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Irenaeus's claim that the Son and Spirit are the "hands" of God can sound subordinationist, but with due qualification it contains an important insight. A monadic god can only stand over-against the world as a ruling and commanding power. Anything that goes out from such a god is necessarily lesser than the god. Such a god could not surround the world in loving embrace, because he has no arms Eno Son and Spirit Ewith which to embrace. Because the Triune God has "hands," He holds the world, not in something less than Himself as a monadic god must (if he can hold the world at all), but in hands that are identical with Himself.
This seems overly pictorial, but I think there's a point here.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Tuesday, September 23, 2003 at 05:55 AM
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