Sermon 71
SERMO 71
On the Words of the Gospel of Matthew 12:32
"Whoever speaks a word against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven."
It will not be forgiven him, neither in this age, nor in the future.
OR CONCERNING BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Pharisees are warned by their own words to withdraw from the kingdom of the devil.
A great question arises from the recent gospel reading; to answer which, as far as we are concerned, we are insufficient: but our sufficiency is from God, as much as we can either receive or grasp His help. First, therefore, observe the magnitude of the question: so that, when you see the burden placed on our shoulders, you may pray for our labors, and in the help provided to us, you may find edification for your minds. When a demon-possessed blind and mute person was brought to the Lord, and He healed him, so that he spoke and saw, and all the crowds were amazed, saying: "Could this be the Son of David?" But the Pharisees, hearing this, said: "This man casts out demons only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons." But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said to them: "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand; and if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself: how then will his kingdom stand?" By saying this, He wanted to make them understand from their own confession, that by not believing in Him, they had chosen to be in the kingdom of the devil, which could certainly not stand when divided against itself. Therefore, let the Pharisees choose whatever they wish. If Satan cannot cast out Satan, they could find nothing to say against the Lord; but if he can, they should be much more concerned and withdraw from his kingdom, which cannot stand when divided against itself.
The expulsion of the devil through the power of Christ.
In what manner, however, the Lord Christ casts out demons, so that they do not think He does it by the prince of demons, let them observe what follows: "And if I," He says, "cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they shall be your judges." He said this, indeed, about his disciples, sons of that people, who certainly were well aware that they had learned nothing of evil arts from the good Master, such that they would cast out demons by the prince of demons. Therefore, He says, they shall be your judges. "They," He says, "they ignoble and contemptible of this world, in whom not artful wickedness, but holy simplicity of my power appears, they shall be my witnesses and shall judge you." Then He adds: "But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." What does this mean? "If I," He says, "by the Spirit of God cast out demons, your sons could not do otherwise, to whom I have given not a malignant doctrine but simple faith. Without a doubt, the kingdom of God has come upon you, whereby the kingdom of the devil is overthrown; along with it, you shall also be overthrown, unless you change."
Liberation from the devil through grace.
And because He had said: "In what do your sons cast out?", to show His grace in them, not their merit: "Or how can anyone," He says, "enter the strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man and then plunders his house? 'Your sons,' He says, 'who either have believed in me, or are still going to believe, and will cast out demons not by the prince of demons but in simple holiness; who indeed were or are even what you also are, that is, sinners and ungodly, and therefore in the house of the devil and the goods of the devil; how could they be rescued from him, whom strong iniquity held firmly, unless he were bound by the chains of My righteousness, and I would plunder his goods, which were vessels of wrath, and make them My vessels of mercy?'" This is what also the blessed Apostle says, rebuking the proud as if they were boasting about their own merits: "For who makes you different?" This is: "From the lump of perdition from Adam and from vessels of wrath, who makes you different?" And so no one would say "my righteousness", "What do you have," he says, "that you did not receive?" Wherefore he also says about himself: "For we too were once naturally children of wrath, even as others." Therefore he was also a vessel in the house of that wicked one while he was a persecutor of the Church, a blasphemer, abusive, acting in malice and envy, as he confesses; but He who bound the strong man, rescued the vessel of destruction from him and made it a vessel of election.
The Kingdom of Christ remains undivided even with schisms stirred up.
Then, so that unbelievers and the impious who oppose the Christian name would not think that because of various heresies and schisms of those who under the Christian name gather flocks of the lost, even the kingdom of Christ is divided against itself, he consequently adds: "He who is not with me is against me; and he who does not gather with me, scatters." He does not say: "He who is not under the sound of my name," or: "under the appearance of my sacrament," but: "He who is not with me is against me." Nor does he say: "He who does not gather under the sound of my name," but: "He who does not gather with me, scatters." Therefore, the kingdom of Christ is not divided against itself, even if men try to divide what was purchased at the price of Christ's blood. For the Lord knows who are his. And let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart, he says, from iniquity. For if he does not depart from iniquity, he does not belong to the kingdom of Christ, even if he names the name of Christ. Thus, to mention some examples: the spirit of greed and the spirit of lust, because one gathers, the other dissipates, are divided against themselves; and both belong to the kingdom of the devil. Among the idol worshipers, the spirit of Juno and the spirit of Hercules are divided against themselves; and both belong to the kingdom of the devil. The pagan enemy of Christ and the Jewish enemy of Christ, are divided against themselves; and both belong to the kingdom of the devil. The Arian and the Photinian, both heretics, and divided against each other; the Donatist and the Maximianist, both heretics, and divided against each other; all the vices and errors of mortals, contrary among themselves, are divided against themselves; and all belong to the kingdom of the devil. Therefore, his kingdom will not stand. But the just and the impious,
The faithful and the unbeliever, the catholic and the heretic are indeed divided against each other; but not both belong to the kingdom of Christ. The Lord knows who are His. Let no one flatter himself with the name. If one wishes the name of the Lord to benefit him, let him depart from iniquity who invokes the name of the Lord.
Sin against the Holy Spirit, such as in pagans, Jews and heretics, is not unforgivable.
