CROSS in Pre-Nicene Writings .... a CROSS-beam Attached to a Pole

Photo courtesy of  Mustard Seed International The Brazen Serpent Monument  over-looking Mt. Nebo, Jordan

The Pre-Nicene Early Christian writers, Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 1: 

• Justin Martyr (c. 110-165 AD,  of Samaria ) and 
• Irenaeus ( C. 120 - 202 AD, approximated dates, of Syria; later made Bishop of Lyons, France ) 

both had much to say regarding the Crucifixion of Y'SHU the M'SHIKHA ( JESUS CHRIST ) in their apologies for The Way + ... the Way+ of the CROSS ... not the " stake."

CROSS photo by the Order of the GOOD SHEPHERD+ 

Yes, it is crucial to realize Our LORD died innocently as the Sacrificial LAMB+ of ALAHA to deliver us from sin, hell, and death, by whatever means HE+ and His+ Heavenly FATHER chose to use. 

It is also crucial to realize the CROSS was presented as a pattern and type throughout the Old Covenant .... 

so that... 

His+ IDENTIFICATION could be readily established for those awaiting the Messiah+, when the true M'SHIKHA+ became incarnate upon this earth. 

Scripture accounts tell us there were some false Messiahs who proclaimed themselves and they too were slain or taken captive. But, the false Messiahs did NOT fit the pattern of identification which was established in the Old Covenant.

Also pertinent to this discussion is the problematic use of STAKE instead of CROSS  found throughout the Netzarim Publishing House's Aramaic-English New Testament by Mr. Andrew Roth ... in spite of all linguistic and lexical authorities ! 

Herein is the CRUCIAL issue: By changing CROSS to "stake,"  Mr. Roth changes the stake to STAFF ~  and hence extrapolates that to a staff of authority !  

Matthew 10:38, AENT, verbatim ~ supposedly words of Y'SHU+ (JESUS, in English):  

"And anyone that does not take up his staff (107) and come and follow me is not worthy of me."  

Footnote 107 shows the AENT's purpose in changing CROSS to "stake" and "stake" to "staff."  It states: 

"Take up your staff and follow means to exercise your personal authority .  A staff is a symbol of authority that is used for mobility and protection ( see B'midbar / Numbers 17:1-10 or 17:16-25 in Jewish versions). Christian versions insert "cross" here which does not appear in either Aramaic or Greek texts. See Pole, the Standard , in Appendix. " [ Unfortunately for his readers, this statement is inaccurate in all points regarding the Aramaic and Greek texts.  SrJH.  + + +]

At this point, let me insert a note of interest. "NES"  is the transliterated Hebrew word for POLE , that pole upon which Moses was ordered to place the brazen serpent for the healing of the Hebrews bitten by poisonous serpents.  



In fact, this "NES" was not a sturdy up-right timber, like a modern telephone pole. Rather, it was a frame-work for a BANNER, the kind with a cross-pole affixed to an upright pole. The banner was NOT like a pennant flying at the top of a sports stadium, but rather a rectangular banner going before a group with its family crest or ensign upon it. See this pictured above of that "pole" at Mount Nebo, Jordan.  

So now, let us look at what Justin Martyr states in his writings about the PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION of the CROSS of Y'SHU+ the M'SHIKHA.  

Justin’s Dialogue with Trypho, 

pg. 214-215

Courtesy of www.biblestudytools.com

Chapter XL.-He Returns to the Mosaic Laws, and Proves that They Were Figures of the Things Which Pertain to Christ.

"The mystery, then, of the lamb which God enjoined to be sacrificed as the passover, was a type of Christ; with whose blood, in proportion to their faith in Him, they anoint their houses, i.e., themselves, who believe on Him. For that the creation which God created-to wit, Adam-was a house for the spirit which proceeded from God, you all can understand. And that this injunction was temporary, I prove thus.

