Friday, May 9, 2014

Glory Be to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.  Amen.  (1 Tim 1:17)

Since [Paul] had presented Christ the Lord as source of those good things, he wanted to make clear that they were made with the good pleasure of God the Father and the co-operation of the Holy Spirit, so he moved from the one person to the commonality of nature, and offered the hymn to the Trinity, not mentioning the persons but celebrating the divine nature.  You see, the fact that the words apply not only to the God and Father but also to the Son and the Holy Spirit is easy to grasp.  It is not only the Father but also the only-begotten Son who is king of the ages, being maker of the ages.  And of course, the all-holy Spirit, whom the divine apostle also called eternal, “Who through the eternal Spirit.” [Heb 9:14]  And immortality and invisibility are proper both to the Son and to the Spirit.  With these matters clarified in this way, the term God is a term truly applied to the Trinity alone: beyond it no one else is God by nature.

Theodoret of Cyrus, “The First Epistle to Timothy”


Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto.  Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et saecula saeculorum.  Amen.

No comments: