TRV
Cyril of Alexandria
Nicene & Post-Nicene · AD 325–500
2,177 passages across 38 books of the Bible · Who was this?
Commentary
161–180 of 2,177-
Isaiah 25:8
And since the holy Virgin brought forth as man God united personally to flesh, we say that she is the mother of God. [This is] not because the nature of the Word had a beginning of existence from the flesh, for “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”; he is the Creator of the ages, coeternal with the Father and Creator of all things. As we have stated before, having united humanity to himself personally he even endured birth in the flesh from the womb. He did not require because of his own nature as God a birth in time and in the last stages of the world. He was born in order that he might bless the very beginning of our existence and in order that, because a woman bore him when he was united to the flesh, the curse against the whole race might be stopped. The curse was sending our bodies from the earth to death, and by him abolishing the saying, “in pain shall you bring forth children,” the words of the prophet might be shown to be true, “strong death has swallowed them up,” and again “God has taken away every tear from every face.”
THIRD LETTER TO NESTORIUS 17:18
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Isaiah 25:9
You recognize the one who gives you joy to drink and wine in addition, anointing those in spiritual Zion with myrrh. You recognize that he is true God and Son of God by nature, and although he appeared in the form of a servant, by becoming man he became the source of salvation and life for all, being in all things like those on earth though without sin. The prophet indicates that they are all but pointing [to Christ] with their finger when they say, “Behold our God in whom we have hoped, and we will rejoice in our salvation.” I think that this text applies especially to the Israelites who were nurtured in the words of Moses and were not ignorant of the predictions of the holy prophets. They waited for the time of the coming of the Savior and Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, as I have already said, Zechariah the father of John [the Baptizer] when he prophesied in the Spirit said of Christ, “He has raised up a horn of salvation.” And Simeon when he took the holy child in his arms said, “Behold, my eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared before the face of all pe…
You recognize the one who gives you joy to drink and wine in addition, anointing those in spiritual Zion with myrrh. You recognize that he is true God and Son of God by nature, and although he appeared in the form of a servant, by becoming man he became the source of salvation and life for all, being in all things like those on earth though without sin. The prophet indicates that they are all but pointing [to Christ] with their finger when they say, “Behold our God in whom we have hoped, and we will rejoice in our salvation.” I think that this text applies especially to the Israelites who were nurtured in the words of Moses and were not ignorant of the predictions of the holy prophets. They waited for the time of the coming of the Savior and Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, as I have already said, Zechariah the father of John [the Baptizer] when he prophesied in the Spirit said of Christ, “He has raised up a horn of salvation.” And Simeon when he took the holy child in his arms said, “Behold, my eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared before the face of all people.” Recognize then what had been announced of old, the one who is the hope of all, the Savior and Redeemer, they said, according to Isaiah, “Behold our God.”They confess that God will give rest on this mountain. And it seems to me that mountain here refers to the church, for it is there that one finds rest. For we heard the words of Christ: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” -
Isaiah 26:12
And we have learned also to say in our prayers, “O Lord our God, grant us your peace, for you have given us everything,” so that if anyone becomes partaker of the peace furnished by God, he will not be lacking any good thing.
