ACC ~ John 14 v25 - 31

OVERVIEW:

Christ withdrew his bodily presence from his disciples, but he would replace it by the revealed truth in his word (LEO) revealed through the Spirit, the Comforter who brings the peace that Christ promised he would leave with his disciples (CHRYSOSTOM). The Spirit is called “Paraclete,” which can mean both advocate and consoler, as he prepares a hope of pardon for those grieving over their sin (GREGORY THE GREAT). He mentions his departure, foreshadowing his ascension, while his giving of the Spirit looked toward Pentecost. But this should not imply that either the Son or the Spirit were ever absent from heaven or earth (GAUDENTIUS). When the Paraclete is present in us, he makes our spirit-bearing souls spiritual, moving us beyond our nature (BASIL).

The Holy Spirit comes in the name of the Son from the Father (DIDYMUS). The name of Father, Son and Spirit is one (AMBROSE), whose persons are distinguished in Scripture by their activity of sending or being sent (GAUDENTIUS). The Spirit’s presence in the heart of a listener enables the teacher to be heard (GREGORY THE GREAT) as the Son speaks and the Spirit teaches (AUGUSTINE). The Spirit provides us with the secrets of God (GREGORY THE GREAT), giving us wholesome hints to remember what has been revealed (AUGUSTINE).

The character of Christ’s peace is evident in a serenity of mind and tranquility of soul (CAESARIUS) in those not easily influenced by worldly things or troubled with fear, tormented by doubt or distressed with pain (AMBROSE). Having defeated our enemies, he offers us a lasting peace (APOLLINARIS) that shines forth in those who are called to be his peacemakers (CYPRIAN). This is why we must rely on Christ who is our peace to fulfill his call to us to be at peace (AUGUSTINE). He did not even withdraw the kiss of peace from Judas (AUGUSTINE). The external peace that the world gives can be hurtful, whereas the peace with one another that Christ gives can make you stronger (CHRYSOSTOM). This is because a person who has peace will also have love (AMBROSIASTER). Despite this talk of peace, the disciples were nonetheless worried about the wolves who might seek to scatter the flock in the Shepherd’s absence (AUGUSTINE).

When Jesus tells the disciples to rejoice over his departure, he teaches us that we too should rejoice rather than grieve for our loved ones who depart this world (CYPRIAN) even as he seeks to shield the souls of his saints from sorrow (CYRIL). Christ says he ascends to the Father because the Father is greater than him. But he says this according to his human nature (DIDYMUS, HILARY) because Christ is equal to the Father according to his divine nature (HILARY) and according to his whole person, as his humanity is both assumed and exalted (THEODORET, AUGUSTINE). This statement confirms that the Father and Son are of one substance, since comparisons are best done among those who are of the same substance (BASIL). This passage also demonstrates that the Son has his origin from the Father (AUGUSTINE), yet the Father is not greater than the Son in nature or in time but only by being begetter in terms of causation (JOHN OF DAMASCUS).

The faith of the disciples would be impaired by his death, which would cause them to doubt. But their faith would also be repaired by his resurrection, which would confirm what he had predicted (AUGUSTINE). When Jesus tells his disciples that the prince of this world is coming, he may be referring to the devil or someone else (ORIGEN), such as the rulers of this age (AMBROSIASTER). As a serpent cannot mark its track on a rock, so the devil could not find sin in the body of Christ (HIPPOLYTUS), who leaves no sin or fault for the devil to exploit (AUGUSTINE). In fact, the Son’s every action, as well as those who follow him, will be seen to exonerate him because everything he does has been done out of love for his Father (THEODORE). As Christ is now ready for his passion, he invites his disciples, as well as each one of us, to rise up from things of the earth and to strive for what is eternal (AMBROSE). One cannot comprehend that eternal state unless he has first fled from what is earthly, transformed by the power of the Spirit (CHRYSOSTOM).

14:25 | While I Am Still with You

VISION TO BE SUCCEEDED BY REVEALED TRUTH

LEO THE GREAT: He withdrew his bodily presence for a time, for he is to abide at the right hand of the Father until the times that have been divinely decreed for the multiplication of the children of the church are accomplished. And then in the same body in which he ascended he will come again to judge the living and the dead. And so what was visible in Christ is now veiled in mystery. And, so that faith might be more perfect and more steadfast, vision was succeeded by revealed truth whose authority the hearts of the faithful, illumined by light from above, would now begin to follow. SERMON 74.2.2. [1]

[1] PL 54:398.

