Andrew Louth - Syriac Christian Church

1316A
160 TEXTS
C
D
earth (Col. 1:20), as the divine Apostle says.
Another contemplation of this difficulty
Again ‘the natures are instituted afresh’. The divine, through
its measureless goodness and love for humankind and by its
will, in a way beyond nature voluntarily accepted our fleshly
birth, and, paradoxically, without seed, tilled our flesh,
endowed with a rational soul: for God became flesh by a
strange ordinance contrary to nature, being in every way the
same and indistinguishable from us save for sin, and what is
more paradoxical, the virginity of her who became a mother
through the birth was in no way cancelled. For there is truly a
fresh institution not only in that God the Word, who had
already been ineffably born without beginning from God the
Father, was born in time according to the flesh, but also that
our nature gave flesh without seed, and a virgin gave birth
without corruption. For both cases show that there is
manifested a fresh institution, since in each case the reason in
accordance with which it took place is completely concealed as
ineffable and unknown: the one takes place in a manner
beyond nature and knowledge, and the other by the word of
faith, by which everything that is beyond nature and
knowledge is natur ally achieved. So therefore, so it seems to
me, the difficulty is resolved, and I do not know how else it could
be done. Therefore let what has been said be approved by your
philosophy or let something better be searched out and
declared by you and there be communicated to me the fruit of
lofty knowledge not touched by anything earthly.