# Exposition of the True Faith - Author: Anonymous - Latin title: *Expositio rectae fidei* - Date: early 5th century (probably Theodoret) (disputed) - Source: J.-P. Migne, ed., Patrologiae cursus completus, Series Graeca 6 (Paris: Migne, 1857) - Translation: Claude, from the original text, unless a passage says otherwise; each passage below gives the translator - Editions and translations: J. C. T. Otto, Corpus apologetarum christianorum saeculi secundi 3–5, 3rd ed. (Jena: Fischer, 1879–1881) - Work page: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/ - Passages: 18 ## Exposition of the Right Faith 1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/1/#p-1 - Source: PG 6 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The author introduces his exposition of the right faith in the Trinity, following his refutations of Jews and Greeks. ### Greek text Ἱχανῶς τὸν χατὰ Ἰουδαίων καὶ Ἑλλήνων ἐπελθόντες ἔλεγχον, ἀχολούθως αὖθις τὸν ὑγιᾶ τῆς πίστεως ἐχτιθέμεθα λόγον. Ἐχρῆν γὰρ δήπου μετὰ τὴν τῆς ἀληθείας ἐπίδειξιν, ὅπως καὶ φρονεῖν περὶ αὐτῆς προσῆχε προσιόντας εἰδέναι. Οὐ γὰρ ἀπλῶς ἡ πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα καὶ τὸν Υἱὸν δοξολογία τὴν σωτηρίαν ἡμῖν πορίζει, ἀλλ᾽ ἡ ὑγιὴς τῆς Τριάδος ὁμολογία τῶν ἀποχειμένων τοῖς εὐσεδέσιν ἀγαθῶν τὴν ἀπόλαυσιν δωρεῖται" ἐπεὶ καὶ τῶν ἕτεροφρόνων ἀχούσεταί τις τὸν Πατέρα καὶ Υἱὸν ἀνυμνούντων, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ κατ᾽ ὀρθὴν ἕννοιαν τὸ σέδας των. Ὅθεν ἀναγκαίως ἡμῖν ἢ τοῦδε τοῦ γράμματος (δ) ἐδέησεν ἔχθεσις, εἰς ἀχραιφνῇ τῆς ἀληθείας ἐνάγουσα τοὺς ἐντυγχάνοντας κατανόησιν. ### English translation (Claude) Having sufficiently gone through the refutation of the Jews and the Greeks, we next set out in turn the sound account of the faith. For after the demonstration of the truth it was surely necessary that those who come to it should also know how one ought to think about it. For it is not simply the glorifying of the Father and the Son that procures salvation for us; rather, the sound confession of the Trinity bestows the enjoyment of the good things laid up for the godly; since one will hear even those of other opinions singing the praises of the Father and the Son, but not offering their worship with a right understanding. Hence we necessarily needed the exposition of this writing, to lead those who read it to a pure understanding of the truth. ### Translation notes - Pseudo-Justin, Exposition of the Right Faith (PG 6); the work is now generally attributed to Theodoret of Cyrrhus. Chapter 1. No public-domain English translation is available; the translation was re-read against the Greek. ### Citation (SBL) Ps.-Justin, Expos. fid. 1 (PG 6; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/1/#p-1). ## Exposition of the Right Faith 2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/1/#p-2 - Source: PG 6 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Scriptures and the fathers teach one God, the single cause of all, known in Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who share one substance and one Godhead. ### Greek text Ἕνα () τοίνυν Θεὸν πσέδειν ἡμᾶς αἵ τε θεῖαι Γραφαὶ διδάσχουσιν, αἴ τε τῶν Πατέρων διδασχαλίαι παιδεύουσι. Δεῖ γὰρ ἕνα πάντων αἰτιώτατον εἶναι, ἵνα μηδὲν ἔξωθεν περιστὰν λυμαίνηται τὰ γινόμενα. Καὶ γὰρ εἴ τι τὴν ἀρχὴν ἔξωθεν ἣν τοῦ Θεοῦ, τοῦτο πάντως ἀναγχαῖον ἣν ἣ Θεὸν ὁμολογεῖν, ἢ δύναμιν ἑτέραν ἡντιναοῦν. ᾿Αλλ᾽ εἰ μὲν Θεὸν εἴποι τις, διέγραψε τὰς θείας φωνὰς ἀναφανδὸν βοώσας" Ἐγὼ Θεὸς πρῶτος, καὶ ἐγὼ μετὰ ταῦτα, καὶ πλὴν ἐμοῦ οὐκ ἔστι Θεός. Εἰ δὲ οὐ Θεὸν, ἀγγέλους ἣ δυνάμεις φήσειε δηλονότι. ᾿Αλλὰ καὶ οὕτως ἀθετήσει τὰς θείας Γραφὰς, παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ τούτους γεγενῆσθαι λεγούσας" Αἰνεῖτε τὸν Θεὸν ἐκ τῶν οὐ- … πάντες οἱ ἄγγειοι αὐτοῦ" αἰνεῖτε αὐτὸν, πᾶσαι αἱ δυνάμεις αὐτοῦ. Καὶ μετὰ βραχύ" Ὅτι αὖτὸς εἶπε, καὶ ἐγενήθησαν" αὐτὸς ἐνετείλατο καὶ ἐχτίσθησαν. Οὐκχοῦν ὁμολογούμενον ἂν εἴη μηδὲν τὴν ἀρχὴν τῷ Θεῷ τῶν ὅλων συνυπάρχειν, ἐπείπερ ἅπαντα παρῆχθαι παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ ἐδείχθη. Εἷς οὖν ταῖς ἀληθείαις ἐστὶν ([ ὁ τῶν ἁπάντων Θεὸς, ἐν Πατρὶ, καὶ Υἱῷ, καὶ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι γνωριζόμενος. Ἐπεὶ γὰρ ἐχ τῆς οἰχείας οὐσίας ὁ Πατὴρ τὸν Υἱὸν ἀπεγέννησεν, ἐκ δὲ τῆς αὐτῆς τὸ Πνεῦμα προήγαγεν, εἰχότως ἂν τῆς αὐτῆς καὶ μιᾶς οὐσίας μετέχοντα, τῆς αὐτῆς καὶ μιᾶς θεότητος ἠξίωνταν. ### English translation (Claude) The divine Scriptures teach, and the teachings of the fathers instruct, that we worship one God. For there must be one supreme cause of all things, so that nothing standing outside should harm the things that come to be. For if anything existed from the beginning outside God, one would necessarily have to confess it either God or some other power. But if one were to say “God”, he would cross out the divine words that cry openly: “I am God, the first, and I am after these things, and besides me there is no God.” And if not God, he would say, clearly, angels or powers. But so too he will set aside the divine Scriptures, which say that these too were made by God: “Praise God from the heavens … praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his powers.” And shortly after: “For he spoke, and they came to be; he commanded, and they were created.” It would be agreed, then, that nothing coexisted with the God of all from the beginning, since all things have been shown to have been brought forth by him. In truth, then, the God of all is one, known in Father and Son and Holy Spirit. For since the Father begot the Son from his own substance, and brought forth the Spirit from the same, they would rightly, sharing in the same and one substance, be counted worthy of the same and one Godhead. ### Scripture references - Isa 44:6: quotation, high confidence - Ps 148:1: quotation, high confidence - Ps 148:2: quotation, high confidence - Ps 148:5: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Chapters follow Migne's numbering in PG 6 (his Greek numerals and Latin chapter summaries). Migne's notes and variant readings are removed (“…”). The trinitarian terminology (substance, hypostasis, modes of existence) belongs to the fifth-century author; translated as written. Isa 44:6; Ps 148:1–2, 5. ### Citation (SBL) Ps.-Justin, Expos. fid. 2 (PG 6; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/1/#p-2). ## Exposition of the Right Faith 3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/1/#p-3 - Source: PG 6 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: “Unbegotten”, “begotten” and “proceeding” name modes of existence, not the substance, as Adam's creation illustrates; they mark off the three hypostases without dividing the one substance. ### Greek text ὅ. Πῶς οὖν, ἐρεῖ τις, εἰ διαφέροι (1 τὸ γεννῶν τοῦ Ἱεννωμένου, καὶ τὸ ἐχπορευτὸν τοῦ ἀφ᾽ οὗπερ ἐχπεπόρευται " (ἔστι δὲ ὁ Πατὴρ ἀγέννητος, ἀφ᾽ οὗ καὶ Β ὁ Υἱὸς γεγέννηται, καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα προῆλθεν), ταὐτὸν τῷ Πατρὶ ὁ Υἱὸς καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον; Ὅτι τὸ μὲν ᾿Αγέγγητον. καὶ Γεγγητὸν καὶ ᾿Εχπορευτὸν οὐχ οὐσίας ὀνόματα, ἀλλὰ τρόποι ὑπάρξεως " ὁ δὲ τρόπος τῆς ὑπάρξεως τοῖς ὀνόμασι χαραχτηρίξεται τούτοις " ἡ δὲ τῆς οὐσίας δήλωσις τῇ Θεοῦ ὀνομασίᾳ σημαίνεται" ὡς εἶναι τὴν διαφορὰν τῷ Πατρὶ πρὸς τὸν Υἱὸν καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα κατὰ τὸν τῆς ὑπάρξεως τρόπον " τὸ ἃ ταὐτὸν κατὰ τὸν τῆς οὐσίας λόγον. Ἧ γὰρ ὁ μὲν ἀγεννήτως ἔχει τὸ εἶναι, ὁ δὲ γεννητῶς, τὸ δὲ χεν" εἰ δὲ καὶ τῆς ὑποστάσεως αὐτοῦ τὸ χατ᾽ οὐσίαν εἶναι σημαίνεται, τῷ κοινῷ τῆς θεότητος ὀνόβατι παραδηλοῦται. Οὕτως δ᾽ ἂν ὃ λέγω σαφέστερον ο γένοιτο, Ὁ περὶ τῆς ὑπάρξεως τοῦ ᾿Αδὰμ σχοπούμένος, ὅπως εἰς τὸ εἶναι παρήχθη, εὑρήσει τοῦτον οὐ γεννητόν" οὐ γὰρ ἐξ ἄλλου τινὸς ἀνθρώπου, ἀλλ᾽ ἐκ τῆς θείας διαπλασθέντα χειρός. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ἡ διάπλασις τὸν τρόπον τῆς ὑπάρξεως δηλοῖ" τὸ γὰρ ὅπως ἐγένεῖο σημαένει. Ὡσαύτως πάλιν ὁ τῆς ὑπάρξεως τρότος τὴν διάπλασιν χαραχτηρίζει" δηλοῖ γὰρ ὁμοίως ὅτι τε πλασθεὶς ὑπῆρξεν. Εἰ δ᾽ αὐτὴν τὴν οὐσίαν ζητοίης, καθ᾽ ἣν τοῖς ἐξ αὐτοῦ πρὸς χοινωνίαν συνἅπτεται, ἄνθρωπον εὑρήσεις τὸ ὑποχείμενον. Ὥσπερ ὃν ἡ πλάσις τὸν τρόπον τῆς ὑπάρξεως δηλοῖ, ὁ δὲ τῆς ὑπάρξεως τρόπος τὴν διάπλασιν χαραχτηρίζει, ὁ δὲ τῆς οὐσίας λόγος ἄνθρωπον τὸ ὑποχείμενον δείκνυσιν - οὕτως ἐπὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς εὑρήσομεν. Εἰ μὲν γὰρ τὸν τρόπον τῆς ὑπάρξεως αὐτοῦ ζητοίης, ἐξ οὐδενὸς ἑτέρου γεγεννημένον ὁρῶν, ἀγέν- … … ἡγορίαν σχοποίης, τῆς ὑπάρξεως τὸν τρόπον ἕρμηνεύουσαν εὑρήσεις. Εἰ δὲ καὶ τὴν οὐσίαν αὐτὴν γνωρίζειν ἐθέλοις, χαθ᾽ ἣν Υἱῷ καὶ Πνεύματι πρὸς χοινωνίαν συνάπτεται, τῇ Θεοῦ ὀνομασία δηλώσεις (95!. Ὥστε τὸ μὲν ἀγέννητον, καὶ τῆς ὑπάρξεως ὁ τρόπης, ἀλλήλων εἰσὶ γνωριστιχά τῆς δὲ οὐσίας τὸ Θεὸς δηλωτιχόν. Ὡς γὰρ ὁ ᾿Αδὰμ, καίτοι γέννησιν μὴ προσηχάμενος, τοῖς ἐξ αὐτοῦ γεννηθεῖσι χατὰ τὸ τῆς οὐσίας ταὐτὸν εἰς χοινωνίαν συνάπτεται, οὕτως οὐδεὶς λόγος τὸ χοινὸν τῆς οὐσίας Πατρὸς πρὸς τὸν Υἱὸν καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα διασπᾶσαι διὰ τὸ ἀγέννητον ὃυνήσεται. Ὥστε τὸ ᾿Αγέννητον καὶ Γεννητὸν καὶ Ἔχτορευτὸν, οὐχ οὐσίας δηλωτιχὰ, σημαντιχὰ δὲ τῶν ὑποστάσεών ἐστιν" ἑχανὰ γὰρ ἡμῖν διαχρένειν τὰ πρόσωπα, καὶ τὴν Πατρὸς, καὶ Υἱοῦ, καὶ ἁγίου 5 Πνεύματος ἰδιαζόντως δειχνύει ὑπόστασιν. Καθάπερ γὰρ σφραγὶς ἡμῖν τις λεχθὲν τὸ ἀγέννητον, εὐθὺς ἀφορίζει τὴν Πατρὸς ὑπόστασιν " καὶ πάλιν ὥς τι στμεῖον τὴν τοῦ Γεννητοῦ προσηγορίαν ἀχούοντες, τὴν Υἱοῦ λαμδάνομεν ἔννοιαν, καὶ αὖθις διὰ τῆς τοῦ Ἐχπορευτοῦ σημασίας τὸ ἰδιχὸν τοῦ Πνεύματος πρόσωπον παιδευόμεθα. Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ἀρχεῖ πρὸς ἀπόδειξιν τοῦ μὴ τὴν οὐσίαν αὐτὴν δηλοῦν τὸ ᾿Αγέννητον καὶ Γεννητὸν καὶ Ἐχπορευτὸν, ἀφοριστιχὰ δὲ τῶν ὑποστάσεων εἶναι, πρὸς τῷ (3 καὶ τὸν τρόπον τῆς ὑπάρξεως διασημαίνειν. ### English translation (Claude) “How, then,” someone will say, “if the one who begets differs from the one begotten, and what proceeds from him from whom it has proceeded (and the Father is unbegotten, from whom the Son has been begotten and from whom the Spirit has come forth), are the Son and the Holy Spirit the same as the Father?” Because “unbegotten”, “begotten” and “proceeding” are not names of substance, but modes of existence. The mode of existence is characterized by these names, while the substance is signified by the name “God”; so that the difference of the Father from the Son and the Spirit is according to the mode of existence, and the sameness according to the account of the substance. For the one has his being unbegottenly, the other begottenly, and the third by proceeding; but if the being according to substance of each hypostasis is signified, it is indicated by the common name of the Godhead. What I say would become clearer thus. He who considers the existence of Adam, how he was brought into being, will find that he was not begotten; for he was not from another man, but was formed by the divine hand. The forming shows the mode of existence, for it signifies how he came to be; and likewise the mode of existence characterizes the forming, for it shows equally that he came into being by being formed. But if you seek the substance itself, by which he is joined in fellowship with those who came from him, you will find the subject to be man. Just as, then, the forming shows the mode of existence, and the mode of existence characterizes the forming, while the account of the substance shows the subject to be man, so we shall find in the case of God the Father. For if you seek the mode of his existence, seeing that he has been begotten of no other, unbe… the designation, you will find that it expresses the mode of existence. But if you wish to know the substance itself, by which he is joined in fellowship with the Son and the Spirit, you will indicate it by the name “God”. So “unbegotten” and the mode of existence make each other known, while “God” indicates the substance. For as Adam, though he did not undergo begetting, is joined in fellowship with those begotten from him by sameness of substance, so no argument will be able to tear apart the community of substance of the Father with the Son and the Spirit on account of “unbegotten”. So “unbegotten”, “begotten” and “proceeding” do not indicate substance, but signify the hypostases; for they suffice for us to distinguish the persons and to show distinctively the hypostasis of Father, of Son and of Holy Spirit. For like a seal, “unbegotten”, when spoken, at once marks off the hypostasis of the Father; and again, hearing the designation “begotten” as a sign, we receive the notion of the Son; and again through the meaning of “proceeding” we are taught the distinct person of the Spirit. These things suffice to prove that “unbegotten”, “begotten” and “proceeding” do not indicate the substance itself, but are marks of the hypostases, besides signifying the mode of existence. ### Scripture references - Gen 2:7: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The second part of the chapter comes after Migne's variant readings in the scan (removed); the words lost at the join are marked “…”. Gen 2:7. ### Citation (SBL) Ps.-Justin, Expos. fid. 3 (PG 6; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/1/#p-3). ## Exposition of the Right Faith 4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/1/#p-4 - Source: PG 6 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Dividing all beings into uncreated and created, the author shows from David and Paul that the Son and the Spirit are never numbered among creatures. ### Greek text Ὑπόλοιπον δ᾽ ἂν εἴη περὶ τῆς οὐσίας δειχνύναι, πῶς μία Πατρὸς, καὶ Υἱοῦ, καὶ ἁγίου Πνεύματος. ὋὍρῶμεν τοίνυν ἐν τῇ χοινῇ συνηθείᾳ τῆς αὐτῆς ( οὐσίας ὑπάρχοντα τοῖς γεννῶσι τὰ γεννώμενα. Μᾶλλον δὲ ἄνωθεν ἡμῖν ἀρχτέον, ὡς ἂν μὴ τὸ συνεχὲς τοῦ λόγου διαχόπτοι ζήτημά τι παρεμπεσὸν εἰς μέσον. Καὶ πρῶτόν γε τὰ ὄντα διαιρήσωμεν" εὑρήσομεν γὰρ εἴς τε χτιστὸν καὶ ἄχτιστον τὰ πάντα διαιρηῦμενα. Εἴ τι γάρ ἐστιν ἐν τοῖς οὖσιν, ἣ ἄχτιστος φύσι; ἐστὶν ἣ χτιστή. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ἡ μὲν ἄχτιστος δεσποτιχὴ καὶ πάσης ἀνάγχης ἐλευθέρα" ἡ δὲ δουλιχὴ καὶ νόμοις δεσποτιχοῖς ἑπομένη. Καὶ ἡ μὲν, κατ᾽ ἐξουσίαν ἃ ἂν βούλεται καὶ ποιοῦσα καὶ δυναμένη" ἡ δὲ τὴν διαχονίαν μόνην ἣν παρ᾽ αὐτῆς τῆς θεότητος εἴληφε, καὶ δυναμένη, καὶ ποιοῦσα. Οὕτω τῆς διαιρέστως ἐχούσης, τὰς θείας εἰς μέσον παραθέμενος φωγὰς, σχόπει μοι μετὰ ἀχριδείας, τίνι συντάττειν παιδεύουσι τὸν Υἱὸν καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα. Δεῖ γὰρ πρὸς τοὺς Ὁ τῆς Ἐχχλησίας τροφίμους μὴ λογισμοῖς ἀνθρωπίνοι; διευθύνειν τὰ θεῖα, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸ βούλημα τῆς διδασχαλίας τοῦ Πνεύματος τῶν λόγων ποιεῖσθαι τὴν ἔχθεσιν. Καὶ πρῶτος ἡμᾶς Δαδὶδ διδασχέτω. Ὕμνον … ν ἁπάντων Θεῷ, εἶτα περὶ τῶν κατ᾽ οὐρανὸν ἀπάνν διαλαδὼν, πάσας τε τὰς ἐν αὑτῷ δυνάμεις ἀπα- Ἰμησάμενος " ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ περὶ γῆς καὶ τῶν ἐν τῇ ἁπάντων τὴν ἀφήγησιν ποιησάμενος, οὐ συμραλαμδάνει τῇ δοξολογίᾳ ταύτῃ τὸν Υἱὸν, καὶ τὸ εῦμα, ὡς τῇ θείᾳ φύσει συνεζευγμένα δηλονότι. γὰρ ἂν εἰ τῆς χτιστῆς οὐσίας ἠπίστατο, ταῦτα να ἀφῆκεν ἀκατονόμαστα ὧν γε πρῶτον καὶ λιστα τῶν ἄλλων ἀπασῶν δυνάμεων εἰχότως ἂν νημόνευσεν. Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ὁ μαχάριος Παῦλος, θείῳ θὶ κάτοχος ὧν, καὶ τὸ διαχαὲς τῆς περὶ τὸν Θεὸν ἀπης ἐνδειχνύμενος, καὶ τὸ βέθαιον τοῦ φίλτρου ρτυρούμενος, οὕτω φησί" Πέπεισμαι γὰρ ὅτι τε ζωὴ, οὔτε κόσμος, οὔτε θάνατος, οὔτε ἄγγει, οὔτε δυνάμεις, οὔτε ἀρκαὶ, οὔτε λλοντα, οὔτε ὕψωμα, οὔτε βάθος, οὔτε τις κτίσις ρα δυνήσεται ἡμᾶς χωρίσαι ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης ὕ Θεοῦ τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν. ψμοίως γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸς ἀπαριθμησάμενος καὶ χόιον, καὶ ζωὴν καὶ θάνατον, καὶ ἀγγέλους, καὶ Ἰχὰς καὶ δυνάμεις, ἔτι τε ἐνεστῶτα καὶ μέλλοντα, ’ωμά τε καὶ βάθος, ἐπεὶ μηδὲν εὕρισχεν ὑπολιμινόμενον τῇ χτιστῇ φύσει, ἔτι δὲ τοῦ βοᾷν καὶ μαρ- Ἰρασθαι τῆς ὁρμῆς ἐχόμενος, ὑπερθολικόν τι προσἧς, τὸν λόγον ἐπλήρωσεν χείσιν' ἑτέραν ἐπα-ιγών. ΤΑρ᾽ οὖν καὶ τῇ τοῦ λεχθέντος ὑπερδολῇ τὸν βμεταχίνητον αὐτοῦ περὶ τὸν Θεὸν πόθον παρα- Ἰλώσας, εἰ τῆς χτιστῆς οὐσίας ἠπίστατο τὸν ἰὸν καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα, οὐχ ἂν αὐτῶν μετὰ τῶν 6 λων τὴν ἀφήγησιν ἐποιήσατο; ᾿Αλλ᾽ ὅτι μὲν οὐ ὑνέζευχται τῇ χτιστῇ φύσει ὁ Υἱὸς καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα, πὸ τούτων καὶ τῶν τοιούτων ἰστέον. Ἑνῆν δὲ ἀραθέσθαι καί τινας ἄλλας τοιαύτας παμπληθεῖς ἀρτυρίας" ἀλλ᾽ ἐπεὶ πρὸς Ἐχχλησίας υἱεῖς ὁ λόγος, μὲν δὲ ὁ σχοπὸς διὰ συντόμων εἰπεῖν, ἀποχρῆν γοῦμαι καὶ τὰ ῥηθέντα. ### English translation (Claude) It would remain to show concerning the substance how it is one of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We see, then, in common usage that the begotten are of the same substance as those who beget. But rather we must begin from above, so that no question falling into the middle should break the continuity of the argument. And first let us divide the things that exist; for we shall find all things divided into created and uncreated. For whatever exists among beings is either uncreated nature or created. The uncreated is lordly and free from all necessity; the other is servile and follows lordly laws. And the one, by its own authority, both does and is able to do whatever it wishes; the other is able to do and does only the service it has received from the Godhead itself. The division being so, set the divine words in the midst and consider carefully with me with which they teach us to rank the Son and the Spirit. For with the nurslings of the church we must not direct divine things by human reasonings, but make our exposition of the words according to the intent of the Spirit's teaching. And let David teach us first. For he, composing a hymn to the God of all from the whole of creation, … then dealing with all things in heaven and enumerating all the powers in it, and likewise giving an account of the earth and all things on it, does not include the Son and the Spirit in this doxology, clearly as being joined to the divine nature. For if he had known them to be of created substance, he would not have left them alone unnamed, whom he would rightly have mentioned first and most of all the powers. Likewise also the blessed Paul, possessed by divine love, showing his burning love toward God, and bearing witness to the firmness of his affection, speaks thus: “For I am persuaded that neither life, nor world, nor death, nor angels, nor powers, nor principalities, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” For he too likewise, having enumerated world and life and death, and angels, principalities and powers, things present and things to come, height and depth, when he found nothing of created nature left over, still holding to his impulse to cry out and bear witness, added something hyperbolic and completed the statement by bringing in another creation. Having shown, then, by the hyperbole of his words his unshakeable longing toward God, would he not have included the Son and the Spirit in his enumeration with the rest, if he had known them to be of created substance? That the Son and the Spirit are not joined to created nature, then, is to be known from these and such passages. It would be possible to set out very many other such testimonies too; but since the discourse is to sons of the church, and our aim is to speak briefly, I think what has been said sufficient. ### Scripture references - Ps 148:1: allusion, high confidence - Rom 8:38: quotation, high confidence - Rom 8:39: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Migne's Latin and notes are removed at several points (“…”). Ps 148; Rom 8:38–39. ### Citation (SBL) Ps.-Justin, Expos. fid. 4 (PG 6; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/1/#p-4). ## Exposition of the Right Faith 5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/1/#p-5 - Source: PG 6 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: From the baptismal command and Paul's letters the author shows that the Son and the Spirit are ranked with the Father in the divine nature and dwell together in the faithful. ### Greek text ὅ. Ὑπόλοιπον δ᾽ ἂν εἴη δειχνύναι, ὡς τῇ φύ- Ἐν τῇ θείᾳ ὁ Υἱὸς συντέταχται καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα. Καὶ τρῶτόν γε τοῦ χαιριωτάτου μνησθήσομαι. Ὁ Κύριος Ἰμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς, μετὰ τὴν ἐκ νεχρῶν ἀνάσταἤν, τὴν εἰς οὐρανὸν ἄνοδον ποιεῖσθαι μέλλων, … τὴν τῶν ἐθνῶν μαθητείαν, καὶ τὴν τοῦ βαπτίσμα- Ὁ Ἂς διδαχὴν τοὺς ἀποστόλους ἐπαίδευσε λέγων … … Πορευθέντες μαθητεύσατε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, βαπτὶ ζοντες αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Πατρὸς, καὶ τὸ γιοῦ, καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος. Καὶ Κορινθίοις ὁ γράφων ὁ μαχάριος Παῦλος, τῷ τέλει τῆς ἐπιστολῇ οἱονεὶ σφραγῖδά τινα τῇ διδασχαλίᾳ ἐπάγει: Ἡ χάρις τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν ᾿Ιησοῦ Χρι στοῦ, καὶ ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ἡ κοινωνὶ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος, μετὰ πάντων ὑμῶν. Κι πάλιν πρὸς Ἐφησίους οὕτως φησίν" Ὄντος ((ἦ ἀχρογωνιαίου αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἐν ᾧ πᾶσ οἰχοδομὴ συναρμοιϊἰογουμένη αὔξει εἰς ναὸν ἅγιο ἐν Κυρίῳ, ἐν ᾧ καὶ ὑμεῖς συνοικοδομεῖσθε εἰς και οἰκητήριον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν Πνεύματι. Βλέπετε ( πῶς τὴν οἰκοδομὴν τὴν ἐν Χριστῷ διδάσχων, δι᾿ ἦ ναὸς Χριστοῦ γινόμεθα χατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον, Ἐγοι Β χήσω ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ ἐμπεριπατήσω, καὶ ἔσομά αὐτῶν Θεός, τὰ τρίχ συνημμένως ἡμῖν συνεισά γει πρόσωπα. Ὄντος, γάρ φησιν, ἀχρογω γιαίου αὑτοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ μετὰ βραχύ᾽ Ἐ ᾧ καὶ ὑμεῖς συνοικοδομεῖσθε εἰς κατοικητήριο τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐγ Πνεύματι. Χριστὸν γὰρ, Θεὸν χὰ Πνεῦμα, τὴν μίαν θεότητα κατοιχεῖν ἐν ἡμῖν καὶ ἐνέργειαν, τοῖς τῆς χάριτος ἀξιουμένοις, διὰ τῇ τοιαύτης διδασχαλίας ἐπαίδευσε. Καὶ τοῦτο δῆλον ἡ ὧν καὶ ἐν ἑτέρῳ φησίν Τούτου χάριν κάμπτι τὰ γόνατά μου πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἐξ οὗ πᾶσα πατριὰ ἐν οὐρα γῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς ὀνομάζεται" ἵνα δῴη ὑμῖν καὶ τὸν πλοῦτον τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ, δυνάμει κραταω ς θῆγαι διὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν ἔσω ἐν θρωπον κατοικῆσαι τὸν Χριστὸν διὰ τῆς πίστεω ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν. Ἰδοὺ γὰρ πάλιν ἕνα χήσεως θείας μνημονεύων ὁ Παῦλος, καὶ [4 τέρα, καὶ Υἱὸν, καὶ Πνεῦμα ἅγιον συμπεριλαμίά νων δείκνυται " καὶ πανταχοῦ δὲ τῆς διδασκαλίας δὴ τάττων τὰ τρία φαίνεται: πρόσωπα. Κορινθίοις Ἰὰ ἐν Ἐπιστολῇ δευτέρᾳ γράφων οὕτω φησίν’ Ὁ δὲ βὲ δαιῶν ἡμᾶς σὺν ὑμῖν εἰς Χριστὸν, καὶ χρίσαι ἡμᾶς Θεὸς, καὶ σφραγισάμενος ἡμᾶς, καὶ δοὺ τὸν ἀῤῥαδῶνα τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐν ταῖς καρξίωι ἡμῶν" σαφῶς κἀνταῦθα καὶ Πατέρα θεὸν (δ), 3 Χριστὸν ΥἹὸν, καὶ Πνεῦμα ἅγιον ἐν τῇ διδασχαλίι δ ζεύξας. Καὶ αὖθις πρὸς Γαλάτας - Ὅτι δέ ἐστε υἱοὶ. ἐξαπέστειλεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸ Πγεῦμα τοῦ ΥἹοῦ αὐτοὶ Ὁ εἰς τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν, κράζον- ᾿Αδδὰ ὁ Πατήρ' ὁμοίως πάλιν συνημμένως ἡμῖν τὴν περὶ τοῦ Πατρὰ … καὶ Υἱοῦ καὶ Πνεύματος ἔννοιαν παραδιδούς. Καὶ βλέπε τῆς ἄχρας συναφείας πῶς τίθησι τὰ γνωἰσματα" οὐ γὰρ ἁπλῶς εἶπεν, Ἐξαπέστειλεν ὁ τὸς τὸ Πνεῦμα, ἀλλὰ τοῦ Υἱοῦ αὑτοῦ: νῦν ἐν αὐτὸ συνάπτων Υἱῷ, νῦν δὲ προσνέμων Πατρὶ ἐν ς φησιν Ὑμεῖς δὲ οὐ τὸ πγεῦμα τοῦ κόσμου ἰάδετε, ἀλλὰ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἐκ Θεοῦ καὶ Πα- »ός καὶ πάλιν τοῦ Υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ τὸ Πγεῦμα τῆς ληθείας καλοῦντος, ἐπειδὴ αὐτός ἔστιν ἡ ἀλήθεια " ἡ αὖθις τοῦ Πατρὸς εἶναι διδάσχοντος" Ὃ γὰρ παρὰ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐκπορεύεται" καὶ διὰ πάντων ἁπλῶς βεδαιούσης μἰν τῆς θείας Γραφῆς τὴν διάνοιαν, ἀχώριστον περὶ Πατρὸς καὶ ΥἹἱοῦ καὶ ἁγίου Πνεύματος χεκτῆσθαι τὴν ἔννοιαν. ### English translation (Claude) It would remain to show that the Son and the Spirit are ranked with the divine nature. And first I will mention the most important. Our Lord Jesus Christ, after his resurrection from the dead, when about to make his ascent to heaven, … taught the apostles the discipling of the nations and the teaching of baptism, saying … “Go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” And the blessed Paul, writing to the Corinthians, adds at the end of the letter, as a seal to his teaching: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” And again to the Ephesians he says: “Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” See how, teaching the building in Christ, through which we become a temple of Christ, as it is written, “I will dwell in them and walk among them, and I will be their God,” he introduces the three persons together: “Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,” he says, and shortly after, “in whom you also are built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” For by such teaching he taught that Christ, God and Spirit, the one Godhead and energy, dwells in us who are counted worthy of grace. And this is clear also from what he says elsewhere: “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that he may grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell through faith in your hearts.” For see, Paul again, mentioning one divine indwelling, is shown to include Father and Son and Holy Spirit; and everywhere in his teaching he appears to rank the three persons together. Writing to the Corinthians in the second letter he says thus: “He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who has also sealed us and given the pledge of the Spirit in our hearts”; clearly here too he joins in his teaching the Father as God, Christ as Son, and the Holy Spirit. And again to the Galatians: “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father”; likewise again handing on to us jointly the notion of Father … and Son and Spirit. And see how he sets the marks of their utmost union. For he did not say simply, “God sent the Spirit,” but “of his Son”; now joining it to the Son, now assigning it to the Father, as when he says, “But you have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God”; and again the Son calls it the Spirit of truth, since he himself is the truth; and again he teaches that it is of the Father: “which proceeds from the Father.” And in short the divine Scripture everywhere confirms the thought that we should hold an inseparable notion of Father and Son and Holy Spirit. ### Scripture references - Matt 28:19: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 13:14: quotation, high confidence - Eph 2:20: quotation, high confidence - Eph 2:21: quotation, high confidence - Eph 2:22: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 6:16: quotation, high confidence - Eph 3:14: quotation, high confidence - Eph 3:15: quotation, high confidence - Eph 3:16: quotation, high confidence - Eph 3:17: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 1:21: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 1:22: quotation, high confidence - Gal 4:6: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 2:12: quotation, high confidence - John 14:17: allusion, high confidence - John 14:6: allusion, medium confidence - John 15:26: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - The scan interleaves Migne's Latin translation and variant readings (removed); words of the text lost there are marked “…” (among them a quotation of John 5:19 after “This the Son, showing”). Matt 28:19; 2 Cor 13:13; Eph 2:20–22; 2 Cor 6:16; Eph 3:14–17; 2 Cor 1:21–22; Gal 4:6; 1 Cor 2:12; John 14:17; 15:26. ### Citation (SBL) Ps.-Justin, Expos. fid. 5 (PG 6; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/1/#p-5). ## Exposition of the Right Faith 6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/1/#p-6 - Source: PG 6:1215 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Son and the Spirit share the Father's work of creation and his authority, as the Psalms and Paul show. ### Greek text ὁ. ᾿Αλλ᾽ οὐδὲ τῇς τοῦ παντὸς δημιουργίας Υἱοῦ καὶ 0. Νὲ ἐπ κύματος τὴν ἐνέργειαν χεχωρισμένην τοῦ Πατρὸς … δὲ πως λέγων γινέσθω διδάσχαλος " Καὶ σὺ κατ᾽ ἀρ. χάς, Κύριε, τὴν γῆν ἐθεμελίωσας, καὶ ἔργα τῶν ἢ Κυρίου σημασίας καὶ τὸν Πατέρα καὶ Υἱὸν καὶ τὸ νεῦμα - οὐδὲν ἧττον δὲ διὰ τοὺς ἀγνώμονας καὶ τῇ … Πψεύματι τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ πᾶσα ἡ δύναμις ὑτῶν. ᾿Αλλ᾽ οὐδὲ τῆς τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐξουσίας ἐλατσθαι τὸν ΥἹὸν καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα, παρὰ τῆς θείας Γρα- ἧς μεμαθήχαμεν - καὶ πῶς, ἄχουε τοῦ γράμματος" ) δὲ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, φησὶν, ἐν τῷ οὐραγῷ καὶ ἐπὶ ἧς (ὅδ) πάντα ὅσα ἠθέλησεν ἐποίησε. Τοῦτο περὶ τοῦ Πατρὸς ὁ Δαδίδ φησι. Ταύτην ὁ Υἱὸς δειχνὺς ἐπὶ … Ταύτην ὁ μαχάριος Παῦλος καὶ τῷ ἀγίῳ Πνεύματι Ο ροσμαρτυρῶν, τοιαῦτα γράφει" Ταῦτα δὲ πάντα … ἐὴν καὶ τῷ τῆς δημιουργίας λόγῳ, καὶ τῇ τῆς ἐξου- … ἤσεται λόγος τὸν Υἱὸν καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα, μὴ τῆς θείας … ὁσίας καὶ μαχαρίας ὑπάρχειν; ### English translation (Claude) But neither is the activity of the Son and the Spirit in the creation of all things separated from the Father … let him be our teacher: “And you, Lord, in the beginning founded the earth, and the heavens are the works …” … of “Lord”, both the Father and the Son and the Spirit; none the less, for the sake of the ungrateful also: “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made firm, and by the … of his mouth all their power.” Nor have we learned from the divine Scripture that the Son and the Spirit fall short of the authority of the Father; and how, hear the writing: “But our God,” it says, “in heaven and on earth has done whatever he willed.” This David says of the Father. This the Son, showing … And the blessed Paul, bearing witness to this of the Holy Spirit as well, writes as follows: “All these things are worked by one and the same Spirit” … What argument … that the Son and the Spirit, being [joined] both in the account of creation and in that of authority, are not of the divine and blessed substance? ### Scripture references - Ps 102:25 (101:26 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 33:6 (32:6 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 115:3 (113:11 LXX): quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 12:11: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Migne's Latin and variant readings are removed (“…”); part of Ps 33:6 and the end of 1 Cor 12:11 are lost there. Ps 102:25 (LXX 101:26); Ps 33:6 (LXX 32:6); Ps 115:3 (LXX 113:11); 1 Cor 12:11. ### Citation (SBL) Ps.-Justin, Expos. fid. 6 (PG 6:1215; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/1/#p-6). ## Exposition of the Right Faith 7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/1/#p-7 - Source: PG 6:1215 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Since the Son and the Spirit are separated from creation and joined to the Father, they belong to the uncreated substance: one God, Monad in Trinity. ### Greek text Ἴ. Καὶ μή τις ἡμῖν ἐνσχήψειεν, ὡς ἄλλα μὲν ὑποπομένοις, ἄλλα δὲ διεξελθοῦσιν, εἴπερ τὸ ταὐτὸν τῆς }ὺ γὰρ ἄλλο τι τῆς συντάξεως ὁ λόγος παρίστη- ῃ "ἷ "ν, ἀλλ᾽ ἣ Πατρὸς, καὶ Υἱοῦ, καὶ ἀγίου Πνεύματος ἐὼν ὁ ἀντιλέγων δι᾽ ἀχριδείας σχοπείτω "εὑρήσει γὰρ … κεῖ τῆς οὐσίας τὸν λόγον ἐν τῇ τάξει τῆς συναφείας ποῖ λήρητο, εἷς τε ἄχτιστον καὶ χτιστὴν φύσιν καὶ τῆς ἐὰν ἀχτίστου τεχμήρια παρ᾽ ἡμῶν ὡμολόγητο, δεσπο- τιχήν τε αὐτὴν εἶναι, καὶ πάσης ἀνάγχης ἕλεν θέραν, ἔτι τε χατ᾽ ἐξουσίαν ἃ ἂν βούλεται καὶ τπικώ: σαν, καὶ δυναμένην " τῆς δὲ χτιστῆςς, ἐξ ἀντιθέτου, καὶ νόμοις δεσποτιχοῖς ἑπομένην, ἔτι α τὴν διαχονίαν, ἣν παρὰ τῆς θεότητος εἴληφε, μόνη καὶ δυναμένην, καὶ πληροῦσαν. Οὕτω τῆς διαιρέτπιωι ἐχούσης, καὶ θεότητος καὶ χτίσεως μηδὲν εἶνε τὸ μέσον βεδαιούσης, πᾶν ὃ τῆς χτίσεως παρήλλαχια τῇ θείᾳ οὐ παρήλλαχται δηλονότι. Εἰ τοίνυν διὰ πλεώ νων παρ᾽ ἡμῶν ἐδείκνυτο, τῆς μὲν χτίσεως διαλλάϊ, τῶν ὁ Υἱὸς καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα, ἐπεὶ μηδενὶ χτιτὰ συνηρίθμηνται, τῷ δὲ Πατρὶ πανταχοῦ συνέ ζευχται, πῶς οὐ τῆς ἐσχάτης ἀνοίας ἐστὶ τὸ " τῆς ἀχτίστου οὐσίας αὐτὰ νομίζειν; Τῶν γὰ δύο τὸ ἕτερον ἀναγκαίως διαπεσεῖται " δεῖ γὰρ ἧ, τῇ Β χτιστῆς αὐτὰ δεικνύντα (θ4), τῆς ἀκτίστου ἀφορίξειν ἣ, τῆς ἀχτίστου ἀποδειχνύντα, τῆς χτιστῆς ἀναγχοίωι χωρίζειν. ᾿Αλλὰ καὶ τῆς χτιστῆς ἐφάνη χεχωρισμένα, καὶ τῇ ἀχτίστῳ συνεζευγμένα “ μέσον δὲ τούτων ὑμο λογήθη μηδέν. Λειπόμενον ἂν εἴη τοῦ χοινωνεῖ αὐτὰ τῆς οὐσίας, ᾧ καὶ πανταχοῦ συνεζεύχθησαν. γὰρ ὅπερ εἴρηται ( καλὸν γὰρ ἀναλαθδεῖν πρὸς ἔντε λεστέραν ἀπόδειξιν) ἐπί τε τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ τοῦ χόσμα μαθητείας, ἐπί τε τῆς διδαχῆς τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος, ἔτι μὴν καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς θείας διδασχαλίας, καὶ τῆς τὶ παντὸς δημιουργίας, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς χα ἐξουσίαν αὐθεντίας, παραπλήσια καὶ ταὐτὰ περὶ [' πρὸς καὶ Υἱοῦ καὶ ἁγίου Πνεύματος παραδέδοται, τὸ ἀλλήλων χοινωνίας; Ἕνα τοίνυν Θεὸν προσῆχεν μθι λογεῖν ἐν Πατρὶ, καὶ Υἱῷ καὶ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι γνυβὰ ζόμενον " ἧ μὲν Πατὴρ, καὶ Υἱὸς, καὶ Πνεῦμα ἅγισι τῆς μιᾶς θεότητος τὰς ὑποστάσεις λωρίξεντα δ Θεὸς, τὸ χατ᾽ οὐσίαν χοινὸν τῶν ὑποστάσεων νοοῦν τας. Μονὰς γὰρ καὶ ἐν Τριάδι νοεῖται, καὶ Τριὰς ἐ μονάδι γνωρίζεται. ### English translation (Claude) And let no one charge us with having proposed some things and gone through others, if the sameness of … For the argument of ranking presents nothing other than [the fellowship] of Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Let the objector consider with care; for he will find … that we took the account of the substance in the order of union, and divided nature into uncreated and created, and that the marks of the uncreated were confessed by us: that it is lordly and free from all necessity, and does and is able to do whatever it wishes by its own authority; while the created, by contrast, follows lordly laws, and is able to do and fulfils only the service it has received from the Godhead. The division being so, and confirming that there is nothing between Godhead and creation, whatever differs from creation clearly does not differ from the divine. If, then, it has been shown by us at length that the Son and the Spirit differ from creation, since they are numbered with no creature, but are everywhere joined with the Father, how is it not the height of folly to think them not of the uncreated substance? For one of the two must necessarily fall: one must either, showing them to be of the created, separate them from the uncreated, or, proving them to be of the uncreated, necessarily separate them from the created. But they have appeared both separated from the created and joined to the uncreated; and it was agreed that there is nothing between these. It would remain that they share the substance of him with whom they have been joined everywhere. For as has been said (it is good to take it up again for a more complete proof), in the discipling of the world in Christ, in the teaching of the Holy Spirit, and also in the divine instruction, in the creation of all things, and indeed in sovereign authority, similar and identical things have been handed down concerning Father and Son and Holy Spirit; [what does this show but] their fellowship with one another? We ought, then, to confess one God, known in Father and Son and Holy Spirit; distinguishing Father, Son and Holy Spirit as the hypostases of the one Godhead, and understanding “God” as what the hypostases have in common according to substance. For the Monad is understood in Trinity, and the Trinity is known in Monad. ### Translation notes - Migne's Latin and variant readings are removed (“…”). ### Citation (SBL) Ps.-Justin, Expos. fid. 7 (PG 6:1215; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/1/#p-7). ## Exposition of the Right Faith 8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/1/#p-8 - Source: PG 6:1215 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The author confesses that the manner of the Trinity is beyond human knowledge, citing Paul's partial knowledge and David's wonder. ### Greek text Καὶ πῶς τοῦτο, διερωτᾷν οὔτ᾽ ἄλλον ἐθδουλό μῆν, οὔτ᾽ αὐτὸς ἐμαυτὸν δυναίμην πείθειν τοὺς περὶ τῶν ἀποῤῥήτων λόγους γλώσσῃ πηλίνῃ καὶ σαρχίν! ῥνπῶντι χατατολμᾷν. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ νοῦς ἡμῖν καθαρὰ ἐνίδρυται, δι᾽ οὗ τῶν ὑπὲρ ἡμᾶς πολλάχις τῷ λόγῃ περιδραττόμεθα, ἀλλά γε τῇ συζύγῳ σαρχὶ βαρυνύμενος, ἀτονεῖ τὴν ἐναργῆ τῶν μειζόνων κατά… ἐπείπερ βρίθει τὸ γεῶδες σχῆνός νοῦν πολυ- Α ὄντιδα. Οὐδενὶ οὖν ἂν τρόπῳ ἀνθρώποις οὖσι δυνα-, ἐξικέσθαι τῆς πρώτης ἐχείνης καὶ μαχαρίας οὐὖις. Καὶ τί λέγω τῆς θείας οὐσίας ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲ τῶν ρὶ αὑτὴν μυστιχῶς τελουμένων. Οὐδὲν γὰρ ἀνθρώις τῶν θεέων σαφὲς, ὡς Ἑλλήνων σοφός τις ἐφθέγτο" ἐγὼ δὲ τὸ λεχθὲν ὡς ἀληθὲς δέχομαι. “Ὅταν ρ ἀκούσω τοῦ Παύλου, τοῦ σχεύους τῆς ἐχλογῆς, ἡ τρίτον οὐρανὸν ἐχδεδηχότος, τοῦ ῥημάτων ἀῤῥήν ἀχηχοότος, ἃ μὴ θέμις γλώσσαις ἀνθρωπίναις λαλεῖν, τοῦ λαλοῦντα ἐν ἑαυτῷ ἔχοντος τὸν τῶν [ων χορηγὸν, μεριχὴν τὴν γνῶσιν ἐν ἑαυτῷ προσρτυροῦντος καὶ λέγοντος" Ἄρτι γιγώσκχω ἐκχ μέυς" τότε δὲ ἐπιγνώσομαι καθὼς καὶ ἐπεγγώ- ἪΡ καὶ πάλιν" Ἐχ μέρους γιγώσκχομεν, καὶ ἐκ ρους προφητεύομεν" πῶς τὴν τελείαν τῶν θείων Β ὦσιν ἀνθρώποις οὖσι πιστεύσω; Εἰ γὰρ τοῖς εἰς Παύλου μέτρον ἐφθαχόσιν, ἀμυδρά τις καὶ με- (ἢ γέγονε" (τὸ γὰρ δι᾽ ἐσόπτρου καὶ ἐν αἱρίγτι, τὸ ἀμυδρὸν παραινίσσεται), τίς οὕτω λμηρὸς πρὸς ἀπόνοιαν, ὡς τελείαν τῶν θείων γνῶ-,) ἑαυτῷ προσμαρτυρεῖν; Αὐτίχα δὲ καὶ ἡμεῖς τὸ Ν ἀποῤῥήτων ἀδιεξόδευτον εἰδότες, τὰ τοῦ ιυὴδ πρὸς τὸν τῶν ὅλων θεὸν ἐπιφθεγξόμεθα ΄ ϑαυμαστώθη ἡ γγῶσίς σου ἐξ ἐμοῦ" ἐχραταιώθη" ) μὴ δύνωμαι πρὸς αὑτήν. ᾿Αλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν καὶ γεῖν ὅσιον, καὶ φρονεῖν ὁσιώτερον" τοῖς γὰρ θείοις χτραχωρεΐν, εὐσεδοῦς ἀνδρὸς ἂν εἴη καὶ σώφρονος. ### English translation (Claude) And how this is, I would neither wish another to ask, nor could I persuade myself to venture words about things ineffable with a tongue of clay and defiled flesh. For even if a pure mind has been set in us, by which we often grasp in reason things beyond us, yet, weighed down by the flesh yoked to it, it is too weak for a clear grasp of the greater things, since “the earthy tent weighs down the much-thinking mind.” In no way, then, would it be possible for men to attain that first and blessed substance. And why do I speak of the divine substance? Not even of the things performed mystically about it. “For nothing of things divine is clear to men,” as one of the wise men of the Greeks said; and I accept what was said as true. For when I hear Paul, the vessel of election, who ascended to the third heaven, who heard ineffable words which it is not lawful for human tongues to speak, who had speaking within him the giver of words, bearing witness to the partial knowledge in himself and saying, “Now I know in part, but then I shall know even as I have been known”; and again, “We know in part and we prophesy in part”: how shall I believe that perfect knowledge of divine things is possible for men? For if those who attained Paul's measure had a dim and partial [knowledge] (for “through a mirror and in a riddle” hints at dimness), who is so daring in his folly as to bear witness to himself of perfect knowledge of divine things? We too, then, knowing that the ineffable cannot be traversed, will say to the God of all the words of David: “Your knowledge has become too wonderful for me; it is mighty, and I cannot attain to it.” But these things are holy to say and holier to think; for to give way before divine things would be the mark of a godly and sober man. ### Scripture references - Acts 9:15: allusion, high confidence - 2 Cor 12:2: allusion, high confidence - 2 Cor 12:4: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 13:12: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 13:9: quotation, high confidence - Ps 139:6 (138:6 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Wis 9:15 (Wisdom of Solomon): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Chapter 8. Migne's notes are removed in the middle and at the end. “The earthy tent weighs down the much-thinking mind” is Wis 9:15; the Greek saying “nothing of things divine is clear to men” is unidentified. Acts 9:15; 2 Cor 12:2–4; 1 Cor 13:9, 12; Ps 139:6 (LXX 138:6). ### Citation (SBL) Ps.-Justin, Expos. fid. 8 (PG 6:1215; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/1/#p-8). ## Exposition of the Right Faith 9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/1/#p-9 - Source: PG 6:1215 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Son is begotten as light from light and the Spirit proceeds as light from light, co-eternal and of the same substance; the author turns to the economy of the incarnation. ### Greek text Οὐχοῦν ὅσον μὲν τῶν θείων εἰς ἀσφαλῇ ἔρευναν, … τὸν δὲ πρὸς εὐσεδῇ θρησχείαν θεοπρεπῶς νοοῦεν (οὐ γὰρ ἐπειδὴ πάμπαν ἀχατάληπτον τὸ θεῖον, ἃ τοῦτό που πάντως μηδ᾽ ὅλως ζητεῖν περὶ αὐτοῦ ροσῆχεν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν ῥᾳστώνῃ τὸν τοῦ βίου χαταναλίχξιν χρόνον - χατὰ δὲ τὸ μέτρον τὸ μερισθὲν ἑχάστῳ πρὰ τοῦ Κυρίου τῆς γνώσεως τὴν ἐξέτασιν φιλοπόὡς ποιεῖσθαι" ὅτι μὲν ἀχατάληπτον ἀχριθῶς μένοις, ἐφ᾽ ὅσον δὲ χωροῦμεν διὰ τῆς θεωρίας ἑαυοὺς ἐχείνῳ συνάπτοντας), οὕτω τοίνυν νοοῦμεν τὸν “ἰὸν ἐχ Πατρὸς γεγεννῆσθαι, ὡς φῶς ἐχ φωτὸς ἐκλάμιν. Ἱχανὴ γὰρ ἡ εἰκὼν παραστῆσαι τό τε συναῖἰὸν, τό τε τῆς οὐσίας ταὐτὸν, τό τε τῆς γεννήσεως πυνυπέστη. Τίνι γὰρ φωτὸς ἔχλαμψις χρόνον ἰχείνῳ δηλώσειεν, ἀφ᾽ οὗ καὶ γεγέννηται. Εἰ δὲ … Οὐ γὰρ κατὰ τομὴν, ἣ ῥεῦσιν, ἢ διάστασιν, τῷ φωτὸς ἡ ἔχλαμψις γίνεται, ἀλλ᾽ ἐχ τῆς οὐσίας αὐτῖς ἀπαθῶς προέρχεται. Τὴν αὐτὴν δὲ γνῶσιν καὶ πιὰ ποῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος κατέχομεν, ὅτι ὥσπερ ὁ Υἱὸς ἐχ ποῦ Πατρὸς, οὕτω καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα" πλὴν γε δὴ τῷ πρόπῳ τῆς ὑπάρξεως διοίσει. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ φῶς μὲν ἐχ φωτὸς ἐξέλαμψε " τὸ δὲ φῶς μὲν ἐχ φωτὸς καὶ αὐτὸ, οὐ μὴν γεννητῶς, ἀλλ᾽ ἐχπορευτῶ; προῆλθεν οὕτως συναΐδιον Πατρὶ, οὕτως τὴν οὐσίαν ταὐτὸν, οὕτως ἀπαθῶς ἐχεῖθεν ἐχπορευθέν. Οὕτως ἐν τῇ Τριάδι τὴν μονάδα νοοῦμεν, καὶ ἐν τῇ μονάδι τὴν Τριάδα γνωρίζομεν. Ταῦτα χωρίσαντες, καὶ τοῦτο τὸ μέτρον παρὰ τοῦ Κυρίου τῆς γνώσεως λαδόντες, τοῖς υἱέσι τῆς Ἐχχλησίας τὸ χαταληφθὲν ἐχτιθέμεθα, οὕτω μὲν … σεως τὴν ἔχλαμψιν δέξωνται" ἐπεέ γε τοῖς παρ᾽ ἡμῶν ἐχτεθεῖσι σὺν ἐπιμελείᾳ προέχειν σωφρονιχόν. Οὐ γάρ τι κομψὸν, ἢ ὑπέρογχον, ἢ μεγαλαυχίας ἔχον ἀπόδειξιν ἐφαντάσθημεν᾽" ὅσον δὲ εὐσεδὲς μᾶλλον καὶ πρέπον τῇ θείχ γνώσει κατὰ δύναμιν συ λέξαντες, τῆς μιᾶς θεότητος τὴν ἐν τελείαις τριδν ὑποστάσεσι γνῶσιν ἐξεθέμεθα. Καὶ περὶ μὲν τῆς μακαρίας καὶ θείας Τριάδος οὕτω δοξάζοντες, ἐπὶ τὴν ἐξ οἰχονομίας χάριν τοῦ λόγου τῷ λόγῳ προῦ ἔλθωμεν. ᾿Αῤῥητος μὲν γὰρ τῆς οἰχονομίας ὁ λόγος. Τῷ δὲ λόγῳ τῷ πρώτῳ κατὰ δύναμιν πάλιν ἡμῖν καὶ τοῦτο ἐξεταστέον. ### English translation (Claude) So far, then, as divine things allow a safe inquiry … and for godly worship we think of them in a manner worthy of God (for it is not that, because the divine is wholly incomprehensible, we ought not to inquire about it at all but spend our lifetime at ease; rather, according to the measure of knowledge apportioned to each by the Lord, we should make the examination with love, knowing that it remains strictly incomprehensible, yet joining ourselves to it by contemplation as far as we can contain it), we think, then, that the Son was begotten of the Father as light shines forth from light. For the image suffices to present the co-eternity, the sameness of substance, and the impassibility of the begetting. For in whom would the radiance of light show a time …? For the radiance of light does not come about by cutting, or flowing, or separation, but proceeds impassibly from its very substance. And we hold the same knowledge concerning the Holy Spirit too: that as the Son is from the Father, so also is the Spirit; except that it will differ in its mode of existence. For the one shone forth as light from light; the other came forth also as light from light, yet not by begetting but by procession; so co-eternal with the Father, so the same in substance, so impassibly proceeding from there. So we understand the Monad in the Trinity and know the Trinity in the Monad. Having made these distinctions, and having received this measure of knowledge from the Lord, we set out what we have grasped for the sons of the church … the radiance …; since it is prudent to attend carefully to what we have set out. For we have devised nothing elegant, or overweening, or showing boastfulness; but gathering as far as we could what is more godly and fitting to divine knowledge, we have set out the knowledge of the one Godhead in three perfect hypostases. And holding these views about the blessed and divine Trinity, let us proceed in our discourse to the grace that comes from the economy. For the account of the economy is ineffable; yet this too must be examined by us again, as far as we can, with the same reasoning as the first. ### Translation notes - Chapter 9. Migne's notes are removed at three points (“…”), one of them quoting the Greek saying cited in chapter 8 (Euripides?). ### Citation (SBL) Ps.