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No one hath seen God at any time; the Only-begotten Son, which is
in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. The Deity,
therefore, is ineffable and incomprehensible. For no one knoweth the
Father, save the Son, nor the Son, save the Father. And the
Holy Spirit, too, so knows the things of God as the spirit of the
man knows the things that are in him. Moreover, after the first and
blessed nature no one, not of men only, but even of supramundane
powers, and the Cherubim, I say, and Seraphim themselves, has
ever known God, save he to whom He revealed Himself.
God, however, did not leave us in absolute ignorance. For the
knowledge of God's existence has been implanted by Him in all by
nature. This creation, too, and its maintenance, and its
government, proclaim the majesty of the Divine nature. Moreover, by
the Law and the Prophets in former times and afterwards by His
Only-begotten Son, our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ,
He disclosed to us the knowledge of Himself as that was possible for
us. All things, therefore, that have been delivered to us by Law
and Prophets and Apostles and Evangelists we receive, and know, and
honour, seeking for nothing beyond these. For God, being good, is
the cause of all good, subject neither to envy nor to any passion.
For envy is far removed from the Divine nature, which is both
passionless and only good. As knowing all things, therefore, and
providing for what is profitable for each, He revealed that which it
was to our profit to know; but what we were unable to bear He kept
secret. With these things let us be satisfied, and let us abide by
them, not removing everlasting boundaries, nor overpassing the divine
tradition.
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