1221. The sign of anyone being a child is that he is like the one whose child he is; for just as children according to the flesh resemble their parents according to the flesh, so spiritual children (if they are truly children) should imitate their spiritual parents: be imitators of God, as beloved children (Eph 5:1). And as to this he says, if you are the sons of Abraham, do the works of Abraham. This is like saying: if you imitated Abraham, that would be a sign that you are his children: look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you (Isa 51:2). 1221. Signum quidem filiationis alicuius est quod assimiliter ei cuius filius est: sicut enim filii carnales ut plurimum parentibus carnalibus assimilantur, ita et filii spirituales (si sint vere filii) debent spirituales parentes imitari; Eph. V, 1: estote imitatores Dei, sicut filii carissimi. Et quantum ad hoc dicit si filii Abrahae estis, opera Abrahae facite; quasi dicat: hoc signum esset quod essetis filii Abrahae, si eum imitaremini; Is. LI, 2: attendite ad Abraham patrem vestrum, et ad Saram quae peperit vos. 1222. Here a question arises, for when he says, if you are the sons of Abraham, he seems to be denying that they are the children of Abraham, whereas just previously he had said, I know that you are the sons of Abraham (John 8:37). 1222. Sed dubitatur hic, quod videtur quidem eos negare esse filios Abrahae, dubitative loquens si filii Abrahae estis, quod tamen affirmavit superius, dicens: scio quod filii Abrahae estis. There are two ways of answering this. The first, according to Augustine, is that before he said that they were children of Abraham according to the flesh, but here he is denying that they are children in the sense of imitating his works, especially his faith. Therefore, they took their flesh from him, but not their life: it is men of faith who are the sons of Abraham (Gal 3:7). Ad quod dupliciter respondetur. Uno modo, secundum Augustinum, quod supra affirmavit eos esse filios Abrahae secundum carnem; hic autem negat eos filios secundum imitationem operum, et praecipue fidei. Caro ergo illorum ex ipso erat, sed vita non erat; Gal. III: qui ex fide sunt, hi reputantur in semine. For Origin, who has another explanation, both statements refer to their spiritual origin. Where our text reads, I know that you are the sons of Abraham, the Greek has, I know that you are the seed of Abraham (John 8:37). But Christ says here, if you are the sons of Abraham, do the works of Abraham, because the Jews, spiritually speaking, were the seed of Abraham, but were not his children. There is a difference between a seed and a child: for a seed is unformed, although it has in it the characteristics of that of which it is a seed. A child, however, has a likeness to the parent after the seed has been modified by the informing power infused by the agent acting upon the matter which has been furnished by the female. In the same way, the Jews were indeed the seed of Abraham, insofar as they had some of the characteristics which God had infused into Abraham; but because they had not reached the perfection of Abraham, they were not his children. This is why he said to them, if you are the sons of Abraham, do the works of Abraham, i.e., strive for a perfect imitation of his works. Alio modo, secundum Origenem, quod utrumque referatur ad spiritualem originem. Sed ubi nos habemus: scio quod filii Abrahae estis, in Graeco habetur: scio quod semen Abrahae estis; hic vero dicit si filii Abrahae estis, opera Abrahae facite; quia Iudaei quidem, spiritualiter loquendo, semen Abrahae erant, sed non eius filii. Differentia est inter semen et filium: nam semen est quid informe, et tamen habet in seipso rationes eius cuius est semen; filius autem, transmutato semine per virtutem informativam ab agente in appositam sibi materiam a muliere, superinducto nutrimento, similitudinem generantis habet. Eodem modo et Iudaei semen quidem Abrahae erant inquantum in eis aliqua ratio eorum quae Deus in Abraham infuderat apparebat; sed quia non ad perfectionem Abrahae pervenerant, ideo filii eius non erant: et propter hoc dicit eis si filii Abrahae estis, opera Abrahae facite; idest, ad perfectam imitationem operum eius satagite. 