Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series • VOLUME 10
Ambrose — Selected Works and Letters
SECTION 161
Chapter X.
Chapter X. The objection taken on the ground of the Son's obedience is disproved, and the unity of power, Godhead, and operation in the Trinity set forth, Christ's obedience to His mother, to whom He certainly cannot be called inferior, is noticed. 84. In like manner our adversaries commonly make a difficulty of the Son's obed…
2,100 wordsSECTION 162Chapter XII.
Chapter XII. Do the Catholics or the Arians take the better course to assure themselves of the favour of Christ as their Judge? An objection grounded on Ps. cx. 1 is disposed of, it being shown that when the Son is invited by the Father to sit at His right hand, no subjection is intended to be signified--nor yet any preferment,…
1,259 wordsSECTION 163Chapter XIII.
Chapter XIII. The wicked and dishonourable opinions held by Arians, Sabellians, and Manichæans as concerning their Judge are shortly refuted. Christ's remonstrances regarding the rest of His adversaries being set forth, St. Ambrose expresses a hope of milder judgment for himself. 108. Let us proceed, then, with your accusation…
1,190 wordsSECTION 164Chapter XIV.
Chapter XIV. The sentence of the Judge is set forth, the counterpleas of the opposers are considered, and the finality of the sentence, from which there is no appeal, proved. 123. What verdict do we look for from Christ? That do I know. Do I say, what verdict will He give? Nay, He hath already pronounced sentence. We have it i…
1,421 wordsSECTION 165Chapter XVI.
Chapter XVI. St. Ambrose assures Gratian of victory, declaring that it has been foretold in the prophecies of Ezekiel. This hope is further stayed upon the emperor's piety, the former disasters being the punishment of Eastern heresy. [2089] The book closes with a prayer to God, that He will now show His mercy, and save the army…
1,124 wordsSECTION 166Book III.
Book III. Chapter I. Statement of the reasons wherefore the matters, treated of shortly in the two former, are dealt with more at length in the three later books. Defence of the employment of fables, which is supported by the example of Holy Writ, wherein are found various figures of poetic fable, in particular the Sirens, whi…
1,024 wordsSECTION 167Chapter II.
Chapter II. The incidents properly affecting the body which Christ for our sake took upon Him are not to be accounted to His Godhead, in respect whereof He is the Most Highest. To deny which is to say that the Father was incarnate. When we read that God is one, and that there is none other beside Him, or that He alone has immor…
1,154 wordsSECTION 168Chapter III.
Chapter III. That the Father and the Son must not be divided [2124] is proved by the words of the Apostle, seeing that it is befitting to the Son that He should be blessed, only Potentate, and immortal, by nature, that is, and not by grace, as even the angels themselves are immortal, and that He should dwell in the unapproachab…
1,843 wordsSECTION 169Chapter IV.
Chapter IV. We are told that Christ was only "made" so far as regards the flesh. For the redemption of mankind He needed no means of aid, even as He needed none in order to His Resurrection, whereas others, in order to raise the dead, had need of recourse to prayer. Even when Christ prayed, the prayer was offered by Him in His …
1,198 wordsSECTION 170Chapter V.
Chapter V. Passages brought forward from Scripture to show that "made" does not always mean the same as "created;" whence it is concluded that the letter of Holy Writ should not be made the ground of captious arguments, after the manner of the Jews, who, however, are shown to be not so bad as the heretics, and thus the principl…
955 wordsSECTION 171Chapter VI.
Chapter VI. In order to dispose of an objection grounded on a text in St. John, St. Ambrose first shows that the Arian interpretation lends countenance to the Manichæans; then, after setting forth the different ways of dividing the words in this same passage, he shows plainly that it cannot, without dishonour to the Father, be …
823 wordsSECTION 172Chapter VII.
Chapter VII. Solomon's words, "The Lord created Me," etc., mean that Christ's Incarnation was done for the redemption of the Father's creation, as is shown by the Son's own words. That He is the "beginning" may be understood from the visible proofs of His virtuousness, and it is shown how the Lord opened the ways of all virtues…
1,129 wordsSECTION 173Chapter VIII.
Chapter VIII. The prophecy of Christ's Godhead and Manhood, contained in the verse of Isaiah just now cited, is unfolded, and its force in refuting various heresies demonstrated. 54. This beginning did Isaiah see, and therefore he says: "A Child is born, a Son is given to us," as also did the Magi, and therefore worshipped the…
798 wordsSECTION 174Chapter IX.