-Justin, Expos. fid. 9 (PG 6:1215; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/1/#p-9). ## Exposition of the Right Faith 10 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/1/#p-10 - Source: PG 6:1215 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Word came down without leaving heaven, formed for himself a temple from the Virgin, and as the one Son died as man and rose as God; contrary statements are to be assigned to the two natures. ### Greek text Ὅτε τῶν οἰχείων πλασμάτων συνεῖδεν ὁ Λόγος χρῆναι τὴν ἀνάπλασιν γενέσθαι, καὶ τῆς τοῦ ᾿Αδὲμ τότε δὴ, τῶν οὐρανῶν οὐχ ἀποστὰς, πρὸς ἡ μᾶς χατελήλυθεν. Οὐ γὰρ ἣν σώματος ἡ κατάθδασις, ἀλλὰ θείας ἐνεργείας βούλησις. μέσῃ δὲ παρθένῳ, ἐχ Δαυϊδιχοῦ καταγομένῃ τοῦ γένους διὰ τὰς πρὸς αὖτὸν ἐπαγγελίας, πρὸς τὴν τῆς οἰχονομίας χρείαν χρησάμενος, καὶ ταύτης τὴν νηδὺν εἰσδὺς, οἱονεί τι; θεῖος σπόρος, πλάττει ναὸν ἑαυτῷ τὸν τέλειον ἄνθρωπον, μέρος τι λαδὼν τῆς ἐχείνης φύσεως, χεὶ εἰς τὴν τοῦ ναοῦ διάπλασιν οὐσιώσας. Ἐνδὺς δὲ αὐ» τὸν χατ᾿ ἄχραν ἕνωσιν, Θεὸς ὁμοῦ καὶ ἄνθρωἄνθρωπος, ἀμέμπτως πολιτεύεται, καὶ θάνατον ἐχού- … ζων τὸ παράπτωμα, διὰ δὲ τοῦ μὴ χρεωστουμένου θανάτου καταργῶν τὸν ὀφειλόμενον" ἦ δὲ Θεὸς, καὶ αὶ λυθὲν ἀνιστᾷ, καὶ τὸν θάνατον αὐτὸν παντελῶς χαταὕει. Εἷς οὖν ἐστιν ὁ Υἱὸς, ὅτε λυθεὶς,ὅ τε τὸ λυθὲν ἀναπήτας. Ἧ γὰρ ἄνθρωπος, ἐλύθη " ἧ δὲ Θεὸς, ἀνέπησεν. Ὅταν οὖν ἀχούσῃς περὶ τοῦ ἑνὸς Υἱοῦ τὰς ναντίας φωνὰς, χαταλλήλως μέριζε ταῖς φύσεσι τὰ εγόμενα" ἂν μέγα τι καὶ θεῖον, τῇ θείᾳ φύσει προσἰἔμων " ἂν δέ τι μιχρὸν καὶ ἀνθρώπινον, τῇ ἀνθρωτίνῃ λογιζόμενος. Οὕτω γὰρ καὶ τὸ τῶν φωνῶν σεως, καὶ τὸν Υἱὸν τὸν ἕνα, καὶ πρὸ πάντων αἰώων, καὶ πρόσφατον χατὰ τὰς θΞίας Γραφὰς ### English translation (Claude) When the Word saw that the re-forming of his own creatures, and of Adam's [nature], must come about, then, without leaving the heavens, he came down to us. For the descent was not of a body, but a will of divine activity. And using a … virgin, descended from the family of David because of the promises made to him, for the need of the economy, and entering her womb like a divine seed, he forms for himself a temple, the perfect man, taking a part of her nature and giving it substance for the forming of the temple. And having put it on in the highest union, God and man together, … he lives blamelessly, and willingly [undergoing] death … the transgression, and by the death that was not owed abolishing the death that was owed; but as God he raises what was dissolved, and abolishes death itself utterly. One, then, is the Son, both the one who was dissolved and the one who raised what was dissolved. For as man he was dissolved; as God he raised. When, then, you hear contrary statements about the one Son, distribute what is said fittingly to the natures: if something great and divine, assigning it to the divine nature; if something small and human, reckoning it to the human. For thus [you will remove] the … of the statements, and [confess] the one Son, both before all ages and recent, according to the divine Scriptures. ### Scripture references - John 2:21: allusion, medium confidence - Luke 1:32: allusion, low confidence - Heb 2:14: allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - Chapter 10. Migne's notes are removed in the middle (“…”). The language of the Word forming “a temple, the perfect man” and of assigning sayings to the natures belongs to the fifth-century author's Christology; translated as written. John 2:21; Heb 2:14. ### Citation (SBL) Ps.-Justin, Expos. fid. 10 (PG 6:1215; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/1/#p-10). ## Exposition of the Right Faith 11 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/1/#p-11 - Source: PG 6:1215 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The author weighs the comparison of the union of God and man in Christ with that of soul and body, accepting it in part but rejecting it because man is a third thing from two, and the soul suffers with the body. ### Greek text Καὶ μὴ μέ τις τῆς ἑνώσεως διερωτάτω τὸν τρόπον. Οὐ γὰρ αἰδεσθήσομαι τὴν ἄγνοιαν ὁμολο- Β τ[ῶν“ τοὐναντίον δὲ καὶ μᾶλλον χαυχέσομαι, τοῖς ἱποῤῥήτοις πιστεύων, καὶ μύστης τούτων ὑπάρχων, ὗ; καὶ λόγος καὶ νοῦς ἀτονεῖ τὴν χατάληψιν. Ὥστε μηδξ ἐναργές τι περὶ τούτων μήτε παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ μήτε παρ᾽ ἑτέρου μανθάνειν ἐλπίσειεν. Εἰ δ᾽ ὅσον ὁ νοῦς ἡμῶν ἐχώρησε περὶ τούτου βούλει γνῶναι, φθό- ᾿ς μὲν οὐδεὶς πρὸς παῖδας Ἐχχλησίας τοσοῦτον δὲ τοῖς λεγομένοις ἐπισημηνάμενος, ὡς δεῖ τοῖς ἐγχειροῦσι τὴν ἔχθεσιν τῆς ἄνωθεν ῥοπῆς τε καὶ συνεργίας, ἐπὶ τὴν εἰς δύναμιν χατάληψιν εἶμι. Τινὲς μὲν οὖν τὴν ἕνωσιν, ὡς ψυχῆς πρὸς σῶμα νοήφαντες͵ οὕτως ἐκδεδώχασι. Καὶ ἁρμόδιόν γε τὸ παράδειγμα, εἰ καὶ μὴ κατὰ πάντα, χατὰ τὶ γοῦν. Ὡς γὰρ εἷς μέν ἔστιν ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ἔχει δὲ φύσεις ἐν ἰαυτῷ διαφόρους δύο καὶ χατ᾽ ἄλλο μὲν λογίζεται, σ χατ'᾿ ἄλλο ὃξ τὸ λογισθὲν ἐνεργεῖ ψυχῇ μὲν γὰρ Ἰογιδάμενος, εἰ τύχοι, τοῦ πλοίου τὴν σύμπηξιν, χερδὶ τὸ νοηθὲν εἰς πέρας ἄγει - οὕτως ὁ ΥἹὸς, εἷς ὧν καὶ δύο φύσεις, χατ᾽ ἄλλην μὲν τὰς θεοσημείας εἰργάζετο, κατ᾽ ἄλλην δὲ τὰ ταπεινὰ παρεδέχετο. Ἧ μὲν γὰρ ἐκ Πατρὸς καὶ Θεὸς, ἐνεργεῖ τὰ θαύματα ἦ δὲ ἐχ παρθένου καὶ ἄνθρωπος, τὸν σταυρὸν καὶ τὸ πάθος καὶ τὰ παραπλήσια ἐθέλων ὑπέμενε φυσιχῶς. Εἴτις ἕως τούτου τὰ τοῦ παραδείγματος δέχοιτο, ἔχει χαλῶς ἡ εἰχών. Εἰ δὲ πάλιν ὅλον ὅλῳ τῷ ταραδείγματι συγχρίνοι, τὰ τῆς διαφορᾶς ἀναφανήσεται. Ὁ γὰρ ἄνθρωπος, εἰ καὶ διττὰς ἐν ἑαυτῷ δειχνύει φύσεις, οὐ δύο φύσεις ἐστὶν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐχ τῶν δύο. Ὡς γὰρ τὸ σῶμα σύγχει αἱ μὲν ἐχ πυρὸς, καὶ ἀέρος, καὶ ὕδατος, καὶ γῆς, οὐχέτι δὲ τὸ σῶμα τὸρ εἴποις εἶναι, οὐδὲ ἀέρα, οὐδέ το τῶν ἄλλων " οὐᾷ γὰρ ταὐτὸν τοῖς ἐξ ὧν ἐστίν " ἐπεὶ καὶ διάφορος … οὕτως ὁ ἄνθρωπος, εἰ καὶ ἐχ ψυχῆς καὶ σώματός ἔστιν, ἕτερος παρὰ τὰ ἐξ ὧν ἐστίν. Ὧδε δὲ μάθοις ὃ λέγω σαφέστερον. Ἐχ διαφόρων ὑλῶν τὸν οἶχον οἶχοδομοῦμεν ἀλλ᾽ οὐχ ἄν τις εἴποι τὲν οἶχον ταὐτὸν ὑπάρχειν ταῖς ὕλαις ταῖς ἐξ ὧν ἐστίν" οὐ γὰρ ἁπλῶς οἱ λίθοι, καὶ τὰ ξύλα, καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ, ὁ οἶχός ἐστιν. Εἰ γὰρ τοῦτο Ἦν, πρὸ τῆς οἰχοδομίας διῃρημένας αὐτὰς τὰς ὕλας οἶχον ἄν τις δικαίως χαλέσειεν. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ἡ τοιάδε τῶν ὑλῶν πρὸς ἀλλήλας σύμπηξις τὸν οἶχον ἡμῖν ἀποτελεῖν πέφυχεν. ᾿Αμέλει τῆς οἰκίας λυθείσης, μένουσι μὲν ὁμοίως αἱ ὕλαι τὸν οἰχεῖον ἐπέχουσαι λόγον " ἀπολωλέναι δὲ φαμὲν τὴν οἰχίαν, ἣν ἡ τοιάδε τῶν ὑλῶν σύζευξις ἀπετέλεσεν. Οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀνθρώπον. Κἂν γὰρ ἐχ ψυχῆς καὶ σώματος ὑπάρχῃ, οὗ ταὐτὸν ἂν εἴη τοῖς ἐξ ὧν ἐστὶν, ἀλλ᾽ ἕτερον ὡς εἶναι τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς συναφείας ψυχῆς πρὸς σῶμα, τρίτον ἀτοτελούμενον ἄλλο. Καὶ τοῦτο δῆλον ἀφ᾽ ὧν, τῆς διαζεύξεως τῆς τούτων γενομένης, μένει μὲν οὕτως τὸ σῶμα τὸν οἰχεῖον σῶζον λόγον" τριχῇ γάρ ἔστι διστατὸν, χἂν νεχρὸν ὑπάρχῃ" ἡ Ψυχή τε πάλιν ὁμοίως λογιχὴ τυγχάνουσα, χἂν διαξευχθῇ - ἀπόλιυλς δὲ ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ὃν ἀπετέλεσεν ἑχατέρων ἡ σύζευξις. Ὁ δὲ Χριστὸς οὐκ ἐχ θεότητος καὶ ἀνθρωπότητος ἀπετελέσθη Χριστὸς, ἄλλος ὧν παρὰ τὰ δύο, ἀλλὰ καὶ Θεὸς καὶ ἄνθρωπος ἑχάτερα τυγχάνει " Θεὸς μὲν νοούμενος τῇ τῶν τεραστίων ἐνεργείᾳ, ἄνθρωπος δὲ δειχνύμενος τῇ τῆς φύσεως ὁμοιοπαθείᾳ. “Αλλως δὲ. πολλοῖς καὶ ἡ Ψυχὴ τῶν τοῦ σώματος προχατεγομένη παθῶν, καὶ προπάσχει πολλάχις τοῦ σὼματος " συμπάσχει δὲ διηνεχῶς αὐτίχα ςαΐν:ται, πολλάχις τὴν τομὴν τοῦ σώματος ἀγωνιῶσα, καὶ πρὸ τοῦ πάθους τοῦ σώματος ἀλλοιουμένη, καὶ μετὰ τὴν τομὴν οὐδὲν ἔλαττον τὰ τῆς ὀδύνης ἐμταθῶς δεχομένη. Ὅπερ ἐπὶ τῆς θεότητος τοῦ Χριστοῦ οὐχ ἄν τις τῶν ὀρθὰ φρονεῖν εἰωθότων, εἰ μὴ παντελῶς τὸν νοῦν παρενεχθῇ, τολμήσειεν ἣ εἰπεῖν ἣ παραδέξασθαι. “Ὥστε τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τὸ παράδειγμα χατὰ τὶ μὲν δεχτέον, χατὰ τὸ λοιπὸν δὲ φευ- ### English translation (Claude) And let no one ask me the manner of the union. For I shall not be ashamed to confess ignorance; on the contrary, I shall rather boast, believing things ineffable and being an initiate of things whose comprehension both word and mind fall short of. So let no one hope to learn anything clear about these things either from me or from anyone else. But if you wish to know as much as our mind has contained about this, … there is no grudging toward children of the church; but having remarked this much on what is said, that those who undertake the exposition need help and co-operation from above, I will go on to such comprehension as is possible. Some, then, have understood the union as that of soul with body, and have expounded it so. And the example is apt, if not in every respect, at least in some. For as man is one but has in himself two different natures, and reasons with the one and carries out with the other what has been reasoned (for reasoning with his soul, say, about the building of a ship, he brings to completion with his hands what he has thought), so the Son, being one and two natures, worked the divine signs by the one and accepted the lowly things by the other. For as from the Father and God he works the miracles; as from the virgin and man he willingly endured, by nature, the cross and the passion and the like. If one accepts the example thus far, the image holds well. But if one compares the whole with the whole example, the differences will appear. For man, even if he shows two natures in himself, is not two natures, but is from the two. For as the body is composed of fire and air and water and earth, but you would no longer say that the body is fire, nor air, nor any of the others, for it is not the same as the things from which it is … so man too, even if he is of soul and body, is other than the things from which he is. You would learn what I mean more clearly thus. We build a house