Spirit Who Sanctifies

Moreover, I will also tell you concerning the temple, how the wretched [ Jews ], wandering in error , trusted not in God Himself, but in the temple, as being the house of God . For almost after the manner of the Gentiles they worshipped Him in the temple. But learn how the Lord speaks, when abolishing it: Who has meted out heaven with a span, and the earth with his palm? Have not I? Isaiah 40:12 Thus says the Lord, Heaven is My throne, and the earth My footstool: what kind of house will you build to Me, or what is the place of My rest? Isaiah 66:1 You perceive that their hope is vain. Moreover, He again says, Behold, they who have cast down this temple, even they shall build it up again. It has so happened. For through their going to war , it was destroyed by their enemies; and now: they, as the servants of their enemies, shall rebuild it.

Again, it was revealed that the city and the temple and the people of Israel were to be given up. For the Scripture says, And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the Lord will deliver up the sheep of His pasture, and their sheep-fold and tower, to destruction. And it so happened as the Lord had spoken. Let us inquire, then, if there still is a temple of God . There is — where He himself declared He would make and finish it. For it is written, And it shall come to pass, when the week is completed, the temple of God shall be built in glory in the name of the Lord. Daniel 9:24-27 ; Haggai 2:10 I find, therefore, that a temple does exist. Learn, then, how it shall be built in the name of the Lord. Before we believed in God , the habitation of our heart was corrupt and weak, as being indeed like a temple made with hands.

For it was full of idolatry , and was a habitation of demons , through our doing such things as were opposed to [the will of] God. But it shall be built, you observe, in the name of the Lord, in order that the temple of the Lord may be built in glory . How? Learn [as follows]. Having received the forgiveness of sins , and placed our trust in the name of the Lord, we have become new creatures, formed again from the beginning. Wherefore in our habitation God truly dwells in us. How? His word of faith ; His calling of promise; the wisdom of the statutes; the commands of the doctrine; He himself prophesying in us; He himself dwelling in us; opening to us who were enslaved by death the doors of the temple, that is, the mouth; and by giving us repentance introduced us into the incorruptible temple.

He then, who wishes to be saved, looks not to man , but to Him who dwells in him, and speaks in him, amazed at never having either heard him utter such words with his mouth, nor himself having ever desired to hear them. This is the spiritual temple built for the Lord.

Nevertheless, I have heard of some who have passed on from this to you, having false doctrine , whom you did not allow to sow among you, but stopped your ears, that you might not receive those things which were sown by them, as being stones 1 Peter 2:5 of the temple of the Father, prepared for the building of God the Father, and drawn up on high by the instrument of Jesus Christ , which is the cross , John 12:32 making use of the Holy Spirit as a rope, while your faith was the means by which you ascended, and your love the way which led up to God .

You, therefore, as well as all your fellow-travellers, are God-bearers, temple-bearers, Christ-bearers, bearers of holiness , adorned in all respects with the commandments of Jesus Christ , in whom also I exult that I have been thought worthy, by means of this Epistle, to converse and rejoice with you, because with respect to your Christian life you love nothing but God only.

Of Grief, and Not Grieving the Spirit of God Which is in Us. Chapter 1 Remove from you, says he, grief; for she is the sister of doubt and anger . How, sir, say I, is she the sister of these? For anger , doubt , and grief seem to be quite different from each other. You are senseless, O man. Do you not perceive that grief is more wicked than all the spirits, and most terrible to the servants of God , and more than all other spirits destroys man and crushes out the Holy Spirit , and yet, on the other hand, she saves him? I am senseless, sir, say I, and do not understand these parables . For how she can crush out, and on the other hand save, I do not perceive. Listen, says he.

Those who have never searched for the truth , nor investigated the nature of the Divinity, but have simply believed , when they devote themselves to and become mixed up with business, and wealth , and heathen friendships, and many other actions of this world, do not perceive the parables of Divinity; for their minds are darkened by these actions, and they are corrupted and become dried up. Even as beautiful vines, when they are neglected, are withered up by thorns and various plants, so men who have believed , and have afterwards fallen away into many of those actions above mentioned, go astray in their minds, and lose all understanding in regard to righteousness; for if they hear of righteousness, their minds are occupied with their business, and they give no heed at all.

Those, on the other hand, who have the fear of God , and search after Godhead and truth , and have their hearts turned to the Lord, quickly perceive and understand what is said to them, because they have the fear of the Lord in them. For where the Lord dwells, there is much understanding. Cleave, then, to the Lord, and you will understand and perceive all things. Chapter 2 Hear, then, says he, foolish man, how grief crushes out the Holy Spirit , and on the other hand saves. When the doubting man attempts any deed, and fails in it on account of his doubt , this grief enters into the man, and grieves the Holy Spirit , and crushes him out.

Then, on the other hand, when anger attaches itself to a man in regard to any matter, and he is embittered, then grief enters into the heart of the man who was irritated, and he is grieved at the deed which he did, and repents that he has wrought a wicked deed. This grief, then, appears to be accompanied by salvation , because the man, after having done a wicked deed, repented. Both actions grieve the Spirit: doubt , because it did not accomplish its object; and anger grieves the Spirit , because it did what was wicked . Both these are grievous to the Holy Spirit — doubt and anger . Wherefore remove grief from you, and crush not the Holy Spirit which dwells in you, lest he entreat God against you, and he withdraw from you. For the Spirit of God which has been granted to us to dwell in this body does not endure grief nor straitness.

The Spirit and Prophets to Be Tried by Their Works; Also of the Two Kinds of Spirit. He pointed out to me some men sitting on a seat, and one man sitting on a chair. And he says to me, Do you see the persons sitting on the seat? I do, sir, said I. These, says he, are the faithful , and he who sits on the chair is a false prophet , ruining the minds of the servants of God . It is the doubters, not the faithful , that he ruins. These doubters then go to him as to a soothsayer, and inquire of him what will happen to them; and he, the false prophet , not having the power of a Divine Spirit in him, answers them according to their inquiries, and according to their wicked desires, and fills their souls with expectations, according to their own wishes.

For being himself empty, he gives empty answers to empty inquirers; for every answer is made to the emptiness of man. Some true words he does occasionally utter; for the devil fills him with his own spirit, in the hope that he may be able to overcome some of the righteous. As many, then, as are strong in the faith of the Lord, and are clothed with truth , have no connection with such spirits, but keep away from them; but as many as are of doubtful minds and frequently repent, betake themselves to soothsaying, even as the heathen , and bring greater sin upon themselves by their idolatry . For he who inquires of a false prophet in regard to any action is an idolater, and devoid of the truth , and foolish.

For no spirit given by God requires to be asked; but such a spirit having the power of Divinity speaks all things of itself, for it proceeds from above from the power of the Divine Spirit. But the spirit which is asked and speaks according to the desires of men is earthly, light, and powerless, and it is altogether silent if it is not questioned. How then, sir, say I, will a man know which of them is the prophet , and which the false prophet ? I will tell you, says he, about both the prophets , and then you can try the true and the false prophet according to my directions. Try the man who has the Divine Spirit by his life.

First, he who has the Divine Spirit proceeding from above is meek, and peaceable, and humble , and refrains from all iniquity and the vain desire of this world, and himself with fewer wants than those of other men, and when asked he makes no reply; nor does he speak privately, nor when man wishes the spirit to speak does the Holy Spirit speak, but it speaks only when God wishes it to speak. When, then, a man having the Divine Spirit comes into an assembly of righteous men who have faith in the Divine Spirit, and this assembly of men offers up prayer to God , then the angel of the prophetic Spirit, who is destined for him, fills the man; and the man being filled with the Holy Spirit , speaks to the multitude as the Lord wishes. Thus, then, will the Spirit of Divinity become manifest.

Of Sadness of Heart, and of Patience. Chapter 1 Be patient, said he, and of good understanding, and you will rule over every wicked work, and you will work all righteousness. For if you be patient, the Holy Spirit that dwells in you will be pure. He will not be darkened by any evil spirit, but, dwelling in a broad region, he will rejoice and be glad; and with the vessel in which he dwells he will serve God in gladness , having great peace within himself. But if any outburst of anger take place, immediately the Holy Spirit , who is tender, is straitened, not having a pure place, and He seeks to depart. For he is choked by the vile spirit, and cannot attend on the Lord as he wishes, for anger pollutes him. For the Lord dwells in long-suffering, but the devil in anger .

The two spirits, then, when dwelling in the same habitation, are at discord with each other, and are troublesome to that man in whom they dwell. For if an exceedingly small piece of wormwood be taken and put into a jar of honey, is not the honey entirely destroyed, and does not the exceedingly small piece of wormwood entirely take away the sweetness of the honey, so that it no longer affords any gratification to its owner, but has become bitter, and lost its use? But if the wormwood be not put into the honey, then the honey remains sweet, and is of use to its owner. You see, then, that patience is sweeter than honey, and useful to God , and the Lord dwells in it. But anger is bitter and useless. Now, if anger be mingled with patience, the patience is polluted, and its prayer is not then useful to God .

I should like, sir, said I, to know the power of anger , that I may guard myself against it. And he said, If you do not guard yourself against it, you and your house lose all hope of salvation . Guard yourself, therefore, against it. For I am with you, and all will depart from it who repent with their whole heart. For I will be with them, and I will save them all. For all are justified by the most holy angel . Chapter 2 Hear now, said he, how wicked is the action of anger , and in what way it overthrows the servants of God by its action, and turns them from righteousness. But it does not turn away those who are full of faith , nor does it act on them, for the power of the Lord is with them. It is the thoughtless and doubting that it turns away.

For as soon as it sees such men standing steadfast, it throws itself into their hearts, and for nothing at all the man or woman becomes embittered on account of occurrences in their daily life, as for instance on account of their food, or some superfluous word that has been uttered, or on account of some friend, or some gift or debt, or some such senseless affair. For all these things are foolish and empty and unprofitable to the servants of God . But patience is great, and mighty, and strong, and calm in the midst of great enlargement, joyful, rejoicing, free from care, glorifying God at all times, having no bitterness in her, and abiding continually meek and quiet. Now this patience dwells with those who have complete faith . But anger is foolish, and fickle, and senseless.

Of True Fasting and Its Reward: Also of Purity of Body. Chapter 1 While fasting and sitting on a certain mountain, and giving thanks to the Lord for all His dealings with me, I see the Shepherd sitting down beside me, and saying, Why have you come hither [so] early in the morning? Because, sir, I answered, I have a station. What is a station? he asked. I am fasting , sir, I replied. What is this fasting , he continued, which you are observing? As I have been accustomed, sir, I reply, so I fast. You do not know , he says, how to fast unto the Lord: this useless fasting which you observe to Him is of no value. Why, sir, I answered, do you say this? I say to you, he continued, that the fasting which you think you observe is not a fasting . But I will teach you what is a full and acceptable fasting to the Lord .

Listen, he continued: God does not desire such an empty fasting . For fasting to God in this way you will do nothing for a righteous life; but offer to God a fasting of the following kind: Do no evil in your life, and serve the Lord with a pure heart: keep His commandments, walking in His precepts, and let no evil desire arise in your heart; and believe in God . If you do these things, and fear Him, and abstain from every evil thing, you will live unto God ; and if you do these things, you will keep a great fast, and one acceptable before God. Chapter 2 Hear the similitude which I am about to narrate to you relative to fasting .

A certain man had a field and many slaves, and he planted a certain part of the field with a vineyard, and selecting a faithful and beloved and much valued slave, he called him to him, and said, 'Take this vineyard which I have planted, and stake it until I come, and do nothing else to the vineyard; and attend to this order of mine, and you shall receive your freedom from me.' And the master of the slave departed to a foreign country. And when he had gone, the slave took and staked the vineyard; and when he had finished the staking of the vines, he saw that the vineyard was full of weeds.

He then reflected, saying, 'I have kept this order of my master: I will dig up the rest of this vineyard, and it will be more beautiful when dug up; and being free of weeds, it will yield more fruit, not being choked by them.' He took, therefore, and dug up the vineyard, and rooted out all the weeds that were in it. And that vineyard became very beautiful and fruitful, having no weeds to choke it. And after a certain time the master of the slave and of the field returned, and entered into the vineyard. And seeing that the vines were suitably supported on stakes, and the ground, moreover, dug up, and all the weeds rooted out, and the vines fruitful, he was greatly pleased with the work of his slave.

The Great Mysteries in the Building of the Militant and Triumphant Church. Chapter 1 After I had written down the commandments and similitudes of the Shepherd, the angel of repentance, he came to me and said, I wish to explain to you what the Holy Spirit that spoke with you in the form of the Church showed you, for that Spirit is the Son of God . For, as you were somewhat weak in the flesh, it was not explained to you by the angel . When, however, you were strengthened by the Spirit , and your strength was increased, so that you were able to see the angel also, then accordingly was the building of the tower shown you by the Church . In a noble and solemn manner did you see everything as if shown you by a virgin ; but now you see [them] through the same Spirit as if shown by an angel .

You must, however, learn everything from me with greater accuracy. For I was sent for this purpose by the glorious angel to dwell in your house, that you might see all things with power, entertaining no fear , even as it was before. And he led me away into Arcadia, to a round hill; and he placed me on the top of the hill, and showed me a large plain, and round about the plain twelve mountains, all having different forms. The first was black as soot; and the second bare, without grass; and the third full of thorns and thistles; and the fourth with grass half-withered, the upper parts of the plants green, and the parts about the roots withered; and some of the grasses, when the sun scorched them, became withered. And the fifth mountain had green grass, and was ragged.

And the sixth mountain was quite full of clefts, some small and others large; and the clefts were grassy, but the plants were not very vigorous, but rather, as it were, decayed. The seventh mountain, again, had cheerful pastures, and the whole mountain was blooming, and every kind of cattle and birds were feeding upon that mountain; and the more the cattle and the birds ate, the more the grass of that mountain flourished. And the eighth mountain was full of fountains, and every kind of the Lord's creatures drank of the fountains of that mountain. But the ninth mountain [had no water at all, and was wholly a desert, and had within it deadly serpents, which destroy men. And the tenth mountain ] had very large trees, and was completely shaded, and under the shadow of the trees sheep lay resting and ruminating.

And the eleventh mountain was very thickly wooded, and those trees were productive, being adorned with various sorts of fruits, so that any one seeing them would desire to eat of their fruits. The twelfth mountain, again, was wholly white, and its aspect was cheerful, and the mountain in itself was very beautiful. Chapter 2 And in the middle of the plain he showed me a large white rock that had arisen out of the plain. And the rock was more lofty than the mountains, rectangular in shape, so as to be capable of containing the whole world: and that rock was old, having a gate cut out of it; and the cutting out of the gate seemed to me as if recently done. And the gate glittered to such a degree under the sunbeams, that I marvelled at the splendour of the gate; and round about the gate were standing twelve virgins .

1. The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus - Christian Classics Ethereal Library Contents loading… ANF01. The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus Theme Font Aa Aa Text Size A A Bible Version Disable scripture popups King James Version American Standard Version World English Bible Show footnotes When clicked On the bottom On the side Reader Width Tags: « Prev Chapter VII.—Inasmuch as Christ did rise in our… Next » Chapter VII.—Inasmuch as Christ did rise in our flesh, it follows that we shall be also raised in the same; since the resurrection promised to us should not be referred to spirits naturally immortal, but to bodies in themselves mortal.

1. In the same manner, therefore, as Christ did rise in the substance of flesh, and pointed out to His disciples the mark of the nails and the opening in His side 4483 4483 John xx. 20, 25–27 . (now these are the tokens of that flesh which rose from the dead), so “shall He also,” it is said, “raise us up by His own power.” 4484 4484 1 Cor. vi. 14 . And again to the Romans he says, “But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies.” 4485 4485 Rom. viii. 11 . What, then, are mortal bodies? Can they be souls? Nay, for souls are incorporeal when put in comparison with mortal bodies; for God “breathed into the face of man the breath of life, and man became a living soul.” Now the breath of life is an incorporeal 533 thing. And certainly they cannot maintain that the very breath of life is mortal. Therefore David says, “My soul also shall live to Him,” 4486 4486 Ps. xxii. 31 , LXX. just as if its substance were immortal. Neither, on the other hand, can they say that the spirit is the mortal body. What therefore is there left to which we may apply the term “mortal body,” unless it be the thing that was moulded, that is, the flesh, of which it is also said that God will vivify it? For this it is which dies and is decomposed, but not the soul or the spirit. For to die is to lose vital power, and to become henceforth breathless, inanimate, and devoid of motion, and to melt away into th

2. But what is that which, like a grain of wheat, is sown in the earth and decays, unless it be the bodies which are laid in the earth, into which seeds are also cast? And for this reason he said, “It is sown in dishonour, it rises in glory.” 4489 4489 1 Cor. xv. 43 . For what is more ignoble than dead flesh? Or, on the other hand, what is more glorious than the same when it arises and partakes of incorruption? “It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power:” 4490 4490 1 Cor. xv. 43 . in its own weakness certainly, because since it is earth it goes to earth; but [it is quickened] by the power of God, who raises it from the dead. “It is sown an animal body, it rises a spiritual body.” 4491 4491 1 Cor. xv. 44 . He has taught, beyond all doubt, that such language was not used by him, either with reference to the soul or to the spirit, but to bodies that have become corpses. For these are animal bodies, that is, [bodies] which partake of life, which when they have lost, they succumb to death; then, rising through the Spirit’s instrumentality, they become spiritual bodies, so that by the Spirit they possess a perpetual life. “For now,” he says, “we know in part, and we prophesy in part, but then face to face.” 4492 4492 1 Cor. xiii. 9, 12 . And this it is which has been said also by Peter: “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom now also, not seeing, ye believe; and believing, ye shall rejoice with joy unspeakable.” 4493 4493 1 Pet. i. 8 . For our face shall see the face of the Lo

1. As regards His greatness, therefore, it is not possible to know God , for it is impossible that the Father can be measured; but as regards His love (for this it is which leads us to God by His Word), when we obey Him, we do always learn that there is so great a God , and that it is He who by Himself has established, and selected, and adorned, and contains all things; and among the all things, both ourselves and this our world. We also then were made, along with those things which are contained by Him. And this is He of whom the Scripture says, And God formed man, taking clay of the earth, and breathed into his face the breath of life. Genesis 2:7 It was not angels , therefore, who made us, nor who formed us, neither had angels power to make an image of God , nor any one else, except the Word of the Lord, nor any Power remotely distant from the Father of all things. For God did not stand in need of these [beings], in order to the accomplishing of what He had Himself determined with Himself beforehand should be done, as if He did not possess His own hands. For with Him were always present the Word and Wisdom, the Son and the Spirit , by whom and in whom, freely and spontaneously, He made all things, to whom also He speaks, saying, Let Us make man after Our image and likeness; Genesis 1:26 He taking from Himself the substance of the creatures [formed], and the pattern of things made, and the type of all the adornments in the world.

