33. But belief in Moses not only does not show our belief in the Spirit to be worthless, but, if we adopt our opponents’ line of argument, it rather weakens our confession in the God of the universe. “The people,” it is written, “believed the Lord and his servant Moses.”  20  Ex. xiv. 31. Moses then is joined with God, not with the Spirit; and he was a type not of the Spirit, but of Christ. For at that time in the ministry of the law, he by means of himself typified “the Mediator between God and men.”  21  1 Tim. ii. 5. Moses, when mediating for the people in things pertaining to God, was not a minister of the Spirit; for the law was given, “ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator,”  22  Gal. iii. 19. namely Moses, in accordance with the summons of the people, “Speak thou with us,…but let not God speak with us.”  23  Ex. xx. 19. Thus faith in Moses is referred to the Lord, the Mediator between God and men, who said, “Had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me.”  24  John v. 46. Is then our faith in the Lord a trifle, because it was signified beforehand through Moses? So then, even if men were baptized unto Moses, it does not follow that the grace given of the Spirit in baptism is small. I may point out, too, that it is usual in Scripture to say Moses and the law,  25  i.e., to mean by “Moses,” the law. as in the passage, “They have Moses and the prophets.”  26  Luke xvi. 29. When therefore it is meant to speak of the baptism of the law, the words are, “They were baptized unto Moses.”  27  1 Cor. x. 2. Why then do these calumniators of the truth, by means of the shadow and the types, endeavour to bring contempt and ridicule on the “rejoicing” of our “hope,”  28  Heb. iii. 6. and the rich gift of our God and Saviour, who through regeneration renews our youth like the eagle’s?  29  cf. Ps. ciii. 5. Surely it is altogether childish, and like a babe who must needs be fed on milk,  30  cf. Heb. v. 12. to be ignorant of the great mystery of our salvation; inasmuch as, in accordance with the gradual progress of our education, while being brought to perfection in our training for godliness,  31  cf. 1 Tim. iv. 7. we were first taught elementary and easier lessons, suited to our intelligence, while the Dispenser of our lots was ever leading us up, by gradually accustoming us, like eyes brought up in the dark, to the great light of truth. For He spares our weakness, and in the depth of the riches  32  Rom. xi. 33. of His wisdom, and the inscrutable judgments of His intelligence, used this gentle treatment, fitted for our needs, gradually accustoming us to see first the shadows of objects, and to look at the sun in water, to save us from dashing against the spectacle of pure unadulterated light, and being blinded. Just so the Law, having a shadow of things to come, and the typical teaching of the prophets, which is a dark utterance of the truth, have been devised means to train the eyes of the heart, in that hence the transition to the wisdom hidden in mystery  33  1 Cor. ii. 7. will be made easy. Enough so far concerning types; nor indeed would it be possible to linger longer on this topic, or the incidental discussion would become many times bulkier than the main argument.