But these evangelical words, even if they had some obscurity, which with the Lord's help I think has been explained, were not however of such difficulty as appears to be what follows. Therefore I say to you: Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men; but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come. What, therefore, will happen to those whom the Church desires to gain? Surely, is a false hope promised to those corrected and coming to it from whatever error, in the remission of all sins? For who is not convicted of having spoken a word against the Holy Spirit before becoming a Christian or Catholic? Firstly, those who are called Pagans, worshipers of many gods and false idols, when they say that the Lord Christ performed miracles by magical arts; are they not like those who said He cast out demons by the prince of demons? Then, when daily they blaspheme our sanctification, what else do they blaspheme but the Holy Spirit? What about the Jews, who said this word about the Lord, from where did this man arise? Do they not still speak a word against the Holy Spirit, denying that He is in Christians, just as those denied that He was in Christ? For neither did they malign the Holy Spirit, nor saying that He did not exist; or indeed that He existed, but was not God, but was a creature; or that He was of no power to cast out demons. They did not speak such unworthy things, nor anything similar about the Holy Spirit. For the Sadducees denied the Holy Spirit; but the Pharisees defended that He existed against the heresy of the Sadducees, yet denied that He was in the Lord Jesus Christ, whom they thought cast out demons by the prince of demons, although He cast them out by the Holy Spirit. And therefore both Jews and any heretics who confess the Holy Spirit, but when they deny that He is in the body of Christ, which is His one Church, undoubtedly Catholic; they are without a doubt similar to the Pharisees, who even then, if they confessed the Holy Spirit to exist, nevertheless denied that He was in Christ, whose works in casting out demons they attributed to the prince of demons. I omit that some heretics argue that the Holy Spirit Himself is not the creator but a creature, like the Arians, Eunomians, and Macedonians; or they entirely deny Him, so that they deny that God is Trinity, but assert that only God the Father exists, and He is sometimes called the Son, sometimes the Holy Spirit, like the Sabellians, whom some call "Patripassians," because they affirm that the Father suffered; since they deny that the Father has a Son, they undoubtedly deny that the Holy Spirit exists. The Photinians also, who say that only the Father is God, and the Son is merely a man, completely deny that the Holy Spirit is a third Person.
It is evident, therefore, that both by Pagans and by Jews and by heretics the Holy Spirit is blasphemed. Surely then are they to be abandoned and without any hope counted, since it is a fixed sentence: He who speaks a word against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this age nor in the one to come; and are to be thought that only those are liberated from the guilt of this most grievous sin, who from infancy are Catholics? For whoever has believed in the word of God to become Catholics, certainly either from pagans or from Jews or from heretics they have come into the grace and peace of Christ; for whom, if it is not forgiven what they have spoken a word against the Holy Spirit, it is vainly promised and preached to men that they should turn to God and receive remission of sins either in baptism or in the peace of the Church. For it was not said: "It shall not be forgiven him, except in baptism", but: It shall not be forgiven him, he says, neither in this age nor in the one to come.
The opinion of some concerning the sin of those baptized against the Holy Spirit is disapproved.
To some it seems that only those sin against the Holy Spirit who, having been washed in the baptism of regeneration in the Church and having received the Holy Spirit, afterward immerse themselves in some deadly sin like adultery, murder, or even defection from the name of Christian or from the Catholic Church, as if ungrateful for such a great gift of the Savior. But I do not know how this sense can be proven, since a place for repentance for certain crimes is not denied in the Church, and the Apostle says to correct even the heretics for this purpose: "Lest God perhaps grant them repentance to know the truth, and they recover themselves from the snares of the devil, held captive by him according to his will." For what is the purpose of correction without any hope of forgiveness? Finally, the Lord does not say: "Whoever, being a faithful Catholic, speaks a word against the Holy Spirit," but: "Whoever speaks," that is, "anyone who speaks, whoever speaks," it will not be forgiven him, neither in this age nor in the age to come. Therefore, whether he be a pagan, or a Jew, or a Christian, or a heretic from either the Jews or the Christians, or whatever other name he has of error, it is not said: "this one" or "that one," but: "Whoever speaks a word against the Holy Spirit," that is: "blasphemes the Holy Spirit," it will not be forgiven him, neither in this age nor in the future. Furthermore, if every error contrary to the truth and hostile to the Catholic peace, as we have shown above, speaks a word against the Holy Spirit, yet the Church does not cease to correct and gather from every error those who receive forgiveness of sins and the very Holy Spirit whom they had blasphemed, I think we have shown the great mystery of this significant question. Therefore, let us ask for the light of exposition from the Lord.
The most difficult question of all.
Therefore, brothers, perk up your ears to me, and your minds to the Lord. I say to your Charity: perhaps in all the holy Scriptures there is found no greater or more difficult question. Hence - to confess something about myself to you - I have always avoided the difficulty and trouble of this question in the sermons I gave to the people: not because I had nothing to think about it - for in such a great matter I would not neglect to ask, seek, knock - but because I did not think I could meet the demands of the understanding that was somewhat revealed to me with the words that came to me at the moment. However, today, hearing the readings from which the discourse was to be given to you, when the Gospel was being read, my heart was so moved that I believed God wanted you to hear something about this through my ministry.
Not every blasphemy against the Spirit is unforgivable.
Therefore, first I warn you to notice and understand that the Lord did not say: "Every blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven," nor did He say: "Whoever speaks any word against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven," but rather: "Whoever speaks a word." For if He had said that, nothing at all would remain for us to discuss; because if every blasphemy and every word spoken against the Holy Spirit would not be forgiven to men, the Church would gain no one at all from any kind of impiety of those who contradict the gift of Christ and the sanctification of the Church, whether Pagans, Jews, or any heretics, and even many among the uninstructed within the Catholic Church itself. But far be it that the Lord would say this, far be it, I say, that the Truth would say that any blasphemy or any word spoken against the Holy Spirit would have no forgiveness, neither in this age nor in the future.
There is a certain blasphemy that is unpardonable.
He indeed wished to exercise us by the difficulty of the question, not to deceive us by the falsity of the sentence. Therefore, it is not necessary that anyone should think that every blasphemy or every word said against the Holy Spirit will not obtain forgiveness; but it is certainly necessary that there is some blasphemy and some word, which, if said against the Holy Spirit, will never deserve forgiveness or pardon. For if we take it universally, who can be saved? But if we consider it as none, we contradict the Savior. Therefore, there is undoubtedly some blasphemy and some word which, if spoken against the Holy Spirit, will not be forgiven. However, the Lord wanted us to inquire what this word might be; hence, He did not specify it. He wanted it, I say, to be inquired, not denied. For the Scriptures are accustomed to speak in such a way that when something is said so that it is neither completely nor partially finished being said, it is not necessary that it can be understood completely, but also not partially misunderstood. Therefore, this sentence would be universally pronounced if it were said: "Every blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven," or: "Whoever speaks any word against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, neither in this world nor in the future." On the other hand, it would be particularly pronounced if it were said: "Some blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven." Because the sentence was pronounced neither universally nor particularly (for it was not said: "Every blasphemy against the Spirit," or: "Some blasphemy," but was only said indefinitely: "Blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven;" nor was it said: "Whoever speaks any word," or: "Whoever speaks some word," but indefinitely: "Whoever speaks a word"), it is not necessary to understand every blasphemy or every word, but it is indeed necessary to understand that some blasphemy and some word were intended by the Lord: although He did not wish to specify it, so that by asking, seeking, and knocking, if we receive any correct understanding, we may not hold it cheap.
