Novatian — Commentary on Scripture

Isaiah 35:6

Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.

Isaiah bears witness to him when he sets before us the works of healing that were to be done by him.

Isaiah 45:7

I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Ever desiring to become more completely known to us and to incite our minds to his worship, he said, “I am the Lord who made the light and created the darkness,” that we may not think that some other unknown One was the artificer of those alternations whereby the nights and days are regulated; but rather, and with greater truth, we may acknowledge God as their Creator.

Jeremiah 17:7-8

Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.

If Christ is only man, how is he present wherever he is invoked—since it is not people’s nature but God’s to be able to be present everywhere? If Christ is only man, why is a man called on in prayer as a mediator, when calling on a mortal to grant salvation is considered useless? If Christ is only man, why is hope put in him, when hope in humankind is declared to be accursed? If Christ is only man, why cannot he be denied without ruin to one’s soul, when it is declared that an offense against people can be forgiven? If Christ is only man, how does John the Baptist bear witness of him when he says, “He who comes after me was made before me, for he was before me”? If Christ were only man, then, being born after John, he could not be before John, unless he preceded him as God.

Ezekiel 1:15

Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces.

The wheels that lie beneath it signify the various periods of time in which all the component members of the world are constantly being whirled forward. Furthermore, feet have been given to these members that they may not always stand still but move on. All their limbs are studded with eyes because the works of God are to be contemplated with ever careful observation. And within their very bosom is a fire of glowing coals, to signify that this world is hastening to the fiery day of judgment or that all the works of God are fiery and not obscure.

Ezekiel 37:1-14

The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,

He will contemplate truly admirable souls that have been brought back from the grave to reanimate completely consumed bodies.

Daniel 3:27

And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.

The Father’s care and providence neither allowed the garments of the Israelites to perish nor the worthless shoes on their feet to wear out; nor, finally, did he permit the wide trousers of the captive young men to be burned. And this is not without reason, for if he who contains all things embraces all things (all things, however, and the whole sum are made up of individual parts), then it follows logically that his care will be bestowed on every individual part because his providence extends to the whole, whatever it be.

Hosea 1:7

But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.

Why, then, should we hesitate to say what Scripture does not hesitate to say? Why should the truth of faith waver where the authority of Scripture has never faltered? For behold, the prophet Hosea says in the person of the Father, “I will not save them by bow nor horses, but I will save them by the Lord their God.” If God says that he will save them by God and if God does not save except by Christ, then why should people hesitate to call Christ God when they realize that the Father declares, through the Scriptures, that he is God? In fact, if God the Father cannot save except by God, no one can be saved by God the Father, unless one has acknowledged that Christ is God, in whom and through whom the Father promises to grant salvation.

Hosea 8:6

For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.

We acknowledge, therefore, and know that he is God, the Creator of all things. He is our Lord, because of his power; our author, because of his creation. “He spoke, and all things were made. He commanded, and all things came forth.” Of him it is written, “You have made all things in wisdom.” Moses says of him, “God is in heaven above and on earth below,” and according to Isaiah, “He has measured the heavens with a span, the earth with the width of the fist"; he "looks upon the earth and makes it tremble.” He “holds the orb of the earth and those who live on it as if they were locusts"; he "weighed the mountains on scales and the groves on a balance,” by the exact precision of the divine plan. He laid out this weight of the earth’s mass with precise equipoise, lest the huge ill-balanced mass should easily fall into ruin, if they were not balanced by providential weights. It is he who says through the prophet, “I am God, and there is none beside me.” He says by means of the same prophet, “I will not give my majesty to another,” so that he might exclude all heathens and heretics with th…

We acknowledge, therefore, and know that he is God, the Creator of all things. He is our Lord, because of his power; our author, because of his creation. “He spoke, and all things were made. He commanded, and all things came forth.” Of him it is written, “You have made all things in wisdom.” Moses says of him, “God is in heaven above and on earth below,” and according to Isaiah, “He has measured the heavens with a span, the earth with the width of the fist"; he "looks upon the earth and makes it tremble.” He “holds the orb of the earth and those who live on it as if they were locusts"; he "weighed the mountains on scales and the groves on a balance,” by the exact precision of the divine plan. He laid out this weight of the earth’s mass with precise equipoise, lest the huge ill-balanced mass should easily fall into ruin, if they were not balanced by providential weights. It is he who says through the prophet, “I am God, and there is none beside me.” He says by means of the same prophet, “I will not give my majesty to another,” so that he might exclude all heathens and heretics with their images, proving that he is God who is not made by the hand of an artificer. Nor is he some God whom heretical ingenuity has devised.

