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Against Praxeas

Tertullian

Chapter 13

About this work

A polemical Latin treatise opposing a modalist account of God and articulating distinctions among Father, Son, and Spirit while insisting on divine unity and the reality of Christ’s incarnation.

Author: Tertullian
Date: Early 3rd century
Origin: Carthage, North Africa
Genre: Theological Treatise

Chapter XIII.—The Force of Sundry Passages of Scripture Illustrated in Relation to the Plurality of Persons and Unity of Substance. There is No Polytheism Here, Since the Unity is Insisted on as a Remedy Against Polytheism.

Well then, you reply, if He was

‹ Chapter 12 Chapter 14 ›

God

who

spoke

,

and

He

was

also

God

who

created

,

at

this

rate

,

one

God

spoke

and

another

created

;

(

and

thus

)

two

Gods

are

declared

.

If

you

are

so

venturesome

and

harsh

,

reflect

a

while

;

and

that

you

may

think

the

better

and

more

deliberately

,

listen

to

the

psalm

in

which

Two

are

described

as

God

:

“

Thy

throne

,

O

God

,

is

for

ever

and

ever

;

the

sceptre

of

Thy

kingdom

is

a

sceptre

of

righteousness

.

Thou

hast

loved

righteousness

,

and

hated

iniquity

:

therefore

God

,

even

Thy

God

,

hath

anointed

Thee

or

made

Thee

His

Christ

.

”

Now

,

since

He

here

speaks

to

God

,

and

affirms

that

God

is

anointed

by

God

,

He

must

have

affirmed

that

Two

are

God

,

by

reason

of

the

sceptre’s

royal

power

.

Accordingly

,

Isaiah

also

says

to

the

Person

of

Christ

:

“

The

Sabæans

,

men

of

stature

,

shall

pass

over

to

Thee

;

and

they

shall

follow

after

Thee

,

bound

in

fetters

;

and

they

shall

worship

Thee

,

because

God

is

in

Thee

:

for

Thou

art

our

God

,

yet

we

knew

it

not

;

Thou

art

the

God

of

Israel

.

”

For

here

too

,

by

saying

,

“

God

is

in

Thee

,

”

and

“

Thou

art

God

,

”

he

sets

forth

Two

who

were

God

:

(

in

the

former

expression

in

Thee

,

he

means

)

in

Christ

,

and

(

in

the

other

he

means

)

the

Holy

Ghost

.

That

is

a

still

grander

statement

which

you

will

find

expressly

made

in

the

Gospel

:

“

In

the

beginning

was

the

Word

,

and

the

Word

was

with

God

,

and

the

Word

was

God

.

”

There

was

One

“

who

was

,

”

and

there

was

another

“

with

whom

”

He

was

.

But

I

find

in

Scripture

the

name

Lord

also

applied

to

them

Both

:

“

The

Lord

said

unto

my

Lord

,

Sit

Thou

on

my

right

hand

.

”

And

Isaiah

says

this

:

“

Lord

,

who

hath

believed

our

report

,

and

to

whom

is

the

arm

of

the

Lord

revealed

?

”

Now

he

would

most

certainly

have

said

Thine

Arm

,

if

he

had

not

wished

us

to

understand

that

the

Father

is

Lord

,

and

the

Son

also

is

Lord

.

A

much

more

ancient

testimony

we

have

also

in

Genesis

:

“

Then

the

Lord

rained

upon

Sodom

and

upon

Gomorrah

brimstone

and

fire

from

the

Lord

out

of

heaven

.

”

Now

,

either

deny

that

this

is

Scripture

;

or

else

(

let

me

ask

)

what

sort

of

man

you

are

,

that

you

do

not

think

words

ought

to

be

taken

and

understood

in

the

sense

in

which

they

are

written

,

especially

when

they

are

not

expressed

in

allegories

and

parables

,

but

in

determinate

and

simple

declarations

?

If

,

indeed

,

you

follow

those

who

did

not

at

the

time

endure

the

Lord

when

showing

Himself

to

be

the

Son

of

God

,

because

they

would

not

believe

Him

to

be

the

Lord

,

then

(

I

ask

you

)

call

to

mind

along

with

them

the

passage

where

it

is

written

,

“

I

have

said

,

Ye

are

gods

,

and

ye

are

children

of

the

Most

High

;

”

and

again

,

“

God

standeth

in

the

congregation

of

gods

;

”

in

order

that

,

if

the

Scripture

has

not

been

afraid

to

designate

as

gods

human

beings

,

who

have

become

sons

of

God

by

faith

,

you

may

be

sure

that

the

same

Scripture

has

with

greater

propriety

conferred

the

name

of

the

Lord

on

the

true

and

one

only

Son

of

God

.

Very

well

!

you

say

,

I

shall

challenge

you

to

preach

from

this

day

forth

(

and

that

,

too

,

on

the

authority

of

these

same

Scriptures

)

two

Gods

and

two

Lords

,

consistently

with

your

views

.

God

forbid

,

(

is

my

reply

)

.

