Homilies on the Gospel of John 4

'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.'

To children who have just been introduced to their lessons, teachers neither set many burdens one after another, nor do they do this all at once, but they sound in their ears things brief and the same repeatedly, so that what is said may easily be planted in their understanding; and lest, being irritated from the very outset by the multitude and by the difficulty of retaining it in memory, they become more sluggish about gathering what has been given them, a kind of numbness arising in them from the difficulty.

This very thing I too, wishing to bring about, and to make the labor light for you, taking little by little from this divine table, so instill it into your souls.

Wherefore I shall again take up the same words, not so as to say the same things again, but only so as to add what is lacking.

Come then, let us lead our discourse back again to the prologue.

'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.'

For what reason, when all the other evangelists began from the dispensation (for indeed Matthew says, 'The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David';

and Luke recounts to us at the outset the things concerning Mary;

and Mark likewise dwells on the same accounts, weaving from thence the history concerning the Baptist), while John hinted at this briefly and afterwards, saying, 'And the Word became flesh';

but passing over all the rest — the conception, the birth, the upbringing, the growth — does he straightway recount to us the eternal generation? What then is the cause of these things, I will now tell you.

Since the rest of the evangelists dwelt for the most part on discourses concerning the flesh, there was fear lest some, being on this account earthbound, should remain in these doctrines alone;

which is exactly what Paul of Samosata suffered.

Leading up therefore from this groveling those who were about to fall into it, and drawing them up to heaven, he fittingly makes the beginning of his narrative from above, and from the eternal existence.

For while Matthew starts his narrative from Herod the king, Luke from Tiberius Caesar, and Mark from the baptism of John, this one, leaving aside all these things, ascends higher than all time and every age, hurling the mind of his hearers thither, to the 'In the beginning was,' and not permitting it to stand anywhere, nor setting a limit, as those others did — Herod and Tiberius and John.

And what is worthy to be admired along with these things, and may especially be said, is this: that neither did this one, giving himself up to the loftier discourse, neglect the dispensation;

nor did those others, being earnest about the narrative concerning it, keep silence about the pre-eternal existence.

For one was the Spirit that moved the souls of them all;

wherefore also they displayed great concord in their proclamation.

But do thou, beloved, on hearing of the Word, never endure those who say that He is a work, nor even those who simply suppose Him to be an utterance.

For many indeed are the words of God, which even angels perform, but none of those words is God; rather they are all prophecies and commands (for so it is the custom of Scripture to call the laws of God, and the injunctions, and the prophecies;

wherefore also it adds, saying concerning the angels, 'Mighty in strength, that do His word')

but this Word is a certain substance, subsisting in its own hypostasis, having proceeded impassibly from the Father Himself.

For this, as I said before, he made plain through the appellation of 'Word.'

As therefore the 'In the beginning was the Word' declares His eternity;

so the 'This was in the beginning with God' revealed to us His co-eternity.

For lest, on hearing that 'In the beginning was the Word,' thou shouldest indeed deem Him eternal, yet suspect His life to be older than the Father's by some interval and by a greater span of ages,

and shouldest give the Only-begotten a beginning, he added the 'that In the beginning He was with God,' so eternal, even as the Father Himself;

for He was never at any time bereft of the Word, but ever was God with God, yet in His own proper hypostasis.

'How then,' one says, 'did he say that

He was in the world, if indeed He was with God?' Because He was both with God and was in the world.

For neither the Father nor the Son is anywhere bounded.

For if 'of His greatness there is no end, and of His understanding there is no number,'

then clearly of His substance there is no temporal beginning either.

Hast thou heard that 'In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth'? What dost thou conceive from this 'beginning'? It is evident that it means that they came into being before all visible things.

So also, on hearing concerning the Only-begotten that 'In the beginning He was,' conceive of Him as being before all intelligible things and before the ages.

And how is it possible that, being a Son, He is not younger than the Father? For that which is from something must of all necessity be later than that from which it is. We will say that these things are especially matters of human reasonings;

and he who seeks this will seek also other things more absurd than these;

and one ought not even to admit such things to one's hearing.

For our discourse is now concerning God, not concerning the nature of men, which is subject to the sequence and necessity of these reasonings.

Nevertheless, for the full assurance of the weaker, we will speak to these points also.

For tell me, does the radiance of the sun leap forth from the very nature of the sun, or from somewhere else? It is of all necessity that anyone whose senses are not maimed should confess that it is from the sun itself.

But nevertheless, though the radiance is from the sun itself, we would never say that it is later than the sun's nature, since the sun has never appeared without its radiance.

But if, in the case of these visible and sensible bodies, a thing that is from something and yet did not appear later than that from which it is, why dost thou disbelieve in the case of the invisible and ineffable nature? This very same thing holds true in that manner, as was befitting to that substance.

