believeth in me, the deeds that I do shall he do also; and [41] more than that shall he do: I go unto the Father. And what ye shall ask in my [42] name, I shall do unto you, that the Father may be glorified in his Son. And if ye [43, 44] ask me in my name, I will do it .
St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 On the Unity of the Church 2
… But how can we possess immortality, unless we keep those commands of Christ whereby death is driven out and overcome, when He Himself warns us, and says, “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments?” And again: “If ye do the things that I command you, henceforth I call you not servants, but friends.”
Novatian † AD 258 A Treatise of Novatian Concerning the Trinity 28
… But if Christ is the Father Himself, in what manner does He immediately add, and say, “Whosoever believeth in me, the works that I do he shall do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to my Father?” And He further subjoins, “If ye love me, keep my commandments; and I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter.”
Archelaus † fl. AD 278 The Acts of the Disputation with the Heresiarch Manes 34
… And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee; for strength is made perfect in weakness.” Again, that it was the Paraclete Himself who was in Paul, is indicated by our Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospel, when He says: “If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray my Father, and He shall give you another Comforter.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 68
… “They are corrupt, and become abominable in their ways.” And again, “The love of money is the root of all evils; which while some coveted after they have erred from the faith;” and, “He that loveth me, will keep my commandment.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles 1
… In our case both take place under one act, but then they were divided. For in the beginning they were baptized by John; since, if harlots and publicans went to that baptism, much rather would they who thereafter were to be baptized by the Holy Ghost. Then, that the Apostles might not say, that they were always having it held out to them in promises (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 75
It is not enough merely to have them, we need also an exact keeping of them. But why doth He frequently say the same thing to them? as, “If ye love Me, ye will keep My commandments” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Hebrews 24
[9.] O! how strict shall the search be there as to purity of life! How does that, of itself, suffice to introduce us into the kingdom? While the absence of it gives up the man [to destruction], though he have ten thousand miracles and signs to show. For nothing is so pleasing to God as an excellent course of life. “If ye love Me” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 1.8
… and the Son alone is sufficient because He cannot be divided from the Father and the Holy Spirit. For what does He mean by saying, “If ye love me, keep my commandments; and I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive,”
14:16
St Ignatius of Antioch † AD 108 Epistle to the Philippians 2
… Have we not all one Father? And there is also one Son, God the Word. For “the only-begotten Son,” saith [the Scripture], “who is in the bosom of the Father.” And again, “One Lord Jesus Christ.” And in another place, “What is His name, or what His Son’s name, that we may know?” And there is also one Paraclete.
Tatian † AD 180 The Diatessaron 45
… Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever believeth in me, the deeds that I do shall he do also; and [41] more than that shall he do: I go unto the Father. And what ye shall ask in my [42] name, I shall do unto you, that the Father may be glorified in his Son. And if ye [43, 44] ask me in my name, I will do it . If ye love me, keep my commandments.
St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 3.11.9
… Others, again (the Montanists), that they may set at nought the gift of the Spirit, which in the latter times has been, by the good pleasure of the Father, poured out upon the human race, do not admit that aspect [of the evangelical dispensation] presented by John’s Gospel, in which the Lord promised that He would send the Paraclete;
Tertullian † AD 220 Against Praxeas 9
… Happily the Lord Himself employs this expression of the person of the Paraclete, so as to signify not a division or severance, but a disposition (of mutual relations in the Godhead); for He says, “I will pray the Father, and He shall send you another Comforter…even the Spirit of truth,”
Tertullian † AD 220 Against Praxeas 25
… Then there is the Paraclete or Comforter , also, which He promises to pray for to the Father, and to send from heaven after He had ascended to the Father. He is called “another Comforter,” indeed;
Novatian † AD 258 A Treatise of Novatian Concerning the Trinity 29
… whose sins ye remit, they shall be remitted; and whose ye retain, they shall be retained.” But this Holy Spirit the Lord Christ calls at one time “the Paraclete,” at another pronounces to be the “Spirit of truth.”
St Methodius † AD 311 The Banquet of the Ten Virgins; or Concerning Chastity 9.2
… but the image, namely, the Gospel, is the representative of truth itself. For the men of olden time and the law foretold to us the characteristics of the Church, and the Church represents those of the new dispensation which is to come. Whence we, having received Christ, saying, “I am the truth,”
Eusebius of Caesarea † AD 339 The Church History of Eusebius 5.1.10
10. But those about the judgment seat cried out against him, for he was a man of distinction; and the governor refused to grant his just request, and merely asked if he also were a Christian. And he, confessing this with a loud voice, was himself taken into the order of the witnesses, being called the Advocate of the Christians, but having the Advocate
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Synodis or On the Councils 1
XX. “If any man denies that, as the Lord has taught us, the Paraclete is different from the Son; for He said, And the Father shall send you another Comforter, whom I shall ask
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 2.33
… He says, I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now . For it is expedient for you that I go: if I go I will send you the Advocate . And again, I will ask the Father and He shall send you another Advocate, that He may be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 History of Arian Opinions 1
(21.) Whosoever shall deny, what the Lord taught us, that the Paraclete is other than the Son, for He hath said, ‘And another Paraclete shall the Father send to you, whom I will ask,’ (
St Basil the Great † AD 379 De Spiritu Sancto 18
… any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.” Hence He alone worthily glorifies the Lord, for, it is said, “He shall glorify me,” not as the creature, but as “Spirit of truth,” clearly shewing forth the truth in Himself, and, as Spirit of wisdom, in His own greatness revealing “Christ the Power of God and the wisdom of God.” And as Paraclete
St Basil the Great † AD 379 De Spiritu Sancto 19
… He is called upright, as “the Lord is upright,” in that He is Himself truth, and is Himself Righteousness, having no divergence nor leaning to one side or to the other, on account of the immutability of His substance. He is called Paraclete, like the Only begotten, as He Himself says, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another comforter.”
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 17.4
… For that the Holy Spirit and the Comforter are the same, is declared in those words, But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost ; and that the Comforter is the same as the Spirit of Truth, is declared, when it is said, And I will give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever, even the Spirit of Truth
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 17.11
… And again He says, And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may be with you for ever, the Spirit of Truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him; but ye know Him, for He abideth with you, and shall be in you
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 17.13
13. Jesus therefore went up into heaven, and fulfilled the promise. For He said to them, I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 29
… Add, if you like, Servant and Obedient and Gave and Learnt, and was commanded, was sent, can do nothing of Himself, either say, or judge, or give, or will. And further these,—His ignorance, subjection, prayer, asking,
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 32
… And indeed it is by little and little that He is declared by Jesus, as you will learn for yourself if you will read more carefully. I will ask the Father, He says, and He will send you another Comforter, even the spirit of Truth.
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 41
… and then afterwards by Jesus, being glorified by Him, and giving back glory to Him, as He was glorified by and glorified the Father.
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 2.14
… For this reason it is that, suppressing the name appointed by the Lord in the formula of the faith, he says, “We believe in the Comforter.” But I have been taught that this very name is also applied by the inspired Scripture to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost alike. For the Son gives the name of “Comforter” equally to Himself and to the Holy Spirit
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Holy Spirit 1.4
58. Him, then, Whom the Apostle called the Spirit of Life, the Lord in the Gospel named the Paraclete, and the Spirit of Truth, as you find: “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter [Paraclete], that He may be with you for ever, even the Spirit of Truth, Whom this world cannot receive; because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Holy Spirit 1.13
… And therefore does the Lord Jesus say in the Gospel: “I will ask My Father, and He shall give you another Paraclete, to be with you for ever, even the Spirit of Truth.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Holy Spirit 3.2
10. But the Holy Spirit also was given, for it is written: “I will ask the Father, and He shall give you another Paraclete.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles 1
… 4 .) You will say, When had they heard this? When He said, “It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you.” ( John xvi. 7 .) And again, “I will pray the Father, and He shall send you another Comforter, that He may abide with you.” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 9.4
… “How long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing?” For I had loved vanity, and sought after leasing. And Thou, O Lord, hadst already magnified Thy Holy One, raising Him from the dead, and setting Him at Thy right hand, whence from on high He should send His promise, the Paraclete, “the Spirit of Truth.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Letters of St. Augustin 148.6
… Also, when he was speaking of the Holy Spirit, he introduced the words of the Lord, saying: “I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 1.9
… But the Scripture itself meets this carnal idea; for it says a little above: “I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Against the Epistle of Manichæus, Called Fundamental 6
… Or if the Paraclete sent by Christ sent Manichæus, why do we read, "Manichæus, an apostle of Jesus Christ," instead of Manichæus, an apostle of the Paraclete? If you say that it is Christ Himself who is the Holy Spirit, you contradict the very Scripture, where the Lord says, "And I will send you another Paraclete."
Socrates Scholasticus † AD 440 The Ecclesiastical History of Socrates Scholasticus 2.18
… If any one, speaking of the Holy Spirit the Comforter, shall call him the unbegotten God, let him be anathema. If any one, as he hath taught us, shall not say that the Comforter is other than the Son, when he has himself said, “the Father, whom I will ask, shall send you another Comforter,”
Socrates Scholasticus † AD 440 The Ecclesiastical History of Socrates Scholasticus 2.37
… and at the last day he will come in his Father’s glory to render to every one according to his works. [We believe] also in the Holy Spirit, whom the only-begotten Son of God Jesus Christ himself promised to send to the human race as the Comforter, according to that which is written:
Pope St Leo I the Great † AD 461 Letters 16
… For the Only-begotten of God Himself wished no difference to be felt between Himself and the Holy Spirit in the Faith of believers and in the efficacy of His works: because there is no diversity in their nature, as He says, “I will ask the Father and He shall give you another Comforter that He may be with you for ever, even the Spirit of Truth
14:17
Tatian † AD 180 The Diatessaron 45
… And what ye shall ask in my [42] name, I shall do unto you, that the Father may be glorified in his Son. And if ye [43, 44] ask me in my name, I will do it . If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will entreat of my Father, and he will send unto you another Paraclete, that he [45] may be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth:
St Basil the Great † AD 379 De Spiritu Sancto 18
… He is moreover styled ‘Spirit of Christ,’ as being by nature closely related to Him. Wherefore “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.” Hence He alone worthily glorifies the Lord, for, it is said, “He shall glorify me,” not as the creature, but as “Spirit of truth,”
St Basil the Great † AD 379 De Spiritu Sancto 19
… He is called good, as the Father is good, and He who was begotten of the Good is good, and to the Spirit His goodness is essence. He is called upright, as “the Lord is upright,” in that He is Himself truth,
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 5.11
… So when He had said: “The Father that dwelleth in Me, He speaketh; and the works that I do, He doeth;” He added: “Believe Me, that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me; or else believe Me for the very work’s sake.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 75
“Perhaps these things are not clear to you now, but ‘He’ is a clear teacher of them.” And the, “remaineth with you” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Hebrews 34
[7.] Let us not then drive it from us. For on ourselves depends, both its remaining, and its departing. For the one results, when we mind heavenly things; the other, when [we mind] the things of this life. “Which the world” (He says) “cannot receive because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him.” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 1.8
18. Neither is the Spirit of either thence excluded, that is, the Spirit of the Father and of the Son; which Holy Spirit is specially called “the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Morals of the Manichæans 19
… for this is the application they make of the words about the world hating them. And they will have it that truth must be sought for among them, because, in the promise of the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, it is said that the world cannot receive Him.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Reply to Faustus the Manichæan 32.17
… And if they are told that they are condemned by the authority of the Church, which is the subject of such ancient promises, and is spread all over the world, they reply that this is in exact fulfillment of what is said of the Paraclete, that the world cannot receive Him.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 76.4
4. But further, lest any should imagine that the Father and Son only, without the Holy Spirit, make their abode with those that love Them, let him recall what was said above of the Holy Spirit, “Whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye shall know Him; for He shall dwell with you, and shall be in you” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 77.1
1. In the preceding lesson of the holy Gospel, which is followed by the one that has just been read, the Lord Jesus had said that He and the Father would come to those who loved Them, and make Their abode with them. But He had also already said above of the Holy Spirit, “But ye shall know Him; for He shall dwell with you, and shall be in you” (
14:18
Tatian † AD 180 The Diatessaron 45
… If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will entreat of my Father, and he will send unto you another Paraclete, that he [45] may be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth: whom the world cannot receive; for it hath not seen him, nor known him: but ye know him; for he hath dwelt [46] with you, and is in you.
Novatian † AD 258 A Treatise of Novatian Concerning the Trinity 29
… but if I go away, I will send Him to you.” And, “When the Spirit of truth shall come, He will direct you into all the truth.” And because the Lord was about to depart to the heavens, He gave the Paraclete out of necessity to the disciples; so as not to leave them in any degree orphans,
Archelaus † fl. AD 278 The Acts of the Disputation with the Heresiarch Manes 27
… “Do not punish us rigorously if we have failed to do Thy works. For why, when Thou didst promise to send the Paraclete under Tiberius Cæsar, to convince us of sin and of righteousness, didst Thou send Him only under Probus the Roman emperor, and didst leave us orphaned, not withstanding that Thou didst say, ‘I will not leave you comfortless (orphaned),’
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 75
Ver. 18 . “I will not leave you orphans, I will come unto you.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 146.7
… True, God doth help them; and in all the duties of the human race, he doeth a good work, who taketh care of an orphan, who abandoneth not a widow: but in a certain way we are all orphans, not because our Father is dead, but because He is absent.
14:19
Tatian † AD 180 The Diatessaron 45
… And I will entreat of my Father, and he will send unto you another Paraclete, that he [45] may be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth: whom the world cannot receive; for it hath not seen him, nor known him: but ye know him; for he hath dwelt [46] with you, and is in you. I will not leave you orphans: I will come unto you. [47]
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 8.15
15. Now how it is that we are in Him through the sacrament of the flesh and blood bestowed upon us, He Himself testifies, saying, And the world will no longer see Me, but ye shall see Me; because I live ye shall live also; because I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 75
Ver. 19 . “Yet a little while, and the world seeth Me not”; He added, “but ye see Me.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 87
… For another reason also he has added, “In the presence of His disciples,” because He conversed with them alone after the Resurrection; wherefore also He said, “The world seeth Me no more.” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 19
… but they saw the form of a servant, they did not see the form of God. They were being led on His own beast to His dwelling to be healed; but now being healed, they will see, because, saith He, “I will manifest myself to him.” How is He shown equal to the Father? When He says to Philip, “He that seeth me seeth my Father also.”
14:20
Tatian † AD 180 The Diatessaron 45
… whom the world cannot receive; for it hath not seen him, nor known him: but ye know him; for he hath dwelt [46] with you, and is in you. I will not leave you orphans: I will come unto you. [47] Another little while , and the world seeth me not; but ye see me that I live, and ye [48] shall live also.
Aphrahat † AD 346 Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations 1.3
… And again He said through the Prophet:— I will dwell in them and walk in them . And also the Blessed Apostle thus said:— Ye are the temple of God and the spirit of Christ dwelleth in you . And also our Lord again thus said to His disciples:— Ye are in Me and I am in you .
Aphrahat † AD 346 Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations 6.10
… And He dwells in many, though He is one, and all the faithful each by each He overshadows from Himself, and fails not, as it is written:— I will divide Him among many . And though He is divided among many, yet He sits at the right hand of His Father. And He is in us and we are in Him, as He said:— Ye are in Me and I am in you .
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 4.1.4
… For He will be compound , and will prove His own Son and Father . Moreover, we must confute and silence them on the ground, that the Word which is in God cannot be a creature nor out of nothing; but if once a Word be in God, then He must be Christ who says, ‘I am in the Father and the Father in Me
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 2.8
… again, I leave the world, and go to the Father,” how doth He go, except through death, and how comes He, save by rising again? Furthermore, He added, in order to show that He spake concerning His Ascension: “Therefore have I told you before it come to pass, in order that, when it shall have come to pass, ye may believe.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 75
Ver. 20 . “At that day ye shall know that am in the Father, and you in Me, and I in you.”
14:21
Tatian † AD 180 The Diatessaron 46
… Jesus answered and said unto him, Whosoever loveth me will keep my word: and my Father will love him, and to him will we come, and make our abode with him. [4] But he that loveth me not keepeth not my word: and this word that ye hear is not my word, but the Father’s which sent me.
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Holy Spirit 1.12
… For of love it has been said: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God.” We have heard of the love of the Father. The same love which is the Father’s is also the Son’s. For He Himself said: “He that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on First Corinthians 8
… Let us not then merely keep hold of Christ, but let us be cemented to Him, for if we stand apart, we perish. “For they who withdraw themselves far from Thee, shall perish;” ( Ps. lxxiii. 27 . Sept.) so it is said. Let us cleave then unto Him, and let us cleave by our works. “For he that keepeth my commandments, the same abideth in Me” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 75
[3.] Ver. 21 . “He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 1.9
… Sometimes also it is said of the Son alone, that He himself sufficeth, and the whole reward of our love and longing is held forth as in the sight of Him. For so it is said, “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father; and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 1.13
… what becomes of that which He promises, as some great thing, to him who loves Him, saying, “And I will love him, and will manifest myself to him?”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Baptism, Against the Donatists 3.19
… For there were also true Israelites, as the Lord Himself bears witness to Nathanael, "Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile." But who are true Christians, save those of whom the same Lord said, "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me?"
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Spirit and the Letter 37
… For no less than this did Himself promise to those who love Him: “He that loveth me, keepeth my commandments; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself unto him”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise Against Two Letters of the Pelagians 3.19
… Whence, in another place, he thus says, “For ye have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, your life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.” Hence, also, the Lord Himself says, “He who loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Harmony of the Gospels 3.25
… Or, if we follow the second view which takes Galilee to signify “Revelation,” the idea may be, that He was now no more to be in the form of a servant, but in that form in which He is equal with the Father; as He promised to those who loved Him when He said, according to the testimony of John, “And I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Harmony of the Gospels 4.10
… But all, as long as they are in the body, are absent from the Lord. And for all believers living in the good hope, whose names are written in the book of life, there is still in reserve that which is referred to in the words, “And I will love him, and will manifest myself unto him.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 28.5
… but now no more the Prophet. For the Law and the Prophets have only given witness to Christ, that it behoved Him to suffer, and to rise again from the dead the third day, and to enter into His glory. And in this glory is fulfilled what He hath promised to them that love Him, “He that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 76.14
14. Christ thou seest Man and God; He doth manifest to thee the Man, God He reserveth for thee. Now see how He reserveth God for thee, who doth manifest Himself to thee as Man. “Whoso loveth Me,” saith He, “keepeth My commandments; whoso loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 76.15
… the Lord even grant that some may have understood. My Brethren, to this end doth He exhort us, that we may see, that the “Seeing” of the Word is beyond our powers; for they are small; be they nourished, perfected. Whereby? By the commandments. What commandments? “He that loveth Me, keepeth My commandments.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 77.12
… He spake amongst the good and evil, and was seen of all, as God, hidden, as Man, manifested; as God ruling men, as Man appearing among men: He spake, I say, among them, and said, “Whoso loveth Me, keepeth My commandments; and he that loveth Me, shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 19
… For “he that loveth me,” saith He, “keepeth my commandments; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father; and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John chapter21.15
… “Be not afraid; I do not deceive thee; not without cause have I promised to them that love me, saying, ‘He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me, shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will show myself to him.’”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 40.9
… All this is the beginning as it were of faith’s lineaments and future up-building. As the Lord, referring thereto, saith in a certain place, “He that loveth me keepeth my commandments; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 72.2
… but wishing to be understood as speaking of all that belonged to His family, said, “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do.” If, then, he that believeth shall do such works, he that shall do them not is certainly no believer: just as “He that loveth me, keepeth my commandments,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 101.5
… but rather to that of which He had already said, “He that loveth me, shall be loved of my Father; and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 38.10
… To prove that they did not yet see Him, hear that, in another place, He promised it by way of reward, saying, “He who loveth Me, keepeth My commandments; and whoso loveth Me, shall be loved of My Father; and I will love Him and” (as if it were said to Him, “what wilt Thou give unto him, as Thou lovest him?” He saith), “I will manifest Myself unto him.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 49.1.5
… But that vision of divinity, which He hath promised to them that love Him, when He saith, “He that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and he that loveth Me keepeth My commandments, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him:”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 86.20
… the Lord Himself saith in another place, “He that hath My commands and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved by My Father: and I will love him, and will manifest Myself unto him.”
14:22
Tatian † AD 180 The Diatessaron 46
[1] Whosoever hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will [2] shew myself unto him.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 75
Ver. 22 . “How is it that Thou wilt manifest Thyself unto us?”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 1.9
… and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”
14:23
Tatian † AD 180 The Diatessaron 46
[1] Whosoever hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will [2] shew myself unto him. Judas (not Iscariot) said unto him, My Lord, what is the [3] purpose of thy intention to shew thyself to us, and not to the world?
Origen † AD 254 Origen De Principiis 1.1.2
… that He consumes evil thoughts, wicked actions, and sinful desires, when they find their way into the minds of believers; and that, inhabiting along with His Son those souls which are rendered capable of receiving His word and wisdom, according to His own declaration, “I and the Father shall come, and We shall make our abode with him?”
Origen † AD 254 Origen Against Celsus 8.18
… And the Word of God, wishing to set this clearly before us, represents God as promising to the righteous, “I will dwell in them, and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” And the Saviour says, “If any man hear My words, and do them, I and My Father will come to him, and make Our abode with him.”
Novatian † AD 258 A Treatise of Novatian Concerning the Trinity 28
… because I go to my Father?” And He further subjoins, “If ye love me, keep my commandments; and I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter.” After which also He adds this: “If any one loveth me, he shall keep my word: and my Father will love him; and we will come unto him, and will make our abode with him.”
Aphrahat † AD 346 Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations 6.17
… For Christ dwells in the peaceful and the meek, and lodges in those that fear His word, as He says through the prophet:— On whom shall I look, and in whom shall I dwell, but in the peaceful and the meek who fear My word ? And our Lord said:— Whoever walks in My commandments and keeps My love, We will come to him and make Our abode with him .
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 8.27
… and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 2.18
… Therefore, when He made His promise to the saints, He thus spoke; ‘I and the Father will come, and make Our abode in him;’ and again, ‘that, as I and Thou are One, so they may be one in Us.’ And the grace given is one, given from the Father in the Son, as Paul writes in every Epistle, ‘Grace unto you, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 3.25
… Such then being the Son, therefore when the Son works, the Father is the Worker , and the Son coming to the Saints, the Father is He who cometh in the Son , as He promised when He said, ‘I and My Father will come, and will make Our abode with him
St Basil the Great † AD 379 De Spiritu Sancto 25
… and it sets forth quite as well as “ and ” the distinction of the hypostases, as in the words “I and my Father will come,”
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 34
… and the Other Comforter (other, that is, from the Speaker, Who was the Word of God). And when you read, I and the Father are One, keep before your eyes the Unity of Substance; but when you see, “We will come to him, and make Our abode with him,”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Holy Spirit 1.11
… Of which we would speak more fully did we not remember that in the former treatise there was set forth that the Father said: “Let us go down and confound their language,” and that the Son said: “He that loveth Me will keep My saying, and My Father will love him, and We will come to Him and make Our abode with Him.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Holy Spirit 3.12
… “I will dwell in them, and will walk among them, and will be their God, and they shall be My people.” And David says: “The Lord is in His holy temple.” Therefore the Spirit dwells in His holy temple, as the Father dwells and as the Son dwells, Who says: “I and the Father will come, and will make Our abode with him.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 5.7
… for He says: “I fill heaven and earth.” But He seems to descend when the Word of God enters our hearts, as the prophet has said: “Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.” We are to do this, so that, as He Himself promised, He may come together with the Father and make His abode with us.
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 5.12
… and in the kingdom of the Father the Son also reigns: for the Father is in the Son, and the Son in the Father; and in whomsoever the Son dwells, in him also the Father dwells; and in whomsoever the Father dwells, in him also the Son dwells, as it is written: “Both I and My Father will come to Him, and make Our abode with Him.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 1
… “Ye shall eat the good of the land.” ( Isa. i. 19 .) “Unto a land flowing with milk and honey.” ( Ex. iii. 8 .) “The Lord shall bless thy land.” ( Deut. vii. 13 .) Here we have nothing of this sort, but what have we? “If a man love Me, he will keep My word, and I and My Father will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 7
But how doth Christ dwell in the hearts? Hear what Christ Himself saith, “I and my Father will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on 2 Timothy 9
… This is to “love His appearing.” He who loves His appearing will do everything to ensure, before His general coming, a particular coming to himself. And how, you will say, is this possible? Hear from Christ, who says, “If a man love Me, he will keep My words, and My Father and I will come unto him, and make Our abode with him.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 5
… But this light cometh by faith, and when it is come, it lighteth abundantly him that hath received it; and if thou displayest a pure life (meet) for it, remains indwelling within continually. “For,” He saith, “He that loveth Me, will keep My commandments; and I and My Father will come unto him, and make Our abode with him.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 45
… Is it not, that not so much as one of them should perish? This Thou willest also. ( Matt. xviii. 14 .) So that the will of the One differeth not from the will of the Other. So in another place He is seen establishing yet more firmly His equality with the Father, saying, “I and My Father ‘will come, and will make Our abode with him.’” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 75
Ver. 23 . “I and the Father will come unto him, and make Our abode with him.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 82
“How gave He the glory?” By being in them, and having the Father with Him, so as to weld them together. But in another place He speaketh not so; He saith not that the Father cometh by Him, but, “that He and the Father come, and take up their abode with him,” “there” removing the suspicion of Sabellius, “here” that of Arius.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Hebrews 16
… If then we also are near to God, we are in Heaven. For what care I about Heaven when I see the Lord of Heaven, when I myself am become a Heaven? “For,” He says, “We will come,” I and the Father, “and will make our abode with him.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Hebrews 27
We shall attain to greater things than these if we will. For what has Christ promised us? Not that we shall make the sun stand still, or the moon, nor that the sun shall retrace his steps, but what? “I and the Father will come unto him,” He says, “and We will make our abode with him.” (
St Jerome † AD 420 Against Jovinianus 2.10
… The Lord says, “He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in me, and I in him.” As, then, there are not varying degrees of Christ’s presence in us, so neither are there degrees of our abiding in Christ.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 7.6
… “we are,” according to relation, because the one is Father, the other is Son. Sometimes also the unity of the essence is left unexpressed, and the relatives alone are mentioned in the plural number: “My Father and I will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 94.5
… For had Christ departed from them in such a sense that it would be in His place, and not along with Him, that the Holy Spirit would be present in them, what becomes of His promise when He said, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world;” and, I and the Father “will come unto him, and will make Our abode with him;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 110.4
4. And then He added: “I in them, and Thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one.” Here He briefly intimated Himself as the Mediator between God and men. Nor was this said in any such way as if the Father were not in us, or we were not in the Father; since He had also said in another place, “We will come unto him, and make our abode with him;”
John Cassian † AD 435 The Twelve Books on the Institutes of the Cœnobia, and the Remedies for the Eight Principal Faults 5.17
… but also this one which daily comes to pass in holy souls—and if we gain the victory in the fight by chastising the body. And of this coming it is that the Lord speaks in the Gospel. “I,” says He, “and my Father will come to him, and will make our abode with him.”
John Cassian † AD 435 The Conferences of John Cassian 1.19
… Or when the prophet says: “I will hearken what the Lord God will say in me.” Another too tells us “And an angel spoke, and said in me,” or when the Son of God promised that He would come with His Father, and make His abode in us,
John Cassian † AD 435 The Seven Books of John Cassian on the Incarnation of the Lord, Against Nestorius 5.4
… For in proportion as anyone is fit for God’s gift, so does the Divine grace reward him: in proportion as a man seems worthy of him: in proportion as a man seems worthy of God, so does he enjoy God’s presence, according to the Lord’s promise: “if any man love Me, he will keep My word; and I and My Father will come to him and make Our abode with him.”
Pope St Gregory I the Great † AD 604 Register of the Epistles of St. Gregory the Great 9.106
… Wherefore, that we may be counted worthy to be the dwelling-place of our Redeemer, let us abide in His love with entire earnestness of mind. For He Himself says, He that loveth me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him (
Pope St Gregory I the Great † AD 604 Register of the Epistles of St. Gregory the Great 14.17
… That we may be counted worthy, then, to be the habitation of our Redeemer, let us abide with the whole desire of our heart in His love. For he says, He that loveth me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will make our abode with him (
14:24
St Ignatius of Antioch † AD 108 Epistle to the Ephesians: Shorter and Longer Versions 9
… But the Holy Spirit does not speak His own things, but those of Christ, and that not from himself, but from the Lord; even as the Lord also announced to us the things that He received from the Father. For, says He, “the word which ye hear is not Mine, but the Father’s, who sent Me.”
Tatian † AD 180 The Diatessaron 46
… Judas (not Iscariot) said unto him, My Lord, what is the [3] purpose of thy intention to shew thyself to us, and not to the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, Whosoever loveth me will keep my word: and my Father will love him, and to him will we come, and make our abode with him. [4]
St Basil the Great † AD 379 De Spiritu Sancto 8
20. When then He says, “I have not spoken of myself,” and again, “As the Father said unto me, so I speak,” and “The word which ye hear is not mine, but [the Father’s] which sent me,”
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 30
… That everyone that believeth on the Son should be saved, and obtain the final Resurrection. Now is this the Will of the Father, but not of the Son? Or does He preach the Gospel, and receive men’s faith against His will? Who could believe that? Moreover, that passage, too, which says that the Word which is heard is not the Son’s
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 75
… But why doth He frequently say the same thing to them? as, “If ye love Me, ye will keep My commandments” ( ver. 15 ); and, “He that hath My commandments and keepeth them”; and, “If any one heareth My word and keepeth it, he it is that loveth Me—he that heareth not My words, loveth Me not.” (
14:25
Tatian † AD 180 The Diatessaron 46
… for my Father is greater than I. And now I say unto you before it come [10] to pass, that, when it cometh to pass, ye may believe me. Now I will not speak with you much: the Archon of the world will come, and he will have nothing in [11] me: but that the world may know that I love my Father, and as my Father charged me, so I do.
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 17.11
… but ye know Him, for He abideth with you, and shall be in you . And again He says, These things have I spoken unto you being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said unto you
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 17.34
… and of the Son, A Spirit before our face, Christ the Lord , as Jeremias the prophet says; and of the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, the Holy Ghost
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 75
Ver. 25 . “These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 1.12
… but in such way as if the Son only should send Him, and not the Father; while yet He says in another place, “These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you; but the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 104.1
… “These things have I spoken unto you being yet present with you. But the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
14:26
Tatian † AD 180 The Diatessaron 46
[5, 6] This have I spoken unto you, while I was yet with you.
Tertullian † AD 220 The Prescription Against Heretics 28
Grant, then, that all have erred; that the apostle was mistaken in giving his testimony; that the Holy Ghost had no such respect to any one (church) as to lead it into truth, although sent with this view by Christ,
Tertullian † AD 220 On the Veiling of Virgins 1
… “Still,” He said, “I have many things to say to you, but ye are not yet able to bear them: when that Spirit of truth shall have come, He will conduct you into all truth, and will report to you the supervening (things).” But above, withal, He made a declaration concerning this His work.
Tertullian † AD 220 On Fasting 10
… “And if,” says (the apostle), “there are matters which ye are ignorant about, the Lord will reveal to you.” Accordingly, setting out of the question the confirmer of all such things, the Paraclete, the guide of universal truth,
Novatian † AD 258 A Treatise of Novatian Concerning the Trinity 28
… “If any one loveth me, he shall keep my word: and my Father will love him; and we will come unto him, and will make our abode with him.” Moreover, also, He added this too: “But the Advocate, that Holy Spirit whom the Father will send, He will teach you, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 4.26
… But neither is the Paraclete second, for He was before all, nor the Son later; for ‘in the beginning was the Word .’ And as the Spirit and Paraclete are the same, so the Son and Word are the same; and as the Saviour says concerning the Spirit, ‘But the Paraclete which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My Name
St Basil the Great † AD 379 The Letters 159
… I need use no argument to prove to those who are even slightly trained in Scripture, that the creature is separated from the Godhead. The creature is a slave; but the Spirit sets free. The creature needs life; the Spirit is the Giver of life. The creature requires teaching. It is the Spirit that teaches.
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 16.14
… For this good Sanctifier of the Church, and her Helper, and Teacher, the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, of whom the Saviour said, He shall teach you all things (and He said not only, He shall teach , but also, He shall bring to your remembrance whatever I have said unto you
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 17.4
… He is called also the Comforter, as He said, For if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you . But that He is one and the same, though called by different titles, is shewn plainly from the following. For that the Holy Spirit and the Comforter are the same, is declared in those words, But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 32
… Our Saviour had some things which, He said, could not be borne at that time by His disciples (though they were filled with many teachings), perhaps for the reasons I have mentioned; and therefore they were hidden. And again He said that all things should be taught us by the Spirit when He should come to dwell amongst us.
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Holy Spirit 1.13
134. But since the Name of the Father and of the Son is one, learn that the same is the Name of the Holy Spirit also, since the Holy Spirit came in the Name of the Son, as it is written: “But the Paraclete, even the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My Name, He shall teach you all things.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Holy Spirit 3.1.8
8. So both the Father and the Spirit sent the Son; the Father sent Him, for it is written: “But the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My Name.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 2.9
… “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send you from My Father—the Spirit of truth, who cometh forth from My Father.” That this same Comforter is also to be sent by the Father He has already taught, saying, “But the Comforter, that Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 1
And this one may perceive was the case, not of the saints in the Old Testament only, but also of those in the New. For neither to the apostles did God give anything in writing, but instead of written words He promised that He would give them the grace of the Spirit: for “He,” saith our Lord, “shall bring all things to your remembrance.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 23
… Therefore He at first allowed the meaning of His words to be concealed; but when by their experience He had verified His sayings, He after that gave them understanding of His words, and such gifts of the Spirit that they received them all at once. “He,” saith Jesus, “shall bring all things to your remembrance.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 75
Ver. 26 . “The Comforter, whom the Father shall send in My Name, He shall teach you.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 78
For since He had told them, that “‘He shall teach you, and bring to your remembrance’ (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Hebrews 14
… but he could not, for it was made a second time in writings after the return from Babylon. But I show that the Apostles received nothing in writing, but received [it] in their hearts through the Holy Ghost. Wherefore also Christ said, “When He cometh, He will bring all things to your remembrance, and He shall teach you.” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 2.5
… therefore the Father is greater than the Son, because the Son continually speaks of Himself as being sent by the Father; and the Father is also greater than the Holy Spirit, because Jesus has said of the Spirit, “Whom the Father will send in my name;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 4.20
… But that He was given twice was certainly a significant economy, which we will discuss in its place, as far as the Lord may grant. That then which the Lord says,—“Whom I will send unto you from the Father,” —shows the Spirit to be both of the Father and of the Son; because, also, when He had said, “Whom the Father will send,” He added also, “in my name.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 15.26
… of whom likewise the Son Himself says, “Whom I will send unto you from the Father;” and in another place, “Whom the Father will send in my name.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 15.28
… And if Thou, O God, wert Thyself the Father, and wert Thyself the Son, Thy Word Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit your gift, we should not read in the book of truth, “God sent His Son;” nor wouldest Thou, O Only-begotten, say of the Holy Spirit, “Whom the Father will send in my name;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Harmony of the Gospels 3.25
… And ye are witnesses of these things. And I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city, until ye be endued with power from on high.” Observe, then, how Luke has here referred to that promise of the Holy Spirit which we do not elsewhere find made by the Lord, save in John’s Gospel.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 21.33
… And therefore was it “In the Name of Jesus Christ;” because when He promised the same Holy Ghost; He said, “Whom the Father will send in My Name.”
Pope St Leo I the Great † AD 461 Letters 16
… “But the Comforter which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you
14:27
Tatian † AD 180 The Diatessaron 46
[5, 6] This have I spoken unto you, while I was yet with you. But the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom my Father will send in my name, he will teach you everything, and [7] [Arabic, p. 174] he will bring to your remembrance all that I say unto you.
Tertullian † AD 220 To His Wife 2.8
… daily diligence (discharged) without impediment: (there is) no stealthy signing, no trembling greeting, no mute benediction. Between the two echo psalms and hymns; and they mutually challenge each other which shall better chant to their Lord. Such things when Christ sees and hears, He joys. To these He sends His own peace.
Origen † AD 254 Origen Against Celsus 8.14
… Jesus is, then, not the leader of any seditious movement, but the promoter of peace. For He said to His disciples, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you;” and as He knew that it would be men of the world, and not men of God, who would wage war against us, he added, “Not as the world giveth peace, do I give peace unto you.”
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John 6.1
… This, it appears to me, was well understood by the servants of the prophetic spirit and the ministers of the Gospel message; they made themselves worthy to receive that peace which is in secret from Him who ever gives it to them that are worthy and who said,
St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 On the Unity of the Church 24
… seek peace, and ensue it.” The son of peace ought to seek peace and ensue it. He who knows and loves the bond of charity, ought to refrain his tongue from the evil of dissension. Among His divine commands and salutary teachings, the Lord, when He was now very near to His passion, added this one, saying, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you.”
St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews 3.4
In Malachi: “Hath not one God created us? Is there not one Father of us all? Why have ye certainly deserted every one his brother?” Of this same thing according to John: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you.”
Aphrahat † AD 346 Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations 21.16
… The enemies of Hezekiah became dead corpses; and Jesus, His enemies shall be cast down beneath His feet. Hezekiah was of the family of the house of David; and Jesus was, in the flesh, the son of David. Hezekiah said:— Peace and truth shall be in my days ; and Jesus said to His disciples:— My peace I leave with you .
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Defence Against the Arians (Apologia Contra Arianos) 2
… But it is your duty to use your anxious endeavours and to labour by every means to correct the irregularities which have been committed contrary to the Canon, and to secure the peace of the Churches; so that the peace of our Lord which has been given to us
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 2.15
… does it belong to implant courage in the fearful, saying to the faint-hearted, “Fear not, for I am with thee, be not dismayed ,” as says the Psalmist, “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me .” Nay, the Lord Himself says to the fearful,—“Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Selections from the Letters of St. Ambrose 41.14
14. “Thou gavest Me no kiss, but she from the time she came in hath not ceased to kiss My feet.” A kiss is the sign of love. Whence, then, can a Jew have a kiss, seeing he has not known peace, nor received peace from Christ when He said: “My peace I give you, My peace I leave you.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 32
This peace Christ also declared to be great, when He said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 6
“Peace,” saith he, that “peace” which is towards God. He hath reconciled us. For the Lord Himself also saith, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Philippians 14
… As if he had said, May He who hath delivered you in such sort as mind cannot comprehend, may He Himself guard you, and secure you, so that you suffer no ill. Either he means this, or that that peace of which Christ saith, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Colossians 3
… Therefore Christ also commanded the Apostles on entering into the houses straightway to say this, as being a sort of symbol of the good things; for He saith, “When ye come into the houses, say, Peace be unto you;” for where this is wanting, everything is useless. And to His disciples Christ said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 86
That is, “Be not troubled”; at the same time reminding them of the word which He spake to them before the Crucifixion, “My peace I leave unto you” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Hebrews 31
[1.] There are many things characteristic of Christianity: but more than all, and better than all, Love towards one another, and Peace. Therefore Christ also saith, “My peace I give unto you.” (
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 13
… Therefore I renew the prayer which I made a year ago in a previous letter, that the Lord’s legacy of peace
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 82.1
1. Your letter shews you to possess that heritage of the Lord of which when going to the Father he said to the apostles, “peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you,”
St Jerome † AD 420 Against Jovinianus 1.26
… But why was not John chosen, who was a virgin? Deference was paid to age, because Peter was the elder: one who was a youth, I may say almost a boy, could not be set over men of advanced age; and a good master who was bound to remove every occasion of strife among his disciples, and who had said to them,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Letters of St. Augustin 33.2
… and I can in no wise forego so important an opportunity, given by your kindness, of using whatever strength the Lord may be pleased to give me in considering and debating with you what has been the cause, or source, or reason of a division so lamentable and deplorable in that Church of Christ to which He said: “Peace I give you, my peace I leave unto you.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Letters of St. Augustin 73.8
… seeing that it has befallen you at the very time when, unencumbered, having cast away secular burdens, you were following the Lord and were living together in that very land which was trodden by the feet of our Lord, when He said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Answer to the Letters of Petilian, the Donatist 2.22
… Again, after that the betrayer of Christ had himself been condemned, He thus more fully confirmed His words to the eleven apostles: ‘Now are ye clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you.’ And again He said to these same eleven, ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you.’
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 11.6
… “But what hath the Just done?” If Macarius, if Cæcilianus, offend you, what hath Christ done to you, who said, “My peace I give unto you, My peace I leave with you;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 21.3
3. “Thou hast given Him the desire of His soul” ( ver. 2 ). He desired to eat the Passover, and to lay down His life when He would, and again when He would to take it; and Thou hast given it to Him. “And hast not deprived Him of the good pleasure of His lips.” “My peace,” saith He, “I leave with you:”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 29.11
… 11 ). For the Lord will give strength to His people fighting against the storms and whirlwinds of this world, for peace in this world He hath not promised them. “The Lord will bless His people in peace.” And the same Lord will bless His people, affording them peace in Himself; for, saith He, “My peace I give unto you, My peace I leave with you.”
Pope St Leo I the Great † AD 461 Sermons 26
… for thus says the Apostle, “He is our peace, who made both one ;” since whether we be Jew or Gentile, “through Him we have access in one Spirit to the Father .” And it was this in particular that He taught His disciples before the day of His passion which He had of His own free-will fore-ordained, saying, “My peace I give unto you, My peace I leave for you
Pope St Gregory I the Great † AD 604 The Book of Pastoral Rule 3.22
… Whence also the Truth speaking in person, when He would distinguish earthly from supernal peace, and provoke His disciples from that which now is to that which is to come, said, Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you (
Pope St Gregory I the Great † AD 604 Register of the Epistles of St. Gregory the Great 13.40
Observing diligently, most dear brother, how great is the virtue of peace from the Lord’s voice, which says, My peace I give unto you (
14:28
Tatian † AD 180 The Diatessaron 46
[5, 6] This have I spoken unto you, while I was yet with you. But the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom my Father will send in my name, he will teach you everything, and [7] [Arabic, p. 174] he will bring to your remembrance all that I say unto you. Peace I leave you; my peace I give unto you: and not as this world giveth, give I unto you. [8]
St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 2.28.8
… For “the Father,” says He, “is greater than I.”
Tertullian † AD 220 Against Praxeas 9
… it is not by division that He is different, but by distinction; because the Father is not the same as the Son, since they differ one from the other in the mode of their being. For the Father is the entire substance, but the Son is a derivation and portion of the whole, as He Himself acknowledges: “My Father is greater than I.”
Tertullian † AD 220 Against Praxeas 14
… For who is the Father? Must He not be the face of the Son, by reason of that authority which He obtains as the begotten of the Father? For is there not a natural propriety in saying of some personage greater (than yourself), That man is my face; he gives me his countenance? “My Father,” says Christ , “is greater than I.”
Origen † AD 254 Origen Against Celsus 8.14
… Grant that there may be some individuals among the multitudes of believers who are not in entire agreement with us, and who incautiously assert that the Saviour is the Most High God; however, we do not hold with them, but rather believe Him when He says, “The Father who sent Me is greater than I.”
St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews 3.59
… “Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, O Lord, according to the word; for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation.” Also according to John: “If ye loved me, ye would rejoice because I go to the Father; for the Father is greater than I.”
Novatian † AD 258 A Treatise of Novatian Concerning the Trinity 26
… “Thus saith the Lord to Christ my Lord?” Or when he reads: “I came not down from heaven to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me?” Or when he finds it written: “Because He who sent me is greater than I?”
Novatian † AD 258 A Treatise of Novatian Concerning the Trinity 28
… the Advocate, that Holy Spirit whom the Father will send, He will teach you, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” He utters, further, that passage when He shows Himself to be the Son, and reasonably subjoins, and says, “If ye loved me, ye would rejoice because I go unto the Father: for the Father is greater than I.”
St Gregory Thaumaturgus † AD 270 Four Homilies 4
… but this is my beloved Son,—this one who is both seen with the eye and apprehended with the mind. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear Him. If He shall say, I and my Father are one, hear Him. If He shall say, He that hath seen me hath seen the Father, hear Him. If He shall say, He that hath sent me is greater than I,
St Methodius † AD 311 The Banquet of the Ten Virgins; or Concerning Chastity 7.1
… For it was fitting that He who was greater than all things after the Father, should have the Father, who alone is greater than Himself,
St Alexander of Alexandria † AD 326 Epistles on the Arian Heresy and the Deposition of Arius 1.12
… in this alone is He inferior to the Father, that He is not unbegotten. For He is the very exact image of the Father, and in nothing differing from Him. For it is clear that He is the image fully containing all things by which the greatest similitude is declared, as the Lord Himself hath taught us, when He says, “My Father is greater than I.”
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Synodis or On the Councils 1
… For it is plain that only the Father knows how He begot the Son, and the Son how He was begotten of the Father. There is no question that the Father is greater. No one can doubt that the Father is greater than the Son in honour, dignity, splendour, majesty, and in the very name of Father, the Son Himself testifying, He that sent Me is greater than I
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 1.29
… There can be no comparison between Omnipotence and One whose action is dependent upon the previous activity of Another; reason itself draws an absolute line between power and the want of power. That line is so clear that He Himself has avowed concerning God the Father, The Father is greater than I
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 2.10
10. Listen then to the Unbegotten Father, listen to the Only-begotten Son. Hear His words, The Father is greater than I
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 2.23
23. Let Sabellius, if he dare, confound Father and Son as two names with one meaning, making of them not Unity but One Person. He shall have a prompt answer from the Gospels, not once or twice, but often repeated, This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased . He shall hear the words, The Father is greater than I
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 4.11
… For their depreciation of the might and majesty and Godhead of the Son they rely chiefly on His own words, The Father is greater than I
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 6.25
25. I can conceive of no man so destitute of ordinary reason as to recognise in each of the Gospels confessions by the Son of the humiliation to which He has submitted in taking a body upon Him,—as for instance His words, often repeated, Father, glorify Me , and Ye shall see the Son of Man , and The Father is greater than I
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 7.6
6. Set our modern heresy in array against the delusion, equally wild, of Sabellius; let them make the best of their case. The new heretics will advance the passage. The Father is greater than I
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 9.2
… Further, to exclude Him from the proper nature of the true God, they quote, The Son can do nothing of Himself except that which He hath seen the Father do . They use also the text, The Father is greater than I.
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 9.51
… We must confess the Father to be in the Son and the Son in the Father, by unity of nature, by might of power, as equal in honour as Begetter and Begotten. But, perhaps you say, the witness of our Lord Himself is contrary to this declaration, for He says, The Father is greater than I
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 9.53
53. So the Only-begotten God, just before He finished His work in the flesh, and completed the mystery of taking the servant’s form, in order to establish our faith, thus speaks, Ye heard how I said unto you, I go away, and I came unto you. If ye loved Me, ye would rejoice, because I go unto the Father; for the Father is greater than I
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 11.12
… He acknowledges that the judgment is given to Him, and therefore He does not put His birth in the background: but He claims equal honour with the Father, and therefore He does not resign His nature. Yet another example, I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me , and, The Father is greater than I
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 1.4
… And now I have told you before it come to pass, that when it is come to pass, ye might believe
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 1.13
… And hence it is that the Son too says not, ‘My Father is better than I
St Basil the Great † AD 379 The Letters 8.5
5. And again, “My Father is greater than I.”
St Basil the Great † AD 379 The Letters 8.7
… It considers the operations of the Creator, and judges of them meanwhile by their effects, to the end that growing little by little it may one day wax strong enough to approach even the actual unveiled Godhead. This is the meaning, I think, of the words “my Father is greater than I,”
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 30
VII. As your third point you count the Word Greater;
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 2.8
59. It was due to His humanity, therefore, that our Lord doubted and was sore distressed, and rose from the dead, for that which fell doth also rise again. Again, it was by reason of His humanity that He said those words, which our adversaries use to maliciously turn against Him: “Because the Father is greater than I.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 4.12
169. But if there be now left no room for doubt that the Son of God is called the Vine with respect and intention to His Incarnation, you see what hidden truth it was to which our Lord had regard in saying, “The Father is greater than I.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 5.18
224. It is written, they say: “For the Father is greater than I.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 75
… x. 38 ); and is about to say other things besides, rebuking them, He saith, “Think ye that ye suffer sorrow from love? The not sorrowing would be a sign of love.” And because He wished all along to establish this, as He went on He summed up His discourse in this same point; “If ye loved Me,” He saith, “ye would have rejoiced, because—I go to My Father” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 81
… since these are the words of a mere man parting from them forever. Seest thou how He speaketh for the most part like a man, and in a way adapted to their state of mind, because they thought that they had a greater degree of safety from His presence? Wherefore He saith, “While I was with them, I kept them.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Hebrews 8
And what he means is this, ‘He is readily listened to.’ For since they had not yet the right opinion concerning Him, he said that He was heard. Just as He Himself also when consoling His disciples said, “If ye loved Me, ye would rejoice, because I go to My Father” (
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 41.1
1. As regards the passages brought together from the gospel of John with which a certain votary of Montanus has assailed you, passages in which our Saviour promises that He will go to the Father, and that He will send the Paraclete
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 124.14
… therefore, He comprehends the Son.” And to shew us reasons why, while the Father comprehends the Son, the Son cannot comprehend the Father, he adds: “the curious reader may inquire whether the Father knows Himself in the same way that the Son knows Him. But if he recalls the words: ‘the Father who sent me is greater than I,’
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 1.7
… They say, for instance, that the Son is less than the Father, because it is written that the Lord Himself said, “My Father is greater than I.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 1.9
… It was necessary, then, that the form of a servant should be taken away from their eyes, because, through gazing upon it, they thought that alone which they saw to be Christ. Hence also is that which is said, “If ye loved me, ye would rejoice because I said, ‘I go unto the Father; for my Father is greater than I:’”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 1.11
… For both the Son and the Holy Spirit, according to the form of God, are equal to the Father, because neither of them is a creature, as we have already shown: but according to the form of a servant He is less than the Father, because He Himself has said, “My Father is greater than I;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 2.1
… And some, again, are so put that they show the Son as less on account of the form of a servant, that is, of His having taken upon Him the creature of a changeable and human substance; as, for instance, that which says, “For my Father is greater than I;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 6.9
… Is that which is the Father with the Son, the head of that which is the Son alone? For the Father with the Son is God, but the Son alone is Christ: especially since it is the Word already made flesh that speaks; and according to this His humiliation also, the Father is greater than He, as He says, “for my Father is greater than I;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on Faith and the Creed 9
… Such statements [are meant] as the following: “For the Father is greater than I;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Predestination of the Saints 2.67
… and that His humanity, whereby He is less than the Father, does not diminish aught from His divinity, whereby He is equal to the Father. For both of them are One Christ—who, moreover, most truly said in respect of the God, “I and the Father are one;” and most truly said in respect of the man, “My Father is greater than I.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 41.3
3. But seeing that is a great thing to know the mystery how He is David’s Son and David’s Lord: how one Person is both Man and God; how in the form of Man He is less than the Father, in the form of God equal with the Father; how again He saith, on the one hand, “The Father is greater than I;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 23.13
… “Whoso honoreth not the Son, honoreth not the Father that sent Him.” He said not even as , but honoreth and honoreth . For the man Christ is honored, but not even as God the Father. Why? Because, with respect to this, He said, “The Father is greater than I.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 80.2
2. “I am,” He says, “the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, He taketh away; and every one that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” Are, then, the husbandman and the vine one? Christ is the vine in the same sense as when He said, “The Father is greater than I;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 99.1
… And it is on account of this one personality as consisting of two substances, the divine and the human, that He sometimes speaks in accordance with that wherein He is God, as when He says, “I and my Father are one;” and sometimes in accordance with His manhood, as in the words, “For the Father is greater than I;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 107.5
… nature they may be one, even as we are one in ours, which certainly would not be spoken with truth, unless in this respect, that He, as God, is of the same nature as the Father also, in accordance with what He has said elsewhere, “I and the Father are one;” and not with what He also is as man, for in this respect He said, “The Father is greater than I.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 64.11
… For Himself hath spoken of both: but one thing there is which He saith in the form of God, another thing in the form of a servant. He hath said in the form of God, “I and the Father are one:” He hath said in the form of a servant, “For the Father is greater than I.”
Socrates Scholasticus † AD 440 The Ecclesiastical History of Socrates Scholasticus 2.30
… and again the Son, how he was begotten by the Father. But no one can doubt that the Father is greater in honor, dignity, and divinity, and in the very name of Father; the Son himself testifying ‘My Father who hath sent me is greater than I.’
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 The Ecclesiastical History of Theodoret 1.3
… For it is clear that the image fully contains everything by which the greater likeness exists, as the Lord taught us when He said, ‘ My Father is greater than I
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 Dialogues. The “Eranistes” or “Polymorphus” of the Blessed Theodoretus, Bishop of Cyrus 1
Testimony of Amphilochius, bishop of Iconium. From his Discourse on “My Father is greater than I:”
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 Dialogues. The “Eranistes” or “Polymorphus” of the Blessed Theodoretus, Bishop of Cyrus 2
“The Son of Mary converses with brothers, but the only begotten has no brothers, for how could the name of only begotten be preserved among brothers? And the same Christ that said ‘God is a spirit’ says to His disciples ‘Handle me,’ to shew that the human nature only can be handled and that the divine is intangible; and He that said ‘I go’
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 Dialogues. The “Eranistes” or “Polymorphus” of the Blessed Theodoretus, Bishop of Cyrus 3
Of the same from his discourse on “My Father is greater than I”:
Pope St Leo I the Great † AD 461 Sermons 23
… was of the same glory and substance with the Father, spoke of the Son’s Godhead as inferior, drawing its arguments from those words which are to be referred to the “form of a slave,” in respect of which, in order to show that it belongs to no other or different person in Himself, the same Son of God with the same form, says, “The Father is greater than I
Pope St Leo I the Great † AD 461 Sermons 27
… And hence when the Only-begotten of God confesses Himself less than the Father
Pope St Leo I the Great † AD 461 Sermons 77
The Lord Jesus does, indeed, say to His disciples, as was read in the Gospel lection, “if ye loved Me, ye would assuredly rejoice, because I go to the Father, because the Father is greater than I
St John of Damascus † AD 749 An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith 1.8
And this also it behoves us to know, that the names Fatherhood, Sonship and Procession, were not applied to the Holy Godhead by us: on the contrary, they were communicated to us by the Godhead, as the divine apostle says, Wherefore I bow the knee to the Father, from Whom is every family in heaven and on earth . But if we say
St John of Damascus † AD 749 An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith 4.18
And others make known the fact of His origin from the Father as cause, for instance My Father is greater than I
14:29
Tatian † AD 180 The Diatessaron 46
… Peace I leave you; my peace I give unto you: and not as this world giveth, give I unto you. [8] Let your heart not be troubled, nor fearful. Ye heard that I said unto you, that I go away, and come unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, that I go away to my [9] Father: for my Father is greater than I.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on First Thessalonians 3
Ye ought not, he says, to be troubled, for nothing strange, nothing contrary to expectation is happening; which was sufficient to raise them up. For do you see that on this account also Christ foretold to His disciples? For hear Him saying, “Now I have told you before it came to pass, that when it is come to pass ye may believe.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 75
… “but since,” He saith, “ye are not yet able to receive the saying concerning them, I bring you comfort even from the Father, whom ye entitle great.” Having thus consoled them, He again telleth them sorrowful things,
14:30
St Justin Martyr † AD 165 On the Resurrection, Fragments 3
… and the male mules do not beget their kind. So that both in the case of men and the irrational animals we can see sexual intercourse abolished; and this, too, before the future world. And our Lord Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, for no other reason than that He might destroy the begetting by lawless desire, and might show to the ruler
Tatian † AD 180 The Diatessaron 46
… [8] Let your heart not be troubled, nor fearful. Ye heard that I said unto you, that I go away, and come unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, that I go away to my [9] Father: for my Father is greater than I. And now I say unto you before it come [10] to pass, that, when it cometh to pass, ye may believe me.
Tertullian † AD 220 Five Books in Reply to Marcion 2
220 The serpent’s spoil—“the world’s prince” vanquisht quite!
St Hippolytus † AD 235 On Proverbs 1
For as a serpent cannot mark its track upon a rock, so the devil could not find sin in the body of Christ. For the Lord says, “Behold, the prince of this world cometh, and will find nothing in me.”
Origen † AD 254 Origen De Principiis 2.6.4
… is what the Scripture says of Him, that “He did no sin, neither was any guile found in His mouth,” and that “He was tempted in all things like as we are, without sin.” Nay, the Lord Himself also said, “Which of you will convince Me of sin?” And again He says with reference to Himself, “Behold, the prince of this world cometh, and findeth nothing in Me.”
Origen † AD 254 Origen Against Celsus 8.36
… And the demons, when despised, can do no harm to those who are under the protection of Him who can alone help all who deserve His aid; and He does no less than set His own angels over His devout servants, so that none of the hostile angels, nor even he who is called “the prince of this world,”
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 9.55
55. After the explanation that love is the source of this joy, because love rejoices that Jesus is to be confessed in the glory of God the Father, He next expresses His claim to receive back that glory, in the words, For the prince of this world cometh, and he hath nothing in Me
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 2.21
… For the Word being clothed in the flesh, as has many times been explained, every bite of the serpent began to be utterly staunched from out it; and whatever evil sprung from the motions of the flesh, to be cut away, and with these death also was abolished, the companion of sin, as the Lord Himself says
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 7.4
… yea, even their one enjoyment of their children was that they should be acknowledged and named by Christ, and their one measure of their blessedness in their children was their virtue and close association with the Chief Good. Compassionate, sympathetic, snatching many a treasure from moths and robbers, and from the prince of this world,
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Duties of the Clergy 1.49
… “Our adversary the devil as a roaring lion seeketh whom he may kill, whom he may devour.” Let him not find desire for gold, nor heaps of money, nor the appearance of vices, lest he take from thee the voice of liberty. For the voice of true liberty is heard, when thou canst say: “The prince of this world shall come, and shall find no part in me.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 16
… In one way, by transgressing none of the precepts of the law. For that He did fulfill it all, hear what He saith to John, “For thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.” And to the Jews also He said, “Which of you convinceth me of sin.” And to His disciples again, “The prince of this world cometh, and findeth nothing in me.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Second Corinthians 11
… For “He did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth.” ( 1 Pet. ii. 22 .) Wherefore He also said, “Which of you convicteth Me of sin?” ( John viii. 46 .) and again, “The prince of this world cometh, and he hath nothing in Me.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Colossians 6
“Having put off from himself the principalities and the powers.” He means the diabolical powers; because human nature had arrayed itself in these, or because they had,
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 66
… But if the Resurrection is this, a purifying of the soul, a deliverance from sin, and if Christ sinned not, how did He rise again? And how have we been delivered from the curse, if so be that He also sinned? And now saith He, “The prince of this world cometh, and had nothing in Me”? (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 75
Ver. 30 . “Hereafter I will not talk with you.” Wherefore? “For the ruler of this world cometh, and hath nothing in Me.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Hebrews 4
… “For,” He says, “the prince of this world cometh and findeth nothing in Me.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Hebrews 28
“Who,” he says, “for the joy that was set before Him, endured the Cross, despising the shame.” That is, it was in His power not to suffer at all, if He so willed. For “He did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth” ( 1 Pet. ii. 22 ); as He also says in the Gospels, “The Prince of the world cometh and hath nothing in Me.” (
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 22.3
… The weak flesh will soon be ashes: one against many, it fights against tremendous odds. Not till it has been dissolved, not till the Prince of this world has come and found no sin therein,
St Jerome † AD 420 Against the Pelagians 1.22
… For to have all and lack nothing is the virtue of Him “Who did no sin; neither was guile found in His mouth; Who, when He was reviled, reviled not again;” Who, confident in the consciousness of virtue, said,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 9.13
… whence she knew that the holy sacrifice was dispensed, by which the handwriting that was against us is blotted out; by which the enemy was triumphed over, who, summing up our offences, and searching for something to bring against us, found nothing in Him
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Letters of St. Augustin 164
… the soul of Christ is not derived from the same source as other souls, because He had absolutely no sin, either original or personal, on account of which death could be supposed to be merited by Him, since He paid on our behalf that which was not on His own account due by Him, in whom the prince of this world, who had the power of death, found nothing
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 13.14
… Whence also He says, by the mouth of His own Flesh, as is read in the Gospel: “For the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me,” that is, no sin; but “that the world may know,” He says, “that I do the commandment of the Father; arise, let us go hence.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins, and on the Baptism of Infants 1.70
… and better, in proportion to its unimportance and infrequency. The investigation, however, of the point in which we are now interested—whether there could possibly be (or whether in fact there is, has been, or ever will be) a man without sin in this present life, except Him who said, “The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins, and on the Baptism of Infants 2.48
… For when He was on His way to it, and was soon to suffer it, He said, “Behold, the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. But that all may know that I am doing my Father’s will, arise, let us go hence.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins, and on the Baptism of Infants 2.51
… “Behold, the prince of this world,” that is, the devil, who had the power of death, “cometh and findeth nothing in me,”—meaning, he shall find no sin in me, because of which he has caused men to die. As if the question were asked Him: Why then should you die? He says, “That all may know that I am doing the will of my Father, arise, let us go hence;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins, and on the Baptism of Infants 3.13
… He did no sin, neither was any guile found in His mouth; who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; and as a lamb before its shearer is dumb, so He opened not His mouth; to whom the prince of this world came, and found nothing in Him;
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on Nature and Grace 26
… for human nature is maintained by them to be such, that with free will it wants no such ransom in order to be translated from the power of darkness and of him who has the power of death, into the kingdom of Christ the Lord. And yet, when the Lord drew near His passion, He said, “Behold, the prince of this world cometh and shall find nothing in me,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Marriage and Concupiscence 2.14
… while the union of the two pertains to the procreation of children; and their fruitfulness to the blessing pronounced on the marriage institution. But all these things are of God; yet amongst them he was unwilling to name that “lust of the flesh, which is not of the Father, but is of the world;” and “of this world” the devil is said to be “the prince.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 71.1
… What is the world that was made by Him? The heaven and earth. How did not the heaven know Him, when at His Passion the sun was darkened? How did not the earth know Him, when as He hung upon the Cross, it quaked? But “the world knew Him not,” whose Prince he is, of whom it is said, “Behold, the prince of this world cometh, and findeth nothing in me.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 84.4
4. Who then freeth from death and from bondage, save He, who is “Free among the dead”? Who is “Free among the dead,” save He who among sinners is without sin? “Lo, the prince of the world cometh,” saith our Redeemer Himself, our Deliverer, “Lo, the prince of the world cometh, and shall find nothing in Me.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 84.5
… it is answered, “A man.” So then Flesh having the likeness of flesh of sin, that it might be a sacrifice for sin, is called “sin.” The same Apostle says in another place, “He made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin.” “Him who knew no sin:” Who is He who knew no sin, but He That said, “Behold the prince of the world cometh, and shall find nothing in me?
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 84.6
… What is there here of thine, O enemy? And the Word is God, and His Human Soul is His creature, and His Human Flesh His creature, and the Mortal Flesh of God is His creature. Seek for sin here. But what art thou seeking? The Truth saith, “The prince of this world shall come, and shall find nothing in Me.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 3
… in the Lord was the gift of mercy, not the punishment of sin. For the Lord had nothing on account of which He should justly die. He Himself says, “Behold, the prince of this world cometh, and findeth nothing in me.” Wherefore then dost Thou die? “But that all may know that I do the will of my Father, arise, let us go hence.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 41.7
… “I am become as a man without help, free among the dead.” For He only was free, because He had no sin. For He Himself says in the Gospel, “Behold, the prince of this world cometh,” meaning the devil about to come in the persons of the persecuting Jews;—“behold,” He says, “he cometh, and shall find nothing in me.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 95.4
4. He will also reprove it “of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.” Who is this, save he of whom He saith in another place, “Behold, the prince of the world cometh, and shall find nothing in me;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 51.9
… He seeth the future Judge to be judged, one just by sinners to be judged, and therein conquering, because in Him was nothing to be judged. For alone among men could truly say the God-Man, “If ye have found in Me sin, say.” But perchance there was what escaped men, and they found not what was really there, but was not manifest. In another place
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 72.7
… False accusation is his business. “Doth Job worship God gratis?” But the Lord Jesus doth humble him, by His grace aiding His own, in order that they may worship God gratis, that is, may take delight in the Lord. He humbled him also thus; because when in Him the devil, that is, the prince of this world, had found nothing,
John Cassian † AD 435 The Conferences of John Cassian 8.14
… and this we find pointed out very clearly in the gospel by the Pharisees in their blasphemy: “He casteth out devils by Beelzebub the prince of the devils,” for we find that they are also called “rulers of darkness,” and that one of them is styled “the prince of this world.”
John Cassian † AD 435 The Conferences of John Cassian 24.17
… Wherefore no part of His soul yielded when tempted by the wiles of the foe, “For lo,” He saith, “the prince of this world cometh and shall find nothing in Me.”
14:31
Tatian † AD 180 The Diatessaron 46
… If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, that I go away to my [9] Father: for my Father is greater than I. And now I say unto you before it come [10] to pass, that, when it cometh to pass, ye may believe me. Now I will not speak with you much: the Archon of the world will come, and he will have nothing in [11] me:
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on Matthew 13.10
… Let him, then, who has the things of Cæsar render them to Cæsar, that afterwards he may be able to render to God the things of God. But since Jesus, who was “the image of the invisible God,” had not the image of Cæsar, for “the prince of this age had nothing in Him,”
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 9.55
… Then, giving obedience to the Father’s command as His only motive, He adds, But that the world may know that I love the Father, even as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go hence
St Basil the Great † AD 379 De Spiritu Sancto 8
20. When then He says, “I have not spoken of myself,” and again, “As the Father said unto me, so I speak,” and “The word which ye hear is not mine, but [the Father’s] which sent me,” and in another place, “As the Father gave me commandment, even so I do,”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 2.8
… As it is a man who goes, so it is He Himself Who comes. Furthermore, He says in another place: “Rise, let us go hence.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 64
… and again, they are offended when He saith that He came down from heaven. ( c. vi. 33, 60 .) If now they could not bear these sayings, though seldom uttered, scarcely, had His discourse been always sublime, had it been of this texture, would they have given heed to Him? When therefore He saith, “As the Father commanded Me, so I speak” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 75
Ver. 31 . “‘That the world may know that I love the Father.’”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 58.3
… then God ceased to be known in Judah only and His name to be great in Israel alone; the sound of the apostles went out into all the earth and their words into the ends of the world. The Saviour Himself speaking to His disciples in the temple said: “arise, let us go hence,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on Nature and Grace 26
… And yet, when the Lord drew near His passion, He said, “Behold, the prince of this world cometh and shall find nothing in me,” —and therefore no sin, of course, on account of which he might exercise dominion over Him, so as to destroy Him. “But,” added He, “that the world may know that I do the will of my Father, arise, let us go hence;”
14:1
St Augustine † AD 430 Tr. lxvii. 1
Our Lord consoles His disciples, who, as men, would be naturally alarmed and troubled at the idea of His death, by assuring them of His divinity: Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me; as if they must believe in Him, if they believed in God; which would not follow, unless Christ were God. Ye are in fear for this form of a servant; let not your heart be troubled; the form of God shall raise it up.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Hom. lxxiii. 1
Faith too in Me, and in the Father that begat Me, is more powerful than any thing that shall come upon you; and will prevail in spite of all difficulties. He shews His divinity at the same time by discerning their inward feelings: Let not your heart be troubled.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tr. lxvii. 2
And as the disciples were afraid for themselves, when Peter, the boldest and most zealous of them, had been told, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied Me thrice, He adds, In My Father’s house are many mansions, by way of an assurance to them in their trouble, that they might with confidence and certainty look forward, after all their trials, to dwelling together with Christ in the presence of God. For though one man is bolder, wiser, juster, holier than another, yet no one shall be removed from that house of God, but each receive a mansion suited to his deserts. The penny indeed which the householder paid to the labourers who worked in his vineyard, was the same to all; for life eternal, which this penny signifies, is of the same duration to all. But there may be many mansions, many degrees of dignity, in that life, corresponding to people’s deserts.
