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the divine oracles foretold promises, but to a few of them and a number that can be counted, that is, to those from among them who believed in our Savior and Lord, or to those who were justified before his coming, I think I have sufficiently shown that the divine promises were not indiscriminately fulfilled for all Jews, and that the words of the prophets do not apply to them more than to those from the Gentiles who accepted the Christ of God. But what was the meaning of the divine promises, I will demonstrate at the proper time. 2.3.176 These things have been necessarily collected by me for the refutation of those of the circumcision who, with irrational boasting, audaciously claim that Christ would come to them alone, and not to all men, and for the proof of our own reasonable diligence concerning their oracles. 2.3.177 And in the preceding work I have established the reason why we do not Judaize, and this while rejoicing in their own prophetic writings, and also what sort of life has been proclaimed through Christ to all the nations, and the antiquity of the manner of the evangelical polity, as far as was possible, I have gone through in it. 2.3.178 Since these things have been accomplished by us beforehand, it is now at last time to take up more secret matters, concerning the mystical dispensation of our Savior and Lord Jesus, the Christ of God, and that we may learn why he has made his epiphany to all men now and not before, and what was the reason why not long ago but recently and after a long age he began the calling of the Gentiles, and whatever other things are proper to the ineffable theology concerning him, and moreover the things concerning his incarnation; which things, first from another beginning of our discourse, as addressed to unbelievers, having for the present invoked him, the Word of God, as our helper, come, let us consider. 3.Pin.t These things are in the third book of the Evangelical Demonstration concerning our Savior. 3.Pin.1 I. How the prophets among the Hebrews preached the gospel. 3.Pin.2 II. How they proclaimed beforehand concerning the Christ. 3.Pin.3 III. How we shall argue against those who have supposed him to have been a deceiver. 3.Pin.4 IV. Concerning his more divine works. 3.Pin.5 V. That his disciples did not invent but bore witness in truth to the histories of the miracles performed by him. 3.Pin.6 VI. That he performed his miracles not by magic but by divine virtue and power. 3.Pin.7 VII. How the power of the divine virtue concerning him is perceived from its very operation by those who love the truth. 3.t.1 Book III. Since the preliminaries to the Evangelical Demonstration have been sufficiently exercised by me, and the manner of our Savior's evangelical teaching has been demonstrated, and the reason has been given why, having embraced the oracles of the Jews, we have rejected their way of life, and in addition to these it has been established that the prophetic writings among them, foreseeing the future, made mention of our calling through Christ, for which reason also we lay claim to them as our own and not as belonging to others; the time now calls us to enter upon the subject itself and to begin what has been promised. 3.Prooem.2 And what were these but the things concerning the economy of Jesus the Christ of God as man, and the teachings of the prophets among the Hebrews concerning the theology about him, and the predictions concerning his epiphany to men, which we shall very soon demonstrate from their clear results apply to him alone, having first necessarily considered this, how the prophets anticipated the mention of the gospel in connection with Christ. 3.1.1 Isaiah would be a witness of what has been shown in his very words, crying out in the person of Christ: "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, he has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind," which prophecy our Savior once, having read through in the synagogue before the multitude of the Jews, "having rolled up the scroll" said: "Today has been fulfilled this
