them, that of the Son of God, which John made known, saying, “Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world. This is He of whom I said, After me cometh a man who was made before me;760 because He was prior to me: and of His fulness have all we received.”761 This, therefore, was the knowledge of salvation; but [it did not consist in] an- other God, nor another Father, nor Bythus, nor the Pleroma of thirty Æons, nor the Mother of the (lower) Ogdoad: but the knowledge of salvation was the knowledge of the Son of God, who is both called and actually is, salvation, and Saviour, and salutary. Salvation, indeed, as follows: “I have waited for Thy salvation, O Lord.”762 And then again, Saviour: “Behold my God, my Saviour, I will put my trust in Him.”763 But as bringing salvation, thus: “God hath made known His salvation (salutare) in the sight of the heathen.”764 For He is indeed Saviour, as being the Son and Word of God; but salutary, since [He is] Spirit; for he says: “The Spirit of our countenance, Christ the Lord.”765 But salvation, as being flesh: for “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.”766 This knowledge of salvation, therefore, John did impart to those repenting, and believing in the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world. 425 3. And the angel of the Lord, he says, appeared to the shepherds, proclaiming joy to them: “For767 there is born in the house of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. Then [appeared] a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, Glory in the highest to God, and on earth peace, to men of good will.”768 The falsely-called Gnostics say that these angels came from the Ogdoad, and made manifest the descent of the superior Christ. But they are again in error, when saying that the Christ and Saviour from above was not born, but that also, after the baptism of the dispensational Jesus, he, [the Christ of the Pler- 760 Harvey observes that the Syriac, agreeing with the Latin here, expresses priority in point of time; but our translation, without reason, makes it the precedence of honour, viz., was preferred before me. The Greek is, πρῶτός μου. 761 John i. 29, John i. 15, 16. 762 Gen. xlix. 18. 763 Isa. xii. 2. 764 Ps. xcviii. 2. 765 Lam. iv. 20, after LXX. 766 John i. 14. 767 Luke ii. 11, etc. 768 Thus found also in the Vulgate. Harvey supposes that the original of Irenæus read according to our textus receptus, and that the Vulgate rendering was adopted in this passage by the transcribers of the Latin version of our author. [No doubt a just remark.] There can be no doubt, however, that the reading εὐδοκίας is supported by many and weighty ancient authorities. [But on this point see the facts as given by Burgon, in his refutation of the rendering adopted by late revisers, Revision Revised, p. 41. London, Murray, 1883.] 1081 Chapter X.—Proofs of the foregoing, drawn from the Gospels of Mark and …