St Gregory the Great † AD 604 Super Ezech. Hom. xvi.
The many mansions agree with the one penny, because, though one may rejoice more than another, yet all rejoice with one and the same joy, arising from the vision of their Maker.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tr. lxvii. 2
And thus God will be all in all; that is, since God is love, love will bring it to pass, that what each has, will be common to all. That which one loves in another is one’s own, though one have it not one’s self. And then there will be no envy at superior grace, for in all hearts will reign the unity of love.
St Gregory the Great † AD 604 Moral. ult. c. xxiv.
Nor is there any sense of deficiency in consequence of such inequality; for each will feel as much as sufficeth for himself.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tr. lxvii. 3
But they are rejected by the Christians, who infer from there being many mansions that there is a place outside the kingdom of heaven, where innocent souls, that have departed this life without baptism, and could not there enter into the kingdom of heaven, remain happy. But God forbid, that when every house of every heir of the kingdom is in the kingdom, there should be a part of the regal house itself not in the kingdom. Our Lord does not say, In eternal bliss are many mansions, but they are in My Father’s house.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Hom. lxxiii. 1
Or thus: Our Lord having said above to Peter, Whither I go, thou canst not follow Me now, but thou shalt follow Me afterwards, that they might not think that this promise was made to Peter only, He says, In My Father’s house are many mansions; i. e. You shall be admitted into that place, as well as Peter, for it contains abundance of mansions, which are ever ready to receive you: If it were not so, I would have told you: I go to prepare a place for you.
St Augustine † AD 430
He means evidently that there are already many mansions, and that there is no need of His preparing one.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Hom. lxxiii. 1
Having said, Thou canst not follow Me now, that they might not think that they were cut off for ever, He adds: And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there ye may be also: a recommendation to them to place the strongest trust in Him.
Theophylact † 1107
And if not, I would have told you: I go to prepare, &c. As if He said; Either way ye should not be troubled, whether places are prepared for you, or not. For, if they are not prepared, I will very quickly prepare them.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tract. lxviii. 1
But why does He go and prepare a place, if there are many mansions already? Because these are not as yet so prepared as they will be. The same mansions that He hath prepared by predestination, He prepares by operation. They are prepared already in respect of predestination; if they were not, He would have said, I will go and prepare, i. e. predestinate, a place for you; but inasmuch as they are not yet prepared in respect of operation, He says, And if I go and prepare a place for you. And now He is preparing mansions, by preparing occupants for them. Indeed, when He says, In My Father’s house are many mansions, what think we the house of God to be but the temple of God, of which the Apostle saith, The temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. (1 Cor. 3:17) This house of God then is now being built, now being prepared. (c. 3.). But why has He gone away to prepare it, if it is ourselves that He prepares: if He leaves us, how can He prepare us? The meaning is, that, in order that those mansions may be prepared, the just must live by faith: and if thou seest, there is no faith. Let Him go away then, that He be not seen; let Him be hid, that He be believed. Then a place is prepared, if thou live by faith: let faith desire, that desire may enjoy. If thou rightly understandest Him, He never leaves either the place He came from, or that He goes from. He goes, when He withdraws from sight, He comes, when He appears. But except He remain in power, that we may grow in goodness, no place of happiness will be prepared for us.
Alcuin † AD 804
He says then, If I go, by the absence of the flesh, I shall come again, by the presence of the Godhead; or, I shall come again to judge the quick and dead. And as He knew that they would ask whither He went, or by what way He went, He adds, And whither I go ye know, i. e. to the Father, and the way ye know, i. e. Myself.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Hom. xxiii. 2
He shews them that He is aware of their curiosity to know His meaning, and thus excites them to put questions to Him.
The Latin text
Augustinus in Ioannem
Ne discipuli mortem Christi tamquam homines timerent, et ideo turbarentur, consolatur eos, etiam Deum se esse contestans; unde dicitur et ait discipulis suis: non turbetur cor vestrum. Creditis in Deum, et in me credite, quasi dicat: consequens est, si in Deum creditis, ut in me credere debeatis: quod non esset consequens, si Christus non esset Deus. Mortem metuitis huic formae servi: non turbetur cor vestrum; suscitabit illam forma Dei
Chrysostomus in Ioannem
Ea etiam quae in me est fides et in patrem qui genuit, potentior est his quae supervenient; et nihil contra eam potest praevalere difficilium. Hoc etiam modo divinitatis virtutem ostendit, quia ea quae in mente habebant ducit in medium dicens non turbetur cor vestrum
Augustinus
Quia igitur etiam sibi metuebant discipuli, cum Petro dictum esset fidentiori atque promptiori: non cantabit gallus, donec ter me neges, subiunxit in domo patris mei mansiones multae sunt: per quod a turbatione recreantur, certi ac fidentes etiam post pericula tentationum, se apud Deum cum Christo esse mansuros: quia etsi alius est alio fortior, sapientior, iustior, sanctior, nullus alienabitur ab illa domo ubi mansionem pro suo quisque accepturus est merito. Denarius quidem ille aequalis est omnibus quem paterfamilias eis qui operati sunt in vinea, iubet dari: quo utique denario vita significatur aeterna, ubi amplius alio nemo vivit, quoniam vivendi non est diversitas in aeternitate mansura; sed multae mansiones diversas meritorum in una vita aeterna significant dignitates
Gregorius super Ezech
Vel hac ratione conveniunt mansiones multae cum uno denario, quia etsi alter minus atque alius amplius exultat, omnes tamen unum gaudium conditoris sui visione laetificat
Augustinus
Atque ita Deus erit omnia in omnibus, ut quoniam Deus caritas est, per caritatem fiat ut quod habent singuli, commune sit omnibus. Sic enim quisque etiam ipse habet, cum amat in altero quod ipse non habet: non enim erit ita aliqua invidia imparis claritatis, quoniam regnabit in omnibus unitas caritatis
Gregorius Moralium
Eiusdem etiam disparilitatis damna non sentiunt: quia tantum sibi unusquisque percipit quantum sufficit
Augustinus
Respuendi autem sunt a corde Christiano qui putant ideo dictum multas esse mansiones, quia extra regnum caelorum erit aliquid ubi maneant beati innocentes, cum sine Baptismo ex hac vita emigraverint, sine quo in regnum caelorum intrare non possunt. Absit autem ut cum omnis domus regnantium filiorum non sit alibi nisi in regno, ipsius regiae domus pars aliqua non sit in regno; non enim ait dominus: in beatitudine sempiterna mansiones multae sunt, sed in domo patris mei
Chrysostomus in Ioannem
Vel aliter continua. Quia dominus supra dixerat Petro: quo ego vado, non potes me sequi modo, sequeris autem postea, ne aestiment soli Petro hanc promissionem esse datam, dixit in domo patris mei mansiones multae sunt; hoc est, et vos regio illa suscipiet quae et Petrum: copia enim est ibi multa mansionum, et non est dicere quoniam praeparatione indigent; et propter hoc subdit si quo minus, dixissem vobis quia vado parare vobis locum
Augustinus in Ioannem
Ubi satis ostendit, ideo se hoc illis dixisse, quia iam ibi mansiones multae sunt, et non est opus illi aliquam praeparare
Chrysostomus
Quia vero dixerat: non potes me modo sequi, ut non aestiment se ab eo finaliter abscissos esse, subiungit et si abiero et praeparavero vobis locum, iterum veniam et accipiam vos ad meipsum, ut ubi ego sum, et vos sitis: ex quo ostendit quod oportet eos vehementer confidere
Theophylactus
Ac si dicat utrumque. Vos turbari non oportet, sive paratae sint, sive non. Nam etsi paratae non sint, ego cum omni solertia praeparabo vobis illas
Augustinus
Sed quomodo vadit et parat locum, si iam mansiones multae sunt? Sed nondum sunt sicut parandae sunt; easdem enim mansiones quas praedestinando praeparavit, praeparat operando. Iam ergo sunt in praedestinatione: si quo minus, dixisset: ibo et praeparabo, hoc est praedestinabo; sed quia nondum sunt in operatione, dicit et si abiero et praeparavero vobis locum. Parat autem modo mansiones, mansionibus praeparando mansores. Quippe cum dixit in domo patris mei mansiones multae sunt, quid putamus esse domum Dei, nisi templum Dei? De quo apostolus dicit: templum Dei sanctum est, quod estis vos. Haec ergo domus Dei adhuc aedificatur, adhuc praeparatur. Sed quid est quod ut praeparet abiit, cum nosipsos praeparet; quod non faciet, si reliquerit? Sed illud significat, quia ut parentur istae mansiones, vivere debet iustus ex fide: si autem vides, non est fides. Eat ergo ne videatur, lateat ut credatur. Tunc enim locus paratur, si ex fide vivatur: creditus desideretur, ut desideratus habeatur. Si bene intelligis, nec unde vadit, nec unde venit recedit. Vadit ergo latente eo, venit apparendo. Sed nisi maneat regendo, ut proficiamus bene vivendo, non parabitur locus ubi possimus manere perfruendo
Alcuinus
Dicit ergo si abiero, per carnis absentiam, iterum veniam, per divinitatis praesentiam; vel iterum veniam iudicare vivos et mortuos. Et quia sciebat eos interrogaturos quo iret, vel per quam viam iret, subiungit et quo ego vado scitis, scilicet ad patrem, et viam scitis, scilicet per meipsum
Chrysostomus
Hoc autem dicens, desiderium quod in eorum mente erat, ostendit, et dat eis desiderium interrogandi
14:5
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Hom. lxxiii. 2
If the Jews, who wished to be separated from Christ, asked whither He was going, much more would the disciples, who wished never to be separated from Him, be anxious to know it. So with much love, and, at the same time, fear, they proceed to ask: Thomas saith unto Him, Lord, we know not whither Thou goest; and how can we know the way?
St Augustine † AD 430 Tr. lxix. 1
Our Lord had said that they knew both, Thomas says that they knew neither. Our Lord cannot lie; they knew not that they did know. Our Lord proves that they did: Jesus saith unto Him, I am the way, the truth, and the life.
St Augustine † AD 430 de Verb. Dom. s. liv
As if He said, I am the way, whereby thou wouldest go; I am the truth, whereto thou wouldest go; I am the life, in which thou wouldest abide. The truth and the life every one understands (capit); but not every one hath found the way. Even the philosophers of the world have seen that God is the life eternal, the truth which is the end of all knowledge. And the Word of God, which is truth and life with the Father, by taking upon Him human nature, is made the way. Walk by the Man, and thou wilt arrive at God. For it is better to limp on the right way, than to walk ever so stoutly by the wrong.
St Hilary † AD 367 vii. de Trin
For He who is the way doth not lead us into devious courses out of the way; nor does He who is the truth deceive us by falsehoods; nor does He who is the life leave us in the darkness of death.
Theophylact † 1107
When thou art engaged in the practical, He is made thy way; when in the contemplative, He is made thy truth. And to the active and the contemplative is joined life: for we should both act and contemplate with reference to the world to come.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tr. lxix. 2
They knew then the way, because they knew He was the way. But what need to add, the truth, and the life? Because they were yet to be told whither He went. He went to the truth; He went to the life. He went then to Himself, by Himself. But didst Thou leave Thyself, O Lord, to come to us? (c. 3.). I know that Thou tookest upon Thee the form of a servant; by the flesh Thou camest, remaining where Thou wast; by that Thou returnedst, remaining where Thou hadst come to. If by this then Thou camest, and returnedst, by this Thou wast the way, not only to us, to come to Thee, but also to Thyself to come, and to return again. And when Thou wentest to life, which is Thyself, Thou raisedst that same flesh of Thine from death to life. Christ therefore went to life, when His flesh arose from death to life. And since the Word is life, Christ went to Himself; Christ being both, in one person, i. e. Word-flesh. Again, by the flesh God came to men, the truth to liars; for God is true, but every man a liar. When then He withdrew Himself from men, and lifted up His flesh to that place in which no liar is, the same Christ, by the way, by which He being the Word became flesh, by Himself, i. e. by His flesh, by the same returned to Truth, which is Himself, which truth, even amongst the liars He maintained unto death. Behold I myself1, if I make you understand what I say, do in a certain sense go to you, though I do not leave myself. And when I cease speaking, I return to myself, but remain with you, if ye remember what ye have heard. If the image which God hath made can do this, how much more the Image which God hath begotten? Thus He goes by Himself, to Himself and to the Father, and we by Him, to Him and to the Father.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Hom. lxxiii. 2
For if, He says, ye have Me for your guide to the Father, ye shall certainly come to Him. Nor can ye come by any other way. (c. 6:44) Whereas He had said above, No man can come to Me, except the Father draw him, now He says, No man cometh unto the Father but by Me, thus equalling Himself to the Father. The next words explain, Whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. If ye had known Me, He says, ye should have known My Father also; i. e. If ye had known My substance and dignity, ye would have known the Father’s. They did know Him, but not as they ought to do. Nor was it till afterwards, when the Spirit came, that they were fully enlightened. On this account He adds, And from henceforth ye know Him, know Him, that is, spiritually. And have seen Him, i. e. by Me; meaning that he who had seen Him, had seen the Father. They saw Him, however, not in His pure substance, but clothed in flesh.
St Bede † AD 735
How can our Lord say, If ye had known Me, ye should have known My Father also; when He has just said, Whither I go ye know, and the way ye know? We must suppose that some of them knew, and others not: among the latter, Thomas.
St Hilary † AD 367 vii. de Trin
Or thus: When it is said that the Son is the way to the Father, is it meant that He is so by His teaching, or by His nature? We shall be able to see from what follows: If ye had known Me, ye should have known My Father also. In His incarnation asserting His Divinity, He maintained a certain order of sight and knowledge: separating the time of seeing from that of knowing. For Him, who He saith must be known, He speaks of as already seen: that henceforward they might from this revelation have knowledge of the Divine Nature which they had all along seen in Him.
The Latin text
Chrysostomus in Ioannem
Si Iudaei volentes a Christo separari, quaerebant quo iturus esset, multo magis discipuli numquam ab eo separari volentes, hoc discere cupiebant, et interrogant eum ex multa dilectione et timore; et ideo dicitur dicit ei Thomas: domine, nescimus quo vadis; et quomodo possumus viam scire?
Augustinus in Ioannem
Utrumque illos dominus dixerat scire, utrumque dicit iste nescire; sed nescit ille mentiri; ergo isti sciebant, et se scire nesciebant. Convincit ergo eos hoc scire; unde subditur dicit ei Iesus: ego sum via, veritas et vita
Augustinus de Verb. Dom
Quasi dicat: qua vis ire, ego sum via; quo vis ire, ego sum veritas; ubi vis permanere, ego sum vita. Veritatem et vitam omnis homo capit; sed viam non omnis invenit. Deum esse quamdam vitam aeternam, veritatem scibilem, etiam huius saeculi philosophi viderunt. Verbum ergo Dei, quod apud patrem est veritas et vita, assumendo hominem, factum est via. Ambula per hominem, et pervenies ad Deum. Melius enim est in via claudicare, quam praeter viam fortiter ambulare
Hilarius de Trin
Non enim vos in erratica atque in invia deducit ille qui via est; neque illudit per falsa qui veritas est; neque in mortis relinquit errore qui vita est
Theophylactus
Cum itaque activam exerces, fit tibi Christus via; cum autem in contemplativa perseveras, efficitur tibi veritas. Adiecta autem vita est activo et contemplativo: decet enim ire et praedicare pro futuro saeculo
Augustinus
Sciebant ergo viam, quia sciebant ipsum qui est via. Quid autem opus erat ut adderet veritas et vita, cum restaret nosse quo iret? Quia ad veritatem ibat et ad vitam. Ibat ergo ad seipsum per seipsum. Sed numquid, o domine, ut venires ad nos, reliqueras te? Scio quidem quod formam servi accepisti et in carne venisti, manens ubi eras: et per hanc rediisti, non relinquens quo veneras. Si ergo per hanc et venisti et rediisti; per hanc nobis non solum qua veniremus ad te, verum etiam tibi qua venires et redires via fuisti. Cum vero ad vitam, quod es ipse, ivisti, eamdem carnem tuam de morte ad vitam duxisti. Itaque dum caro de morte venit ad vitam, Christus venit ad vitam. Et quia verbum est vita, Christus venit ad seipsum; quoniam utrumque est Christus, una persona, scilicet verbum caro. Venerat etiam per carnem Deus ad homines, veritas ad mendaces: est enim Deus verax, omnis autem homo mendax. Cum itaque se ab hominibus abstulit, atque illuc ubi nemo mentitur, carnem suam levavit, idem ipse, qua verbum caro factum est, per seipsum, idest per carnem suam, ad veritatem, quod est ipse, remeavit: quam quidem veritatem, quamvis inter mendaces, etiam in morte servavit. Ecce ego ipse, si loquor vobis quod intelligatis, quodammodo ad vos procedo, nec me relinquo. Cum autem tacuero, quodammodo ad me redeo, et vobiscum maneo, si tenueritis quod audistis. Si hoc potest imago quam fecit Deus, quid potest ex Deo nata imago? Ac per hoc et ipse per seipsum, et ad seipsum, et ad patrem, et nos per ipsum, et ad ipsum, et ad patrem imus
Chrysostomus
Si enim ego sum dominus ducendi ad patrem, omnino venietis illuc: neque enim est possibile alia venire via. Cum autem supra dixerit: nemo potest venire ad me, nisi pater traxerit illum, nunc dicens quoniam nullus potest venire ad patrem nisi per me, exaequat seipsum ei qui genuit. Qualiter autem dixerit: quo vado scitis, et viam scitis, ostendit subdens si cognovissetis me, et patrem meum utique cognovissetis; quasi dicat: si sciretis meam substantiam et dignitatem, et eam quae patris est sciretis. Noverant quidem eum, sed non ita ut oportebat: postea autem spiritus veniens perfectam in eis construxit cognitionem: et propter hoc subditur amodo cognoscetis eum: dicit autem eam quae secundum mentem cognitionem. Et vidistis eum: scilicet per me: ostendens quoniam qui videt eum, et patrem videt. Viderunt autem eum, non in nuda substantia, sed carne indutum
Beda
Sed quaerendum est quomodo nunc dicat dominus si cognovissetis me, et patrem meum utique cognovissetis: cum praemiserit supra: quo ego vado scitis, et viam scitis. Datur ergo intelligi quia quidam eorum sciebant, quidam vero nesciebant, quorum unus erat Thomas
Hilarius de Trin
Vel aliter continua. Cum iter ad patrem per filium sit, quaerendum est utrum hoc per doctrinae admonitionem, an per naturae fidem sit. Intelligentiae igitur sensum in consequentibus requiramus; nam sequitur si cognovissetis me, et patrem meum utique cognovissetis. In sacramento enim assumpti corporis divinitatis paternae naturam confirmans, hunc ordinem tenuit; tempus autem visionis separavit a tempore cognitionis: nam quem cognoscendum ait, eumdem iam dixit et visum, ut naturae iam pridem in se conspectae scientiam ex tempore nunc huius revelationis acciperent
14:8
St Hilary † AD 367 vii. de Trin
A declaration so new startled Philip. Our Lord is seen to be man. He confesses Himself to be the Son of God, declares that, if He were known, the Father would be known, that, if He is seen, the Father is seen. The familiarity of the Apostle therefore breaks forth into questioning our Lord, Philip saith unto Him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.He did not deny He could be seen (non visum negavit), but wished to be shewn him; nor did he wish to see with his bodily eyes, but that He whom he had seen might be made manifest to his understanding. He had seen the Son in the form of man, but how through that form He saw the Father, he did not know. This he wants to be shewn him, shewn to his understanding, not set before his eyes; and then he will be satisfied: And it sufficeth us.
St Augustine † AD 430 i. de Trin. c. viii
For to that joy of beholding His face, nothing can be added. Philip understood this, and said, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. But he did not yet understand that he could in the same way have said, Lord, shew us Thyself, and it sufficeth us. But our Lord’s answer enlightens him, Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip?
St Augustine † AD 430 Tr. lxx. 1
But how is this, when our Lord said that they knew whither He was going, and the way, because they knew Him? The question is easily settled by supposing that some of them knew, and others not; among the latter, Philip.
St Hilary † AD 367 vii. de Trin
He reproves the ignorance of Philip in this respect. For whereas his actions had been strictly divine, such as walking on the water, commanding the winds, remitting sins, raising the dead, He complained that in His assumed humanity, the Divine nature was not discerned. Accordingly to Philip’s request, to be shewn the Father, Our Lord answers, He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tr. lxx
When two persons are very like each, we say, If you have seen the one, you have seen the other. So here, He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father; not that He is both the Father, and the Son, but that the Son is an absolute likeness of the Father.
St Hilary † AD 367 vii. de Trin
He does not mean the sight of the bodily eye: for His fleshly part, born of the Virgin, doth not avail towards contemplating the form and image of God in Him; but the Son of God being known with the understanding, it follows that the Father is known also, forasmuch as He is the image of God, not differing from but expressing His Author1. For our Lord’s expressions do not speak of one person solitary and without relationship, but teach us His birth. The Father also excludes the supposition of a single solitary person, and leaves us no other doctrine but that the Father is seen in the Son, by the incommunicable likeness of birth.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tr. lxx. 3
But is he to be reproved, who, when he has seen the likeness, wishes to see the man of whom he is the likeness? No: our Lord rebuked the question, only with reference to the mind of the asker. Philip asked, as if the Father were better than the Son; and so shewed that He did not know the Son. Which opinion our Lord corrects: Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? as if He said, If it is a great wish with thee to see the Father, at any rate believe what thou dost not see.
St Hilary † AD 367 vii. de Trin
For what excuse was there for ignorance of the Father, or what necessity to shew Him, when the Father was seen in the Son by His essential nature2, while by the identity of unity, the Begotten and the Begetter are one: Believest thou not that I am in the Father and the Father in Me?
St Augustine † AD 430 i. de. Trin. 8
He wished him to live by faith, before he had sight, and therefore says, Believest thou not? Spiritual vision is the reward of faith, vouchsafed to minds purified by faith.
St Hilary † AD 367 vii. de Trin
But the Father is in the Son, and the Son in the Father, not by a conjunction of two harmonizing essences3, nor by a nature grafted into a more capacious substance as in material bodies, in which it is impossible that what is within can be made external to that which contains it; but by the birth of a nature which is life from life; forasmuch as from God nothing but God can be born.
St Hilary † AD 367 v. de Trin
The unchangeable God follows, so to speak, His own nature, by begetting unchangeable God. Nor does the perfect birth of unchangeable God from unchangeable God forsake His own nature. We understand then here the nature of God subsisting in Him, since God is in God, nor besides Him who is God, can any other be God.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Hom. lxxiv. 1
Or thus: Philip, because [he thought] he had seen the Son with his bodily eye, wished to see the Father in the same way; perhaps too remembering what the Prophet said, I saw the Lord, and therefore he says, Shew us the Father. (Isa. 6:1) The Jews had asked, who was His Father; and Peter and Thomas, whither He went; and neither were told plainly. Philip therefore, that he might not seem burdensome, after saying, Shew us the Father, adds, And it sufficeth us: i. e. we seek for no more. Our Lord in reply does not say, that he asked an impossible thing, but that he had not seen the Son to begin with, for that if he had seen Him, he would have seen the Father: Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me? He does not say, not seen Me, but, not known Me; not known that the Son, being what the Father is, does in Himself fitly shew the Father. Then dividing the Persons, He says, He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; that none might maintain that He was both the Father and the Son. The words shew too that even the Son was not seen in a bodily sense. So if any one takes seeing here, for knowing, I will not contradict him, but will take the sentence as if it was, He that hath known Me, hath known the Father. He shews here His consubstantiality with the Father: He that hath seen My substance, hath seen the Father. Whence it is evident He is not a creature: for all know and see the creature, but not all God; Philip, for instance, who wished to see the substance of the Father. If Christ then had been of another substance from the Father, He would never have said, He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father. A man cannot see the substance of gold in silver: one nature cannot be made apparent by another.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tr. lxx. 3. and lxxi. 1
He then addresses all of them, not Philip only: The word that I speak unto you, I speak not of Myself. What is, I speak not of Myself, but, I that speak am not of Myself? He attributes what He does to Him, from whom He Himself, the doer, is.
St Hilary † AD 367 vii. de Trin
Wherein He neither desires Himself to be the Son, nor hides the existence1 of His Father’s power in Him. In that He speaks, it is Himself that speaks in His own person; in that He speaks not of Himself, He witnesseth His nativity, that He is God from God.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Hom. lxxiv. 2
Mark the abundant proof of the unity of substance. For He continues; But the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works. As if He said, My Father and I act together, not differently from each other; agreeing with what He said below: If I do not the works of My Father, believe Me not. But why does He pass from words to works? Why does He not say as we might have expected, He speaketh the words? Because He means to apply what He says both to His doctrine, and to His miracles; or because His words are themselves works.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tr. lxx. 1, 2
For he that edifieth his neighbour by speaking, doth a good work. These two sentences are brought against us by different sects of heretics; the Arians saying that the Son is unequal to the Father, because He does not speak of Himself; the Sabellians, that the same who is the Father is the Son. For what is meant, they ask, by, The Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works, but, I that dwell in Myself, do these works.
St Hilary † AD 367 vii. de Trin
That the Father dwells in the Son, shews that He is not single, or solitary; that the Father works by the Son, shews that He is not different or alien. As He is not solitary who doth not speak from Himself, so neither is He alien and separable who speaketh by Him. Having shewn then that the Father spoke and worked in Him, He formally states this union: Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me: that they might not think that the Father worketh and speaketh in the Son as by a mere agent or instrument, not by the unity of nature implied in His Divine birth.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tr. lxxi. 2
Philip alone was reproved before.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Hom. lxxiv. 2
But if this does not suffice to shew ray consubstantiality, at least learn it from My works: Or else believe Me for the very works’ sake. Ye have seen My miracles, and all the proper signs of My divinity; works which the Father alone worketh, sins remitted, life restored, and the like.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tr. lxxi. 2
Believe then for My works’ sake, that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me; for, were we separated, we could not be working together.
The Latin text
Hilarius de Trin
Commovit apostolum Philippum novitas dictorum. Homo cernitur, Dei se filium confitetur, cognito se cognoscendum patrem fatetur, patrem visum esse dicit. Prorupit igitur apostolica familiaritas dominum interrogans; unde dicitur
dicit ei Philippus: domine, ostende nobis patrem, et sufficit nobis
Non visum negavit, sed ostendi sibi rogavit; neque ostensionem veluti corporalis contemplationis intuitum desideravit, sed demonstrationem intelligendi eius qui visus est postulavit. Filium enim in habitu hominis viderat, sed quomodo per id patrem viderit, nescit: nam ut ostensio illa intelligendi potius esset demonstratio quam videndi, subiecit et sufficit nobis
Augustinus de Trin
Illa enim laetitia qua nos adimplebit cum vultu suo, nihil amplius requiretur: quod bene intellexerat Philippus, ut diceret domine, ostende nobis patrem, et sufficit nobis. Sed nondum intellexerat eo quoque modo ad ipsum se potuisse dicere: domine, ostende nobis te, et sufficit nobis. Ut enim hoc intelligeret, responsum est ei a domino; unde sequitur dixit ei Iesus: tanto tempore vobiscum sum, et non cognovistis me?
Augustinus in Ioannem
Sed quomodo hoc dicit, cum et quo iret scirent et viam scirent, non ob aliud nisi quod ipsum scirent? Sed facile ista quaestio solvitur, si dicamus, quod eum aliqui eorum sciebant, aliqui nesciebant, de quibus erat Philippus
Hilarius
Arguit ergo apostolum in cognoscendo se ignorantem: cum enim ea quae gereret, propria Deo essent, calcare undas, iubere ventis, peccata dimittere, mortuis vitam reddere; hinc querelae omnis orta conquaestio est, quod in homine assumpto Dei non intellecta natura est. Et ideo postulanti ut sibi patrem ostenderet, ait Philippe, qui videt me, videt et patrem
Augustinus
Solemus enim de simillimis duobus ita loqui: vidistis illum? Vidistis istum. Sic ergo dictum est qui videt me, videt et patrem: non quod ipse sit pater et filius; sed quod a patris similitudine in nullo prorsus discrepet filius
Hilarius
Non autem ille hic visum oculorum carnalium significat: non enim hoc quod ex partu virginis carnale est, ad contemplandam in eo Dei formam et imaginem proficit; sed intellectus Dei filius id praestat ut intellectus et pater sit, dum ita imago est ut non differat genere, sed significet auctorem; non enim solitarium sermo significat et indifferentem; tamen naturam professio docet: cum enim dicitur et patrem, exclusa est singularis atque unici intelligentia; et quid reliquum est, nisi ut per naturae unicam similitudinem pater per filium visus sit?
Augustinus
Sed numquid obiurgandus est qui cum similem viderat, etiam illum cui est similis, vult videre? Sed ideo discipulum dominus arguebat, quoniam cor postulantis videbat. Tamquam enim melior esset pater quam filius, ita Philippus patrem nosse cupiebat; et ideo nec filium sciebat, quo alium meliorem esse credebat. Ad hunc ergo sensum corrigendum dictum est non credis quia ego in patre, et pater in me est? Quasi dicat: si ad te multum est hoc videre, saltem quod non vides crede
Hilarius
Quae enim ignorandi patrem aut ostendendi ignorantibus necessitas relinquebatur, cum pater in filio visus esset ex proprietate naturae, dum ex indifferentia unitatis unum sint natus et generans, ut hic sermo domini sequeretur: non credis quia ego in patre, et pater in me est?
Augustinus de Trin
Volebat enim eum ex fide vivere, antequam illud posset videre; et ideo dicit non credis? Contemplatio quippe merces est fidei; cui mercedi per fidem corda mundantur
Hilarius de Trin
Pater autem in filio est et filius in patre, non per duplicem convenientium generum coniunctionem, neque per insitam capacioris substantiae naturam; quia per corporalem necessitatem exteriora fieri his quibus continentur interiora non possunt, sed per nativitatem viventis naturae ex vivente, dum non aliud ex Deo quam Deus nascitur
Hilarius de Trin
Naturam enim suam, ut ita dicam, sequitur indemutabilis Deus, indemutabilem gignens Deum. Nec naturam suam deserit ex indemutabili Deo indemutabilis Dei perfecta nativitas. Subsistentem igitur in eo Dei naturam intelligimus, cum in Deo Deus sit; nec praeter eum qui est Deus, quisquam alius Deus sit
Chrysostomus in Ioannem
Vel aliter totum. Philippus hic corporeis oculis patrem volebat videre, quia et ipsum filium ita se existimabat vidisse, fortassis a prophetis audiens, quoniam vidi dominum, et ideo dixit ostende nobis patrem. Etenim Iudaei interrogaverunt: quis est pater tuus? Et Petrus et Thomas, quo iret: et nullus didicit manifeste. Ut ergo non videatur onerosus esse Philippus, et ipse interrogans ostende nobis patrem, adiungit et sufficit nobis; idest, nihil plus quaerimus. Dominus autem non dixit ei: impossibile petis; sed ostendit quoniam neque ipsum filium vidit: nam si hunc potuisset videre, et illum vidisset; et ideo dicit tanto tempore vobiscum sum, et non cognovistis me? Non dixit: non vidistis me, sed non cognovistis me, quantum ad hoc scilicet quod filius hoc manens quod pater, decenter in seipso ostendit eum qui genuit. Deinde dividens hypostases, ait qui videt me, videt et patrem: ne quis dicat, quod ipse est pater, ipse filius. Ostendit autem per hoc quoniam neque filium visu corporeo vidit. Si autem aliquis hic visum cognitionem dicere velit, non contradico; quasi dicat: qui cognovit me, cognovit et patrem. Sed non dixit hoc; sed consubstantialitatem repraesentare volens, dixit: qui meam substantiam vidit, vidit et eam quae patris. Unde patet quod non est creatura: creaturam enim videntes, Deum nesciunt omnes: Philippus etiam substantiam patris videre quaerebat. Si ergo alterius substantiae esset, non diceret qui videt me, videt et patrem. Sed nec aliquis in argento auri substantiam videre potest: non enim alia per aliam apparet naturam
Augustinus
Deinde non ad solum Philippum, sed ad omnes pluraliter loquitur, dicens verba quae ego loquor vobis, a meipso non loquor. Quid est a meipso non loquor, nisi: a meipso non sum, qui loquor? Ei quippe tribuit quod facit de quo est ipse qui facit
Hilarius de Trin
Unde neque se filium negavit, nec naturam in se paternae virtutis abscondit: nam dum loquitur, ipse in substantia manens loquitur; dum autem non a se loquitur, nativitatem in se Dei a Deo testatur
Chrysostomus
Vide autem superabundantem unius substantiae demonstrationem: nam subditur pater autem in me manens, ipse facit opera; quasi dicat: nequaquam aliter facit pater et aliter ego; sicut et alibi ait: si non facio opera patris mei, non credatis mihi. Sed quomodo a verbis incipiens, ad opera venit? Conveniens enim erat dicere: ipse loquitur verba; sed duo ponit de doctrina et signis; aut quia et verba opera erant
Augustinus in Ioannem
Nam qui proximum loquendo aedificat, bonum opus operatur. In his duabus sententiis diversi nobis adversantur haeretici. Ariani dicunt: ecce inaequalis est patri filius: non a seipso loquitur. Dicunt Sabelliani: ecce qui pater est, ipse est filius. Quid est pater in me manens ipse facit, nisi in me maneo ego qui facio?
Hilarius
Sed manere in filio patrem, non est singularis atque unici; operari vero per filium patrem, non est differentis aut exteri; sicut non unius est, non a se loqui qui loquitur, neque rursus alieni ac separabilis loqui per loquentem. Et quia in se patrem loqui et operari docuerat, perfecte huius unitatis fidem statuit, dicens credite mihi quia ego in patre et pater in me est: ne scilicet per virtutis efficientiam, et non per naturae, quae secundum nativitatem est, proprietatem, pater in filio et operari crederetur et loqui: sic enim habetur in Graeco. Nostra littera habet non creditis quia ego in patre, et pater in me est?
Augustinus in Ioannem
Antea solus Philippus arguebatur
Chrysostomus
Si vero non sufficit hoc ad ostendendum consubstantialitatem, saltem ab operibus discite; unde subditur alioquin propter opera ipsa credite. Vidistis enim signa cum auctoritate, et omnia quae deitatis erant propria, et quae solus pater operatur: peccata soluta, mortem recedentem, et huiusmodi
Augustinus
Hoc ergo propter opera credite quia ego in patre et pater in me est: neque enim, si separati essemus, inseparabiliter operari ulla ratione possemus
14:12
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Hom. lxxiv. 2
Having said, Believe for the works’ sake, our Lord goes on to declare that He can do much greater than these, and what is more wonderful, give others the power of working them. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do, shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tr. lxxi. 3
But what are these greater works? Is it that the shadow of the Apostles, as they passed, by, healed the sick? It is indeed a greater thing that a shadow should heal, than that the border of a garment should. Nevertheless, by works here our Lord refers to His words. For when He says, My Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works, what are these works but the words which He spoke? And the fruit of those words was their faith. But these were but few converts in comparison with what those disciples made afterwards by their preaching: they converted the Gentiles to the faith. Did not the rich man go away sorrowful from His words? And yet that which one did not do at His own exhortation, many did afterwards when He preached through the disciples. He did greater works when preached by the believing, than when speaking to men’s ears. (lxxii. 2). Still these greater works He did by His Apostles, whereas He includes others besides them, when He says, He that believeth on Me. Are we not to compute any one among the believers in Christ, who does not do greater works than Christ? This sounds harsh if not explained. The Apostle says, To him that believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. (Rom. 4:5) By this work then we shall do the works of Christ, the very believing in Christ being the work of Christ, for He worketh this in us, though not without us. Attend then’; He that believeth on Me, the works that I do, shall he do also. First I do them, then he will do them: I do them, that he may do them. Do what works but this, viz. that a man, from being a sinner, become just? which thing Christ worketh in us, though not without us. This in truth I call a greater work to do, than to create the heaven and the earth; for heaven and earth shall pass away, but the salvation and justification of the predestinated shall remain. (c. 3.). However, the Angels in heaven are the work of Christ; shall he who worketh with Christ for his own justification, do greater even than these? Judge any one which be the greater work, to create the just, or to justify the ungodly? At least, if both be of equal power, the latter hath more of mercy. But it is not necessary to understand all the works of Christ, when He says, greater works than these shall he do. These perhaps refers to the works He had done that hour. He had then been instructing them in the faith1. And surely it is a less work to preach righteousness, which He did without us, than to justify the ungodly, which He so does in us, as that we do it ourselves. Great things truly did our Lord promise His people, when He went to His Father: Because I go unto My Father.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Hom. lxxiv. 2
i. e. I shall not perish, but shall remain in My proper dignity, in heaven. Or He means: It is your part henceforth to work miracles, since I am going.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tract. lxxiii. 2
And that no one might attribute the merit to himself, He shews, that even those greater works were His own doing: And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do. Before it was, He shall do, now, I will do: as if He said, Let not this appear impossible to you. He that believeth in Me, will not be greater than I; but I shall do greater works then than now; greater by him that believeth on Me, than now by Myself; which will not be a failing, but a condescension.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Hom. lxxiv. 2
In My name, He says. Thus the Apostles; In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, arise and walk. (Acts 3:6) All the miracles that they did, He did: the hand of the Lord was with them.
Theophylact † 1107
This is an explanation of the doctrine of miracles. It is by prayer, and invocation of His name, that a man is able to work miracles.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tract. lxxii. 2
Whatsoever ye shall ask. Then why do we often see believers asking, and not receiving? Perhaps it is that they ask amiss. When a man would make a bad use of what he asks for, God in His mercy does not grant him it. Still if God even in kindness often refuses the requests of believers, how are we to understand, Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, I will do? Was this said to the Apostles only? No. He says above, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also. And if we go to the lives of the Apostles themselves, we shall find that he who laboured more than they all, prayed that the messenger of Satan might depart from him, but was not granted his request. But attend: does not our Lord lay down a certain condition? In My name, which is Christ Jesus. Christ signifies King, Jesus, Saviour. Therefore whatever we ask for that would hinder our salvation, we do not ask in our Saviour’s name: and yet He is our Saviour, not only when He does what we ask, but also when He does not. When He sees us ask any thing to the disadvantage of our salvation, He shews Himself our Saviour by not doing it. The physician knows whether what the sick man asks for is to the advantage or disadvantage of his health; and does not allow what would be to his hurt, though the sick man himself desires it; but looks to his final cure. And some things we may even ask in His name, and He will not grant them us at the time, though He will some time. What we ask for is deferred, not denied. He adds, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. The Son does not do any thing without the Father, inasmuch as He does it in order that the Father may be glorified in Him.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Hom. lxxiv. 2
For when the great power of the Son is manifested, He that begat Him is glorified. He introduces this last, to confirm the truth of what He has said.
Theophylact † 1107
Observe the order (ἀκολουθίαν) in which the glorifying of the Father comes. In the name of Jesus miracles were done, by which men were made to believe the Apostles’ preaching. This brought them to the knowledge of the Father, and thus the Father was glorified in the Son.
The Latin text
Chrysostomus in Ioannem
Quia dominus dixerat: propter opera credite, ostendens quoniam non hoc solum potest, sed multo maiora, et, quod est mirabilius, aliis potest dare, adiunxit amen, amen, dico vobis: qui credit in me, opera quae ego facio, et ipse faciet, et maiora horum faciet
Augustinus in Ioannem
Sed quae sunt ista maiora? An forte quod aegros ipsis transeuntibus etiam eorum umbra sanabat? Maius est enim quod sanet umbra quam fimbria. Verumtamen quando ista dicebat, verborum suorum facta et opera commendabat. Cum enim dixit: pater in me manens, ipse facit opera, quae opera tunc dicebat nisi verba quae loquebatur? Et eorum verborum fructus erat fides illorum. Verumtamen evangelizantibus discipulis non tam pauci quam illi erant, sed gentes etiam crediderunt. Nonne ab ore ipsius dives ille tristis abscessit? Et tamen postea quod ab illo auditum non fecit unus, fecerunt multi, cum per discipulos loqueretur. Ecce maiora fecit praedicatus a credentibus, quam locutus audientibus. Verum, hoc adhuc movet quod hic maiora per apostolos fecit. Non autem ipsos tantum significans ait qui credit in me. Numquid inter credentes in Christum non est computandus qui non fecerit opera maiora quam Christus? Durum est nisi intelligatur. Apostolus dicit
credenti
in eum qui iustificat impium, reputatur fides ad iustitiam. In hoc opere faciemus opera Christi, quia et ipsum credere in Christum, opus est Christi: hoc operatur in nobis, non utique sine nobis. Audi ergo: qui credit in me, opera quae ego facio et ipse faciet. Prius ego facio, deinde et ipse faciet: quia facio ut faciat. Quae opera, nisi ut ex impio iustus fiat? Quod utique in illo, sed non sine illo Christus operatur. Prorsus hoc maius esse dixerim quam creare coelum et terram: caelum enim et terra transibunt: praedestinatorum autem salus et iustificatio permanebit. Sed in caelis Angeli opera sunt Christi: numquid etiam his operibus maiora facit qui cooperatur Christo ad suam iustificationem? Iudicet qui potest utrum maius sit iustos creare quam impios iustificare. Certe si aequalis sit utrumque potentiae, hoc maioris est misericordiae. Sed omnia opera intelligere Christi, ubi ait maiora horum faciet, nulla necessitas cogit: horum enim forsitan dixit quae illa hora faciebat; tunc autem verba fidei faciebat; et utique minus est verba iustitiae praedicare, quod fecit praeter nos, quam impios iustificare, quod ita facit in nobis ut faciamus et nos. Magnam autem spem dominus suis promisit orantibus, dicens quia ego ad patrem vado
Chrysostomus
Hoc est, non pereo, sed in propria manebo dignitate, et in caelis ero. Vel hoc dicit, ac si diceret: vestrum est de cetero miracula facere; ego enim vado
Augustinus
Et ne quisquam hoc sibi tribueret ut etiam illa opera maiora seipsum facere ostenderet, adiecit et quodcumque petieritis patrem in nomine meo, hoc faciam. Qui dixerat: faciet post ait faciam: tamquam diceret: non vobis hoc impossibile videatur: non enim poterit esse maior me qui credit in me; sed ego sum facturus et tunc maiora quam nunc; maiora per eum qui credit in me, quam nunc per me; quod non est defectio, sed dignatio
Chrysostomus in Ioannem
Dicit autem in nomine meo, quia et apostoli dicebant: in nomine Christi Iesu surge et ambula. Omnia enim signa quae fecerunt, ipse faciebat, et manus domini erat cum illis
Theophylactus
Exponit autem nobis per hoc miraculorum doctrinam: nam per orationem ac invocationem sui nominis potest quis exercere prodigia
Augustinus
Sed quid est quodcumque petieritis, cum videamus plerumque fideles eius petere et non accipere? An forte propterea quia male petunt? Male enim usurus eo quod vult accipere, Deo potius miserante non accipit. Quomodo ergo intelligendum est quodcumque petieritis, hoc faciam, si Deus aliqua petentibus fidelibus etiam consulendo non facit? An forte solis apostolis hoc dictum debemus accipere? Absit: superius enim dixerat: qui credit in me, opera quae ego facio, et ipse faciet. Ipsos quoque si cogitemus apostolos, inveniemus eum qui plus omnibus laboravit rogasse ut ab eo discederet Angelus Satanae, nec tamen quod rogaverat accepisse. Sed audi quod illic positum est in nomine meo, quod est Christus Iesus. Christus regem, Iesus salvatorem significat: et per hoc quodcumque petimus adversus utilitatem salutis, non petimus in nomine salvatoris: et tamen ipse salvator est, non solum quando facit quod petimus, verum etiam quando non facit: quoniam quod videt peti contra salutem, non faciendo se exhibet salvatorem. Novit enim medicus quid pro sua, quid contra suam salutem poscat aegrotus; et ideo contraria poscentis non facit voluntatem, ut faciat sanitatem. Sane quaedam quamvis in nomine eius petamus, non tunc quando petimus facit, sed tamen facit: differtur enim quod petimus, non negatur. Continuo autem subiecit ut glorificetur pater in filio, si quid petieritis in nomine meo, hoc faciam. Nullo modo igitur sine patre filius facit, quandoquidem, ut in illo pater glorificetur, propterea facit
Chrysostomus
Cum enim filius ostendatur magna potens, glorificabitur ille qui genuit. Ideo autem secundo id ponit, ut certificet sui ipsius sermonem
Theophylactus
Attende etiam seriem paternae glorificationis. In nomine Iesu facta sunt signa per quae credebant apostolorum sermonibus: et sic dum ad notitiam patris pervenirent, glorificabatur pater in filio
14:15
St John Chrysostom † AD 407
Our Lord having said, Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that I will do; that they might not think simply asking would be enough, He adds, If ye love Me, keep My commandments. And then I will do what ye ask, seems to be His meaning. Or the disciples having heard Him say, I go to the Father, and being troubled at the thought of it, He says, To love Me, is not to be troubled, but to keep My commandments: this is love, to obey and believe in Him who is loved. And as they had been expressing a strong desire for His bodily presence, He assures them that His absence will be supplied to them in another way: And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Comforter.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tract. lxxiv. 4
Wherein He shews too that He Himself is the Comforter. Paraclete means advocate, and is applied to Christ: We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. (1 John 2:1)
Alcuin † AD 804
Paraclete, i. e. Comforter. They had then one Comforter, who comforted and elevated them by the sweetness of His miracles, and His preaching.
Didymus the Blind † AD 398 Didym. De Spiritu Sancto.
But the Holy Ghost was another Comforter: differing not in nature, but in operation. For whereas our Saviour in His office of Mediator, and of Messenger1, and as High Priest, made supplication for our sins; the Holy Ghost is a Comforter in another sense, i. e. as consoling our griefs. But do not infer from the different operations of the Son and the Spirit, a difference of nature. For in other places we find the Holy Spirit performing the office of intercessor2 with the Father, as, The Spirit Himself intercedeth for us. (Rom. 8:26) And the Saviour, on the other hand, pours consolation into those hearts that need it: as in Maccabees, He strengthened those of the people that were brought low. (1 Macc. 14:15)
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Hom. lxxiv. 2
He says, I will ask the Father, to make them believe Him: which they could not have done, had He simply said, I will send.
St Augustine † AD 430 contra Serm. Arrian. c. xix.
Yet to shew that His works are inseparable from His Father’s, He says below, When I shall go, I will send Him unto you.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Hom. lxxiv
But what had He more than the Apostles, if He could only ask the Father to give others the Spirit? The Apostles did this often even without praying.
Alcuin † AD 804
I will ask—He says, as being the inferior in respect of His humanity—My Father, with Whom I am equal and consubstantial in respect of My Divine nature.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Hom. lxxv. 1
That He may abide with you for ever. The Spirit does not depart even at death. He intimates too that the Holy Ghost will not suffer death, or go away, as He has done. But that the mention of the Comforter might not lead them to expect another incarnation, a Comforter to be seen with the eye, He adds, Even the Spirit of truth, Whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tract. lxxiv. 1
This is the Holy Ghost in the Trinity, Whom the Catholic faith professes to be consubstantial and coeternal with the Father and the Son.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Hom. lxxv. 1
The Spirit of truth He calls Him, because He unfolds the figures of the Old Testament. The world are the wicked, seeing is certain knowledge; sight being the most certain of the senses.
St Bede † AD 735
Note too, that when He calls the Holy Spirit the Spirit of truth, He shews that the Holy Spirit is His Spirit: then when He says He is given by the Father, He declares Him to be the Spirit of the Father also. Thus the Holy Ghost proceeds both from the Father, and from the Son.
St Gregory the Great † AD 604 v. Mor.
The Holy Spirit kindles in every one, in whom He dwells, the desire of things invisible. And since worldly minds love only things visible, this world receiveth Him not, because it rises not to the love of things invisible. In proportion as secular minds enlarge themselves by the spread of their desires, in that proportion they narrow themselves, with respect to admitting Christ.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tract. lxxiv. 4
Thus the world, i. e. the lovers of the world, cannot, He says, receive the Holy Spirit: that is to say, unrighteousness cannot be righteous. The world, i. e. the lovers of the world, cannot receive Him, because it seeth Him not. The love of the world hath not invisible eyes wherewith to see that, which can only be seen invisibly. It follows: But ye know Him, for He dwelleth (manebit) with you. And that they might not think this meant a visible dwelling, in the sense in which we use the phrase with respect to a guest, He adds, And shall be in you.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Hom. lxxv. 1
As if He said, He will not dwell with you as I have done, but will dwell in your souls.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tract. lxxiv. 5
To be in a place is prior to dwelling. Be in you, is the explanation of dwell with you: i. e. shews that the latter means not that He is seen, but that He is known, He must be in us, that the knowledge of Him may be in us. We see the Holy Ghost then in us, in our consciences.
St Gregory the Great † AD 604 ii. Mor.
But if the Holy Spirit abides in the disciples, how is it a special mark of the Mediator that He abides in Him. (supr. 1:32. ἐπʼ αὐτὸν) We shall better understand, if we distinguish between the different gifts of the Spirit. In respect of those gifts without which we cannot attain to salvation, the Holy Spirit ever abides in all the Elect: but in respect of those which do not relate to our own salvation, but to the procuring that of others, He does not always abide in them. For He sometimes withdraws His miraculous gifts, that His grace may be possessed with humility. Christ has Him without measure and always.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Hom. lxxv. 1
This speech levels at a stroke, as it were, the opposite heresies. The word another, shews the distinct personality of the Spirit: the word Paraclete, His consubstantiality.
St Augustine † AD 430 contr. Serm. Arrian. c. xix.
Comforter, the title of the Holy Spirit, the third Person in the Trinity, the Apostle applies to God: God that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us. (2 Cor. 7:6) The Holy Spirit therefore Who comforts those that are cast down, is God. Or if they will have this said by the Apostle of the Father or the Son, let them not any longer separate the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son, in His peculiar office of comforting.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tract. lxxiv. c. 1
But when the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us, (Rom. 5:6) how shall we love and keep the commandments of Christ, so as to receive the Spirit, when we are not able to love or to keep them, unless we have received the Spirit? Does love in us go first, i. e. do we so love Christ and keep His commandments as to deserve to receive the Holy Spirit, and to have the love of God the Father shed abroad in our hearts? This is a perverse opinion. For he who does not love the Father, does not love the Son, however he may think he does. (c. 2). It remains for us to understand, that he who loves has the Holy Spirit, and by having Him, attains to having more of Him, and by having more of Him, to loving more. The disciples had already the Spirit which our Lord promised; but they were to be given more of Him: they had Him secretly, they were to receive Him openly. The promise is made both to him who has the Spirit, and to him who has Him not; to the former, that he shall have Him; to the latter, that He shall have more of Him.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Hom. lxxv. 1
When He had cleansed His disciples by the sacrifice of His passion, and their sins were remitted, and they were sent forth to dangers and trials, it was necessary that they should receive the Holy Spirit abundantly. But they were made to wait some time for this gift, in order that they might feel the want of it, and so be the more grateful for it when it came.
The Latin text
Chrysostomus in Ioannem
Quia dominus dixerat: quodcumque petieritis, hoc faciam, ut non aestiment omnem simpliciter petitionem valere, induxit si diligitis me, mandata mea servate: quasi dicat: tunc faciam quod petitis. Vel quia audientes quoniam ad patrem vado consequens erat eos turbari, dicit: non est hoc me amare ut turbemini, sed ut faciatis mandata mea: hoc est enim amor, obedire et credere ei qui diligitur. Quia vero consequens erat eos vehementer inquirere carnis praesentiam, et illam habere consolationem quam prius habuerunt, subiungit et ego rogabo patrem, et alium Paraclitum dabit vobis
Augustinus in Ioannem
In quo ostendit et seipsum esse Paraclitum. Paraclitus autem Latine dicitur advocatus: et dictum est de Christo: advocatum habemus apud patrem Iesum Christum iustum
Alcuinus
Vel Paraclitum, idest consolatorem: habebant enim et tunc unum consolatorem, qui miraculorum dulcedine et praedicatione eos erigere et confortare solebat
Didymus de spiritu sancto
Sed spiritum sanctum alium Paraclitum nominavit, non iuxta naturae differentiam, sed iuxta operationis diversitatem. Cum enim salvator mediatoris et legati personam habebat, ex qua pontifex deprecaretur pro peccatis nostris, spiritus sanctus secundum aliam significationem Paraclitus, ab eo quod consolatur in tristitia positos, nuncupatus est. Verum noli ex filii et spiritus sancti operatione diversa varias aestimare naturas: siquidem in alio loco reperitur Paraclitus spiritus legati apud patrem persona fungi, ut ibi: ipse spiritus interpellat pro nobis. Salvator quoque consolationem operatur in cordibus eorum qui indigent; scriptum est enim: et humiles populi sui consolatus est
Chrysostomus
Ait autem rogabo patrem, ut fide dignum faciat eis sermonem: quoniam si dixisset: ego mittam, non simpliciter credidissent
Augustinus contra Arianos
Qui tamen ut inseparabilia sua et patris opera demonstraret, alibi ait: cum abiero, mittam eum ad vos
Chrysostomus
Quid autem apostolis plus haberet, si patrem solum rogaret ut spiritum aliis daret? Quoniam illi multoties et sine oratione ostenduntur hoc facientes
Alcuinus
Rogabo igitur dicit, ut inferior secundum humanitatem, patrem meum, cui sum aequalis et consubstantialis secundum divinam naturam
Chrysostomus
Dicit autem ut maneat vobiscum in aeternum, quoniam neque post mortem recedit. Per hoc etiam occulte insinuat, quod spiritus sanctus non patietur mortem ut ipse, neque abibit. Ne autem Paraclitum audientes, rursus incarnationem aliam suspicentur, et oculis putent eum videre, subiungit spiritum veritatis, quem mundus non potest accipere, quia non videt eum nec scit eum
Augustinus
Hic est utique in Trinitate spiritus sanctus, quem patri et filio consubstantialem et coaeternum fides Catholica profitetur
Chrysostomus in Ioannem
Spiritum autem veritatis eum vocat per hoc quod figuras veteris testamenti manifestat. Mundum autem hic malos dicit; visionem autem certissimam cognitionem dicit, quia visus est apertior sensus
Beda
Nota etiam, quod cum spiritum sanctum, spiritum veritatis dicit, spiritum sanctum esse spiritum suum ostendit: deinde cum a patre eum dari narrat, patris etiam eum spiritum esse declarat; ac per hoc spiritus sanctus a patre procedit et filio
Gregorius Moralium
Spiritus autem sanctus omnem quem repleverit, ad desideranda invisibilia accendit; et quoniam mundana corda solum visibilia diligunt, hunc mundus non accipit, quia ad diligenda invisibilia non assurgit. Saeculares etenim mentes quanto se foras per desideria dilatant, tanto ad receptionem illius, sinum cordis angustant
Augustinus in Ioannem
Sic autem mundum, idest mundi dilectores, dicit non posse accipere spiritum sanctum, velut si dicamus: iniustitia iusta esse non potest. Mundus ergo, idest mundi dilectores, non potest eum accipere, quia non videt eum. Non enim habet invisibiles oculos mundana dilectio, per quos videri spiritus sanctus nisi invisibiliter non potest. Sequitur vos autem cognoscetis eum, quia apud vos manebit. Sed ne putarent quod dictum est, apud vos manebit, ita dictum quemadmodum apud hospes visibiliter manere consuevit, adiecit in vobis erit
Chrysostomus
Quasi dicat: non ita apud vos manebit sicut ego, sed in vestris habitabit animabus
Augustinus
Prius autem est esse alicubi, post manere. Sed exposuit quod dixerat apud vos, cum adiunxit in vobis. Si enim non sit in vobis, non potest esse in vobis eius scientia: sic enim a vobis videtur in vobis et vestra conscientia
Gregorius Moralium
Si autem spiritus sanctus in discipulis manet, quomodo iam singulare signum erit quod in mediatore permanet? Secundum illud: supra quem videris spiritum descendentem et manentem, hic est qui baptizat. Quod tamen citius cognoscimus, si dona eiusdem spiritus discernamus. In his enim donis sine quibus ad vitam perveniri non potest, spiritus sanctus in electis omnibus semper manet; in illis autem quibus non nostra vita servatur, sed aliorum quaeritur, nequaquam semper manet: aliquando enim se a signorum ostensionibus subtrahit, ut eo humilius virtutes eius habeamus: Christus autem in cunctis eum et semper habet praesentem
Chrysostomus
Hic autem sermo oppositas haereses velut uno ictu sustulit: nam dicere alium ostendit eius, idest spiritus, hypostaseos differentiam; dicere vero Paraclitum, substantiae cognitionem
Augustinus contra Arianos
Consolatorem enim (quod officium tamquam personae infimae in Trinitate spiritui sancto deputant) Deum dicit apostolus, secundum illud: is qui consolatur humiles, consolatus est nos Deus. Deus est itaque spiritus sanctus qui consolatur humiles. Aut si hoc de patre vel filio dictum ab apostolo volunt accipi, desinant consolationis tamquam munere proprio separare a patre et filio spiritum sanctum
Augustinus in Ioannem
Sed cum caritas Dei diffusa sit in cordibus nostris per spiritum sanctum, qui datus est nobis, quomodo diligemus et mandata Christi servabimus, ut eum accipiamus quem nisi habuerimus, diligere et mandata servare non possumus? An forte praecedit in nobis caritas qua diligamus Christum, ut diligendo Christum eiusque faciendo mandata, mereamur accipere spiritum sanctum, ut caritas Dei patris diffundatur in cordibus nostris? Perversa est ista sententia. Qui enim se filium Dei diligere credit, et patrem non diligit, profecto nec filium diligit; sed quod sibi ipsi videtur confinxit. Restat ergo ut intelligamus, spiritum sanctum habere qui diligit, et habendo mereri ut plus habeat, et plus habendo plus diligat. Iam itaque habebant spiritum discipuli, quem dominus promittebat; sed dandus eis erat amplius; habebant occulte, accepturi erant manifeste. Proinde non solum non habenti, verum etiam habenti non incassum promittitur; non habenti quidem, ut habeatur; habenti autem, ut amplius habeatur
Chrysostomus
Quando igitur discipulos purgaverat per sacrificium passionis, et peccatum solutum erat, et ipsi ad pericula et agones mittebantur, oportebat spiritum sanctum venire abundanter. Non autem statim post resurrectionem, ut in multo eius constituti desiderio, cum multa eum suscipiant gratia
14:18
St Augustine † AD 430 Tr. lxxv. 1
That no one might think, because our Lord was about to give the Holy Spirit, that He would therefore not be present Himself in Him, He adds, I will not leave you comfortless. The Greek word ὀρφανοὶ signifies “wards.” Although then the Son of God has made us the adopted sons of the Father, yet here He Himself shews the affection of a Father towards us.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Hom. lxxv. 1
At the first He said, Whither I go ye shall come; but as this was a long time off, He promises them the Spirit in the interval. And as they knew not what that was, He promises them that they most desired, His own presence, I will come to you: but intimates at the same time that they are not to look for the same kind of presence over again: Yet a little while, and the world seeth Me no more: as if He said, I will come to you, but not to live with you every day as I did before. And, I will come to you alone, He says, thus preventing any inconsistency with what He had said to the Jews: Henceforth ye shall not see Me.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tr. lxxv. 2
For the world saw Him then with the carnal eye, manifest in the flesh, though it did not see the Word hidden under the flesh. But after the resurrection He was unwilling to shew even His flesh, except to His own followers, whom He allowed to see and to handle it: Yet a little while, and the world seeth Me no more; but ye shall see Me. But, inasmuch as the world, by which are meant all who are aliens from His kingdom, will see Him at the last judgment, it is better perhaps to understand Him here as pointing to that time, when He will be taken for ever from the eyes of the wicked, to be seen thenceforth by those who love Him. A little while, He says, for that which seems a long time to men, is but a moment in the eyes of God. Because I live, ye shall live also.
Theophylact † 1107
AS if He said, Though I shall die, I shall rise again. And ye shall live also, i. e. when ye see Me risen again, ye will rejoice, and be as dead men brought to life again.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Hom. lxxv. 2
To me however he seems to refer not only to the present life, but to the future; as if He said, The death of the cross shall not separate you from Me for ever, but only hide Me from you for a moment.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tr. lxxv. 3
But why does He speak of life as present to Him, future to them? Because His resurrection preceded, theirs was to follow. His resurrection was about so soon to take place, that He speaks of it as present; theirs being deferred till the end of the world, He does not say ye live, but ye shall live. Because He lives, therefore we shall live: As by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. (1 Cor. 15:21) It follows: In that day (the day of which He saith, ye shall live also) ye shall know, i. e. whereas now ye believe, then ye shall see, that I am in the Father, and ye in Me, and I in you. For when we shall have attained to that life in which death is swallowed up, then shall be finished that which is now begun by Him, that He should be in us, and we in Him.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Hom. lxxv. 2
Or, in that day, on which I shall rise again, ye shall know. For His resurrection it was that established their faith. Then the powerful teaching of the Holy Spirit began. His saying, I am in the Father, expresses His humility; the next, And ye in Me, and I in you, His humanity and God’s assistance to Him. Scripture often uses the same words in different senses, as applied to God and to men.
St Hilary † AD 367 viii. de Trin
Or He means by this, that whereas He was in the Father by the nature of His divinity, and we in Him by means of His birth in the flesh; He on the other hand should be believed to be in us by the mystery of the Sacrament: as He Himself testified above: Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in Him. (supr. 6:54)
Alcuin † AD 804
By love, and the observance of His commandments, that will be perfected in us which He has begun, viz. that we should be in Him, and He in us. And that this blessedness may be understood to be promised to all, not to the Apostles only, He adds, He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tract. lxxv. 5
He that hath them in mind, and keepeth them in life; he that hath them in words, and keepeth them in works; he that hath them by hearing, and keepeth them by doing; he that hath them by doing, and keepeth them by persevering, he it is that loveth Me. Love must be shewn by works, or it is a mere barren name.
Theophylact † 1107
As if He said, Ye think that by sorrowing, as ye do, for my death ye prove your affection; but I esteem the keeping of My commandments the evidence of love. And then He shews the privileged state of one who loves: And he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tract. lxxv. 5
I will love him, as if now He did not love him. What meaneth this? He explains it in what follows: And will manifest Myself unto him, i. e. I love him so far as to manifest Myself to him; so that, as the reward of his faith, he will have sight. Now He only loves us so that we believe; then He will love us so that we see. And whereas we love now by believing that which we shall see, then we shall love by seeing that which we have believed.
St Augustine † AD 430 ad Paul. de videndo Dei, Ep. 112:100, 10
He promises to shew Himself to them that love Him as God with the Father, not in that body which He bore upon earth, and which the wicked saw.
Theophylact † 1107
Or, as after the resurrection He was to appear to them in a body more assimilated to His divinity, that they might not take Him then for a spirit, or a phantom, He tells them now beforehand not to have misgivings upon seeing Him, but to remember that He shews Himself to them as a reward for their keeping His commandments; and that therefore they are bound ever to keep them, that they may ever enjoy the sight of Him.
The Latin text
Augustinus in Ioannem
Ne quisquam putaret quod ita spiritum sanctum dominus daturus fuerat, velut per seipsum non et ipse esset futurus cum eis, adiecit, et ait non relinquam vos orphanos. Orphani pupilli sunt: illud enim est Graecum, hoc Latinum. Quamvis ergo nos filius Dei suo patri adoptavit filios, tamen in hoc etiam ipse erga nos paternum ostendit affectum
Chrysostomus in Ioannem
Et quidem a principio dixerat: venietis quo ego vado; sed quia hoc longum tempus erat, promisit spiritum. Et quia nesciebant quid est hoc, promittit eis suam praesentiam, quam maxime quaerebant, cum dicit veniam ad vos. Ne tamen rursus eamdem quaerant praesentiam, qualem et prius habuerunt, occulte hoc excludit, cum subdit adhuc modicum, et mundus me iam non videt; vos autem videtis me; ac si diceret: veniam quidem ad vos, non tamen ut prius vobiscum per unamquamque diem consistens. Et ne dicant: qualiter igitur Iudaeis dixisti: amodo non videbitis me? Solvit opinionem dicens ad vos solos veniam
Augustinus in Ioannem
Videbat enim tunc eum mundus carneis oculis in carne conspicuum; non autem videbat quod in carne verbum latebat. Sed quoniam post resurrectionem etiam carnem suam, quam non solum videndam, verum etiam contrectandam demonstravit suis, noluit demonstrare non suis; hinc dictum est adhuc modicum, et mundus iam me non videt; vos autem videbitis me. Sed quoniam in iudicio eum mundus videbit, quo nomine significati sunt a regno eius alieni; melius intelligitur illud etiam tempus significare voluisse quando in fine saeculi auferetur ab oculis damnatorum, ut eum de cetero videant diligentes. Modicum autem dixit, quia id quod prolixum videtur hominibus, brevissimum est ante oculos Dei. Sequitur quia ego vivo, et vos vivetis
Theophylactus
Quasi dicat: et si mortem subiero, tamen resurgo. Vos quoque vivetis; hoc est, cum videritis me, laetabimini, et tamquam mortui reviviscetis in apparitione mea
Chrysostomus
Mihi autem videtur vitam non praesentem dicere, sed futuram; ac si dicat: mors crucis non distare faciet vos a me in finem, sed momento parvo occultabit me a vobis
Augustinus
Cur autem de praesenti se dixerit vivere, illos autem de futuro esse victuros, nisi quia et vitam carnis resurgentis qualis in ipso praecedebat, et illis est pollicitus secuturam? Et quia ipsius mox futura erat resurrectio, praesentis temporis ponit verum, propter significandam celeritatem; illorum autem, quoniam saeculi differtur in finem, non ait: vivitis, sed vivetis. Quia vero vivit ille, ideo et nos vivemus: per hominem quippe mors, et per hominem resurrectio mortuorum. Sequitur in illo die, de quo scilicet ait, et vos vivetis, vos cognoscetis, contemplando, quamvis et nunc credendo noverimus, quia ego sum in patre, et vos in me, et ego in vobis: quia quando vivemus ea vita qua mors absorbetur, tunc perficietur hoc ipsum quod nunc inchoatum est iam per ipsum, ut sit in nobis, et nos in ipso
Chrysostomus
Vel in illo die cum resurgam, cognoscetis; quia cum viderunt eum resurrexisse et esse cum eis, tunc certissimam fidem didicerunt. Magna enim erat virtus spiritus sancti, quae omnia eos docebat. Quod autem dictum est ego sum in patre, humilitatis est; quod autem dicit et vos in me et ego in vobis, humanitatis est, et auxilii quod est a Deo. Consuevit enim Scriptura multoties eisdem verbis in Deo et hominibus positis non similiter uti
Hilarius de Trin
Vel hoc dicit, ut cum ille in patre per naturam divinitatis esset, nos autem in eo per corporalem eius nativitatem; et ille rursus in nobis per sacramenti mysterium inesse crederetur: ipse enim testatus est: qui edit carnem meam et bibit sanguinem meum, in me manet, et ego in eo
Alcuinus
Per dilectionem autem et observantiam mandatorum eius, tunc perficietur hoc ipsum quod nunc inchoatum est per ipsum, ut sit in nobis, et nos in ipso. Et ut omnibus, non tantum apostolis, hanc beatitudinem promisisse videatur, adiungit qui habet mandata mea et servat ea, ille est qui diligit me
Augustinus
Qui habet in memoria et servat in vita; qui habet in sermonibus et servat in operibus; qui habet audiendo et servat faciendo; qui habet faciendo et servat perseverando, ipse est qui diligit me. Opere est demonstranda dilectio, ne sit infructuosa nominis appellatio
Theophylactus
Ac si dicat: vos putatis quod ex affectione quadam tristamini de morte mea; sed ego signum dilectionis reputo mandata mea servari. Qualem autem praerogativam obtineat qui diligit, ostendit subdens qui autem diligit me, diligetur a patre meo, et ego diligam eum
Augustinus
Sed quid est diligam, tamquam nunc non diligat? Exponit per id quod sequitur: et manifestabo ei meipsum; idest, ad hoc diligam ut manifestem, et ipsam visionem mercedem fidei capiamus. Nunc enim ad hoc nos dilexit ut credamus; tunc ad hoc ut videamus; quia et nos nunc diligimus credendo quod videbimus; tunc autem diligemus videndo quod credidimus
Augustinus ad Paulinam de videndo Deo
Sic autem promisit ostensurum seipsum dilectoribus suis cum patre Deum unum, non quomodo in hoc saeculo visus est in corpore et a malis
Theophylactus
Vel quia post resurrectionem appariturus illis erat in corpore magis repraesentante divinitatem, ne credant ipsum spiritum fore, seu phantasma, ob hoc praedixit illis; ut tunc videntes illum non diffidant, sed reminiscantur quia propter mandatorum suorum custodiam apparet eis: atque ideo tenentur semper custodire illa, ut perpetuo eis appareat
14:22
St Augustine † AD 430 Tract. lxxvi. 1
Our Lord having said, A little while, and the world seeth Me no more: but ye shall see Me: Judas, not the traitor named Scariot, but he whose Epistle is read among the Canonical Scriptures, asks His meaning: Judas saith unto Him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that Thou wilt manifest Thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Our Lord in reply explains why He manifests Himself to His own, and not to aliens, viz. because the one love Him, the other do not. Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love Me, he will keep My words.
