(NOTE: The electronic text obtained from The Electronic Bible Society was
not completely corrected. EWTN has corrected all discovered errors.)

Transliteration of Greek words: All phonetical except: w = omega; h serves
three puposes: 1. = Eta; 2. = rough breathing, when appearing initially
before a vowel; 3. = in the aspirated letters theta = th, phi = ph, chi =
ch. Accents are given immediately after their corresponding vowels: acute =
' , grave = `, circumflex = ^. The character ' doubles as an apostrophe,
when necessary.


ST. ATHANASIUS

ON LUKE X. 22 (MATT. XI. 27); (In illud "Omnia", etc.)

[Translated by Rev. Archibald Robertson, Principal of Bishop Hatfield's
Hall, Durham, late fellow of Trinity College, Oxford.]


# 1. This text refers not to the eternal Word but to the Incarnate.

   "All things were delivered to Me by My Father. And none knoweth Who the
Son is, save the Father; and Who the Father is, save the Son, and he to
whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal Him."

   And from not perceiving this they of the sect of Arius, Eusebius and
his fellows, indulge impiety against the Lord. For they say, if all things
were delivered (meaning by ' all' the Lordship of Creation), there was once
a time when He had them not. But if He had them not. He is not of the
Father, for if He were, He would on that account have had them always, and
would not have required to receive them. But this point will furnish all
the clearer an exposure of their folly. For the expression in question does
not refer to the Lordship over Creation, nor to presiding over the works of
God, but is meant to reveal in part the intention of the Incarnation (th^s
oikonomi'as). For if when He was speaking they 'were delivered to Him,
clearly before He received them, creation was void of the Word. What then
becomes of the text "in Him all things consist" (Col. i. 17)? But if
simultaneously with the origin of the Creation it was all ' delivered' to
Him, such delivery were superfluous, for ' all things were made by Him'
(Job. i. 3), and it would be unnecessary for those things of which the Lord
Himself was the artificer to be delivered over to Him. For in making them
He was Lord of the things which were being originated. But even supposing
they were ' delivered' to Him after they were originated, see the
monstrosity. For if they 'were delivered,' and upon His receiving them the
Father retired, then we are in peril of falling into the fabulous tales
which some tell, that He gave over [His works] to the Son, and Himself
departed. Or if, while the Son has  them, the Father has them also, we
ought to say, not 'were delivered,' but that He took Him as partner, as
Paul did Silvanus. But this is even more monstrous; for God is not
imperfect[1], nor did He summon the Son to help Him in His need; but, being
Father of the Word, He makes all things by His means, and without
delivering creation over to Him, by His means and in Him exercises
Providence over it, so that not even a sparrow falls to the ground without
the Father (Matt. x. 29), nor is the grass clothed without God (ib. vi.
30), but at once the Father worketh, and the Son worketh hitherto (cf. Job.
v. 17). Vain, therefore, is the opinion of the impious. For the expression
is not what they think, but designates the Incarnation.