1223. Again, because he said, do the works of Abraham, it would seem that whatever he did, we should do. Consequently, we should have a number of wives and approach a maidservant, as Abraham did. 1223. Ex hoc autem quod dicit opera Abrahae facite, videtur quod quaecumque ipse fecit, et nos facere debemus. Ergo debemus plures uxores accipere, et ad ancillam accedere, sicut Abraham fecit. I answer that the chief work of Abraham was faith, by which he was justified before God: he believed the Lord; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness (Gen 15:6). Thus, the meaning is, do the works of Abraham i.e., believe according to the example of Abraham. Respondeo. Dicendum quod praecipuum opus Abrahae est fides, per quam iustificatus est apud Deum; Gen. XV, 6: credidit Abraham Deo, et reputatum est illi ad iustitiam. Et ideo intelligendum est opera Abrahae facite, idest, ad similitudinem Abrahae credite. 1224. One might say against this interpretation that faith should not be called a work, since it is distinguished from works: faith apart from works is dead (Jas 2:26). 1224. Sed contra hoc est, quia fides non videtur posse dici opus, cum contra opera distinguatur; Iac. II, 26: fides sine operibus mortua est. I answer that faith can be called a work according to what was said above: this is the work of God: that you believe in him whom he has sent (John 6:29). An interior work is not obvious to man, but only to God, according to, the Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart (1 Sam 16:7). This is the reason we are more accustomed to call exterior action works. Thus, faith is not distinguished from all works, but only from external works. Respondeo. Dicendum, quod fides opus dici potest, secundum illud supra VI, 29: hoc est opus Dei, ut credatis in eum quem misit ille. Verum opus interius non est manifestum hominibus, sed soli Deo, secundum illud I Reg. c. XVI, 7: homines vident ea quae apparent; Deus autem intuetur cor. Inde est quod communius ea quae exterius sunt, consuevimus opera nominare. Fides ergo distinguitur non ab omnibus operibus, sed ab exterioribus tantum. 1225. But should we do all the works of Abraham? 1225. Sed numquid omnia opera Abrahae debemus facere? I answer that works can be considered in two ways. Either according to the kind of works they are, in which sense we should not imitate all his works; or, according to their root, and in this sense we should imitate the works of Abraham, because whatever he did, he did out of charity. Thus Augustine says that the celibacy of John was not esteemed above the marriage of Abraham, since the root of each was the same. Or, it might be said that all of Abraham’s works should be imitated as to their symbolism, because all these things happen to them in figure (1 Cor 10:11). Ad hoc dicendum, quod opus potest considerari dupliciter: vel secundum speciem operis eius, et sic omnia opera eius non sunt imitanda; vel secundum radicem eorum, et sic opera Abrahae imitanda sunt: quia quidquid fecit, ex caritate fecit. Unde dicit Augustinus, quod caelibatus Ioannis non praefertur coniugio Abrahae, cum eadem fuerit radix utriusque. Vel dicendum, quod omnia opera Abrahae imitanda sunt quantum ad signationem, quia omnia in figura contingebant illis, ut dicitur I Cor. X, 11. 1226. Then, at but now you seek to kill me, he shows that they do not have the above mentioned sign of being children. 1226. Consequenter cum dicit nunc autem quaeritis me interficere, ostendit, praedictum filiationis signum in eis non esse, et First, the conduct of the Jews is given; primo ponuntur Iudaeorum opera; second, he shows that it does not resemble the conduct of Abraham, at Abraham did not do this. secundo ostendit ea esse Abrahae operibus dissimilia, ibi hoc Abraham non fecit. 