14:26 | The Comforter

THE GIFT OF THE SPIRIT

CHRYSOSTOM: The phrase “he remains with you” is what someone who himself is leaving would say. And so, to calm their grief, he says that as long as he remains with them the Spirit won’t come, which means they wouldn’t come to know the greater or more sublime things to come. He wanted them, in other words, to see his departure as a blessing. Notice how he often calls [the Spirit] Comforter, because of the troubles they had to deal with. And since they were still troubled, even after hearing all this, because of their sadness, the struggles and his departure, he calms them again by saying, “Peace I leave you.” … And because he brings up the subject of leaving again, which is enough in itself to trouble them, he again says, “Do not let your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 75.3. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:276**.

THE SPIRIT ROUSES US TO PLEAD

GREGORY THE GREAT: Many of you, dearly beloved, know that the Greek word Paraclete means in Latin “advocate” or “consoler.” He is called an advocate because he intervenes before the Father’s justice on behalf of the wrongdoings of sinners. He who is of one substance with the Father, and the Son is said to plead earnestly on behalf of sinners because he causes those whom he fills to do so. This is why Paul says, “For the Spirit himself pleads for us with unutterable groanings.” [1] But one who pleads is of less importance than the one receiving the plea. How is the Spirit, then, who is not less important, said to plead? The Spirit pleads, rousing those he fills to plead. The same Spirit is called a consoler because when he prepares a hope of pardon for those grieving over their sins he is lifting up their hearts from sorrow and affliction. FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 30. [2]

[1] Rom 8:26.

[2] CS 123:238*; PL 76:1221.

FORESHADOWING OF ASCENSION AND PENTECOST

GAUDENTIUS OF BRESCIA: He insists that we must believe that the Holy Spirit also shares in the same oneness [that the Son does], when he foretells that the fullness of his doctrine will be perfected in them by the same Paraclete. … He meant to forewarn the blessed apostles both of his own ascent into heaven after the passion he was to suffer and of the descent of the Holy Spirit on them from heaven. But the Holy Spirit was not only in heaven, nor was he only on the earth. And neither would the Son ascend to heaven in such a way that he left the earth behind, nor did the Father alone possess the throne of heaven where the Son was returning and from where the Holy Spirit is said to come. SERMON 14. [1]

[1] PL 20:944-45.

SPIRIT-BEARING SOULS BECOME SPIRITUAL THROUGH THE PARACLETE

BASIL THE GREAT: The Spirit is simple in being. His powers are many. They are entirely present everywhere and in everything. He is distributed but does not change. He is shared yet remains whole. Consider the analogy of the sunbeam: each person on whom its kindly light falls rejoices as if the sun existed for him alone, yet it illumines land and sea and is master of the atmosphere. In the same way, the Spirit is given to each one who receives him as if he were the possession of that person alone, yet he sends forth sufficient grace to fill the entire universe. Everything that partakes of his grace is filled with joy according to its capacity—the capacity of its nature, not of his power.

The Spirit does not take up his abode in someone’s life through a physical approach. How could a corporeal being approach the bodiless One? Instead, the Spirit comes to us when we withdraw ourselves from evil passions that have crept into the soul through its friendship with the flesh, alienating us from a close relationship with God. Only when a person has been cleansed from the shame of his evil and has returned to his natural beauty, and [only when] the original form of the royal image has been restored in him, is it possible for him to approach the Paraclete. Then, like the sun, he will show you in himself the image of the invisible, and with purified eyes you will see in this blessed image the unspeakable beauty of its prototype. Through him hearts are lifted up, the infirm are held by the hand, and those who progress are brought to perfection. He shines on those who are cleansed from every spot and makes them spiritual people through fellowship with himself. When a sunbeam falls on a transparent substance, the substance itself becomes brilliant and radiates light from itself. So too Spirit-bearing souls, illumined by him, finally become spiritual themselves, and their grace is sent forth to others. From this comes knowledge of the future, understanding of mysteries, apprehension of hidden things, distribution of wonderful gifts, heavenly citizenship, a place in the choir of angels, endless joy in the presence of God, becoming like God, and the highest of all desires, becoming God. [1] ON THE HOLY SPIRIT 9.22-23. [2]

[1] This last phrase should be understood in the context of the larger doctrine of thēosis that Basil is espousing here.

[2] OHS 43-44*.

