The Word And Creation

Ταῦτα καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα διεξελθὼν ἐπάγει καὶ περὶ τῆς κατὰ τὸν ἄνθρωπον οἰκονομίας διδασκαλίαν, διὰ τί σὰρξ ὁ λόγος ἐγένετο. Φανεροῦ γὰρ ἅπασιν ὄντος ὅτι οὐδὲν ἐν ἑαυτῷ κτιστὸν ἢ ἐπείσακτον ὁ ἐπὶ πάντων ἔχει Θεός, οὐ δύναμιν, οὐ σοφίαν, οὐ φῶς, οὐ λόγον, οὐ ζωήν, οὐκ ἀλήθειαν οὐδὲ ὅλως τι τῶν ἐν τῷ πληρώματι τοῦ θείου κόλπου θεωρουμένων, ἅπερ πάντα ἐστὶν ὁ μονογενὴς Θεός, ὁ ὢν ἐν τοῖς κόλποις τοῦ Πατρός, οὐκ ἄν τινι τῶν ἐν τῷ Θεῷ θεωρουμένων εὐλόγως ἐφαρμοσθείη τὸ τῆς κτίσεως ὄνομα, ὥστε εἰπεῖν τὸν ἐν τῷ Πατρὶ Υἱὸν ἢ τὸν ἐν τῇ ἀρχῇ λόγον ἢ τὸ ἐν τῷ φωτὶ φῶς ἢ τὴν ἐν τῇ ζωῇ ζωὴν ἢ τὴν ἐν τῇ σοφίᾳ σοφίαν ὅτι Κύριος ἔκτισέ με. Eἰ γὰρ κτιστὴ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡ σοφία, Χριστὸς δὲ Θεοῦ δύναμις καὶ Θεοῦ σοφία, ἐπείσακτον ἔσχε πάντως ὁ Θεὸς τὴν σοφίαν, ὕστερον ἐκ κατασκευῆς προσλαβὼν ὃ μὴ παρὰ τὴν πρώτην εἶχεν. Ἀλλὰ μὴν ὁ ἐν τοῖς κόλποις ὢν τοῦ Πατρὸς οὐδέποτε κενὸν ἑαυτοῦ δίδωσι νοεῖν τὸν Πατρῷον κόλπον. Ἄρα οὐ τῶν ἔξωθεν ἐγγενομένων ἐστὶ τῷ κόλπῳ, ἀλλὰ παντὸς ἀγαθοῦ πλήρωμα ὢν πάντοτε ἐν τῷ Πατρὶ νοεῖται ὁ ἐν ἀρχῇ ὤν, οὐκ ἀναμένων τὸ διὰ κτίσεως ἐν αὐτῷ γενέσθαι, ὡς ἂν μήποτε κενὸς ἀγαθῶν ὁ Πατὴρ νοηθείη, ἀλλ' ὁ ἐν τῇ ἀϊδιότητι τῆς πατρικῆς θεότητος εἶναι νοούμενος ἀεὶ ἐν αὐτῷ ἐστι, δύναμις ὢν καὶ ζωὴ καὶ ἀλήθεια καὶ φῶς καὶ σοφία καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα. Oὐκοῦν οὐκ ἐκ τοῦ θείου τε καὶ ἀκηράτου ἐστὶν ἡ τοῦ ἔκτισέ με φωνή, ἀλλά, καθὼς εἴρηται, ἐκ τοῦ ἀνακραθέντος κατ' οἰκονομίαν ἀπὸ τῆς κτιστῆς ἡμῶν φύσεως. Πῶς οὖν ἡ αὐτὴ καὶ τὴν γῆν θεμελιοῖ καὶ τοὺς οὐρανοὺς ἑτοιμάζει καὶ τὰς ἀβύσσους ἀναρρήγνυσι, σοφία καὶ φρόνησις καὶ θεία αἴσθησις καλουμένη, καὶ ἐνταῦθα κτίζεται εἰς ἔργων ἀρχήν; οὐκ ἄνευ, φησίν, αἰτίας μεγάλης ἡ τοι αύτη συνεργεῖται οἰκονομία. Ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ τῶν παραφυλακτέων ἡμῖν τὴν ἐντολὴν λαβόντες οἱ ἄνθρωποι ἐξέβαλον τῆς μνήμης τὴν χάριν, διὰ τῆς παρακοῆς ἐν τῇ τῶν ἀγαθῶν λήθῃ γενόμενοι, διὰ τοῦτο, ἵνα ἀναγγείλω πάλιν ὑμῖν τὰ καθ' ἡμέραν ἐπὶ σωτηρίᾳ γινόμενα καὶ ἀναμνήσω τὰ ἐξ αἰῶνος ἀπαριθμησάμενος ὧν ἐπελάθεσθε· οὐ γὰρ καινόν τι καταγγέλλω νῦν εὐαγγέλιον, ἀλλὰ τὴν εἰς τὸ ἀρχαῖον ἀποκατάστασιν ὑμῶν πραγματεύομαι· τούτου χάριν ἐκτίσθην ὁ ἀεὶ ὢν καὶ μηδὲν τοῦ κτισθῆναι πρὸς τὸ εἶναι δεόμενος, ὥστε με γενέσθαι ἀρχὴν ὁδῶν εἰς τὰ ἔργα τοῦ θεοῦ, τοὺς ἀνθρώπους λέγω. Tῆς γὰρ ὁδοῦ τῆς πρώτης καταφθαρείσης, ἔδει πάλιν ἐγκαινισθῆναι τοῖς πλανωμένοις ὁδὸν πρόσφατόν τε καὶ ζῶσαν, αὐτὸν ἐμὲ ὅς εἰμι ἡ ὁδός. Καὶ ὅτι πρὸς τὸ ἀνθρώπινον ἡ τοῦ ἔκτισέ με διάνοια βλέπει, σαφέστερον ἡμῖν τοῦτο παρίστησι διὰ τῶν ἰδίων λόγων ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολος, ἐν