The Son by Nature and God Who Is True
The surviving fragments of Cyril, Archbishop of Alexandria, on the Epistle to the Romans.
“Concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh” (Romans 1:3). He says that the one born of the seed of David according to the flesh was declared Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:4). For we too have been declared sons, but not in power; it is rather by way of grace, as those counted worthy of the calling, who gain this by the will of God the Father alone. But with Emmanuel it would not be so; far from it. Even though he was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and as one of us is reckoned Son of God because of his humanity, he is nonetheless Son in power and in truth, by nature; and through him we too are made sons, since it is indeed true to say that, once we have been enriched with his Spirit through holy baptism, then truly we say without fear of rebuke, “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15). So, as images stand to their archetype, so we, who are sons by adoption, stand to him whom the Father has attested to be Son by nature, in power, and in truth.
“His eternal power and divinity” (Romans 1:20). How is his eternal power known through creation? Because the things brought into being and called into existence in time have a perishable nature, their Maker must surely be imperishable and eternal. So they will find no defense on the day of judgment.
“Will their unbelief nullify the faithfulness of God?” (Romans 3:3). More honored than the rest are those who were foreknown, who received the law as their tutor (Galatians 3:24), who held promises concerning Christ, who indeed received them, and who were called before the others; for the Savior said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24). They also became the firstfruits of those saved through faith. For if some, out of madness, slipped away from believing, God would not on that account, he says, fail to be true. So then, the Father sent the Son from heaven, yet not all believed in him. Because some have become insolent and unbelieving, will God not be true on that account? By no means!
“Let God be true, and every man a liar” (Romans 3:4). That is, let him be thought and spoken of by us as true, and let falsehood be charged, as it were, to every human being. For the divine nature is wholly unchangeable and unalterable, while human nature is badly shaken, and, as far as possibility goes, every man is a liar. For falsehood, as a sin, sometimes overpowers the human mind, and our nature is in some way open to this sickness as well. But of God, who rules over all, it is not right to think or say any such thing. So the charge will be true in this sense: that human nature, that is, the mind, can suffer falsehood. This, I think, is what is also said by…
