42. For the Lord had said in the gospels,
Work not for the meat which perisheth, but for the meat which
abideth unto life eternal, which the Son of Man shall give unto
you: for Him the Father, even God, hath sealed. They said
therefore unto Him, What must we do that we may work the works of
God? And He said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye
believe on Him Whom He hath sent St. John vi. 27–29.. In
setting forth the mystery of His Incarnation and His Godhead our Lord
has also uttered the teaching of our faith and hope that we
should work for food, not that
which perisheth but that which abideth for ever; that we should
remember that this food of eternity is given us by the Son of Man; that
we should know the Son of Man as sealed by God the Father; that we
should know that this is the work of God, even faith in Him Whom He has
sent. And Who is it Whom the Father has sent? Even He Whom
the Father has sealed. And Who is He Whom the Father has
sealed? In truth, the Son of Man, even He who gives the food of
eternal life. And further who are they to whom He gives it?
They who shall work for the food that does not perish. Thus,
then, the work for this food is at the same time the work of God,
namely, to believe on Him Whom He has sent. But these words are
uttered by the Son of Man. And how shall the Son of Man give the
food of life eternal? Why, he knows not the mystery of his own
salvation, who knows not that the Son of Man, bestowing food unto life
eternal, has been sealed by God the Father. At this point I now
ask in what sense are we to understand that the Son of Man has been
sealed by God the Father?