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| Chapter XIV.—If God demands obedience from man, if He formed man, called him and placed him under laws, it was merely for man’s welfare; not that God stood in need of man, but that He graciously conferred upon man His favours in every possible manner.
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Chapter XIV.—If God demands obedience
from man, if He formed man, called him and placed him under laws, it was merely
for man’s welfare; not that God stood in need of man, but that He graciously
conferred upon man His favours in every possible manner.
1. In
the beginning, therefore, did God form Adam, not as if He stood in need
of man, but that He might have [some one] upon whom to confer His
benefits. For not alone antecedently to Adam, but also before all
creation, the Word glorified His Father, remaining in Him; and was
Himself glorified by the Father, as He did Himself declare,
“Father, glorify Thou Me with the glory which I had with Thee
before the world was.”3960
Nor did
He stand in need of our service when He ordered us to follow Him; but He
thus bestowed salvation upon ourselves. For to follow the Saviour is to
be a partaker of salvation, and to follow light is to receive light. But
those who are in light do not themselves illumine the light, but are
illumined and revealed by it: they do certainly contribute nothing to it,
but, receiving the benefit, they are illumined by the light. Thus, also,
service [rendered] to God does indeed profit God nothing, nor has God
need of human obedience; but He grants to those who follow and serve Him
life and incorruption and eternal glory, bestowing benefit upon those who
serve [Him], because they do serve Him, and on His followers, because
they do follow Him; but does not receive any benefit from them: for He is
rich, perfect, and in need of nothing. But for this reason does God
demand service from men, in order that, since He is good and merciful, He
may benefit those who continue in His service. For, as much as God is in
want of nothing, so much does man stand in need of fellowship with God.
For this is the glory of man, to continue and remain permanently in
God’s service. Wherefore also did the Lord say to His disciples,
“Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you;”3961
indicating that they did not glorify Him when
they followed Him; but that, in following the Son of God, they were
glorified by Him. And again, “I will, that where I am, there they
also may be, that they may behold My glory;”3962
not vainly boasting because of this, but desiring that His
disciples should share in His glory: of whom Esaias also says, “I
will bring thy seed from the east, and will gather thee from the
west; and I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south,
Keep not back: bring My sons from far, and My daughters from the ends of
the earth; all, as many as have been called in My name: for in My glory I
have prepared, and formed, and made him.”3963
Inasmuch as then, “wheresoever the carcase is, there shall
also the eagles be gathered together,”3964
we do participate in the glory of the Lord, who has both formed
us, and prepared us for this, that, when we are with Him, we may partake
of His glory.
2. Thus it was, too, that God formed man at the first,
because of His munificence; but chose the patriarchs for the sake of
their salvation; and prepared a people beforehand, teaching the
headstrong to follow God; and raised up prophets upon earth, accustoming
man to bear His Spirit [within him], and to hold communion with God: He
Himself, indeed, having need of nothing, but granting communion with
Himself to those who stood in need of it, and sketching out, like an
architect, the plan of salvation to those that pleased Him. And He did
Himself furnish guidance to those who beheld Him not in Egypt, while to
those who became unruly in the desert He promulgated a law very suitable
[to their condition]. Then, on the people who entered into the good land
He bestowed a noble inheritance; and He killed the fatted calf for those
converted to the Father, and presented them with the finest robe.3965
Thus, in a variety of ways, He adjusted the
human race to an agreement with salvation. On this account also does John
declare in the Apocalypse, “And His voice as the sound of many
waters.”3966
For the Spirit [of God] is
truly [like] many waters, since the Father is both rich and great. And
the Word, passing through all those [men], did liberally confer benefits
upon His subjects, by drawing up in writing a law adapted and applicable
to every class [among them].
3. Thus, too, He imposed upon the [Jewish] people the
construction of the tabernacle, the building of the temple, the election
of the Levites, sacrifices also, and oblations, legal monitions, and all
the other service of the law. He does Himself truly want none of these
things, for He is always full of all good, and had in Himself all the
odour of kindness, and every perfume of sweet-smelling savours, even
before Moses existed. Moreover, He instructed the people, who were prone
to turn to idols, instructing them by repeated appeals to persevere and
to serve God, calling them to the things of primary importance by means
of those which were secondary; that is, to things that are real, by means
of those that are typical; and by things temporal, to eternal; and by the
carnal to the spiritual; and by the earthly to the heavenly; as was also
said to Moses, “Thou shalt make all things after the pattern of
those things which thou sawest in the mount.”3967
For during forty days He was learning to keep [in his memory] the
words of God, and the celestial patterns, and the spiritual images, and
the types of things to come; as also Paul says: “For they drank of
the rock which followed them: and the rock was Christ.”3968
And again, having first mentioned what are
contained in the law, he goes on to say: “Now all these things
happened to them in a figure; but they were written for our admonition,
upon whom the end of the ages is come.” For by means of types they
learned to fear God, and to continue devoted to His service.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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