St Gregory the Great † AD 604 Hom. xxx. in Evang.
If thou wouldest prove thy love, shew thy works. The love of God is never idle; whenever it is, it doeth great things: if it do not work, it is not.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tract. lxxvi. 2
Love distinguishes the saints from the world: it maketh men to be of one mind in an house; in which house the Father and the Son take their abode; who give that love to those, to whom in the end they will manifest themselves. For there is a certain inner manifestation of God, unknown to the ungodly, to whom there is no manifestation made of the Father and the Holy Spirit, and only could be of the Son in the flesh; which latter manifestation is not as the former, being only for a little while, not for ever, for judgment, not for joy, for punishment, not for reward. And We will come unto him: They come to us, in that we go to Them; They come by succouring, we go by obeying; They come by enlightening, we go by contemplating; They come by filling, we go by holding: so Their manifestation to us is not external, but inward; Their abode in us not transitory, but eternal. It follows, And will make Our abode with him.
St Gregory the Great † AD 604 Hom. xxx.
Into some hearts He cometh, but not to make His abode with them. For some feel compunction for a season and turn to God, but in time of temptation forget that which gave them compunction, and return to their former sins, just as if they had never lamented them. But whoso loveth God truly, into his heart the Lord both comes, and also makes His abode therein: for the love of the Godhead so penetrates him, that no temptation withdraws him from it. He truly loves, whose mind no evil pleasure overcomes, through his consent thereto.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tract. lxxvi. 4
But while the Father and the Son make Their abode with the loving soul, is the Holy Spirit excluded? What meaneth that which is said of the Holy Spirit above: He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you, but that the Spirit makes His abode with us? Unless indeed a man be so absurd as to think that when the Father and the Son come, the Holy Spirit departs, as if to give place to His superiors. Yet even this carnal thought is met by Scripture, in that it says, Abide with you for ever. (v.16) He will therefore be in the same abode with Them for ever. As He did not come without Them, so neither They without Him. As a consequence of the Trinity, acts are sometimes attributed to single persons in it: but the substance of the same Trinity demands, that in such acts the presence of the other Persons also be implied.
St Gregory the Great † AD 604 Hom. xxx.
In proportion as a man’s love rests upon lower things, in that proportion is he removed from heavenly love: He that loveth Me not, keepeth not My sayings. To the love then of our Maker, let the tongue, mind, life bear witness.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Hom. lxxv. 1, 2
Or thus: Judas thought that he should see Him, as we see the dead in sleep: How is it, that Thou wilt manifest Thyself unto us, and not unto the world? meaning, Alas, as Thou art to die, Thou wilt appear to us but as one dead. To correct this mistake, He says, I and My Father will come to him, i. e. I shall manifest Myself, even as My Father manifests Himself. And will make our abode with Him; which is not like a dream. It follows, And the word which ye hear is not Mine, but the Father’s which sent Me; i. e. He that heareth not My words, inasmuch as he loveth not Me, so loveth he not My Father. This He says to shew that He spoke nothing which was not the Father’s, nothing beside what seemed good to the Father.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tract. lxxvi. 5
And perhaps there is a distinction at bottom, since He speaks of His sayings, when they are His own, in the plural number; as when He says, He that loveth Me not, keepeth not My sayings: when they are not His own, but the Father’s, in the singular, i. e. as the Word, which is Himself. For He is not His own Word, but the Father’s, as He is not His own image, but the Father’s, or His own Son, but the Father’s.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Hom. lxxv. 3
These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. Some of these things were obscure, and not understood by the disciples.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tract. lxxvii. 1
The abode He promised them hereafter is altogether a different one from this present abode He now speaks of. The one is spiritual and inward, the other outward, and perceptible to the bodily sight and hearing.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Hom. lxxv. 3
To enable them to sustain His bodily departure more cheerfully, He promises that that departure shall be the source of great benefit; for that while He was then in the body, they could never know much, because the Spirit would not have come: But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, Whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
St Gregory the Great † AD 604 Hom. xxx. in Evang.
Paraclete is Advocate, or Comforter. The Advocate then intercedes with the Father for sinners, when by His inward power He moves the sinner to pray for himself. The Comforter relieves the sorrow of penitents, and cheers them with the hope of pardon.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Hom. lxxv. 3
He often calls Him the Comforter, in allusion to the affliction in which they then were.
Didymus the Blind † AD 398 Didym. de Spir. Sancto, l. ii. inter opera Hieron.
The Saviour affirms that the Holy Spirit is sent by the Father, in His, the Saviour’s, name; which name is the Son. Here an agreement of nature and propriety1, so to speak, of persons is shewn. The Son can come in the Father’s name only, consistently with the proper1 relationship of the Son to the Father, and the Father to the Son. No one else comes in the name of the Father, but in the name of God, of the Lord, of the Almighty, and the like. As servants who come in the name of their Lord, do so as being the servants of that Lord, so the Son who comes in the name of the Father, bears that name as being the acknowledged only-begotten Son of the Father. That the Holy Spirit then is sent in the Son’s name, by the Father, shews that He is in unity with the Son: whence He is said too to be the Spirit of the Son, and to make those sons by adoption, who are willing to receive Him. The Holy Spirit then, Who cometh in the name of the Son from the Father, shall teach them, who are established in the faith of Christ, all things; all things which are spiritual, both the understanding of truth, and the sacrament of wisdom. But He will teach not like those who have acquired an art or knowledge by study and industry, but as being the very art, doctrine, knowledge itself. As being this Himself, the Spirit of truth will impart the knowledge of divine things to the mind.
St Gregory the Great † AD 604 Hom. xxx.
Unless the Spirit be present to the mind of the hearer, the word of the teacher is vain. Let none then attribute to the human teacher, the understanding which follows in consequence of his teaching: for unless there be a teacher within, the tongue of the teacher outside will labour in vain. Nay even the Maker Himself does not speak for the instruction of man, unless the Spirit by His unction speaks at the same time.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tract. lxxvii. 2
So then the Son speaks, the Holy Spirit teaches: when the Son speaks we take in the words, when the Holy Spirit teaches, we understand those words. The whole Trinity indeed both speaks and teaches, but unless each person worked separately as well, the whole would be too much for human infirmity to take in.
St Gregory the Great † AD 604 Hom. xxx.
But why is it said of the Spirit, He shall suggest2 all things to you: to suggest being the office of an inferior? The word is used here, as it is used sometimes, in the sense of supplying secretly. The invisible Spirit suggests, not because He takes a lower place in teaching, but because. He teaches secretly.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tract. xxvii. 2
Suggest, i. e. bring to your remembrance. Every wholesome hint to remember that we receive is of the grace of the Spirit.
Theophylact † 1107
The Holy Spirit then was both to teach and to bring to remembrance: to teach what Christ had forborne to tell His disciples, because they were not able to bear it; to bring to remembrance what Christ had told them, but which on account of its difficulty, or their slowness of understanding, they were unable to remember.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Hom. lxxiv. 3
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: He says this to console His disciples, who were now troubled at the prospect of the hatred and opposition which awaited them after His departure.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tract. lxxvii. 2
He left no peace in this world; in which we conquer the enemy, and have love one to another: He will give us peace in the world to come, when we shall reign without an enemy, and where we shall be able to avoid disagreement. This peace is Himself, both when we believe that He is, and when we shall see Him as He is. But why does He say, Peace I leave with you, without the My, whereas He puts in My in, My peace I give unto you? Are we to understand My in the former; or is it not rather left out with a meaning? His peace is such peace as He has Himself; the peace which He left us in this world is rather our peace than His. He has nothing to fight against in Himself, because He has no sin: but ours is a peace in which we still say, Forgive us our debts. (Matt. 6:12) And in like manner we have peace between ourselves, because we mutually trust one another, that we mutually love one another. But neither is that a perfect peace; for we do not see into each other’s minds. I could not deny however that these words of our Lord’s may be understood as a simple repetition. He adds, Not as the world giveth, give I unto you: i. e. not as those men, who love the world, give. They give themselves peace, i. e. free, uninterrupted enjoyment of the world. And even when they allow the righteous peace, so far as not to persecute them, yet there cannot be true peace, where there is no true agreement, no union of heart.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Hom. lxxv. 3
External peace is often even hurtful, rather than profitable to those who enjoy it.
St Augustine † AD 430 de Verb. Dom. serm. ix
But there is a peace which is serenity of thought, tranquillity of mind, simplicity of heart, the bond of love, the fellowship of charity. None will be able to come to the inheritance of the Lord who do not observe this testament of peace; none be friends with Christ, who are at enmity with the Christians.
The Latin text
Augustinus in Ioannem
Quia dominus dixerat: adhuc modicum, et mundus me iam non videt; vos autem videbitis me, interrogavit eum de hoc ipse Iudas, non ille traditor eius qui Iscariotis cognominatus est, sed cuius epistola inter Scripturas canonicas legitur; unde dicitur dicit ei Iudas non ille Iscariotis: domine, quid factum est, quia nobis manifestaturus es teipsum, et non mundo? Causam quaesivit quare non se mundo, sed suis manifestaturus esset. Dominus autem exponit quare suis se manifestaturus est, non alienis: quia scilicet hi diligunt, illi vero non diligunt; unde sequitur respondit Iesus, et dixit ei: si quis diligit me, sermonem meum servabit
Gregorius in Evang
Probatio enim dilectionis, exhibitio est operis: nunquam amor Dei est otiosus: operatur enim magna, si est; si vero operari renuerit, amor non est
Augustinus
Dilectio autem sanctos discernit a mundo, quae facit unanimes habitare in domo in qua facit pater et filius mansionem; qui donant et ipsam dilectionem, quibus in fine donabunt suam manifestationem. Est enim quaedam Dei manifestatio interior, quam prorsus impii non noverunt: quibus Dei patris et spiritus sancti manifestatio nulla est: filii vero esse potuit, sed in carne; quae nec talis est qualis illa, nec semper illis adesse potest, sed ad modicum tempus; et hoc ad iudicium, non ad gaudium; ad supplicium, non ad praemium; unde sequitur et ad eum veniemus. Veniunt quidem ad nos dum venimus ad eos; veniunt subveniendo, venimus obediendo; veniunt illuminando, venimus intuendo; veniunt implendo, venimus capiendo; ut sit nobis eorum non extranea visio, sed interna; et in nobis eorum non transitoria mansio, sed aeterna; unde sequitur et mansionem apud eum faciemus
Gregorius
In quorumdam etenim corda venit, et mansionem non facit: quia per compunctionem quidem respectum Dei percipiunt, sed tentationis tempore hoc ipsum quod compuncti fuerant obliviscuntur, sicque ad perpetranda peccata redeunt ac si haec minime planxissent. Qui ergo Deum vere diligit, in eius corde dominus et venit et mansionem facit: quia sic eum divinitatis amor penetrat ut ab hoc amore tentationis tempore non recedat: ille enim vere amat cuius mentem delectatio prava ex consensu non superat
Augustinus
An forte putabitur, mansionem in dilectore suo facientibus patre et filio, exclusus esse ab hac mansione spiritus sanctus? Quid est ergo quod superius ait de spiritu sancto: apud vos manebit, et in vobis erit? Nisi forte quisquam sic absurdus est ut arbitretur, cum pater et filius venerint, discessurum inde spiritum sanctum, tamquam locum daturum maioribus. Sed et huic carnali cogitationi occurrit Scriptura, cum dicit: ut maneat vobiscum in aeternum. In eadem ergo mansione cum ipsis erit in aeternum: quia nec ille sine ipsis venit, nec illi sine eo: sed propter insinuationem Trinitatis, personis singulis nominatis dicuntur quaedam, non tamen aliis separatis intelliguntur, propter eiusdem Trinitatis substantiam
Gregorius
Tanto autem quisque a superno amore disiungitur, quanto inferius delectatur; unde subditur qui non diligit me, sermones meos non servat. De dilectione ergo conditoris, lingua, mens et vita requiratur
Chrysostomus in Ioannem
Vel aliter totum. Aestimavit Iudas sicut mortuos videmus in somno, ita et se eum esse visuros; unde quaerit quid est quod debes te manifestare nobis, et non mundo? Quasi dicat: vae nobis, quoniam morieris, et ut mortuus debes nobis assistere. Ne igitur hoc suspicentur, dicit ego et pater ad eum veniemus; quasi dicat: sicut pater manifestat seipsum, ita et ego: et mansionem apud eum faciemus; quod somniorum non est. Sequitur et sermo quem audistis non est meus, sed eius qui misit me patris; quasi dicat: non me solum, sed neque patrem amat qui hunc non audit sermonem. Dicit autem hoc, quoniam nihil extra patrem loquitur, neque praeter id quod illi videtur
Augustinus
Et fortasse propter aliquam distinctionem, ubi suos dixit, pluraliter sermones dixit, dicens qui non diligit me, sermones meos non servat. Ubi autem sermonem, hoc est verbum, non suum esse dixit, sed patris, seipsum intelligi voluit; non enim suum, sed patris est verbum; quomodo nec sua imago, sed patris; nec suus filius, sed patris. Recte igitur auctori tribuit quod facit aequalis, a quo habet hoc ipsum quod illi est indifferens et aequalis
Chrysostomus
Quia vero eorum quae dixerat, quaedam manifesta erant et quaedam non intellexerunt, ut non turbarentur, subiungit haec locutus sum vobis apud vos manens
Augustinus in Ioannem
Alia est illa mansio quam promisit futuram, alia vero haec quam praesentem esse testatur: illa spiritualis est, atque intrinsecus mentibus redditur; haec corporalis forinsecus oculis atque auribus adhibetur
Chrysostomus in Ioannem
Ut autem eius corporalem recessum facilius sustinerent, praeparat eos, promittens quod eius recessus magnorum eis esset futura causa bonorum: quia donec ipse apud eos corporaliter manebat et spiritus non venerat, nihil magnum poterant scire; unde sequitur Paraclitus autem spiritus sanctus quem mittet pater in nomine meo, ille vos docebit omnia, et suggeret vobis omnia quaecumque dixero vobis
Gregorius in Evang
Graeca locutione Paraclitus, Latina advocatus dicitur, vel consolator. Qui idcirco advocatus dicitur, quia pro errore delinquentium apud iustitiam patris intervenit, dum eos quos repleverit, exorantes facit. Consolator autem idem spiritus vocatur, quia de peccati perpetratione moerentibus, dum spem veniae praeparat, ab afflictione tristitiae mentem levat
Chrysostomus
Continue autem eum Paraclitum vocat propter continentes eos tribulationes
Didymus de spiritu sancto
Spiritum autem sanctum a patre in suo mitti nomine salvator affirmat, cum proprie nomen salvatoris sit filius; siquidem naturae consortium, et, ut ita dicam, proprietas personarum ex ista voce significatur. Filii quippe tantummodo est in nomine patris venire, salva proprietate filii ad patrem, et patris ad filium. Nullus autem alius venit in nomine patris; sed verbi gratia, in nomine domini, Dei, et omnipotentis. Quomodo igitur servi qui in nomine domini veniunt, per hoc ipsum quod subiecti sunt et serviunt, indicant dominum, servi quippe sunt domini; sic et filius qui venit in nomine patris, portat eius nomen per hoc quod unigenitus Dei filius approbatur. Quia ergo spiritus sanctus in nomine filii a patre mittitur, ostendit quia unitate sit iunctus ad filium; unde et filii dictus est spiritus, per adoptionem suam filios faciens eos qui se recipere voluissent. Iste autem spiritus sanctus, qui venit in nomine filii missus a patre, docebit omnia eos qui in fide Christi perfecti sunt: omnia autem illa quae spiritualia sunt et intellectualia veritatis et sapientiae sacramenta. Docebit vero, non sicut qui artes aliquas et sapientiam studio industriaque didicere; sed quasi ipsa ars atque doctrina et sapientia, veritatis spiritus invisibiliter menti insinuat scientiam divinorum
Gregorius
Nisi autem idem spiritus cordi adsit audientis, otiosus est sermo doctoris. Nemo ergo docenti homini tribuat quod ex ore docentis intelligitur: quia nisi intus sit qui doceat, doctoris lingua exterius in vacuum laborat. Sed et ipse conditor non ad eruditionem hominis loquitur, si eidem homini per unctionem spiritus non loquatur
Augustinus
Numquid autem dicit filius et docet spiritus sanctus, ut dicente filio verba capiamus, docente autem spiritu sancto, eadem verba intelligamus? Omnis igitur et dicit et docet Trinitas; sed nisi etiam sigillatim commendaretur, eam nullo modo humana capere utcumque posset infirmitas
Gregorius
Requirendum vero nobis est cur de eodem spiritu dicatur suggeret vobis omnia, cum suggerere soleat esse minoris. Sed quia suggerere aliquando dicimus subministrare, invisibilis spiritus suggerere dicitur, non quod nobis scientiam ab imo inferat, sed ab occulto
Augustinus
Vel quod addit suggeret, idest commemorabit vos, intelligere debemus etiam, quod iubemur non oblivisci, saluberrima monita ad gratiam pertinere, quae nos commemorat Christus
Theophylactus
Spiritus itaque sanctus et docuit et commemoravit: docuit quidem quaecumque non dixerat eis Christus, tamquam non valentibus portare; commemoravit vero quaecumque dominus dixerat; sed obscuritatis causa vel intellectus tarditate, commendare memoriae nequiverunt
Chrysostomus
Quia vero et haec audientes turbantur, excogitantes odia et praelia sibi imminere post eius recessum, rursus eos consolatur, dicens pacem relinquo vobis, pacem meam do vobis
Augustinus
Pacem nobis reliquit in hoc saeculo, in qua manentes hostem vincimus, et ut etiam hic invicem diligamus; pacem suam nobis dabit in futuro saeculo, quando sine hoste regnabimus, ubi nunquam dissentire possimus. Pax autem nobis ipse est, et cum credimus quia est, et cum videbimus eum sicuti est. Sed quid est quod ubi dicit pacem relinquo vobis, non addit meam; ubi vero ait do vobis, ibi dixit meam? Utrum subaudiendum est meam et ubi dictum non est; an forte et hic aliquid latet? Pacem enim suam eam voluit intelligi qualem habet ipse; pax vero ista quam nobis reliquit in hoc saeculo, nostra potius dicenda est quam ipsius. Illi quippe nihil repugnat in seipso, quia nullum habet omnino peccatum; nos autem talem pacem nunc habemus in qua adhuc dicamus: dimitte nobis debita nostra. Itemque inter nos ipsos est nobis pax, quia invicem nobis credimus quod invicem diligamus. Sed nec ipsa plena est, quia cogitationes cordis nostri invicem non videmus. Nec ignoro ista domini verba etiam sic accipi posse, ut eiusdem sententiae repetitio videatur. Quod vero dominus adiunxit non quomodo mundus dat, ego do vobis, quid est aliud, nisi non quomodo homines dant qui diligunt mundum? Qui propterea sibi dant pacem, ut sine molestia mundo perfruantur: et quando iustis dant pacem ut non eos persequantur, pax esse non potest vera ubi non est vera concordia, quia disiuncta sunt corda
Chrysostomus
Pax etiam exterior ad malum fit multoties, et eis qui habent eam nihil prodest
Augustinus de Verb. Dom
Est autem pax serenitas mentis, tranquillitas animi, simplicitas cordis, amoris vinculum, consortium caritatis. Nec poterit ad hereditatem domini pervenire qui testamentum pacis noluerit observare; nec potest concordiam habere cum Christo qui discors voluerit esse cum Christiano
14:27
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Hom. lxxv. 3
After saying, Peace I leave with you, which was like taking farewell, He consoles them: Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid: the two feelings of love and fear were now the uppermost in them.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tract. lxxviii. 1
Though He was only going for a time, their hearts would be troubled and afraid for what might happen before He returned; lest in the absence of the Shepherd the wolf might attack the flock: Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again to you. In that He was man, He went: in that He was God, He stayed. Why then be troubled and afraid, when He left the eye only, not the heart? To make them understand that it was as man that He said, I go away, and come again to you; He adds, If ye loved Me ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto My Father; for My Father is greater than I. In that the Son then is unequal with the Father, through that inequality He went to the Father, from Him to come again to judge the quick and dead: in that He is equal to the Father, He never goes from the Father, but is every where altogether with Him in that Godhead, which is not confined to place. Nay, the Son Himself, because that being equal to the Father in the form of God, He emptied Himself, not losing the form of God, but taking that of a servant, is greater even than Himself: the form of God which is not lost, is greater than the form of a servant which was put on. In this form of a servant, the Son of God is inferior not to the Father only, but to the Holy Ghost; in this the Child Christ was inferior even to His parents; to whom we read, He was subject. Let us acknowledge then the twofold substance of Christ, the divine, which is equal to the Father, and the human, which is inferior. But Christ is both together, not two, but one Christ: else the Godhead is a quaternity, not a Trinity. Wherefore He says, If ye loved Me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go to the Father; for human nature should exult at being thus taken up by the Only Begotten Word, and made immortal in heaven; at earth being raised to heaven, and dust sitting incorruptible at the right hand of the Father. Who, that loves Christ, will not rejoice at this, seeing, as he doth, his own nature immortal in Christ, and hoping that He Himself will be so by Christ.
St Hilary † AD 367 de Trin. ix
Or thus: If the Father is greater by virtue of giving, is the Son less by confessing the gift? The giver is the greater, but He to whom unity with that giver is given, is not the less.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Hom. lxxv. 4
Or thus: The Apostles did not yet know what the resurrection was of which He spoke when He said, I go, and come again to you; or what they ought to think of it. They only knew the great power of the Father. So He tells them: Though ye fear I shall not be able to save Myself, and do not trust to My appearing again after My crucifixion; yet when ye hear that I go to My Father, ye should rejoice, because I go to one greater, one able to dissolve and change all things. All this is said in accommodation to their weakness: as we see from the next words; And now I have told you before it come to pass; that when it does come to pass, ye may believe.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tract. lxxix. 1
But is not the time for belief before a thing takes place? Is it not the praise of faith, that it believes what it does not see? according to what is said below to Thomas: Because thou hast seen, thou hast believed. He saw one thing, believed another: what he saw was man, what he believed was God. And if belief can be talked of with reference to things seen, as when we say that we believe our eyes; yet it is not mature faith, but is merely preparatory to our believing what we do not see. When it has come to pass; then He says, because after His death they would see Him alive again, and ascending to His Father; which sight would convince them that He was the Christ, the Son of God; able as He was to do so great a thing, and to foretell it. Which faith however would not be a new, but only an enlarged faith; or a faith which had failed at His death, and been renewed by His resurrection.
St Hilary † AD 367 ix. de Trin
He next alludes to the approach of the time when He would resume His glory. Hereafter I will not talk much with you.
St Bede † AD 735
He says this because the time was now approaching for His being taken, and given up to death: For the Prince of this world cometh.
St Augustine † AD 430 Tract. lxxix. 2
i. e. the devil; the prince of sinners, not of creatures; as the Apostle saith, Against the rulers of this world. (Eph. 6:12) Or, as He immediately adds by way of explanation, this darkness, meaning, the ungodly. And hath nothing in Me. God had no sin as God, nor had His flesh contracted it by a sinful birth, being born of the Virgin. But how, it might be asked, canst thou die, if thou hast no sin: He answers, But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence. He had been sitting at table with them all this time. Let us go: i. e. to the place, where He, Who had done nothing to deserve death, was to be delivered to death. But He had a commandment from His Father to die.
St Augustine † AD 430 contr. Serm. Arrian. c. xi.
That the Son is obedient to the will and commandment of the Father, no more shews a difference in the two, than it would in a human father and son. But over and above this comes the consideration that Christ is not only God, and as such equal to the Father, but also man, and as such inferior to the Father.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Hom. lxxvi. 1
Arise, let us go hence, is the beginning of the sentence which follows. The time and the place (they were in the midst of a town, and it was night time) had excited the disciples’ fears to such a degree, that they could not attend to any thing that was said, but rolled their eyes about, expecting persons to enter and assault them; especially when they heard our Lord say, Yet a little while I am with you; and, The prince of this world cometh. To quiet their alarm then, He takes them to another place, where they imagine themselves safe, and would be able to attend to the great doctrines which He was going to set before them.
The Latin text
Chrysostomus in Ioannem
Quia dixerat: pacem relinquo vobis, quod erat recedentis, hoc poterat eos conturbare, ideo dicit non turbetur cor vestrum, neque formidet: quoniam haec quidem ex dilectione, illa vero ex formidine patiebantur
Augustinus in Ioannem
Hinc autem turbari et formidare poterat cor illorum, quod ibat ab eis, quamvis venturus ad eos, ne forsitan gregem lupus hoc intervallo invaderet pastoris absentia; unde sequitur audistis quia ego dixi vobis: vado, et venio ad vos. Ibat autem per id quod homo erat, et manebat per id quod Deus erat. Cur itaque turbaretur et formidaret cor, quando sic deserebat oculos ut non desereret cor? Ut autem intelligerent secundum id quod homo erat, eum dixisse vado, et venio ad vos, subiecit atque ait si diligeretis me, gauderetis utique quia vado ad patrem, quia pater maior est. Per quod ergo filius non est aequalis patri, per hoc erat iturus ad patrem, a quo et venturus est, iudicaturus vivos et mortuos; per illud autem in quo est aequalis gignenti, nunquam recedit a patre, sed cum illo est ubique totus pari divinitate, quam nullus continet locus. Ipse ergo filius Dei aequalis patri in forma Dei, quia semetipsum exinanivit, non formam Dei amittens, sed formam servi accipiens, maior est etiam seipso: quia maior est forma Dei, quae amissa non est, quam forma servi, quae accepta est. Haec igitur est forma servi, in qua Dei filius minor est non patre solo, sed etiam spiritu sancto: secundum hanc formam servi puer Christus etiam parentibus minor erat, quando parvus maioribus, sicut scriptum est, subditus erat. Agnoscamus igitur geminam substantiam Christi; divinam scilicet, qua aequalis est patri; et humanam, qua maior est pater. Utrumque autem simul, non duo, sed unus est Christus, ne sit quaternitas sed Trinitas Deus. Ideo ergo dixit si diligeretis me, gauderetis utique, quia vado ad patrem: quia naturae humanae gratulandum est, eo quod sic assumpta est a verbo unigenito ut immortalis constitueretur in caelo, atque ita fieret terra sublimis, ut incorruptibilis pulvis sederet ad dexteram patris. Quis non hinc gaudeat, qui sic diligit Christum, ut suam naturam iam immortalem gratuletur in Christo, atque ipsum speret futurum esse per Christum?
Hilarius de Trin
Vel aliter. Si donantis auctoritate pater maior est, numquid per doni confessionem minor filius est? Maior itaque donans est, sed minor iam non est cui unum esse donatur
Chrysostomus
Vel aliter. Nondum noverant apostoli quid sit resurrectio, quam praedixerat dicens vado, et venio ad vos; neque qualem oportebat de eo opinionem, habebant; patrem vero magnum esse aestimabant. Dicit igitur eis: etsi de me formidatis quod me defendere nequeam, nec confiditis quod post crucem rursus vos videam; tamen audientes quoniam ad patrem vado, laetandum vobis est, quoniam ad maiorem vado, et potentem omnia versuta dissolvere. Haec autem omnia ad imbecillitatem discipulorum dicebantur: et ideo subdidit et nunc dixi vobis priusquam fiat, ut cum factum fuerit, credatis
Augustinus in Ioannem
Quid est hoc, cum magis credere homo debeat antequam fiat id quod credendum est? Haec est enim laus fidei, si quod creditur non videtur: nam et ille cui dictum est: quia vidisti, credidisti, aliud vidit, aliud credidit: vidit hominem, credidit Deum. Sed si dicuntur credi quae videntur, sicut dicit unusquisque oculis suis se credidisse, non tamen ipsa est quae in nobis aedificatur fides; sed ex rebus quae videntur, acquiritur in nobis, ut ea credantur quae non videntur. Illud itaque dicit cum factum fuerit, quod eum post mortem visuri erant viventem et ad patrem ascendentem; quo viso, fuerant credituri quod ipse esset Christus filius Dei, qui hoc potuit facere, et praedicere antequam faceret; credituri autem hoc, non fide nova, sed aucta; aut certe cum mortuus esset, defecta; cum resurrexisset, refecta
Hilarius
Gloriae autem resumendae meritum continuo subiecit dicens iam non multa loquar vobiscum
Beda
Ideo hoc dicebat, quoniam iam instabat tempus ut comprehenderetur, et ad mortem traderetur. Venit enim princeps mundi huius
Augustinus
Quis nisi Diabolus? Non autem creaturarum, sed peccatorum princeps est Diabolus. Unde apostolus cum dixisset: adversus rectores mundi sequenti verbo exposuit quid dixisset mundi, cum subiungit: tenebrarum harum, idest hominum impiorum. Et in me non habet quidquam. Quia neque cum peccato Deus venerat, nec eius carnem de peccati propagine virgo pepererat. Et tamquam ei diceretur: cur ergo morieris, si non habes peccatum, cui debetur mortis supplicium? Continuo subiungit sed ut cognoscat mundus quia diligo patrem, et sicut mandatum dedit pater, sic facio; surgite, eamus hinc. Discumbens enim discumbentibus loquebatur. Eamus autem dixit ad illum locum unde fuerat tradendus ad mortem qui nullum habebat meritum mortis, sed habebat, ut moreretur, mandatum patris
Augustinus contra Arianos
Quod autem voluntati et praecepto patris obediens est filius nec in hominibus demonstrat diversam imparemque naturam patris praecipientis et filii obedientis. Huc accedit quod Christus non tantum Deus est, qua natura aequalis est patri, sed etiam homo, qua natura minor est patre
Chrysostomus
Vel hoc quod dicit surgite, eamus hinc, principium est alterius sententiae: consequens enim erat eos formidare et a tempore et a loco, in villa manifeste existentes: etenim nox profunda erat; et erat consequens eos non attendere his quae dicebantur; sed semper circumvolvere oculos, et imaginari eos qui aggressuri eos erant, et maxime audientes: adhuc modicum vobiscum sum, et: venit princeps mundi huius. Quia igitur haec et huiusmodi audientes, turbabantur, ut mox capiendi, ducit eos in locum alium, ut aestimantes se in cautela esse, cum otio de reliquo audiant: magna enim dogmata erant audituri
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Let not your heart, &c. Christ saw that the minds of His disciples were troubled, i.e. anxious and sorrowful, because He had foretold them that His own departure and Passion, through the treachery of Judas, was at hand, as well as the scandal of Peter's threefold denial of Him. For they feared lest they also through dread of the Jews should betray Christ. For if Peter, who seemed as firm as a rock, was about to do so, would not the rest, who were weaker and more timid, do the same? Christ heals this their perturbation by the words, Ye believe in God, believe also in Me. The Greek reads for ye believe, πιστεύετε, i.e. Believe ye in God, or, ye believe, &c. The meaning is, If ye believe in God, as I know ye do, believe also in Me, and consequently trust Me. For I am God. By this faith and confidence ye may overcome all your fears, and be made partakers of my promises. Cast all your cares and anxieties upon Me, your Lord and your God. For although I go away from you as to My bodily presence, yet in My spirit, in My care and guidance of you, I shall be always with you. Listen to S. Chrysostom. He shows the power of His Divinity, setting out what they had in their minds. As if He said, "Ye fear the adversity which hangs over Me and you. Lay aside your fear. For faith in Me and the Father is mightier than those things which will come upon us. And nothing can prevail against it." And S. Augustine says, "Lest as men they should fear the death of Christ, and so be troubled, He consoles them, declaring that He is God. As though He said, Ye fear death for this form of a servant; let not your heart be troubled, the form of God will raise it up." Moreover Christ did this, as Ribera says, like husbandmen who attach a weakly vine to an elm, that it may from the elm receive strength to mount up and grow, even though wind and storms rage against it. Thus the Lord joins the apostles to Himself as a most strong wall, by faith: as it is said in Psa 26, "The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom then shall I fear?" Let the Christian think that the same thing is said to himself by Christ when he is harassed by temptation, trouble, or fear. "Thou believest in God, believe also in thy Christ. He will be present with thee, and give thee strength. He will open out for thee a way of escape, and make thee conqueror."
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In My Father's house. Christ had said that He was about to go to the Father, and that Peter would follow Him thither, but He had said nothing concerning the other disciples. They feared therefore that they should be shut out from the Father's house and from heaven. This fear Christ removes. "Fear not, for though it be that I do not take you with Me now to My Father's kingdom, yet I will cause you to follow Me in due time. Do not suppose that Peter only will follow Me thither, as if there were only room for Myself and Peter. I tell you there will not be wanting room for you likewise. For in My Father's house are many mansions. For heaven is a vast empyrean, and has innumerable mansions, sufficient to hold all men whatsoever." So SS. Augustine and Chrysostom. Moreover, the expression many, intimates that there are in heaven various degrees and ranks of blessedness and glory. As it were said, To each saint shall be his own place in heaven, to each his own beatitude, his own glory, in accordance with the merit of each. So the Fathers against Jovinian, who thought that as all virtues are equal, so likewise would be all rewards in heaven. Listen to St. Gregory (lib. 4, "Moral," ch. 31), "In the many mansions shall be a concordant diversity of requital. For so great shall be the might of the love which shall unite us in that house of peace, that whatsoever any one shall not receive in himself, he shall rejoice to have received it in another. Wherefore, although all did not labour equally in the vineyard, yet every one received a penny. And indeed with the Father there are many mansion, and yet the different labourers receive the same penny, because to all shall be the one blessed gladness, although not to all the same sublimity of life." The same S. Gregory says, that to a certain Stephen these many mansions were shown full of a marvellous light. Christ then by these words, and by this exhibition of the heavenly reward, animates the apostles, so that they should not dread the temptations and persecutions which were impending over them, but should rather court them, forasmuch as by their means they were about to obtain such rewards. If it were not so, i.e., if it were otherwise, I would have told you. First, it is as though He said, "I would have told you that I was going away that I might go to prepare a place for you in heaven, unless there were already many mansions prepared there; but because they are already prepared, I said not to you, " I will go to prepare them."
2. Following the Greek and Syriac, which omit the word that before I go, Arias Montanus simply expounds as follows: "There are many mansions in My Father's house. If it were not so I would tell you plainly; nor would I deceive you with the vain hope that I am going to prepare a place for you." As though He said, "Since I so greatly love you, that I am going away from you for the sake of preparing a place for you, how should I suffer you to be deceived in so great a matter? To prepare a place is to come into possession of heaven, which until that time had been closed to man. When I ascend, the heavens shall be opened to you, according as it is said, 'Lift your gates, ye princes, and the King of glory, shall come in,' (Psa 24 Vulg.); and, 'He shall ascend preparing the way before them.'" (Mic. ii. Vulg.) You will say, if mansions were already prepared for the apostles in heaven, why does Christ go to prepare a place for them? I answer, both are true. For, 1st, these mansions were prepared for the apostles and the rest of the elect from all eternity, by God's predestination, in the first intention, as it were. 2d, Christ went, nevertheless, to prepare them in act, as it were; namely, to bring the apostles into possession of them so to say. Moreover, Christ made plain the way to heaven, which before was shut, by His ascension. For He by His own blood and death upon the cross paid to God the price of those heavenly mansions, and by that price purchased them for us. Moreover, when Christ ascended, He sent the Holy Ghost from heaven, that He, by His peace, might render the apostles and the rest of the elect worthy of heaven. So S. Augustine. "How," saith he, "does He prepare, if there are already many? They are not yet in existence if they are still to be prepared. But they do already exist by predestination. Otherwise, He would have said, I will go and prepare, i.e., I will predestinate. But it was because they were not prepared as a matter of actual existence that He said, If I go away and prepare, &c., He is preparing the mansions by preparing their destined inhabitants. For that is the house of God, of which the apostle says, 'The temple of God is holy, which temple are ye.' It is still being built, it is yet being prepared. He speaks of going away to prepare, because the just live by faith. For if thou seest there is no faith, the thing is hid that it may be believed, then is the place being prepared if there is a life of faith; being believed it is desired, that that which is longed for may be possessed. He goes away by becoming unseen. He comes by appearing. But unless He abide with us to rule us, that we may make progress in good living, we shall not have a place prepared for us where we can abide in continual gladness." Ver. 3. And if I go away, &c. If, i.e., when, I go away into heaven and there prepare a place for you and all your successors, that is, for all the elect, by giving them through the ages the Holy Ghost, and His grace by which He may prepare them for celestial glory; when, I say, this has been accomplished, then I will come again in the day of judgment, and receive you all to Myself, and crown you with a worthy reward in heaven.
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And whither I go, ye know, &c.; i.e., Ye can, and ought easily know, because ye have often heard of Me that I am going to the Father in heaven, and that the road to heaven is My faith, doctrine, passion, and cross. The Apostles knew that Christ had said these things, but they did not yet understand them, which was the reason why they did not remember them. So S. Augustine, Maldonatus. Ver. 5. Thomas saith unto Him, &c. Since we know not whither Thou goest, how can we know the way? For he who knows not the goal to which a way leads, cannot be said to know the way to that goal. We indeed have heard Thee say that Thou art going to Thy Father's house, where there are many mansions, to prepare us a place. But where is this Father's house? Where are those many mansions? If this house is heaven, as we suppose it is, declare the matter to us more fully and explicitly. Explain to us concerning these mansions where and in what region they are. For the vastness of heaven, or rather of the many heavens, is infinite. Thus Thomas. "But Christ," as Cyril says, "gave no response to this overweening curiosity. For He does not explain the whole subject, but leaving that for a fitting season, He unfolds only what is necessary for the present time."
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Jesus saith to him, &c. Briefly the genuine meaning is this. "Thou askest, O Thomas, two questions, viz., about My way and its terminus, whither I am going, and what road? I answer thus, 'I am the way which thou seekest, a way not deceitful, but true, a way which leads to true life, even to God the Father in heaven, where is My Father's house, in which are the many mansions I have spoken of.'" Wherefore He adds, by way of explanation, No one cometh to the Father but by Me. The Father, therefore, is the goal or terminus. I am the way to it. I am the way, i.e. I am the teacher, the guide, and the leader of the true way which leads straight to the eternal and beatific life. I am the way, because I point out and teach the true faith and the holy living, which is the true way to everlasting life. There is an allusion to Isa 30:20-21, "Thine eyes shall see thy teachers, and thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left." But because some ways are true and right, others false and erroneous, therefore is Christ called the way and the truth, i.e. the true and right way according to the words in Isa. xxxv. 8, "And this shall be to you the direct way, so that fools shall not err in it." (Vulg.) As though Christ said, both Jewish and Gentile philosophers have taught many things concerning blessedness and the virtues which as a road lead to blessedness, yet they have fallen into many errors, and so have led men not to life, but to the destruction of hell. For as they made blessedness not true indeed, but false blessedness to consist in riches, honours, and vain science, so they have gone themselves, and led others into no good, or true, but into a false way. But I teach true faith and unity and those other virtues by which you may arrive by a direct way at that true and eternal life which is with the Father, and therefore with Me. For I and the Father are one. For as the Father is beatific life, both formal and causative, because He communicates the same to us, and also objective life, because He is the author of the beatific vision, so likewise am I the very self-same life and truth. I therefore am He who points out to you the right road to heaven. I am He who as the Truth delivers you from every error of the mind. I am He who leads you to true life. From hence it is plain that Christ is the way: 1. Because by the merit of His Passion He has opened to us the way to heaven. 2. Because by His doctrine He shows us the same way. 3. Because He inspires us with faith-and grace and good works and merits, by which as by a path we walk to life eternal. 4. Because by this way of a holy life and by His Passion He has gone before us, treading it first Himself, that we might follow Him in the same, and imitating Him, arrive at the heaven whither He has gone. This is the genuine meaning of this passage. But since this is a golden saying of Christ, let us listen to various comments and observations of the Fathers upon it. 1 S. Leo (Serm. 2, de Resur.) says, "Christ is the way of holy conversation, the truth of Divine doctrine, the life of everlasting blessedness." 2. S. Cyril saith, "Christ is our way by the actions of His life, the truth by a right faith, the life by the well-spring of sanctification." The meaning is, No one cometh to the Father, who is the true life and blessedness, except by love he walk in Me, who am the way; and by faith believe in Me, who am the truth; and by hope confide in Me, who am eternal life. 3. S. Bernard (Serm. 2, de. Ascens.), "Let us follow Thee, O Lord, by Thee, to Thee: for Thou art the way, the truth, and the life the way by example, the truth by promise, the life by reward." And the same S. Bernard (Serm. 2, de. Cœna. Dom.) says, "I am the way by which you must go; the truth, to which you must come; the life, in which you must abide." 4. S. Augustine says, "Christ is the way according to His humanity by which He comes to us, and returns to the Father. The same is the truth and the life according to His Divinity." Again he says (Serm. 55, de. Verb. Dom.), "What road dost thou wish to go? I am the way. Whither wilt thou go? I am the truth. Where wilt thou abide? I am the life. Every man desires truth and life. Even the philosophers saw in some dim way that God was truth and life, but not all found the way. Therefore the Word of God who is with the Father is truth and life, by becoming man is made the way. Walk by this Man, and thou wilt arrive at God. It is better to limp in the way than to walk bravely outside of the way." The same S. Augustine (Tract. 69) further says, "By the form of a servant the Lord came to us, and returned to Himself, taking back flesh from death unto life. By the flesh He came as God to man, the Truth to liars. For let God be true, but every man a liar." 5. S. Hilary (lib. 7, de Trin.) says, "He who is the way cannot lead us wrong. Nor does He who is the truth deceive by illusions. Nor does He who is the life leave us in the terror of death. If I am the way, ye need no other guide. If I am the truth, I cannot declare what is false. If the life, even though ye die, ye shall come to Me."
6. S. Chrysostom says, "I am the way, because by Me ye shall come. I am the truth, because the things which I have spoken are beyond questioning. I am the life, because not even death itself can hinder you from coming to Me."
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7. S. Ambrose (lib. de bono mort.), "Christ saith, I am the way, &c. Let us walk in this way, let us hold the truth, let us follow the life. It is the way which brings us, the truth which confirms us, the life which is given them that persevere." And again he saith, "We follow Thee, O Lord Jesus; but call us that we may follow, for no one ascends without Thee. Receive us as the way, confirm us as the truth, quicken us as the life." Symbolically, Christ is the way of beginners, purifying them by a hatred of sin, and a detestation of their past life. The same is the truth of the more advanced, illuminating them by the examples of virtues, and the desire of a new and holy conversation. The same is the life of the perfect, uniting them to God by the affections of pure love. Hear S. Bernard, summing up many things. "I am the way of light and calm, truth that liveth without pain, life that is happy and pleasant. I am the way upon the cross, the truth in the pit itself, the life in the joy of resurrection. I am the way, in which there are neither thorns nor thistles. The truth, in which there is no sting of falsehood. The life, in which he that is dead lives again. I am the right way, the perfect truth, the life that shall never end. I am the way of reconciliation, the truth of recompense, the life of eternal blessedness. No man cometh to the Father but by Me, i.e., no man cometh to Me, the truth and the life, except by Me the way." Tropologically, S. Basil remarks "that Christ is called the way, to denote that Christians ought daily to walk and proceed in the path of virtue, according to the words in the Psalms, 'They shall go from virtue to virtue' (Vulg.). For in truth this is the good way, knowing no devious wanderings; I mean our Lord Jesus Christ, who truly is good, who leads us to the Father. For no one, saith He, cometh to the Father but by Me. Such is the way of our return to God through His Son." Thus far S. Basil, who says that Christ is the way, not only by faith, but by the exercise of virtues. Anagogically, S. Augustine (de Sent. num. 268), "The Lord saith, I am the way, the truth, and the life, i.e. by Me you must walk, to Me you must come, in Me you must remain. For when we come to Him we arrive also at the Father, because by means of His equal He to whom He is equal is known. And the Holy Spirit binds and most closely unites us to Him, so that we may abide in the perfect and unchangeable Good for ever." Hence S. Bernard, when he was dying, appeared to a certain absent friend saying that he was going upwards, "for the truth is above." For below in earth there is nothing but vanity and falsehood, as we are taught in Ecclesiastes. "Here," said S. Bernard, "there is no knowledge, no recognition of the truth; above is there plenitude of science, above is the true knowledge of the truth." And two of S. Benedict's monks had this vision of him when he was dying. They beheld a path stretching direct from his cell to heaven, eastwards. This path was spread with tapestry, and bright with innumerable lamps. A man of venerable aspect, and clad in glorious apparel, stood over the monks, and asked them, Whose was the path which they beheld? They replied that they knew not. Then he said, "This is the way by which Benedict, the beloved of the Lord, ascendeth to heaven" (S. Greg. Dial. 1. 2 c. 37). No one cometh, &c. Because I am the way to the Father, who is the goal and terminus. No one, i.e. of men; but Suarez adds, of angels also. For he thinks that all the angels have received all their graces and glory from Christ and His merits.
Ver. 7. If ye had known Me, &c. Christ meets an objection. The disciples might have objected, "Thou, O Christ, declarest that Thou art the way, but the Father is the goal to which thou goest. But we do not know the Father, wherefore neither do we know the goal to which both Thou and we are going. Cause us therefore to know the Father. Again, if the Father is the goal, Thou the way, how sayest Thou, I am the way, the truth, and the life? That is both the way and the goal?" Christ answers that both are true. "For I," saith He, "have one essence with the Father, one and the same Godhead. Wherefore, if ye had known Me clearly and fully, ye would have known My Father also;" for the Apostles knew indeed and believed that Christ was the Son of God, but they did not as yet believe that He was consubstantial with the Father; but they did know this after they had received the Holy Ghost. Wherefore He adds,
And from henceforth ye shall know Him, and have seen Him. Ye shall know is the reading of the Vulgate, of S. Chrysostom, and S. Hilary. He means, Ye shall know the Father at Pentecost by the illumination of the Holy Ghost; yea, ye have already seen Him in Me, for he who seeth Me seeth My Father also, as Christ subjoins. The Greek, Syriac, and Arabic read γινώσκετε, ye know, in the present tense. "Even now ye know the Father, because ye have seen Him in Me working so many miracles. For although ye have not seen Him as He is in His Essence and Godhead, ye have seen Him veiled in My humanity, as with a cloud, by means of the signs and miracles, which, like thunderings and lightnings, come forth from It." So S. Cyril. Ver. 8. Philip saith unto Him, &c. Philip did not understand Christ's answer; how, namely, he who knows Christ knows also the Father. He urges therefore Christ to show them the Father Himself. "Thou sayest that the Father is in Thee, as it were lies hid in Thee. Op n Thyself, and shew Him to us." And it sufficeth us. 1st. Says S. Chrysostom, we desire nothing else but to be shown the Father. 2d. S. Cyril, It sufficeth us, viz., for blessedness, that we should be delivered from all trouble and sorrow; for since the Father is God He will bless us. 3d. It sufficeth us, for confounding the Jews, who deny that Thou art the Son of God. 4th. And more simply, as though it were said, "instead of all the reasons which Thou, O Christ, bringest together, to console us in our sorrow for Thy death, we ask one, that Thou wouldst show us the Father. This one will suffice us instead of all the rest." Anagogically. Hear S. Augustine, "With that joy which shall fill us with His countenance nothing more will be required." This Philip well understood when he said, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. But he did not yet understand that he might say, Lord, show us Thyself, and it sufficeth us. But that he might understand this, he received the answer, Have I been so long time with you ? &c. Herein is that saying of S. Augustine true, "Thou sufficest for God, let God be sufficient for thee." For God is Saddai, i.e., sufficiency, abundance of all good things." Wherefore the Psalmist says, "We shall be satisfied when Thy glory shall appear" (Psa 16:15); and, "They shall be inebriated from the richness of Thy house, and Thou shalt give them drink from the torrent of Thy pleasure" (Psa 35:9); and, "Whom have I in heaven but Thee ? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides Thee. My flesh and my heart faileth; but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever" (Ps l73:25-26). The reason à priori is, because God made man after His own image and likeness, wherefore He gave him an infinite capacity, and infinite desires, such as cannot be satisfied with any finite goods. Therefore it is necessary that God alone, who is infinite Good, should fill and satisfy that capacity. As S. Augustine says (lib. 1, Conf. c. 1), "O Lord, thou hast made us for Thyself, and our heart is restless until it rests in Thee." And the same saith (in Ps. lxii.), "Lovest thou riches? God Himself will be thy riches. Lovest thou a fountain of good? What is more excellent than wisdom? What more full of light? Whatever here can be loved, He who made all things shall be Thine instead of all things." Ver. 9. Jesus saith to him, Have I been so long time three years and a half conversing with you I have taught you who I am, and yet ye have not known Me ? The Greek S. Chrysostom and S. Cyril make thou hast not known Me in the sing., that indeed I am not only man, but the Son of God; not diverse in essence and existence from Him, but consubstantial with God the Father. For therefore having seen Me, you still desire to see the Father, because you think that I have a nature wholly different from the Father. As though Philip said, I have seen Jesus the Son of God: it remains for me to see His Father, as being different from Him, as is the case with men. This was the root of Philip's mistake, which Christ removes by what follows.
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Philip, he that seeth Me, seeth, &c. "Since I and the Father are plainly one and the same in the essence of Godhead one, I say, not only in likeness, but one indivisibly, therefore he who sees Me in the Humanity which I have assumed, inasmuch as he sees Me, sees My Father also, for I and My Father are one." Where observe, in Christ the Humanity was seen per se, but the Godhead per accidens. For It was seen not as It is in Itself, but through the Humanity, even as the soul is seen by means of the body in which it moves and operates. Wherefore he who with his bodily eye (with regard to which principally Philip asked, and Christ answered) beheld this Man, namely Jesus, per se, beheld indirectly, and per accidens His Godhead, because this Man was truly God. I am speaking as regards the essence of the Godhead, which is common to the Father and the Son. For as regards Person, it was indeed the Person of the Son which assumed human nature, not the Person of the Father. Wherefore he who directly saw this Man (Christ), directly saw the Person of God the Son lying hid in the manhood, but not the Person of God the Father, except by concomitance, as I shall show in ver. 10. Wherefore he who sees or recognises the Godhead of the Son, recognises also the Godhead of the Father, because They are one and the same. So S. Augustine, Cyril, Chrysostom, Hilary, and other Fathers passim. From this passage they prove against the Arians, 1. That Jesus was really God, so that those who saw that Man likewise saw God. 2. That there was one Person of the Father, another of the Son, which the Sabellians denied. For diversity of Persons is denoted by the words Me and Father. 3. That the Son is Consubstantial with the Father. For unless They were Consubstantial, the Son might be seen without seeing the Father: and vice versa, the Father might be seen without beholding the Son, even as happens with men. "You err therefore, O Philip, when having seen Me, you desire to see the Father, as though you were about to see another God, and another Deity, when there is but one and the same. How then sayest thou, Show us the Father, when I have shown Him unto thee in Myself?" This is the true sense in which Christ answers directly the question and meaning of Philip. But because Christ, taking occasion, as He is wont, from the question to rise and to carry His hearers with Him to a loftier height, this passage may, as to its second intention, be taken to apply to the perfect and proper cognition of the Father and the Son, whether by faith or by sight. As it were, He who seeth Me according to the Divinity, seeth also the Father. Because, although He is distinct from Me, yet am I in Him and He in Me by identity of nature. Wherefore He who sees, i.e., who believes, that I am the Son of God, also sees, i.e. believes, that God is my Father. And he who through the beatific vision intuitively beholds Me, intuitively beholds the Father also. So S. Cyril, Augustine, Chrysostom, Maldonatus, and others. Also Suarez, who shows from this passage that the Blessed who see the Divine Essence see also Three Persons in It.
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Ver. 10. Believe ye not that I am in the Father, &c. Observe 1. Here again the distinction of the Divine Persons is signified. Nor is any one properly said to be in himself, but in another. 2. The oneness of the Divine Nature is signified. For because the Father and the Son are, and exist in one and the same Divine Nature, therefore the Father is in the Son, and the Son in the Father. Christ proved this by the effect. For He had His doctrine and works from the Father, and common with the Father. Therefore He had the same common Nature with Him. Hence, 3. By this saying is consequently signified the perfect and intimate union and indwelling of one Divine person in the Other, and the converse. By which it comes to pass that the Father is in the Son and the Holy Ghost, the Son in the Father and the Holy Ghost, the Holy Ghost in the Father and the Son. Damascene (1. de Fid. c. 11) calls this, πεζιχώζησις, and from him the schoolmen call it circumincessio. Concerning which mystery S. Augustine treats (l. 6, de Trin. c. ult.) and S. Hilary (lib. 4, de Trin.) Each one of the Divine Persons is in each of the others, not only as regards Their Essence, but also as regards Their relation and proper Person, because all are most intimately conjoined and united with One Another. Whence it follows that he who fully knows and beholds one Divine Person- as, for example, the Son as the Blessed see Him, not only sees the Godhead common to the Father and the Son, but sees also the very Person of the Father, both because the Person of the Father is most intimately related to the Person of the Son, and also because in that relationship is included the essential order. For it is the Father who of His Essence begetteth the Son. And this is what Christ here means when He saith, Believe ye not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me ?
The words which I speak, &c. They are not human but Divine words. They proceed not from My Humanity, but from My Divinity, which I have received of the Father. Wherefore whoso heareth Me speak, heareth not so much Me as God the Father speaking in Me and by Me. Observe, the Godhead common to the Father and the Son was the efficient cause of the Divine words which Christ uttered. Yet the thing signified by the words was often peculiar to the Person of the Son, not of the Father, as when He said, "I am the Son of God," "I have taken flesh," "The things which I say and do I have received of the Father." For these things He said concerning Himself, not the Father, as is plain. For not the Father was made man, but the Son. And yet the Father equally with the Son was the efficient cause as well of the Incarnation, as of the words uttered by the Word Incarnate. For the works of the Holy Trinity, ad extra, as theologians say, are undivided, and common to all the Three Divine Persons.
But the Father abiding in Me, &c. The Father, as the prime source not only of creatures, but of the other Divine Persons, that is, the Son and the Holy Ghost. For when the Father by begetting communicated His Divinity to the Son, He communicated also His omnipotence, virtue, and power of working. Wherefore, if not the Son but the Father Himself had assumed Humanity, He would have spoken and done the self-same things which the Son spoke and did. For the Father both spoke and wrought in the Son: and also there is one Godhead and omnipotence of the Father and the Son, which spoke and wrought all things through the Humanity which He assumed. Wherefore Christ left it to be gathered by the Apostles that when they saw and heard Him speaking they were to think that they saw and heard the Father. "From these My words and deeds," as Ribera paraphrases, "ye are able to understand how good My Father is, how kind, how much He loves you. From My miracles ye may know My omnipotence, and that I know all things, and have in Me all good. From whence ye understand that the Father likewise hath the same. And since these external things lead you to the knowledge of such great good things, what, think ye, will be yours when ye shall behold My and the Father's Essence without glass, or figure?" Ver. 11, 12. Believe ye not that I am in the Father ? &c. For believe ye not? the Greek has πιστέυετέ μοι, Believe Me. But the meaning is the same, and one includes the other. Believe ye not that I am in the Father, &c. i.e., "Believe, because I assert this to you." "But if ye do not believe this simply on My assertion, at least believe on account of the works themselves, because the Father by working in Me and by Me so many and so great miracles, shows by those very works that He dwelleth in Me, and doeth by Me such mighty things." Amen, Amen, I say unto you, whoso believer in Me, &c. Christ wishes to prove that He is in the Father, and the Father in Him. The force of the argument stands thus: he that believeth that the Father is in Me, by this faith, or by the power and virtue of this faith, shall do similar Divine works and miracles to those which I do; yea, he shall do greater than I do. Therefore that faith must needs be true, which believes that the Father is in Me, and worketh in Me. For the Father worketh by true faith, and by miraculous works affords to such an one testimony of the truth, but not to a false faith, for otherwise, He who is the prime Verity would be a witness and approver of a lie.
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And greater works, &c. Not every believer, but some of them, such as the Apostles and apostolic men.
What were these greater works? 1. Origen (Hom. 7, in Num.) thinks that such things are meant as feeble men overcoming the flesh, the world, and the devil. For, saith he, it is a greater thing that Christ should overcome in us, than that He should overcome in Himself. 2. S. Chrysostom thinks that the greater works were such as that Peter should heal the sick by his shadow, which Christ did not do. 3. And better. S. Augustine thinks that these greater works were the conversion of all the nations of the whole world by twelve Apostles. For Christ converted a far less number, or only about 500. Listen to S. Augustine, whose diffuse words I have contracted into a few: "What are those greater works? Are they perchance such as that Peter healed by his shadow? For it is a greater thing to be healed by one's shadow than by the fringe of one's garment. But when He said those things He was referring to the works of His words. When He said, The Father abiding in Me, He doeth the works, He called the words which He spoke works, the fruit of which was their faith. For when His disciples preached the Gospel, not merely a few in number like themselves, but nations believed. The rich man departed from the Lord sorrowful. Yet afterwards what that one man would not do, many did when He spake by His disciples. 'Then he speaks of a marvellous paradox.' I say that herein is something greater than to create the heavens and the earth. For these shall pass away, but the salvation and justification of the elect shall endure. There are also in heaven the angels who are the work of Christ. And although it be an equal display of power to create them and to justify the ungodly, yet is this latter a greater work of mercy. However, there is no need to understand all the works of Christ when He saith, greater works shall he do. For perchance He spoke of those which He was then doing. Now it is a less thing to preach the words of justice which He did for our sake than it is to justify the ungodly, and this He so works in us that we work also." You will ask why Christ willed to do greater works by the Apostles than by Himself. I reply, 1. Because He wished the faith in Him to be gradually disseminated, and thus to grow, lest if it should grow up suddenly it should be supposed to be fancy, and He Himself a magician, or impostor. For that which grows by degrees, by degrees gains confidence, and is more durable. 2. That the modesty as well as the power of Jesus might be commended. That it might be seen that He was not only mighty in Himself to work, but that He was able to infuse the same powers of working in an equal, and even in a greater degree, into His Apostles. For the Apostles did not do these works by their own power, but by Christ's. 3. Because it behoved Christ first to suffer and to die, and by His death to merit those wonderful works, which. afterwards He wrought by His Apostles. 4. Because it behoved Christ first to rise and ascend into Heaven, and then to send the Holy Ghost, who should work such great miracles. This reason Christ adds, when He says, Because I go to the Father Let prelates and superiors here learn from Christ to keep for themselves the lower and meaner offices, and to leave to their inferiors the greater and more honourable. They will do greater things by their subjects than by themselves. For what the subject doeth, the superior is considered to do through him. S. Ignatius, the Founder of our Society, when he was made General, publicly catechised, whilst he left to his companions under him the honour of filling notable pulpits.
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Because I go to the Father. When after death I have obtained the victory, and have triumphed over the world, the devil, and hell, I will ascend in gl ry to the Father's throne, and thenceforward I will, through you, show forth greater works than I did whilst I was yet struggling in this life. There is no reason why I should then veil my face in poverty and humility, as I have done when I willed to submit to My Passion for the redemption of mankind. That being accomplished, I shall go up to My Father, who wills that My Name shall be manifested and adored in all the world by the preaching of the Apostles. Wherefore He will work greater things by them than He wrought by Me in this life. So S. Cyril (lib. ix. c. 41). Ver. 13. And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father, &c. Thus it is in the Latin, and in S. Chrysostom, Cyril, and others. But in the Greek, Arabic, and Syriac the word Father is omitted. These words have reference to what preceded, and greater works shall he do, &c. For after the faith, concerning which He said in the preceding verse, he that believeih in Me, He here subjoins a profession of faith, and the invocation of His Name, and the asking for those greater things. As though He said, "I indeed, O ye Apostles, am going away from you to the Father, but instead of My presence I leave and give you the invocation of My Name, that by means of It ye may ask and obtain those greater things. Wherefore Christ, says Cyril, here signifies that His own Divinity and authority is the same as the Father's. For it is the glory of the Son that by the invocation of Him the Father should give to the Apostles to do greater works than He wrought by the Son during His earthly life.
In My Name, i.e., by the invocation of My Name.
I will do it. I will cause that the Father will grant unto you. Yea, I in the Father and with the Father will do this thing, and will grant it to you, so that all the power, virtue, and glory of these greater works which ye will do shall be ascribed to Me, not to you. For when prayer is made to the Father, prayer is also made to the Son.
That the Father may be glorified in the Son. Christ out of modesty is wont to ascribe all His glory to the Father, as to the prime Fount and origin. Learn from hence that miracles must not be asked for except for God's glory, or when the glory of God requires them.
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Ver. 14. If ye shall ask anything in My Name, I will do it. What Christ in the last verse said of the Father He here says of Himself, that He may show that He is the same God with the Father, that He hears those who pray to Him, and that He doeth all things which the Father doeth. Whence S. Cyril asserts that Christ is here speaking of His Divinity. Some are of opinion that the same thing is spoken and confirmed which He had said in the verse preceding. Wherefore Chrysostom and Nonnus omit this verse. But it is found in the Arabic, Syriac, S. Augustine, S. Cyril, Theophylact, &c. But Toletus and others, with better reason, think that something different is meant from the verse preceding. They think that the words of the former verse relate to the petition for the greater things: but that in this verse Christ says that He will hear particular prayers. He means that although He is going away to the Father, and will be absent in the body, yet He is always present and will hear their prayers, and help their necessities, so that whatsoever they ask in His name, i.e., through His merits, He will do for them. S. Augustine supposes an objection. S. Paul asked that the angel of Satan might depart from him, but received it not. But consider that it is said, In My Name, i.e., in Jesus! For whatever we ask contrary to our salvation, we do not ask in the name of the Saviour. For He would not be a Saviour to a man, if He did anything to hinder his salvation. The physician knows what is against his patient's health, and what is in favour of it: and therefore he does not comply with his wishes in what is against his recovery.
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Ver. 15. If ye love Me, &c. Christ here takes His farewell of His disciples, gives His last commands, which pertain to the exercise of the three chief theological virtues, faith, hope, and charity. Concerning faith He speaks in the 1st verse, Ye believe in God, &c. Concerning hope in the 3d, Whatsoever ye shall ask, &c. Now He speaks of charity, If you love Me, keep My commandments. And these three are united together. For faith begets hope, and hope begets charity. The meaning then is, If ye wish to obtain these My promises, and to gain what ye ask in My name, then love Me in return who love you, and persevere and grow in My love. If ye wish to please Me, and through Me obtain all that ye ask, keep My commandments. And if they do this, He promises them a great reward, saying, Ver. 16. And I will ask the Father, &c., i.e., If ye persevere in My love, and keep My commandments, I will obtain for you by My prayers the Holy Ghost, which the Father will pour upon you at Pentecost. And He will work through you even greater things than I have wrought.
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And I will ask, as man. For Christ as man prays for us, says S. Augustine.
Another Comforter, i.e., another than Myself. From hence it is plain that Christ also was the Paraclete of the Apostles and the faithful. That is, He is 1. an Advocate, an Intercessor, according to those words of Paul, 'We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." 2. An Exhorter, an Inciter. 3. A Comforter, as the Syriac translates. All these meanings are included in the Greek παζάκλητος. But when Christ went away, He sent another Paraclete, even the Holy Ghost, who in these three things took Christ's place. For, 1. He is the Advocate of the faithful, "Who intercedes for us with groanings unutterable" (Rom 8:26). He likewise is our Exhorter and Consoler. To these two offices Christ here specially refers. As though He said, I, O ye disciples, have taught you until this present; I have called you, and comforted you, and you are very sad on account of My near departure. But lift up your minds and trust. For I will send you another Comforter in My place, who will teach, console, and protect you, not for a little while, but all through your life. The Holy Spirit then is this Paraclete, i.e., 1. An Exhorter, an Inciter, because He stirred up the Apostles to undertake noble works of virtue for the glory of God, that they should preach the Gospel throughout the whole world, not fearing tyrants or tortures, yea, being ambitious of the most dreadful deaths for Christ's sake. 2. A Consoler, because He would comfort and support them in adversities, distresses, doubts and temptations. For the Holy Spirit is as it were a burning and shining fire, which drives all darkness, fear, and torpor from the mind. As S. Bernard says (Serm. 2, de. Pent.), "Those whom He fills, He makes to be fervent in spirit, and to have knowledge of the truth." And again, "The Paraclete gives the pledge of salvation, the light of knowledge; and the strength of life, that what is impossible by nature should be made possible, yea easy, by grace."
He will give you, O ye Apostles, at the next Pentecost. From hence S. Jerome (Quæs. 9, ad Hedib.) refutes the heresy of Montanus, whom Tertullian followed, who said that long after the Apostles the Holy Ghost first came down upon the heresiarch Montanus, A.D. 220, and therefore that Montanus was the Paraclete promised by Christ.
That He may abide with you for ever. From this promise of Christ it is that the Holy Ghost always abides in the Church, and assists the faithful, so as to be a Comforter in afflictions, and a stirrer-up to heroic works of virtue. S. Augustine proposes the objection, "How shall we keep the commandments, that we may receive Him, when, unless we do possess Him, we cannot keep them?" He answers, "He who loveth hath the Holy Spirit, and by having Him deserves to have more of Him, that by having more of Him, he may love more."
The Spirit of Truth. Why is the Holy Ghost called the Spirit of Truth? First, S. Cyril answers, because He is the Spirit of the Son, proceeding by Spiration from the Son, whose special attributes are wisdom and truth, according to the words, I am the way, the truth, and the life. 2. Because the Holy Ghost has declared to the world that Jesus is God, and the Son of God, the Messiah and Saviour. For this was what Christ pressed home, saying, Philip, he that seeth Me, seeth the Father also. And I am in the Father, and the Father in Me. So S. Basil (lib. 2, de Spirit Sanc. c. i8). 3. Euthymius says, He is called the Spirit of Truth, i.e., most true and excellent, as opposed to an angel, the soul, or wind, which are spirits in a sense. 4. Of truth, because He is worthy of credit, says S. Chrysostom. 5. Others say that the Spirit of Truth means that He is the Spirit of the New Testament. For to it was the Holy Ghost reserved, as the Spirit of liberty and love, whereas in the Old Testament He was the Spirit of bondage and fear. 6. And most plainly, the Holy Ghost is the Spirit of Truth, because He is the Author of all truth, and the alone Teacher and Giver of pure and perfect truth. He teaches us all truths necessary for salvation, and delivers us from all errors. And so Christ explains this to us, saying in the 16th chapter, "When He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He shall teach you all truth." So too in Isa 11:2, the same Spirit is called "the Spirit of wisdom and counsel," &c., because He inspires us with those virtues.