from different materials; but no one would say that the house is the same as the materials from which it is; for the stones and timbers and the rest are not simply the house. For if this were so, one would rightly call the materials a house even when they lay separate before the building. But such a joining of the materials to one another is what naturally makes the house for us. When the house is pulled down, the materials remain just the same, keeping their own character; but we say the house has perished, which such a joining of the materials had made. So too with man. For even if he is of soul and body, he would not be the same as the things from which he is, but other; so that man is completed as a third thing, another, from the very union of soul with body. And this is clear from the fact that when they are separated the body remains, keeping its own character (for it is three-dimensional even when dead), and the soul likewise remains rational even when separated; but the man whom the union of both made has perished. But Christ was not made Christ from Godhead and humanity as something other than the two; he is both, God and man: understood as God by the working of wonders, shown as man by the like passions of his nature. Besides, in many people the soul is seized beforehand by the body's sufferings, and often suffers before the body; it suffers with it continually, as appears, often in anguish over the cutting of the body, altered before the body suffers, and after the cutting receiving the pains no less feelingly. This no one accustomed to think rightly, unless utterly deranged in mind, would dare to say or admit of the Godhead of Christ. So the example of man is to be accepted in one respect but avoided in the rest. ### Translation notes - Chapter 11. Migne's notes and variant readings are removed in the middle (“…”). The rejection of the soul-body analogy as implying a composite third nature or a suffering Godhead reflects fifth-century debate; translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Ps.-Justin, Expos. fid. 11 (PG 6:1215; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/1/#p-11). ## Exposition of the Right Faith 12 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/12/#p-12 - Source: PG 6:1215 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The author confesses the limits of his knowledge, then proposes an image of the union: the primal light gathered into the body of the sun, one sun in light and body, as the Word and his body are one Son; he closes with thanks. ### Greek text Ἡμεῖς δὲ καὶ πάλαι μὲν προδιωμολογή σαμεν τῆς ἀληθείας ταύτης τὴν ἐναργῆ χατάληψιν μὴ Ὁ νοεῖν καὶ νῦν οὐδὲν ἔλαττον εὐγνωμονοῦμεν, ὁμολογοῦντες τὴν κατὰ τὸ μέτρον τὸ δοθὲν ἡμῖν γνὼσιν, ὅσον τε πρὸς εὐσεδέστερον ἐναργῇ λόγον, … … -αραδείγματος ἀνάγειν σπουδάζομεν, καὶ τὴν Α νωσιν οὐ μιχρᾷ τινὶ καὶ τῶν εὐτελῶν εἰχόνι παρειἄξειν ἐθέλομεν, ἀλλὰ μεγάλῃ, καὶ τῇ γεννήσει πρεπὐτῃ τῇ ἐχ Πατρός. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ φῶς ἐλήλνθεν ς τὸν χόσμον ὁ Λόγος, ἔχ φωτὸς ἐχλάμψας τοῦ γαιτίου, φῶς εἶναι καὶ τὸ παράδειγμα βούλομαι τῆς γώστως. Νοείσθω τοίνυν ὁ Λόγος φῶς εἶναι τὸ ἀρἔγονον, ὃ πρώτῃ φωνῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ δι᾽ αὐτοῦ τοῦ Λόγου ἐγέντται σῶμα δὲ ἡλιαχὸν τὸ σῶμα τὸ ἀνθρώπιον, ᾧ χατ᾽ ἀπόῤῥητον τὸν λόγον ὁ Λόγος ἡνώθη. ἰαὶ μή μοι τὸν ἥλιον φῶς ἕτερον παρὰ τὸ πρότεον γενόμενον νόμιζε. Οὐ γὰρ ὡς ἐλλείποντος τοῦ ρώτου πρὸς τὸν τοῦ παντὸς φωτισμὸν, ὁ ἥλιος γέονε τὸ λεῖπον ἀναπληρῶν. Οὐ γὰρ τοιοῦτος ὁ τεχνίἧς, ὡς μὴτε προϊδέσθαι τὸ τέλειον, μήτε τὴν αὐγὴν Ῥὸς τὴν ἐξ αὐτοῦ παρεχομένην ᾿ δημιουργῆσαι ρείαν. Ἕν τοίνυν ἐστὶ τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀρχέγονον " ὁ δὲ λιος σῶμα τούτῳ κατεσχευάσθη " ἐφ᾽ οὗ συναιεθὲν τὸ φῶς πανταχοῦ τὴν ἀρχὴν κεχυμένον ἐποεἴται. Τοῦτο καὶ τῶν ὡρῶν ἡμῖν τῆς ἡμέρας ἣν δρόμον διὰ τοῦ σώματος ἀμέμπτως ἀποπληροῖ. Ἐγὰρ μὴ ἐνεδέθη σώματι, ἀλλ᾽ ὅλον ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ ἐρι περιεχέχυτο, οὐκ ἂν ἡμῖν οὔτε τὰ μέτρα τῆς μέρας διώρισεν, οὔτε χίνησιν εὔταχτον καὶ τὸν πενιηχότα παρέστησεν. Εἰ δέ μοι λέγεις, ὅτι καὶ πρὸ ἧς τοῦ ἡλίου γενέσεως ἡμέρα καὶ νὺξ ἐγίνετο, πρῶον μὲν ὁμολογήσεις ὁμοίως, ὅτι ἤρχει τοῦ φωὃς ἡ φύσις ἄπαντα χαταυγάζειν " ἀχολούθως δὲ χοιἦν ζητήσας τῆς γενέσεως τοῦ ἡλίου τὴν αἰτίαν, ὑρήσεις οὐκ ἄλλην οὖσαν ἣ τὴν παρ᾽ ἡμῶν ἀρτίως ἰρημένην. Πάλαι μὲν γὰρ ὅλον δι᾽ ὅλου τὸ φῶς ἀέρι πριχεχυμένον οὔτε χίνησιν ὁμαλὴν διέτρεχεν, οὔτε ἧς ἡμέρας τὰ μέτρα διώριζεν, ἀλλὰ συστελλόμενον, ἡ νυχτὶ τὴν πάροδον ἐδίδου, ὥστε παντὸς ἁἀληθέπερον ἕτερον μὲν εἶναι τὸ φῶς, ἕτερον δὲ τὸ διαχὸν σῶμα τὸ τοῦτο δεξάμενον. Οὕτως ἔχοντος ([ υῇ φωτὸς πρὸς τὸ ἡλιαχὸν σῶμα, σχοπεῖτε λοιπὸν μεὶς δι᾽ ἀχριδείας τὸν λόγον. "Ὥσπερ γὰρ μετὰ τὴν νωσιν τοῦ πρωτογόνου φωτὸς πρὸς τὸ ἡλιαχὸν σῶμα, ὑχ ἄν τις ἀπ᾽ ἀλλήλων αὐτὰ διέλοι, οὐδὲ τὸ μὲν λιον ἰδιαζόντως χαλέσοι, τὸ δὲ πάλιν φῶς διῃρημέὡς, ἀλλ᾽ εἷς ἥλιος τὸ φῶς μετὰ τοῦ σώματος ἔνεται - οὕτως ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ φωτὸς, καὶ τοῦ πναγίου ([ σώματος, οὐχ ἄν τις εἴποι; μετὰ τὴν γωσιν, τὸν μὲν χεχωρισμένως Υἱὸν τὸν θεῖον ιόγον, τὸν δὲ Υἱὸν τὸν ἄνθρωπον " ἀλλ᾽ ἕνα καὶ τὸν … … δεχθὲν φῶς, τό τε δεξάμενον σῶμα. Πάλιν ὡς ξ μὲν φῶς, καὶ εἷς ἥλιος, φύσεις δὲ δύο “ ἡ μὲν φωτὸς ἡ δὲ σώματος ἡλιαχοῦ - οὕτω χἀνταῦθα, εἷς μὲν Υἱὸς, καὶ Κύριος, καὶ Χριστὸς, καὶ Μονογενῆς " οἱ σεις δὲ δύο᾽ ἣἡ μὲν ὑπὲρ ἡμᾶς, ἡ δὲ ἡμετέρα. Κ: αὖθις, ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τοῦ φωτὸς τὴν ἐνέργειαν οὐ ἄν τις χωρίσεις τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ τοῦ δεχτιχοῦ " τι λόγῳ δὲ διελὼν, γνωρίσειε τὴν φύσιν, ἧς ἐστιν ἰδὲ ἡ ἐνέργεια " οὕτως ἐπὶ τοῦ ἑνὸς μονογενοῦς ποῦ Θεοῦ, πᾶσαν μὲν ἐνέργειαν οὐχ ἄν τις χωρέσΞιε τῇ μιᾶς υἱότητος, τῆς δὲ ᾿φύσεως ἧς ἐστὶν οἔχεῖον : γιγνόμενον τῷ λόγῳ γνωρέσειεν. Οὕτως ἡμεῖς τὸ παρά δείγμα τῆς ἑνώσεως τῆς θείας ποιήδαντες, ὡς ἃ μενοι. Τούτων εἴ τί σοι δόξειεν ἐγγύτερόν πως τ! ἀληθείας εἶναι, ἀνύμνε: τὸν δεδωχότα τῆς γνώτεω τὸ μέτρον" εἰ δέ τι μᾶλλον εὐσεδὲς παρ᾽ ἄλλου μεμά θηκας, αὐτὸν πάλιν ἀνύμνει τὸν χηδεμόνα" αὐτὰ γὰρ πάλαι ὧν, εἰς ἄλλον ἐνήργησεν. ᾿Αποχρώντω, τοίνυν εἰς δύναμιν τὴν ὀρθὴν ὁμολογίαν ἐχθέμενοι καίρειν μὲν τοῖς τῆς Ἐχχλησίας νἱέσιν εἰπόντες, χά: ριν δὲ τῷ δεδωχότι τοῦ λόγου τὴν χορηγίαν ὁμολογήσαντες, ἐπὶ τῆς χαθ᾽ ἡσυχίαν διαγωγῆς τὸν λόγο ### English translation (Claude) But we too confessed long ago that we do not understand clearly the comprehension of this truth, and now no less we acknowledge it, confessing the knowledge according to the measure given to us, as far as [concerns] a more godly and clear account … we are eager to lead [the comparison] up from the example, and we wish to liken the union not to some small and cheap image, but to a great one, befitting the begetting from the Father. For since the Word came into the world as light, shining forth from the unbegotten light, I wish the example of the union also to be light. Let the Word, then, be understood as the primal light, which came to be at the first word of God through the Word himself; and the human body as the body of the sun, to which in an ineffable manner the Word was united. And do not think that the sun is another light besides the one that came to be first. For the sun did not come to be to fill up what was lacking, as though the first light were insufficient for the illumination of the universe; for the craftsman is not such as neither to foresee what is perfect nor to create the radiance for the need it serves. The primal light, then, is one; and the sun was made as a body for it; gathered upon this, the light, which before was poured out everywhere, is made … And through the body it completes for us blamelessly the course of the hours of the day. For if it had not been bound to a body, but had been poured whole through the whole air, it would neither have marked off for us the measures of the day nor shown an ordered motion and the [established course]. If you say to me that even before the sun was made there were day and night, first you will likewise agree that the nature of light was sufficient to illumine all things; and then, seeking in common the cause of the sun's creation, you will find it to be none other than the one just stated by us. For formerly the light, poured whole through the whole air, neither ran an even course nor marked off the measures of the day, but by contracting gave way to the night; so that it is truer than anything that the light is one thing and the solar body that received it another. The light being so related to the solar body, consider the argument with care. For just as after the union of the firstborn light with the solar body no one would separate them from each other, nor call the one by itself the sun and the other again light divided, but the light together with the body becomes one sun, so in the case of the true light and the all-holy body no one would say, after the union, that the divine Word is the Son separately and the man the Son separately; but one and the same … both the light received and the body that received it. Again, as there is one light and one sun, but two natures, the one of light and the other of the solar body, so here too there is one Son and Lord and Christ and Only-begotten, but two natures, the one beyond us and the other ours. And again, as in the case of light no one could separate its activity from the very body that receives it, but distinguishing by reason would recognize the nature to which the activity properly belongs, so in the case of the one only-begotten Son of God no one could separate any activity from the one sonship, but by reason would recognize to which nature what happens belongs. Having thus made the example of the divine union, as … Of these things, if anything seems to you to be somewhat nearer the truth, praise him who has given the measure of knowledge; but if you have learned something more godly from another, praise again the same guardian; for he, being the same, has worked in another. Let these things suffice, then: having set out the right confession as far as we could, bidding farewell to the sons of the church and confessing our thanks to him who supplied the word, [let us bring] the discourse to the life of quiet … ### Scripture references - John 1:9: allusion, high confidence - Gen 1:3: allusion, high confidence - Gen 1:16: allusion, high confidence - Gen 1:5: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The chapter is printed in the scan in three pieces separated by Migne's variant readings (removed, and not published); the first words of the second and third pieces are lost (“…”). Gen 1:3, 5, 14–18; John 1:9. ### Citation (SBL) Ps.