Early Church Fathers Scripture Index : Texts
John 8:58
There are 25 footnotes for this reference.
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 1, page 62, footnote 13 (Image)
Apostolic Fathers, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus
Ignatius (HTML)
Epistle to the Magnesians: Shorter and Longer Versions (HTML)
Chapter IX.—Let us live with Christ. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 686 (In-Text, Margin)
If, then, those who were conversant with the ancient Scriptures came to newness of hope, expecting the coming of Christ, as the Lord teaches us when He says, “If ye had believed Moses, ye would have believed Me, for he wrote of Me;” and again, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it, and was glad; for before Abraham was, I am;”[John 8:58] how shall we be able to live without Him? The prophets were His servants, and foresaw Him by the Spirit, and waited for Him as their Teacher, and expected Him as their Lord and Saviour, saying, “He will come and save us.” Let us therefore no longer keep the Sabbath after the Jewish manner, and rejoice in days of idleness; ...
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 1, page 108, footnote 9 (Image)
Apostolic Fathers, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus
Ignatius (HTML)
Epistle to the Tarsians (HTML)
Chapter VI.—Continuation. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1199 (In-Text, Margin)
Nor is He a mere man, by whom and in whom all things were made; for “all things were made by Him.” “When He made the heaven, I was present with Him; and I was there with Him, forming [the world along with Him], and He rejoiced in me daily.” And how could a mere man be addressed in such words as these: “Sit Thou at My right hand?” And how, again, could such an one declare: “Before Abraham was, I am?”[John 8:58] And, “Glorify Me with Thy glory which I had before the world was?” What man could ever say, “I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me?” And of what man could it be said, “He was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world: He was in ...
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 1, page 478, footnote 4 (Image)
Apostolic Fathers, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus
Irenæus (HTML)
Against Heresies: Book IV (HTML)
Chapter XIII.—Christ did not abrogate the natural precepts of the law, but rather fulfilled and extended them. He removed the yoke and bondage of the old law, so that mankind, being now set free, might serve God with that trustful piety which becometh sons. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3959 (In-Text, Margin)
... advent, the ignorance of a people in a servile condition. But when He terms His disciples “the friends of God,” He plainly declares Himself to be the Word of God, whom Abraham also followed voluntarily and under no compulsion (sine vinculis), because of the noble nature of his faith, and so became “the friend of God.” But the Word of God did not accept of the friendship of Abraham, as though He stood in need of it, for He was perfect from the beginning (“Before Abraham was,” He says, “I am”[John 8:58]), but that He in His goodness might bestow eternal life upon Abraham himself, inasmuch as the friendship of God imparts immortality to those who embrace it.
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 1, page 576, footnote 10 (Image)
Apostolic Fathers, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus
Irenæus (HTML)
Fragments from the Lost Writings of Irenæus (HTML)
LII. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 4905 (In-Text, Margin)
... was born of Mary in the last times, so did He also proceed from God as the First-begotten of every creature; and as He hungered, so did He satisfy [others]; and as He thirsted, so did He of old cause the Jews to drink, for the “Rock was Christ” Himself: thus does Jesus now give to His believing people power to drink spiritual waters, which spring up to life eternal. And as He was the son of David, so was He also the Lord of David. And as He was from Abraham, so did He also exist before Abraham.[John 8:58] And as He was the servant of God, so is He the Son of God, and Lord of the universe. And as He was spit upon ignominiously, so also did He breathe the Holy Spirit into His disciples. And as He was saddened, so also did He give joy to His people. And ...
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 4, page 644, footnote 8 (Image)
Tertullian (IV), Minucius Felix, Commodian, Origen
Origen. (HTML)
Origen Against Celsus. (HTML)
Book VIII (HTML)
Chapter XII (HTML)
... him weigh that passage, “And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul,” that he may understand the meaning of the saying, “I and My Father are one.” We worship one God, the Father and the Son, therefore, as we have explained; and our argument against the worship of other gods still continues valid. And we do not “reverence beyond measure one who has but lately appeared,” as though He did not exist before; for we believe Himself when He says, “Before Abraham was, I am.”[John 8:58] Again He says, “I am the truth;” and surely none of us is so simple as to suppose that truth did not exist before the time when Christ appeared. We worship, therefore, the Father of truth, and the Son, who is the truth; and these, while they are ...