 God does not permit the lamb of the passover to be sacrificed in any other place than where His name was named; knowing that the days will come, after the suffering of Christ, when even the place in Jerusalem shall be given over to your enemies, and all the offerings, in short, shall cease; and that lamb which was commanded to be wholly roasted was a symbol of the suffering of the cross which Christ would undergo.

 For the lamb,(108) which is roasted, is roasted and dressed up in the form of the cross. 

For one spit is transfixed right through from the lower parts up to the head, and one across the back, to which are attached the legs of the lamb.

And the two goats which were ordered to be offered during the fast, of which one was sent away as the scape [goat], and the other sacrificed, were similarly declarative of the two appearances of Christ: the first, in which the elders of your people, and the priests, having laid hands on Him and put Him to death, sent Him away as the scape [goat]; 

and His second appearance, because in the same place in Jerusalem you shall recognise Him whom you have dishonoured, and who was an offering for all sinners willing to repent, and keeping the fast which Isaiah speaks of, loosening the terms(109) of the violent contracts, and keeping the other precepts, likewise enumerated by him, and which I have quoted,(110) which those believing in Jesus do. And further, you are aware that the offering of the two goats, which were enjoined to be sacrificed at the fast, was not permitted to take place similarly anywhere else, but only in Jerusalem.

Justin’s Dialogue with Trypho, 

pg 244-235 

Courtesy of www.biblestudytools.com

Chapter XCI.-

The Cross Was Foretold in the Blessings of Joseph, 

and in the Serpent that Was Lifted Up.

"And God by Moses shows in another way the force of the mystery of the cross, when He said in the blessing wherewith Joseph was blessed,

 `From the blessing of the Lord is his land; for the seasons of heaven, and for the dews, and for the deep springs from beneath, and for the seasonable fruits of the sun,(356) and for the coming together of the months, and for the heights of the everlasting mountains, and for the heights of the hills, and for the ever-flowing rivers, and for the fruits of the fatness of the earth; and let the things accepted by Him who appeared in the bush come on the head and crown of Joseph.

 Let HIM+ be glorified among his brethren;(357) his beauty is [like] the firstling of a bullock; his horns the horns of an unicorn: with these shall he push the nations from one end of the earth to another.'(358)

 Now, no one could say or prove that the horns of an unicorn represent any other fact or figure than the type which portrays the cross.

 For the one beam is placed upright, from which the highest extremity is raised up into a horn, when the other beam is fitted on to it, and the ends appear on both sides as horns joined on to the one horn. 

And the part which is fixed in the centre, on which are suspended those who are crucified, also stands out like a horn; and it also looks like a horn conjoined and fixed with the other horns. [ Apparently, this is in reference to what the Eastern Orthodox and other churches term the "sedle" upon which a body rested during the death throes while hanging upon the cross. SrJH  + + +]

And the expression, `With these shall he push as with horns the nations from one end of the earth to another, 'is indicative of what is now the fact among all the nations. For some out of all the nations, through the power of this mystery, having been so pushed, that is, pricked in their hearts, have turned from vain idols and demons to serve God. But the same figure is revealed for the destruction and condemnation of the unbelievers; even as Amalek was defeated and Israel victorious when the people came out of Egypt, by means of the type of the stretching out of Moses' hands, and the name of Jesus (Joshua), by which the son of Nave (Nun) was called. 

And it seems that the type and sign, which was erected to counteract the serpents which bit Israel, was intended for the salvation of those who believe that death was declared to come thereafter on the serpent through Him that would be crucified, but salvation to those who had been bitten by him and had betaken themselves to Him that sent His Son into the world to be crucified.(359) For the Spirit of prophecy by Moses did not teach us to believe in the serpent, since it shows us that he was cursed by God from the beginning; and in Isaiah tells us that he shall be put to death as an enemy by the mighty sword, which is Christ.

FIRST APOLOGY OF JUSTIN pg. 174

Courtesy of www.biblestudytools.com

Chapter XXXV.-Other Fulfilled Prophecies.