Place John 15:22 about certain sin of the Jews.
For a clearer understanding of this, consider what the same person said about the Jews: "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin." Indeed, it is not said as if the Jews would have been entirely without any sin if He had not come and spoken to them. He found them full and burdened with sins. Therefore, He says: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened." From what, if not the burdens of sins and transgressions of the Law? Because the Law entered that the offense might abound. Therefore, when He says elsewhere: "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners," how, if He had not come, would they not have sin, unless because this statement, pronounced not universally nor particularly but indefinitely, does not mean all sin? But certainly, if we understand some sin which they would not have had unless Christ had come and spoken to them, otherwise, we would say the statement is false, which it is not. Therefore, He did not say: "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin," so that the Truth would not lie. Nor did He definitely say: "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have had no certain sin," lest pious enthusiasm should be insufficiently exercised. Indeed, in the abundance of the Holy Scriptures, we are nourished by the clear, exercised by the obscure; there hunger is driven away, here disgust. Because it is not said: "They would have no sin," let us not be disturbed since we recognize the Jews as sinners, even if the Lord had not come. But however, because it is said: "If I had not come, they would not have sin," it is necessary, even if not all, that they contracted some sin from the Lord's coming that they did not have before. This is precisely because they did not believe in His presence and His speaking to them, considering Him an enemy because He spoke the truth, and moreover, they killed Him. This great and terrible sin, they surely would not have had if He had not come and spoken to them. Therefore, when we hear, "They would not have sin," we do not understand all sin, but some sin; likewise, in today's reading, when we hear: "Blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven," not every blasphemy but certain blasphemy; and when we heard: "Whoever speaks a word against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him," we must understand not every word but a certain word.
It was said here about the Holy Spirit.
For even this statement, "But the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven," certainly does not refer to any spirit, but we must understand it as the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Even if it were not stated more clearly elsewhere, who would be so foolish as to understand it otherwise? According to this rule of speech, the statement, "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit," is also understood. For he did not say "of the Holy Spirit" there, and yet it is understood. Nor because he said "of water and the Spirit," is anyone compelled to understand every spirit. Therefore, when you hear "But the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven," just as not every spirit, so too must not every spirit's blasphemy be understood.
The other evangelists agree with Matthew on this matter.
I see that you now want to hear what that blasphemy against the Spirit is, which shall not be forgiven, and what the word is which, if spoken against the Holy Spirit, shall not be forgiven, neither in this world nor in the world to come. I also would like to say what you are most eagerly waiting to hear; but bear with some delays for greater diligence, until, with the Lord's help, I can explain everything that comes to mind. For two other Evangelists, Mark and Luke, when speaking of this matter, did not say "blasphemy" or "word", so that we might understand not every blasphemy, but a certain one, and not every word, but a certain one. What then did they say? According to Mark, it is written: "Amen, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men and all blasphemies with which they blaspheme. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, but is guilty of an eternal sin." According to Luke, it is written: "Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven." Is it because of some minor difference in wording that the truth of the same sentence is abandoned? For what other reason is there that the Evangelists do not say the same things in the same way, except so that we may learn to place emphasis on things through words, not words through things, and to seek nothing else in the speaker except the will for which words are brought forward to declare? For what does it matter to the point at issue, whether it is said: "The blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven," or whether it is said, "Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven," unless perhaps because the same thing is said more plainly in this way than in that, and one Evangelist does not destroy but explains another? The blasphemy against the Spirit, it is said in abbreviated form, because it is not expressed whose spirit. For not every spirit is the Holy Spirit. Again, it can be said: the spirit of blasphemy, when one blasphemes with a spirit; just as it can be said: "the spirit of prayer," when one prays with a spirit; whence the Apostle says: "I will pray with the spirit, I will also pray with the mind." But when it is said, "Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit," those ambiguities are resolved. Again, what is written: "He will never be forgiven, but is guilty of an eternal sin," what is it other than what is read according to Matthew: "It shall not be forgiven, neither in this world nor in the world to come"? By different words and another mode of speech, the same sentence is expressed. And what is in Matthew: "Whoever speaks a word against the Holy Spirit," lest we understand anything other than blasphemy, the others said more plainly: "Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit." Nevertheless, the same thing is said by all, nor does any of them depart from the speaker's will, for understanding which words are spoken, written, read, heard.
Difficulty in the words of Mark.
But someone may say: Behold, I have received and understood that when it is said: Blasphemy, neither "all" nor "certain" is expressed, it can indeed be understood as "all," but it is not necessary; however, unless "some certain one" is understood, what is said is false. So too with the word: if "all" is not said, or "certain," it is not necessary that "all" be understood; but unless "some certain one" is understood, in no way can what is said be true. But where it is read: He who blasphemes, how do I understand "some certain blasphemy," when it is not read "blasphemy," or "some certain word" where it is not read "word," but seems to be said generally: He who blasphemes? We respond to this contradiction thus: Because even here if it were said: "He who blasphemes against any blasphemy in the Holy Spirit," there would be no reason for us to think that some blasphemy should be sought when we ought to understand "all"; but because "all" cannot be understood, lest the hope of remission be taken away from Pagans, Jews, heretics, and all kinds of people who blaspheme in the Holy Spirit by their various errors and contradictions, it remains indeed that, in what is written: He who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, shall not have forgiveness eternally, that person is understood who blasphemes not in all ways, but in such a way that he can never be forgiven.
A twofold temptation.
For just as in what is said: God tempts no one, it must be understood that God tempts no one in a certain manner of temptation, lest that which is written be false: The Lord your God is testing you, and lest we deny that Christ is God, or say the Gospel is false, where we read that He asked the disciple, testing him, He Himself knew what He was going to do. For there is a temptation that leads to sin, by which God tempts no one; and there is a temptation that tests faith, by which God deems it worthy to tempt. Thus, when we hear: Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, we must not accept every kind of blasphemy, just as not every kind of temptation.
Salvation is promised to the believer and baptized.