THE HOLY SPIRIT COMES IN THE NAME OF THE SON FROM THE FATHER

DIDYMUS THE BLIND: The Savior affirms that the Holy Spirit is sent by the Father, in his, the Savior’s, name. This name is the Son. Here an agreement of nature and propriety, so to speak, of persons is shown. The Son can come in the Father’s name only, consistent with the proper 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, shows that he is in unity with the Son: from this he is said also to be the Spirit of the Son and to make those sons [children] by adoption who are willing to receive him. The Holy Spirit who then comes in the name of the Son from the Father shall teach those who are established in the faith of Christ all things—all things that are spiritual, that is, 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. ON THE HOLY SPIRIT 30-31. [1]

[1] PL 23:129-30**.

NAME OF FATHER, SON AND SPIRIT IS ONE

AMBROSE: For he who came in the name of the Son surely also came in the name of the Father, for the name of the Father and of the Son is one. Thus it comes about that the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is one. ON THE HOLY SPIRIT 1.13.134. [1]

“SENDING” HELPS DISTINGUISH PERSONS IN THE TRINITY

GAUDENTIUS OF BRESCIA: Neither must the Holy Spirit be regarded as separated from the Father whose Spirit he is, nor should the Son be believed to be separated from him whose face he is, as well as his right hand, power and wisdom. … For the divinity of the ever adorable Trinity is one and the same everywhere and forever. But so that a clear faith and separate belief in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit might be given to those who believe, it is accordingly written that the Father sends both the Son and the Holy Spirit, since neither he who sends nor he who is sent can be believed to be God if there is a place where he is and a place where he is not. Let us believe in the Son speaking to us, since he is the Truth: “I am not alone,” he says, “because the Father is with me.” [2] And again, speaking of the Holy Spirit, he says, “But if I by the Spirit of God cast out devils.” [3] … Accordingly, since nowhere is the divinity of the Trinity not present, it is part of the divine plan for the redemption of humankind that it is spoken of as both sending and being sent. For otherwise the human mind could not grasp that the Father is the Father, and the Son is the Son and the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit, unless it should learn their separateness by the naming of one as sent and one as sending. SERMON 14. [4]

[1] FC 44:84 ; CSEL 79:73.

[2] Jn 8:16, 19.

[3] Mt 12:28.

[4] PL 20:946-47.

DIFFERENT PERCEPTIONS OF MEANING VIA THE SPIRIT

GREGORY THE GREAT: It is only right that Jesus promised, “He will teach you all things,” because unless the Spirit is present in the heart of a listener, the teacher’s utterance is useless. No one should attribute to his teacher what he understands from him, because unless there is an inner teacher, the one outside is exerting himself in vain. You all hear equally the single voice of the person speaking, and yet you each have a different perception of the meaning. The voice is not different—why do your hearts understand it differently? Is it not that through what the speaker’s voice counsels generally there is an inner master who teaches each one individually about its meaning? John says this about the anointing of the Spirit: “His anointing teaches you about everything.” [1] No one is instructed by a voice when his heart is not anointed by the Spirit. But why do I speak in this way about human teaching when our Creator himself does not speak for the instruction of any person unless he speaks to that person by the anointing of the Spirit? FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 30. [2]

[1] 1 Jn 2:27.

[2] CS 123:238-39**; PL 76:1221-22.

THE SON SPEAKS AND THE SPIRIT TEACHES

AUGUSTINE: 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. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 77.2. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 7:339**; CCL 36:520.

THE SECRETS OF GOD

GREGORY THE GREAT: We must ask why it is said of the Spirit, “He will remind you of everything,” when reminding is usually the action of someone of lesser importance. We sometimes use “remind” to mean “furnish with information,” and so we say that the invisible Spirit “reminds” us because he provides us with knowledge not as an inferior but as one who knows what is secret. FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 30. [1]

[1] CS 123:239; PL 76:1222.

REMEMBERING BY THE GRACE OF THE SPIRIT

AUGUSTINE: The text says the Spirit will, “Suggest,” that is, “bring to your remembrance.” Every wholesome hint to remember that we receive is of the grace of the Spirit. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 77.2. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 7:339**; CCL 36:521.

