Chapter 31
We should not hastily impute as
crimes to the men of old time those actions which the Scripture has not
condemned, but should rather seek in them types of things to come: an example
of this in the incest committed by Lot.
1. When recounting certain matters of this kind
respecting them of old time, the presbyter [before mentioned] was in the habit
of instructing us, and saying: "With respect to those misdeeds for which
the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and prophets, we ought not to
inveigh against them, nor become like Ham, who ridiculed the shame of his
father, and so fell under a curse; but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf, inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent
of our Lord; for He said that they gave thanks [for us], and gloried in our
salvation. With respect to those actions, again, on which the Scriptures pass
no censure, but which are simply set down [as having occurred], we ought not to
become the accusers [of those who committed them], for we are not more exact
than God, nor can we be superior to our Master; but we should search for a type
[in them]. For not one of those things which have been set down in Scripture
without being condemned is without significance." An example is found in
the case of Lot, who led forth his daughters from Sodom, and these then
conceived by their own father; and who left behind him within the confines [of
the land] his wife, [who remains] a pillar of salt unto this day. For Lot, not
acting under the impulse of his own will, nor at the prompting of carnal
concupiscence, nor having any knowledge or thought of anything of the kind, did
[in fact] work out a type [of future events]. As says the Scripture: "And
that night the elder went in and lay with her father; and Lot knew not when she
lay down, nor when she arose." Genesis 19:33 And the same thing took place
in the case of the younger: "And he knew not," it is said, "when
she slept with him, nor when she arose." Genesis 19:35 Since, therefore,
Lot knew not [what he did], nor was a slave to lust [in his actions], the
arrangement [designed by God] was carried out, by which the two daughters (that
is, the two churches ), who gave birth to children begotten of one and the same
father, were pointed out, apart from [the influence of] the lust of the flesh.
For there was no other person, [as they supposed], who could impart to them
quickening seed, and the means of their giving birth to children, as it is
written: "And the elder said to the younger, And there is not a man on the
earth to enter in unto us after the manner of all the earth: come, let us make
our father drunk with wine, and let us lie with him, and raise up seed from our
father." Genesis 19:31-32
2. Thus, after their simplicity and innocence, did
these daughters [of Lot] so speak, imagining that all mankind had perished,
even as the Sodomites had done, and that the anger of God had come down upon
the whole earth. Wherefore also they are to be held excusable, since they
supposed that they only, along with their father, were left for the
preservation of the human race; and for this reason it was that they deceived their
father. Moreover, by the words they used this fact was pointed out — that there
is no other one who can confer upon the elder and younger church the [power of]
giving birth to children, besides our Father. Now the father of the human race
is the Word of God, as Moses points out when he says, "Is not He your
father who has obtained you [by generation], and formed you, and created
you?" At what time, then, did He pour out upon the human race the
life-giving seed — that is, the Spirit of the remission of sins, through means
of whom we are quickened? Was it not then, when He was eating with men, and
drinking wine upon the earth? For it is said, "The Son of man came eating
and drinking;" Matthew 11:19 and when He had lain down, He fell asleep, and
took repose. As He does Himself say in David, "I slept, and took
repose." And because He used thus to act while He dwelt and lived among
us, He says again, "And my sleep became sweet unto me." Jeremiah
31:26 Now this whole matter was indicated through Lot, that the seed of the
Father of all — that is, of the Spirit of God, by whom all things were made —
was commingled and united with flesh — that is, with His own workmanship; by
which commixture and unity the two synagogues— that is, the two churches —
produced from their own father living sons to the living God.
3. And while these things were taking place, his
wife remained in [the territory of] Sodore, no longer corruptible flesh, but a
pillar of salt which endures for ever; and by those natural processes which
appertain to the human race, indicating that the Church also, which is the salt
of the earth, Matthew 5:13 has been left behind within the confines of the
earth, and subject to human sufferings; and while entire members are often
taken away from it, the pillar of salt still endures, thus typifying the
foundation of the faith which makes strong, and sends forward, children to
their Father.
Chapter 32
That one God was the author of
both Testaments, is confirmed by the authority of a presbyter who had been
taught by the apostles.
1. After this fashion also did a presbyter, a
disciple of the apostles, reason with respect to the two testaments, proving
that both were truly from one and the same God. For [he maintained] that there
was no other God besides Him who made and fashioned us, and that the discourse
of those men has no foundation who affirm that this world of ours was made
either by angels, or by any other power whatsoever, or by another God. For if a
man be once moved away from the Creator of all things, and if he grant that
this creation to which we belong was formed by any other or through any other
[than the one God], he must of necessity fall into much inconsistency, and many
contradictions of this sort; to which he will [be able to] furnish no explanations
which can be regarded as either probable or true. And, for this reason, those
who introduce other doctrines conceal from us the opinion which they themselves
hold respecting God, because they are aware of the untenable and absurd nature
of their doctrine, and are afraid lest, should they be vanquished, they should
have some difficulty in making good their escape. But if any one believes in
[only] one God, who also made all things by the Word, as Moses likewise says,
"God said, Let there be light: and there was light;" Genesis 1:3 and
as we read in the Gospel, "All things were made by Him; and without Him
was nothing made;" John 1:3 and the Apostle Paul [says] in like manner,
"There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father, who is
above all, and through all, and in us all" Ephesians 4:5-6 — this man will
first of all "hold the head, from which the whole body is compacted and
bound together, and, through means of every joint according to the measure of
the ministration of each several part, makes increase of the body to the
edification of itself in love." Ephesians 4:16; Colossians 2:19 And then
shall every word also seem consistent to him, if he for his part diligently
read the Scriptures in company with those who are presbyters in the Church,
among whom is the apostolic doctrine, as I have pointed out.
2. For all the apostles taught that there were
indeed two testaments among the two peoples; but that it was one and the same
God who appointed both for the advantage of those men (for whose sakes the
testaments were given) who were to believe in God, I have proved in the third
book from the very teaching of the apostles; and that the first testament was
not given without reason, or to no purpose, or in an accidental sort of manner;
but that it subdued those to whom it was given to the service of God, for their
benefit (for God needs no service from men), and exhibited a type of heavenly
things, inasmuch as man was not yet able to see the things of God through means
of immediate vision; and foreshadowed the images of those things which [now
actually] exist in the Church, in order that our faith might be firmly
established; and contained a prophecy of things to come, in order that man
might learn that God has foreknowledge of all things.