οἷς διακελεύεται ὅτι Ἐνδύσασθε τὸν Kύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν, καὶ πρὸς τούτοις ὅπου τὸν αὐτὸν ἐπαναλαβὼν λόγον φησὶν Ἐνδύσασθε τὸν καινὸν ἄνθρωπον τὸν κατὰ θεὸν κτισθέντα. Eἰ γὰρ ἓν μέν ἐστι τὸ σωτήριον ἔνδυμα, τοῦτο δέ ἐστιν ὁ Χριστός, οὐκ ἂν ἄλλον τις εἴποι παρὰ τὸν Χριστὸν εἶναι τὸν καινὸν ἄνθρωπον τὸν κατὰ θεὸν κτισθέντα, ἀλλὰ δῆλον ὅτι ὁ τὸν Χριστὸν ἐν δυσάμενος τὸν καινὸν ἐνδέδυται ἄνθρωπον τὸν κατὰ θεὸν κτισθέντα. Mόνος γὰρ οὗτος ὡς ἀληθῶς καινὸς κυρίως ὀνομάζεται ἄνθρωπος, ὃς οὐχὶ διὰ τῶν γνωρίμων τε καὶ συνήθων τῆς φύσεως ὁδῶν ἐν τῷ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐφάνη βίῳ, ἀλλ' ἐξηλλαγμένη τις καὶ ἰδιάζουσα ἐπὶ μόνου τούτου ἐκαινοτομήθη ἡ κτίσις. Διὰ τοῦτο τὸν αὐτὸν πρός τε τὸ παράδοξον τῆς γεννήσεως βλέπων καινὸν ἄνθρωπον κατὰ θεὸν κτισθέντα κατονομάζει, καὶ πρὸς τὴν θείαν φύσιν ὁρῶν τὴν ἐγκραθεῖσαν τῇ κτίσει τοῦ καινοῦ τούτου ἀνθρώπου Χριστὸν προσαγορεύει, ὡς καθ' ἑνὸς καὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ τὰς δύο κεῖσθαι φωνάς, τήν τε τοῦ Χριστοῦ λέγω καὶ τὴν τοῦ καινοῦ ἀνθρώπου τοῦ κατὰ θεὸν κτισθέντος. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Κατά Εὐνομίου, Λογός Γ´ Source: Migne PG 45.581b-584c

After recounting these and the similar things, he brings into his teaching of the dispensation with regard to man why the Word was made flesh. 1 For because it is clear to everyone that the God who is over all has nothing created or added in Himself, neither power, nor wisdom, nor light, nor word, nor life, nor truth, nor anything at all of those things which are contemplated in the fullness of the Divine bosom, all which things the Only Begotten God is, who is in the bosom of the Father, 2 so the name of 'creation' could not rightly be applied to any of those things which are contemplated in God, so that the Son who is in the Father, or the Word who is in the Beginning, or the Light who is in the Light, or the Life who is in the Life, or the Wisdom who is in the Wisdom, should say: 'the Lord created me.' 3 For if the Wisdom of God is created, and Christ is the Power of God and the Wisdom of God, 4 it would follow that God must have His Wisdom as something added to Him, and thus later receive from something made that which He did not have at first. But indeed He who is in the bosom of the Father never allows us to think that the bosom of the Father could be empty of Himself. He is surely not something that comes to be in that bosom from outside, but being the fullness of all goodness, He who is in the beginning is conceived as being always in the Father, and does not wait to become in Him by creation. Whence the Father should