14:27 | Peace I Leave with You

PEACE DEFINES A CHRISTIAN

CAESARIUS OF ARLES: Peace, indeed, is serenity of mind, tranquility of soul, simplicity of heart, the bond of love, the fellowship of charity. It removes hatred, settles wars, restrains wrath, tramples on pride, loves the humble, pacifies the discordant and makes enemies agree. For it is pleasing to everyone. It does not seek what belongs to another or consider anything as its own. It teaches people to love because it does not know how to get angry, [1] or to extol itself or become inflated with pride. It is meek and humble to everyone, possessing rest and tranquility within itself. When the peace of Christ is exercised by a Christian, it is brought to perfection by Christ. If anyone loves it, he will be an heir of God, while anyone who despises it rebels against Christ. When our Lord Jesus Christ was returning to the Father, he left his peace to his followers as their inherited good, teaching them and saying, “My peace I give to you, my peace I leave with you.” Anyone who has received this peace should keep it, and one who has destroyed it should look for it, while anyone who has lost it should seek it. For if anyone is not found with it, he will be disinherited by the Father and deprived of his inheritance. SERMON 174.1. [2]

[1] See also Ambrose On Joseph 13.78 (FC 65:233). See also Ambrosiaster’s Commentary on First Corinthians 14.33 (CSEL 81 2:160-61), where he extols the need of patience in promoting peace.

[2] FC 47:432-33*.

CHRIST BRINGS AN INNER PEACE

AMBROSE: It is the part of those who have been perfected not to be easily influenced by worldly things or to be troubled with fear or tormented with suspicion or stunned with dread or distressed with pain. Rather, as if on a shore of total safety, they ought to calm their spirit, immovable as it is in the anchorage of faith against the rising waves and tempests of the world. Christ brought this support to the spirits of Christians when he brought an inner peace to the souls of those who had proved themselves, so that our heart should not be troubled or our spirit be distressed. … The fruit of peace is the absence of disturbance in the heart. In short, the life of the righteous person is calm, but the unrighteous person is filled with disquiet and disturbance. Therefore the ungodly person is struck down more by his own suspicions than most people are by the blows of others, and the stripes of the wounds in his soul are greater than those in the bodies of those who are lashed by others. JACOB AND THE HAPPY LIFE 2.6.28. [1]

[1] CSEL 32 2:48; FC 65:162-63.

A LASTING PEACE THROUGH CHRIST’S FREEDOM

APOLLINARIS OF LAODICEA: Christ stopped those who were waging war and established peace by destroying the might of those waging war. Those opposing powers have no power against those of the household of Christ who came out of captivity as soon as they learned to know the Redeemer. Therefore, they have an unshakeable peace because it is a peace of the soul that has been led to freedom and has put off fear and shed all trouble. Since these good things of the soul have been assured and cannot be taken away, the peace of the soul has been made sure. FRAGMENTS ON JOHN 106. [1]

[1] JKGK 43.

WE ARE CHILDREN OF PEACE

CYPRIAN: The person of peace ought to seek peace and follow it. The one 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.” He gave this to us as an inheritance. He promised all the gifts and rewards of which he spoke through the preservation of peace. If we are fellow heirs with Christ, let us abide in the peace of Christ. If we are children of God, we ought to be peacemakers. “Blessed,” says he, “are the peacemakers. For they shall be called the sons of God.” [1] It behooves the children of God to be peacemakers, gentle in heart, simple in speech, agreeing in affection, faithfully linked to one another in the bonds of unanimity. THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH 24. [2]

[1] Mt 5:9.

[2] ANF 5:429**.

HE IS OUR PEACE

AUGUSTINE: And yet it is in him and from him that we have peace, whether it is the peace he leaves with us when going to the Father or that which he will give us when we ourselves are brought by him to the Father. And what is it he leaves with us, when ascending from us, other than his own presence, which he never withdraws? For he himself is our peace who has made both one. [1] It is he, therefore, who becomes our peace, both when we believe that he is and when we see him as he is. [2] For if—so long as we are in this corruptible body that burdens the soul and are walking by faith, not by sight—he does not forsake those who are sojourning at a distance from himself, [3] how much more, when we have attained to that sight, shall he fill us with himself? TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 77.3. [4]

[1] See Eph 2:14.

[2] See 1 Jn 3:2.

[3] See 2 Cor 5:6-7.

[4] NPNF 1 7:339*; CCL 36:521.

JESUS EVEN GIVES JUDAS THE KISS OF PEACE

AUGUSTINE: This peace he left, after a fashion, in his last will and testament to his disciples, our apostles. As he was about to go to the Father, you see, he said, “My peace I give, my peace I leave to you.” And he did not separate Judas from himself, though he would not have been making a mistake if he had wished to separate him. I mean he would never separate an innocent person instead of a guilty one, or by separating the guilty forsake the innocent. … It was Judas himself who separated himself from the Lord. He was tolerated to the very end. He gave the kiss of peace, though he did not have peace in his heart. And yet he accepted the kiss of peace. That kiss did not bind him to Christ. It condemned him. SERMON 313E.3. [1]

[1] WSA 3 9:110-11; MiAg 1:437.

