the economy, i.e. his dispensation which was intended for the world's salvation; like Marcellus, he speaks about the οἰκονομία εἰς τὸν καινὸν ἄνθρωπον, i.e. about the dispensation of God which gave in Christ a new beginning to the humanity[1]; like Marcellus, he probably identified the λόγος and the Spirit of God as regards the time before the Spirit went over from the historical Christ to his disciples[2]. For him as for Marcellus the historical Christ is at once God revealed in flesh and the new and perfect man[3]. Finally, it is not improbable that Ignatius, too, supposed that the Logos and the Spirit would at last be reabsorbed in God[4].
Hence dependence of Marcellus on the western tradition is excluded from possibility. There is also another argument against it, viz. that even in Tertullian the western tradition shows itself influenced by the
- ↑ As regards Marcellus comp. above p. 117, notes 4 and 5, and Klostermann, Index s. v. οἰκονομία; Ignatius, ad Ephes. 20, 1: οἰκονομία εἰς τὸν καινὸν ἄνθρωπον Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν and ad Smyrn. 4, 2: Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ … τοῦ τελείου ἀνθρώπου γενομένου.
- ↑ In Ignatius, ad Philad. inscriptio, the πνεῦμα ἅγιον is τὸ ἅγιον Χριστοῦ πνεῦμα, while, according to ad Smyrn. 3, 3, Christ was on earth πενυματικῶς ἡνωμένος τῷ πατρί; and ad Rom. 7, 2, Ignatius apparently had in mind John 7, 38 f.
- ↑ Comp. above note 1 and ad Ephes. 19, 3: θεοῦ ἀνθρωπίνως φανερουμένου εἰς καινότητα αἰδίου ζωῆς.
- ↑ It seems to me not improbable, that in Ignatius ad Magnes. 7, 2 is to be read: ἐπὶ ἕνα Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν, τὸν ἀφ’ ἑνὸς πατρὸς προελθόντα {comp. p. 123, note 5) καὶ εἰς ἕνα ὄντα (comp. John 1, 18) καὶ εἰς ἕνα χωρήσοντα (instead of χωρήσαντα).
λόγου—; Ignatius, ad Smyrn. 8, 2: Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ, ὅς ἐστιν αὐτοῦ λόγος ἀπὸ σιγῆς προελθών.