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 5, page 625, footnote 1 (Image)
Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian, Appendix
Novatian. (HTML)
A Treatise of Novatian Concerning the Trinity. (HTML)
Again He Proves from the Gospel that Christ is God. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 5124 (In-Text, Margin)
... immortality affords divinity. But although it is not possible to maintain that one who is himself mortal can make another immortal, yet this word of Christ not only sets forth, but affords immortality: certainly He is not man only who gives immortality, which if He were only man He could not give; but by giving divinity by immortality, He proves Himself to be God by offering divinity, which if He were not God He could not give. If Christ was only man, how did He say, “Before Abraham was, I Am?”[John 8:58] For no man can be before Him from whom he himself is; nor can it be that any one should have been prior to him of whom he himself has taken his origin. And yet Christ, although He is born of Abraham, says that He is before Abraham. Either, ...
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 6, page 51, footnote 4 (Image)
Gregory Thaumaturgus, Dionysius the Great, Julius Africanus, Anatolius and Minor Writers, Methodius, Arnobius
Gregory Thaumaturgus. (HTML)
Dubious or Spurious Writings. (HTML)
Twelve Topics on the Faith. (HTML)
Topic V. (HTML)
How could it be said that the Son of God who is before the ages, and He who has appeared in these last times, are different, when the Lord Himself says, “Before Abraham was, I am;”[John 8:58] and, “I came forth from God, and I come, and again I go to my Father?”
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 8, page 379, footnote 4 (Image)
Twelve Patriarchs, Excerpts and Epistles, The Clementina, Apocryphal Gospels and Acts, Syriac Documents
Apocrypha of the New Testament. (HTML)
The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew. (HTML)
Chapter 30. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1672 (In-Text, Margin)
... these words? The Pharisees answered: We have never heard such words spoken by any other child so young. And Jesus answered and said unto them: At this do ye wonder, that such things are said by a child? Why, then, do ye not believe me in those things which I have said to you? And you all wonder because I said to you that I know when you were born. I will tell you greater things, that you may wonder more. I have seen Abraham, whom you call your father, and have spoken with him; and he has seen me.[John 8:56-58] And when they heard this they held their tongues, nor did any of them dare to speak. And Jesus said to them: I have been among you with children, and you have not known me; I have spoken to you as to wise men, and you have not understood my words; ...
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 9, page 98, footnote 40 (Image)
Gospel of Peter, Diatessaron, Apocalypses, Visio Pauli, Testament of Abraham, Acts of X/P, Zosimus, Aristides, Clement, Origen
The Diatessaron of Tatian. (HTML)
The Diatessaron. (HTML)
Section XXXVI. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2464 (In-Text, Margin)
... thyself? Jesus said unto them, If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing: my Father is he that [5] glorifieth me; of whom ye say, that he is our God; and yet ye have not known him: but I know him; and if I should say that I know him not, I should become [6] [Arabic, p. 137] a liar like you: but I know him, and keep his word. Abraham your father [7] longed to see my day; and he saw, and rejoiced. The Jews said unto him, [8] Thou art now not fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?[John 8:58] Jesus said unto [9] them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. And they take stones to stone him: but Jesus concealed himself, and went out of the temple. And he passed through them, and went his way.
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 6, page 469, footnote 5 (Image)
Augustine: Sermon on the Mount, Harmony of the Gospels, Homilies on the Gospels
Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament. (HTML)
On the words of the Gospel, John i. 10, ‘The world was made through him,’ etc. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3625 (In-Text, Margin)
2. “He came unto His Own, and His Own received Him not.” All things are His, but they are called His Own, from among whom His mother was, among whom He had taken Flesh, to whom He had sent before the heralds of His advent, to whom He had given the law, whom He had delivered from the Egyptian bondage, whose father Abraham according to the flesh He elected. For He said truth, “Before Abraham was, I am.”[John 8:58] He did not say, “Before Abraham was,” or “before Abraham was made, I was made.” For “in the beginning the Word was,” not, “was made.” So then “He came unto His Own,” He came to the Jews. “And His Own received Him not.”
