Bad Advertisement?
Are you a Christian?
Online Store:Visit Our Store
| Of Faith.
PREVIOUS SECTION - NEXT SECTION - HELP 
The
“Demonstrations” of Aphrahat.
Demonstration
I.—Of
Faith.
1. I have received thy letter, my beloved, and when I read it, it greatly gladdened me that thou hast turned thy
thoughts to these investigations. For this thing that thou hast
asked of me shall be freely granted,648
for freely it was received. And whosoever has, and desires to withhold from
him that seeks, whatsoever he withholds shall be taken away from
him. Whoever of free grace receives, of free grace also does it
behove him to give. And so, my beloved, as to that which thou
hast asked of me, so far as my insignificance has apprehended, I will
write to thee. And also whatsoever thou hast not sought of me,
invoking God, I will explain to thee. Hear then, my beloved, and
open the inward ears of thy heart unto me, and the spiritual
perceptions of thy mind to that which I say unto thee.
2. Faith is compounded of many things, and by many
kinds is it brought to perfection. For it is like a building that
is built up of many pieces of workmanship and so its edifice rises to
the top. And know, my beloved, that in the foundations of the
building stones are laid, and so resting upon stones the whole edifice
rises until it is perfected. Thus also the true Stone, our Lord
Jesus Christ, is the foundation of
all our faith. And on Him, on [this] Stone faith is based.
And resting on faith all the structure rises until it is
completed. For it is the foundation that is the beginning of all
the building. For when any one is brought nigh unto faith, it is
laid for him upon the Stone, that is our Lord Jesus Christ. And
his building cannot be shaken by the waves, nor can it be injured by
the winds. By the stormy blasts it does not fall, because its
structure is reared upon the rock of the true Stone. And in this
that I have called Christ the Stone, I have not spoken of my own
thought, but the Prophets beforehand called Him the Stone. And
this I shall make clear to thee.
3. And now hear concerning faith that is based upon the Stone, and concerning the structure that is reared up
upon the Stone. For first a man believes, and when he believes,
he loves. When he loves, he hopes. When he hopes, he is
justified. When he is justified, he is perfected. When he
is perfected, he is consummated. And when his whole structure is
raised up, consummated, and perfected, then he becomes a house and a
temple for a dwelling-place of Christ, as Jeremiah the Prophet
said:—The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the
temple of the Lord are ye, if ye amend your ways and your
works.649
And again He
said through the Prophet:—I will dwell in them and walk in
them.650
And also the
Blessed Apostle thus said:—Ye are the temple of God and the
spirit of Christ dwelleth in you.651
And also
our Lord again thus said to His disciples:—Ye are in Me and I
am in you.652
4. And when the house has become a dwelling-place,
then the man begins to be anxious as to that which is required for Him
Who dwells in the building. Just as if a king or an honourable
man, to whom a royal name is given, should lodge in the house, there
would be required for the King all the appurtenances of royalty and all
the service that is needed for the King’s honour. For in a
house that is void of all good things, the King will not lodge, nor
will he dwell in the midst of it; but all that is choicest in the house
is required for the King and that nothing in it be deficient. And
if anything be deficient there in the house in which the King lodges,
the keeper of the house is delivered over to death, because he did not
make ready the service for the King. So also let the man, who
becomes a house, yea a dwelling-place, for Christ, take heed to what is
needed for the service of Christ, Who lodges in him, and with what
things he may please Him. For first he builds his building on the
Stone, which is Christ. On Him, on the Stone, is faith based, and
on faith is reared up all the structure. For the habitation of
the house is required pure fasting, and it is made firm by faith.
There is also needed for it pure prayer, and through faith is it
accepted. Necessary for it too is love, and with faith is it
compounded. Furthermore alms are needed, and through faith are
they given. He demands also meekness, and by faith is it
adorned. He chooses too virginity, and by faith is it
loved. He joins with himself holiness, and in faith is it
planted. He cares also for wisdom, and through faith is it
acquired. He desires also hospitality, and by faith does it
abound. Requisite for Him also is simplicity, and with faith is
it commingled. He demands patience also, and by faith is it
perfected. He has respect also to long-suffering, and through
faith is it acquired. He loves mourning also, and through faith
is it manifested. He seeks also for purity, and by faith is it
preserved. All these things does the faith demand that is based
on the rock of the true Stone, that is Christ. These works are
required for Christ the King, Who dwells in men that are built up in
these works.
