Tractates on the Gospel of John

³ And now when He says, “As the Father knows me, even so know I the Father,” who can be ignorant of His meaning? For He knows the Father by Himself, and we by Him. That He has knowledge by Himself, we know already: that we also have knowledge by Him, we have like wise learned, for this also we have learned of Him. For He Himself has said: “No one has seen God at any time; but the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” And so by Him do we also get this knowledge, to whom He has declared Him.

In another place also He says: “No one knows the Son, but the Father; neither knows any one the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him.” As He then knows the Father by Himself, and we know the Father by Him; so into the sheepfold He enters by Himself, and we by Him. We were saying that by Christ we have a door of entrance to you; and why? Because we preach Christ. We preach Christ; and therefore we enter in by the door. But Christ preaches Christ, for He preaches Himself; and so the Shepherd enters in by Himself.

When the light shows the other things that are seen in the light, does it need some other means of being made visible itself? The light, then, exhibits both other things and itself. Whatever we understand, we understand with the intellect: and how, save by the intellect, do we understand the intellect itself? But does one in the same way with the bodily eye see both other things and [the eye] itself? For though men see with their eyes, yet their own eyes they see not. The eye of the flesh sees other things, itself it cannot [see]: but the intellect understands itself as well other things.

In the same way as the intellect sees itself, so also does Christ preach Himself. If He preaches Himself, and by preaching enters into you, He enters into you by Himself. And He is the door to the Father, for there is no way of approach to the Father but by Him. “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” Many things are expressed by a word: all that I have just said, I have said, of course, by means of words. If I were wishing to speak also of a word itself, how could I do so but by the use of the word?

And thus both many things are expressed by a word, which are not the same as the word, and the word itself can only be expressed by means of the word. By the Lord's help we have been copious in illustration. Remember, then, how the Lord Jesus Christ is both the door and the Shepherd: the door, in presenting Himself to view; the Shepherd, in entering in by Himself. And indeed, brethren, because He is the Shepherd, He has given to His members to be so likewise. For both Peter, and Paul, and the other apostles were, as all good bishops are, shepherds.

But none of us calls himself the door. This— the way of entrance for the sheep— He has retained as exclusively belonging to Himself. In short, Paul discharged the office of a good shepherd when he preached Christ, because he entered by the door. But when the undisciplined sheep began to create schisms, and to set up other doors before them, not of entrance to their joint assembly, but for falling away into divisions, saying, some of them, “I am of Paul;” others, “I am of Cephas;” others, “I of Apollos;” others, “I of Christ:” terrified for those who said, “I am of Paul,”— as if calling out to the sheep, Wretched ones, whither are you going?

I am not the door—he said, “Was Paul crucified for you? Or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?” But those who said, “I am of Christ,” had found the door.