LETTER 39:2
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Isaiah 28:5
The prophet expounds on the destiny of those in Israel who believed in Christ, because Israel did not perish completely, as the remnant of Israel was saved, according to the prophecy. Quite a number of people believed in Christ, and his apostles were, so to speak, the first fruit. Therefore at that time the Lord of hosts will be as a crown of hope and a diadem of glory to the remnant of his people. The Lord of hosts will crown the believers with hope and glory, that is, with hope of future blessings and with glory because they will reign with him. They will become the recipients of the highest honor and will be worthy of adoration and glory. What glory can be compared with that received in the kingdom of Christ? In another passage Isaiah also says, “You shall also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord and a royal diadem in the hand of your God,” since Christ will crown those who believe in him with unending glory and bless them with the most joyous hope. And the remnant of Israel will participate in all of this after the others, the Gentiles, are received in Christ. Realizing t…
The prophet expounds on the destiny of those in Israel who believed in Christ, because Israel did not perish completely, as the remnant of Israel was saved, according to the prophecy. Quite a number of people believed in Christ, and his apostles were, so to speak, the first fruit. Therefore at that time the Lord of hosts will be as a crown of hope and a diadem of glory to the remnant of his people. The Lord of hosts will crown the believers with hope and glory, that is, with hope of future blessings and with glory because they will reign with him. They will become the recipients of the highest honor and will be worthy of adoration and glory. What glory can be compared with that received in the kingdom of Christ? In another passage Isaiah also says, “You shall also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord and a royal diadem in the hand of your God,” since Christ will crown those who believe in him with unending glory and bless them with the most joyous hope. And the remnant of Israel will participate in all of this after the others, the Gentiles, are received in Christ. Realizing their glory in Christ, they cry to their heavenly God and Father, “O Lord, crown us with the shield of your favor.” For when it pleased their God and Father, he revealed himself as an unbroken shield and became the Christ who defends us from the arrows of the evil one and keeps his people. -
Isaiah 32:6
And they [our opponents] even joined in censuring us, as if we thought the opposite to the things that we have already written. But I learn that they say this also, namely, that recently we have accepted a doctrinal statement, or a new creed, perhaps, I suppose, because we lightly esteem the ancient and august one. “The fool will say foolish things, and his heart will think nonsense.” However, we say this, that no individuals have demanded an explanation from us, nor have we accepted one newly coined by others. For the divinely inspired Scripture and the vigilance of our holy Fathers and the creed formulated by those who are in every way orthodox are sufficient for us.
LETTER 40:7
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Isaiah 35:2
Observe how he names him Lord and calls him God, seeing that he speaks in the Spirit; note that he knew the Emmanuel would not be simply a man bearing God nor, of a truth, as one assumed as an agent. But he knew that he was truly God and incarnate.… For our Lord Jesus Christ showed himself to us having divine strength, and his arm with authority, that is, with power and dominion.
LETTER 1:31
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Isaiah 38:19
"For from this day I shall beget children who will announce your righteousness." Some say that he promises to institute a choir [chorostasia] and to appoint chanters of psalms with good voices in the temple. Others, who pay attention to more esoteric things, say that Hezekiah, since he thought on a high plane, was of the opinion that he would have a kingdom without end and unceasing life. For he was persuaded that the writings concerning the son of David destined to be the Christ were said about himself. Hence they say, although he was in the fifteenth year of his reign he does not seem to have procreated children. Accordingly, on learning that his end was near, he pays attention to the question of his successors and adds with reference to his children that they will announce the righteousness of the Lord. However, this statement was not verified since. Manasseh was wicked and impious.
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Isaiah 40:1
Hezekiah was at a loss for a defense. Since he could offer no excuse for his crimes, he said that God’s word was good, even though it foretold things that should have made him shed tears. Then he asks for peace in his own days, bidding goodbye, as it were, to those who were to come after him and thereby neglecting his native land, his own city and his own race. But it would have been better for him to be sorry for the things that had been predicted and to ask God for mercy and happiness (not temporary and restricted) on behalf of those to come after him.
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Isaiah 40:5
And this is the Lord of glory, and we too have come to know his glory. However, those of old did not see it when he showed himself during the dispensation in which he was made man, equal to God the Father in strength, operation and glory, bearing all things by the word of his power and with great tranquillity performing godly works, enhancing creation, raising the dead and performing other deeds of wonder effortlessly. For the glory of the Lord appeared, and all flesh saw the salvation of God, that is, of the Father. For he has sent us his Son from heaven to salvation and redemption. For the law brings no one to perfection, for the sacrifices in prefigurative form were unable to deal with sin. But we have been perfected in Christ and reconciled from every fault as we have been honored with the spirit of sonship.
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Isaiah 40:6
The Word of the Father dwells in our hearts through faith. When we receive the riches of his divine Spirit, then we have him in ourselves as that which is most worth having, since he is the giver of eternal life. For when the Word dwells in us, he remains there forever, sustaining and enlivening us. Now if anyone wishes to know from the Word of God his commandment, then we say that this is immeasurably useful. For God guards both the commandment and those who observe it for the life which is yet to come. As was said by the Lord himself, “Truly I tell you, that if anyone keeps my word, he shall not see death.”
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Isaiah 40:10
For our Lord Jesus Christ showed himself to us having divine strength, and his arm with authority, that is, with power and dominion.
