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| Chapter LXXXVII.—Trypho maintains in objection these words: “And shall rest on Him,” etc. They are explained by Justin.
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Chapter LXXXVII.—Trypho maintains in
objection these words: “And shall rest on Him,” etc. They are explained by
Justin.
Hereupon Trypho, after I had spoken these
words, said, “Do not now suppose that I am
endeavouring, by asking what I do ask, to overturn the statements you
have made; but I wish to receive information respecting those very points
about which I now inquire. Tell me, then, how, when the Scripture asserts
by Isaiah, ‘There shall come forth a rod from the root of Jesse;
and a flower shall grow up from the root of Jesse; and the Spirit of God
shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit
of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and piety: and the spirit
of the fear of the Lord shall fill Him:’2292
(now you admitted to me,” continued he, “that this
referred to Christ, and you maintain Him to be pre-existent God, and
having become incarnate by God’s will, to be born man by the
Virgin:) how He can be demonstrated to have been pre-existent, who is
filled with the powers of the Holy Ghost, which the Scripture by Isaiah
enumerates, as if He were in lack of them?”
Then I replied, “You have inquired most
discreetly and most prudently, for truly there does seem to be a
difficulty; but listen to what I say, that you may perceive the reason of
this also. The Scripture says that these
enumerated powers of the Spirit have come on Him, not because He stood in
need of them, but because they would rest in Him, i.e., would find their
accomplishment in Him, so that there would be no more prophets in your
nation after the ancient custom: and this fact you plainly perceive. For
after Him no prophet has arisen among you. Now, that [you may know that]
your prophets, each receiving some one or two powers from God, did and
spoke the things which we have learned from the Scriptures, attend to the
following remarks of mine. Solomon possessed the spirit of wisdom, Daniel
that of understanding and counsel, Moses that of might and piety, Elijah
that of fear, and Isaiah that of knowledge; and so with the others: each
possessed one power, or one joined alternately with another; also
Jeremiah, and the twelve [prophets], and David, and, in short, the rest
who existed amongst you. Accordingly He2293
| 2293 He, that is, the Spirit. The following “He”
is Christ. | rested, i.e., ceased, when He came, after
whom, in the times of this dispensation wrought out by Him amongst
men,2294
| 2294 Or, “wrought
out amongst His people.” So Otto. | it was requisite that
such gifts should cease from you; and having received their rest in Him,
should again, as had been predicted, become gifts which, from the grace
of His Spirit’s power, He imparts to those who believe in Him,
according as He deems each man worthy thereof. I have already said, and
do again say, that it had been prophesied that this would be done by Him
after His ascension to heaven. It is accordingly said,2295
‘He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, He gave gifts unto
the sons of men.’ And again, in another prophecy it is said:
‘And it shall come to pass after this, I will pour out My Spirit on
all flesh, and on My servants, and on My handmaids, and they shall
prophesy.’2296
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