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130 Pages
Page 60
On Prov. vii. 22. The Lord created Me (LXX.). [418]
"If it is the incarnate Lord who says I am the way,' [419] and No man cometh unto the Father but by me,' [420] it is He Himself Who said, The Lord created me beginning of ways.' The word is also used of the creation and making of a begotten being, [421] as I have created a man through the Lord,' [422] and again He begat sons and daughters,' [423] and so David, Create in me a clean heart, O God,' [424] not asking for another, but for the cleansing of the heart he had. And a new creature is spoken of, not as though another creation came into being, but because the enlightened are established in better works. If the Father created the Son for works, He created Him not on account of Himself, but on account of the works. But that which comes into being on account of something else, and not on its own account, is either a part of that on account of which it came into being, or is inferior. The Saviour will then be either a part of the creature, or inferior to the creature. We must understand the passage of the manhood. And it might be said that Solomon uttered these words of the same wisdom whereof the Apostle makes mention in the passage For after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God.' [425] It must moreover be borne in mind that the speaker is not a prophet, but a writer of proverbs. Now proverbs are figures of other things, not the actual things which are uttered. If it was God the Son Who said, The Lord created me,' He would rather have said, The Father created me.' Nowhere did He call Him Lord, but always Father. The word begot,' then, must be understood in reference to God the Son, and the word created, in reference to Him who took on Him the form of a servant. In all these cases we do not mention two, God apart and man apart (for He was One), but in thought we take into account the nature of each. Peter had not two in his mind when he said, Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh.' [426]
[418] The LXX. version is Kurios ektise me archen hodon autou.
[419] John xiv. 6.
[420] Id.
[421] gennema.
[422] The Heb. verb here is the same as in Prov. viii. 22, though rendered ektesamen in the LXX.
[423] Gen. v. 4. Here Basil has epoiesen for the LXX. egennesen, representing another Hebrew verb.
[424] Ps. li. 10 kardian katharan ktison.
[425] 1 Cor. i. 21.
[426] 1 Pet. iv. 1.
Reference address : https://www.elpenor.org/basil/life-works.asp?pg=60
