ORIGEN & EUSEBIUS VEIWS ON THE HOLY SPIRIT

GREEK TEXT: “...Πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο. [2.10.70] Οὐδέποτε τὴν πρώτην χώραν ἔχει τὸ«δι' οὗ», δευτέραν δὲ ἀεί· οἷον ἐν τῇ πρὸς Ῥωμαίους·«Παῦλος δοῦλος, φησί, Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ, κλητὸς ἀπόστολος, ἀφω ρισμένος εἰς εὐαγγέλιον θεοῦ, ὃ προεπηγγείλατο διὰ τῶν προφητῶν αὐτοῦ ἐν γραφαῖς ἁγίαις περὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὑτοῦ, τοῦ γενομένου ἐκ σπέρματος ∆αβὶδ κατὰ σάρκα, τοῦ ὁρισθέντος υἱοῦ θεοῦ ἐν δυνάμει κατὰ πνεῦμα ἁγιωσύνης ἐξ ἀναστάσεως νεκρῶν, Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν, δι' οὗ ἐλάβομεν χάριν καὶ ἀποστολὴν εἰς ὑπακοὴν πίστεως ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὀνόματος αὐτοῦ.» [2.10.71] Ὁ γὰρ θεὸς τὸ εὐαγγέλιον ἑαυτοῦ προεπηγγείλατο διὰ τῶν προφητῶν, ὑπη ρετούντων τῶν προφητῶν καὶ ἐχόντων τὸν λόγον τοῦ«δι' οὗ», καὶ πάλιν ὁ θεὸς ἔδωκε«χάριν καὶ ἀποστολὴν εἰς ὑπακοὴν πίστεως ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσι» Παύλῳ καὶ τοῖς λοιποῖς, καὶ ἔδωκε διὰ Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ τοῦ σωτῆρος, ἔχοντος τὸ«δι' οὗ». [2.10.72] Καὶ ἐν τῇ πρὸς Ἑβραίους ὁ αὐτὸς Παῦλός φησιν·«Ἐπ' ἐσχάτου τῶν ἡμερῶν ἐλάλησεν ἡμῖν ἐν υἱῷ, ὃν ἔθηκε κληρονόμον πάντων, δι' οὗ καὶ ἐποίησε τοὺς αἰῶνας», διδά σκων ἡμᾶς, ὅτι ὁ θεὸς τοὺς αἰῶνας πεποίηκε διὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ, ἐν τῷ τοὺς αἰῶνας γίνεσθαι τοῦ μονογενοῦς ἔχοντος τὸ«δι' οὗ». Οὕτω τοίνυν καὶ ἐνθάδε εἰ πάντα διὰ τοῦ λόγου ἐγένετο, οὐχ ὑπὸ τοῦ λόγου ἐγένετο, ἀλλ' ὑπὸ κρείττονος καὶ μείζονος παρὰ τὸν λόγον. Τίς δ' ἂν ἄλλος οὗτος τυγχάνῃ ἢ ὁ πατήρ; [2.10.73] Ἐξεταστέον δέ, ἀληθοῦς ὄντος τοῦ«πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο», εἰ καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον δι' αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο. Οἶμαι γὰρ ὅτι τῷ μὲν φάσκοντι γενητὸν αὐτὸ εἶναι καὶ προιεμένῳ τὸ«πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο»· ἀναγκαῖον παρα δέξασθαι, ὅτι καὶ τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα διὰ τοῦ λόγου ἐγένετο, πρεσβυτέρου παρ' αὐτὸ τοῦ λόγου τυγχάνοντος. Τῷ δὲ μὴ βουλομένῳ τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα διὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ γεγονέναι ἕπεται τὸ«ἀγέννητον» αὐτὸ λέγειν, ἀληθῆ τὰ ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ τούτῳ εἶναι κρίνοντι. [2.10.74] Ἔσται δέ τις καὶ τρίτος παρὰ τοὺς δύο, τόν τε διὰ τοῦ λόγου παραδεχόμενον τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον γεγονέναι καὶ τὸν ἀγέννητον αὐτὸ εἶναι ὑπολαμβάνοντα, δογματίζων μηδὲ οὐσίαν τινὰ ἰδίαν ὑφεστάναι τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος ἑτέραν παρὰ τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὸν υἱόν· ἀλλὰ τάχα προστιθέμενος μᾶλλον, ἐὰν ἕτερον νομίζῃ εἶναι τὸν υἱὸν παρὰ τὸν πατέρα, τῷ τὸ αὐτὸ αὐτὸ τυγχάνειν τῷ πατρί, ὁμολογουμένως διαιρέσεως δηλου μένης τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος παρὰ τὸν υἱὸν ἐν τῷ«Ὃς ἐὰν εἴπῃ λόγον κατὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, ἀφεθήσεται αὐτῷ· ὃς δ' ἂν βλασφημήσῃ εἰς τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα, οὐχ ἕξει ἄφεσιν οὔτε ἐν τούτῳ τῷ αἰῶνι οὔτε ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι». [2.10.75] Ἡμεῖς μέντοι γε τρεῖς ὑποστάσεις πειθόμενοι τυγχά νειν, τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὸν υἱὸν καὶ τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα, καὶ ἀγέννητον μηδὲν ἕτερον τοῦ πατρὸς εἶναι πιστεύοντες, ὡς εὐσεβέστερον καὶ ἀληθὲς προσιέμεθα τὸ πάντων διὰ τοῦ λόγου γενομένων τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα πάντων εἶναι τιμιώτερον, καὶ τάξει πρῶτον; πάντων τῶν ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς διὰ Χριστοῦ γεγενημένων. [2.10.76] Καὶ τάχα αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ αἰτία τοῦ μὴ καὶ αὐτὸ υἱὸν χρηματίζειν τοῦ θεοῦ, μόνου τοῦ μονογενοῦς φύσει υἱοῦ ἀρχῆθεν τυγχάνοντος, οὗ χρῄζειν ἔοικε τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα διακονοῦντος αὐτοῦ τῇ ὑποστάσει, οὐ μόνον εἰς τὸ εἶναι ἀλλὰ καὶ σοφὸν εἶναι καὶ λογικὸν καὶ δίκαιον καὶ πᾶν ὁτιποτοῦν χρὴ αὐτὸ νοεῖν τυγχάνειν κατὰ μετοχὴν τῶν προειρημένων ἡμῖν Χριστοῦ ἐπινοιῶν. [2.10.77] Οἶμαι δὲ τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα τήν, ἵν' οὕτως εἴπω, ὕλην τῶν ἀπὸ θεοῦ χαρισμάτων παρέχειν τοῖς δι' αὐτὸ καὶ τὴν μετοχὴν αὐτοῦ χρηματίζουσιν ἁγίοις, τῆς εἰρημένης ὕλης τῶν χαρισμάτων ἐνεργουμένης μὲν ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ, διακονουμένης δὲ ὑπὸ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὑφεστώσης δὲ κατὰ τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα. [2.10.78] Καὶ κινεῖ με εἰς τὸ ταῦθ' οὕτως ἔχειν ὑπολαβεῖν Παῦ λος περὶ χαρισμάτων οὕτω που γράφων·«∆ιαιρέσεις δὲ χαρισμάτων εἰσί, τὸ δ' αὐτὸ πνεῦμα· καὶ διαιρέσεις διακο νιῶν εἰσί, καὶ ὁ αὐτὸς κύριος· καὶ διαιρέσεις ἐνεργημάτων εἰσί, καὶ ὁ αὐτός ἐστι θεὸς ὁ ἐνεργῶν τὰ πάντα ἐν πᾶσιν.» [2.11.79] Ἔχει δὲ ἐπαπόρησιν διά τε τὸ«Πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο» καὶ τὸ ἀκολουθεῖν τὸ πνεῦμα γενητὸν ὂν διὰ τοῦ λόγου γεγονέναι, πῶς οἱονεὶ προτιμᾶται τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἔν τισι γραφαῖς, ἐν μὲν τῷ Ἡσαΐᾳ ὁμολογοῦντος Χριστοῦ οὐχ ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς ἀπεστάλθαι μόνου, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος–φησὶ γάρ·«Καὶ νῦν κύριος ἀπέστειλέ με καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ»–, ἐν δὲ τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ ἄφεσιν μὲν ἐπαγ γελλομένου ἐπὶ τῆς εἰς αὐτὸν ἁμαρτίας, ἀποφαινομένου δὲ περὶ τῆς εἰς τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα βλασφημίας, ὡς οὐ μόνον «ἐν τούτῳ τῷ αἰῶνι» μὴ ἐσομένης ἀφέσεως τῷ εἰς αὐτὸ δυσφη μήσαντι, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ «ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι». [2.11.80] Καὶ μήποτε οὐ πάντως διὰ τὸ τιμιώτερον εἶναι τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον τοῦ Χριστοῦ οὐ γίνεται ἄφεσις τῷ εἰς αὐτὸ ἡμαρτηκότι, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ Χριστοῦ μὲν πάντα μετέχειν τὰ λογικά, οἷς δίδοται συγγνώμη μεταβαλλομένοις ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων, τοῦ δὲ ἁγίου πνεύματος τοὺς κατηξιωμένους μηδεμιᾶς εὔλογον εἶναι συγγνώμης τυχεῖν, μετὰ τηλικαύτης καὶ τοιαύτης συμπνοίας τῆς εἰς τὸ καλὸν ἔτι ἀποπίπτοντας καὶ ἐκτρεπομένους τὰς τοῦ ἐνυπάρχοντος πνεύματος συμβουλίας. [2.11.81] Εἰ δὲ κατὰ τὸν Ἡσαΐαν φησὶν ὁ κύριος ἡμῶν ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς ἀπεστάλθαι καὶ τοῦ πνεύματος αὐτοῦ, ἔστι καὶ ἐνταῦθα περὶ τοῦ ἀποστεί λαντος τὸν Χριστὸν πνεύματος ἀπολογήσασθαι, οὐχ ὡς φύσει διαφέροντος ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν γενομένην οἰκονομίαν τῆς ἐνανθρω πήσεως τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ, ἐλαττωθέντος παρ' αὐτὸ τοῦ σωτῆρος. [2.11.82] Εἰ δὲ ἐν τούτῳ προσκόπτει<τις> τῷ λέγειν ἠλαττῶ σθαι παρὰ τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα τὸν σωτῆρα ἐνανθρωπήσαντα, προσακτέον αὐτὸν ἀπὸ τῶν ἐν τῇ πρὸς Ἑβραίους λεγομένων ἐπιστολῇ, καὶ ἀγγέλων ἐλάττονα διὰ τὸ πάθημα τοῦ θανάτου ἀποφηναμένου τοῦ Παύλου γεγονέναι τὸν Ἰησοῦν· φησὶ γάρ·«Τὸν δὲ βραχύ τι παρ' ἀγγέλους ἠλαττωμένον βλέπομεν Ἰησοῦν διὰ τὸ πάθημα τοῦ θανάτου δόξῃ καὶ τιμῇ ἐστεφα νωμένον.» [2.11.83] Ἢ τάχα ἔστι καὶ τοῦτο εἰπεῖν, ὅτι ἐδεῖτο ἡ κτίσις ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἐλευθερωθῆναι ἀπὸ τῆς δουλείας τῆς φθορᾶς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένος μακαρίας καὶ θείας δυνάμεως ἐνανθρωπούσης, ἥτις διορθώσεται καὶ τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, καὶ ὡσπερεὶ ἐπέβαλλέ πως τῷ ἁγίῳ πνεύματι ἡ πρᾶξις αὕτη, ἥντινα ὑπομένειν οὐ δυνάμενον προβάλλεται τὸν σωτῆρα, ὡς τὸ τηλικοῦτον ἆθλον μόνον ἐνεγκεῖν δυνά μενον, καὶ τοῦ πατρὸς ὡς ἡγουμένου ἀποστέλλοντος τὸν υἱὸν συναποστέλλει καὶ συμπροπέμπει τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα αὐτόν, ἐν καιρῷ ὑπισχνούμενον καταβῆναι πρὸς τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ συνεργῆσαι τῇ τῶν ἀνθρώπων σωτηρίᾳ. [2.11.84] Τοῦτο δὲ πεποίηκεν, ὅτε τῷ σωματικῷ εἴδει ὡσεὶ περιστερὰ ἐφίπταται μετὰ τὸ λουτρὸν αὐτῷ καὶ ἐπιστὰν οὐ παρέρχεται, τάχα ἐν ἀνθρώποις τοῦτο πεποιηκὸς τοῖς μὴ δυνηθεῖσιν ἀδιαλείπτως φέρειν αὐτοῦ τὴν δόξαν. ∆ιόπερ σημαίνει ὁ Ἰωάννης περὶ τοῦ γνῶναι, ὅστις ποτέ ἐστιν ὁ Χριστός, οὐχὶ μόνην τὴν ἐπὶ τὸν Ἰησοῦν κατάβασιν τοῦ πνεύματος ἀλλὰ πρὸς τῇ καταβάσει τὴν ἐν αὐτῷ μονήν. [2.11.85] Γέγραπται γὰρ εἰρηκέναι τὸν Ἰωάννην ὅτι«Ὁ πέμψας με βαπτίζειν εἶπεν· Ἐφ' ὃν ἂν ἴδῃς τὸ πνεῦμα καταβαῖνον καὶ μένον ἐπ' αὐτὸν, οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ βαπτί ζων ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ καὶ πυρί». Οὐ γὰρ λέγεται·«Ἐφ' ὃν ἂν ἴδῃς τὸ πνεῦμα καταβαῖνον» μόνον, τάχα καὶ ἐπ' ἄλλους καταβεβηκότος αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ «καταβαῖνον καὶ μένον ἐπ' αὐτόν». [2.11.86] Ταῦτα δὲ ἐπὶ πολὺ ἐξήτασται σαφέστερον ἰδεῖν βουλο μένοις, πῶς, εἰ πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα διὰ τοῦ λόγου ἐγένετο, ἓν τῶν πάντων τυγχάνον ὑποδεέστερον τοῦ δι' οὗ ἐγένετο νοούμενον, εἰ καὶ λέξεις τινὲς περισπᾶν ἡμᾶς εἰς τὸ ἐναντίον δοκοῦσιν. [2.12.87] Ἐὰν δὲ προσιῆται τις τὸ καθ' Ἑβραίους εὐαγγέλιον, ἔνθα αὐτὸς ὁ σωτήρ φησιν·«Ἄρτι ἔλαβέ με ἡ μήτηρ μου, τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα, ἐν μιᾷ τῶν τριχῶν μου καὶ ἀπήνεγκέ με εἰς τὸ ὄρος τὸ μέγα Θαβώρ», ἐπαπορήσει, πῶς«μήτηρ» Χριστοῦ τὸ διὰ τοῦ λόγου γεγενημένον«πνεῦμα ἅγιον» εἶναι δύναται. [2.12.88] Ταῦτα δὲ καὶ τούτῳ οὐ χαλεπὸν ἑρμη νεῦσαι· εἰ γὰρ ὁ ποιῶν «τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πατρὸς τοῦ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς ἀδελφὸς καὶ ἀδελφὴ καὶ μήτηρ ἐστὶν» αὐτοῦ καὶ φθάνει τὸ«ἀδελφὸς Χριστοῦ» ὄνομα οὐ μόνον ἐπὶ τὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένος ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ τούτου θειότερα, οὐδὲν ἄτοπον ἔσται μᾶλλον πάσης χρηματιζούσης«μητρὸς Χριστοῦ» διὰ τὸ ποιεῖν τὸ θέλημα τοῦ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς πατρὸς τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον εἶναι«μητέρα». [2.12.89] Ἔτι εἰς τὸ «Πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο» καὶ ταῦτα ζητητέον· τῇ ἐπινοίᾳ ὁ λόγος ἕτερός ἐστι παρὰ τὴν ζωήν, καὶ ὃ γέγονεν ἐν τῷ λόγῳ «ζωὴ ἦν, καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἦν τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων». Ἆρ' οὖν, ὡς πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ ἡ ζωὴ δι' αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, ἥτις ἐστὶν «τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων», καὶ αἱ ἄλλαι τοῦ σωτῆρος ἐπίνοιαι, ἢ καθ' ὑπεξαίρεσιν τῶν ἐν αὐτῷ νοητέον τὸ «Πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο»; Ὅπερ δοκεῖ μοι εἶναι κρεῖττον. [2.12.90] Ἵνα γὰρ συγχωρηθῇ διὰ τὸ γεγο νέναι τὴν ζωὴν τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων, τί λεκτέον περὶ τῆς προεπινοουμένης τοῦ λόγου σοφίας; Οὐ γὰρ δήπου διὰ τοῦ λόγου τὸ περὶ τὸν λόγον γεγένηται. Ὥστε χωρὶς τῶν ἐπι νοουμένων τῷ Χριστῷ πάντα διὰ τοῦ λόγου γεγένηται τοῦ θεοῦ, ποιήσαντος ἐν σοφίᾳ αὐτὰ τοῦ πατρός· «Πάντα, γάρ φησιν, ἐν σοφίᾳ ἐποίησας», οὐ «διὰ τῆς σοφίας ἐποίησας»...” - ( Book 2, Chapter 6, “Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John,” MPG.)

