Note 228 — Chapter III

Footnote 228:

(return)

See Joh. IV. 22, 'ημεις προσκυνουμεν 'ο οιδαμεν. 1 Clem. 59. 3, 4, Herm. Mand. I., Præd Petri in Clem., Strom. VI. 5. 9 γινωσκετε 'οτι εις θεος εστιν, 'ος αρχην παντων εποιησεν, και τελους εξουσιαν εχων. Aristides Apol. 15 (Syr) "The Christians know and believe in God, the creator of heaven and of earth." Chap. 16 "Christians as men who know God pray to him for things which it becomes him to give and them to receive." Similarly Justin: "From very many old Gentile Christian writings we hear it as a cry of joy 'We know God the Almighty, the night of blindness is past'" (see, e.g., 2 Clem. c. 1). God is δεσποτης, a designation which is very frequently used (it is rare in the New Testament). Still more frequently do we find κυριος. As the Lord and Creator God is also called the Father (of the world) so 1 Clem. 19. 2 'ο πατηρ και κτιστης του συμπαντος κοσμου; 35. 3 δημιουργος και πατηρ των αιωνων. This use of the name Father for the supreme God was as is well known familiar to the Greeks, but the Christians alone were in earnest with the name. The creation out of nothing was made decidedly prominent by Hermas, see Vis. I. 1. 6 and my notes on the passage. In the Christian Apocrypha, in spite of the vividness of the idea of God, the angels play the same rôle as in the Jewish, and as in the current Jewish speculations. According to Hermas, e.g., all God's actions are mediated by special angels, nay the Son of God himself is represented by a special angel, viz. Michael, and works by him. But outside the Apocalypses there seems to have been little interest in the good angels.