LETTER 1:31
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Isaiah 40:21
The divinely inspired Scripture was not silent. For the knowledge of the truth from above was veiled through the patriarchs, through the law and the prophets. But this was not the case when the only-begotten Word of God came among us as a man to illuminate those on the earth. This was the last days when the leader of those who oppose spiritual deception came. It was the first of the attacks on idolatry. For the choir of the saints never stops attacking such deception, showing how loathsome it is while at the same time making known the [true] Maker and Lord of the universe.
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Isaiah 41:2
The wonder of God is not only found rightly in the magnificent work he did in the creation. For he has done nothing less than save the inhabitants of the earth, delivering the human race from death and destruction and the devil’s snare. For he has condemned the sin that had become master through our sins, so that he has justified through faith those who are able to be with him. He became for us righteousness and redemption and sanctification before God the Father.
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Isaiah 41:6
The meaning of this is as follows: They have approached and come together, no longer staying apart, not alienated from each other through sin but as if brought close through spiritually taking possession, are joined into one faith and a common spirit. For once they tasted of the Lord and understood that he is good and began to wonder at the beauty of his truth, they did not only keep the gift for themselves but each one generously came to the aid of his brother and his friend.
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Isaiah 41:13
There are many who think of the holy mysteries and the saving message in disrespectful ways, but they amount to nothing, and such impious adversaries will perish. For those who oppose the divine agents of preaching are doing no less than fighting against the teachings of godliness.… For thousands will make war against God’s ministers, but these will end up as though they never existed and will clearly be brought low, falling under the machinery of the wrath of God. [Isaiah] tells them to quit relying on human strength and their own foolhardiness, saying, “I am your God who strengthens your arm,” that is, I am the one who supports you and makes you prevail in any test. I say to you, “Do not be afraid, O little Israel.”
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Isaiah 41:19
The water was not life-giving. For they were not able to satisfy those who longed for truth from their teachings. Their tongues remained parched from thirst. But I will hear them, says the God of Israel, and I will not abandon them. For he had mercy on the mass of those who strayed and did not leave them without gifts from above, but rather he gave to them in fullness, and this in such a way as is finely described in the verses that follow.… The desert and the land short of water is the region of the Gentiles. The desert that will run dry and barren of any flowering growth, meaning spiritual growth, is the way of shriveling, where the wild trees are those useful only for burning in fire. The water allows the nations to bear fruit. To those who were once thirsty he says, “I will make rivers flow on the mountains,” that is, holy people who are enriched by the divine word from above and pour out like flowing streams to the thirsty.
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Isaiah 41:27-28
"I will give a leader to Zion, and I will console Jerusalem as I go." … Again the multitude of those going astray is promised the revealing of the Savior, through whom each one under heaven has been saved and is summoned to the recognition of the truth. So that we could have a guide who would be able and skilled to lead us along the path of salvation, the only-begotten Son of God became a human being. And though he was King by nature in that he is considered to be God and from God the Father and ruler of all things with all creation under his feet, he is said to be elected king among us.
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Isaiah 42:8
There was no other way to honor the slave [i.e., humanity] except by making the characteristics of the slave his very own so that they could be illumined from his own glory. What is preeminent will always conquer, and the shame of the slavery is thus borne away from us. He who was above us became as we are. He who is naturally free took on the limitations of our life. This was why honors passed even to us, for we too are called the children of God, and we regard his own true Father as our Father also. All that is human has become his own. And so, to say that he assumed the form of a slave expresses the whole mystery of the economy in the flesh. So, if [my opponents] confess one Lord and Son, the Word of God the Father, but say that a simple man of the line of David was conjoined as a companion of his sonship and his glory, then it is time for you to speak to people who choose to think like this.… It seems that they argue as though there are two sons unequal in nature and that a slave is crowned with the glory that is proper to God, that some bastard son is decked out with the selfsam…
