And from the visible creation we clearly see that His invisible things too, 'being perceived through the things that are made,' are not independent of one another; for it was not first one and then another, but all were established at once according to their kind. For the Apostle did not count them individually, so as to say 'whether Angel, or Throne, or Dominion, or Authority,' but he mentions all together according to their kind, 'whether Angels, or Archangels, or Principalities'; for this is how the creatures originate. If, then, as I have said, the Word were a creature, He must have been brought into being not first of them, but with all the other Powers, however much He surpasses the rest in glory. For this is how we find it to be in their case: they came to be at once, with neither first nor second, and they differ from one another in glory, some on the right of the throne, some all around, and some on the left, but all alike praising and standing in service before the Lord. Therefore, if the Word were a creature, He would not be first or the beginning of the rest; yet if He is before all, as indeed He is, and is Himself alone First and Son, it does not follow that He is the beginning of all things as to His Essence, for what is the beginning of all is counted among all. And if He is not such a beginning, then neither is He a creature; it is very plain that He differs in essence and nature from the creatures and is other than they, and is the Likeness and Image of the sole and true God, being sole Himself too. So He is not classed with creatures in Scripture; rather, David rebukes those who dare even to think of Him as such, saying, 'Who among the gods is like the Lord?' and 'Who is like the Lord among the sons of God?' and Baruch, 'This is our God, and no other shall be compared with Him.'⁠a For the One creates, and the rest are created; and the One is the very Word and Wisdom of the Father's Essence, and through this Word the things that came to be, which did not exist before, were made.