1227. The conduct of the Jews is shown to be wicked and perverse, because they were murderers; so he says, now you seek to kill me: how the faithful city has become a harlot, she that was full of justice! Righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers (Isa 1:21). This murder was an unfathomable sin against the person of the Son of God. But because it is said, if they had understood, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Cor 2:8), our Lord does not say that they sought to kill the Son of God, but a man. For although the Son of God is said to have suffered and died by reason of the oneness of his person, this suffering and death was not insofar as he was the Son of God, but because of his human weakness, as it says: for he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God (2 Cor 13:4). 1227. Ostenduntur autem Iudaeorum prava opera esse et perversa, quia homicidae erant; unde dicit nunc autem quaeritis me interficere; Is. I, 21: quomodo facta est meretrix civitas fidelis, plena iudicii? Iustitia habitavit in ea, nunc autem homicidae. Sed hoc homicidium inaestimabile peccatum erat contra personam Filii Dei. Unde quia, ut dicitur I Cor. II, 8, si cognovissent, numquam Dominum gloriae crucifixissent, ideo Dominus non dicit eos Filium Dei quaerere interficere, sed hominem: quia etsi Filius Dei dicatur passus et mortuus propter unitatem suppositi, hoc non est inquantum Filius Dei, sed propter infirmitatem humanam, quia, ut dicitur II Cor. ult., 4, si crucifixus est ex infirmitate nostra, sed vivit ex virtute Dei. 1228. In order to further elucidate this murder, he shows that they have no reason to put him to death; thus he adds, a man who has spoken the truth to you, which I have heard from God. This truth is that he said that he is equal to God: therefore, the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he did not only break the Sabbath, but also said that God was his Father, making himself equal to God (John 5:18). He heard this truth from God inasmuch as from eternity he received from the Father, through an eternal generation, the same nature that the Father has: for as the Father has life in himself, so he has also given to the Son to have life in himself (John 5:26). 1228. Et ut magis eorum homicidium exaggeret, ostendit, eos nullam mortis causam adversus eum habere; unde subdit qui veritatem locutus sum vobis, quam audivi a Deo. Ista veritas est quod dicebat se aequalem Deo; supra V, 18: quaerebant eum Iudaei interficere, quia non solum Sabbatum solvebat, sed Patrem suum dicebat Deum, aequalem se faciens Deo. Hanc veritatem audivit a Deo inquantum ab aeterno per generationem aeternam accepit a Patre eamdem naturam quam ipse habet; supra V, 26: sicut Pater habet vitam in semetipso, sic dedit et Filio habere vitam in semetipso. Furthermore, he excludes the two reasons for which the law commanded that prophets were to be killed. First of all, for lying, for Deuteronomy commands that a prophet should be killed for speaking a lie or feigning dreams (Deut 13:5). Our Lord excludes this from himself, saying, a man who has spoken the truth to you: my mouth will utter truth (Prov 8:7). Second, a prophet ought to be killed if he speaks in the name of false gods, or says in the name of God things that God did not command (Deut 13:5). Our Lord excludes this from himself when he says, which I have heard from God. Excludit autem duas causas propter quas prophetae mandabantur occidi in lege. Primo quidem propter mendacium, Deut. XIII, 5 ubi praecipitur, quod si aliquis propheta surrexerit loquens mendacium, aut fictor somniorum, interficiatur: et hoc a se Dominus excludit, dicens qui veritatem locutus sum vobis; Prov. c. VIII, 7: veritatem meditabitur guttur meum. Secundo vero si aliquis propheta locutus fuerit ex nomine falsorum deorum, vel ex nomine Dei quod ipse non praecepit, occidi debebat, ut habetur Deut. XIII, 5. Et hoc Dominus excludit a se, cum dicit quam audivi a Deo. 1229. Then when he says, Abraham did not do this, he shows that their works are not like those of Abraham. He is saying in effect: because you act contrary to Abraham, you show that you are not his children, for it is written about him: he kept the law of the Most High, and was taken into covenant with him (Sir 44:20). 