2. Truly, then, the Scripture declared, which says, First of all believe that there is one God , who has established all things, and completed them, and having caused that from what had no being, all things should come into existence : He who contains all things, and is Himself contained by no one. Rightly also has Malachi said among the prophets : Is it not one God who has established us? Have we not all one Father? Malachi 2:10 In accordance with this, too, does the apostle say, There is one God , the Father , who is above all, and in us all. Ephesians 4:6 Likewise does the Lord also say: All things are delivered to Me by My Father; Matthew 11:27 manifestly by Him who made all things; for He did not deliver to Him the things of another, but His own. But in all things [it is implied that] nothing has been kept back [from Him], and for this reason the same person is the Judge of the living and the dead; having the key of David: He shall open, and no man shall shut: He shall shut, and no man shall open. Revelation 3:7 For no one was able, either in heaven or in earth, or under the earth, to open the book of the Father , or to behold Him, with the exception of the Lamb who was slain, and who redeemed us with His own blood, receiving power over all things from the same God who made all things by the Word, and adorned them by [His] Wisdom, when the Word was made flesh ; that even as the Word of God had the sovereignty in the heavens, so also might He have the sovereignty in…

3. I have also largely demonstrated, that the Word, namely the Son , was always with the Father; and that Wisdom also, which is the Spirit , was present with Him, anterior to all creation, He declares by Solomon: God by Wisdom founded the earth, and by understanding has He established the heaven. By His knowledge the depths burst forth, and the clouds dropped down the dew. Proverbs 3:19-20 And again: The Lord created me the beginning of His ways in His work: He set me up from everlasting, in the beginning, before He made the earth, before He established the depths, and before the fountains of waters gushed forth; before the mountains were made strong, and before all the hills, He brought me forth. And again: When He prepared the heaven, I was with Him, and when He established the fountains of the deep; when He made the foundations of the earth strong, I was with Him preparing [them]. I was He in whom He rejoiced, and throughout all time I was daily glad before His face, when He rejoiced at the completion of the world, and was delighted in the sons of men. Proverbs 8:27-31

4. There is therefore one God , who by the Word and Wisdom created and arranged all things; but this is the Creator ( Demiurge ) who has granted this world to the human race , and who, as regards His greatness, is indeed unknown to all who have been made by Him (for no man has searched out His height, either among the ancients who have gone to their rest, or any of those who are now alive); but as regards His love , He is always known through Him by whose means He ordained all things. Now this is His Word, our Lord Jesus Christ , who in the last times was made a man among men , that He might join the end to the beginning, that is, man to God . Wherefore the prophets , receiving the prophetic gift from the same Word, announced His advent according to the flesh, by which the blending and communion of God and man took place according to the good pleasure of the Father , the Word of God foretelling from the beginning that God should be seen by men , and hold converse with them upon earth, should confer with them, and should be present with His own creation, saving it, and becoming capable of being perceived by it, and freeing us from the hands of all that hate us, that is, from every spirit of wickedness ; and causing us to serve Him in holiness and righteousness all our days, Luke 1:71, 75 in order that man, having embraced the Spirit of God , might pass into the glory of the Father.

1. A spiritual disciple of this sort truly receiving the Spirit of God , who was from the beginning, in all the dispensations of God , present with mankind , and announced things future, revealed things present, and narrated things past — [such a man] does indeed judge all men , but is himself judged by no man. For he judges the Gentiles , who serve the creature more than the Creator, Romans 1:21 and with a reprobate mind spend all their labour on vanity. And he also judges the Jews , who do not accept of the word of liberty, nor are willing to go forth free, although they have a Deliverer present [with them]; but they pretend, at a time unsuitable [for such conduct], to serve, [with observances] beyond [those required by] the law, God who stands in need of nothing, and do not recognise the advent of Christ , which He accomplished for the salvation of men , nor are willing to understand that all the prophets announced His two advents: the one, indeed, in which He became a man subject to stripes, and knowing what it is to bear infirmity, Isaiah 53:3 and sat upon the foal of an ass, Zechariah 9:9 and was a stone rejected by the builders, and was led as a sheep to the slaughter, Isaiah 53:7 and by the stretching forth of His hands destroyed Amalek; Exodus 17:11 while He gathered from the ends of the earth into His Father's fold the children who were scattered abroad, Isaiah 11:12 and remembered His own dead ones who had formerly fallen asleep, and came down to them that He…

2. Moreover, he shall also examine the doctrine of Marcion , [inquiring] how he holds that there are two gods, separated from each other by an infinite distance. Or how can he be good who draws away men that do not belong to him from him who made them, and calls them into his own kingdom? And why is his goodness, which does not save all [thus], defective? Also, why does he, indeed, seem to be good as respects men, but most unjust with regard to him who made men, inasmuch as he deprives him of his possessions? Moreover, how could the Lord, with any justice , if He belonged to another father, have acknowledged the bread to be His body, while He took it from that creation to which we belong, and affirmed the mixed cup to be His blood? And why did He acknowledge Himself to be the Son of man , if He had not gone through that birth which belongs to a human being? How, too, could He forgive us those sins for which we are answerable to our Maker and God? And how, again, supposing that He was not flesh, but was a man merely in appearance, could He have been crucified, and could blood and water have issued from His pierced side? John 19:34 What body, moreover, was it that those who buried Him consigned to the tomb? And what was that which rose again from the dead?

3. [This spiritual man] shall also judge all the followers of Valentinus , because they do indeed confess with the tongue one God the Father , and that all things derive their existence from Him, but do at the same time maintain that He who formed all things is the fruit of an apostasy or defect. [He shall judge them, too, because] they do in like manner confess with the tongue one Lord Jesus Christ , the Son of God , but assign in their [system of] doctrine a production of his own to the Only-begotten, one of his own also to the Word, another to Christ , and yet another to the Saviour; so that, according to them, all these beings are indeed said [in Scripture to be], as it were, one; [while they maintain], notwithstanding, that each one of them should be understood [to exist] separately [from the rest], and to have [had] his own special origin, according to his peculiar conjunction. [It appears], then that their tongues alone, forsooth, have conceded the unity [of God], while their [real] opinion and their understanding (by their habit of investigating profundities) have fallen away from [this doctrine of] unity, and taken up the notion of manifold deities — [this, I say, must appear] when they shall be examined by Christ as to the points [of doctrine] which they have invented. Him, too, they affirm to have been born at a later period than the Pleroma of the Æons , and that His production took place after [the occurrence of] a degeneracy or apostasy ; and they maintain…

4. He will judge also the Ebionites ; [for] how can they be saved unless it was God who wrought out their salvation upon earth? Or how shall man pass into God , unless God has [first] passed into man? And how shall he (man) escape from the generation subject to death, if not by means of a new generation, given in a wonderful and unexpected manner (but as a sign of salvation ) by God — [I mean] that regeneration which flows from the virgin through faith ? Or how shall they receive adoption from God if they remain in this [kind of] generation, which is naturally possessed by man in this world? And how could He (Christ) have been greater than Solomon, Matthew 12:41-42 or greater than Jonah, or have been the Lord of David, Matthew 22:43 who was of the same substance as they were? How, too, could He have subdued Matthew 22:29 ; Luke 11:21-22 him who was stronger than men, who had not only overcome man, but also retained him under his power, and conquered him who had conquered, while he set free mankind who had been conquered, unless He had been greater than man who had thus been vanquished? But who else is superior to, and more eminent than, that man who was formed after the likeness of God , except the Son of God , after whose image man was created? And for this reason He did in these last days exhibit the similitude; [for] the Son of God was made man, assuming the ancient production [of His hands] into His own nature, as I have shown in the immediately preceding book.

1. Now all these [ heretics ] are of much later date than the bishops to whom the apostles committed the Churches; which fact I have in the third book taken all pains to demonstrate. It follows, then, as a matter of course, that these heretics aforementioned, since they are blind to the truth , and deviate from the [right] way, will walk in various roads; and therefore the footsteps of their doctrine are scattered here and there without agreement or connection. But the path of those belonging to the Church circumscribes the whole world, as possessing the sure tradition from the apostles , and gives unto us to see that the faith of all is one and the same, since all receive one and the same God the Father , and believe in the same dispensation regarding the incarnation of the Son of God , and are cognizant of the same gift of the Spirit , and are conversant with the same commandments, and preserve the same form of ecclesiastical constitution, and expect the same advent of the Lord, and await the same salvation of the complete man, that is, of the soul and body. And undoubtedly the preaching of the Church is true and steadfast, in which one and the same way of salvation is shown throughout the whole world. For to her is entrusted the light of God ; and therefore the wisdom of God , by means of which she saves all men , is declared in [its] going forth; it utters [its voice] faithfully in the streets, is preached on the tops of the walls, and speaks continually in the gates of…

2. Those, therefore, who desert the preaching of the Church , call in question the knowledge of the holy presbyters , not taking into consideration of how much greater consequence is a religious man, even in a private station, than a blasphemous and impudent sophist. Now, such are all the heretics , and those who imagine that they have hit upon something more beyond the truth , so that by following those things already mentioned, proceeding on their way variously, inharmoniously, and foolishly, not keeping always to the same opinions with regard to the same things, as blind men are led by the blind, they shall deservedly fall into the ditch of ignorance lying in their path, ever seeking and never finding out the truth . 2 Timothy 3:7 It behooves us, therefore, to avoid their doctrines, and to take careful heed lest we suffer any injury from them; but to flee to the Church , and be brought up in her bosom, and be nourished with the Lord's Scriptures. For the Church has been planted as a garden ( paradisus ) in this world; therefore says the Spirit of God , You may freely eat from every tree of the garden, Genesis 2:16 that is, Eat from every Scripture of the Lord; but you shall not eat with an uplifted mind , nor touch any heretical discord. For these men do profess that they have themselves the knowledge of good and evil ; and they set their own impious minds above the God who made them. They therefore form opinions on what is beyond the limits of the understanding. For this…

1. Now God shall be glorified in His handiwork, fitting it so as to be conformable to, and modelled after, His own Son. For by the hands of the Father , that is, by the Son and the Holy Spirit , man, and not [merely] a part of man , was made in the likeness of God . Now the soul and the spirit are certainly a part of the man, but certainly not the man; for the perfect man consists in the commingling and the union of the soul receiving the spirit of the Father , and the admixture of that fleshly nature which was moulded after the image of God . For this reason does the apostle declare, We speak wisdom among them that are perfect, 1 Corinthians 2:6 terming those persons perfect who have received the Spirit of God , and who through the Spirit of God do speak in all languages, as he used Himself also to speak. In like manner we do also hear many brethren in the Church , who possess prophetic gifts , and who through the Spirit speak all kinds of languages, and bring to light for the general benefit the hidden things of men , and declare the mysteries of God , whom also the apostle terms spiritual, they being spiritual because they partake of the Spirit , and not because their flesh has been stripped off and taken away, and because they have become purely spiritual. For if any one take away the substance of flesh, that is, of the handiwork [of God], and understand that which is purely spiritual, such then would not be a spiritual man but would be the spirit of a man , or the…

2. Whence also he says, that this handiwork is the temple of God , thus declaring: Do you not know that you are the temple of God , and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man, therefore, will defile the temple of God , him will God destroy: for the temple of God is holy , which [temple] you are. 1 Corinthians 3:16 Here he manifestly declares the body to be the temple in which the Spirit dwells. As also the Lord speaks in reference to Himself, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. He spoke this, however, it is said, of the temple of His body. John 2:19-21 And not only does he (the apostle) acknowledge our bodies to be a temple, but even the temple of Christ , saying thus to the Corinthians, Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ , and make them the members of an harlot? 1 Corinthians 3:17 He speaks these things, not in reference to some other spiritual man; for a being of such a nature could have nothing to do with an harlot: but he declares our body, that is, the flesh which continues in sanctity and purity, to be the members of Christ; but that when it becomes one with an harlot, it becomes the members of an harlot. And for this reason he said, If any man defile the temple of God , him will God destroy. How then is it not the utmost blasphemy to allege, that the temple of God , in which the Spirit of the Father dwells, and the members of Christ , do not partake of salvation , but are…

1. But we do now receive a certain portion of His Spirit, tending towards perfection, and preparing us for incorruption, being little by little accustomed to receive and bear God ; which also the apostle terms an earnest, that is, a part of the honour which has been promised us by God , where he says in the Epistle to the Ephesians, In which you also, having heard the word of truth , the Gospel of your salvation , believing in which we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance. Ephesians 1:13 , etc. This earnest, therefore, thus dwelling in us, renders us spiritual even now, and the mortal is swallowed up by immortality . 2 Corinthians 5:4 For you, he declares, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit , if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Romans 8:9 This, however does not take place by a casting away of the flesh, but by the impartation of the Spirit. For those to whom he was writing were not without flesh, but they were those who had received the Spirit of God , by which we cry, Abba, Father. Romans 8:15 If therefore, at the present time, having the earnest, we do cry, Abba, Father, what shall it be when, on rising again, we behold Him face to face; when all the members shall burst out into a continuous hymn of triumph, glorifying Him who raised them from the dead, and gave the gift of eternal life? For if the earnest, gathering man into itself, does even now cause him to cry, Abba, Father, what shall the complete…

2. Those persons , then, who possess the earnest of the Spirit , and who are not enslaved by the lusts of the flesh, but are subject to the Spirit , and who in all things walk according to the light of reason, does the apostle properly term spiritual, because the Spirit of God dwells in them. Now, spiritual men shall not be incorporeal spirits; but our substance, that is, the union of flesh and spirit , receiving the Spirit of God , makes up the spiritual man. But those who do indeed reject the Spirit's counsel, and are the slaves of fleshly lusts , and lead lives contrary to reason, and who, without restraint, plunge headlong into their own desires, having no longing after the Divine Spirit, do live after the manner of swine and of dogs; these men, [I say], does the apostle very properly term carnal, because they have no thought of anything else except carnal things.

3. For the same reason, too, do the prophets compare them to irrational animals, on account of the irrationality of their conduct, saying, They have become as horses raging for the females ; each one of them neighing after his neighbour's wife. Jeremiah 5:3 And again, Man, when he was in honour , was made like cattle. This denotes that, for his own fault, he is likened to cattle, by rivalling their irrational life. And we also, as the custom is, do designate men of this stamp as cattle and irrational beasts.

4. Now the law has figuratively predicted all these, delineating man by the [various] animals: Leviticus 11:2 ; Deuteronomy 14:3 , etc. whatsoever of these, says [the Scripture ], have a double hoof and ruminate, it proclaims as clean; but whatsoever of them do not possess one or other of these [properties], it sets aside by themselves as unclean. Who then are the clean? Those who make their way by faith steadily towards the Father and the Son ; for this is denoted by the steadiness of those which divide the hoof; and they meditate day and night upon the words of God , that they may be adorned with good works: for this is the meaning of the ruminants. The unclean, however, are those which do neither divide the hoof nor ruminate; that is, those persons who have neither faith in God , nor do meditate on His words: and such is the abomination of the Gentiles . But as to those animals which do indeed chew the cud, but have not the double hoof, and are themselves unclean, we have in them a figurative description of the Jews , who certainly have the words of God in their mouth, but who do not fix their rooted steadfastness in the Father and in the Son; wherefore they are an unstable generation. For those animals which have the hoof all in one piece easily slip; but those which have it divided are more sure-footed, their cleft hoofs succeeding each other as they advance, and the one hoof supporting the other. In like manner, too, those are unclean which have the double hoof but do…

We have ample means of encountering those who are given to carping. For we are not termed children and infants with reference to the childish and contemptible character of our education, as those who are inflated on account of knowledge have calumniously alleged. Straightway, on our regeneration, we attained that perfection after which we aspired. For we were illuminated, which is to know God. He is not then imperfect who knows what is perfect. And do not reprehend me when I profess to know God ; for so it was deemed right to speak to the Word, and He is free. For at the moment of the Lord's baptism there sounded a voice from heaven, as a testimony to the Beloved, You are My beloved Son , today have I begotten You. Let us then ask the wise, Is Christ, begotten today, already perfect, or — what were most monstrous — imperfect?

If the latter, there is some addition He requires yet to make. But for Him to make any addition to His knowledge is absurd, since He is God . For none can be superior to the Word, or the teacher of the only Teacher. Will they not then own, though reluctant, that the perfect Word born of the perfect Father was begotten in perfection, according to œconomic fore-ordination? And if He was perfect, why was He, the perfect one, baptized ? It was necessary, they say, to fulfil the profession that pertained to humanity. Most excellent. Well, I assert, simultaneously with His baptism by John, He becomes perfect? Manifestly. He did not then learn anything more from him? Certainly not. But He is perfected by the washing — of baptism — alone, and is sanctified by the descent of the Spirit? Such is the case.

The same also takes place in our case, whose exemplar Christ became. Being baptized , we are illuminated; illuminated, we become sons; being made sons, we are made perfect; being made perfect, we are made immortal . I, says He, have said that you are gods, and all sons of the Highest. This work is variously called grace , and illumination, and perfection, and washing: washing, by which we cleanse away our sins ; grace , by which the penalties accruing to transgressions are remitted; and illumination, by which that holy light of salvation is beheld, that is, by which we see God clearly. Now we call that perfect which wants nothing. For what is yet wanting to him who knows God? For it were truly monstrous that that which is not complete should be called a gift (or act) of God's grace . Being perfect, He consequently bestows perfect gifts.

As at His command all things were made, so on His bare wishing to bestow grace , ensues the perfecting of His grace . For the future of time is anticipated by the power of His volition. Further release from evils is the beginning of salvation . We then alone, who first have touched the confines of life, are already perfect; and we already live who are separated from death. Salvation, accordingly, is the following of Christ: For that which is in Him is life. John 1:4 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that hears My words, and believes in Him that sent Me, has eternal life, and comes not into condemnation, but has passed from death to life. John 5:24 Thus believing alone, and regeneration, is perfection in life; for God is never weak.

Now the sacrifice which is acceptable to God is unswerving abstraction from the body and its passions . This is the really true piety . And is not, on this account, philosophy rightly called by Socrates the practice of Death? For he who neither employs his eyes in the exercise of thought, nor draws anything from his other senses, but with pure mind itself applies to objects, practices the true philosophy . This is, then, the import of the silence of five years prescribed by Pythagoras, which he enjoined on his disciples ; that, abstracting themselves from the objects of sense, they might with the mind alone contemplate the Deity. It was from Moses that the chief of the Greeks drew these philosophical tenets. For he commands holocausts to be skinned and divided into parts.

For the gnostic soul must be consecrated to the light, stript of the integuments of matter, devoid of the frivolousness of the body and of all the passions , which are acquired through vain and lying opinions, and divested of the lusts of the flesh. But the most of men , clothed with what is perishable, like cockles, and rolled all round in a ball in their excesses, like hedgehogs, entertain the same ideas of the blessed and incorruptible God as of themselves. But it has escaped their notice, though they be near us, that God has bestowed on us ten thousand things in which He does not share: birth, being Himself unborn; food, He wanting nothing; and growth, He being always equal; and long life and immortality , He being immortal and incapable of growing old.

Wherefore let no one imagine that hands, and feet, and mouth, and eyes, and going in and coming out, and resentments and threats, are said by the Hebrews to be attributes of God . By no means; but that certain of these appellations are used more sacredly in an allegorical sense, which, as the discourse proceeds, we shall explain at the proper time. Wisdom of all medicines is the Panacea, writes Callimachus in the Epigrams . And one becomes wise from another, both in past times and at present, says Bacchylides in the Pœans; for it is not very easy to find the portals of unutterable words. Beautifully, therefore, Isocrates writes in the Panathenaic , having put the question, Who, then, are well trained?

adds, First, those who manage well the things which occur each day, whose opinion jumps with opportunity, and is able for the most part to hit on what is beneficial; then those who behave becomingly and rightly to those who approach them, who take lightly and easily annoyances and molestations offered by others, but conduct themselves as far as possible, to those with whom they have intercourse, with consummate care and moderation; further, those who have the command of their pleasures, and are not too much overcome by misfortunes, but conduct themselves in the midst of them with manliness, and in a way worthy of the nature which we share; fourth — and this is the greatest — those who are not corrupted by prosperity, and are not put beside themselves, or made haughty , but continue in the class of sensible people.

He never remembers those who have sinned against him, but forgives them. Wherefore also he righteously prays , saying, Forgive us; for we also forgive. Matthew 6:12 ; Luke 11:4 For this also is one of the things which God wishes, to covet nothing, to hate no one. For all men are the work of one will. And is it not the Saviour , who wishes the Gnostic to be perfect as the heavenly Father, Matthew 5:48 that is, Himself, who says, Come, you children, hear from me the fear of the Lord? He wishes him no longer to stand in need of help by angels , but to receive it from Himself, having become worthy, and to have protection from Himself by obedience . Such an one demands from the Lord, and does not merely ask.

And in the case of his brethren in want, the Gnostic will not ask himself for abundance of wealth to bestow, but will pray that the supply of what they need may be furnished to them. For so the Gnostic gives his prayer to those who are in need, and by his prayer they are supplied, without his knowledge , and without vanity. Penury and disease, and such trials, are often sent for admonition, for the correction of the past, and for care for the future. Such an one prays for relief from them, in virtue of possessing the prerogative of knowledge , not out of vainglory; but from the very fact of his being a Gnostic , he works beneficence, having become the instrument of the goodness of God . They say in the traditions that Matthew the apostle constantly said, that if the neighbour of an elect man sin , the elect man has sinned .

For had he conducted himself as the Word prescribes, his neighbour also would have been filled with such reverence for the life he led as not to sin . What, then, shall we say of the Gnostic himself? Do you not know , says the apostle, that you are the temple of God? 1 Corinthians 3:16 The Gnostic is consequently divine, and already holy , God-bearing, and God-borne. Now the Scripture , showing that sinning is foreign to him, sells those who have fallen away to strangers, saying, Look not on a strange woman , to lust , plainly pronounces sin foreign and contrary to the nature of the temple of God . Now the temple is great, as the Church , and it is small, as the man who preserves the seed of Abraham . He, therefore, who has God resting in him will not desire anything else.

At once leaving all hindrances, and despising all matter which distracts him, he cleaves the heaven by knowledge . And passing through the spiritual Essences, and all rule and authority, he touches the highest thrones, hasting to that alone for the sake of which alone he knew . Mixing, then, the serpent with the dove, Matthew 10:16 he lives at once perfectly and with a good conscience , mingling faith with hope, in order to the expectation of the future. For he is conscious of the boon he has received, having become worthy of obtaining it; and is translated from slavery to adoption, as the consequence of knowledge ; knowing God , or rather known of Him, for the end, he puts forth energies corresponding to the worth of grace . For works follow knowledge , as the shadow the body.

Now, of what I may call the passionlessness which we attribute to the Gnostic (in which the perfection of the believer, advancing by love , comes to a perfect man, to the measure of full stature, Ephesians 4:13 by being assimilated to God , and by becoming truly angelic), many other testimonies from the Scripture , occur to me to adduce. But I think it better, on account of the length of the discourse, that such an honour should be devolved on those who wish to take pains, and leave it to them to elaborate the dogmas by the selection of Scriptures. One passage, accordingly, I shall in the briefest terms advert to, so as not to leave the topic unexplained. For in the first Epistle to the Corinthians the divine apostle says: Dare any of you, having a matter against the other, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints ?

Do you not know that the saints shall judge the world? 1 Corinthians 6:1-2 and so on. The section being very long, we shall exhibit the meaning of the apostle's utterance by employing such of the apostolic expressions as are most pertinent, and in the briefest language, and in a sort of cursory way, interpreting the discourse in which he describes the perfection of the Gnostic . For he does not merely instance the Gnostic as characterized by suffering wrong rather than do wrong; but he teaches that he is not mindful of injuries, and does not allow him even to pray against the man who has done him wrong. For he knows that the Lord expressly enjoined to pray for enemies.

Matthew 5:44 To say, then, that the man who has been injured goes to law before the unrighteous, is nothing else than to say that he shows a wish to retaliate, and a desire to injure the second in return, which is also to do wrong likewise himself. And his saying, that he wishes some to go to law before the saints , points out those who ask by prayer that those who have done wrong should suffer retaliation for their injustice , and intimates that the second are better than the former; but they are not yet obedient , if they do not, having become entirely free of resentment, pray even for their enemies. It is well, then, for them to receive right dispositions from repentance, which results in faith . For if the truth seems to get enemies who entertain bad feeling, yet it is not hostile to any one.

For God makes His sun to shine on the just and on the unjust , Matthew 5:45 and sent the Lord Himself to the just and the unjust . And he that earnestly strives to be assimilated to God , in the exercise of great absence of resentment, forgives seventy times seven times, as it were all his life through, and in all his course in this world (that being indicated by the enumeration of sevens) shows clemency to each and any one; if any during the whole time of his life in the flesh do the Gnostic wrong. For he not only deems it right that the good man should resign his property alone to others, being of the number of those who have done him wrong; but also wishes that the righteous man should ask of those judges forgiveness for the offenses of those who have done him wrong.

The Gnostic , then, is impressed with the closest likeness, that is, with the mind of the Master; which He being possessed of, commanded and recommended to His disciples and to the prudent . Comprehending this, as He who taught wished, and receiving it in its grand sense, he teaches worthily on the housetops Matthew 10:27 ; Luke 12:3 those capable of being built to a lofty height; and begins the doing of what is spoken, in accordance with the example of life. For He enjoined what is possible. And, in truth , the kingly man and Christian ought to be ruler and leader. For we are commanded to be lords over not only the wild beasts without us, but also over the wild passions within ourselves. Through the knowledge , then, as appears, of a bad and good life is the Gnostic saved, understanding and executing more than the scribes and Pharisees .

Matthew 5:20 Exert yourself, and prosper, and reign writes David, because of truth , and meekness, and righteousness; and your right hand shall guide you marvellously, that is, the Lord. Who then is the wise? And he shall understand these things. Prudent? And he shall know them. For the ways of the Lord are right, Hosea 14:9 says the prophet , showing that the Gnostic alone is able to understand and explain the things spoken by the Spirit obscurely. And he who understands in that time shall hold his peace, Amos 5:13 says the Scripture , plainly in the way of declaring them to the unworthy. For the Lord says, He that has ears to hear, let him hear, Matthew 11:15 declaring that hearing and understanding belong not to all. To the point David writes: Dark water is in the clouds of the skies.

At the gleam before Him the clouds passed, hail and coals of fire; showing that the holy words are hidden. He intimates that transparent and resplendent to the Gnostics , like the innocuous hail, they are sent down from God ; but that they are dark to the multitude, like extinguished coals out of the fire, which, unless kindled and set on fire, will not give forth fire or light. The Lord, therefore, it is said, gives me the tongue of instruction, so as to know in season when it is requisite to speak a word; Isaiah 50:4 not in the way of testimony alone, but also in the way of question and answer. And the instruction of the Lord opens my mouth. Isaiah 50:5 It is the prerogative of the Gnostic , then, to know how to make use of speech, and when, and how, and to whom.

And already the apostle, by saying, After the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ, Colossians 2:8 makes the asseveration that the Hellenic teaching is elementary, and that of Christ perfect, as we have already intimated before. Now the wild olive is inserted into the fatness of the olive, Romans 12:17 and is indeed of the same species as the cultivated olives. For the graft uses as soil the tree in which it is engrafted. Now all the plants sprouted forth simultaneously in consequence of the divine order. Wherefore also, though the wild olive be wild, it crowns the Olympic victors. And the elm teaches the vine to be fruitful, by leading it up to a height. Now we see that wild trees attract more nutriment, because they cannot ripen. The wild trees, therefore, have less power of secretion than those that are cultivated.

Let the Decalogue be set forth cursorily by us as a specimen for gnostic exposition. The number Ten. That ten is a sacred number, it is superfluous to say now. And if the tables that were written were the work of God , they will be found to exhibit physical creation. For by the finger of God is understood the power of God , by which the creation of heaven and earth is accomplished; of both of which the tables will be understood to be symbols . For the writing and handiwork of God put on the table is the creation of the world. And the Decalogue, viewed as an image of heaven, embraces sun and moon, stars, clouds, light, wind, water, air, darkness, fire. This is the physical Decalogue of the heaven.

And the representation of the earth contains men, cattle, reptiles, wild beasts; and of the inhabitants of the water, fishes and whales; and again, of the winged tribes, those that are carnivorous, and those that use mild food; and of plants likewise, both fruit-bearing and barren. This is the physical Decalogue of the earth. And the ark which held them will then be the knowledge of divine and human things and wisdom. And perhaps the two tables themselves may be the prophecy of the two covenants. They were accordingly mystically renewed, as ignorance along with sin abounded. The commandments are written, then, doubly, as appears, for twofold spirits, the ruling and the subject. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit , and the Spirit against the flesh.

Galatians 5:17 And there is a ten in man himself: the five senses, and the power of speech, and that of reproduction; and the eighth is the spiritual principle communicated at his creation; and the ninth the ruling faculty of the soul ; and tenth, there is the distinctive characteristic of the Holy Spirit , which comes to him through faith . Besides, in addition to these ten human parts, the law appear to give its injunctions to sight, and hearing, and smell, and touch, and taste, and to the organs subservient to these, which are double — the hands and the feet. For such is the formation of man. And the soul is introduced, and previous to it the ruling faculty, by which we reason, not produced in procreation; so that without it there is made up the number ten, of the faculties by which all the activity of man is carried out.

For in order, straightway on man's entering existence , his life begins with sensations. We accordingly assert that rational and ruling power is the cause of the constitution of the living creature; also that this, the irrational part, is animated, and is a part of it. Now the vital force, in which is comprehended the power of nutrition and growth, and generally of motion, is assigned to the carnal spirit, which has great susceptibility of motion, and passes in all directions through the senses and the rest of the body, and through the body is the primary subject of sensations. But the power of choice, in which investigation, and study, and knowledge , reside, belongs to the ruling faculty. But all the faculties are placed in relation to one — the ruling faculty: it is through that man lives, and lives in a certain way.

Of the Gnostic so much has been cursorily, as it were, written. We proceed now to the sequel, and must again contemplate faith ; for there are some that draw the distinction, that faith has reference to the Son , and knowledge to the Spirit. But it has escaped their notice that, in order to believe truly in the Son , we must believe that He is the Son , and that He came, and how, and for what, and respecting His passion ; and we must know who is the Son of God . Now neither is knowledge without faith , nor faith without knowledge . Nor is the Father without the Son; for the Son is with the Father. And the Son is the true teacher respecting the Father; and that we may believe in the Son , we must know the Father , with whom also is the Son.

Again, in order that we may know the Father , we must believe in the Son , that it is the Son of God who teaches; for from faith to knowledge by the Son is the Father. And the knowledge of the Son and Father, which is according to the gnostic rule — that which in reality is gnostic — is the attainment and comprehension of the truth by the truth . We, then, are those who are believers in what is not believed , and who are Gnostics as to what is unknown; that is, Gnostics as to what is unknown and disbelieved by all, but believed and known by a few; and Gnostics , not describing actions by speech, but Gnostics in the exercise of contemplation . Happy is he who speaks in the ears of the hearing. Now faith is the ear of the soul .

And such the Lord intimates faith to be, when He says, He that has ears to hear, let him hear; Matthew 11:15 so that by believing he may comprehend what He says, as He says it. Homer, too, the oldest of the poets, using the word hear instead of perceive — the specific for the generic term — writes:— Him most they heard. For, in fine, the agreement and harmony of the faith of both contribute to one end — salvation . We have in the apostle an unerring witness : For I desire to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, in order that you may be strengthened; that is, that I may be comforted in you, by the mutual faith of you and me. Romans 1:11-12 And further on again he adds, The righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith .

Romans 1:17 The apostle, then, manifestly announces a twofold faith , or rather one which admits of growth and perfection; for the common faith lies beneath as a foundation. To those, therefore, who desire to be healed, and are moved by faith , He added, Your faith has saved you. Matthew 9:22 But that which is excellently built upon is consummated in the believer, and is again perfected by the faith which results from instruction and the word, in order to the performance of the commandments. Such were the apostles , in whose case it is said that faith removed mountains and transplanted trees.

On the plagiarizing of the dogmas of the philosophers from the Hebrews, we shall treat a little afterwards. But first, as due order demands, we must now speak of the epoch of Moses , by which the philosophy of the Hebrews will be demonstrated beyond all contradiction to be the most ancient of all wisdom. This has been discussed with accuracy by Tatian in his book To the Greeks , and by Cassian in the first book of his Exegetics . Nevertheless our commentary demands that we too should run over what has been said on the point.

Apion, then, the grammarian, surnamed Pleistonices, in the fourth book of The Egyptian Histories , although of so hostile a disposition towards the Hebrews, being by race an Egyptian , as to compose a work against the Jews , when referring to Amosis king of the Egyptians , and his exploits, adduces, as a witness , Ptolemy of Mendes. And his remarks are to the following effect: Amosis, who lived in the time of the Argive Inachus, overthrew Athyria, as Ptolemy of Mendes relates in his Chronology . Now this Ptolemy was a priest ; and setting forth the deeds of the Egyptian kings in three entire books, he says, that the exodus of the Jews from Egypt , under the conduct of Moses , took place while Amosis was king of Egypt . Whence it is seen that Moses flourished in the time of Inachus.