And how CHRIST after HE+ was born was to escape the notice of other men until HE+ grew to man's estate, which also came to pass, hear what was foretold regarding this.

There are the following predictions:(67) -"Unto us a child is born, and unto us a young man is given, and the government shall be upon His+ shoulders; "(68) which is significant of the power of the cross, for to it, when HE+ was crucified, HE+ applied His+ shoulders, as shall be more clearly made out in the ensuing discourse.

And again the same prophet Isaiah, being inspired by the prophetic Spirit, said, "I have spread out my hands to a disobedient and gainsaying people, to those who walk in a way that is not good. They now ask of me judgment, and dare to draw near to God."(69)

 And again in other words, through another prophet, He says, "They pierced My hands and My feet, and for My vesture they cast lots."(70) 

And indeed David, the king and prophet, who uttered these things, suffered none of them; but JESUS CHRIST stretched forth His+ hands, being crucified by the Jews speaking against Him+, and denying that HE+ was the CHRIST.

And as the prophet spoke, they tormented Him, and set Him on the judgment-seat, and said, Judge us. And the expression, "They pierced my hands and my feet," was used in reference to the nails of the cross which were fixed in His hands and feet.

And after He was crucified they cast lots upon His vesture, and they that crucified Him parted it among them. And that these things did happen, you can ascertain from the Acts of Pontius Pilate.(71) And we will cite the prophetic utterances of another prophet, Zephaniah,(72) to the effect that He was foretold expressly as to sit upon the foal of an ass and to enter Jerusalem. The words are these: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass."(73)

Next Post:  
The CROSS words of Irenaeus 
from the Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 1. 

  

PASSOVER PREPARATION.... Fleeing From LEAVEN

or... the time The Apostle John fled from the Heretic Cerinthus .... 

Agnus Dei-- The LAMB+ of GOD
by Giulio Romano
Drawing: ink on paper c. 1540

Courtesy of www.angelfire.com

Fleeing from LEAVEN...

Hippolytus, AD 170-236, 

a Bishop of Portus, 

disciple of Irenaeus

… who was the disciple of Polycarp

… who was the disciple of John. 

from Irenaeus Against Heresies, ANF Vol. 1...

There are also those who heard from him [ i.e., Polycarp / Sr.JH ] that John, the disciple of the Lord, going to bathe at Ephesus, and perceiving Cerinthus within, rushed out of the bath-house without bathing, exclaiming, “Let us fly, lest even the bath-house fall down, because Cerinthus, the enemy of the truth, is within.” 

And Polycarp himself replied to Marcion, who met him on one occasion, and said, “Dost thou know me?”

“I do know thee, the first-born of Satan.”

Such was the horror which the apostles and their disciples had against holding even verbal communication with any corrupters of the truth; 

as Paul also says, 

“A man that is an heretic, after the first and second admonition, reject; knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.”

[ ***  ANF vol. 1, Irenaeus Against Heresies , BOOK 3, Chapter 3, section 4, page 416 (hard copy) [ pages 826-827, Master Christian Library , Version 8, CD-Rom, 2000 Ages Software, Rio, WI / www.ageslibrary.com. See the additional information at the end of the post for references in the Ante-Nicene writers and the context for this excerpt./ Sr. JH ]

Now, WHO was this abominable heretic Cerinthus of AD 100, 

... and what did he teach?  

Here is what the Early Church writers recorded about this man who was considered a fore-runner of some gnostics.  

Unfortunately, the teachings of Cerinthus have made their way into the "golden, best, and historic" version of the Netzarim edition of their New Covenant. 

 CERINTHUS

ANF vol. 5, Hippolytus, The Refutation of All Heresies  Book X, Chapter 17, page 147 hard copy, [Master Christian Library , Version 8, CD-Rom, 2000 Ages Software, Rio, WI / www.ageslibrary.com , page 303-304. ]

Cerinthus, however, himself having been trained in Egypt,determined that the world was not made by the first God, but by a certain angelic power. And this power was far separated and distant from that sovereignty which is above the entire circle of existence, and it knows not the God (that is) above all things.

