On John 1:14

On that the Word became flesh and dwelt in his own, while he himself is the Word of the Trinity. He wrought upon that the Word became flesh and dwelt. A new path he set for us, the Word that John wrote. A rose in it is the first, and it becomes for all of us a guide. He set a path toward being, and shows that one is the equality: that the Father and his Son are one essence, and there is no division between him and his begetter. His daughter became like a thunderclap, and cried out in the four directions. And fair is the voice of the son of thunder, who proclaimed the Word of the beginning. Hear, peoples, and listen, nations, to the new gospel that the man proclaims: the Father who begot from his womb a Son who did not depart from his begetter. In the beginning was the Word, and he was with God. And this Word was God, in person and in authority. O mystery that was hidden from generations and from families! And the son of thunder opened and revealed it to the upper and the lower. O John the preacher, the race of Adam the guilty! The Holy Spirit gave him keys, and he opened the treasury of being. He ascended and reached the height of heights, above the thoughts of spirits. And the power of grace brought him near to speak concerning being. He received power and authority, and proclaimed the Word of the beginning. That which was in the beginning, the Word, was eternally with his begetter.

He is always with his Father, like a shoot with the sun. The sun does not precede its shoot, nor does the sun precede its sphere. The shoot of the sun was with it. With the Father is his Son, and there is no time that separates from him. The Father is a true hypostasis, and the Son is a hypostasis like him. And when the Father is conceived, there is no time between him and his Son. He is a nature whose essence is from eternity, and there is no beginning to his existence. Neither did the Father begin to be, nor is the Son a time for his begetting. The Father is an eternal being, of whom there is no time when he was not Father. And the Son is perfect, without deficiency, of whom there is no time when he was not united. Far is his being from times, and times and worlds are within him. And how can one investigate his being in temporal works? And as much as thought seeks, it can go from times. Neither does the Father begin in his Son, nor is there a time for the Son of the Father. John the Evangelist wrote that he is always with his Father. And like the Word with the soul, which is from it and with it, he was Son with his Father, and he came into the world with him. The Word never departed from the soul, and it was established from it. Nor did the Son depart from his Begetter and distance himself from him by separation. The Word encompasses all sides and is not separated from the soul. And when it is in incarnation, it is in the soul when it is.

He holds fast also the Word from the Father, and came to the dwelling of the living. And while he was dwelling in the living, he was entirely in his Father. He is not visible openly because his being is from the self. And when it was imprinted by the hand of the sign, he becomes visible through the letters. And when he encloses his sound in letters and limits it with the syllables of the sign, his being is in the letters by name, and all of it is dissolved within the self. The signs are seen by the hearers while they are revealed in the letters. And the Word did not give its nature to be limited from the letters. The Son was hidden with his Begetter from the cause and the lower things. And he revealed himself to us by his will in the sign of his body of Adam. And when he put on the garment of the living, he was clothed in his divinity. His will was dissolved in the living, and his nature endures in his concealment. The body he put on does not limit his living that is without limit. And the eye of flesh did not see the concealment of his divinity. By his hand John said that everything that came to be was established. And nothing came to be apart from him who wills and orders everything that came to be. He is the one who fills the living with life, who establishes life by his hand. And from the life of his living, he distributes life to his creatures. Life is light that pursues darkness from the light. And the darkness of error did not overtake that which turns back the course of the light. In the world he was always, and the world was established by his hands. And while the world is his own, the world did not wish to confess him.

He came to his own, the Creator, and his own did not receive his Word. And those who heard his commands received the authority of the living. His own are hidden from us in the wombs that show mercy toward the race. That he might give birth to us spiritually through the baptism of water and spirit. His good will shows that he honors us in the name of the living. And he confirms the name of the Creator, who chose him as a dweller in his own. John said the word that he was in the flesh and came to us. And we saw the glory of his greatness at the face of the gate of life. He was for us flesh and dwelt in us, and his hidden glory gave us life. And while he was hidden in his body, through our flesh he showed his glory. Not that the being was subjected by that which said he was flesh. Rather, he mounted the flesh and dwelt in it by his will. For the Creator cannot bring the being to become one thing and come. And the existence without beginning cannot be limited by the time of birth. If then he was something somewhere, how did he come to being? And if he came to being, he is far from that which he was. There is no beginning and end to the existence that is from something. And something that comes to being has its before its body. If he is existing with the Father, he is not limited by his body. And if he confined himself in a womb, he is not existing with his begetter. If he is in the womb, he is not with the Father. And if he came now to being, how did he receive a beginning from something or from the whole?