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 7, page 21, footnote 1 (Image)
Augustine: Homilies on the Gospel of John, Homilies on the First Epistle of John, Soliloquies
Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John. (HTML)
Chapter I. 15–18. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 53 (In-Text, Margin)
... whom I spake, He that cometh after me is made before me.” He came after me, and He preceded me. What is it, “He is made before me”? He preceded me. Not was made before I was made, but was preferred before me, this is “He was made before me.” Wherefore was He made before thee, when He came after thee? “Because He was before me.” Before thee, O John! what great thing to be before thee! It is well that thou dost bear witness to Him; let us, however, hear Himself saying, “Even before Abraham, I am.”[John 8:58] But Abraham also was born in the midst of the human race: there were many before him, many after him. Listen to the voice of the Father to the Son: “Before Lucifer I have begotten Thee.” He who was begotten before Lucifer Himself illuminates all. A ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 7, page 472, footnote 7 (Image)
Augustine: Homilies on the Gospel of John, Homilies on the First Epistle of John, Soliloquies
Ten Homilies on the First Epistle of John. (HTML)
1 John II. 12–17. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2090 (In-Text, Margin)
... relation unto fatherhood. Christ new in flesh, but ancient in Godhead. How ancient think we? how many years old? Think we, of greater age than His mother? Assuredly of greater age than His mother, for “all things were made by Him.” If all things, then did the Ancient make the very mother of whom the New should be born. Was He, think we, before His mother only? Yea, and before His mother’s ancestors is His antiquity. The ancestor of His mother was Abraham; and the Lord saith, “Before Abraham I am.”[John 8:58] Before Abraham, say we? The heaven and earth, ere man was, were made. Before these was the Lord, nay rather also is. For right well He saith, not, Before Abraham I was, but, “Before Abraham.” For that of which one says, “was,” is not; and that of ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 8, page 355, footnote 10 (Image)
Augustine: Expositions on the Psalms
Expositions on the Book of Psalms. (HTML)
Psalm LXXVI (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3442 (In-Text, Margin)
... had spoken of this, when he blessed his sons, “there shall not fail a prince out of Judah, nor a leader from his thighs, until there come He to whom the promise hath been made.” But from the tribe of Judah there came Our Lord Jesus Christ. For He is, as the Scripture saith, and as ye have but now heard, out of the seed of David born of Mary. But as regardeth the Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, wherein He is equal with the Father, He is not only before the Jews, but also before Abraham himself;[John 8:58] nor only before Abraham, but also before Adam; nor only before Adam, but also before Heaven and earth and before ages: for all things by Himself were made, and without Him there was made nothing. Because therefore in prophecy hath been said, “there ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 8, page 458, footnote 3 (Image)
Augustine: Expositions on the Psalms
Expositions on the Book of Psalms. (HTML)
Psalm XCIII (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 4351 (In-Text, Margin)
... throne of God? Prepare a place in thy heart where He may sit. What is the throne of God, except where God dwelleth? Where doth God dwell, except in His temple? What is His temple? Is it surrounded with walls? Far from it. Perhaps this world is His temple, because it is very great, and a thing worthy to contain God. It contains not Him by whom it was made. And wherein is He contained? In the quiet soul, in the righteous soul: that is it that containeth Him.…He who said, “Before Abraham was, I am:”[John 8:58] not before Abraham only, but before Adam: not only before Adam, but before all the angels, before heaven and earth; since all things were made through Him: he added, lest thou, attending to the day of our Lord’s nativity, mightest think He commenced ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 8, page 522, footnote 8 (Image)
Augustine: Expositions on the Psalms
Expositions on the Book of Psalms. (HTML)
Psalm CV (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 4802 (In-Text, Margin)
... any unction, from which this title was given to the kings. …Whence then were those patriarchs at that time called “anointed”? For that they were prophets, we read concerning Abraham; and certainly, what is manifestly said of him, should be understood of them also. Are they styled “christs,” because, even though secretly, yet they were already Christians? For although the flesh of Christ came from them, nevertheless Christ came before them; for He thus answered the Jews, “Before Abraham was, I am.”[John 8:58] But how could they not know Him, or not believe in Him; since they are called prophets for this very reason, because, though somewhat darkly, they announced the Lord beforehand? Whence He saith Himself openly, “Your father Abraham desired to see My ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 2, page 83, footnote 8 (Image)
Socrates: Church History from A.D. 305-438; Sozomenus: Church History from A.D. 323-425
The Ecclesiastical History of Socrates Scholasticus. (HTML)
Book III (HTML)
Quotations from Athanasius' 'Defense of his Flight.' (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 503 (In-Text, Margin)
... Subsequently, when he gave unquestionable evidence of his Divine character by healing the withered hand, ‘when the Pharisees took council how they might destroy him, Jesus knowing their wickedness withdrew himself thence.’ Moreover, when he had raised Lazarus from the dead, and they had become still more intent on destroying him, [we are told that] ‘Jesus walked no more openly among the Jews, but retired into a region on the borders of the desert.’ Again when the Saviour said, ‘Before Abraham was, I am;’[John 8:58] and the Jews took up stones to cast at him; Jesus concealed himself, and going through the midst of them out of the Temple, went away thence, and so escaped. Since then they see these things, or rather understand them, (for they will not see,) are ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 3, page 194, footnote 5 (Image)
Theodoret, Jerome and Gennadius, Rufinus and Jerome
The Ecclesiastical History, Dialogues, and Letters of Theodoret. (HTML)
Dialogues. The “Eranistes” or “Polymorphus” of the Blessed Theodoretus, Bishop of Cyrus. (HTML)
The Unconfounded. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1253 (In-Text, Margin)
... forth His human qualities. So too Christ our Lord Himself teaches us, at one time calling Himself Son of God and at another Son of man: at one time He gives honour to His Mother as to her that gave Him birth; at another He rebukes her as her Lord. At one time He finds no fault with them that style Him Son of David; at another He teaches the ignorant that He is not only David’s Son but also David’s Lord. He calls Nazareth and Capernaum His country, and again He exclaims “Before Abraham was I am.”[John 8:58] You will find the divine Scripture full of similar passages, and they all point not to one nature but to two.