And he says that Jesus was not born of a virgin, but that He sprang from Joseph and Mary as their son, similar to the rest of men; and that He excelled in justice, and prudence, and understanding above all the rest of mankind.

And Cerinthus maintains that, after Jesus’ baptism, Christ came down in the form of a dove upon Him from the sovereignty that is above the whole circle of existence, and that then He proceeded to preach the unknown Father, and to work miracles.

And he asserts that, at the conclusion of the passion, Christ flew away from Jesus, but that Jesus suffered, and that Christ remained incapable of suffering, being a spirit of the Lord.

 Now, here is the LEAVEN of the Ebionite heresy, which has also made its way into the "golden, best, and historic" Netzarim volume. 

THE EBIONAEANS

ANF vol. 5, Hippolytus, The Refutation of All Heresies  Book X, Chapter 18, page 147 hard copy, [Master Christian Library , Version 8, CD-Rom, 2000 Ages Software, Rio, WI / www.ageslibrary.com , page 303-304. ]

But the Ebionaeans assert that the world is made by the true God, and they speak of Christ in a similar manner with Cerinthus.

They live, however, in all respects according to the law of Moses, alleging that they are thus justified.

  

The item below is from ANF Vol. 5, Hippolytus Refutaion of All Heresies, BOOK 7, page 114, Chapter 22 [  [Master Christian Library , Version 8, CD-Rom, 2000 Ages Software, Rio, WI / www.ageslibrary.com , page 235.]

CHAPTER 22

DOCTRINE OF THE EBIONAEANS

The Ebionaeans, however, acknowledge that the world was made by Him Who is in reality God, but they propound legends concerning the Christ similarly with Cerinthus and Carpocrates.

They live conformably to the customs of the Jews, alleging that they are justified. according to the law, and saying that Jesus was justified by fulfilling the law.

And therefore it was, (according to the Ebionaeans,) that (the Savior) was named (the) Christ of God and Jesus, since not one of the rest (of mankind) had observed completely the law.

For if even any other had fulfilled the commandments (contained) in the law, he would have been that Christ.

And the (Ebionaeans allege) that they themselves also, when in like manner they fulfill (the law), are able to become Christs; for they assert that our Lord Himself was a man in a like sense with all (the rest of the human family).

 +  +  +

Purge out 

therefore 

the old leaven, 

that ye may be a new lump,

as ye are UNLEAVENED.

For even 

CHRIST our PASSOVER

is sacrificed

for us. 

Therefore let us keep the feast,

not with old leaven,

neither with the leaven of 

malice and wickedness,

but with 

the UNLEAVENED BREAD+

of purity and Truth.

I Corinthians 5:7, 8 

+  +  +

 This is the section about POLYCARP AND JOHN in its fullness. 

*** FROM ANF vol. 1, Irenaeus Against Heresies , BOOK 3, Chapter 3, section 4, page 416 (hard copy) [ pages 826-827, Master Christian Library , Version 8, CD-Rom, 2000 Ages Software, Rio, WI / www.ageslibrary.com ]

4. But Polycarp also was not only instructed by apostles, and conversed with many who had seen Christ, but was also, by apostles in Asia, appointed bishop of the Church in Smyrna, whom I also saw in my early youth, for he tarried [on earth] a very long time, and, when a very old man, gloriously and most nobly suffering martyrdom, departed this life, having always taught the things which he had learned from the apostles, and which the Church has handed down, and which alone are true.

To these things all the Asiatic Churches testify, as do also those men who have succeeded Polycarp down to the present time, — a man who was of much greater weight, and a more steadfast witness of truth, than Valentinus, and Marcion, and the rest of the heretics. He it was who, coming to Rome in the time of Anicetus caused many to turn away from the aforesaid heretics to the Church of God, proclaiming that he had received this one and sole truth from the apostles, — that, namely, which is handed down by the Church.