-Justin, Expos. fid. 12 (PG 6:1215; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/12/#p-12). ## Exposition of the Right Faith 13 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/12/#p-13 - Source: PG 6:1215 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The author takes up a further question: how the Word is everywhere by substance and yet dwells in his own temple. ### Greek text ᾿Αλλὰ γὰρ ὁρῶ τινας ἀναχαλου μένους τὸν λόγον, καὶ ζητήσεως ἑτέρας στάδιον ὑποδειχνύντας, καὶ τρέχειν αὖθις βιαζομένους, τάχα που καὶ πειρω χεν. Ὁ δέ γε μιμεῖται πηγὴν, ἢ, συνεχέστερον ἀν γένευχε πρὸς τὸν δρόμον, καὶ τῶν θυρῶν οὐχ ἔδη ὅσον προέχυψε, καὶ τοῦ σημαντῆρος ἀναμένει τὸ σύνθημα. Σοὶ δὲ βουλόμενος τὸ ζήτημα σημᾶναι, ἕτοιμος ὁρμῆσαι καὶ χαταθαλεῖν τὴν ἀπιστίαν, καὶ περιχλεῖσαι τὰς θεομάχους γλώσσας, καὶ διαστεῖλαι, τί μὲν δεῖ περὶ τῶν θείων ζητεῖν, τί δὲ πιστεύειν, καὶ τοῦ δρόμου τῷ νόμῳ νικητὴς ἀναῤῥηθῆναι. Πῶς, φησὶν, ὁ Λόγος πανταχοῦ κατ᾽ οὐσίαν ἐστὶ, καὶ πῶς ἐν τῷ οἰχείῳ ναῷ; Εἰ γὰρ ὡς ἐν ἅπασι χἀχεῖ, οὐδὲν πλέον ὁ ναὸς τῶν πάντων ἕξει. Καὶ ποῦ θήσομεν τό, Ἕν ᾧ κατοικεῖ πᾶν τὸ πιλήρωμα τῆς θεότητος σωματικῶς; Εἰ δ᾽ ἐν τῷ ναῷ δοίη τις πλέον εἶναι, ιν οὐ τοῖς πᾶσι χατ᾿ οὐσίαι πάρεστιν, ὅπερ ἴδιον Θεοῦ. ### English translation (Claude) But I see some calling the discourse back, pointing out the course of another inquiry, and forcing it to run again, perhaps also … But [the discourse] imitates a spring, … has risen up for the race, and has not yet peeped out of the gates, and awaits the starter's signal. Wishing to mark out the question for you, it is ready to rush forward and overthrow unbelief, to shut the God-fighting tongues, to distinguish what one must inquire about divine things and what one must believe, and to be proclaimed victor by the law of the race. “How,” he says, “is the Word everywhere according to substance, and how in his own temple? For if he is there as in all things, the temple will have nothing more than all things. And where shall we put the saying, ‘In whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily’? But if one grants that he is more in the temple, he is not present to all things according to substance, which is proper to God.” ### Scripture references - Col 2:9: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Chapter 13. The comparisons in the opening sentences are garbled in the scan (“…”). Col 2:9. ### Citation (SBL) Ps.-Justin, Expos. fid. 13 (PG 6:1215; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/12/#p-13). ## Exposition of the Right Faith 14 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/12/#p-14 - Source: PG 6:1215 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Asking “how” about God betrays unbelief: how, then, did he create heaven, earth and the questioner himself, and how is his power present to all things? ### Greek text Σαφὴς ἔλεγχος ἀπιστίας τὸ πῶς ἐπὶ θεοῦ … Πῶς γὰρ οὐρανοῦ δημιουργὸς, πῶς γῆς, καὶ Ἰαλάσσης, ἀέρος τε καὶ φυτῶν, καὶ τῶν ζώων ἀπάνἴων, καὶ σοῦ γε αὐτοῦ, τοῦ πάντα μετὰ ἀχριδείας περὶ θεοῦ ζητοῦντος; ᾿Αλλὰ πάντως ἐρεῖς, ὅτι … ἢ τοῦ Θεοῦ δύναμις τοῖς γινομένοις κατὰ πηχὸς ὡς οὖσί γε, καὶ πρὸ τοῦ γενέσθαι" ἐπεί- περ τὸ συμδεδηχὸς οὐ χαθ᾽ αὐτὸ πέφυχεν, ἀλλ᾽ ἕν προῦποκειμένοις ὑπάρχει. Εἰ δὲ γελοῖον τοῦτο, ᾿λρ' οὖν, ἐπειδὴ πᾶσι χατ᾽ οὐσίαν ἡ δύναμις τοῖς γι- κμένοις παρῆν, οὐδὲν πλέον εἶχεν αὐτῶν ὁ χεχληἱρμῆσας ὁ λόγος κατέθαλε τὴν ἀπιστίαν" βλέπε περι- … ### English translation (Claude) To ask “how” in the case of God is a clear proof of unbelief. … For how is he the creator of heaven, how of earth, and of sea, of air and of plants and of all living things, and of you yourself, who inquire so exactly about God? But you will surely say that the power of God is present to the things that come to be … as to existing things, even before they came to be; since what is accidental does not exist by itself but in underlying subjects. And if this is ridiculous, then, since the power was present by substance to all things that came to be, its possessor had nothing more than they … the word rushed forward and overthrew unbelief. Look around … ### Translation notes - The first sentence is followed in the scan by Migne's variant readings and line-by-line Latin translation (removed); words lost there are marked “…”. ### Citation (SBL) Ps.-Justin, Expos. fid. 14 (PG 6:1215; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/12/#p-14). ## Exposition of the Right Faith 15 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/12/#p-15 - Source: PG 6:1215 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Against those who teach the mixture of the natures and the change of Christ's body into Godhead: such a change would add to God, produce two divine substances, or be pointless. ### Greek text Ιὅ. Εἴπατε ἡμῖν οἱ τὸν Χριστιανισμὸν πρεσδεύειν 15. πων τὰ τοιαῦτα καὶ ζητοῦντες καὶ προϊσχόμενοι, οἱ τὰ τῆς χράσεως καὶ συγχύσεως, καὶ τῆς ἀπὸ σώμα- τς εἰς θεότητα μεταδολῇς, καὶ τὰς τοιαύτας τὸν Λόγον γεγενῆσθαι λέγοντες, ποτὲ δὲ τὴν τοῦ νοὺς ὑμῶν παρατροπὰς μηδ᾽ ὁτιοῦν φρονεῖτε δῆ- χαθιστάμενοι. Λέγετε τοίνυν ἡμῖν, πῶς ὁ ἄφη λόγος σὰρξ γενόμενος, τοὺς οὐρανοὺς οὐ κατέλιπε. Πάντως ἐρεῖτε, ὅτι μείνας Θεὸς οὕτως ἐγένετο. “ Πάλιν οὖν ἡμῖν εἴπατε, πῶς μείνας ἐγένετο. Εἰ γὰρ ἔμεινεν ὃ ἣν, πῶς γέγονεν ὃ οὐκ ἦν; Εἰ δὲ γές γνεν ὃ οὐχ ἦν, πῶς ἔμεινεν ὅπερ ἦν; ᾿Απορεῖς τὴν ἐπθνσιν; ἀπόρει καὶ τῆς ἑνώσεως τὸν τρόπον. ᾿Αλλὰ πιστεύεις, ὅτι μείνας ἐγένετο, πίστευε καὶ παρ- γα εἶναι πανταχοῦ κατ᾽ οὐσίαν τὸν Λόγον, καὶ χατ᾽ ἐξαίρετον λόγον ὑπάρχειν ἐν τῷ οἰχείῳ ναῷ. Πά- … εἰ μὲν τοῦτο, μένει μὲν σῶμα τὸ σῶμα, εἴπερ οὐ σῶμα Θεὸς, μετείληφε δὲ θείας ἀξίας, οὐ φύσεως, εὐδοχίᾳ τῷ Λόγου. Εἰ δ᾽ ὁ Λόγος διὰ τὴν ἕνωσιν εἰς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ οὐσίαν τὸ σῶμα μετέδαλε, πάλιν ἐρωτήσωμεν, πῶς εἰς τὴν οὐσίαν τοῦ Λόγου μετεθλήθη τὸ σῶμα. ἾΑρα μεταδληθὲν εἰς τὴν οὐσίαν τοῦ Λόγου, πρῦθήχην τῇ οὐσίᾳ παρέσχηχεν; Οὐχοῦν ἐλλιπὴς ἂν ἦν πρὸ τούτον, ἦγε προσθήχην δεξαμένη. ᾿Αλλ᾽ οὐδὲν ἀπὸ τούτου προσέλαδεν; Οὐχοῦν τὸ μεταδληβὲν οὐδὲν ἂν εἴη. Καὶ πῶς εἰς θείαν τὸ μηδὲν μετέπεσεν οὐσίαν; ᾽Δλλ᾽ οὐχ εἰς τὴν οἰχείαν, φήσουσιν, οὐσίαν ὁ Λόγος ἀνέλυσε τὸ σῶμα, ἀλλ᾽ εἰς θείαν τοῦτο μετεποίησε. Πάλιν οὖν ἡμῖν ἀποχρινέσθωσαν,, θείαν ὡς ἄλλην παρὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ, ἣ ταὐτὸν τῇ αὐτοῦ; Εἰ μὲν γὰρ ταὐτὸν τῇ αὐτοῦ, δύο θείας οὐσίας τοῦ Λόγο) χηρύξομεν" μίαν μὲν, χαθ᾽ ἣν ἐχ Πατρὸς γενντθεὶς εἶχεν, ἑτέραν δὲ, χαθ᾽ ἣν καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ σῶμα χατ' αὑτὴν πεποίηχεν. Εἰ δ᾽ ἑτέραν παρὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ, οὐ θείαν δὲ, χτιστὴν πάντως ἐροῦσι. Θεότητος γὰρ καὶ χτίσεως οὐδὲν μέσον ἂν εἴη. Καὶ τί τῆς μεταδολῆς τῷ σώματι τὸ ἀναγχαῖον, εἴπερ εἰς χτιστὴν οὐσίαν πάλιν μετεποιεῖτο: ### English translation (Claude) Tell us, you who are thought to champion Christianity, … seeking and putting forward such things, … the notions of mixture and confusion, and of change from body into Godhead, and such things, saying that the Word became … and at another time … holding no sound view at all of the deviations of your mind. Tell us, then, how the Word, becoming flesh, did not leave the heavens. You will surely say that, remaining God, he so became flesh. Tell us again, then, how, remaining, he became. For if he remained what he was, how did he become what he was not? And if he became what he was not, how did he remain what he was? Are you at a loss over this? Be at a loss over the manner of the union also. But you believe that, remaining, he became; believe also that the Word is present everywhere by substance, and is in his own temple in a special way. … If this, the body remains a body, since God is not a body, but it has received a share in divine dignity, not divine nature, by the good pleasure of the Word. But if the Word through the union changed the body into his own substance, let us ask again how the body was changed into the substance of the Word. Did it, when changed into the substance of the Word, provide an addition to that substance? Then the substance would have been deficient before this, if it received an addition. Or did it receive nothing from this? Then what was changed would be nothing. And how did nothing pass into the divine substance? “But the Word,” they will say, “did not dissolve the body into his own substance, but made it into a divine one.” Let them answer us again: divine as another besides his own, or the same as his own? For if the same as his own, we shall proclaim two divine substances of the Word: one, which he had as begotten from the Father; another, according to which he made the body itself. But if another besides his own, and not divine, they will surely say created. For there could be nothing between Godhead and creation. And what was the need of change for the body, if it was again remade into a created substance? ### Scripture references - John 1:14: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The scan interleaves Migne's Latin translation line by line (removed); many words of the text are lost or garbled (“…”). The second part comes after Migne's variant readings (removed, not published), and its first words are lost. The argument is aimed at those who held that Christ's body was transformed into Godhead; translated as written. John 1:14. ### Citation (SBL) Ps.-Justin, Expos. fid. 15 (PG 6:1215; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/12/#p-15). ## Exposition of the Right Faith 16 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/12/#p-16 - Source: PG 6:1215 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Faith resolves what reason cannot grasp; the author distinguishes what must be inquired into from what must be believed and worshipped. ### Greek text Ἰλιγγιᾷς ἐπὶ ταῖς ἀπορίαις, καὶ τάχα ποὺ καὶ δέδιας μήπου τὶ τῶν εἰρημένων τὸν τῆς πίστεως ἡμῶν παραλύσῃ λόγον. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ὅταν ἐγὼ ζττῶν ἐπαπορήσω, τότε τοῦ μυστηρίου τῶν Χριστιανῶν ἀναχράξω τὸ θαῦμα, ὅτι ὑπὲρ νοῦν, ὑπὲρ λόγον, ὑπὲρ χατάληψιν χτιστῆς φύσεως τὰ ἡμέτερα. Ὅταν δὲ καὶ σοὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα ζητοῦντι ἀπορία τὶς ἐπείη, πρόσφερε τοῖς ζητουμένοις ἑτοίμην λύσιν τὴν πίστιν, λογιζόμενος, ὄτιπερ ὅπου Θεὸς, χἂν ἀγννηθῇ τι τῶν λεγομένων, ἣ δι᾽ ὑπεροχὴν φύσεως, ἢ δι᾽ οἰχονομίας τρόπον, οὐδὲν ἀπὸ τούτου βλάδος τοῖς ἀγνοοῦσιν ἐγγίνεται. Πῶς δὲ ὅλως οὐ δεδίατε τὴν τόλμαν, τὰ θεῖα διευθύνειν ἐπιχειροῦντες; Ἢ τῶν θείων οὐκ ἀχηχόατε λόγων, οἱ, τοὺς καθ᾽ ὑμᾶς ( τῶν τοιούτων ἐγχειρήσεων ἀνείργοντες, τὴν τοῦ πη΄ λοῦ καὶ τοῦ χεραμέως ἡμῖν εἰχόνα προσέθηχαν; Ταύτῃ παιδεύοντες μὴ δεῖν ἡμᾶς περιέργους ἣ ἐξ!" παστὰς τῶν θείων χαθίστασθαι, ἀλλ᾽ εἴχειν τῇ βουλήσει τῇ θείᾳ, καθάπερ τὸν πηλὸν τῷ χεραμεῖ. Εὐλαδήθητε γοῦν ὀψέ ποτε, καὶ φρονήματι λίαν ἐπιειχεῖ τοὺς ὑμετέρους λογισμοὺς χοιμίσατε, καὶ τὰς … ὑμῖν ἐπαπορήσεις πίστις ἐπιλυέτω μόνη, καὶ τοὺς αὶ λόγους τοὺς θείους χατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον τρέμετε, ἵνα, τῆς ἐπαναπαύσεως τῆς θείας ἄξιοι γενόμενοι, τῶν μαχαρίων ἐχείνων ῥημάτων παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων ἐπαχούσητε " ᾿Επὶ τίνα ἐπιδιλέψω,, λεγόντων, ἀλι' ἢ ἐπὶ τὸν ταπειγὸν καὶ ἡσύχιον, καὶ τρέτῶν θεομάχων γλωσσῶν, πρὸς τὴν διαστολὴν ὁ λόγος ἐπειγόμενος τρέχει. Ὑμεῖς δὲ οἱ τῆς Ἐχχλησίας υἱεῖς, οἱ τὴν ζήτησιν εὐσεδῶς ποιούμενοι, καὶ τῶν ἑἐπαπορουμένων τὰς πεύσεις οὐ πειράζοντες, ἀλλ᾽ εἰ δυνατὸν μανθάνειν, προσάγοντες, ὧδέ μοι τὸν νοῦν εὐτρεπίσατε. Πολυσχιδὲς μὲν τῆς θείας διδασχαλίας τὸ σχῆμα, συναιρεῖται δὲ ὡς ἐν χεφαλαίῳ εἷς τε