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Against Praxeas

Chapter XXVIII.--Christ Not the Father, as Praxeas Said. The Inconsistency of This Opinion, No Less Than Its Absurdity, Exposed. The True Doctrine of Jesus Christ According to St. Paul, Who Agrees with Other Sacred Writers.

And so, most foolish heretic, you make Christ to be the Father, without once considering the actual force of this name, if indeed Christ is a name, and not rather a surname, or designation; for it signifies "Anointed." But Anointed is no more a proper name than Clothed or Shod; it is only an accessory to a name. Suppose now that by some means Jesus were also called Vestitus (Clothed), as He is actually called Christ from the mystery of His anointing, would you in like manner say that Jesus was the Son of God, and at the same time suppose that Vestitus was the Father? Now then, concerning Christ, if Christ is the Father, the Father is an Anointed One, and receives the unction of course from another. Else if it is from Himself that He receives it, then you must prove it to us. But we learn no such fact from the Acts of the Apostles in that ejaculation of the Church to God, "Of a truth, Lord, against Thy Holy Child Jesus, whom Thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together." ¹ These then testified both that Jesus was the Son of God, and that being the Son, He was anointed by the Father. Christ therefore must be the same as Jesus who was anointed by the Father, and not the Father, who anointed the Son. To the same effect are the words of Peter: "Let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ," that is, Anointed. ² John, moreover, brands that man as "a liar" who "denieth that Jesus is the Christ;" whilst on the other hand he declares that "every one is born of God who believeth that Jesus is the Christ." ³ Wherefore he also exhorts us to believe in the name of His (the Father's,) Son Jesus Christ, that "our fellowship may be with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ." ⁴ Paul, in like manner, everywhere speaks of "God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ." When writing to the Romans, he gives thanks to God through our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁵ To the Galatians he declares himself to be "an apostle not of men, neither by man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father." ⁶ You possess indeed all his writings, which testify plainly to the same effect, and set forth Two--God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father. (They also testify) that Jesus is Himself the Christ, and under one or the other designation the Son of God. For precisely by the same right as both names belong to the same Person, even the Son of God, does either name alone without the other belong to the same Person. Consequently, whether it be the name Jesus which occurs alone, Christ is also understood, because Jesus is the Anointed One; or if the name Christ is the only one given, then Jesus is identified with Him, because the Anointed One is Jesus. Now, of these two names Jesus Christ, the former is the proper one, which was given to Him by the angel; and the latter is only an adjunct, predicable of Him from His anointing,--thus suggesting the proviso that Christ must be the Son, not the Father. How blind, to be sure, is the man who fails to perceive that by the name of Christ some other God is implied, if he ascribes to the Father this name of Christ! For if Christ is God the Father, when He says, "I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God," ⁷ He of course shows plainly enough that there is above Himself another Father and another God. If, again, the Father is Christ, He must be some other Being who "strengtheneth the thunder, and createth the wind, and declareth unto men His Christ." ⁸ And if "the kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ," ⁹ that Lord must be another Being, against whose Christ were gathered together the kings and the rulers. And if, to quote another passage, "Thus saith the Lord to my Lord Christ," ¹⁰ the Lord who speaks to the Father of Christ must be a distinct Being. Moreover, when the apostle in his epistle prays, "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and of knowledge," ¹¹ He must be other (than Christ), who is the God of Jesus Christ, the bestower of spiritual gifts. And once for all, that we may not wander through every passage, He "who raised up Christ from the dead, and is also to raise up our mortal bodies," ¹² must certainly be, as the quickener, different from the dead Father, ¹³ or even from the quickened Father, if Christ who died is the Father.

Edition Hide
Adversus Praxean

CAP. 28.

[1] Itaque Christum facis patrem, stultissime, qui nec ipsam vim inspicias nominis huius, si tamen nomen est Christus et non appellatio potius : unctus enim significatur. unctus autem non magis nomen est quam vestitus, quam calceatus, accidens nomini res. an tu, si ex aliquo argumento vestitus quoque vocaretur Iesus, quomodo Christus ab unctionis sacramento, aeque Iesum filium dei diceres, vestitum vero patrem crederes?

[2] nunc de Christo. si pater Christus est pater unctus est, et utique ab alio : aut si a semetipso, proba. sed non ita docent Acta Aposto- lorum in illa exclamatione ecclesiae ad deum, Convenerunt enim universi in ista civitate adversus sanctum filium tuum quem unxisti; Herodes et Pilatus cum nationibus.

[3] ita et filium dei Iesum contestati sunt et filium a patre unctum : ergo Iesus idem erit Christus qui a patre unctus est, non pater qui filium unxit.

[4] sic et Petrus : Firmissime itaque cognoscat omnis domus Israel quod et dominum et Christum, id est unctum, fecerit eum deus, hunc Iesum quem vos crucifixistis.

[5] Ioannes autem etiam mendacem notat eum qui negaverit Iesum esse Christum, contra de deo natura omnem qui crediderit Iesum esse Christum : propter quod et hortatur ut credamus nomini filii eius Iesu Christi, ut scilicet communio sit nobis cum patre et filio eius Iesu Christo.

[6] sic et Paulus ubique deum patrem ponit et dominum nostrum Iesum Christum : cum ad Romanos scribit, gratias agit deo per dominum nostrum Iesum Christum; cum ad Galatas, non ab hominibus se apostolum praefert nec per hominem, sed per Iesum Christum et deum patrem.

[7] et habes totum instrumentum eius quae in hunc modum pronuntiant et duos proponunt deum patrem et dominum nostrum Iesum Christum filium patris, et Iesum ipsum esse Christum, in altero quoque nomine dei filium.

[8] nam exinde eo iure quo utrumque nomen unius est, id est dei filii, etiam alterum sine altero eiusdem est: et sive Iesus tantummodo positum est, intellegitur et Christus quia Iesus unctus est, sive solummodo Christus, idem est et Iesus quia unctus est Iesus. quorum nominum alterum est proprium quod ab angelo impositum est, alterum accidens quod ab unctione convenit, dum tamen Christus filius sit, non pater.

[9] postremo quam caecus est qui nec in Christi nomine intellegit alium deum portendi si Christi nomen patri adscribat. si enim Christus pater deus est qui dicit, Ascendo ad patrem meum et patrem vestrum et deum meum et deum vestrum, utique alium patrem super se et deum ostendit. si item pater Christus est, alius est qui solidat tonitruum et condit spiritum et adnuntiat in homines Christum suum.

[10] et si Adstiterunt reges terrae et archontes congregati sunt in unum adversus Christum ipsius, alius erit dominus contra cuius Christum congregati sunt reges et archontes.

[11] et si Haec dieit dominus domino meo Christo, alius erit dominus qui loquitur ad patrem Christum,

[12] et cum apostolus scribit, Ut deus domini nostri Iesu Christi det vobis spiritum sapientiae et agnitionis, alius erit deus Christi Iesu, charismatum spiritalium largitor.

[13] certe, ne per omnia evagemur, qui suscitavit Christum, suscitaturus [est] et mortalia corpora nostra, tanquam alius erit suscitator quam pater mortuus et pater suscitatus, si Christus qui est mortuus pater est.