There are also those who heard from him that John, the disciple of the Lord, going to bathe at Ephesus, and perceiving Cerinthus within, rushed out of the bath-house without bathing, exclaiming, “Let us fly, lest even the bath-house fall down, because Cerinthus, the enemy of the truth, is within.”

And Polycarp himself replied to Marcion, who met him on one occasion, and said, “Dost thou know me?”

“I do know thee, the first-born of Satan.”

Such was the horror which the apostles and their disciples had against holding even verbal communication with any corrupters of the truth; as Paul also says, “A man that is an heretic, after the first and second admonition, reject; knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.”

Origen's "CROOKED ANIMAL" ... The GaMLA

Origen Against Celsus clarifies the question of CAMEL vs ROPE.



Photo by flickr.com



Origen lived between AD 185 to 230 or 254...  again, long before the development of the Peshitta.  He lived and taught in Alexandria, but spent the last quarter of his life in Palestine and Caesarea !  Origen was a brilliant apologist for CHRISTIANITY. 

In this brief selection, Origen is arguing against the accusation by Celsus that YESHUA+ HA MASHIYACH+ lifted Matthew 19:24 from Plato's writings.

Please note:  the word CAMEL was NOT THE FOCUS of the argument; it was merely expounded upon to prove Origen's point in his defense of The LORD'S words and intent. 

This work is found in Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 4, Origen Against Celsus, Book 6, Chapter 16, page 580, hard copy, second printing, June 1995,   American Edition, Hendrickson Publishers INC., Peabody, Massachusetts. 

The blog posting is from Master Christian Library, version 8, pages 1148-1149, [ same reference as in the ANF volume listed above ],  2000 AGES software, Rio, WI, www.ageslibrary.com.  

Origen Against Celsus... Book 6.... Chapter 16... in its entirety ( color,  caps, brackets, sizing, and highlight added by SJH )

"In the next place, with regard to the declaration of JESUS against rich men, when HE+ said, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God,"

Celsus alleges that this saying manifestly proceeded from Plato, and that JESUS perverted the words of the philosopher, which were, that "it was impossible to be distinguished for goodness, and at the same time for riches."

Now who is there that is capable of giving even moderate attention to affairs — not merely among the believers on JESUS, but among the rest of mankind — that would not laugh at Celsus, on hearing that JESUS, Who+ was born and brought up among the Jews, and was supposed to be the son of Joseph the carpenter,

and Who+ had not studied literature — not merely that of the Greeks, but not even that of the Hebrews — as the truth-loving Scriptures testify regarding HIM+, had read Plato,

and [ JESUS ] being pleased with the opinion he [ Plato ] expressed regarding rich men, to the effect that "it was impossible to be distinguished for goodness and riches at the same time," had perverted this,

and changed it into, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God!"

Now, if Celsus had not perused the Gospels in a spirit of hatred and dislike, but had been imbued with a love of truth, he would have turned his attention to the point why a camel — that one of animals which, as regards its physical structure, is crooked — was chosen as an object of comparison with a rich man, and what signification the "narrow eye of a needle" had for him who saw that "strait and narrow was the way that leadeth unto life;

and to this point also, that this animal. according to the law, is described as "unclean," having one element of acceptability, viz. that it ruminates, but one of condemnation, viz., that it does not divide the hoof.

He would have inquired, moreover, how often the camel was adduced as an object of comparison in the sacred Scriptures, and in reference to what objects, that he might thus ascertain the meaning of the LOGOS+ concerning

is to be wholly condemned.

For even a common individual would not thus indiscriminately have praised the poor, many of whom lead most wicked lives. But on this point we have said enough."

   

NOVATIAN: Paraqlita in the PRE-Peshitta, Pre-Nicene Writings of the Early Christian Apologists

 

NOVATIAN, (d. 257)  p. 639 , Vol 5 ANF , excerpts from chapters 28 and 29. Treatise Concerning the Trinity,

>>> Let the reader take note of the verses quoted in John, in reference to the Paraqlita,   and its translation by this Early Christian apologist, that it is in line with the other Early Christian apologists, never being translated as "Redeemer+".  