1229. Consequenter cum dicit hoc Abraham non fecit, ostendit eorum opera dissimilia esse operibus Abrahae, quasi dicat: in hoc probatis vos non esse filios Abrahae, quia facitis opera contraria operibus eius: nam de eo legitur Eccli. XLIV, 20, quod servavit legem Altissimi, et fuit in testimonio cum illo. Some frivolously object that Christ did not exist before Abraham and therefore that Abraham did not do this, since one who did not exist could not be killed. Sed aliqui superflue obiiciunt, quod Christus ante Abraham nondum erat, et ideo Abraham hoc non fecit: non enim occidi potuisset qui non erat. I answer that Abraham is not commended for something he did not do to Christ, but for what he did not do to anyone in like circumstances, i.e., to those who spoke the truth in his day. Sed dicendum, quod Abraham non commendatur ex hoc quod non fecit in Christo, sed ex eo quod non fecit in simili persona, idest in his qui tunc veritatem dicebant. Or, it might be answered that although Christ had not come in the flesh during the time of Abraham, he nevertheless had come into his mind, according to: in every generation she passes into souls (Wis 7:27). And Abraham did not kill wisdom by sinning mortally. Concerning this we read: they crucify the Son of God (Heb 6:6). Vel dicendum, quod si Christus non venerat tempore Abraham in carnem, venerat tamen in mentem, secundum illud Sap. VII, 27: in animas sanctas per nationem se transfert, quem tamen Abraham non interfecit mortaliter peccando: de quo dicitur ad Hebr. VI, 6: rursum crucifigentes Filium Dei, et ostentui habentes. 1230. Then when he says, you do the works of your father, he draws his conclusion. It was like saying: from the fact that you do not do the works of Abraham, it follows that you have some other father whose works you are doing. A similar statement is made: fill up, then, the measure of your fathers (Matt 23:32). 1230. Consequenter cum dicit vos facitis opera patris vestri, concludit propositum; quasi dicat: ex quo non facitis opera Abrahae, ergo habetis aliquem alium patrem, cuius opera facitis. Simile habetur Matth. XXIII, v. 32: vos implete mensuram patrum vestrorum. 1231. Then when he says, they said to him: we were not born of fornication, he shows that they do not take their origin from God, for since they knew from our Lord’s words that he was not speaking of carnal descent, they turn to spiritual descent, saying, we were not born of fornication, saying, we were not born of fornication. 1231. Consequenter cum dicit dixerunt itaque ei: nos ex fornicatione non sumus nati, ostendit eos non habere originem a Deo: quia enim iam ex verbis Domini cognoscebant eum non de carnali generatione loqui, ideo ad spiritualem generationem se transferunt, dicentes nos ex fornicatione non sumus nati etc. Ubi First, they give their own opinion; primo eorum opinionem proponunt; second, our Lord rejects it, at Jesus therefore said to them: if God were your Father. secundo eam Dominus excludit, ibi dixit ergo eis Iesus etc. 1232. According to some, the Jews are denying one thing and affirming another. They are denying that they were born of fornication. According to Origin, they said this tauntingly to Christ, with the unspoken suggestion that he was the product of adultery. It was like saying: we were not born of fornication as you were. 1232. In eorum autem opinione Iudaei unum negant et aliud asserunt. Negant se ex fornicatione natos: quod quidem, secundum Origenem, quasi improperando, Christo proponunt, latenter designantes, ipsum ex adulterio productum fore; quasi dicant nos ex fornicatione non sumus nati, sicut tu. But it is better to say that the spiritual spouse of the soul is God: I will betroth you to me forever (Hos 2:19), and just as a bride is guilty of fornication when she admits a man other than her husband, so in Scripture Judea was said to be fornicating when she abandoned the true God and turned to idols: for the land commits great harlotry by forsaking the Lord (Hos 1:2). And so the Jews said: we were not born of fornication. It was like saying: although our mother, the synagogue, may now and then have departed from God and fornicated with idols, yet we have not departed or fornicated