# 2. Sense in which, and end far which all things were delivered to the
Incarnate Son.

   For whereas man sinned, and is fallen, and by his fall all things are
in confusion: death prevailed from Adam to Moses (cf. Rom. v. 14), the
earth was cursed, Hades was opened, Paradise shut, Heaven offended, man,
lastly, corrupted and brutalised (cf. Ps. xlix. 12), while the devil was
exulting against us ;--then God, in His loving-kindness, not willing man
made in His own image to perish, said, ' Whom shall I send, and who will
go?' (Isa. vi. 8). But while all held their peace, the Son[2] said, ' Here
am I, send Me.' And then it was that, saying Go Thou,' He ' delivered' to
Him man, that the Word Himself might be made Flesh, and by taking the
Flesh, restore it wholly. For to Him, as to a physician, man 'was
delivered' to heal the bite of the serpent; as to life, to raise what was
dead; as to light, to illumine the darkness; and, because He was Word, to
renew the rational nature (to` logiko'n). Since then all things 'were
delivered' to Him, and He is made Man, straightway all things were set
right and perfected. Earth receives blessing instead of a curse, Paradise
was opened to the robber, Hades cowered, the tombs were opened and the dead
raised, the gates of Heaven were lifted up to await Him that 'cometh from
Edom' (Ps. xxiv. 7, Isa. lxiii. I). Why, the Saviour Himself expressly
signifies in what sense' all things were delivered' to Him, when He
continues, as Matthew tells us: 'Come unto Me all ye that labour and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest' (Matt. xi. 28). Yes, ye 'were
delivered' to Me to give rest to those who had laboured, and life to the
dead. And what is written in John's Gospel harmonises with this: 'The
Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hand' (Job. iii.
35). Given, in order that, just as all things were made by Him, so in Him
all things might be renewed. For they were not ' delivered' unto Him, that
being poor, He might be made rich, nor did He receive all things that He
might receive power which before He lacked: far be the thought: but in
order that as Saviour He might rather set all things right. For it was
fitting that while 'through Him' all things came into being at the
beginning, 'in Him' (note the change of phrase) all things should be set
right (cf. Joh. i. 3, Eph. i. 10). For at the beginning they came into
being 'through' Him; but afterwards, all having fallen, the Word has been
made Flesh, and put it on, in order that 'in Him' all should be set right.
Suffering Himself, He gave us rest, hungering Himself, He nourished us, and
going down into Hades He brought us back thence. For example, at the time
of the creation of all things, their creation consisted in a fiat, such as
'let [the earth] bring forth,' 'let there be' (Gen. i. 3, 11), but at the
restoration it was fitting that all things should be 'delivered' to Him, in
order that He might be made man, and all things be renewed in Him. For man,
being in Him, was quickened for this was why the Word' was united to man,
namely, that against man the curse might no longer prevail. This is the
reason why they record the request made on behalf of mankind in the
seventy-first Psalm: 'Give the King Thy judgment, O God[1] (Ps. lxxii. x):
asking that both the judgment of death which hung over us may be delivered
to the Son, and that He may then, by dying for us, abolish it for us in
Himself. This was what He signified, saying Himself, in the eighty-seventh
Psalm: 'Thine indignation lieth hard upon me' (Ps. lxxxviii. 7). For He
bore the indignation which lay upon us, as also He says in the hundred and
thirty-seventh: 'Lord, Thou shall do vengeance for me' (Ps. cxxxviii. 8,
LXX.).

# 3. By ' all things' is meant the redemptive attributes and power of
Christ.

   Thus, then, we may understand all things to have been delivered to the
Saviour, and, if it be necessary to follow up understanding by explanation,
that hath been delivered unto Him which He did not previously possess. For
He was not man previously, but became man for the sake of saving man. And
the Word was not in the beginning flesh, but has been made flesh
subsequently (cf. Joh. i. 1 sqq.), in which Flesh, as the Apostle says, He
reconciled the enmity which was against us (Col. i. 20, ii. 14, Eph. ii.
15, 16) and destroyed the law of the commandments in ordinances, that He
might make the two into one new man, making peace, and reconcile both in
one body to the Father. That, however, which the Father has, belongs also
to the Son, as also He says in John, 'All things whatsoever the Father hath
are Mine' (Joh. xvi. 15), expressions which could not be improved. For when
He became that which He was not, ' all things were delivered ' to Him. But
when He desires to declare His unity with the Father, He teaches it without
any reserve, saying: 'All things whatsoever the Father hath are Mine.' And
one cannot but admire the exactness of the language. For He has not said
'all things whatsoever the Father hath, He hath given to Me,' lest He
should appear at one time not to have possessed these things; but 'are
Mine.' For these things, being in the Father's power, are equally in that
of the Son. But we must in turn examine what things 'the Father hath.' For
if Creation is meant, the Father had nothing before creation, and proves to
have received something additional from Creation; but far be it to think
this. For just as He exists before creation, so before creation also He has
what He has, which we also believe to belong to the Son (Job. xvi. 15). For
if the Son is in the Father, then all things that the Father has belong to
the Son. So this expression is subversive of the perversity of the
heterodox in saying that 'if all things have been delivered to the Son,
then the Father has ceased to have power over what is delivered, having
appointed the Son in His place. For, in fact, the Father judgeth none, but
hath given all judgment to the Son' (Joh. v. 21). But ' let the mouth of
them that speak wickedness be stopped' (Ps. lxiii. 11), (for although He
has given all judgment to the Son, He is not, therefore, stripped of
lordship: nor, because it is said that all things are delivered by the
Father to the Son, is He any the less over all), separating as they clearly
do the Only-begotten from God, Who is by nature inseparable from Him, even
though in their madness they separate Him by their words, not perceiving,
the impious men, that the Light can never be separated from the sun, in
which it resides by nature. For one must use a poor simile drawn from
tangible and familiar objects to put our idea into words, since it is over
bold to intrude upon the incomprehensible nature [of God].