Chapter 33
Whosoever confesses that one God
is the author of both Testaments, and diligently reads the Scriptures in
company with the presbyters of the Church, is a true spiritual disciple; and he
will rightly understand and interpret all that the prophets have declared
respecting Christ and the liberty of the New Testament.
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 might deliver them: but the second in which He will come on the
clouds, Daniel 7:13 bringing on the day which burns as a furnace, Malachi 4:1
and smiting the earth with the word of His mouth, Isaiah 11:4 and slaying the
impious with the breath of His lips, and having a fan in His hands, and
cleansing His floor, and gathering the wheat indeed into His barn, but burning
the chaff with unquenchable fire. Matthew 3:12; Luke 3:17
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 that, on account of the passion which
was experienced by Sophia, they themselves were brought to the birth. But their
own special prophet Homer, listening to whom they have invented such doctrines,
shall himself reprove them, when he expresses himself as follows:—
"Hateful to me that man as Hades' gates,
Who one
thing thinks, while he another states."
[This spiritual man] shall also judge the vain
speeches of the perverse Gnostics, by showing that they are the disciples of
Simon Magus.
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.
5. He shall also judge those who describe Christ
as [having become man] only in [human] opinion. For how can they imagine that
they do themselves carry on a real discussion, when their Master was a mere
imaginary being? Or how can they receive anything steadfast from Him, if He was
a merely imagined being, and not a verity? And how can these men really be
partaken of salvation, if He in whom they profess to believe, manifested
Himself as a merely imaginary being? Everything, therefore, connected with
these men is unreal, and nothing [possessed of the character of] truth; and, in
these circumstances, it may be made a question whether (since, perchance, they
themselves in like manner are not men, but mere dumb animals) they do not
present, in most cases, simply a shadow of humanity.
6. He shall also judge false prophets, who,
without having received the gift of prophecy from God, and not possessed of the
fear of God, but either for the sake of vainglory, or with a view to some
personal advantage, or acting in some other way under the influence of a wicked
spirit, pretend to utter prophecies, while all the time they lie against God.
7. He shall also judge those who give rise to
schisms, who are destitute of the love of God, and who look to their own
special advantage rather than to the unity of the Church; and who for trifling
reasons, or any kind of reason which occurs to them, cut in pieces and divide
the great and glorious body of Christ, and so far as in them lies, [positively]
destroy it — men who prate of peace while they give rise to war, and do in
truth strain out a gnat, but swallow a camel. Matthew 23:24 For no reformation
of so great importance can be effected by them, as will compensate for the
mischief arising from their schism. He shall also judge all those who are
beyond the pale of the truth, that is, who are outside the Church; but he
himself shall be judged by no one. For to him all things are consistent: he has
a full faith in one God Almighty, of whom are all things; and in the Son of
God, Jesus Christ our Lord, by whom are all things, and in the dispensations
connected with Him, by means of which the Son of God became man; and a firm
belief in the Spirit of God, who furnishes us with a knowledge of the truth,
and has set forth the dispensations of the Father and the Son, in virtue of
which He dwells with every generation of men, according to the will of the
Father.
8. True knowledge is [that which consists in] the
doctrine of the apostles, and the ancient constitution of the Church throughout
all the world, and the distinctive manifestation of the body of Christ
according to the successions of the bishops, by which they have handed down
that Church which exists in every place, and has come even unto us, being
guarded and preserved without any forging of Scriptures, by a very complete
system of doctrine, and neither receiving addition nor [suffering] curtailment
[in the truths which she believes]; and [it consists in] reading [the word of
God] without falsification, and a lawful and diligent exposition in harmony
with the Scriptures, both without danger and without blasphemy; and [above all,
it consists in] the pre-eminent gift of love, 2 Corinthians 8:1; 1 Corinthians
13 which is more precious than knowledge, more glorious than prophecy, and
which excels all the other gifts [of God].
9. Wherefore the Church does in every place,
because of that love which she cherishes towards God, send forward, throughout
all time, a multitude of martyrs to the Father; while all others not only have
nothing of this kind to point to among themselves, but even maintain that such
witness-bearing is not at all necessary, for that their system of doctrines is
the true witness [for Christ], with the exception, perhaps, that one or two
among them, during the whole time which has elapsed since the Lord appeared on
earth, have occasionally, along with our martyrs, borne the reproach of the
name (as if he too [the heretic] had obtained mercy), and have been led forth
with them [to death], being, as it were, a sort of retinue granted unto them.
For the Church alone sustains with purity the reproach of those who suffer
persecution for righteousness' sake, and endure all sorts of punishments, and
are put to death because of the love which they bear to God, and their
confession of His Son; often weakened indeed, yet immediately increasing her
members, and becoming whole again, after the same manner as her type, Lot's
wife, who became a pillar of salt. Thus, too, [she passes through an
experience] similar to that of the ancient prophets, as the Lord declares,
"For so persecuted they the prophets who were before you;" Matthew
5:12 inasmuch as she does indeed, in a new fashion, suffer persecution from
those who do not receive the word of God, while the self-same spirit rests upon
her 1 Peter 4:14 [as upon these ancient prophets].
10. And indeed the prophets, along with other
things which they predicted, also foretold this, that all those on whom the
Spirit of God should rest, and who would obey the word of the Father, and serve
Him according to their ability, should suffer persecution, and be stoned and
slain. For the prophets prefigured in themselves all these things, because of
their love to God, and on account of His word. For since they themselves were
members of Christ, each one of them in his place as a member did, in accordance
with this, set forth the prophecy [assigned him]; all of them, although many,
prefiguring only one, and proclaiming the things which pertain to one. For just
as the working of the whole body is exhibited through means of our members,
while the figure of a complete man is not displayed by one member, but through
means of all taken together, so also did all the prophets prefigure the one
[Christ]; while every one of them, in his special place as a member, did, in
accordance with this, fill up the [established] dispensation, and shadowed
forth beforehand that particular working of Christ which was connected with
that member.
