哥林多後書講道集 第 3 章

'For this is our boasting, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom, but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world.'

Here again he uncovers for us another ground of comfort, and that not a small one but exceedingly great, and sufficient to set upright a mind that is being submerged beneath dangers.

For since he had said that God delivered us, and had ascribed the whole to His compassions and to the prayers of these,

in order that he might not thereby make the hearer supine, relying only on the mercy of God and on the prayers of others, he shows that they too contributed no small thing from their own part.

And he had indeed made this plain before, when he said, 'Even as the sufferings of Christ abound, so our comfort also aboundeth';

but here he speaks also of another achievement that is properly their own.

What then is this? 'That in a pure and guileless conscience,' he says, 'we conduct ourselves everywhere throughout the inhabited world.'

And this is no small thing for our consolation and comfort;

or rather, not for comfort only, but also for something else which is far greater than comfort—namely, for boasting.

These things he said, both to train them not to sink down amid afflictions, but even to exult when they have a pure conscience, and gently to lay hold upon the false apostles.

In the former epistle he says, 'Christ sent me to preach the gospel, not in wisdom of word, lest the cross of Christ should be made void';

and, 'That your faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.'

'Not in wisdom, but in the grace of Christ.'

And he hinted at yet another thing when he said 'Not in wisdom'—that is, not in deceit—striking thereby also at the outward learning.

'For this is our boasting,' he says, 'the testimony of our conscience';

that is, our conscience has nothing wherewith to condemn us, as though we were being driven on for wicked deeds.

For even though we suffer countless terrible things, even though we are assailed and endangered on every side, our conscience suffices for our consolation—nay rather, not for consolation only, but also for our being crowned—being pure and testifying to us that we suffer these things for no wicked cause, but for what is pleasing to God: for the sake of virtue, for the sake of true wisdom, for the salvation of the many.

That former comfort, then, was from God;

but this one was contributed by themselves and by the purity of their life.

Wherefore also he calls it a boasting, because it was the achievement of their own virtue.

What then is the boasting, and what does our conscience testify to us? 'That in simplicity and in sincerity.' That is, nothing crafty, no hypocrisy, no dissembling, no flattery, no plotting and deceit, nor anything else of the sort, but in all freedom, in simplicity, in truth, with a pure and guileless purpose, with an undeceitful mind, having nothing shadowed over nor festering underneath.

That is, not in villainy nor in wickedness, nor in cleverness of words or in the weaving together of sophistries;

for this is what he calls fleshly wisdom.

And that whereon those men prided themselves greatly, this man disowns and thrusts away, showing out of his great abundance that it is not worthy of boasting, and that not only does he not seek after it, but even repels it and is ashamed of it.

'But in the grace of God we have conducted ourselves in the world.'

What is 'in the grace of God'? Displaying the wisdom given us from Him, the power given us from Him, through the signs, through prevailing over the wise, the orators, the philosophers, kings, and peoples, though we happened to be unlettered men and brought with us nothing of the outward wisdom.

And no ordinary comfort and boasting is this—to be conscious to themselves that they had used no human power, but by divine grace accomplished all things aright.

Thus it was not in Corinth only, but everywhere throughout the inhabited world.

'And more abundantly toward you.'

What is 'more abundantly toward you'? 'In the grace of God we have conducted ourselves.'

'For indeed we displayed signs and wonders among you, and greater exactness and an unimpeachable life.'

For this too he calls the grace of God, reckoning even his own achievements to it.

For there he even surpassed the wrestling-lists, making the Gospel free of charge, so as to spare their weakness.

'For we write no other things to you than what you read or even acknowledge.'

For since he had uttered great things concerning himself, and seemed to be bearing witness to himself—which was burdensome—he again brings them forward as witnesses of what is said.

'For let no one suppose,' he says, 'that what is said is a boastful vaunting of deeds;

for we make known to you these things which you yourselves know;

and that we do not lie, you before all others will bear witness to us.'

