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Against Praxeas

Tertullian

Chapter 26

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 XXVI.—A Brief Reference to the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Luke. Their Agreement with St. John, in Respect to the Distinct Personality of the Father and the Son.

In addition to Philip’s conversation, and the Lord’s

‹ Chapter 25 Chapter 27 ›

reply

to

it

,

the

reader

will

observe

that

we

have

run

through

John’s

Gospel

to

show

that

many

other

passages

of

a

clear

purport

,

both

before

and

after

that

chapter

,

are

only

in

strict

accord

with

that

single

and

prominent

statement

,

which

must

be

interpreted

agreeably

to

all

other

places

,

rather

than

in

opposition

to

them

,

and

indeed

to

its

own

inherent

and

natural

sense

.

I

will

not

here

largely

use

the

support

of

the

other

Gospels

,

which

confirm

our

belief

by

the

Lord’s

nativity

:

it

is

sufficient

to

remark

that

He

who

had

to

be

born

of

a

virgin

is

announced

in

express

terms

by

the

angel

himself

as

the

Son

of

God

:

“

The

Spirit

of

God

shall

come

upon

thee

,

and

the

power

of

the

Highest

shall

overshadow

thee

;

therefore

also

the

Holy

Thing

that

shall

be

born

of

thee

shall

be

called

the

Son

of

God

.

”

On

this

passage

even

they

will

wish

to

raise

a

cavil

;

but

truth

will

prevail

.

Of

course

,

they

say

,

the

Son

of

God

is

God

,

and

the

power

of

the

highest

is

the

Most

High

.

And

they

do

not

hesitate

to

insinuate

what

,

if

it

had

been

true

,

would

have

been

written

.

Whom

was

he

so

afraid

of

as

not

plainly

to

declare

,

“

God

shall

come

upon

thee

,

and

the

Highest

shall

overshadow

thee

?

”

Now

,

by

saying

“

the

Spirit

of

God

”

(

although

the

Spirit

of

God

is

God

,

)

and

by

not

directly

naming

God

,

he

wished

that

portion

of

the

whole

Godhead

to

be

understood

,

which

was

about

to

retire

into

the

designation

of

“

the

Son

.

”

The

Spirit

of

God

in

this

passage

must

be

the

same

as

the

Word

.

For

just

as

,

when

John

says

,

“

The

Word

was

made

flesh

,

”

we

understand

the

Spirit

also

in

the

mention

of

the

Word

:

so

here

,

too

,

we

acknowledge

the

Word

likewise

in

the

name

of

the

Spirit

.

For

both

the

Spirit

is

the

substance

of

the

Word

,

and

the

Word

is

the

operation

of

the

Spirit

,

and

the

Two

are

One

(

and

the

same

)

.

Now

John

must

mean

One

when

he

speaks

of

Him

as

“

having

been

made

flesh

,

”

and

the

angel

Another

when

he

announces

Him

as

“

about

to

be

born

,

”

if

the

Spirit

is

not

the

Word

,

and

the

Word

the

Spirit

.

For

just

as

the

Word

of

God

is

not

actually

He

whose

Word

He

is

,

so

also

the

Spirit

(

although

He

is

called

God

)

is

not

actually

He

whose

Spirit

He

is

said

to

be

.

Nothing

which

belongs

to

something

else

is

actually

the

very

same

thing

as

that

to

which

it

belongs

.

Clearly

,

when

anything

proceeds

from

a

personal

subject

,

and

so

belongs

to

him

,

since

it

comes

from

him

,

it

may

possibly

be

such

in

quality

exactly

as

the

personal

subject

himself

is

from

whom

it

proceeds

,

and

to

whom

it

belongs

.

And

thus

the

Spirit

is

God

,

and

the

Word

is

God

,

because

proceeding

from

God

,

but

yet

is

not

actually

the

very

same

as

He

from

whom

He

proceeds

.

Now

that

which

is

God

of

God

,

although

He

is

an

actually

existing

thing

,

yet

He

cannot

be

God

Himself

(

exclusively

)

,

but

so

far

God

as

He

is

of

the

same

substance

as

God

Himself

,

and

as

being

an

actually

existing

thing

,

and

as

a

portion

of

the

Whole

.

Much

more

will

“

the

power

of

the

Highest

”

not

be

the

Highest

Himself

,

because

It

is

not

an

actually

existing

thing

,

as

being

Spirit

—

in

the

same

way

as

the

wisdom

(

of

God

)

and

the

providence

(

of

God

)

is

not

God

:

these

attributes

are

not

substances

,

but

the

accidents

of

the

particular

substance

.