5. And if perchance thou shouldest
say:—If Christ is set for the foundation, how does Christ also
dwell in the building when it is completed? For both these things
did the blessed Apostle say. For he said:—I
as a wise architect have laid
the foundation.653
And there he
defined the foundation and made it clear, for he said as
follows:—No man can lay other foundation than that which is
laid, which is Jesus Christ.654
And that
Christ furthermore dwells in that building is the word that was written
above—that of Jeremiah who called men temples and said of God
that He dwelt in them. And the Apostle said:—The Spirit
of Christ dwelleth in you.655
And our Lord
said:—I and My Father are one.656
And therefore that word is
accomplished, that Christ dwells in men, namely, in those who believe
on Him, and He is the foundation on which is reared up the whole
building.
6. But I must proceed to my former statement that Christ is called the Stone in the Prophets. For in ancient
times David said concerning Him:—The stone which the builders
rejected has become the head of the building.657
And how did the builders reject this
Stone which is Christ?658
How else
than that they so rejected Him before Pilate and said—This man
shall not be King over us.659
And again in
that parable that our Lord spake that a certain nobleman went to
receive kingly power and to return and rule over them; and they sent
after Him envoys saying:—This man shall not be King over
us.660
By these things they rejected the
Stone which is Christ. And how did it become the head of the
building? How else than that it was set up over the building of
the Gentiles and upon it is reared up all their building. And who
are the builders? Who but the priests and Pharisees who did not
build a sure building, but were overthrowing everything that he was
building, as is written in Ezekiel the Prophet:—He was
building a wall of partition, but they were shaking it, that it might
fall.661
And again it
is written:—I sought amongst them a man who was closing the
fence and standing in the breach over the face of the land, that I
might not destroy it and I did not find.662
And furthermore Isaiah also prophesied beforehand with regard to
this stone. For he said:—Thus saith the Lord, Behold I
lay in Zion a chosen stone in the precious corner, the heart of the
wall of the foundation.663
And he said
again there:—Every one that believeth on it shall not
fear.664
And
whosoever falleth on that stone shall be broken, and every one on
whom it shall fall, it will crush.665
For the people of the house of Israel fell upon Him, and He
became their destruction for ever. And again it shall fall on
the image and crush it.666
And the
Gentiles believed on it and do not fear.
7. And He shows thus with regard to that stone that it was laid as head of the wall and as foundation. But
if that stone was laid as the foundation, how did it also become the
head of the wall? How but that when our Lord came, He laid His
faith in the earth like a foundation, and it rose above all the heavens
like the head of the wall and all the building was finished with the
stones, from the bottom to the top. And with regard to the faith
about which I said that He laid His faith in the earth, this David
proclaimed beforehand about Christ. For He said:—Faith
shall spring up from the earth.667
And
that again, it is above, he said:—Righteousness looked down
from the heavens.
8. And again Daniel also spoke concerning this stone which is Christ. For he said:—The stone was
cut out from the mountain, not by hands, and it smote the image, and
the whole earth was filled with it.668
This he showed beforehand with
regard to Christ that the whole earth shall be filled with Him.
For lo! by the faith of Christ are all the ends of the earth filled, as
David said:—The sound of the Gospel of Christ has gone forth
into all the earth.669
And again
when He sent forth His apostles He spake thus to them:—Go
forth, make disciples of all nations and they will believe on
Me.670
And again the Prophet Zechariah also
prophesied about that stone which is Christ. For he said:—I saw a chief stone of equality and of
love.671
And why did
he say “chief”? Surely because from the
beginning672
| 672 The words for
chief and for beginning are almost identical in the
Syriac. | He was with His
Father. And again that he spoke of love, it was because when He
came into the world, He said thus to His disciples:—This is My
commandment, that ye love one another.673
And again He said:—I have
called you My friends (lovers).674
And
the blessed Apostle said thus:—God loved as in the love of His
Son.675
Of a truth
Christ loved us and gave Himself for us.676
9. And definitely did He show concerning this stone:—Lo! on this stone will I open seven
eyes.677
And what
then are the seven eyes that were opened on the stone? Clearly
the Spirit of God that abode on Christ with seven operations, as Isaiah
the Prophet said:—The Spirit of God shall rest and dwell upon
Him, (a spirit) of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and of
courage, of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.678
These were the seven eyes that
were opened upon the Stone, and these are the seven eyes of the Lord
which look upon all the earth.679
10. And also with reference to Christ was this (which follows) said. For he said that He was given as a
light to all the Gentiles as the Prophet Isaiah said:—I have
given Thee as a light to all the Gentiles, that Thou shouldest be My
redemption to the ends of the earth.680
And furthermore David also
said;—Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my
paths.681
And also
the word and discourse of the Lord is Christ, as is written in the