EXTERNAL PEACE OF THE WORLD CAN BE HARMFUL

CHRYSOSTOM: Jesus is all but saying here, “How are you harmed by the trouble of the world, provided that you are at peace with me? For this peace is not the same as the world’s peace. The world’s peace is external and often more hurtful than profitable, and it is of no real advantage to those who possess it. But I give you the kind of peace that calls for peace with one another. This makes you stronger.” HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 75.3. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:276**.

ONE WHO HAS PEACE WILL ALSO HAVE LOVE

AMBROSIASTER: The God of peace is Christ, who said, “My peace I give you, my peace I leave you.” … But the peace of God is one thing, the peace of the world another, because even malignant and foul people have peace, but [this is] to their damnation. The peace of Christ is free from sins. For it flees faithlessness, spurns trickery and rejects evil deeds. This peace is pleasing and congenial to God, hostile to the devil. A person who has peace will also have love and the God of both to keep him safely guarded forever. COMMENTARY ON 2 CORINTHIANS 13.11.2. [1]

[1] CSEL 81 2:313-14.

WORRIED ABOUT THE WOLF

AUGUSTINE: 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. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 78.1. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 7:340**; CCL 36:523.

14:28a | If You Loved Me, You Would Have Rejoiced

GOING TO THE FATHER IS JOYFUL

CYPRIAN: He shows the profit of departing from the world. … When his disciples were grieved because he said he was now about to go away, he said, “If you loved me, you would rejoice because I go to the Father.” Here he teaches and demonstrates that when the dear ones we love go out from this world, we should rejoice rather than grieve. ON MORTALITY 7. [1]

[1] CCL 3A:20.

THE COMFORT OF CHRIST

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Jesus soothes the agony of grief he found in his disciples, and just as a beloved and good father, compelled for some legitimate reason to take his children from the nurse that bears them, and seeing a flood of tears flowing down their delicate cheeks, he coaxes them by insisting on the good that will result from her absence and arms them against grief with hope. So also our Lord Jesus Christ shields the souls of his saints from sorrow. For he knew, being truly God, that his abandonment of them would be hard for them to take, even though he would always be with them through the Spirit. This proves his love and extreme holiness. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 10. [1]

[1] LF 48:343*.

14:28b | The Father Is Greater Than I

THE FATHER IS GREATER IN THE SENSE OF CHRIST’S HUMAN NATURE

DIDYMUS THE BLIND: How then is “greater” to be understood? Does it pertain to the size of bodies? Or does it mean “more advanced” in age? Or does it mean “adorned with more virtue”? But all these things can be quantified—whatever can be perceived and measured. But in God there is nothing that can be perceived or measured. Thus, the words greater and less cannot be spoken concerning the Word of God or concerning the Father. For by nature God cannot be measured or quantified. But if you say that the Father is greater since he is unbegotten while the Son is begotten, we reply that these words speak of their natures, not of their properties of existence. And especially in the cases of those incorporeal beings one does not diminish the value of those of the same substance by granting more or less to this one or to that one. For by nature Absolute Being cannot be measured in essence or in knowledge simply by any measure or quantity of size. Then why did [Christ] say these things?

The Savior in one word set forth a double manner of teaching, for the meaning of the word he spoke is twofold. It is just as in the phrases “the one sending me” and “I depart”: he alluded to the body embraced by definite locations, inasmuch as it is circumscribed by them, and he did not refer to the uncircumscribed divine nature that embraces all things. By analogy, then, when he says “greater,” he indicates that his divinity can be equaled to that of the Father, since he is of the same substance with him, but the Father is greater because the Son accepted a body, since the Son’s nature is understood to be less than that of the Father inasmuch as the Son has become man. And do not marvel that the Savior says that he is less than the Father since he became man, since he also has said that he became lower than the angels, as in this verse: “We see Jesus made lower than the angels for a little time because of the suffering of his death, but now crowned with glory and honor.” [1] He was also said to be lower than his own disciples, for he said, “I am in your midst as your servant” and as the least. [2] Therefore, things that are compared share the same substance, but things that are undivided (whether in our knowledge or by their essence) cannot admit of “greater” and “less.” Now if you wish to understand the sentence, “The Father who sent me is greater than me,” to apply to the divinity of the Son apart from considering that he has taken on flesh, you will have to suppose that he is enclosed in and restricted to certain places and that he was sent where he had not previously been and removed from where he had been. But this makes no sense. FRAGMENTS ON JOHN 17. [3]

[1] Heb 2:9.