never be thought of being empty of any good, for He who is conceived as being in the eternity of the paternal Godhead is always in Him, being Power and Life and Truth and Wisdom, and the like. Thus the words 'created me' do not refer to the Divine and immortal nature, but, so to speak, that which is mingled with it from our created nature in the Incarnation. How is it, then, that the same one who is called Wisdom, and Understanding, and Divine Perception, and He who establishes the earth and prepares the heavens and breaks open the depths, yet here is 'created at the beginning of His works?' 3 Such a dispensation, he tells us, is not given without a weighty cause. But because men, having received the commandment that should be guarded closely, yet cast off the grace of memory by disobedience and thus became forgetful of good things, and so it is for this, 'that I may again declare to you the things that are done daily for salvation, and may make you mindful by recounting the things from eternity which you have forgotten, for it is no new gospel that I now proclaim, but I labour for the restoration of that which was at first, for the sake of which I was created, I who always am, and need no creation in order to be, so that I am the beginning of ways for the works of God, that is, for men. For with the first way ruined, a new and living way must again be consecrated for the wanderers, even I myself, who am the way.' And that it be seen that the meaning of 'created me' refers to His humanity, the blessed Apostle more clearly sets before us with his own words in which he exhorts: 'Put on the Lord Jesus Christ.' 5 And also where, making use of the same words, he says, 'Put on the new man created after God.' 6 For if the garment of salvation is one, and it is Christ, it cannot be said that 'the new man created after God' is anyone else but Christ, and it is clear that he who has 'put on Christ' has 'put on the new man created after God.' For in truth He alone is rightfully named 'the new man,' who did not appear in the life of man by the known and customary ways of nature, but for whom alone was established anew a creation of a strange and special form. Because of which, in consideration of the wonder of this birth, he entitles it 'the new man created after God,' and looking to the Divine nature, which was blended in with the creation of this 'new man,' he calls Him 'Christ,' so that the two names are applied to one and the same thing, I mean, the name of Christ and the name of 'the new man created after God.' Saint Gregory of Nyssa, Against Eunomius, Book 3 1 Jn 1.14 2 Jn 1.18 3 Prov 8.22 4 1 Cor 1.24 5 Rom 13.14 6 Ephes 4.24