Power

is

incidental

to

the

Spirit

,

but

cannot

itself

be

the

Spirit

.

These

things

,

therefore

,

whatsoever

they

are

—

(

I

mean

)

the

Spirit

of

God

,

and

the

Word

and

the

Power

—

having

been

conferred

on

the

Virgin

,

that

which

is

born

of

her

is

the

Son

of

God

.

This

He

Himself

,

in

those

other

Gospels

also

,

testifies

Himself

to

have

been

from

His

very

boyhood

:

“

Wist

ye

not

,

”

says

He

,

“

that

I

must

be

about

my

Father’s

business

?

”

Satan

likewise

knew

Him

to

be

this

in

his

temptations

:

“

Since

Thou

art

the

Son

of

God

.

”

This

,

accordingly

,

the

devils

also

acknowledge

Him

to

be

:

“

we

know

Thee

,

who

Thou

art

,

the

Holy

Son

of

God

.

”

His

“

Father

”

He

Himself

adores

.

When

acknowledged

by

Peter

as

the

“

Christ

(

the

Son

)

of

God

,

”

He

does

not

deny

the

relation

.

He

exults

in

spirit

when

He

says

to

the

Father

,

“

I

thank

Thee

,

O

Father

,

because

Thou

hast

hid

these

things

from

the

wise

and

prudent

.

”

He

,

moreover

,

affirms

also

that

to

no

man

is

the

Father

known

,

but

to

His

Son

;

and

promises

that

,

as

the

Son

of

the

Father

,

He

will

confess

those

who

confess

Him

,

and

deny

those

who

deny

Him

,

before

His

Father

.

He

also

introduces

a

parable

of

the

mission

to

the

vineyard

of

the

Son

(

not

the

Father

)

,

who

was

sent

after

so

many

servants

,

and

slain

by

the

husbandmen

,

and

avenged

by

the

Father

.

He

is

also

ignorant

of

the

last

day

and

hour

,

which

is

known

to

the

Father

only

.

He

awards

the

kingdom

to

His

disciples

,

as

He

says

it

had

been

appointed

to

Himself

by

the

Father

.

He

has

power

to

ask

,

if

He

will

,

legions

of

angels

from

the

Father

for

His

help

.

He

exclaims

that

God

had

forsaken

Him

.

He

commends

His

spirit

into

the

hands

of

the

Father

.

After

His

resurrection

He

promises

in

a

pledge

to

His

disciples

that

He

will

send

them

the

promise

of

His

Father

;

and

lastly

,

He

commands

them

to

baptize

into

the

Father

and

the

Son

and

the

Holy

Ghost

,

not

into

a

unipersonal

God

.

And

indeed

it

is

not

once

only

,

but

three

times

,

that

we

are

immersed

into

the

Three

Persons

,

at

each

several

mention

of

Their

names

.

Notes

1
Luke i. 35.
2
Inicere.
3
i.e., the angel of the Annunciation.
4
On this not strictly defensible term of Tertullian, see Bp. Bull’s Defence of the Nicene Creed, book ii. ch. vii. sec. 5, Translation, pp. 199, 200.
5
John i. 14.
6
“The selfsame Person is understood under the appellation both of Spirit and Word, with this difference only, that He is called ‘the Spirit of God,’ so far as He is a Divine Person,…and ‘the Word,’ so far as He is the Spirit in operation, proceeding with sound and vocal utterance from God to set the universe in order.”—Bp. Bull, Def. Nic. Creed, p. 535, Translation.
7
Ex ipso.
8
Substantiva res.
9
Ipse Deus: i.e., God so wholly as to exclude by identity every other person.
10
Luke ii. 49.
11
Matt. iv. 3, 6.
12
Mark i. 24; Matt. viii. 29.
13
Matt. xi. 25, 26; Luke x. 21; John xi. 41.
14
Matt. xvi. 17.
15
Matt. xi. 25.
16
Matt. xi. 27; Luke x. 22.
17
Matt. x. 32, 33.
18
Matt. xxi. 33–41.
19
Matt. xxiv. 36.
20
Luke xxii. 29.
21
Matt. xxvi. 53.
22
Matt. xxvii. 46.
23
Luke xxiii. 46.
24
Luke xxiv. 49.
25
Non in unum.