[2] See Mt 20:26.

[3] JKGK 184-85.

FORM OF SERVANT, FORM OF GOD

HILARY OF POITIERS: 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 honor 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.” … Can you be ignorant that the incarnation for your salvation was an emptying of the form of God and that the Father, unaffected by this assumption of human conditions, abode in the blessed eternity of his own incorrupt nature without taking our flesh? We confess that the only-begotten God, while he abode in the form of God, abode in the nature of God, but we do not at once reabsorb into the substance of the divine unity his unity bearing the form of a servant. Nor do we teach that the Father is in the Son, as if he entered into him bodily. … God, born of God, being found as man in the form of a servant but acting as God in his miracles, was at once God as his deeds proved, and yet man, for he was found in the fashion of man. ON THE TRINITY 9.51. [1]

[1] NPNF 2 9:173*; CCL 62A:428-30. See also On the Trinity 1.30; 3.12; 9.54; Ambrose Of the Christian Faith 2.8.59.

HOW THE FATHER IS GREATER AND THE SON NOT LESS

HILARY OF POITIERS: The Father, therefore, is greater, because he is the Father; but the Son, because he is the Son, is not less. By the birth of the Son the Father is constituted greater: the nature that is his by birth does not suffer the Son to be less. The Father is greater, for the Son prays to him to render glory to the manhood he has assumed. The Son is not less, for he receives back his glory with the Father. Thus are consummated at once the mystery of the birth and the dispensation of the incarnation. The Father, as Father—and as glorifying him who now is Son of man—is greater. Father and Son are one in that the Son, born of the Father, after assuming an earthly body is taken back to the glory of the Father. ON THE TRINITY 9.56. [1]

[1] NPNF 2 9:175*; CCL 62A:435-36.

HOW THE FATHER IS GREATER

THEODORET OF CYR: Sometimes, therefore, I [Jesus] say that I am equal to the Father, [1] and at other times I say that the Father is greater. I am not contradicting myself, but I am showing that I am God and a human being—God through the lofty words, and a human being through the humble ones. But if you want to know how the Father is greater than I, I was talking from the flesh, not from the person of the divinity. DIALOGUE 1.56. [2]

[1] See Jn 10:30.

[2] FC 106:83.

HUMANITY ASSUMED AND EXALTED

AUGUSTINE: Let us, along with the disciples, listen to the Teacher’s words, and not, with strangers, give heed to the wiles of the deceiver. Let us acknowledge the twofold substance of Christ, namely, the divine, in which he is equal with the Father, and the human, in respect to which the Father is greater. And yet at the same time both are not two, for Christ is one. And God is not a quaternity but a Trinity. For as the rational soul and the body form but one man, so Christ, while both God and man, is one. Thus Christ is God, a rational soul and a body. In all of these we confess him to be Christ. We confess him in each. Who, then, is he who made the world? Christ Jesus, but in the form of God. Who is it that was crucified under Pontius Pilate? Christ Jesus, but in the form of a servant. And this is true of the several aspects of which he consists as man. Who is he who was not left in hell? Christ Jesus, but only in respect of his soul. Who was to rise on the third day, after being laid in the tomb? Christ Jesus, but solely in reference to his flesh. In reference, then, to each of these, he is likewise called Christ. And yet, all of them are not two or three but one Christ. On this account, therefore, he said, “If you loved me, you would surely rejoice, because I go to the Father.” For human nature is worthy of congratulation in being so assumed by the only-begotten Word as to be constituted immortal in heaven and, earthly in its nature, to be so sublimated and exalted that, as incorruptible dust, it might take its seat at the right hand of the Father. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 78.3. [1]

“GREATER THAN” IMPLIES BEING OF ONE SUBSTANCE WITH THE FATHER

BASIL THE GREAT: “Greater” is used when talking about size, time, dignity, power, or the cause of something. The Father cannot be called greater than the Son in size because he is incorporeal. He cannot be called greater than the Son in time because the Son is the creator of time. You can’t say that he is greater in dignity either, because he was not made into something that he had not previously been, nor can you say he is greater in power since, “whatever the Father does, the Son does as well.” And finally, no one can say the Father is greater because he is the cause of the Son’s existence, because he is also the cause of our existence, and this would place the Son on a similar footing with us. Instead, see the words as expressing the honor that is given by the Son to the Father instead of devaluing the Son who speaks these words. You should also realize that what is greater is not necessarily of a different essence. One human being is called greater than another human being, just like one horse is called greater than another horse. If the Father is called greater, it does not immediately follow that he is of another substance. In a word, the comparison lies between beings of one substance, not between those of different substances. A human being is not properly said to be greater than a brute or an inanimate thing. Human beings are compared to human beings, just as brutes are compared with other brutes. The Father is therefore of one substance with the Son, even though he is called greater. AGAINST EUNOMIUS 4. [2]