#4. The text John xvi. 15, shews clearly the essential relation of the Son
to the Father.

   As then the light from the Sun which illumines the world could never be
supposed, by men of sound mind, to do so without the Sun, since the Sun's
light is united to the Sun by nature; and as, if the Light[1] were to say I
have received from the Sun the power of illumining all things, and of
giving growth and strength to them by the heat that is in me, no one will
be mad enough to think that the mention of the Sun is meant to separate him
from what is his nature, namely the light; so piety would have us perceive
that the Divine Essence of the Word is united by nature to His own Father.
For the text before us will put our problem in the clearest possible light,
seeing that the Saviour said, 'All things whatsoever the Father hath are
Mine ;' which shews that He is ever with the Father. For 'whatsoever He
hath' shews that the Father wields the Lordship, while 'are Mine' shews the
inseparable union. It is necessary, then, that we should perceive that in
the Father reside Everlastingness, Eternity, Immortality. Now these reside
in Him not as adventitious attributes, but, as it were, in a well-spring
they reside in Him, and in the Son. When then you wish to perceive what
relates to the Son, learn what is in the Father, for this is what you must
believe to be in the Son. If then the Father is a thing created or made,
these qualities belong also to the Son. And if it is permissible to say of
the Father 'there was once a time when He was not,' or ' made of nothing,'
let these words be applied also to the Son. But if it is impious to ascribe
these attributes to the Father, grant that it is impious also to ascribe
them to the Son. For what belongs to the Father, belongs to the Son. For he
that honoureth the Son, honoureth the Father that sent Him, and he that
receiveth the Son, receiveth the Father with Him, because he that hath seen
the Son hath seen the Father (Matt. x. 40; John xiv. 9). As then the Father
is not a creature, so neither is the Son; and as it is not possible to say
of Him 'there was a time when He was not,' nor 'made of nothing,' so it is
not proper to say the like of the Son either. But rather, as the Father's
attributes are Everlastingness, Immortality, Eternity, and the being no
creature, it follows that thus also we must think of the Son. For as it is
written (Joh. v. 26), 'As the Father hath life m Himself, so gave He to the
Son also to have life in Himself.' But He uses the word 'gave' in order to
point to the Father who gives. As, again, life is in the Father, so also is
it in the Son, so as to shew Him to be inseparable and everlasting. For
this is why He speaks with exactness, 'whatsoever the Father hath,' in
order namely that by thus mentioning the Father He may avoid being thought
to be the Father Himself. For He does not say ' I am the Father,' but
'whatsoever the Father hath.'