The Spirit of Truth therefore is opposed to the evil spirit of the world, which is false and deceitful. Wherefore Christ adds, whom the world cannot receive. Whence S. Augustine (lib. de grat. Nov. Test.) says that the Holy Ghost is the soul of the Church. "The Holy Spirit is the love and bond of union of the Father and the Son. To Him pertains the Society by which we are made one. A man's body consists of many members, and one soul animates them all, causing the eye to see, and the ear to hear. So likewise the Holy Ghost contains and animates the members of the Body of Christ which is the Church."
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Whom the world cannot receive, i.e. worldly and carnal men, who gape after earthly desires and vain riches. Such persons cannot receive the Holy Ghost, because He is altogether heavenly, spiritual, and Divine, who teaches us to despise all earthly things as vanity, and to love and embrace heavenly things as true and solid. For as the Apostle says (Rom. viii.), "The prudence of the flesh is the enemy of God." (Vulg.) Whence S. Basil says (lib. de Spir. Sc.), "As in an unpolished mirror the images of things cannot be received nor discerned, so cannot a man receive the illumination of the Holy Ghost, unless he cast away sin and fleshly lusts,"
Because it seeth Him not, &c. Because it bath the eyes of the mind earthly, and blinded by the lusts of the flesh. Wherefore neither doth it know Him, i.e. practically, so as to love and desire Him.
But ye shall know Him, &c. Know, i.e., His power, efficiency, doctrine, holiness. For He by His presence in you shall exercise His Divine power and grace. By which it shall come to pass that ye shall know Him, love Him when known, and long that He may be known to others. It is as the taste of pepper when it is bruised, or as the hidden power of fire in wood, which bursts forth into a mighty conflagration.
Shall abide with you. The Vulg., with S. Augustine and Nonnus, reads μενεί in the fut. The Greek with a different accent has μένει, abides. With this agree the Syriac and Theophylact. Listen to S. Bernard (Serm. 20, inter Parv.), "The Holy Ghost proceeds, breathes, inhabits, fills, glorifies. He is said to proceed in two ways, from whence, and whither. From whence? From the Father and the Son. Whither? To the creature. By proceeding He predestinates. By breathing He calls those whom He has predestinated. By inhabiting He justifies those whom He has called. By filling He heaps merits upon those whom He has justified. By glorifying He enriches with rewards those upon whom He has accumulated merits." Ver. 18. I will not leave you orphans, &c. Forasmuch as Christ called His disciples sons, He now says to them, I will not leave you orphans, i.e., without a Father. Because, although I am going away from you to the Father, I will send you another Comforter in My stead. It is not that going away I will desert you, but that going away I will return, and will come unto you. Christ did this 1. And especially, when after the resurrection He appeared to His apostles in bodily presence, and taught them, and made them glad. 2. He did it, when at Pentecost He visibly sent them the Holy Ghost in the appearance of tongues of fire. 3. He did it invisibly, by often spiritually visiting them from heaven, and communicating to them His heavenly gifts. 4. He will do it visibly in the day of judgment when He will make His Apostles assessors with Himself. All this Christ further explains in what follows. Ver. 19. Yet a little while, &c. But a short period of life remains to Me, only a few hours, after which I shall die upon the cross, and be withdrawn from this world; but ye shall see Me, because the third day I shall rise from the dead, and show Myself to you. This is the literal meaning. Tropologically, as the world shall not see Me with the eye of sense, so neither shall it see Me with the eye of the mind, because it will not believe in Me, nor recognise Me as the Messiah. Anagogically. The world shall not see Me after the day of judgment gloriously reigning in heaven.
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Because I live, ye shall live also. Ye shall see Me, because I shall rise from the dead, and live again. Ye also shall live that ye may behold Me living again, that ye may be able to preach My death and resurrection to the whole world. As Theophylact says, When ye shall see Me living again ye shall rejoice, and as though ye had been dead, ye shall live again at My appearing. As Jacob, when he heard that Joseph whom he supposed to be dead was alive, he awoke, as it were out of a deep sleep, and lived again. Christ speaks in the present tense, I live, because He would signify that He would immediately rise again from the dead. As S. Augustine says, "He spoke of Himself as living, in the present, of them as about to live in the future. For His Resurrection was presently to take place, but theirs was to be deferred to the end of the world."
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Ver. 20. In that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, &c. After I have risen again, and ascended into heaven, and sent you the Holy Ghost, ye shall by His illumination know these three things more clearly and certainly, viz., that I am in the Father, by the unity of the Divine Essence, that is to say, that I am true God. 2. That ye may be in Me through Love, through the special guardianship which I have over you. Cyril adds a deeper meaning, "That ye may be in Me through union of substance. For since I have assumed human flesh, I have united the whole nature of man, and as it were all men to Myself. 3. That I may be in you as inhabiting, illuminating, and directing you to all good, and to everlasting life in heaven by My grace. Wherefore, says the Interlinear, ye shall know that I am in the Father, as a ray of light in the sun, one with Him, nd ye in Me as branches in the vine, and I in you, as the vine in a branch, causing (heavenly) sap, and the life of grace to flow into you. S. Hilary adds that Christ is in us in the way of food by Participation of the Eucharist.
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He that hath My commandments, &c. As the Gloss says, not only you, O ye Apostles, but every one who loveth Me, and keepeth My commandments, shall live and know. Toletus understands this of the ordinary believers, who besides the Apostles in the time of Christ believed on Him, that these were here exhorted to persevere in His faith, love, and obedience. That in so doing they would in return be loved by Him and the Father, and that He would show Himself to them, when He rose again gloriously from the dead. This meaning is true, but too restricted. For Christ is speaking to all the faithful of every age. The meaning is, he that hath My commandments, i.e., he who keeps in his memory and affection the precepts which he has heard of Me, and keepeth them, i.e., fulfils them in deed; he who, as S. Augustine says, keeps them in his life and in his works, and perseveres in so doing, he it is who loveth Me, because he does what is pleasing to Me, what I love and desire to be done by him. A similar phrase occurs in chap. v. 38, Ye have not My word abiding in you. For as S. Gregory says, "The proof of love is the exhibition of work. The love of God is never lazy. If it exists, it worketh great things. But if there be refusal to work, love is not there."
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Ver. 23. Jesus answered, &c. As if He said, "Do not suppose, O Judas, that I will appear to thee alone and thy fellow-Apostles after My resurrection, as if the fruit of My life and passion were restricted to you only and the few others, to whom I shall visibly appear. I shall appear, though invisibly, to all those who throughout the world shall receive My faith and doctrine by means of the preaching of thyself and the rest of the Apostles, and shall love and keep it."
And We will come to Him, I and My Father, and consequently the Holy Ghost. For where there is one Divine Person there are the other two. He means, Be it that after My resurrection I shall appear visibly to you alone, invisibly I shall come by My grace to all the faithful who believe in Me. And as I will come, so also My Father and the Holy Spirit will come to them. And we will dwell in their souls as in our house and temple. Observe, God, who is everywhere, and therefore immovable, is said to come and abide, not by change of place, but by the fresh working which He effects in such and such a place. So He is here said to come to the faithful and the just by grace and a fresh operation, because He preserves them, and furthers them in justice, and He assists and co-operates with their own free will. For He prevents their understanding with His illumination, and their will by pious affections, by which He impels them to good works, even such as are arduous, and by His concurring grace He labours with them for this accomplishment. Hear S. Augustine, "Love, which makes men to dwell with one mind in a house, separates the saints from the world. In that house the Father and the Son, who giveth the gift of love, make their dwelling-place. They come to us whilst we come to them. They come by assisting, enlightening, filling. We come by obeying, beholding, receiving." Lastly, thus piously writes S. Bernard (Serm. 3, de Advent.), "Blessed is he with whom Thou wilt make Thine abode, O Lord Jesu; blessed is he in whom Wisdom builds herself a house, hewing out her seven pillars; blessed is the soul which is the seat of wisdom. What is that soul? It is the soul of the just. Rightly so, for judgment and justice are the preparation of Thy seat. Who is there among you, brethren, who desires to prepare in his soul a seat for Christ? Lo! what are the silks, the tapestry, the cushions, which ought to be prepared? Justice and judgment, He says, are the preparation of Thy seat. Justice is the virtue which is His very own, and which He gives to each. Render thus to each of the three classes of thy superiors, thy equals, thy inferiors, what is due to each. Thus shalt thou worthily celebrate the coming of Christ, and prepare His seat in justice." Tropologically, God the Holy Trinity comes to the three faculties of the soul, which He created after His own image, that He may inhabit them, renewing in them His image depraved by concupiscences. To the Father is appropriated memory, because He from fruitful memory conceiving all things, produced the Word, and begat the Son. To the Son is appropriated the understanding, because by the understanding He was begotten, as it were the word of the mind, the idea, image and pattern of all things. To the Holy Spirit is appropriated the will, because He Himself proceeds by the action of the will, i e., the love of the Father and the Son, as it were the love and bond of union of both. The Father therefore reforms the memory when He blots out of it the appearances of vanity, and brings into it the appearances of divine things, so that it should remember only God, His worship and His love. The Son reforms the understanding, so that it should think only of the things which pertain to salvation and holiness. The Holy Spirit reforms the will, so that it should love and desire the same. Wherefore a holy soul continually reflects that it is a temple of the Holy Trinity, as it is said in 2 Cor. vi., "Ye are the temple of the living God." There were in the ancient Temple three vessels of service the altar for burning incense, the candelabrum with its seven burning lamps, and the table of shewbread. There should be in like manner in a holy soul an altar of prayer, breathing out holy praises and pious desires to God. There ought to be a candelabrum brightly shining with the seven gifts of the holy Ghost. And there ought to be a table of beneficence and charity. Then will come to pass that which is written in the Apocalypse, (Rev 21:3), "Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and He shall dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself with them shall be their God." See S. Bernard (Serm. 27, in Cant.) where he teaches that a holy soul is a heaven in which shine the sun of charity, the moon of continence, the stars of the other virtues. Ver. 24. He that loveth Me not, &c. The reason then why any one does not keep God's commandments is because he loveth not God.
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But he that loveth Me, &c. Because My commandments are the commandments of the Father. Wherefore he who keepeth them, reverences and loves the Father, and does what is most pleasing to Him. Hence he draws His love upon him in return. Loving God the Father, he is beloved by Him. Love is the magnet of love. But here observe, we do not first love God, but God us, and so He inspires us with grace, by which we love Him in return. And if we accept this His love, and begin to love Him, He the more loves us, and pours greater grace and charity upon us. And I will love him, not only as God, for so I will love him with the same love as the Father: but even as man I will proceed to love him, and to accumulate gifts and graces upon him. As S. Augustine says, "To this end I will love that I may manifest (Myself). Not indeed that He did not love then. He loved us to this end, that we should believe, then that we should see. Now we love by believing in what we shall see, then we shall love by seeing that which we have believed." And will manifest Myself to him, by a deeper knowledge from day to day of My mysteries and gifts, not only speculative but practical and experimental knowledge, by which the saints taste and have experience of Christ how sweet He, the Lord, is: and therefore they burst forth in pious affections of gratitude, love, and praise, as S. Paul does in 1Co 11, and elsewhere. But, above all, this shall take place in heaven. Ver. 22. Judas saith unto him, &c. This was Thaddæus, the brother of James the less, the author of the Epistle of Jude. Wherefore is it ? The Vulg. has quid factum ? which is a literal rendering of the Hebrew expression me haia, i.e., why was it ? When Jesus said, The world seeth Me not, but ye see Me, He spoke of His death and His resurrection, by which He would appear again to His Apostles, but not to the worldly and unbelieving Jews. But Judas did not understand these words, and asked that they might be explained. He asks the reason, says S. Augustine, wherefore He will not manifest Himself to the world, but only to His own. The Lord answers him, Because these love, but the others do not love. Judas uses the word manifest, because Christ had just used the same expression, saying, I will manifest Myself to him. This word therefore dwelt in Judas' mind, though he is referring to previous words of Christ.
And the word which ye have heard is not Mine, &c. Listen to S. Augustine, "He said that the word was not His, but the Father's, intending Himself to be understood, who is the Word, the Image and the Son of the Father. Rightly does He attribute to the Originator what the equal does, from whom the equal has that He is an equal."
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Vers. 25, 26. These things have I spoken unto you, remaining yet with you. But the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send, &c. Thus should this passage be pointed with the Roman, Greek, Arabic, and Syriac Versions. Less appropriately S. Chrysostom connects the words, remaining with you with the Paraclete, as though it were meant, "I go away, but the Holy Ghost will remain with you in My place." But the words should be referred to Christ who went before. He means, "These things which thus far ye have heard from My mouth I have spoken unto you, and taught you, whilst I remained with you, but I know that, either through your own ignorance, or through the strangeness and sublimity of the things which I have spoken, many are not received or understood by you. I will cause therefore that the Father will send you the Holy Ghost, as a Paraclete, i.e. an Instructor and Comforter, who will bring back to your memory, and explain to you all these things which I have said unto you. By His illuminations ye will easily understand all things. He will comfort you when you are sad at My departure, and will strengthen you under the persecution of the Jews, or any other tribulations. That the Holy Ghost did this is seen by the earlier chapters of the Acts of the Apostles and elsewhere. As S. Chrysostom says, "He frequently speaks of the Comforter because of their sadness."
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Whom the Father shall send in My name, i.e., says S. Cyril, through Me, because the Holy Ghost proceedeth from the Father and the Son. Wherefore the Father with the Son, or through the Son, as He breathes, so also He sends the Holy Ghost. 2d. In My name, i.e., for My sake, and because of My merits. 3d. In My name, i.e., for Me in My place, that He may finish My work which I have begun, and by the preaching of the Apostles may disseminate My faith, My doctrine, My Church throughout all nations.
He shall teach you all things, which pertain to my advent and Incarnation. All things which are necessary for the foundation, instruction, establishment of the Church. Listen to Didymus (lib. de Spir. Sanc.) "He shall teach the perfect in the faith of Christ spiritual and intellectual sacraments. But He shall teach by infusing invisibly the knowledge of Divine things into the soul." And Augustine "The Son speaketh not without the Holy Ghost: neither doth the Holy Ghost teach without the Son, but the Trinity speaketh and teacheth all things. But unless separate mention were made of each Person, human weakness could not receive these things." And shall suggest (suggest, Vulg.) Greek, ύπομνήσει, i.e., shall bring back to memory. So Cyril, Augustine, &c. Wherefore from this passage S. Augustine takes notice that the external voice of an apostle or preacher does not suffice for the understanding or reception of the thing preached, but that this is the work of the Holy Ghost, who inwardly enlightens the mind to understand those things, and inclines the will to embrace them, and strengthens the memory to retain them. An orthodox doctor teaches this. Theophylact says, "The Holy Ghost taught all that Christ had not said to them, as not being able to bear it. Also He brought to mind what the Lord had said, but which they, through its obscurity or the dulness of their understanding, had been unable to remember." Ver. 27. Peace I leave you. My peace, &c. The Arabic translates My own peace. This is Christ's farewell. For the Hebrews, when they salute any one coming, or bid good-bye when departing, say, Peace be with you. Where under the word peace they wish every kind of good, prosperity, and happiness. It is as though Christ said, "Going away from you, I give to you, O ye Apostles and your successors, and as it were leave you, My benediction for an inheritance. By this I pray God to give you every good thing. And this I do not vainly or briefly, like the world, but truly, solidly, eternally. I do it not by adulatory words, as worldly people do, but really supplicating and bestowing grace and power, by which ye may securely attain to the eternal goods, and by your preaching, charity, and prayers may lead many others to the same blessed end." So Maldonatus. Jansen and Toletus explain a little differently. They say, This peace is that of which S. Paul speaks in the 4th ch. of the Philippians, "The peace of God which surpasseth all sense keep your heart and understanding in Christ Jesus." Now this peace includes 1. Friendship with God. 2. Tranquillity of mind and calm in temptations and persecutions. 3. Mutual concord amongst ourselves. This makes men strong in every danger, and gives consolation in every trouble. This the Lord bequeaths us, not riches, nor temporal possessions. Far above all the wealth of this world peace stands pre-eminent. Hear S. Augustine. "We cannot arrive at the Lord's inheritance, who wished us to observe His testament of peace we cannot have concord with Christ if we quarrel with our fellow-Christians. Peace is serenity of mind, simplicity of heart, the bond of love, the concord of charity." Symbolically, S. Augustine. "He leaves peace in this world, abiding in which peace we overcome the enemy. He will give peace in the world to come, when we shall reign without an enemy. He is our peace, both when we believe that He is, and when we shall see Him as He is. We must observe that when He saith I will give, He adds My peace, wishing us to understand that it is such peace as He hath Himself, in whom there is no fighting, because He hath no sin. But the peace which He leaves us is rather to be called ours, than His. It is such peace as is consistent with the state in which we still say, Forgive us our debts. There is peace among ourselves forasmuch as we trust and love one another. But it is not full peace, because we do not see the thoughts of one another's hearts." Ver. 28. Let not your heart be troubled, &c. Christ adds this because He saw that the Apostles were sad at His departure, and fainthearted on account of the hatred of the Jews, and the battles which were impending, says S. Chrysostom. Lest the wolf should attack the sheep when the Shepherd was absent, says S. Austin. Therefore He consoles them, and lifts them up, saying, "Be not troubled nor fearful because of My departure, as though ye were about to be sheep without a Shepherd. For I, as I have said, go away indeed to death, but I will rise again on the third day, and then I will come, i.e., I will return, to you."
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If ye loved Me, &c. The apostles did love Christ, and therefore they were troubled at His going away. When therefore Christ says, If ye loved Me, He speaks after the manner of men. It is the way of consoling friends when they are sad at the departure of a friend. If you showed Me, O ye Apostles, what true and sincere love demands, ye would not grieve but rejoice at My departure, for My going away will be exceedingly profitable to Me, yea, and to you likewise. For I am going to the Father who is greater than I, i.e., I am going from consorting with men to God, from human misery and contempt to Divine felicity, exaltation, and glory. I am going to prepare a place for you, to which in due time I will bring you. So Cyril.
For My Father is greater than I. This was the great stronghold of the Arians, by which they sought to prove that the Son was not God, but the highest creature of God; but SS. Athanasius, Augustine, Basil, and the rest of the Fathers, admirably reply to them, that Christ is here speaking of Himself not as God, but as man. For as such He was less, not only than the Father, but even than the angels. And that Christ is speaking thus is plain from hence, that He gives the reason why He is going to the Father: because, He saith, My Father is greater than I. Now Christ goeth to the Father, in that, as man, He ascendeth into heaven. For as God He is alway in heaven with the Father. Wherefore S. Augustine saith, " He went, in that He was in one place: He remained, in that He was everywhere." That is, He went through His Humanity, He abode through His Divinity. Therefore His Father was greater than He in respect to His Humanity, not His Divinity. The meaning then is, Ye must rejoice, O ye Apostles, at My departure, because I go to the Father, and ascend into heaven to greater honour and dignity, that I may obtain from the Father, for Myself and for you, the rewards of My Passion, even a seat at the Father's right hand, and the empire of the universe, the adoration of all the angels, and the conversion of all nations to My faith and worship: and for you the Holy Ghost and all His gifts, armed with which ye shall conquer the whole world for Me and for yourselves, and bring it with you to celestial glory. For those things, which are far greater than what ye have as yet seen and received, I will ask and obtain when I go to the Father. Some fathers, moreover, in order to give a complete answer to the Arians, answer more subtilly, but intricately, that the Father is greater than the Son not only as He is man, but also as He is God, because the name of Father seems among men to be more honourable than the name of Son. For a father is the beginning and cause of a son. The Father therefore is greater than the Son, not in magnitude, nor time, nor virtue, nor dignity, nor adoration, but in respect of a certain honour amongst men, i.e., in respect of origin, because the Father is the origin of the Son. So S. Athanasius (Serm. cont. Arian), S. Hilary (lib. 9, de Trin.), &c. Although with reference to Divine things, filiation, from whence is derived the idea of sonship, is something as excellent and as honourable as is the idea of paternity in the Father. Indeed, as the Son hath from the Father that He is the Son, so in turn the Father hath from the Son that He is the Father. For the Father is He who hath the Son. Wherefore in this case, that passive origin which is in the Son is in itself as worthy and as honourable as that active origin which is in the Father. For it is as great to be Begotten God as it is to beget God. Therefore it is as great to be the Son as to be the Father. Lastly, each hath altogether in personality the same Divine Essence, the same majesty and omnipotence. Wherefore one cannot be greater than the other. "Greater," says S. Hilary, "is He who gives by the authority of a giver, but He is not less to whom it is given to b One (with the Giver)." Greater, i.e., in the estimation of men, not of God. Wherefore Maldonatus thinks that Hilary and some others have conceded too much to the Arians. And Damascene (lib. 1, de Fid.) corrects them thus, "The Father is greater, not in nature, nor in dignity, but only in origin. (See Suarez, lib. 2, de Trin. cap. 4.) And in my opinion this was the teaching of S. Hilary. Moreover, the analogy of the Divine compared with human generation is so entirely different as to refute the Arians. For in things human the father is greater than his son. 1st. Because he is prior, and senior to the son. 2d. Because he is greater in stature and bulk, for a grown-up man generates a little infant. 3d. Because he produces a nature numerically different from himself, which he communicates to his son. Wherefore he is greater than that nature as being its author. 4th. Because of his own free will he begets a son. For it was possible to him not to have begotten. But in things Divine the manner is altogether different. For the Father is greater than the Son neither in age nor size: neither does He beget a Deity different from His Own, but communicates to the Son the same Deity which He Himself has. Neither does He beget of His own will, so to say, but of the natural fruitfulness of the Divine Nature He produces a Son the equal of Himself, nor can He produce another. Lastly, S. Cyril, in the Council of Ephesus, proves that the Father is greater than Christ in so far as Christ is man, but not in that He is God, after this manner: "We acknowledge Him (the Son) to be in all respects as the Father, to be incapable either of turning, or of change, and to have need of nothing, a perfect Son, like unto the Father, and differing from Him only in this respect that the Father is unbegotten. For He is the perfect and express Image of the Father. And it is certain that the Image ought fully to include all those things in which the Pattern itself, which is greater, is perfectly expressed, even as the Lord Himself hath taught, saying, the Father is greater than I." Ver. 29. And now I have told you, &c. That is, and now I foretell to you My departure and death, My resurrection and return to you, not that ye should condole with Me, and look after your own safety, but that, when ye see those things fulfilled, ye may believe that I foreknew and foreordained them all, and therefore that I submitted to death, not of necessity, but of My own free-will, for your salvation and that of the world, and therefore that ye may believe that I am the Messiah, the Son of God, the Saviour. Ver. 30. I will not henceforth talk much with you, &c. For this is not the time to speak much, but to conclude, for the prince of this world, to whom worldly men are subject, by sinning after their own will, cometh. That is, he cometh to take and kill Me. For Christ said this when Judas was approaching with the officers, who were sent by the chief priests to take Him. But he hath nothing in Me, i.e., he cometh to take Me, but he hath no power over Me, because he will find nothing of sin in Me, nothing of that which caused Adam and his posterity to die. Wherefore he must unjustly bring death upon Me being innocent. And this I am ready to suffer, that by means of My unjust death I may despoil him of his power, and deliver men from his jurisdiction and tyranny. So Cyril and Chrysostom. The innocence therefore of Christ, and the death of that innocent One, hath delivered all of us, the guilty ones, from harm. And this was that supreme consolation of Christ, which He here brings home to the Apostles. Or, as Maldonatus puts it, "The devil cometh, to take and kill Me by means of the Jews, but in Me he hath nothing, i.e. he will not be able to overcome or destroy Me, as he hopes; for although I am about to die, I shall not do so through his power or strength, but of My own free choice, that I may fulfil My Father's will." Ver. 31. But that the world may know, &c. That is, "I will die, not compelled by the devil's servants, the Jews, but freely, out of love and obedience to the Father. For He hath given Me commandment to undergo death for the redemption of men. Wherefore so I do, submitting myself to death." So SS. Chrysostom, Cyril, &c. You may say, Christ received commandment from the Father to suffer, to die, and to do the things which He did. Therefore He could not will the contrary, neither was He free, for had He done otherwise He would have sinned. But Christ is impeccable by a twofold title, 1st, on account of His hypostatic union with the Word; 2d, on account of the light of glory, in that He seeth God. For Christ and the Blessed, because they clearly perceive that God is infinite Good, are so wholly ravished with His love that they cannot either love or will anything which is contrary or displeasing to Him. I reply: the hypostatic union with the Word made Christ impeccable in such manner that the office of the Word was to keep and preserve that humanity which was hypostatically united to Itself altogether sinless, lest the Word, or God, which upheld the humanity, should be said to sin. But the Word kept the humanity from sin, not by physically predetermining, so to say, the will of Christ, to obey the Father's commandment, but only by Its congruous grace, so continually preventing It, and sweetly directing and urging It, as It foreknew future conditional events, that Itself was (ever) consenting to this grace, and therefore was always freely subjecting Itself to the will of God, and never, even by venial offences, displeasing Him. Moreover, the light of glory constrained indeed Christ, forasmuch as He was blessed to subject Himself in beatific act to the will of God and the decree of death as perceived by this light to be His will. Yet it did not force Him, in so far as He was a wayfarer (viator). For as a wayfarer He had infused knowledge, as we have faith, according to which He was able freely to elicit acts of love and obedience, or not to elicit them, at His pleasure, as we of our free will are able to elicit similar acts. He therefore freely elicited that act by which, in obedience to the Father's commandment, He accepted the death of the cross, saying, "Lo! I come to do Thy will, O God" (Psa 47.) Neither did the prior act determine ex necessitate the subsequent act, because they were altogether incommensurable, and of a different order. For the former is the act of one of the (already) Blessed, the latter act an act of one travelling to the country. See the Schoolmen.
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Arise, &c. These words depend upon what went before, and are thus connected, "That the world may know that I love the father, and am obedient to His commandment to suffer death, arise, and let us go to the garden of Gethsemane where the Jews await Me to take and kill Me." You will ask whether Christ actually rose from the table, and went out of the house towards Gethsemane, and in the way proceeded to utter the things which John records in the three following chapters: and that then, when they were ended, He passed over the brook Cedron, and entered the garden, where he was betrayed by Judas, and taken by the Jews, as John narrates, ch. xviii. 1, &c. Cyril and Augustine answer in the affirmative, and this is probable. Maldonatus and others, more probably, answer in the negative. They think that Christ did not go out of the house. They are of this opinion, 1st, Because John does not say so. 2d, Because Christ could not conveniently, with the apostles following Him, say all things in the way which are related in the three following chapters, so that they could hear and understand them. Christ saith therefore, Arise, because He did actually rise up from the table, and stood upon His feet, and bade the apostles do the same, that they might go away with Him to the mount of Olives. But, as dear friends are wont to do when they are saying farewell, and are hardly tearing themselves away from those they so tenderly love, so did Christ, as they were standing, resume a fresh and longer discourse, prolonging it until the 18th chapter. Then bringing it to a close, He went across the brook Cedron to the mount of Olives. For such is the wont of those who love when they are bidding their mutual good-byes. As Ovid says, when he is going away into exile (lib. 1, Trist.):Thrice did I turn my steps, And thrice the threshold gain: To linger near with fond regret My footsteps were full fain. Farewell, farewell, I cried: Words full of love I said: Then, with a last fond kiss, For ever from it fled. Tropologically: when any arduous duty is decreed by God, or ordained by our superiors, such as a dangerous journey, death, or martyrdom, let us generously and with alacrity offer ourselves to God as victims of charity and obedience, and freely meet the danger, saying with Christ, Arise, let us go hence. For he who breaks the first onset of fear, by boldly meeting it, has overcome half the difficulty, and will easily vanquish the remainder. Daily experience proves that "He has accomplished the half of a deed who has well begun."
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Supra dominus informavit discipulos suos exemplis, hic confortat eos verbis, et primo ponitur multiplex verborum exhortatio; secundo ipsorum quae dicta sunt explicatio, cap. XVI haec locutus sum vobis, ut non scandalizemini. Circa primum sciendum est, quod duo imminebant discipulis, de quibus conturbari poterant. Unum de praesenti, scilicet recessus Christi imminens; aliud de futuro, scilicet tribulationes quas passuri erant. Primo ergo confortat eos contra primum, scilicet contra eius recessum; secundo contra tribulationes quas passuri erant, XV, cap., ego sum vitis vera et cetera. Circa primum duo facit. Primo confortat eos ex parte ipsorum remanentium; secundo ex parte sui recedentis, ibi non turbetur cor vestrum, neque formidet. Circa primum tria facit. Primo praemittit suum accessum ad patrem; secundo promittit eis donum spiritus sancti, ibi si diligitis me, mandata mea servate; tertio suam praesentiam, ibi non relinquam vos orphanos. Circa primum duo facit. Primo praemittit suum accessum ad patrem; secundo agit de via per quam accessurus erat, ibi et quo ego vado scitis, et viam scitis. Circa primum tria facit. Primo excludit turbationem; secundo innuit sui potestatem, ibi creditis in Deum, et in me credite; tertio subiungit promissionem, ibi in domo patris mei mansiones multae sunt. Circa primum sciendum est, quod discipuli perturbari poterant ex verbis domini supradictis de proditione Iudae, et negatione Petri, et recessu suo. Et vere omnia turbationem et dolorem ingerebant; Ps. LIX, 4: commovisti terram, scilicet cordium discipulorum, et conturbasti eam. Et ideo dominus sanare volens eorum contritionem, dicit non turbetur cor vestrum. Sed contra; Act. I, 1: coepit Iesus facere et docere. Sed supra XIII, 21, dicitur: turbatus est Iesus spiritu et cetera. Quomodo ergo docet non turbari qui primo turbatus est? Responsio. Dicendum quod non docuit contrarium eius quod fecit. De eo autem dicitur quod turbatus est spiritu, non quod spiritus eius sit turbatus. Hic autem non prohibet quin turbentur spiritu, sed prohibet quod eorum cor, idest spiritus, non turbetur. Est enim quaedam turbatio ex spiritu, ex ratione procedens, quae laudabilis est, nec prohibetur. II Cor. VII, 10: quae enim secundum Deum tristitia est, poenitentiam in salutem stabilem operatur. Alia est tristitia seu turbatio ipsius rationis; quae non est laudabilis, quia abducit a propria rectitudine; et prohibetur Ps. XXXVI, v. 24: iustus non conturbabitur, quia dominus supponit manum suam. Non enim turbari potest qui Deum semper habet. Et ideo dominus suae divinitatis potestatem subiungit, dicens creditis in Deum, et in me credite: ubi unum supponit, et aliud praecipit. Supponit quidem eorum fidem in Deum, dicens creditis in Deum: in hoc enim iam instructi erant ab ipso; Hebr. XI, 6: accedentem ad Deum oportet credere. Praecipit autem ut credant in ipsum, dicens et in me credite. Si enim in Deum creditis, ego autem sum Deus: consequens est quod in me credatis. Et tenet haec consequentia, sive ly Deus teneatur essentialiter, cum ipse filius sit Deus, sive ly Deus supponat pro persona patris. Nullus enim potest in patrem credere nisi credat in filium; supra V, 23: qui non honorificat filium, non honorificat patrem. In hoc autem quod dicit et in me credite, contestatur se verum esse Deum; nam etsi homini vel creaturae credere liceat, in nullum tamen nisi in Deum credere debemus. Est ergo in Christum credendum sicut in Deum. I Io. ult., 20: ut sitis in vero filio eius Christo. Hic est verus Deus et vita aeterna; supra VI, 29: hoc est opus Dei, ut credatis in eum quem misit ille.
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Consequenter cum dicit in domo patris mei mansiones multae sunt, subiungit promissionem quae est ut per Christum accedant, et introducantur ad patrem. Promissio autem de accessu aliorum ad aliquem locum duo includit: unum est praecedens, scilicet loci praeparatio; aliud sequens, scilicet in locum introductio. Et ideo dominus duas hic promissiones facit: unam quae pertinet ad loci praeparationem, aliam ad loci introductionem. Prima autem non est necessaria, cum iam locus sit praeparatus; sed secunda: et ideo circa hoc duo facit. Primo excludit necessitatem primae promissionis; secundo ponit secundam promissionem, ibi et si abiero, et praeparavero vobis locum, iterum veniam, et accipiam vos ad meipsum. Circa primum duo facit. Primo excludit necessitatem praeparationis; secundo ostendit facultatem suam ad praeparandum, si necesse esset, ibi si quo minus, dixissem vobis, quia vado parare vobis locum. Dicit ergo in domo patris mei mansiones multae sunt. Ubi sciendum est, quod cum uniuscuiusque domus sit in qua habitat, illa dicitur domus Dei in qua habitat Deus; Deus autem habitat in sanctis; Ier. XIV, 9: tu in nobis es, domine et cetera. Sed in quibusdam quidem per fidem; II Cor. VI, 16: inhabitabo in illis, et inambulabo inter eos. In quibusdam vero per fruitionem perfectam, I Cor. XV, 28: ut sit Deus omnia in omnibus. Duplex est ergo domus Dei. Una est militans Ecclesia, scilicet congregatio fidelium; I Tim. III, 15: ut scias quomodo oporteat te in domo Dei conversari, inhabitat Deus per fidem; Apoc. XXI, 3: quae est Ecclesia Dei vivi. Et hanc ecce tabernaculum Dei cum hominibus, et habitabo in illis. Alia est triumphans, scilicet sanctorum collectio in gloria patris; Ps. c. LXIV, 5: replebimur in bonis domus tuae. Sanctum est templum tuum, mirabile in aequitate. Sed domus patris dicitur non solum illa quam ipse inhabitat, sed etiam ipsemet, quia ipse in seipso est. Et in hac domo nos colligit. Quod autem ipse Deus sit domus, habetur II Cor. V, 1: domum habemus a Deo, non manufactam, aeternam in caelis. Et haec domus est gloriae, quae est ipse Deus; Ier. c. XVII, 12: solium altitudinis gloriae tuae a principio, locus sanctificationis nostrae. Manet autem homo in hoc loco, scilicet Deo, quantum ad voluntatem et affectum per fruitionem caritatis I Io. IV, 16: qui manet in caritate, in Deo manet, et Deus in eo: et quantum ad intellectum per notitiam veritatis; infra XVII, 17: sanctifica eos in veritate. In hac ergo domo, idest in gloria, quae Deus est, mansiones multae sunt, idest diversae participationes beatitudinis ipsius; quia qui plus cognoscit, maiorem locum habebit. Diversae ergo participationes divinae cognitionis et fruitionis, sunt diversae mansiones. Sed hic est quaestio utrum unus possit esse beatior alio. Videtur quod non. Beatitudo enim est finis; et perfectum non recipit maius et minus: ergo non potest magis et minus haberi. Responsio. Dicendum quod aliquid dicitur perfectum dupliciter: absolute, et secundum quid. Perfectio quidem beatitudinis absoluta est solius Dei: quia solus ipse tantum cognoscit se et amat quantum cognoscibilis est et amabilis (infinite enim cognoscit, et amat infinitam veritatem et bonitatem suam). Et quantum ad hoc, ipsum summum bonum, quod est beatitudinis obiectum, et causa, non potest esse maius et minus: non enim est nisi unum summum bonum, quod est Deus. Secundum quid autem, idest secundum aliquas conditiones temporis, naturae et gratiae; et sic unus potest esse beatior alio secundum adeptionem huius boni, et capacitatem uniuscuiusque hominis. Quia quanto homo magis est eius capax, tanto magis participat ipsam, inquantum scilicet est melius dispositus et ordinatus ad eius fruitionem: ad quod disponitur dupliciter. Consistit enim beatitudo in duobus: scilicet in divina visione, et ad hanc disponitur per munditiam: et ideo quanto quis habet cor magis elevatum a terrenis, tanto magis et perfectius Deum videbit. Item in fruitionis delectatione, et ad hanc disponitur per amorem: et ideo qui habet cor magis fervens amore Dei, magis delectabitur in divina fruitione. De prima dicitur Matth. V, 8: beati mundo corde, quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt. Item quaeritur de hoc quod dicitur Matth. XX, quod unus denarius datur omnibus laborantibus. Hic autem denarius nihil aliud est quam mansio in domo patris. Non ergo sunt multae mansiones. Responsio. Dicendum quod merces vitae aeternae et una est, et multae. Multae quidem secundum diversam capacitatem participantium, secundum quam sunt diversae mansiones in domo patris; una vero tripliciter. Primo quidem propter unitatem obiecti: idem enim est quod omnes beati vident, et quo omnes fruuntur; et ideo unus denarius, sed diversimode videbitur et amabitur; Iob c. XXII, 26: tunc super omnipotentem deliciis afflues; Is. XXVIII, 5: in illo die erit dominus exercituum sceptrum exultationis residuo populi sui, et corona gloriae. Et simile est ac si aliquis praeberet alicui fontem, ut ad libitum omnes biberent; de quo qui maius vas haberet, plus acciperet, et qui minus, minus. Unus ergo fons ex parte sua est, sed non eadem mensura recipientium. Et haec est sententia beati Gregorii, XXII Moral. Secundo propter eamdem aeternitatis mensuram, secundum Augustinum: quia omnes habebunt aeternam beatitudinem, quia ibunt iusti in vitam aeternam, sed diversae sunt propter capacitatem. Tertio propter caritatem, quae omnia unit, gaudia singulorum faciens omnium, et e converso; Rom. XII, 15: gaudere cum gaudentibus et cetera. Sed notandum, quod ex hoc verbo Pelagiani acceperunt occasionem errandi. Dicunt enim, quod pueri non baptizati decedentes, erunt in domo Dei salvati, sed non in regno; quia supra III, 5, dicitur: nisi quis renatus fuerit ex aqua et spiritu sancto, non intrabit in regnum Dei. Sed contra hoc dicit Augustinus quod dominus dicit quod mansiones huiusmodi sunt in domo Dei. Nihil autem magis est in regno quam domus: nam regnum constituitur ex civitatibus, civitates autem ex vicis, vici autem ex domibus. Si ergo mansiones sunt in domo, manifestum est quod sunt in regno. Consequenter cum dicit si quo minus, dixissem vobis, quia vado parare vobis locum, ostendit facultatem suam ad praeparandum eis locum, si necesse esset. Posset enim aliquis dicere: verum est quod in domo patris sui mansiones multae paratae sunt: quod si non esset, non posset eas parare. Et ideo dominus hoc excludens dicit, quod si minus, idest mansiones non essent paratae, dixissem vobis, quia vado parare vobis locum. Ubi videndum est quid est hoc quod dixit parare vobis locum. Paratur autem locus dupliciter. Uno modo cum in se disponitur, puta cum purgatur vel ampliatur locus; Is. LIV, 2: dilata locum tentorii tui. Alio modo cum datur alicui facultas intrandi; unde Ps. LXX, 3, petebat: esto mihi in Deum protectorem, et in locum munitum; quasi diceret: semper sit mihi facultas intrandi. Et secundum hoc potest dupliciter intelligi. Si enim locus iste esset tale aliquid quod defectum haberet, aut quodcumque creatum, subiaceret meae potestati ut perficerem illum: nam omnis creatura potestati verbi subiecta est; supra, I, 3: omnia per ipsum facta sunt. Si ergo ita esset, quod haberet defectum, dixissem vobis, quia vado parare vobis locum. Sed locus in se paratus est. Locus enim iste est ipse Deus, ut dictum est, in quo est omnium perfectionum excellentia. Sed forte non est vobis facultas intrandi, et ideo si quo minus, idest si non haberetis facultatem intrandi, et non essetis praedestinati ad locum illum, dixissem vobis, quia vado parare vobis locum. Nam in potestate mea est ut praedestinarem vos ad locum illum. Nam ipse cum patre et spiritu sancto praedestinavit eos ad vitam aeternam; Eph. I, 4: elegit nos in ipso.
14:3
Sed quia supra dixerat: quo ego vado, vos non potestis me modo sequi: ne crederent se finaliter ab eo abscissos esse, ideo subiungit et si abiero, et praeparavero vobis locum, iterum veniam, et accipiam vos ad meipsum: ubi ponit secundam promissionem, scilicet inductionem in regnum. Ubi videtur esse verborum contrarietas. Dixit enim: si quo minus, dixissem quia vado parare vobis locum: ubi innuit quod non vadit ad parandum locum. Hic autem dicitur si abiero, et praeparavero vobis locum: ubi innuit, quod vadit ad parandum locum. Sed dicendum quod uno modo posset legi coniunctim ut sit sensus: si quo minus, idest si necesse esset, dixissem vobis, quia vado parare vobis locum. Et iterum: si quo minus, idest si abiero et praeparavero vobis locum. Secundum Augustinum autem legitur distinctim, ut scilicet haec sit alia clausula ab illa. Dominus praeparavit ab aeterno praedestinando, praeparavit exequendo. Praeparavit autem per recessum suum. Unde illud quod primo dixit, quod mansiones paratae erant, hoc intelligitur quantum ad primam praeparationem ab aeterno: quod autem hic dicit si abiero et praeparavero intelligitur quantum ad executionem aeternae praedestinationis. Praeparavit autem dominus per recessum suum nobis locum quinque modis. Primo quidem dando locum fidei. Fides enim cum sit eorum quae non videntur, non erat de Christo apud discipulos, quando eum personaliter videbant. Subtraxit ergo se eis, ut quem habebant praesentia corporali, et videbant oculis corporis, haberent praesentia spirituali, et cernerent oculo mentis: quod est habere per fidem. Secundo demonstrando eis viam ad locum eundi; Mich. I, v. 13: ascendit pandens iter ante eos. Tertio pro eis orando; Hebr. VII, 25: accedens per semetipsum ad Deum salvare potest; Deut. XXXIII, 26: ascensor caeli auxiliator tuus. Quarto sursum attrahendo; Cant. I, v. 3: trahe me post te; Coloss. III, 1: si consurrexistis cum Christo, quae sursum sunt quaerite. Quinto spiritum sanctum eis mittendo; supra VII, 39: nondum erat spiritus datus, quia nondum erat Iesus glorificatus. Complementum autem glorificationis Christi fuit in eius ascensione: et ideo statim cum ascendit, spiritum sanctum misit discipulis suis. Sic ergo praedixit eis corporalem recessum, dicens si abiero et praeparavero vobis locum; deinde promittit eis spiritualem reditum, dicens iterum veniam et recipiam. Veniam in fine mundi, Act. I, 11: quemadmodum vidistis eum ascendentem in caelum, sic veniet. Et accipiam vos ad meipsum, glorificatos in anima et corpore; I Thess. IV, 16: similiter rapiemur cum illis in nubibus obviam Christo in aera. Sed numquid spiritus apostolorum non accipiuntur a Christo usque in finem mundi? Ad quod dicendum est, quod Graecorum opinio est, quod sancti non vadunt ad Paradisum usque ad diem iudicii. Sed si hoc esset, tunc apostolus frustra haberet desiderium esse cum Christo, Phil. c. I, 23. Et ideo dicendum, quod statim dissoluta huius habitationis domo, quantum ad animam sumus cum Christo. Et sic hoc quod dicit iterum veniam, et accipiam vos ad meipsum, potest exponi de adventu spirituali, quo Christus semper visitat Ecclesiam fidelium, et quemlibet sanctorum vivificat in morte. Ut sit sensus: iterum veniam, ad Ecclesiam spiritualiter continue, et accipiam vos ad meipsum: idest firmabo in fide et dilectione mea; Cant. VI, 1: dilectus meus ascendit ad areolam aromatum, idest ad congregationem sanctorum, ut pascatur, idest delectetur in virtutibus, et lilia colligat, idest, animas puras ad se trahat, cum vivificat sanctos in morte. Deinde subdit fructum, dicens ut ubi ego sum et vos sitis, idest, ubi est caput, sint membra; ubi magister, sint discipuli; Matth. XXIV, 28: ubi fuerit corpus, illic congregabuntur et aquilae; supra XII, 26: ubi ego sum, illic et minister meus erit.
Supra dominus confortavit discipulos de suo recessu, promittens eis quod accessum haberent ad patrem, hic consequenter agit de via per quam ad patrem accedunt. Via autem non cognoscitur sine termino; et ideo etiam agit de termino, et primo proponit viam et terminum, ut eis nota; secundo quae proposuit manifestat, ibi dicit ei Thomas domine, nescimus quo vadis. Circa primum sciendum, quod dominus dixerat: si abiero et praeparavero vobis locum, iterum veniam ad vos. Quia forte discipuli quaererent ab eo quo iret, sicut supra XIII, 36, quaesivit Petrus: domine, quo vadis? Ideo dominus haec sciens, dixit eis et quo ego vado scitis, et viam scitis. Vado enim ad patrem, quem scitis per me vobis manifestum; infra XVII, 6: manifestavi nomen tuum hominibus quos dedisti mihi. Via autem per quam vado, sum ego, quem scitis; supra I, 14: vidimus gloriam eius.
14:4
Recte ergo dixit quo ego vado scitis, et viam scitis: quia patrem sciebant per Christum, et Christum per suam conversationem et praesentiam noverant. Consequenter cum dicit dicit ei Thomas etc., manifestat dominus quae proposuit, et primo praemittitur manifestationis occasio; secundo subditur propositorum manifestatio, ibi dicit eis Iesus: ego sum via, veritas et vita. Occasio autem manifestationis fuit dubitatio Thomae interrogantis. Unde dicit ei Thomas: domine, nescimus quo vadis, et cetera. Ubi attende, quod Thomas utrumque negat, quod dominus affirmavit: nam dominus dixit, eos et viam et terminum viae scire; Thomas autem negat se scire viam et terminum: tamen utrumque verum est. Verum est enim quod sciebant, tamen nesciebant se scire. Multa enim sciebant de patre et filio, quae a Christo didicerant; sed ignorabant patrem esse ad quem Christus iret, et filium esse viam qua iret. Difficile enim est quod eatur ad patrem. Nec mirum, si ignorabant: quia licet Christum perfecte secundum hominem scirent, eius tamen divinitatem imperfecte cognoscebant; Iob XXVIII, v. 7: semitam eius ignoravit avis.
14:5
Et subdit quomodo possumus viam scire? Cognitio enim viae dependet ex cognitione termini: quia ergo terminus ignotus est nobis, I Tim. VI, 16: lucem habitat inaccessibilem, quem nullus hominum vidit, sed nec videre potest, ideo via eius est nobis investigabilis, secundum illud Rom. XI, 33: investigabiles viae eius. Consequenter cum dicit dicit eis Iesus: ego sum via, veritas et vita, ponitur quaesitorum manifestatio. Duo autem dominus manifestanda proposuerat eis. Primo quidem viam et terminum eius; secundo quod utrumque scirent. Primo ergo manifestat primum; secundo secundum, ibi si cognovissetis me, et patrem meum utique cognovissetis. Circa primum duo facit. Primo manifestat quid sit via; secundo quid sit terminus, ibi nemo venit ad patrem nisi per me. Via autem, ut dictum est, est ipse Christus: et ideo dicit ego sum via et cetera. Quod quidem satis habet rationem: nam per ipsum accessum habemus ad patrem, ut dicitur Rom. V, 2. Competit etiam proposito quo intendit declarare dubitationem discipuli dubitantis. Sed quia ista via non est distans a termino, sed coniuncta, addit veritas et vita; et sic ipse simul est via, et terminus. Via quidem secundum humanitatem, terminus secundum divinitatem. Sic ergo secundum quod homo, dicit ego sum via; secundum quod Deus, addit veritas et vita. Per quae duo terminus huius viae convenienter designatur. Nam terminus huius viae finis est desiderii humani, homo autem duo praecipue desiderat: primo quidem veritatis cognitionem, quae est sibi propria; secundo sui esse continuationem, quod est commune omnibus rebus. Christus autem est via perveniendi ad veritatis cognitionem, cum tamen ipse sit veritas; Ps. LXXXV, 11: deduc me, domine, in veritate, et ingrediar in via tua. Christus etiam est via perveniendi ad vitam cum tamen ipse sit vita; Ps. XV, 11: notas fecisti vias vitae. Et ideo huius viae terminum per veritatem et vitam designavit: quae duo supra I de Christo dicta sunt. Primo quidem quod ipse sit vita: unde in ipso vita erat, deinde quod sit veritas, quia erat lux hominum; lux autem veritas est. Sed notandum, quod haec duo proprie et per se Christo conveniunt. Veritas enim convenit ei per se quia ipse est verbum. Nihil enim aliud est veritas quam adaequatio rei ad intellectum, quod fit quando intellectus concipit rem prout est. Veritas ergo intellectus nostri pertinet ad verbum nostrum, quod est conceptio eius. Sed tamen licet verbum nostrum sit verum, non tamen est ipsa veritas, cum non sit a seipso, sed ex hoc quod rei conceptae adaequatur. Veritas ergo intellectus divini pertinet ad verbum Dei. Sed quia verbum Dei est verum a seipso, cum non mensuretur a rebus, sed res intantum sint verae inquantum ad similitudinem eius accedunt: inde est quod verbum Dei est ipsa veritas. Et quia nullus potest veritatem cognoscere nisi adhaereat veritati, oportet omnem qui veritatem cognoscere desiderat, huic verbo adhaerere. Vita autem proprie convenit sibi: quia omne quod aliquam operationem ex se habet, dicitur vivens; non viventia autem dicuntur quae ex seipsis motum non habent. Inter operationes vitae praecipuae sunt operationes intellectuales: unde et ipse intellectus dicitur vivens, et actio eius est vita quaedam. In Deo autem idem est intelligere et intellectus: unde manifestum est quod filius, qui est verbum intellectus patris, est vita sua. Sic ergo Christus seipsum designavit viam, et coniunctam termino: quia ipse est terminus habens in se quidquid desiderari potest, scilicet existens veritas et vita. Si ergo quaeras, qua transeas, accipe Christum, quia ipse est via; Is. XXX, v. 21: haec est via, ambulate in ea. Et Augustinus dicit: ambula per hominem, et pervenies ad Deum. Melius est enim in via claudicare, quam praeter viam fortiter ambulare. Nam qui in via claudicat, etiam si parum proficiscatur, appropinquat ad terminum; qui vero extra viam ambulat, quanto fortius currit, tanto magis a termino elongatur. Si vero quaeras quo vadis, adhaere Christo, quia ipse est veritas, ad quam desideramus pervenire; Prov. VIII, 7: veritatem meditabitur guttur meum et cetera. Si quaeris quo permaneas, adhaere Christo, quia ipse est vita. Prov. VIII, 35: qui me inveniet, inveniet vitam, et hauriet salutem a domino. Adhaere ergo Christo, si vis esse securus: non enim poteris deviare, quia ipse est via. Unde qui ei adhaerent, non ambulant in invio, sed per viam rectam; Prov. IV, v. 11: viam sapientiae monstrabo tibi. E contra dicitur de quibusdam: viam veritatis habitaculi non invenerunt. Item non potest decipi, quia ipse est veritas, et docet omnem veritatem; infra XVIII, 37: in hoc natus sum, et ad hoc veni, ut testimonium perhibeam veritati. Item non potest perturbari, quia ipse est vita et vitam dans; supra X, 10: ego veni ut vitam habeant, et abundantius habeant. Nam, ut Augustinus dicit, dominus dicit ego sum via, veritas et vita, tamquam diceret qua vis ire? Ego sum via. Quo vis ire? Ego sum veritas. Ubi vis permanere? Ego sum vita. Non enim, ut Hilarius dicit, in erratica ducit ille qui est via, nec illudit per falsa qui veritas est, neque in mortis relinquit errore qui vita est. Vel aliter. Tria sunt in homine quae ad sanctitatem pertinent, scilicet actio et contemplatio et intentio: et ista perficiuntur a Christo. Nam activam exercentibus Christus est via; in contemplativa vero perseverantibus Christus est veritas: sed activorum et contemplantium intentionem dirigit ad vitam, scilicet aeternam. Docet enim ire, et praedicare pro futuro saeculo. Sic ergo dominus est nobis via qua imus ad ipsum, et per ipsum ad patrem. Sed cum ipsemet qui via est, vadit ad patrem, numquid ipse est sibi via? Sed, ut Augustinus dicit, ipse est via, et qui vadit per viam, et quo vadit: unde ipse per seipsum ad seipsum vadit. Nam ipse inquantum est homo, via est: unde per carnem venit, manens ubi erat; et per carnem vadit, non relinquens quo venerat; per carnem etiam ad se redit veritatem et vitam: nam Deus venerat per carnem ad homines, veritas ad mendaces, vita ad mortales. Est enim Deus verax, omnis autem homo mendax: Rom. III, 4. Cum autem se ab hominibus abstulit, atque illuc ubi nemo mentitur, carnem suam levavit, idem ipse qui verbum caro factum est, per carnem suam ad veritatem, quae est ipse, remeavit. Et simile est si dicerem: et mens mea, dum loquor aliquibus, ad eos exit, nec tamen me relinquit: cum autem tacuero, quodammodo ad me redeo, et cum illis quibus loquor, maneo. Sic ergo Christus, qui nobis est via, etiam sibi ipsi, idest carni, factus est via, ut ad veritatem et vitam iret.
14:6
Consequenter cum dicit nemo venit ad patrem nisi per me, manifestat quod quaesitum fuerat quantum ad terminum viae. Via autem, quae est Christus, ut dictum est, ducit ad patrem. Sed quia pater et filius sunt unum, ideo haec via ducit etiam ad seipsum. Et ideo dicit Christus se esse terminum viae. Nemo, inquit, venit ad patrem nisi per me. Sed sciendum quod, sicut apostolus dicit, nemo novit quae sunt hominis, nisi spiritus eius qui in ipso est, quod intelligendum est nisi inquantum homo vult se manifestare. Secretum autem suum manifestat quis per verbum suum: et ideo nullus potest venire ad secretum hominis nisi per verbum hominis. Quia ergo et quae Dei sunt nemo novit nisi spiritus Dei, nullus potest venire ad notitiam patris nisi per verbum suum, quod est filius eius; Matth. XI, 27: neque patrem quis novit nisi filius. Et sicut homo volens revelare se verbo cordis, quod profert ore, induit quodammodo ipsum verbum litteris vel voce, ita Deus, volens se manifestare hominibus, verbum suum conceptum ab aeterno, carne induit in tempore. Et sic nullus ad notitiam patris pervenire potest nisi per filium. Unde supra X, 9, dicit: ego sum ostium. Per me si quis introierit salvabitur. Sed notandum, secundum Chrysostomum, quod supra VI, 44, dominus dicit: nemo potest venire ad me, nisi pater meus traxerit eum, hic autem dicit nemo venit ad patrem nisi per me. In quo ostenditur aequalitas filii ad patrem. Patet ergo quae sit via, quia Christus; quis terminus, quia pater.
14:7
Consequenter cum dicit si cognovissetis me, et patrem meum utique cognovissetis, ostendit quod discipuli utrumque cognoscunt, scilicet quo vadit, et viam, et primo proponit manifestationem; secundo excludit emergentem dubitationem, ibi dicit ei Philippus: domine, ostende nobis patrem. Circa primum duo facit. Primo ostendit concomitantiam notitiae habitae de filio ad notitiam habitam de patre; secundo manifestat quomodo discipuli se habeant ad notitiam patris, ibi et amodo cognoscetis eum. Dicit ergo primo: dixi quod sum via, et quod scitis viam, scilicet me: ergo et quo vado scitis, quia notitia de me non potest haberi sine notitia patris. Et hoc est quod dicit si cognovissetis me, et patrem meum utique cognovissetis. Supra VIII, 19, Iudaeis dicit: si me sciretis, et patrem meum forsitan sciretis. Quid est ergo quod dicit si cognovissetis me, et patrem meum utique cognovissetis: ibi autem dicit forsitan? Videtur quod ibi dubitaverit de eo quod hic asserit. Sed dicendum, quod ibi loquebatur Iudaeis quos increpabat; et ideo addit forsitan, non dubitans, sed increpans eos. Hic autem loquitur discipulis quos instruit; et ideo veritatem eis cum assertione proponit, dicens si cognovissetis me, et patrem meum utique cognovissetis; quasi dicat: si sciretis meam gratiam et dignitatem, et eam utique quae patris est sciretis. Per nihil enim aliud res melius scitur quam per verbum et imaginem suam; filius autem est verbum patris; supra I, 1: in principio erat verbum, et verbum erat apud Deum; ibid. 14: verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis; et vidimus gloriam eius, gloriam quasi unigeniti a patre. Filius etiam est imago patris; Col. I, 15: qui est imago invisibilis Dei; Hebr. I, 3: qui cum sit splendor gloriae et figura substantiae eius. In filio ergo cognoscitur pater, ut in verbo et imagine propria. Sed notandum, quod inquantum aliquid accedit ad similitudinem paterni verbi, intantum in ipso cognoscitur pater, et similiter inquantum habet de imagine patris. Cum autem omne verbum creatum sit aliqua similitudo illius verbi, et in qualibet re inveniatur similitudo divinitatis, vel imaginis vel vestigii, sed imperfecta: inde est quod per nullam creaturam et a nulla intelligentia et conceptione intellectus creati potest cognosci perfecte idipsum quod Deus est; sed solum verbum unigenitum quod est perfectum et perfecta imago patris, ipsum quod quid est patris cognoscit et comprehendit. Unde, secundum Hilarium, possunt haec verba aliter continuari. Nam cum dominus dicit nemo venit ad patrem nisi per me, interrogatus Arius, quomodo itur ad patrem per filium, respondet, quod per doctrinae admonitionem, inquantum scilicet filius sua doctrina instruit homines de patre, secundum illud infra XVII, 6: pater, manifestavi nomen tuum hominibus. Sed dominus hoc excludens dicit si cognovissetis me, et patrem meum utique cognovissetis; quasi dicat: Arius vel alius quicumque homo annuntiare quidem potest de patre, sed nullus est tantus quod eo cognito, cognoscatur pater, nisi solus filius, qui est eiusdem naturae cum ipso. Consequenter cum dicit et amodo cognoscetis eum, ostendit quomodo discipuli se habeant ad cognitionem patris. Dixerat autem dominus supra discipulis, quod patrem cognoscunt, quo, inquiens, vado scitis. Et hoc Thomas negavit, dicens: domine, nescimus quo vadis. Et ideo hic dominus ostendit quod aliquo modo cognoscunt patrem, ut ostendat verbum suum verum esse, et aliquo modo non cognoscunt, ut verbum Thomae sit verum. Et ponit ad hoc duplicem patris cognitionem: unam quae erit in futuro; aliam quae fuit in praeterito. Dicit ergo, quod amodo cognoscetis eum. Dicit autem amodo, quia duplex cognitio habetur de patre. Una perfecta, quae est per immediatam eius visionem, quae erit in patria; I Io. III, 2: cum apparuerit, similes ei erimus; alia est imperfecta, quae est per speculum et in aenigmate, quam habemus per fidem; I Cor. XIII, 12: videmus nunc per speculum et in aenigmate. Potest ergo hic intelligi de utraque; ut sit sensus: amodo cognoscetis eum, cognitione perfecta in patria, infra XVI, 25: palam de patre meo annuntiabo vobis, quasi dicat: verum est, quod non cognoscitis eum perfecta cognitione, sed amodo cognoscetis eum, peracto mysterio passionis meae. Vel amodo, idest post resurrectionem meam et ascensionem et missionem spiritus sancti, cognoscetis eum, cognitione fidei perfecta, quia, cum venerit spiritus Paraclitus, ille vos docebit omnia, et suggeret vobis omnia quaecumque dixero vobis: infra XIV, 26. Sic ergo verum dicis, quod nescis eum cognitione perfecta; sed ego verum dico, quia vidistis eum; Baruch III, v. 38: post haec in terris visus est, et cum hominibus conversatus est. Viderunt enim Christum, secundum carnem assumptam, in qua erat verbum, et in verbo pater: unde in ipso viderunt patrem; supra VIII, 29: qui me misit, mecum est. Sed attende, quod pater non erat in carne per unitatem personae, sed erat in verbo incarnato per unitatem naturae, et in Christo incarnato videbatur pater; supra I, v. 14: vidimus gloriam eius, gloriam quasi unigeniti a patre.
Hic dominus solvit emergentem dubitationem discipuli, et primo ponitur ipsius dubitantis positio; secundo dubitationis remotio, ibi dicit ei Iesus et cetera. Circa primum sciendum, quod dominus supra discipulis promisit quoddam futurum, scilicet perfectam Dei cognitionem, cum dixit: amodo cognoscetis eum: aliud praeteritum, scilicet quod viderunt eum.
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Quod audiens Philippus, credebat se vidisse patrem; sed petit eius cognitionem, dicens domine, ostende nobis patrem: ut petitio huius ostensionis non referatur ad visionem, sed ad cognitionem, et sufficit nobis. Nec mirum, quia visio patris est finis omnium desideriorum et actionum nostrarum, ita ut nil amplius requiratur; Ps. XV, 11: adimplebis visione vultus tui; Ps. CII, 5: qui replet in me laetitia cum vultu tuo, idest, in bonis desiderium tuum. Hic removetur dubitatio, et primo ponitur dubitationis remotio; secundo subditur dictorum manifestatio, ibi verba quae ego loquor vobis, a meipso non loquor. In prima primo arguit tarditatem; secundo instruit veritatem, ibi Philippe, qui videt me, videt et patrem; tertio reprobat petitionem, ibi quomodo tu dicis: ostende nobis patrem?
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Dicit ergo primo tanto tempore vobiscum sum, et non cognovistis me? Quasi dicat: ex diuturna conversatione qua tanto tempore vobiscum conversatus sum, debuissetis me cognoscere. Et si cognovissetis me, cognosceretis utique et patrem. Ex hoc ergo quod tu non cognoscis patrem, das intelligere quod tu non cognoscis me: in quo arguendus es tarditatis; Matth. XV, 16: adhuc et vos sine intellectu estis? Hebr. V, 12: cum deberetis magistri esse propter tempus, rursum indigetis ut vos doceamini. Sed hic incidit dubitatio: quia supra dominus dixit discipulis, quod eum sciebant, cum dixit, viam scitis etc., hic autem videtur dicere contrarium, dicens si cognovissetis me, et patrem meum utique cognovissetis. Sed dicendum, secundum Augustinum, quod inter discipulos aliqui erant qui Christum secundum quod erat verbum Dei, cognoscebant: quorum unus erat Petrus, ubi dixit: tu es Christus filius Dei vivi. Alii erant qui vere eum non cognoscebant, intra quos erat Philippus. Quantum ergo ad primos dicit dominus: quo ego vado scitis; sed quantum ad secundos dicit si cognovissetis me, et patrem meum utique cognovissetis. Vel aliter. Christus dupliciter cognosci poterat: scilicet secundum humanam naturam, et sic omnes sciebant; et quantum ad hoc dicit: et quo ego vado, scitis, et viam scitis. Et secundum divinam, et sic eum nondum perfecte cognoverant; et quantum ad hoc dicit si cognovissetis me, et patrem meum utique cognovissetis. Et hoc patet per hoc quod subdit Philippe, qui videt me, videt et patrem; quasi diceret: si cognosceretis me, cognosceretis patrem; et sic non diceres ostende nobis patrem, quia iam vidisses eum, me viso; supra VIII, 19: si me sciretis, forsitan et patrem meum sciretis. Sed ex hoc Sabellius erroris sui fulcimentum sumit, dicens: quid est hoc quod dixit qui videt me, videt et patrem, nisi quia idem ipse sit pater et filius? Ad hoc dicit Hilarius: si hoc ita esset, dominus dixisset qui videt me, videt patrem, nulla coniunctione apposita; sed quia coniunctionem addidit, dicens videt et patrem, distinctionem ostendit. Et est similis modus loquendi, secundum Augustinum, sicut quis de duobus similibus loquens dicit: si vidisti istum, vidisti et illum. In filio autem est perfectissima similitudo patris; et ideo dicit qui videt me, videt et patrem. Sed adhuc in filio est maior similitudo quam in hominibus, quia in eis numquam potest esse similitudo secundum eamdem formam vel qualitatem numero, sed solum secundum speciem: in filio autem est eadem natura numero, quae est in patre; et ideo magis in visione filii videtur pater, quam in visione alicuius hominis, quantumcumque simillimi videantur. Sed notandum, quod ex verbis quae hic dicuntur, excluditur error Arii quantum ad duo. Primo quantum ad hoc quod negabat consubstantialitatem. Impossibile est enim quod in visione substantiae creatae possit videri substantia increata, sicut per cognitionem substantiae unius generis non potest haberi cognitio substantiae alterius generis. Manifestum est ergo quod filius non est substantia creata, sed est consubstantialis patri: alias qui videt filium, non videret patrem. Secundo quantum ad hoc quod dicunt super illud I Tim. I, 17: regi saeculorum immortali, invisibili, soli Deo, scilicet quod solus pater est invisibilis, filius vero in sua natura multoties sit visus: quod si esset, sequeretur etiam quod pater visus esset frequenter, quia qui videt filium, videt et patrem. Cum ergo pater invisibilis sit secundum suam naturam, impossibile est quod filius secundum suam naturam sit visus. Sed obiicit aliquis, cur dominus reprehenderit Philippum, qui videns filium, quaerebat videre patrem, cum non sit reprehendendus quispiam qui videns imaginem, videre velit rem imaginatam? Ad quod Chrysostomus respondet dicens, quod Philippus audiens de visione patris et cognitione eius, volebat ipsum patrem corporeis oculis videre, sicut et ipsum filium aestimabat vidisse: et ideo hoc dominus improbavit, ostendens ei quod neque ipsum filium in sui natura vidit oculo corporali. Augustinus autem dicit, quod dominus non improbavit petitionem, sed petentis animam. Nam Philippus dicit ostende nobis patrem, et sufficit nobis, quasi dicat: nos cognoscimus te, sed hoc non sufficit. Et sic credebat quod in cognitione filii non esset perfecta sufficientia, sed in cognitione patris. Ex quo videbatur sentire filium esse minorem patre. Et hoc dominus increpavit, ostendens quod in cognitione filii sit eadem sufficientia quae est in cognitione patris, dicens qui videt me, videt et patrem. Et ideo consequenter cum dicit quomodo tu dicis: ostende nobis patrem? Improbat primo eius petitionem; secundo radicem petitionis. Petitionem improbat quidem dicens quomodo tu dicis: ostende nobis patrem? Ex quo scilicet pater in filio videtur. Poterat quidem Philippus dicere, quod habetur Iob c. XXXIX, 34: qui leviter locutus sum, respondere quid possum? Manum meam ponam super os meum.
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Radicem petitionis improbat cum dicit non credis quia ego in patre, et pater in me est? Quasi dicat: tu vis habere patrem, credens in eo habere sufficientiam; sed si ita credis, non credis quia ego in patre et pater in me est. Nam si hoc crederes, sperares quod in me haberes omnem sufficientiam quam in patre. Hoc autem quod dicit ego in patre et pater in me est, dicitur propter essentiae unitatem, de qua dicitur supra X, 30: ego et pater unum sumus. Sciendum est enim, quod essentia aliter se habet in divinis ad personam et aliter in hominibus. Nam in hominibus essentia Socratis non est Socrates, quia Socrates est quid compositum; sed in divinis essentia est idem personae secundum rem, et sic essentia patris est pater, et essentia filii, filius. Ubicumque ergo est essentia patris, est ipse pater; et ubicumque est essentia filii, est ipse filius. Essentia autem patris est in filio, et essentia filii est in patre. Ergo filius est in patre, et pater in filio. Et sic exponit Hilarius. Hic dominus manifestat suam responsionem, et primo per opera quae facit per seipsum; secundo per opera quae facturus erat per discipulos, ibi amen, amen dico vobis: qui credit in me, opera quae ego facio, et ipse faciet. In prima ergo praemittit opera quae ipse facit; secundo concludit fidei conclusionem, ibi non creditis quia ego in patre et patre in me est? Fides autem de Christo quod esset Deus, poterat ex duobus manifestari: scilicet ex eius doctrina, et ex miraculis. Et haec duo, infra, dominus dicit: si opera non fecissem in eis quae nemo alius fecit, peccatum non haberent: quantum ad primum. Et si non venissem et locutus eis non fuissem, peccatum non haberent, et, supra VII, 46, numquam sic locutus est homo: quantum ad secundum. Supra IX, 32, dixit de eo caecus: a saeculo non est auditum, quod quis aperuit oculos caeci nati. Ex his duobus dominus divinitatem suam ostendit. Quantum ad primum dicit verba quae ego loquor vobis, scilicet organo humanitatis, a meipso non loquor, sed ab eo qui est in me, scilicet a patre; supra VIII, 26: ego quae audivi a patre meo haec loquor in mundo. Pater ergo qui in me loquitur est in me. Sed quia quidquid homo loquitur, necesse est quod a primo verbo hoc habeat: primum autem verbum, scilicet verbum Dei, est a patre; ergo necesse est quod omnia verba quae loquimur sint a Deo. Cum ergo quis loquitur verba quae habet a patre, pater est in eo. Quantum ad secundum dicit pater in me manens ipse facit opera, quia nullus opera quae ego facio posset facere; supra V, 19: non potest filius a se facere quidquam. Sed quaerit Chrysostomus quomodo Christus a verbis incipiens venit ad opera. Dixit enim: verba quae ego loquor vobis, a meipso non loquor, et postea dicit: ipse facit opera. Sed hoc solvitur dupliciter. Uno modo secundum Chrysostomum, qui dicit, secundum coniunctionis modum praedictum, quod primo loquitur de doctrina, et postea loquitur de miraculis. Secundum Augustinum, dicendum, quod verba quae dominus loquebatur, vocat opera: supra VI, 29: hoc est opus Dei, ut credatis in eum quem misit ille. Ideo cum dicit ipse facit opera, dat intelligere quod verba ipsius sunt quaedam opera. Sed nota, quod ex his duobus distinctim duae haereses fulcimentum suum sumunt: quia quod dicit: ego in patre, sumit pro se Sabellius dicens, eumdem esse patrem et filium; quod autem dicit: a me ipso non loquor, assumit Arius, concludens ex hoc filium esse minorem patre. Sed per ipsa eadem dictae haereses excluduntur. Nam si idem esset pater et filius, ut Sabellius fingit, non diceret filius verba quae ego loquor vobis, a meipso non loquor. Si vero filius esset minor patre, ut blasphemat Arius, non diceret pater in me manens, ipse facit opera.