Moreover, when we hear: "He who believes and is baptized will be saved," we certainly do not understand it in the way of the one who believes as the demons believe and tremble, nor in the number of the baptized where Simon the magician could be baptized, but could not be saved. Just as, therefore, when he said: "He who believes and is baptized will be saved," he was not looking at all the believers and the baptized, but at some; precisely those established in that faith which, as the Apostle distinguishes, works through love; so, when he said: "He who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit has no forgiveness forever," he did not intend all, but a certain guilt of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit, by which whoever has been bound will be solved by no remission ever.
A certain manner of eating the flesh of Christ peculiar to the pious.
Also, that which he says: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him," how should we understand this? Can we indeed accept those of whom the Apostle says that they eat and drink judgment upon themselves, even though they eat the very flesh and drink the very blood? Was Judas, the impious betrayer and seller of the master, although he first ate and drank the sacrament of his flesh and blood with the other disciples, as Luke the evangelist more clearly states, was he in Christ or was Christ in him? Many indeed who either deceitfully in their heart eat that flesh and drink that blood, or after eating and drinking subsequently become apostates, do they remain in Christ, or Christ in them? But certainly there is a certain mode of eating that flesh and drinking that blood, where one who eats and drinks in this manner abides in Christ and Christ in him. Therefore, it is not that whoever eats the flesh of Christ and drinks the blood of Christ abides in Christ and in him Christ, but in a certain mode; which manner, indeed, he himself saw when he said these things. So also, when he says: "He who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit has no forgiveness forever," it is not that whoever blasphemes is guilty of this unforgivable sin in any manner, but in a certain manner, which he intended for us to seek and understand, who uttered this true and terrible sentence.
He approaches the solution of the question.
Who then is this manner of blasphemy, or rather immoderation, what is this blasphemy, and what is the word against the Holy Spirit, now, as I think, the order itself demands that we say, and let us not further defer your expectation, detained so long but necessarily. You know, dearest ones, in that invisible and incorruptible Trinity, which the true faith and Catholic Church holds and preaches, that God the Father is not the Father of the Holy Spirit, but of the Son; and that God the Son is not the Son of the Holy Spirit, but of the Father; however, that God the Holy Spirit is not the Spirit of the Father alone or of the Son alone, but of the Father and the Son; and that this Trinity, although with the individual property and substance of each person preserved, nevertheless, because of the undivided and inseparable essence or nature of eternity, truth, and goodness, is not three gods, but one God. And by this, to the extent of our capacity, as far as it is allowed for us still to see through a glass and in a riddle, especially for such as we are, authority is hinted to us in the Father, in the Son nativity, in the Holy Spirit the communion of the Father and the Son, in the three equality. Therefore, what is common to the Father and the Son, through this they wished us to have communion both among ourselves and with them, and to be gathered into one through that gift which both have in one, that is, through the Holy Spirit God and the gift of God. For in this we are reconciled to divinity, and we delight in it. For what would it profit us to know any good thing, unless we also loved it? As we learn by truth, so we love by charity, so that we may know more fully and with happiness enjoy what we know. Moreover, charity is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. And because we were alienated from the possession of true goods by sins, charity covers a multitude of sins. Therefore, the Father is the true source of the Son to truth, and the Son is the truth born of the true Father, and the Holy Spirit is the goodness poured out from the good Father and the good Son; however, divinity is of all of them not unequal, nor separable is their unity.
Forgiveness of sins is given through the Holy Spirit.
First, therefore, the gift comes to us from the goodness of God at the beginning of our faith: the forgiveness of sins, to receive eternal life, which will be given at the end. For as long as they remain, there remain in some way enmities against God, and alienation from Him, which is from our own evil, as Scripture does not lie, saying: "Your sins have separated you from God." Therefore, He does not bestow His good things upon us unless He takes away our evils. And the former grow to the extent that the latter decrease; nor will the former be perfected unless the latter are brought to an end. But now, that the Lord Christ forgives sins in the Holy Spirit, just as He casts out demons in the Holy Spirit, can be understood from this: after He rose from the dead, when He said to His disciples: "Receive the Holy Spirit," He immediately added: "If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." For that regeneration, where there is remission of all past sins, happens in the Holy Spirit, as the Lord says: "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." But being born of the Spirit is one thing, and being fed by the Spirit is another; just as being born of the flesh, which happens when a mother gives birth, is one thing, and being fed by the flesh, which happens when she nurses the infant, is another—designed to drink with pleasure from where he was born so that he might live; to receive nourishment for living from where he received the beginning of being born. Therefore, the first benefit of the believers is the remission of sins by the kindness of God in the Holy Spirit. Thus also began the preaching of John the Baptist, who was sent as the forerunner of the Lord. For it is written: "In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying: ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’" Hence also it is written of the Lord Himself: "From then on Jesus began to preach: ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’" John also said, among other things, to those who came to be baptized by him: "I baptize you with water for repentance; but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." The Lord also said: "John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit, which you will receive not many days hence," up to Pentecost. But when John said: "And with fire," although it can also be understood as the tribulation that believers would endure for Christ’s name, it is not inappropriate to see the same Holy Spirit signified by the name of fire. Therefore it is said on His coming: "They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them." Hence the Lord Himself also said: "I came to cast fire upon the earth." And the Apostle says: "Be fervent in spirit," because charity is inflamed by this. For it is spread in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who is given to us. The contrary to this fervor is what the Lord said: "The love of many will grow cold." But perfect charity is the perfect gift of the Holy Spirit. That earlier matter pertains to the forgiveness of sins, through which benefit we are rescued from the power of darkness, and the prince of this world is cast out by our faith, who works in the children of disobedience, by no other force than the association and bondage of sin. For in the Holy Spirit, by whom the people of God are gathered into one, the unclean spirit is cast out, who divides against himself.
Impenitence is a sin against the Holy Spirit.
Against this free gift, against this grace of God speaks the unrepentant heart. Therefore, this very unrepentance is the blasphemy against the Spirit, which will not be forgiven neither in this age nor in the future.. For he who speaks a very evil and exceedingly impious word against the Holy Spirit, by whom those baptized have all their sins forgiven, and whom the Church has received, so that to whomsoever it forgives sins, they are forgiven, calls down wrath upon himself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to everyone according to his deeds, through his own hardness of heart and impenitent heart, even though the patience of God leads him to repentance. Therefore, this impenitence (for thus we can somewhat designate both blasphemy and the word against the Holy Spirit which has no forgiveness forever); this impenitence, I say, against which both the herald and the judge cried out, saying: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand"; against which the Lord opened the mouth of the evangelical preaching, and against which He predicted that the very Gospel would be preached in the whole world; where, after He rose from the dead, He said to the disciples: "It was necessary for the Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem," this impenitence, indeed, has no forgiveness, neither in this age nor in the one to come; because repentance procures remission in this age, which may be effective in the future.
