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a virgin must be undistracted from the affairs of this life, so that she may be holy in body and in spirit.

But also in the Epistle to the Corinthians he writes. Glorify God in your body. And if God is glorified in the body of men, and God is not glorified in evil; the body is not evil by nature, even if the sinner makes it evil, using it sinfully. And a little after he again addresses the same people: Or do you not know, that your bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him; for the temple of God is holy, and you are that temple. But also in the one to the Thessalonians the same Apo 39.1093 stle writes: May the God of peace sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, and soul, and body be preserved blamelessly at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. For how can anyone be wholly sanctified, and have his body whole, if the body, being evil, is not naturally constituted to be sanctified? For if this is evil by nature, it is not receptive of sanctification; but if it receives the good, it is clear that it is not evil by nature, being receptive of good. For that which is evil by nature, is incapable of receiving good. Just as that which is good by nature, is incapable of receiving evil. The same Apostle writes in another Epistle to certain ones: Let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God; showing also through this saying, that the flesh also is naturally constituted to be cleansed of the defilements that attach to it from sin. But also the spirit and the soul; but if the flesh were evil in essence, and the spirit good in essence, neither would the spirit have defilement, nor indeed would the flesh be cleansed from defilement. But he commands both to be cleansed from defilement, also stating the manner of the cleansing. For by perfecting, he says, holiness in the fear of God. And it is well said: In the fear of God; showing that it has obedience from them, and not from necessity. But if by perfecting holiness in the fear of God, we cleanse our own flesh from defilement and the spirit; it is clear that this happens when holiness is produced in us; For just as a soul is cleansed of ignorance and wrongdoings, by the presence of knowledge and righteousness—for the avoidance of evil effects the entrance of virtue from the contrary—so by the presence of sanctification the flesh and the spirit are cleansed of defilement. But by 'spirit' in these passages he means the soul, just as also in the Acts of the Apostles Stephen the apostle, being stoned, and about to die, said in prayer: Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. For he meant nothing else in these words by his spirit, than his soul. If, therefore, through many passages the flesh and the spirit are spoken of as possessing at one time sin, at another sanctification, and the ability to glorify God; is neither of these things by nature evil or good, but of its own free will receptive of both; or does it receive, according to the use of the one who possesses it, in turn at one time to be of sin, and at another of sanctification? And if, being ignorant of the saying from which they adduce that the flesh is of sin, they think this; yet we, by setting it forth in its entirety, will make its meaning clear. It is as follows. God, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. What he says is this. 39.1096 The flesh of all men has its being from intercourse, except for the first-formed, and that which the Savior assumed. For not otherwise would a human body come to be, without the male being joined to the female

. Since, therefore, the Savior received a body from the Virgin alone, not having its origin from intercourse, he called the Lord's flesh a likeness of the flesh that is from intercourse. For he did not say simply, that he had the likeness of flesh, but the likeness of sinful flesh. But the likeness of sinful flesh, is flesh, differing from the others only in this

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παρθένον δεῖ ἀπερίσπαστον εἶναι τῶν βιωτικῶν πραγμάτων, Ἵνα ᾖ ἁγία σώματι καὶ πνεύματι.

Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τῇ Ἐπιστολῇ τῇ Κορινθίων γράφει. ∆οξάσατε τὸν Θεὸν ἐν τῷ σώματι ὑμῶν. Εἰ δὲ δοξάζεται ὁ Θεὸς ἐν τῷ σώματι τῶν ἀνθρώπων, οὐ δοξάζεται δὲ Θεὸς ἐν κακῷ· οὐ κακὸν τὸ σῶμα τῇ φύσει, κἂν κακὸν αὐτὸ ποιεῖ ὁ ἁμαρτωλὸς, ἁμαρτητικῶς αὐτῷ χρώμενος. Καὶ μετ' ὀλίγον πάλιν τοῖς αὐτοῖς προσφωνεῖ· Ἧ οὐκ οἴδατε, ὅτι τὰ σώματα ὑμῶν ναὸς τοῦ ἐν ὑμῖν ἁγίου Πνεύματός ἐστιν, οὗ ἔχετε ἀπὸ Θεοῦ; Εἴ τις τὸν ναὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ φθείρει, φθερεῖ τοῦτον ὁ Θεός· ὁ γὰρ ναὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἅγιός ἐστιν, οἵτινές ἐστε ὑμεῖς. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τῇ πρὸς Θεσσαλονικέας ὁ αὐτὸς Ἀπό 39.1093 στολος γράφει· Ὁ Θεὸς τῆς εἰρήνης ἁγιάσαι ὑμᾶς ὁλοτελεῖς, καὶ ὁλόκληρον ὑμῶν τὸ Πνεῦμα, καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ, καὶ τὸ σῶμα ἀμέμπτως ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ διατηρηθείη. Πῶς γὰρ ὁλοτελῶς ἁγιασθῆναι, καὶ ὁλόκληρον ἔχειν τις τὸ σῶμα ἑαυτοῦ δύναται, εἰ τὸ σῶμα μὴ πέφυκεν, κακὸν ὂν, ἁγιάζεσθαι; Εἰ γὰρ κακὸν τῇ φύσει τοῦτο, οὐ δεκτικὸν ἁγιασμοῦ· εἰ δὲ δέχεται τὸ ἀγαθὸν, δῆλον ὅτι οὐ φύσει κακὸν, δεκτικὸν ὂν ἀγαθοῦ. Τὸ γὰρ τῇ φύσει κακὸν, ἀνεπίδεκτον ἀγαθοῦ. Ὥσπερ τὸ φύσει ἀγαθὸν, ἀνεπίδεκτον κακοῦ. Γράφει ἐν ἑτέρᾳ Ἐπιστολῇ ὁ αὐτὸς Ἀπόστολος πρός τινας· Καθαρίσωμεν ἑαυτοὺς ἀπὸ παντὸς μολυσμοῦ σαρκὸς καὶ πνεύματος, ἐπιτελοῦντες ἁγιωσύνην ἐν φόβῳ Θεοῦ· δεικνὺς καὶ διὰ ταύτης τῆς λέξεως, ὡς πέφυκεν καὶ ἡ σὰρξ καθαίρεσθαι τῶν προσαπτομένων αὐτῇ ἐξ ἁμαρτίας μολυσμῶν. Ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα καὶ ἡ ψυχή· εἰ δὲ ἡ σὰρξ κατ' οὐσίαν ἦν κακὸν, καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα κατ' οὐσίαν ἀγαθὸν, οὐδ' ἂν τὸ πνεῦμα μολυσμὸν εἶχεν, οὔτε μὴν ἡ σὰρξ ἀπὸ μολυσμοῦ ἐκαθαίρετο. Προστάττει δὲ ἑκάτερα καθᾶραι ἀπὸ μολυσμοῦ, λέγων καὶ τὸν τρόπον τῆς καθάρσεως. Ἐπιτελοῦντες γὰρ, φησὶν, ἁγιωσύνην ἐν φόβῳ Θεοῦ. Εὖ δὲ καὶ τὸ εἰπεῖν· Ἐν φόβῳ Θεοῦ· δεικνὺς τὸ ὑπήκοον ἔχειν ἐξ αὐτῶν, καὶ οὐκ ἐξ ἀνάγκης. Εἰ δὲ ἐπιτελοῦντες ἁγιωσύνην ἐν φόβῳ Θεοῦ, καθαίρομεν τὴν ἑαυτῶν σάρκα ἀπὸ μολυσμοῦ καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα· δῆλον, ὅτι ἐγγινομένης ἐν ἡμῖν τῆς ἁγιωσύνης τοῦτο γίνεται· Ὥσπερ γὰρ καθαίρεται ἀγνοίας ψυχὴ, καὶ ἀδικημάτων, παρουσίᾳ ἐπιστήμης καὶ δικαιοσύνης ἡ γὰρ ἀποφυγὴ τῆς κακίας ἀρετῆς εἴσοδον ἐργάζεται ἐκ τοῦ ἐναντίου· οὕτως παρουσίᾳ ἁγιασμοῦ καθαίρεται ἡ σὰρξ μολυσμοῦ καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα. Πνεῦμα δὲ ἐν τούτοις τὴν ψυχὴν λέγει, ὥσπερ καὶ ἐν ταῖς Πράξεσιν τῶν ἀποστόλων Στέφανος ὁ ἀπόστολος καταλευόμενος, καὶ μέλλων ἀποθνήσκειν, εἶπεν εὐχόμενος· Κύριε Ἰησοῦ, δέξαι τὸ πνεῦμά μου. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἄλλο τι ἐν τούτοις ἔλεγε τὸ πνεῦμα ἑαυτοῦ, ἢ τὴν ψυχήν. Εἰ οὖν διὰ πλειόνων ἡ σὰρξ καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα, ὁτὲ μὲν ἁμαρτίας, ὁτὲ δὲ ἁγιασμοῦ, καὶ πρὸς τὸ δοξάζειν τὸν Θεὸν ἔχοντα λέγεται· οὐδὲν τούτων φύσει κακὸν, ἢ ἀγαθόν ἐστιν· ἀλλ' αὐτεξουσίως ἑκατέρων δεκτικόν· ἢ παρὰ τὴν χρῆσιν τοῦ ἔχοντος ἀνὰ μέρος δέχεται, ὁτὲ μὲν ἁμαρτίας εἶναι, ὁτὲ δὲ ἁγιασμοῦ; Εἰ δὲ καὶ τὸ ῥητὸν ἀγνοοῦντες, ἀφ' οὗ προφέρουσιν ἁμαρτίας εἶναι τὴν σάρκα, τοῦτο νομίζουσιν· ἀλλ' ἡμεῖς ὅλον αὐτὸ θέμενοι, τὴν διάνοιαν φανερὰν ποιήσομεν. Ἔχει δὲ οὕτως. Ὁ Θεὸς τὸν Υἱὸν ἑαυτοῦ πέμψας ἐν ὁμοιώματι σαρκὸς ἁμαρτίας, περὶ ἁμαρτίας κατέκρινεν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐν τῇ σαρκί. Ὃ λέγει τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν. 39.1096 Ἡ πάντων ἀνθρώπων σὰρξ, ἐκ συνδυασμοῦ ἔχει τὸ εἶναι, δίχα τοῦ πρωτοπλάστου, καὶ οὗ ἀνέλαβεν ὁ Σωτήρ. Οὐκ ἂν γὰρ ἄλλως σῶμα ἀνθρώπου γένοιτο, μὴ ἐπιπλακέντος τῷ θήλει τοῦ ἄῤῥενος

. Ἐπεὶ οὖν ὁ Σωτὴρ ἐκ μόνης τῆς Παρθένου ἔλαβε σῶμα, τὴν ἀρχὴν οὐκ ἔχον ἐκ συνουσίας, ὁμοίωμα τὴν σάρκα τὴν Κυριακὴν εἶπε τῆς σαρκὸς τῆς ἐκ συνουσίας. Οὐ γὰρ καθάπαξ εἶπεν, ὁμοίωμα σαρκὸς αὐτὸν ἔχειν, ἀλλ' ὁμοίωμα σαρκὸς ἁμαρτίας. Τὸ δὲ ὁμοίωμα τῆς σαρκὸς ἁμαρτίας, σάρξ ἐστιν, μόνῳ τούτῳ λειπομένη τῶν ἄλλων