Thomas Aquinas

Above, the Lord strengthened the disciples by example and by exhortation; in this part he strengthens them by prayer, and in this prayer he does three things. First he prays for himself; second, for the company of the disciples, at the place "I have manifested your name to the men whom you gave me out of the world"; third, for the whole faithful people, at the place "I do not pray for these only, but for those also who shall believe." Concerning the first he does three things. First he sets forth the petition; second, the fruit of the petition, at "that your Son may glorify you," etc.; third, the merit for the petition's being heard, at "I have glorified you," etc. Concerning the first, first the order of praying is set down; second, the manner of praying; third, the words of the prayer.

The order of praying is fitting, because it comes after the exhortation; hence he says, "These things Jesus spoke." In this an example is given to us, that those whom we instruct by word we should also help by the support of prayers, because divine discourse has its greatest effect in the hearts of its hearers when it is sustained by prayer, through which divine help is implored; 2 Thessalonians, last chapter, 1: "praying at the same time for us also, that God may open to us a door for the word." Hence also the end of our discourse ought to terminate in prayer; Ecclesiasticus 43:29: "he himself is the consummation of all words."

The manner is fitting, because "with eyes lifted up to heaven." For there is a difference between the prayer of Christ and our prayer: our prayer is only for necessity, but the prayer of Christ is rather for instruction. For there was no necessity in him for praying, since he hears together with the Father. But he instructed us in this, both by word and by deed. By deed indeed, in lifting up his eyes, that we too might in our prayer lift our eyes to heaven; Psalm 122:1: "To you have I lifted up my eyes, who dwell in the heavens." And not only our eyes, but also our operations, by referring them to God; according to that saying of Lamentations 3:41: "Let us lift up our hearts with our hands to the Lord in the heavens." By word, however, because he clearly uttered the prayer; hence he says "and he said," namely so that those whom he had instructed by teaching, he might also instruct by praying. For not only the word of Christ, but also his deeds, are our instruction.

But his words are efficacious; hence he says "Father, the hour has come": and this efficacy is caused from three things. Namely, from the affection of the one praying: for the Son prays to the Father, and it belongs to him to seek the Father out of love, and to ask out of love; hence he says "Father," that by this he may give us to understand that we should pray to God with filial affection; Jeremiah 3:19: "You shall call me Father, and shall not cease to walk after me." Second, from the necessity of praying; hence he says "the hour has come," namely of the Passion, concerning which above, 2:4: "my hour has not yet come." The hour, I say, not the time, not the day, because he was immediately to be seized, etc. Nor the hour of fatal necessity, but of his own ordination and good pleasure. And fittingly, being about to ask, he interposes tribulations, because it is in tribulations that God hears most; Psalm 119:1: "To the Lord, when I was in trouble, I cried, and he heard me"; 2 Chronicles 20:12: "since we know not what we ought to do, this only remains to us, that we direct our eyes to you." Third, from the tenor of the petition; hence he says "glorify your Son."

But since the Son of God is Wisdom itself, 1 Corinthians 1; and this Wisdom has the greatest brightness, Wisdom 6:13: "Wisdom is bright, and never fades away": how then is a brightness said to be glorified, especially since he himself is the splendor of the Father? Hebrews 1:3. But it must be said that Christ sought to be glorified by the Father in three ways. Namely, in the Passion: and this through the many miracles which were then shown, when the sun was darkened, the veil of the temple was torn, and the tombs were opened. And of this it is said above, 12:28: "and I have glorified," namely by miracles before the Passion, "and again I will glorify," in the Passion. Hence he says, according to this, "glorify," in the Passion, by showing me to be your Son. Hence the centurion, having seen the miracles, said: "truly this was the Son of God."

Second, in the resurrection. For that holy soul was always joined to God, having glory from the vision of God; above, 1:14: "we saw his glory, glory as of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." For from the beginning of his conception, as to his soul, he had brightness, but in the resurrection he had the brightness of the body, concerning which Philippians 3:21: "he will reform the body of our lowliness, configured to the body of his glory." Third, in the knowledge of all peoples; Wisdom 8:10: "through her I shall have glory among the multitudes, and honor among the elders." And thus he says "glorify," that is, manifest to the whole world that I am your Son, namely your own Son, and this by nativity, not by creation — against Arius, who said that the Son of God is a creature; in truth, not merely in name — against Sabellius, who said that he who is called Father is the same as he who is called Son; by origin, not by adoption — against Nestorius, who said that Christ is an adoptive son.

