神學與倫理章句 第 1 章 第 27/27 段

For the Son of God for this reason became the son of man, that he might make us men sons of God, raising by grace our race to that which he himself is by nature, begetting us anew from above in the Holy Spirit, and immediately bringing us into the kingdom of heaven—or rather, granting us to have this kingdom within us, so that we are not merely in hope of entering it but, being already in possession of it, may cry out: 'Our life is hid with Christ in God.'

Baptism does not take away our self-determination and free choice, but grants us freedom, so that we are no longer tyrannized by the devil even against our will.

It is in our power, after baptism, either willingly to abide in the commandments of Christ our Master into whom we were baptized, and to walk in the way of his precepts, or to turn aside from this straight way and, through evil deeds, run back to our adversary and enemy the devil.

Those who, after baptism, yield to the wishes of the evil one and carry out what he has devised, alienate themselves from the holy womb of baptism, according to what was said by David.

For none of us is altered or removed from the nature according to which he was created; rather, having been created good by God—for God made nothing evil—each remains unchangeable in the nature and essence according to which he was created, and whatever he chooses and wills from his own free judgment, that he also does, whether good or bad. For just as a knife, whether one uses it for evil or for good, does not depart from its own nature but remains iron, so also man performs and does, as has been said, whatever he wishes, yet does not depart from his own nature.

It is not the showing of mercy to one that saves, but the disregarding of even one that consigns to the fire.

For 'I was hungry' and 'I was thirsty' were certainly not said with reference to a single occasion, nor to a single day, but signify one's whole life long; likewise the feeding, the giving of drink, and the clothing of Christ, and whatever else accompanies these, our Lord and God has professed that he receives from his servants not on a single occasion but continually and in all things throughout his whole life.

He who is divided without division, being wholly present to each and every one of the poor—how do some confine him to a single poor person?

Suppose, then, that a hundred poor men are as one Christ, for indeed Christ is not at all divided.

To whom, then, has he done these things, if not surely to him who said, and always says, and will yet say, 'Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me'?

He who has given alms to the hundred, yet being able also to give to others, to give drink and to feed them, sends away many who beg and cry out to him—he will be judged by Christ as one who did not feed him, since it is he himself who, in each and every one of the least of these, is fed by us.

He who has today supplied to all everything they need, yet tomorrow, though able to do the same, neglects certain brothers and lets them be destroyed by hunger, thirst, and cold—he has overlooked him dying, and has despised him who said, 'Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me.'

From these things one may know how the Lord appropriates to himself everything that concerns our poor brothers, saying to the righteous, 'You did it to me,' and to those on the left, 'You did not do it to me.'

For he does not look only at those who have received mercy from us, nor only at those who have been wronged or defrauded and have suffered countless other terrible things, but also at those who have been overlooked—and this alone is sufficient for our condemnation; for it is not them but him whom we overlook, Jesus Christ, who makes all their affairs his own.

In this he condescended to take upon himself the person of each poor man, and made himself like every poor man, so that none of those who believe in him might exalt himself over his brother; but that each, seeing his brother and his neighbor as his God, should consider himself the least—not of his brother, but of him who made him—and should receive and honor him as He himself, just as Christ and God poured out his own blood for our salvation.

He who is commanded to love his neighbor as himself is obliged to do so not merely for a single day but for his whole life; and he who is commanded to give to everyone who asks is enjoined to do this throughout the whole of his life; and he who wishes others to do to him the good things he desires will himself be required to do these same things to others.

Just as, then, he who has his neighbor as himself does not tolerate having more than his neighbor, but if he has something and does not share it ungrudgingly—until he himself becomes poor and is made like his neighbor—he is not found to be a fulfiller of the Master's commandment; and likewise he who wishes to give to all who ask, if, having down to a mere copper coin or a crust of bread, he turns away someone who asks of him, is not found to fulfill it; nor is he who does not do to his neighbor as much as he wishes another to do to him found to fulfill it—so also he who has fed, given drink, and clothed every poor man and least one, and has done all other things for them, but has despised and overlooked one alone, will himself be reckoned as having overlooked Christ our God, hungering and thirsting.

These things will perhaps seem burdensome to everyone, and so they will think they are saying something reasonable to themselves: 'Who, then, is able to do all this—to serve and feed everyone, and to overlook none of them at all?'

But let them hear Paul crying out plainly: 'For the love of Christ constrains us, having judged this, that if one died for all, then all died.'

Just as the comprehensive commandments contain within themselves all the particular commandments, so too the comprehensive virtues include within themselves the particular virtues.

For he who sells his possessions, or scatters them among the poor, and becomes at once wholly poor, has fulfilled all the particular commandments together in one; for he no longer has need to give to the one who asks, or not to turn away the one who wishes to borrow from him.

