Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God:
All Commentaries on Luke 12:8 Go To Luke 12
Cyril of Alexandria
AD 444
He has taught us that blasphemy is the most wicked crime for people to commit. He said that whoever speaks a word against the Son of man will be forgiven, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. In what way is this to be understood? If the Savior means that if any one of us uses any scornful word toward some mere man, he will receive forgiveness if he repents, the matter is free from all difficulty. Since God is by nature good, he will free from blame all those who repent. If the declaration has reference to Christ, the Savior of all, how can he who has spoken against him be innocent or secure from condemnation? Some one who has not learned the meaning of his mystery or understood that being by nature God he humbled himself to our estate and became man may say something blasphemous to a certain extent against him. If this is not so wicked as to pass forgiveness, God will pardon those who have sinned from ignorance….On another hand, condemnation and the eternal punishment both in this world and in that which is to come is inevitable for those who have blasphemed the Godhead itself. By “the Spirit,” he means not only the Holy Spirit but also the whole nature of the Godhead, as understood [to consist] in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Savior also somewhere said, “God is a Spirit.” Blasphemy against the Spirit is against the whole supreme substance. The nature of the Deity, as offered for our understanding in the holy and adorable Trinity, is one. Commentary on Luke, Homily
