Sermon 54: from him, through him, in him

Ex ipso et per ipsum et in ipso sunt omnia, ipsi gloria in saecula (Romans 11:36), from him and through him and in him are all things, to him be glory forever. St. Paul says, 'From him and through him and in him are all things, to whom be glory and honor.' These words are said of the three Persons and the unity of their nature. 'From him' applies to the Father, the origin of all things in eternity and in time. 'Through him' applies to the Son, through whom all things came forth. 'In him' applies to the Holy Spirit, in whom all things are contained, made spiritual, and brought back to their end. Seen another way, these same words again signify the three Persons through their 'from,' 'through,' and 'in.' Just as these words are distinct, so they show the distinction of the Persons. But from the word 'him,' which is the same for all three, we gather the oneness of their nature. He says, 'to him be glory and honor,' proclaiming the three Persons as one God, to whom alone all honor belongs.

Now we go on to speak of the things of God, of Persons and of essence, which we can hardly understand. Those who cannot follow this discussion can fall back on the teaching I have given before, that the three Persons are in one essence and one essence is in the three Persons. Remember we are speaking of Father and paternity, and you must understand that these two are not separate in two hypostases but are one hypostasis, and further, they are one and three when considered rationally. Consider the meaning of paternity. It means the power that belongs to the nature of a father. A father is recognized by the fact that he begets, but we recognize paternity in a potential father. Take the example of a young woman who is a virgin. By nature she is maternal, though not actually a mother. The same is true of a father: in his power to beget he is paternal, but the act of begetting is what makes him a father. Note this difference between father and paternity when the Word is begotten spiritually in the soul. This happens, we hold, when the soul, raised up and in the right condition, grows pregnant with God's light and becomes divine by nature, grown great with the Godhead through God's unique power. So you see, in this indwelling power, the soul too is paternal. But shining with revelation, she begets along with the Father and is then called father along with the Father. This father and this fatherhood differ, as applied to the soul. Note too that Son differs from filiation; remember that these two are not separate in two hypostases, they are the same hypostasis. We find filiation within the father's nature in potential form, unborn. If he were not present unborn in that potential nature, the Father could not beget him, for a thing that comes out must first have been in. So much for filiation. But we explain the Son as the Father's begetting of his own Word, by which the Father is Father. The Son, moreover, is God in himself, not God of himself but of the Father alone. If he were God of himself, he would not be one with the Father, and there would be two beings without any beginning. Which is impossible. We hold that there are three distinct properties. The Father's property is that he comes from no one but himself. The Son's property is that he does not come from himself: he comes from the Father by way of birth. The Holy Spirit's property is that he comes from the Father, not as one born: he proceeds from the two of them, Father and Son together, not as a birth but as love. For two who are distinct in Person cannot together give birth to one, but they can give rise to mutual love. The Holy Spirit is not born, because he proceeds from two and not from the Father alone, though certain doctors hold that the Holy Spirit comes from the Father alone and not from the Son at all. This is false. When the Father begot the Son, he gave him his whole nature, along with all the perfection that belongs to that nature, holding nothing back from his Son. It follows that the Father cannot alone bring forth the Holy Spirit, as he alone begot the Son. If these doctors had seen it rightly, they would no doubt have said the same. They were speaking without understanding. So it is wrong to say the Son is God from himself and not from the Father. The Son may be said to bring forth the Spirit, yet not from himself: from the Father, from whom he himself comes. So the Holy Spirit comes from the two of them and not from one, yet not from them as two but as one. So much for the Son and filiation.

It may be asked about Spirit and spiration, whether we can use these terms or not. Is there some objection that makes it unacceptable? Filiation is found hidden in the nature of the Father; that much is clear, since he is not simply brought forth out of him. Herein lies the objection to speaking of Spirit and spiration. Let us see if we can find the precise meaning of Spirit and spiration. We have here two and one. That is the difference between Spirit and spiration. In the first case, when we speak of two, we mean the Father and the Son. But when we say one, we mean spiration. This 'one' is without form: that is the mark of spiration. Again, when we say 'another,' that signifies the Spirit, who is another than the Father and the Son in Person.