Joel 2:28-29

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:

Next, well-ordered reason and the authority of our faith bid us (in the words and the writings of our Lord set down in orderly fashion) to believe, after these things, also in the Holy Spirit, who was in the times past promised to the church and duly bestowed at the appointed, favorable moment. He was promised by the prophet Joel but bestowed through Christ. “In the last days,” says the prophet, “I will pour out from my spirit upon my servants and handmaids.” And the Lord himself said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

Amos 4:11

I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

And that there might not remain any doubt that he [God the Son] had been the guest of Abraham, it is written regarding the destruction of the Sodomites that “the Lord poured down on Sodom and Gomorrah fire and sulfur from the Lord out of heaven.” In fact, the prophet also says in the person of God, “I destroyed you as the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.” The Lord, therefore, destroyed Sodom; that is, God destroyed Sodom. In the destruction of the Sodomites, however, it was the Lord who rained fire from the Lord. This Lord was the God seen by Abraham. This God is Abraham’s guest and was undoubtedly seen because he was touched. Now, since the Father, inasmuch as he is invisible, was assuredly not seen at that time, he who was seen and who was hospitably received and taken in was he who was willing to be seen and touched. This one then is the Son of God, “the Lord, who rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah fire and sulfur from the Lord.” But he is the Word of God, and the “Word” of God “was made flesh and dwelt among us.” This one then is Christ. Therefore it was not the Father who was the…

And that there might not remain any doubt that he [God the Son] had been the guest of Abraham, it is written regarding the destruction of the Sodomites that “the Lord poured down on Sodom and Gomorrah fire and sulfur from the Lord out of heaven.” In fact, the prophet also says in the person of God, “I destroyed you as the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.” The Lord, therefore, destroyed Sodom; that is, God destroyed Sodom. In the destruction of the Sodomites, however, it was the Lord who rained fire from the Lord. This Lord was the God seen by Abraham. This God is Abraham’s guest and was undoubtedly seen because he was touched. Now, since the Father, inasmuch as he is invisible, was assuredly not seen at that time, he who was seen and who was hospitably received and taken in was he who was willing to be seen and touched. This one then is the Son of God, “the Lord, who rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah fire and sulfur from the Lord.” But he is the Word of God, and the “Word” of God “was made flesh and dwelt among us.” This one then is Christ. Therefore it was not the Father who was the guest of Abraham but Christ. Nor was it the Father who was seen but the Son; therefore it was Christ who was seen. Consequently Christ is both Lord and God, who could be seen by Abraham only because he was God, the Word, begotten of God the Father before Abraham even existed.

Habakkuk 3:3

God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.

Habakkuk the prophet says, “God shall come from the south, and the holy one from the dark and dense mountain.” Whom would they have come from the south? If they say that God the Father almighty came, then God the Father came from a place; consequently, he is also enclosed by space and contained within the limits of some abode. Thus the sacrilegious heresy of Sabellius, as we said, takes concrete form because of these people who believe that Christ is not the Son but the Father. It is strange how these heretics, while insisting that Christ is a mere man, make an about-face and acknowledge that Christ is the Father, God almighty.

Zechariah 7:6

And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?

By righteousness, I say, and by continence and by the rest of the virtues, God is worshiped. For Zechariah also tells us, saying, “If you eat or drink, is it not you that eat or drink?” declaring thereby that meat and drink do not pertain to God but to humankind: for neither is God fleshly, so as to be pleased with flesh; nor is he careful for these pleasures, so as to rejoice in our food. God rejoices in our faith alone, in our innocence alone, in our truth alone, in our virtues alone. And these dwell not in our belly but in our soul; and these are acquired for us by divine awe and heavenly fear, not by earthly food. And such the apostle fitly rebuked as “obeying the superstitions of angels, puffed up by their fleshly mind; not holding Christ the head, from whom all the body, joined together by links, and inwoven and grown together by mutual members in the bond of charity, increase to God” but observing those things: “Touch not, taste not, handle not; which indeed seem to have a form of religion, in that the body is not spared.” Yet there is no advantage at all of righteousness, whi…