11. For some of them, beholding Him in glory, saw
His glorious life (conversationem) at the Father's right hand; others beheld
Him coming on the clouds as the Son of man; Daniel 7:13 and those who declared
regarding Him, "They shall look on Him whom they have pierced,"
Zechariah 12:10 indicated His [second] advent, concerning which He Himself
says, "Do you think that when the Son of man comes, He shall find faith on
the earth?" Paul also refers to this event when he says, "If,
however, it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them
that trouble you, and to you that are troubled rest with us, at the revelation
of the Lord Jesus from heaven, with His mighty angels, and in a flame of
fire." 2 Thessalonians 1:6-8 Others again, speaking of Him as a judge, and
[referring], as if it were a burning furnace, [to] the day of the Lord, who
"gathers the wheat into His barn, but will burn up the chaff with
unquenchable fire," Matthew 3:12 were accustomed to threaten those who
were unbelieving, concerning whom also the Lord Himself declares, "Depart
from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, which my Father has prepared for
the devil and his angels." Matthew 25:41 And the apostle in like manner
says [of them], "Who shall be punished with everlasting death from the
face of the Lord, and from the glory of His power, when He shall come to be
glorified in His saints, and to be admired in those who believe in Him." 2
Thessalonians 1:9-10 There are also some [of them] who declare, "You are
fairer than the children of men;" and, "God, Your God, has anointed
You with the oil of gladness above Your fellows;" and, "Gird Your
sword upon Your thigh, O Most Mighty, with Your beauty and Your fairness, and
go forward and proceed prosperously; and rule You because of truth, and meekness,
and righteousness." And whatever other things of a like nature are spoken
regarding Him, these indicated that beauty and splendour which exist in His
kingdom, along with the transcendent and pre-eminent exaltation [belonging] to
all who are under His sway, that those who hear might desire to be found there,
doing such things as are pleasing to God. Again, there are those who say,
"He is a man, and who shall know him?" and, "I came unto the
prophetess, and she bore a son, and His name is called Wonderful, Counsellor,
the Mighty God;" and those [of them] who proclaimed Him as Immanuel,
[born] of the Virgin, exhibited the union of the Word of God with His own
workmanship, [declaring] that the Word should become flesh, and the Son of God
the Son of man (the pure One opening purely that pure womb which regenerates
men unto God, and which He Himself made pure); and having become this which we
also are, He [nevertheless] is the Mighty God, and possesses a generation which
cannot be declared. And there are also some of them who say, "The Lord has
spoken in Zion, and uttered His voice from Jerusalem;" Joel 3:16 and,
"In Judah is God known;" — these indicated His advent which took
place in Judea. Those, again, who declare that "God comes from the south,
and from a mountain thick with foliage," Habakkuk 3:3 announced His advent
at Bethlehem, as I have pointed out in the preceding book. From that place,
also, He who rules, and who feeds the people of His Father, has come. Those,
again, who declare that at His coming "the lame man shall leap as an hart,
and the tongue of the dumb shall [speak] plainly, and the eyes of the blind
shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall hear," Isaiah 35:5-6 and
that "the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, shall be strengthened,"
Isaiah 35:3 and that "the dead which are in the grave shall arise,"
Isaiah 26:19 and that He Himself "shall take [upon Him] our weaknesses,
and bear our sorrows," Isaiah 53:4 — [all these] proclaimed those works of
healing which were accomplished by Him.
12. Some of them, moreover — [when they predicted
that] as a weak and inglorious man, and as one who knew what it was to bear
infirmity, Isaiah 53:3 and sitting upon the foal of an ass, Zechariah 9:9 He
should come to Jerusalem; and that He should give His back to stripes, Isaiah
50:6 and His cheeks to palms [which struck Him]; and that He should be led as a
sheep to the slaughter; Isaiah 53:7 and that He should have vinegar and gall
given Him to drink; and that He should be forsaken by His friends and those nearest
to Him; and that He should stretch forth His hands the whole day long; Isaiah
65:2 and that He should be mocked and maligned by those who looked upon Him;
and that His garments should be parted, and lots cast upon His raiment; and
that He should be brought down to the dust of death with all [the other] things
of a like nature — prophesied His coming in the character of a man as He
entered Jerusalem, in which by His passion and crucifixion He endured all the
things which have been mentioned. Others, again, when they said, "The holy
Lord remembered His own dead ones who slept in the dust, and came down to them
to raise them up, that He might save them," furnished us with the reason
on account of which He suffered all these things. Those, moreover, who said,
"In that day, says the Lord, the sun shall go down at noon, and there
shall be darkness over the earth in the clear day; and I will turn your feast
days into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation," Amos 8:9-10
plainly announced that obscuration of the sun which at the time of His
crucifixion took place from the sixth hour onwards, and that after this event,
those days which were their festivals according to the law, and their songs,
should be changed into grief and lamentation when they were handed over to the
Gentiles. Jeremiah, too, makes this point still clearer, when he thus speaks
concerning Jerusalem: "She that has born [seven] languishes; her soul has
become weary; her sun has gone down while it was yet noon; she has been
confounded, and suffered reproach: the remainder of them will I give to the
sword in the sight of their enemies." Jeremiah 15:9
13. Those of them, again, who spoke of His having
slumbered and taken sleep, and of His having risen again because the Lord
sustained Him, and who enjoined the principalities of heaven to set open the
everlasting doors, that the King of glory might go in, proclaimed beforehand
His resurrection from the dead through the Father's power, and His reception
into heaven. And when they expressed themselves thus, "His going forth is
from the height of heaven, and His returning even to the highest heaven; and
there is no one who can hide himself from His heat," they announced that
very truth of His being taken up again to the place from which He came down, and
that there is no one who can escape His righteous judgment. And those who said,
"The Lord has reigned; let the people be enraged: [even] He who sits upon
the cherubim; let the earth be moved," were thus predicting partly that
wrath from all nations which after His ascension came upon those who believed
in Him, with the movement of the whole earth against the Church; and partly the
fact that, when He comes from heaven with His mighty angels, the whole earth
shall be shaken, as He Himself declares, "There shall be a great
earthquake, such as has not been from the beginning." Matthew 24:21 And
again, when one says, "Whosoever is judged, let him stand opposite; and
whosoever is justified, let him draw near to the servant of God;" and,
"Woe unto you, for you shall wax old as does a garment, and the moth shall
eat you up;" and, "All flesh shall be humbled, and the Lord alone
shall be exalted in the highest," Isaiah 2:17 — it is thus indicated that,
after His passion and ascension, God shall cast down under His feet all who
were opposed to Him, and He shall be exalted above all, and there shall be no
one who can be justified or compared to Him.
