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| Chapter VII.—The manifestation of Christ.
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Chapter VII.—The
manifestation of Christ.
For, as I said, this was no mere
earthly invention which was delivered to them, nor is it a mere human
system of opinion, which they judge it right to preserve so carefully,
nor has a dispensation of mere human mysteries been committed to them,
but truly God Himself, who is almighty, the Creator of all things, and
invisible, has sent from heaven, and placed among men, [Him who is] the
truth, and the holy and incomprehensible Word, and has firmly established
Him in their hearts. He did not, as one might have imagined, send to men
any servant, or angel, or ruler, or any one of those who bear sway over
earthly things, or one of those to whom the government of things in the
heavens has been entrusted, but the very Creator and Fashioner of all
things—by whom He made the heavens—by whom he enclosed
the sea within its proper bounds—whose ordinances295
all the stars296
faithfully observe—from whom the sun297
| 297 The word “sun,” though omitted
in the mss., should
manifestly be inserted. | has received the measure of his daily
course to be observed298
| 298
Literally, “has received to observe.” | —
whom the moon obeys, being commanded to shine in the night, and whom the
stars also obey, following the moon in her course; by whom all things
have been arranged, and placed within their proper limits, and to whom
all are subject—the heavens and the things that are therein, the
earth and the things that are therein, the sea and the things that are
therein—fire, air, and the abyss—the things which are in
the heights, the things which are in the depths, and the things which lie
between. This [messenger] He sent to them. Was it then, as one299
| 299 Literally, “one of
men.” | might conceive, for the purpose of exercising
tyranny, or of inspiring fear and terror? By no means, but under the
influence of clemency and meekness. As a king sends his son, who is also
a king, so sent He Him; as God300
| 300 “God” here refers to the person sent.
| He sent Him; as to men He sent Him; as a Saviour He sent Him, and
as seeking to persuade, not to compel us; for violence has no place in
the character of God. As calling us He sent Him, not as vengefully
pursuing us; as loving us He sent Him, not as judging us. For He will yet
send Him to judge us, and who shall endure His appearing?301
| 301 [Comp. Mal. iii.
2. The Old Testament is frequently in mind, if not expressly
quoted by Mathetes.] A considerable gap here occurs in the mss. | … Do you
not see them exposed to wild beasts,
that they may be
persuaded to deny the Lord, and yet not overcome? Do you not see that the
more of them are punished, the greater becomes the number of the rest?
This does not seem to be the work of man: this is the power of God; these
are the evidences of His manifestation.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
|