 

Here is what Novatian wrote: And HE+ further subjoins [John 14:15 and 16],

“If ye love ME+, keep My+ commandments; and I+ will ask THE FATHER, and HE+ will give you another Comforter.”

After which also HE+ adds this [ John 14:23]:

“If any one loveth ME+, he shall keep My+ Word: and My+ FATHER will love him; and WE will come unto him, and will make OUR abode with him.”

Moreover, also, HE+ added this too [John 14:26 ]:

“But the Advocate, that HOLY SPIRIT whom THE FATHER will send, HE will teach you, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I+ have said unto you.”

And the LORD said,

“Receive ye the HOLY SPIRIT: whose sins ye remit, they shall be remitted; and whose ye retain, they shall be retained.”

But this HOLY SPIRIT the LORD CHRIST calls at one time “the Paraclete,” at another pronounces to be the “Spirit of truth.”

And HE is not new in the Gospel, nor yet even newly given; for it was HE Himself who accused the people in the prophets, and in the apostles gave them the appeal to the Gentiles.

For the former deserved to be accused, because they had contemned [ i.e., despised ... SrJH ] the Law [ i.e, O.T./ Mosaic Law ... SrJH] ; and they of the Gentiles who believe deserve to be aided by the defense of the SPIRIT, because they earnestly desire to attain to the Gospel Law  [ i.e., the Royal Law of CHRIST, as spoken of in Matthew 22:37-40,  in James 2:8, and in John 15:12... SrJH ] .

Assuredly in the SPIRIT there are different kinds of offices, because in the times there is a different order of occasions;

and yet, on this account, HE who discharges these offices is not different, nor is HE another in so acting, but HE is one and the same, distributing HIS offices according to the times, and the occasions and impulses of things.

Moreover, the Apostle Paul says,

“Having the same Spirit; as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak.”

HE is therefore one and the same SPIRIT Who was in the prophets and apostles, except that in the former HE was occasional, in the latter always.

But in the former [i.e., the O.T.  Prophets] not as being always in them, in the latter [ i.e., the Apostles] as abiding always in them; and in the former distributed with reserve, in the latter all poured out; in the former given sparingly, in the latter liberally bestowed; not yet manifested before the LORD'S Resurrection, but conferred after the Resurrection.

For, said HE+,

“I+ will pray THE FATHER, and HE will give you another ADVOCATE, that HE may be with you for ever, even the SPIRIT of TRUTH.” [John 14:16, 17 ] 

And, “When HE, the ADVOCATE, shall come, Whom I+ shall send unto you from My+ FATHER, the SPIRIT of TRUTH Who proceedeth from My+ FATHER.”[John 15:26 ]

And, “If I+ go not away, that ADVOCATE shall not come to you; but if I+ go away, I+ will send Him to you.”[John 16:7 ]


And, “When the SPIRIT of TRUTH shall come, HE will direct you into all the truth.”

And because the LORD was about to depart to the Heavens, HE+ gave the PARACLETE out of necessity to the disciples; so as not to leave them in any degree orphans, which was little desirable, and forsake them without an ADVOCATE and some kind of PROTECTOR.

For this is HE Who strengthened their hearts and minds, Who marked out the Gospel sacraments, Who was in them the enlightener of divine things;

and they being strengthened, feared, for the sake of the LORD'S name, neither dungeons nor chains, nay, even trod under foot the very powers of the world and its tortures, since they were henceforth armed and strengthened by the same SPIRIT,

having in themselves the gifts which this same SPIRIT distributes, and appropriates to the Church, the Spouse of CHRIST, as her ornaments.

THIS [ HOLY SPIRIT ] is HE who places prophets in the Church, instructs teachers, directs tongues, gives powers and healings, does wonderful works, often discrimination of spirits, affords powers of government, suggests counsels, and orders and arranges whatever other gifts there are of charismata; and thus makes the LORD'S Church everywhere, and in all, perfected and completed.

