On “It Is Not Possible” · §4 · Amphilochius of Iconium

The Son acts with the Father, not as a servant

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Jesus is speaking in the first person, explaining that his works and words are the Father's own, not a subordinate service but a union of nature, will, and authority.

For whatever the Father does, the Son also does in the same way. The same things, not merely things of that kind. I do not produce other things by imitation. I work the very things the Father works. That is why I attributed my words to him and said, “The words I speak to you I do not speak of myself; the Father who remains in me does the works” (John 14:10). I attributed the works and the words to him, not to show that I fulfill a service, but to show that I have been united to the Father in nature in such a way that I have neither word nor work without him. That is why I went on to say, “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if not, believe because of the works” (John 14:11; John 5:36). Just as there, when I was working, I said, “The Father who remains in me does the works,” so here too I say, “The works that he does, the Son also does in the same way. The same things, not merely things of that kind.”

Christ continues: Does the statement that the Son cannot do anything of himself not take away my freedom? Understand it this way. Whatever I wish to do, I can also do of myself, but I do not wish to. For if the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he himself does, how could I escape the notice of the one who does all things through me? And he does them through me, but not as through an underling. I do not serve as an underling; I work together. I do not fulfill a service; I work with authority. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, having power that moves together with his will, so I raise the dead not by fulfilling a service, but by power, authority, right, and will. Those I raise, I also judge. For the Father judges no one. But he does not refrain from judging because of inability, but because he has given all judgment to the Son. Through the one by whom he worked, through him he also judges.

And he does all things for this reason: so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father (John 5:23). For the Father most of all delights in honor when he sees the Son who comes from him honored in a way worthy of God. The one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him, for the Father does not accept honor at the cost of the Son’s dishonor.

Christ says: He sent me because of the flesh, not so that I would be insulted, but so that I would be glorified. Therefore, since you were disposed toward me without gratitude, through the very flesh that had been sent I kept saying to the Father, “Father, glorify your Son” (John 17:1). Glorify the one these people insult. Glorify also the flesh they reject, so that they may learn that, as Father, you will glorify the man from Mary without distinction, because of his communion with your only-begotten Son. You will give now to the temple assumed by me, my human body, the glory that I myself had from nature with you before the ages.

Greek

Ἃ γὰρ ἂν ἐκεῖνος ποιῇ, ὁ πατήρ, ταῦτα καὶ ὁ υἱὸς ὁμοίως ποιεῖ· ταῦτα καὶ οὐχὶ τοιαῦτα, οὐ γὰρ κατὰ μίμησιν ἕτερα

