Homilies on the Gospel of St. John and the Epistle to the Hebrews

NPNF (V1-14)St. Chrysostom52He “is the Image of the invisible God.” ( Col. i. 15 .) Now if He be the Image of the Invisible, Hemust be invisible Himself, for otherwise He would not be an “image.” And wonder not that Paulsaith in another place, “God was manifested in the Flesh” ( 1 Tim. iii. 16 ); because themanifestation 402 took place by means of the flesh, not according to (His) Essence. Besides, Paulshows that He is invisible, not only to men, but also to the powers above, for after saying, “wasmanifested in the Flesh,” he adds, “was seen of angels.”[2.] So that even to angels He then became visible, when He put on the Flesh; but before thattime they did not so behold Him, because even to them His Essence was invisible.“How then,” asks some one, “did Christ say, ‘Despise not one of these little ones, for I tell you,that their angels do always behold the face of My Father which is in heaven’? ( Matt. xviii. 10 .)Hath then God a face, and is He bounded by the heavens?” Who so mad as to assert this? Whatthen is the meaning of the words? As when He saith, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shallsee God” ( Matt. v. 8 ), He means that intellectual vision which is possible to us, and the havingGod in the thoughts; so in the case of angels, we must understand 403 that by reason of their pureand sleepless 404 nature they do nothing else, but always image to themselves God. And thereforeChrist saith, that “No man knoweth the Father, save the Son.” ( Matt. x. 27 .) What then, are weall in ignorance? God forbid; but none knoweth Him as the Son knoweth Him. As then many 405have seen Him in the mode of vision permitted to them, but no one has beheld His Essence, somany of us know God, but what His substance can be none knoweth, save only He that was begottenof Him. For by “knowledge” He here means an exact idea and comprehension, such as the Fatherhath of the Son. “As the Father knoweth Me, even so know I the Father.” ( c. x. 15 .)Observe, therefore, with what fullness 406 the Evangelist speaks; for having said that “no manhath seen God at any time,” he does not go on to say, “that the Son who hath seen, hath declaredHim,” but adds something beyond “seeing” by the words, “Who is in the bosom of the Father”;because, “to dwell 407 in the bosom” is far more than “to see.” For he that merely “seeth” hath notan in every way exact knowledge of the object, but he that “dwelleth in the bosom” can be ignorantof nothing. Now lest when thou hearest that “none knoweth the Father, save the Son,” thou shouldestassert that although He knoweth the Father more than all, yet He knoweth not how great He is, theEvangelist says that He dwells in the bosom of the Father; and Christ Himself declares, that Heknoweth Him as much as the Father knoweth the Son. Ask therefore the gainsayer, “Tell me, doththe Father know the Son?” And if he be not mad, he will certainly answer “Yes.” Then ask again;“Doth He see and know Him with exact vision and knowledge? Doth He know clearly what HeIs?” He will certainly confess this also. From this next collect the exact comprehension the Sonhas of the Father. For He saith, “As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father” ( c. x. 15); and in another place, “Not that any man hath seen the Father, save He which is of God.” ( c. vi.46 .) Wherefore, as I said, the Evangelist mentions “the bosom,” to show all this to us by that oneword; that great is the affinity and nearness of the Essence, that the knowledge is nowise different,that the power is equal. For the Father would not have in His bosom one of another essence, nor402 al. therefore saith (Paul), “Who was manifested in the flesh,” for the manifestation, &c.403 al. “many say.”404ἄ γρυπνον .405 al. “many prophets.”406περιουσίας , al. “exactness.”407ἐ νδιαιτᾶσθαι .83