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Quia ergo ex duobus praedictis manifestatur fides Trinitatis, ideo contra concludit fidem ipsam, dicens non creditis quia ego in patre, et pater in me est? Hoc quidem quomodo intelligendum sit, expositum est supra. In Graeco habetur credite, scilicet mihi, quia ego in patre, et pater in me est. Vel mirum, quia non creditis, quia ego in patre, et pater in me est. Sed attende, quod antea locutus est solum Philippo; sed ab eo loco ubi dicit, verba quae ego loquor etc., loquitur omnibus apostolis simul. Quod si non sufficiunt ad ostendendum consubstantialitatem verba quae ego dico, saltem propter opera ipsa credite. Supra V, v. 36: opera quae dedit mihi pater ut faciam ea, ipsa testimonium perhibent de me; et X, 38: si mihi non creditis, operibus credite. Postquam dominus manifestavit ea quae dixerat, per opera quae faciebat per seipsum, hic manifestat ea per opera quae facturus erat per discipulos, et primo proponit opera discipulorum; secundo insinuat modum operandi, ibi quodcumque petieritis. In prima primo proponit opera discipulorum; secundo assignat rationem dicti, ibi quia ad patrem vado. Dicit ergo primo amen, amen dico vobis, quasi dicat: opera quae ego facio, adeo magna sunt quod praebent sufficienter argumentum divinitatis meae; sed si haec vobis non sufficiant, respiciatis ad opera quae per alios facturus sum.
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Potissimum enim signum magnae virtutis est ut homo non solum per se, sed etiam per alios eximia operetur; et ideo dicit amen, amen, dico vobis: qui credit in me, opera quae ego facio, et ipse faciet: quae verba non solum monstrant virtutem divinitatis in Christo, sed etiam virtutem fidei, et coniunctionem Christi cum fidelibus. Sicut enim filius operatur propter patrem in se manentem per unitatem naturae, ita et fideles operantur propter Christum in se manentem per fidem; Eph. III, 17: habitare Christum per fidem in cordibus vestris. Opera autem quae Christus fecit et discipuli faciunt virtute Christi sunt opera miraculorum; Mc. ult., 17: signa autem eos qui crediderint, haec sequentur: in nomine meo Daemonia eiicient, linguis loquentur novis, serpentes tollent et cetera. Sed mirabile est quod subdit et maiora horum faciet. Uno modo ut dicamus quod dominus per apostolos plura et maiora facit quam per seipsum. Maximum enim inter miracula Christi fuit quod ad tactum fimbriae eius sanabantur infirmi, ut habetur Matth. IX, 20. Sed de Petro legitur Act. V, 15 quod ad eius umbram sanabantur infirmi. Magis autem est quod sanet umbra quam fimbria. Alio modo, ut dicamus, quod Christus plura fecit per verba discipulorum, quam per sua. Loquitur enim hic dominus de operibus quae facta erant per verba, ut Augustinus dicit, quae opera tunc dicebat ubi verba quae loquebatur, et eorumdem verborum fructus erat fides illorum. Legitur enim de Christo Matth. XIX, 22, quod adolescens non fuit inductus ad vendendum quae habebat, et eum sequendum. Nam cum diceret adolescenti: vade, et vende omnia quae habes, et da pauperibus, subditur: abiit tristis. Sed de Petro et aliis apostolis legitur Act. IV, quod eis praedicantibus vendebant possessiones et omnia quae habebant, et afferebant pretium earum ad pedes apostolorum. Sed obviat aliquis, quod dominus non dicit quod apostoli maiora facient, sed qui credit in me. Numquid ergo qui non fecit maiora quam Christus, non est computandus inter credentes in Christum? Absit. Durum enim esset hoc. Ideo dicendum est aliter, quod Christus duplex opus facit. Unum sine nobis, videlicet creare caelum et terram, suscitare mortuos, et huiusmodi; aliud operatur in nobis, sed non sine nobis: quod est opus fidei, per quod vivificatur impius. De istis ergo loquitur hic dominus, quae sunt communia credenti. Et hoc est opus quod facit Christus in nobis, sed non sine nobis; quia eadem facit quicumque credit: quia quod fit in me per Deum, fit in me etiam per meipsum, scilicet per liberum arbitrium. Unde dicit apostolus: non autem ego, supple, solus, sed gratia Dei mecum. Et de istis dicit opera quae ego facio, et ipse faciet, et maiora horum faciet: quia maius est iustificare impium quam creare caelum et terram. Nam iustificatio impii, quantum est de se, perseverat in aeternum; Sap. I, 15: iustitia perpetua est et immortalis. Caelum autem et terra transibunt, ut dicitur Lc. XXI, 33. Item, quia opus corporale ordinatur ad spirituale: caelum autem et terra opus corporale est, iustificatio vero impii opus spirituale. Sed hic incidit dubium. Nam in creatione caeli et terrae includitur creatio etiam sanctorum Angelorum. Numquid ergo maiora facit qui cooperatur Christo ad suam iustificationem quam creare Angelum? Quod Augustinus non determinat sed dicit: iudicet qui potest utrum maius sit iustos creare Angelos quam impios homines iustificare: certe si aequalis est utrumque potentiae, haec maioris est misericordiae. Si autem diligenter attendamus de quibus operibus dominus hic loquatur non praeferimus creationem Angelorum iustificationi impii. Non enim per hoc quod dicit et maiora horum faciet, oportet nos intelligere omnia opera Christi; sed illa tantum fortassis quae tunc faciebat. Tunc autem verbo fidei faciebat: et utique minus est verba iustitiae praedicare, quod fecit praeter nos, quam impios iustificare, quod ita facit in nobis ut faciamus et nos. Consequenter assignat rationem dicti, ideo maiora faciet, dicens quia ad patrem vado. Quod potest tripliciter adaptari. Uno modo secundum Chrysostomum. Ego operor quamdiu sum in mundo, sed, me recedente, vos eritis loco mei: et ideo quae ego facio, vos facietis, et etiam maiora quia ego vado ad patrem, et ultra per meipsum nihil operor, scilicet praedicando. Alio modo, ut sit sensus; Iudaei credunt quod me occiso fides mea extinguatur; et hoc non est verum, immo magis approbabitur, et vos maiora facietis quia vado ad patrem; idest, non pereo, sed in propria maneo dignitate, et in caelis ero; supra XIII, 31: nunc clarificatus est filius hominis, et Deus clarificatus est in eo. Tertio modo: maiora facietis, et hoc, quia vado ad patrem; quasi diceret: dum ero magis glorificatus, decet me maiora facere, et etiam dare vobis virtutes maiora faciendi. Unde, antequam Iesus esset glorificatus, spiritus non fuit datus discipulis in ea plenitudine in qua datus est postmodum; supra VII, v. 39: nondum erat spiritus datus, quia Iesus nondum erat glorificatus. Hic insinuat modum operandi, et primo ponit intentum; secundo rationem assignat, ibi ut glorificetur pater in filio et cetera.
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Circa primum sciendum est, quod cum dominus dixerit et maiora horum faciet, ut ex magnitudine operum cognoscatur magnitudo facientis, posset aliquis credere quod qui credit in filium Dei, esset maior ipso futurus: et ideo hoc dominus excludit ex modo faciendi, quia filius facit ipsa opera auctoritate propria, sed qui credit in eum, facit ipsa cum interpellatione: et ideo dicit et quodcumque petieritis patrem in nomine meo, hoc faciam. Ubi excluditur aequalitas credentium ad filium tripliciter. Primo quidem quia ipsi, ut dictum est, faciunt interpellando: unde dicit quodcumque petieritis; Matth. VII, 8: omnis qui petit, accipit.
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Secundo, quia faciunt in virtute filii: unde dicit in nomine meo, idest in virtute nominis mei; Act. IV, 12: non est aliud nomen datum sub caelo hominibus, in quo oporteat nos salvos fieri. Hoc enim nomen est super omne nomen; Ps. CXIII, 9: non nobis, domine, non nobis: sed nomini tuo da gloriam tertio quia ipse filius in eis et per eos omnia opera facit: unde dicit hoc faciam. Et attende, quod pater petitur, et filius facit: quia indivisibilia sunt opera patris et filii; supra V, 19: quaecumque pater facit, haec similiter et filius facit. Omnia enim pater facit per filium; supra c. I, 3: omnia per ipsum facta sunt. Sed quid est quod dicit quodcumque petieritis hoc faciam, cum videamus eius fideles petere et non accipere? Sed, secundum Augustinum, considerandum est hic primo, quod dicit in nomine meo, deinde quod subdit hoc faciam. Nomen enim Christi est nomen salutis; Matth. I, 21: vocabis nomen eius Iesum: ipse enim salvum faciet populum suum a peccatis eorum. Qui ergo petit aliquid pertinens ad salutem, petit in nomine Christi. Contingit autem quod aliquis petit non pertinens ad salutem ex duobus. Scilicet ex prava affectione; puta cum petit aliquid ad quod afficitur, quod tamen si haberet, salutem suam impediret. Et ideo qui sic petit, non exauditur, quia male petit; Iac. IV, 3: petitis et non accipitis, eo quod male petatis. Cum enim quis ex pravo affectu male usurus est eo quod vult accipere, domino potius miserante non accipit, quia non exaudivit ad votum, sed ad utilitatem magis. Nam bonus dominus saepe negat quod petimus, ut tribuat quod mallemus. Secundo ex ignorantia, dum quis aliquando petit quod credit sibi expedire, et tamen non expedit. Sed istis potius consulendo. Deus quae petunt non facit. Nam Paulus qui plus omnibus laboravit, ter dominum rogavit ut discederet ab eo stimulus carnis, nec tamen quod rogavit obtinuit, quia non erat sibi expediens. II Cor. XII, 8, et Rom. VIII, 26: nam quid oremus sicut oportet, nescimus, sed ipse spiritus postulat pro nobis gemitibus inenarrabilibus; Matth. XX, 22: nescitis quid petatis. Patet ergo quod cum petimus in nomine eius, scilicet in nomine Iesu Christi, ipse hoc faciet. Dicit autem hoc faciam, in futuro, non autem, hoc facio, in praesenti, quia quandoque differt facere quod petimus, ad augendum desiderium nostrum, et ut tempore congruo fiat; Levit. XXVI, 3: dabo vobis pluviam temporibus suis; Is. XLIX, 8: in die salutis exaudivi te. Contingit etiam aliquando quod petimus pro aliquo, pro quo fortassis non exaudimur, tunc scilicet quando eius merita obstant; Ier. VII, 16: tu ergo noli orare pro populo isto, quia non exaudiam te; et XV, 1: si steterint Moyses et Samuel coram me, non est anima mea ad populum istum. Consequenter cum dicit ut glorificetur pater in filio, ponit rationem. Et hoc sic legitur ab Augustino: quodcumque petieritis patrem in nomine meo, hoc faciam; ut hic sit punctus. Et resumit ut glorificetur pater in filio, si quid petieritis me in nomine meo, hoc faciam; quasi diceret: ideo, faciam quod petieritis in nomine meo, ut glorificetur pater in filio etc., et omnia quae facit filius, ordinantur ad gloriam patris; supra VIII, 50: non quaero gloriam meam. Sic etiam et nos omnia opera nostra ad gloriam Dei ordinare debemus; I Cor. X, 31: omnia in gloriam Dei facite.
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Supra consolatus est dominus discipulos de suo recessu promittens eis accessum eorum ad patrem sed quia posset videri eis longum quod ad patrem accederent, et interim sine magistro esse dolerent, ideo consolatur eos, promittens eis spiritum sanctum. Et ponitur primo ad receptionem spiritus sancti praeparatio; secundo promittitur spiritus sancti donatio, ibi et alium Paraclitum dabit vobis; tertio exponitur spiritus sancti promissio, ibi ut maneat vobiscum in aeternum. Praeparatio autem ad receptionem spiritus sancti una quidem erat necessaria ex parte discipulorum, alia ex parte Christi. Ex parte quidem discipulorum necessaria erat duplex praeparatio, scilicet amor cordis, et obedientia operis. Quorum unum dominus supponit eos habere. Et quantum ad hoc dicit si diligitis me; et hoc apparet, quia tristamini de meo recessu; infra XV, 27: vos me amastis, quia ab initio mecum estis. Aliud vero imperat futurum: et quantum ad hoc dicit mandata mea servate, quasi dicat: non ostendatis amorem quem habetis ad me in fletu, sed in obedientia mandatorum meorum: hoc enim est manifestum dilectionis signum; infra XIV, 23: si quis diligit me, sermonem meum servabit. Haec ergo duo praeparant ad receptionem spiritus sancti. Cum enim spiritus sanctus sit amor, non datur nisi amantibus; Prov. VIII, v. 17: ego diligentes me diligo. Item datur obedientibus; Actor. III, 15: nos huius rei testes sumus et cetera. Is. LXVI, 2: super quem requiescit spiritus meus et cetera. Sed numquid obedientia discipulorum et amor eorum ad Christum praeparant ad spiritum sanctum? Videtur quod non: quia dilectio qua diligimus Deum, est per spiritum sanctum; Rom. V, 5: caritas Dei diffusa est in cordibus nostris per spiritum sanctum, qui datus est nobis. Obedientia autem est nobis a spiritu sancto; Rom. c. VIII, 14: qui spiritu Dei aguntur hi filii Dei sunt; et in Ps. CXVIII, 32: viam mandatorum tuorum cucurri, cum dilatasti cor meum. Sed posset aliquis dicere, quod per dilectionem filii promeremur spiritum sanctum; quo habito, amamus patrem. Sed huic repugnat, quia idem est amor patris et filii. Et ideo aliter dicendum est, quod hoc est in donis Dei, ut qui bene utitur dono sibi concesso, amplioris gratiae et doni acceptionem mereatur; et qui male utitur, hoc ipsum quod accepit, auferatur ab eo. Nam, ut legitur Matth. XXV, 24 ss., servo pigro ablatum est talentum quod acceperat a domino suo, quia non bene usus eo fuit, et datum est ei qui acceperat quinque, cum quibus lucratus fuerat alia quinque. Sic ergo est et de dono spiritus sancti. Nullus enim potest Deum diligere nisi habeat spiritum sanctum; non enim nos praevenimus gratiam Dei, sed ipsa praevenit nos. Ipse enim prior dilexit nos, ut dicitur I Io. IV, 10. Et ideo dicendum, quod apostoli primo quidem receperunt spiritum sanctum, ut diligerent Deum, et obedirent mandatis eius; sed necesse erat ad hoc ut ampliori plenitudine spiritum sanctum reciperent, quod bene uterentur, diligendo et obediendo, dono spiritus sancti prius accepto. Et secundum hoc est sensus si diligitis me, per spiritum sanctum, quem habetis, et obeditis mandatis meis, recipietis spiritum sanctum, quem habebitis in ampliori plenitudine. Alia praeparatio necessaria erat ex parte Christi; et quantum ad hoc dicit ego rogabo patrem et cetera. Ubi sciendum est, quod dominus noster Iesus Christus, inquantum homo, mediator est Dei et hominum, ut dicitur I Tim. II, 5. Unde inquantum est homo, accedens ad Deum, impetrat nobis dona caelestia, et veniens ad nos elevat nos, et reducit ad Deum. Quia ergo iam ad nos venerat, et dando nobis mandata Dei reduxit credentes ad ipsum, restabat ut rediret ad patrem, et impetraret dona spiritualia; Hebr. VII, 25: accedens per semetipsum ad Deum salvare in perpetuum potest. Et hoc facit rogando patrem. Et hoc est quod dicit ego rogabo patrem etc.; Eph. IV, v. 8: ascendens in altum, captivam duxit captivitatem; dedit dona hominibus. Sed attende, quod idem est qui rogat ut detur, et qui dat Paraclitum. Rogat inquantum homo, dat inquantum Deus. Dicit autem et rogabo, ut eorum repellat tristitiam de suo recessu, quoniam ipse recessus est ratio ut acciperent spiritum sanctum. Hic ponitur spiritus sancti promissio. Sed attende, quod hoc nomen Paraclitus est Graecum, et significat consolatorem; et ideo dixit alium Paraclitum dabit vobis, scilicet pater, non tamen sine filio, idest spiritum sanctum, qui est consolator, cum sit spiritus amoris; amor autem facit spiritualem consolationem et gaudium; Gal. V, v. 22: fructus spiritus est caritas, gaudium et cetera. Ipse est interpellator etc., Rom. VIII, 26: nam quid oremus sicut oportet, nescimus; sed ipse spiritus postulat pro nobis gemitibus inenarrabilibus. Hoc autem quod dixit alium, designat distinctionem personalem in divinis contra Sabellium. Sed obiicitur: quia hoc quod dicitur Paraclitus, importat actionem spiritus sancti: ergo in hoc quod dixit alium Paraclitum, videtur designare alietatem naturae: nam alietas operationis designat alietatem naturae: est ergo spiritus sanctus alterius naturae a filio. Responsio. Dicendum quod spiritus sanctus est consolator et advocatus, et filius similiter. Quod enim filius sit advocatus, dicitur I Io. II, 1: advocatum habemus apud patrem Iesum Christum. Quod consolator, Is. LXI, 1: spiritus domini (...) misit me ut ponerem consolationem lugentibus Sion. Tamen alia et alia ratione est consolator et advocatus, filius et spiritus sanctus, si accipiamus per appropriationem personarum: nam Christus dicitur advocatus inquantum secundum quod homo interpellat pro nobis ad patrem; spiritus autem sanctus inquantum nos postulare facit. Item spiritus sanctus dicitur consolator inquantum est amor formaliter; filius vero inquantum est verbum. Et hoc dupliciter: quia per doctrinam, et inquantum ipse filius dat spiritum sanctum, et incendit amorem in cordibus nostris. Sic ergo ly alium non designat alietatem naturae in filio et spiritu sancto; sed designat alium modum, quo uterque est consolator et advocatus. Hic ponitur promissio, et primo quantum ad ipsam dationem; secundo quantum ad ipsum donum; tertio quantum ad recipientes donum.
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Sed donatio est vera, quia perpetua; unde dicit ut maneat vobiscum in aeternum spiritum veritatis. Alicui enim datur aliquid ad tempus tantum, et haec non est vera donatio; sed tunc est vera quando datur ad semper habendum; et ideo spiritus sanctus vere datur, quia ut maneat cum eis in aeternum: hic quidem illustrans et docens et suggerens, post ad videndam speciem introducens; I Reg. XVI, 13: directus est spiritus domini in David a die illa et deinceps. Iudas autem licet acceperit eum, non tamen semper cum ipso mansit: quia non accepit ut maneret cum ipso in aeternum, sed tantum secundum praesentem iustitiam. Secundum Chrysostomum autem dici potest, quod dominus haec dicit ad excludendum carnalem quamdam suspicionem discipulorum. Possent enim suspicari quod ille Paraclitus eis datus, postmodum per passionem ab eis recederet, sicut ipse; et hoc excludit dicens ut maneat vobiscum in aeternum; quasi dicat: non patietur mortem ut ego, nec a vobis recedet. Sed contra. Supra I, 33, hoc dictum est Ioanni Baptistae: super quem videris spiritum descendere et manere, hic est qui baptizat. Ex quo videtur proprium Christi ut spiritus sanctus semper maneat cum ipso; quod non est verum, si cum discipulis manet in aeternum. Responsio. Secundum Chrysostomum dicendum, quod spiritus sanctus dicitur in nobis manere per dona sua. Donorum autem spiritus sancti quaedam sunt necessaria ad salutem: et haec sunt communia omnibus sanctis, et semper in nobis manent, ut est caritas, quae numquam excidit, ut dicitur I Cor. XIII, 8, quia etiam in futuro erit. Quaedam autem non sunt de necessitate salutis, sed dantur fidelibus ad manifestationem spiritus; I Cor. XII, 7: unicuique datur manifestatio spiritus ad utilitatem. Sic ergo quantum ad prima dona. Spiritus sanctus manet cum discipulis et sanctis in aeternum; sed quantum ad secunda dona, sic est proprium Christo ut maneat cum eo semper: quia semper in plenitudine potestatis suae habet ut possit miracula facere et prophetare, et alia huiusmodi. Sed non sic est de aliis; quia, ut dicit Gregorius, spiritus prophetarum non sunt prophetis subiecti. Donum autem est excellentissimum, quia spiritus veritatis. Spiritum quidem dixit, ut ostendat naturae subtilitatem. Spiritus enim dicitur aliquid occultum et invisibile, unde quod invisibile est, spiritus dici consuevit. Sic et spiritus sanctus occultus est et invisibilis: supra III, 8: spiritus ubi vult spirat, et vocem eius audis, sed nescis unde veniat aut quo vadat. Item ut ostendat eius virtutem, quia movet nos ad bene agendum et operandum. Spiritus enim impulsionem quamdam insinuat, unde et ventum spiritum appellamus; Rom. VIII, 14: qui spiritu Dei aguntur, hi filii Dei sunt; Ps. CXLII, 10: spiritus tuus bonus deducet me in terram rectam. Addit autem veritatis, quia a veritate procedit, et veritatem dicit. Spiritus enim sanctus nihil aliud est quam amor. Quando ergo quis impellitur ad amandum terrena et mundum, tunc impellitur a spiritu mundi; I Cor. II, 12: nos autem non spiritum huius mundi accepimus, sed spiritum qui ex Deo est. Quando vero impellitur ad opera carnis, tunc non impellitur a spiritu sancto; Ez. XIII, 3: vae prophetis insipientibus, qui sequuntur spiritum suum. Sed iste spiritus ducit ad cognitionem veritatis, quia procedit a veritate, quae dicit supra eodem: ego sum via, et veritas, et vita. Nam, sicut in nobis ex veritate concepta et considerata sequitur amor ipsius veritatis, ita in Deo concepta veritate, quae est filius, procedit amor. Et sicut ab ipsa procedit, ita in eius cognitionem ducit; infra c. XVI, 14: ille me clarificabit, quia de meo accipiet et cetera. Et ideo dicit Ambrosius, quod omne verum a quocumque dicatur a spiritu sancto est. I Cor. XII, 3: nemo potest dicere, dominus Iesus, nisi in spiritu sancto; infra XV, 26: cum venerit Paraclitus, quem ego mittam vobis spiritum veritatis. Manifestare autem veritatem convenit proprietati spiritus sancti. Est enim amor qui facit secretorum revelationem; infra XV, 15: vos autem dixi amicos, quia omnia quaecumque audivi a patre meo, nota feci vobis: Iob c. XXXVI, 33: annuntiat de ea (scilicet veritate) amico suo. Recipiunt autem spiritum sanctum credentes, et quantum ad hoc dicit quem mundus non potest accipere, et primo ostendit qui sunt quibus non datur; secundo ostendit quibus datur, ibi vos autem cognoscetis et cetera. Primo autem ostendit quod non datur mundo; secundo autem assignat causam quare non detur. Quantum ad primum dicit quem mundus non potest accipere. Mundum hic mundi dilectores vocat dominus. Hi quidem quamdiu mundum diligunt, spiritum sanctum non possunt accipere, est enim amor Dei: non potest autem quis finali dilectione Deum et mundum diligere: I Io. II, 15: si quis diligit mundum, non est caritas patris in eo. Nam Gregorius dicit, V Moral. 20: spiritus sanctus omne quod repleverit ad desiderandum invisibilia accendit. Et quoniam mundana corda sola visibilia diligunt, hunc mundus non accipit, quia ad diligenda invisibilia non assurgit. Saeculares etenim mentes quanto se foras per desideria dilatant, tanto ad receptionem illius sinum cordis angustant. Sap. I, 5: spiritus sanctus disciplinae effugiet fictum.
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Quantum ad secundum dicit quia non videt eum, nec scit eum. Nam dona spiritualia non accipiuntur nisi desiderata, Sap. VI, 14. Praeoccupat, scilicet divina sapientia, eos qui se concupiscunt, nec desiderantur nisi aliqualiter cognita. Quod autem non cognoscantur, ex duobus contingit. Primo quidem ex hoc quod homo non ponit intentionem suam ad eorum cognitionem; secundo vero quia quis non potest esse capax illius cognitionis. Hoc autem mundani non habent. Nam primo non intendunt ad ea desideranda, et quantum ad hoc dicit quia non videt eum; idest, non ponit intentionem suam ad eum cognoscendum; Ps. XVI, 11: oculos suos statuerunt declinare in terram. Item non possunt ea cognoscere, unde dicit nescit eum: nam, ut Augustinus dicit, non habet invisibiles oculos mundana dilectio: per quos videri spiritus sanctus nisi invisibiliter non potest. I Cor. c. II, 14: animalis homo non percipit ea quae sunt spiritus Dei. Sicut lingua infecta non sentit bonum saporem propter corruptionem humoris, sic anima infecta a corruptione mundi, caelestium dulcedinem non gustat. Vel, secundum Chrysostomum, dico, quod alium Paraclitum dabit vobis, spiritum veritatis; sed hoc non assumet carnem, quia mundus non videt eum, nec scit eum, idest, non accipiet eum, sed solum vos. Hic ostendit primo quibus datur spiritus sanctus; secundo rationem assignat. Datur autem fidelibus: unde dicit vos autem, qui movemini a spiritu sancto, cognoscetis eum: I Cor. II, 12: nos autem non spiritum huius mundi accepimus, sed spiritum qui ex Deo est. Et hoc ideo, quia mundum contemnitis; II Cor. IV, 18: non contemplantibus nobis quae videntur, sed quae non videntur. Ratio autem huius est, quia apud vos manebit. Ubi primo nota spiritus sancti ad apostolos familiaritatem quia apud vos manebit, idest ad utilitatem vestram; Ps. CXLII, v. 10: spiritus tuus bonus deducet me in viam rectam; Sap. XII, 1: o quam bonus spiritus tuus, domine, est in omnibus. Secundo quamdam eius intimam inhabitationem, quia in nobis erit, idest in intimo cordis nostri; Ez. XI, 19: et spiritum novum tribuam in visceribus eorum.
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Supra dominus promisit spiritum sanctum consolatorem. Sed quia apostoli non multum ad notitiam spiritus sancti conscenderant, et ad Christi praesentiam valde detinebantur, huiusmodi consolatio eis parva videbatur: et ideo in parte ista promittit eis primo reditum suum; secundo dona sua, ibi haec locutus sum vobis apud vos manens et cetera. Circa primum primo promittit eis iteratam visitationem; secundo assignat rationem, ibi qui habet mandata mea et servat ea, ille est qui diligit me; tertio excludit discipuli dubitationem, ibi dicit ei Iudas et cetera. Circa primum primo manifestat eis suum reditum; secundo manifestat redeundi modum, ibi adhuc modicum, et mundus me iam non videt; tertio praedicit reditus fructum, ibi in illa die vos cognoscetis et cetera. Circa primum primo ostendit necessitatem redeundi; secundo promittit reditum. Necessitas autem redeundi est ut discipuli orphani non remaneant; et hoc est quod dicit non vos relinquam orphanos. Orphani enim in Graeco, pupilli sunt in Latino; et dicuntur hi parvuli patre carentes, secundum illud Thren. ult., 3: pupilli facti sumus absque patre, matres nostrae quasi viduae. Considerandum est autem, quod homo potest habere triplicem patrem. Scilicet patrem originis, Heb. XII, 9: patres quidem habuimus carnis nostrae et cetera. Item pravae imitationis; supra VIII, 44: vos ex patre Diabolo estis. Item gratuitae adoptionis; Rom. VIII, v. 15: accepistis spiritum adoptionis filiorum. Sed eos qui imitantur patrem Diabolum, Deus non adoptat in filios: quia non est conventio lucis ad tenebras, ut dicitur II Cor. VI, v. 15. Similiter nec illos qui nimium afficiuntur carnaliter ad parentes: quia hoc dicitur Matth. X, 37: qui amat patrem suum aut matrem suam plusquam me, non est me dignus. Qui ergo fuerit orphanus, idest destitutus affectu peccati, et deserens affectum carnalem ad parentes, illum Deus sibi adoptat in filium; Ps. XXVI, 10: quoniam pater meus et mater mea dereliquerunt me; dominus autem assumpsit me. Multo autem magis qui relinquit eos; Ps. XLIV, 11: obliviscere populum tuum et domum patris tui; et concupiscet rex decorem tuum. Sed notandum, quod Christus exhibet se discipulis suis ut patrem: quamvis enim hoc nomen pater personaliter acceptum, sit proprium personae patris, essentialiter tamen acceptum competit toti Trinitati. Unde supra c. XIII, 33, dixit eis: filioli mei, adhuc modicum vobiscum sum. Adventum suum promittit eis dicens veniam ad vos. Venerat iam Christus ad eos, carnem assumendo, I Tim. I, 15: Christus Iesus in hunc mundum venit. Restabat ergo triplex adventus eius, quorum duo sunt corporales: unus scilicet post resurrectionem et ante ascensionem, quando scilicet recedens ab eis per mortem, post resurrectionem venit Iesus, et stetit in medio discipulorum, ut dicitur infra XX. Alius erit in fine mundi, de quo dicitur Act. I, 11: quemadmodum vidistis eum euntem in caelum, ita veniet; Lc. XXI, 27: videbunt filium hominis venientem in nube cum potestate magna et maiestate. Sed tertius est spiritualis et invisibilis; quando scilicet venit ad fideles suos per gratiam in vita vel in morte; Iob IX, 11: si venerit ad me, non videbo eum. Dicit ergo veniam ad vos, post resurrectionem quantum ad primum adventum; infra XVI, 22: iterum autem videbo vos. Item in fine mundi; Is. III, 14: dominus ad iudicium veniet. Item in morte ad suscipiendum vos ad me; supra eodem veniam ad vos, et tollam vos ad meipsum. Item, veniam ad vos spiritualiter visitando. Infra eodem ad eum veniemus, et mansionem apud eum faciemus. Hic exponit visitationis modum ostendens hanc visitationem apostolis singulariter exhibendam. Et quia possent credere quod adhuc ad eos rediret mortalis existens, ideo consequenter excludit hoc, dicens adhuc modicum, et mundus me iam non videt. Ut primo exponamus de reditu post resurrectionem; tunc est sensus: adhuc modicum, idest modicum tempus vobiscum sum in hac carne mortali, et tunc crucifigar, sed post mundus iam me non videt. Et hoc quia post resurrectionem non omnibus manifestavit se, sed testibus praeordinatis a Deo, scilicet discipulis suis, Act. I, 8, et ideo dicit vos autem videbitis me, scilicet in corpore glorificato et immortali. Rationem horum assignat dicens quia ego vivo, et vos vivetis. Ubi removet dubitationem. Possent enim discipuli dicere: quomodo videbimus te, qui morieris, et nos etiam moriemur tecum? Et ideo dicit quod hoc non erit ita, quia ego vivo; idest, vivam post resurrectionem, Apoc. I, 18: fui mortuus, et ecce sum vivens in saecula saeculorum. Et vos vivetis, quia non occidemini modo mecum; infra XVIII, 8: si me quaeritis, sinite hos abire. Vel ego vivo, per resurrectionem, et vos vivetis, idest gaudebitis inde, quia, infra XX, 20: gavisi sunt discipuli viso domino. Hoc modo accipitur vivere Gen. XLV, 27: cum audisset Iacob quod Ioseph regnaret in terra Aegypti, revixit spiritus eius, scilicet propter gaudium. Sed contra hanc expositionem obiicit Augustinus: quia ex hoc quod dominus dicit adhuc modicum, et mundus me iam non videt, sequitur quod homines mundi numquam sint eum visuri: quod est falsum, quia in iudicio videbunt eum, secundum illud Apoc. I, 7: videbit eum omnis oculus. Ad quod posset dici, quod verum est quod homines mundi: (...) adhuc modicum mundus non videbit eum in ista carne mortali; et propter hoc Augustinus exponit hoc adhuc modicum, referens ad secundum adventum, in quo veniet ad iudicandum. Et dicitur istud tempus modicum usque ad iudicium, in respectu ad aeternitatem. Nam mille anni ante oculos tuos quasi dies hesterna quae praeteriit: Ps. LXXXIX, 4. Et hoc modo apostolus Hebr. XII, 26 s. vocat istud tempus modicum, exponens illud Aggaei II, v. 7: adhuc modicum, et ego movebo caelum et terram et cetera. Et mundus me iam non videt; quia ulterius post iudicium homines mundi amatores et pravi eum non videbunt, euntes in ignem aeternum. Unde Is. c. XXVI, 10, secundum aliam litteram, dicitur: tollatur impius, ne videat gloriam Dei. Vos autem, qui secuti estis me, et permansistis mecum in tentationibus meis, videbitis me in aeternitate perpetua; Is. XXXIII, v. 17: videbunt regem in decore suo; I Thess. c. IV, 16: semper cum domino erimus. Et hoc ideo, quia vivo, et vos vivetis; quasi diceret: sicut ego habeo vitam gloriosam in anima et in corpore, ita et vos; Phil. III, 21: reformabit corpus humilitatis nostrae, configuratum corpori claritatis suae. Et hoc ideo dicit, quia vita nostra gloriosa creatur ex vita gloriosa Christi; I Cor. XV, 22: sicut in Adam omnes moriuntur, ita et in Christo omnes vivificabuntur. Sed de se dicit in praesenti, vivo, quia sua resurrectio differenda non erat post mortem eius, sed statim secutura; secundum illud Ps. CVII, 3: exurgam diluculo, quia, ut dicitur in Ps. XV, 10: non dabis sanctum tuum videre corruptionem. Sed de discipulis dicit vivetis, in futuro, quia resurrectio corporum eorum differenda erat usque in finem mundi, secundum illud Is. XXVI, 19: vivent mortui tui, interfecti mei resurgent. Hic ponitur visitationis fructus, qui est cognitio eorum quae apostoli ignorabant. Ut enim supra dictum est, Petrus ignorabat quo Christus iret; unde dicebat: domine, quo vadis? Etiam Thomas hoc ignorabat, et viam per quam iret; unde dicebat: nescimus quo vadis, et quomodo possumus viam scire? Philippus autem patrem ignorabat; unde petebat dicens: domine, ostende nobis patrem, et sufficit nobis. Quae quidem causabantur ex ignorantia unius rei: ex hoc scilicet quod ignorabant quomodo pater in filio, et filius in patre; unde et Philippo dixit: non credis quia ego in patre, et pater in me est?
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Huius ergo notitiam promittit eis dominus, dicens hic in illa die vos cognoscetis quia ego in patre meo sum et cetera. Ex quo omnis dubietas a cordibus discipulorum excluditur. Potest autem exponi de adventu tempore resurrectionis, et de adventu ad iudicium. Sed distinguenda est duplex cognitio mysteriorum divinitatis. Una est imperfecta, quae habetur per fidem; alia perfecta, quae habetur per speciem; de quibus dicitur I Cor. c. XIII, 12: videmus nunc per speculum in aenigmate, quantum ad primum, tunc autem facie ad faciem, quantum ad secundum. Dicit ergo in illa die, post resurrectionem meam, cognoscetis quia ego sum in patre: et hoc cognitione fidei, quia tunc videntes eum resurrexisse, et esse cum eis, certissimam fidem de eo habuerunt, praecipue qui acceperunt spiritum sanctum, qui omnia eos docebat. Vel in illa die, ultimae resurrectionis in iudicio, cognoscetis, scilicet manifeste per speciem; I Cor. XIII, 12: tunc cognoscam sicut et cognitus sum. Sed quid cognoscent? Duo quae dicit supra: unum scilicet quod pater in me manens ipse facit opera; et quantum ad hoc dicit quia ego sum in patre meo, scilicet per consubstantialitatem naturae. Aliud quod dicit se facturum opera per discipulos, dicens: qui credit in me, opera quae ego facio, et ipse faciet: et quantum ad hoc dicit et vos in me, et ego in vobis. Ubi attendendum est, quod quia hic dominus videtur similem habitudinem ponere sui ad patrem et discipulorum ad ipsum, volebant Ariani, quod sicut discipuli sunt minores Christo, et non consubstantiales ei, ita esset filius minor patre, et alterius substantiae ab ipso. Et ideo dicendum est, quod hoc quod dicit ego sum in patre meo, dicitur per consubstantialitatem naturae; supra X, 30: ego et pater unum sumus; et supra I, 1: verbum erat apud Deum. Hoc autem quod dicit et vos in me etc., intelligitur, uno modo, quod discipuli sunt in Christo. Nam illud quod protegitur ab aliquo, dicitur esse in eo, sicut contentum in continente: et hoc modo dicitur quod in rege sunt ea quae sunt in regno. Et secundum hoc dicitur Act. XVII, 28: in ipso vivimus, movemur et sumus. Et ego sum in vobis, manendo interius, et operando, et inhabitando interius per gratiam; Eph. III, 17: habitare Christum per fidem in cordibus vestris; et II Cor. XIII, 3: an experimentum eius quaeritis qui in me loquitur Christus? Alio modo secundum Hilarium. Vos in me, supple: in me eritis per naturam vestram, quam assumpsi: assumendo enim naturam nostram, assumpsit nos omnes; Hebr. c. II, 16: nusquam enim Angelos apprehendit, sed semen Abrahae apprehendit. Et ego sum in vobis, per mei sacramenti sumptionem: quia qui sumit corpus Christi, Christus est in eo; supra cap. VI, 57: qui manducat carnem meam, et bibit meum sanguinem, in me manet, et ego in illo. Alio modo vos in me, et ego in vobis, supple: sumus, per mutuam dilectionem: quia hoc dicitur I Io. IV, 16: Deus caritas est: et qui manet in caritate, in Deo manet, et Deus in eo. Et haec vobis ignota erant, sed tamen in illa die ea cognoscetis. Hic assignatur visitationis ratio. Et ponit dominus duplicem rationem quare a fidelibus dominus videatur, et non a mundo. Prima est vera eorum dilectio ad Deum; secunda vero dilectio Dei ad eos, ibi qui autem diligit me, diligetur a patre meo.
14:21
Quantum ad primum dicit qui habet mandata mea, et servat ea, ille est qui diligit me. Ubi notandum est, quod illa est vera dilectio quae se prodit et probat in opere; nam per exhibitionem operis dilectio manifestatur. Cum enim diligere aliquem sit velle ei bonum et desiderare quae ipse vult, non videtur vere diligere qui non facit voluntatem amati, nec exequitur quae scit eum velle. Qui ergo non facit voluntatem Dei, non videtur eum vere diligere; et ideo dicit qui habet mandata mea et servat ea, ille est qui diligit me, idest qui habet veram dilectionem ad me. Sed nota, quod aliquis habet mandata Dei primo quidem in corde per memoriam et iugem meditationem; Ps. CXVIII, v. 11: in corde meo abscondi eloquia tua, ut non peccem tibi. Sed hoc non sufficit, nisi servet in opere; Ps. CX, 10: intellectus bonus omnibus facientibus eum. Quidam vero habent in ore, dicendo et exhortando; Ps. CXVIII, v. 103: quam dulcia faucibus meis eloquia tua. Et hi etiam debent ea servare in opere: quia qui fecerit et docuerit, hic magnus vocabitur in regno caelorum: Matth. V, 19. Unde vituperantur a Deo illi qui dicunt et non faciunt, Matth. XXIII. Quidam autem habent in aure, ea libenter et diligenter audiendo; supra VIII, 47: qui est ex Deo, verba Dei audit. Nec hoc sufficit, nisi servent: quia non auditores legis, sed factores iustificabuntur: Rom. II, 13; supra VI, 27: operamini non cibum qui perit; sed qui permanet in vitam aeternam. Ergo qui sic habet mandata Dei, aliqualiter servat ea, sed adhuc imponitur ei ut servet perseverando. Unde dicit Augustinus: qui habet in memoria et servat in vita, qui habet in sermonibus et servat in moribus, qui habet audiendo et servat faciendo, qui habet faciendo et servat perseverando, ipse est qui diligit me. Quantum ad secundum dicit qui autem diligit me, diligetur a patre meo. Sed hoc in primo aspectu videtur absurdum. Numquid enim Deus diligit nos, quia diligimus eum? Absit. Dicitur enim I Io. IV, v. 10: non quasi dilexerimus Deum sed quoniam ipse prior dilexit nos. Et ideo dicendum quod intellectum huius habemus ex his quae dicta sunt supra, scilicet, qui habet mandata mea, et servat ea, ille est qui diliget me. Non enim ibi dicitur quod ideo diligit quia servat mandata; sed quia diligit, ideo mandata implet. Et hoc modo dicendum est hic, quod ideo quis diligit Christum quia diligitur a patre, et non ideo diligitur quia diligit. Diligimus ergo filium, quia pater diligit nos. Habet enim hoc verus amor ut amatos ad amantis dilectionem trahat; Ier. c. XXXI, 3: in caritate perpetua dilexi te, ideo, attraxi te, miserans. Sed quia amor patris non est sine amore filii, cum idem sit amor utriusque, quaecumque enim pater facit, haec et filius similiter facit: supra V, 19, ideo subdit et ego diligam eum. Sed cum pater et filius omnia diligant ab aeterno; quare dicit diligam, in futuro? Dicendum est ergo, quod dilectio considerata prout est in divina voluntate, sic est aeterna; sed considerata secundum quod manifestatur in executione operis et effectus, est temporalis. Et ideo est sensus et ego diligam eum, idest effectum dilectionis ostendam, quia scilicet manifestabo ei meipsum: quia ad hoc diligam ut manifestem. Sciendum est autem, quod dilectio alicuius ad aliquem aliquando est secundum quid, aliquando simpliciter. Secundum quid quidem, quando vult ei aliquod bonum particulare; simpliciter autem, quando vult ei omne bonum. Deus autem omnia causata diligit secundum quid, quia omni creaturae vult aliquod bonum, etiam ipsis Daemonibus, ut scilicet vivant et intelligant et sint; quae sunt quaedam bona. Simpliciter autem diligit illos quibus vult omne bonum, scilicet ut habeant ipsum Deum, quem habere est habere veritatem, quia Deus veritas est. Sed veritas tunc habetur quando cognoscitur. Illos ergo vere et simpliciter diligit quibus manifestat seipsum, qui est veritas. Et hoc est quod dicit manifestabo ei meipsum, scilicet in futuro per gloriam, quod est ultimus futurae beatitudinis effectus; Iob XXXVI, v. 33: annuntiat de ea amico suo, quod possessio eius sit. Sap. VI, 14: praeoccupat eos qui se concupiscunt. Sed posset quis dicere: numquid pater non manifestabit se? Immo et pater et filius: nam filius et patrem simul et se manifestat, cum sit verbum eius; Matth. XI, v. 27: neque patrem quis novit nisi filius et cetera. Et tamen si interim filius manifestat se alicui aliquo modo, hoc est signum divinae dilectionis. Unde et haec potest esse ratio quare mundus eum non videbit, quia scilicet non manifestabit ei seipsum; et hoc quia non diligit eum.
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Supra promisit dominus discipulis suam visitationem hic removet discipuli dubitationem, et primo ponitur discipuli dubitatio; secundo Christi responsio, ibi respondit Iesus et cetera. Sciendum est circa primum, quod sanctorum et humilium consuetudo est ut cum magna de se audiunt, stupeant et admirentur. Audierant autem discipuli dominum dicentem adhuc modicum et mundus me iam non videt; vos autem videbitis me etc., ex quo videbatur apostolos toti mundo praeferre: et ideo Iudas frater Iacobi, cuius epistola inter canonicas legitur, in admirationem et stuporem positus, dicit domine, quid factum est, quia manifestaturus es nobis te ipsum? Quasi diceret: quae causa erit? Numquid nos supra totum mundum sumus? Simile dixit David II Reg. VII, v. 18: quis ego sum, aut quae est domus mea? Matth. XXV, 37, dicunt iusti: domine, quando te vidimus esurientem, et pavimus te? Consequenter cum dicit respondit Iesus etc., ponitur Christi responsio, ubi primo assignat causam suae manifestationis discipulis, et non mundo; secundo manifestat quoddam quod dixit, ibi et sermonem quem audistis non est meus. In primo ostendit quare manifestaturus est se discipulis; secundo ostendit quare non manifestaturus est se mundo, ibi qui non diligit me, sermones meos non servat. Et in prima primo ponitur idoneitas discipulorum ad Christi manifestationem habendam; secundo insinuatur processus manifestationis et ordo, ibi et pater meus diliget eum. Circa primum duo ponit, quae reddunt hominem idoneum ad Dei manifestationem. Primum est caritas; secundum est obedientia. Quantum ad primum dicit si quis diligit me. Tria enim necessaria sunt homini volenti Deum videre. Primo ut Deo appropinquet; Deut. XXXIII, 3: qui appropinquant pedibus eius, accipient de doctrina illius. Secundo ut ad eum videndum oculos elevet; Is. XL, 26: levate in excelsum oculos vestros, et videte quis creavit haec. Tertio ut visioni vacet: nam spiritualia videri non possunt, nisi quis vacet a terrenis; Ps. XXXIII, 9: vacate, et videte, quoniam suavis est dominus. Et haec tria facit caritas. Nam ipsa animam hominis Deo coniungit; I Io. IV: qui manet in caritate, in Deo manet, et Deus in eo. Ipsa ipsum intuitum ad Deum erigit; Matth. VI, 21: ubi est thesaurus tuus, ibi est cor tuum. Unde dicitur: ubi est amor tuus, ibi oculus. Ipsa enim a mundanis vacare facit; I Io. II, 15: qui diligit saeculum, non est perfecta caritas Dei in illo. Ergo, e contrario, qui perfecte Deum diligit, non est in illo amor saeculi. Ex caritate autem sequitur obedientia; unde dicit sermonem meum servabit. Ut dicit Gregorius: probatio dilectionis, exhibitio est operis. Numquam est Dei amor otiosus; operatur enim magna si est, si autem operari renuit, amor non est. Voluntas enim, et maxime quae est de fine, movet alias potentias ad actus suos: non enim quiescit homo nisi faciat ea per quae ad finem intentum perveniat, praecipue si est intensa ad ipsum. Quando ergo voluntas hominis intensa est ad Deum, qui est finis eius, movet omnes vires ad faciendum ea quae ad ipsum ducunt. Intenditur autem in Deum per caritatem; et ideo caritas est quae nos servare mandata facit; II Cor. V, 14: caritas Christi urget nos; Cant. VIII, 7: lampades eius, lampades ignis. Et per obedientiam homo efficitur idoneus ad videndum Deum; Ps. CXVIII, 104: a mandatis tuis, scilicet a me servatis, intellexi. Et iterum: super senes intellexi.
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Consequenter cum dicit et pater meus diliget eum, ponitur processus et ordo manifestationis. Tria autem sunt per quae fit homini divina manifestatio. Primum est divina dilectio; et quantum ad hoc dicit pater meus diliget eum. Supra est dictum quare dicit diliget in futuro, quantum videlicet ad effectum dilectionis, qui tamen ab aeterno dilexit quantum ad voluntatem benefaciendi; Mal. I, 2: Iacob dilexi, Esau autem odio habui. Non autem dicit, ego diligam eum, quia hoc iam eis patuit supra. Prov. VIII, 17: ego diligentes me diligo. Restabat ergo ut insinuaret eis quia pater diligeret eos; Deut. IV, 37: dilexit populos: omnes sancti in manu eius sunt. Secundum est divina visitatio; et quantum ad hoc dicit et ad eum veniemus. Sed contra. Venire mutationem localem significat; sed Deus non mutatur; ergo et cetera. Responsio. Deus dicitur venire ad nos non quod ipse moveatur ad nos, sed quia nos movemur ad ipsum. Dicitur enim aliquid venire in locum in quem prius non fuit: hoc autem Deo non convenit, cum sit ubique; Ier. XXIII, 24: caelum et terram ego impleo. Dicitur etiam venire in aliquem, inquantum est ibi novo modo, secundum quem prius non fuerat ibi, scilicet per effectum gratiae: et per hunc effectum gratiae facit nos ad se accedere. Sed attendendum, secundum Augustinum, quod tribus modis Deus venit ad nos, et iisdem nos imus ad eum. Primo quidem venit ad nos implendo suis effectibus, et nos imus ad eum capiendo ipsos; Eccli. c. XXIV, 26: transite ad me omnes qui concupiscitis me, et a generationibus meis implemini. Secundo illuminando, et nos imus ad eum considerando; Ps. XXXIII, 6: accedite ad eum, et illuminamini. Tertio vero adiuvando, et nos ad eum obediendo: quia nec obedire possumus nisi adiuti a Christo; Is. II, v. 3: venite, ascendamus ad montem domini. Sed quare non fecit mentionem de spiritu sancto? Augustinus dicit, quod non dicitur hoc, quod ipse sit excludendus adveniente patre et filio, quia supra dicitur: ut maneat vobiscum in aeternum. Sed cum in Trinitate sint duo: scilicet personarum distinctio, et essentiae unitas: aliquando quidem fit mentio de tribus personis, ad insinuandum distinctionem personarum: aliquando vero facit mentionem de duabus sine tertia, ad insinuandum essentiae unitatem. Vel dicendum, quod cum spiritus sanctus nihil sit aliud quam amor patris et filii, posito patre et filio intelligitur spiritus sanctus. Tertio ad Dei manifestationem necessaria est perseverantia utriusque, scilicet in dilectione Dei, et in eius visitatione; et quantum ad hoc dicit et mansionem apud eum faciemus. In quo duo tangit. Primo quidem firmitatem adhaesionis ad Deum cum dicit mansionem. Nam Deus venit ad quosdam per fidem, sed, non manet, quia ad tempus credunt, et in tempore tentationis recedunt: Matth. VIII, 13. Ad quosdam venit per peccati compunctionem, non tamen manet cum eis, quia revertuntur ad peccata; Prov. c. XXVI, 11: sicut canis qui revertitur ad vomitum suum, sic imprudens qui iterat stultitiam suam. Sed in suis praedestinatis permanet semper; Matth. ult., 20: ecce ego vobiscum sum omnibus diebus usque ad consummationem saeculi. Secundo ostendit familiaritatem Christi ad homines: quia apud eum, scilicet diligentem ad obediendum, inquantum scilicet delectatur nobiscum, et facit nos delectari in ipso. Prov. c. VIII, 31: deliciae meae esse cum filiis hominum; Is. VI, 5: gaudebit super te dominus Deus tuus. Chrysostomus autem referens hoc ad aliam intentionem, dicit, quod Iudas audiens non relinquam vos orphanos etc., vos autem videbitis me etc., existimavit, quod Christus post mortem venturus esset ad eos, sicut mortui veniunt ad nos in somno; unde quaerit: quid est factum quia nobis manifestaturus es teipsum, et non mundo? Quasi diceret: vae nobis, quoniam morieris et ut mortuus debes nobis assistere. Ut ergo hoc excludat, dicit: ego et pater ad eum veniemus, idest, sicut pater manifestat seipsum, ita et ego, et mansionem apud eum faciemus: quod somniorum non est, in quibus nulla mora contrahitur. Hic ponit causam quare non est manifestaturus se mundo: quae quidem causa est remotio eorum per quae dicit se hominibus manifestaturum. Remota enim causa removetur effectus; sed ipsi non habent causam ut divina eis manifestatio fiat: ergo mundo et mundanis Deus non est manifestaturus seipsum. Quod non habeant causam, apparet, quia mundus non diligit me; et quantum ad hoc dicit qui non diligit me. Iterum non obedit mihi: unde dicit sermones meos non servat. Ut enim Gregorius dicit: de dilectione conditoris lingua et mens et vita requiritur. Patet ergo causa quare suis manifestaturus est se, et non alienis; quia hi quidem diligunt: dilectio namque sanctos discernit a mundo; Iob XXXVI, 32: immanibus, scilicet superbis, abscondit lucem; et ita annuntiat de ea amico suo, quod possessio eius sit; ibid. c. XXVIII, 14: abyssus dicit: non est in me; mare, idest turbulentus: non est mecum.
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Consequenter cum dicit et sermonem quem audistis, non est meus, manifestat hoc quod supra dixit si quis diligit me, sermonem meum servabit. Et pater meus diliget eum et cetera. Posset enim aliquis dicere, quod hoc dictum nullam rationem habet, quin potius rationabilius dixisset: ego diligam eum, et ad eum veniam. Et ideo hoc excludit dicens et sermonem quem audistis, non est meus; idest non est mihi a meipso, sed est mihi ab alio, scilicet a patre, qui me misit. Quasi diceret: non me solum, sed nec patrem amat qui hunc non audit sermonem. Et ideo qui eum diligit et patrem, utriusque manifestationem meretur. Dicit ergo et sermonem, sive sermo, quem audistis, a me homine prolatum, est quidem meus, inquantum ipsum pronuntio, et non est meus, inquantum est mihi ab alio; supra VII, 16: mea doctrina non est mea; supra eodem: verba quae ego loquor vobis, a meipso non loquor. Sed attende, secundum Augustinum, quod cum loquitur dominus de sermonibus suis, pluraliter dicit, sermones meos; ubi autem loquitur de sermone patris, loquitur in singulari, dicens et sermonem quem audistis, non est meus; quia per verbum patris seipsum intelligi voluit, qui est unicum verbum eius. Unde nec suum se esse dicit, sed patris, quia nec sua imago est, nec suus filius, sed patris. Sermones autem omnes in cordibus nostris sunt ab unico verbo patris. Hic dominus promittit discipulis suis dona. Promiserat eis spiritum sanctum et seipsum, et ideo hic primo ostendit quid consequentur ex adventu spiritus sancti; secundo quid consequentur ex ipso, ibi pacem relinquo vobis. Ex adventu spiritus sancti magna consequentur, scilicet intellectum omnium verborum Christi. Et ideo circa hoc primo commorat eis sua documenta; secundo promittit eis intellectum eorum, ibi Paraclitus autem spiritus sanctus (...) vos docebit omnia.
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Dicit ergo quantum ad primum haec, scilicet quae dixi, locutus sum vobis, organo humanitatis, manens apud vos, praesentia corporali. Et hoc quidem maximum beneficium est ut ipse filius nobis loquatur, et nos doceat; Hebr. I, 1: multifarie multisque modis olim Deus loquens patribus in prophetis, novissime locutus est nobis in filio; Deut. V, 26: quae est omnis caro ut audiat dominum suum? Intellectum autem ipsorum documentorum promittit eis per spiritum sanctum se daturum; unde dicit Paraclitus autem (...) vos docebit omnia. Ubi tria facit circa spiritum sanctum. Primo describit ipsum; secundo eius missionem; tertio eius effectum. Ipsum quidem describit multipliciter: quia Paraclitum, spiritum et sanctum. Paraclitus quidem est, quia consolatur nos et quantum ad tristitias de turbationibus huius mundi, de quibus nos consolatur, II Cor. c. VII, 5: foris pugnae, intus timores; II Cor. c. I, 4: qui consolatur nos in omni tribulatione nostra. Et hoc facit inquantum est amor, faciens nos amare Deum, et eum pro magno habere: propter quod cum gaudio contumelias patimur, secundum illud Act. c. VIII, 39: ibant apostoli gaudentes a conspectu Concilii, quoniam digni habiti sunt pro nomine Iesu contumeliam pati; Matth. V, v. 12: gaudete et exultate, quia merces vestra copiosa est in caelis. Item consolatur nos contra tristitias de peccatis praeteritis: de quibus dicitur Matth. V, 5: beati qui lugent. Et hoc facit inquantum dat nobis spem veniae; infra XX, 23: accipite spiritum sanctum; quorum remiseritis peccata, remittuntur eis; Is. LXI, 3: ut ponerem consolationem lugentibus in Sion. Spiritus quidem est, quia movet corda ad obediendum Deo. Is. LIX, 19: cum venerit quasi fluvius violentus, quem spiritus domini cogit; Rom. VIII, 14: qui spiritu Dei aguntur, hi sunt filii Dei. Sanctus autem est, quia consecrat nos Deo; omnia autem consecrata dicuntur sancta; I Cor. VI, 19: nescitis quoniam corpora nostra templum sunt spiritus sancti? Ps. XLV, v. 5: fluminis impetus laetificat civitatem Dei et cetera.
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Consequenter cum dicit quem mittet pater in nomine meo, agit de eius missione. Non est autem intelligendum quod per motum localem ad nos veniat, sed quia quodam novo modo in eis esse debeat, quo prius non fuerat; Ps. CIII, 30: emitte spiritum tuum, et creabuntur, scilicet in esse spirituali. Sed attende, quod spiritus sanctus a patre et filio mittitur: et ideo ad hoc ostendendum, quandoque dicit quod pater mittit eum, sicut hic; quandoque quod ipse, infra c. XVI, 7: quem ego mittam vobis et cetera. Sed numquam dicit eum a patre mitti, quin faciat commemorationem de seipso; unde dicit quem mittet pater in nomine meo. Nec dicit eum mitti a se filio, quin commemoret patrem; unde dicit quem ego mittam vobis a patre. Sed quid est hoc quod dicit in nomine meo? Numquid spiritus sanctus nominabitur filius? Posset dici, quod hoc dicitur pro tanto, quia spiritus sanctus dabatur fidelibus ad invocationem nominis Christi. Sed melius est ut dicamus, quod sicut filius venit in nomine patris, supra V, 44: ego veni in nomine patris mei, ita et spiritus sanctus venit in nomine filii. Filius autem in nomine patris venit, non quod esset pater, sed quod esset filius patris: similiter spiritus sanctus venit in nomine filii, non quod diceretur filius, sed quod esset spiritus filii; Rom. VIII, 9: si quis spiritum Christi non habet, hic non est eius; Gal. IV, 6: misit Deus spiritum filii sui in corda vestra: non quod diceretur filius, sed quod esset spiritus filii; Rom. c. VIII, 29: praedestinavit conformes fieri imaginis filii sui: et hoc quidem propter consubstantialitatem filii ad patrem, et spiritus sancti ad filium. Item sicut filius veniens in nomine patris, fideles suos patri subiecit: Apoc. V, 10: fecisti nos Deo nostro regnum etc.: ita spiritus sanctus configuravit nos filio, inquantum adoptat nos in filios Dei; Rom. VIII, 15: accepistis spiritum adoptionis filiorum, in quo clamamus, abba, pater. Consequenter agit de effectu spiritus sancti: dicens ille vos docebit omnia. Nam, sicut effectus missionis filii fuit ducere ad patrem, ita effectus missionis spiritus sancti est ducere fideles ad filium. Filius autem, cum sit ipsa sapientia genita, est ipsa veritas; supra XIV, 6: ego sum via, veritas et vita. Et ideo effectus missionis huiusmodi est ut faciat homines participes divinae sapientiae, et cognitores veritatis. Filius ergo tradit nobis doctrinam, cum sit verbum; sed spiritus sanctus doctrinae eius nos capaces facit. Dicit ergo ille vos docebit omnia, quia quaecumque homo doceat extra, nisi spiritus sanctus interius det intelligentiam, frustra laborat: quia nisi spiritus adsit cordi audientis, otiosus erit sermo doctoris, Iob XXXII, 8: inspiratio omnipotentis dat intelligentiam; et intantum, quod etiam ipse filius organo humanitatis loquens, non valet, nisi ipsemet interius operetur per spiritum sanctum. Sed attende, quod supra VI, 43, dicit: omnis qui audivit a patre, et didicit, venit ad me. Hic expendit quid sit, quia non discit non docente spiritu sancto, quasi: ille qui recipit spiritum sanctum a patre et filio, ille patrem cognoscit, et filium, et ad eos venit. Facit autem nos scire omnia interius inspirando, dirigendo, et ad spiritualia elevando. Sicut enim qui habet gustum infectum non habet veram cognitionem de saporibus, ita et qui infectus est amore mundi, non potest gustare divina: secundum illud I Cor. II, 14: animalis autem homo non percipit ea quae sunt spiritus Dei. Sed cum suggerere sit minorum, puta officialium in divinis, numquid spiritus sanctus, qui suggerit nobis, est nobis minor? Ideo dicendum, secundum Gregorium, quod spiritus sanctus suggerere dicitur, non quod nobis scientiam ab imo inferat; sed ab occulto subministrat vires ad cognoscendum. Vel docet, inquantum nos facit participare sapientiam filii. Suggerit, inquantum nos impellit prout est amor. Vel suggeret vobis omnia; idest ad memoriam reducet; Ps. XXI, v. 28: reminiscentur et convertentur ad dominum universi fines terrae. Sciendum est enim, quod eorum quae Christus dixit discipulis, quaedam non intellexerunt, quorumdam autem memoriam non habebant. Dicit ergo dominus ille vos docebit omnia, quae intelligere nunc non potestis, et suggeret vobis omnia, quae non potestis memoriae commendare. Quomodo enim Evangelista Ioannes post quadraginta annos potuisset omnium verborum Christi, quae in Evangelio scripsit, habere memoriam, nisi ei spiritus sanctus suggessisset?
Supra promisit dominus discipulis suis quid consecuturi erant ex praesentia spiritus sancti, hic promittit donum quod consecuturi erant ex adventu et praesentia sua. Sciendum tamen, quod si consideretur proprietas personarum, scilicet filii et spiritus sancti, videtur dominus alternare dona. Cum enim filius sit verbum, ad eum appropriate pertinere videtur sapientiae et cognitionis donum. Spiritui vero sancto, cum sit amor, qui est causa pacis, pax appropriatur. Verumtamen quia spiritus sanctus est filii, et hoc quod dat spiritus sanctus, habet a filio; ideo spiritui sancto attribuit hoc donum cognitionis, ubi dicit ille vos docebit omnia etc., quod tamen appropriatur filio. Quia vero spiritus sanctus a filio procedit, ideo quod spiritus sanctus appropriate facit, attribuitur filio. Et secundum hunc modum Christus attribuit sibi pacem, dicens pacem relinquo vobis: ubi primo promittit donum pacis, quam relinquit; secundo distinguit pacem istam a pace mundi, ibi non quomodo mundus dat, ego do vobis. Dicit ergo pacem relinquo. Sciendum est, quod pax nihil aliud est quam tranquillitas ordinis: tunc enim aliqua dicuntur pacem habere quando eorum ordo inturbatus manet. In homine autem est triplex ordo: scilicet hominis ad seipsum, hominis ad Deum, et hominis ad proximum: et sic est triplex pax in homine. Quaedam intrinseca secundum quam pacificatur sibi ipsi, absque perturbatione virium; Ps. CXVIII, v. 165: pax multa diligentibus legem tuam. Alia est per quam homo pacificatur Deo, totaliter eius ordinationi subiectus; Rom. V, 1: iustificati igitur ex fide, pacem habeamus ad Deum. Tertia pax est ad proximum; Hebr. c. XII, 14: pacem sequimini cum omnibus sanctis et sanctimoniam. Sed notandum, quod in nobis tria ordinari debent: scilicet intellectus, voluntas et appetitus sensitivus: ut videlicet voluntas dirigatur secundum mentem, seu rationem; appetitus vero sensitivus secundum intellectum et voluntatem. Et ideo Augustinus in Lib. de verbis domini, pacem sanctorum definiens dicit: pax est serenitas mentis, tranquillitas animae, simplicitas cordis, amoris vinculum, consortium caritatis: ut serenitas mentis referatur ad rationem, quae debet esse libera, non ligata, nec absorpta aliqua inordinata affectione; tranquillitas animi referatur ad sensitivam, quae debet a molestatione passionum quiescere; simplicitas cordis referatur ad voluntatem, quae debet in Deum obiectum suum totaliter ferri; amoris vinculum referatur ad proximum; consortium caritatis ad Deum. Hanc autem pacem hic sancti habent et habebunt in futuro; sed hic quidem imperfecte, quia nec ad nos nec ad Deum nec ad proximum pacem sine perturbatione aliqua possumus habere; sed in futuro habebimus eam perfecte, quando sine hoste regnabimus: ubi numquam poterimus dissentire. Et utramque hic dominus nobis promittit. Primam cum dicit pacem relinquo vobis, in hoc scilicet saeculo, ut hostem vincatis, et ut invicem diligatis; quod est quasi testamentum servandum nobis statutum a Christo; Eccli. XLV, 30: statuit illi testamentum pacis, et principem fecit eum. Sicut Augustinus dicit, non poterit ad haereditatem domini pervenire, qui testamentum eius noluerit observare: nec potest concordiam habere cum Christo qui discors esse voluerit cum Christiano. Secundam vero, cum dicit pacem meam do vobis, scilicet in futuro; Is. ult., v. 12: declinabo super eam, scilicet Ierusalem caelestem, quasi flumen pacis. Sed cum sive in mundo, sive in patria, tota pax sanctorum perveniat eis per Christum; infra XVI, 33: in me pacem habebitis, quare dominus loquens de pace sanctorum in via, non dicit, pacem meam do vobis: sed tantum cum loquitur de pace sanctorum in patria? Ad quod dicendum, quod utraque pax, scilicet praesens et futura, est Christi; sed praesens ut auctoris tantum; futura autem est eius ut auctoris et possessoris: nam ipsam semper habuit, quia semper fuit absque contradictione. Pax autem praesens, ut dictum est, est cum contradictione aliqua: et ideo licet eam faciat, non tamen eam possidet. Et, secundum praedicta, expositio procedit de pace temporis et pace aeternitatis. Sed, secundum Augustinum, potest utrumque exponi de pace temporis: et dicit pacem relinquo vobis, exemplo, sed do pacem meam, potestate et virtute.
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Consequenter cum dicit non quomodo mundus dat, ego do vobis, ipsam pacem a pace mundi distinguit. Distinguitur autem pax sanctorum a pace mundi quantum ad tria. Primo quantum ad intentionem: nam pax mundi ordinatur ad quietam et pacificam fruitionem temporalium, quo fit ut quandoque cooperetur hominibus ad peccandum; Sap. XIV, 22: in magno viventes inscientiae bello tot et tam magna mala pacem appellant. Sed pax sanctorum ordinatur ad bona aeterna. Est ergo sensus: non quomodo mundus dat, ego do; idest non ad eumdem finem: quia mundus dat quantum ad exteriora quiete possidenda, ego vero do quantum ad aeterna adipiscenda. Secundo vero quantum ad simulationem et veritatem: quia pax mundi est simulata, quia tantum exterius: Ps. XXVII, 3: loquuntur pacem cum proximo suo, mala autem in cordibus eorum; pax vero Christi est vera, quia est interius et exterius. Et sic est sensus: non quomodo mundus dat, idest non simulatam pacem do; sicut mundus, sed veram. Tertio quantum ad perfectionem: quia pax mundi est imperfecta, cum sit tantum quantum ad quietem exterioris hominis et non interioris; Is. LVII, 21: non est pax impiis, dicit dominus: sed pax Christi quietat interius et exterius; Ps. CXVIII, 165: pax multa diligentibus legem tuam. Et est sensus: non quomodo mundus dat idest, non ita imperfectam.
