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Translated by Bl. Jackson.
St Basil the Great Resources Online and in Print
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88 Pages
Page 20
Chapter VIII.
In how many ways "Throughwhom" is used; and in what sense "with whom" is more suitable. Explanation of how the Son receives a commandment, and how He is sent.
17. When, then, the apostle "thanks God through Jesus Christ," [827] and again says that "through Him" we have "received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations," [828] or "through Him have access unto this grace wherein we stand and rejoice," [829] he sets forth the boons conferred on us by the Son, at one time making the grace of the good gifts pass through from the Father to us, and at another bringing us to the Father through Himself. For by saying "through whom we have received grace and apostleship," [830] he declares the supply of the good gifts to proceed from that source; and again in saying "through whom we have had access," [831] he sets forth our acceptance and being made "of the household of God" [832] through Christ. Is then the confession of the grace wrought by Him to usward a detraction from His glory? Is it not truer to say that the recital of His benefits is a proper argument for glorifying Him? It is on this account that we have not found Scripture describing the Lord to us by one name, nor even by such terms alone as are indicative of His godhead and majesty. At one time it uses terms descriptive of His nature, for it recognises the "name which is above every name," [833] the name of Son, [834] and speaks of true Son, [835] and only begotten God, [836] and Power of God, [837] and Wisdom, [838] and Word. [839] Then again, on account of the divers manners [840] wherein grace is given to us, which, because of the riches of His goodness, [841] according to his manifold [842] wisdom, he bestows on them that need, Scripture designates Him by innumerable other titles, calling Him Shepherd, [843] King, [844] Physician, [845] Bridegroom, [846] Way, [847] Door, [848] Fountain, [849] Bread, [850] Axe, [851] and Rock. [852] And these titles do not set forth His nature, but, as I have remarked, the variety of the effectual working which, out of His tender-heartedness to His own creation, according to the peculiar necessity of each, He bestows upon them that need. Them that have fled for refuge to His ruling care, and through patient endurance have mended their wayward ways, [853] He calls "sheep," and confesses Himself to be, to them that hear His voice and refuse to give heed to strange teaching, a "shepherd." For "my sheep," He says, "hear my voice." To them that have now reached a higher stage and stand in need of righteous royalty, [854] He is a King. And in that, through the straight way of His commandments, He leads men to good actions, and again because He safely shuts in all who through faith in Him betake themselves for shelter to the blessing of the higher wisdom, [855] He is a Door.
So He says, "By me if any man enter in, he shall go in and out and shall find pastare." [856] Again, because to the faithful He is a defence strong, unshaken, and harder to break than any bulwark, He is a Rock. Among these titles, it is when He is styled Door, or Way, that the phrase "through Him" is very appropriate and plain. As, however, God and Son, He is glorified with and together with [857] the Father, in that "at, the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." [858] Wherefore we use both terms, expressing by the one His own proper dignity, and by the other His grace to usward.
[827] Rom. i. 8.
[828] Rom. i. 5.
[829] Rom. v. 2.
[830] Rom. i. 5.
[831] Rom. v. 2.
[832] cf. Eph. ii. 19.
[833] Phil. ii. 9.
[834] Two mss., those in the B. Museum and at Vienna, read here Iesou. In Ep. 210. 4, St. Basil writes that the name above every name is auto to kaleisthai auton Uion tou Theou.
[835] cf. Matt. xiv. 33, and xxvii. 54.
[836] John i. 18. cf. note on p. .
[837] 1 Cor. i. 24, and possibly Rom. i. 16, if with D. we read gospel of Christ.
[838] 1 Cor. i. 24.
[839] e.g., John i. 1. cf. Ps. cvii. 20; Wisdom ix. 1, xviii. 15; Ecclesiasticus xliii. 20.
[840] To polutropon. cf. Heb. i. 1.
[841] Ton plouton tes agathotetos. cf. Rom. ii. 4, tou ploutou tes chrestotetos.
[842] Eph. iii. 10.
[843] e.g., John x. 12.
[844] e.g., Matt. xxi. 5.
[845] e.g., Matt. ix. 12.
[846] e.g., Matt. ix. 15.
[847] e.g., John xiv. 6.
[848] e.g., John x. 9.
[849] cf. Rev. xxi. 6.
[850] e.g., John vi. 21.
[851] cf. Matt. iii. 10.
[852] e.g., 1 Cor. x. 4.
[853] I translate here the reading of the Parisian Codex called by the Benedictine Editors Regius Secundus, to eumetabolon katorthokotas. The harder reading, to eumetadoton, which may be rendered "have perfected their readiness to distribute," has the best manuscript authority, but it is barely intelligible; and the Benedictine Editors are quite right in calling attention to the fact that the point in question here is not the readiness of the flock to distribute (cf. 1 Tim. vi. 18), but their patient following of their Master. The Benedictine Editors boldly propose to introduce a word of no authority to ametabolon, rendering qui per patientiam animam immutabilem praebuerunt. The reading adopted above is supported by a passage in Ep. 244, where St. Basil is speaking of the waywardness of Eustathius, and seems to fit in best with the application of the passage to the words of our Lord, "have fled for refuge to his ruling care," corresponding with "the sheep follow him, for they know his voice" (St. John x. 4), and "have mended their wayward ways," with "a stranger will they not follow," v. 5. Mr. Johnston, in his valuable note, compares Origen's teaching on the Names of our Lord.
[854] So three mss. Others repeat epistasia, translated "ruling care" above. ennomos is used by Plato for "lawful" and "law-abiding." (Legg. 921 C. and Rep. 424 E.) In 1 Cor. ix. 21, A.V. renders "under the law."
[855] To tes gnoseos agathon: possibly "the good of knowledge of him."
[856] John x. 9.
[857] cf. note on page 3, on meta and son.
[858] Phil. ii. 10, 11.
Reference address : https://elpenor.org/basil/holy-spirit.asp?pg=20