Chapter IX. The preceding quotation from Solomon's Proverbs receives further explanation. 59. Perchance you will ask how I came to cite, as referring to the Incarnation of Christ, the place, "The Lord created Me," seeing that the creation of the universe took place before the Incarnation of Christ? But consider that the use of…
2,231 wordsSECTION 175Chapter XI.
[2231] Or the meaning may be understood by reference to the fact that in the Man Christ Jesus there was seen, and felt, grace, authority, and power such as was more than earthly, more than human. "Full of grace are Thy lips, because God hath blessed thee for ever." So it was that He spake as never man spake, teaching with author…
1,901 wordsSECTION 176Chapter XII.
Chapter XII. The kingdom of the Father and of the Son is one and undivided, so likewise is the Godhead of each. 92. I would now ask how they suppose the kingdom of the Father and the Son to be divided, when the Lord hath said, as we showed above: "Every kingdom divided against itself shall be speedily overthrown." [2266] 93. …
1,095 wordsSECTION 177Chapter XIII.
Chapter XIII. The majesty of the Son is His own, and equal to that of the Father, and the angels are not partakers, but beholders thereof. 103. Now, we having already laid down that the Father and the Son are of one image and likeness, [2280] it remains for us to show that They are also of one majesty. And we need not go far a…
714 wordsSECTION 178Chapter XIV.
Chapter XIV. The Son is of one substance with the Father. 108. And now, your Majesty, with regard to the question of the substance, why need I tell you that the Son is of one substance with the Father, when we have read that the Son is the image of the Father's substance, that you may understand that there is nothing wherein, …
1,659 wordsSECTION 179Chapter XV.
Chapter XV. The Arians, inasmuch as they assert the Son to be "of another substance," plainly acknowledge substance in God. The only reason why they avoid the use of this term is that they will not, as Eusebius of Nicomedia has made it evident, confess Christ to be the true Son of God. 123. How can the Arians deny the substanc…
1,257 wordsSECTION 180Chapter XVI.
Chapter XVI. In order to forearm the orthodox against the stratagems of the Arians, St. Ambrose discloses some of the deceitful confessions used by the latter, and shows by various arguments, that though they sometimes call the Son "God," it is not enough, unless they also admit His equality with the Father. 129. Let none fear…
945 wordsSECTION 181Chapter XVII.
Chapter XVII. An objection based on St. Stephen's vision of the Lord standing is disposed of, and from the prayers of the same saint, addressed to the Son of God, the equality of the Son with the Father is shown. 137. There is just one place, in which Stephen hath said that he saw the Lord Jesus standing at the right hand of G…
1,872 wordsSECTION 182Chapter II.
Chapter II. None can ascend to heaven without faith; in any case, he who hath so ascended thither will be cast out wherefore, faith must be zealously preserved. We ourselves each have a heaven within, the gates whereof must be opened and be raised by confession of the Godhead of Christ, which gates are not raised by Arians, nor…
1,234 wordsSECTION 183Chapter III.
Chapter III. The words, "The head of every man is Christ...and the head of Christ is God" misused by the Arians, are now turned back against them, to their confutation. Next, another passage of Scripture, commonly taken by the same heretics as a ground of objection, is called in to show that God is the Head of Christ, in so far…
1,551 wordsSECTION 184Chapter IV.
Chapter IV. The passage quoted adversely by heretics, namely, "The Son can do nothing of Himself," is first explained from the words which follow; then, the text being examined, word by word, their acceptation in the Arian sense is shown to be impossible without incurring the charge of impiety or absurdity, the proof resting ch…
1,177 wordsSECTION 185Chapter V.
Chapter V. Continuing the exposition of the disputed passage, which he had begun, Ambrose brings forward four reasons why we affirm that something cannot be, and shows that the first three fail to apply to Christ, and infers that the only reason why the Son can do nothing of Himself is His Unity in Power with the Father. 49. I…
1,776 wordsSECTION 186Chapter VI.
Chapter VI. The fourth kind of impossibility (§49) is now taken into consideration, and it is shown that the Son does nothing that the Father approves not, there being between Them perfect unity of will and power. 64. The Son, moreover,--to consider now our fourth premiss,--is not self-assertive, for He, the Divine Assessor, […
1,103 wordsSECTION 187Chapter VII.
Chapter VII. The doctrine had in view for enforcement is corroborated by the truth that the Son is the Word of the Father--the Word, not in the sense in which we understand the term, but a living and active Word. This being so, we cannot deny Him to be of the same Will, Power, and Substance with the Father. 73. To return, howe…
2,206 wordsSECTION 18892. The Substance of the Trinity is, so to say, a common Essence in that which is distinct, [2413] an incomprehensible, ineffable Substance.