By righteousness, I say, and by continence and by the rest of the virtues, God is worshiped. For Zechariah also tells us, saying, “If you eat or drink, is it not you that eat or drink?” declaring thereby that meat and drink do not pertain to God but to humankind: for neither is God fleshly, so as to be pleased with flesh; nor is he careful for these pleasures, so as to rejoice in our food. God rejoices in our faith alone, in our innocence alone, in our truth alone, in our virtues alone. And these dwell not in our belly but in our soul; and these are acquired for us by divine awe and heavenly fear, not by earthly food. And such the apostle fitly rebuked as “obeying the superstitions of angels, puffed up by their fleshly mind; not holding Christ the head, from whom all the body, joined together by links, and inwoven and grown together by mutual members in the bond of charity, increase to God” but observing those things: “Touch not, taste not, handle not; which indeed seem to have a form of religion, in that the body is not spared.” Yet there is no advantage at all of righteousness, while we are recalled by a voluntary slavery to those elements to which by baptism we have died.

Malachi 3:6

For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

He is always therefore equal to himself; he never changes or transforms himself into other forms, lest through change he should appear to be also mortal. For the modification implied in change from one thing to another involves a share in the death of some sort. Therefore there is never any addition of parts or of glory in him, lest anything should seem to have ever been wanting to the perfect one. Nor can there be any question of diminution in him, for that would imply that some degree of mortality is in him. On the contrary, what he is, he always is; who he is, he always is; such as he is, he always is. For increase in growth indicates a beginning, whereas any wasting away evidences death and destruction. And therefore he says, “I am God and have not changed.” He always retains his manner of being, because what is not born is not subject to change. For—whatever that being may be that is God—this must always be true of him, that he always is God, preserving himself by his own powers. And therefore he says, “I am who I am.” That which is has this name because it always preserves its…

He is always therefore equal to himself; he never changes or transforms himself into other forms, lest through change he should appear to be also mortal. For the modification implied in change from one thing to another involves a share in the death of some sort. Therefore there is never any addition of parts or of glory in him, lest anything should seem to have ever been wanting to the perfect one. Nor can there be any question of diminution in him, for that would imply that some degree of mortality is in him. On the contrary, what he is, he always is; who he is, he always is; such as he is, he always is. For increase in growth indicates a beginning, whereas any wasting away evidences death and destruction. And therefore he says, “I am God and have not changed.” He always retains his manner of being, because what is not born is not subject to change. For—whatever that being may be that is God—this must always be true of him, that he always is God, preserving himself by his own powers. And therefore he says, “I am who I am.” That which is has this name because it always preserves its same manner of being. Change takes away the name “that which is”; for whatever changes at all is shown to be mortal by the very fact that it changes. It ceases to be what it was and consequently begins to be what it was not. Of necessity, then, God always retains his manner of being, because he is always like unto himself, always equal to himself without any loss arising from change. For that which is not born cannot change, since only those things undergo change which are made or which are begotten; whereas things which at one time were not experience existence by coming into being, and by coming into being they undergo change. On the contrary, things which have neither birth nor maker are exempt from change because they have not a beginning, the cause of change.

Mark 2:7

Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?

If Christ forgives sins, Christ must be truly God because no one can forgive sins but God alone.

Mark 2:28

Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

In the same manner that he, according to his humanity, is like Abraham, even so, according to his divinity, he is before Abraham. As he is, according to his humanity, the Son of David, so is he also, as God, the Lord of David. As he is, according to his humanity, born under the law, so is he as God, the Lord of the sabbath.

Mark 3:28

Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:

No one who is indwelt by the Holy Spirit can imagine saying “anathema” to Jesus. No one in the Spirit would deny that Christ is the Son of God, or reject God as Creator. No believer would utter such things contrary to Scriptures, or substitute alien or sacrilegious ordinances contrary to moral principles. But if anyone shamelessly blasphemes against this same Holy Spirit, he “does not have forgiveness, either in this world or in the world to come.” For it is the Spirit who through the apostles offers testimony to Christ, who in the martyrs manifests unwavering faith, and who in the lives of the chaste embraces the admirable continence of sealed chastity. It is the Spirit who, among the whole church, guards the laws of the Lord’s teaching uncorrupted and untainted, destroys heretics, corrects those in error, reproves unbelievers, reveals impostors, and corrects the wicked.

Mark 16:15

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

He willed that the apostles as spiritual progenitors of the new humanity would be sent by his Son into the entire world, so that all human sufferers might come to the knowledge of their creator. Insofar as any choose to follow him, they have One whom they now address in their prayers as Father, instead of God. His providence has run and at present runs its course not only among individuals but also through whole cities and states, whose overthrow he predicted by the words of the prophets. His providence indeed runs its course through the whole cosmos itself.