beginning of the Gospel of our Saviour:—In the beginning was
the Word.682
And with
regard to the light there again he bore witness:—The light was
shining in the darkness and the darkness comprehended it
not.683
What then
is this:—The light was shining in the darkness and the
darkness comprehended it not? Clearly Christ, Whose light
shone in the midst of the people of the house of Israel, and the people
of the house of Israel did not comprehend the light of Christ, in that
they did not believe on Him, as it is written:—He came unto
His own, and His own received Him not.684
And also our Lord Jesus called them darkness, for He said
to His disciples;—Whatsoever I say unto you in the darkness,
that speak ye in the light,685
namely, let your light shine among the Gentiles;686
because they received the light of Christ, Who is the Light of the Gentiles. And He said again to
His Apostles:—Ye are the light of the world.687
And again He said unto
them;—Let your light shine before men, that they may see your
good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.688
And again He showed with regard
to Himself that He is the light, for He said to His
disciples:—Walk while the light is with you, ere the darkness
overtake you.689
And again
He said to them:—Believe on the light that ye may be children
of light.690
And again He
said:—I am the light of the world.691
And again He said:—No man
lighteth a lamp and putteth it under a bushel or under a bed, or
putteth it in a hidden place, but putteth it upon the lamp-stand that
every one may see the light of the lamp.692
| 692 Matt. v. 15; Mark iv. 21; Luke viii. 16. | And the shining lamp is Christ, as
David said;—Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my
paths.693
11. And furthermore the Prophet Hosea also said:—Light you a lamp and seek ye the Lord.694
And our Lord Jesus Christ
said:—What woman is there who has ten drachmos and shall lose
one of them, and will not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek her
drachma that she lost?695
What then
does this woman signify? Clearly the congregation of the house of
Israel, to which the ten commandments were given. They lost the
first commandment—that in which He warned them saying:—I am the Lord your
God, Who brought you up from the land of Egypt.696
And when they had lost this first
commandment, also the nine which are after it they could not keep,
because on the first depend the nine. For it was an impossibility
that while worshipping Baal, they should keep the nine commandments.
For they lost the first commandment, like that woman who lost one
drachma from the ten. So the Prophet cried unto
them:—Light you a lamp and seek ye the Lord.697
And furthermore the Prophet Isaiah
also said:—Seek ye the Lord and when ye shall have found Him,
call upon Him; and when He is near let the sinner abandon his way and
the wicked man his thought.698
For that
lamp shone and they did not by it seek the Lord their God. And
its light shone in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend
it. And the lamp was set up on the lamp-stand and those who were
in the house did not see its light. And what then means this,
that the lamp was set up on the lamp-stand? Clearly His being
raised up upon the cross. And by this all the house was made dark
over them. For when they crucified Him, the light was darkened
from them, and shone amongst the Gentiles, because that from the time
of the sixth hour (of the day) on which they crucified Him even unto
the ninth hour there was darkness in all the land of Israel. And
the sun set in midday and the land was darkened in the shining daytime,
as is written in Zechariah the Prophet:—It shall come to pass
in that day, saith the Lord, I will cause the sun to set in midday, and
will make dark the land in the shining daytime.699
12. Now I must proceed to my former subject of faith, that on it are reared up all the good works of the
building. And again, in what I said with regard to the building,
it was in no strange fashion that I spoke, but the blessed Apostle
wrote in the first Epistle to the Corinthians, saying;—I as a
wise master-builder have laid the foundation, but every one buildeth on
it.700
One builds silver and gold and goodly
stones; another builds reed and straw and stubble. In the last
day that building shall be tried by fire; for the gold and silver and
goodly stones shall be preserved in the midst of the fire, because they
are a firm building. But as for the straw and reed and stubble,
the fire shall have power upon them and they shall be burned. And what is the gold and silver and goodly stones by which the building is raised up?
Clearly the good deeds of faith, which shall be preserved in the midst
of the fire; because Christ dwells in that secure building, and He is
its preserver from the fire. And let us consider and understand
(this) from the example that God has given us also in the former
dispensation, because the promises of that dispensation will abide sure
for us. Let us then understand from (the case of) those three
righteous men who were cast into the midst of the fire and were not
burned, namely, Hananiah, Azariah and Misael, over whom the fire had no
power, because they built a secure building and rejected the
commandment of Nebuchadnezzar the king and did not worship the image
that he made. And as for those who transgressed the commandment
of God, the fire at once prevailed over them and burned them, and they
were burned without mercy. For the Sodomites were burned like
straw and reed and stubble. Furthermore, Nadab and Abihu were
burned, who transgressed the commandment of God. Again, two
hundred and fifty men were burned, who were offering incense.
