Sola Scriptura, Part 3 If then the Son also came into being, according to Eunomius’ creed, He is certainly ranked in the class of things which have come into being.  If then all things that came into being were made by Him, and the Word is one of the things that came into being, who is so dull as not to draw from these premises the absurd conclusion that our new creed-monger makes out the Lord of creation to have been His own work, in saying in so many words that the Lord and Maker of all creation is “not uncreate”?  Let him tell us whence he has this boldness of assertion.  From what inspired utterance?  What evangelist, what apostle ever uttered such words as these?  What prophet, what lawgiver, what patriarch, what other person of all who were divinely moved by the Holy Ghost, whose voices are preserved in writing, ever originated such a statement as this? (St. Gregory of Nyssa, Against Eunomius, Book II) But of what life does the Holy Spirit, that quickeneth all things, stand in need, that by subjection He should obtain salvation for Himself?  Since then it is not on the basis of any Divine utterance that he [Eunomius—jh] asserts such an attribute of the Spirit, nor yet is it as a consequence of probable arguments that he has launched this blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, it must be plain at all events to sensible men that he vents his impiety against Him without any warrant whatsoever, unsupported as it is by any authority from Scripture or by any logical consequence. (St. Gregory of Nyssa, Against Eunomius, Book II) It is true that we learn from Holy Scripture not to speak of the Holy Ghost as brother of the Son: but that we are not to say that the Holy Ghost is homogeneous with the Son, is nowhere shown in the divine Scriptures. (St. Gregory of Nyssa, Against Eunomius, Book II) But if it is to the Only-begotten God that he [Eunomius] applies such phrases, so as to say that He is a thing made by Him that made Him, a creature of Him that created Him, and to refer this terminology to “the use of the saints” [Eunomius had claimed “the saints” also taught that the Son of God was a creature], let him first of all show us in his statement what saints he says there are who declared the Maker of all things to be a product and a creature, and whom he follows in this audacity of phrase.  The Church knows as saints those whose hearts were divinely guided by the Holy Spirit—patriarchs, lawgivers, prophets, evangelists, apostles.  If any among these is found to declare in his inspired words that God over all, who “upholds all things with the word of His power,” and grasps with His hand all things that are, and by Himself called the universe into being by the mere act of His will, is a thing created and a product, he will stand excused, as following, as he says, the “use of the saints” in proceeding to formulate such doctrines.  But if the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures is freely placed within the reach of all, and nothing is forbidden to or hidden from any of those who choose to share in the divine instruction, how comes it that he endeavours to lead his hearers astray by his misrepresentation of the Scriptures, referring the term “creature,” applied to the Only-begotten, to “the use of the saints”?  For that by Him all things were made, you may hear almost from the whole of their holy utterance, from Moses and the prophets and apostles who come after him, whose particular expressions it would be tedious here to set forth.” (St. Gregory of Nyssa, Against Eunomius, Book III) And if he [Eunomius] says that he has some of the saints who declared Him [the Only-Begotten God] to be a slave, or created, or made, or any of these lowly and servile names, lo, here are the Scriptures.  Let him, or some other on his behalf, produce to us one such phrase, and we will hold our peace.  But if there is no such phrase (and there could never be found in those inspired Scriptures which we believe any such thought as to support this impiety), what need is there to strive further upon points admitted with one who not only misrepresents the words of the saints, but even contends against his own definitions? (St. Gregory of Nyssa, Against Eunomius, Book III) If these doctrines [of Eunomius] approve themselves to some of the sages “who are without,” let not the Gospels nor the rest of the teaching of the Holy Scripture be in any way disturbed.  For what fellowship is there between the Creed of Christians and the wisdom that has been made foolish?  But if he leans upon the support of the Scriptures, let him show one such declaration from the holy writings and we will hold our peace. (St. Gregory of Nyssa, Against Eunomius, Book X)         Such is the conception of Him [i.e., the Holy Spirit] that possesses them [the followers of Macedonius]; and the logical consequence of it is that the Spirit has in Himself none of those marks which our devotion, in word or thought, ascribes to a Divine nature.  What, then, shall be our way of arguing?  We shall answer nothing new, nothing of our own invention, though they challenge us to it; we shall fall back upon the testimony in Holy Scripture about the Spirit, whence we learn that the Holy Spirit is Divine, and is to be called so.  Now, if they allow this, and will not contradict the words of inspiration, then they, with all their eagerness to fight with us, must tell us why they are contending with us, instead of with Scripture.  We say nothing different from that which Scripture says.   (St. Gregory of Nyssa, On the Holy Spirit) Now they charge us with innovation, and frame their complaint against us in this way:  They allege that while we confess three Persons we say that there is one goodness, and one power, and one Godhead.  And in this assertion they do not go beyond the truth; for we do say so.  But the ground of their complaint is that their custom does not admit this, and Scripture does not support it.  What then is our reply?  We do not think that it is right to make their prevailing custom the law and rule of sound doctrine.  For if custom is to avail for proof of soundness, we too, surely, may advance our prevailing custom; and if they reject this, we are surely not bound to follow theirs.  Let the inspired Scripture, then, be our umpire, and the vote of truth will surely be given to those whose dogmas are found to agree with the Divine words. (St. Gregory of Nyssa, On the Holy Trinity, and of the Godhead of the Holy Spirit)                                                   RETURN HOME                                                   Continue to Part 4