And of the Hellenic states, the most ancient is the Argolic, I mean that which took its rise from Inachus, as Dionysius of Halicarnassus teaches in his Times . And younger by forty generations than it was Attica, founded by Cecrops, who was an aboriginal of double race, as Tatian expressly says; and Arcadia, founded by Pelasgus, younger too by nine generations; and he, too, is said to have been an aboriginal. And more recent than this last by fifty-two generations, was Pthiotis, founded by Deucalion. And from the time of Inachus to the Trojan War twenty generations or more are reckoned; let us say, four hundred years and more.

And if Ctesias says that the Assyrian power is many years older than the Greek, the exodus of Moses from Egypt will appear to have taken place in the forty-second year of the Assyrian empire, in the thirty-second year of the reign of Belochus, in the time of Amosis the Egyptian , and of Inachus the Argive. And in Greece, in the time of Phoroneus, who succeeded Inachus, the flood of Ogyges occurred; and monarchy subsisted in Sicyon first in the person of Ægialeus, then of Europs, then of Telches; in Crete, in the person of Cres. For Acusilaus says that Phoroneus was the first man. Whence, too, the author of Phoronis said that he was the father of mortal men.

It were tedious to go over all the Prophets and the Law, specifying what is spoken in enigmas; for almost the whole Scripture gives its utterances in this way. It may suffice, I think, for any one possessed of intelligence, for the proof of the point in hand, to select a few examples. Now concealment is evinced in the reference of the seven circuits around the temple, which are made mention of among the Hebrews; and the equipment on the robe, indicating by the various symbols , which had reference to visible objects, the agreement which from heaven reaches down to earth. And the covering and the veil were variegated with blue, and purple, and scarlet, and linen. And so it was suggested that the nature of the elements contained the revelation of God .

For purple is from water, linen from the earth; blue, being dark, is like the air, as scarlet is like fire. In the midst of the covering and veil, where the priests were allowed to enter, was situated the altar of incense , the symbol of the earth placed in the middle of this universe ; and from it came the fumes of incense . And that place intermediate between the inner veil, where the high priest alone, on prescribed days, was permitted to enter, and the external court which surrounded it — free to all the Hebrews — was, they say, the middlemost point of heaven and earth. But others say it was the symbol of the intellectual world, and that of sense. The covering, then, the barrier of popular unbelief, was stretched in front of the five pillars, keeping back those in the surrounding space.

So very mystically the five loaves are broken by the Saviour , and fill the crowd of the listeners. For great is the crowd that keep to the things of sense, as if they were the only things in existence . Cast your eyes round, and see, says Plato , that none of the uninitiated listen. Such are they who think that nothing else exists, but what they can hold tight with their hands; but do not admit as in the department of existence , actions and processes of generation, and the whole of the unseen. For such are those who keep by the five senses. But the knowledge of God is a thing inaccessible to the ears and like organs of this kind of people. Hence the Son is said to be the Father's face, being the revealer of the Father's character to the five senses by clothing Himself with flesh.

But if we live in the Spirit , let us also walk in the Spirit . Galatians 5:25 For we walk by faith , not by sight, 2 Corinthians 5:7 the noble apostle says. Within the veil, then, is concealed the sacerdotal service; and it keeps those engaged in it far from those without. Again, there is the veil of the entrance into the holy of holies. Four pillars there are, the sign of the sacred tetrad of the ancient covenants. Further, the mystic name of four letters which was affixed to those alone to whom the adytum was accessible, is called Jave, which is interpreted, Who is and shall be. The name of God , too, among the Greeks contains four letters. Now the Lord, having come alone into the intellectual world, enters by His sufferings, introduced into the knowledge of the Ineffable, ascending above every name which is known by sound.

Now we are commanded to reverence and to honour the same one, being persuaded that He is Word, Saviour, and Leader, and by Him, the Father , not on special days, as some others, but doing this continually in our whole life, and in every way. Certainly the elect race justified by the precept says, Seven times a day have I praised You. Whence not in a specified place, or selected temple, or at certain festivals and on appointed days, but during his whole life, the Gnostic in every place, even if he be alone by himself, and wherever he has any of those who have exercised the like faith , honours God , that is, acknowledges his gratitude for the knowledge of the way to live.

And if the presence of a good man, through the respect and reverence which he inspires, always improves him with whom he associates, with much more reason does not he who always holds uninterrupted converse with God by knowledge , life, and thanksgiving, grow at every step superior to himself in all respects — in conduct, in words, in disposition? Such an one is persuaded that God is ever beside him, and does not suppose that He is confined in certain limited places; so that under the idea that at times he is without Him, he may indulge in excesses night and day. Holding festival, then, in our whole life, persuaded that God is altogether on every side present, we cultivate our fields, praising; we sail the sea, hymning; in all the rest of our conversation we conduct ourselves according to rule.

The Gnostic , then, is very closely allied to God , being at once grave and cheerful in all things — grave on account of the bent of his soul towards the Divinity, and cheerful on account of his consideration of the blessings of humanity which God has given us. Now the excellence of knowledge is evidently presented by the prophet when he says, Benignity, and instruction, and knowledge teach me, magnifying the supremacy of perfection by a climax. He is, then, the truly kingly man; he is the sacred high priest of God . And this is even now observed among the most sagacious of the Barbarians, in advancing the sacerdotal caste to the royal power.

He, therefore, never surrenders himself to the rabble that rules supreme over the theatres, and gives no admittance even in a dream to the things which are spoken, done, and seen for the sake of alluring pleasures; neither, therefore, to the pleasures of sight, nor the various pleasures which are found in other enjoyments, as costly incense and odours, which bewitch the nostrils, or preparations of meats, and indulgences in different wines, which ensnare the palate, or fragrant bouquets of many flowers, which through the senses effeminate the soul . But always tracing up to God the grave enjoyment of all things, he offers the first-fruits of food, and drink, and ointments to the Giver of all, acknowledging his thanks in the gift and in the use of them by the Word given to him.

I shall not be sorry to bestow attention on the shorter epistles also. Even in brief works there is much pungency. The Jews had slain their prophets . 1 Thessalonians 2:15 I may ask, What has this to do with the apostle of the rival god, one so amiable withal, who could hardly be said to condemn even the failings of his own people; and who, moreover, has himself some hand in making away with the same prophets whom he is destroying? What injury did Israel commit against him in slaying those whom he too has reprobated, since he was the first to pass a hostile sentence on them? But Israel sinned against their own God. He upbraided their iniquity to whom the injured God pertains; and certainly he is anything but the adversary of the injured Deity .

Else he would not have burdened them with the charge of killing even the Lord, in the words, Who both killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets , although (the pronoun) their own be an addition of the heretics . Now, what was there so very acrimonious in their killing Christ the proclaimer of the new god, after they had put to death also the prophets of their own god? The fact, however, of their having slain the Lord and His servants, is put as a case of climax.

Now, if it were the Christ of one god and the prophets of another god whom they slew, he would certainly have placed the impious crimes on the same level, instead of mentioning them in the way of a climax; but they did not admit of being put on the same level: the climax, therefore, was only possible by the sin having been in fact committed against one and the same Lord in the two respective circumstances. To one and the same Lord, then, belonged Christ and the prophets . What that sanctification of ours is, which he declares to be the will of God , you may discover from the opposite conduct which he forbids. That we should abstain from fornication, not from marriage; that every one should know how to possess his vessel in honour . 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4 In what way? Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles .

1 Thessalonians 4:5 Concupiscence, however, is not ascribed to marriage even among the Gentiles , but to extravagant, unnatural, and enormous sins . The law of nature is opposed to luxury as well as to grossness and uncleanness; it does not forbid connubial intercourse, but concupiscence; and it takes care of our vessel by the honourable estate of matrimony. This passage (of the apostle) I would treat in such a way as to maintain the superiority of the other and higher sanctity , preferring continence and virginity to marriage, but by no means prohibiting the latter. For my hostility is directed against those who are for destroying the God of marriage, not those who follow after chastity .

And what will happen to him after he is cast away? He will, they say, be thrown into the Creator's fire. Then has no remedial provision been made (by their god) for the purpose of banishing those that sin against him, without resorting to the cruel measure of delivering them over to the Creator? And what will the Creator then do? I suppose He will prepare for them a hell doubly charged with brimstone, as for blasphemers against Himself; except indeed their god in his zeal , as perhaps might happen, should show clemency to his rival's revolted subjects. Oh, what a god is this! everywhere perverse; nowhere rational; in all cases vain; and therefore a nonentity! — in whose state, and condition, and nature, and every appointment, I see no coherence and consistency; no, not even in the very sacrament of his faith !

For what end does baptism serve, according to him? If the remission of sins , how will he make it evident that he remits sins , when he affords no evidence that he retains them? Because he would retain them, if he performed the functions of a judge. If deliverance from death, how could he deliver from death, who has not delivered to death? For he must have delivered the sinner to death, if he had from the beginning condemned sin . If the regeneration of man , how can he regenerate, who has never generated? For the repetition of an act is impossible to him, by whom nothing any time has been ever done. If the bestowal of the Holy Ghost , how will he bestow the Spirit , who did not at first impart the life? For the life is in a sense the supplement of the Spirit.

He therefore seals man, who had never been unsealed in respect of him; washes man, who had never been defiled so far as he was concerned; and into this sacrament of salvation wholly plunges that flesh which is beyond the pale of salvation ! No farmer will irrigate ground that will yield him no fruit in return, except he be as stupid as Marcion's god. Why then impose sanctity upon our most infirm and most unworthy flesh, either as a burden or as a glory ? What shall I say, too, of the uselessness of a discipline which sanctifies what is already sanctified? Why burden the infirm, or glorify the unworthy? Why not remunerate with salvation what it burdens or else glorifies? Why keep back from a work its due reward, by not recompensing the flesh with salvation ? Why even permit the honour of sanctity in it to die?

By all these statements, therefore, does he show us what God he means, when he says, We speak the wisdom of God among them that are perfect. 1 Corinthians 2:6-7 It is that God who has confounded the wisdom of the wise, who has brought to nought the understanding of the prudent , who has reduced to folly the world's wisdom, by choosing its foolish things, and disposing them to the attainment of salvation . This wisdom, he says, once lay hidden in things that were foolish, weak, and lacking in honour ; once also was latent under figures, allegories, and enigmatical types; but it was afterwards to be revealed in Christ , who was set as a light to the Gentiles , Isaiah 42:6 by the Creator who promised through the mouth of Isaiah that He would discover the hidden treasures, which eye had not seen.

Now, that that god should have ever hidden anything who had never made a cover wherein to practise concealment, is in itself a wholly incredible idea. If he existed , concealment of himself was out of the question — to say nothing of any of his religious ordinances. The Creator, on the contrary, was as well known in Himself as His ordinances were. These, we know , were publicly instituted in Israel ; but they lay overshadowed with latent meanings, in which the wisdom of God was concealed, to be brought to light by and by among the perfect, when the time should come, but pre-ordained in the counsels of God before the ages. 1 Corinthians 2:7 But whose ages, if not the Creator's?

For because ages consist of times, and times are made up of days, and months, and years; since also days, and months, and years are measured by suns, and moons, and stars, which He ordained for this purpose (for they shall be, says He, for signs of the months and the years ), it clearly follows that the ages belong to the Creator, and that nothing of what was fore-ordained before the ages can be said to be the property of any other being than Him who claims the ages also as His own. Else let Marcion show that the ages belong to his god. He must then also claim the world itself for him; for it is in it that the ages are reckoned, the vessel as it were of the times, as well as the signs thereof, or their order. But he has no such demonstration to show us.

I go back therefore to the point, and ask him this question: Why did (his god) fore-ordain our glory before the ages of the Creator? I could understand his having predetermined it before the ages, if he had revealed it at the commencement of time. But when he does this almost at the very expiration of all the ages of the Creator, his predestination before the ages, and not rather within the ages, was in vain, because he did not mean to make any revelation of his purpose until the ages had almost run out their course. For it is wholly inconsistent in him to be so forward in planning purposes, who is so backward in revealing them.

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius (for such is Marcion's proposition) he came down to the Galilean city of Capernaum, of course meaning from the heaven of the Creator, to which he had previously descended from his own. What then had been his course, for him to be described as first descending from his own heaven to the Creator's? For why should I abstain from censuring those parts of the statement which do not satisfy the requirement of an ordinary narrative, but always end in a falsehood ? To be sure, our censure has been once for all expressed in the question, which we have already suggested: Whether, when descending through the Creator's domain, and indeed in hostility to him, he could possibly have been admitted by him, and by him been transmitted to the earth, which was equally his territory?

Now, however, I want also to know the remainder of his course down, assuming that he came down. For we must not be too nice in inquiring whether it is supposed that he was seen in any place. To come into view indicates a sudden unexpected glance, which for a moment fixed the eye upon the object that passed before the view, without staying. But when it happens that a descent has been effected, it is apparent, and comes under the notice of the eyes. Moreover, it takes account of fact , and thus obliges one to examine in what condition with what preparation, with how much violence or moderation, and further, at what time of the day or night, the descent was made; who, again, saw the descent, who reported it, who seriously avouched the fact, which certainly was not easy to be believed , even after the asseveration.

It is, in short, too bad that Romulus should have had in Proculus an avoucher of his ascent to heaven, when the Christ of (this) god could not find any one to announce his descent from heaven; just as if the ascent of the one and the descent of the other were not effected on one and the same ladder of falsehood ! Then, what had he to do with Galilee , if he did not belong to the Creator by whom that region was destined (for His Christ) when about to enter on His ministry? As Isaiah says: Drink in this first, and be prompt, O region of Zabulon and land of Nephthalim, and you others who (inhabit) the sea-coast, and that of Jordan, Galilee of the nations , you people who sit in darkness, behold a great light; upon you, who inhabit (that) land, sitting in the shadow of death, the light has arisen.

It is, however, well that Marcion's god does claim to be the enlightener of the nations , that so he might have the better reason for coming down from heaven; only, if it must needs be, he should rather have made Pontus his place of descent than Galilee . But since both the place and the work of illumination according to the prophecy are compatible with Christ, we begin to discern that He is the subject of the prophecy , which shows that at the very outset of His ministry , He came not to destroy the law and the prophets , but rather to fulfil them; Matthew 5:17 for Marcion has erased the passage as an interpolation. It will, however, be vain for him to deny that Christ uttered in word what He immediately did partially indeed. For the prophecy about place He at once fulfilled. From heaven straight to the synagogue .

The head of every man is Christ . 1 Corinthians 11:3 What Christ, if He is not the author of man? The head he has here put for authority ; now authority will accrue to none else than the author. Of what man indeed is He the head? Surely of him concerning whom he adds soon afterwards: The man ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image of God . 1 Corinthians 11:7 Since then he is the image of the Creator (for He , when looking on Christ His Word, who was to become man, said, Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness Genesis 1:26 ), how can I possibly have another head but Him whose image I am? For if I am the image of the Creator there is no room in me for another head. But wherefore ought the woman to have power over her head, because of the angels ?

1 Corinthians 11:10 If it is because she was created for the man, 1 Corinthians 11:9 and taken out of the man, according to the Creator's purpose, then in this way too has the apostle maintained the discipline of that God from whose institution he explains the reasons of His discipline. He adds: Because of the angels . 1 Corinthians 11:10 What angels ? In other words, whose angels ? If he means the fallen angels of the Creator, there is great propriety in his meaning. It is right that that face which was a snare to them should wear some mark of a humble guise and obscured beauty. If, however, the angels of the rival god are referred to, what fear is there for them? For not even Marcion's disciples , (to say nothing of his angels ,) have any desire for women .

We have often shown before now, that the apostle classes heresies as evil 1 Corinthians 11:18-19 among works of the flesh, and that he would have those persons accounted estimable who shun heresies as an evil thing. In like manner, when treating of the gospel, we have proved from the sacrament of the bread and the cup the verity of the Lord's body and blood in opposition to Marcion's phantom; while throughout almost the whole of my work it has been contended that all mention of judicial attributes points conclusively to the Creator as to a God who judges.

Now, on the subject of spiritual gifts, 1 Corinthians 12:1 I have to remark that these also were promised by the Creator through Christ; and I think that we may derive from this a very just conclusion that the bestowal of a gift is not the work of a god other than Him who is proved to have given the promise. Here is a prophecy of Isaiah: There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a flower shall spring up from his root; and upon Him shall rest the Spirit of the Lord . After which he enumerates the special gifts of the same: The spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of religion. And with the fear of the Lord shall the Spirit fill Him.

But, you say, in whatever way the substance of the Creator is found to be susceptible of fault, when the afflatus of God , that is to say, the soul , offends in man, it cannot but be that that fault of the portion is refferible to the original whole. Now, to meet this objection, we must explain the nature of the soul . We must at the outset hold fast the meaning of the Greek scripture, which has afflatus , not spirit. Some interpreters of the Greek, without reflecting on the difference of the words, and careless about their exact meaning, put spirit for afflatus ; they thus afford to heretics an opportunity of tarnishing the Spirit of God , that is to say, God Himself, with default. And now comes the question.

Afflatus , observe then, is less than spirit, although it comes from spirit; it is the spirit's gentle breeze, but it is not the spirit. Now a breeze is rarer than the wind; and although it proceeds from wind, yet a breeze is not the wind. One may call a breeze the image of the spirit. In the same manner, man is the image of God , that is, of spirit; for God is spirit. Afflatus is therefore the image of the spirit. Now the image is not in any case equal to the very thing. It is one thing to be like the reality, and another thing to be the reality itself.