One should despair of no one in the present life.
But this impenitence, or impenitent heart, as long as anyone is living in this flesh, cannot be judged. For no one should be despaired of, as long as the patience of God leads to penance; nor does He take the impious from this life who does not wish the death of the impious as much as that he should return and live. He is a pagan today: how do you know whether he will be a Christian tomorrow? He is a faithless Jew today: what if he believes in Christ tomorrow? He is a heretic today: what if he follows the Catholic truth tomorrow? He is a schismatic today: what if he embraces Catholic peace tomorrow? What if those whom you know in any kind of error, and condemn as most desperate, repent and find true life before they end this life? Therefore, brothers, let what the Apostle says also admonish you: Do not judge anything before the time. For this blasphemy against the Spirit, for which there is never any forgiveness (which we understand not as all but as a certain kind, and that persistent hardness of the impenitent heart either mentioned, discovered or even shown as we think), as we have said, cannot be found in anyone, as long as they are still in this life.
A certain objection is refuted.
That it should not seem absurd, because when a man perseveres in hard impenitence until the end of this life, and speaks much and long against this grace of the Holy Spirit, nevertheless the Gospel has called such long contradiction of an impenitent heart, as if something brief, a word, saying: Whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever shall speak against the Spirit
He shall not be forgiven, neither in this age nor in the age to come. For even though this blasphemy may be extensive and woven with many words and long, Scripture frequently refers to many words as a single word. For no Prophet ever spoke a single word, yet it is thus read: "The word that came to such and such a Prophet." And the Apostle: "Elders," he says, "are worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in word and doctrine." He did not say "in words," but: "in word." And Saint James: "Be," he says, "doers of the word, and not hearers only." He did not say "of words," but: "of the word," although many words from the Holy Scriptures are read, spoken, and heard in the Church solemnly and publicly. Thus, no matter how much time any of us spends laboring in preaching the Gospel, he is not called a preacher of "words" but of "the word," and no matter how much time any of you diligently and eagerly listens to our preaching, you are called a diligent hearer not of "words" but of "the word." In the same way, as the Scriptures speak and ecclesiastical custom knows, whoever in his whole life, in which he carries this flesh, however long it may be extended, speaks any words either orally or in thought with an impenitent heart against the forgiveness of sins which is granted in the Church, he speaks a word against the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, every other blasphemy, once the sin against the Holy Spirit has been forgiven, is forgiven.
Therefore, not only will the word spoken against the Son of Man be forgiven, but every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven to men because where this sin does not exist—of an unrepentant heart against the Holy Spirit, by whom sins are forgiven in the Church—all else is pardoned. But how will this be forgiven, which even hinders the remission of other sins? Therefore, all will be forgiven to those in whom this unforgivable sin is not present; but those in whom it is present, since this is never forgiven, neither are other sins forgiven, because the remission of all is hindered by this one sin. Hence, whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, not because the Holy Spirit is greater than the Son in the Trinity, which no one, not even a heretic, has ever said; but because whoever resists and blasphemes the truth, which is Christ, even after such a great proclamation of Himself among men—that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, which is the Son of Man, the same Christ—if he does not speak that unrepentant word against the Holy Spirit, of whom it is said: "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit," and again: "Receive the Holy Spirit; if you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven," that is, "if one repents, he will receive through this gift the forgiveness of all sins," including that which he spoke against the Son of Man; because to the sin of ignorance or stubbornness or any blasphemy, he did not add the sin of impenitence against the gift of God and the grace of regeneration or reconciliation, which is accomplished in the Church by the Holy Spirit.
Why the blasphemy of the Son is pardoned more easily than that of the Spirit.
Therefore, it must not be thought, as some suppose, that the word spoken against the Son of Man is forgiven because Christ became the Son of Man by taking on flesh, but the word spoken against the Holy Spirit is not forgiven because the Holy Spirit is greater than the flesh, which undoubtedly he is, being equal in his own substance to the Father and the only-begotten Son concerning his divinity, by which also the only-begotten Son is equal to the Father and the Holy Spirit. For if this had been said because of the flesh, certainly all other blasphemies would be left unmentioned, and only this one which is spoken against the Son of Man would seem forgivable, as if it were with the thought of him being merely a man. But since it was previously said, "Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men" (which is also stated similarly in another Gospel: "All sins will be forgiven the sons of men and whatever blasphemies they utter"), without doubt even the blasphemy spoken against the Father is included in this general statement; and yet it is only this one which is defined as unforgivable, which is spoken against the Holy Spirit. Did the Father take on the form of a servant, by which the Holy Spirit is greater? Certainly not. But after the universal mention of all sins and every blasphemy, he desired to emphasize more prominently the blasphemy spoken against the Son of Man; because, even if men were bound by that sin, as he remembered when he said, "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin" (which also shows in the Gospel according to John to be a very serious sin, where he says about the Holy Spirit himself, when promising to send him: "He will convict the world of sin, and righteousness, and judgment; of sin, indeed, because they do not believe in me"); nevertheless, if that hardness of an unrepentant heart does not speak the word against the Holy Spirit, even that word spoken against the Son of Man will be forgiven.
To forgive sins is of the whole Trinity.