Supra dominus consolatus est discipulos suos rationibus acceptis ex parte ipsorum discipulorum, promittendo eis accessum ad patrem, adventum spiritus sancti, et suum reditum; hic vero consolatur eos rationibus acceptis ex parte sui ipsius, ex quo poterat eis esse duplex causa consolationis. Una, ex utilitate fructus, qui sequebatur ex recessu Christi; alia ex causa mortis. Et ideo primo ponit primam; secundo secundam, ibi iam non multa loquar vobiscum. Fructus autem qui sequebatur ex recessu Christi, erat exaltatio sua etc., unde discipuli poterant consolari. Mos enim amicorum est ut cum amicus ad suam exaltationem vadit, de eius recessu minus desolentur: et ideo dominus hanc causam ponit ad eorum consolationem. Et primo excludit cordis dubitationem; secundo commemorat quoddam quod eos in parte consolabatur, et in parte turbabat; tertio subdit causam totaliter consolantem; quarto respondet cuidam tacitae quaestioni. Turbationem quidem cordis excludit dicens non turbetur cor vestrum et cetera. Turbatio ad tristitiam refertur; formido ad timorem. Tristitia autem et timor in aliquo quidem conveniunt, in hoc scilicet quod utrumque est de malo; sed differunt, quia tristitia est de malo praesenti, formido autem de malo futuro. Dicit autem dominus non turbetur cor vestrum, de malo praesenti, Ps. CXI, 6: iustus non commovebitur: neque formidet, scilicet de futuro; Is. LI, 12: quis tu ut timeas ab homine mortali? Quod intelligendum est de timore humano: nam timorem divinum non excludit.
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Consequenter cum dicit audistis quia ego dixi vobis: vado, et venio ad vos; turbantur enim ex recessu Christi sed in parte consolabantur, quod subdit et venio ad vos; supra: vado, et venio ad vos. Non tamen ex hoc consolabantur totaliter, timentes ne forsitan gregem lupus hoc intervallo invaderet in pastoris absentia: secundum illud Zach. XIII, 7: percute pastorem, et dispergentur oves. Dicit ergo non turbetur, quia vado, sed nec formidet, quia venio ad vos. Vadit quidem sua potestate moriendo, et venit resurgendo; Matth. XX, 18: filius hominis tradetur principibus sacerdotum et Scribis, et condemnabunt eum morte (...) et tertia die resurget. Ivit ascendendo; Is. LXIII, 1: iste formosus in stola sua, gradiens in multitudine fortitudinis suae. Veniet ad iudicandum; Lc. XXI, 27: videbunt filium hominis venientem in nube cum potestate magna et maiestate. Totaliter autem consolatur eos cum dicit si diligeretis me, gauderetis utique; quasi dicat: si diligitis me, non debetis contristari, sed potius debetis gaudere de recessu meo, quia vado ad exaltationem meam, quia scilicet, vado ad patrem, qui maior me est. Sed ex hoc Arius insultat dicens patrem maiorem esse filio. Cuius error ex ipsis verbis domini excluditur. Nam ex intellectu eius, quomodo intelligitur vado ad patrem, ex eodem intelligitur pater maior me est. Filius autem non vadit ad patrem nec venit ad nos inquantum est filius Dei, secundum quod cum patre fuit ab aeterno; supra I: in principio erat verbum, et verbum erat apud Deum. Sed dicitur ire ad patrem, secundum humanam naturam. Sic ergo hoc quod dicit maior me est, non dicit inquantum filius Dei, sed inquantum filius hominis, secundum quod non solum est minor patre et spiritu sancto, sed etiam ipsis Angelis; Hebr. II, 9: eum autem qui modico quam Angeli minoratus est, videmus Iesum propter passionem mortis, gloria et honore coronatum. Item quibusdam hominibus, scilicet parentibus, subditus erat quantum ad aliquid, ut legitur Lc. II, 51. Sic ergo minor est patre secundum humanitatem, aequalis secundum divinitatem; Phil. II, 6: non rapinam arbitratus est esse se aequalem Deo: sed semetipsum exinanivit, formam servi accipiens. Potest etiam dici, secundum Hilarium, quod pater etiam secundum divinitatem maior est filio, sed tamen filius non est minor, sed aequalis. Est enim pater maior filio non potestate, aeternitate et magnitudine: sed donantis seu principii auctoritate. Nam pater nihil ab alio accipit, filius autem naturam, ut ita dicam, a patre accipit per aeternam generationem. Est ergo pater maior, quia dat; sed filius non est minor, sed aequalis, quia totum quod pater habet, accipit; Phil. II, 9: dedit ei nomen quod est super omne nomen. Minor enim iam non est donante, cui unum esse donatur. Chrysostomus autem ita exponit dicens, quod dominus loquitur secundum suspicionem apostolorum, qui nondum noverant quid sit resurrectio, nec eum aequalem patri existimabant. Et ideo dicit eis: et si non creditis mihi quod non possum mihi assistere, nec confiditis quod post crucem rursus vos videbo; tamen credatis mihi, quia vado ad patrem, qui maior me est.
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Respondet autem tacitae quaestioni, dicens et nunc dixi vobis priusquam fiat, ut cum factum fuerit credatis. Possent enim quaerere quare ista diceret et ideo praeveniens dicit nunc dixi vobis et cetera. Sed quaerit Augustinus: cum fides sit de his quae non videntur, non debet homo credere postquam factum est, sed ante. Sed dicendum, quod aliud videbant, et aliud credebant. Viderunt ante mortem Christi et eius resurrectionem, quo viso, crediderunt quod ipse esset Christus filius Dei. Unde cum factum fuit, non crediderunt fide nova, sed aucta; aut certe cum mortuus esset, defecta; cum surrexisset, refecta, ut Augustinus dicit. Consequenter cum dicit iam non multa loquar vobiscum, ponit aliam causam consolationis ex parte recessus sui, quae sumitur ex causa mortis. Sciendum est autem, quod causa mortis quaedam est inducens dolorem, cum quis pro culpa occiditur; quaedam est inducens consolationem, cum quis scilicet moritur pro bono virtutis; I Petr. IV, 15: nemo vestrum patiatur ut fur aut homicida (...). Si autem ut Christianus, non erubescat. Circa hoc ergo primo ostendit dominus quod peccatum non fuit causa suae mortis; secundo quod eius causa fuit virtus obedientiae et caritatis, ibi sed ut cognoscat mundus quia diligo patrem. Dicit ergo iam non multa loquar vobiscum, propter temporis brevitatem; supra XIII, 33: filioli, adhuc modicum vobiscum, sum. Vel quia nondum capaces estis; infra XVI, 12: adhuc multa habeo vobis loqui, sed non potestis portare modo. Vel ideo non multa loquar vobiscum, quia in uno brevi sermone explicabo vobis quod non moriar ex culpa mea.
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Et hoc facit consequenter cum dicit venit enim princeps mundi huius, et in me non habet quidquam, scilicet Diabolus, qui dicitur princeps, non ratione creationis, neque per naturalem potestatem, ut Manichaei blasphemant, sed ratione culpae huius, idest amatorum mundi: unde dicitur princeps mundi et peccati. Eph. ult., v. 12: non est nobis colluctatio adversus carnem et sanguinem; sed adversus rectores et principes tenebrarum harum. Non ergo est princeps creaturarum, sed peccatorum et tenebrarum; Iob XLI, 25: ille est rex super omnes filios superbiae. Hic ergo princeps venit ad persequendum: intravit enim in cor Iudae ut proderet, Iudaeorum vero ut occiderent; sed in me non habet quidquam: nam in nobis non habet potestatem nisi propter peccatum; supra VIII, v. 34: qui facit peccatum, servus est peccati. In Christo autem nullum peccatum erat, neque secundum animam: I Petr. II, 22: qui peccatum non fecit etc. neque secundum carnem, quia ex virgine absque originali peccato de spiritu sancto conceptus; Lc. I, 35: quod enim ex te nascetur sanctum, vocabitur filius Dei. Quia ergo Diabolus Christum, in quo nullum ius habuit, etiam invasit, perdere meruit quod iuste possidebat; Mc. V, 7: quid nobis et tibi, Iesu fili Dei altissimi? Sic ergo patet quod causa mortis suae non fuit culpa; sed nec erat cur moreretur, si non habet peccatum. Consequenter veram causam adiungit, quae est bonum virtutis; et ideo dicit sed ut cognoscat mundus quia diligo patrem: quod, secundum Augustinum sic punctatur: sed ut cognoscat mundus quia diligo patrem, et sicut mandatum dedit mihi pater, sic facio, suspensive, surgite, eamus hinc. Ubi sciendum est, quod duo moverunt Christum ad mortem sustinendam, scilicet amor Dei et dilectio proximi; Eph. V, 2: ambulate in dilectione. Et hoc probat per indicium, quia mandata sua implet; supra: si diligitis me, mandata mea servate.
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Et quantum ad hoc dicit sed ut cognoscat mundus quia diligo patrem etc.; et hoc efficaciter, quia scilicet morior; unde subdit et sicut mandatum dedit mihi pater, sic facio: quod est secundum quod pater movit eum ad mortem suscipiendam, scilicet obedientia, quae ex amore causatur. Mandatum autem hoc dedit pater non filio Dei, qui cum sit verbum, est etiam mandatum patris; sed dedit filio hominis, inquantum animae eius inspiravit necessarium esse saluti humanae ut Christus in humana natura moreretur. Ut ergo hoc mundus cognoscat, surgite, de loco ubi coenaverant, et eamus, ad locum ubi ego sum tradendus, ut videatis quod non ex necessitate, sed ex caritate et obedientia morior; Iob XXXIX, 21: audacter in occursum pergit armatis. Secundum Chrysostomum autem aliter legitur: ut in hoc scilicet quod dicit sic facio, sit finis sententiae; et in hoc quod resumit: surgite, eamus hinc, sit principium alterius: ut sit sensus: non morior, quasi princeps mundi huius habeat in me quidquam, sed quia diligo patrem, ideo hoc facio. Vos autem surgite et eamus hinc. Videbat enim eos formidare et propter tempus, quia nox profunda erat, et propter locum, quia in villa manifeste sistebant, ita ut semper circumvolverent ad ostium oculos, quasi expectando hostes eos invadentes, et propter hoc non attendentes his quae dicebantur. Et ideo ut melius verba quae dicturus erat intelligerent, ducit eos in locum alium secretum, ut aestimantes se securos esse, attentius audiant quae diceret eis; Oseae II, 14: ducam eam in solitudinem, et loquar ad cor eius.
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v. 1 non turbetur cor vestrum μὴ ταρασσέσθω ne tristitia, metu, anxietate percellatur, neve dubiis exagitetur; et horum omnium remedium assignat fidem; creditis in Deum et in me credite; utrimque graece πιστεύετε ; unde sat multi utrimque imperativum explicant (cf. Cyr. Nonn. Euth. Aug. Schg. Schz. Keil, Weiss) aliis interpretationem vulg. praeferentibus (Maid. Corl. Fil.); neque immerito; nam magis congruit ad id quod Iesus vult : nam ex fide quam habentin Deum iis persuadet, ut in se quoque credant; iis in memoriam revocat, quod si in Deum credunt etiam in se debeant credere, quippe qui missus sit ἃ Deo, habeat testimonium Dei, operetur opera Dei, sit unum cum Patre. Sententia proinde est : si in Deum creditis, vel sicut, vel tentia plane apta est ad doctrinam toties traditam (cf. 5,19 seq. 36 seq. 8,18. 28. 38; 10,30. 38; 12,44-50); et ipsa exhortatio maiorem habet vim, quia tamquam consectarium necessarium ex veritate admissa proponitur. . Praeclare ea admonitione effertur vis et efficacia fidei; credite « i. e. omnes aerumnae pertransibunt; nam fides in me et in Patrem fortior est aerumnis omnibus nec sinet vos malis obrui » (CÀr.); « fides itaque armatura est infracta ac lata quae ignaviam ac terrorem avertit et nequitiae tela irrita et inutilia prorsus efficit » (Cyr.). Fidem autem exigit etiam in se, tum ut sequentibus suis promissionibus quibus eos consolari studet fidem habeant, tum ut fiduciam suam in ipso collocent, sicut in Deo collocant, qua fiducia et fide facile animi turbationem omniaque mala superare possint. Si enim fidem in se exigit, non solum eam fidem requirit qua credatur esse Christus, verax in sermonibus, sed etiam eam qua fiducia in se collocetur tamquam eo qui etsi secundum corpus eos est deserturus, sua tamen ope ac divinitate nunquam est derelicturus. Haec est enim fides, de qua Ioannes, haec est, inquit, victoria quae vincit mundum, fides nostra; haec est fides quae timorem et turbationem pellit e corde, qua summa cum confidentia dicimus : Dominus illuminatio mea et salus mea, quem timebo? Dominus protector vitae meae, a quo trepidabo (Ps. 26,1; lans.)? Eos itaque adhortatur v. 1 ad excutiendam omnem turbationem et ad fidendum in se; tum iam incipit aperire bona quae per ipsum tuto exspectare debent et propter quae omnis turbatio sit consolatione et spe expellenda; proinde ne propter 13,33.36 existiment se non posse pervenire aut solum Petrum eo perventurum quo ipse vadat, subiungit
Propter negationem Petro praedictam discipulos esse turbatos, moerore et tristitia affectos, cum de se quisque timeret adeoque Christum eos blande allocutum esse aliqui censent (cf. CAr. Cyr. lans.) ; at rectiusexistimat TAom. iis 8 Christo consolationem et confortationem praeberi contra eius recessum. Ad hoc enim sermo subsequens dirigitur totus. Modo Christus dixerat : adhuc modicum vobiscum sum; quo ego vado, vosnon potestis venire (13,33); et quia haec locutus est eis, tristitia implevit cor eorum (cf. 16,6). Magistrum, cui totos se devoverunt, recedere; eumque recedere, uti ipsis videbatur, re infecta, munere messiano non completo; ipsos relictum iri sine tutela odio et persecutionibus pharisaeorum ; ipsos iam separari ab eo quem tam fideliter diligebant, quid tristius et magis aerumnosum accidere poterat? Quare quam maxime opus habebant consolatione, confortatione, explanatione. Et Christus pro summa in eos dilectione (13,1) eos modo plane paterno erigit et edocet;
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v. 2 in domo Patris mei mansiones multae sunt ἱκαναὶ δέξασθαι xat ὑμᾶς (Euth.), quae itaque sufficiant pro vobis et innumeris aliis (70/.); effertur itaque multitudo (cf. CAr. Theoph. Cai. Tol. Corl. Schz. Fil.) ; alii ipsa multitudine eti&m indicari volunt diversitatem pro gradu ac diversitate meritorum (Cyr. Aug. Rup. Alb. Thom. Salm. Bar. Ians. Mald. Lap. etin cat. Theod. heracl.), id quod tamen voce sola vix contineri dicendum erit, nisi dixeris ipsa multitudine iam varietatem insinuari solere. Id eorum animis Christus quam maxime imprimere vult; unde addit ad certam persuasionem gignendam, uti humano more in simili conditione loqui solemus : s? quo minus, si non ita esset, dirissem vobis, quia vado parare vobis locum i. e. nam discedo ἃ vobis causa vestri et vado ad Patrem, ut vobis parem locum (To/.). fllud ὅτι Quia non est recitativum, ut multi explicant (Cyr. Aug. Thom. Corl.), sed rationem reddit (cf. Tol. Bar. Patr. Schg. Schz. Fil. Weiss); Christus itaque est praecursor noster (πρόδρομος Hebr. 6,20). Et quod vadit ad . parandam mansionem suis in domo Patris, eos de discessu consolari debet. | Si ὅτι accipitur recitativum, habetur sententia : si quo minus, dixissem vobis me vadere ut vobis locum parem. At tunc oritur difficultas ex v. 3, in quo absolute dicitur id quod modo negatum est. Quam contradictionem inter v. 2 et 3 aliqui ita tollere student, ut in v. 2 mansiones parari, in v. 3 autem mansores parari velint (Aug. Bed. Rup.) vel in v. 2 mansiones esse praedestinatas , ideo significasse non ire se ut eas paret; sed non esse paratas i. e. non posse quemquam in illas ingredi, nisi prius ipse aditum praeeundo patefecerit in v. 3; proin in v. 2 sermonem esse de praedestinatione, in v. 3 de operatione. Sed notat Maid. : « utraque expositio dura est; sed alterutra necessaria est, cum nulla tertia melior apparet »; duram esse ex eo quoque elucet quia in v. 2 et 3 idem verbum ἑτοιυ σαι legitur, proin expositio diversa admitti nequit. Alio modo Euth. etiam v. 3 regi vult ab illo ὅτι : hoc etiam dixissem vobis quod si abiero etc. ; id quod sane durum est; meliore modo nodum solvit Corl. sententiam legens cum interrogatione : si non esset ita, numquid vobis dixissem quia vado parare vobis locum? « sic optime cohaeret contexta oratio nec dicenda est textui originali adversari , quippe qui interpunctione caret »; hoc utique verum est; at interrogationi obstat quia Ghristus nondum dixerat : vado vobis parare locum, sed solum : quo ego vado vos non potestis venire. Facile Salm. evitat difficultatem sequens alteram lectionem graecam, qua ὅτι omittitur : sin minus, dixissem vobis. Vado parare vobis locum; ita alii quoque (apud Lap.). Sed cum mansiones iam sint in domo Patris, ideoque paratae ad excipiendos amicos Dei, quomodo dicit Christus se parare locum? Respondent parasse per merita et sanguinem, per redemptionem (A15. Bar.), aperuisse morte sua ianuam coeli eousque clausam, ipsum suo in coelum ingressu viam ad coelum patefecisse (Cyr. Cat. Tol.). Utut haec vera sunt, tamen verbis Christi non congruunt; nam dicit
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v. 3 et si abiero et praeparavero vobis locum , ἐάν st conditionem necessafacit post suum recessum, postquam abiit ad Patrem ; unde parare locum declarat id quod ipse in gloria assumptus est facturus, ut locus in coelo eis paretur, i. e. mittet Spiritum sanctum, cuius gratia idonei fiunt capiendis mansionibus, vivit ad interpellandum pro nobis, militibus suis continuo ope sua adstat et omnia illa eis suppeditat quibus praemio coelesti efficiantur digni et ita eis locum i. e. gradum gloriae in domo Patris parat. Significatigitur Christus se continuo curam suorum gesturum et ad dexteram maiestatis sedentem se pretium redemptionis abundantia donorum et gratiarum suis applicaturum. Postquam tali modo discipulis suis convenientem gradum gloriae providit, evangelista haec verba Christi nobis refert eo tempore quo omnes apostoli ipso excepto iam obierant, quo itaque illud desiderium et suspirium : cupio dissolvi et esse cum Christo, iam in omnibus erat impletum. Unde evangelista haec verba non potuit non intelligere de adventu Iesu, quatenus in morte singulorum venire et singulos &d sui consortium coeleste avocare et assumere dicitur. Certissime evangelista non potuit concipere verba haec solum valere de secundo Christi adventu et de resurrectione corporum; nam evidenter scivit eos qui dormierunt esse cum Christo, quamvis utique resurrectione facta etiam corpore glorioso induti, ratione quadam pleniore, participes futuri sint gloriae Christi. Etsi itaque alibi Christus venire dicitur ita, ut alter eius adventus significetur, tamen hoc loco aperte docemur illud ven:re ἔρχεσθαι nullatenus δα unam illam notionem de altero adventu coarctandum esse. Idem aliis quoque locis docemur. Nam : ideo et vos estote parati, quia qua nescitis hora Filius hominis venturus est (Matth. 24,54) et vigilate, ne cum venerit repente, inveniat vos dormientes (Marc. 13, 36), haec et similia dicit discipulis neque iis solis; nam : quod autem vobis dico omnibus dico : vigilate (Marc. 13,37). Iam clarum est Christum de iis loqui qui secundum eius adventum visuri ante suam mortem non sunt, idque eum scire. Quid ergo illud venire significare debet? Morte unusquisque sistitur coram tribunali Christi; quare vero sensu ipse venit iudex in morte singulorum (cf. Comment. in Matth. 1I p. 352). Praeterea ex usu loquendi in vetere testamento Deus dicitur egredi , venire, si agitur de actione particulari iudicis Dei aut opitalatoris (cf. Comment. in Proph. min. II p. 73). Quare iterum intelligitur, cur Iesus qui singulos morte ad suum tribunal et ad praemium vel supplicium vocat, venire dici possit et merito dici venire in morte singulorum. Unde verba haec iferum venio etc. recte de morte singulorum! accipiunt Thom. Schg. Fil.;alii iterum venio referunt ad resurrectionem Chrisli, qua facta eos sit visurus (4/5. Rup. Salm.), alii locutione complexa dicere Christum de utroque adventu i. e. in morte singulorum et ad ultimum iudicium, quia assumptio illa ex parte compleatur in morte, perfectissime in resurrectione generali (Alb. Ians. Bar. Corl.), alii demum solum de secundo adventu verba concipi posse arbitrantur (ScAz. Weiss). Iam antea dixerat Iesus : vado ad eum qui me misit (7,33) et modo, in domo Patris esse mansiones multas et se vadere ad locum illis parandum ; unde merito inferre potuit
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v. & et quo ego vado scitis et viam scitis, graece plerumque : et quo vadam, viam scitis; quo ipse vadat, clare in antecedentibus expressum est; sed quae via intelligitur? posset concipi via illa, per quam ipse vadat ad Patrem, i. e. passio, de qua discipulis iam saepius locutus est (Matth. 16,91; 17,12; 20,18. 19) sed de qua parum intellexerant. At ex subsequentibus patet Christum seipsum dicere viam ; quare hic iam intelligit viam per quam discipuli pertingant illuc quo ipse vadit, i. e. ad domum Patris, ad Patrem. Etiam hane viam iam nosse poterant, quia dixerat Iesus illos habituros vitam qui veniant ad se (5,50; 6,35. 39. 40. 47). Si itaque dicit cit£is, indicat illos habere rationem sciendi sufficientem (Caz.). Dicens autem tam asseveranter scitis innuit eos habere in hoc valentissimam consolationis causam ; et eo ipso eos provocat, ut quo vadat et viam quam maxime animis imprimant eamque rem clare habeant perspectam. Dicit itaque scitis, ut si rem non plane intelligant eos ad interrogandum invitet , simili modo quo solet magister re dicta quandoque affirmare : nunc scitis, ut si non bene perceperint dubia proponant discipuli. Et revera illud scitis mirum videtur Thomae et quod sibi accidit reliquis quoque evenire existimat; « scire se nesciebant » (Aug.)
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v. 5 dicit ei Thomas (cf. 11,16) : Domine, nescimus quo vadis, et quomodo possumus viam scire? interrogat ut discat (Cyr.) , sed simul aliquid timoris (CÀr.) et tristitiae in verbis exprimi nemo negaverit. Iesus tarditati discipulorum occurrit οἱ plenissime respondet
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v. 6 ego sum via οἱ veritas et vita; nemo venit ad Patrem nisi per me; en meta et terminus quo sit perveniendum, quo Christus vadit et quo discipuli perducendi sunt : venire ad Patrem; via est ipse Christus, cum nemo alia ratione quam per eum ad Patrem venire possit; nam non est aliud nomen in quo nos oporteat salvos fieri (Act. &,19). Christus est via, quia per ipsum solum a. peccato ad statum gratiae et iustitiae , et ab hoc saeculo ad aeternam beatitudinem pervenitur; est via quia ipse nos Deo reconciliat, nobis doctrina et exemplo demonstrat quomodo vivendum (ambulandum in vita temporali) sit, ut ad terminum beatum pertingamus. Cum autem dicat : ego sum ἡ ἀλήθεια xài ἡ ζωή clare naturam suam divinam affirmat; solus quippe Deus dici potest ipsa veritas, ipsa vita. Qua sui ipsius designatione simul abundantissime declarat, quomodo nobis sit via ad Patrem : fons scil. et auctor fidei et cognitionis Dei, qui illuminat omnes et solus de coelestibus et de Deo nos docet (cf. 1,9. 18; 3,11; 6,56; 8,38); est ipsa veritas , unde effata eius et promissiones firmissima sunt neque unquam eludi aut irrita fieri possunt; quare simul maxima causa consolationis discipulis praebetur. Est ipsa vita in se, habens naturam divinam, fontem et originem omnis vitae; est vita quoad alios, quatenus veram vitam, vitam aeternam ac beatam iis communicat; ipse enim dat vitam supernaturalem, aeternam (cf. &,18&; 5,24. 40; 6,33. 40. 4. 48. 51. 58; 8,19; 10,28); ipse est resurrectio et vita (cf. 5,95. 20; 6,39. εἰς. 50. 55; 11,25. 26). In hac quoque voce et sui ipsius designatione uberrima reconditur consolationis et confortationis materia. Si ipse est vita, ergo iis qui ipsi coniuncti sunt iam mors nullatenus est timenda. « Sine via non itur, sine veritate non cognoscitur, sine vita non vivitur; ego sum via quam sequi debes, veritas cui credere debes, vitam quam sperare debes; ego sum via inviolabilis, veritas infallibilis, vita interminabilis; ego sum via rectissima, veritas suprema, vita vera , beafa , increata » (Imit. Chr. 3,56). Quia Christus est via, veritas, vita, etiam explicatum est, cur nemo veniat ad Patrem nisi per Christum. Ad Patrem enim venire in hoc contextu est ad visionem beatificam pervenire, ipsa frui visione Dei; Deus autem est veritas et vita. Per Christum primo reconciliamur Deo, evadimus amici Dei, et ita quantum hisce in terris licet venimus ad Patrem ; per eundem qui est veritas et vita nobis continget ipsius veritatis et vitae i. e. Dei visio ac possessio beata. Postquam Christus se testatus est esse ipsam veritatem et vitam, potest pergere cum tacita quadam reprehensione
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v. 7 si cognovissetis me et Patrem meum utique cognovissetis; nam Deus Pater est veritas et vita ; ipsa enim veritas ἡ ἀλήθεια et ipsa vita non possunt enuntiari nisi de Deo, proinde si Christum cognovissent, cognovissent eum tamquam habentem naturam ^ OAK. 44,1-9.- | | ^ ' 439 E ! divinam adeoque consubstantialem Deo Patri, proin Patrem quoque — cognovissent; et nunc saltem debent Christum cognoscere tamquam habentem naturam divinam, quia tam explicite testatus est : ego sum : veritas et vita; quare Iesus pergit : et amodo cognoscetis (lege cogno- : SCtS γινώσχετε, vide lect. var.) eum et vidistis eum ἑωράχατε i. e. no- Scentes Christum noscuní Patrem; Christum viderunt et continuo vident, ergo Patrem notione visum habent; ἀπ᾿ ἄρτι ab hoc tempore, &b hoc momento, quo scil. Christus hoc de se testimonium reddidit debent eum cognoscere ; id saltem merito Christus postulare potest, ; praesertim quia alias iam tot testimonia de divina sua natura perhibuit (cf. 5,18. 19; 8,58; 10,30. 38; 19,55). Quare non opus est illud amodo explicare de futura cognitione per Spiritum sanctum danda (Chr. Tol. Lap. Bar. Calm. Nat.) neque γινώσχετε explicare per imperativum (Cai. Weiss), quae acceptio minime consentanea esse potest ad vidistis; ceterum vide 8,19. De qua visione Patris sermo sit, concludi potest ex aliis Christi verbis 6,56 : non quia Patrem 'vidit quisquam , nisi is qui est ἃ Deo, hic vidit Patrem (cf. 1,18); non itaque de visione corporali aut visione perfecta intellectuali, sed de cognitione quae huius vitae conditionibus respondeat. - « Discendi quidem cupidus erat Philippus, sed in comprehendendis divinis speculationibus haud satis acutus » (Cyr.), ad quod conferri potest 6,5-7; scivit Moysi et quandoque prophetis theophanias fuisse concessas (Cyr. Theoph.); inde ut simili modo ipsis quoque Pater ostendatur petit
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v. 8 dicit ei Philippus : Domine ostende nobis Patrem δεῖξον, ut semel pro brevi tempore ostendat innuitur; nam imperativo aoristi solum significatur fieri actionem, dum imperativo praesentis temporis ipse status et conditio perdurans exprimi solet; et sufficit nobts, nil ultra quaerimus (Chr.); sufficit ad deponendum omnem timorem et tristitiam ; sufficit, ut timore ac tristitia depositis non opus sit ad nos erigendos et consolandos pluribus rationibus (To/.). Apparet quam parum concluserint ex effatis Christi quod concludendum erat : Christus est Filius Dei, habens naturam divinam; proin ab eo edoceri, promissiones accipere, ab eo assumptum iri debet plane sufficere, debet multo pluris aestimari quam theophania quaedam transiens. Quare Christus tarditatem carpit et reprehendit et quae iam docuerat non sine quadam animi admiratione et acerbitáte denuo repetit
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v. 9 dicit. ei Iesus : tanto tempore vobiscum sum et non cognovistis me (lege : cognovisti me) Philippe? qui videt me, videt et Patrem; cf. 12,45; bene notant hisce duos errores confodi : enuntiatur consubstantialitas Filii cum Patre et distinctio personarum ; « non cognovisti me? quaenam haec consequentia? multa sane; quia enim Filius idipDOMUS Ue LM HA ENRR ARE Y, ECOLE E^ 430.7 0 007— tax. didam sum est quod Pater, manens tamen Filius , iure in se Patrem ostendit; : deinde hypostases distinguaps ait, qui videt me, videt et Patrem, ne quis diceret eundem esse Patrem. et Filium ». (Chr. sim. Cyr.). Visum hic vocat τὴν xav διάνοιαν γνῶσιν (Agmon.); « sicut mea divinitas per hanc carnem assumptam videtur, ita eGam videtur divinitas Patris quae eadem est » (To/.). « Tamquam enim melior esset Pater quam Filiae, ita Philippus Patrem nosse cupiebat et ideo nec Filium sciebat quo saelius esse aliquid credebat. Ad hunc sensum corrigendum dictum est : qui videt me, videt et Patrem » (Aug.); unde : quomodo tu dicis : ostende nobis Patrem? et quam immerito id postulet, declarat Iesus repetens institutionem iam traditam
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v. 10 non creditis (lege : non credis) quia ego in Patre et Pater in me est? cf. 10,38; « cur in similibus distanliam cupis cernere? cur inseparabiles separatim desideras nosse » (Aug.)? et subdit manifestationem dictorum, quae habetur in verbis et operibus (TAom.) ; probat scil. ab effectu se esse in Patre et Patrem in se : verba quae ego loquor vobis a meipso non loquor ; id iam antea docuit dicens : non potest Filius ἃ se facere quidquam, nisi quod viderit Patrem facientem 5,19. 30; sicut audio (a Patre), sic iudico; ego quae audivi ab eo, haec loquor in mundo 8,26; vide 7,16; 19.49. Ita probat se esse in Patre. Dein pariter ex effectu probat Patrem esse inse: Pater autem in me manens ipse facit opera τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ; vide 5,90 : Pater diligit Filium et omnia demonstrat ei quae ipse facit; 5,30 non possum ego & me ipso facere quidquam; 5,36 opera quae dedit mihi Pater; cf. 8,28. 29; declarat itaque se peragere opera virtute divina sibi indita et proin, quia una est natura et virtus divina, opera illa peragi pariter a Patre; cf. 5,21. 26; « ideo Pater in illo manens facit opera, quia per quem et cum quo facit, non est nisi ab ipso.» (Aug.). Et quantopere hanc περιχώρησιν, hane cireumincessionem divinarum personarum mentibus discipulorum impressam velit, repetitione declarat et argumento denuo addito urget
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v. 11 non creditis, « antea solus Philippus arguebatur ; nunc autem non ibi eum solum fuisse qui esset arguendus ostenditur » (Aug.), idque merito; Philippus enim quasi nomine omnium locutus est nobis dicens; quia ego in Patre et Pater in me est?
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v. 12 alioquin propter opera ipsa credite ; dicit discipulis iterum quod antea iam [Iudaeis dixerat : si mihi non vultis credere, operibus credite, ut cognoscatis et credatis, quia Pater in me est et ego in Patre 10,38. Uti saepius, ad operum testimonium provocat; opera enim talia sunt qualia nemo facere possit nisi Deus sit cum eo; et proin iis testimonium exhibetur Deum quoque verba eius et doctrinam approbare (cf. 3,2; 5,36; 6,217: 8,18; 15,94). Animos apostolorum erigit, confortat, consolatur divinitate sua adeo clare exposita. Qua fide quid posset valentius esse ad omnem turbationem pellendam? nam a Christo se diligi sciunt et is a quo tenere diliguntur est Deus! De recessu suo eos consolatus est quia veniet et assumet eos ad seipsum v. 3; nunc eos consolatur promissionibus magnificis pro tempore illo intermedio a recessu suo usque ad assumptionem. Et primo quidem consolationem iis praebet exhibendo quali mercede et successu fidem illorum sit remuneraturus : amen, amen dico vobis, qui credit in me, opera quae ego facio et ipse faciet et maiora horum (hisce maiora) faciet, quia ego ad Patrem vado; opus igitur Christi continuabunt, immo maiore successu et effectu opus messianum, evangelium regni Dei, praedicabunt et propagabunt et eam operis maioris gloriam consequentur quia ego vado ad Patrem; i.e. vado, munus meae manifestationis et evangelii praedicandi credentibus committo et relinquo; vado ad Patrem i. e. gloriam meam recipio, ideoque regnans in gloria vobis tribuam, ut opera faciatis maiora his quae ego in habitu servi, in carne mortali feci; nam « dum ero glorificatus, decet me maiora facere et etiam dare vobis virtutes maiora faciendi » (TAom. sim. Tol.); cf. 7,39 nondum Spiritus erat datus quia Iesus nondum erat glorificatus et 12,32 si exaltatus fuero, omnia traham ad meipsum. Quia igitur Christus assequitur regnum et gloriam vadens ad Patrem, haec est causa faciendi maiora pro discipulis. Haec maiora bene designat Rup. verbis illis : in omnem terram exivit sonus eorum et in fines orbis terrae verba eorum (Ps. 18,5; cf. Rom. 10,18). Atque praedicationem illorum iri adiutum signis et prodigiis multis et generatim ope fidei miracula iri patratum Christus hisce quoque verbis promittit et praedicit, idque explicite quoque asseruit post resurrectionem (Marc. 16,17. 18). Recole quam praeclara impletio huius promissionis iam cernatur in Actibus apostolorum et in epistolis paulinis tum propagatione evangelii tum patratione signorum. Maiora quoque facient et generatim maximam habent rationem consolationis , quia (ita ὅτι quoque pertinet ad sententiam per xat adnexam),
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v. 13 et quodcumque petieritis (Patrem) in nomine meo , hoc faciam , ut glorificetur Pater in Filio; nomine innotescit ac designatur persona; unde nomen Dei saepe ponitur pro iis quae Deus de se revelavit et quae de ipso ab hominibus cognoscuntur, ergo pro ipso Deo (vide Comment. in Is. I p. 293. 465. 475; in Matth. II. p. 110. 127); nomen Christi igitur dicitur pro ipso Christo in quantum eius dignitas, voluntas, ratio muneris nobis innotescit; inde petere in nomine Christi est petere in Christo, in unione cum Christo, ut orans sit gratia coniunctus cum Christo (cf. 15,4) et cum dicatur tn nomine , designatur unio cum Christo quatenus spectatur id quod Christus ratione sui muneris et doctrinae vult; brevi petere in unione cum Christo ad eius opus perficiendum. Quod hac ratione petitur, id est quod Christus vult et proin Aoc faciam. In hac acceptione continentur reliquae explicationes quae proponi solent : petere invocato nomine Iesu, eius mandato, pro salute quam vult, cum confessione Filii Dei et salvatoris (cf. Nonn. Theoph. Euth. Aug. Rup. Thom. etc.), virtute et meritis Christi (Ians. Lap.), ad laudem et gloriam eius(Ca:. Salm. Tol.). Et finis omnium ultimus est gloria Dei, quam gloriam ut hominibus manifestaret et Deo satisfactione praestita redderet Filius de coelo descendit, quam gloriam ut promoveat spondet se omnia facturum quae pro ratione muneris ad opus messianum propagandum discipuli petierint. Quo maiore fiducia petant, repetit
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v. 1& st quid petieritis me in nomine meo, hoc faciam, simul in illo me declarans denuo suam cum Patre consubstantialitatem ad corrigendum sensum illum quo Philippus dixerat : ostende nobis Patrem et sufficit nobis (Rup.). Etsi itaque Iesus discedat, tamen petentibus et invocantibus praesto est ac si praesens iis adstaret. Unde haben quo se consolentur, et cum talia promittat quia vadit ad Patrem (v. 12), etiam eos edocet expedire ad eorum utilitatem ut vadat ad Patrem (Mald.).
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v. 15 si diligitis me, hanc dilectionem exhibete non in moeroreet tristitia de meo recessu, sed mandata mea servate, et haec exhibitio dilectionis vestrae simul conditio est et praeparatio ad novum beneficium quod Christus ad eorum consolationem illis est largiturus (cf. Thom. Bar. Corl. Schz. Fil.) ; nam promissionem Spiritus sancti arcte loquendi formula adiungit ad hanc sententiam : si diligitis etc.
Discessu suo commemorato normam vitae subiunxerat (supra 13,354) scil. caritatem. Idem hoc loco
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v. 16 et ego rogabo Patrem et alium Paraclitum dabit vobis, ut maneat vobiscum in aeternum; jam nova consolationis ratio : Iste παράχλητος non recedet ab eis, manet semper apud eos nunquam eos relinquens; ergo habent quo se consolentur de Iesu recessu. Dicit se rogare Patrem (cf. 17,9. 15,20), quamvis propter merita, quae in sua natura humana acquisierit meruerit, ut ille daretur (Bon.). Cum discipuli saepius viderint eum orantem, hac quoque precatione ad Patrem discebant, quanta de ipsis cura Iesus teneretur. Ceterum eodem modo Christus pro natura sua divina etiam dicit a se mitti Paraclitum (16,7) vel dari (20,92); παράχλητος vertitur in vulg. 1 loan. 2,1 advocatus, quae notio voci congruit, significat . enim eum qui ad auxilium vocatur, patrocinium alicuius rei suscipit, adiutor, defensor exsistit (cf. A/b. Patr. Fil.), patronus, qua dictione lans. censet sufficienter latine vocem exprimi, « patroni enim est suggerere clienti quae sunt utilia atque ad ea adhortari, consolari moerentem et intercedere pro eo apud alios » et EutA. dicit παράχλητον παραινέτην xai ἀλείπτην ἐν τοῖς ἄθλοις τῆς ἀρετῆς xai ψυχαγωγίαν ἐν ταῖς θλίψεσι xai ἀντίληψιν, proin. admonitorem, praeceptorem, solatium, subsidium. Saepe explicare solent Consolatorem, quae notio etiam consequitur ex generaliore illa auxiliatoris, patroni; at per se sola si sumitur arctior est. Dicit altum Paraclitum scil. praeter se; nam v. 6. 13. 15 et Iesus se tamquam adiutorem qui causae eorum patrocinetur designat (cf. v. 18. 21. 27). Clarius alium hunc Paracletum describit
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v. 17 Spiritum veritatis τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς x^. quo significat hunc non corporaliter ac visibiliter cum eis mansurum, sicut ipse cum eis conversatus fuerat; est Spiritus veritatis, auctor veritatis et largitor, qui sine ulla erroris admixtione docet (lans. T'ol.), qui a veritate procedit et veritatem dicit (Thom.), quem mundus non potest accipere, quia non videt eum nec scit eum, i. e. improbi (CAr.), qui solum mundana ac terrena sapiunt (Euth.), quia animalis homo non percipit ea quae sunt Spiritus Dei, stultitia enim est illi (1 Cor. 2,14) et in malevolam animam non introibit sapientia nec habitabit in corpore subdito peccatis (Sap. 1,5). Mundus enim, uti regno Dei opponitur, concipitur dominio diaboli subiectus; quem mundum alias vocat tenebras. Talis autem mundus, utpote spiritui erroris et mendacii subiectus, non videt θεωρεῖ, non mente conjemplatur et perpendit veritatem, sed potius odio habet, aversatur, nec scit γινώσχει, non. cognoscit nec agnoscit eam, ut scil. secundum eam veritatem vita instituatur; si autem veritatem mundus revera negligit, reprimit(cf. Rom. 1,18), Spiritum quoque veritatis recte dicitur nec videre nec scire; inde autem consequitur, quod eum non potest accipere, quia scil. et quamdiu se mendacio et odio veritatis mancipaverit. Verum plane alia est sors discipulorum, quibus maxima emoadhuc modicum et mundus me iam non videt; post resurrectionem enim suis adversariis se non visibili modo ostendit, improbis non apparuit; vos autem videtis me quia ego vivo et vos vivetis; consolatur eos de recessu suo; per modicum tempus ipsi quoque eum iam non spectabunt; at iterum eum conspicient, θεωρεῖτέ με, qua voce et oculis ipse vivit, iis quoque vitam largietur; « crux enim non usque in finem nos separabit, sed ad brevissimum tempus me abscondet; vitam autem, ut videtur mihi, non praesentem tantum , sed εἰ futuram dicit » (Chr. Euth. sim. Rup. lans. Corl. Fil. Schz.). Dicit ego tivo, quia ipse est vita et habet vitam in semetipso (5,96) et quia ipse, uti ponit animam, ita sumit eam iterum (10,18) et « quia ipsius mox futura erat resurrectio, praesentis posuit temporis verbum propter significandam celeritatem » (Aug.); cf. 20,19. 26; 21,7 seq. Sunt qui verba haec ad vitam terrestrem restringant (Cai. Tol.) et qui vivetis ad alteram vitam vel etiam solum ad resurrectionem corporum referant (Aug. Aib. Mald. Patr.). Sed ut sunt verba generalia, ita generali modo quoque retinenda ; eo enim modo et toti sermonis contextui et consolationi melius congruunt; v. 20 in t/lo die, quo scil. illud videtis me , v. 19 impletur, ergo post Domini resurrectionem et deinceps (Chr. Euth. Alb. Cai. lans. Schz.; alii a resurrectione ad pentecosfbn usque Ammon. Corl.; ἃ die Spiritus dati Patr. Fil.) vos cognoscetis quia ego sum in Patre meo et vos in me et ego in vobis; haec cognitio in dies magis crescet; cum enim Christus ad eos veniat et ipsi eum videant in miris illis post resurrectionem apparitionibus, necessario eorum cognitio de divina eius natura firmior, clarior evadet; ad argumenta illa visibilia accedit institutio quam a Christo et a Spiritu veritatis accipient, qua institutione nunquam carebunt. Si itaque iam nunc iubentur credere : quia ego in Patre (v. 11 graece), haec fides et cognitio postmodum tot argumentis et doctrinis mirum in modum firmabitur. Porro iisdem docebuntur de intima sua cum Christo coniunctione, de illa cum Christo complantatione (de qua Rom. 6,5), de Christo capite Ecclesiae, cuius corporis mystici singuli sunt membra, de unione illa quam mox Christus indicat dicens : ego sum vitis, vos palmites (15,5) : vos tn me, in me insiti per gratiam sanctificantem, a me accipientes continuum gratiae influxum, e£ ego in vobis, intime vobis iunctus, in vobis inhabitans per divinitatem, in vobis operans. Hisce iam tangitur « mysterium unitatis ecclesiasticae secundum unionem spiritus inteeni inter caput et membra , immo rectius inter personam et membra; Iesum enim esse in nobis et nos in Iesu nihil est aliud quam nos esse membra Iesu, ipsum vero esse ve- luti personam horum membrorum » (Cai.); cf. Rom. 12,5. 1 Cor. 19,12. Eph. 1,93; 5,15. 16. Col. 2,19. Quam triplicem cognitionem in altera vita beata admirabilem in modum iri perfectum patet. Aliam addit consolationis rationem ; monetantea ut in sua dilectione perseverent et modum dilectionis ostendendae docet; si autem diligant eum, duplex emolumentum enascetur : Patris erga eos dilectio et Christi dilectio ac manifestatio. Ita ad causas consolationis iam recensitas additur dilectio Patris et ipsius Christi gloriae ac virtutis exhibitio, quam in se experientur;
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v. 21 qui habet mandata mea et servat ea , « qui habet in memoria et servat in vita, qui habet in sermonibus et servat in moribus, qui habet audiendo et servat faciendo, aut qui habet faciendo et servat perseverando » (Aug.); mandata eius sunt illa de perfecta legis observatione, quam docuit in sermone montano , de humilitate, de sui abnegatione, de venia offensoribus danda, de studio orationis etc. (cf. Matth. 5,90 seq. 18,1. Marc. 8,34. Luc. 9,93 seq. 19,22: 15,96; 16,9; 18,1 etc.) , ille est qui diligit me; cf. v. 15; loquitur generali modo, quo indicat praeter apostolos fore multos qui sua mandata sint observaturi; hac etiam praedictione consolatio discipulis affertur ; qut autem diligit me, diligetur a Patre meo tamquam filius fruitur favore Dei e! ego diligam eum et manifestabo ei me ipsum, mei cognitionem et contemplationem in animam ipsius insinuabo et post hanc vitam me ei facie ad faciem videndum exhibebo. Haec dicuntur, non quasi nos priores Deum diligeremus; ipse enim prior nos diligit gratia sua praeveniente, excitante, adiuvante nos ad sui amorem trahens. Sed indicatur qua ratione Deus pro sua bonitate nostram erga Christum dilectionem sit remuneraturus; nam quoad quosdam effectus nos prius diligimus Iesum quam Deus nos, nostra scil. dilectione promerentes certos quosdam divinae dilectionis effectus, certa beneficia et dona, quae ipsa sunt Dei in nos dilectio et favor. Quotiescumque enim Deus gratiam vel beneficium largitur, suam nobis exhibet dilectionem , novum in ,nos suae dilectionis effectum transfundens (cf. Cat. Ians.). Manifestationem sui promittit Iesus mandata servantibus et se diligentibus. Mundus autem ,. ut dictum est, non potest accipere Spiritum veritatis, quia non videt eum nec scit (v. 17) et mundus me iam non videt (v. 19). Inde consequi videtur id' quod iudaicae exspectationi de manifestatione messiana plane contradicit : gloria enim Messiae et eius iudicium omnibus gentibus debet manifestari (cf. Is. 2,9; 11,10; 42,5; 49,6; 52,15 etc.). Unde
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v. 92 dicit ei Iudas, non ille Iscariotes ; addit ne quis putet proditorem esse reversum; Iudas Thaddaeus, qui et Lebbaeus vocatur et Iudas lacobi i. e. Iacobi frater, uti se appellat in epistola v. 1 (cf. Comment. Matth. I p. 375). Nota quam fideliter evangelista has interruptiones sermonis Iesu memoria servaverit Thomae, Philippi, Iudae; inde habes indicium apertum hos sermones non ab ipso esse compositos, sed, uti habiti sint, narrari; Domine quid factum est, quid accidit, quid causae incidit, quta manifestaturus es nobis teipsum et non. mundo? quid quasi novi intervenit, ut mutaretur id quod nos divinitus constitutum existimavimus? Quaestioni huic certe subest etiam illa mundana et iudaica notio regni messiani qualis v. g. in Psalmo salomonico 17 enuntiatur (cf. Comment. Matth. I p. 10seq.). Quare Iesus ita respondet, ut indolem spirituàlem suae manifestationis efferat
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v. 93 respondit Iesus et dizit ei : si quis diligit me, sermonem meum servabit , hoc itaque quam maxime esse necessarium, in hoc omnem rei cardinem verti; unde temporalem exspectationem nullatenus fovet; verum illa conditione impleta : et Pater meus diliget eum et ad eum veniemus et mansionem apud eum faciemus , venire (cf. v. 18) dicit invisere amicorum more, assistere , opem ferre; neque hoc solum, sed mansionem facere, inhabitare in eo et stabile ibi sibi condere domicilium. Pater et Filius igitur simul cum Spiritu sancto (uti iam in v. 17) in animo singulari ratione habitabunt; de qua inhabitatione pluries apostolus loquitur Rom. 8,9. 11. 1 Cor. 3,16. Gal. 4,6. 2 Tim. 1,1&. En, quomodo non relinquantur, etsi Christus recesserit ab eis! Pro praesentia eius corporali habebunt praeclarum supplementum in totius sanctissimae Trinitatis ope, praesentia, inhabitatione supernaturali. A contrario nunc indicat causam, cur se non manifestaturus sit mundo; mundus enim cum non diligat non servat mandata,
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v. 24 qui non diligit me, sermones meos non servat ; quia hic negligit sermones Domini, merito ipse quoque negligitur, et eum non solum Christo sed etiam Patri inferre iniuriam declaratur : et sermonem quem audistis àxoóexe auditis non est meus sed eius qui misit me Patris; « ne, inquam, parva cuiquam videatur indignitas non servare sermones ab eo dictos, ecce iterum dicit : et sermo non est meus etc.; nam et hoc paulo ante dixit : verba quae ego loquor vobis ἃ meipso non loquor » (Rup.);cf. v. 10; 5,30; 7,16; 8,26. 28. 38; 12,59. Dicit modo sermonem designans evangelium totum totamque doctrinam traditam, modo sermones singula scil. praecepta. — Quater a discipulis in loquendo erat interpellatus et interruptus (13,36; 14,5. 8. 22), quia eum non satis intelligebant et certe scit Christus ne nunc quidem responsionibus datis omne dubium, obscuritatem ex eorum animis exsulare. Quare de hac quoque re eos consolatur, eos monens ne ullo modo turbentur etsi multa quae dixerit non plane perspexerint v. 25 haec locutus sum vobis apud vos manens, in corpore mortali vobiscum versans;
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v. 26 Paraclitus autem Spiritus sanctus quem mittet Pater in nomtne meo i. e. Pater in intima mecum coniunctione ad opus meum perficiendum eum mittet (cf. ad v. 14. 16; 16,7), ille vos docebit omnia et suggeret ὑπομνήσει ἴῃ memoriam revocabit υοδὲς omnia quaecumque dixero vobis; proinde excutiant omnem sollicitudinem ; quando opus fuerit, opitulator, ipse Spiritus sanctus efficiet ut clare intelligatis cuncta quae vobis dixi; ne timeatis ne quid vobis excidat; ille cuncta in memoriam vobis reducet, vos commonefaciet vobisque clare explanabit cuncta verba mea. Pro praesenti itaque eis indicat non opus esse ut si quid non satis intellexerint aut si quid nosse desiderent, & se quaerant; pro tempore futuro autem promittit eos ope Spiritus sancti fore doctores qui sine ulla erroris admixtione totum quod ipse docuerit aliis sint tradituri, ipsi scil. continuo a Spiritu sancto édocti et illuminati, ita ut cuncta quae in Iesu verbis lateant clare perspiciant. In illo ἐπ nomine meo etiam includitur, mitt Spiritum sanctum non solum apostolis, sed mitti ad opus Christi perficiendum, proin eadem quoque promitti Ecclesiae Christi in eorum successoribus. - Denique ut omnem animorum turbationem et anxietatem excludat et hac ratione firmam reddat et stabilem eorum consolationem addit
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v. 97 pacem relinquo vobis ἐγὼ εἰρήνην cum emphasi ego, qui scil. vos semper confortavi, ego qui sum vita (v. 6), pacem meam do vobis, pax est apprecatio omnium rerum prosperarum (Matd.), est tranquillitas animi et serenitas, qua fit, ut nulla adversitate conturbemini ; relinquo vox est recedentis (CÀr.); dicit pacem meam indicans pacem quam ipse venit stabilire in mundo (70/.); haec autem est amicitia cum Deo, animi securitas, concordia mutua (Thom. [ans.); hanc do, ne tantum apprecari videatur; dat ea scil. auctoritate et potestate qua est auctor huius pacis. Merito ita loquitur Messias, quem pacis auctorem et largitorem prophetae iam praedicarant (cf. Ps. 71,3. 7. Is. 9,6. 7; 11,6; 20,3; 27,5; 55,10. 13; 66,12. Mich. 5,5), in cuius adventu angeli cantabant : et in terra pax. Et verbum suum esse efficax, indicat addens : non quomodo mundus dat, ego do vobis, mundus nudis verbis , saepius fictis, pacem quam ipse non habet, sed pacem dat brevem, falsam; Christus dat veram, sempiternam (.Mald.); mundus fortasse dat pacem temporalem, externam, Christus spiritualem, aeternam ; illa non est stabilis, vera; haec firma, veram afferens felicitatem ; est enim pax Dei quae exsuperat omnem sensum (Phil. &,'T). Pacem apprecari abeuntis est. Sed si Christus licet sit abiturus pacém dat, neutiquam turbationi aut timori locus esse poterit. Repetit itaque, postquam tot rationes consolationis iis proposuit : non turbetur cor vestrum (cf. v. 1) neque formidet, ne turbentur ob moerorem de abitu Domini, neve sibi timeant ob eius abitum quasi essent ab eo esse affirmat de suo abitu
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v. 28 audistis quia ego dixi vobis : vado et vento ad vos (v. 3,18); st diligeretis me gauderetis utique , quia vado ad Patrem, quia Pater maior me est; novam eamque validam consolationis rationem indicat provocans ad eorum in se dilectionem hancque excitans et stimulans : si mihi bene vultis, meum bonum revera desideratis, uti est vere diligentium, debetis gaudere, quia meae « naturae humanae gratulandum est eo quod sic assumpta est ἃ Verbo unigenito, ut immortalis constitueretur in coelo, atque ita fieretterra sublimis, ut incorruptibilis pulvis sederet ad dexteram Patris; hoc enim modo se iturum dixit ad Patrem » (Aug.). Et dicens : si diltgeretis elc. eos etiam suaviter arguit de quodam dilectionis defectu , dicens quasi conquerendo et expostulando cum eis : video me non diligi ἃ vobis; alioquin de mea gloria ac beatitate quam humana mea natura possidebit apud Patrem laetaremini, neque de meo recessu essetis tristes, sed laetabundi! Est sane modus aptissimus ad eorum moestitiam leniendam. Dicit : Pater maior me est, loquitur enim tamquam habens naturam humanam, utpote talis vadit ad Patrem et ut talis petit , exspectat, accipit claritatem et gloriam et exaltationem a Patre (cf. (Phil. 2,9). « Ratio gaudii est ex parte termini: vado ad maiorem, ad maius bonum meum; ipsemet textus fert secum declarationem, quo sensu intelligendum sit : Pater maior me est, dum assumitur hoc pro ratione itineris ad Patrem; ex hoc enim clare manifestatur quod Pater maior est me eunte ad ipsum, hoc est secundum naturam qua vado ad ipsum. Constat siquidem quod secundum divinam naturam Filius nec exivit a Patre nec vadit ad Patrem, sed ratione humanae naturae exivit a Patre et vadit ad Patrem » (Cai. sim. Aug. Rup. Thom. etc.). Arianis scil. qui hoc quoque loco abutebantur. Verum cum homo Deo comparari nequeat neque quisquam dicat : Deus maior me est, haec ipsa cum Deo comparatio enuntiat in Christo eandem naturam divinam, qua Patri est aequalis et naturam humanam qua est inferior. Etiam Zoltzmann dicit hic supponi Christum habere naturam divinam. Subiungit cur haec quae futura sunt illis praedixerit
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v. 29 et nunc dizi vobis priusquam fiat, ut cum factum fuerit credatis; in his quoque bonum eorum spectat; « confirmat cor discipulorum et firmiter credere iubet Christus se vere ad Patrem coelestem reverti, regnaturum cum eo atque una consessurum » (Cyr.). Providet itaque sua praedictione, ut impletionem cum cernant fides eorum in Christum Filium Dei per recordationem praedictionis augeatur; cf. 13,19 ; 16,4. Neque opus erit illud dixi solum referre ad vado ad Patrem; praestat ad singula illud pertinere, quae de tempore futuro annuntiaverat; nam illud augmentum fidei et consolatio ac confirmatio animi ex impletione singulorum acquiri potest et debet, quia in singulis experimento cognoscent nihil ei faisse incognitum, omnia dirigi eius potentia , ita ut continua habeant eius divinitatis documenta. lam instare ait tempus quo ab eis separetur
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v. 30 iam non multa loquar vobiscum ; venit enim iam venturus est brevi post princeps mundi huius, diabolus; cf. 12,31; uti Iudam instigavit ad proditionem, ita scribas et pharisaeos ad mortem Iesu inferendam; venit itaque per ministros et satellites suos; neque improbabile est ipsum quoque ad tentandum Iesum tempore passionis accessisse; nam « recessit ab illo usque ad tempus » (Luc. 4,13; vide quae ad h. 1. dixi in Comment. Luc.) et de hoc tempore valet: haec est hora vestra et potestas tenebrarum (Luc. 22,53) et in me non habet quidquam, ille ἄρχων nihil habet in me quod suum sit, nihil dominii in me; dominatur enim in mundum i. e. in improbos, peccatores, qui eius sunt servi; omnis enim qui facit peccatum ex diabolo est (1 Ioan. 3,8) eta quo quis superatus est eius est servus (2 Petr. 2,19; cf. supra 8,&4 vos ex patre diabolo estis). In Christo itaque, homine sanctissimo, nihil invenit diabolus quod suum sit; habet quidem diabolus mortis imperium (Hebr. 2,14), sed cum mors sit stipendium peccati (Rom. 6,23) , nihil autem peccati sit in Christo, Christus ne morti quidem ex se erat subiectus; proin ne hoc quidem mortis imperium habet diabolus in eo. Christus autem. mortem subit, quia ex dilectione Patris eius mandato obedit
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v. 31 sed ut cognoscat mundus quia diligo Patrem , et sicut mandatum dedit mihi Pater, sic facio; surgite eamus hinc ; iungunt aliqui : sed ut cognoscat... surgite (To. Patr.); at longe plerique merito adnectunt ad superiora, et quod supplendum est, facile consequitur ex sententia praecedenti. Christus mortem. subit, non quia diabolus mortis imperium habens hoc quasi ius mortis in eum exigere possit; « et tamquam ei diceretur: cur ego moreris, si non habes peccatum cui debeatur mortis supplicium, continuo subiecit : sed ut cognoscat... » (Aug.). Atque ante illud sed ut aliquid supplendum esse non poterit esse offensioni, quoniam eiusmodi scribendi genus saepius advertitur (cf. 1,8. 9,3; 13,18; 15,95. ScAz.). Habebat ut moreretur mandatum Patris, ut Aug. ait; vide 10,18 : hoc mandatum accepi a Patre. Observationem mandatorum descripserat tamquam veram exhibitionem dilectionis (v. 15. 21. 23); idem iam ad se ipsum mandati Patris. Hanc animi promptitudinem et alacritatem declarat quoque dicens : surgite, eamus hinc; ipse surrexit ex discubitu, surrexerunt quoque discipuli. Num etiam statim reliquit coenaculum et sermonem 15-17 inter eundum habuit? Non videtur probabile tam longum sermonem in via a coenaculo ad hortum esse habitum. Accedit quod tandem 18,1 legimus : haec cum dixisset Iesus egressus est cum discipulis suis trans torrentem Cedron; quorum verborum vim bene expendit Bar. : « unde egressus? sane eX coenaculo; non enim Ioannes alterius domus fecerat mentionem , unde posset Christus cum discipulis egredi; quo tempore egressus sit., indicant illa verba : haec cum dixisset, hoc est, postquam hunc sermonem et orationem absolvit ». Proin verba illa eamus hinc non significant eum mox, postquam ea protulit abiisse , sed se ad discedendum accinxisse; saepe enim dicimus : eamus, tamen non stetim imus, sed aliquantulum immoramur (Bar.); stans itaque alium incepit sermonem (/ans.) et ut Mald. advertit, evangelista non dicit statim Christum, ut haec dixit, exiisse; itaque non cogimur id factum esse credere; capite autem 18,1 disertis scribit verbis prius omnia dixisse quae tribus sequentibus capitibus recitantur. Cur ergo non statim exiit? facilis responsio, traxit longius ex sermone sermonem, ut fieri solet. Nam, ut Lap. notat, sicut solent valedicentes amici qui aegre ab amicis avelluntur sermonem abruptum resumere, sic Christus stando novum sermonem resumpsit. Atque sermones sequentes in coenaculo habitos esse etiam Sa, Menochius, Nat. Schz. Weiss censent; vel in coenaculo vel in via ScAg. existimat. Christum statim e coenaculo egressum esse Cai. Patr. Corl. Fil. putant ; eum in alium locum (Chr.), locum occultum (Zheoph. Thom.), locum tutiorem (Euth.) egressum esse aliis videtur; « quoniam, inquit, ecce appropinquat qui me tradet et turba cum eo, ne in angusto intra parietes coenainquietudinem patiatur » (Aup.). Quamvis sit Iesus corpore a suis diszessurus, tamen eos docet intimam secum unionem eos semper habere posse et debere, ad hanc unionem describendam adhibet similitudinem vitis et palmitum, ad hanc unionem retinendam et fovendam eos exhortatur, ut uberes ferant fructus; a qua si quis recesserit, interitui se obiicit. Ita quoque explicat illud : vos in me et ego in vobis 15,90 (15,1-8). Ex hac unione consequitur et ad eam fovendam plane necessarium est, ut et Iesum diligant et inter se ad exemplum Iesu diligant (15,9-17). Quandoque quaerunt quaenam fuerit occasio huius similitudinis
14:1
Assurément l'annonce de la trahison de Judas et du reniement de Pierre étaient de nature à troubler les disciples. Mais Jésus n'a plus en vue que leur trouble inévitable après la séparation. Que vont-ils devenir? C'est donc un discours nouveau qui commence, comme certains mss. l'ont indiqué dans le texte : D a 6 d par καὶ εἰπὲν τοῖς μαθηταῖς aurov, Syrsin et Diaf.-ar. « et alors Jésus dit ». La séparation avait déjà été indiquée (χπι, 33) et un avis donné pour ce temps (χιπ, 34-35), mais il importait de revenir sur ce thème pour encourager les disciples. La présence sensible devra être remplacée par la foi. Il n'est pas impossible d'entendre les deux πιστεύετε comme deux impératifs (Anc. latt. pes. sah. boh. Cyr. Bauer, Loisy, Calmes, etc.). Assurément Jésus pouvait recommander même à ses disciples de mettre toute leur confiance en Dieu. Mais πιστεύειν doit s'entendre la seconde fois d'une foi intellectuelle (v. 41), et, dans ce sens, les disciples avaient déjà la foi en Dieu, comme ἃ compris Origène (sur Jo. 1, 12; Preuschen p. 489) : ἐπεὶ πιστεύετε εἰς τὸν θεόν, καὶ εἰς ἐμὲ πιστεύετε, (Vg. Mald.). C’est même le leif-motiv de tout ce discours Jésus exige des disciples qu'ils aient foi en lui comme dans le Père, quils croient qu'il est dans le Père et que le Père est en lui. Le même mot reviendra au v. 29 : ἵνα... πιστεύσητε. Jésus quittant ses disciples ne leur serait vraiment utile que s'ils avaient une foi inébranlable en sa divinité : c'est à cette condition qu'il devait les visiter en venant avec le Père. On a incliné vers l’idée de confiance à cause du rôle que Jésus va jouer d’abord : aller préparer les places. Mais ce n'est qu'une première idée qui prépare une pénétration plus complète. Le premier verset doit donc être un peu détaché de ce qui suit immédiatement : c'est presque un titre. Le sens de Zahn (cf. Durand) : « croyez en Dieu et vous croirez aussi en moi » (cf. (syrsin.) ajoute au texte.
14:2
La première partie est claire : μονή est un logement. Quoique ces mots soient souvent cités depuis les presbytres d'Irénée (V, xxxvi, 2) comme une preuve qu'il y a bien des logis différents auprès de Dieu, afin d'encourager ceux qui ne peuveni prétendre à la première place, il n’est nullement question ici des degrés dans le bonheur céleste. Il y ἃ beaucoup de places, c'est tout ce qui importe. — La deuxième partie a été comprise de bien des manières, surtout selon qu'on entend ὅτι comme récitatif, « à savoir », ou comme causal, « parce que ». Premier mode (a) : « S'il n’en était ainsi, vous aurais-je dit : je vais pour vous préparer une place »? (Bauer cf. Culmes); ou bien (b) : « sinon je vous aurais dit : Je vais vous préparer une place » {(Zahn). Second mode : « Si cela n'était pas, je vous [1] aurais dit, [puisque] je vais vous préparer une place » (Durand, οἷο). Le premier mode (a) ne peut indiquer l’endroit de Jo. où Jésus aurait dit déjà qu'il allait préparer une place, et c'est très à tort que Bauer répond qu'en règle générale les citations de Jo. sont inexactes (cf. x, 25; x1, 40; xvui, 9), que d'ailleurs cela est dit équivalemment dans x, 26. Le premier mode (Ὁ) n’a pas compris que c’est précisément quand il y a de la place qu'on va préparer le lieu (cf. Apoc. χα, 6), disposer les billets de logement pour chacun, avertir, etc. S'il n'y ἃ pas de logis, il n'ya rien à faire. Dans ce dernier cas, Jésus aurait prévenu, ce qu'il n'a pas fait, précisém ent parce qu'il va préparer les places pour eux. Nous préférons donc le deuxième mode (Maid. Schanz, etc., opinion commune). Loisy combine les deux modes : « Sinon, je vous aurais dit que je vais vous préparer place », en partant de cette idée fausse, que « s’il y a des places, et il yen a, elles n'ont pas besoin d'être préparées », et en supposant que le v. ὃ ἃ été inséré après coup dans le morceau! Dans le système de Burneyÿ, on pourrait regarder ὅτι comme la transcription de 7, « moi qui vais », etc. (cf. syrsin.).
14:3
τοπον ὑμῖν (TH) et non υμιῖν τόπον (SV).
Ce verset fait naturellement suite au précédent, tel que nous l’avons entendu, et il est nécessaire pour compléter la pensée telle que la suggère la situation. La consolation des disciples au départ du Christ ne sera pas seulement d'être admis dans la maison de Dieu, mais d'y être avec Jésus qui achèvera sa mission de bon fourrier en venant chercher pour les conduire ceux dont il aura préparé les demeures. Il est clair que cette venue du Christ n’est pas celle des vv. 18 ss. On admet plus généralement que c'est la manifestation suprême, dite de la Parousie, à laquelle fait allusion plus clairement I Jo. τι, 28, au moment de la résurrection des corps, et avant le dernier jugement. D'autres (Kn., Calmes, etc.) l’entendent du retour invisible du Christ venant chercher ses disciples au moment de leur mort. En fait, Jo. n'indique expressément ici ni V'un ni l’autre de ces deux modes; il suit simplement sa comparaison. Celui qui ἃ préparé les logis. de ses amis ou de ses camarades revient sur ses pas pour les prendre à leur entrée dans la ville et les conduire chacun à sa demeure : mais ici ces demeures séparées sont réunies dans la maison du Père, c’est-à-dire chez le Fils. À quel moment viendra Jésus? cela n'est pas dit, mais en tout cas il n’est pas soufflé mot ici d’une manifestation glorieuse et sensationneille. En écrivant, Jo. ne pouvait plus supposer que les apôtres mourraient tous ensemble. Aurait-it pensé qu'ils ne rejoindraient le Christ qu'après la résurrection générale? Rien ne l'indique. Il faudrait donc supposer qu'il parle ici à la communauté des derniers temps, ce qui n'est pas indiqué non plus. Le principe c'est que le fidèle serviteur n'est pas séparé de son maître (xu, 26); Paul l'avait déjà écrit plus nettement (IH Cor. v, 8). Tous ensemble ou chacun séparément ils n'ont qu'à se tenir tranquilles, Jésus viendra les chercher au moment voulu pour les prendre avec lui. — ἐάν dans le sens positif de « si done », équivalent presque à ὅταν, cf. xu, 32. — Le présent pour le futur est classique avec les verbes de mouvement comme ἔρχομαι (K.-G. 1, p. 130 s.), et parfois suivi du futur, parce que l'action est déjà censée commencée, ce qui exclut la solennité d'un événement fatur; c'est comme s'il y avait : je viendrai chaque fois que l'occasion se présentera.