Here the fruit of the glorification is set down, and first he sets forth the fruit; second he expounds it, at "as you have given him power over all flesh." But the fruit of the glorification of the Son is the glorification of the Father, hence he says, "that your Son may glorify you." And it must be known that Arius, hearing the Lord say "glorify your Son," supposed the Father to be greater than the Son: which indeed is true according to his humanity. Above, 14:28: "the Father is greater than I." And therefore, to show his equality to the Father according to divinity, he adds, "that your Son may glorify you," namely in the knowledge of men. For glory is bright knowledge joined with praise. But God formerly was glorious among the Jews, because "God is known in Judea," Psalm 75:2, but afterward, through the Son, he became known throughout the whole world. But holy men also, by good works, make the knowledge of God glorious. Matthew 5:16: "let them see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." Hence above, 8:50: "I seek not my own glory: there is one who seeks and judges."

Here he sets down the fruit of the petition, and first he sets down the benefit conferred by Christ on men; second he shows that this benefit pertains to the glory of the Father, at "and this is eternal life." He says, therefore, "that your Son may glorify you"; and this "as you have given him power over all flesh." For it must be known that the intention of any agent that acts from another is to lead its effect back to the manifestation of its cause: for from the action of a principle that is itself from a principle, the principle itself is manifested. But whatever the Son has, he has from the Father, and therefore it is fitting that through the things he does he should manifest the Father, and therefore he says, "you have given him power," over all men. But the Son ought also, through this power, to lead them to the knowledge of you, which is eternal life. And so the sense is: "may the Son glorify you, as you have given him power over all flesh," that is, over every man, Luke 3:6: "all flesh shall see the salvation of God."

"You have given," I say, according to Hilary, by giving through eternal generation the divine nature, through which he has the power of containing all things; Matthew 11:27: "all things have been delivered to me by my Father." And above, 5:20: "the Father loves the Son, and shows him all things that he himself does." Or, "you have given him," namely Christ as man, on account of his personal fellowship with your Son, so that thus flesh might have power over flesh; Matthew, last chapter, 18: "all power is given to me in heaven and on earth." Daniel 7:14: "he gave him," namely the Son of Man, "power and honor and kingship." "To this end," he says, "you have given," namely so that, just as you have the power not to receive anything from man, but to confer yourself upon him, so also to Christ as man, that everything you have given him, through eternal predestination, he might give to them, to those given to him, eternal life. Above, 10:27: "my sheep hear my voice, and I know them."

But does eternal life, given to men, pertain to the glory of the Father? Indeed it does, because "this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent"; that is, that the Father may be glorified in the knowledge of men. But here two things must be expounded. First indeed, what this means, which he says: "this is eternal life, that they may know." Concerning which it must be known that we properly say those things live which move themselves to operation; but whatever things are moved only by others are not called living, but dead: and therefore all the operations to which the operator moves itself are called works of life, such as to will, to understand, to sense, to grow, and to move. But something is said to live in two ways: either because it has the works of life in potency, and thus one who is sleeping is said to live with sensitive life, because he has the power of moving himself, although he is not actually moved; or because he already exercises the works of life in act, and then a thing is said to live perfectly: hence sleep is called the half of life.

But among the works of life, the higher work is that of understanding, which is to understand; and therefore the operation of the intellect is life in the highest degree. But just as the sense in act and the sensible thing in act are the same, so too the one understanding in act and the thing understood in act are the same. Since, therefore, understanding is life and to understand is to live, it follows that to understand an eternal thing is to live with eternal life; but God is an eternal thing, therefore to understand and to see God is eternal life. And therefore the Lord says that eternal life consists in vision, namely principally, according to its whole substance. But love is what moves toward this, and is a certain complement of it: for from the delight which is in divine enjoyment, which charity produces, comes the complement and adornment of beatitude; but its substance consists in vision; 1 John 3:2: "we shall see him as he is."