14. And those of them who declare that God would
make a new covenant Jeremiah 31:31-32 with men, not such as that which He made
with the fathers at Mount Horeb, and would give to men a new heart and a new
spirit; Ezekiel 36:26 and again, "And remember not the things of old:
behold, I make new things which shall now arise, and you shall know it; and I
will make a way in the desert, and rivers in a dry land, to give drink to my
chosen people, my people whom I have acquired, that they may show forth my
praise," Isaiah 43:19-21 — plainly announced that liberty which
distinguishes the new covenant, and the new wine which is put into new bottles,
Matthew 9:17 [that is], the faith which is in Christ, by which He has
proclaimed the way of righteousness sprung up in the desert, and the streams of
the Holy Spirit in a dry land, to give water to the elect people of God, whom
He has acquired, that they might show forth His praise, but not that they might
blaspheme Him who made these things, that is, God.
15. And all those other points which I have shown
the prophets to have uttered by means of so long a series of Scriptures, he who
is truly spiritual will interpret by pointing out, in regard to every one of
the things which have been spoken, to what special point in the dispensation of
the Lord is referred, and [by thus exhibiting] the entire system of the work of
the Son of God, knowing always the same God, and always acknowledging the same
Word of God, although He has [but] now been manifested to us; acknowledging
also at all times the same Spirit of God, although He has been poured out upon
us after a new fashion in these last times, [knowing that He descends] even
from the creation of the world to its end upon the human race simply as such,
from whom those who believe God and follow His word receive that salvation
which flows from Him. Those, on the other hand, who depart from Him, and despise
His precepts, and by their deeds bring dishonour on Him who made them, and by
their opinions blaspheme Him who nourishes them, heap up against themselves
most righteous judgment. Romans 2:5 He therefore (i.e., the spiritual man)
sifts and tries them all, but he himself is tried by no man: 1 Corinthians 2:15
he neither blasphemes his Father, nor sets aside His dispensations, nor
inveighs against the fathers, nor dishonours the prophets, by maintaining that
they were [sent] from another God [than he worships], or again, that their
prophecies were derived from different sources.
Chapter 34
Proof against the Marcionites,
that the prophets referred in all their predictions to our Christ.
1. Now I shall simply say, in opposition to all
the heretics, and principally against the followers of Marcion, and against
those who are like to these, in maintaining that the prophets were from another
God [than He who is announced in the Gospel], read with earnest care that
Gospel which has been conveyed to us by the apostles, and read with earnest
care the prophets, and you will find that the whole conduct, and all the
doctrine, and all the sufferings of our Lord, were predicted through them. But
if a thought of this kind should then suggest itself to you, to say, What then
did the Lord bring to us by His advent? — know that He brought all [possible]
novelty, by bringing Himself who had been announced. For this very thing was
proclaimed beforehand, that a novelty should come to renew and quicken mankind.
For the advent of the King is previously announced by those servants who are
sent [before Him], in order to the preparation and equipment of those men who
are to entertain their Lord. But when the King has actually come, and those who
are His subjects have been filled with that joy which was proclaimed
beforehand, and have attained to that liberty which He bestows, and share in
the sight of Him, and have listened to His words, and have enjoyed the gifts
which He confers, the question will not then be asked by any that are possessed
of sense what new thing the King has brought beyond [that proclaimed by] those
who announced His coming. For He has brought Himself, and has bestowed on men
those good things which were announced beforehand, which things the angels
desired to look into. 1 Peter 1:12
2. But the servants would then have been proved
false, and not sent by the Lord, if Christ on His advent, by being found
exactly such as He was previously announced, had not fulfilled their words.
Wherefore He said, "Think not that I have come to destroy the law or the
prophets; I came not to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you,
Until heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall not pass from the
law and the prophets till all come to pass." Romans 3:21 For by His advent
He Himself fulfilled all things, and does still fulfil in the Church the new
covenant foretold by the law, onwards to the consummation [of all things]. To
this effect also Paul, His apostle, says in the Epistle to the Romans,
"But now, Matthew 5:17-18 without the law, has the righteousness of God
been manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; for the just
shall live by faith." Romans 1:17 But this fact, that the just shall live
by faith, had been previously announced Habakkuk 2:4 by the prophets.
3. But whence could the prophets have had power to
predict the advent of the King, and to preach beforehand that liberty which was
bestowed by Him, and previously to announce all things which were done by
Christ, His words, His works, and His sufferings, and to predict the new
covenant, if they had received prophetical inspiration from another God [than
He who is revealed in the Gospel], they being ignorant, as you allege, of the
ineffable Father, of His kingdom, and His dispensations, which the Son of God
fulfilled when He came upon earth in these last times? Neither are you in a
position to say that these things came to pass by a certain kind of chance, as
if they were spoken by the prophets in regard to some other person, while like
events happened to the Lord. For all the prophets prophesied these same things,
but they never came to pass in the case of any one of the ancients. For if
these things had happened to any man among them of old time, those [prophets]
who lived subsequently would certainly not have prophesied that these events
should come to pass in the last times. Moreover, there is in fact none among
the fathers, nor the prophets, nor the ancient kings, in whose case any one of
these things properly and specifically took place. For all indeed prophesied as
to the sufferings of Christ, but they themselves were far from enduring
sufferings similar to what was predicted. And the points connected with the
passion of the Lord, which were foretold, were realized in no other case. For neither
did it happen at the death of any man among the ancients that the sun set at
mid-day, nor was the veil of the temple rent, nor did the earth quake, nor were
the rocks rent, nor did the dead rise up, nor was any one of these men [of old]
raised up on the third day, nor received into heaven, nor at his assumption
were the heavens opened, nor did the nations believe in the name of any other;
nor did any from among them, having been dead and rising again, lay open the
new covenant of liberty. Therefore the prophets spoke not of any one else but
of the Lord, in whom all these aforesaid tokens concurred.