'For reading you acknowledge that the things which you are conscious of concerning us in our deeds, these same things we speak also in our letters;

and your testimony does not contradict our Epistles, but the knowledge which you already had beforehand concerning us harmonizes with the reading.'

'Even as also you acknowledged us in part.'

'For you do not know the things concerning us by hearsay,' he says, 'but from experience itself.'

But the 'in part' he said by way of moderation.

For this is his custom, whenever he utters some great thing under urgent necessity (for he never does it otherwise), quickly to draw in again the weight arising from what has been said, wishing to lower it.

'And I hope that you will acknowledge even unto the end.'

Do you see him again confirming things to come from things past, and not from things past only, but also from the power of God? For he did not simply make a bare assertion, but cast the whole upon Him.

'That we are your boasting, even as you also are ours, in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.'

Here he cuts short the envy that might arise from what has been said, by making them sharers and partakers in the glory of his own achievements.

For it does not stop at us, but passes over also to you, and again from you to us.

For since he had exalted himself, and had furnished proof from things past, and had given a pledge concerning things to come,

so that his hearers might not censure him as one speaking grandly, nor, as I said, be carried away into ill-will, he makes the boasting common, and says that this crown of praises is theirs also.

'For if we appear to be such men,' he says, 'our praise is your glory;

just as, when you are held in good repute, we exult and leap for joy and are crowned.'

Here again, by what he has said, he displays much of his humility.

For not as a teacher to disciples, but as a fellow-disciple to disciples of equal rank conversing, does he thus make his discourse equal.

And behold how he makes them lofty and fills them with true wisdom, referring them onward to that day.

'For do not speak to me of present things,' he says—that is, the reproaches, the revilings, the mockeries that come from the many;

for the things here are nothing great, neither the pleasant nor the grievous, neither the mockeries nor the praises that come from men;

But call to mind for me that terrible and dreadful Day, on which all things shall be laid bare.

For then both we in you and you in us shall be adorned, when you also are seen to have such teachers, who teach nothing of man's devising, who have not lived in wickedness, who have given no handle against themselves; and when we too have such disciples, who suffer nothing after the manner of men, who are not shaken, but with all readiness receive all things, and are nowhere deceived by false reasoning.

And even now these things are plain to those who have understanding.

So that even if we are afflicted now, we have in this too no small consolation:

now indeed that which comes from a good conscience, but then also that which comes from the shining forth of it.

For now our conscience knows that by the grace of God we do all things, as you also know and shall know;

but then all men also shall learn both our affairs and yours, and shall see us glorified through one another.

For that he might not seem to be resplendent alone from this boasting, he gives to them also occasion for glorying, and leads them away from the present sorrows.

And what he did in the matter of the consolation, saying, 'We are comforted for your sakes,' this he does here also, saying, 'We glory for your sakes,' even as you also for our sakes; everywhere making them partakers of all things — of the consolation, of the sufferings, of his own salvation.

For indeed he reckons even this salvation to their prayers;

'For you also helping together by your supplication,' he says, 'God delivered us.'

Thus indeed he makes the boastings also common.

'Knowing that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also of the consolation;'

so also here, 'We are your glorying, even as you also are ours.'

'And in this confidence I was minded to come to you before,'

In what confidence? In being greatly assured of you, in glorying over you, in being your boast, in loving you exceedingly, in being conscious to myself of nothing evil, in being confident that with us all things are spiritual, and in having you as witnesses of these things.

'I was minded to come to you, and by you to pass into Macedonia.'

And yet in the former Epistle he had promised the contrary, saying thus:

'But I will come to you, when I have passed through Macedonia;'

How then does he here say the contrary? He does not say the contrary — far from it!

for these things are contrary indeed to what he wrote, but not contrary to what he was minded to do.

Wherefore here too he did not say, 'I wrote that I would depart by you into Macedonia,' but, 'I was minded.'