Here perhaps someone may ask whether only the Holy Spirit forgives sins, or whether also the Father and the Son do. We respond that both the Father and the Son do. For the Son Himself says of the Father: "If you forgive the sins of men, your Father will also forgive your sins." To whom we also say in the Lord's Prayer: "Our Father, who art in heaven," and among other things we ask this saying: "Forgive us our debts." Concerning Himself, however, He says: "That you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." "If therefore," you say, "both the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit forgive sins, why is that unrepentance which is never forgiven said to pertain only to blasphemy against the Spirit, as if he who is bound by this sin of unrepentance seems to resist the gift of the Holy Spirit, which by that gift the remission of sins is granted?" Where I also ask whether Christ cast out demons, or also the Father and the Holy Spirit. For if only Christ, what is it that He says: "The Father who dwells in me, He does the works"? For it is said: "He does the works," as if the Son does not do, but the Father dwelling in the Son. Why therefore does He say in another place: "My Father works until now, and I work"? And shortly after: "For whatever things He does, these the Son likewise does"? But what He says in another place: "If I had not done among them the works which no other man has done," He says it as if He alone does them. But if these things are said in such a way that nevertheless the works of the Father and the Son are inseparable, what is to be believed about the Holy Spirit except that He also works equally? For in that very place whence this question we are discussing has arisen, when the Son was casting out demons, He nevertheless says: "If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you."
The power and operation of the Trinity are indivisible.
Here perhaps someone may say, that the Holy Spirit is given rather by the Father or the Son than by His own will to do anything; and that it pertains to what is said: I cast out demons in the Holy Spirit, that it is not the Spirit Himself but Christ who did it by the Spirit; so that it may be understood in this way what is said: I cast out demons in the Holy Spirit., As if it were said: "By the Holy Spirit I cast out." Indeed, the Scriptures are accustomed to speak this way: "They killed with the sword," that is, "by the sword." "They burned with fire," that is, "by fire"; and "Jesus took stone knives, with which to circumcise the sons of Israel," that is: "with which to circumcise the sons of Israel." But those who for this reason take away the proper power of the Holy Spirit should observe what is read as said by the Lord: "The Spirit breathes where he wills." However, when the Apostle says: "But all these things are wrought by one and the same Spirit," it must be feared lest anyone thinks that the Father and the Son do not work these, when he mentions gifts of healings and workings of powers in these works, where the expulsion of demons also surely is. But when he adds and says: "distributing to each one individually as he wills," does he not also manifest the power of the Holy Spirit, but clearly undivided from the Father and the Son? If, therefore, these things are so stated, so that the operation of the Trinity is understood as inseparable; so that, when the operation of the Father is spoken of, it is not understood to work without the Son and the Holy Spirit; and when the operation of the Son, not without the Father and the Holy Spirit; and when the operation of the Holy Spirit, not without the Father and the Son; it is well known to those rightly believing, or even as they can understanding, that it was said concerning the Father: "He does the works," because from Him is the origin of the works, from whom is the existence of the cooperating Persons (because the Son is born of Him, and the Holy Spirit principally proceeds from Him from whom the Son is born and with whom that same Spirit is common), and what the Lord says: "If I had not done among them the works which no one else did," it is not referred to the Father or Spirit, that they did not cooperate in those works, but to humans, by whom many miracles are read to be done, and yet none did what the Son did; and what the Apostle says of the Holy Spirit: "But all these things are worked by one and the same Spirit," it is not said because the Father and Son do not cooperate with Him, but because in these works they are not many but one Spirit, and in His various operations He is not different from Himself.
The unity of the Persons, who act commonly and equally, is substantial.
And yet it is said not in vain, but reasonably and truthfully that the Father said, not the Son or the Holy Spirit: "You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased"; but although this miracle of the audible voice from heaven pertains only to the person of the Father, we do not deny that the Son and the Holy Spirit cooperated in it. For neither because the Son, bearing flesh, was conversing with men on earth at that time, was He not also in the bosom of the Father as the only-begotten Word, when that voice came from the cloud; nor can it be wisely and spiritually believed that God the Father separated the operation of His audible and transient words from the cooperation of His Wisdom and His Spirit. Similarly, when we most rightly say that neither the Father nor the Holy Spirit, but the Son walked on the sea, as it was the flesh of that one and the feet resting on the waves; yet who would deny that in that work of such a great miracle the Father and the Holy Spirit cooperated? For thus we most truly say that the Son alone assumed that flesh, not the Father or the Holy Spirit; and yet anyone who denies that the Father or the Holy Spirit cooperated in this incarnation, which pertains to the Son alone, does not think rightly. Likewise, we say that neither the Father nor the Son, but the Holy Spirit alone appeared both in the form of a dove and in tongues as of fire and gave those in whom He came the ability to proclaim the mighty works of God in many and various languages; from which miracle, pertaining to the Holy Spirit alone, we cannot separate the cooperation of the Father and the only-begotten Word. Thus, the works of each individual in the Trinity are operated by the Trinity, with the two cooperating with the one working, in agreement in action among the three, not lacking in effectiveness in one. And because these things are thus, it is for this reason that the Lord Jesus casts out demons in the Holy Spirit. For neither could He alone fulfill this, nor did He assume that assistance as if it were insufficient for this work; but a spirit divided against itself is fittingly expelled by that Spirit which the Father and the Son have in common, not divided against themselves.
Outside the Church, sins are not forgiven.
Thus, sins are not forgiven outside the Church; they must be forgiven in that Spirit by whom the Church is gathered into one. Finally, if someone outside the Church regrets their sins yet remains unrepentant for the great sin of being alienated from the Church of God, what does such repentance benefit them? They speak a word against the Holy Spirit merely by being separated from the Church that has received the gift so that forgiveness of sins can occur within it in the Holy Spirit. Although the Trinity enacts this forgiveness, it is especially understood to pertain to the Holy Spirit. He is the Spirit of the adoption of sons, in whom we cry, "Abba, Father," enabling us to say, "Forgive us our debts." And: "By this we know," says the Apostle John, "that Christ abides in us, by the Spirit he has given us." The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. It is to him that the society pertains which makes us into the one body of the only Son of God. Therefore, it is written: "If there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit..." Because of this society, those into whom he first came spoke in the tongues of all nations. For it is through tongues that the fellowship of the human race is established; thus it was necessary for this society of the sons of God and members of Christ to be signified through the tongues of all nations. So, as it was evident then that one had received the Holy Spirit by speaking in the tongues of all nations, so now one recognizes that they have received the Holy Spirit by being held in the bond of peace of the Church, which is spread across all nations. Hence, the Apostle says: "Eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of both the Father and the Son.
But that He Himself is the Spirit of the Father, the Son Himself says: He proceeds from the Father, and in another place: For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. But that He Himself is also the Spirit of the Son, the Apostle says: God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying: Abba, Father, that is, "causing to cry." For we cry out, but in Him, that is, He who pours out love into our hearts, without which anyone who cries out cries in vain. Hence he also says: But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. To whom, then, in the Trinity would the communion of this fellowship properly belong, if not to that Spirit who is common to the Father and the Son?