4. If any one, however, advocating the cause of
the Jews, do maintain that this new covenant consisted in the rearing of that
temple which was built under Zerubbabel after the emigration to Babylon, and in
the departure of the people from thence after the lapse of seventy years, let
him know that the temple constructed of stones was indeed then rebuilt (for as
yet that law was observed which had been made upon tables of stone), yet no new
covenant was given, but they used the Mosaic law until the coming of the Lord;
but from the Lord's advent, the new covenant which brings back peace, and the
law which gives life, has gone forth over the whole earth, as the prophets
said: "For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord
from Jerusalem; and He shall rebuke many people; and they shall break down
their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks, and they
shall no longer learn to fight." Isaiah 2:3-4; Micah 4:2-3 If therefore
another law and word, going forth from Jerusalem, brought in such a [reign of]
peace among the Gentiles which received it (the word), and convinced, through
them, many a nation of its folly, then [only] it appears that the prophets
spoke of some other person. But if the law of liberty, that is, the word of
God, preached by the apostles (who went forth from Jerusalem) throughout all
the earth, caused such a change in the state of things, that these [nations] did
form the swords and war-lances into ploughshares, and changed them into
pruning-hooks for reaping the grain, [that is], into instruments used for
peaceful purposes, and that they are now unaccustomed to fighting, but when
smitten, offer also the other cheek, Matthew 5:39 then the prophets have not
spoken these things of any other person, but of Him who effected them. This
person is our Lord, and in Him is that declaration borne out; since it is He
Himself who has made the plough, and introduced the pruning-hook, that is, the
first semination of man, which was the creation exhibited in Adam, and the
gathering in of the produce in the last times by the Word; and, for this
reason, since He joined the beginning to the end, and is the Lord of both, He
has finally displayed the plough, in that the wood has been joined on to the
iron, and has thus cleansed His land; because the Word, having been firmly
united to flesh, and in its mechanism fixed with pins, has reclaimed the savage
earth. In the beginning, He figured forth the pruning-hook by means of Abel,
pointing out that there should be a gathering in of a righteous race of men. He
says, "For behold how the just man perishes, and no man considers it; and
righteous men are taken away, and no man lays it to heart." Isaiah 57:1
These things were acted beforehand in Abel, were also previously declared by
the prophets, but were accomplished in the Lord's person; and the same [is
still true] with regard to us, the body following the example of the Head.
5. Such are the arguments proper [to be used] in
opposition to those who maintain that the prophets [were inspired] by a
different God, and that our Lord [came] from another Father, if perchance
[these heretics] may at length desist from such extreme folly. This is my earnest
object in adducing these Scriptural proofs, that confuting them, as far as in
me lies, by these very passages, I may restrain them from such great blasphemy,
and from insanely fabricating a multitude of gods.
Chapter 35
A refutation of those who allege
that the prophets uttered some predictions under the inspiration of the
highest, others from the Demiurge. Disagreements of the Valentinians among
themselves with regard to these same predictions.
1. Then again, in opposition to the Valentinians,
and the other Gnostics, falsely so called, who maintain that some parts of
Scripture were spoken at one time from the Pleroma (a summitate) through means
of the seed [derived] from that place, but at another time from the
intermediate abode through means of the audacious mother Prunica, but that many
are due to the Creator of the world, from whom also the prophets had their
mission, we say that it is altogether irrational to bring down the Father of
the universe to such straits, as that He should not be possessed of His own
proper instruments, by which the things in the Pleroma might be perfectly
proclaimed. For of whom was He afraid, so that He should not reveal His will
after His own way and independently, freely, and without being involved with
that spirit which came into being in a state of degeneracy and ignorance? Was
it that He feared that very many would be saved, when more should have listened
to the unadulterated truth? Or, on the other hand, was He incapable of
preparing for Himself those who should announce the Saviour's advent?
2. But if, when the Saviour came to this earth, He
sent His apostles into the world to proclaim with accuracy His advent, and to
teach the Father's will, having nothing in common with the doctrine of the
Gentiles or of the Jews, much more, while yet existing in the Pleroma, would He
have appointed His own heralds to proclaim His future advent into this world,
and having nothing in common with those prophecies originating from the
Demiurge. But if, when within the Pleroma, He availed Himself of those prophets
who were under the law, and declared His own matters through their
instrumentality; much more would He, upon His arrival hither, have made use of
these same teachers, and have preached the Gospel to us by their means. Therefore
let them not any longer assert that Peter and Paul and the other apostles
proclaimed the truth, but that it was the scribes and Pharisees, and the
others, through whom the law was propounded. But if, at His advent, He sent
forth His own apostles in the spirit of truth, and not in that of error, He did
the very same also in the case of the prophets; for the Word of God was always
the self-same: and if the Spirit from the Pleroma was, according to these men's
system, the Spirit of light, the Spirit of truth, the Spirit of perfection, and
the Spirit of knowledge, while that from the Demiurge was the spirit of
ignorance, degeneracy, and error, and the offspring of obscurity; how can it
be, that in one and the same being there exists perfection and defect, knowledge
and ignorance, error and truth, light and darkness? But if it was impossible
that such should happen in the case of the prophets, for they preached the word
of the Lord from one God, and proclaimed the advent of His Son, much more would
the Lord Himself never have uttered words, on one occasion from above, but on
another from degeneracy below, thus becoming the teacher at once of knowledge
and of ignorance; nor would He have ever glorified as Father at one time the
Founder of the world, and at another Him who is above this one, as He does
Himself declare: "No man puts a piece of a new garment upon an old one,
nor do they put new wine into old bottles." Luke 5:36-37 Let these men,
therefore, either have nothing whatever to do with the prophets, as with those
that are ancients, and allege no longer that these men, being sent beforehand
by the Demiurge, spoke certain things under that new influence which pertains
to the Pleroma; or, on the other hand, let them be convinced by our Lord, when
He declares that new wine cannot be put into old bottles.
3. But from what source could the offspring of
their mother derive his knowledge of the mysteries within the Pleroma, and
power to discourse regarding them? Suppose that the mother, while beyond the
Pleroma, did bring forth this very offspring; but what is beyond the Pleroma
they represent as being beyond the pale of knowledge, that is, ignorance. How,
then, could that seed, which was conceived in ignorance, possess the power of
declaring knowledge? Or how did the mother herself, a shapeless and undefined
being, one cast out of doors as an abortion, obtain knowledge of the mysteries
within the Pleroma, she who was organized outside it and given a form there,
and prohibited by Horos from entering within, and who remains outside the
Pleroma till the consummation [of all things], that is, beyond the pale of
knowledge? Then, again, when they say that the Lord's passion is a type of the
extension of the Christ above, which he effected through Horos, and so imparted
a form to their mother, they are refuted in the other particulars [of the
Lord's passion], for they have no semblance of a type to show with regard to
them. For when did the Christ above have vinegar and gall given him to drink?
