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The Lord, moved by ineffable love for mankind, raised this up, uniting this very nature to himself hypostatically.

QUESTION 60 Whom does the Apostle mean when he says "those who first hoped in Christ," writing to the Ephesians? RESPONSE Every one of the saints before the coming of the Lord, practicing whatever virtue, even if he did not know the whole mystery of the economy, but being moved naturally in part hoped and expected that he himself who made nature would also save it when it had been corrupted.

QUESTION 61 From the same: "that we might know what is the hope of his calling, and what is the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power."

RESPONSE "The hope of the calling" is dispassion through action according to the Lord's own way of life; and "the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints" is the riches according to the knowledge of the truth; and "the surpassing greatness of his power" is the deification that will be granted to the worthy, as it is beyond nature and makes those who partake gods from men by grace.

14Α_100 QUESTION 62 From the same Apostle: "For we are his workmanship, created for good works."

RESPONSE This was said by the Apostle, as I think, because God having made man in the beginning, and he having fallen through the transgression, he created him anew through his coming in the flesh and restored him to his original state.

QUESTION 63 From the same: "who has made both one and has broken down the middle wall of the partition, the enmity in his flesh" and the rest. RESPONSE Whether having joined the two peoples he made them one, or whether he joined earthly and heavenly things—for he joined these also, which were separated from one another—or whether you take it as referring to each person: he joined soul and body, which are always at odds with each other; for he subjected "the mind of the flesh to the law of the spirit." "And having broken down the middle wall of the partition": he called "middle wall" either the flesh or sensible things or the legal worship, and "partition" sin; for these things, like a wall, when we use them without knowledge or spiritual understanding, walled us off from God and subjected us to sin. The enmity in the flesh: calling sin "enmity"; for it made us enemies of God. Having abolished the law of commandments in ordinances: the law of a commandment is "You shall not murder" and the rest; but he who applies himself naturally to the commandment and knows the reason of the commandment knows that one must abstain not only from bodily murder, but also from every passion that defiles nature; for envy and slander and all the passions are destructive of nature. The Lord therefore, having come, abolished the law by ordinances, that is, "he made it to cease," saying, "It was said to the ancients, 'You shall not murder'; but I say to you, 'Everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger'", but not only teaching but also doing. And the sacrifices according to the law, having established his ordinances, he abolished,

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ταύτην ἀφάτῳ φιλανθρωπίᾳ κινηθεὶς ἀνέστησεν ὁ Κύριος, αὐτὴν τὴν φύσιν ἑνώσας ἑαυτῷ καθ᾽ ὑπόστασιν.

ΕΡΩΤΗΣΙΣ 60 Τίνας σημαίνει ὁ Ἀπόστολος λέγων "τοὺς προηλπικότας ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ" πρὸς

Ἐφεσίους γράφων; ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ Πᾶς τις τῶν ἁγίων τῶν πρὸ τῆς ἐπιδημίας τοῦ Κυρίου, οἱανοῦν ἀρετὴν

ἐξασκῶν, κἂν εἰ μὴ τὸ ὅλον τῆς οἰκονομίας μυστήριον ἐγίνωσκεν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐκ μέρους φυσικῶς κινούμενος ἤλπιζεν καὶ προσεδόκα ὅτι ὁ τὴν φύσιν ποιήσας αὐτὸς καὶ παραφθαρεῖσαν ἀνασώσηται.

ΕΡΩΤΗΣΙΣ 61 Ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ· «εἰς τὸ εἰδέναι ἡμᾶς τίς ἐστιν ἡ ἐλπὶς τῆς κλήσεως αὐτοῦ καὶ

τίς ὁ πλοῦτος τῆς δόξης τῆς κληρονομίας αὐτοῦ ἐν τοῖς ἁγίοις καὶ τί τὸ ὑπερβάλλον μέγεθος τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ».

ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ «Ἡ τῆς κλήσεως ἐλπίς» ἐστιν ἡ κατὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ τοῦ Κυρίου πολιτείαν διὰ

πράξεως ἀπάθεια· «πλοῦτος» δὲ «τῆς δόξης τῆς κληρονομίας αὐτοῦ ἐν τοῖς ἁγίοις» ἐστὶν ὁ κατὰ τὴν γνῶσιν τῆς ἀληθείας πλοῦτος· «ὑπερβάλλον» δὲ «μέγεθος τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ» ἐστιν ἡ τοῖς ἀξίοις δωρηθησομένη θέωσις, ὡς ὑπὲρ φύσιν οὖσα καὶ θεοὺς ἐξ ἀνθρώπων κατὰ χάριν τοὺς μετόχους ἀποτελοῦσα.