So, although the afflatus is the image of the spirit, it is yet not possible to compare the image of God in such a way, that, because the reality — that is, the spirit, or in other words, the Divine Being — is faultless, therefore the afflatus also, that is to say, the image, ought not by any possibility to have done wrong.

In this respect will the image be less than the reality, and the afflatus inferior to the spirit, in that, while it possesses beyond doubt the true lineaments of divinity, such as an immortal soul , freedom and its own mastery over itself, foreknowledge in a great degree, reasonableness, capacity of understanding and knowledge , it is even in these respects an image still, and never amounts to the actual power of Deity, nor to absolute exemption from fault — a property which is only conceded to God , that is, to the reality, and which is simply incompatible with an image. An image, although it may express all the lineaments of the reality, is yet wanting in its intrinsic power; it is destitute of motion.

We have spoken, so far as our moderate ability permitted, of the generals which form the groundwork of the sanctity of baptism . I will now, equally to the best of my power, proceed to the rest of its character, touching certain minor questions. The baptism announced by John formed the subject, even at that time, of a question, proposed by the Lord Himself indeed to the Pharisees , whether that baptism were heavenly, or truly earthly: about which they were unable to give a consistent answer, inasmuch as they understood not, because they believed not. But we , with but as poor a measure of understanding as of faith , are able to determine that that baptism was divine indeed, (yet in respect of the command, not in respect of efficacy too, in that we read that John was sent by the Lord to perform this duty,) but human in its nature: for it conveyed nothing celestial, but it fore-ministered to things celestial; being, to wit, appointed over repentance , which is in man's power. In fact, the doctors of the law and the Pharisees , who were unwilling to believe , did not repent either. But if repentance is a thing human , its baptism must necessarily be of the same nature: else, if it had been celestial, it would have given both the Holy Spirit and remission of sins . But none either pardons sins or freely grants the Spirit save God only. Even the Lord Himself said that the Spirit would not descend on any other condition, but that He should first ascend to the Father. John 16:6-7…

11. Answer to the Objection that The Lord Did Not Baptize. But behold, say some, the Lord came, and baptized not; for we read, 'And yet He used not to baptize , but His disciples !' John 4:2 As if, in truth , John had preached that He would baptize with His own hands! Of course, his words are not so to be understood, but as simply spoken after an ordinary manner; just as, for instance, we say, The emperor set forth an edict, or, The prefect cudgelled him. Pray does the emperor in person set forth, or the prefect in person cudgel? One whose ministers do a thing is always said to do it. So He will baptize you will have to be understood as standing for, Through Him, or Into Him, you will be baptized . But let not (the fact) that He Himself baptized not trouble any. For into whom should He baptize ? Into repentance? Of what use, then, do you make His forerunner? Into remission of sins , which He used to give by a word? Into Himself, whom by humility He was concealing? Into the Holy Spirit , who had not yet descended from the Father? Into the Church , which His apostles had not yet founded? And thus it was with the selfsame baptism of John that His disciples used to baptize , as ministers, with which John before had baptized as forerunner. Let none think it was with some other, because no other exists, except that of Christ subsequently; which at that time, of course, could not be given by His disciples , inasmuch as the glory of the Lord had not yet been fully attained, nor the…

But it will suffice to have thus called at the outset those points in which withal is recognised that primary principle of baptism — which was even then fore-noted by the very attitude assumed for a type of baptism — that the Spirit of God , who hovered over (the waters) from the beginning, would continue to linger over the waters of the baptized . But a holy thing, of course, hovered over a holy ; or else, from that which hovered over that which was hovered over borrowed a holiness , since it is necessary that in every case an underlying material substance should catch the quality of that which overhangs it, most of all a corporeal of a spiritual, adapted (as the spiritual is) through the subtleness of its substance, both for penetrating and insinuating.

Thus the nature of the waters, sanctified by the Holy One, itself conceived withal the power of sanctifying. Let no one say, Why then, are we, pray , baptized with the very waters which then existed in the first beginning? Not with those waters, of course, except in so far as the genus indeed is one, but the species very many. But what is an attribute to the genus reappears likewise in the species . And accordingly it makes no difference whether a man be washed in a sea or a pool, a stream or a fount, a lake or a trough; nor is there any distinction between those whom John baptized in the Jordan and those whom Peter baptized in the Tiber, unless withal the eunuch whom Philip baptized in the midst of his journeys with chance water, derived (therefrom) more or less of salvation than others .

Acts 8:26-40 All waters, therefore, in virtue of the pristine privilege of their origin, do, after invocation of God , attain the sacramental power of sanctification; for the Spirit immediately supervenes from the heavens, and rests over the waters, sanctifying them from Himself; and being thus sanctified, they imbibe at the same time the power of sanctifying. Albeit the similitude may be admitted to be suitable to the simple act; that, since we are defiled by sins , as it were by dirt, we should be washed from those stains in waters. But as sins do not show themselves in our flesh (inasmuch as no one carries on his skin the spot of idolatry , or fornication, or fraud), so persons of that kind are foul in the spirit , which is the author of the sin ; for the spirit is lord, the flesh servant.

Yet they each mutually share the guilt: the spirit, on the ground of command; the flesh, of subservience. Therefore, after the waters have been in a manner endued with medicinal virtue through the intervention of the angel , the spirit is corporeally washed in the waters, and the flesh is in the same spiritually cleansed.

1. But since the discourse has reminded us of the subjects of a future judgment and of retribution, and of the punishments of sinners, according to the threatenings of holy Scripture and the of the Church's teaching — viz., that when the time of judgment comes, everlasting fire , and outer darkness, and a prison , and a furnace, and other punishments of like nature, have been prepared for sinners — let us see what our opinions on these points ought to be. But that these subjects may be arrived at in proper order, it seems to me that we ought first to consider the nature of the resurrection, that we may know what that (body) is which shall come either to punishment, or to rest, or to happiness ; which question in other treatises which we have composed regarding the resurrection we have discussed at greater length, and have shown what our opinions were regarding it. But now, also, for the sake of logical order in our treatise, there will be no absurdity in restating a few points from such works, especially since some take offense at the creed of the Church , as if our belief in the resurrection were foolish, and altogether devoid of sense; and these are principally heretics , who, I think, are to be answered in the following manner. If they also admit that there is a resurrection of the dead, let them answer us this, What is that which died? Was it not a body? It is of the body, then, that there will be a resurrection. Let them next tell us if they think that we are to make…

2. Since the heretics , however, think themselves persons of great learning and wisdom, we shall ask them if every body has a form of some kind, i.e., is fashioned according to some shape. And if they shall say that a body is that which is fashioned according to no shape, they will show themselves to be the most ignorant and foolish of mankind . For no one will deny this, save him who is altogether without any learning. But if, as a matter of course, they say that every body is certainly fashioned according to some definite shape, we shall ask them if they can point out and describe to us the shape of a spiritual body; a thing which they can by no means do. We shall ask them, moreover, about the differences of those who rise again. How will they show that statement to be true , that there is one flesh of birds, another of fishes; bodies celestial, and bodies terrestrial; that the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial another; that one is the glory of the sun, another the glory of the moon, another the glory of the stars; that one star differs from another star in glory ; and that so is the resurrection of the dead? According to that gradation, then, which exists among heavenly bodies, let them show to us the differences in the glory of those who rise again; and if they have endeavoured by any means to devise a principle that may be in accordance with the differences in heavenly bodies, we shall ask them to assign the differences in the resurrection…

3. We now turn our attention to some of our own ( believers ), who, either from feebleness of intellect or want of proper instruction, adopt a very low and abject view of the resurrection of the body. We ask these persons in what manner they understand that an animal body is to be changed by the grace of the resurrection, and to become a spiritual one; and how that which is sown in weakness will arise in power; how that which is planted in dishonour will arise in glory ; and that which was sown in corruption, will be changed to a state of incorruption. Because if they believe the apostle, that a body which arises in glory , and power, and incorruptibility, has already become spiritual, it appears absurd and contrary to his meaning to say that it can again be entangled with the passions of flesh and blood, seeing the apostle manifestly declares that flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of God , nor shall corruption inherit incorruption. But how do they understand the declaration of the apostle, We shall all be changed? This transformation certainly is to be looked for, according to the order which we have taught above; and in it, undoubtedly, it becomes us to hope for something worthy of divine grace ; and this we believe will take place in the order in which the apostle describes the sowing in the ground of a bare grain of grain, or of any other fruit, to which God gives a body as it pleases Him, as soon as the grain of grain is dead. For in the same way also our…

4. We find in the prophet Isaiah, that the fire with which each one is punished is described as his own; for he says, Walk in the light of your own fire, and in the flame which you have kindled. By these words it seems to be indicated that every sinner kindles for himself the flame of his own fire, and is not plunged into some fire which has been already kindled by another, or was in existence before himself. Of this fire the fuel and food are our sins , which are called by the Apostle Paul wood, and hay, and stubble. And I think that, as abundance of food, and provisions of a contrary kind and amount, breed fevers in the body, and fevers, too, of different sorts and duration, according to the proportion in which the collected poison supplies material and fuel for disease (the quality of this material, gathered together from different poisons, proving the causes either of a more acute or more lingering disease); so, when the soul has gathered together a multitude of evil works, and an abundance of sins against itself, at a suitable time all that assembly of evils boils up to punishment, and is set on fire to chastisements; when the mind itself, or conscience , receiving by divine power into the memory all those things of which it had stamped on itself certain signs and forms at the moment of sinning, will see a kind of history, as it were, of all the foul, and shameful, and unholy deeds which it has done, exposed before its eyes: then is the conscience itself harassed, and,…

1. But as it is not sufficient, in the discussion of matters of such importance, to entrust the decision to the human senses and to the human understanding, and to pronounce on things invisible as if they were seen by us, we must, in order to establish the positions which we have laid down, adduce the testimony of Holy Scripture . And that this testimony may produce a sure and unhesitating belief, either with regard to what we have still to advance, or to what has been already stated, it seems necessary to show, in the first place, that the Scriptures themselves are divine, i.e., were inspired by the Spirit of God . We shall therefore with all possible brevity draw forth from the Holy Scriptures themselves, such evidence on this point as may produce upon us a suitable impression, (making our quotations) from Moses , the first legislator of the Hebrew nation, and from the words of Jesus Christ , the Author and Chief of the Christian religious system. For although there have been numerous legislators among the Greeks and Barbarians, and also countless teachers and philosophers who professed to declare the truth , we do not remember any legislator who was able to produce in the minds of foreign nations an affection and a zeal (for him) such as led them either voluntarily to adopt his laws , or to defend them with all the efforts of their mind. No one, then, has been able to introduce and make known what seemed to himself the truth , among, I do not say many foreign nations, but…

2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill, nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion . From which it is no doubtful inference, that it is not by human power or might that the words of Jesus Christ come to prevail with all faith and power over the understandings and souls of all men . For, that these results were both predicted by Him, and established by divine answers proceeding from Him, is clear from His own words: You shall be brought before governors and kings for My sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles . And again: This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached among all nations. And again: Many shall say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not eaten and drunk in Your name, and in Your name cast out devils? And I will say unto them, Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity, I never knew you. If these sayings, indeed, had been so uttered by Him, and yet if these predictions had not been fulfilled, they might perhaps appear to be untrue, and not to possess any authority. But now, when His declarations do pass into fulfilment, seeing they…

3. What, then, are we to say of this, which the prophets had beforehand foretold of Him, that princes would not cease from Judah, nor leaders from be­tween his thighs, until He should come for whom it has been reserved (viz., the kingdom), and until the expectation of the Gentiles should come? For it is most distinctly evident from the history itself, from what is clearly seen at the present day, that from the times of Christ onwards there were no kings among the Jews . Nay, even all those objects of Jewish pride , of which they vaunted so much, and in which they exulted, whether regarding the beauty of the temple or the ornaments of the altar, and all those sacerdotal fillets and robes of the high priests , were all destroyed together. For the proph­ecy was fulfilled which had declared, For the chil­dren of Israel shall abide many days without king and prince: there shall be no victim, nor altar, nor priesthood , nor answers. These testimonies, ac­cordingly, we employ against those who seem to assert that what is spoken in Genesis by Jacob refers to Judah; and who say that there still remains a prince of the race of Judah — he, viz., who is the prince of their nation, whom they style Patriarch — and that there cannot fail (a ruler) of his seed, who will re­main until the advent of that Christ whom they pic­ture to themselves. But if the prophet's words be true , when he says, The children of Israel shall abide many days without king, without prince; and there shall be no…

4. In the song of Deuteronomy, also, it is pro­phetically declared that, on account of the sins of the former people, there was to be an election of a fool­ish nation — no other, certainly, than that which was brought about by Christ; for thus the words run: They have moved Me to anger with their images, and I will stir them up to jealousy; I will arouse them to anger against a foolish nation. We may therefore evidently see how the Hebrews, who are said to have excited God's anger by means of those ( idols ), which are no gods, and to have aroused His wrath by their images, were themselves also excited to jealousy by means of a foolish nation, which God has chosen by the advent of Jesus Christ and His disciples . For the following is the language of the apostle: For you see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men among you after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble (are called): but God has chosen the foolish things of the world, and the things which are not, to destroy the things which formerly existed . Carnal Israel , therefore, should not boast; for such is the term used by the apostle: No flesh, I say, should glory in the presence of God .

1. It is now time, after this cursory notice of these points, to resume our investigation of the incarnation of our Lord and Saviour, viz., how or why He became man. Having therefore, to the best of our feeble ability, considered His divine nature from the contemplation of His own works rather than from our own feelings, and having nevertheless beheld (with the eye) His visible creation while the invisible creation is seen by faith , because human frailty can neither see all things with the bodily eye nor comprehend them by reason, seeing we men are weaker and frailer than any other rational beings (for those which are in heaven, or are supposed to exist above the heaven, are superior), it remains that we seek a being intermediate between all created things and God , i.e., a Mediator, whom the Apostle Paul styles the first-born of every creature. Seeing, moreover, those declarations regarding His majesty which are contained in holy Scripture, that He is called the image of the invisible God , and the first-born of every creature, and that in Him were all things created, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers, all things were created by Him, and in Him: and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist, who is the head of all things, alone having as head God the Father; for it is written, The head of Christ is God ; seeing clearly also that it is written, No one knows the Father , save the Son , nor does any one…

2. But of all the marvellous and mighty acts related of Him, this altogether surpasses human admiration, and is beyond the power of mortal frailness to understand or feel, how that mighty power of divine majesty, that very Word of the Father , and that very wisdom of God , in which were created all things, visible and invisible, can be believed to have existed within the limits of that man who appeared in Judea ; nay, that the Wisdom of God can have entered the womb of a woman , and have been born an infant, and have uttered wailings like the cries of little children! And that afterwards it should be related that He was greatly troubled in death, saying, as He Himself declared, My soul is sorrowful even unto death; and that at the last He was brought to that death which is accounted the most shameful among men , although He rose again on the third day. Since, then, we see in Him some things so human that they appear to differ in no respect from the common frailty of mortals, and some things so divine that they can appropriately belong to nothing else than to the primal and ineffable nature of Deity, the narrowness of human understanding can find no outlet; but, overcome with the amazement of a mighty admiration, knows not whither to withdraw, or what to take hold of, or whither to turn. If it think of a God , it sees a mortal; if it think of a man , it beholds Him returning from the grave, after overthrowing the empire of death, laden with its spoils. And therefore the…

3. The Only-begotten of God , therefore, through whom, as the previous course of the discussion has shown, all things were made, visible and invisible, according to the view of Scripture, both made all things, and loves what He made. For since He is Himself the invisible image of the invisible God , He conveyed invisibly a share in Himself to all His rational creatures, so that each one obtained a part of Him exactly proportioned to the amount of affection with which he regarded Him. But since, agreeably to the faculty of free-will , variety and diversity characterized the individual souls , so that one was attached with a warmer love to the Author of its being, and another with a feebler and weaker regard, that soul ( anima ) regarding which Jesus said, No one shall take my life ( animam ) from me, inhering, from the beginning of the creation, and afterwards, inseparably and indissolubly in Him, as being the Wisdom and Word of God , and the Truth and the true Light, and receiving Him wholly, and passing into His light and splendour, was made with Him in a pre-eminent degree one spirit, according to the promise of the apostle to those who ought to imitate it, that he who is joined in the Lord is one spirit. This substance of a soul , then, being intermediate between God and the flesh — it being impossible for the nature of God to intermingle with a body without an intermediate instrument — the God-man is born, as we have said, that substance being the intermediary to whose…

4. That the perfection of his love and the sincerity of his deserved affection formed for it this inseparable union with God , so that the assumption of that soul was not accidental, or the result of a personal preference, but was conferred as the reward of its virtues , listen to the prophet addressing it thus: You have loved righteousness, and hated wickedness : therefore God , your God , has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows. As a reward for its love , then, it is anointed with the oil of gladness ; i.e., the soul of Christ along with the Word of God is made Christ. Because to be anointed with the oil of gladness means nothing else than to be filled with the Holy Spirit . And when it is said above your fellows, it is meant that the grace of the Spirit was not given to it as to the prophets , but that the essential fullness of the Word of God Himself was in it, according to the saying of the apostle, In whom dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Finally, on this account he has not only said, You have loved righteousness; but he adds, and You have hated wickedness . For to have hated wickedness is what the Scripture says of Him, that He did no sin , neither was any guile found in His mouth, and that He was tempted in all things like as we are, without sin . Nay, the Lord Himself also said, Which of you will convince Me of sin ? And again He says with reference to Himself, Behold, the prince of this world comes, and finds nothing in Me. All…