For this very reason Paul also called Him thus, setting forth both that He is from the Father and that He is coeternal with Him.

But what then? Tell me, were not all the ages made through Him, and every interval of time? Anyone not out of his senses must of all necessity confess this.

Therefore there is nothing intervening between the Son and the Father.

And if there is nothing, then He is not later, but coeternal.

For 'before' and 'after' are notions that indicate times.

For apart from an age or a span of time, one could not conceive of these words at all.

But God is higher than times and ages.

But if you maintain at all that the Son had any beginning,

beware lest by this argument and reasoning you be compelled to bring the Father also under a beginning—an older beginning, to be sure, but a beginning nonetheless.

For tell me: in assigning some limit and beginning to the Son, and thus advancing from it upward, do you not say that the Father preexists? Clearly you do.

Tell me then: by how much does the Father preexist? For whether you speak of a small or a great interval, you have brought the Father under a beginning.

For having measured the interval, you will evidently declare it to be so much less or so much greater.

But measuring could not take place unless there were a beginning on either side.

So then, as far as it rests with you, you have assigned a beginning to the Father as well;

and it will follow that, according to you, not even the Father is without beginning.

Do you see that what was spoken by the Saviour is true, and that everywhere the saying displays His power? What saying is this? 'He that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father.'

And I know indeed that to many what has been said is beyond comprehension;

wherefore in many places we defer even to set in motion arguments drawn from reasoning, because the rest of the multitude could not follow them;

nor, even if they could follow, is there anything firm and secure in them.

For 'the reasonings of mortals are timid, and their devices are uncertain.'

But I would gladly ask this too of those who contradict us: whatever can that be which is said by the prophet, 'Before me there was no other God formed, and after me there is none'? For if the Son is younger than the Father, how does He say, 'After me there is none'? Will you then also do away with the very substance of the Only-begotten? For it is necessary either to dare this, or to accept one Godhead in the distinct hypostasis of Father and Son.

And where at all would the saying 'All things were made by Him' be true? For if there is an age older than He, how could that which is before Him have been made by Him?

Do you see into what audacity the argument has led them, once the truth has been stirred up? For why did the evangelist not say that He came into being out of things that were not, just as Paul declares concerning all created things, saying thus, 'Who calleth the things that are not as though they were,' but rather, 'In the beginning was'? For this is the opposite of that;

for God neither comes into being, nor has anything older than Himself;

but these are the sayings of the Greeks.

would you not say that the Creator infinitely surpasses His works? When therefore 'from things that were not' applies to Him just as to them, where is the incomparable superiority? And what is the meaning altogether of, 'I am the first, and I am after these things,' and, 'Before me there was no other God formed'? For if the Son is not of the same substance, He is another God;

and if He is not coeternal, He exists after Him;

and if He did not come forth from the substance, it is plain that He came into being.

But if they should say that these things were spoken by way of contrast with the idols, how is it that they do not allow that 'the only true God' is said by way of contrast with the idols? And if this too was said by way of contrast with the idols, how will you interpret the whole saying? For 'after me,' He says, 'there is no other God.'

It is not by way of casting out the Son that He says this, but that there is no idol-god after me;

What then? Will you likewise understand 'Before me there was no other God formed' in this way—that no idol-god came into being, yet nevertheless a Son did come into being before Him? And what demon would say this? For I think not even the devil himself would say it.

Moreover, if He is not coeternal with the Father, how will you say that His life is infinite? For if He has a beginning from above, then even if He be without end, yet He is not infinite;

for that which is infinite must be infinite on both sides.

This is just what Paul too declared when he said:

'Having neither beginning of days nor end of life,' showing thereby both that He is without beginning and without end.

For as this has no limit, so neither has that;

for neither is there an end here, nor a beginning there.

And how, being Life, could there ever have been a time when He was not? For all would confess that Life ever is, and is without beginning and without end, if indeed it be truly Life, as in fact it is.

But if there is a time when it is not, how could it be the life of others, when it itself once was not? 'How then,' says one, 'did John assign a beginning when he said, In the beginning was?' Attend to the 'In the beginning,' and tell me of the 'was'; and do you not perceive the 'the Word was'? And what of it, when the prophet says concerning the Father:

'From everlasting to everlasting Thou art'—

does he speak thus as setting limits to Him? By no means, but to declare His eternity.

So then understand it in this way here too.

For it was not as setting limits that he said this.

For he did not say, 'He had a beginning,' but, 'In the beginning was,' by the 'was' directing you to conceive of the Son as without beginning.

'But behold,' says he, 'the Father is spoken of with the addition of the article, whereas the Son is spoken of without it.'