Greek
174 Περὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ, τοῦ γενομένου ἐκ σπέρματος ∆αβὶδ κατὰ 175 σάρκα. ΤΟΝ γεμὴν ἐκ σπέρματος ∆αυεὶδ γεγονότα, κατὰ τὴν σάρκα ὡρίσθαι φησὶν εἰς υἱὸν Θεοῦ ἐν δυνάμει κατὰ πνεῦμα ἁγιωσύνης ἐξ ἀναστάσεως νεκρῶν. ὡρίσμεθα μὲν γὰρ καὶ ἡμεῖς εἰς υἱοὺς, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐν δυνάμει μᾶλλον, ἀλλ' ὡς ἐν χάριτος μοίρᾳ, τῆς κλήσεως ἀξιούμενοι καὶ ὡς ἐν μόνῃ θελήσει τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς τὸ χρῆμα κερδαίνοντες· ὁ δέ γε Ἐμμανουὴλ οὐκ ἂν ὧδε ἔχοι· πολλοῦ γε καὶ δεῖ· ἀλλ' εἰ καὶ γέγονεν ἐκ σπέρματος τοῦ ∆αυεὶδ κατὰ σάρκα, καὶ ὡς εἷς ἐξ ἡμῶν εἰς υἱὸν λογίζεται Θεοῦ διὰ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον, ἀλλ' οὖν ἐν δυνάμει καὶ ἀληθείᾳ κατὰ φύσιν Υἱός ἐστι, δι' οὗ καὶ ἡμεῖς υἱοποιούμεθα· εἴπερ ἐστὶν ἀληθὲς εἰπεῖν, ὡς τὸ αὐτοῦ Πνεῦμα πεπλουτηκότες διὰ τοῦ ἁγίου 176 βαπτίσματος, τότε δὴ τότε καὶ ἀνεπιπλήκτως φαμέν "Ἀββὰ ὁ "πατήρ·" οὐκοῦν ὡς εἰκόνες πρὸς ἀρχέτυπον, οὕτω καὶ ἡμεῖς οἱ κατὰ θέσιν υἱοὶ πρὸς τὸν φύσει τε καὶ δυνάμει καὶ ἀληθῶς ἐκ Πατρὸς μεμαρτυρημένον εἰς τοῦτο. Ἥ τε ἀΐδιος αὐτοῦ δύναμις καὶ θειότης. Πῶς δὲ γινώσκεται διὰ τῆς δημιουργίας ἡ ἀΐδιος αὐτοῦ δύναμις; ὅτι φθαρτὴν ἐχόντων τὴν φύσιν τῶν παρηγμένων εἰς γένεσιν καὶ κεκλημένων ἐν χρόνῳ πρὸς ὕπαρξιν, ἔσται που πάντως ὁ τούτων δημιουργὸς ἄφθαρτος καὶ ἀΐδιος· οὐκοῦν οὐδεμίαν εὑρήσουσιν ἀπολογίαν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως. Μὴ ἡ ἀπιστία αὐτῶν τὴν πίστιν τοῦ Θεοῦ καταργήσῃ; Ἐντιμότεροι τῶν ἄλλων οἱ προεγνωσμένοι καὶ νόμον λαχόντες παιδαγωγὸν, καὶ ὑποσχέσεις ἔχοντες ἐπὶ Χριστῷ, καὶ δὴ καὶ ἀπειληφότες καὶ προκεκλημένοι τῶν ἄλλων· ἔφασκεν γὰρ ὁ Σωτήρ "Οὐκ ἀπεστάλην εἰ μὴ πρὸς τὰ "πρόβατα τὰ ἀπολωλότα οἴκου Ἰσραήλ·" καὶ τῶν διὰ πίστεως ἀνασεσωσμένων ἀπαρχὴ γεγονότες. οὐ γὰρ εἴ τινες ἐκ φρενοβλαβείας τοῦ πιστεύειν ἀπώλισθον, ταύτῃτοι, φησὶν, ἀφαμαρτήσειεν ἂν τοῦ καὶ ἀληθὴς εἶναι Θεός; οὐκοῦν πέπομφε μὲν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ τὸν Υἱὸν ὁ Πατὴρ, πεπιστεύκασι γεμὴν οὐ πάντες αὐτῷ· ἆρ' οὖν ὅτι γεγόνασί τινες ὑβρισταί τε καὶ ἄπιστοι, οὐκ ἔσται ὁ Θεὸς ἀληθὴς διὰ τοῦτο; μὴ γένοιτο· γινέσθω δὲ ὁ Θεὸς ἀληθὴς, πᾶς δὲ ἄνθρωπος ψεύστης· ἀντὶ τοῦ νοείσθω τε καὶ λεγέσθω πρὸς ἡμῶν ἀληθὴς, καθοριζέσθω δὲ ὥσπερ ἀνθρώπου παντὸς τοῦ ψεύδους τὸ κατηγόρημα. ἄτρεπτος μὲν γὰρ καὶ ἀναλλοίωτος παντελῶς ἡ θεία φύσις ἐστίν· σεσάλευται δὲ λίαν ἡ ἀνθρώπου φύσις καὶ ὅσον ἧκεν εἰς τὸ ἐγχωροῦν πᾶς ἄνθρωπος 177 Ψεύστης· καταθλεῖ γὰρ ἔσθ' ὅτε τῆς ἀνθρώπου διανοίας ὡς ἁμαρτία τὸ ψεῦδος, καὶ δέχεταί πως ἡ φύσις καὶ τοῦ τοιοῦδε τὴν νόσον· ἐπὶ δέ γε τοῦ πάντων κρατοῦντος Θεοῦ, τοιοῦτόν τι νοεῖν ἢ λέγειν οὐ θέμις. οὐκοῦν τό γε δύνασθαι παθεῖν τὸ ψεῦδος τὴν ἀνθρώπου φύσιν, ἤγουν τὴν διάνοιαν, ἀληθὲς ἔσται τὸ κατηγόρημα· οὕτω που φησὶ καὶ