'For even if I did not so write,' he says, 'yet nevertheless I was eager and minded even before coming to you;'

so far was I from being minded to fall short of my promise, that I even wished to anticipate it.

What means 'a second time'? That you might have a double favour, namely,

both that through the letters, and that through his presence.

And here by 'grace' he means the joy.

'And by you to pass into Macedonia, and again from Macedonia to come to you, and by you to be set forward on my way toward Judaea.'

'When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness?' [Chapter 3]

Here at length he directly puts off from himself the charge arising from his delay and his absence.

For what he says is of this kind:

'I was minded to come to you;'

for what reason then did I not come? Was it as one fickle and easily swayed? — for this is the meaning of, 'Did I then use lightness?' By no means;

but why? 'Because the things that I purpose, I do not purpose according to the flesh.'

What means, 'Not according to the flesh'? 'I do not purpose in a fleshly manner.'

'That with me there should be the Yea yea, and the Nay nay.'

But this too is still obscure.

What then is it that he says? The fleshly man, that is, he who is nailed to present things and is continually engrossed in them, and happens to be outside the working of the Spirit, is able to go everywhere and to wander wherever he wills;

but the servant of the Spirit, and one led about and carried hither and thither by Him, cannot in every case be master of his own resolve, having made it hang upon the authority which is from thence;

but he undergoes just such a thing as if a slave in good repute, and dragged about everywhere by his master's commands, and having no authority over himself, unable even to draw breath ever so little, were to promise something to his fellow-servants, and then, when it seemed otherwise to his master, should not accomplish what had been promised.

This then is what he says: that 'I do not purpose according to the flesh, and I am not outside the governance of the Spirit, nor have I authority to go wherever I will.'

'For indeed I am subject to the lordship of the Paraclete and to His commands, and by His decrees I am led and carried about.'

'For this cause I was not able to come;'

'for it did not seem good to the Spirit.'

Which also came to pass in many places in the Acts;

for elsewhere, when he had purposed to go, the Spirit bade him journey to another place.

So that it was not of my lightness, that is,

of my levity, that I did not come, but of the Spirit's ordering, being subject and yielding obedience to Him.

Do you see again his customary manner of reasoning? From the very things by which they thought to show him as purposing in a fleshly way — from his not fulfilling his promise — from this very thing he shows most of all that he had purposed spiritually, and that the contrary is to purpose in a fleshly way.

'What then?' one says; 'did he not make the promise with the Spirit?' By no means;

for indeed I have already said, that Paul did not foreknow all things that were to come and were expedient.

For this cause in the former Epistle he says, 'That you may set me forward on my journey wherever I go,' fearing this very thing, lest, having named Judaea, he should be constrained to go off elsewhere;

but here, since he failed of it, he says it outright: 'And by you to be set forward toward Judaea.'

For that which was of love — namely, to come to them — he sets down;

but that which had nothing to do with them — namely, to depart into Judaea — this he no longer adds in express terms.

But since he has been proved, here now he speaks confidently at last, that it was 'toward Judaea.'

And this too was done for their profit, that none of them might hold a suspicion concerning him greater than was due.

For if, even when these things were so, they wished to sacrifice bulls to them, to what depths of impiety would they not have run aground, had he not afforded many proofs of human weakness? And why do you wonder if he did not know all things that were to come, when even in prayers he is oftentimes ignorant of what is expedient? For, 'What we should pray for as we ought,' he says, 'we know not.'

And he says this not merely that he may seem to be modest, but also shows in what matter he was ignorant of the expedient thing in his prayers.

In what then was he ignorant? When he besought to be freed from his temptations, saying:

'There was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to buffet me.'

'For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, and He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you;'

'for My power is made perfect in weakness.'

Do you see how he knew not what was expedient to ask? Wherefore neither did he receive it, though he asked oftentimes.

'But God is faithful, that our word toward you was not Yea and Nay.'

Well does he dissolve an objection that was arising.