Again, two princes and a hundred who were with them were burned,
because they approached the mountain on which Elijah was sitting, who
ascended in a chariot of fire to heaven. The calumniators also
were burned because they dug a pit for righteous men.
Accordingly, beloved, the righteous shall be tried by the fire, like
gold and silver and goodly stones, and the wicked shall be burned in
the fire like straw and reed and stubble, and the fire shall have power
upon them and they shall be burned; even as the Prophet Isaiah
said:—By fire shall the Lord judge and by it shall He try all
flesh.701
And again he
said:—Ye shall go out and see the carcases of the men who
offended against Me, whose worm shall not die, nor shall their fire be
quenched, and they shall be an astonishment to all flesh.702
13. And again the Apostle has commented for us upon this building and upon this foundation; for he said
thus;—No man can lay another foundation than that which is
laid, which is Jesus Christ.703
Again
the Apostle said about faith that it is conjoined with hope and love,
for he said thus:—These are three which shall abide, faith and
hope and love.704
And he showed
with regard to faith that first it is laid on a sure
foundation.705
14. For Abel, because of his faith his offering was accepted. And Enoch, because he was well-pleasing
through his faith, was removed from death. Noah, because he
believed, was preserved from the deluge. Abraham, through his
faith, obtained blessing, and it was accounted to him for
righteousness. Isaac, because he believed, was loved.
Jacob, because of his faith, was preserved. Joseph, because of
his faith, was tried in the waters of contention, and was delivered
from his trial, and his Lord established a witness in him, as David
said:—Witness hath he established in Joseph.706
Moses also by his faith performed
many wonderful works of power. By his faith he destroyed the
Egyptians with ten plagues. Again, by faith he divided the sea,
and caused his people to cross over and sank the Egyptians in the midst
of it. By faith he cast the wood into the bitter waters and they
became sweet. By faith he brought down manna and satisfied his
people. By faith he spread out his hands and conquered Amalek, as
is written:—His hands continued in faith till the setting of
the sun.707
Also by
faith he went up to Mount Sinai, when he twice fasted for the space of
forty days. Again by faith he conquered Sihon and Og, the Kings
of the Amorites.
15. This is wonderful, my beloved, and a great prodigy that Moses did in the Red Sea, when the waters were
divided by faith, and stood up on high like mountains or like mighty
cliffs. They were checked and stood still at the commandment;
they were closed up as in vessels, and fast bound in the height as in
the depth. Their fluidity did not overflow the boundary, but
rather they changed the nature of their creation. Irrational
creatures became obedient. The billows became rigid and were
awaiting the vengeance, when the people should have passed over.
Wonderful was it how the waves stood still and expected the commandment
and the vengeance. The foundations (hidden) from the ages of the
world were revealed, and that which from the beginning had been liquid
suddenly became dry. The gates lifted up their heads and the
everlasting gates were lifted up.708
The
pillar of fire entered and illuminated the entire camp. The
people passed over by faith. And the judgment of righteousness
was wrought upon Pharaoh and upon his host and upon his
chariots.
16. Thus also Joshua the son of Nun divided Jordan by his faith, and the children of Israel crossed over as in the
days of Moses. But know, my beloved, that this passage of the
Jordan was three times laid open by its being divided. First
through Joshua the Son of Nun, and secondly through Elijah, and then
through Elisha. For the word of the Book makes known that over
against this passage of Jericho, there Elijah was taken up to heaven;
for when Elisha turned back from following him and divided the Jordan
and passed over, the children of the Prophets of Jericho came out to
meet Elisha and said:—The spirit of Elijah rests upon
Elisha.709
Furthermore
when the people crossed over in the days of Joshua the son of Nun (it was there), for
thus it is written:—The people passed over, over against
Jericho.710
Also Joshua
the son of Nun by faith cast down the walls of Jericho, and they fell
without difficulty. Again by faith he destroyed thirty-one kings
and made the children of Israel to inherit the land. Furthermore
by his faith he spread out his hands towards heaven and stayed the sun
in Gibeon and the moon in the valley of Ajalon.711
And they were stayed and stood still
from their courses. But enough! All the righteous, our
fathers, in all that they did were victorious through faith, as also
the blessed Apostle testified with regard to all of them:—By
faith they prevailed.712
Again
Solomon said:—Many men are called merciful, but a faithful man
who can find?713
Also Job
thus said:—My integrity, shall not pass from me, and in my
righteousness will persist.714
17. Also our Saviour used thus to say to every one who drew near to Him to be healed:—According to thy
faith be unto thee.715
And when the
blind man approached Him, He said to him:—Dost thou believe
that I am able to heal thee? That blind man said to
Him:—Yea, Lord, I believe.716
And his faith opened his eyes.
