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18. 神性根本是耶和華
我們先思考什麼是神性根本, 然後什麼是神性本質。表面看來, 二者是一,沒有分別。然而根本比本質更普遍, 因為本質以根本為先決條件, 並因為根本而存在。上帝的根本, 或者神性根本, 難以描繪其意, 因為超越了人的思想範圍。人的思想只能認知被造和有限之物, 而非被造和無限之物, 例如神性根本, 就難以領悟。神性根本是根本自身, 是萬物源泉, 且為了萬物的存在而於萬物之中。下列論點能有助我們瞭解更多關於神性根本的概念:
(1)獨一上帝因祂是根本而名為耶和華, 因祂獨自是,曾是,將是, 並因為祂是首先和末後, 是始和終, 是阿拉法和俄梅戛。
(2)這獨一上帝是實質自身和形式自身, 天人和人是從祂而來的實質和形式; 以至於他們在祂裡面,祂在他們裡面, 直至他們成為祂的形像和樣式。
(3)神性根本是根本自身, 同時是表現自身。
(4)神性根本和表現本身不可能產生另一個同為根本和表現本身的神性; 因此同樣本質的另一位上帝是不可能的。
(5)古時今日的多神思想, 皆是錯誤認知神性根本的結果。
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18. The Underlying Divine Reality or Jehovah
First I will discuss the underlying divine reality, and afterward the divine essence. These two might seem to be one and the same thing, but underlying reality is even more universal than essence. Essence presupposes an underlying reality and arises from it. The underlying reality of God, the underlying divine reality, cannot be described. It is beyond the reach of any idea in human thought. Everything human thought can conceive of is created and finite; it cannot conceive of what was not created and is infinite. Therefore it cannot conceive of the underlying divine reality. The underlying divine reality is the reality itself from which all things exist, and which must be in every thing in order for that thing to exist. Some further notion of the underlying divine reality may, however, be gained from the following points:
1. The one God is called Jehovah from "being," that is, from the fact that he alone is and was and will be, and that he is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega.
2. The one God is substance itself and form itself. Angels and people are substances and forms from him. To the extent that they are in him and he is in them, to that extent they are images and likenesses of him.
3. The underlying divine reality is intrinsic reality and is also an intrinsic capacity to become manifest.
4. The intrinsic, underlying divine reality and intrinsic capacity to become manifest cannot produce anything else divine that is intrinsically real and has an intrinsic capacity to become manifest. Therefore another God of the same essence is impossible.
5. The plurality of gods in ancient times, and nowadays as well, has no other source than a misunderstanding of the underlying divine reality.
These points need to be clarified one by one.
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18. THE DIVINE BEING, WHICH IS JEHOVAH
The Divine Being (Esse) will be discussed first, then the Divine Essence. It looks as if these two are one and the same, but in fact Being (Esse) is more universal than Essence, since Essence presupposes Being, and comes into existence from Being. The Being of God, or the Divine Being, is indescribable, since it transcends all ideas of human thought. This cannot grasp anything except what is created and finite. What is uncreated and infinite, such as the Divine Being, is incomprehensible. The Divine Being is Being Itself, the source of all things and which must be in all things for them to exist. Some further conception of the Divine Being can be gained from the following propositions: viz.
(i) The one God is named Jehovah from His Being, that is, from the fact that He alone is, was and will be, and because He is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, Alpha and Omega.
(ii) The one God is substance itself and form itself, and angels and men are substances and forms derived from Him; to the extent that they are in Him and He in them, so far are they images and likenesses of Him.
(iii) The Divine Being is Being in itself, and at the same time Coming-into-Being in itself.
(iv) The Divine Being and Coming-into-Being in itself cannot give rise to another Divine which is Being and Coming-into Being in itself. Consequently another God of the same essence is impossible.
(v) The plurality of gods in ancient times, as well as to-day, was entirely the result of a failure to understand the Divine Being.
These propositions must be elucidated one by one.
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18. THE DIVINE ESSE, WHICH IS JEHOVAH.
