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| The Apostles Not Ignorant. The Heretical Pretence of St. Peter's Imperfection Because He Was Rebuked by St. Paul. St. Peter Not Rebuked for Error in Teaching.
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Chapter
XXIII.—The Apostles Not Ignorant. The Heretical Pretence of St.
Peter’s Imperfection Because He Was Rebuked by St. Paul. St.
Peter Not Rebuked for Error in Teaching.
Now, with the view of branding2091
the apostles with some mark of ignorance,
they put forth the case of Peter and them that were with him having
been rebuked by Paul. “Something therefore,” they say,
“was wanting in them.” (This they allege,) in order that
they may from this construct that other position of theirs, that a
fuller knowledge may possibly have afterwards come over (the apostles,)
such as fell to the share of Paul when he rebuked those who preceded
him. I may here say to those who reject The Acts of the
Apostles: “It is first necessary that you show us who this
Paul was,—both what he was before he was an apostle, and how he
became an apostle,”—so very great is the use which they
make of him in respect of other questions also. It is true that he tells
us himself that he was a persecutor before he became an
apostle,2092
still this is not
enough for any man who examines before he believes, since even the Lord
Himself did not bear witness of Himself.2093
But let them believe without the Scriptures, if their object is to
believe contrary to the Scriptures.2094
| 2094 Ut credunt contra
Scripturas. | Still they
should show, from the circumstance which they allege of Peter’s
being rebuked by Paul, that Paul added yet another form of the gospel
besides that which Peter and the rest had previously set forth. But the
fact is,2095
having been
converted from a persecutor to a preacher, he is introduced as one of
the brethren to brethren, by brethren—to them, indeed, by men who
had put on faith from the apostles’ hands. Afterwards, as
he himself narrates, he “went up to Jerusalem for the purpose of
seeing Peter,”2096
because of his
office, no doubt,2097
and by right of a
common belief and preaching. Now they certainly would not have
been surprised at his having become a preacher instead of a persecutor,
if his preaching were of something contrary; nor, moreover, would they
have “glorified the Lord,”2098
because Paul had presented himself as an adversary to Him. They
accordingly even gave him “the right hand of
fellowship,”2099
as a sign of their
agreement with him, and arranged amongst themselves a distribution of
office, not a diversity of gospel, so that they should severally preach
not a different gospel, but (the same), to different persons,2100
| 2100 The same verse. [Note
Peter’s restriction to Jews.] | Peter to the circumcision, Paul to the
Gentiles. Forasmuch, then, as Peter was rebuked because, after he had
lived with the Gentiles, he proceeded to separate himself from their
company out of respect for persons, the fault surely was one of
conversation, not of preaching.2101
| 2101 Vers. 12,
13. See also
Anti-Marcion, iv. 3 (Trans. p. 182). | For it does
not appear from this, that any other God than the Creator, or any other
Christ than (the son) of Mary, or any other hope than the resurrection,
was (by him) announced.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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