Or when was his raiment parted? Or when was he pierced, and blood and water
came forth? Or when did he sweat great drops of blood? And [the same may be
demanded] as to the other particulars which happened to the Lord, of which the
prophets have spoken. From whence, then, did the mother or her offspring divine
the things which had not yet taken place, but which should occur afterwards?
4. They affirm that certain things still, besides
these, were spoken from the Pleroma, but are confuted by those which are
referred to in the Scriptures as bearing on the advent of Christ. But what
these are [that are spoken from the Pleroma] they are not agreed, but give
different answers regarding them. For if any one, wishing to test them, do
question one by one with regard to any passage those who are their leading men,
he shall find one of them referring the passage in question to the Propator —
that is, to Bythus; another attributing it to Arche — that is, to the
Only-begotten; another to the Father of all — that is, to the Word; while
another, again, will say that it was spoken of that one Æon who was [formed
from the joint contributions] of the Æons in the Pleroma; others [will regard
the passage] as referring to Christ, while another [will refer it] to the
Saviour. One, again, more skilled than these, after a long protracted silence,
declares that it was spoken of Horos; another that it signifies the Sophia
which is within the Pleroma; another that it announces the mother outside the
Pleroma; while another will mention the God who made the world (the Demiurge).
Such are the variations existing among them with regard to one [passage],
holding discordant opinions as to the same Scriptures; and when the same
identical passage is read out, they all begin to purse up their eyebrows, and
to shake their heads, and they say that they might indeed utter a discourse
transcendently lofty, but that all cannot comprehend the greatness of that
thought which is implied in it; and that, therefore, among the wise the chief
thing is silence. For that Sige (silence) which is above must be typified by
that silence which they preserve. Thus do they, as many as they are, all depart
[from each other], holding so many opinions as to one thing, and bearing about
their clever notions in secret within themselves. When, therefore, they shall
have agreed among themselves as to the things predicted in the Scriptures, then
also shall they be confuted by us. For, though holding wrong opinions, they do
in the meanwhile, however, convict themselves, since they are not of one mind
with regard to the same words. But as we follow for our teacher the one and
only true God, and possess His words as the rule of truth, we do all speak
alike with regard to the same things, knowing but one God, the Creator of this
universe, who sent the prophets, who led forth the people from the land of
Egypt, who in these last times manifested His own Son, that He might put the
unbelievers to confusion, and search out the fruit of righteousness.
Chapter 36
The prophets were sent from one
and the same Father from whom the Son was sent.
1. Which [God] the Lord does not reject, nor does
He say that the prophets [spoke] from another god than His Father; nor from any
other essence, but from one and the same Father; nor that any other being made
the things in the world, except His own Father, when He speaks as follows in
His teaching: "There was a certain householder, and he planted a vineyard,
and hedged it round about, and dug in it a winepress, and built a tower, and
let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: And when the time of the
fruit drew near, he sent his servants unto the husbandmen, that they might
receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants: they cut one to
pieces, stoned another, and killed another. Again he sent other servants more
than the first: and they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto
them his only son, saying, Perchance they will reverence my son. But when the
husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let
us kill him, and we shall possess his inheritance. And they caught him, and
cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When, therefore, the lord of the
vineyard shall come, what will he do unto these husbandmen? They say unto him,
He will miserably destroy these wicked men, and will let out his vineyard to
other husbandmen, who shall render him the fruits in their season."
Matthew 21:33-41 Again does the Lord say: "Have you never read, The stone
which the builders rejected, the same has become the head of the corner: this
is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore I say unto
you, that the kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation
bringing forth the fruits thereof." Matthew 21:42-44 By these words He
clearly points out to His disciples one and the same Householder — that is, one
God the Father, who made all things by Himself; while [He shows] that there are
various husbandmen, some obstinate, and proud, and worthless, and slayers of
the Lord, but others who render Him, with all obedience, the fruits in their
seasons; and that it is the same Householder who sends at one time His
servants, at another His Son. From that Father, therefore, from whom the Son
was sent to those husbandmen who slew Him, from Him also were the servants
[sent]. But the Son, as coming from the Father with supreme authority
(principali auctoritate), used to express Himself thus: "But I say unto
you." Matthew 5:22 The servants, again, [who came] as from their Lord,
spoke after the manner of servants, [delivering a message]; and they therefore
used to say, "Thus says the Lord."
2. Whom these men did therefore preach to the
unbelievers as Lord, Him did Christ teach to those who obey Him; and the God
who had called those of the former dispensation, is the same as He who has
received those of the latter. In other words, He who at first used that law
which entails bondage, is also He who did in after times [call His people] by
means of adoption. For God planted the vineyard of the human race when at the
first He formed Adam and chose the fathers; then He let it out to husbandmen
when He established the Mosaic dispensation: He hedged it round about, that is,
He gave particular instructions with regard to their worship: He built a tower,
[that is], He chose Jerusalem: He dug a winepress, that is, He prepared a
receptacle of the prophetic Spirit. And thus did He send prophets prior to the
transmigration to Babylon, and after that event others again in greater number
than the former, to seek the fruits, saying thus to them (the Jews): "Thus
says the Lord, Cleanse your ways and your doings, execute just judgment, and
look each one with pity and compassion on his brother: oppress not the widow
nor the orphan, the proselyte nor the poor, and let none of you treasure up
evil against his brother in your hearts, and love not false swearing. Wash you,
make you clean, put away evil from your hearts, learn to do well, seek
judgment, protect the oppressed, judge the fatherless (pupillo), plead for the
widow; and come, let us reason together, says the Lord." And again:
"Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips that they speak no guile;
depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it." In preaching
these things, the prophets sought the fruits of righteousness. But last of all
He sent to those unbelievers His own Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, whom the
wicked husbandmen cast out of the vineyard when they had slain Him. Wherefore
the Lord God did even give it up (no longer hedged around, but thrown open
throughout all the world) to other husbandmen, who render the fruits in their
seasons — the beautiful elect tower being also raised everywhere. For the
illustrious Church is [now] everywhere, and everywhere is the winepress dug:
because those who do receive the Spirit are everywhere. For inasmuch as the
former have rejected the Son of God, and cast Him out of the vineyard when they
slew Him, God has justly rejected them, and given to the Gentiles outside the
vineyard the fruits of its cultivation. This is in accordance with what
Jeremiah says, "The Lord has rejected and cast off the nation which does
these things; for the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, says the
Lord." Jeremiah 7:29-30 And again in like manner does Jeremiah speak:
"I set watchmen over you; hearken to the sound of the trumpet; and they
said, We will not hearken. Therefore have the Gentiles heard, and they who feed
the flocks in them." Jeremiah 6:17-18 It is therefore one and the same
Father who planted the vineyard, who led forth the people, who sent the prophets,
who sent His own Son, and who gave the vineyard to those other husbandmen that
render the fruits in their season.