1. As, then, after those first discussions which, according to the requirements of the case, we held at the beginning regarding the Father , Son, and Holy Spirit , it seemed right that we should retrace our steps, and show that the same God was the creator and founder of the world, and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ , i.e., that the God of the law and of the prophets and of the Gospel was one and the same; and that, in the next place, it ought to be shown, with respect to Christ , in what manner He who had formerly been demonstrated to be the Word and Wisdom of God became man; it remains that we now return with all possible brevity to the subject of the Holy Spirit . It is time, then, that we say a few words to the best of our ability regarding the Holy Spirit , whom our Lord and Saviour in the Gospel according to John has named the Paraclete. For as it is the same God Himself, and the same Christ, so also is it the same Holy Spirit who was in the prophets and apostles , i.e., either in those who believed in God before the advent of Christ , or in those who by means of Christ have sought refuge in God . We have heard, indeed, that certain heretics have dared to say that there are two Gods and two Christs, but we have never known of the doctrine of two Holy Spirits being preached by any one. For how could they maintain this out of Scripture, or what distinction could they lay down between Holy Spirit and Holy Spirit , if indeed any definition or description of Holy…

2. Now we are of opinion that every rational creature, without any distinction, receives a share of Him in the same way as of the Wisdom and of the Word of God . I observe, however, that the chief advent of the Holy Spirit is declared to men , after the ascension of Christ to heaven, rather than before His coming into the world. For, before that, it was upon the prophets alone, and upon a few individuals — if there happened to be any among the people deserving of it — that the gift of the Holy Spirit was conferred; but after the advent of the Saviour , it is written that the prediction of the prophet Joel was fulfilled, In the last days it shall come to pass, and I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and they shall prophesy, which is similar to the well-known statement, All nations shall serve Him. By the grace , then, of the Holy Spirit , along with numerous other results, this most glorious consequence is clearly demonstrated, that with regard to those things which were written in the prophets or in the law of Moses , it was only a few persons at that time, viz., the prophets themselves, and scarcely another individual out of the whole nation, who were able to look beyond the mere corporeal meaning and discover something greater, i.e., something spiritual, in the law or in the prophets ; but now there are countless multitudes of believers who, although unable to unfold methodically and clearly the results of their spiritual understanding, are nevertheless most firmly…

3. And as there are many ways of apprehending Christ, who, although He is wisdom, does not act the part or possess the power of wisdom in all men , but only in those who give themselves to the study of wisdom in Him; and who, although called a physician, does not act as one towards all, but only towards those who understand their feeble and sickly condition, and flee to His compassion that they may obtain health; so also I think is it with the Holy Spirit , in whom is contained every kind of gifts. For on some is bestowed by the Spirit the word of wisdom, on others the word of knowledge , on others faith ; and so to each individual of those who are capable of receiving Him, is the Spirit Himself made to be that quality, or understood to be that which is needed by the individual who has deserved to participate. These divisions and differences not being perceived by those who hear Him called Paraclete in the Gospel , and not duly considering in consequence of what work or act He is named the Paraclete, they have compared Him to some common spirits or other, and by this means have tried to disturb the Churches of Christ , and so excite dissensions of no small extent among brethren; whereas the Gospel shows Him to be of such power and majesty, that it says the apostles could not yet receive those things which the Saviour wished to teach them until the advent of the Holy Spirit , who, pouring Himself into their souls , might enlighten them regarding the nature and faith of the…

4. We must therefore know that the Paraclete is the Holy Spirit , who teaches truths which cannot be uttered in words, and which are, so to speak, unutterable, and which it is not lawful for a man to utter, i.e., which cannot be indicated by human language. The phrase it is not lawful is, we think, used by the apostle instead of it is not possible; as also is the case in the passage where he says, All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me; but all things edify not. For those things which are in our power because we may have them, he says are lawful for us. But the Paraclete, who is called the Holy Spirit , is so called from His work of consolation, para clesis being termed in Latin consolatio . For if any one has deserved to participate in the Holy Spirit by the knowledge of His ineffable mysteries , he undoubtedly obtains comfort and joy of heart. For since he comes by the teaching of the Spirit to the knowledge of the reasons of all things which happen — how or why they occur — his soul can in no respect be troubled, or admit any feeling of sorrow; nor is he alarmed by anything, since, clinging to the Word of God and His wisdom, he through the Holy Spirit calls Jesus Lord. And since we have made mention of the Paraclete, and have explained as we were able what sentiments ought to be entertained regarding Him; and since our Saviour also is called the Paraclete in the Epistle of John, when he says, If any of us sin , we have…

1. The order of our arrangement now requires us, after the discussion of the preceding subjects, to institute a general inquiry regarding the soul ; and, beginning with points of inferior importance, to ascend to those that are of greater. Now, that there are souls in all living things, even in those which live in the waters, is, I suppose, doubted by no one. For the general opinion of all men maintains this; and confirmation from the authority of holy Scripture is added, when it is said that God made great whales, and every living creature that moves which the waters brought forth after their kind. It is confirmed also from the common intelligence of reason, by those who lay down in certain words a definition of soul . For soul is defined as follows: a substance φανταστική and ὁρμητική , which may be rendered into Latin, although not so appropriately, sensibilis et mobilis . This certainly may be said appropriately of all living beings, even of those which abide in the waters; and of winged creatures too, this same definition of anima may be shown to hold good. Scripture also has added its authority to a second opinion, when it says, You shall not eat the blood, because the life of all flesh is its blood; and you shall not eat the life with the flesh; in which it intimates most clearly that the blood of every animal is its life. And if any one now were to ask how it can be said with respect to bees, wasps, and ants, and those other things which are in the waters, oysters…

2. But the nature of the incarnation will render unnecessary any inquiry into the soul of Christ . For as He truly possessed flesh, so also He truly possessed a soul . It is difficult indeed both to feel and to state how that which is called in Scripture the soul of God is to be understood; for we acknowledge that nature to be simple, and without any intermixture or addition. In whatever way, however, it is to be understood, it seems, meanwhile, to be named the soul of God ; whereas regarding Christ there is no doubt . And therefore there seems to me no absurdity in either understanding or asserting some such thing regarding the holy angels and the other heavenly powers, since that definition of soul appears applicable also to them. For who can rationally deny that they are sensible and moveable? But if that definition appear to be correct, according to which a soul is said to be a substance rationally sensible and moveable, the same definition would seem also to apply to angels . For what else is in them than rational feeling and motion? Now those beings who are comprehended under the same definition have undoubtedly the same substance. Paul indeed intimates that there is a kind of animal-man who, he says, cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God , but declares that the doctrine of the Holy Spirit seems to him foolish, and that he cannot understand what is to be spiritually discerned. In another passage he says it is sown an animal body, and arises a spiritual body,…

3. But perhaps this question is asked, If it be the understanding which prays and sings with the spirit, and if it be the same which receives both perfection and salvation , how is it that Peter says, Receiving the end of your faith , even the salvation of your souls ? If the soul neither prays nor sings with the spirit, how shall it hope for salvation ? Or when it attains to blessedness, shall it be no longer called a soul ? Let us see if perhaps an answer may be given in this way, that as the Saviour came to save what was lost, that which formerly was said to be lost is not lost when it is saved; so also, perhaps, this which is saved is called a soul , and when it has been placed in a state of salvation will receive a name from the Word that denotes its more perfect condition. But it appears to some that this also may be added, that as the thing which was lost undoubtedly existed before it was lost, at which time it was something else than destroyed, so also will be the case when it is no longer in a ruined condition. In like manner also, the soul which is said to have perished will appear to have been something at one time, when as yet it had not perished, and on that account would be termed soul , and being again freed from destruction, it may become a second time what it was before it perished, and be called a soul . But from the very signification of the name soul which the Greek word conveys, it has appeared to a few curious inquirers that a meaning of no small…

4. Now, if this be the case, it seems to me that this very decay and falling away of the understanding is not the same in all, but that this conversion into a soul is carried to a greater or less degree in different instances, and that certain understandings retain something even of their former vigour, and others again either nothing or a very small amount. Whence some are found from the very commencement of their lives to be of more active intellect , others again of a slower habit of mind , and some are born wholly obtuse, and altogether incapable of instruction. Our statement, however, that the understanding is converted into a soul , or whatever else seems to have such a meaning, the reader must carefully consider and settle for himself, as these views are not be regarded as advanced by us in a dogmatic manner, but simply as opinions, treated in the style of investigation and discussion. Let the reader take this also into consideration, that it is observed with regard to the soul of the Saviour , that of those things which are written in the Gospel , some are ascribed to it under the name of soul , and others under that of spirit. For when it wishes to indicate any suffering or perturbation affecting Him, it indicates it under the name of soul ; as when it says, Now is My soul troubled; and, My soul is sorrowful, even unto death; and, No man takes My soul from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. Into the hands of His Father He commends not His soul , but His spirit; and…

1. All who believe and are assured that grace and truth were obtained through Jesus Christ , and who know Christ to be the truth , agreeably to His own declaration, I am the truth , derive the knowledge which incites men to a good and happy life from no other source than from the very words and teaching of Christ . And by the words of Christ we do not mean those only which He spoke when He became man and tabernacled in the flesh; for before that time, Christ, the Word of God , was in Moses and the prophets . For without the Word of God , how could they have been able to prophesy of Christ? And were it not our purpose to confine the present treatise within the limits of all attainable brevity, it would not be difficult to show, in proof of this statement, out of the Holy Scriptures , how Moses or the prophets both spoke and performed all they did through being filled with the Spirit of Christ . And therefore I think it sufficient to quote this one testimony of Paul from the Epistle to the Hebrews, in which he says: By faith Moses , when he had come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God , than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of the Egyptians . Moreover, that after His ascension into heaven He spoke in His apostles , is shown by Paul in these words: Or do you seek a proof of Christ who speaks in me?

2. Since many, however, of those who profess to believe in Christ differ from each other, not only in small and trifling matters, but also on subjects of the highest importance, as, e.g., regarding God , or the Lord Jesus Christ , or the Holy Spirit ; and not only regarding these, but also regarding others which are created existences, viz., the powers and the holy virtues ; it seems on that account necessary first of all to fix a definite limit and to lay down an unmistakable rule regarding each one of these, and then to pass to the investigation of other points. For as we ceased to seek for truth (notwithstanding the professions of many among Greeks and Barbarians to make it known ) among all who claimed it for erroneous opinions, after we had come to believe that Christ was the Son of God , and were persuaded that we must learn it from Himself; so, seeing there are many who think they hold the opinions of Christ , and yet some of these think differently from their predecessors, yet as the teaching of the Church , transmitted in orderly succession from the apostles , and remaining in the Churches to the present day, is still preserved, that alone is to be accepted as truth which differs in no respect from ecclesiastical and apostolic tradition.

3. Now it ought to be known that the holy apostles , in preaching the faith of Christ , delivered themselves with the utmost clearness on certain points which they believed to be necessary to every one, even to those who seemed somewhat dull in the investigation of divine knowledge ; leaving, however, the grounds of their statements to be examined into by those who should deserve the excellent gifts of the Spirit , and who, especially by means of the Holy Spirit Himself, should obtain the gift of language, of wisdom, and of knowledge : while on other subjects they merely stated the fact that things were so, keeping silence as to the manner or origin of their existence ; clearly in order that the more zealous of their successors, who should be lovers of wisdom, might have a subject of exercise on which to display the fruit of their talents — those persons , I mean, who should prepare themselves to be fit and worthy receivers of wisdom.

4. The particular points clearly delivered in the teaching of the apostles are as follow:— First , That there is one God , who created and arranged all things, and who, when nothing existed , called all things into being — God from the first creation and foundation of the world — the God of all just men, of Adam, Abel, Seth, Enos, Enoch , Noe, Sere, Abraham , Isaac, Jacob, the twelve patriarchs, Moses , and the prophets ; and that this God in the last days, as He had announced beforehand by His prophets , sent our Lord Jesus Christ to call in the first place Israel to Himself, and in the second place the Gentiles , after the unfaithfulness of the people of Israel . This just and good God , the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ , Himself gave the law and the prophets , and the Gospels , being also the God of the apostles and of the Old and New Testaments. Secondly , That Jesus Christ Himself, who came (into the world), was born of the Father before all creatures; that, after He had been the servant of the Father in the creation of all things — For by Him were all things made — He in the last times, divesting Himself (of His glory ), became a man , and was incarnate although God , and while made a man remained the God which He was; that He assumed a body like to our own, differing in this respect only, that it was born of a virgin and of the Holy Spirit : that this Jesus Christ was truly born, and did truly suffer, and did not endure this death common (to man) in appearance…

For the law and the prophets are full of marvels similar to those recorded of Jesus at His baptism , viz., regarding the dove and the voice from heaven. And I think the wonders wrought by Jesus are a proof of the Holy Spirit's having then appeared in the form of a dove, although Celsus, from a desire to cast discredit upon them, alleges that He performed only what He had learned among the Egyptians . And I shall refer not only to His miracles , but, as is proper, to those also of the apostles of Jesus. For they could not without the help of miracles and wonders have prevailed on those who heard their new doctrines and new teachings to abandon their national usages, and to accept their instructions at the danger to themselves even of death.

And there are still preserved among Christians traces of that Holy Spirit which appeared in the form of a dove. They expel evil spirits , and perform many cures, and foresee certain events, according to the will of the Logos . And although Celsus, or the Jew whom he has introduced, may treat with mockery what I am going to say, I shall say it nevertheless — that many have been converted to Christianity as if against their will, some sort of spirit having suddenly transformed their minds from a hatred of the doctrine to a readiness to die in its defense, and having appeared to them either in a waking vision or a dream of the night.

Many such instances have we known , which, if we were to commit to writing, although they were seen and witnessed by ourselves, we should afford great occasion for ridicule to unbelievers, who would imagine that we, like those whom they suppose to have invented such things, had ourselves also done the same. But God is witness of our conscientious desire, not by false statements, but by testimonies of different kinds, to establish the divinity of the doctrine of Jesus.

And as it is a Jew who is perplexed about the account of the Holy Spirit having descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove, we would say to him, Sir, who is it that says in Isaiah, 'And now the Lord has sent me and His Spirit.' In which sentence, as the meaning is doubtful — viz., whether the Father and the Holy Spirit sent Jesus, or the Father sent both Christ and the Holy Spirit — the latter is correct. For, because the Saviour was sent, afterwards the Holy Spirit was sent also, that the prediction of the prophet might be fulfilled; and as it was necessary that the fulfilment of the prophecy should be known to posterity, the disciples of Jesus for that reason committed the result to writing.

Preface In the name of the Father , and the Son , and the Holy Spirit , one God. This is a transcript of the excellent law. But before beginning to give the transcript of the book of the law, it will be worth while to instruct you, O brother, as to its excellence, and the dignity of its disposition. Its first excellence is, that God delivered it by the hand of our most blessed ruler, the chief of the prophets , and first of the apostles , or those who were sent to the children of Israel , viz. Moses the son of Amram, the son of Kohath, of the sons of Levi. Now he was adorned with all manner of wisdom, and endowed with the best genius. Illustrious in dignity, remarkable for the integrity of his disposition, distinguished for power of reason, he talked with God . And He chose him as an instrument of value. By His leader and prophet , God Most High sent it clown to us, and committed it to us (blessed be His name) in the Syriac tongue of the Targum, which the Seventy translated into the Hebrew tongue, to wit, into the tongue of the nation, and the idiom of the common people. Moses . therefore, received it from the eternal Lord, and was the first to whom it was entrusted, and who obeyed its rules and ordinances. Then he taught it to the children of Israel , who also embraced it. And he explained to them its profound mysteries and dark places. And he expounded to them those things which were less easy, as God permitted him, and concealed from them those secrets of the law, as God…

6. Hippolytus, the Syrian expositor of the Targum, has said: We find in an ancient Hebrew copy that God commanded Noah to range the wild beasts in order in the lower floor or storey, and to separate the males from the females by putting wooden stakes between them. And thus, too, he did with all the cattle, and also with the birds in the middle storey. And God ordered the males thus to be separated from the females for the sake of decency and purity, lest they should perchance get intermingled with each other. Moreover, God said to Moses : Provide victuals for yourself and your children. And let them be of wheat, ground, pounded, kneaded with water, and dried. And Noah there and then bade his wife, and his sons' wives, diligently attend to kneading dough and laying it in the oven. They kneaded dough accordingly, and prepared just about as much as might be sufficient for them, so that nothing should remain over but the very least. And God charged Noah , saying to him: Whosoever shall first announce to you the approach of the deluge, him you shall destroy that very moment. In the meantime, moreover, the wife of Cham was standing by, about to put a large piece of bread into the oven. And suddenly, according to the word of the Lord, water rushed forth from the oven, and the flow of water penetrated and destroyed the bread. Therefore the wife of Cham exclaimed, addressing herself to Noah : Oh, sir, the word of God has come good: that which God foretold has come to pass; execute,…

