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Against Heresies

Irenaeus of Lyons

Book 2 · Chapter 6

About this work

A five-book account and refutation of competing Christian movements that also develops Irenaeus’s positive theology of creation, Scripture, apostolic tradition, incarnation, salvation, and recapitulation in Christ.

Author: Irenaeus of Lyons
Date: c. AD 175–185
Origin: Lyons, Gaul
Genre: Heresiology

The angels and the Creator of the world could not have been ignorant of the Supreme God.

Section 1

1. How, again, could either the angels

‹ Book 2 · Chapter 5 Book 2 · Chapter 7 ›

,

or

the

Creator

of

the

world

,

have

been

ignorant

of

the

Supreme

God

,

seeing

they

were

His

property

,

and

His

creatures

,

and

were

contained

by

Him

?

He

might

indeed

have

been

invisible

to

them

on

account

of

His

superiority

,

but

He

could

by

no

means

have

been

unknown

to

them

on

account

of

His

providence

.

For

though

it

is

true

,

as

they

declare

,

that

they

were

very

far

separated

from

Him

through

their

inferiority

[

of

nature

]

,

yet

,

as

His

dominion

extended

over

all

of

them

,

it

behoved

them

to

know

their

Ruler

,

and

to

be

aware

of

this

in

particular

,

that

He

who

created

them

is

Lord

of

all

.

For

since

His

invisible

essence

is

mighty

,

it

confers

on

all

a

profound

mental

intuition

and

perception

of

His

most

powerful

,

yea

,

omnipotent

greatness

.

Wherefore

,

although

“

no

one

knows

the

Father

,

except

the

Son

,

nor

the

Son

except

the

Father

,

and

those

to

whom

the

Son

will

reveal

Him

,

”

yet

all

[

beings

]

do

know

this

one

fact

at

least

,

because

reason

,

implanted

in

their

minds

,

moves

them

,

and

reveals

to

them

[

the

truth

]

that

there

is

one

God

,

the

Lord

of

all

.

Section 2

2. And on this account all things have been [by general consent] placed under the sway of Him who is styled the Most High, and the Almighty. By calling upon Him, even before the coming of our Lord, men were saved both from most wicked spirits, and from all kinds of demons, and from every sort of apostate power. This was the case, not as if earthly spirits or demons had seen Him, but because they knew of the existence of Him who is God over all, at whose invocation they trembled, as there does tremble every creature, and principality, and power, and every being endowed with energy under His government. By way of parallel, shall not those who live under the empire of the Romans, although they have never seen the emperor, but are far separated from him both by land and sea, know very well, as they experience his rule, who it is that possesses the principal power in the state? How then could it be, that those angels who were superior to us [in nature], or even He whom they call the Creator of the world, did not know the Almighty, when even dumb animals tremble and yield at the invocation of His name? And as, although they have not seen Him, yet all things are subject to the name of our Lord, so must they also be to His who made and established all things by His word, since it was no other than He who formed the world. And for this reason do the Jews even now put demons to flight by means of this very adjuration, inasmuch as all beings fear the invocation of Him who created them.

Section 3

3. If, then, they shrink from affirming that the angels are more irrational than the dumb animals, they will find that it behoved these, although they had not seen Him who is God over all, to know His power and sovereignty. For it will appear truly ridiculous, if they maintain that they themselves indeed, who dwell upon the earth, know Him who is God over all whom they have never seen, but will not allow Him who, according to their opinion, formed them and the whole world, although He dwells in the heights and above the heavens, to know those things with which they themselves, though they dwell below, are acquainted. [This is the case], unless perchance they maintain that Bythus lives in Tartarus below the earth, and that on this account they have attained to a knowledge of Him before those angels who have their abode on high. Thus do they rush into such an abyss of madness as to pronounce the Creator of the world void of understanding. They are truly deserving of pity, since with such utter folly they affirm that He (the Creator of the world) neither knew His Mother, nor her seed, nor the Pleroma of the Æons, nor the Propator, nor what the things were which He made; but that these are images of those things which are within the Pleroma, the Saviour having secretly laboured that they should be so formed [by the unconscious Demiurge], in honour of those things which are above.

Notes

28
Matt. xi. 27.
29
Massuet refers this to the Roman emperor.