with idols: we have not forgotten thee, or been false to thy covenant. Our heart has not turned back (Ps 44:17); but you, draw near hither, sons of the sorceress, offspring of the adulterer and the harlot (Isa 57:3). Sed melius potest dici, quod sponsus animae spiritualiter Deus est, Oseae II, 19: sponsabo te mihi. Sicut autem fornicatur sponsa cum praeter sponsum suum carnalem, alium virum admittit; ita, in Scripturis, Iudaea fornicari dicebatur quando Deum verum deserens, idolis adhaerebat; Oseae I, 2: fornicans fornicabitur terra a Domino. Dicunt ergo Iudaei nos ex fornicatione non sumus nati; quasi dicant: si aliquando mater nostra synagoga a Deo recedens fornicata est cum idolis, nos tamen non recessimus, nec cum idolis fornicati sumus; Ps. XLIII, 18: nec obliti sumus te, et inique non egimus in testamento tuo, et non recessit retro cor nostrum; Is. LVII, 3: ascendite huc, filii fornicatricis, semen adulteri et fornicariae. Further, they affirm that they are children of God; and this seems to follow from the fact that they did not believe that they were born of fornication. Thus they say, we have one God, the Father: have we not all one father? (Mal 2:10); and I thought you would call me, my Father (Jer 3:19). Affirmant autem se esse filios Dei: quod videbatur sequi ex quo non credebant se natos ex fornicatione; unde dicunt unum Patrem habemus Deum; Mal. II, 10: nonne unus est Pater omnium nostrum? Ier. III: Patrem vocabis me. 1233. Next, at Jesus therefore said to them: if God were your Father, our Lord refutes their opinion: 1233. Consequenter cum dicit dixit ergo eis Iesus etc., confutatur eorum opinio a Domino, et first we see the sign of being a child of God; primo proponit divinae filiationis signum; second, the reason for this sign is given, at for I proceeded and came forth from God; and secundo assignat rationem signi, ibi ego enim a Deo veni etc.; third, we see that the Jews lack this sign, at why do you not know my speech? tertio ostendit eos a praedicto signo deficere, ibi quare loquelam meam non cognoscitis? 1234. With respect to the first it should be noted that above he had said that the sign of being a child according to the flesh was in the exterior actions that a person performs; but here he places the sign of being a child of God in one’s interior affections. For we become children of God by sharing in the Holy Spirit: you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship (Rom 8:15). Now the Holy Spirit is the cause of our loving God, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us (Rom 5:5). Therefore, the special sign of being a child of God is love: be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love (Eph 5:1). Therefore he says, if God were your Father, you would indeed love me: the innocent and the right in heart, who are the children of God, have clung to me (Ps 21:4). 1234. Sciendum est autem circa primum, quod supra signum carnalis filiationis dixit esse opera exteriora, quae homines exterius operantur; hic autem signum filiationis divinae ponit interiorem affectionem. Nam filii Dei efficimur per communicationem Spiritus Sancti; Rom. VIII, 15: non accepistis spiritum servitutis iterum in timore, sed spiritum adoptionis. Spiritus autem sanctus causa est amoris Dei, quia caritas Dei diffusa est in cordibus nostris per Spiritum Sanctum, qui datus est nobis: Rom. V, 5. Signum ergo speciale divinae filiationis est dilectio; Eph. V, 1: estote imitatores Dei sicut filii carissimi, et ambulate in dilectione. Et ideo dicit si Deus Pater vester esset, diligeretis utique me; Ps. c. XXIV, 21: innocentes et recti, qui sunt filii Dei, adhaeserunt mihi. 1235. Then, at for I proceeded and came forth from God, he gives the reason for this sign. 1235. Rationem autem signi assignat, dicens ego enim ex Deo processi et veni, et First, he states the truth; primo ponit veritatem; second, he rejects an error, at for I came not of myself. secundo excludit errorem, ibi neque enim a meipso veni. 1236. The truth he asserts is that he proceeded and came forth from God. 1236. Veritas autem, quam proponit, est quod a Deo processit et venit.