Outside the Church there is no Holy Spirit.
This Spirit, which those do not have who are separated from the Church, the apostle Judas very clearly declared, saying: "These are they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit." Hence, also, the apostle Paul, reproving those who in the Church were attempting certain schisms under the names of men, although constituted in its unity, among other things says: "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness unto him, and he cannot know them, because they are spiritually discerned." He shows what he meant by "receiveth not," that is, "he does not comprehend the word of knowledge." He calls those in the Church who are still infants, not yet spiritual, but carnal, and to be fed with milk, not with solid food. As to infants, he says, in Christ, "I have fed you with milk, not with meat; for ye were not able, neither yet now are ye able." Where it says "not yet" or "not as yet," there certainly is no despair, if the direction is that what is not yet may someday be. For he says, "ye are yet carnal." And showing whence they are carnal: "For whereas there is among you envying and strife, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?" And more plainly exposing this: "For when one says, 'I am of Paul,' and another, 'I am of Apollos,' are ye not carnal?" What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? "Ministers by whom ye believed." These, therefore, that is, Paul and Apollos, were united in the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace: yet because these people began to divide them among themselves and to be puffed up for one against another, they are called men, and carnal, and natural, not being able to receive the things of the Spirit of God; and yet, because they are not separated from the Church, they are called infants in Christ; whom certainly he desired to become angels or gods, though he reproved them for being men, that is, in these contentions savoring not the things of God but the things of men. But of those who are separated from the Church, it is not said: "They do not receive the things of the Spirit," lest it should be referred to the perception of knowledge; but it is said, "not having the Spirit." Yet it does not follow that he who has the Spirit also comprehends by knowledge what he possesses.
Little ones in Christ, having the Spirit, do not yet perceive the things of the Spirit.
Therefore, those who are children in Christ, still natural and carnal, have this Spirit in the Church, though they are unable to comprehend what they have, that is, to understand and know it. For how could they be children in Christ unless they were reborn from the Holy Spirit? And it should not seem strange that someone has something and does not know what they have. For, to say nothing of the divinity of the Almighty and the unity of the immutable Trinity, who can easily grasp what the soul is with knowledge? And who does not have a soul? Finally, to know with absolute certainty that children in Christ, not comprehending the things of the Spirit of God, still have the Spirit of God; let us look a little later at how he scolds them, saying: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” Surely he would not say this to those segregated from the Church, who are said to not have the Spirit.
False Catholics, heretics, and schismatics do not have the Holy Spirit.
But neither can it be said that he is in the Church or pertains to this society of the Spirit who, with a feigned heart, mingles with the sheep of Christ only by bodily mixture. For the Holy Spirit of discipline will flee from the feigned. Therefore, whoever is baptized in schismatic or heretical gatherings, or rather segregations, although they are not reborn of the Spirit, like Ishmael, who was born according to the flesh of Abraham, not like Isaac, who was according to the Spirit, because of the promise, nevertheless, when they come to the Catholic Church and are added to the society of the Spirit, which they undoubtedly did not have outside, the washing of the flesh is not repeated for them. For even outside they did not lack this form of piety, but what is added to them, which cannot be given unless within, is the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. For such were they before they were Catholics, of whom the Apostle says: Having a form of godliness, but denying its power. For indeed, the visible form of a branch can be, even outside the vine; but the invisible life cannot have roots unless in the vine. Thus, the bodily sacraments, which are carried and celebrated even by those separated from the unity of the body of Christ, can exhibit the form of piety; but the invisible and spiritual power of piety cannot be in them, just as sensation does not follow a member of a man when it is severed from the body.
The remission of sins does not occur outside the Church.
Since these things are so, the forgiveness of sins—since it is not given except in the Holy Spirit—can only be given in that Church which has the Holy Spirit. For this is done by the forgiveness of sins, so that the prince of sin, the spirit who is divided against himself, does not reign in us; so that, having been rescued from the power of the unclean spirit, we may henceforth be made a temple of the Holy Spirit; and from Him by whom we are cleansed by accepting indulgence, we receive Him as the inhabitant to create, increase, and perfect righteousness. For even at His first coming, when those who had received Him spoke in the tongues of all nations, and the apostle Peter addressed those who were astonished and pricked in the heart, they said to Peter and the Apostles: "What then shall we do, brothers? Show us." And Peter said to them: "Repent, and each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Certainly, in the Church, both things were done, that is, the remission of sins and the reception of this gift, in which the Holy Spirit was. But they did this in the name of Jesus Christ, because when He was promising the same Holy Spirit, He said: "Whom the Father will send in My name." For the Holy Spirit does not dwell in anyone without the Father and the Son, just as neither the Son without the Father and the Holy Spirit, nor the Father without them. Indeed, Their habitation is inseparable, as is Their operation; but often, They are shown individually through the signs of creation, not through Their substance; just as the spacings of time occupy syllables pronounced separately by voice, yet are not separated by any intervals and moments of time. For They can never be said together, since They can only always be together. But, as we have often said, the remission of sins, by which the divided spirit is overthrown and the kingdom is expelled, and the unity of the Church of God, outside of which there is no remission of sins, is, as it were, the proper work of the Holy Spirit, with the Father and the Son certainly cooperating, because the Holy Spirit Himself is, in a certain way, the association of the Father and the Son. For the Father is not commonly considered Father by the Son and the Holy Spirit, because He is not the Father of both; and the Son is not commonly considered Son by the Father and the Holy Spirit, because He is not the Son of both; but the Holy Spirit is commonly considered by the Father and the Son, because He is the Spirit of both.
It is suggested from Luke that impenitence is to be understood by the name of unforgivable blasphemy.