92. The Substance of the Trinity is, so to say, a common Essence in that which is distinct, [2413] an incomprehensible, ineffable Substance. We hold the distinction, not the confusion of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; a distinction without separation; a distinction without plurality; [2414] and thus we believe in Father, Son, and…
875 wordsSECTION 189Chapter IX.
Chapter IX. Various quibbling arguments, advanced by the Arians to show that the Son had a beginning of existence, are considered and refuted, on the ground that whilst the Arians plainly prove nothing, or if they prove anything, prove it against themselves, (inasmuch as He Who is the beginning of all cannot Himself have a begi…
2,248 wordsSECTION 190Chapter X.
115. Consider the proper force of each word. Elisabeth was indeed the first to hear the voice of Mary, but John was first to feel His Lord's gracious Presence. Sweet is the harmony of prophecy with prophecy, of woman with woman, of babe with babe. The women speak words of grace, the babes move hiddenly, and as their mothers appr…
2,255 wordsSECTION 191134. But peradventure they may urge: "If you hold that the Son, in saying, And I live by the Father,' spoke of the unity of life subsisting
134. But peradventure they may urge: "If you hold that the Son, in saying, And I live by the Father,' spoke of the unity of life subsisting between the Father and the Son, does it not follow that He discovered the unity of life between the Son and mankind in saying that he that eateth Me, the same liveth by Me'?" 135. Even so. …
877 wordsSECTION 192Chapter XI.
Chapter XI. The particular distinction which the Arians endeavoured to prove upon the Apostle's teaching that all things are "of" the Father and "through" the Son, is overthrown, it being shown that in the passage cited the same Omnipotence is ascribed both to Father and to Son, as is proved from various texts, especially from …
2,266 wordsSECTION 193Chapter XII.
[2475] Rom. xi. 33-36. St. Ambrose's quotation of the passage in extenso shows us how texts ought to be used in argument--namely, not rent from their context, not as unrelated apophthegms. [2476] Wisd. vii. 27. [2477] "Approaching"--Lat. accedentem. An "accidentem" potius sit legendum?--ut Sapientia non sit accidens, sed propr…
1,662 wordsSECTION 194Book V.
Book V. Prologue. Who is a faithful and wise servant? His reward is pointed out in the case of Peter, as also in the case of Paul. Ambrose, being anxious to follow Paul's guidance, wished this book to be added to the others, for it could not be included in the preceding one. The subject for discussion is then stated, and the r…
1,793 wordsSECTION 195Chapter I.
Chapter I. How impious the Arians are, in attacking that on which human happiness depends. John ever unites the Son with the Father, especially where he says: "That they may know Thee, the only true God, etc." In that place, then, we must understand the words "true God" also of the Son; for it cannot be denied that He is God, a…
1,385 wordsSECTION 196Chapter II.
Chapter II. Since it has been proved that the Son is true God, and in that is not inferior to the Father, it is shown that by the word solus (alone) when used of the Father in the Scriptures, the Son is not excluded; nay, that this expression befits Him above all, and Him alone. The Trinity is alone, not amongst all, but above …
1,691 wordsSECTION 197Chapter III.
Chapter III. To the objection of the Arians, that two Gods are introduced by a unity of substance, the answer is that a plurality of Gods is more likely to be inferred from diversity of substance. Further, their charge recoils upon themselves. Manifold diversity is the reason why two men cannot be said to be one man, though all…
1,395 wordsSECTION 198Chapter IV.
Chapter IV. It is objected by heretics that Christ offered worship to His Father. But instead it is shown that this must be referred to His humanity, as is clear from an examination of the passage. However, it also offers fresh witness to His Godhead, as we often see it happening in other actions that Christ did. 48. But if an…
2,028 wordsSECTION 199Chapter VI.
Chapter VI. Wishing to answer the above-stated objection somewhat more fully, he maintains that this request, had it not been impossible in itself, would have been possible for Christ to grant; especially as the Father has given all judgment to Him; which gift we must understand to have been given without any feature of imperfe…
2,049 wordsSECTION 200Chapter VII.
Chapter VII. Objection is taken to the following passage: "Thou hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me." To remove it, he shows first the impiety of the Arian explanation; then compares these words with others; and lastly, takes the whole passage into consideration. Hence he gathers that the mission of Christ, although it is to…
1,180 wordsSource & rights
Historical text source: Christian Classics Ethereal Library. The downloaded text itself records Public Domain.