John 10:30 · 2 passages

I and my Father are one.

This word can be true of no human being, “I and the Father are one.” Christ alone declared this word out of the consciousness of his divinity.

But since they frequently urge on us the passage where it is said, “I and the Father are one,” in this also we shall overcome them with equal facility. For if, as the heretics think, Christ were the Father, he ought to have said, “I, the Father, am one.” But when he says I and afterwards introduces the Father by saying, “I and the Father,” he severs and distinguishes the peculiarity of his, that is, the Son’s person, from the paternal authority, not only in respect of the sound of the name but moreover in respect of the order of the distribution of power, since he might have said, “I the Father,” if he had had it in mind that he himself was the Father. And since he said “one” thing, let the heretics understand that he did not say “one” person. For “one,” placed in the neuter, intimates association, not personal unity. He is said to be one neuter, not one masculine, because the expression is not referred to the number, but it is declared with reference to the association of another. Finally, he adds, and says, “We are,” not “I am,” so as to show, by the fact of his saying “I and the F…

But since they frequently urge on us the passage where it is said, “I and the Father are one,” in this also we shall overcome them with equal facility. For if, as the heretics think, Christ were the Father, he ought to have said, “I, the Father, am one.” But when he says I and afterwards introduces the Father by saying, “I and the Father,” he severs and distinguishes the peculiarity of his, that is, the Son’s person, from the paternal authority, not only in respect of the sound of the name but moreover in respect of the order of the distribution of power, since he might have said, “I the Father,” if he had had it in mind that he himself was the Father. And since he said “one” thing, let the heretics understand that he did not say “one” person. For “one,” placed in the neuter, intimates association, not personal unity. He is said to be one neuter, not one masculine, because the expression is not referred to the number, but it is declared with reference to the association of another. Finally, he adds, and says, “We are,” not “I am,” so as to show, by the fact of his saying “I and the Father are,” that they are two persons. Moreover, that he says one, has reference to the agreement, and to the identity of judgment and to the loving association itself, as reasonably the Father and Son are one in agreement, in love and in affection. And because he is of the Father, whatsoever he is, he is the Son. The distinction, however, remains that he is not the Father who is the Son, because he is not the Son who is the Father. For he would not have added “we are” if he had had it in mind that he, the only and sole Father, had become the Son.

John 10:36

Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?

The Jews thought that what he had said was … hateful and blasphemous, for he had shown himself in these discourses to be God. Therefore they rushed at once to stoning and set to work passionately to hurl stones. He, however, strongly refuted his adversaries by the example and witness of the Scriptures. “If,” said he, “he called them gods to whom the words of God were given, and the Scripture cannot be broken, you say of him whom the Father sanctified and sent into this world, ‘You blaspheme,’ because I said, I am the Son of God.” With these words, he did not deny that he was God, but rather he confirmed the assertion that he was God. For because undoubtedly they are said to be gods to whom the words of God were given, much more is he God who is found to be superior to all these. And nevertheless he refuted the calumny of blasphemy in a fitting manner with lawful tact. For his desire is to be understood to be God as the Son of God, not wanting to be understood as the Father. Thus he said that he was sent and showed them that he had manifested many good works from the Father that furth…

The Jews thought that what he had said was … hateful and blasphemous, for he had shown himself in these discourses to be God. Therefore they rushed at once to stoning and set to work passionately to hurl stones. He, however, strongly refuted his adversaries by the example and witness of the Scriptures. “If,” said he, “he called them gods to whom the words of God were given, and the Scripture cannot be broken, you say of him whom the Father sanctified and sent into this world, ‘You blaspheme,’ because I said, I am the Son of God.” With these words, he did not deny that he was God, but rather he confirmed the assertion that he was God. For because undoubtedly they are said to be gods to whom the words of God were given, much more is he God who is found to be superior to all these. And nevertheless he refuted the calumny of blasphemy in a fitting manner with lawful tact. For his desire is to be understood to be God as the Son of God, not wanting to be understood as the Father. Thus he said that he was sent and showed them that he had manifested many good works from the Father that further demonstrates that he wanted to be understood as the Son and not the Father. And in the latter portion of his defense he made mention of the Son, not the Father when he said, “You say, ‘You blaspheme,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” Thus, as far as pertains to the guilt of blasphemy, he calls himself the Son, not the Father; but as pertaining to his divinity, by saying, “I and the Father are one,” he proved that he was the Son of God. He is God, therefore, but God in such a manner as to be the Son, not the Father.