14:4
Zahn préfère la leçon du texte recu, de la Vg., des syrr. καὶ ὅπου ἐγὼ ὑπάγω οἴδατε, χαὶ τὴν ὁδὸν οἴδατε, qui semble avoir été rédigée pour mieux préparer le double aspect envisagé par Thomas au v. 5. — La lecon courte n'insiste pas sur le terme du voyage. S'il était encore obscur pour Pierre (x, 36) peu auparavant, il ne pouvait plus l'être après les explications données sur le retour de Jésus auprès de son Père pour préparer des places aux disciples. Seulement si le divin fourrier devait revenir pour les introduire, il fallait du moins qu'ils eussent pris la bonne route, Cette route, c'était avant tout le commandement de la charité (xmr, 34) : tout Israélite savait qu’on allait à Dieu en observant ses commandements, et Jésus avait dit quel était le premier de tous. Ils connaissaient donc la route qui mène à Dicu.
14:5
πῶς οἰδαμεν τὴν οὗον (H, T praem. καὶ) et non χαὶ πως δυναμεθὰ τὴν οδὸν ειδεναι (SV).
Thomas savait bien qu'il y allait en ce moment de la vie du Christ, et il était prêt à mourir avec lui (xr, 16). Il ne pouvait ignorer non plus qu'après la mort le fidèle Israélite, — sans parler de Jésus (vi, 32-62; vin, 23) — va auprès de Dieu. Mais quel chemin Jésus avait-il en vue, quand il parlait de s’en aller? Il avait refusé de répondre nettement à Pierre qui avait interrogé nettement. Thomas, qui aimait les preuves topiques (xx, 24 ss.), s'étonne que Jésus prétende qu'ils doivent savoir la voie quand il n’a pas daigné s'expliquer sur le but. Ce n'est peut-être pas très respectueux, mais ce n'est pas d'une inintelligence qui dépasse toute mesure (Loisy); ὑπάγω n'avait pas éét prononcé à propos de la vie future, et Thomas l'entendait, comme Pierre précédemment, et comme jadis les Juifs (vu, 33), d'un voyage qui pouvait, il est vrai, aboutir à la mort. Le ton bourru de la réflexion de Thomas est bien conservé dans le texte préféré par H et T. Celui de S et V est une correction assez plate qui détruit le pittoresque et met au net le raisonnement.
14:6
Thomas n'a même pas compris « la voie » dans le sens moral et religieux qu'elle avait chez les Juifs (18. xxx, 41, etc.); il s’en tient au chemin qu'on pourra prendre pour aller dans il ne sait quelle direction. Sans s'attarder à relever sa méprise, et révélant d’un seul coup toute l'économie du N. T., Jésus ne retient que 18 mot de voie pour point de départ, en transposant complètement la comparaison commencée. Il n'est plus le fourrier, il est la voie. Déjà le mot du début : vous qui croyez en Dieu, croyez aussi en moi, avait amorcé une révélation importante; elle est contenue en trois mots. Avec un zèle louable de pénétrer le contexte, Maldonat s'est donné beaucoup de mal pour entendre la vérité et la vie dans un rapport étroit avec la voie. 11 suffit que cette vérité et cette vie soient celles du Médiateur qui les possède absolument comme son Père. Le premier terme seul est expliqué ici authentiquement : il est la voie parce que nul ne parvient auprès de son Père que par lui, ce qui doit s'entendre de la foi (ur, 45) qu’on a en Lui, en lequel on connaît le Père (1). Les deux autres termes s'entendent avec le secours de passages du même ordre. Il est la vérité, parce que pour voir le Père comme il le voit (r, 48; vi, 46), et pour rendre ainsi un témoignage véritable, il faut être dans son sein et participer à sa nature qui est vérité, et lumière (I Jo. 1, 5). Il est la vie (L Jo. 1, 2) car, avant le temps, la vie était en lui (τ, 4); et devenu homme il est vie et source de vie (χι, 25), étant le pain vivant (vi, 54) qui donne la vie éternelle. La doctrine de la voie est d’ailleurs la même que celle de la porte (x, 7-9), mais exprimée d'une façon plus sublime, au contact de ces termes non métaphoriques de vérité et de vie. On peut dire avec Loisy : « Grande simplification de la mystique du temps, préoccupée de connaître la voie d'immortalité, l'itinéraire à suivre dans l’autre monde, à travers les sphères célestes. Qui croit en Jésus n'a pas besoin d'autre gnose; il est sûr d'atteindre le but et il y touche dès maintenant » (p. 406). Ἢ) Déjà les termes de vérité et de vie, étant absolus, suggéraient que Jésus n'était pas seulement la voie qui conduit à Dieu, mais Dieu lui-même. C'est ce qu'il va dire plus clairement : qui le voit, voit aussi son Père. Le v. 7 est lu de deux facons : a) εἰ ἐγνώκατέ ue (ou ἐμέ), καὶ τὸν πατέρα uov γνώσεσθε, ou bien b) et ἐγνώχειτέ με, καὶ τὸν πατέρα μου ἂν ἤδειτε (ou ἐγνώκειτε ἄν). Il semble que ἄν ἤδειτε (BG ete.) est une correction de ἐγνώχειτε ἄν pour éviter la répélition : la leçon “νώσεσθε est soutenue par N DW boh. Ir. Nonnus.— ἐγνώκατε qui est parallèle ἃ pour 9. om. και α. πως (TH) et non add. (SV). 10, αὐτοῦ p. epya (TH) et non αὐτὸς (8); encore moins autos ποίει τὰ ἐργα (V). luinDabcdeff?mqglr. Novat. Hil. Vict. Aug. Des deux façons c'est le principe de xu, 45. Mais tandis que le mode best dans l’ordre absolu, et se pose comme un théorème, le mode « est une pensée concrète parfaitement en siluation après la précédente (Aug.) : au lieu d’un reproche, c’est une consolation, celle précisément que Jésus inspirait alors, car εἰ ἐγνώκατε ne suppose pas un doute positif: si, comme c’est un fait, vous m'avez connu, vous connaitrez aussi le Père (Zahn, Bauer; contre Schanz., Weiss., Loisy, Calmes, Till.). — La lecon que nous préférons ἃ pu paraitre ne pas accentuer assez l'unité du Père et du Fils, puisque la connaissance du Père était seulement promise, et c'est peut-être pour cela qu'elle a été changée. Mais on aurait pu se rassurer par le correctif que Jésus ajoute ici (7b) : « ou plutôt » (sous-entendu), dès maintenant vous le connaissez, puisque vous avez la foi de la révélation ancienne, et même vous l'avez vu, puisque vous m'avez vu (cf. x11, 45). — ἀπ᾿ ἄρτι au même sens que xt, 49; Apoc. xiv, 13.
14:7
εγνωχατε (T) plutôt que εγνωχειτε (HSV); --- γνώσεσθε (T) plutôt que ἂν ἡδεῖτε (HW) ét non εγνωχειτε ἂν (S); — om. avrov p. empaxare (H) ou add. (TSV).
14:8
Voir Le Père dans le Fils, c'était croire que le Fils avait la nature divine, ce. n'élait pas jouir directement de la vue du Père. Cette vue, tout Israélite savait qu'elle avait été accordée, dans une certaine mesure, du moins à Moïse (Ex. xxxmt, 18 ss.) et à Isaïe (vr, 1). Si Jésus accordait la même faveur à ses disciples, il ne leur resterait rien à désirer. C'eût été, pensait Philippe, la confirmation de leur foi, la satisfaction de leurs espérances, la consolation pour le temps qui suivrait la séparation. Philippe donc sait bien qu'il ἃ vu Jésus et il croit le connaître. Mais il n'a pas compris qu'en voyant Jésus il voyait Dieu par la foi, ou du moins il ne se contente pas de cette vue et voudrait une vue directe de Dieu. Il parle au nom des disciples. Aussi Jésus répondra d’abord à lui, puis étendra sa réponse à tous.
14:9
La réponse de Jésus ne dit pas expressément que Philippe l'a vu des yeux du corps; cela allait de soi, depuis le temps que le Maitre était avec ses disciples; mais il ne l’a pas connu, c'est-à-dire n'a pas bien compris que Dieu était en lui à ce point que le voir c'était voir Dieu même. Il n'est nullement question d'une connaissance distincte du Fils et du Père au sein de la Trinité, mais de la vraie notion de l'individualité manifestée en Jésus. Ces mots ajouteraient très peu au: v. 75 si on l’entend : « Si vous m’aviez connu, vous auriez aussi connu (ou vous connaitriez aussi) le Père », et c'estune raison de l'entendre comme nous l'avons fait. 115 complètent ce que le second ἑωράκατε avait encore de vague : vous l'avez: vu... Je demande plutôt à le voir, dit Philippe... Oui, vous l'avez vu en moi... tæ de la foi : il faut même question est donc déplacée. Philippe ne se contentait pas Jésus la réveille, et lui dire que sa foi était quelque peu inconsciente, puisque fait comprendre en même temps qu’il doit s'en contenter.
14:10
Que Philippe se rappelle l'enseignement de Jésus (v, 36; x, 37 5.) auquel il a certainement adhéré, qu'il réféchisse, et il confessera que Jésus est vraiment en Dieu, et Dieu en lui. Le premier enseignement de ce passage par rap port aux Apôtres, c’est que celui qui leur parle possède la divinité. Si l’on pouvait dire que Dieu était dans les prophètes par son Esprit, on ne pouvait dire qu'ils étaient en Dieu. Cependant, outre leur sens premier dans la situation de la Cène, les paroles de Jésus inaugurent une révélation sur la vie intime de Dieu. Au moment où il affirme le plus énergiquement qu'il est Dieu, il se distingue du Père, donc comme Fils et non seulement comme homme. C'était - introduire dans l'unité une distinction que la théologie avait à déterminer par des termes appropriés. Aussi les Pères ont-ils compris que ces mots, si forts contre les Ariens, ne favorisaient pas Sabellius, bien au contraire. Gar ce qui importait le plus au Cénacle, c'était de montrer en Jésus l’action d'une personnalité dans l'unité divine. une nouvelle affirmation, un éclaircissement de ce 10b) La seconde partie est de croire. L'unité du principe d'action en Jésus, et qui précède, non une raison d’un principe divin, de ce que nous nommons une personne, se manifeste de deux façons. Lorsque Jésus parle, il ne parle pas de lui-même, c'est-à-dire comme homme : tout son enseignement est puisé dans la connaissance directe qu'il à de Dieu et de ses volontés ; cela est indiqué ici très brièvement, parce que cela avait déjà été dit (vu, 46; VII, 28: xur, 49). De plus, lorsqu'il agit, c'est en réalité le Père, c'est-à-dire Dieu qui est en lui, qui fait son œuvre propre. L'appel à la crédibililé des œuvres ne commence qu’au v. suivant. II ne faut donc pas voir ici un argument tiré de la sublimité de l'enseignement de Jésus, et du caractère miraculeux de ses œuvres. C'est un témoignage que Jésus se rend, étant conscient de sa personne et de sa nature divine; il nous enseigne ce que seul il pouvait révéler, sur le principe divin de ses paroles et de ses œuvres. Après la controverse arienne, les Pères ont vu dans ce passage une allusion à la différence d'activité entre le Père et le Fils, venant de ce que le Fils a reçu du Père sa nature divine; Aug. Verum quia sic aequalis alter alteri, ut tamen alter ex altero, ideo non loquitur ἃ semetipso, quia non est a seipso; et ideo Pater in illo manens facit opera, ipse, quia per quem et cum quo facit, non est nisi ab ipso. Selon Knabenbauer, Jésus ἃ tenu beaucoup à imprimer dans l'esprit de ponms où cireumincessio. Mais Philippe aurait-il compris? ses disciples cette περιχὼ Nous l'entendons avec Mald. : verba quae loquor et opera quaë facio,non humana sed divina sunt. Et c'est bien le sens de Cyrille qui a dégagé de tout le verset La même doctrine : ἐν ἐμοὶ γὰρ μένων, διὰ τὸ ἀπαράλλαχτον ἐν οὐσίᾳ, ποιεῖ τὰ ἔργα αὐτός. Nous avons déjà noté l'extrême concision de la phrase. Après : « je ne parle pas de moi-même », on attendrait : c'est mon Père qui parle en moi. Et ensuite «quand j'agis », c'est mon Père, etc. Le Fils parle et le Père agit. Aussi Aug. et Chrys. ont identifié les paroles et les œuvres, parce que les paroles sont des œuvres. Cette confusion a peut-être conduit à lire αὐτός (1, X 35 Cyr.) au lieu de αὐτοῦ (NBD sak. boh.); maïs on sentait si bien que αὐτός était impossible en fin de phrase qu'on a enfin corrigé en αὐτὸς ποιεῖ τὰ ἔργα (texte recu), leçon beaucoup plus coulante, et qui n'aurait jamais été changée si elle eût été origimale. — L'œuvre de Dieu en Jésus est l'œuvre messianique.
14:11
On voit bien ici que le v. 10 était une affirmation personnelle de Jésus en qui les apôtres sont invités à croire. N'avaient-ils pas dans son commerce, dans le contact avec son âme, avec sa Personne, durant une intimité si douce et si prolongée, une raison décisive de croire en sa parole? Sinon, s'ils voulaient juger de lui comme pouvait le faire le public, ils devaient du moins tirer la conclusion imposée par les miracles, tels que Jésus les faisait, pour prouver qu'il était l'envoyé du Père (σι, 42), et même que Dicu était en lui, et lui en Dieu (x, 36-38; cf. ur, 2; v, 17-36; vin, 19.26-29; xit, #9). D'ailleurs les deux arguments se corroboraient l'un l'autre, caries miracles qu'il faisait autorisaient ses affirmations. Dieu aurait-il autorisé des mensonges et même des blasphèmes par des miracles? — Cette fois Jésus s'adresse à tous les Apôtres, plus ou moins anxieux du résultat de l'intervention de Thomas et de Philippe. C'est bien la conclusion des paroles à Philippe, mais en même temps l'occasion d’exhorter ct de consoler tous les autres. — Après πιστεύετε (20), ἢ] ne faut pas sovs-entendre pot (Dürand), sous peine de supprimer l'opposition avec le premier πιστεύετε (cf. 1v, 21); il faudrait plutôt sous-entendre εἰς ἐμέ, Si vons ne me croyez pas, c'est-à-dire à cause ‘de mon témoignage, croyez cependant en moi à cause de mes œuvres. C’est une énclusio par rapport au v. 1.
14:12
Π ya un développement nouveau, inauguré par ἀμήν x. τ. À. La liaison avec ce qui précède se fait pour la pensée par la foi en Jésus; elle se fait aussi ‘d'un mot à un mot (mode sémitique) par les œuvres. Ces œuvres au v. 11 étaient surtout les miracles : ici c’est l'œuvre messianique dans toute son étendue, l'établissement du règne de Dieu. Aussi la foi n'est pas au terme, mais au point de départ. Quels que soient les miracles des disciples de Jésus, ils ne prouveront pas en vue de leur propre personne; mais ils témoigneront de leur foi en lui, et par conséquent tourneront à sa gloire. Aussi bien toute l'efficacité plus grande de cette activité nouvelle est-elle due à Jésus, puisqu'elle découle de son retour auprès de son Père. C'est ce que Loisy a fort bien dit : « La naissance, le développement, la vie entière de l'Église sont présentés comme faisant suite à l'Évangile et comme le dépassant. Ge sera toujours le Christ qui agira; tant qu'il vit avec ses disciples, son activité est limitée par les conditions de l'existence terrestre et les nécessités providentielles de son rôle auprès des Juifs; ces limitations n’existeront plus quand il sera entré dans sa gloire, et c’est pourquoi l'œuvre des disciples sera plus merveilleuse que son œuvre personnelle » (p. 408). Voilà ce dont Jésus avait conscience (x, 16-18; xt, 52}, et ce que les disciples n'auraient pas osé entreprendre s'ils n'avaient eu La promesse de son assistance.
14:13
Les disciples étaient habitués à s'adresser à Dieu pour obtenir son secours. Dans l'œuvre de Jésus qu'ils auront à faire, ils devront prier en son ὁ entendue de bien des manières mom et il fera. — La formule ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι à Ét «) On pourrait songer à la manière dont les Juifs rappelaïient le souvenir des Pères, dans l'espérance que Dieu se laisserait toucher par le souvenir de leurs vertus, etferait, par amitié pour eux, ce qu'il n'eùt pas fait pour celui qui prie, s'il n'était leur descendant. Ici les disciples invoqueraient leur qualité de disciples de Jésus. D'après Durand (Recherches. 1910, p. 528) c'est prier « en tant que disciple de Jésus » et il s'appuie sur Mc. ΙΧ, 41, ce qui prouverait que « si la formule est nouvelle, la chose ne l'est pas ». Mais précisément ce mode de prier sera nouveau dans la pensée de Jo. (xvi, 23.24). δ) On peut entendre que les disciples qui font l'œuvre de Jésus demandent en son nom, comme chargés de ses affaires (Bern. Weiss), Ou EnCOTE comme étant désormais unis à lui (rul.), la formule de Jo. ayant le même contenu que celle de Paul : « dans le Christ Jésus ». ©) Mais il s'agit bien plutôt (Heitmüller) de la prière qui sera celle de l'Église, où l'on invoquera le nom de Jésus. Etil ne sera pas seulement nommé pour 8685 mérites, et comme un utile intercesseur, Car l'intercesseur, connu des Juifs ( Macch. xv, 14), n’est pas celui qui exauce la demande. Or, ici c’est Jésus qui agira. Le fidèle qui linvoque croit en lui, de la façon qui vient d'être dite, 14. yo (TSV) plutôt que τουτὸ (H). c’est-à-dire que Jésus agit pour le Père comme le Père agit en lui. C'est toujours le Père qu'on prie, mais le Fils Jui est associé (Bauer, Loisy, Zahn). De fait les Apôtres ont obtenu des miracles « en le nom » (Act. πι, 6,16; ιν. 10; xvi, 18) comme Jésus le leur avait promis (Me. xvi, 17). Ce rapprochement se trouve dans le fragment (Cramer, p. 348) attribué à Chrys. τοῦτό ἐστιν, ὅπερ οἱ ᾿Απόστολοι μετὰ ταῦτα ἔλεγον. Si Jésus agit quand on prie en son nom, c’est pour continuer l'œuvre qu'il faisait sur la terre et lui donner son achèvement, la gloire du Père dans le Fils, c’est-à-dire de Dieu en son Christ. La Vg.-Clém. nomme ici expressément le Père : petieritis Patrem. Le mot est de trop, mais c'était bien la pensée.
14:14
Des autorités assez graves (AD etc. a e bok. sah. etc.) ont omis ue après αἰτήσετε, El ἃ pu paraître peu naturel de demander à quelqu'un en son nom. Une fois ue rayé, le verset risquait de passer pour une pure répélition, ou une glose (Loisy). Aussi a-t-il été omis par syrsin. et quelques mss. grecs. Maïs la leçon difficile n’est pas impossible; on priait Dieu à cause de son nom (Ps. xxv, 41; XXI, 4; LEXX, 9 Zahn). Le verset indique donc plus clairement ceci, que la prière adressée au nom de Jésus atteignait en réalité Jésus lui-même et que le fidèle pouvait choisir la formule la plus directe en s'adressant au Christ glorifé. Et c'est bien lui qui agira. ἐγώ (NDE etc. a e f ff? pes.) répond à pe : ce sont les deux éléments nouveaux du verset. Et cet ἐγώ réduit à sa valeur propre la promesse faite aux disciples : ils sembleront en faire plus que leur Maitre c'est lui qui fera. Qu'ils n’oublient donc pas de recourir à la prière! Mais quelle assurance pour eux de savoir que toutes les fois qu'ils invoqueront le Christ, il interviendra et fera ce qu'ils demandent! Il n'est pas question ici de l'efficacité de toute prière, mais de la prière des fidèles pour le bien de l'Église : elle est toujours exaucée.
14:15
τηρήσετε (TH) ou τηρήσατε (SV).
Cette fois encore Jésus entrevoit dans l'avenir l’action de ses disciples. De même que la foi était nécessaire pour que la prière soit exaucée, ainsi l'accomplissement des commandements sera la condition pour recevoir le Saint- Esprit (Schanz), et cet accomplissement sera la conséquence de l'amour. Nous lisons le futur τηρήσετε (BL et sept ou huit mss. grecs, boh. sah. Eus. Epiph. Chrys.) avec une légère préférence, et non l'aor. impér. τηρήσατε, beaucoup plus soutenu, mais qui s'accorde moins bien avec le futur ἐρωτήσω qui suit. Jésus parle de ses commandements, parce qu’il fonde une societé nouvelle dont il est le législateur, mais on ne voit pas qu'il ait en vue un catalogue de commandements nouveaux. Ce n’est pas non plus ce qu'a compris do. (I Jo. 1, 3-5; 11, 23 s.; v, 2-4), qui insiste surtout sur l'amour et sur la foi comme comprenant tout le reste. — Aug., toujours attentif à la psychologie individuelle, s’est demandé comment on peut aimer Jésus avant d’avoir reçu l'Esprit-Saint? La réponse théologique.est : spiritum sanctum hubere qui diligit, et habendo mereri ut plus habeat, et plus habendo plus diligat. Historiquement, si les disciples, par amour pour Jésus, sont disposés à faire son œuvre en pratiquant ce qu'il leur a commandé, il leur obtiendra l'Esprit qui donnera la grande impulsion (Schanz).
14:16
Avant d'expliquer Le v., il faut déterminer le sens de παράχλητος (textes dans Westcott, Zahn, Bauer) Ce mot ne se trouve que dans les écrits Johanniques (οἷ; xiv, 36; xv, 26; xvi, 73 1 Jo. 11, 1). Dans l’épitre c’est une qualification du Christ, intercesseur auprès du Père pour ceux qui ont péché. Mais ici c’est un autre Paraclet, envoyé par le Père à la demande du Fils. On ne saurait donc s'appuyer trop exclusivement sur I Jo. 11, 4. Quant au sens premier ou étymologique, c'est un équivalent exact du latin advocatus, une forme passive de παρακαλέω : il désigne, dans les rares anciens textes connus, ceux qu’on appelait à la rescousse pour prêter main forte à un accusé; cf. Démosthène, de faisa legat. 1, p. 341; Bion dans Diogène Laërce IV, 50; Denys d'Hal. XI, 37, 1; Dion Cassius XLVE, 20, 1. Mais le mot grec ne semble pas avoir pris 18 sens technique du latin advocatus, avocat. Il pouvait naturellement arriver que celui qu'on appelait à l’aide fût quelqu'un de plus puissant, comme l'avocat est un patron qui défend son client, et l'on pouvait concevoir l'assistance en dehors du cas d'évocation devant un tribunal. De sorte que le sens passif a pu devenir actif comme dans d’autres adjectifs verbaux en — +65. Cette évolution s’est produite lorsque Aquila et Théodotion ont traduit (Job. xvi, 2) παράκλητοι ce qui dans les LXX était παρακλήτορες (Sym. παρηγοροῦντες). Dans ce cas le sens de l'hébreu est « consolateur », mais Philon a le sens de conseiller (de mundi op. 23; M. 1,5), de patron (in Flac. 43; M. n, 319), d'intercesseur (de Josépho, 234; M. π, 73), Joseph disant à ses frères : j'ai tout oublié, vous n'avez pas besoin d'un autre intercesseur que moi-même (μηδενὸς ἑτέρου δεῖσθε παραχλήτου), D'ailleurs Philon emploie toujours παράκλητος comme un adjectif ordinaire, et il sert de qualificatif au Monde, représenté par le vêtement du grand prêtre; le titre religieux du monde est celui de fils au deuxième rang de Dieu, non de Paraclet (de vit. Mos. τ, 434; M. πι, p. 155) : ἀναγκαῖον γὰρ ἦν τὸν ἱερωμένον τῷ τοῦ κόσμου πατρὶ παραχλήτῳ χρῆσθαι τελειοτάτῳ τὴν ἀρετὴν υἱῷ πρός τε ἀμνηστίαν ἁμαρτημάτων καὶ χορηγίαν ἀφθονωτάτων ἀγαθῶν : « il fallait en effet que celui qui est consacré au père du monde se servit de [ce] fils accompli en vertu comme d’un intercesseur pour faire oublier les péchés et procurer les biens les plus abondants », Où il est 17. om. αὐτὸ pi γινωχσει (Η) plutôt que add. (TSV); — ἐστιν (Η) ou εσται (TSV). clair (même Bauer, el déjà Mangey) qu'il n’est pas question du Logos, mais du monde. C’est Jo. le premier qui, dans l'évangile, regarde le Paraclet comme une sorte de personnalité distincte du Père et du Fils, et qu'il identifie avec l'Esprit Saint (τιν, 26). Le mot grec était d’ailleurs bien connu des Juifs qui l'ont transcrit dans leur langue avec le sens de défenseur-avocat (Pirgé Aboth, 1v, 11, etc.). - La sémantique du mot est donc suffisamment claire. Le παράκλητος est appelé pour prêter main forte surtout dans le cas où un plaïdeur a besoin d’une assistance intellectuelle. D'abord le logographe, comme Lysias, compose le discours que le plaideur aura à prononcer; puis c’est l'avocat qui prend la parole. L'assistance intellectuelle peut se réduire à un conseil, de sorte que le paraclet sera comme un inspirateur, ce qui le dispose à devenir une épithète autonome de l'Esprit-Saint. Mais jamais son assistance ne consiste à réconforter quand 16 mal s'est abattu, en d’autres termes à consoler. Nous avons cependant rencontré cette déviation dans les traducteurs postérieurs de Job. χνι, 2 : elle vient de ce que ὁ παρακαλῶν peut être celui qui réconforte et celui qui eonsole. Dans notre cas le sens de consolateur était suggéré aussi parce que FÉsprit était promis, semblait-il, pour consoler les disciples de l'absence de leur maître. Ce sens de consolator est exprimé dans l’ancienne latine (r m), dans Jérôme : qui appellatur consolator (ep. ad Hed. CXX, qu. 9), et Jérôme ἃ même traduit consolator en citant les quatre endroits de 10. (in Is. sur xx, 1). Augustin qui tient d'abord pour l'ancienne traduction : Paracletus enim latine dicitur advocatus, écrit sur xvi, 4: consolator ergo 1116 vel advocatus (ufrumque enim interpretatur quod est graece paracletus), et ce sens se trouve aussi chez les Grecs. Ce n'est pas encore le cas dans Origène (de Orat. x, 2) εὐχόμενος ὑπὲρ τῶν εὐχομένων καὶ συμπαραχαλῶν τοῖς παρακαλοῦσιν, et il est probable que Rufin seul est responsable du coñsolator dans de Princip. τι, 7.4. Mais ce sens est plus net dans Eusèbe (Theol. eccl. TIT, δ) τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας τὸ παράκλητον πρὸς τὸ παρακαλεῖν αὐτοὺς χαὶ παραμυθεῖσθαι..., dans Cyrille de Jér. (Car. xvr, 20), dans Grégoire de Nysse (adv. Eun. ΠῚ et ensuite se répand largement. Ghez les Syriens, c'est peut-être le cas dans Éphrem (Moes. p. 225) et sûrement dans Théod. de Mops. et Ish‘odad. Mais malgré le succès de cette interprétation, il y à lieu de revenir (Durand, etc.) au sens attesté encore depuis le Barnabé (xx, 2) parle des misérables qui se font πλουσίων παράχλητοι, πενήτων ἄνομοι κριταί (cf. Didachè, v, 3). Dans la lettre des martyrs de Lyon (Eus. HE. V, 1, 40) Epagathos qui ἃ pris la défense des Chrétiens est nommé jeur avocat παράχλητος Χριστιανῶν χρηματίσας, ἔχων δὲ τὸν παράχλητον ἐν ἑαυτῷ, [le même 16 ps. Clément Romain (de Virg. 6) : ἢ τίς ἡμῶν παράκλητος ἔσται ἐὰν μὴ εὑρεθῶμεν ἔργα ἔχοντες ὅσια χαὶ δίκαια; Chez les anciens latins, la traduction advocatus prévaut dans les mss., dans Tert. (Prax. 9); Cypr. (ep. τὺ, 18; dom. orat. 3); Novatien (auteur des tractatus Orig. de Batiffol, p. 212); Hilaire (de Trinitate VIII, 19) advocatus venit (mais in ps. 195 : mittit nobis et alium consolatorem). On voit que les opinions des Pères ne constituent pas une tradition; la question doit se trancher pour l’évangile d'après les textes. Nous verrons que si le sens de consolateur, exclu par l'histoire du mot, n’est pas non plus recommandé par l’exégèse, celui que représente 16 latin advocatus doit être entendu de toute assistance intellectuelle, comportant naturellement aussi un encouragement pour la volonté. On serait tenté d'imiter la Vg. (sauf pour I Jo. =, 1), les syriens et les coptes qui se sont tirés d'affaire en transcrivant le grec; soit en français Paraclet. Meis ce serait une infidélité de traducteur envers l’auteur, qui ἃ employé un mot intelligible en grec, non un mot technique ayant pris une valeur nouvelle. D'après ce que nous avons vu, on rejettera Consolateur. Avocat indique trop une profession classée. Nous avions songé à Aide qui rendait bien les différents offices du mot. Mais Dfenseur (Loisy) est le mot qui se rapproche le plus du grec. 10) Tandis que Jésns vient de dire : priez et je ferai (44), il dit ici qu’il priera son Père d'envoyer. De même que le Père l'a envoyé, comme il l'affirme constamment, c'est aussi le Père qui doit envoyer cet autre Paraclet (Mald.). 11 faut observer cependant que ἐρωτάω ne marque pas d'infériorité de la part de celui qui fait l'invitation, et que plus loin Jésus dira qu’il enverra ce Paraclet (χγι, 7). be Paraclet sera donc envoyé par le Fils comme par le Père, mais, dans ce premier endroit (de même 26) où il s'agissait d'envoyer un autre, il était tout indiqué d’aftribuer la mission au Père. « Un autre » : Jésus était donc lui-même un Paraclet; ce que Jean a dit en effet (I Jo. u, 4), et Jésus présent auprès de son Père, constituant ainsi un défenseur ou un intercesseur. L'assistance de l’autre Paraclet devra être tout intérieure dans les disciples, comme μεθ᾽ μῶν est expliqué au v. suivant. Εἰ cette assistance durera jusqu’à la fin des temps, ce qui semble bien indiquer qu'elle sera accordée à la collectivité des disciples. A7) Il est un esprit de vérité (1 Jo. v, 6), opposé à l'esprit d'égarement (1 Jo. 1v, 6) dans l’ordre religieux. C'est de cette manière qu'il assiste les disciples, comme la lumière chasse 165 ténèbres. Par opposition au groupe des disciples, le monde ne peut [6 recevoir, car ses yeux ne sont pas ouverts pour le connaître mon envim habet invisibiles oculos mundana dilectio, per quos videri Spiritus sanctus, nisi invisibiliter non potest (Aug.). Le monde ne désire que ce qu'il voit : or le Paraclet ne saurait être vu des yeux du corps; le monde qui n'accepte pas [ἃ doctrine de Jésus n'a donc aucun moyen de parvenir à la connaissance de l'Esprit de vérité : il n'est absolument pas dans la disposition de le recevoir, pndeuiav ἔχοντας ἐπιθυμίαν θείου πνεύματος (ἀνέῃ. Ὑ, vin, 2). Au lieu de conclure mais vous, vous pouvez Le recevoir, parce que vous le connaissez, Jésus ajoute mais vous {si vous ne le voyez pas à l'extérieur, ce qui est impossible), vous le connaissez, parce que vous l'avez reçu, C'est dire que cette assistance de l'Esprit est accordée à ceux qui aiment Jésus et observent ses commandements, sans même qu'ils l'implorent spécialement. L'Esprit de vérité qui est en eux les éclaire sur lui-même. Tandis que le monde se débat contre l’erreur et se trouve sans défense parce qu’il n’a pas reçu l’enseignement de Jésus; ceux qui croient en Lui sont en contact, et dans un contact intellectuel, avec l'Esprit de vérité. Get esprit n'est pas qualifié διδάσκαλος, parce qu'il n'y ἃ qu'un maître, le Christ, et c'est sa doctrine qu'il défend en setenant au cœur de la place. Prévoyant l'avenir et la situation qui suivra son départ, Jésus parle de l’action de l’Esprit comme présente; c’est une assistance (παρ᾽ ὑμῖν), mais une assistance du dedans (ἐν ὑμῖν). Le présent pour le futur s'explique d'autant plus naturellement qu'il s’agit d'une opposition de principe entre le monde qui ne comprend pas (οὐ γινώσκει) et les disciples qui comprennent; après γινώσχετε, Jo. pouvait écrire μένει (et non μενεῖ) et ἔστιν (et non ἔσται); ἐστιν avec BDW,122 69 251 254 565 anc. lutt., pes syrcu. Tat.-ar. Lucifer. La lecon Éctaest assez fortement attestée; si elle était acceptée, elle entraînerait μενεῖ, mais nous croyons plutôt que c’est une correction et que Jo. a mis les trois verbes au présent, en prévoyance de la mission future. D'autre part, avec les verbes au présent, on peut dire que la présence de l'Esprit dans les disciples est actuelle, et déjà un gage du don de l'Esprit dans une manifestation plus considérable. Le passage du Testament de Juda (xx), indiqué par Bauer, est peut-être un emprunt à la doctrine de Jo. : Γνῶτε οὖν, τέκνα μου, ὅτι δύο πνεύματα σχολάζουσι τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ, τὸ τῆς ἀληθείας καὶ τὸ τῆς πλάνης.
14:18
Jésus sait qu'il va mourir, et ne veut pas cependant laisser ses disciples orphelins. Comme il les a appelés ses enfants (xmr, 33), il peut bien se regarder comme leur père. D'ailleurs ὀρφανός, probablement rattaché à ἰὰ même racine qué orbus « privé de », peut s'entendre de quelqu'un qui est privé de son père ou de son frère, et Platon parle même d'une vie d’orphelin, si l’on n'a ni amis ni enfants (De Leg. V, p. 130). — C'est ainsi que les disciples de Socrate se regardaient comme orphelins après sa mort : ἡγούμενοι ὥσπερ πατρὸς στερηθέντες διάξειν ὀρφανοὶ τὸν ἔπειτα βίον (Phaed. ἘΧΥ͂, p. 416). -- ἔρχομαι au présent, parce que ce sera sûrement et sans tarder, οἱ de façon à ce que les disciples qui ent été un temps orphelins ne le soient plus : ἀφιέναι, laisser quelqu'un tel qu'il est; ef. ὡς ὀρφανοὺς ἀφιείς (Épic. I, 24, 14). Même après les apparitions les disciples se seraient sentis orphelins, si le Christ les avait quittés de nouveau tout à fait. 11 s'agit donc d'une venue qui sera de nature à n'avoir pas de terme durant leur vie.
14:19
ζήσεσθε (SV) plutôt que ζησετε (ΤῊ).
Jésus une fois mort, et ce sera bientôt, le monde ne le verra plus. Au coutraire les disciples le verront. Or à la Parousie, tout le monde, du moins ceux qui vivront alors le verront. Il est done question d’une vue réservée aux disciples, comme ce fut le cas après la résurrection (Aug.). Cependant Jo. ne parle pas expressément des apparitions, mais plutôt d'une vue que les disciples auront parce que Jésus, étant vivant, leur communiquera la vie, laquelle leur permettra de le voir. Les disciples n’ont pas acquis foute vie spirituelle seulement à la résurrection; celle-ci n’en est pas moins un point de départ : Jésus vit désormais d'une vie glorieuse et les disciples auront conscience de vivre de cette vie divine. — Il est arbitraire de séparer ὅτι de ce qui précède, comme Zahn qui traduit : Parce que je vis, vous aussi vous vivrez.
14:20
υμεῖις γνώσεσθε (Η) ou γν. vu. (TSV).
Ce verset explique en quoi consistera cette vue. Dans ce jour, c'est-à-dire tir du jour où vivant, et vous vivanis en conséquence, vous me verrez, à par ÉYANGILE SELON SAINT JEAN. 22, χας a. τι (TSV) plutôt que om. (H). vous connaîtrez que je suis en mon Père, c'est-à-dire cette vérité qu'ils ont en ce momeut peine à comprendre (9-10). Mais alors, commençant à vivre, c'est-àdire ayant conscience de vivre d'une vie nouvelle qui leur vient du ressuscité, ils comprennent aussi que c'est le fruit d’unc union intime avec lui, eux en lui, et lui en eux. Celte union ne saurait êfre aussi intime que celle du Fils avec le Père, les disciples ne pouvaient y songer; mais elle aura, par elle-même, un caractère slable. Jésus vient afin d'être uni aux siens pour toujours. D'ailleurs « en ce jour » n'est pas un moment précis, et peut s'entendre du temps écoulé depuis la résurrection jusqu'à la descente de l'Esprit-Saint : c'est un temps d'illuminations, de grâces intimes exraordinaires, qui inaugure une nouvelle période de la connaissance et du sentiment religieux. Désormais les disciples sauront d'une certitude infaillible spéculative l'unité de tous ceux qui ont la charité dans le Christ; ils sentiront aussi, d'une connaissance expérimentale très douce, que Dieu est en eux par sa grâce, et même, faveur plus rare, ils auront le sentiment que Jésus-Christ vit en eux (Eph. m, 17). Bossuet : « [Dieu] nous est plus intime que nous ne le sommes à nous-mêmes; ainsi il se cache en nous autant qu’il lui plait, il s'y découvre à nous-mêmes aulant qu'il lui plait » {Méditations sur les Év.). Si l’on entend « ce jour-là » du dernier jour (Aug. et méme Bauer), la connaissance n'en sera que plus claire, mais précisément si elle est claire, il n'y a pas à la décrire de la même manière voilée et mystique que Jésus ἃ employée pour le temps présent (9-10).
14:21
Jésus annonce de nouveau qu'il se manifestera, mais cette expression. toute générale est bien au-dessous de ce qui vient d'être dit, Le but du v. est donc plutôl d'indiquer à quelle condition se fera cette manifestation, de même qu'au v. 45 l'observation des commandements était une condition préalable à l'envoi de l'autre Paraclet. Plus encore qu'au v. 15 on ἃ l'impression que ce v. est adressé presque autant aux disciples de l'avenir qu'à ceux qui écoutaient alors ; il n'élait pas douteux que ceux-ei aimaient leur Maître, tandis qu'il indique ici à quoi l’on reconnaitra qu'on l'aime véritablement. Il faut à tout le moins dire avec Aug. : efiam nos lanquam cum tllis discimus. Au v. 15 c'était : si vous m'aimez, vous en ferez la preuve; ici, c'est : ceux 4] donneront cette preuve aimeront vraiment. Jésus parle comme lésislateur et comme la fin de ceux qui pratiquent ses commandements, c'est-à-dire le bien. La différence entre ἔχων et τηρῶν paraît être qu'il faut d'abord: connaître les commandements et les embrasser par l'acte de foi chrétienne (ἔχων) et ensuite les mettre en pratique, sans quoi le premicr acte ne serait qu’un leurre : rien de plus fort sur le rêle des œuvres, spécialement pour obtenir plus de lumière, dans le progrès de la vie chrélienne comme à son début (ur, 49-24). D'ailleurs c'est la charité qui est le principal, L'amour pour le Fils provoque l'amour du Père. Ce n’est pas qu'on puisse aimer Dieu sans avoir été d'abord attiré par lui, Jo. l'a dit très clairement (νι, 44), mais nous sommes ici dans l'ordre-de l'exécution des commandements, et Jésus parle des rapports entre Dieu et l'homme comme on parle de l'affection des hommes entre eux. Celui qui aime est aimé davantage à mesure qu'il témoigne plus d'amour, même par les parents de celui qu'il aime. Combien cela est plus vrai quand le Père et le Fils sont si unis! La récompense sera plus d'amour de la part du Christ et la promesse de se faire mieux connaitre. — ἐμφανίζειν n'est pas fait pour indiquer la révélation ouverte et solennelle du dernier jour, mais plutôt une connaissance encore voilée quoique relativement plus claire; cf. Sap. 1, 2 ὅτι εὑρίσχεται τοῖς μὴ πειράζουσιν αὐτόν, ἐμφανίζεται δὲ τοῖς μὴ ἀπιστοῦσιν αὐτῷ, Dieu est le sujet, mais il va être précisément question de la pénétration de la sagesse dans les âmes simples et innocentes. Le Christ est cette Sagesse, incarnée et glorieuse. . . Pour la réalisation de cetle promesse, il faut surtout penser aux grâces de lumière qui pénètrent dans l’âme, soit dans la prière, soit même lorsqu'elle s'y attend le moins. Mais pourquoi ne pas constater qu'en effet le Christ se marifeste dans l'Église aux croyants qui sont de vrais chrétiens, comme une source, un foyer, une force motrice, agissant par les sacremenis, se donnant dans l'Eucharistie, imprimant l'impulsion par l'autorité des pasteurs? Plus on l'aime et plus on le reconnait distinctement dans celte perpétuelle venue, toujours renouvelée. C'est la même promesse que dans Mt. xxvat, 20 : καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ μεθ᾽ ὑμῶν εἶμι, On ne songe pas à nier que ce soit d’une certaine manière une venue de l'Esprit, qu'on ne saurait séparer du Fils: cependant ce n'est pas sans intention que Jésus parle des deux. [1 n'y a donc pas lieu de dire: « la promesse de l’Esprit est, dans la pensée du rédacteur évangélique, une autre façon de dire la même chose » (Loisy, p. 412). 99.24. La même doctrine approfondie en réponse à Jude. L'apôtre Jude intervient, ne comprenant pas pourquoi la manifestation da Christ ne s'adressera pas au monde. Jésus avait déjà suggéré la réponse; il r'a donc qu'à remettre celte raison sous les yeux des disciples : c’est que cette révélation est réservée à ceux qui aiment. Ce n’est point un dialogue régulier, mais un enseignement de maître à disciple, 16 maître se contentant, au lieu de justifier sa doctrine, de l'affirmer de nouveau avec un nouvel éclat et en la développant : car Jude apprendra ici que le Père vient avec le Fils et qu'ils font leur demeure dans l'âme. Et l’on comprend mieux que celui qui n'observe pas Îles commandements du Fils se rend indigne de l'habitation commüne du Père et du Fils, puisque les paroles du Fils sont celles dû Père. Augustin enfend ce passage de la vie éternelle; non point de la parousie du Christ dans son corps glorieux qui sera perçue de tous, mais : esé ergo quaedam Dei manifestatio interior. Nous entendons cette présence intérieure de la vie présente, avec l'opinion commune (Grill, ete.).
14:22
Celui qui prend la parole n'est nommé qu'ici dans Jo. ot ne figure pas an catalogue des apôtres dans Mt. ni dans Mc., mais bien dans Le. vi, 46 (Ἰούδαν Ἰ.- χώξου rai Ἰούδαν Ἰσκαριώθ) où nous avons compris « frère » et non « fils » de Jacques (cf. Mt. xur, 55; Me. vi, 3). Peul-être avait-on pris l'habitude de le nommer Thaddée (Me. mr, 18 et ML. x, 3 au catalogue des apôtres), afin de dissiper une fois pour toutes l'équivoque que Jo. écarte ici, car on cût pu supposer que Judas l'Iscariote était rentré sans bruit. Les Syriens le nommaient (syrsin) ou le surnommaient (syrcur) Thomas (el. Zann, Forschungen… VI, 346 58.), . La question de Jude est assez naturelle. Ce n'est pas l’objection d'un eritique vomme (6158 (Onue., 6. Celsum, n, 63 ss. ; vu, 45) qui proteste contre les apparitions trop restreintes du ressuscité (encore Bauer), et Jo. n'ayant pas parlé de la parousie, ses lecteurs n'auraient pu deviner que Jude y fit allusion. Mais Jo. a parlé de la conceptian nationale du messianisme juil (νι, 15), d’ailleurs bicu connue, et il était très naturel que Jude s’attendit à une grande manifestalion de Jésus, lors de l'avènement du règne de Dieu et d'Israël, fût-il retardé jusqu'après sa mort (Act. 1, 6). Le mot ἐμφανίζω pouvait avoir ce sens, quoique, même dans Ex. xxxut, 43.48, il [ἃ question d'une vision réservée à Moïse. Il demande précisément pourquoi cette vision du Christ-Roi ne serait-elle pas universelle, pour réjouir Israël et frapper de terreur ses ennemis. D'ailleurs, si sa pensée est un peu voilée, c’est qu'il emplaie les termes mêmes, de. Jésus qu'il n'a pas bien compris. — τί γέγονεν ὅτε « qu’est-il arrivé » pour que Le programme du messianisme soit ainsi changé? ër pour δι’ & τι, simplifié par D en τι εστιν οτι, et par syrsin et our en vi ὅτι, où ti prend le sens qu'il ἃ si souvent de « pourquoi ». — Nous conservons καί devant τί, malgré des autorilés manuscrites peut-être supérieures (A B D etc. vg. etc.), parce que l'omission est très nalurelle; mais qui aurait imaginé celte tournure si vive, et d'ailleurs classique? Cf. Küh.-Gerth, I, p.247, sur καί à la tête d’une interrogation qui reprend avec étonnement ce qui vient d'être dit : Par. Conv. IV, 62 : Καὶ τί μοι σύνοισθα ὦ Σ,, τοιοῦτον εἰργασμένῳ: 33) Quaesierat enim de Christi manifestatione, et audivit de dilectione et mansione (Aug.). La réponse n’est pas directe, mais c'est bien une réponse c'est seulement dans le cas que j'avais dit que je me manifesterai, ce qui exclut le monde indifférent ou hostile. Mais il est dit de plus que le Père aussi viendra, ce qu’on pouvait supposer, puisque le Fils est si intimement uni au Père, el, ce qui est plus nouveau, celte venue sera une demeure. Dieu habitait dans Israël (Ex. xxv, 8, elc.); cette cohabitation, atténuée par la disparition de l'arche, devait se reproduire (Zach. τι, 40), et s'était en fait réalisée dans l'Incarnation (τ, 44). Une fois le Christ remonté vers son Père, tous deux viendront, mais seulement en chacun de ceux qui aiment Le Fils et observent ses commandements. Cette demeure est intérieure, car παρ᾽ αὐτῷ remplace ἐν αὐτῷ, c'est seulement une formule conforme à la métaphore : on habite chez quelqu'un. ἢ faut bien noter que, si décisive que soit la mention des œuvres, l’observalion des commandements est donnée cette fois encore comme la preuve de la charité, qui seule compte et provoque, selon la série des dons accordés, la charité du Père. La visite des deux personnes divines ne peut être conçue qué comme une demeure du seul vrai Dieu. C’est une réponse de l'affection à l'afection, un véritable acte d'amitié, qui suppose les œuvres, mais qui n’est pas précisément la récompense des œuvres, si ce n'est de la charité qui en est le principe et dont elles sont le signe. Rien n’est exigé comme culture intellectuelle de l'esprit, ni comme tendance à la contemplation, ni même comme ascèse particulière, et si cette visite peut avoir en des âmes d'élite des aspects inconnus aux autres (Cyrille), cependant Dieu ne vient pas pour provoquer l'extase ou toute autre manifestalion extérieure : il vient pour habiter dans l'âme de celui qui l'aime. Rien de plus simple comme expression que cette mystique, rien de plus profond. On en jugera mieux en la comparant avec d'autres. La présence de Dicu dans l'âme découlait naturellement du panthéisme stoïcien. Sénèque (Ep. rx, 16) : miraris hominem ad deos ire? deus ad homines venit, immo quod est propius, in homines venit: nulla sine deo mens bona 68... Mais la suite ramène ces admirables paroles à la conception monisle : semina in corporibus humanis divina dispersa sunt.… Ce sont des germes naturellement intrinsèques à l’homme. Le Dieu présent à l'âme d'Épictète est plus distinut du monde (cf. AB. 1912 p. 14 ss.\; encore est-il que cette présence est de l'ordre physique, un phénomène naturel, non point un don de l'amitié. Philon nous l'avons déjà vu, a parlé de la présence dans l'âme du Logos divin. Dans ces endroits (de poster. Caini 122; 1, 249; quod deus sit imm. 13%; 1, 292; de fuga et inv. 4117: f, 563), le θεῖος λόγος est la sagesse divine, la claire perception du bien, ct presque une métaphore pour exprimer la droite raison s’exerçané pour le bien, de sorte que, tant qu'elle est présente et agissante. l'âme ne saurait commettre le mal. Mais Philon ἃ parlé aussi de la venue de Dieu dans l'âme. II y était amené soit par la doctrine ‘stoïcienne, soit aussi par la révélation, à laquelle il renvoie expressément (46 Cher. 104; FE 457) : ἀξιόχρεως μέντοι γε οἶκος ψυχὴ ἐπιτήδειος, οἵχον οὖν ἐπίγειον τὴν ἀόρατον ψυχὴν τοῦ ἀοράτου θεοῦ λέγοντες ἐνδίχως χαὶ κατὰ νόμον φήσομεν. Π lui suffisait de rapporter à l'âme ce que Dieu avait dit de son habitation parmi son peuple, et en effet il emploie plusieurs fois le mot ἐμπεριπατέω emprunté à Lévitique, πανὶ, 42, cité d’ailleurs expressément (de Somniis 1, 148; 1, 683). Il entend bien parler du Dieu suprême, car il distingue les secours donnés aux âmes encore en péril par les anges 26. om. eyw p. υμῖν (TSV) plutôt que add. (H). λόγοι θεῖοι où θεοῦ, et la visite de Dieu même à l'âme complètement purifite (1. L) : ταῖς μὲν δὴ τῶν ἄχρως χεχαθαρμένων διανοίαις ἀψοφητὶ μόνος ἀοράτως ὃ τῶν ὅλων ἡγεμῶν ἐμπεριπατεῖ, avec la vive exhortation (1. L. 449) : σπούδαζε οὖν, ὦ ψυχή, θεοῦ οἶχος γενέσθαι, ἱερὸν ἅγιον, ἐνδιαίτημα κάλλιστον. En quoi consiste cette préparation? L'âme est comparée à un palais royal ou à un temple : les fondements seront la bonne nature et la discipline (εὐφυία καὶ διδασκαλία), sur lesquelles seront édifiées les vertus; la demeure sera ornée par les sciences encyclopédiques : grammaire, géométrie, rhétorique. Alors viendront les puissances divines, pour exéculer les ordres de leur père, qui cette fois ne vient pas en personne. Elles se mettront à table et sèmeront dans les âmes vertueuses le germe heureux de la joie (De Cherub. 98 ss.; I, 157). Ailleurs (de Ebrietate, 62; I, 803) c'est bien Dieu qui vient, mais la présence paraît moins intime: le philosophe reparait et nous rappelle que si Dieu habite dans les âmes complètement purifiées, ee ne saurait être comme dans un lieu, lui qui contient tout sans être contenu par rien, mais pour signifier une providence et une diligence spéciale. Quand il s’agit de l’âme, c'est pour l’entraîner vers les hauteurs du ciel : τὸν νοῦν ἐξαίοων εἰς ὕψος ἀπὸ γῆς τοῖς οὐρανοῦ συνάψει πέρασι, De sorle que cette visite de Dieu n'est autre chose que l'extase philonienne, qui ne peut durer longtemps. Gommentant Gen. xvi, 33, Philon s'en explique (Quaest. in Gen. IV, 29, traduction latine de l’arménien) assez longuement par l'infirmité humaine. L’îme nc peut être toujours au ciel; il faut qu'elle vaque à ses occupations ordinaires, trop indignes de la présence de Dieu : non enim omnia licet agere filios in cons- Pectu patris. Cette splendide théorie suppose donc en somme une conception assez mesquine des rapports de Dieu avec l'âme : c'est un monarque glorieux qui daigne visiter son sujet, mais ne veut pas l'accabler de sa présence majestueuse. Le Dieu de Philon, à force d'être iranscendant, est obligé d’ éviter cerlains contacts, comme si sa transcendance ne l'en préservait pas! Mais revenons aux paroles simples et touchantes de ce Jésus qui promet à ceux qu'il va quitter de venir en eux avec son Père pour y demeurer, d'une facon surnaturelle, mais cependant permanente, à la seule condition qu'ils veuillent bien l'aimer. « Qui nous dira quelle est celte secrète partie de notre âme dont le Père et le Fils font leur temple et leur sanctuaire? Qui nous dira combien intimement ils y habitent, comme ils la dilatent comme Pour s'y promener et de ce fond intime de l'âme se répandre partout, occuper toutes les puissances, animer toutes les actions? Qui nous apprendra ce secret, pour nous y retirer sans cesse et y trouver le Père et le Fils? » (Bossuer, Méditations sur les Év.).
14:24
Le revers de la médaille. Ceux qui ne m'aiment pas sont aussi ceux qui ne gardent pas mes paroles, c'est-à-dire n’observent pas mes commandements. 115 n'observent donc pas non plus ceux du Père, car la parole de Jésus est celle de celui qui l’a envoyé, comme il l’a déjà dit plus d'une fois (vi, 16; νι, 26; xu, 49). Ce sont ceux-là qui figurent ici le monde. Le Père ne saurait les aimer : comment viendrait-il amicalement chez eux avec le Fils, comment le Fils se ferait-il connaître à eux comme un ami?
14:25
La liaison avec ce qui précède se fait sur l'idée de parole. Les commandements de Jésus étant caractérisés comme ses paroles (λόγοι), ces paroles se sont fondues dans l'unité de la doctrine (λόγος). C'est cette doctrine qu'il a exprimée (λελάληκα) jusqu'à présent, pendant qu'il était sur la terre, demeurant ainsi auprès de ses disciples. Mais il va partir, et il a déjà désigné celui qui doit le remplacer.
14:26
C’est le Défensour (παράκλητος) qui figure ici bien clairement dans l'office de maitre de doctrine. Il sera envoyé par le Père, non plus (16) à la prière du Fils, mais, ce qui est plus en situation, pour tenir la place du Fils et parler en son nom; ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι dans ce Cas ne peut s'expliquer que par l'analogie de v, 43; x, 25 : comme le Fils est venu de la part du Père et pour parler en son nom, ainsi l'Esprit-Saint parlera au nom du Fils. Le Paraclet, qualifié déjà esprit de vérité (17) est ici l'Esprit-Saint (1, 33), terme connu par la Bible. Sa fonction ne sera pas seulement de rappeler les paroles de Jésus (Kn., Durand), puisque le texte emploie deux verbes : il enseignera et il rappellera. D'une part il ne faut point exagérer l'opposition entre ταῦτα (25) et révra, comme si le Christ n’avait enseigné qu’une vérité fragmentaire, complétée par un enseignement nouveau du Paraclet, car ταῦτα est déjà un peu éloigné, et le premier πάντα du v. 26 est plutôt en relation avec le second, sans virgule après le premier, de sorte que c'est bien le même groupe de vérités que le Paraclet enscignera et rappellera. D'autre part il faut admettre un nouvel enseignement qui complètera celui de Jésus (νι, 42 s.), non par addilion de vérités autres, mais par un développement où lon reconnaitra de quelque maniére ce que Jésus avait déjà dit. Le nom même d'Esprit indique la nature de cel enseignement, par suggestion intérieure, plutôt que par la parole. C'est sur cette assistance que s'appuie l'Église quand elle propose la règle de foi soit d'après l'Écriture, soit d'après la Tradition. Aucun privilège n'est accordé ici à la parole écrite, et l'Église ne saurait errer puisqu'elle ἃ pour maître l'Esprit-Saint, Il est vrai que plusieurs anteurs catholiques (voir surtout Frawzeu, de divina traditione, 2e éd. p. 268 55.) pensent que la promesse contenue ici est strictement limitée aux Apôtres. Après le mort du dernier Apôtre, il n'y a plus eu dans l'Église de révélation officielle, destinée à toute l'Église; mais entre l’Ascension et la mort du dernier Apôtre, l’Esprit-Saint a sûrement révélé des véritéssinonentièrement nouvelles, du moins qu'on n'aurait pu sans cela dégager de la révélation faite par le Christ. Dans ce cas ou pourrait entendre διδάξει de ces vérités au lieu de le restreindre par le verbe suivant. Et en effet on allègue que ce passage, encadré entre λελάληκα et εἶπον ὑμῖν ne doit s'entendre que des Apôtres présents (saint Paul sera élu d'une facon spéciale) qui ont entendu ce que Jésus leur ἃ dit, demeurant avec eux; cf. après xvi, 45. — Le passage du Poimandrès XIII {XIV), 2, cité par Bauer pourrait être ἀπὸ réminiscence de Jo : τοῦτο τὸ γένος, ὦ τέκνον, οὐ διδάσχεται, ἀλλ᾽ ὅταν θέλῃ, ὁπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ ἀναμιμνήσχεται, — Loisÿ voit ici une seconde « addition rédactionnelle, destinée à concilier l’évangile mystique avec les évangiles plus anciens » {p. 444). On y verrait tout aussi bien avec Wellhausen le fond primitif du discours, sil + avait lieu de constater dans ce discours quelques surcharges. Il se peut d'ailleurs que Jean ait eu conscience que ces paroles autorisaient son témoignage, plus tardif que les autres, et son évangile où l'on a vu (Clém. d'Al.) l'évangile spirituel. Thomas note ici : Quomodo enim evangelista Joannes post quadraginta annos potuisset omnium verborum Chrisii quae in evangelio scripsit habere memoriam, nisi ei Spirilus sanctus suggessissel? En faisant appel moins à la mémoire personnelle de Jean qu’à la suggestion par l'Esprit-Saint, saint Thomas s'en réfère sans doute à l'action de l’Esprit-Saint telle qu'on peut la déduire de ce passage, et qui consistait moins à rappeler les mots un à un qu’à faire pénétrer le sens profond de l'enseignement de Jésus,
14:27
Le lien avec ce qui précède serait clair, si l'on pouvait {avec Cyrille) identifier la paix du Christ avec son Esprit. Mais le don de l'Esprit était ἃ venir: la -paix est déjà non seulement léguée (ἀφίημι) mais donnée (δίδωμι), Elle sera plus profonde plus tard, maïs la forme du don (au présent) empôche de voir ici une suite très exacte de ce qui précède. C'est donc une idée nouvelle qui se présente pour terminer. On n'a pas manqué de rappeler que depuis l'antiquité les Hébreux se quit- (aient en se souhaitant la paix. Ce serait le cas ici: Pacis nomine hebraica phrasi salutationem, apprecationemque emnium prosperarum TeTum significari arbitror… Christum igitur paterno more. vale filiis suis dicere et ut vulio loguimur, suam illis benedictionem relinquere (Mald., Zahn, Bauer; cf. Durand) cf, 1 Sam. 1, 17; xx, 43; χχιχ, 7; Me, v, 94; Le. vir, 50; vin, 48 etc. Mais Jésus n'emploie pas ici une formule courante; en effet cetle formule eût été « je vous donne (heb. 105; aram. 27) la paix ». Jo. l'évite au début, où elle eût été un simple adieu, et se l’emploie que lorsqu'il insiste sur la nature de cette paix. Ge qu'il laisse à ses disciples comme un legs spirituel, c’est une chose précieuse, non pas une paix quelconque, mais sa paix. C'est bien un adieu, mais non selon la forme banale ordinaire. Les Pères ont interprété la paix de diflérentes manières. Thomas approuve et commente la définition d'Augustin (lib. de Verbis Domini) Paz est serenitas mentis, tranquilitas animae, simplicitas cordis, amoris vincudm, consortium caritatis. Dans la situation présente, les disciples risquaïent de se troubler en perdant leur Maître; avec lui ils étaient en paix avec Dieu, qu'il leur apprenait à aimer, en paix entre eux, parce que Sa voix calmait leurs disputes; ils ne craignaient pas leurs ennemis, étant confiants dans sa protection. C'est cette paix, la sienne, qu'il leur laisse, comme s’il était présent, par l'assistance qu'il leur a promise : θεία δέ τις ἐν ὑμῖν ἀνατελεῖ δύναμις, σχολάζοντι νῷ, καὶ γαληνιώσῃ καρδίᾳ, ξεναγοῦσα πρὸς ἀποκάλυψιν τῶν ὑπὲρ ἀνθρώπινον νοῦν {Cyr.). C'est done grâce à celte paix dont Jésus est la source qu'ils pourront reconnaître sa présence en EUX. — où καθώς... δίδωσιν n’a pas de régime : il faut évidemment sous-entendre la paix, mais il semble bien que l'accent de la phrase est sur le mode différent de donner plutôt que sur l'objet différent de la paix que propose le monde par la satisfaction des désirs sensuels, de l'ambition, de l'avarice. Ces pensées sur la fausse paix du pécheur sent justes et pieuses, mais les disciples n’en étaient pas là; Jésus parle surtout de l'opposition entre la paix extérieure, la seule que le monde puisse donner quelquefois, et celle qui se maintient au dedans de l’âme, quoi qu'il en soit des périls et de la guerre qu'il faudra affronter, la paix de celui qui va être meuriri par le monde pour obéir à son Père. — ἀφίημι semble indiquer un legs, dont par conséquent les disciples jouiront plus tard; mais sa mort est imminente, et, si l’on peut dire, sa succession déjà ouverte. Aussi δίδωμι est un don actuel. On conçoit qu'en promettant l'assistance on donne dès à présent l'assurance de la paix et la paix elle-même, disposition spirituelle qui se communique sans formalités. Et en «effet les disciples ont besoin de cette paix dès à présent. Ce qui prouve que Jésus ne parle pas spécialement de 18 paix avec Dieu, par opposition au péché, enais d'une paix fondée sur le secours de Dieu, et qui affronte la guerre, c'est qu'il reprend ja recommandation du v. 1, d'éviter le trouble dans le désarrai de la séparation. Jlajoute même cette fois, μηδὲ δειλιάτω, hapaz dans le N.T., maïs terme employé par l'A. Τὶ en cas de guerre (Dt. 1, 31; Π Macch. xv, 8). Dans un sens plus général, la paix élait un des thèmes favoris de l'A. T. saus parler de ἃ paix du pays ai sens temporel, elle était regardée comme appartenant en propre à l'homme religieux et vertueux (Is. ταν, 43; ἀντι, 49), tandis que l’impie est dans le trouble. Cette paix était donnée par lahvé; on 11 demandait, en parallélisme avec sa faveur, dans la bénédiction sacerdotale (Num. vi, 26). Elle devait être un don messianique (Ez. xxxvu, 26), la paix de Dieu avec son peuple. Ce thème devait frapper Philon d'autant plus qu'on interprétait alors Jérusalem « vision de paix », et que, d'autre part, l'absence de trouble (ataraxie), la paix de l'âme, toutes passions étant domptées, était le but suprême de la morale stoïcienne. Aussi en a-t-il parlé en des termes assez voisins de ceux de ceux de Jo. À propos de Phinéès {de Vita Mos. 1, 304; II, 129) : δωρησάμενος ὁ θεὸς Φινεεῖ τὸ μέγιστον ἀγαθόν, εἰρήνην, ὃ μηδεὶς ἱχανὸς ἀνθρώπων παρασχεῖν, « qu'aucun homme n'est capable de fournir » n'est pas très éloigné de οὐ καθὼς ὁ κόσμος δίδωσιν. Philon ἃ traduit « paix » ce qui est chez les Septante « alliance de paix » (Num. xxv, 12). À propos de Jérusalem la ville de Dieu (de Somniis τ, 250-254; 1, 692), l'âme qui est en paix est la meilleure habitation de Dieu qui est la paix. Enfin, à propos de Melchisédek, roi de Salem, ou roi de paix, Philon oppose J'intelligence-tyran, qui pousse l'âme aux mauvaises actions, au roi de paix qui la gouverne pour son bien : ce roi de paix n’est autre que la droite raison οὗτος δέ ἐστιν ὁ ὀρθὸς λόγος, καλείσθω οὖν ὁ μὲν τύραννος ἄρχων πολέμου, ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς ἡγεμὼν εἰρήνης (Leg. alleg. 1 80 5.; 1, 103). On trouve ici le prince de la paix, (αἱ est un logos, il est vrai la droitc raison et non le Logos divin, en opposition avec un ἄοχων, ici le prince de la guerre, dans Jo. le prince de ce monde (σιν, 30). Est-ce une simple rencontre? De toute façon on notera dans Jo. le caractère concret des paroles et des sentiments dans une situation donnée, tandis que Philon est toujours dans le domaine de la spéculation philosophique ce serait les rapprocher plus que de raison que d'interpréter Jo. d'une manière trop métaphysique; il ne faudrait pas non plus tomber dans un sens trop banal (Zahn) : je ne vous dis pas adieu comme on fait d'ordinaire, comme les gens se disent adieu, mais d’une facon qui doit retentir dans vos cœurs.
14:28
Jésus renvoie à ce qu'il a déjà dit au v. 3, en termes équivalents. Le parallélisme continue donc avec le début du discours. Mais alors la prédiction du retour devait encourager les disciples dans leur propre intérêt, puisqu'il allait leur préparer des places. Maintenant abordant un motif encore plus noble, il leur dit que si seulement ils avaient eu jusqu'à présent de l'affection pour lui, ils devraient se réjouir parce qu'il va vers son Père. Le reproche est de ceux que l’on fait aimablement pour amener la protestation : mais oui, je vous aime. Que Jésus vienne vers son Père, c'était assurément un sujet de joie pour lui et ce devrait en être un pour ses disciples. Mais il ajoute un trait spécial, une raison de la joie de ce retour : c'est que son Père est plus grand ‘que lui. Parmi les Pères, il existe deux explications. a) Les uns pensent qu’il ἃ parlé précisément comme Fils distinct du Père, c'est-à-dire comme la seconde Personne de la Très Sainte Trinité. Origène (0. Cels. vin, 44.45; in Jo. νι, 23; vur, 25) et Tertullien (c. Prax. 9) semblent en avoir conclu à une réelle infériorité du Fils. Les Pères orthodoxes du 1v° 8., ÂAthanase (Oraf. c. Arian. 1, 58), Grégoire de Nazianze (Orat. 30, & 7) ont nié une véritable infériorité, puisque le Fils reçoit de son Père une nature égale à la sienne : si le Père reçoit l’épithète de plus grand, c’est uniquement parce que c’est lui qui donne cette nature au Fils. Cyrille d'Alexandrie a admis cette vue à un moment (Thes. xt). b) Mais dans son commentaire Cyrille a donné contre cette exégèse un argument décisif. Ce ne serait pas précisément un sujct de joie pour les disciples dans la circonstance présente d'être informés — s'ils étaient à “même de pénétrer le sens voilé de ces paroles — sur cet aspect particulier du mystère de la Trinité. Manifestement il s’agit des deslinécs de l'humanité de Jésus (Chrys., Aug., etc.). Cyrille est celui qui a le mieux compris que le Christ de Jo. ne parle jamais simplement comme homme, mais comme étant le Fils de Dieu incarné. En acceptant l'Incarnation, le Fils a accepté une situation inférieure à celle du Père, lequel est grand parce qu'il est resté dans sa gloire. Of ne saurait donc lui objecter qu'il scrait absurde de comparer l'homme à Dieu et de déclarer, ce qui est trop évident, que l'homme est inférieur. C'est bien un Dieu qui est comparé à un Dieu, quoique non point par rapport à la nature qui est la même, mais parce qu'il est homme δὴ même temps. Il est vrai qu'il ne cessera pas de l'être, et que, même glorifiée, son humanité fera qu'il sera de ce chef toujours inférieur à Dieu. Mais du moins elle ne sera plus un voile aussi épais; elle ne l’exposera plus aux humiliations, aux outrages. . Loin que ce texte soit contraire à la divinité de Jésus, « il est sous-entendu que le Christ, par son origine céleste, est de nature divine, puisqu'il se compare au Père » (Loisy, 415). Il est sous-entendu aussi dans cet endroit, mais il avait été dit déjà (xn, 28, etc.) que le Père glorifierait le Fils. En un mot, ce n’est pas l'homme qui parle (Zahn), c'est le Dieu incarné, et à cause de sa pature humaine, non point, comme dans l’autre système, à cause de ses rapports personnels avec son Père. L
14:29
Les deux autres endroits semblables Gt, Lo XVI, #) sont relatifs à des épreuves douloureuses pour la foi; ke fait qu’elles ont té annoncées par Jésus est une raison de ne pas s'en scandaliser. Il doit en être de même ici. Ce qui risque de troubler les disciples, c'est le départ de Jésus : et dans quelles circonstances ! Mais ils se souviendront que leur Maitre avait dit que C'était sa mission. Tel est le sens normal (Zahn, Loisy). Quelques-uns (Aug., Schanz) incluent dans la prédiction le retour auprès du Père; mais ce n'est pas précisément ce retour que les disciples on constaté dans la Résurrection, qui d’ailleurs était pour leur foi une lumière plus éclatante que la simple réalisation d'une prophétie. Durand va plus loin (cf. Mald.); il ajoute à la résurrection le don du Paraclet et les œuvres puissantes, dont la réalisation prouverait bien que Jésus les ἃ connues d'avance : nouveau motif de croire en lui. Il conclut : « Vers la fin du premier siècle, la conscience chrétienne devait trouver un réconfort à constater, au jour le jour, que tout se passait bien comme Jésus l'avait prédit, puisque le quatrième évangéliste en fait plus d'une fois l'observation en termes exprès » (xur, 19; xiv, 29; xvi, 4). Mais ce n'est pas l'évangéliste, c'est Jésus qui prononce ces paroles : avec des intentions moins pures on soupconnera que c’est l’évangéliste qui fait les constatations et les prédictions pour le réconfort de la conscience chrétienne. En réalité Jésus ne parle que de sa passion et de l'impression qu’elle pourrait faire sur les Apôtres : les mêmes tentations atteindront les générations suivantes qui pourront faire leur profit de ces prédictions (ef. xvr, 4).