First fragment (Preface) As I wish to give an accurate account of the times of the captivity of the children of Israel in Babylon , and to discuss the prophecies contained in the visions of the blessed Daniel, (as well as) his manner of life from his boyhood in Babylon , I too shall proceed to bear my testimony to that holy and righteous man, a prophet and witness of Christ , who not only declared the visions of Nebuchadnezzar the king in those times, but also trained youths of like mind with himself, and raised up faithful witnesses in the world. He is horn, then, in the time of the prophetic ministry of the blessed Jeremiah, and in the reign of Jehoiakim or Eliakim. Along with the other captives, he is carried off a prisoner to Babylon . Now there are born to the blessed Josiah these five sons — Jehoahaz, Eliakim, Johanan, Zedekiah, or Jeconiah, and Sadum. And on his father's death, Jehoahaz is anointed as king by the people at the age of twenty-three years. Against him comes up Pharaoh -Necho, in the third month of his reign; and he takes him (Jehoahaz) prisoner, and carries him into Egypt , and imposes tribute on the land to the extent of one hundred talents of silver and ten talents of gold. And in his stead he sets up his brother Eliakim as king over the land, whose name also he changed to Jehoiakim, and who was then eleven years old. Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon , and carries him off prisoner to Babylon , taking with him also some of the vessels…

1. In speaking of a lioness from the sea, he meant the rising of the kingdom of Babylon , and that this was the golden head of the image. And in speaking of its eagle wings, be meant that king Nebuchadnezzar was exalted and that his glory was lifted up against God. Then he says its wings were plucked off, i.e., that his glory was destroyed; for he was driven out of his kingdom. And the words, A man's heart was given it, and it was made stand upon the feet of a man , mean that he came to himself again, and recognised that he was but a man , and gave the glory to God . Then after the lioness he sees a second beast, like a bear, which signified the Persians. For after the Babylonians the Persians obtained the power. And in saying that it had three ribs in its mouth, he pointed to the three nations, Persians , Medes, and Babylonians , which were expressed in the image by the silver after the gold. Then comes the third beast, a leopard, which means the Greeks; for after the Persians , Alexander of Macedon had the power, when Darius was overthrown, which was also indicated by the brass in the image. And in saying that the beast had four wings of a fowl, and four heads, he showed most clearly how the kingdom of Alexander was parted into four divisions. For in speaking of four heads, he meant the four kings that arose out of it. For Alexander, when dying, divided his kingdom into four parts. Then he says, The fourth beast (was) dreadful and terrible: it had iron teeth, and claws of…

2. After this, then, what remains, beloved, but the toes of the feet of the image, in which part shall be of iron and part of clay mixed together? By the toes of the feet he meant, mystically , the ten kings that rise out of that kingdom. As Daniel says, I considered the beast; and, lo, (there were) ten horns behind, among which shall come up another little horn springing from them; by which none other is meant than the antichrist that is to rise; and he shall set up the kingdom of Judah. And in saying that three horns were plucked up by the roots by this one, he indicates the three kings of Egypt , Libya, and Ethiopia , whom this one will slay in the array of war . And when he has conquered all, he will prove himself a terrible and savage tyrant, and will cause tribulation and persecution to the saints , exalting himself against them. And after him, it remains that the stone shall come from heaven which smote the image and shivered it, and subverted all the kingdoms, and gave the kingdom to the saints of the Most High. This became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

3. As these things, then, are destined to come to pass, and as the toes of the image turn out to be democracies, and the ten horns of the beast are distributed among ten kings, let us look at what is before us more carefully, and scan it, as it were, with open eye. The golden head of the image is identical with the lioness, by which the Babylonians were represented. The golden shoulders and the arms of silver are the same with the bear, by which the Persians and Medes are meant. The belly and thighs of brass are the leopard, by which the Greeks who ruled from Alexander onwards are intended. The legs of iron are the dreadful and terrible beast, by which the Romans who hold the empire now are meant. The toes of clay and iron are the ten horns which are to be. The one other little horn springing up in their midst is the antichrist. The stone that smites the image and breaks it in pieces, and that filled the whole earth, is Christ, who comes from heaven and brings judgment on the world.

First fragment From the Commentary of St. Hippolytus on Proverbs. Proverbs, therefore, are words of exhortation serviceable for the whole path of life; for to those who seek their way to God , these serve as guides and signs to revive them when wearied with the length of the road. These, moreover, are the proverbs of Solomon, that is to say, the peacemaker, who, in truth , is Christ the Saviour.

And since we understand the words of the Lord without offense, as being the words of the Lord, that no one may mislead us by likeness of name, he tells us who wrote these things, and of what people he was king, in order that the credit of the speaker may make the discourse acceptable and the hearers attentive; for they are the words of that Solomon to whom the Lord said: I will give you a wise and an understanding heart; so that there has been none like you upon the earth, and after you there shall not arise any like you, 1 Kings 3:12 and as follows in what is written of him. Now he was the wise son of a wise father; wherefore there is added the name of David, by whom Solomon was begotten.

From a child he was instructed in the sacred Scriptures, and obtained his dominion not by lot, nor by force, but by the judgment of the Spirit and the decree of God . To know wisdom and instruction. He who knows the wisdom of God , receives from Him also instruction, and learns by it the mysteries of the Word; and they who know the true heavenly wisdom will easily understand the words of these mysteries . Wherefore he says: To understand the difficulties of words; for things spoken in strange language by the Holy Spirit become intelligible to those who have their hearts right with God . These things he understands of the people of the Jews , and their guilt in the blood of Christ; for they thought that He had His conversation (citizenship) on earth only. They will not simply obtain, but inherit.

The wicked , again, even though they are exalted, are exalted only so as to have greater dishonour. For as one does not honour an ugly and mis-shapen fellow, if he exalts him, but only dishonours him the more, by making his shame manifest to a larger number; so also God exalts the wicked , in order that He may make their disgrace patent. For Pharaoh was exalted, but only to have the world as his accuser. Proverbs 4:2 It must be noted, that he names the law a good gift, on account of the man who takes gifts into his bosom unrighteously. And he forsakes the law who transgresses it; the law, namely, of which he speaks, or which he has kept. And what is meant by exalt (fortify) her? Surround her with holy thoughts; for you have need of large defense, since there are many things to imperil such a possession.

Treatise 1 (Cyprian of Carthage) Home > Fathers of the Church > Treatises (Cyprian of Carthage) > Treatise 1 Treatise 1 On the Unity of the Church. Argument.— On the Occasion of the Schism of Novatian , to Keep Back from Him the Carthaginians, Who Already Were Not Averse to Him, on Account of Novatus and Some Other Presbyters of His Church, Who Had Originated the Whole Disturbance, Cyprian Wrote This Treatise. And First of All, Fortifying Them Against the Deceits of These, He Exhorts Them to Constancy, and Instructs Them that Heresies Exist Because Christ, the Head of the Church , is Not Looked To, that the Common Commission First Entrusted to Peter is Contemned, and the One Church and the One Episcopate are Deserted. Then He Proves, as Well by the Scriptures as by the Figures of the Old and New Testament , the Unity of the Church .

1. Since the Lord warns us, saying, You are the salt of the earth, Matthew 5:13 and since He bids us to be simple to harmlessness, and yet with our simplicity to be prudent , what else, beloved brethren, befits us, than to use foresight and watching with an anxious heart, both to perceive and to beware of the wiles of the crafty foe, that we, who have put on Christ the wisdom of God the Father , may not seem to be wanting in wisdom in the matter of providing for our salvation ? For it is not persecution alone that is to be feared; nor those things which advance by open attack to overwhelm and cast down the servants of God . Caution is more easy where danger is manifest, and the mind is prepared beforehand for the contest when the adversary avows himself. The enemy is more to be feared and to be guarded against, when he creeps on us secretly; when, deceiving by the appearance of peace, he steals forward by hidden approaches, whence also he has received the name of the Serpent. That is always his subtlety; that is his dark and stealthy artifice for circumventing man. Thus from the very beginning of the world he deceived; and flattering with lying words, he misled inexperienced souls by an incautious credulity. Thus he endeavoured to tempt the Lord Himself: he secretly approached Him, as if he would creep on Him again, and deceive; yet he was understood, and beaten back, and therefore prostrated, because he was recognised and detected.

2. From which an example is given us to avoid the way of the old man, to stand in the footsteps of a conquering Christ, that we may not again be incautiously turned back into the nets of death, but, foreseeing our danger, may possess the immortality that we have received. But how can we possess immortality , unless we keep those commands of Christ whereby death is driven out and overcome, when He Himself warns us, and says, If you will enter into life, keep the commandments? Matthew 19:17 And again: If you do the things that I command you, henceforth I call you not servants, but friends. John 15:14-15 Finally, these persons He calls strong and steadfast; these He declares to be founded in robust security upon the rock, established with immoveable and unshaken firmness, in opposition to all the tempests and hurricanes of the world. Whosoever, says He, hears my words, and does them, I will liken him unto a wise man, that built his house upon a rock: the rain descended, the floods came, the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. Matthew 7:24 We ought therefore to stand fast on His words, to learn and do whatever He both taught and did. But how can a man say that he believes in Christ , who does not do what Christ commanded him to do? Or whence shall he attain to the reward of faith , who will not keep the faith of the commandment? He must of necessity waver and wander, and, caught away by a spirit of error , like dust which is…

3. But, beloved brethren, not only must we beware of what is open and manifest, but also of what deceives by the craft of subtle fraud. And what can be more crafty, or what more subtle, than for this enemy, detected and cast down by the advent of Christ , after light has come to the nations , and saving rays have shone for the preservation of men , that the deaf might receive the hearing of spiritual grace , the blind might open their eyes to God , the weak might grow strong again with eternal health, the lame might run to the church, the dumb might pray with clear voices and prayers — seeing his idols forsaken, and his lanes and his temples deserted by the numerous concourse of believers — to devise a new fraud, and under the very title of the Christian name to deceive the incautious? He has invented heresies and schisms, whereby he might subvert the faith , might corrupt the truth , might divide the unity. Those whom he cannot keep in the darkness of the old way, he circumvents and deceives by the error of a new way. He snatches men from the Church itself; and while they seem to themselves to have already approached to the light, and to have escaped the night of the world, he pours over them again, in their unconsciousness, new darkness; so that, although they do not stand firm with the Gospel of Christ , and with the observation and law of Christ , they still call themselves Christians , and, walking in darkness, they think that they have the light, while the adversary is…

Treatise 3 (Cyprian of Carthage) Home > Fathers of the Church > Treatises (Cyprian of Carthage) > Treatise 3 Treatise 3 On the Lapsed. Argument.— Having Enlarged Upon the Unlooked-for Peace of the Church , and the Constancy of the Confessors and Those Who Had Stood Fast in the Faith; And Then with Extreme Grief Having Pointed to the Downfall of the Lapsed, and Unfolded the Causes of the Bygone Persecution, Namely, the Neglect of Discipline, and the Sins of the Faithful; Our Author Severely Reproaches the Lapsed, That, at the Very First Words of the Enemy Threatening Them, They Had Sacrificed to Idols, and Had Not Rather Withdrawn, According to Christ's Counsel. Lastly, He Warns His Readers to Avoid the Novatians, Confuting Their Heresy with Many Scriptures.

1. Behold, beloved brethren, peace is restored to the Church ; and although it lately seemed to incredulous people difficult, and to traitors impossible, our security is by divine aid and retribution re-established. Our minds return to gladness ; and the season of affliction and the cloud being dispersed, tranquillity and serenity have shone forth once more. Praises must be given to God , and His benefits and gifts must be celebrated with giving of thanks, although even in the time of persecution our voice has not ceased to give thanks. For not even an enemy has so much power as to prevent us, who love the Lord with our whole heart, and life, and strength, from declaring His blessings and praises always and everywhere with glory . The day earnestly desired, by the prayers of all has come; and after the dreadful and loathsome darkness of a long night, the world has shone forth irradiated by the light of the Lord.

2. We look with glad countenances upon confessors illustrious with the heraldry of a good name, and glorious with the praises of virtue and of faith ; clinging to them with holy kisses, we embrace them long desired with insatiable eagerness. The white-robed cohort of Christ's soldiers is here, who in the fierce conflict have broken the ferocious turbulence of an urgent persecution , having been prepared for the suffering of the dungeon, armed for the endurance of death. Bravely you have resisted the world: you have afforded a glorious spectacle in the sight of God ; you have been an example to your brethren that shall follow you. That religious voice has named the name of Christ , in whom it has once confessed that it believed ; those illustrious hands, which had only been accustomed to divine works, have resisted the sacrilegious sacrifices ; those lips, sanctified by heavenly food after the body and blood of the Lord, have rejected the profane contacts and the leavings of the idols . Your head has remained free from the impious and wicked veil with which the captive heads of those who sacrificed were there veiled; your brow, pure with the sign of God , could not bear the crown of the devil , but reserved itself for the Lord's crown. How joyously does your Mother Church receive you in her bosom, as you return from the battle! How blissfully, how gladly, does she open her gates, that in united bands you may enter, bearing the trophies from a prostrate enemy! With the…

3. Let none, my beloved brethren, let none depreciate this glory ; let none by malignant dispraise detract from the uncorrupted steadfastness of those who have stood. When the day appointed for denying had gone by, every one who had not professed within that time not to be a Christian , confessed that he was a Christian . It is the first title to victory to confess the Lord under the violence of the hands of the Gentiles . It is the second step to glory to be withdrawn by a cautious retirement, and to be reserved for the Lord. The former is a public, the latter is a private confession. The former overcomes the judge of this world; the latter, content with God as its judge, keeps a pure conscience in integrity of heart. In the former case there is a readier fortitude ; in the latter, solicitude is more secure. The former, as his hour approached, was already found mature; the latter perhaps was delayed, who, leaving his estate, withdrew for a while, because he would not deny, but would certainly confess if he too had been apprehended.

Treatise 4 (Cyprian of Carthage) Home > Fathers of the Church > Treatises (Cyprian of Carthage) > Treatise 4 Treatise 4 On the Lord's Prayer. Argument.— The Treatise of Cyprian on the Lord's Prayer Comprises Three Portions, in Which Division He Imitates Tertullian in His Book on Prayer, in the First Portion, He Points Out that the Lord's Prayer is the Most Excellent of All Prayers, Profoundly Spiritual, and Most Effectual for Obtaining Our Petitions. In the Second Part, He Undertakes an Explanation of the Lord's Prayer; And, Still Treading in the Footsteps of Tertullian , He Goes Through Its Seven Chief Clauses, Finally, in the Third Part, He Considers the Conditions of Prayer, and Tells Us What Prayer Ought to Be. —

1. The evangelical precepts, beloved brethren, are nothing else than divine teachings — foundations on which hope is to be built, supports to strengthen faith , nourishments for cheering the heart, rudders for guiding our way, guards for obtaining salvation — which, while they instruct the docile minds of believers on the earth, lead them to heavenly kingdoms. God , moreover, willed many things to be said and to be heard by means of the prophets His servants; but how much greater are those which the Son speaks, which the Word of God who was in the prophets testifies with His own voice; not now bidding to prepare the way for His coming, but Himself coming and opening and showing to us the way, so that we who have before been wandering in the darkness of death, without forethought and blind, being enlightened by the light of grace , might keep the way of life, with the Lord for our ruler and guide!

2. He, among the rest of His salutary admonitions and divine precepts wherewith He counsels His people for their salvation , Himself also gave a form of praying — Himself advised and instructed us what we should pray for. He who made us to live, taught us also to pray , with that same benignity, to wit, wherewith He has condescended to give and confer all things else; in order that while we speak to the Father in that prayer and supplication which the Son has taught us, we may be the more easily heard. Already He had foretold that the hour was coming when the true worshippers should worship the Father in spirit and in truth ; John 4:23 and He thus fulfilled what He before promised, so that we who by His sanctification have received the Spirit and truth , may also by His teaching worship truly and spiritually. For what can be a more spiritual prayer than that which was given to us by Christ, by whom also the Holy Spirit was given to us? What praying to the Father can be more truthful than that which was delivered to us by the Son who is the Truth, out of His own mouth? So that to pray otherwise than He taught is not ignorance alone, but also sin ; since He Himself has established, and said, You reject the commandments of God , that you may keep your own traditions.

3. Let us therefore, brethren beloved, pray as God our Teacher has taught us. It is a loving and friendly prayer to beseech God with His own word, to come up to His ears in the prayer of Christ . Let the Father acknowledge the words of His Son when we make our prayer , and let Him also who dwells within in our breast Himself dwell in our voice. And since we have Him as an Advocate with the Father for our sins , let us, when as sinners we petition on behalf of our sins , put forward the words of our Advocate. For since He says, that whatsoever we shall ask of the Father in His name, He will give us, John 16:23 how much more effectually do we obtain what we ask in Christ's name, if we ask for it in His own prayer !

