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BUT passing over these things which cannot possibly be unfolded because
there would be no limit to the telling of them, as the blessings which he
gives are without stint, it is time for us to consult the Apostle Paul, the
stoutest and clearest witness to Him, for he can tell us everything about
God in the most trustworthy way because God always spoke from his breast.
He then, the chosen teacher of the nations, who was sent to destroy the
errors of Gentile superstition, bears his witness in the following way to
the grace and coming of our Lord God: "The grace," he says, "of God and our
Saviour appeared unto all men, instructing us that denying ungodliness and
worldly desires we should live soberly and justly and godly in this world,
looking for the blessed hope and coming of the glory of the great God and
our Saviour Jesus Christ." He says that "there appeared the grace of God
our Saviour." Admirably does he use a word suited to show the arrival of a
new grace and birth; for by saying "there appeared," he indicated the
approach of a new grace and birth, for thenceforward the gift of a new
grace began to appear, from the moment when God appeared as born in the
world. Thus by using the right word, and one exactly suitable, he shows the
light of this new grace almost as if he pointed to it with his finger. For
that is most properly said to appear, which is shown by sudden light
manifesting it. Just as we read in the gospel that the star appeared to the
wise men m the East: and in Exodus: "There appeared," he says, "to Moses
an angel in a flame of fire in the bush:" for in all these and in the
case of other visions in the Holy Scripture, Scripture determined that this
word in particular should be used, that it might speak of that as
"appearing," which shone forth with unwonted light. So then the Apostle
also, well knowing the coming of the heavenly grace, which appeared at the
approach of the holy nativity, indicated it by using a term applied to a
bright appearance; expressly in order to say that it appeared, as it shone
with the splendour of a new light. "There appeared" then "the grace of God
our Saviour." Surely you cannot raise any quibble about the ambiguity of
the names in this place, so as to say that "Christ" is one and "God"
another, or to divide "the Saviour" from the glory of His name, and
separate "the Lord" from the Divinity? Lo, here the vessel of God speaks
from God, and testifies by the clearest statement that the grace of God
appeared from Mary. And in order that you may not deny that God appeared
from Mary, he at once adds the name of Saviour, on purpose that you may
believe that He who is born of Mary is God, whom you cannot deny to have
been born a Saviour, in accordance with this passage: "For to you is born
to-day a Saviour." O excellent teacher of the Gentiles truly given by
God to them, for he knew that this wild heretical folly would arise, which
would turn to controversial uses the names of God, and would not hesitate
to slander God from His own titles; and so just in order that the heretic
might not separate the title of Saviour from the Divinity he put first the
name of God, that the name of God standing first might claim as His all the
names which followed, and that no one might imagine that in what followed
Christ was spoken of as a mere man, as by the very first word used he had
taught that He was God. "Looking," says the same Apostle, "for the blessed
hope and coming of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus
Christ." Certainly that teacher of divine wisdom saw that plain and simple
teaching would not in itself be sufficient to meet the crafty wiles of the
devil's cunning, unless he fortified the holy preaching of the faith with a
protection of extreme care. And so although he had used the name of God the
Saviour up above, he here adds "Jesus Christ," in case you might think that
the mere name of Saviour was not enough to indicate to you our Lord Jesus
Christ, and might fail to understand that the God, whom you acknowledge as
God the Saviour, is the same Jesus Christ. What then does he say? He says:
"Looking for the blessed hope and coming of the glory of the great God and
our Saviour Jesus Christ." Nothing is here wanting as regards the titles of
our Lord and you see here God, and the Saviour, and Jesus, and Christ. But
when you see all these, you see that they all belong to God. For you have
heard of Him as God, but as Saviour as well. You have heard of Him as God,
but as Jesus as well. You have heard of Him as God, but as Christ as well.
That which the Divinity has joined and united together cannot be separated
by this diversity of titles; for whichever you may seek for of them, all,
you will find it there. The Saviour is God, Jesus is God, Christ is God. In
all of this which you hear, though the titles used are many, yet they
belong to one Person in power. For whereas the Saviour is God, and Jesus is
God, and Christ is God, it is easy to see that all these, though different
appellations, are united as regards the Majesty. And when you hear quite
plainly that one and the same Person is called God in each case, you can
surely clearly see that in all these cases there is but one God spoken of.
And so you cannot any longer seek to make out a distinction of power from
the different names given to the Lord, or to make a difference of Person
owing to variety of titles. You cannot say: Christ was born of Mary, but
God was not; for an Apostle declares that God was. You cannot say that
Jesus was born of Mary, but God was not; for an Apostle testifies that God
was. You cannot say: the Saviour was born, but God was not; for an Apostle
supports the fact that God was. There is no way of escape for you.
Whichever of the titles of the Lord you may take, He is God, of whom you
speak. You have nothing to say: nothing to assert: nothing to invent in
your wicked falsehood. You can in impious unbelief refuse to believe: you
have nothing to deny in the matter of your blasphemy.
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