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| The Apostles Did Not Keep Back Any of the Deposit of Doctrine Which Christ Had Entrusted to Them. St. Paul Openly Committed His Whole Doctrine to Timothy. PREVIOUS SECTION - NEXT SECTION - HELP
Chapter
XXV.—The Apostles Did Not Keep Back Any of the Deposit of
Doctrine Which Christ Had Entrusted to Them. St. Paul Openly Committed
His Whole Doctrine to Timothy.
But here is, as we have said,2115
2115 Above, in chap.
xxii. [Note the Gnostic madness of such a plea. Kaye, p. 235 and
Elucidation IV.] | the same madness, in their allowing indeed
that the apostles were ignorant of nothing, and preached not any
(doctrines) which contradicted one another, but at the same time
insisting that they did not reveal all to all men, for that they
proclaimed some openly and to all the world, whilst they disclosed
others (only) in secret and to a few, because Paul addressed even this
expression to Timothy: “O Timothy, guard that which is entrusted
to thee;”2116 and again:
“That good thing which was committed unto thee
keep.”2117 What is this
deposit? Is it so secret as to be supposed to characterize2118
2118 Ut alterius
doctrinæ deputetur. | a new doctrine? or is it a part of that
charge of which he says, “This charge I commit unto thee, son
Timothy?”2119 and also of that
precept of which he says, “I charge thee in the sight of God, who
quickeneth all things, and before Jesus Christ who witnessed a good
confession under Pontius Pilate, that thou keep this
commandment?”2120 Now, what is (this)
commandment and what is (this) charge? From the preceding and the
succeeding contexts, it will be manifest that there is no
mysterious2121 hint darkly
suggested in this expression about (some) far-fetched2122 doctrine, but that a warning is rather given
against receiving any other (doctrine) than that which Timothy
had heard from himself, as I take it publicly: “Before
many witnesses” is his phrase.2123 Now, if they
refuse to allow that the church is meant by these “many
witnesses,” it matters nothing, since nothing could have been
secret which was produced “before many witnesses.” Nor,
again, must the circumstance of his having wished him to “commit
these things to faithful men, who should be able to teach others
also,”2124 be construed into a
proof of there being some occult gospel. For, when he says “these
things,” he refers to the things of which he is writing at the
moment. In reference, however, to occult subjects, he would have called
them, as being absent, those things, not these things, to
one who had a joint knowledge of them with himself.2125
2125 Apud
conscientiam. [Clement of Alexandria is to be interpreted by
Tertullian, with whom he does not essentially differ. For
Clement’s Esoteric Doctrine (See Vol. II. pp. 302, 313, etc.) is
defined as perfecting the type of the Christian by the strong
meat of Truth, of which the entire deposit is presupposed as
common to all Christians. We must not blame Clement for the abuse of
his teaching by perverters of Truth itself.] | E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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