When I noticed that my listeners were
perturbed because I had stated that we Christians are also children of God, I
forestalled their objection by saying, ‘Gentlemen, hear how the Holy Spirit
says that this people are all sons of the Most High, and that Christ Himself
shall be present in their assembly to pass judgment on every race. Here are His
words as spoken through David, and as translated by you yourselves: “God
standeth in the congregation of gods; and in the midst He judgeth gods. How
long do you judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Judge for the
needy and fatherless, and do justice to the humble and the poor. Rescue the
poor, and deliver the needy out of the hand of the sinner. They have not known
nor understood; they walk on in darkness; all the foundations of the earth
shall be moved. I have said: You are gods, and all of you the sons of the Most
High. But you die like men, and fall like one of the princes. Arise, O God,
judge Thou the earth, for Thou shalt inherit among all the nations.” In the
Septuagint it is written, “Behold, you die like men, and fall like one of the
princes,” to point out the disobedience of men, that is, of Adam and Eve, and
the fall of one of the princes, namely, the serpent who fell with a great fall
because he deceived Eve. But, since it is not my purpose to develop this point,
but to prove to you that the Holy Spirit reprimands men, who were created like
God, free from pain and death, provided they obeyed His precepts, and were
deemed worthy by Him to be called His sons, and yet, like Adam and Eve, brought
death upon themselves, hold whatever interpretation of the Psalm you please. It
has been shown that they were considered worthy to become gods, and to have the
capability of becoming sons of the Most High, yet each is to be judged and
convicted, as were Adam and Eve. I have also proved at length that the Holy
Spirit calls Christ God.’ (Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 124 in The
First Apology, The Second Apology, Dialogue with Trypho, Exhortation to the
Greeks, Discourse to the Greeks, The Monarchy or The Rule of God [trans.
Thomas B Falls; The Fathers of the Church 6; Washington, D.C.: The Catholic
University of America Press, 1948], 430-41)
Greek for the above:
Καὶ ἐπειδὴ εἶδον αὐτοὺς συνταραχθέντας
ἐπὶ τῷ εἰπεῖν με καὶ Θεοῦ τέκνα εἶναι ἡμᾶς, προλαβὼν τὸ ἀνερωτηθῆναι εἷπον· Ἀκούσατε,
ὦ ἄνδρες, πῶς τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα λέγει περὶ τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου, ὅτι υἱοὶ ὑψίστου
πάντες εἰσὶ, καὶ ἐν τῇ συναγωγῇαὐτῶν παρέσται αὐτὸς οὗτος ὁ Χριστὸς, τὴν κρίσιν
ἀπὸ παντὸς γένους ἀνθρώπων ποιούμενος. Εἴρηνται δὲ οἱ λόγοι διὰ Δαβὶδ, ὡς μὲν ὑμεῖς
ἐξηγεῖσθε, οὕτως· Ὁ Θεὸς ἔστη ἐν συναγωγῇ θεῶν, ἐν μέσῳ δὲ θεοὺς διακρίνει. Ἕως
πότε κρίνετε ἀδικίαν, καὶ πρόσωπα ἁμαρτωλῶν λαμβάνετε; Κρίνατε ὀρφανῷ καὶ πτωχῷ,
καὶ ταπεινὸν καὶ πένητα δικαιώσατε. Ἐξέλεσθε πένητα, καὶ πτωχὸν ἐκ χειρὸς ἁμαρτωλοῦ
ῥύσασθε. Οὐκ ἔγνωσαν οὐδὲ συνῆκαν, ἐν σκότει διαπορεύονται· σαλευθήσονται πάντα
τὰ θεμέλια τῆς γῆς. Ἐγὼ εἶπα, Θεοί ἐστε, καὶ υἱοὶ ὑψίστου πάντες· ὑμεῖς δὲ ὡς ἄνθρωποι
ἀποθνήσκετε, καὶ ὡς εἷς τῶν ἀρχόντων πίπτετε. Ἀνάστα, ὁ Θεός· κρῖνον τὴν γῆν, ὅτι
σὺ κατακληρονομήσεις ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσιν. Ἐν δὲ τῇ τῶν ἑβδομήκοντα ἐξηγήσει εἴρηται,
Ἰδοὺ δὴ ὡς ἄνθρωποι ἀποθνήσκετε, καὶ ὡς εἷς τῶν ἀρχόντων πίπτετε· ἵνα δηλώσῃ καὶ
τὴν παρακοὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, τοῦ Ἀδὰμ λέγω καὶ τῆς Εὔας, καὶ τὴν πτῶσιν τοῦ ἑνὸς
τῶν ἀρχόντων, τουτέστι τοῦ κεκλημένου ἐκείνου ὄφεως, πεσόντος πτῶσιν μεγάλην διὰ
τὸ ἀποπλανῆσαι τὴν Εὔαν. Ἀλλʼ ἐπειδὴ οὐ πρὸς τοῦτὸ μοι νῦν ὁ λόγος λέλεκται, ἀλλὰ
πρὸς τὸ ἀποδεῖξαι ὑμῖν ὅτι τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ὀνειδίζει τοὺς ἀνθρώπους,τους καὶ
Θεῷ ὁμοίως ἀπαθεῖς καὶ ἀθανάτους, ἐὰν φυλάξωσι τὰ προστάγματα αὐτοῦ,
γεγενημένους, καὶ κατηξιωμένους ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ υἱοὺς αὐτοῦ καλεῖσθαι, καὶ οὗτοι ὁμοίως
τῷ Ἀδὰμ καὶ τῇ Εὔᾳ ἐξομοιούμενοι θάνατον ἑαυτοῖς ἐργάζονται· ἐχέτω καὶ ἡ ἑρμηνεία
τοῦ ψαλμοῦ ὡς βούλεσθε, καὶ οὕτως ἀποδέδεικται, ὅτι θεοὶ κατηξίωνται γενέσθαι,
καὶ υἱοὶ ὑψίστου πάντες δύνασθαι γενέσθαι κατηξίωνται, καὶ παρʼ ἑαυτοὺς καὶ
κρίνεσθαι καὶ καταδικάζεσθαι μέλλουσιν, ὡς καὶ Ἀδὰμ καὶ Εὔα. Ὅτι δὲ καὶ Θεὸν τὸν
Χριστὸν καλεῖ, ἐν πολλοῖς ἀποδέδεικται. (Justin Martyr, Justin Martyr’s
Dialogue with Trypho: Greek Text with Notes, ed. W. Trollope, 2 vols. [Cambridge:
J. Hall; G. Bell, 1846–1847), 2:111–113)
Commenting
on the above, Johannes Quasten wrote:
Justin is convinced that every human
being is capable of deification. At least, this was the case at the beginning
of creation. But the first parents sinned and brought death upon themselves. But
now ever man has regained the power of becoming God . . . (Johannes Quasten, Patrology,
4 vols. [Westminster, Md.: Christian Classics, Inc., 1992], 1:213)