Second, this must be expounded, which he says: "you, the only true God." For it is manifest that Christ was speaking to the Father; since, then, he says "you, the only true God," it seems that God the Father alone is the true God. This indeed the Arians grant, saying that the Son differs from the Father in essence, since he is a created substance — yet participating more and more perfectly than all creatures in the Father's divinity, to such an extent that he is called God, but not truly, because he is not God by nature, but only the Father is. But Hilary argues against this. For it is established that when we wish to know concerning any thing whether it is true, we can know it from two things: namely from its nature and from its power. For true gold is that which has the appearance of true gold; and this indeed we know if it produces the operation of true gold. If, therefore, we have it concerning the Son that he has the true nature of God, and this through the true operation of divinity which he exercises, it is manifest that he is true God. But that the Son exercises the true works of divinity is clear above, 5:19: "whatever things the Father does, these the Son also does likewise." And again he says: "as the Father has life in himself," not indeed participated, "so also he has given the Son to have life in himself"; 1 John, last chapter, 20: "that we may be in his true Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life."

But he says "you, the only God," according to Hilary, not excluding anything. Hence he does not say absolutely "you alone," but adds "and Jesus Christ whom you have sent"; as if he were saying, that they may know that you, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent, are one only and true God: according to that manner of speaking, "you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit." Nor does he make mention of the Holy Spirit, because wherever the Father and the Son are set down, and especially in those things which pertain to the majesty of the divinity, the Holy Spirit is understood together with them, who is the bond of both. Or, according to Augustine in On the Trinity, he says this to exclude the error of certain ones saying that this is false: "the Father is God, and the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God"; but this is true: "the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are one God." And the reasoning of these was, because, as is said by the Apostle, 1 Corinthians 1:24, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. But it is manifest that no one can call anyone God unless he has divine power and wisdom. Since, therefore, these wished that the Father be the wisdom which is the Son, they said further that the Father, considered without the Son, would not be God, and likewise the Son and the Holy Spirit considered without the others.

And because in the sending is signified the incarnation of the Son of God, therefore by his saying "and Jesus Christ whom you have sent," it is given to be understood that in eternal life we shall rejoice also in the humanity of Christ; Isaiah 33:17: "the king," that is Christ, "they shall see in his beauty." Above, 10:9: "he shall go in and shall find pastures."

Here is set down the merit for the petition's being heard, and first he calls to mind the merit; second he asks for the reward, at "and now glorify me, you, Father." But he calls to mind a twofold merit. Namely, of teaching, saying "I have glorified you," namely in the knowledge of men, by manifesting through teaching; Isaiah 24:15: "in the teachings glorify God." Likewise of obedience: hence he adds, "I have finished the work." He uses the past tense for the future, namely "I have glorified," that is, "I will glorify"; and "I have finished," that is, "I will finish": and this because it had already been begun, and again because the hour of the Passion was imminent, when this work was completed.

"Which you have given me" — not "commanded": for it is not enough that it be divinely commanded to Christ and to us; because whatever Christ, according as he is man, did, and whatever we can do, is from the gift of God; Wisdom 8:21: "I knew that I could not otherwise be continent, except God gave it." "You have given," I say, "me," through the gift of grace, "to do," that is, to complete; Ecclesiasticus 38:31: "he will give his heart to the completion." But because the reward of Christ's obedience and teaching is glory; Philippians 2:8: "he became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross; for which cause God also exalted him, and gave him a name which is above every name": therefore he asks for the reward, saying, "and now glorify me, you, Father."

This is not to be understood, as some have thought, as Augustine says, that the human nature in Christ, taken up by the Word, should at some point be converted into the Word, and man be changed into God; because this would be nothing other than that nature itself being annihilated. For everything that is so converted into another thing that the thing into which it is converted is not increased, seems to be annihilated: but nothing can be added to the divine Word of God. And therefore, according to Augustine, "and now glorify me, you, Father," must be understood of the predestination of Christ the man. For we have something both in divine predestination and in the effect of the thing. But the man Christ Jesus, like other men, was predestined by God the Father; Romans 1:4: "who was predestined the Son of God," etc. And according to this he says "and now," that is, after I have glorified you, and finished the work which you gave me to do, "glorify me, you, Father, with yourself"; that is, make me sit at your right hand; and this with the glory which I had before the world was made, "with you," that is, in your predestination; Mark, last chapter, 19: "the Lord Jesus indeed was taken up into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God."

Or otherwise, according to Hilary. For the glory of men is a certain conformity to the glory of God, although unequal; but Christ, according as he is God, had glory from eternity with the Father, namely divine glory, and equal to the Father. He asks, therefore, here that he be glorified in his humanity, namely that that which in time was flesh, and transformed in corruption, might receive the glory of that brightness which is without time. Not, however, equal, but similar: namely, that just as from eternity he was immortal with the Father and seated at his right hand, so also, according as he is man, he might be made immortal, and be exalted to the right hand of God.