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 4, page 259, footnote 6 (Image)
Athanasius: Select Writings and Letters
Defence of His Flight. (Apologia de Fuga.) (HTML)
Defence of His Flight. (Apologia de Fuga.) (HTML)
The Lord an example of timely flight. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1439 (In-Text, Margin)
... council against Him, how they might destroy Him; but when Jesus knew it, He withdrew Himself from thence. So also when He raised Lazarus from the dead, ‘from that day forth,’ says the Scripture, ‘they took counsel for to put Him to death. Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence into the country near to the wilderness.’ Again, when our Saviour said, ‘Before Abraham was, I am,’ ‘the Jews took up stones to cast at Him; but Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple[John 8:58-59].’ And ‘going through the midst of them, He went His way,’ and ‘so passed by.’
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 4, page 314, footnote 3 (Image)
Athanasius: Select Writings and Letters
Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) (HTML)
Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) (HTML)
Discourse I (HTML)
That the Son is Eternal and Increate. These attributes, being the points in dispute, are first proved by direct texts of Scripture. Concerning the 'eternal power' of God in Rom. i. 20, which is shewn to mean the Son. Remarks on the Arian formula, 'Once the Son was not,' its supporters not daring to speak of 'a time when the Son was not.' (HTML)
... said in His own Person, ‘If ye loved Me, ye would rejoice because I said, I go unto the Father, for My Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it come to pass, that when it is come to pass, ye might believe.’ And concerning the creation He says by Solomon, ‘Or ever the earth was, when there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills, was I brought forth.’ And, ‘Before Abraham was, I am[John 8:58].’ And concerning Jeremiah He says, ‘Before I formed thee in the womb, I knew thee.’ And David in the Psalm says, ‘Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever the earth and the world were made, Thou art, God from everlasting and world without ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 4, page 377, footnote 3 (Image)
Athanasius: Select Writings and Letters
Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) (HTML)
Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) (HTML)
Discourse II (HTML)
Texts Explained; Sixthly, Proverbs viii. 22 Continued. Our Lord is said to be created 'for the works,' i.e. with a particular purpose, which no mere creatures are ever said to be. Parallel of Isai. xlix. 5, &c. When His manhood is spoken of, a reason for it is added; not so when His Divine Nature; Texts in proof. (HTML)
53. ‘He created’ then and ‘He formed’ and ‘He set,’ having the same meaning, do not denote the beginning of His being, or of His essence as created, but His beneficent renovation which came to pass for us. Accordingly, though He thus speaks, yet He taught also that He Himself existed before this, when He said, ‘Before Abraham came to be, I am[John 8:58];’ and ‘when He prepared the heavens, I was present with Him;’ and ‘I was with Him disposing things.’ And as He Himself was before Abraham came to be, and Israel had come into being after Abraham, and plainly He exists first and is formed afterwards, and His forming signifies not His beginning of being but His taking manhood, ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 4, page 441, footnote 1 (Image)
Athanasius: Select Writings and Letters
Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) (HTML)
Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) (HTML)
Discourse IV (HTML)
Since the Word is from God, He must be Son. Since the Son is from everlasting, He must be the Word; else either He is superior to the Word, or the Word is the Father. Texts of the New Testament which state the unity of the Son with the Father; therefore the Son is the Word. Three hypotheses refuted--1. That the Man is the Son; 2. That the Word and Man together are the Son; 3. That the Word became Son on His incarnation. Texts of the Old Testament which speak of the Son. If they are merely prophetical, then those concerning the Word may be such also. (HTML)
