Opening the library…

Home Bible Corpus Discover You

Search the Bible

A Treatise of Novatian Concerning the Trinity

Novatian of Rome

Chapter 30

About this work

A Latin exposition of the rule of faith treating God the Father, Christ’s divinity and humanity, and the Holy Spirit while arguing against several rival theological positions.

Author: Novatian of Rome
Traditional attribution: Tertullian or Cyprian (in earlier transmission)
Date: c. AD 240–250
Origin: Rome
Genre: Theological Treatise

Chapter XXX. Argument.—In Fine, Notwithstanding the Said Heretics Have Gathered the Origin of Their Error from Consideration of What is Written: Although We Call Christ God, and the Father God, Still Scripture Does Not Set Forth Two Gods, Any More Than Two Lords or Two Teachers.

And now, indeed, concerning the

‹ Chapter 29 Chapter 31 ›

Father

,

and

the

Son

,

and

the

Holy

Spirit

,

let

it

be

sufficient

to

have

briefly

said

thus

much

,

and

to

have

laid

down

these

points

concisely

,

without

carrying

them

out

in

a

lengthened

argument

.

For

they

could

be

presented

more

diffusely

and

continued

in

a

more

expanded

disputation

,

since

the

whole

of

the

Old

and

New

Testaments

might

be

adduced

in

testimony

that

thus

the

true

faith

stands

.

But

because

heretics

,

ever

struggling

against

the

truth

,

are

accustomed

to

prolong

the

controversy

of

pure

tradition

and

Catholic

faith

,

being

offended

against

Christ

;

because

He

is

,

moreover

,

asserted

to

be

God

by

the

Scriptures

also

,

and

this

is

believed

to

be

so

by

us

;

we

must

rightly

—

that

every

heretical

calumny

may

be

removed

from

our

faith

—

contend

,

concerning

the

fact

that

Christ

is

God

also

,

in

such

a

way

as

that

it

may

not

militate

against

the

truth

of

Scripture

;

nor

yet

against

our

faith

,

how

there

is

declared

to

be

one

God

by

the

Scriptures

,

and

how

it

is

held

and

believed

by

us

.

For

as

well

they

who

say

that

Jesus

Christ

Himself

is

God

the

Father

,

as

moreover

they

who

would

have

Him

to

be

only

man

,

have

gathered

thence

the

sources

and

reasons

of

their

error

and

perversity

;

because

when

they

perceived

that

it

was

written

that

“

God

is

one

,

”

they

thought

that

they

could

not

otherwise

hold

such

an

opinion

than

by

supposing

that

it

must

be

believed

either

that

Christ

was

man

only

,

or

really

God

the

Father

.

And

they

were

accustomed

in

such

a

way

to

connect

their

sophistries

as

to

endeavour

to

justify

their

own

error

.

And

thus

they

who

say

that

Jesus

Christ

is

the

Father

argue

as

follows

:

—

If

God

is

one

,

and

Christ

is

God

,

Christ

is

the

Father

,

since

God

is

one

.

If

Christ

be

not

the

Father

,

because

Christ

is

God

the

Son

,

there

appear

to

be

two

Gods

introduced

,

contrary

to

the

Scriptures

.

And

they

who

contend

that

Christ

is

man

only

,

conclude

on

the

other

hand

thus

:

—

If

the

Father

is

one

,

and

the

Son

another

,

but

the

Father

is

God

and

Christ

is

God

,

then

there

is

not

one

God

,

but

two

Gods

are

at

once

introduced

,

the

Father

and

the

Son

;

and

if

God

is

one

,

by

consequence

Christ

must

be

a

man

,

so

that

rightly

the

Father

may

be

one

God

.

Thus

indeed

the

Lord

is

,

as

it

were

,

crucified

between

two

thieves

,

even

as

He

was

formerly

placed

;

and

thus

from

either

side

He

receives

the

sacrilegious

reproaches

of

such

heretics

as

these

.

But

neither

the

Holy

Scriptures

nor

we

suggest

to

them

the

reasons

of

their

perdition

and

blindness

,

if

they

either

will

not

,

or

cannot

,

see

what

is

evidently

written

in

the

midst

of

the

divine

documents

.

For

we

both

know

,

and

read

,

and

believe

,

and

maintain

that

God

is

one

,

who

made

the

heaven

as

well

as

the

earth

,

since

we

neither

know

any

other

,

nor

shall

we

at

any

time

know

such

,

seeing

that

there

is

none

.

“

I

,

”

says

He

,

“

am

God

,

and

there

is

none

beside

me

,

righteous

and

a

Saviour

.

”

And

in

another

place

:

“

I

am

the

first

and

the

last

,

and

beside

me

there

is

no

God

who

is

as

I

.

”

And

,

“

Who

hath

meted

out

heaven

with

a

span

,

and

the

earth

with

a

handful

?

Who

has

suspended

the

mountains

in

a

balance

,

and

the

woods

on

scales

?

”

And

Hezekiah

:

“

That

all

may

know

that

Thou

art

God

alone

.