What then, when the Apostle says:

'Of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ';

and again, 'Who is God over all'? For behold, here he made mention of the Son without the article.

And he does this in the case of the Father as well.

For instance, writing to the Philippians, he says thus:

'Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God';

'Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.'

Besides, it would have been superfluous to add it here, since it had been continually added to the term above.

For just as, speaking concerning the Father, he says, 'God is a Spirit';

and we do not, because the article is not attached to 'Spirit,' on that account deny the incorporeal nature of God;

so also here, even though the article is not attached to 'the Son,' the Son is not on that account a lesser God.

Why so? Because in saying 'God' and 'God,' he does not indicate to us any interval in this Godhead, but rather the very opposite.

For having said beforehand, 'And the Word was God,' lest anyone should suppose the Godhead of the Son to be inferior, he straightway sets down also the marks of His genuine Godhead, taking up first His eternity.

'For He was,' says he, 'in the beginning with God';

and adding His creative power:

'For all things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made';

which very thing His Father also, through the prophets everywhere, declares to be a mark distinctive of His own substance.

the prophets turn about this form of demonstration;

and not simply so, but as contending against the glory of the idols.

For, 'The gods,' he says, 'that have not made the heaven and the earth, let them perish';

'I have stretched out the heaven with My hand';

and, showing this to be indicative of Godhead, he sets it down everywhere.

But the evangelist himself was not content with these words either, but also called Him Life and Light.

If then He was ever with the Father, if He Himself created all things, if He Himself brought all things into being and holds them together (for this He hinted at by 'Life'), if He gives light to all things;

who is so senseless as to say that the evangelist by these words was zealous to introduce a diminution of the Godhead—by the very means through which equality and unvarying identity can most of all be demonstrated? Let us not then confound the creation with the Creator, lest we too hear that they 'worshipped the creature rather than the Creator.'

For even if they should say that this was spoken concerning the heavens, yet nonetheless, in the very discourse about these things, He utterly forbade the worship of the creation, as being a heathen practice.

Let us not, therefore, subject them to this curse.

For this reason the Son of God came, that He might deliver us from this worship;

for this reason He took the form of a servant, that He might free us from this slavery;

for this reason He was spat upon, for this reason He was struck, for this reason He endured a shameful death.

Let us not, then, render all these things unprofitable, nor return again to our former impiety—or rather, to one far more grievous.

For it is not the same thing to worship the creation and to drag down the Creator Himself into the meanness of a creature—so far, at least, as it depends on us.

For He Himself abides such as He is.

For 'You are the same,' it says, 'and Your years shall not fail.'

Let us, then, glorify Him just as we received from the fathers;

let us glorify Him both by faith and by works.

For sound doctrines are of no profit to us for salvation if our life is corrupted.

Wherefore let us order it according to what is pleasing to God, setting ourselves far from all baseness, injustice, and covetousness, as strangers and sojourners, and aliens to the things here.

And even if a man have much money and many possessions, let him so use them as a sojourner who a little later will depart from them, whether willingly or unwillingly.

And if a man have been wronged by another, let him not be angry undyingly—or rather, not even for a season.

For the Apostle has given us no more than a single day in which to indulge our anger;

for 'Let not the sun,' he says, 'go down upon your wrath.'

for it is a thing to be desired that in so brief a space nothing unpleasant should occur.

But if the night also overtake us, the things that have happened become more terrible, since a countless fire is gathered for us from the memory, and at our leisure we scrutinize them more bitterly.

Before, therefore, we lay hold of this destructive leisure and kindle a fiercer flame, He bids us anticipate and quench the evil.

For the passion of anger is sharp, and swifter than any flame.

Wherefore we have need of much speed to forestall the flame and not to allow it to be raised on high.

For indeed this malady becomes the cause of many evils.

It has overturned whole households, dissolved ancient friendships, and wrought irremediable tragedies in a brief, momentary space of time.

'For the sway of his wrath,' it says, 'is his downfall.'

Let us not, then, leave the beast unbridled, but let us cast about it on every side a strong muzzle—the fear of the judgment to come.

When a friend grieves you, or one of your household provokes you, call to mind your own sins against God, and how by your forbearance toward him you make that tribunal milder for yourself;

for 'Forgive,' He says, 'and you shall be forgiven;'

and the passion will quickly take to flight. Besides this, consider also the following: whenever, being carried away into savagery, you mastered yourself, and whenever you were swept along by the passion; and compare both occasions, and from this you will gain much correction.

When did you praise yourself—when you were overcome, or when you prevailed? Is it not then, when overcome, that we vehemently accuse ourselves and are ashamed, even though no one reproves us, and great is

the repentance that comes upon us, both for our words and for our deeds? But when we get the better of it, we luxuriate and glory as though we had conquered? For victory over anger is not to requite like with like (for this is the utmost defeat), but to bear it meekly when we have suffered ill and been reviled.