'For if,' he says, 'having promised to come, you deferred it, and with you there is not Yea yea and Nay nay, but now you overturn afterwards the things you say, as you did in the matter of your sojourn;

woe to us, lest this have happened also in the preaching.'

In order therefore that they might not think these things, nor be troubled, he says:

'But God is faithful, that our word toward you was not Yea and Nay.'

For in the preaching, he says, this did not happen, but only in his journeys and travels abroad.

But in the preaching, the things we have declared remain firm and unshaken.

For here he calls the preaching a 'word.'

Then he furnishes an irrefutable proof of this, tracing the whole matter back to God. And what he says is this:

The promise of my coming was mine, and I of myself pledged it;

but the preaching is not mine nor of man, but of God;

and the things of God cannot possibly prove false.

Therefore do not hold in suspicion the things that are His;

for there is nothing of man in them.

And since he had said 'word,' he goes on to show what kind of word he means.

What then is this word? 'For the Son of God,' he says, 'who was preached among you by us, by me and Silvanus and Timothy, was not Yea and Nay.'

For this reason he also brings the company of the teachers into the midst, thereby making the testimony trustworthy on both counts—not only through those who heard, but also through those who taught.

But out of modesty, he numbers them in the rank of teachers.

And what does 'It was not Yea and Nay' mean? 'I did not overturn,' he says, 'what I formerly said in my preaching;'

'I did not discourse to you now this, now that;'

for that would be no longer a mark of faith, but of a mind gone astray.

That is, the word remains unshaken and firm.

For as many as are the promises of God, in Him is the Yea, and in Him the Amen, unto glory to God through us.

What is the meaning of 'As many as are the promises of God'? The preaching promised many things, and they themselves proclaimed and promised these many things.

For they discoursed concerning the resurrection, and concerning the ascension, and concerning incorruption, and concerning the great rewards and those unspeakable good things.

These promises, then, he says remain unmovable, and there was no Yea and Nay in them.

That is, the things spoken are not at one time true and at another false, as was my visit, but always true.

And first he contends on behalf of the doctrines of the faith and of the word concerning Christ, saying:

My word and my preaching was not Yea and Nay;

then on behalf of the promises:

For as many as are the promises of God, in Him is the Yea.

But if what He promised is sure and He will assuredly give it, much more is He Himself, and the word concerning Him, sure; and one cannot say that at one time it is and at another it is not, but it always is, and is ever the same.

And what is the meaning of 'In Him is the Yea and the Amen'? It signifies that which shall assuredly come to pass.

For the promises have their fulfilment and accomplishment in Him, not in man.

For He is not a man, that you should hold Him in suspicion, but He is God, both the One who spoke and the One who fulfils.

Unto glory to God through us.

What is the meaning of 'unto glory through us'? He fulfils them through us;

that is, through the benefits bestowed on us, unto His own glory;

for this is what 'unto glory to God' means.

And if it is unto the glory of God, it shall assuredly come to pass.

For He will not despise His own glory, even though He despised our salvation;

and this because of His exceeding love for mankind.

And to this end our salvation has been bound together with His glory in these matters.

So that if the promises are unto His glory, our salvation also will assuredly follow.

This too he continually reiterates in the Epistle to the Ephesians, saying:

Unto the redemption of His glory.

And everywhere he sets this down, showing the necessity of the outcome;

which also he here declares, that His promises do not lie.

For they do not only save us, but also glorify Him.

Do not, then, conceive this thought, that because they were promised through us you should doubt;

for they are not fulfilled through us, but through Him;

and the promises too are through Him;

for it was not our own things, but His, that we have spoken to you.

Now He who establishes us with you unto Christ, and has anointed us, is God;

who has also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

Again from things past he confirms things to come.

For if it is He Himself who establishes

us unto Christ—that is, who does not permit us to be shaken from the faith in Christ—and He Himself who anointed us and gave the Spirit in our hearts,

how shall He not give the things to come? For if He gave the beginnings and the foundations, the root and the fountain—namely, the true knowledge concerning Himself and the partaking of the Spirit—

how shall He not give the things that flow from these? For if those things are given for the sake of these, much more will He who gave these also bestow those;

and if He gave these things while we were enemies, much more will He freely grant those things now that we have become friends.