...to pray to the Lord in the evening, in the morning, and at midday out of mere necessity, as one who has already fulfilled everything that we, according to rule and at set times and hours, pray and chant.

So too, he who has acquired within himself, knowingly, God who gives knowledge to men, has traversed the whole of holy Scripture and has reaped all the benefit that comes from reading, and will no longer have need of the reading of books.

For how could it be otherwise for him who has gained as his companion the one who inspired those who wrote the divine Scriptures, and who is initiated by him into the ineffable secrets of the hidden mysteries—rather, this man himself will become, for others, an inspired book, bearing within him new and old mysteries written by the finger of God, as one who has accomplished all things and has rested in God, in that primal perfection, from all his works?

What was in the world before the world came into being?

Since the world did not yet exist, how could it be 'in the world'?

Because, even before it came into being, the world already existed in God as though it had come to be—just as men not yet brought forth are already, in the sight of God, as though already born, in the world.

For all things subsist in him, even those not yet created, even though they are not grasped by us.

If, then, as you say, God was in the world before the world came to be through him, what did God become when he brought forth this world?

Or is he again now in the world?

In place, God who made these things has not been separated from his own works; for where would he who is present everywhere and fills all things with his own divinity remove himself to?

But in nature, essence, hypostasis, and the other properties, he transcends every created nature, and is immeasurably and incomprehensibly separate from it.

How, if he is not separated in place but, as you say, present everywhere, is he separated from all things?

The question is indeed hard to comprehend, yet not impossible to express; and nothing is impossible for God—hence he is able also to give you full assurance concerning these matters.

But listen with understanding: just as our human mind is neither confined by walls nor limited by place, but while the body is shut up in a small house and bound fast with chains, the mind itself is outside these and freely ranges everywhere, neither being separated from the body nor becoming far removed from the house, but is, as it were, present with them while separated, and separated while united to them—so also God is everywhere and in all things, and outside all things; and he is nowhere in nature, essence, and glory, for he is uncircumscribable.

How, then, does the uncircumscribable one fill all things?

And how is he who fills all things uncircumscribable and nowhere?

...they cover their faces, and, struck with awe, unceasingly send up the divine hymn forever; for, overwhelmed by the unbearable weight of his glory, they cannot even come to reflect or conceive where the Master is, or what he himself is like; for if they have not the strength to look directly at the flashing splendor, how then could they inquire further into it?

That God exists, then, and is everywhere, and fills all things, both the angels and the saints who have purified themselves, having been illumined and enlightened by the Holy Spirit, know; but where, or how, or of what kind he is, none of all beings knows, except the Father knows the Son, and the Son the Father, and the Holy Spirit the Father and the Son, as being co-eternal and consubstantial with them; for these three, being one, both know themselves and are known by one another.

As he himself said, who is God by nature and the Son of God: 'No one knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man that dwells within him'; so also no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. And again: 'No one knows the Father except the Son, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and whomever the Son wills to reveal him.'

And how then does Christ say, 'Do not despise one of these little ones, for their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven'?

And again, 'Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God'—yet you say that even the angels do not know what God is like or where he is?

Just as, when the sun shines at midday, we clearly see the light sent forth from it, but are not able to gaze upon and comprehend the sun itself even to the slightest degree, yet we truly say that we see it—so too the angels and the saints, beholding the flashing glory of the Spirit, see in it both the Son and the Father; but it is not so with sinners and the impure, for they are like the blind and the insensible. For just as the blind do not see the light of the perceptible sun shining, so neither do these perceive the divine light that always shines, nor indeed do they feel its warmth.

Since God is light, and light in the highest degree, those who see him see nothing else but light; and this is clear both from those who saw the face of Christ shine like the sun, and his garments become like light, and from Paul the apostle, who saw God as light and was turned to the knowledge of him, and from countless other saints.

How, then, is he not seen by everyone, since God is an eternal and ever-shining light?

Because God so ordained from the beginning, that darkness should have no fellowship with light, nor the defiled and profane with the Holy and pure.

For this reason, our evil thoughts and vain reasonings become, as it were, a great chasm and wall—indeed a high wall—and separate us from the light of true life; for God is light and is life. All, therefore, who are deprived of this are dead in soul, and are co-heirs and co-partakers of eternal fire and darkness.

And is it impossible for one who has not attained to these measures to obtain salvation?

Since the Lord says, 'In my Father's house are many mansions,' it is evident that there are also many ways of salvation; but all of them are perfected in the one way of repentance, through abstention from evil—whether you name the way of almsgiving, or that of exile from one's homeland, or the fulfillment of any other good deed—unto the attaining of better things.