THIS is HE Who, after the manner of a dove, when our LORD was baptized, came and abode upon HIM+, dwelling in CHRIST full and entire, and not maimed in any measure or portion;

but with HIS whole overflow copiously distributed and sent forth, so that from HIM others might receive some enjoyment of HIS graces:

the source of the entire HOLY SPIRIT remaining in CHRIST, so that from HIM might be drawn streams of gifts and works, while the HOLY SPIRIT dwelt affluently in CHRIST.

For truly Isaiah, prophesying this, said:

“And the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding shall rest upon HIM+, the Spirit of Counsel and Might, the Spirit of Knowledge and Piety; and the Spirit of the fear of the LORD shall fill HIM+.”


This selfsame thing also he said in the person of the LORD HIMSELF+, in another place:

“The SPIRIT of the LORD is upon ME+; because HE has anointed ME+, HE has sent ME+ to preach the Gospel to the poor.”

Similarly David:

“Wherefore GOD, even Thy+ GOD, hath anointed THEE+ with the oil of gladness above Thy+ fellows.”

Of HIM [ The HOLY SPIRIT ] the Apostle Paul says:

“For he who hath not the SPIRIT of CHRIST is none of HIS+.”

“And where the SPIRIT of the LORD is, there is liberty.”

HE [ The HOLY SPIRIT ] it is who effects with water the second birth as a certain seed of divine generation, and a consecration of a heavenly nativity, the pledge of a promised inheritance, and as it were a kind of handwriting of eternal salvation;

Who (the HOLY SPIRIT) can make us GOD’S Temple, and fit us for His house; Who solicits the divine hearing for us with groanings that cannot be uttered; filling the offices of advocacy, and manifesting the duties of our defense, — an inhabitant given for our bodies and an effector of their holiness.

Who, working in us for eternity, can also produce our bodies at the resurrection of immortality, accustoming them to be associated in Himself+ with Heavenly power, and to be allied with the divine eternity of the HOLY SPIRIT.

For our bodies are both trained in Him and by Him to advance to immortality, by learning to govern themselves with moderation according to His decrees.

For this is HE Who “desireth against the flesh,” because the flesh resisteth against the SPIRIT.”

This is HE who restrains insatiable desires, controls immoderate lusts, quenches unlawful fires, conquers reckless impulses, repels drunkenness, checks avarice, drives away luxurious reveling, links love, binds together affections, keeps down sects, orders the rule of truth, overcomes heretics, turns out the wicked, guards the Gospel.

Of this says the same Apostle:

“We have not received the spirit of the world, but the SPIRIT which is of GOD.”

Concerning HIM he exultingly says:

“And I think also that I have the SPIRIT of GOD.”

Of HIM he says: “The SPIRIT of the Prophets is subject to the prophets.”

Of HIM also he tells:

“Now the SPIRIT speaketh plainly, that in the last times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, doctrines of demons, who speak lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience cauterized.”

Established in this [ HOLY ] Spirit, “none ever calleth JESUS anathema;” no one has ever denied CHRIST to be the SON+ of GOD, or has rejected GOD the Creator; no one utters any words of his own contrary to the Scriptures; no one ordains other and sacrilegious decrees; No one draws up different laws.

Whosoever shall blaspheme against HIM, “hath not forgiveness, not only in this world, but also not in the world to come.”

THIS is HE Who in the apostles gives testimony to CHRIST; in the martyrs shows forth the constant faithfulness of their religion; in virgins restrains the admirable continency of their sealed chastity;


In others, guards the laws of the LORD’S doctrine incorrupt and uncontaminated; destroys heretics, corrects the perverse, condemns infidels, makes known pretenders;

Moreover, rebukes the wicked, keeps the Church uncorrupt and inviolate, in the sanctity of a perpetual virginity and truth.