For

we

,

who

by

the

grace

of

God

possess

an

insight

into

both

the

times

and

the

occasions

of

the

Sacred

Writings

,

especially

we

who

are

followers

of

the

Paraclete

,

not

of

human

teachers

,

do

indeed

definitively

declare

that

Two

Beings

are

God

,

the

Father

and

the

Son

,

and

,

with

the

addition

of

the

Holy

Spirit

,

even

Three

,

according

to

the

principle

of

the

divine

economy

,

which

introduces

number

,

in

order

that

the

Father

may

not

,

as

you

perversely

infer

,

be

Himself

believed

to

have

been

born

and

to

have

suffered

,

which

it

is

not

lawful

to

believe

,

forasmuch

as

it

has

not

been

so

handed

down

.

That

there

are

,

however

,

two

Gods

or

two

Lords

,

is

a

statement

which

at

no

time

proceeds

out

of

our

mouth

:

not

as

if

it

were

untrue

that

the

Father

is

God

,

and

the

Son

is

God

,

and

the

Holy

Ghost

is

God

,

and

each

is

God

;

but

because

in

earlier

times

Two

were

actually

spoken

of

as

God

,

and

two

as

Lord

,

that

when

Christ

should

come

He

might

be

both

acknowledged

as

God

and

designated

as

Lord

,

being

the

Son

of

Him

who

is

both

God

and

Lord

.

Now

,

if

there

were

found

in

the

Scriptures

but

one

Personality

of

Him

who

is

God

and

Lord

,

Christ

would

justly

enough

be

inadmissible

to

the

title

of

God

and

Lord

:

for

(

in

the

Scriptures

)

there

was

declared

to

be

none

other

than

One

God

and

One

Lord

,

and

it

must

have

followed

that

the

Father

should

Himself

seem

to

have

come

down

(

to

earth

)

,

inasmuch

as

only

One

God

and

One

Lord

was

ever

read

of

(

in

the

Scriptures

)

,

and

His

entire

Economy

would

be

involved

in

obscurity

,

which

has

been

planned

and

arranged

with

so

clear

a

foresight

in

His

providential

dispensation

as

matter

for

our

faith

.

As

soon

,

however

,

as

Christ

came

,

and

was

recognised

by

us

as

the

very

Being

who

had

from

the

beginning

caused

plurality

(

in

the

Divine

Economy

)

,

being

the

second

from

the

Father

,

and

with

the

Spirit

the

third

,

and

Himself

declaring

and

manifesting

the

Father

more

fully

(

than

He

had

ever

been

before

)

,

the

title

of

Him

who

is

God

and

Lord

was

at

once

restored

to

the

Unity

(

of

the

Divine

Nature

)

,

even

because

the

Gentiles

would

have

to

pass

from

the

multitude

of

their

idols

to

the

One

Only

God

,

in

order

that

a

difference

might

be

distinctly

settled

between

the

worshippers

of

One

God

and

the

votaries

of

polytheism

.

For

it

was

only

right

that

Christians

should

shine

in

the

world

as

“

children

of

light

,

”

adoring

and

invoking

Him

who

is

the

One

God

and

Lord

as

“

the

light

of

the

world

.

”

Besides

,

if

,

from

that

perfect

knowledge

which

assures

us

that

the

title

of

God

and

Lord

is

suitable

both

to

the

Father

,

and

to

the

Son

,

and

to

the

Holy

Ghost

,

we

were

to

invoke

a

plurality

of

gods

and

lords

,

we

should

quench

our

torches

,

and

we

should

become

less

courageous

to

endure

the

martyr’s

sufferings

,

from

which

an

easy

escape

would

everywhere

lie

open

to

us

,

as

soon

as

we

swore

by

a

plurality

of

gods

and

lords

,

as

sundry

heretics

do

,

who

hold

more

gods

than

One

.

I

will

therefore

not

speak

of

gods

at

all

,

nor

of

lords

,

but

I

shall

follow

the

apostle

;

so

that

if

the

Father

and

the

Son

,

are

alike

to

be

invoked

,

I

shall

call

the

Father

“

God

,

”

and

invoke

Jesus

Christ

as

“

Lord

.

”

But

when

Christ

alone

(

is

mentioned

)

,

I

shall

be

able

to

call

Him

“

God

,

”

as

the

same

apostle

says

:

“

Of

whom

is

Christ

,

who

is

over

all

,

God

blessed

for

ever

.

”

For

I

should

give

the

name

of

“

sun

”

even

to

a

sunbeam

,

considered

in

itself

;

but

if

I

were

mentioning

the

sun

from

which

the

ray

emanates

,

I

certainly

should

at

once

withdraw

the

name

of

sun

from

the

mere

beam

.

For

although

I

make

not

two

suns

,

still

I

shall

reckon

both

the

sun

and

its

ray

to

be

as

much

two

things

and

two

forms

of

one

undivided

substance

,

as

God

and

His

Word

,

as

the

Father

and

the

Son

.

Notes

1
Ps. xlv. 6, 7.
2
Isa. xlv. 14, 15 (Sept.).
3
John i. 1.
4
Ps. cx. 1.
5
Isa. liii. 1.
6
Gen. xix. 24.
7
Ps. lxxxii. 6.
8
Ver. 1.
9
Retro.
10
Numerum.
11
Conscientia.
12
Rom. i. 7.
13
Rom. ix. 5.
14
Species.