ποιῶ, ἀλλὰ τὰ αὐτὰ ἐργάζομαι ἃ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἐργάζεται. Ὅθεν καὶ τὰ ῥήματά μου ἀνατιθεὶς αὐτῷ ἔλεγον· Τὰ ῥήματα ἃ ἐγὼ λαλῶ ὑμῖν ἀπ' ἐμαυτοῦ οὐ λαλῶ· ὁ δὲ πατὴρ ὁ ἐν ἐμοὶ μένων ποιεῖ τὰ ἔργα. Αὐτῷ δὲ τὰ ἔργα καὶ τὰ ῥήματα ἀνεθέμην, οὐχ ἵνα δείξω ὅτι διακονίαν πληρῶ, ἀλλ' ἵνα δείξω ὅτι οὕτως συνήνωμαι τῷ πατρὶ φύσει, ὡς μήτε λόγον μήτε ἔργον ἄνευ αὐτοῦ ἔχειν. Ὅθεν ἐπήγαγεν λέγων· Πιστεύετέ μοι ὅτι ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ πατρὶ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἐν ἐμοί· εἰ δὲ μή, κἂν διὰ τὰ ἔργα πιστεύετε. Ὥσπερ οὖν ἐκεῖ ἐργαζόμενος ἔλεγον ὅτι Ὁ πατὴρ ὁ ἐν ἐμοὶ μένων ποιεῖ τὰ ἔργα, οὕτως καὶ ὧδε λέγω ὅτι Τὰ ἔργα ἃ ἐκεῖνος ποιεῖ, ταῦτα καὶ ὁ υἱὸς ὁμοίως ποιεῖ· ταῦτα καὶ οὐχὶ τοιαῦτα. Τὸ οὖν Οὐ δύναται ὁ υἱὸς ποιεῖν ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ οὐδὲν <οὐδὲν> μὴ ἐπαναιρέσει μου τῆς ἐλευθερίας; Νόει· ὅσα γὰρ θέλω ποιεῖν καὶ ἀπ' ἐμαυτοῦ δύναμαι, ἀλλ' οὐ θέλω· εἰ γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ φιλεῖ τὸν υἱὸν καὶ πάντα δείκνυσιν αὐτῷ ἃ αὐτὸς ποιεῖ, πῶς ἐγὼ λάθω τὸν πάντα δι' ἐμοῦ ποιοῦντα; Ποιεῖ δὲ δι' ἐμοῦ οὐχ ὡς δι' ὑπουργοῦ· οὐ γὰρ ὑπουργῶ ἀλλὰ συνεργῶ, οὐ διακονίαν πληρῶν ἀλλὰ αὐθεντίαν ἔχων ἐργάζομαι. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ ἐγείρει τοὺς νεκροὺς καὶ ζωοποιεῖ σύνδρομον ἔχων τῇ θελήσει τὴν δύναμιν, οὕτως οὐ διακονίαν πληρῶν νεκροὺς ἐγείρω, ἀλλὰ δυνάμει, αὐθεντίᾳ, ἐξουσίᾳ, θελήσει, ὅτι οὓς ἐγείρω καὶ κρίνω. Ὁ πατὴρ γὰρ οὐ κρίνει οὐδένα· ἀλλ' οὐ διὰ ἀδυναμίαν οὐ κρίνει, ἀλλ' ὅτι τὴν κρίσιν πᾶσαν δέδωκεν τῷ υἱῷ· δι' οὗ γὰρ εἰργάσατο, δι' αὐτοῦ καὶ κρίνει. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο δὲ πάντα ποιεῖ, ἵνα πάντες τιμῶσιν τὸν υἱὸν καθὼς τιμῶσι τὸν πατέρα. Τότε γὰρ μάλιστα αἰσθάνεται τίμης, ὅταν ἴδῃ τὸν ἐξ αὐτοῦ θεοπρεπῶς τιμώμενον υἱόν· ὁ μὴ τιμῶν τὸν υἱὸν οὐ τιμᾷ τὸν πατέρα τὸν πέμψαντα αὐτόν, οὐ γὰρ δέχεται τιμὴν ἐπ' ἀτιμίᾳ υἱοῦ. Ἔπεμψέ με γὰρ διὰ τὴν σάρκα, οὐχ ἵνα ὑβρισθῶ, ἀλλ' ἵνα δοξασθῶ. Ὅθεν ἐπειδὴ ἀγνωμόνως διετέθητε εἰς ἐμέ, διὰ τοῦτο καὶ δι' αὐτῆς τῆς ἀποσταλείσης σαρκὸς πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔλεγον· Πάτερ, δόξασόν σου τὸν υἱόν. Σὺ δόξασον ὃν οὗτοι ὑβρίζουσι, σὺ καὶ τὴν ὑπ' αὐτῶν ἀθετουμένην δόξασον σάρκα, ἵνα μάθωσιν ὅτι καὶ τὸν ἐκ Μαρίας ἄνθρωπον διὰ τὴν πρὸς τὸν μονογενῆ σου υἱὸν κοινωνίαν ἀδιακρίτως ὡς πατὴρ δοξάσεις ἐκείνην διδοὺς τῷ ἀναληφθέντι παρ' ἐμοῦ ναῷ νῦν δόξαν, ἣν ἐγὼ αὐτὸς πρὸ αἰώνων παρά σοι ἐκ φύσεως εἶχον ... 3

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About this text

A bishop unpacks what it means for the Son to act alone, blending scripture and logic to reveal deeper truths about divinity and human limitation.

Amphilochius of Iconium (c. 340–c. 395) wrote this homily for a Christian audience he addresses directly as “you” and once as “master.” He was a fourth-century bishop of Iconium in Lycaonia, a first cousin of Gregory of Nazianzus and a close friend of Basil the Great. He preached to defend the Son’s equality with the Father against interpretations that would make the Son a mere subordinate agent or deny his freedom.

The homily is an exposition of John 5:19, where Jesus says that the Son can do nothing of himself. Amphilochius argues that this does not mean the Son is weak or compelled. The saying must be read with its continuation: the Son does whatever he sees the Father doing, as one of the same nature and will. A reader will meet Jesus, the Father, the paralytic healed at the pool after thirty-eight years, the Jews who object to the Sabbath healing, the apostle Paul, and the apostles. Jesus’ words from the Gospel are quoted and explained, the paralytic and the Jews speak briefly, Paul is cited on the impossibility of animal blood removing sins, and the apostles are cited from Acts on the impossibility of not speaking what they had seen and heard.

To follow the homily, a reader should know that “cannot” here distinguishes impossibility from unfittingness, and “of himself” means acting independently or on one’s own apart from the Father. The Son does the same works “in the same way” as the Father, not merely similar works, and shares one nature, will, and authority with him. The Son works together with the Father, not under him, and receives equal honor. Bible citations use old book names and numbering; they are given here in modern form, such as John 5:19, Acts 4:20, and Hebrews 10:4.

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Translated from PG 39 (Greek)

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