Let us first consider the Divine Esse, and afterwards the Divine essence. In appearance the two are one and the same; but esse is more universal than essence; for essence implies esse, and is derived from esse. The Esse of God (or the Divine Esse) it is impossible to define, because it transcends every idea of human thought, since this can take in only what is created and finite, and not what is uncreate and infinite, and therefore not the Divine Esse. The Divine Esse is Esse itself, from which all things are, and which must be in all things in order that they may have being. A fuller conception of the Divine Esse may be gained by the following propositions:
(1) The one God is called Jehovah from Esse, that is because He alone Is, Was, and Is To Be, and because He is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega.
(2) The one God is substance itself and Form itself, and angels and men are substances and forms from Him, and so far as they are in Him and He is in them are images and likenesses of Him.
(3) The Divine Esse is at once Esse [Being] in itself and Existere [Manifestation] in itself.
(4) It is impossible for the Divine Esse and Existere in itself to produce another Divine which is Esse and Existere in itself; therefore another God of the same Essence is impossible.
(5) The doctrine of a plurality of gods, both in past ages and at the present day, sprang solely from a failure to understand the Divine Esse.
But these propositions must be elucidated one by one.
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18. THE DIVINE BEING (Esse), WHICH IS JEHOVAH.
In the first place the Divine Being (Esse) will be treated of, and afterwards the Divine Essence. It would appear as if they were one and the same; but Being is more universal than Essence, for Essence presupposes Being, and from Being Essence derives its origin. The Being of God, or the Divine Being, cannot be described, for it transcends every idea of human thought; and nothing enters human thought but the created and the finite, not the uncreated and the infinite, thus not the Divine Being. The Divine Being is Being itself, from which all things are, and which must be in all things that they may exist. A further conception of the Divine Being may be formed from the following articles:
(1) The one God is called Jehovah from His Being, because He alone is, was, and will be; and because He is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega.
(2) The one God is Substance itself and Form itself, and angels and men are substances and forms from Him; and as far as they are in Him, and He in them, so far are they images and likenesses of Him.
(3) The Divine Being is Being in itself, and at the same time Existing (Existere) in itself.
(4) The Divine Being and Existing in itself cannot produce another Divine that is Being and Existing in itself; consequently there cannot be another God of the same Essence.
(5) The idea of a plurality of Gods in ancient and also in modern times arose because the nature of the Divine Being was not understood.
Each of these articles will now be explained in order.
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18. DE DIVINO ESSE, QUOD EST JEHOVAH.
Agitur primum de Divino Esse, et postea de Divina Essentia: apparet sicut duo illa unum idem sint, sed usque Esse est Universalius quam Essentia, Essentia enim ponit Esse, et ex Esse fit Essentia: Esse Dei, seu Esse Divinum, non 1 potest describi, quia est supra omnem ideam cogitationis humanae; in hanc non cadit aliud, quam quod creatum et finitum est, non autem Increatum et Infinitum, ita non Esse Divinum: Esse Divinum est ipsum Esse, ex quo omnia sunt, et quod in omnibus erit ut sint. Ulterior notio de Esse Divino potest influere ex Articulis sequentibus, qui sunt, I. Quod Unus ille Deus dicatur Jehovah ex Esse, ita ex eo, quia Solus Est, Fuit, et Erit, et quia est Primus et Ultimus, Principium et Finis, Alphah et Omegah. II. Quod Unus ille Deus sit ipsa Substantia et ipsa Forma, et quod Angeli et Homines sint substantiae et formae ex Ipso, et quod quantum illi in Ipso sunt, et Ipse in illis, tantum sint imagines et similitudines Ipsius. III. Quod Divinum Esse sit Esse in se, et simul Existere in se. IV. Quod Divinum Esse et Existere in se, non possit producere aliud Divinum quod sit Esse et Existere in se, consequenter quod Deus alius ejusdem Essentiae non dabilis sit. V. Quod Pluralitas deorum in Saeculis antiquis, et quoque hodiernis, non aliunde exstiterit, quam ex non intellecto Divino Esse. Sed haec singulatim elucidanda sunt.
Footnotes:
1. Prima editio: Divinum non.