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| Why the Pharisees Were Not a Plant of God. Teaching of Origen on the “Bread of the Lord.”
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14. Why the
Pharisees Were Not a Plant of God. Teaching of Origen on the
“Bread of the Lord.”
After this, it is worth while to look at the phrase
which has been assailed in a sophistical way by those who say5454
| 5454 Marcion and his
followers. | that the God of the law and the God of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ is not the same; for they say that the heavenly
Father of Jesus Christ is not the husbandman of those who think that
they worship God according to the law of Moses. Jesus Himself
said that the Pharisees, who were worshipping the God who created the
world and the law, were not a plant which His heavenly Father had
planted, and that for this reason it was being rooted up.5455
But you might also say this, that even
if it were the Father of Jesus who “brought in and planted the
people,” when it came out of Egypt, “to the mountain of His
own inheritance, to the place which He had prepared for Himself to
dwell in,”5456
yet Jesus would
have said, in regard to the Pharisees, “Every plant which My
heavenly Father planted not, shall be rooted up.” Now, to
this we will say, that as many as on account of their perverse
interpretation of the things in the law were not a plant of His Father
in heaven, were blinded in their minds, as not believing the truth, but
taking pleasure in unrighteousness,5457
by him who is
deified by the sons of this world, and on this account is called by
Paul the god of this world.5458
And do not
suppose that Paul said that he was truly God; for just as the belly,
though it is not the god of those who prize pleasure too highly, being
lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, is said by Paul to be
their god,5459
so the prince of
this world, in regard to whom the Saviour says, “Now has the
prince of this world been judged,”5460
though he is not God, is said to be the god of those who do not wish to
receive the spirit of adoption, in order that they may become sons of
that world, and sons of the resurrection from the dead,5461
and who, on this account, abide in the
sonship of this world. I have deemed it necessary to introduce
these matters, even though they may have been spoken by way of
digression, because of the saying, “They are blind guides of the
blind.”5462
Who are
such? The Pharisees, whose minds the god of this world hath
blinded as they are unbelieving, because they have not believed in
Jesus Christ; and he hath blinded them so that the “light of the
Gospel of the glory of God in the face of Christ should not dawn upon
them.”5463
But not only
must we avoid being guided by those blind ones who are conscious that
they are in need of guides, because they have not yet received the
power of vision of themselves; but even in the case of all who profess
to guide us in sound doctrine, we must hear with care, and apply a
sound judgment to what is said, lest being guided according to the
ignorance of those who are blind, and do not see the things that
concern sound doctrine, we ourselves may appear to be blind because we
do not see the sense of the Scriptures, so that both he who guides and
he who is guided will fall into the ditch of which we have spoken
before. Next to this, it is written in what way Peter answered
and said to the Saviour, as if he had not understood the saying,
“Not that which cometh into the mouth defileth the man, but that
which goeth out of the mouth,” “Declare unto us the
parable.”5464
To which the
Saviour says, “Are ye also, even yet, without
understanding?”5465
As if He had
said, “Having been so long time with Me, do ye not yet understand
the meaning of what is said, and do ye not perceive that for this
reason that which goeth into his mouth does not defile the man, because
it passeth into the belly, and
going out from it is cast into the draught?”5466
It was not in respect of the law in
which they appeared to believe, that the Pharisees were not a plant of
the Father of Jesus, but in respect of their perverse interpretation of
the law and the things written in it. For since there are two
things to be understood in regard to the law, the ministration of death
which was engraven in letters5467
and which had no
kinship with the spirit, and the ministration of life which is
understood in the spiritual law, those who were able with a sincere
heart to say, “We know that the law is spiritual,”5468
and therefore “the law is holy, and
the commandment holy and righteous and good,”5469
were the plant which the heavenly Father
planted; but those who were not such, but guarded with care the letter
which killeth only, were not a plant of God but of him who hardened
their heart, and put a veil over it, which veil had power over them so
long as they did not turn to the Lord; “for if any one should
turn to the Lord, the veil is taken away, and the Lord is the
Spirit.”5470
Now some one
when dealing with the passage might say, that just as “not that
which entereth into the mouth defileth the man,”5471
of even though it may be thought by the Jews
to be defiled, so not that which entereth into the mouth sanctifieth
the man, even though what is called the bread of the Lord may be
thought by the simpler disciples to sanctify. And the saying is I
think, not to be despised, and on this account, demands clear
exposition, which seems to me to be thus; as it is not the meat but the
conscience of him who eats with doubt which defiles him that eateth,
for “he that doubteth is condemned if he eat, because he eateth
not of faith,”5472
and as nothing is
pure to him who is defiled and unbelieving, not in itself, but because
of his defilement and unbelief, so that which is sanctified through the
word of God and prayer5473
does not, in its
own nature, sanctify him who uses it, for, if this were so, it would
sanctify even him who eats unworthily of the bread of the Lord, and no
one on account of this food would become weak or sickly or asleep for
something of this kind Paul represented in saying, “For this
cause many among you are weak and sickly and not a few
sleep.”5474
And in the
case of the bread of the Lord, accordingly, there is advantage to him
who uses it, when with undefiled mind and pure conscience he partakes
of the bread. And so neither by not eating, I mean by the very
fact that we do not eat of the bread which has been sanctified by the
word of God and prayer, are we deprived of any good thing, nor by
eating are we the better by any good thing; for the cause of our
lacking is wickedness and sins, and the cause of our abounding is
righteousness and right actions; so that such is the meaning of what is
said by Paul, “For neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we
eat not are we the worse.”5475
Now, if
“everything that entereth into the mouth goes into the belly and
is cast out into the drought,”5476
even the meat
which has been sanctified through the word of God and prayer, in
accordance with the fact that it is material, goes into the belly and
is cast out into the draught, but in respect of the prayer which comes
upon it, according to the proportion of the faith, becomes a benefit
and is a means of clear vision to the mind which looks to that which is
beneficial, and it is not the material of the bread but the word which
is said over it which is of advantage to him who eats it not unworthily
of the Lord. And these things indeed are said of the typical and
symbolical body. But many things might be said about the Word
Himself who became flesh,5477
and true meat of
which he that eateth shall assuredly live for ever, no worthless person
being able to eat it; for if it were possible for one who continues
worthless to eat of Him who became flesh, who was the Word and the
living bread, it would not have been written, that “every one who
eats of this bread shall live for ever.”5478
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