3. And therefore did the Lord say to His
disciples, to make us become good workmen: "Take heed to yourselves, and
watch continually upon every occasion, lest at any time your hearts be
overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that
day shall come upon you unawares; for as a snare shall it come upon all
dwelling upon the face of the earth." Luke 21:34-35 "Let your loins,
therefore, be girded about, and your lights burning, and you like to men who
wait for their lord, when he shall return from the wedding." Luke 12:35-36
"For as it was in the days of Noe, they ate and drank, they bought and
sold, they married and were given in marriage, and they knew not, until Noe
entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all; as also it was
in the days of Lot, they ate and drank, they bought and sold, they planted and
built, until the time that Lot went out of Sodom; it rained fire from heaven,
and destroyed them all: so shall it also be at the coming of the Son of
man." Luke 17:26, etc. "Watch therefore, for you know not in what day
your Lord shall come." Matthew 24:42 [In these passages] He declares one
and the same Lord, who in the times of Noah brought the deluge because of man's
disobedience, and who also in the days of Lot rained fire from heaven because
of the multitude of sinners among the Sodomites, and who, on account of this
same disobedience and similar sins, will bring on the day of judgment at the
end of time (in novissimo); on which day He declares that it shall be more
tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha than for that city and house which shall not
receive the word of His apostles. "And you, Capernaum," He said,
"is it that you shall be exalted to heaven? You shall go down to hell. For
if the mighty works which have been done in you had been done in Sodom, it
would have remained unto this day. Verily I say unto you, that it shall be more
tolerable for Sodom in the day of judgment than for you." Matthew 11:23-24
4. Since the Son of God is always one and the
same, He gives to those who believe in Him a well of water John 4:14 [springing
up] to eternal life, but He causes the unfruitful fig-tree immediately to dry
up; and in the days of Noah He justly brought on the deluge for the purpose of
extinguishing that most infamous race of men then existent, who could not bring
forth fruit to God, since the angels that sinned had commingled with them, and
[acted as He did] in order that He might put a check upon the sins of these
men, but [that at the same time] He might preserve the archetype, the formation
of Adam. And it was He who rained fire and brimstone from heaven, in the days
of Lot, upon Sodom and Gomorrha, "an example of the righteous judgment of
God," that all may know, "that every tree that brings not forth good
fruit shall be cut down, and cast into the fire." Matthew 3:10 And it is
He who uses [the words], that it will be more tolerable for Sodom in the general
judgment than for those who beheld His wonders, and did not believe in Him, nor
receive His doctrine. Matthew 11:24; Luke 10:12 For as He gave by His advent a
greater privilege to those who believed on Him, and who do His will, so also
did He point out that those who did not believe in Him should have a more
severe punishment in the judgment; thus extending equal justice to all, and
being to exact more from those to whom He gives the more; the more, however,
not because He reveals the knowledge of another Father, as I have shown so
fully and so repeatedly, but because He has, by means of His advent, poured
upon the human race the greater gift of paternal grace.
5. If, however, what I have stated be insufficient
to convince any one that the prophets were sent from one and the same Father,
from whom also our Lord was sent, let such a one, opening the mouth of his
heart, and calling upon the Master, Christ Jesus the Lord, listen to Him when
He says, "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who made a marriage for his
son, and he sent forth his servants to call them who were bidden to the
marriage." And when they would not obey, He goes on to say, "Again he
sent other servants, saying, Tell them that are bidden, Come, I have prepared
my dinner; my oxen and all the fatlings are killed, and everything is ready;
come unto the wedding. But they made light of it, and went their way, some to
their farm, and others to their merchandize; but the remnant took his servants,
and some they treated despitefully, while others they slew. But when the king
heard this, he was angry, and sent his armies and destroyed these murderers,
and burned up their city, and said to his servants, The wedding is indeed
ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go out therefore into the
highways, and as many as you shall find, gather in to the marriage. So the
servants went out, and collected together as many as they found, bad and good,
and the wedding was furnished with guests. But when the king came in to see the
guests, he saw there a man not having on a wedding garment; and he said to him,
Friend, how did you come here, not having on a wedding garment? But he was
speechless. Then said the king to his servants, Take him away, hand and foot,
and cast him into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
For many are called, but few are chosen." Matthew 22:1, etc. Now, by these
words of His, does the Lord clearly show all [these points, viz.,] that there
is one King and Lord, the Father of all, of whom He had previously said,
"Neither shall you swear by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great
King;" and that He had from the beginning prepared the marriage for His
Son, and used, with the utmost kindness, to call, by the instrumentality of His
servants, the men of the former dispensation to the wedding feast; and when
they would not obey, He still invited them by sending out other servants, yet
that even then they did not obey Him, but even stoned and slew those who
brought them the message of invitation. He accordingly sent forth His armies
and destroyed them, and burned down their city; but He called together from all
the highways, that is, from all nations, [guests] to the marriage feast of His
Son, as also He says by Jeremiah: "I have sent also unto you my servants
the prophets to say, Return now, every man, from his very evil way, and amend
your doings." Jeremiah 35:15 And again He says by the same prophet:
"I have also sent unto you my servants the prophets throughout the day and
before the light; yet they did not obey me, nor incline their ears unto me. And
you shall speak this word to them: This is a people that obeys not the voice of
the Lord, nor receives correction; faith has perished from their mouth."
Jeremiah 7:25, etc. The Lord, therefore, who has called us everywhere by the
apostles, is He who called those of old by the prophets, as appears by the
words of the Lord; and although they preached to various nations, the prophets
were not from one God, and the apostles from another; but, [proceeding] from
one and the same, some of them announced the Lord, others preached the Father,
and others again foretold the advent of the Son of God, while yet others
declared Him as already present to those who then were afar off.