And to him whose son was sick, He said:—Believe and thy son
shall live. He said to Him:—I believe, Lord; help
thou my feeble faith.717
And by his
faith his son was healed. And also when the nobleman718
came near to Him, by his faith was his boy healed, when he said to our Lord:—Speak the word and my
servant will be cured.719
And our Lord
was astonished at his faith, and according to his faith it happened to
him. And also when the chief of the Synagogue requested Him
concerning his daughter, He said thus to him:—Only firmly
believe and thy daughter shall live.720
So he believed and his daughter lived
and arose. And when Lazarus died, our Lord said to
Martha:—If thou believest, thy brother shall rise.
Martha saith unto Him;—Yea, Lord, I believe.721
And He raised him after four
days. And also Simon who was called Cephas because of his faith
was called the firm rock.722
And again
when our Lord gave the Sacrament of Baptism to His apostles, He said
thus to them:—Whosoever believeth and is baptized shall live,
and whosoever believeth not shall be condemned.723
| 723 Mark xvi. 16. Note that Aphrahat here cites the
disputed conclusion of St. Mark’s Gospel. | Again He said to his
Apostles:—If ye believe and doubt not, there is nothing ye
shall not be able to do.724
For when
our Lord walked on the billows of the sea, Simon also by his faith
walked with Him; but when in respect of his faith he doubted, and began
to sink, our Lord called him, thou of little faith.725
And when the Apostles asked of our
Lord, they begged nothing at His hands but this, saying to
Him:—Increase our faith. He said to
them:—If there were in you faith, even a mountain would remove
from before you.726
| 726 Luke xvii. 5, and Matt. xvii. 19; xxi.
21. | And He said
to them:—Doubt ye not, lest ye sink down in the midst of the
world, even as Simon when he doubted began to sink in the midst of the
sea.727
And again
He said thus;—This shall be the sign for those that believe;
they shall speak with new tongues and shall cast out demons, and they
shall lay their hands on the sick and they shall be made
whole.728
18. Let us draw near then, my beloved, to faith,
since its powers are so many. For faith raised up to the heavens
(Enoch), and conquered the Deluge. It caused the barren to bring
forth. It delivered from the sword. It raised up from the
pit. It enriched the poor. It released the captives.
It delivered the persecuted. It brought down the fire. It
divided the sea. It cleft the rock, and gave to the thirsty water
to drink. It satisfied the hungry. It raised the dead, and
brought them up from Sheol. It stilled the billows. It
healed the sick. It conquered hosts. It overthrew walls. It
stopped the mouths of lions, and quenched the flame of fire. It
humiliated the proud, and brought the humble to honour. All these
mighty works were wrought by faith.
19. Now thus is faith; when a man believes in God
the Lord of all, Who made the heavens and the earth and the seas and
all that is in them; and He made Adam in His image; and He gave the Law
to Moses; He sent of His Spirit upon the prophets; He sent moreover His
Christ into the world. Furthermore that a man should believe in
the resurrection of the dead; and should furthermore also believe in
the sacrament of baptism. This is the faith of the Church of
God. And (it is necessary) that a man should separate himself
from the observance of hours and Sabbaths and moons and seasons, and
divinations and sorceries and Chaldæan arts and magic, from
fornication and from festive music, from vain doctrines, which are
instruments of the Evil One, from the blandishment of honeyed words,
from blasphemy and from adultery. And that a man should not bear
false witness, and that a man should not speak with double
tongue. These then are the works of the faith which is based on
the true Stone which is Christ, on Whom the whole building is reared
up.
20. Furthermore, my beloved, there is much besides
in the Holy Books about faith. But these few things out of the
much have I written to recall them to thy love that thou mayest know
and make known and believe and also be believed. And when thou
hast read and learned the works of faith, thou mayest be made like unto
that tilled land upon which the good seed fell, and produced fruit a
hundred-fold and sixty-fold and thirty-fold. And when thou comest
to thy Lord, He may call thee a good servant and prudent and faithful,
who on account of His faith, that abounded, is to enter into the
Kingdom of his Lord. E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
|