ORIGEN OF ALEXANDRIA (circa. 185-254 C.E.): “...All things were made through Him.”  The “through[1] whom” is never found in the first place but always in the second, as in the Epistle to the Romans,[2] “Paul a servant of Christ Jesus, a called Apostle, separated to the Gospel of God which He promised before by His prophets in Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, determined the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection of the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we received grace and apostleship, for obedience of the faith among all the nations, for His name’s sake.”  For God promised aforehand by the prophets His own Gospel, the prophets being His ministers, and having their word to speak about Him “through whom.”  And again God gave grace and apostleship to Paul and to the others for the obedience of the faith among all the nations, and this He gave them through Jesus Christ the Saviour, for the “through whom” belonged to Him.  And the Apostle Paul says in THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS:[3]  “At the end of the days He spoke to us in His Son, whom He made the heir of all things, ‘through whom’ also He made the ages,” showing us that God made the ages through His Son, the “through whom” belonging, when the ages were being made, to the Only-begotten.  Thus, if all things were made, as in this passage also, through the Logos, then they were not made by the Logos, but by a stronger and greater than He.  And who else could this be but the Father?  Now if, as we have seen, all things were made through Him, WE HAVE TO ENQUIRE IF THE HOLY SPIRIT ALSO WAS MADE THROUGH HIM.  It appears to me that those who hold the Holy Spirit to be created, and who also admit that “all things were made through Him,” must necessarily assume that the Holy Spirit was made through the Logos, the Logos accordingly being older than He.  And he who shrinks from allowing the Holy Spirit to have been made through Christ must, if he admits the truth of the statements of this Gospel, assume the Spirit to be uncreated.  There is a third resource besides these two (that of allowing the Spirit to have been made by the Word, and that of regarding it as uncreated), namely, to assert that the Holy Spirit has no essence of His own beyond the Father and the Son.  But on further thought one may perhaps see reason to consider that the Son is second beside the Father, He being the same as the Father, while manifestly a distinction is drawn between the Spirit and the Son in the passage,[4] “Whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him, but whosoever shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, he shall not have forgiveness, either in this world or in the world to come.”  We consider, therefore, that there are three hypostases, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; and at the same time we believe nothing to be uncreated but the Father.  We therefore, as the more pious and the truer course, admit that all things were made by the Logos, and that the Holy Spirit is the most excellent and the first in order[5] of all that was made by the Father through Christ.  And this, perhaps, is the reason why the Spirit is not said to be God’s own Son.  The Only-begotten only is by nature and from the beginning a Son, and the Holy Spirit seems to have need of the Son, to minister to Him His essence, so as to enable Him not only to exist, but to be wise and reasonable and just, and all that we must think of Him as being.  All this He has by participation of the character of Christ, of which we have spoken above.  And I consider that the Holy Spirit supplies to those who, through Him and through participation in Him, are called saints, the material of the gifts, which come from God; so that the said material of the gifts is made powerful by God, is ministered by Christ, and owes its actual existence in men to the Holy Spirit.  I am led to this view of the charisms by the words of Paul which he writes somewhere,[6] “There are diversities of gifts but the same Spirit, and diversities of ministrations, and the same Lord.  And there are diversities of workings, but it is the same God that worketh all in all.”  The statement that all things were made by Him, and its seeming corollary, that the Spirit must have been called into being by the Word, may certainly raise some difficulty.  There are some passages in which the Spirit is placed above Christ; in Isaiah, for example, Christ declares that He is sent, not by the Father only, but also by the Holy Spirit.  “Now the Lord hath sent Me,” He says,[7] “and His Spirit,” and in the Gospel He declares that there is forgiveness for the sin committed against Himself, but that for blasphemy against the Holy Spirit there is no forgiveness, either in this age or in the age to come.  What is the reason of this?  Is it because the Holy Spirit is of more value than Christ that the sin against Him cannot be forgiven?  