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Autol. 2.22.2. The God and Father, indeed, of all cannot be contained, and is not found in a place, for there is no place of His
rest; but His Word, through whom He made all things, being His power and His wisdom, assuming the person of the
Father and Lord of all, went to the garden in the person of God, and conversed with Adam.
Autol. 2.22.3. For the divine writing itself teaches us that Adam said that he had heard the voice. But what else is the voice
but the Word of God, who is also His Son? Not as the poets and writers of myths talk of the sons of gods begotten from
intercourse [with women], but as truth expounds, the Word, that always exists, residing within the heart of God. For
before anything came into being, He had Him as a counselor, being His own mind and thought
Autol. 2.22.4. But when God wished to make all that He determined on, He begot this Word, uttered, the first-born of all
creation, not Himself being emptied of the Word [Reason], but having begotten Reason, and always conversing with His
Reason
Autol. 2.22.5. And hence the holy writings teach us, and all the spirit-bearing [inspired] men, one of whom, John, says, "In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God," showing that at first God was alone, and the Word in Him
Autol. 2.22.6. Then he says, "The Word was God; all things came into existence through Him; and apart from Him not one
thing came into existence." The Word, then, being God, and being naturally produced from God, whenever the Father of
the universe wills, He sends Him to any place; and He, coming, is both heard and seen, being sent by Him, and is found
in a place.
Autol. 3.12.1. Moreover, concerning the righteousness which the law enjoined, confirmatory utterances are found both with
the prophets and in the Gospels, because they all spoke inspired by one Spirit of God.
Autol. 3.17.4. How much more, then, shall we know the truth who are instructed by the holy prophets, who were possessed
by the Holy Spirit of God!
Athenagoras (c. 177180)
Embassy 4.1, Now when we make a distinction between matter and God and show that matter is one being while God is quite
other, completely separated from the former--for the divine is unbegotten and invisible, beheld only by mind and
thought, while matter is subject to generation and corruption--surely it is unreasonable of them to charge us with
atheism.
Embassy 4.2. But when our doctrine introduces one God, creator of all this world, Himself unbegotten (for it is not Being
that is subject to Becoming, but not-Being), and says that all things are made by the Word that proceeds from Him, we
are wrongfully assailed.
Embassy 5.2. The one whose works they are and whose Spirit governs all, Him he took to be God
Embassy 6.3. If now Plato is no atheist, recognizing one unbegotten God as the maker of all things, neither are we atheists,
since we know and cherish that being as God by whose Word all things are made and by whose Spirit all things are held
in being
Embassy 6.5. The Stoic school even though they amass a multitude of names for the divine being, according as it has to be
named to suit the changes of matter through which they say that the `Breath' of God passes, do in reality reckon God to
be one. For if God is that artisan fire which, making its way towards the production of the universe, embraces all the
`seminal reasons' after the pattern of which each group of things comes to be in its appointed order, and if the Spirit of
God pervades the whole universe, then God is one in their philosophy, being named Zeus in the fiery element of matter,
Hera in the element of air, and having other names for the other portions of matter in which He is contained.
Embassy 9.1. I expect that you who are so learned and so eager for truth are not without some introduction to Moses, Isaias,
Jeremias, and the rest of the prophets, who, when the Divine Spirit moved them . . .
Embassy 10.1. I have given sufficient proof that we are not atheists, but hold God to be one, unbegotten, eternal, invisible,
suffering nothing, comprehended by none, circumscribed by none, apprehended by mind and reasoning alone, girt about
with light and beauty and spirit and power indescribable, creator of all things by His Word, their embellisher and master
Embassy 10.2. We do indeed think also that God has a Son--and please let no one laugh at the idea of God having a Son!
This is not a case of the myths of the poets who make the gods out to be no better than men; we have no such ideas about
God the Father or the Son. The Son of God is Word of the Father in thought and power. All things were made through
Him and after His fashion. The Father and Son are one. The Son being in the Father and the Father in the Son by the
powerful union of the Spirit, the Son of God is mind and Word of the Father.
Embassy 10.3. Now if, in your exceeding great sagacity, you wish to investigate what is meant by the Son, I will tell you in
brief: He is the First-begotten of the Father. He did not indeed come to be, for God was from the beginning, being eternal
mind, and had His Word within Himself, being from eternity possessed of a Word; but He proceeded to become thought
and power over the elements of undifferentiated nature when all the material elements were like a substrate in quiescence
and the heavier elements lay mixed with the lighter.
Embassy 10.4. The Spirit of prophecy agrees with this account, saying: The Lord made me the beginning of His ways for His
works. Then again this same Holy Spirit, that works in those who utter prophecy, we call an outflow from God, flowing
out and returning like a ray of the sun. Who then would not be amazed hearing those called atheists who call God Father
and Son and Holy Spirit, proclaiming their power in unity and in rank their diversity?
Embassy 12.2. We are guided [by the Spirit] alone to know the true God and His Word, to know what is the unity of the Son
with the Father, what the sharing of the Father with the Son, and what the Spirit, to know what is the unity and division
of these three great ones thus united--Spirit, Son, and Father.