6. Still further did He also make it manifest,
that we ought, after our calling, to be also adorned with works of
righteousness, so that the Spirit of God may rest upon us; for this is the
wedding garment, of which also the apostle speaks, "Not for that we would
be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up by
immortality." 2 Corinthians 5:4 But those who have indeed been called to
God's supper, yet have not received the Holy Spirit, because of their wicked
conduct "shall be," He declares, "cast into outer
darkness." Matthew 22:13 He thus clearly shows that the very same King who
gathered from all quarters the faithful to the marriage of His Son, and who
grants them the incorruptible banquet, [also] orders that man to be cast into
outer darkness who has not on a wedding garment, that is, one who despises it.
For as in the former covenant, "with many of them was He not well
pleased;" 1 Corinthians 10:5 so also is it the case here, that "many
are called, but few chosen." Matthew 22:14 It is not, then, one God who
judges, and another Father who calls us together to salvation; nor one,
forsooth, who confers eternal light, but another who orders those who have not
on the wedding garment to be sent into outer darkness. But it is one and the
same God, the Father of our Lord, from whom also the prophets had their
mission, who does indeed, through His infinite kindness, call the unworthy; but
He examines those who are called, [to ascertain] if they have on the garment
fit and proper for the marriage of His Son, because nothing unbecoming or evil
pleases Him. This is in accordance with what the Lord said to the man who had
been healed: "Behold, you are made whole; sin no more, lest a worse thing
come unto you." John 5:14 For he who is good, and righteous, and pure, and
spotless, will endure nothing evil, nor unjust, nor detestable in His wedding
chamber. This is the Father of our Lord, by whose providence all things
consist, and all are administered by His command; and He confers His free gifts
upon those who should [receive them]; but the most righteous Retributor metes
out [punishment] according to their deserts, most deservedly, to the ungrateful
and to those that are insensible of His kindness; and therefore does He say,
"He sent His armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their
city." Matthew 22:7 He says here, "His armies," because all men
are the property of God. For "the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness
thereof; the world, and all that dwell therein." Wherefore also the
Apostle Paul says in the Epistle to the Romans, "For there is no power but
of God; the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever resists the power,
resists the ordinance of God; and they that resist shall receive unto
themselves condemnation. For rulers are not for a terror to a good work, but to
an evil. Will you then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and
you shall have praise of the same; for he is the minister of God to you for
good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid; for he bears not the sword
in vain: for he is the minister of God, the avenger for wrath upon him that
does evil. Wherefore you must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also
for conscience sake. For this cause pay tribute also; for they are God's
ministers, attending continually upon this very thing." Romans 13:1-7 Both
the Lord, then, and the apostles announce as the one only God the Father, Him
who gave the law, who sent the prophets, who made all things; and therefore
does He say, "He sent His armies," because every man, inasmuch as he
is a man, is His workmanship, although he may be ignorant of his God. For He
gives existence to all; He, "who makes His sun to rise upon the evil and
the good, and sends rain upon the just and unjust." Matthew 5:45
7. And not alone by what has been stated, but also
by the parable of the two sons, the younger of whom consumed his substance by
living luxuriously with harlots, did the Lord teach one and the same Father,
who did not even allow a kid to his elder son; but for him who had been lost,
[namely] his younger son, he ordered the fatted calf to be killed, and he gave
him the best robe. Luke 15:11 Also by the parable of the workmen who were sent
into the vineyard at different periods of the day, one and the same God is
declared Matthew 20:1, etc. as having called some in the beginning, when the
world was first created; but others afterwards, and others during the
intermediate period, others after a long lapse of time, and others again in the
end of time; so that there are many workmen in their generations, but only one
householder who calls them together. For there is but one vineyard, since there
is also but one righteousness, and one dispensator, for there is one Spirit of
God who arranges all things; and in like manner is there one hire, for they all
received a penny each man, having [stamped upon it] the royal image and
superscription, the knowledge of the Son of God, which is immortality. And
therefore He began by giving the hire to those [who were engaged] last, because
in the last times, when the Lord was revealed He presented Himself to all [as
their reward].
8. Then, in the case of the publican, who excelled
the Pharisee in prayer, [we find] that it was not because he worshipped another
Father that he received testimony from the Lord that he was justified rather
[than the other]; but because with great humility, apart from all boasting and
pride, he made confession to the same God. Luke 18:10 The parable of the two
sons also: those who are sent into the vineyard, of whom one indeed opposed his
father, but afterwards repented, when repentance profited him nothing; the
other, however, promised to go, at once assuring his father, but he did not go
(for "every man is a liar;" "to will is present with him, but he
finds not means to perform" Romans 7:18) — [this parable, I say], points
out one and the same Father. Then, again, this truth was clearly shown forth by
the parable of the fig-tree, of which the Lord says, "Behold, now these
three years I come seeking fruit on this fig-tree, but I find none" Luke
13:6 (pointing onwards, by the prophets, to His advent, by whom He came from
time to time, seeking the fruit of righteousness from them, which he did not
find), and also by the circumstance that, for the reason already mentioned, the
fig-tree should be hewn down. And, without using a parable, the Lord said to
Jerusalem, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets, and stone
those that are sent unto you; how often would I have gathered your children
together, as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not!
Behold, your house shall be left unto you desolate." Luke 13:34; Matthew
23:37 For that which had been said in the parable, "Behold, for three
years I come seeking fruit," and in clear terms, again, [where He says],
"How often would I have gathered your children together," shall be
[found] a falsehood, if we do not understand His advent, which is [announced]
by the prophets— if, in fact, He came to them but once, and then for the first
time. But since He who chose the patriarchs and those [who lived under the
first covenant], is the same Word of God who did both visit them through the
prophetic Spirit, and us also who have been called together from all quarters
by His advent; in addition to what has been already said, He truly declared,
"Many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall recline with
Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of
the kingdom shall go into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing
of teeth." Matthew 8:11-12 If, then, those who do believe in Him through
the preaching of His apostles throughout the east and west shall recline with
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven, partaking with them of the
[heavenly] banquet, one and the same God is set forth as He who did indeed
choose the patriarchs, visited also the people, and called the Gentiles.
