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| Chapter XXXVI.—The prophets were sent from one and the same Father from whom the Son was sent.
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Chapter XXXVI.—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 [spake] 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 digged 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.”4355
Again does the
Lord say: “Have ye never read, The stone which the builders
rejected, the same is 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.”4356
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.”4357
The servants, again, [who came] as from their Lord, spake after
the manner of servants, [delivering a message]; and they therefore used
to say, “Thus saith 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 digged 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 saith 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, saith the Lord.”4358
And
again: “Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips that they speak no
guile; depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue
it.”4359
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 digged: 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 hath rejected and cast off the nation which does these
things; for the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the
Lord.”4360
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.”4361
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.”4362
“Let your loins, therefore, be girded
about, and your lights burning, and ye like to men who wait for their
lord, when he shall return from the wedding.”4363
“For as it was in the days of Noe, they
did eat and drink, 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 did eat and drink, they bought and sold, they planted and builded,
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.”4364
“Watch ye
therefore, for ye know not in what day your Lord shall come.”4365
[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 Gomorrah than for that city and house which shall not
receive the word of His apostles. “And thou, Capernaum,” He
said, “is it that thou shalt be exalted to heaven?4366
| 4366 No other of the Greek Fathers quotes this
text as above; from which fact Grabe infers that old Latin translator, or
his transcribers, altered the words of Irenæus [N.B.—From one
example infer the rest] to suit the Latin versions. | Thou
shalt go down to hell. For if the mighty works which have been done in
thee 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.”4367
4. Since the Son of God is always one and the same, He
gives to those who believe on Him a well of water4368
[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,4369
| 4369 This is Massuet’s conjectural
emendation of the text, viz., archetypum for arcætypum.
Grabe would insert per before arcæ, and he thinks the
passage to have a reference to 1 Pet. iii. 20.
Irenæus, in common with the other ancient Fathers, believed that the
fallen angels were the “sons of God” who commingled with
“the daughters of men,” and thus produced a race of spurious
men. [Gen. vi. 1, 2, 3, and Josephus.] |
the formation of Adam. And it was He who rained fire and brimstone from
heaven, in the days of Lot, upon Sodom and Gomorrah, “an example of
the righteous judgment of God,”4370
that all
may know, “that every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall
be cut down, and cast into the fire.”4371
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 on Him, nor receive His doctrine.4372
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 on 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 unto 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 ye, 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 wroth, 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 ye 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 unto him, Friend, how camest
thou hither, 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.”4373
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 shalt thou swear by
Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King;”4374
| 4374 Matt. v. 35. Instead
of placing a period here, as the editors do, it seems to us preferable to
carry on the construction. | 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 ye now, every man, from
his very
evil way, and amend your doings.”4375
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 thou shall speak
this word to them: This is a people that obeyeth not the voice of the
Lord, nor receiveth correction; faith has perished from their
mouth.”4376
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.”4377
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.”4378
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;”4379
so also is it the case
here, that “many are called, but few chosen.”4380
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, thou art
made whole; sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.”4381
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.”4382
He says here, “His armies,” because
all men are the property of God. For “the earth is the
Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and all that dwell
therein.”4383
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 resisteth the
power, resisteth 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. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that
which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same; for he is the
minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be
afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of
God, the avenger for wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must
needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For
this cause pay ye tribute also; for they are God’s ministers,
attending continually upon this very thing.”4384
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 maketh His sun to rise upon the evil and
the good, and sendeth rain upon the just and unjust.”4385
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.4386
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 declared4387
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.4388
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;”4389
“to
will is present with him, but he finds not means to perform”4390
),—[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”4391
(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, thou that killest the prophets, and
stonest those that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered
thy children together, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings,
and ye would not! Behold, your house shall be left unto you
desolate.”4392
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 thy
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.”4393
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
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