For this reason he did not say simply 'Spirit,' but named it an 'earnest,' that from this you might be confident concerning the whole.

For had He not intended to give the whole, He would not have chosen to furnish the earnest and to throw it away rashly and in vain.

And observe the fair-mindedness of Paul.

For why need one say, he asks, that the truth of the promises is not in us? This very thing—that you stand unshaken and are firmly fixed—is not from us, but this too is of God;

for it is God, he says, who establishes you.

It is not, then, we who confirm you;

for we too have need of Him who establishes.

Therefore let no one think that the preaching is imperilled in us;

He Himself has undertaken the whole; the whole is His care.

And what is the meaning of 'anointed' and 'sealed'? It is His giving of the Spirit, through whom He wrought both these things, making us at once prophets and priests and kings.

For in old times these were the classes that were anointed.

But we now possess not one, but the three dignities together with a surpassing pre-eminence;

for we are about to enjoy a kingdom, and we become priests by offering our bodies as a sacrifice.

For 'Present your members,' he says, 'a living sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.'

And along with these things we are also established as prophets;

for the things which eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, these have been revealed to us.

And in yet another way we become kings, if only we are willing to rule over our disordered reasonings.

For that such a man reigns, and more truly than he who wears the diadem, I will now make plain to you.

That man has many armies, but we too have reasonings more numerous than these;

for it is impossible to number the boundless multitude of the thoughts within us.

And it is possible to behold not merely a multitude, but also within this multitude of reasonings many generals and captains and company-commanders and archers and slingers.

What else makes a king? His garments? But this man too is clothed with a better and nobler robe, one that no moth devours nor time consumes;

and he has a many-hued crown, the crown of glory, the crown of the mercies of God;

for it says, 'Bless the Lord, O my soul, who crowns you with mercy and compassions;'

'For with glory and honour you have crowned him;'

'As with a shield of favour you have crowned us;'

'For you shall receive a crown of graces upon your head.'

Do you see this intricate and more graceful diadem? Yet let us once more examine from the beginning, and more precisely, the affairs of these kings.

That king commands his bodyguards and gives orders to all, and all obey and minister to him;

but I show that the rule here is greater.

For the multitude is equal, or even greater;

it remains, then, to examine the matter of subjection.

And do not bring forward to me those who have fallen from their kingdom and been slain by their very own bodyguards.

Let us not, then, bring these forward, but let us seek out those who have well administered their own kingdom in both respects.

And do you set forth whomever you wish;

but I set the patriarch against them all.

For when he was bidden to slay his son, consider how many reasonings then rose up against him;

yet nevertheless he subdued them all, and they all trembled before him more than the bodyguards before a king, and by a single glance he kept them all in check, and not one of them dared to mutter, but they crouched down and yielded to him as to a king, and this though they were exceedingly keen and utterly relentless.

For not even the points of spears are so fearful, upraised by many soldiers, as those reasonings were fearful at that time.

Was not the natural affection more grievous than spears? Wherefore also, more than a sharpened spear-point, they were able to cut through his soul.

For never could a spear be so sharp as those goads of those reasonings, which, sharpened and set upright from below out of his very bowels, pierced through the mind of the righteous man.

For here there is need of time and deliberation and a blow and pain, and then death follows;

but there none of these things was needed;

so much swifter and sharper were the wounds.

Yet nevertheless, though so many reasonings were then arrayed in arms against him, there was deep tranquillity, and all stood in good order, adorning him rather than affrighting him.

Behold him, then, stretching out the knife, and set into the midst as many kings as you wish, Augustuses, Caesars.

But you will say nothing so great, nor will you be able to point to such a bearing, so magnanimous and worthy of the heavens.