[33] Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ εἰς τὸν Μωϋσέα πίστις οὐ τὴν εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα πίστιν ὀλίγου τινὸς ἀξίαν δείκνυσιν: ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸν τούτων λόγον, μᾶλλον τὴν εἰς τὸν Θεὸν τῶν ὅλων ὁμολογίαν κατασμικρύνει. «Ἐπίστευσε γάρ, φησίν, ὁ λαὸς τῷ Θεῷ καὶ Μωϋσεῖ τῷ θεράποντι αὐτοῦ.» Θεῷ τοίνυν συνέζευκται, οὐχὶ τῷ Πνεύματι: καὶ τύπος ἦν οὐχὶ τοῦ Πνεύματος, ἀλλὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Τὸν γὰρ μεσίτην Θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων δι' ἑαυτοῦ τότε προαπετύπου ἐν τῇ τοῦ νόμου διακονίᾳ. Οὐ γὰρ τοῦ Πνεύματος τύπος ἦν Μωϋσῆς, τὰ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν τῷ λαῷ μεσιτεύων. Ἐδόθη γὰρ νόμος «διαταγεὶς δι' ἀγγέλων, ἐν χειρὶ μεσίτου»_δηλαδὴ τοῦ Μωϋσέως_, κατὰ τὴν πρόκλησιν τοῦ λαοῦ λέγοντος: «Λάλησον σύ, φησί, πρὸς ἡμᾶς, καὶ μὴ λαλείτω πρὸς ἡμᾶς ὁ Θεός.» Ὥστε ἡ εἰς αὐτὸν πίστις ἐπὶ τὸν Κύριον ἀναφέρεται, τὸν μεσίτην Θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων, τὸν εἰπόντα: «Εἰ ἐπιστεύετε Μωϋσεῖ, ἐπιστεύετε ἂν ἐμοί.» Ἆρα οὖν μικρὸν ἡ εἰς τὸν Κύριον πίστις, ἐπειδὴ διὰ Μωϋσέως προεσημάνθη; Οὕτως οὐδὲ εἴ τις εἰς Μωϋσῆν ἐβαπτίσθη, μικρὰ ἡ ἀπὸ τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐπὶ τὸ βάπτισμα χάρις. Καίτοιγε ἔχω λέγειν, ὅτι Μωϋσῆν καὶ τὸν νόμον τῇ Γραφῇ λέγειν σύνηθες, ὡς τό: «Ἔχουσι Μωϋσέα καὶ τοὺς προφήτας.» Τὸ οὖν νομικὸν βάπτισμα λέγων, «ἐβαπτίσθησαν, εἶπεν, εἰς τὸν Μωϋσῆν». Τί οὖν τὸ καύχημα τῆς ἐλπίδος ἡμῶν, καὶ τὴν πλουσίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν δωρεάν, τοῦ διὰ τῆς παλιγγενεσίας ἀνακαινίζοντος ἡμῶν, ὡς ἀετοῦ, τὴν νεότητα, εὐκαταφρόνητον δεικνύουσιν οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς σκιᾶς καὶ τῶν τύπων τὴν ἀλήθειαν διαβάλλοντες; Ἦπου νηπίας φρενὸς παντελῶς τοῦτο, καὶ παιδός τινος ὡς ἀληθῶς γάλακτος δεομένου, ἀγνοεῖν τὸ μέγα τῆς σωτηρίας ἡμῶν μυστήριον, ὅτι κατὰ τὸν εἰσαγωγικὸν τῆς διδασκαλίας τρόπον, ἐν τῇ κατὰ τὴν εὐσέβειαν γυμνασίᾳ πρὸς τὴν τελείωσιν ἐναγόμενοι, τοῖς εὐληπτοτέροις πρῶτον καὶ συμμέτροις ἡμῖν κατὰ τὴν γνῶσιν ἐστοιχειώθημεν: τοῦ οἰκονομοῦντος τὰ ἡμέτερα, ὥσπερ ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐν σκότῳ τραφέντας, τῷ κατ' ὀλίγον ἐθισμῷ πρὸς τὸ μέγα φῶς τῆς ἀληθείας ἀνάγοντος. Φειδοῖ γὰρ τῆς ἀσθενείας ἡμῶν, ἐν τῷ βάθει τοῦ πλούτου τῆς σοφίας αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῖς ἀνεξιχνιάστοις κρίμασι τῆς συνέσεως τὴν προσηνῆ ταύτην καὶ εὐάρμοστον ἡμῖν ὑπέδειξεν ἀγωγήν, τὰς σκιὰς πρότερον ὁρᾷν τῶν σωμάτων καὶ ἐν ὕδατι βλέπειν τὸν ἥλιον προεθίζων, ὡς μὴ εὐθὺς τῇ θέᾳ τοῦ ἀκράτου φωτὸς προσβαλόντας ἀμαυρωθῆναι. Κατὰ γὰρ τὸν ἴσον λόγον ὅ τε νόμος, «σκιὰν ἔχων τῶν μελλόντων», καὶ ἡ διὰ τῶν προφητῶν προτύπωσις, αἴνιγμα οὖσα τῆς ἀληθείας, γυμναστήρια τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν τῆς καρδίας ἐπινενόηται: ὡς ἀπὸ τούτων ῥᾳδίας τῆς μεταβάσεως ἡμῖν πρὸς τὴν ἀποκεκρυμμένην ἐν μυστηρίῳ σοφίαν γενησομένης. Τὰ μὲν οὖν περὶ τύπων, ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον. Καὶ γὰρ οὐδὲ δυνατὸν ἐπὶ πλέον προσδιατρίψαι τῷ τόπῳ, ἢ οὕτω γ' ἂν τὸ ἐπεισόδιον πολλαπλάσιον εἴη τοῦ κεφαλαίου.