# 5. The same text further explained.

   For His Only-begotten Son might, ye Arians, be called 'Father' by His
Father, yet not in the sense in which you in your. error might perhaps
understand it, but (while Son of the Father that begot Him) 'Father of the
coming age' (Isa. ix. 6, LXX.). For it is necessary not to leave any of
your surmises open to you. Well then, He says by the prophet, 'A Son is
born and given to us, whose government is upon his shoulder, and his name
shall be called Angel of Great Counsel, mighty God, Ruler, Father of the
coming age' (Isa. ix. 6). The Only-begotten Son of God, then, is at once
Father of the coming age, and mighty God, and Ruler. And it is shewn
clearly that all things whatsoever the Father hath are His, and that as the
Father gives life, the Son likewise is able to quicken whom He will. For
'the dead,' He says, 'shall hear the voice of the Son, and shall live' (cf.
John v. 25), and the will and desire of Father and Son is one, since their
nature also is one and indivisible. And the Arians torture themselves to no
purpose, from not understanding the saying of our Saviour, 'All things
whatsoever the Father hath are Mine.' For from this passage at once the
delusion of Sabellius can be upset, and it will expose the folly of our
modern Jews. For this is why the Only begotten, having life in Himself as
the Father has, also knows alone Who the Father is, namely, because He is
in the Father and the Father in Him. For He is His Image, and consequently,
because He is His Image, all that belongs to the Father is in Him. He is an
exact seal, shewing in Himself the Father; living Word and true, Power,
Wisdom, our Sanctification and Redemption (I Cot. i. 30). For 'in Him we
both live and move and have our being' (Acts xvii. 28), and 'no man knoweth
Who is the Father, save the Son, and Who is the Son, save the Father' (Luke
x. 22).

# 6.The Trisagion wrongly explained by Arians. Its true significance.

   And how do the impious men venture to speak folly, as they ought not,
being men and unable to find out how to describe even what is on the earth?
But why do I say ' what is on the earth?' Let them tell us their own
nature, if they can discover how to investigate their own nature? Rash they
are indeed, and self-willed, not trembling to form opinions of things which
angels desire to look into (I Pet. i. x2), who are so far above them, both
in nature and in rank. For what is nearer [God] than the Cherubim or the
Seraphim? And yet they, not even seeing Him, nor standing on their feet,
nor even with bare, but as it were with veiled faces, offer their praises,
with untiring lips doing nought else but glorify the divine and ineffable
nature with the Trisagion. And nowhere has any one of the divinely speaking
prophets, men specially selected for such vision, reported to us that in
the first utterance of the word Holy the voice is raised aloud, while in
the second it is lower, but in the third, quite low,--and that consequently
the first utterance denotes  lordship, the second subordination, and the
third marks a yet lower degree. But away with the folly of these haters of
God and senseless men. For the Triad, praised, reverenced, and adored, is
one and indivisible and without degrees (aschhmatisto's). It is united
without confusion, just as the Monad also is distinguished without
separation. For the fact of those venerable living creatures (Isa. vi.;
Rev. iv. 8) offering their praises three times, saying 'Holy, Holy, Holy,'
proves that the Three Subsistences[2] are perfect, just as in saying
'Lord,' they declare the One Essence. They then that depreciate the Only-
begotten Son of God blaspheme God, defaming His perfection and accusing Him
of imperfection, and render themselves liable to the severest chastisement.
For he that blasphemes any one of the Subsistences shall have remission
neither in this world nor in that which is to come. But God is able to open
the eyes of their heart to contemplate the Sun of Righteousness, in order
that coming to know Him whom they formerly set at nought, they may with
unswerving piety of mind together with us glorify Him, because to Him
belongs the kingdom, even to the Father Son and Holy Spirit, now and for
ever. Amen.


Taken from "The Early Church Fathers and Other Works" originally published
by Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co. in English in Edinburgh, Scotland, beginning in
1867. (LNPF II/IV, Schaff and Wace). The digital version is by The
Electronic Bible Society, P.O. Box 701356, Dallas, TX 75370, 214-407-WORD.

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