For against a most mighty tyranny that righteous man then set up a trophy;

for nothing is more tyrannical than nature;

and though you set forth ten thousand tyrant-slayers, you will not be able to show us any such man.

For indeed the trophy was that of an angel, not of a man at that time.

Nature lay cast down upon the ground with its own weapons, with its whole army, while he himself stood with his hand upraised, holding not a crown but a knife more resplendent than any crown, and the host of angels applauded, and God from the heavens proclaimed him aloud.

For since he had his citizenship in the heavens, from thence also he received the proclamation.

What is more brilliant than this? Or rather, what could be equal to this trophy? For if, when an athlete has conquered, not a herald from below but the king himself, rising up from above, proclaimed the Olympic victor, would not this seem to him more glorious than the crowns, and would it not have turned the whole theatre toward him? When, therefore, not a human king but God Himself, and not in this theatre but in the theatre of the whole world, in the assembly of the angels and archangels, proclaims him aloud, crying out from above with a resplendent voice, where shall we place this holy man, tell me? But if it seem good, let us hear that voice itself.

What, then, is the voice? 'Abraham, Abraham, lay not your hand upon Isaac, neither do to him anything.'

'For now I know that you fear God, and have not spared your beloved son for my sake.'

What is this? Does He who knows all things before their coming into being now come to know? And yet even to a man the piety of that man was manifest;

so many proofs had he given of his devotion toward God, when He said to him:

'Go forth out of your land, and out of your kindred;'

when for God's sake and for the honour owed to Him he yielded the first place to his nephew;

when He delivered him out of so many dangers;

when He commanded him to go into Egypt, and, though his wife was taken from him, he was not vexed, and many other things besides.

And, as I said, even a man would from these things have learned the piety of the man; much more, then, God, who does not wait to learn the end from the events themselves.

And how did He also justify him while, as it were, not knowing? 'For Abraham believed,' it says, 'and it was reckoned to him for righteousness.'

What, then, is the meaning of 'Now I know'? The Syrian says:

'Now you have made known,' that is, to men.

'For I knew it long ago, even before all those commands.'

But why does He say 'now' also to men? For were not those former things sufficient to show his devotion toward God? Sufficient indeed they were;

yet this is by all means so much greater than those, that in comparison with this those things appear as nothing.

Exalting, therefore, this achievement, and showing it to be higher than all, He has spoken these words.

For indeed many men, when others surpass and outdo their former deeds, are wont to speak thus;

for instance, whenever someone receives from another a gift greater than the former ones, he often says:

'Now I know that so-and-so loves me;'

not saying this because he was ignorant of it in the time before, but wishing to make clear that what has now been given is greater than all.

So too God, speaking after the manner of men, says 'Now I know,' wishing to set forth nothing else than the surpassing greatness of the struggle, not that He then learned either the fear, or the magnitude of the fear.

For indeed, when He says, 'Come, let us go down and see,' He does not say it as needing to go down;

for He fills all things, and knows all things clearly;

but He is instructing us not to pronounce judgment rashly.

And when He says, 'The Lord looked down out of heaven,' from

a figure drawn from men He signifies the exactness of His knowledge.

So too here, 'Now I know,' He says, showing this to be greater than all the former things.

Of this too He provides a proof, adding and saying that 'You have not spared your beloved son for my sake.'

He did not say merely 'the son,' but also 'the beloved.'

For it was a matter not only of nature, but also of tender affection, which, both on account of his own disposition and on account of the virtue of the child, that was great in him, he ventured to overcome.

For if fathers would not easily despise even worthless children, but mourn over these also;

when he is a son, and true-born, and only-begotten, and beloved, and Isaac at that, and is about to be slain by that very father, who could tell the surpassing greatness of such devotion? This is a struggle more radiant than ten thousand diadems and countless crowns.

For upon him who wears that other crown death, when it comes, often works its spite, and before death there are ten thousand plots of circumstance;

but this diadem no one, not even after death, will be able to take away from him who wears it, neither his own kin nor strangers.

