NPNF2-08. Basil: Letters and Select Works - Holy Bible Institute

To the Cæsareans. A defence of his withdrawal, and concerning the faith.ceptible of evil. But the Son and the Holy Ghost are the source of sanctification by whichevery reasonable creature is hallowed in proportion to its virtue.3. We in accordance with the true doctrine speak of the Son as neither like, 1787 norunlike 1788 the Father. Each of these terms is equally impossible, for like and unlike arepredicated in relation to quality, and the divine is free from quality. We, on the contrary,confess identity of nature and accepting the consubstantiality, and rejecting the compositionof the Father, God in substance, Who begat the Son, God in substance. From this the consubstantiality1789 is proved. For God in essence or substance is co-essential or con-substantialwith God in essence or substance. But when even man is called “god” as in the words, “Ihave said ye are gods,” 1790 and “dæmon” as in the words, “The gods of the nations are dæmons,”1791 in the former case the name is given by favour, in the latter untruly. God aloneis substantially and essentially God. When I say “alone” I set forth the holy and uncreatedessence and substance of God. For the word “alone” is used in the case of any individualand generally of human nature. In the case of an individual, as for instance of Paul, that healone was caught into the third heaven and “heard unspeakable words which it is not lawfulfor a man to utter,” 1792 and of human nature, as when David says, “as for man his days areas grass,” 1793 not meaning any particular man, but human nature generally; for every manis short-lived and mortal. So we understand these words to be said of the nature, “who alonehath immortality” 1794 and “to God only wise,” 1795 and “none is good save one, that isGod,” 1796 for here “one” means the same as alone. So also, “which alone spreadest out theheavens,” 1797 and again “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and Him only shalt thouserve.” 1798 “There is no God beside me.” 1799 In Scripture “one” and “only” are not predicatedof God to mark distinction from the Son and the Holy Ghost, but to except the unreal1171787 Asserted at Seleucia and Ariminum.1788 cf. D. Sp. S. § 4 on Aetius’ responsibility for the Anomœan formula.1789 τὸ ὁμοούσιον.1790 Ps. lxxxii. 6.1791 Ps. xcvi. 5, LXX.1792 2 Cor. xii. 4.1793 Ps. cii. 15.1794 1 Tim. vi. 16.1795 Rom. xvi. 27.1796 Luke xviii. 19.1797 Job ix. 8.1798 Deut. vi. 13, LXX., where the text runs κύριον τὸν θεόν σου φοβηθήσῃ. St. Basil may quote the versionin Matt. iv. 10 and Luke iv. 8, προσκυνήσεις. The Hebrew="fear".1799 Deut. xxxii. 39, LXX.374