May it not rather be that all rational beings have part in Christ, and that forgiveness is extended to them when they repent of their sins, while only those have part in the Holy Spirit who have been found worthy of it, and that there cannot well be any forgiveness for those who fall away to evil in spite of such great and powerful cooperation, and who defeat the counsels of the Spirit who is in them.  When we find the Lord saying, as He does in Isaiah, that He is sent by the Father and by His Spirit, we have to point out here also that the Spirit is not originally superior to the Saviour, but that the Saviour takes a lower place than He in order to carry out the plan which has been made that the Son of God should become man.  Should any one stumble at our saying that the Saviour in becoming man was made lower than the Holy Spirit, we ask him to consider the words used in the Epistle to the Hebrews,[8] where Jesus is shown by Paul to have been made less than the angels on account of the suffering of death.  “We behold Him,” he says, “who hath been made a little lower than the angels, Jesus, because of the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour.”  And this, too, has doubtless to be added, that the creation, in order to be delivered from the bondage of corruption, and not least of all the human race, required the introduction into human nature of a happy and divine power, which should set right what was wrong upon the earth, and that this action fell to the share, as it were, of the Holy Spirit; but the Spirit, unable to support such a task, puts forward the Saviour as the only one able to endure such a conflict.  The Father therefore, the principal, sends the Son, but the Holy Spirit also sends Him and directs Him to go before, promising to descend, when the time comes, to the Son of God, and to work with Him for the salvation of men.  This He did, when, in a bodily shape like a dove, He flew to Him after the baptism.  He remained on Him, and did not pass Him by, as He might have done with men not able continuously to bear His glory.  Thus John, when explaining how he knew who Christ was, spoke not only of the descent of the Spirit on Jesus, but also of its remaining upon him.  For it is written that John said:[9]  “He who sent me to baptize said, On whomsoever thou shalt see the Spirit descending and abiding upon Him, the same is He that baptizeth with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”  It is not said only, “On whomsoever thou shalt see the Spirit descending,” for the Spirit no doubt descended on others too, but “descending and abiding on Him.”  Our examination of this point has been somewhat extended, since we were anxious to make it clear that if all things were made by Him, then the Spirit also was made through the Word, and is seen to be one of the “all things” which are inferior to their Maker.  This view is too firmly settled to be disturbed by a few words which may be adduced to the opposite effect.  If any one should lend credence to THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO THE HEBREWS, where the Saviour Himself says, “My mother, the Holy Spirit took me just now by one of my hairs and carried me off to the great mount Tabor,” he will have to face the difficulty of explaining how the Holy Spirit can be the mother of Christ when it was itself brought into existence through the Word.  But neither the passage nor this difficulty is hard to explain.  For if he who does the will of the Father in heaven[10] is Christ’s brother and sister and mother, and if the name of brother of Christ may be applied, not only to the race of men, but to beings of diviner rank than they, then there is nothing absurd in the Holy Spirit’s being His mother, every one being His mother who does the will of the Father in heaven. On the words, “All things were made by Him,” there is still one point to be examined.  The “word” is, as a notion, from “life,” and yet we read, “What was made in the Word was life, and the life was the light of men.”  Now as all things were made through Him, was the life made through Him, which is the light of men, and the other notions under which the Saviour is presented to us?  Or must we take the “all things were made by Him” subject to the exception of the things which are in Himself?  The latter course appears to be the preferable one.  For supposing we should concede that the life which is the light of men was made through Him, since it said that the life “was made” the light of men, what are we to say about wisdom, which is conceived as being prior to the Word?  That, therefore, which is about the Word (His relations or conditions) was not made by the Word, and the result is that, with the exception of the notions under which Christ is presented, all things were made through the Word of God, the Father making them in wisdom.  “In wisdom hast Thou made them all,” it says,[11] not through, but in wisdom...” - (Book 2, Chapter 6, “Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John,” Translated by Allan Menzies. From Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 9. Edited by Allan Menzies. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1896.)