Now consider with me also the most precious stone of this diadem.

For just as a precious stone, so this binds it together at the very end.

And what is this—the words 'for my sake'? For the marvel is not this, that he did not spare, but that he did it for His sake.

O blessed right hand, of what a knife was it deemed worthy!

O wondrous knife, of what a right hand was it deemed worthy!

O wondrous knife, for what a use was it prepared, and what a service did it accomplish, and what a type did it serve!

How was it stained with blood, and how was it not stained with blood!

So awesome was the mystery.

It did not touch the skin of the child, nor pass through the throat of that holy one, nor was it reddened with the blood of the righteous boy;

or rather, it did both touch and pass through and was reddened and was baptized, and yet was not baptized.

Perhaps I seem to you to be beside myself, contradicting myself in this way.

And indeed I am beside myself, as I ponder the marvel of the righteous man; but I do not contradict myself.

For the hand of the righteous man plunged it into the throat of the child;

but the hand of God, even when it was plunged in, did not permit it to be defiled with the blood of the child.

For it was not Abraham alone who held it back, but God also;

and the one pressed it forward by his resolve, while God held it back by His voice.

For the same voice both armed the right hand and restrained it;

and as though marshalled under God as its general, it wrought all things at His nod, and ministered all things at His voice.

He said, 'Slay,' and immediately it was being armed;

He said, 'Do not slay,' and immediately it was being disarmed;

for all things stood in readiness.

And now God was displaying the soldier and general to the whole world, the crowned victor to the theatre of the angels, the priest, the king, the one crowned rather with the knife than with a diadem, the bearer of the trophy, the champion, the conqueror who won without a clash of battle.

For just as if some general, having an excellent soldier, should strike terror into his adversary by his skill in arms, by his stance, by his strength;

so also God, by the resolve, by the bearing, by the mere stance of the righteous man, struck terror into the devil, the common enemy of us all, and put him to flight.

For I think that he too then shuddered and withdrew.

And why did He not permit the right hand to be baptized, and then raise up all at once the one that had been offered? Because it was not lawful for God to receive such blood, but such a table belongs to avenging demons.

But here both were displayed: both the loving-kindness of the Master and the gratitude of the servant.

And first he went forth from his land;

but then he withdrew from nature itself.

Wherefore he also received back the principal with interest;

for he chose not to be called father, that he might be shown a grateful servant.

For this reason he became not only a father, but also a priest;

and since he withdrew from his own for God's sake, therefore God also, together with these, graciously granted him what was his own.

So then, when enemies plot, He proceeds to work wonders even up to the actual trial;

as in the case of the furnace and the lions;

but when He Himself commands, He lets the command stand only as far as the willingness.

For what, tell me, was still lacking to

this feat of valour? For did Abraham foreknow the outcome? Did he count upon the loving-kindness of God? For even if he was a prophet, yet the prophet does not know all things.

So that the slaying was thenceforth superfluous, and unworthy of God.

And if it was needful to learn that God is able to raise from the dead, he had learned this in a far more wonderful way from the womb;

or rather, even before that demonstration.

But do not merely marvel at the righteous man, but also emulate him;

and seeing him sailing as though in a calm amid so great a tumult and surging of the waves, do you likewise take in hand the rudder of obedience and of courage.

For do not tell me only this, that he built an altar, and the wood;

but call to mind also the voice of the child, and consider how many snowstorms of armies came upon him, terrifying him, when the father heard the child saying:

'Where is the sheep?'—consider how many thoughts were then stirred within him, armed not with iron but with fiery spears, and piercing him on every side and cutting him asunder.

For if even now many, who are not fathers, are broken down and weep, unless they knew the outcome;

indeed I see many weeping even though they know this;

what was it likely that he suffered—he who had begotten him, who had reared him, in his old age, who had this one only such son, who beheld him, who heard him, who was straightway about to slay him? What was the discretion of the words? What the gentleness of the question? Who then was at work—was it the devil, to set nature ablaze? God forbid; rather it was God, that He might all the more test the golden soul of the righteous man.

