Cyril of Jerusalem
Lecture 10
“For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or on earth; yet to us there is One God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and One Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through Him.” — 1 Corinthians 8:5-6[i]
Summary: The Lord Jesus Christ, God, Son of God, bears myriad names indicative of His condescending service to mankind; for which there are equally many witnesses of His works: bestowing on us the name, Christian, that men may see our good works shining, and glorify our Father.
Preview: 1. We ought to believe in the Father and the Son: “for he that denies the Son, the same has not the Father.” Denial of the Door, denies access to the Father; denial of the Son, eliminates all possible knowledge of the Father… wrath remains; denial of the Only-begotten earns the Father’s indignation. 2. To express piety to God, one must worship the Son: otherwise, one’s service is rejected; do not listen to what the Jew says: for the Psalmist says, “You are My Son.” Heed the Prophets, not the Jews.[ii] 3. “Believe thou In One Lord Jesus Christ, the Only-Begotten Son of God.” For [Jesus] is Door, Way, Sheep, Shepherd, Lion, Stone. He shares [the Father’s] Godhead, Godhood, or nature. 4. He is called Christ, “eternally[iii] anointed by the Father to His High-Priesthood on behalf of men.” He is called Dead, “alone free among the dead”; Son of Man, not generated from earth; Lord, having by nature eternal Lordship; Jesus, for His healing; Son, not by adoption: having many titles; yet, being only One. 5. “The Savior comes in various forms” for the benefit of each individual; He is Vine to those needing gladness; Door to those needing entry; High Priest to those needing prayer; Sheep to those needing sacrifice. “He is made all things to all men”; so, being unchangeable by nature, “He adapts Himself to our infirmities.” He is Lord in truth by nature, not by advancement. 6. “Christ the Lord is He who was born in the city of David[iv] … Lord with the Father even before His Incarnation,” as proved by Genesis 1:26. 7. Moses saw the Rock that followed them, considering the value of the reproach of Christ; he said, “Show me Yourself….” His brightness frightened the disciples; who with us can only see according to our little capacity [of faith]. 8. “… because of the Jews. For our object is to prove that the Lord Jesus Christ was with the Father. The Lord then says to Moses, I will … proclaim the name of the Lord before you. Being Himself the Lord, what Lord does He proclaim? You see how He was covertly teaching the godly doctrine of the Father and the Son.” 9. Receive a second proof, “The Lord said to my Lord, sit Thou on My right hand. The Lord says this to the Lord, not to a servant, but to the Lord of all, and His own Son, to whom He put all things in subjection.” 10. He is Lord of all things; Mary and Gabriel are His servants: “except nothing from His Lordship: for whether Angels, or Archangels, or principalities, or powers, or any created thing.” “For though there be many that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, and so on, yet to us there is One God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and One Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through Him.[v] 11. “He is called by two names, Jesus Christ; Jesus, because He saves — Christ, because He is a Priest”: which are typified in Aaron surnamed Christ, and Joshua or Jesus. 12. “There is One Lord Jesus Christ, a wondrous name, indirectly announced beforehand by the Prophets”; which the Jews should have known, but denied: yet He received this Name from Angels, not from men. 13. Jesus means Savior in Hebrew, but Healer in Greek; “since He is physician of souls and bodies….” 14. For the Jews allow that He is Jesus, but not Christ. “Who is the liar, but he that denies that Jesus is the Christ?” “… After the Order of Melchizedek. He received not the High-Priesthood from bodily succession, nor was He anointed with oil prepared by man, but before all ages by the Father; and He so far excels the others as with an oath He is made Priest: For they are priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him that said, The Lord swore, and will not repent.”[vi] 15. The Jews denied Christ, while devils confessed Him. The Prophet [John], Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, all the [other] Prophets, even the Samaritan woman knew Him: but, not the Chief Priests. 16. Christ our High Priest has given us a new name, the name Christian: the Jews have no new name. 17. Men call friends for witnesses; but, Christ calls His former enemy [Paul], “For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.” 18. I am … filled with wonder at the … Holy Spirit; how He … to Paul the former persecutor gave the privilege of writing fourteen [Epistles]”; while all the others wrote only few. “Is not this he that was formerly a persecutor?”[vii] “But the grace of God was exceeding abundant in [Paul].”[viii] 19. The Father, the Spirit, Gabriel, Mary, Egypt, Symeon, Anna, John, Jordan, Tiberias, blind, lame, dead, devils, wind, loaves, the wood of the cross, the palm tree, Gethsemane, Golgotha, the Sepulcher, the stone, the sun, the darkness, the light, the Mount of Olives, the clouds, the gates of heaven, His enemies, the Apostles, the shadow of Peter, the articles of Paul, Persians, Goths, and converts, all, bear witness to Him. 20. “You are called a Christian: be tender of the name; let not our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, be blasphemed through you: but rather let your good works shine before men.”[ix]
[i]
To use this quote from the Apostle Paul as false proof of St. Cyril’s supposed
semi-Arianism is a foul ball, really hitting below the belt: for if this verse
makes Cyril a semi-Arian, it also condemns Paul with the same words. Cyril clearly affirms that Father, Son, and
Spirit are co-eternal, and con-substantial at several other places.
[ii]
Amazing advice, since nowadays everybody wants to hear what the Jews have to
say… the same old deceptive and devious nonsense.
[iii]
Observe the necessary co-eternality with the Father expressed here.
[v]
1 Corinthians 8:5-6
[vi]
Hebrews 7:21
[vii]
Acts 9:21
[viii]
1 Timothy 1:14
[ix]
Matthew 5:16
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