[FOOTNOTE 1]: See R.V. margin, John i. 3.

[FOOTNOTE 2]: Rom. i. 1–5.

[FOOTNOTE 3]: i. 1, 2.

[FOOTNOTE 4]: Matt. xii. 32.

[FOOTNOTE 5]: Reading πρὸ πάυτων, with Jacobi.

[FOOTNOTE 6]: 1 Cor. xii. 4–6.

[FOOTNOTE 7]: Isa. xlviii. 16.

[FOOTNOTE 8]: ii. 9.

[FOOTNOTE 9]: John i. 32.

[FOOTNOTE 10]: Matt. xii. 50.

[FOOTNOTE 11]: Ps. civ. 24.

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ante-Nicene_Fathers/Volume_IX/Origen_on_John/Origen%27s_Commentary_on_the_Gospel_of_John/Book_II/Chapter_6

http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1015.htm

GREEK TEXT: “...τὸ δὲ παράκλητον πνεῦμα οὔτε θεὸς οὔτε υἱός, ἐπεὶ μὴ ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς ὁμοίως τῷ υἱῷ καὶ αὐτὸ τὴν γένεσιν εἴληφεν, ἓν δέ τι τῶν διὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ γενομένων τυγχάνει, ὅτι δὴ«πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο οὐδὲ ἕν». [3.6.4] ταῦτα μὲν οὖν τῇ ἁγίᾳ καὶ καθολικῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ ὧδέ πη διὰ τῶν θείων φωνῶν παραδίδοται τὰ μυστήρια...” - (Page 58, MPG.)

http://khazarzar.skeptik.net/pgm/PG_Migne/Eusebius%20Caesariensis_PG%2019-24/De%20ecclesiastica%20theologia.pdf

EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA (circa. 260-340 C.E. ): “...BUT THE PARACLETE SPIRIT IS NEITHER A GOD, NOR A SON, since it may not have orignitated out of the Father in the same manner as the Son, itself also being one of those things that have it's production [or generative origin] through the intermediate agency of the Son, brought into existence as it happens, what is more because [it says]: “all things have been brought into existence through his intermediate agency, and without him not one thing has come into existence.” [John 1:3] Therefore, just as it was referred to before, through the divnely inspired [Evangelist], these things are being voiced loudly as the sacred secret that has been handed down [by] the holy and universal [Christian] Congregation...” - (Book 3, Chapter 6:4, [3.6.4 MPG] “De Ecclesiastica Theologia,” Translated by Matt13weedhacker 10/09/12.)

EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA (circa. 260-340 C.E. ): “...THE SPIRIT, THE PARACLETE, IS NEITHER GOD NOR SON, because he took not his Origin from the Father, after the same manner as the Son did, being of the Number of those things that were made by the Son, “For whom all things were made all things...” - (Book 3, Chapter 6:4, [3.6.4 MPG] “De Ecclesiastica Theologia,” quoted on Page 46-47, Chapter 14, The Immediate Generation Of The World, “PLATONISM UNVEIL'D” Or “An Essay Concerning the Notions And Opinions Of Plato,” And some Ancient and Modern Divines his Followers ; In relation to the LOGOS, or WORD in particular, and the Doctrine of the Trinity in general. In Two Parts. Anno Dom. 1700.)

EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA (circa. 260-340 C.E. ): “...To assume that the Savior himself spoke all these things about himself is quite simple-minded and hard to cure. But through these words the Sav­ior himself clearly taught that the Holy Spirit is distinct from himself in honor, glory, and privileges; being more excellent, stronger, and higher than all intelligent and rational being (wherefore he is also included in the holy and thrice-blessed Triad) BUT INDEED LOWER THAN HIMSELF. […] Wherefore only this spirit has been included in the holy and thrice- blessed Triad. This is not different from the Savior’s explaining to his apostles his sacrament of rebirth for all those from the nations who believe in him. He commanded them to baptize “them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Of the Father because he has full authority and gives the grace. Of the Son because he ministers to this grace (for “grace and truth came through Jesus Christ”). Of the Holy Spirit, that is, the Paraclete, who is him­self provided according to the di­versity of graces in himself: ‘Tor to one is given a word of wisdom through the Spirit, but to another a word of knowledge according to the same spirit. To another is given faith by the same Spirit” and likewise the things considered with these. So then the Holy Spirit, who was provided through the Son to whomever the Father might choose, was fond of dwelling in the saints alone. And such would be his work: to sanctify all, to whom he might give some one or even many of the gifts in himself, so that prophets, apostles, and every God- loving soul, and likewise the stronger and divine powers, would participate in the holiness from him. BUT ONLY THE SON HAS BEEN HONORED BY THE PATERNAL GODHEAD, THAT HE MIGHT BE THE MAKER AND CREATOR OF ALL THE GENETA, BOTH VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE, AND EVEN OF THE EXISTENCE OF THE PARACLETE SPIRIT. For, “through him all things came into being, and apart from him not one thing came to be” and “in him everything in heaven and on earth was created, things visible and invisible.” But the God over all and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, since he is something ineffable, is good and more excellent than all reasoning ability and thought, and every expression and consideration, whatever their commonalities or distinctions are, ALSO TAKES THE LEAD OVER AND ABOVE THE HOLY SPIRIT HIMSELF AND EVEN THE ONLY-BEGOTTEN SON. He alone is rightly called “the God over all and through all and in all” by the apostle who says: “There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God the Father of all, who is over all, through all, and is in all.” And he alone might be called “one God and Father” “of our Lord Je­sus Christ.” The Son is “only- begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father.” BUT THE PARACLETE SPIRIT IS NEITHER GOD NOR SON, SINCE HE DOES NOT GET HIS ORIGIN FROM THE FATHER LIKE THE SON, BUT IS ONE OF THE THINGS WHICH CAME INTO BEING THROUGH THE SON because: “Through him all things came into being, and apart from him not one thing came to be.” Therefore these mysteries are handed over to the holy and catholic Church through the divine titles. BUT MARCELLUS CONFUSES EVERYTHING: sometimes he takes into himself the whole depth of SABELLIUS, another time he tries to revive the heresy of PAUL OF SAMOSATA, and other times he is openly refuted as a Jew FOR HE INTRODUCES ONE THREE-FACED AND, AS IT WERE, THREE-NAMED HYPOSTASIS by saying God, the Word in him, and the Holy Spirit are the same...” - (Book 3, Chapters 4:6; in “An extract from Eusebius, “Ecclesiastical Theology” III, 4-6,” August 30th, 2013 Blog by Roger Pearse, quoting “Eusebius of Caesarea’s Ecclesiastical Theology, written against Marcellus of Ancyra,” edited and translated in John Mackett, Eusebius of Caesarea’s Theology of the Holy Spirit. Milwaukee, WI : Marquette University,  1990.)

http://www.roger-pearse.com/weblog/

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