For when the wife of Job speaks, the devil is at work;

but this one utters nothing blasphemous, but on the contrary something exceedingly reverent and full of thoughtful care;

and much grace blossomed upon his words, much was the honey of his sayings that dropped, flowing from a soul that was calm and gentle;

and these words were enough to soften a heart of stone.

But they did not turn that man of adamant about, nor even shake him, nor did he say:

'Why do you call me father, you who a little later will not be my son, you who have already lost this honour?' And for what reason does the child ask? Not out of idle curiosity nor meddlesomeness, but in anxious concern over what lay before him.

For he reasoned that, if he had not wished to take him as a partner in what was being done, he would not have left the servants below to remain, and taken him alone.

For this very reason too, when they were alone, then he asks him, when no one heard what was said;

so great was the discernment of the child.

Were you not all set aflame, both men and women? Does not each of you in your mind embrace and kiss the child, and marvel at his understanding, and revere the piety with which, even while being bound and laid upon the wood, he was not dismayed, did not struggle, did not condemn his father as a madman, but was bound and lifted up and laid upon it, and bore all in silence, like some lamb—or rather, like the common Master of all? For he was imitating that One's gentleness, and was preserving the type;

for 'He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is dumb.'

And yet this one did speak;

for indeed his Master also spoke;

how then was he dumb? That is, he said nothing insolent, nor harsh, but all things gentle and soothing, and rather than his silence, his words made manifest his gentleness.

Since Christ also said:

'If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil;

but if well, why do you strike me?' And thereby He made manifest His gentleness even more than if He had kept silence.

And just as this one pleads with the father from beside the altar, so also that One speaks from the cross, saying, 'Father, forgive them.'

What then does the patriarch say? 'God will provide for Himself a sheep for a whole burnt offering, my child.'

Both call upon the names of nature:

the one says 'Father,' and this one says 'child.'

And on both sides a grievous war is stirred up, and great is the tempest, yet nowhere is there shipwreck;

for love of wisdom prevails over all things.

Then, when he heard 'God,' he said nothing further, nor did he pry into the matter;

so understanding was the child, and that too in the very flower of his youth.

Over how many armies did that king prevail, how many wars that came against him? For not even the barbarians, when they came against the city of Jerusalem, oftentimes were so terrible to it as were these reasonings that beset him on every side;

but nevertheless he overcame them all.

Do you wish to behold the priest as well? The example is not far off.

For when you see him holding fire and a knife, and standing at the altar, why any longer do you doubt concerning his priesthood? And if you wish to behold the sacrifice as well, behold it double.

He offered a child, he offered also a sheep; or rather, before all else, his own resolve;

and with the blood of the sheep he sanctified his right hand, and with the slaying of the child he sanctified his soul.

Thus was he ordained a priest, by the blood of an only-begotten son, by the sacrifice of a lamb.

For indeed the priests too were sanctified by the blood of the sacrificial victims that were offered to God.

Do you wish to behold a prophet as well? 'Abraham your father rejoiced that he might see My day;'

'and he saw it, and was glad,' He says.

So do you also become king, and priest, and prophet in the laver of baptism;

a king, in that you have cast to the ground all wicked deeds and slaughtered your sins;

a priest, in that you have offered yourself to God, and have made a sacrifice of your body, and yourself been slain;

'For if we died together with Him,' he says, 'we shall also live together with Him;'

and a prophet, in that you learn the things to come, and become inspired by God, and are sealed.

For just as there is a seal upon soldiers, so also upon the faithful is the Spirit set;

and if you desert your post, you become manifest to all.

For the Jews had circumcision as a seal, but we have the earnest of the Spirit.

Knowing these things, then, and considering our own dignity, let us show forth a life worthy of the grace, that we may also attain to the kingdom to come;

which may it be granted us all to attain, by the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, might, and honor, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.