3.

And how again, since He is "Life," was there ever when He was not? For all must allow, that Life both is always, and is without beginning and without end, if It be indeed Life, as indeed It is. For if there be when It is not, how can It be the life of others, when It even Itself is not?

"How then," says one, "does John lay down a beginning by saying, In the beginning was'?" Tell me, have you attended to the "In the beginning," and to the "was," and do you not understand the expression, "the Word was"? What! when the Prophet says, "From everlasting¹ and to everlasting Thou art" (Ps. xc. 2 ), does he say this to assign Him limits? No, but to declare His Eternity. Consider now that the case is the same in this place. He did not use the expression as assigning limits, since he did not say, "had a beginning," but "was in the beginning"; by the word "was" carrying thee forward to the idea that the Son is without beginning. "Yet observe," says he, "the Father is named with the addition of the article, but the Son without it." What then, when the Apostle says, "The Great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ" (Tit. ii. 13 ); and again, "Who is above all, God"? (Rom. ix. 5.) It is true that here he has mentioned the Son, without the article; but he does the same with the Father also, at least in his Epistle to the Philippians (c. ii. 6 ), he says, "Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God"; and again to the Romans, "Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ." (Rom. i. 7.) Besides, it was superfluous for it to be attached in that place, when close² above it was continually attached to "the Word." For as in speaking concerning the Father, he says, "God is a Spirit" (John iv. 24 ), and we do not, because the article is not joined to "Spirit," yet deny the Spiritual Nature of God; so here, although the article is not annexed to the Son, the Son is not on that account a less God. Why so? Because in saying "God," and again "God," he does not reveal to us any difference in this Godhead, but the contrary; for having before said, "and the Word was God"; that no one might suppose the Godhead of the Son to be inferior, he immediately adds the characteristics of genuine Godhead, including Eternity, (for "He was," says he, "in the beginning with God,") and attributing to Him the office of Creator. For "by Him were all things made, and without Him was not anything made that was made"; which His Father also everywhere by the Prophets declares to be especially characteristic of His own Essence. And the Prophets are continually busy on this kind of demonstration, not only of itself, but when they contend against the honor shown to idols; "Let the gods perish," says one "who have not made heaven and earth" (Jer. x. 11 ): and again, "I have stretched out the heaven with My hand" (Is. xliv. 24 ); and it is as declaring it to be indicative of Divinity, that He everywhere puts it. And the Evangelist himself was not satisfied with these words, but calls Him "Life" too and "Light." If now He was ever with the Father, if He Himself created all things, if He brought all things into existence, and keeps together³ all things, (for, this he meant by "Life,") if He enlightens all things, who so senseless as to say, that the Evangelist desired to teach an inferiority of Divinity by those very expressions, by which, rather than by any others, it is possible to express its equality and not differing? Let us not then confound the creation with the Creator, lest we too hear it said of us, that "they served the creature rather than the Creator" (Rom. i. 25 ); for although it be asserted that this is said of the heavens, still in speaking of the heavens he positively says, that we must not serve⁴ the creature, for it is a heathenish⁵ thing.