14Α_100 ΕΡΩΤΗΣΙΣ 62 Τοῦ αὐτοῦ Ἀποστόλου· «αὐτοῦ γάρ ἐσμεν ποίημα, κτισθέντες ἐπὶ ἔργοις

ἀγαθοῖς». ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ Τοῦτο εἴρηται τῷ Ἀποστόλῳ, ὡς οἶμαι, ἐπειδὴ κατ᾽ ἀρχὰς ποιήσας ὁ Θεὸς τὸν

ἄνθρωπον, διὰ δὲ τῆς παραβάσεως παραπεσόντα ἀνέκτισεν πάλιν διὰ τῆς ἐνσάρκου αὐτοῦ ἐπιδημίας καὶ εἰς τὸ ἀρχαῖον ἀπεκατέστησεν.

ΕΡΩΤΗΣΙΣ 63 Τοῦ αὐτοῦ· «ὁ ποιήσας τὰ ἀμφότερα ἓν καὶ τὸ μεσότοιχον τοῦ φραγμοῦ

λύσας, τὴν ἔχθραν ἐν τῇ σαρκὶ» καὶ τὰ λοιπά. ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ Εἴτε τοὺς δύο λαοὺς συνάψας ἐποίησεν ἕν, εἴτε τὰ ἐπίγεια καὶ τὰ οὐράνια

συνῆψεν γὰρ καὶ ταῦτα, διεστηκότα πρὸς ἄλληλα εἴτε καὶ εἰς τὸν καθένα λαμβάνεις· συνῆψεν ψυχὴν καὶ σῶμα ἀεὶ πρὸς ἑαυτὰ στασιάζοντα· ὑπέταξεν γὰρ «τὸ φρόνημα τῆς σαρκὸς τῷ νόμῳ τοῦ πνεύματος». «Καὶ τὸ μεσότοιχον τοῦ φραγμοῦ λύσας»· μεσότοιχον ἢ τὴν σάρκα ἢ τὰ αἰσθητὰ ἢ τὴν νομικὴν λατρείαν ἐκάλεσεν, φραγμὸν δὲ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν· ταῦτα γὰρ τοίχου δίκην, μὴ ἐπιστημόνως μὴ δὲ μετὰ γνώσεως πνευματικῆς κεχρημένοις αὐτοῖς ἡμῖν, διετείχιζον ἡμᾶς ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ ὑπέβαλλον. Τὴν ἔχθραν ἐν τῇ σαρκί· τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἔχθραν εἰπών· αὐτὴ γὰρ ἡμᾶς ἐχθροὺς τοῦ Θεοῦ κατέστησεν. Τὸν νόμον τῶν ἐντολῶν ἐν δόγμασιν καταργήσας· νόμος ἐντολῆς ἐστιν τὸ οὐ φονεύσῃς καὶ τὰ λοιπά· ὁ δὲ φυσικῶς τῇ ἐντολῇ ἐπιβάλλων καὶ γινώσκων τὸν λόγον τῆς ἐντολῆς οἶδεν ὅτι οὐ μόνον σωματικοῦ φόνου ἀπέχεσθαι δεῖ, ἀλλὰ καὶ παντὸς 14Α_102 πάθους λυμαινομένου τὴν φύσιν· καὶ γὰρ καὶ φθόνος καὶ καταλαλιὰ καὶ πάντα τὰ πάθη φθαρτικὰ τῆς φύσεώς εἰσιν. Ὁ Κύριος οὖν ἐλθὼν ἐν δόγμασιν κατήργησεν τὸν νόμον, ἀντὶ τοῦ "ἔπαυσεν", λέγων «ἐρρήθη τοῖς ἀρχαίοις "οὐ φονεύσῃς", ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν· "πᾶς ὁ ὀργιζόμενος τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ εἰκῇ, ἔνοχος ἔσται"», ἀλλ᾽ οὐ μόνον διδάξας ἀλλὰ γὰρ καὶ ποιήσας. Καὶ τὰς θυσίας δὲ τὰς κατὰ τὸν νόμον δογματίσας κατήργησεν,