... by consequence He who is in the Father, in whom also the Father is; and the Man must be He who is One with the Father, and who is in the bosom of the Father, and the True Light. And they will be compelled to say that through the Man Himself the world came into being, and that the Man was He who came not to judge the world but to save it; and that He it was who was in being before Abraham came to be. For, says Scripture, Jesus said to them, ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am[John 8:58].’ And is it not absurd to say, as they do, that one who came of the seed of Abraham after two and forty generations, should exist before Abraham came to be? is it not absurd, if the flesh, which the Word bore, itself is the Son, to say that the ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 4, page 485, footnote 4 (Image)
Athanasius: Select Writings and Letters
Synodal Letter to the People of Antioch. (Tomus ad Antiochenos.) (HTML)
Synodal Letter to the People of Antioch. (Tomus ad Antiochenos.) (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3687 (In-Text, Margin)
... a body without a soul, nor without sense or intelligence; for it was not possible, when the Lord had become man for us, that His body should be without intelligence: nor was the salvation effected in the Word Himself a salvation of body only, but of soul also. And being Son of God in truth, He became also Son of Man, and being God’s Only-begotten Son, He became also at the same time ‘firstborn among many brethren.’ Wherefore neither was there one Son of God before Abraham, another after Abraham[John 8:58]: nor was there one that raised up Lazarus, another that asked concerning him; but the same it was that said as man, ‘Where does Lazarus lie;’ and as God raised him up: the same that as man and in the body spat, but divinely as Son of God opened the ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 10, page 223, footnote 8 (Image)
Ambrose: Select Works and Letters
Dogmatic Treatises, Ethical Works, and Sermons. (HTML)
Exposition of the Christian Faith. (HTML)
Book II. (HTML)
Introduction. (HTML)
3. These tokens so declare the nature of the Son, that by them you may know both that the Father is eternal, and that the Son is not diverse from Him; for the source of generation is He Who is,[John 8:58] and as begotten of the Eternal, He is God; coming forth from the Father, He is the Son; from God, He is the Word; He is the radiance of the Father’s glory, the expression of His substance, the counterpart of God, the image of His majesty; the Bounty of Him Who is bountiful, the Wisdom of Him Who is wise, the Power of the Mighty One, the Truth of Him Who is true, the Life of the Living One. In ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 10, page 251, footnote 5 (Image)
Ambrose: Select Works and Letters
Dogmatic Treatises, Ethical Works, and Sermons. (HTML)
Exposition of the Christian Faith. (HTML)
Book III. (HTML)
Chapter IX. The preceding quotation from Solomon's Proverbs receives further explanation. (HTML)
61. Again, immediately before the declaration, “The Lord created Me,” He says, “I will tell of the things which are from eternity,” and before saying, “He begat,” He premised, “In the beginning, before He made the earth, before all hills.” In its extent, the preposition “before” reaches back into the past without end or limit, and so “Before Abraham was, I am,”[John 8:58] clearly need not mean “after Adam,” just as “before the Morning Star” need not mean “after the angels.” But when He said “before,” He intended, not that He was included in any one’s existence, but that all things are included in His, for thus it is the custom of Holy Writ to show the eternity of God. Finally, in ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 11, page 595, footnote 3 (Image)
Sulpitius Severus, Vincent of Lerins, John Cassian
The Works of John Cassian. (HTML)
The Seven Books of John Cassian on the Incarnation of the Lord, Against Nestorius. (HTML)
Book VI. (HTML)
Chapter VIII. How it can be said that Christ came and was born of a Virgin. (HTML)
... had taught us to be sent. Then the Apostle says: “Made of a woman:” The Creed, “born of Mary.” And so you see that there speaks through the Creed the Scripture itself, from which the Creed acknowledges that it is itself derived. But when the Apostle says, “made of a woman,” he rightly enough uses “made” for “born,” after the manner of Holy Scripture in which “made” stands for “born:” as in this passage: “Instead of thy fathers there are made to thee sons:” or this: “Before Abraham was made, I am;”[John 8:58] where we certainly see clearly that He meant “Before he was born, I am:” alluding to the fact of his birth under the term “was made,” because whatever does not need to be made has the very reality of creation. “Who,” it then says, “for us came and ...