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Against Praxeas

Tertullian

Chapter 4

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 IV.—The Unity of the Godhead and the Supremacy and Sole Government of the Divine Being. The Monarchy Not at All Impaired by the Catholic Doctrine.

But as for me, who derive the Son from

‹ Chapter 3 Chapter 5 ›

no

other

source

but

from

the

substance

of

the

Father

,

and

(

represent

Him

)

as

doing

nothing

without

the

Father’s

will

,

and

as

having

received

all

power

from

the

Father

,

how

can

I

be

possibly

destroying

the

Monarchy

from

the

faith

,

when

I

preserve

it

in

the

Son

just

as

it

was

committed

to

Him

by

the

Father

?

The

same

remark

(

I

wish

also

to

be

formally

)

made

by

me

with

respect

to

the

third

degree

in

the

Godhead

,

because

I

believe

the

Spirit

to

proceed

from

no

other

source

than

from

the

Father

through

the

Son

.

Look

to

it

then

,

that

it

be

not

you

rather

who

are

destroying

the

Monarchy

,

when

you

overthrow

the

arrangement

and

dispensation

of

it

,

which

has

been

constituted

in

just

as

many

names

as

it

has

pleased

God

to

employ

.

But

it

remains

so

firm

and

stable

in

its

own

state

,

notwithstanding

the

introduction

into

it

of

the

Trinity

,

that

the

Son

actually

has

to

restore

it

entire

to

the

Father

;

even

as

the

apostle

says

in

his

epistle

,

concerning

the

very

end

of

all

:

“

When

He

shall

have

delivered

up

the

kingdom

to

God

,

even

the

Father

;

for

He

must

reign

till

He

hath

put

all

enemies

under

His

feet

;

”

following

of

course

the

words

of

the

Psalm

:

“

Sit

Thou

on

my

right

hand

,

until

I

make

Thine

enemies

Thy

footstool

.

”

“

When

,

however

,

all

things

shall

be

subdued

to

Him

,

(

with

the

exception

of

Him

who

did

put

all

things

under

Him

,

)

then

shall

the

Son

also

Himself

be

subject

unto

Him

who

put

all

things

under

Him

,

that

God

may

be

all

in

all

.

”

We

thus

see

that

the

Son

is

no

obstacle

to

the

Monarchy

,

although

it

is

now

administered

by

the

Son

;

because

with

the

Son

it

is

still

in

its

own

state

,

and

with

its

own

state

will

be

restored

to

the

Father

by

the

Son

.

No

one

,

therefore

,

will

impair

it

,

on

account

of

admitting

the

Son

(

to

it

)

,

since

it

is

certain

that

it

has

been

committed

to

Him

by

the

Father

,

and

by

and

by

has

to

be

again

delivered

up

by

Him

to

the

Father

.

Now

,

from

this

one

passage

of

the

epistle

of

the

inspired

apostle

,

we

have

been

already

able

to

show

that

the

Father

and

the

Son

are

two

separate

Persons

,

not

only

by

the

mention

of

their

separate

names

as

Father

and

the

Son

,

but

also

by

the

fact

that

He

who

delivered

up

the

kingdom

,

and

He

to

whom

it

is

delivered

up

—

and

in

like

manner

,

He

who

subjected

(

all

things

)

,

and

He

to

whom

they

were

subjected

—

must

necessarily

be

two

different

Beings

.

Notes

1
[Compare Cap. viii. infra.]
2
1 Cor. xv. 24, 25.
3
Ps. cx. 1.
4
1 Cor. xv. 27, 28.
5
Apud.