On Luke 10 22 (Matt 11 27)

Athanasius of Alexandria (296–373)

On Luke X. 22 (Matt. XI. 27)

§ 1. This Text Refers Not to the Eternal Word But to the Incarnate.

"All things were delivered to Me by My Father. And none knoweth Who the Son is, save the Father; and Who the Father is, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal Him."

And from not perceiving this they of the sect of Arius, Eusebius and his fellows, indulge impiety against the Lord. For they say, if all things were delivered (meaning by `all' the Lordship of Creation), there was once a time when He had them not. But if He had them not, He is not of the Father, for if He were, He would on that account have had them always, and would not have required to receive them. But this point will furnish all the clearer an exposure of their folly. For the expression in question does not refer to the Lordship over Creation, nor to presiding over the works of God, but is meant to reveal in part the intention of the Incarnation (thj oikonomiaj). For if when He was speaking they `were delivered' to Him, clearly before He received them, creation was void of the Word. What then becomes of the text "in Him all things consist" (Col. i. 17)? But if simultaneously with the origin of the…

See also

• More works by Athanasius of Alexandria

Enable JavaScript to read the full text and search the library.