Therefore, whoever is guilty of impenitence against the Spirit, in which the unity and society of the church's communion are gathered, will never be forgiven; because he has closed himself off from what forgives; and he will deservedly be condemned with the spirit that is divided against itself, and he is also divided against the Holy Spirit who is not divided against Himself. The very testimonies of the gospel warn us of this, if we scrutinize them carefully. For according to Luke, the Lord does not say this where He responded to those who said that He casts out demons by the prince of demons, that it will not be forgiven to the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit. Hence it is clear, that this was not said only once by the Lord. But also it should not be negligently overlooked where it was said. For He was speaking of those who confessed Him or denied Him before men, where He said: But I say to you, Whoever confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God; but whoever denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God. And so that the salvation of the apostle Peter, who denied Him three times before men, might not be despaired of, He immediately added: And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. This is, indeed, the blasphemy of the impenitent heart, which resists the forgiveness of sins, which happens in the Church through the Holy Spirit. Peter did not have this blasphemy, whom soon repented when he wept bitterly, and, having overcome the spirit which was divided against itself, and which had asked for him to be tormented, against which the Lord prayed for him, so that his faith would not fail, he received even the Holy Spirit, to whom he did not resist, so that not only his sin would be forgiven, but through him, the forgiveness of sins would be preached and given.
From the other two Evangelists, the same is implied.
Among the other two Evangelists, the cause for the statement about the blasphemy of the Spirit being made was the mention of the unclean spirit which is divided against itself. For it had been said about the Lord that He cast out demons by the prince of demons; there the Lord said that He casts out demons by the Holy Spirit, so that the Spirit, who is not divided against Himself, may overcome and cast out the one who is divided against himself; but that man remains in his perdition, who refuses to pass into the peace of Him who is not divided against Himself through unrepentance. For Mark narrates it thus: "Verily I say unto you, all sins shall be forgiven unto men and blasphemies whatsoever they shall blaspheme; but he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation." After these words of the Lord, he then added, saying: "Because they said he hath an unclean spirit," to show that this was the cause for His statement, since they had said He cast out demons by Beelzebub, the prince of the demons. Not that there is a blasphemy that is not forgiven, since even this shall be forgiven if proper repentance follows; but that, as I said, the cause was the mention of the unclean spirit, which the Lord showed to be divided against itself, because of the Holy Spirit, who is not only not divided against Himself but also makes those indivisible whom He gathers, forgiving sins that are divided against themselves and dwelling in the cleansed; so that it may be, as it is written in the Acts of the Apostles, "the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul." This gift of forgiveness is resisted only by one who has the hardness of an unrepentant heart. For in another passage the Jews also said about the Lord that He had a demon; yet there He said nothing about the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit: because they did not so object to an unclean spirit, that could be shown to be divided against itself from their speech, as Beelzebub by whom they said He was casting out demons.
To resist the unity of the Church with an impenitent heart is an unforgivable blasphemy.
In this particular reading according to Matthew, the Lord revealed much more clearly what he wished to be understood here; that is, that he who speaks a word against the Holy Spirit resists the unity of the Church with an unrepentant heart, wherein the forgiveness of sins is performed by the Holy Spirit. For, as has already been said, those who, although carrying and handling the sacraments of Christ, are separated from his congregation, do not have this Spirit. For where he spoke about the division of Satan against Satan, and that he himself cast out demons in the Holy Spirit, certainly in the Spirit who is not against himself, as he is divided; there immediately, lest anyone might think, through those who under the name of Christ gather conventicles outside of his flock, that even the kingdom of Christ is divided against itself: He said, "He who is not with me is against me; and he who does not gather with me, scatters"; to show that those who prefer to gather outside, do not gather but scatter. Then he added: "Therefore I say to you: Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven to men; but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven." What is this? Therefore, is the blasphemy against the Spirit unforgivable because he who is not with Christ is against him; and he who does not gather with him, scatters? Indeed, truly. For he who does not gather with him, however he may gather under his name, does not have the Holy Spirit.
Congregations outside the Church do not have the Holy Spirit by which sins are forgiven.
Here absolutely, here we are compelled to understand that the remission of all sins and all blasphemy can only be possible in the congregation of Christ, which does not scatter. For it is gathered in the Holy Spirit, who is not divided against himself, unlike that unclean spirit. And therefore, all congregations, or rather dispersions, which call themselves churches of Christ, and are divided among themselves and contrary to each other, and hostile to the gathering in unity which is the true Church of Christ, do not pertain to his congregation just because they seem to bear its name. However, they would pertain if the Holy Spirit, in whom this congregation is united, were divided against himself. But since this is not so (for whoever is not with Christ is against him; and whoever does not gather with him, scatters), therefore every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven to men in this congregation, which Christ gathers in the Holy Spirit and not divided against himself; however, the blasphemy against the Spirit, which consists in resisting this great gift of God with an unrepentant heart until the end of this life, will not be forgiven. For if anyone is so opposed to the truth that he resists God speaking not through the Prophets but in his only Son (since for our sake he willed to be the Son of Man to speak to us in him), it will be forgiven him when he repents and turns to the kindness of God, who, since he wills not the death of the wicked as much as their return and life, gave the Holy Spirit to his Church, so that to whomever it forgives sins in him, they are forgiven. But whoever is an enemy of this gift, so as not to seek it through repentance but to resist it through impenitence, makes unforgivable not any sin, but the very remission of sins being despised or even opposed. Thus it is said to speak against the Holy Spirit when one never comes from dispersion to the congregation which has received the Holy Spirit for the remission of sins. Even if someone comes to this congregation through an evil but nonetheless catholic minister, reproachable and fictitious, with a sincere heart, he receives the remission of sins in the Holy Spirit. This Spirit operates in the holy Church even at this time when it is being threshed like a threshing floor with chaff, in such a way that he does not despise anyone’s true confession, nor is he deceived by anyone’s dissimulation; and thus he shuns the reprobates but also gathers the upright through their ministry. Therefore, the only refuge to avoid irremissible blasphemy is to beware of an unrepentant heart; nor should repentance be believed to avail otherwise than by holding to the Church where the remission of sins is given and the fellowship of the Spirit is preserved in the bond of peace.
Conclusion.
As best I could, I have addressed a most difficult question, if at all I could, with the Lord having mercy and aiding me. Whatever, however, in its difficulty I have not been able to grasp, let it not be imputed to the truth itself, which beneficially challenges the devout even when it is hidden, but to my weakness, for I have been unable either to perceive what should be understood or to explain what has been understood. However, regarding those things that we perhaps have been able to investigate by thinking and to resolve by speaking, thanks are to be given to Him from whom we sought, from whom we asked, to whom we knocked, so that we might have from where we might be nourished by meditating, and supply to you by speaking.