Chapter 51.—99. Taking all these things, therefore, into consideration, I think that I am not rash in saying that there are some in the house of God after such a fashion as not to be themselves the very house of God, which is said to be built upon a rock,1900
which is called the one
dove,
1901
which is styled the beauteous
bride without spot or wrinkle,
1902
and a
garden enclosed, a
fountain sealed, a well of living
water, an orchard of pomegranates with pleasant fruits;
1903
which
house also received the keys, and the
power of binding and loosing.
1904
If any one shall neglect this
house when it arrests and corrects him, the
Lord says, "Let him be unto thee as an
heathen man and a
publican."
1905
Of this
house it is said, "
Lord, I have
loved the
habitation of Thy
house, and the place where Thine
honor dwelleth;"
1906
and, "He maketh men to be of one
mind in an
house;"
1907
and, "I was
glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the
house of the
Lord;"
1908
and, "
Blessed are they that dwell in Thy
house, O
Lord; they will be still praising Thee;"
1909
with countless other passages to the same effect. This
house is also called
wheat, bringing forth fruit with
patience, some thirty-fold, some sixtyfold, and some an hundredfold.
1910
This
house is also in
vessels of
gold and of
silver,
1911
and in precious
stones and imperishable woods. To this
house it is said, "Forbearing one another in
love, endeavoring to keep the
unity of the Spirit in the
bond of
peace;"
1912
and, "For the
temple of
God is holy, which
temple ye are."
1913
For this
house is composed of those that are good and
faithful, and of the holy
servants of
God dispersed throughout the
world, and bound together by the
unity of the Spirit, whether they know each other personally or not. But we hold that others are said to be in the
house after such a sort, that they
belong not to the substance of the
house, nor to the society of
fruitful and
peaceful justice, but only as the
chaff is said to be among the corn; for that they are in the
house we cannot deny, when the
apostle says, "But in a great
house there are not only
vessels of
gold and of
silver, but also of
wood and of
earth; and some to
honor, and some to
dishonor."
1914
| 1914 2 Tim. ii. 20. In Retract. ii. 18, Augustin says that he thinks the meaning of this last passage to be, not as Cyprian took it, Ep. liv. 3, that the vessels of gold and silver are the good, which are to honor; the vessels of wood and earth the wicked, which are to dishonor: but that the material of the vessels refers to the outward appearance of the several members of the Church, and that in each class some will be found to
honor, and some to dishonor. This interpretation he derives from Tychonius.
|
Of this countless multitude are found to be not only the
crowd which within the
Church afflicts the
hearts of the
saints, who are so few in comparison with so vast a
host, but also the
heresies and
schisms which exist in those who have
burst the meshes of the net, and may now be said to be rather out of the
house than in the
house, of whom it is said, "They went out from us, but they were not of us."
1915
For they are more thoroughly separated, now that they are also divided from us in the body, than are those who live within the Church in a carnal and worldly fashion, and are separated from us in the spirit.
E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
