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Against Praxeas

Tertullian

Chapter 19

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 XIX.—The Son in Union with the Father in the Creation of All Things. This Union of the Two in Co-Operation is Not Opposed to the True Unity of God. It is Opposed Only to Praxeas’ Identification Theory.

But this very declaration of His they will hastily

‹ Chapter 18 Chapter 20 ›

pervert

into

an

argument

of

His

singleness

.

“

I

have

,

”

says

He

,

“

stretched

out

the

heaven

alone

.

”

Undoubtedly

alone

as

regards

all

other

powers

;

and

He

thus

gives

a

premonitory

evidence

against

the

conjectures

of

the

heretics

,

who

maintain

that

the

world

was

constructed

by

various

angels

and

powers

,

who

also

make

the

Creator

Himself

to

have

been

either

an

angel

or

some

subordinate

agent

sent

to

form

external

things

,

such

as

the

constituent

parts

of

the

world

,

but

who

was

at

the

same

time

ignorant

of

the

divine

purpose

.

If

,

now

,

it

is

in

this

sense

that

He

stretches

out

the

heavens

alone

,

how

is

it

that

these

heretics

assume

their

position

so

perversely

,

as

to

render

inadmissible

the

singleness

of

that

Wisdom

which

says

,

“

When

He

prepared

the

heaven

,

I

was

present

with

Him

?

”

—

even

though

the

apostle

asks

,

“

Who

hath

known

the

mind

of

the

Lord

,

or

who

hath

been

His

counsellor

?

”

meaning

,

of

course

,

to

except

that

wisdom

which

was

present

with

Him

.

In

Him

,

at

any

rate

,

and

with

Him

,

did

(

Wisdom

)

construct

the

universe

,

He

not

being

ignorant

of

what

she

was

making

.

“

Except

Wisdom

,

”

however

,

is

a

phrase

of

the

same

sense

exactly

as

“

except

the

Son

,

”

who

is

Christ

,

“

the

Wisdom

and

Power

of

God

,

”

according

to

the

apostle

,

who

only

knows

the

mind

of

the

Father

.

“

For

who

knoweth

the

things

that

be

in

God

,

except

the

Spirit

which

is

in

Him

?

”

Not

,

observe

,

without

Him

.

There

was

therefore

One

who

caused

God

to

be

not

alone

,

except

“

alone

”

from

all

other

gods

.

But

(

if

we

are

to

follow

the

heretics

)

,

the

Gospel

itself

will

have

to

be

rejected

,

because

it

tells

us

that

all

things

were

made

by

God

through

the

Word

,

without

whom

nothing

was

made

.

And

if

I

am

not

mistaken

,

there

is

also

another

passage

in

which

it

is

written

:

“

By

the

Word

of

the

Lord

were

the

heavens

made

,

and

all

the

hosts

of

them

by

His

Spirit

.

”

Now

this

Word

,

the

Power

of

God

and

the

Wisdom

of

God

,

must

be

the

very

Son

of

God

.

So

that

,

if

(

He

did

)

all

things

by

the

Son

,

He

must

have

stretched

out

the

heavens

by

the

Son

,

and

so

not

have

stretched

them

out

alone

,

except

in

the

sense

in

which

He

is

“

alone

”

(

and

apart

)

from

all

other

gods

.

Accordingly

He

says

,

concerning

the

Son

,

immediately

afterwards

:

“

Who

else

is

it

that

frustrateth

the

tokens

of

the

liars

,

and

maketh

diviners

mad

,

turning

wise

men

backward

,

and

making

their

knowledge

foolish

,

and

confirming

the

words

of

His

Son

?

”

—

as

,

for

instance

,

when

He

said

,

“

This

is

my

beloved

Son

,

in

whom

I

am

well

pleased

;

hear

ye

Him

.

”

By

thus

attaching

the

Son

to

Himself

,

He

becomes

His

own

interpreter

in

what

sense

He

stretched

out

the

heavens

alone

,

meaning

alone

with

His

Son

,

even

as

He

is

one

with

His

Son

.

The

utterance

,

therefore

,

will

be

in

like

manner

the

Son’s

,

“

I

have

stretched

out

the

heavens

alone

,

”

because

by

the

Word

were

the

heavens

established

.

Inasmuch

,

then

,

as

the

heaven

was

prepared

when

Wisdom

was

present

in

the

Word

,

and

since

all

things

were

made

by

the

Word

,

it

is

quite

correct

to

say

that

even

the

Son

stretched

out

the

heaven

alone

,

because

He

alone

ministered

to

the

Father’s

work

.

It

must

also

be

He

who

says

,

“

I

am

the

First

,

and

to

all

futurity

I

AM

.

”

The

Word

,

no

doubt

,

was

before

all

things

.

“

In

the

beginning

was

the

Word

;

”

and

in

that

beginning

He

was

sent

forth

by

the

Father

.

The

Father

,

however

,

has

no

beginning

,

as

proceeding

from

none

;

nor

can

He

be

seen

,

since

He

was

not

begotten

.

He

who

has

always

been

alone

could

never

have

had

order

or

rank

.

Therefore

,

if

they

have

determined

that

the

Father

and

the

Son

must

be

regarded

as

one

and

the

same

,

for

the

express

purpose

of

vindicating

the

unity

of

God

,

that

unity

of

His

is

preserved

intact

;

for

He

is

one

,

and

yet

He

has

a

Son

,

who

is

equally

with

Himself

comprehended

in

the

same

Scriptures

.

Since

they

are

unwilling

to

allow

that

the

Son

is

a

distinct

Person

,

second

from

the

Father

,

lest

,

being

thus

second

,

He

should

cause

two

Gods

to

be

spoken

of

,

we

have

shown

above

that

Two

are

actually

described

in

Scripture

as

God

and

Lord

.

And

to

prevent

their

being

offended

at

this

fact

,

we

give

a

reason

why

they

are

not

said

to

be

two

Gods

and

two

Lords

,

but

that

they

are

two

as

Father

and

Son

;

and

this

not

by

severance

of

their

substance

,

but

from

the

dispensation

wherein

we

declare

the

Son

to

be

undivided

and

inseparable

from

the

Father

,

—

distinct

in

degree

,

not

in

state

.

And

although

,

when

named

apart

,

He

is

called

God

,

He

does

not

thereby

constitute

two

Gods

,

but

one

;

and

that

from

the

very

circumstance

that

He

is

entitled

to

be

called

God

,

from

His

union

with

the

Father

.

Notes

1
Prov. viii. 27.
2
Rom. xi. 34.
3
Prov. viii. 30.
4
1 Cor. i. 24.
5
1 Cor ii. 11.
6
John i. 3.
7
Ps. xxxiii. 6.
8
Isa. xliv. 25.
9
On this reading, see our Anti-Marcion, p. 207, note 9. Edin.
10
Matt. iii. 17.
11
Isa. xliv. 24.
12
Ps. xxxiii. 6.
13
Isa. xli. 4 (Sept.).
14
John i. 1.
15
Prolatus.
16
See ch. xiii. p. 107.