There was no other way to honor the slave [i.e., humanity] except by making the characteristics of the slave his very own so that they could be illumined from his own glory. What is preeminent will always conquer, and the shame of the slavery is thus borne away from us. He who was above us became as we are. He who is naturally free took on the limitations of our life. This was why honors passed even to us, for we too are called the children of God, and we regard his own true Father as our Father also. All that is human has become his own. And so, to say that he assumed the form of a slave expresses the whole mystery of the economy in the flesh. So, if [my opponents] confess one Lord and Son, the Word of God the Father, but say that a simple man of the line of David was conjoined as a companion of his sonship and his glory, then it is time for you to speak to people who choose to think like this.… It seems that they argue as though there are two sons unequal in nature and that a slave is crowned with the glory that is proper to God, that some bastard son is decked out with the selfsame dignities as the one who is really God’s natural Son, even though God says quite clearly, “I will not give my glory to another.” How can someone who has only been honored with a mere conjunction fail to be “other” to the true and natural Son when he has just been assumed for the office of servant, given the honor of sonship, just like us, and sharing in another’s glory that he attains by grace and favor?So the Emmanuel must not be separated out into a man, considered as distinct from God the Word? On no account. I say that we must call him God made man, and that both the one and the other are this same reality, for he did not cease to be God when he became man, nor did he regard the economy as unacceptable by disdaining the limitations involved in the self-emptying.ON THE UNITY OF CHRIST
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Isaiah 42:8
If he is properly and truly the only God, he may be said by us to be the Creator of all things. As the most wise Paul says, “Although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many ‘gods’ and many ‘lords’—yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” And since he has introduced himself to us as the author of great and marvelous things, he says that his glory, that is, the sum of virtues appropriate to God, is not to be given to lifeless idols or to any other created thing but is to be retained for himself alone. It follows from this that the glory of the Godhead may not fittingly be attributed to any other being that differs from him in essence but only to the ineffable and transcendent nature itself. Although he said that his own glory is to be given to nobody, however, he gave it to the Son. For the Son has been glorified in the same way, indeed, as the Father too who is worshiped in heaven and on earth. How then did God give his…
If he is properly and truly the only God, he may be said by us to be the Creator of all things. As the most wise Paul says, “Although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many ‘gods’ and many ‘lords’—yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” And since he has introduced himself to us as the author of great and marvelous things, he says that his glory, that is, the sum of virtues appropriate to God, is not to be given to lifeless idols or to any other created thing but is to be retained for himself alone. It follows from this that the glory of the Godhead may not fittingly be attributed to any other being that differs from him in essence but only to the ineffable and transcendent nature itself. Although he said that his own glory is to be given to nobody, however, he gave it to the Son. For the Son has been glorified in the same way, indeed, as the Father too who is worshiped in heaven and on earth. How then did God give his glory to him, as to one who was not different from him in virtue of the consubstantiality, even though each was divided off into his own hypostasis? The nature of the supreme deity is one in three distinct hypostases, conceived of and worshiped as such by those who hold orthodox views. - "Commentary on Isaiah 3.5.42.8" -
Isaiah 42:8
Since he is the only God, in a proper and true sense, he is the Creator of all, and so he is confessed to be by us; as the most wise Paul says: “Even though there may be many so-called gods and lords in heaven or on earth, yet for us there is one God and Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we exist.” And since he presented himself to us as the author of great and marvelous things, he says that his glory, which is the virtues proper to God, is not to be given to lifeless idols or to any other created thing, but to be retained for himself alone. It follows, therefore, that the glory of the divinity cannot be attributed to any of the beings that differ from him in essence, but only to the ineffable and transcendent nature itself. Even though he says that his own glory is to be given to no one, he gave it to the Son who, of course, has been glorified in the same way as the Father who is worshiped in heaven and on earth. How, then, did [God] give [his glory] to someone who is not different from h…
Since he is the only God, in a proper and true sense, he is the Creator of all, and so he is confessed to be by us; as the most wise Paul says: “Even though there may be many so-called gods and lords in heaven or on earth, yet for us there is one God and Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we exist.” And since he presented himself to us as the author of great and marvelous things, he says that his glory, which is the virtues proper to God, is not to be given to lifeless idols or to any other created thing, but to be retained for himself alone. It follows, therefore, that the glory of the divinity cannot be attributed to any of the beings that differ from him in essence, but only to the ineffable and transcendent nature itself. Even though he says that his own glory is to be given to no one, he gave it to the Son who, of course, has been glorified in the same way as the Father who is worshiped in heaven and on earth. How, then, did [God] give [his glory] to someone who is not different from him, at least on the basis of consubstantiality, even though each is distinguished into his own hypostasis? For there is a single nature of the divinity on high in three distinct hypostases, and it is so understood and worshiped by right-minded people.