”

Moreover

,

the

Lord

Himself

:

“

Why

askest

thou

me

concerning

that

which

is

good

?

God

alone

is

good

.

”

Moreover

,

the

Apostle

Paul

says

:

“

Who

only

hath

immortality

,

and

dwelleth

in

the

light

that

no

man

can

approach

unto

,

whom

no

man

hath

seen

,

nor

can

see

.

”

And

in

another

place

:

“

But

a

mediator

is

not

a

mediator

of

one

,

but

God

is

one

.

”

But

even

as

we

hold

,

and

read

,

and

believe

this

,

thus

we

ought

to

pass

over

no

portion

of

the

heavenly

Scriptures

,

since

indeed

also

we

ought

by

no

means

to

reject

those

marks

of

Christ’s

divinity

which

are

laid

down

in

the

Scriptures

,

that

we

may

not

,

by

corrupting

the

authority

of

the

Scriptures

,

be

held

to

have

corrupted

the

integrity

of

our

holy

faith

.

And

let

us

therefore

believe

this

,

since

it

is

most

faithful

that

Jesus

Christ

the

Son

of

God

is

our

Lord

and

God

;

because

“

in

the

beginning

was

the

Word

,

and

the

Word

was

with

God

,

and

God

was

the

Word

.

The

same

was

in

the

beginning

with

God

.

”

And

,

“

The

Word

was

made

flesh

,

and

dwelt

in

us

.

”

And

,

“

My

Lord

and

my

God

.

”

And

,

“

Whose

are

the

fathers

,

and

of

whom

according

to

the

flesh

Christ

came

,

who

is

over

all

,

God

blessed

for

evermore

.

”

What

,

then

,

shall

we

say

?

Does

Scripture

set

before

us

two

Gods

?

How

,

then

,

does

it

say

that

“

God

is

one

?

”

Or

is

not

Christ

God

also

?

How

,

then

,

is

it

said

to

Christ

,

“

My

Lord

and

my

God

?

”

Unless

,

therefore

,

we

hold

all

this

with

fitting

veneration

and

lawful

argument

,

we

shall

reasonably

be

thought

to

have

furnished

a

scandal

to

the

heretics

,

not

assuredly

by

the

fault

of

the

heavenly

Scriptures

,

which

never

deceive

;

but

by

the

presumption

of

human

error

,

whereby

they

have

chosen

to

be

heretics

.

And

in

the

first

place

,

we

must

turn

the

attack

against

them

who

undertake

to

make

against

us

the

charge

of

saying

that

there

are

two

Gods

.

It

is

written

,

and

they

cannot

deny

it

,

that

“

there

is

one

Lord

.

”

What

,

then

,

do

they

think

of

Christ

?

—

that

He

is

Lord

,

or

that

He

is

not

Lord

at

all

?

But

they

do

not

doubt

absolutely

that

He

is

Lord

;

therefore

,

if

their

reasoning

be

true

,

here

are

already

two

Lords

.

How

,

then

,

is

it

true

according

to

the

Scriptures

,

there

is

one

Lord

?

And

Christ

is

called

the

“

one

Master

.

”

Nevertheless

we

read

that

the

Apostle

Paul

also

is

a

master

.

Then

,

according

to

this

,

our

Master

is

not

one

,

for

from

these

things

we

conclude

that

there

are

two

masters

.

How

,

then

,

according

to

the

Scriptures

,

is

“

one

our

Master

,

even

Christ

?

”

In

the

Scriptures

there

is

one

“

called

good

,

even

God

;

”

but

in

the

same

Scriptures

Christ

is

also

asserted

to

be

good

.

There

is

not

,

then

,

if

they

rightly

conclude

,

one

good

,

but

even

two

good

.

How

,

then

,

according

to

the

scriptural

faith

,

is

there

said

to

be

only

one

good

?

But

if

they

do

not

think

that

it

can

by

any

means

interfere

with

the

truth

that

there

is

one

Lord

,

that

Christ

also

is

Lord

,

nor

with

the

truth

that

one

is

our

Master

,

that

Paul

also

is

our

master

,

or

with

the

truth

that

one

is

good

,

that

Christ

also

is

called

good

;

on

the

same

reasoning

,

let

them

understand

that

,

from

the

fact

that

God

is

one

,

no

obstruction

arises

to

the

truth

that

Christ

also

is

declared

to

be

God

.

Notes

2
Scil. from Scripture.
3
[Gal. iii. 20; Deut. vi. 4.]
4
[“Non semper pendebit inter latrones Christus: aliquando resurget Crucifixa Veritas.”—Sebastian Castalio.]
5
Isa. xliii. 11.
6
Isa. xliv. 6, 7.
7
Isa. xl. 12.
8
Isa. xxxvii. 20.
9
Matt. xix. 17.
10
1 Tim. vi. 16.
11
Gal. iii. 20.
12
John i. 1, 2.
13
John i. 14.
14
John xx. 28.
15
Rom. ix. 5.
16
Deut. vi. 4.
17
Matt. xxiii. 8–10.
18
διδάσκαλος.