He who is wholly limited cannot limit that which is unlimited. And if he is limited by a measure, he is limited. And he who has a limit, whether wholly or by measure, even the Father is limited, from whom is the nature of the Creator. As in his Father he was, and he dwelt in a womb of flesh. This is the place that is sought, where the inhabitants of that place received. And if they say that the heretics were in a womb and a height, that he who rules divides his own being, that he might be in height and in narrowness. Then his will precedes his being, which is from nothing. For behold, his will strips him and limits his being. And if his will rules, it sets a time and purifies his being. Then at every hour it changes, as his will desires. And if his will governs his being, as it desires, where then is the essence that limits his nature eternally? Let this folly go after the wall of heretics, that they may place non-existence under the feet of the limits of his boundary in the depth of the daughter of man. For they are hidden from the light and pursue the path of darkness. How can nature limit being in its works? As the word of the heretics, whose power is greater than itself, that it can limit its being. How does nature receive a mixture, which is cut off from the spirit? When it was in its own being or in a garment not its own. Come, interpret for us your mysteries, O uncircumcised ones who have not circumcised your hearts.

And teach us how the Word became flesh. Or explain to us how the Word dwelt within the members. Or prepare the contest that approaches, and see what the victory is. All your bows are bent, and the sinews of the strings are stretched. And set the Word that became flesh as a target, and see what it will do. Concerning the Word that became flesh, the whole dispute is about it. And perhaps, because of this, your contest is prepared against us. With the contest of your master, you wish to make a dispute with us. For he has armed the contest and clothed you against the Word that is from the Father. Come with your master, the measurers, and seek the power of the saying. And see how it is. Does the Creator begin to be, when he is composed of himself? Or does he now begin to be? Or perhaps he is composed of another, and he is far from composition? If he who became is not, and if he is, he was not now. For that which is cannot receive a becoming after its existence. He became flesh according to you, partially from him or wholly. And how can a nature that has no limit of place be divided? If he was wholly composed, then he is wholly limited. And he would be limited from every place, and would dwell in flesh alone. And if this is so, where is that which is unlimited? For behold, its limit is the vessel of flesh, like the smallness of your composition. And if he was composed from it, and from it he remains in his purity.

Where is the knowledge of equality, that his limbs have been divided? If the Word became flesh, ask the flesh what it is. With it, bring down from on high, or the flesh of man is what it is. If his standing became flesh, and flesh did not take from Mary, what help to the churches? That which became flesh of his own. Vain is the knowledge of the kingdom, that which confessed to David. And by name, a request is made known, the son of David when he is not. How did the dead benefit from the Word that became flesh? That he in his limbs became flesh, and the churches stand in his lowliness. Where is the knowledge that abolishes the decree of death from them? That he did not take a body from Mary, the Word took it and dwelt in it. And this is fitting for the knowledgeable, and truth bears witness to their words. Knowledge that comes is not able to become flesh for his standing. And it happens that when flesh is distant from the essence without beginning, what a wide covering of errors upon your words. Reveal the secret of your thoughts and interpret how Arius died. To him, your words are weak, and to him, your sayings are helpful. That he might separate the Son from the essence of the Son, and call him servant and minister. This is all the teaching of Arius, the arrogant disciple. That he might separate the Son from the Father, and measure him from his creation. The secret of his own, man or woman or free ones sin, and man or woman are painted in a figure, the wickedness that is hidden in your words.

Depart from the scattered words, the boastful ones. In the placing of the utterances, do not err. For he has destroyed the distinction of his duality: The two natures that were one. The breadth of their blasphemies has stirred, And ascended to the height of heights, and descended to the abyss from its boundary, And bound it with the bonds of members. Heaven and earth, be silent and listen: The breadth of what the boastful ones have spoken. For the essence that is incomprehensible, They have confined and shut it within a womb, like a prisoner in a battle, They have seized this daughter of time, that the Word might mount her, And become flesh, as it is written. Where is it that you have received, Or the teachers of the new things? And your error, that which dwells in her, And you do not understand its meaning. It dwells in her, says John. How, how did it dwell? Behold, test for us clearly: The dwelling of the two that were one. If it is of the dwelling, he says, That which was in her is sought. For behold, it is able to dwell, it knows, Even when that which is to be is not. If it dwells in another, It knows that it is greater. And this is fitting for its nature, That it dwells without being confined. Come then, O hearer, Examine my words if they are true. And by the measure of your mind, Weigh my sayings if they are false. Do not let your ear be deceived by the sound of the sects, Which are spoken in reversals. They are not of the truth, But of the error of the boastful. It is the error that the Word has aided, And concealed in it the hope of life. That it might bring it to its nature, To the honor of the image that it has lost.

