The verses used by the Arians – The Son cannot do anything on His own
The text addresses the interpretation of Jesus’ verse in John 5 (“the Son can do nothing of himself, but only what he sees the Father doing”) in the context of healing the sick on the Sabbath and the confrontation with the Jews who accused him of breaking the Sabbath and called him equal to the Father.
The speaker clarifies that reading the verse apart from its context may stray from the intended meaning, and that it should not be taken as evidence of weakness in his nature or deficiency relative to the Father.
Explanation of context and occasion
He stresses the importance of linking the verse to its occasion: the healing of the man after 38 years by the pool on the Sabbath, and Jesus’ reply “My Father works until now, and I work” both as a response to the accusation and also to declare the unity between Father and Son in will and work.
Patristic responses to misunderstanding
The speaker cites the Fathers (Basil the Great, Ambrose, Saint Ire(n)aeus?) who denied that the phrase “can do nothing of himself” indicates weakness; rather they interpreted it in multiple senses: refusal to separate the Father from the Son in operation, an affirmation of the non-separation of wills, and a rejection of the Arians’ interpretation that the Son is a creature or less.
Unity of will and work and practical consequences
He explains that the phrase “all that the Father does the Son also does” indicates equality of power, will, and honor, and that divine works (raising the dead, forgiving sins, creation) show the participation of the Persons in the work, not separation.
He points out that the Son acts in what is in the Father, and that the word “cannot” should be understood as denoting non-separation and shared obedience, not as a sign of weakness.
Spiritual conclusion
The discourse invites the listener to understand the unity of the Persons in will and work, to avoid readings that disjoin the Father from the Son, while acknowledging that the mystery of the incarnation and resurrection proclaims the eternality of the Son’s divinity and its blessing on human nature.
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