1. Many and great, beloved brethren, are the divine benefits wherewith the large and abundant mercy of God the Father and Christ both has laboured and is always labouring for our salvation : that the Father sent the Son to preserve us and give us life, in order that He might restore us; and that the Son was willing to be sent and to become the Son of man , that He might make us sons of God ; humbled Himself, that He might raise up the people who before were prostrate; was wounded that He might heal our wounds; served, that He might draw out to liberty those who were in bondage; underwent death, that He might set forth immortality to mortals. These are many and great boons of divine compassion. But, moreover, what is that providence , and how great the clemency, that by a plan of salvation it is provided for us, that more abundant care should be taken for preserving man after he is already redeemed! For when the Lord at His advent had cured those wounds which Adam had borne, and had healed the old poisons of the serpent, He gave a law to the sound man and bade him sin no more, lest a worse thing should befall the sinner. We had been limited and shut up into a narrow space by the commandment of innocence. Nor would the infirmity and weakness of human frailty have any resource, unless the divine mercy, coming once more in aid, should open some way of securing salvation by pointing out works of justice and mercy, so that by almsgiving we may wash away whatever foulness we…

2. The Holy Spirit speaks in the sacred Scriptures, and says, By almsgiving and faith sins are purged. Not assuredly those sins which had been previously contracted, for those are purged by the blood and sanctification of Christ . Moreover, He says again, As water extinguishes fire, so almsgiving quenches sin . Sirach 3:30 Here also it is shown and proved , that as in the layer of saving water the fire of Gehenna is extinguished, so by almsgiving and works of righteousness the flame of sins is subdued. And because in baptism remission of sins is granted once for all, constant and ceaseless labour, following the likeness of baptism , once again bestows the mercy of God . The Lord teaches this also in the Gospel . For when the disciples were pointed out, as eating and not first washing their hands, He replied and said, He that made that which is within, made also that which is without. But give alms , and behold all things are clean unto you; Luke 11:41 teaching hereby and showing, that not the hands are to be washed, but the heart, and that the foulness from inside is to be done away rather than that from outside; but that he who shall have cleansed what is within has cleansed also that which is without; and that if the mind is cleansed, a man has begun to be clean also in skin and body. Further, admonishing, and showing whence we may be clean and purged, He added that alms must be given. He who is pitiful teaches and warns us that pity must be shown; and because He seeks to…

3. Let us then acknowledge, beloved brethren, the wholesome gift of the divine mercy; and let us, who cannot be without some wound of conscience , heal our wounds by the spiritual remedies for the cleansing and purging of our sins . Nor let any one so flatter himself with the notion of a pure and immaculate heart, as, in dependence on his own innocence, to think that the medicine needs not to be applied to his wounds; since it is written, Who shall boast that he has a clean heart, or who shall boast that he is pure from sins ? Proverbs 20:9 And again, in his epistle, John lays it down, and says, If we say that we have no sin , we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if no one can be without sin , and whoever should say that he is without fault is either proud or foolish, how needful, how kind is the divine mercy, which, knowing that there are still found some wounds in those that have been healed, even after their healing, has given wholesome remedies for the curing and healing of their wounds anew!

4. Finally, beloved brethren, the divine admonition in the Scriptures , as well old as new, has never failed, has never been silent in urging God's people always and everywhere to works of mercy; and in the strain and exhortation of the Holy Spirit , every one who is instructed into the hope of the heavenly kingdom is commanded to give alms . God commands and prescribes to Isaiah: Cry, says He, with strength, and spare not. Lift up your voice as a trumpet, and declare to my people their transgressions, and to the house of Jacob their sins . Isaiah 58:1 And when He had commanded their sins to be charged upon them, and with the full force of His indignation had set forth their iniquities, and had said, that not even though they should use supplications, and prayers , and fastings , should they be able to make atonement for their sins ; nor, if they were clothed in sackcloth and ashes, be able to soften God's anger , yet in the last part showing that God can be appeased by almsgiving alone, he added, saying, Break your bread to the hungry, and bring the poor that are without a home into your house. If you see the naked, clothe him; and despise not the household of your own seed. Then shall your light break forth in season, and your garments shall arise speedily; and righteousness shall go before you, and the glory of God shall surround you. Then shall you cry, and God shall hear you; while yet you are speaking, He shall say, Here I am. Isaiah 58:1-9

I. From the Discourse on the Resurrection. I. Read the Book on the Resurrection by St. Methodius, Bishop and Martyr, of which that which follows is a selection, that the body is not the fetter of the soul , as Origen thought, nor are souls called by the prophet Jeremiah fettered on account of their being within bodies. For he lays down the principle that the body does not hinder the energies of the soul , but that rather the body is carried about with it, and cooperates in whatever the soul commits to it. But how are we to understand the opinion of Gregory the theologian, and many Others? II. That Origen said that the body was given to the soul as a fetter after the fall, and that previously it lived without a body; but that this body which we wear is the cause of our sins ; wherefore also he called it a fetter, as it can hinder the soul from good works. III. That if the body was given to the soul after the fall as a fetter, it must have been given as a fetter upon the evil or the good. Now it is impossible that it should be upon the good; for no physician or artificer gives to that which has gone wrong a remedy to cause further error , much less would God do so. It remains, then, that it was a fetter upon evil . But surely we see that, at the beginning, Cain, clad in this body, committed murder ; and it is evident into what wickedness those who succeeded him ran. The body is not, then, a fetter upon evil , nor indeed a fetter at all; nor was the soul clothed in it for the…

1. Read a compendious interpretation of some apostolic words from the same discourse. Let us see, then, what it is that we have endeavoured to say respecting the apostle. For this saying of his, I was alive without the law once, Romans 7:9 refers to the life which was lived in paradise before the law, not without a body, but with a body, by our first parents , as we have shown above; for we lived without concupiscence, being altogether ignorant of its assaults. For not to have a law according to which we ought to live, nor a power of establishing what manner of life we ought to adopt, so that we might justly be approved or blamed, is considered to exempt a person from accusation. Because one cannot lust after those things from which he is not restrained, and even if he lusted after them, he would not be blamed. For lust is not directed to things which are before us, and subject to our power, but to those which are before us, and not in our power. For how should one care for a thing which is neither forbidden nor necessary to him? And for this reason it is said, I had not known lust , except the law had said, You shall not covet . Romans 7:7 For when (our first parents ) heard, Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil , you shall not eat of it; for in the day you eat thereof you shall surely die, Genesis 2:17 then they conceived lust , and gathered it. Therefore was it said, I had not known lust , except the law had said, You shall not covet ; nor would they have desired…

That These Have Therefore Erred, by Thinking that There Was No Difference Between the Son of God and the Son of Man; Because They Have ILL Understood the Scripture. But the material of that heretical error has arisen. as I judge, from this, that they think that there is no distinction between the Son of God and the Son of man ; because if a distinction were made, Jesus Christ would easily be proved to be both man and God . For they will have it that the self-same that is man, the Son of man , appears also as the Son of God ; that man and flesh and that same frail substance may be said to be also the Son of God Himself.

Whence, since no distinction is discerned between the Son of man and the Son of God , but the Son of man Himself is asserted to be the Son of God , the same Christ and the Son of God is asserted to be man only; by which they strive to exclude, The Word was made flesh , and dwelt among us. And you shall call His name Emmanuel ; which is, interpreted, God with us. For they propose and put forward what is told in the Gospel of Luke, whence they strive to maintain not what is the truth , but only what they want it to be: The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you; therefore also the Holy Thing which is born of you shall be called the Son of God .

If, then, say they, the angel of God says to Mary, that Holy Thing which is born of you, the substance of flesh and body is of Mary; but he has set forth that this substance, that is, that Holy Thing which is born of her, is the Son of God . Man, say they, himself, and that bodily flesh; that which is called holy , itself is the Son of God . That also when the Scripture says that Holy Thing, we should understand thereby Christ the man, the Son of man ; and when it places before us the Son of God , we ought to perceive, not man, but God. And yet the divine Scripture easily convicts and discloses the frauds and artifices of the heretics .

For if it were thus only, The Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you; therefore that Holy Thing which is born of you shall be called the Son of God , perchance we should have had to strive against them in another sort, and to have sought for other arguments, and to have taken up other weapons, with which to overcome both their snares and their wiles; but since the Scripture itself, abounding in heavenly fullness, divests itself of the calumnies of these heretics , we easily depend upon that that is written, and overcome those errors without any hesitation.

He Skilfully Replies to a Passage Which the Heretics Employed in Defence of Their Own Opinion. But since they frequently urge upon us the passage where it is said, I and the Father are one, in this also we shall overcome them with equal facility. For if, as the heretics think, Christ were the Father , He ought to have said, I and the Father are one. But when He says I, and afterwards introduces the Father by saying, I and the Father , He severs and distinguishes the peculiarity of His, that is, the Son's person, from the paternal authority, not only in respect of the sound of the name, but moreover in respect of the order of the distribution of power, since He might have said, I the Father , if He had had it in mind that He Himself was the Father. And since He said one thing , let the heretics understand that He did not say one person .

For one placed in the neuter, intimates the social concord, not the personal unity. He is said to be one neuter , not one masculine , because the expression is not referred to the number, but it is declared with reference to the association of another. Finally, He adds, and says, We are, not I am, so as to show, by the fact of His saying I and the Father are, that they are two persons . Moreover, that He says one , has reference to the agreement, and to the identity of judgment, and to the loving association itself, as reasonably the Father and Son are one in agreement, in love , and in affection; and because He is of the Father , whatsoever He is, He is the Son; the distinction however remaining, that He is not the Father who is the Son , because He is not the Son who is the Father.

For He would not have added We are , if He had had it in mind that He, the only and sole Father, had become the Son. In fine, the Apostle Paul also apprehended this agreement of unity, with the distinction of persons notwithstanding: for in writing to the Corinthians he said, I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. Therefore neither is he that plants anything, nor he that waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he that plants and he that waters are one. And who does not perceive that Apollos is one person and Paul another, and that. Apollos and Paul are not one and the same person? Moreover, also, the offices mentioned of each one of them are different; for one is he who plants, and another he who waters.

The Apostle Paul , however, put forward these two not as being one person , but as being one; so that although Apollos indeed is one, and Paul another, so far as respects the distinction of persons , yet as far as respects their agreement both are one. For when two persons have one judgment, one truth , one faith , one and the same religion, one fear of God also, they are one even although they are two persons : they are the same, in that they have the same mind. Since those whom the consideration of person divides from one another, these same again are brought together as one by the consideration of religion. And although they are not actually the self-same people, yet in feeling the same, they are the same; and although they are two, are still one, as having an association in faith , even although they bear diversity in persons .

He Next Teaches Us that the Authority of the Faith Enjoins, After the Father and the Son, to Believe Also on the Holy Spirit, Whose Operations He Enumerates from Scripture. Moreover, the order of reason, and the authority of the faith in the disposition of the words and in the Scriptures of the Lord, admonish us after these things to believe also on the Holy Spirit , once promised to the Church , and in the appointed occasions of times given. For He was promised by Joel the prophet , but given by Christ. In the last days, says the prophet , I will pour out of my Spirit upon my servants and my handmaids. And the Lord said, Receive the Holy Ghost : whose sins you remit, they shall be remitted; and whose you retain, they shall be retained.

But this Holy Spirit the Lord Christ calls at one time the Paraclete, at another pronounces to be the Spirit of truth . And He is not new in the Gospel , nor yet even newly given; for it was He Himself who accused the people in the prophets , and in the apostles gave them the appeal to the Gentiles . For the former deserved to be accused, because they had contemned the law; and they of the Gentiles who believe deserve to be aided by the defense of the Spirit , because they earnestly desire to attain to the Gospel law.

Assuredly in the Spirit there are different kinds of offices, because in the times there is a different order of occasions; and yet, on this account, He who discharges these offices is not different, nor is He another in so acting, but He is one and the same, distributing His offices according to the times, and the occasions and impulses of things. Moreover, the Apostle Paul says, Having the same Spirit; as it is written, I believed , and therefore have I spoken; we also believe , and therefore speak. He is therefore one and the same Spirit who was in the prophets and apostles , except that in the former He was occasional, in the latter always.

But in the former not as being always in them, in the latter as abiding always in them; and in the former distributed with reserve, in the latter all poured out; in the former given sparingly, in the latter liberally bestowed; not yet manifested before the Lord's resurrection, but conferred after the resurrection. For, said He, I will pray the Father , and He will give you another Advocate, that He may be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth . And, When He, the Advocate, shall come, whom I shall send unto you from my Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from my Father. And, If I go not away, that Advocate shall not come to you; but if I go away, I will send Him to you. And, When the Spirit of truth shall come, He will direct you into all the truth .

On the Creation of the World (Victorinus) Home > Fathers of the Church > On the Creation of the World (Victorinus) On the Creation of the World To me, as I meditate and consider in my mind concerning the creation of this world in which we are kept enclosed, even such is the rapidity of that creation; as is contained in the book of Moses , which he wrote about its creation, and which is called Genesis. God produced that entire mass for the adornment of His majesty in six days; on the seventh to which He consecrated it ... with a blessing.

For this reason, therefore, because in the septenary number of days both heavenly and earthly things are ordered, in place of the beginning I will consider of this seventh day after the principle of all matters pertaining to the number of seven; and as far as I shall be able, I will endeavour to portray the day of the divine power to that consummation. In the beginning God made the light, and divided it in the exact measure of twelve hours by day and by night, for this reason, doubtless, that day might bring over the night as an occasion of rest for men's labours; that, again, day might overcome, and thus that labour might be refreshed with this alternate change of rest, and that repose again might be tempered by the exercise of day.

On the fourth day He made two lights in the heaven, the greater and the lesser, that the one might rule over the day, the other over the night, Genesis 1:16-17 — the lights of the sun and moon and He placed the rest of the stars in heaven, that they might shine upon the earth, and by their positions distinguish the seasons, and years, and months, and days, and hours. Now is manifested the reason of the truth why the fourth day is called the Tetras, why we fast even to the ninth hour, or even to the evening, or why there should be a passing over even to the next day. Therefore this world of ours is composed of four elements — fire, water, heaven, earth. These four elements, therefore, form the quaternion of times or seasons.

The sun, also, and the moon constitute throughout the space of the year four seasons — of spring, summer, autumn, winter; and these seasons make a quaternion. And to proceed further still from that principle, lo, there are four living creatures before God's throne, four Gospels , four rivers flowing in paradise; Genesis 2:10 four generations of people from Adam to Noah , from Noah to Abraham , from Abraham to Moses , from Moses to Christ the Lord, the Son of God ; and four living creatures, viz. , a man , a calf, a lion, an eagle; and four rivers, the Pison, the Gihon, the Tigris, and the Euphrates. The man Christ Jesus, the originator of these things whereof we have above spoken, was taken prisoner by wicked hands, by a quaternion of soldiers .

1. Since I have found some who deem themselves very wise in their opinions, acting as if they were inspired, and announcing with all the authority of an oracle, that from the time when the Christian people began to exist in the world the universe has gone to ruin, that the human race has been visited with ills of many kinds, that even the very gods, abandoning their accustomed charge, in virtue of which they were wont in former days to regard with interest our affairs, have been driven from the regions of earth — I have resolved, so far as my capacity and my humble power of language will allow, to oppose public prejudice, and to refute calumnious accusations; lest, on the one hand, those persons should imagine that they are declaring some weighty matter, when they are merely retailing vulgar rumours; and on the other, lest, if we refrain from such a contest, they should suppose that they have gained a cause , lost by its own inherent demerits, not abandoned by the silence of its advocates. For I should not deny that that charge is a most serious one, and that we fully deserve the hatred attaching to public enemies, if it should appear that to us are attributable causes by reason of which the universe has deviated from its laws , the gods have been driven far away, and such swarms of miseries have been inflicted on the generations of men.

2. Let us therefore examine carefully the real significance of that opinion, and what is the nature of the allegation; and laying aside all desire for wrangling, by which the calm view of subjects is wont to be dimmed, and even intercepted, let us test, by fairly balancing the considerations on both sides, whether that which is alleged be true . For it will assuredly be proved by an array of convincing arguments, not that we are discovered to be more impious, but that they themselves are convicted of that charge who profess to be worshippers of the deities, and devotees of an antiquated superstition . And, in the first place, we ask this of them in friendly and calm language: Since the name of the Christian religion began to be used on the earth, what phenomenon, unseen before, unheard of before, what event contrary to the laws established in the beginning, has the so-called Nature of Things felt or suffered? Have these first elements, from which it is agreed that all things were compacted, been altered into elements of an opposite character? Has the fabric of this machine and mass of the universe , by which we are all covered, and in which we are held enclosed, relaxed in any part, or broken up? Has the revolution of the globe, to which we are accustomed, departing from the rate of its primal motion, begun either to move too slowly, or to be hurried onward in headlong rotation? Have the stars begun to rise in the west, and the setting of the constellations to take place in…

3. Since this is so, and since no strange influence has suddenly manifested itself to break the continuous course of events by interrupting their succession, what is the ground of the allegation, that a plague was brought upon the earth after the Christian religion came into the world, and after it revealed the mysteries of hidden truth ? But pestilences, say my opponents, and droughts, wars , famines, locusts, mice, and hailstones, and other hurtful things, by which the property of men is assailed, the gods bring upon us, incensed as they are by your wrong-doings and by your transgressions. If it were not a mark of stupidity to linger on matters which are already clear, and which require no defense, I should certainly show, by unfolding the history of past ages, that those ills which you speak of were not unknown, were not sudden in their visitation; and that the plagues did not burst upon us, and the affairs of men begin to be attacked by a variety of dangers, from the time that our sect won the honour of this appellation. For if we are to blame, and if these plagues have been devised against our sin , whence did antiquity know these names for misfortunes? Whence did she give a designation to wars ? By what conception could she indicate pestilence and hailstorms, or how could she introduce these terms among her words, by which speech was rendered plain? For if these ills are entirely new, and if they derive their origin from recent transgressions, how could it be that the…

4. When was the human race destroyed by a flood? Was it not before us? When was the world set on fire, and reduced to coals and ashes? Was it not before us? When were the greatest cities engulphed in the billows of the sea? Was it not before us? When were wars waged with wild beasts, and battles fought with lions? was it not before us? When was ruin brought on whole communities by poisonous serpents? was it not before us? For, inasmuch as you are wont to lay to our blame the cause of frequent wars , the devastation of cities, the irruptions of the Germans and the Scythians, allow me, with your leave, to say — In your eagerness to calumniate us, you do not perceive the real nature of that which is alleged.