For this is to have the advantage—not to do ill, but to suffer ill.

Do not, then, say in your anger, 'By all means I too will retaliate, by all means I will take vengeance;'

nor resist those who exhort you to conquer, saying, 'I will not endure it, lest so-and-so should mock me and go off.'

For he will never mock you; rather it is when you take vengeance that he will;

and if even then he mock, he will suffer this as a fool.

But do not you seek, by conquering, the esteem of fools; rather deem it sufficient to have it from those who possess understanding.

But indeed, why do I set for you a small and lowly theatre, composing it out of men? Look up straightway to God, and He will praise you.

And he who is admired by Him ought not to seek honor from men.

For the one is often bestowed both for favor and out of hatred toward others, and it has brought no gain;

but the verdict that comes from God is free from this inconstancy, and brings much benefit to the one who is admired.

This praise, then, let us pursue.

Do you wish to learn how great an evil it is to be angry? Stand beside others as they quarrel in the marketplace.

For in yourself you will not easily be able to see the unseemliness, since your reason is darkened and drunken;

but when you are clear of the passion, then in others behold your own doings, while your judgment is not corrupted.

Behold for me the crowds that stream around, and those who rage, behaving unseemly in their midst like madmen.

For when wrath boils about the breast and rises up and grows savage, the mouth breathes fire, the eyes dart fire, the whole countenance swells on every side, the hands are stretched out in disorder, the feet leap ridiculously and spring at those who restrain them; and in nothing do such men differ from madmen, being insensible to all these things—nay, they differ not even from wild asses, kicking and biting.

Truly, an angry man is not comely.

Then, after all this great laughter, when they have withdrawn home and come to themselves, they feel the greater pain and much dread, considering who were present when they were enraged.

For just as those who are delirious, not recognizing those present, only when they have come to their senses reason thus: 'Were then those who beheld me friends, or were they foes and enemies?'—for over both they are afraid;

fearing the one as those who will condemn them and make the shame the greater;

And if it should happen that they have even come to blows with one another, more grievous is the dread, lest something of the most serious kind should befall the one who has suffered—either a fever ensuing bring on death, or a swelling arising, hard to heal, put him in danger touching his very life.

And 'What need had I of a fight? What of insults and contention? Perish this and that!'

And thereafter they curse all these perishable affairs, and those that furnished them the occasion.

But the more irrational blame even wicked demons and an evil hour for what has happened.

But there is no evil hour;

for there is never any evil hour;

nor are these things of an evil demon, but of the wickedness of those who have been taken captive.

For these men both draw the demons to themselves, and bring upon themselves all their calamities.

'But the heart swells,' he says, 'and is stung by the insults.' I too know it;

for this very reason I admire those who master this dreadful beast.

For if we are willing, it is possible to beat off the passion.

For why is it that, when rulers insult us, we do not suffer this? Is it not because a counterbalancing fear stands against the passion, terrifying us and not allowing it even to arise at the outset? And why is it that our servants, though insulted by us in countless ways, bear all in silence? Is it not because they too have the same bond laid upon them? But do you consider not only the fear that comes from God, but that God Himself insults you then—He who commands you to be silent—and you will bear all things meekly.

And say to the one who assails you:

'What can I do to you? Another holds back my right hand and

and this word will become for both you and him an occasion of true wisdom.

But as it is, for men's sake we bear even things unbearable, and to those who have insulted us we often say:

'So-and-so insulted me, not you;'

but in the case of God shall we not have even this reverence? And what pardon shall be ours? Let us say also to our own soul:

'God insults us now—He who holds back our hands;'

Let us not leap and frisk about, nor let God be less honored among us than men.

Did you shudder at the word? But it is not only at the words that I wish you to shudder, but also at the deed.

For God has commanded that those who are struck should not only bear it, but even offer themselves to suffer something yet worse.

But we resist with such vehemence that not only do we not offer ourselves to be ill-treated, but we even retaliate; and often we are the first to lay unjust hands upon others, and think ourselves the losers if we do not do the same.

For this indeed is the dreadful thing: that we even suppose we are conquering, when we are suffering the uttermost defeat and lie prostrate below, and receive ten thousand blows from the devil, yet think we are prevailing over him.

Therefore, I beseech you, let us learn what is the manner of this victory, and let us pursue this form of the manner.

For to suffer wrong—this is what it is to be crowned.

If, then, we too wish to be proclaimed victors by God, let us keep, not the law of the outward contests, but the law that comes from God, in these wrestlings, and bear all things with longsuffering.

For thus shall we both prevail over our adversaries here, and attain to the good things that are promised, by the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, might, and honor, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.