μάθησιν ἐντολῶν καὶ φυλαχὴν, εἴς τε τὴν θείαν Ἡνῶσιν καὶ προσχύνησιν. Οἱ τοίνυν τῆς εὐσεβείας ἐρασταὶ τὴν μὲν τῶν ἐντολῶν φυλαχὴν καὶ μάθησιν πατ᾿ οὐδὲν ἀγνοεῖν πειράσονται, καὶ πρὸ τούτων γε τὴν θείαν προσχύνησιν. Τὴν γε μὴν τῶν θείων γνῶδὲ, προσχυνείτωσαν ὡς ἀνέφιχτον, ἵνα μὴ χενῶται τὰ τῆς πίστεως ἡμῖν. Ταύτῃ δὲ ἐπισταμένων ἡμῶν, ἃ μὲν δεῖ ζητεῖν, ἃ δὲ πιστεύειν, ἐπὶ τοὺς ἀγῶνας οὖν τοῦ δρόμου τὸν λόγον ἐμδιθάσαντες, Ἔμθηθι «οιπὸν εἰς τοὺς ἀγῶνας ὁ ### English translation (Claude) You are dizzy at the difficulties, and perhaps you fear that something said may undo the account of our faith. But when I, in my inquiry, am at a loss, then I will cry aloud the wonder of the mystery of the Christians: that our things are beyond mind, beyond reason, beyond the comprehension of created nature. And when you too, inquiring into such things, meet some difficulty, bring faith as a ready solution to what is inquired into, reckoning that where God is concerned, even if something of what is said is not known, whether because of the transcendence of his nature or because of the manner of the economy, no harm comes from this to those who do not know. And how do you not fear the daring of attempting to set divine things straight? Or have you not heard the divine words which, restraining those like you from such attempts, set before us the image of the clay and the potter, teaching by it that we must not be curious or inquisitive about divine things, but yield to the divine will as the clay to the potter? Be cautious at last, then, and lull your reasonings to rest with a very gentle mind … let faith alone resolve the difficulties for you, and tremble at the divine words, as it is written, so that, being made worthy of the divine rest, you may hear from the God of all those blessed words that say: “On whom shall I look but on the humble and quiet and him who trembles at my words?” … of the God-fighting tongues, the discourse runs, hastening to the distinction. But you, sons of the church, who make your inquiry piously, and put forward the questions on difficulties not to test but to learn if possible, prepare your mind thus with me. The form of the divine teaching is many-branched, but it is gathered as in a summary into the learning and keeping of the commandments, and into the knowledge and worship of God. The lovers of godliness, then, will try to be ignorant in no respect of the keeping and learning of the commandments, and before these of the worship of God. But the knowledge of divine things … let them worship as unattainable, lest the things of the faith be emptied for us. Knowing thus what must be inquired into and what believed, we set the discourse on the contests of the race: “Enter now into the contests, O word …” ### Scripture references - Rom 9:20: allusion, high confidence - Rom 9:21: allusion, high confidence - Jer 18:6: allusion, low confidence - Isa 66:2: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Chapter 16. Migne's notes are removed in the middle (“…”); a few words are lost before “of the God-fighting tongues” and in the sentence on the knowledge of divine things. Rom 9:20–21; Isa 66:2. ### Citation (SBL) Ps.-Justin, Expos. fid. 16 (PG 6:1215; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/12/#p-16). ## Exposition of the Right Faith 17 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/12/#p-17 - Source: PG 6:1215 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Word is present to all by substance but received according to each one's measure, as the sun is equally present yet received by each eye according to its strength; only in his own sinless temple does the fullness of the Godhead dwell. ### Greek text Ὁμολογοῦμεν ἀγνοεῖν τὴν ἐναργῆ τῆς ἀληθεία; γνῶσιν: ἐπείπερ μέρος πολύ που τῆς νίχης. ὦσοὸν δὲ ἐφτιχτὸν ἀνθρώπου φύσει, τοῦτο ἐξετάσας, εὐπεθῶς ὑμῖν τὸ ζητούμενον λύσω. Πῶς γὰρ, φησὶν, ὁλόγος ἕν τε τῷ οἰχείῳ ναῷ κατ᾽ οὐσίαν ἐστὶν, ἣν τε τοῖς οὖσιν ἅπασιν ὁμοίως, καὶ τί πλεῖον ὁ ναὸς τῶν ἁπάντων ἕξει; ᾿Αχούσωμεν δὴ λοιπὸν τοῦ λόγου λέγοντος, Ὃς ἐστιν τοῖς κοιϊποῖς τοῦ Πατρὸς, κατ᾿ οὐσίαν καὶ τοῖς πᾶσιν ἀμερίστως πάρεστι " καὶ οὐχ οὕτως αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ Πατρὶ λέγομεν, ὡς ἐν τοῖς λοιποῖς εἶναι, οὐ διὰ τὸ τὴν οὐσίαν ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις γιγνομένην συστέλλεσθαι, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ τῶν δεχομένων μέτρον, ἀτονούντων τὴν εἰσδοχὴν τὴν θείαν" οὕτως ἐν τῷ οἰκείῳ ναῷ ἀχώριστον λέγοντες, καὶ οἱονεὶ τὸ πλήρωμα τῆς θεότητος χατοιχεῖν χαθομολογοῦντες, καὶ τοῖς. πᾶτιν αὐτὸν παρεῖναι χατ᾽ οὐσίαν λέγομεν, καὶ οὐχ ὁμοίως. Οὐ γὰρ δέχεται σῶμα ῥυποῦν ἀχτῖνας θεότητος " καὶ μάνθανε τὸ λεχθὲν παραδείγματι. Οὐ γὰρ ἂν ὑποσταλείην τοῦ … διαλεγόμενος. Κοινὸς ὁ ἥλιος ἣμῖν χαθ᾽ ἐχάστην “οἷς πᾶσι πρόχειται, καὶ οὐ τῷ μὲν ἔλαττον, τῷ δὲ πλεῖον προπθδάλλει, ἀλλὰ χοινὴν αὐτοῦ τὴν ἐνέργειαν τοῖς πᾶσιν ἐπίσης ἀφίησιν. ᾿Αλλ᾽ εἴ τις ἐῤῥωμένας τὰς ὄψεις ἔχοι, δέχεται μὲν τούτου τῆς ἀχτῖνος τὸ πλεῖον, οὐχὶ διὰ τὸν ἥλιον ὡς μᾶλλον εἰς αὐτὸν τῶν λοιπῶν ἐφαπλούμενον, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν οἰχείαν τῆς ὄψεως δύναμιν. Ὁ δὲ τὰς ὄψεις ἀσθενῶν, οὐδ᾽ αὐτῷ τοῦ φωτὸς τῷ ἀπαυγάσματι προσδλέπειν δυνήσεται, διὰ τὴν τῶν ὀμμάτων ἀσθένειαν. Οὕτω μοι νόξι τὸν τῆς διχαιοσύνης ἥλιον, πᾶσι μὲν ἐπίσης χατ᾽ οὐσίαν ἅτε Θεὸν ὄντα, παρεῖναι ἡμᾶς δὲ πάντας, οἷον ἀσθενεῖς ὀφθαλμοὺς καὶ λημῶντας τῷ ῥύπῳ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν, τὴν εἰσδοχὴν τοῦ φωτὸς ἀτονοῦντας" τὸν ὃὲ οἰχεῖον ναὸν οἷον ὀφθαλμὸν χαθαρώτατον καὶ χωροῦντα τοῦ φωτὸς ὅλου τὴν αἴγλην, ἅτε πλασθέντα μὲν ἐκ Πνεύματος ἁγίου, ἁμαρτίας χαθάπαξ χεχωρισμένον. Ὡς γὰρ ὁ ἥλιος ὁμοίως κατ᾽ ἐνέργειαν τοῖς πᾶσι προσδάλλων, οὐχ ὁμοίως ὑπὸ πάντων χωρεῖται, οὕτως ὁ Λόγος χατ᾽ οὐσίαν τοῖς πᾶσι παρὼν, οὐχ ὁμοίως τοῖς ἄλλοις καὶ τῷ ναῷ τῷ οἰχείῳ πάρεστιν. ### English translation (Claude) We confess that we do not have clear knowledge of the truth; since this is a great part of victory. But examining what is attainable by human nature, I will easily resolve the question for you. For how, he says, is the Word in his own temple by substance, and likewise in all beings, and what more will the temple have than all? Let us hear, then, the Word saying, “Who is in the bosom of the Father”; … by substance he is present to all things indivisibly; and we do not say that he is in the Father as he is in the rest, not because his substance is contracted when it comes to be in others, but because of the measure of the recipients, who are too weak for the divine reception. So, saying that he is inseparably in his own temple, and confessing that the fullness of the Godhead, as it were, dwells there, we say that he is present to all things by substance, and not alike. For a defiled body does not receive the rays of the Godhead; learn what is said from an example. For I would not shrink from … The sun is common to us every day, set before all; it does not shed less on one and more on another, but sends forth its activity in common to all equally. But if someone has strong eyes, he receives more of its ray, not because of the sun, as though it spread itself more on him than on the rest, but because of the proper power of his sight. But he who is weak in his eyes will not be able even to look at the radiance of the light, because of the weakness of his eyes. So understand with me the sun of righteousness: present to all equally by substance, as being God; but all of us, like weak eyes bleared with the filth of sins, too weak to receive the light; and his own temple like a most pure eye, able to contain the whole brightness of the light, as formed by the Holy Spirit and wholly separated from sin. For as the sun, falling equally on all by its activity, is not received alike by all, so the Word, present to all by substance, is not present alike to the others and to his own temple. ### Scripture references - John 1:18: quotation, high confidence - Col 2:9: allusion, high confidence - Mal 4:2: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The second part comes after Migne's variant readings (removed, not published); a few words are lost after the quotation of John 1:18 and at the join (“…”). John 1:18; Col 2:9; Mal 4:2 (LXX 3:20). ### Citation (SBL) Ps.-Justin, Expos. fid. 17 (PG 6:1215; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/12/#p-17). ## Exposition of the Right Faith 18 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/12/#p-18 - Source: PG 6:1215 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The author closes with a hymn of victory to the Word, the true light. ### Greek text δε πῶς ἀθλήσας τὸν δρόμον ὁ λόγος καὶ τοῖς τῆς νίχης στεφάνοις ὡραϊζέσθω, καὶ θριτιδειυέτω τῶν ἀντιπάλων τὴν ἧτταν. Ἡμεῖς δὲ, τοῦ Χριστοῦ προάγοντος, τὸν ἐπινίκιον ἄδωμεν, τὸ ἀγῶνα τὸν καλὸν, βοῶντες" Ὁ λόγος, ἡγώνισαι, τὸν δούμὸν τετέλεχας, τὴν πίστιν τετήρηχας" λοιπὼν ἀπόχειταί σοι ὁ τῆς δικαιοσύνης στέφανος. Μᾶλλον δὲ πὸν γύρη γήσαντα τὴν νίκην ἀνυμνήσωμεν, τὸν θειότατον Δόγον, τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινὸν, τὸ φωτίζον πάντα ἄνθρωπον ἐρχόμενον εἰς τὸν χόσμον, τὸν δι᾽ οὗ ζῶμεν καὶ χινούμεθα καὶ ἐσμὲν, τὸν δι᾽ οὗ τὰ πάντα, τὸν δι' ὖ τὰς τοιαύτας τῶν λόγων στροφὰς διαλύομεν, “ὃν χὴν δεμόνα, τὸν πρύτανιν, τὸν εὐεργέτην, ᾧ καὶ θύομεν διηνεχῶς θυσίαν αἰνέσεως, καὶ σπένδομεν ὡς θεῷ δεήσεις εἰλιχρινεῖς, γαὶ θύομεν εὐωδέαν πράξεων, αὐτὸν λογιζόμενοι, αὐτῷ προσανέχοντες αὐτὸν ἐν πᾶτιν ὑμνοῦντες, τὴν μαχαρίαν ἐλπίδα καὶ χορηγὸν τς Ὦ ἀνωτάτω βασιλείας. ### English translation (Claude) … So, having run the race, let the word be adorned with the crowns of victory, and let it lead the defeat of its adversaries in triumph. But let us, with Christ leading us, sing the song of victory, crying the good contest: “O word, you have fought, you have finished the race, you have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for you the crown of righteousness.” Or rather let us praise him who supplied the victory, the most divine Word, the true light that enlightens every man coming into the world, in whom we live and move and have our being, through whom are all things, through whom we undo such twists of arguments, the guardian, the president, the benefactor; to whom we continually offer a sacrifice of praise, and pour out to him as God sincere prayers, and offer the fragrance of our deeds, thinking of him, attending to him, praising him in all things, the blessed hope and giver of the kingdom on high. ### Scripture references - 2 Tim 4:7: quotation, high confidence - 2 Tim 4:8: quotation, high confidence - John 1:9: quotation, high confidence - Acts 17:28: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 8:6: allusion, medium confidence - Heb 13:15: allusion, high confidence - Titus 2:13: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Chapter 18, the end of the work. Migne's notes are removed at the end. 2 Tim 4:7–8; John 1:9; Acts 17:28; 1 Cor 8:6; Heb 13:15; Titus 2:13. ### Citation (SBL) Ps.-Justin, Expos. fid. 18 (PG 6:1215; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-justin-expositio/12/#p-18).