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ἐπαγγελίας οἱ θεῖοι λόγοι προεθέσπιζον, σπανίοις δὲ αὐτῶν καὶ ἀριθμῷ ληπτοῖς, ἤτοι τοῖς εἰς τὸν σωτῆρα καὶ κύριον ἡμῶν ἐξ αὐτῶν πεπιστευκόσιν, ἢ τοῖς πρὸ τῆς παρουσίας αὐτοῦ δεδικαιωμένοις, αὐτάρκως ἡγοῦμαι δεδηλωκέναι, ὅτι μὴ ἀδιακρίτως εἰς ἅπαντας Ἰουδαίους τὰ τῶν θείων ἐπαγγελιῶν ἐπληροῦτο, καὶ ὅτι μὴ μᾶλλον αὐτοῖς ἢ τοῖς ἐξ ἐθνῶν τὸν Χριστὸν τοῦ θεοῦ παραδεξαμένοις τὰ τῶν προφητῶν ἐφαρμόττει λόγια. τίς δὲ ἦν ἡ τῶν θείων ἐπαγγελιῶν διάνοια, κατὰ καιρὸν τὸν προσήκοντα παραστήσω. 2.3.176 Ταῦτα δὲ ὡς ἀναγκαίως μοι συνείλεκται εἰς ἔλεγχον τῶν ἐκ περιτομῆς ὑπ' ἀλόγου μεγαλαυχίας μόνοις αὐτοῖς τὸν Χριστὸν ἐπιδημήσειν, οὐχὶ δὲ καὶ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις, ἀπαυθαδιζομένων, εἴς τε ἀπόδειξιν τῆς ἡμῶν αὐτῶν περὶ τὰ ἐκείνων λόγια εὐλόγου σπουδῆς. 2.3.177 συνέστη δέ μοι διὰ τοῦ πρὸ τούτου συγγράμματος καὶ τὸ αἴτιον τοῦ μὴ ἰουδαΐζειν ἡμᾶς, καὶ ταῦτα ταῖς αὐτῶν χαίροντας προφητικαῖς γραφαῖς, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁποῖος ὁ βίος τυγχάνει ὁ διὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσι κεκηρυγμένος ἥ τε ἀρχαιότης τοῦ τρόπου τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς πολιτείας, ὡς οἷόν τε ἦν, ἐν αὐτῷ διελήλυθα. 2.3.178 τούτων δ' ἡμῖν προηνυσμένων, ἤδη ποτὲ καιρὸς ἀπορρητοτέρων ἅψασθαι λόγων, τῶν περὶ τῆς κατὰ τὸν σωτῆρα καὶ κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν τὸν Χριστὸν τοῦ θεοῦ μυστικῆς οἰκονομίας, καὶ ὡς ἂν μάθοιμεν διὰ τί νῦν ἀλλ' οὐ πρὸ τούτου τὴν εἰς ἅπαντας ἀνθρώπους ἐπιφάνειαν αὐτοῦ πεποίητο, καὶ τί τὸ αἴτιον ἦν τοῦ μὴ πάλαι πρότερον ἔναγχος δὲ καὶ μετὰ τὸν μακρὸν αἰῶνα τῆς τῶν ἐθνῶν ἀπάρξασθαι αὐτὸν κλήσεως, τά τε ἄλλα ὅσα δήποτε τῆς κατ' αὐτὸν ἀπορρήτου θεολογίας οἰκεῖα τυγχάνει, ἔτι μὴν καὶ τὰ περὶ τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως αὐτοῦ· ἃ καὶ πρῶτα ἐξ ἑτέρας λόγου ἀρχῆς, ὡς πρὸς τοὺς ἀπίστους, τέως αὐτὸν βοηθὸν ἐπικαλεσάμενοι τὸν τοῦ θεοῦ λόγον, φέρε διασκεψώμεθα. 3.Pin.t Τάδε ἔνεστιν ἐν τῷ τρίτῳ συγγράμματι τῆς περὶ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν εὐαγγελικῆς ἀποδείξεως. 3.Pin.1 αʹ. Ὅπως οἱ παρ' Ἑβραίοις προφῆται τὸ εὐαγγέλιον ἐκήρυττον. 3.Pin.2 βʹ. Ὅπως περὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ προανεφώνουν. 3.Pin.3 γʹ. Πῶς πρὸς τοὺς πλάνον ὑπειληφότας γεγονέναι αὐτὸν ἀντενεχθησόμεθα. 3.Pin.4 δʹ. Περὶ τῶν θειοτέρων ἔργων αὐτοῦ. 3.Pin.5 εʹ. Ὅτι μὴ πλασάμενοι οἱ αὐτοῦ μαθηταὶ τῇ δὲ ἀληθείᾳ ἐμαρτύρουν τὰς ὑπ' αὐτοῦ πραχθείσας παραδοξοποιοὺς ἱστορίας. 3.Pin.6 ϛʹ. Ὅτι μὴ κατὰ γοητείαν ἐνθέῳ δὲ ἀρετῇ καὶ δυνάμει τὰ παράδοξα διεπράξατο. 3.Pin.7 ζʹ. Ὡς καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ἐνεργείας αὐτῆς συνορᾶται τοῖς φιλαληθέσιν ἡ τῆς περὶ αὐτὸν ἐνθέου ἀρετῆς δύναμις. 3.t.1 Λόγος γʹ. Τῶν προλεγομένων εἰς τὴν εὐαγγελικὴν ἀπόδειξιν αὐτάρκως μοι γεγυμνασμένων, ἀποδεδειγμένου τε τοῦ τρόπου τῆς τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν εὐαγγελικῆς διδασκαλίας, τῆς τε αἰτίας ἀποδοθείσης δι' ὧν τὰ Ἰουδαίων ἀσπασάμενοι λόγια τὸν κατ' αὐτοὺς βίον παρῃτησάμεθα, καὶ ἔτι πρὸς τούτοις συστάντος, ὡς αἱ προφητικαὶ παρ' αὐτοῖς γραφαί, προλαβοῦσαι τὸ μέλλον, τῆς ἡμετέρας διὰ Χριστοῦ γενομένης κλήσεως ἐμνημόνευσαν, δι' ὃ καὶ ὡς οἰκείων ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀλλοτρίων αὐτῶν μεταποιούμεθα· καλεῖ δὴ καιρὸς ἐπ' αὐτὴν ἐμβάντα τὴν ὑπόθεσιν ἄρξασθαι τῶν ἐπηγγελμένων. 3.Prooem.2 τίνα δὲ ἦν ταῦτα ἀλλ' ἢ τὰ περὶ τῆς κατὰ τὸν ἄνθρωπον οἰκονομίας Ἰησοῦ τοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ, αἵ τε τῶν παρ' Ἑβραίοις προφητῶν περὶ τῆς κατ' αὐτὸν θεολογίας διδασκαλίαι, καὶ αἱ περὶ τῆς εἰς ἀνθρώπους ἐπιφανείας αὐτοῦ προρρήσεις, ἃς αὐτῷ μόνῳ ἐφαρμόζειν ἐξ ἐναργῶν τῶν ἀποτελεσμάτων αὐτίκα μάλα παραστήσομεν, πρῶτον ἀναγκαίως ἐκεῖνο θεωρήσαντες, ὅπως οἱ προφῆται τὴν τοῦ εὐαγγελίου μνήμην ἐπὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ προελάμβανον. 3.1.1 Τοῦ δηλωθέντος μάρτυς ἂν εἴη ῥήμασιν αὐτοῖς Ἡσαΐας, ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ Χριστοῦ κεκραγώς· «πνεῦμα κυρίου ἐπ' ἐμέ, οὗ εἵνεκεν ἔχρισέν με εὐαγγελίσασθαι πτωχοῖς, ἀπέσταλκέν με κηρῦξαι αἰχμαλώτοις ἄφεσιν καὶ τυφλοῖς ἀνάβλεψιν», ἥντινα προφητείαν ὁ σωτὴρ ἡμῶν ἐν τῇ συναγωγῇ ποτε διελθὼν ἐπὶ τοῦ πλήθους τῶν Ἰουδαίων, «πτύξας τὸ βιβλίον» εἶπεν· «σήμερον πεπλήρωται ἡ