“LESS THAN” IMPLIES ORIGIN

AUGUSTINE: Whenever … it seems that the Son is shown to be less than the Father, interpret it as spoken … not to show one is greater or less than the other but … that one has his origin from the other. ANSWER TO MAXIMUS 2.14.8. [3]

[1] CCL 36:524-25; NPNF 1 7:341-42*. See also Augustine on this passage in On Eighty-three Varied Questions 83.69.1.

[2] NPNF 2 8:xxxviii*; PG 29:693-96.

[3] PL 42:775.

THE FATHER IS GREATER IN TERMS OF CAUSATION

JOHN OF DAMASCUS: If we say that the Father is the origin of the Son and greater than the Son, we do not suggest any precedence in time or superiority in nature of the Father over the Son (for through his agency he made the ages) or superiority in any other respect except causation. And we mean by this that the Son is begotten of the Father and not the Father of the Son, and the Father naturally is the cause of the Son. So then, whenever we hear it said that the Father is the origin of the Son and greater than the Son, let us understand it to mean in respect of causation. [1] ORTHODOX FAITH 1.8. [2]

[1] But see Basil above.

[2] NPNF 2 9:8-9. Irenaeus also speaks of the Father being greater because he has greater knowledge than the Son since he alone knows the time of judgment. See Against Heresies 2.28.2.

14:29 | Forewarned for Faith

FAITH IMPAIRED BY DEATH, REPAIRED BY RESURRECTION

AUGUSTINE: If faith is in things that are believed and in things that are not seen, [1] what does our Lord mean when he says, “And now I have told you before it happens, so that when it does happen you might believe”? Shouldn’t he rather have said, And now I have told you before it happens so that you may believe what you shall see when it happens? For even [Thomas], who was told, “Because you have seen, you have believed,” did not believe only what he saw. But he saw one thing and believed another. For he saw [Jesus] as man and believed him to be God. … But though we may be said to believe what we see, just as everyone says that he believes his own eyes, yet that is not to be mistaken for the faith that is built up by God in our souls. Rather, from things that are seen, we are brought to believe in those that are invisible. Wherefore, beloved, in the passage before us, when our Lord says, “And now I have told you before it happens, that when it happens you might believe,” by the words “when it happens” he certainly means that they would yet see him after his death, alive and ascending to his Father. And when they saw this, they would then be compelled to believe that he was indeed the Christ, the Son of the living God, seeing he could do such a thing even after predicting it and also could predict it before he did it. And this then they would believe, not with a new but with an increased faith—or at least [with a faith] that had been impaired by his death and was now repaired by his resurrection. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 79.1. [2]

[1] Heb 11:1.

[2] NPNF 1 7:342**; CCL 36:525-26.

14:30 | The Ruler of This World Holds Nothing over Jesus48

THE IDENTITY OF THE RULER

ORIGEN: Also mentioned is a prince of this world, but it is not yet clear whether this is the devil himself or someone else. [1] There are also certain princes of this world spoken of as possessing a kind of wisdom that will come to nothing. ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 1.5.2. [2]

[1] 1 Cor 2:6.

[2] ANF 4:257**; GCS 2(5):70.

THE RULERS OF THIS AGE

AMBROSIASTER: The rulers of this age are not to be understood as merely people of the Jews and Romans but also those princes and powers referred to above, [1] to whom this saying pertains and against whom is our struggle. … The rulers of this age crucified the Lord of majesty through their ignorance. For how can the rulers of this age be understood as the rulers of the Jews who were subject to the Roman Empire? COMMENTARY ON 1 CORINTHIANS 2.8.1-2. [2]

[1] See Rom 8:38.

[2] CSEL 81 2:24-25.

CHRIST LEAVES NO TRAIL OF SIN

HIPPOLYTUS: As a serpent cannot leave a trail on a rock, so the devil could not find sin in the body of Christ. For the Lord says, “Behold, the prince of this world comes and will find nothing in me.” For as a ship, sailing in the sea, leaves no traces of her way behind it, so neither does the church, which is situated in the world as in a sea, leave its hope on the earth, because it has its life reserved in heaven. And as [the church] holds its way here only for a short time, it is not possible to trace out its course. FRAGMENTS ON PROVERBS 22-23. [1]

[1] ANF 5:174; GCS 1 2:165.