14:30
C'était bien une perspective funeste que Jésus signalait; s’il ne l'a pas développée, c'est que le temps presse. Il lui suffit de dire que le prince dw monde vient pour faire son œuvre, sans doute par ses suppôts, car c'est lui qui se sert de Judas comme d'un instrument (x, 2.27; vi, 70). Il n'est pas douteux en effet que ce prince ne soit le diable ou Satan. Il a autorité sur le monde. Dans cette heure de tristesse, Jésus ne dit pas une fois de plus (χα, 31) qu'il sera chassé, mais seulement qu'il n’a pas de pouvoir sur lui, ni même rien en lui. Il n’y a rien en Jésus qui lui donne le droit d'élever une prétention quelconque : ce qui revient à dire que Jésus a toujours été sans péché : quia neque cum peccato Deus venerat, nec eius carnem de peccati propagine Virgo pepererat (Aug.). — καί est séparé de ce qui précède, plutôt dans le sens de « or » que de « mais
14:31
ἐντολὴν eôwxev (II) ou ενετειλατὸ (TSV).
Le début du verset se joint étroitement à ce qui précède, et non point aux Lrois derniers mots. Il est sous-entendu : mais on Le laisse agir... Ce n'est pas pour l’éclairer lui-même, maïs bien le monde. Car, celui-ci est soumis désormais; il n’est pas incurable, et la première condition de son salut sera de comprendre que Jésus est mort dans l'obéissance à son Père, et pour l'amour de Lui. Cela aussi est une prophétie, du moins implicite; mais les disciples, eux, devaient déjà savoir quels étaient les sentiments de leur Maître. Il va engager la lutte non point comme un capitaine qui lutterait à forces égales contre un autre : non, son adversaire est prince du monde. ἢ paraîtra donc succomber : mais son obéissance sera récompensée et som amour portera ses fruits, C'est le seul cas où Jésus parle de son amour pour son Père, ayant plutôt parlé avec reconnaissance de l’amour de ce Père pour lui (x, 17; xv, 9; xvir, 23.24.26; cf. πι, 33). Pour la pensée et l'ordre des mots, cf. Gen. νι, 22 χαὶ ἐποίησε Νῶε πάντα ὅσα ἐνετείλατο αὐτῷ K. ὁ θεός, οὕτως ἐποίησεν. La leçon ἐντολὴν ἔδωχεν n'est guère moins appuyée que ἐνετείλατο. — Les trois derniers mots n'indiquent pas seulement que Jésus se lève et continue debout, tout prêt au départ (Schanz, etc.). On ne comprend guère non plus qu'on soit allé dans une autre salle à la manière où l’on passe de la salle à manger au salon. Il semble bien que Jésus donne vraiment le signal du départ (ef. Mt. xxvi, 46; Me. xiv, 42), quoique ce ne soit pas pour aller au devant du traître, comme dans Mc. et Mt. Sur la difficulté;,de situer les trois chapitres qui suivent, voir ci-après. M. Torrey (cf. /ntr. p. cu) ἃ essayé de la trancher en lisant « ... : et que je fais ce que le Père m'a ordonné, je vais me lever et sortir d'ici », c’est-à-dire de ce monde, sens qui serait celui de l'araméen 12 int ΡΝ, que le traducteur aurait lu : ñ29 ba mp. C'est très ingénieux, mais combien moins naturel que Le texte grec! DEUXIÈME DISCOURS APRÈS LA CÈNE (xv-XV1). On ἃ remarqué depuis longtemps la difficulté de situer ce discours entre 16 v. χιν, 31, qui indique un départ, et le v. xvmr, À qui indique une sorlie, ou du Cénacle où du moins de la ville. Quelques-uns ont pensé que Jésus s’est levé de table sans sortir du Cénacle (Muld., Zahn, Kn., Calmes), mais on ne voit pas pourquoi il a donné le signal du départ : ἄγωμεν est bien clair dans ce sens. Dire que ce verset est une addition de copiste d’après Mt. xxvi, 46 et Mc. χιν, 42, c'est méconnaître l'accent, des dernières paroles qui semblent bien ua adieu définitif, ou tout au moins une conclusion. D'autres (Godet, West. Fillion, etc.) ont cru que Jésus avait continué de discourir le long du chemin. Ge n'eût pas été impossible dans la campagne, mais pouvait-on s'entretenir de la sorte dans les rues de la ville? Or on ne sortit qu'au début du ch. ΧΥ͂ΠΙ- A cette première difficulté s'en joint une autre. Le second discours contient plusieurs passages parallèles au premier. Bauer compare ΧΗΣ, 34.35 à xv, 12,47; xiv, 40 11. 20 à xv, 4-40; χιν, 13 à XV, T3 XIV, 45.21 à xv, 10; χιν, 16.47.26 à xvi, 43; χιν, 19 axvi,16; xiv, 27 à XVI, 33. On pourrait être tenté de supposer que le second discours a élé prononcé avant le premier, car XVI, 46 fait difficulté pour les assistants, tandis que le même mot passe sans difficulté dans xiv, 49; XVI, ὃ parait antérieur à xur, 33.36 et σιν, 5; mais d'autre part dans xv, 26 et xvi, 7 le Paraclet est censé connu tel qu'il est annoncé dans xiv, 46.17. . | . Entre les deux morceaux, il y ἃ aussi cette différence que dans le premier c'est tel ou tel des disciples qui prend la parole, tandis que dans le second c’est le groupe des disciples. Comment expliquer ces faits? Dans son premier commentaire, M. Loisy pensait que l'auteur du premier discours aura eu « l’idée d'en écrire un autre sur le même objet, parce que le premier lui semblait, après coup, insuffisant, et il n'a pas pris la peine de rectifier son cadre » (p. 760). Ayant adhéré depuis à la théorie d’un arrangement de la première écriture par un rédacteur, Loisy ne juge plus sa première hypothèse aussi vraisemblable : ou bien le rédacteur aura complété le premier discours par un commentaire de sa façon, ou bien, dans un remaniement du livre, on aura utilisé des morceaux plus anciens. M. Lepin (La valeur hist. Il, p. 401, n. 3) ἃ fait remarquer très justement que l'aspect des discours prouve bien que l'auteur ne les a pas créés, car ils auraient coulé d'un seul jet. Loin de là, « les chapitres en surcharge ne se comprennent bien que comme un supplément d’information que l'écrivain puise dans l'histoire et qu’il fournit ingénument par mode d'appendice. Le cas est exactement le même que celui du chapitre xx: ». En d’autres termes, l'évangéliste « repassant et approfondissant ses souvenirs, il en aura tiré une relation nouvelle, prolongée, qu'il se contente de juxtaposer à la suite de la première » (1. L. p. 101). Après quelque hésitation (Recherches. 1910, p. 107 n. 2), c'est bien cette solution que propose le R. P. Durand (ἰ. ὁ, 1911 p. 322), encore qu'assez timidement. IL suppose même un certain intervalle entre les deux compositions : « Si saint Jean avait écrit sur l'heure les développements qui suivent, pourquoi aurait-il maintenu à χιν, 34 le signal du départ? Au reste, on aurait tort de croire que ces deux chapitres sont un pur développement de ce qui précède. Méme dans les développements, notamment en ce qui concerne l'Esprit-Paraclet, la pensée chemine; encore que ce soit de la façon propre à Jean. » Il γ ἃ même des choses nouvelles, comme la persécution réservée aux disciples (xv, 48-xvr, 6), et comme ce thème se rapproche de celui des synoptiques où il est placé à un autre moment, on peut se demander s’il a été repris par Jésus après la Cène? La question de principe ἃ élé résolue d'avance en très bons termes par le ἢ, P, Durand (ἰ. ἐ. 1910, p. 116) : « On n'a pas, au nom de la théologie, à réclamer pour le discours après la Cène une unité historique plus grande que pour le Sermon sur la montagne (Matth. v-vu), l'instruction aux apôtres (ibid. x, 6-42), le discours eschatologique (ibid. xxtv). On pourrait même, dans cette direction, permettre davantage à saint Jean, à cause de sa personnalité si nettement accusée, comme aussi à raison du but et du caractère de son œuvre. » Nous n'avons point été tenté de chercher dans le premier discours des passages étrangers par leur nature à la situation, car tout y est adapté aux circonstances. Il ÿ ἃ lieu de faire cet examen pour le second discours. Voici ce que nous voudrions proposer, avec les réserves qui sont de droit dans un cas si difficile à résoudre. Le second discours — qu'on peut nommer tel d'après le contexte même de Jo. — se compose de {rois thèmes : celui de l'union des disciples à Jésus, comparée à l'union du (ΒΡ avec les branches et qui se réalise dans la charité (1-17). Le second thème est celui de la haine du monde (restreint en fait au judaïsme), soit contre Jésus, 501} contre les disciples (48-xv1, 45), Le point de départ est très net: au contraire il est malaisé de discerner la fin, car le v. 4b forme précisément une transition. Le troisième thème seul est le même que celui du ch. xiv, c'est celui du départ immédiat, avec la promesse du Paraclet, la promesse du retour de Jésus, et l'éveil de la foi dans le cœur des disciples {xvi, 4b-33), Cette partition nous paraît incontestable, même si tout ce second discours avait été réellement prononcé après la Cène. Mais nous avons à nous demander si ce n’est pas un discours composé de plusieurs autres? La dernière partie, nous venons de le dire, porte tous les caractères de la même situation que le ch. xiv, après la Cène. C’est donc de celte partie que nous disons que c'est un complément des premiers souvenirs. Mais la seconde correspond par bien des traits — qui seront indiqués — à une partie du discours eschatologique des trois synoptiques, même en ce qui regarde le rôle du Paraclet {xv, 26), quoique ce trait ait été nuancé par l'ambiance générale. Quant à la première partie, om la placerait très naturellement après le choix des disciples-apôtres et avant leur première mission (Mt. x οἱ parall.); on dirait seulement que la même ambiance, la proximité de la mort de Jésus, lui donne un accent plus pénétrant et presque mélancolique. En fait on n’y rencontre aucune allusion au départ de Jésus. Dans la seconde partie ce départ n’est pas plus imminent que dans le discours eschatologique des synoptiques. Le thème théologique n’est pas non plus aussi explicite dans la première et la seconde partie que dans le ch. xiv et dans xvi, 25 à 33. Après la révélation du ch. xiv sur l’unité de Jésus avec son Père, il n’y a plus rien d'une pareille évidence jusqu'au ch. xvu. Et surtout dans la première partie (xv, 4-47), si l'unité de Jésus avec Dieu, c’est-à-dire sa divinité est supposée, cependant le Père est seulement présenté comme distinct du Fils, c'est-à-dire sans l'affirmation explicite de leur unité. De même dans la seconde partie, il est celui qui a envoyé le Fils, sans allusion à l'identité de nature. Nous sommes donc là dans un stage moins avancé de la révélation, même pour le groupe privilégié des disciples. Dans la troisième partie, la lumière n'est pas non plus aussi complète, de sorte qu'on pourrait soutenir que ces paroles de Jésus tout en appartenant à l’entretien qui a suivi la Cène, ne sont pas les dernières. Après le ch. xiv, il n’y a plus de place que pour la prière du ch. xvrr. Notre conclusion sur la troisième partie du second discours coïncide avec celles de M. Lepin et du P. Durand; elle sera sans doute admise assez aisément. Ce que nous avançons des deux premièresautres est contenu dans le principe posé par le P. Durand, qui n’est à vrai dire que l'application à Jo. de ce que tout le monde fait pour Mt. et Le. Cette opinion aura d’ailleurs cet avantage de prouver la fidélité de Jo. à conserver dans les. discours de Jésus leur enseignement primitif, même lorsqu'il les déplace, ce qui malgré tout aboutit forcément (aussi pour Mt. et pour Le.), à leur donner une nuance particulière, Mais ce qui est compatible avec la notion de l'inspiration pour les synoptiques doit l'être aussi pour le quatrième évangéliste. Première partie du second discours (xv, 1-17). Jésus est pour ses disciples ce que la vigne est pour les sarments. Cet enseigne-- ment a son applicalion pour tous ceux qui ont été et qui seront les disciples de- Jésus. Mais, pour la première fois, il s'adressait à un groupe restreint de disciples, sur lesquels il compte pour aller, donc comme apôtres, et faire du fruit à la suite d'une élection et d’une investiture spéciales (16). Ce peut être un discours qui aurait suivi le choix des Douze. Dans le cadre actuel, c'est bien aussr à eux qu'il s'adresse, En l'interprétant dans son contexte actuel, on peut dire qu'il développe le thème de l'union entre Jésus et ses disciples. Si le thème principal du ch. xrv était la foi agissant par la charité, c’est désormais la charité seule quiest au premier rang. Précédemment les æuvres étaient comme la condition de la venue mystique du Christ. Maintenant qu'il a annoncé sa venue et sa demeure, ildéveloppe la nécessité et les conséquences de celte heureuse union, qui seront les fruits de la charité, produits par les disciples, Ce thème en luimême n’est pas un adieu, mais il ἃ pu être rattaché à l'adieu comme un enseignement de la plus haute importance. La doctrine est d'abord présentée sous la forme d'un parabole-allésorie (4-8), qui elle aussi rentre bien dans l'atmosphère de la Cène (cf. Me. σιν, 25; ΜΙ. xxvr, 29; Le. xxu, [8], non seulement à cause de l'institution de FEucharislie avec le vin, mais aussi à eause de l’allusion de Jésus au fruit de la vigne. D'après la Didachè (1x, 2) Faction de grâce pour le calice débutait ainsi : εὐχαριστοῦμέν ace πάτερ ἡμῶν, ὑπὲρ τῆς ἁγίας ἀμπέλου Δαδὶδ τοῦ παιδός σου, ἧς ἐγνώρισας ἡμῖν διὰ Ἰησοῦ τοῦ παιδός, σου. ἢ On remarquera dans le tissu de ce passage comme des fils qui en indiquent le dessin : καρπός huit fois, et seulement encore deux fois (sv, 36; χει, 24) dans Jo., qui parait dès 16 début et deux fois au v. 16 pour clore le thème; ἀγάπη, quatre fois dans la seconde partie; la prière exaucée à la fin de l'apologue (7) et à la fin de l'explication (16); μένω dans le sens de la demeure mystique se trouve onze fois. Ce n'est point un hasard si ce sens à été inauguré par Jo. à prepes de l'Eucharistie (νι, 27. 56). Jésus vient de se donner dans l'Encharistie, il demande à ses disciples de demeurer en ku pour que lui et sa parole demeurent en eux. Nous ne voulons done pas méconnaître la nuance discrète qu'a prise ce discours dans l'émotion du dernier entretien, quoique, par lui-même, il soit plutôt l'entrée des disciples dans l'intimité de Jésus. 1 Ἐγώ εἶμι ἡ ἄμπελος ἡ ἀληθινή, καὶ ὁ πατήρ pou ὁ γεωργός ἐστιν
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ỷ. 1. NON TURBETUR COR VESTRUM. Que vôtre cœur ne se trouble point. Après avoir satisfait à la demande de saint Pierre, il adresse de nouveau sa parole à ses Apôtres, & leur dit de ne se pas affliger de ce qu’il leur a dit qu’il alloit les quitter. Plusieurs Exemplaires Grecs, & Latins commencent ce Chapitre par ces mots : JESUS dit à ses Disciples : Que vôtre cœur ne se trouble point. Ce qui pourroit bien être une glose ajoutée pour marquer ce que nous venons de dire, que ceci ne s’adresse plus à Pierre seul ; mais à tous les Apôtres en commun. Les Peres Grecs croient que le Sauveur raffûre ici ses Apôtres effrayez de ce qu’il venoit de prédire à Pierre qu’il le renonceroit. Si celui qui est le plus zélé, & le plus ferme d’entre nous, doit le renier, que deviendrons-nous nous-mêmes ? Le Sauveur voyant leur trouble intérieur, leur dit de ne rien craindre : Vous croyez en Dieu, croyez aussi en moi. Ayez confiance en mes paroles, & souvenez-vous que je vous ai dit que je ne perdrois aucun de ceux que mon Pere m’a donnez. Si vous vous fiez aux promesses de Dieu, parce que vous le croyez infaillible, vous pouvez aussi vous fier à ma parole, & quand je vous dis de ne rien craindre, vous devez croire qu’il n’y a rien à craindre pour vous. Ma parole n’est pas moins certaine que celle de mon Pere, puisque je suis Dieu comme lui.
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ỷ. 2. IN DOMO PATRIS MEI MANSIONES MULTÆ SUNT. Il y a plusieurs demeures dans la maison de mon Pere. Lorsque je vous ai dit que j’allois en un lieu, où vous ne pouviez venir avec moi, ne vous imaginez pas que j’aye voulu vous exclure du Royaume de mon Pere, ni vous priver pour toujours de ma vûë, & de ma compagnie; comme si dans la maison de mon Pere il n’y avoit qu’une place, laquelle étant une fois remplie par ma présence, vous demeureriez sur la terre seuls, & abandonnez à toute la fureur, & la malice de mes ennemis. La chose est toute autrement. La maison de mon Pere n’est pas une maison où il n’y ait qu’un appartement; c’est un vaste palais, où il y a de quoi loger une infinité de personnes. La place qui m’est destinée, ne peut être occupée que par moi: Mais il y en a d’autres qui sont préparées à mes amis. Je vais toujours devant disposer toutes choses, & vous preparer les logis. Bien-tôt je vous reverrai. Cette manière d’expliquer est populaire: mais on doit se souvenir de la grossiereté des Disciples. Saint Ambroise reconnoit sept, ou huit Cieux, qu’les bienheureux sont placez, & par lesquels ils passent pour monter plus haut. Non-seulement il y a plusieurs demeures dans la maison de mon Pere; il y a aussi divers degrés de gloire, suivant la diversité des merites. Tous les bienheureux verront Dieu, jouiront de Dieu, feront dans une félicité permanente, & éternelle; mais non pas tous de la même manière. Tous les prédestinez recevront à l’heure de la mort le denier de l’éternité; mais ils n’auront pas le même rang de bonheur Est qui-dem denarius aqualis, id est vita æterna, quod ad æternitatem pertinet; sed sunt diversa meritorum dignitates, dit saint Augustin.
SI QUOMINUS, DIXISSEM VOBIS; QUIA VADO, &c. Si cela n’étoit pas, je vous l’aurois dit; car je m’en vais vous préparer le lieu. Si vous n’aviez rien à prétendre dans le Royaume de mon Pere, & que je vous quittasse pour toujours, je vous en aurois averti, & je ne vous aurois pas entretenu jusqu’à cette heure d’une vaine espérance de bonheur futur. Mais la chose est comme je vous la dis : Vous avez vos places marquées dans la maison de mon Pere ; je vais devant vous les préparer. Il faut que par ma mort je vous en ouvre l’entrée, & que je vous en mérite la jouïssance. Personne n’y entrera avant moi. Voyez Heb. XI. 39. 40. Suivant une autre Leçon, on peut traduire : Sinon, je vous aurois dit : Je vais vous préparer la place. Si dans la maison de mon Pere il n’y avoit pas plusieurs demeures, & si vos places n’y étoient pas affûrées, je vous aurois dit : Je m’en vais vous y en affûrer, & je viendrai ensuite vous prendre, ỷ. 3. pour vous en mettre en possession. Mais je ne vous ai rien dit de semblable, parce qu’il y a plusieurs demeures dans le Ciel, & que vos places y sont marquées.
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Ỷ. 3. ET SI ABIERO, … ITERUM VENIO, &c. Après que je vous aurai préparé le lieu, je reviendrai, & vous retirerai à moi. L’explication de ce verset dépend du verset précédent: Lorsque je me serai séparé de vous, pour autant de tems qu’il en faut pour vous préparer la place, je reviendrai, & vous amènerai avec moi dans la gloire. Ceci peut avoir deux sens: Par ma mort, je vous ouvrirai le Ciel, à vous, & à tous les Saints qui sont morts jusqu’à présent; & après ma résurrection, je reviendrai vers vous, & vous donnerai des affûrances certaines de vôtre bonheur futur. Je vous confirmerai dans ma grace, & dans la foi, par l’effusion du Saint-Esprit. Ou bien: Lorsque l’heure de la mort de chacun de vous sera arrivée, je viendrai vous recevoir, & vous introduirai dans le Royaume de mon Pere.
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ỷ. 4. QUO EGO VADO SCITIS. Vous savez bien où je vais, & vous en savez la voye. JESUS remarquant encore quelque embarras dans les Apôtres, leur dit: Vous entendez bien sans doute que je vais à mon Pere, & vous comprenez que je n’y vais que par ma mort. Je vous en ai dit assez pour vous le faire entendre. Il semble leur donner ouverture pour lui faire sur cela quelque demande.
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ỷ. 5. DOMINE, NESCIUMUS QUO VADIS. Thomas lui dit: Nous ne savons où vous allez. L’amour que les Apôtres avoient pour leur divin Maître, & la crainte qu’ils avoient qu’il ne les quittât, les empêchoient de comprendre clairement ce qu’il leur disoit. On ne croit pas volontiers, ce qu’on n’aime point qui arrive. Thomas dit donc à JESUS-CHRIST que ni lui, ni les autres Apôtres ne savent où il va, & qu’ils en savent encore moins le chemin. Il juge des autres par lui-même. Ils ne concevoient que confusément ce voyage de JESUS-CHRIST, son retour, ses demeures diverses dans le Royaume de son Pere. Ils s’imaginoient peut-être quelque pays éloigné, ou un palais matériel. Et quand JESUSCHRIST leur dit : Vous savez où je vais, & vous en savez le chemin, c’est comme s’il leur disoit : Vous savez sans doute, ou vous devez favor où je vais.
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ỷ. 6. EGO SUM VIA, VERITAS, ET VITA. Je suis la voie, la vérité, & la vie. Je suis la voie qui conduit au Pere; je suis la vérité qui apprend à le connoître ; je suis la vie qui anime tous ceux qui le cherchent, & qui l’aiment. Ou d’une manière plus courte, & plus claire : Ego sum via, veritas, & vita: Je suis la vraie voie qui conduit à la vie. Ainsi, Thomas, si vous me connoissez, vous connoissez aussi & où je vais, & le chemin par où j’y vais. Je vas à la vie, à Dieu, à mon Pere ; mon Pere, & moi ne sommes qu’un. Ainsi qui me connoît, connoît aussi le terme de mon voyage. Ce n’est que par moi qu’on va à Dieu, & à la vie; & par conséquent qui me connoît, connoît aussi la voie par où je vais à mon Pere. En un mot je vais par moi-même à mon Pere égal à moi. Voilà tout le mystère de cette réponse.
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ỷ. 7. SI COGNOVISSETIS ME, ET PATREM MEUM; &c. Si vous m’aviez connu, vous auriez aussi connu mon Pere; ou sivous me connoissiez comme il faut, vous connoitriez aussi mon Pere, puisque mon Pere, & moi ne sommes qu’une même substance. Puis donc que vous demandez avec inquiétude où je vais, & qui est ce Pere dont je vous parle, c’est une preuve que vous ne me connoissez que très-imparfaitement. Au reste vous connoitrez bien-tôt mon Pere, & vous l’avez déjà vû. Vous l’avez vû par la lumière de la foi, en me voyant, ou en me connoissant comme Dieu, & vous le connoîtrez d’une manière plus parfaite, lorsque vous ferez plus éclairez sur ma Divinité, & que vous aurez reçû le Saint Esprit. Les Apôtres, selon saint Chysostome, connoissoient Dieu ; mais non selon sa paternité. Ils ne le reconnoissent en qualité de Pere, qu’après la descente du Saint Esprit.
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ỷ. 8. DOMINE, OSTENDE NOBIS PATREM. Seigneur, montrez-nous vôtre Pere, & il nous suffit. Philippe réduit toute la question à voir le Pere. Nous avons le bonheur de vous connoître, & de vous rendre nos adorations ; nous comprenons que vous estes la seule voie qui conduit au Pere : mais nôtre bonheur seroit entier, si nous pouvions voir le Pere. C’est ainsi que Moyse demanda avec empressement au seigneur qu’il daignât se faire voir à lui. Moyse, & Philippe étoient à cet égard dans la même erreur. Ils croyoient que le Pere se pouvoit voir des yeux du corps. Philippe étoit assez excusable, puisqu’il voyoit JESUS-CHRIST corporellement ; il crut que le Pere étant le même que JESUS-CHRIST, il le pourroit voir de la même forte.
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ỷ. 9. PHILIPPE, QUI VIDET ME. Philippe, celui qui me voit, voit mon Pere. Celui qui me voit comme Dieu, qui me connoît selon ma Divinité, voit, & connoît aussi mon Pere ; puisque nous n’avons qu’une même essence, & une même vertu. Il distingue ici visiblement les deux natures, la divine, & l’humaine, réünies dans sa personne. Vous me connoissez selon la nature humaine ; mais non selon la divine. Tanto tempore vobisfum sum, & non cognovistis me ? Ne savez-vous pas que je suis en mon Pere, & mon Pere en moi ; & que lui, & moi ne sommes qu’une même nature ? ỷ. 10. Non creditis quia ego in Patre, & Pater in me est ?
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ỷ. 10. VERBA QUÆ EGO LOQUOR VOBIS. Ce que je vous dis, je ne vous le dis pas de moi même : mais mon Pere qui demeure en moi, fait les mêmes œuvres que je fais. Ne croyez pas que mes paroles, & mes œuvres soient de moi seul. Mon Pere parle, & agit toûjours avec moi. Outre l’humanité que vous voyez, & que vous entendez au dehors, il y a dans moi la nature divine, qui est la même dans mon Pere, & dans moi, & qui parle, & agit inséparablement avec moi. Autrement : Et mes paroles, & mes œuvres doivent vous persuader que je suis dans le Pere, & que le pere est en moi. Ma Doctrine, & mes miracles sont des preuves de ma Divinité. Si j’étois un pur homme, qui voulûsse me faire passer pour un Dieu, agirois-je, & parlerois-je comme je fais? Dieu autoriseroit-il mon crime par des miracles, & ma Doctrine feroit-elle ce qu’elle est ? Si ce que vous voyez de moi, ne vous persuade pas de ma Divinité, qu’au moins mes miracles vous en persuadent. ỷ. 11. Alioquin propter opera ipsa credite.
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ỷ. 12. QUI CREDIT IN ME, OPERA QUÆ EGO FACIO, ET IPSE FACIET. Celui qui croit en moi, fera les œuvres que je fais, & en fera encore de plus grandes; parce que je vais à mon Pere. Voici une autre preuve de ma Divinité. Ce sont les œuvres miraculeuses que feront ceux qui croiront en moi. Un imposteur peut séduire le peuples par de faux miracles, ou même par quelques vrais prodiges; mais il ne peut faire passer son pouvoir aux autres. Pour moi, je fais des miracles par ma propre vertu; j’en fais une fuitte non interrompue, & toujours avec une autorité souveraine. Je donne à ceux qui croyent en moi le pouvoir d’en faire en mon nom d’aussi grands, & encore de plus grands. Je fais tout cela, pour montrer que je suis Dieu. Je le suis donc véritablement; car il est impossible que Dieu autorise un séducteur, & un ennemi de la gloire, comme il m’autorise par la voie de mes miracles, & de ceux de mes Disciples. Mais où font ces miracles plus grands que ceux de JESUS-CHRIST, que les Apôtres ayent faits après son Ascension? Les Peres répondent que les Apôtres en ont fait de plus grands: Par exemple, en ce que l’ombre seule de saint Pierre guérissoit toutes sortes de maladies. 2°. En ce qu’il a non-seulement ressuscité, mais aussi fait mourir les hommes par sa parole; comme quand il fit tomber morts à ses pieds Ananie, & Saphire. Saint Paul par un pouvoir égal, aveugla Elymas. De plus JESUS-CHRIST n’a fait des miracles que dans la Judée; les Apôtres en ont fait par tout le monde: JESUS-CHRIST n’a parlé que la langue de son pays; les Apôtres ont parlé toute sorte de Langues: JESUS-CHRIST n’a fait des miracles que pendant les trois années de la prédication; les Apôtres en ont fait pendant tout le tems qu’ils ont été dans le sacré ministère de l’Apostolat. Je ne parle pas des autres miracles opérez dans l’Eglise depuis les Apôtres, parce que les monumens qui nous en ont conservé la mémoire, font d’une moindre autorité que les Livres saints, d’où sont tirez ceux que nous venons de rapporter. Tout cela prouve invinciblement la toute-puissance, & la Divinité de JESUS-CHRIST, puisqu’à le bien prendre, les miracles des Apôtres, & des Disciples sont ceux de JESUS-CHRIST même, étant operez en son nom, & par sa vertu. Le Sauveur donne cette raison de tous ces miracles que feront ses Disciples : ỷ. 13. Parce que je m’en vais à mon Pere, & que tout ce que vous lui demanderez en mon nom ; je le ferai. Jusqu’ici étant sur la terre, j’ai fait les miracles que j’ai crû nécessaires pour appuyer ma Doctrine, & pour persuader les peuples de ma mission. Comme tout cela étoit soutenu de ma parole, & de ma présence, & que les véritez que j’annonçois, étoient proportionnées à la capacité de ceux à qui je parlois, je n’ai pas jugé nécessaire de faire un plus grand nombre de prodiges. Mais comme je m’en vais à mon Pere, & que vous demeurez sur la terre exposez à toute la fureur des Gentils, & à la malice des Juifs, ayant à annoncer aux uns, & aux autres des véritez aufquelles ils contrediront en toute manière, pour vous mettre en état de les convaincre, je vous donnerai & la force des raisons, & celle des miracles, aufquels ils ne pourront résister. Je vous fournirai tous les secours dont vous aurez besoin, & je vous ferai obtenir tout ce que vous demanderez à mon Pere en mon nom ; afin que le Pere foit glorifié dans le Fils ; & que son nom foit annoncé à tous les peuples par le Fils, & par vous, quiêtes ses Apôtres.
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ỷ. 15. SI DILIGITIS ME. Si vous m’aimez, gardez mes commandemens. Au lieu de vous affliger de mon retour à mon Pere, & de nôtre séparation, vous devez, si vous m’aimez solidement, me témoigner vôtre tendrefle par une fidélité exaète à garder mes commandemens. Voilà le vrai moyen de me donner des preuves de vôtre attachement ; je ne demande pas des marques de douleur, & de sensibilité extérieures.
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ỷ. 16. ET EGO ROGABO PATREM, ET ALIUM PARACLITUM. Et je prierai mon Pere, & il vous donnera un autre consolateur. Si vous persévérez dans mon amour, & dans l’obéïssance à mes préceptes, je prierai mon Pere de vous donner un autre consolateur en ma place, qui vous instruise, qui vous console, & qui vous défende, comme j’ai fait pendant que j’aiété avec vous. Le nom de Parac litus est pris du Grec, & signifie un avocat, un défenseur, un consolateur, un médiateur. Saint Jean dit que JESUS-CHRIST est nôtre paraclet, nôtre avocat, nôtre médiateur auprès du Pere. Depuis son Ascension, il a envoyé à ses Apôtres le Saint-Esprit, qui est leur défenseur, & leur consolateur, leur lumière, & leur force au milieu des persécutions, & des contradictions de cette vie. Il ne l’a pas donné seulement aux Apôtres pour le tems de leur vie, il l’a aussi donné à son Eglise, & à tous ses Fidéles, jusqu’à la fin des siécles : Ut maneat vobiscum in æternum. C’est lui qui crie dans nos cœurs par des gémissemens ineffables ; c’est lui qui nous enseigne toute vérité, & qui préside à toutes les assemblées légitimes qui se sont dans l’Eglise au nom du Seigneur.
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ỷ. 17. QUEM MUNDUS NON POTEST ACCIPERE. 3 : vous envoyeraï l’Esprit de vérité que le monde ne peut recevoir. L’Esprit de verité, est l’Esprit Saint qui nous enseigne toute vérité, comme dit ailleurs JESUS-CHRIST. Il est opposé aux mauvais esprits, à l’esprit d’erreur, & de mensonge, qui paroît par la bouche des faux Prophètes, & des féduteurs. Le monde ne peut recevoir l’Esprit de vérité, parce qu’il est trop ami du mensonge, de l’erreur, de l’infidélité, du péché. Le monde marque ici les hommes charnels, qui n’ont aucun goût pour la sagesse du Ciel, ni aucun amour pour la vérité, & la justice; qui aiment, & n’estiment que la sagesse terrestre, & la prudence de la chair. L’amour du faux esprit du monde exclut l’Esprit de Dieu. On ne peut recevoir celui-ci, tandis qu’on est plein de celui-là. L’esprit de vérité, peut aussi marquer un esprit stable, permanent, qui demeure pour toujours avec les Apôtres, opposé à un esprit passager, & volage, qui va, & vient sans se fixer jamais. Les Hébreux mettent souvent le nom de vérité en ce sens. Saint Chrysostome l’entend de l’esprit de l’Evangile, opposé aux ombres, & aux figures de la Loi.
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ỷ. 18. NON RELINQUAM VOS ORPHANOS. Je ne vous laisserai pas orphelins; je viendrai à vous. Les Disciples parmi les Hébreux appelloient leurs maîtres, mon pere; JESUS-CHRIST appelle ses Disciples ses enfans. Filioli, adhuc modicum vobiscum sum. Lorsqu’il les laisse, ils deviennent quelque forte orphelins. Mais il leur promet ici qu’en se séparant d’eux, il ne les laisse point orphelins, parce qu’il ne meurt pas pour toujours. Je resusciterai, & je viendrai à vous. Ou bien: Je ne vous laisserai pas seuls, & sans secours; je vous envoyerai le Saint-Esprit qui vous servira de Consolateur, & de Pere; enfin, selon d’autres, je viendrai à vous dans mon second avénement, & à la fin du monde. Mais j’aime mieux l’entendre de la resurreccion du Sauveur. Ce terme est court, & sa venue à la fin du monde est éloignée, & sera non-seulement pour les Apôtres, mais pour tous les hommes. Le verset suivant demande ce sens.
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ỷ. 19. ADHUC MODICUM. Encore un peu de tems, & le monde ne me verra plus ; mais pour vous, vous me verrez. Je n’ai plus à vivre que quelques heures ; je vais disparoître aux yeux du monde. Mon corps sera mis dans le tombeau, & les hommes ne me verront plus. Mais après ma résurrection, vous me verrez de nouveau, parce que je vivrai d’une vie nouvelle, & que vous vivrez aussi. A ma résurrection, je vous trouverai en santé. Ne craignez pas que je veüille vous obliger à mourir avec moi, ni que ma passion, dont je vous ai parlé si souvent, vous soit préparée aussi-bien qu’à moi. Je vivrai d’une vie toute nouvelle ; mais pour vous, vous vivrez de vôtre vie naturelle.
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ỷ. 20. IN ILLO DIE VOS COGNOSCETIS, &c. En ce jour-là vous connoîtrez que je suis en mon Pere, & vous en moi, & moi en vous. Après ma Resurrection, vous connoîtrez que je suis dans mon Pere, Dieu comme lui, tout-puissant comme lui, une même substance avec lui ; & que je suis en vous par ma grace, & par le secours que je vous donne, comme vous êtes en moi par la foi, & l’obéissance que vous me rendez. Vous comprendrez alors que je ne vous ai point abandonnez, & que je n’ai jamais été séparé de vous ; & que comme vous êtes mes membres, je suis aussi vôtre Chef ; que je vous anime, & vous soutiens.
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ỷ. 21. QUI HABET MANDATA MEA. Celui qui garde mes commandemens, c’est celui-là qui m’aime. Il a déjà dit à peu près la même chose au ỷ. 15. C’est par la fidelle observation de mes préceptes, & non pas par vos larmes, que vous me témoignerez que vous m’aimez (1). Souvenez vous de ce que je vous ai dit; conformez-y vôtre vie, & affûrez-vous que mon départ ne vous causera aucun dommage. Si vous m’aimez de cette forte, vous serez aimés de mon Pere, & de moi-même, & je me découvrirai à vous; je vous apparoîtrai après ma Résurrection. JESUS-CHRIST ne jugea pas à propos d’apparoître aux Juifs infidèles, aux Pharisiens, & aux Prêtres ses persécuteurs, & ses meurtriers; ils ne méritoient point cette faveur; ils auroient encore attribué ces apparitions à des prestiges. Il ne s’est montré qu’à ses Disciples, & à ceux qui par leur foi, par leur amour, & par leur attachement s’étoient rendus dignes de ce bonheur.
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ỷ. 22. DICIT ILLI JUDAS, &c. Jude, non pas l’Iscariote, lui dit: D’où vient que vous vous découvrirez à nous, & non pas au monde? Jude, autrement Thadée, n’avoit pas compris ce que JESUS-CHRIST avoit voulu dire, en parlant de la manifestation à ses amis, à l’exclusion du monde. Est-ce donc que vôtre empire ne s’étendra pas sur toute la terre, & que toutes les nations n’auront pas l’avantage de vous connoître; & qu’enfin Juda, & Israël feront exclus de vôtre Royaume? Est-ce que vous bornerez à un petit nombre d’amis, le fruit de vôtre venuë dans ce monde?
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ỷ. 23. PATER MEUS DILIGET EUM, ET AD EUM VENIEMUS. Si quelqu’un m’aime, mon Pere l’aimera, & nous viendrons en lui. Saint Jude avoit demandé pourquoi JESUS-CHRIST ne se manifesteroit qu’à ses amis, & à ceux qui feroint fidèles à ses ordonnances. Le Sauveur lui répond ici, & confirme ce qu’il avoit dit, en lui déclarant d’une manière plus expresse, qu’il viendra avec son Pere dans l’ame de celui qui l’aimera, & qu’ils y feront ensemble leur demeure; qu’ils le combleront de graces, & de faveurs. En un mot, qu’il ne se manifestera après la Résurrection, qu’à ceux en qui il demeurera par sa grace, & que le privilége de la vision ne fera que pour ceux qui lui feront demeurez fidèles. Qu’au reste il viendra à eux, pour ne les plus quitter : Ad eum veniemus, & mansionem apud eum faciemus. Il ne viendra pas seul, mais avec son Pere ; afin qu’ils ayent la satisfaction qu’ils lui ont tant demandée, de voir, & de connoître le Pere. Mon Pere & moi demeurerons dans vous; vous nous connoitrez, & vous nous posséderez également, & sans partage.
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ỷ. 24. SERMONEM QUEM AUDISTIS, NON EST MEUS. La parole que vous avez entenduë, n’est pas ma parole ; elle n’est point de moi seul, elle est aussi de mon Pere; car je ne parle, & je n’agis qu’en lui; avec lui, comme lui, & par lui. JESUS-CHRIST ne manque presque jamais, lorsqu’il parle de lui même, de faire remarquer qu’il est de même nature que le Pere, & de relever sa Divinité.
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ỷ. 26. PARACLITUS AUTEM SPIRITUS SANCTUS. Mais le Saint Esprit consolateur vous enseignera toutes choses. Si dans ce que je vous ai dit jusqu’ici, il vous reste encore quelque obscurité, & quelque embarras, le Saint Esprit paraclet, défenseur, ou consolateur, vous levera tous vos doutes, & vous instruira de toutes choses. N’ayez donc point regret de me quitter, comme si désormais vous ne dûssiez favori qui consulter dans vos peines. Vous aurez un conseil, & un maître toujours present dans la personne du Saint Esprit, que mon Pere vous envoiera.
MITTET PATER IN NOMINE MEO. Quemon Perevous envoiera en mon nom, en ma confideration, à ma prière, en ma place, pour exécuter, & pour achever ce que j’ai commencé. Il ne l’envoyera pas sans moi, ni féparement de moi; il l’envoyera par moi, & en mon nom.
SUGGERET VOBIS OMNIA. Il vous fera souvenir de ce que je vous ai dit. Souvent l’Ecriture remarque que les Apôtres ne s’appercevoient pas de l’accomplissement des Prophéties, dans le moment qu’elles s’accomplissoient actuellement. Ils ne faisoient pas assez d’attention au rapport qu’avoient les actions du Sauveur, avec les figures de l’ancien Testament. Mais après la descente du Saint Esprit, leurs yeux, & leurs cœurs s’étant ouverts, ils firent l’application des Ecritures aux événemens de la vie du Sauveur.
14:27
ỷ. 27. PACEM RELINQUO VOBIS. Je vous laisse la paix. C’est l’adieu de JESUS-CHRIST à ses Apôtres. Il leur souhaitte toute forte de bonheur, de prospérité, de bénédictions; car les Hébreux sous le nom de paix, entendent toutes ces fortes de biens; & leur salut ordinaire est : Que la paix soit avec vous, soit qu’ils arrivent, ou qu’ils se retirent. JESUS-CHRIST dit à ses Apôtres qu’il ne leur souhaitte pas la paix de la manière dont le monde a accoutumé de la souhaiter. Le monde ne la souhaitte pas toujours sincèrement; & lors même qu’il le fait sincèrement, il n’est pas le maître de la procurer, ni d’empêcher qu’elle ne soit troublée. Le Sauveur la donne, la procure, la conserve, l’affermit; il en est l’auteur, le promoteur, le garant. ỷ. 28 VADO, ET VENIO AD VOS Je m’en vais à mon Pere par ma mort, & je reviens à vous par ma Résurrection. Ainsi mon départ ne doit pas vous affliger. Si vous m’aimiez comme vous le devriez, d’une manière aussi solide, que tendre & affective, vous vous réjouiriez de ce que je m’en vais à mon Pere. Un ami ne doit pas s’affliger du bonheur, & de la gloire de son ami, encore que l’élévation, & le bonheur de cet ami doivent le lui ravir pour un tems. La vraie amitié préfère l’avantage de son ami à sa propre satisfaction.
14:28
QUIA PATER MAJOR ME EST. Parce que mon Pere est plus grand que moi. Les Arriens triomphoient autrefois de cet aveu que fait ici JESUS-CHRIST, que son Pere est plus grand que lui. JESUS-CHRIST n’est donc pas Dieu, disoient-ils; car un Dieu ne reconnoit rien au-dessus de lui, & il est impossible qu’il y ait plusieurs Dieux. Mais en distinguant les deux natures dans la personne de JESUS-CHRIST, la difficulté disparoit. JESUS-CHRIST selon son humanité, est inférieur au Pere; mais il est égal à lui, selon sa Divinité. D’autres répondent que JESUS-CHRIST est inférieur au Pere, suivant la fausse opinion du monde ; & de ses Apôtres mêmes, qui ne le regardoient encore que comme un Prophète, & un homme éminent en vertu, & en mérite. Enfin on peut dire aux Ariens que la qualité de Pere suivant nôtre manière de concevoir a quelque chose de plus honorable de plus grand que celle de Fils, en ce sens le Pere est au-dessus de JESUS-CHRIST ; mais non pas réellement. Cette dénomination, quoique très-réelle, ne décide pas de la nature de la chose; puisque JESUS-CHRIST a declaré en vingt endroits, qu’il étoit égal au Pere, qu’il étoit dans le Pere, qu’il étoit un avec le Pere. Les Apôtres doivent donc se réjouïr de ce que le Fils retourne à son Pere, par la raison que le Pere est plus grand que le Fils considéré en tant qu’homme; & que ce retour du Fils au Pere, est le commencement de la gloire, & de la grandeur du Fils considéré, comme on l’a dit, dans son humanité. C’est le sentiment qu’un amour pur, solide, & désinteressé doit inspirer aux Apôtres, s’ils aiment véritablement leur Maitre.
14:29
ỷ. 29. ET NUNC DIXI VOBIS, PRIUSQUAM FIAT. Je vous le dis maintenant, avant que cela arrive. Je vous avertis de bonne-heure de mon retour à Dieu mon Pere, afin que cette séparation, & ce départ vous frappent moins, & que lorsqu’il sera arrivé, vous ayez une entière créance en moi; car je crains que ma passion, & ma mort ne soient pour vous un sujet de chute. C’est pour cela que j’ai eu soin de vous prévenir sur cela.
14:30
ỷ. 30. VENIT ENIM PRINCEPS MUNDI HUJUS. Car le Prince du monde va venir ; mais il n’a rien en moi qui lui appartienne, ou ; quoiqu’il n’y ait rien en moi qui lui appartienne. Le Prince du monde est le Démon. Il n’a rien dans JESUS-CHRIST, puisque le Sauveur n’a jamais été fouillé d’aucun péché : Mais comme JESUS-CHRIST a bien voulu se charger de nos iniquitez, & se rendre nôtre caution envers son Pere, il s’est livré volontairement à la puissance des ténèbres, & aux ministres de Satan ; ỷ. 31. Afin que le monde connoisse qu’il aime son Pere, & qu’il exécute avec zèle ce qu’il lui a ordonné. Il a dit dès le commencement: Mon Pere, me voici prêt à faire vôtre volonté ; vôtre Loi est écrite au fond de mon cœur. Plusieurs Exemplaires Grecs, & quelques Peres Latins lisent : Et il ne trouvera rien en moi ; il n’aura aucun pouvoir sur moi, sur mon ame; car on ne peut nier qu’il n’ait eu quelque pouvoir sur le Corps de JESUS-CHRIST : mais il n’en eut qu’autant qu’il lui plut de lui en donner. C’est lui-même quien arrêta l’heure, & qui en fixa la durée, & l’étenduë. Il ne souffrit que parce qu’il le voulut, & qu’autant qu’il voulut, pour satisfaire à la volonté, & à la justice de son Pere. ỷ. 31.
14:31
ỷ. 31. SURGITE, EAMUS HINC. Levez-vous, sortons d’ici. C’est ainsi que JESUS-CHRIST sortit de table, & qu’il acheva ce discours. Ensuite ayant rendu graces à Dieu, en chantant l’hymne ordinaire (¹), ils sortirent de la maison, & de la ville, & allèrent au Jardin des Oliviers.
14:1
… 13:31-33); he gives them the commandment of charity, a new commandment (ibid. 13:34), the distinguishing mark of his disciples (ibid. 13:35) on the model of his love, cf. ibid. 13:34 and 15:12-13; he exhorts them to faith with abandonment in God and in him (ibid. 14:1). The motives he brings are: 1) the work of the Father and of the Son for their salvation: the Father has prepared for each one his place in heaven; the Son begins a journey, whose …
14:2
… Calvinists) on account of the theory of justification by faith alone, which equally saves all, is a dogma of faith defined by the Council of Florence (Denz-U, 693; cf. ibid., 842), and clearly affirmed by Scripture (Mt. 17, 27; I Cor. 3, 8; II Tim. 4, 8; cf. Jn. 14, 2; I Cor. 15, 41) and by the Fathers, especially on the occasion of the exegesis of the parable of the laborers, who receive the same reward (cf. St. Gregory of Nazianzus, Oratio 40, …
… him (ibid. 14:1). The motives he brings are: 1) the work of the Father and of the Son for their salvation: the Father has prepared for each one his place in heaven; the Son begins a journey, whose final phase will be the common life with the Father (ibid. 14:2-5); 2) J. is the way, the truth, the life, he is the only way to go to the Father; whoever knows him knows the Father, because of the communion of essence and of life between J. and …
14:3
… Theol., 1ª, q. 95, a. 4), that is, in the joy of the perfect union of all the members with their head, Jesus Christ (cf. John 14, 3; I Thess. 4, 16; II Cor. 5, 8), in the affectionate companionship with the Virgin and with the Angels, in the sublimation and strengthening of the bonds of kinship and friendship (cf. …
… 2:18). When the Apostles proclaim "the Lord is near" (Phil. 4:5; Rom. 13:11; Jas. 5:8; Rev. 3:20), it is a matter of a spatial-spiritual nearness rather than a temporal one; it is the presence of Jesus already living among his own (Matt. 18:20; 28:20; John 14:3-23), in which the whole theology of Grace is contained. …
14:6
… The object of the b.: "they will see God"; it is the supreme happiness promised to "the upright" and "innocent" (Ps. 11:7; 17:15; cf. 15:11), who are the "pure of heart." This "vision of God" characterizes the Kingdom founded by Jesus (Jn. 14:6-11; 19-23) and will culminate in eternal glory (I Cor. 13:12; I Jn. 3:2; Apoc. 22:4).
… has with God a power of intercession of infinite extent and efficacy, because he has merited every grace in strict justice, but is indeed in the proper sense the sole mediator between God and men and the only way that leads to the Father (I Tim. 2:5; Io. 14:6; Mt. 11:27; Rom. 5:1; 12:24; Hebr. 10:19-25; Act. 4:12), so that any other intercession with God for men, after original sin, must be understood as subordinate to and dependent on …
… C.: this is necessary in order to be his disciples, and in order not to lose oneself (Mt. 10, 38-39; Mk. 8, 34-35). Salvation depends on one's attitude toward him. He knows that he is the only mediator of salvation between God and man (cf. Mt. 11, 27; John 14, 6); no one goes to the Father except through him, who alone can reveal the Father (ibid.). …
That Jesus is life and the source of spiritual, supernatural life for men is clearly taught in the Fourth Gospel (ibid. 3:15; 5:24, 26, 40; 6:27-51; 8:12; 10:10; 11:25; 14:6; 17:2-3; 20:31). Jesus is light and the source of light (ibid. 3:19-21; 12; 9:5; 12:35-46) and of truth (ibid. 5:33; 14:6; cf. I John 1:6-8; III John 3). The Incarnation is attested in Jesus' discourse to Nicodemus (John 3:13-21), where the characteristic titles of Only-Begotten (Μονογενής; ibid. 3:16, …
… The saying of Jesus has universal value: "No one comes to the Father except through me" (Io. 14, 6). He is the way; the Incarnate Word is the necessary mediator of union with God as of salvation.
Religions, Comparative Study of
… A divine sign: the uninterrupted flowering of its saints and its mystics, their social fruitfulness, etc., its conquering force, as soon as it is left free to present him who has been called "the Way, the Truth and the Life" (Jn. 14:6; v. CRISTIANESIMO).
14:9
… divinity (Jn. 1:14; correspondence between 1:14 and 18: to contemplate with the eyes of the body the glory of the Father in J. was to receive its light, to accept his revelation of the Father, to see the Father in Him: "he who sees me, sees the Father": Jn. 14:9). All this is summed up in the word Logos. …
… Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me...?" (Jn. 14:9-11).
14:11
… is wholly in the Son, wholly in the Holy Spirit; the Son is wholly in the Father, wholly in the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit is wholly in the Father, wholly in the Son" (Denz-U, 704). This truth, explicitly revealed in Sacred Scripture (Jn. 10, 38; 14, 11; 17, 21; 1 Cor. 2, 10-11) and universally attested by tradition, is based on the numerical unity of the divine essence and presupposes the real distinction of the persons from one …
14:12
… to go to the Father; whoever knows him knows the Father, because of the communion of essence and of life between J. and the Father, manifested by words and works (Jn. 14:6-11); 3) the usefulness of J.'s departure: the efficacy of prayer in J.'s name (ibid. 14:12-14); 4) J. promises the Holy Spirit and describes his action: he will be a defender, he will remain forever with them, as Spirit of truth (ibid. 14:15-17); 5) J. will return at his Resurrection …
14:13
… In fact, the Apostles, until the coming of the Holy Spirit, had an imperfect faith (John 14:13-22; Acts 1:8; Luke 24:21).
14:15
… ch. 6). Effective charity, that is, the unshaken resolve to obey God, to fulfill his will in all things and to please him in everything, and the execution of it, is the effect of the former, demonstrating its genuineness (Mt. 7:15-27; Lk. 6:43-49; Jn. 14:15-21), and is a valid criterion for judging of true charity toward God.
… "Whoever loves mother and father more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son and daughter above me cannot be worthy of me" (ibid. 10:37). This love must be realized through the observance of "his" laws: "If you love me, keep my commandments" (Jn. 14:15). Not only does he present himself as the author of the "New Law," but he declares himself to be the supreme and universal judge, into whose hands the Father has
One further trait is recalled that disposes him even less than his brothers toward it. More than they, he insists on this principle: "to love Christ is first of all to remain faithful to his teaching" (Jn. 14:15, 21-24, 31; 15:10, 14); "in him who keeps his word, in him truly (therefore in him alone) the love of God
14:16
… The very Gospel texts (e.g., Mk. 16:18 ff.; 28:19 ff.; Jn. 14:16 ff., 25 ff.; 15:26), which explicitly proclaim the magisterium of the Church, which infallibly teaches the revealed truths, implicitly claim for it the right to interpret faithfully Sacred …
Theologically the m. is linked to the words of Sacred Scripture, according to which the Son is said to be sent by the Father and the Holy Spirit by the Father and the Son (Jn. 6:57; 14:16; 16:7; Gal. 4:4).
… For "founded on the rock, the gates of Hell shall not prevail" (Mt 16:18); "I am with you always, until the end of the world" (Mt 28:20); "I will pray to the Father, and he will give you the Paraclete, the Spirit of truth, who will remain with you forever" (Jn 14:16).
… divine ones (I Thess. 2, 14). And, since it is impossible for this Church to teach a doctrine different from that which it has received the order and charism to teach by mandate and indefectible divine assistance (Mt. 28, 18-20; Mk. 16, 15-16; Jn. 14, 16 ff.; 15, 26; 17, 18-20; I Cor. 1, 17; II Cor. 5, 20; I Tim. 3, 14 ff.), every man must fully adhere to it (Mk. 16, 16; Rom. 1, 5; II Cor. 10, 4; I Jn. 2, 24), nor ever give …
Whatever the form under which they come to the explicit knowledge of the Church, it can, with the help of the Holy Spirit (Jn. 14, 16; 16, 13), and the assistance of its divine Founder (Mt. 28, 20), define them as dogmas of faith and oblige all the faithful to believe them.
… One also customarily cites the texts where the temporal mission of the Holy Spirit is spoken of (Jn. 14:16; 14:26; 15:26; 16:7; Lk. 24:49; Acts 2:33; Tit. 3:6), which presupposes the dependence, as regards origin, of the Person sent upon the one who sends him. A compendium of the whole …
… non prevarranno contro di essa» (Mt. 16, 18). He said furthermore: «Ecco che io sono con voi tutti i giorni sino alla consumazione dei secoli» (Mt. 28, 20); «Io pregherò il Padre ed egli vi manderà un altro Paraclito affinché dimori sempre con voi» (Io. 14, 16). To the Church, therefore, divine assistance is guaranteed until the end of the world, which will not allow it to perish or grow weak. …
… "to indwell" (Rom. 8:11; II Tim. 1:14), and the simple term οἰκείν, "to dwell" (Rom. 8:9, 11; I Cor. 3:16). St. John, in the texts fundamental for this whole doctrine, prefers the verb μέκενν (μονή = "dwelling"), "to abide," "to remain" (Io. 14:16, 17, 23). Alongside these terms, which express God's dwelling as actually present in the soul, there are others that rather indicate either its coming to be (the Holy Spirit sent to …
… it in the Spirit of truth, who, possessed and operative, will assist the Apostles, as his witnesses and interpreters of his doctrine, enlightening them, sanctifying them in all truth, making them one thing with him and with the Father (Lk. 24:48-49; Jn. 14:16 ff. 26; 15:26; 16:7-14; 17:17; Acts 1:8 and 2:4).
… And in heaven he eternally continues his impetratory intercession with God for men: "always being alive, so as to be able to intercede in their favor" (Hebr. 7:24; cf. Io. 14:16; Rom. 8:34; I Io. 2:1-2).
… Some theologians affirm it, basing themselves on Io. 14, 16; I Io. 2, 1; Rom. 8, 39; Hebr. 7, 25.
(Jn. 20, 21-23; cf. 14, 16-26; 16, 12-15; Mt. 10, 19-20).
14:17
In the New Testament, the divine personal Spirit is the force that presides over the Incarnation, the foundation and the development of the Kingdom of God (Lc. 1:15, 35, 41, 67; 2:25-27; Mt. 3:16; 4:1; 10:20; 12:28; Lc. 4:1, 14; Io. 14:17; 16:7-15). The Acts of the Apostles constantly highlight the action of the divine Spirit, the supreme messianic gift (Act. 2:17) in the primitive Church (Act. 1:2, 8; 2:2-33; 4:8; …
14:18
… he will be a defender, he will remain forever with them, as Spirit of truth (ibid. 14:15-17); 5) J. will return at his Resurrection and will be a life-giving spirit: the communion of life that exists between J. and the Father will be shared with them (ibid. 14:18-20); 6) the Most Holy Trinity dwells in whoever observes the commandments (ibid. 14:21-24); 7) the last motives for joy are again the illuminating action of the Holy Spirit, the gift …
The entire Apocalypse (v.), finally, describes the grandiose p. of Jesus, to which the Fourth Gospel often alludes (Jn. 13:31-33; 14:18-23; 16:16-30; I Jn. 3:8); it will be preceded by, and in its first phases accompanied by, a long stubborn struggle between good and evil. …
14:21
The act of perfect charity supplies Baptism, because Jesus Christ has said: "Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will come to him and will manifest myself to him" (Jn. 14:21 ff.). …
… God says: «I love those who love me and those who seek me diligently find me» (Prov. 8:17). And Jesus: «Whoever holds to and observes my commandments, he it is who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him» (John 14:21). In defining c. as a supernatural friendship, theology does not deduce a new truth, but explains a revealed truth and allows it to be deepened.
… It is further demonstrated by those texts of Sacred Scripture, both of the Old and of the New Testament (Prov. 8:17; Lk. 10:27-28; Jn. 14:21-23; 1 Pt. 4:8; 1 Jn. 4:7) in which it is said that to the love of God, from which precisely contrition proceeds, is joined the friendship of the Lord, the remission of sins with all …
… 14:15-17); 5) J. will return at his Resurrection and will be a life-giving spirit: the communion of life that exists between J. and the Father will be shared with them (ibid. 14:18-20); 6) the Most Holy Trinity dwells in whoever observes the commandments (ibid. 14:21-24); 7) the last motives for joy are again the illuminating action of the Holy Spirit, the gift of peace, his going to the Father, the victory over the prince of the world (ibid. 14:25-31).
Jesus promised to his own this intimate manifestation of God to the soul, though always in the darkness of faith: "If any one loves me, he will be loved by the Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him" (Jo. 14, 21). Of it St. Augustine spoke, commenting on the evangelical beatitudes in relation to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, where, arriving at the last, he says: "The 7th is wisdom, that is, …
Religions, Comparative Study of
… Christ promised it: Pacem relinquo vobis, pacem meam do vobis; non quomodo mundus dat ego do vobis (Io. 14, 27); and history proves that he effectively gives it even to the humblest of his servants, strictly faithful to the practice of his commandments (Io. 14, 21; cf. H. Pinard, Experience religieuse, in D'ThC, V, coll. 1858-60; and the collections of conversions of C. F. Chevé, A. Räss, D. A. Rosenthal, etc. cit. in bibl.).
14:22
Jn. 14:22 preserves a question addressed by J. "not the Iscariot" to Jesus at the Last Supper: "Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us and not to the world?"
14:23
… sanctifying grace, to which there corresponds, on man's part, the act of charity toward God (Prov. 8:17; I Io. 4:7 and 16). As in every friendship, in the love of benevolence there is a mutual communion of goods (Io. 15:14), an intimacy of presence (Io. 14:23), a life unified in the participation of the divine nature (II Pt. 1:4).
we become "temples of God" (Jn. 14:23; I Cor. 3:16; II Cor. 6:16), living and fruitful by the very vitality that derives from Christ, as the branch lives and bears fruit by the sap it receives from the vine (Jn. 15:5; 17:19).
… Peter (II Pt. 1:4). This rebirth, which St. Paul calls (II Cor. 5:17) καινὴ κτίσις, that is, a new creation in Christ, is brought about by means of Grace, which establishes a vital communion with God (Jn. 6:57), who comes to dwell in the sanctified soul (ibid., 14:23).
14:25
… the Most Holy Trinity dwells in whoever observes the commandments (ibid. 14:21-24); 7) the last motives for joy are again the illuminating action of the Holy Spirit, the gift of peace, his going to the Father, the victory over the prince of the world (ibid. 14:25-31).
… It lacks only John 14, 25-16, 7 to Mark 15, 13-38. The script is uncial, inclined to the right, and that of the first quire (John 1, 1-5, 11) appears older. …
14:26
… Supper he promises his disciples the sending of another Comforter who will compensate them for his departure: "The Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I tell you" (ibid. 14:26; cf. also 15:26). It is clear that Jesus speaks of two missions of divine Persons: his own, inasmuch as he was sent by the Father into the world to save it; and that of the Holy Spirit, …
This revelation of the Old Testament acquires its true meaning in the light of the words of the Savior, when he promises to send the Holy Spirit (cf. Jn. 14:26): « The Holy Spirit whom my Father will send you in my name will teach you all things, and you will remember
… One also customarily cites the texts where the temporal mission of the Holy Spirit is spoken of (Jn. 14:16; 14:26; 15:26; 16:7; Lk. 24:49; Acts 2:33; Tit. 3:6), which presupposes the dependence, as regards origin, of the Person sent upon the one who sends him. A compendium of the whole doctrine …
… μέκενν (μονή = "dwelling"), "to abide," "to remain" (Io. 14:16, 17, 23). Alongside these terms, which express God's dwelling as actually present in the soul, there are others that rather indicate either its coming to be (the Holy Spirit sent to us: ibid. 14:26; Gal. 4:6; given to us: Io. 7:39; 14:16; Act. 5:32; 8:18; Rom. 5:5; I Thess. 4:8; I Io. 3:24; 4:13; received as a gift: Act. 2:38; I Cor. 2:12), or our transformation, …
… The extent of this object is clearly indicated in the very terms that guarantee infallibility: within its scope stand "every truth" revealed to the Apostles by the Holy Spirit (Jn 14:26; 16:13), "the whole preaching" of Jesus (Mt 28:20), "the words of Jesus which came from the Father" (Jn 17:6-8), "the Gospel of the Kingdom" (Mt 24:14; 26:13). Logically included in …
of teaching (Jn. 14:26), of bearing witness
… sanctifying Grace causes to spring spontaneously from the faithful heart: the divine goldsmith blows upon the furnace after having lit it (Wis. 3:6). This direct concurrence, or inspiration of Grace, corresponds to the promised mission of the Spirit Consoler (Jn. 14:26). Authentic spiritual consolation is, in various ways and degrees, a notable intensification of this action, in a passive accentuation, normally transitory, of the soul's fervor (Lk. …
… The theological value of authentic ascetical recollection is precisely that of the "obedience of faith," which opens the soul to the infusion of saving light, to the spiritual "reminiscence" of the word of God (Rom. 1, 5; Io. 14, 26; St. Ignatius, Exerc. sp., n. 20; St. John of the Cross, Salita M. C., I. II, cap. 29, n. 6). Perfect recollection does not usually hinder the external employment of the mental faculties …
… manifestation of the thought and love of God. The first and great revelation of God is the very Person of the Incarnate Word (cf. II Cor. 4:4-6). In the light of the teaching of Jesus Christ and under the illumination of the Holy Spirit promised by him (Jn. 14:26; 15:26; 16:12-15), the Apostles understood ever more completely the mystery of Christ and of our solidarity with him, the mystery of the Redemption and of our participation in the …
14:27
Religions, Comparative Study of
… Christ promised it: Pacem relinquo vobis, pacem meam do vobis; non quomodo mundus dat ego do vobis (Io. 14, 27); and history proves that he effectively gives it even to the humblest of his servants, strictly faithful to the practice of his commandments (Io. 14, 21; cf. H. Pinard, Experience …
14:30
… The Antichrist is implicit in the Pauline phrases about the power of darkness that governs this world, a kingdom opposed to the Kingdom of Christ (Eph. 6:12; Col. 1:13; cf. Lc. 22:53) because it is ruled by Satan "prince of this world" (Io. 12:31; 14:30; 16:11). The Antichrist is characterized by the proud pomp of universal dominion and by imposture. …
… Sin holds them beneath itself as slaves (Rom. 6:17, 20; John 8:34; 2 Pet. 2:19); they are subject to the devil as subjects to their head (John 12:31; 14:30). The devil is the god (θεός) "of this world" (2 Cor. 4:4; 1 Cor. 2:6; Gal. 2:15).
The principal occupation of the d. until the consummation of the ages consists in tempting men to induce them to sin. They have succeeded so well that Jesus himself gave Satan the title of "prince of this world" (Jn. 12, 31; 14, 30; 16, 11). The book of Job (chaps. 1 and 2) clearly insinuates that Satan cannot harm except when God permits him and to that measure in which he is permitted.
The Son of God, by contrast, has come to undo the work of the devil (1 John 3:8), and the Apostles in turn are invested by the Master with the power to "cast out demons" (Luke 10:17-19). Jesus engages the final struggle on the day of the Passion (John 12:31 ff.; 14:30; 16:11), with a battle virtually already won.
… Rev. 12:9; 20:9; cf. Acts 5:3-4), by which truth and justice are replaced by sin (Rom. 1:25-27; Jas. 5:19). The Christian must "resist the d." (Jas. 4:7; 1 Pt. 5:8) with "the whole armor" (Eph. 6:11), for the d. is "the prince of this world" (Jn. 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), he is "the god of this age" (2 Cor. 4:4).
Holiness of Christ and of Mary
… Jesus firmly asserted that he is without sin (Jn. 8:46; 14:30); an assertion expressed abstractly in II Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15; I Jn. 3:5 and I Pt. 2:22. He is the one in whom all others are, and are called, holy (I Cor. 1:2; Phil. 1:1).
… This dominion belonged to S. by right: St. Leo the Great, Sermo de Nativ., 22, 3 (PL 54, 196); St. Bernard deduces (from II Tim. 2, 26; Io. 14, 30; Mt. 12, 29; Lc. 11, 21; 22, 53) against Abelard "diabolum non solum potestatem sed et iustam habuisse in homines" (PL 182, 1065) from which only Jesus redeems. …
… Satan, head (ὁ ἄρχων) of this world (Jn. 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), shows himself as such already when he tempts Jesus (Mt. 4:8-10; Lk. 4:6-13) in the vain attempt to subject even him, the only one in whom he "has nothing" (Jn. 14:30; 17:16). …
14:31
All these opinions, besides being artificial, are arbitrary and contradicted by the text and context of the Gospel, where ἐντολή means precept in the proper sense, whose absolute value is confirmed by Jesus as the Father's envoy (John 10:18; 14:31; 17:4). On the other hand, such opinions do not resolve the question of the freedom of Jesus Christ in the face of the precepts of the natural law, which are true and cannot be set aside.
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Rheims 1582), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.