He is troubled because of this: that the Word did not diminish in the incarnation, but rather took a body and his glory in the majesty of his greatness. This is the house of the incarnation that seeks with the womb, that the essence might not be diminished in the incarnation that is with humanity. That which was, is this: that which dwells, and that which dwells took humanity. And he concealed the radiance of his greatness in the humble garment of a mortal body. The vehicle of the body, the essential Word, mounted and dwelt in it. And he did not receive the vehicle, the breadth of the heretics. It is not limited by his person, nor is it subjected to the vehicle, nor does the vehicle that he mounted suffice to limit his person. He did not dwell in his person in the human being from whom he took, but rather the incarnation of will and the union without division. The Word diminished the garment of flesh in which he concealed his greatness, so that humanity might see in the human being the image of the glory of his greatness. The counsels that cannot be deceived: he counselled Abraham and David, and now he completes them in the servants, in the beginning from the house of David. The Word is not the son of David, the descendants from Jesse's root. The son of David is the son of Jesse, whom the Word took and dwelt in him. All his will is fulfilled: the Word in the flesh and dwelt in it. And when his will in it is limited, his person in it is not limited. In it was all his will, and his person in it and everywhere. For this is fitting for the doer, that he is not limited by his deeds.

it is the work of the body itself, which desires to become a dwelling for him. And without end, his entire will dwells in it. And the Word greatly mingles the senses with the words, like a shepherd. For where the maker and the made are one prosopon, they call it "Ithoth." The maker is called "Itha" for the sake of the mystery, and the Word is mounted upon his dwelling. And the made is the unity of the will that dwells in his making. Like the soul and the body that are equal, and one prosopon is revealed. The soul is the rational one of life, and the body is the mortal nature. And one prosopon is revealed, two that are distinct from one another. The Word is the nature of being, and the body is the nature of humanity. One maker and one made, one "Ithoth" in unity. The soul is bound within the body, and its activity is outside the body. And when the body is in one place, the movement of the soul is in all places. The Word was loosed within the body, and it was in height and depth. And his humanity was extended, and his divinity in all places. The soul does not feel in the body when the limbs are severed. And divinity does not feel the sufferings of the body in which it dwells. And if the soul does not feel that it is made in the likeness of the body, how then does the being feel, whose nature is high above sufferings? The soul feels with the body in love, but not in nature. And the sufferings of the body are also spoken of the soul, as if by way of inquiry.

He made him one with him in glory for the man who took from him. And because of his love for us, he took lordship over himself. The soul begins within the body, and the seers do not see it. And when it dwells in the dwelling, it is not limited by the eyes of the flesh. The Word also dwells in the dwelling, and is not limited by the dwelling. For he was a dweller of will, and was not a dweller of the dwelling. Behold, the demonstration in the dwelling: two dwellings that were one, one living and one mortal, and one hidden and the other revealed. Come then, O interpreters, seek in the season of the fitting, and lower the height of your words, and let your weak dwelling tremble. Gaze upon the mystery of the essence, the essence that cannot be grasped, and speak concerning the son of the race, that the essence took him and dwelt in him. He dwelt in him and did not limit him, so that his limit might not be known. Mortal pain dwelt in him, and pains did not approach the essence. He mounted the speaking image, to show in it his authority, so that when the speakers see him, they honor the hidden in the revealed. In the holy of holies of his hiddenness, the essence dwelt in him hiddenly. And in the midst of the son of the race, you see the image of his glory. And upon this he chose and dwelt in him, that the hidden might be known in the revealed. And at the threshold of the door of his hiddenness, worship his hidden dwelling. He made him lord over his house and ruler over his limits.

And he subjected height and depth, the eloquent and the mute, equally. In him the seal was renewed, the image that had been defiled by sin. And the work completed its purpose, that which had called its own image. To him the watchers and men bow down, as to the manifest image of the king. While they marvel at his sight, instead of the hiddenness of the One. Through hearing, he heard and understood, the hearer of these words that were spoken. Do not confuse your thoughts concerning the Word that became flesh. Behold, the path is laid before you; come, follow after the utterances, that you may find the way of life at the end of the path laid for you. Praise the Being in his hiddenness through the revelation that he took for his dwelling. And honor the king through his image, for the king is honored through his image. The path of following after it is difficult, towards the Being without beginning. Through the mediator, like a guide, he laid for us the path of hiddenness, which the nature of creatures cannot traverse to reach the perfect Being. Through the image that he assumed, he shows us the fitting glory of his hiddenness. Through the light that he took from us, he bound the discord of creatures. And through the mediator, the son of the race, he made peace for us with his greatness. This is the reason for his coming: that he might come and renew our seal, and bind the peace that was broken through the mediation of our beginning. He mounted the chariot of our nature, the vehicle of flesh, and dwelt in it, that he might worship in the outer sanctuary the One who is hidden in the holy of holies. The outer sanctity of his body: through the eyes of flesh we see.

And to the Holy of Holies, hidden in the movements of the spiritual soul. Through the veil of his body, Adam stood between the upper and lower realms. And there is no authority for the creatures to behold the sanctity of the essence. Behold, the beginning has opened a path to the living; come, the freeborn, and enter it. And do not stumble on the path of division of your thoughts. In the confession concerning the essence, let division not mingle with it. That the Son is equal to his Begetter, do not subordinate him to the powers. Confess that the Word put on flesh, and willed and dwelt in the loins. While not limiting his loins, the nature of the flesh that dwelt in him. He dwelt wholly in it by his will, and abides wholly in his essence. And he took the name of his humility, and made it share in his glories. Come, sinners, sons of Adam, and receive the face of grace. For the Good One who made your loins share in the glories of his greatness. Another of his own, while his own.