THERE IS NO FAULT IN JESUS THAT SATAN CAN EXPLOIT

AUGUSTINE: Why be surprised that Christ died, although Christ committed no sin whatever? He wanted to pay back for you what he did not owe himself, in order to deliver you from debt. The devil, having taken in the human race, was in possession of it by right. He possessed what he had taken; he had taken what he had taken in. Christ brought along in his mortal flesh his blood to be shed, with which to cancel the bill of our sins. That other one would still be holding the guilty if he had not put the innocent to death. But now see with what justice he is told, “You have put to death one who had no debt. Now hand over the debtors.” “Behold,” he says, “the prince of this world is coming, and in me he will find nothing.” “How nothing? Haven’t you got a soul, haven’t you got flesh? Aren’t you also the Word? Is all that nothing?”

Of course not. Nothing of his [1] own, because [I have] no sin. He is the prince of sinners. The prince of sinners will find nothing in me. I have not sinned, I have contracted nothing from Adam, because I came to you from the Virgin. I did not add anything, because I did not have anything to add it to, and by living a just life I committed no sin. Let him come and find something of his own in me, if he can. But he will find nothing of his own in me. I have no sin. Born innocently, I have led an innocent life. Let him come, he will find nothing. “So why are you dying, if he is coming and will find nothing?” And he gives the reason why he must die: “Behold, the prince of this world is coming, and he will find nothing in me.” And if we might hypothetically ask, “So then, why are you dying?” he would answer, “So that all might know that I am doing the will of my Father. Arise, let us go from here”; [2] That is, let us go to [my] passion. He was willing to die because if was the will of his good Father, not because he owed it to the evil prince. SERMON 265D.4. [3]

[1] The devil’s.

[2] Jn 14:30-31.

[3] WSA 3 7:257; MiAg 1:661-62. See also Hilary On the Trinity 9.55.

14:31a | The World Will Know Jesus’ Love for the Father

THE FATHER’S WILL IS FOR THE SALVATION OF ALL

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Great and powerful things will happen to me in the course of my passion. Similar things will happen to those who believe in me after my passion. They will cast out demons with a mere word, heal the sick, perform numerous signs, command the removal of all human tribulations through my name. Any number of different punishments will befall sinners. From all these things it will be clear that I was unjustly executed. But because of my love for the Father I accomplish his [primordial] will that all would be saved. The defeat of death that I will justly accomplish through the intervention of the omnipotent one will be the destiny for all humanity by grace. COMMENTARY ON JOHN 6.14.30-31. [1]

[1] CSCO 4 3:279-80.

14:31b | Rise, Let Us Go

EACH ONE, FOLLOWING JESUS, SHOULD ARISE FROM THE EARTH

AMBROSE: Let us withdraw from the bond of the body and leave everything earthly so that when the adversary comes he may find nothing of his in us. Let us strive for the eternal and fly up to the divine on the wings of love and the oars of charity. Let us rise up from here, that is, from the things of the age and those of the world. For the Lord has said, “Rise, let us be on our way,” teaching that each one should arise from the earth, raise up his soul that lies on the ground, lift it to the things that are above and call forth his eagle, the eagle of whom it is said, “Your youth will be renewed like the eagle’s.” [1] DEATH AS A GOOD 5.16. [2]

[1] Ps 103:5 (102:5 LXX, Vg).

[2] FC 65:82; CSEL 32 1:717-18. See also Ambrose Flight from the World 1.4 (FC 65:283).

THE TRANSFORMING POWER OF THE SPIRIT

CHRYSOSTOM: For they who now trembled and feared, after they had received the Spirit sprang into the midst of dangers and stripped themselves for the contest against steel, and fire, and wild beasts, and seas, and every kind of punishment. And they, the unlettered and ignorant, spoke so boldly as to astonish their hearers. For the Spirit made them men of iron instead of men of clay, gave them wings and allowed them to be cast down by nothing human. For such is that grace: if it finds despondency, it disperses it; if evil desires, it consumes them; if cowardice, it casts it out and does not allow one who has partaken of it to be afterward a mere person but, as it were removing him to heaven itself, causes him to imagine to himself all that is there. [1] HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 75.5. [2]

[1] Acts 4:32, 2:46.

[2] NPNF 1 14:277*.