53

He judged it right to justify them, just as He also promised this to Abraham. God did not think of this at that time, as one of the exceedingly Gnostic might suppose, when Abraham showed his faith by sacrificing Isaac, but as knowing this before the foundation of the world and predestining the chosen portion through faith, and that through the faith according to purpose in the chosen portion, all those previously separated from this chosen portion would be saved. Later, as it were, He revealed to Abraham, who was found faithful, His will that had long been predestined in Himself. Hearing this, we reckon that, because Abraham believed God, for this reason we have received this blessing and the adoption through faith, when He said to him, "In you all the nations will be blessed." We wrongly suspect this promise was given to us as if in return for Abraham's faith, and not rather through the ineffable economy predestined before the ages, which was promised and revealed to us in Abraham through faith. But this is not so, it is not so. For this chosen portion, which came to be in the division of the sons of Adam, of the nations themselves, as the Lord's portion according to the oracle, He planted as a kind of second paradise, having in its midst the tree of life, that is, faith in God and the Spirit from God. And since this chosen portion was from the side of Adam, which was also formed into a woman, and the woman transgressed first, and God foreknew that this chosen portion also would again not keep faith in Him, when He foreknew this before the ages, then He was pleased that all the nations that had been cast out, (126) that is, those that were colonized and alienated from this chosen portion, should be recalled and brought in instead, and be added to and united with the chosen portion from the chosen portion.

But pay attention intelligently to what is being said, because the meaning in these things is hard to understand. When, therefore, the Jewish people, also called Israel (for this is the portion from the man's side), transgresses the commandment given to it by God (for 'Hear,' he says, 'O Israel, the Lord your God is one Lord'), when it transgresses this, it will worship demons and bow down to idols and eat from the libations of their sacrifices, then from it again, as it were from one body built up from it out of many members into one people, God, taking His own portion, will keep it intact for Himself. But the remaining body, that is, the part broken off from this portion and turning to idolatry, He will push away and cast out from this paradise, that is, from the vineyard of His portion. But from the faith according to election and His portion, which is from the side of Adam, God the Word, taking on as it were a small seed, becomes man, that is, to say it again, a second Adam, a son of the first, is born as if from his side without intercourse and emission, and then the whole body and the members of the first Adam will be blessed, that is, the cast out people of the nations, united by faith through His son, the God-man, to the chosen portion from the side of Adam.

This, then, is what the divine Paul also says was determined and foreknown before the ages by God who foreknew all things, that all the nations from the east and to the west should be called, and that as many as believe should be joined (127) to Christ the God, the Son of God and Son of Adam, who was incarnate from the side of their father. And thus both will become one, that is, of the same body and partakers and brothers and fellow heirs of Christ, that is Christ himself, and the nations that were colonized and scattered far away. But as many as disbelieve will remain outside with those from the chosen portion of the faith, I mean, the Jews themselves, who were cast out and pushed away because of unbelief. And this is clear to those who hear from the words of the Gospels; for the Lord says to his disciples: "All authority in heaven has been given to me

53

πρός αὐτόν ἔκρινε δικαιῶσαι, καθάπερ καί τῷ Ἀβραάμ τοῦτο ὑπέσχετο, οὐ τότε τοῦτο ἐνθυμηθείς ὁ Θεός, ὡς ἄν τις οἰηθείη τῶν λίαν γνωστικῶν, ὅτε καί τήν πίστιν ὁ Ἀβραάμ ἐπεδείξατο θύσας τόν Ἰσαάκ, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς πρό καταβολῆς κόσμου τοῦτο γινώσκων καί προορίσας διά πίστεως τό λῆμμα καί διά τῆς κατά πρόθεσιν ἐν τῷ λήμματι πίστεως πάντας τούς ἐκ τούτου τοῦ λήμματος πρότερον χωρισθέντας σωθήσεσθαι, ὕστερον οἱονεί τῷ πιστῷ εὑρεθέντι Ἀβραάμ τήν πάλαι προορισθεῖσαν αὐτοῦ βουλήν ἐν ἑαυτῷ ἐφανέρωσεν· ἥν ἀκούοντες ἡμεῖς, λογιζόμεθα ὅτι, ἐπειδή ἐπίστευσεν ὁ Ἀβραάμ τῷ Θεῷ, διά τοῦτο τήν εὐλογίαν ταύτην καί τήν διά πίστεως υἱοθεσίαν ἐλάβομεν, εἰπόντι πρός αὐτόν ὅτι "ἐν σοί ἐνευλογήσονται πάντα τά ἔθνη", οἱονεί ἀντίχαριν τῆς τοῦ Ἀβραάμ πίστεως δοθεῖσαν ἡμῖν τήν ἐπαγγελίαν ταύτην κακῶς ὑποπτεύοντες, καί οὐχί μᾶλλον διά τῆς προορισθείσης πρό τῶν αἰώνων ἀπορρήτου οἰκονομίας, τῆς ἐν τῷ Ἀβραάμ διά τῆς πίστεως ἐπαγγελθείσης καί φανερωθείσης ἡμῖν. Ἀλλ᾿ οὐκ ἔστι τοῦτο, οὐκ ἔστι. Τό γάρ λῆμμα τοῦτο ἐν τῷ διαμερισμῷ τῶν υἱῶν Ἀδάμ, αὐτῶν τῶν ἐθνῶν, γενόμενον εἰς μερίδα Κυρίου κατά τό λόγιον, ὡς ἄλλον τινά δεύτερον παράδεισον ἐφύτευσε, μέσον τό τῆς ζωῆς ξύλον ἔχοντα ἑαυτοῦ, ἤγουν τήν πίστιν τήν εἰς Θεόν καί τό Πνεῦμα τό ἐκ Θεοῦ. Ἐπεί δέ τό λῆμμα τοῦτο ἐκ τῆς πλευρᾶς ἦν τοῦ Ἀδάμ, ὅ καί εἰς γυναῖκα ἐκτίσθη, ἡ δέ γυνή παρέβη πρώτη, προεγίνωσκε δέ ὁ Θεός ὅτι καί τοῦτο πάλιν τό λῆμμα οὐ μή φυλάξῃ τήν πίστιν τήν εἰς αὐτόν, ὅτε τοῦτο προέγνω πρό τῶν αἰώνων, τότε καί τά ἔθνη πάντα τά ἐκβληθέντα, (126) ἤτοι τά ἀποικισθέντα καί ἀπαλλοτριωθέντα τούτου τοῦ λήμματος, ἀνακληθῆναι καί ἀντεισαχθῆναι καί τῷ ἐκ τοῦ λήμματος λήμματι προστεθῆναι καί ἑνωθῆναι εὐδόκησεν.

Ἀλλά τοῖς λεγομένοις πρόσεχε νουνεχῶς, ἐπειδή δυσνόητόν ἐστι τό ἐν τούτοις νόημα. Ὅταν οὖν ὁ ἰουδαϊκός λαός ὁ καί Ἰσραήλ κληθείς (οὗτος γάρ ἐστιν ἡ μερίς ἡ ἐκ τῆς πλευρᾶς τοῦ ἀνδρός) τήν δοθεῖσαν αὐτῷ παρά τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐντολήν παραβῇ (ἄκουε γάρ, φησίν, Ἰσραήλ, Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου Κύριος εἷς ἐστιν) , ὅτε ταύτην παραβῇ δαιμονίοις λατρεύσει καί εἰδώλοις προσκυνήσει καί ἐκ τῶν σπονδῶν τῶν θυσιῶν αὐτῶν φάγῃ, τότε ἐξ αὐτῆς πάλιν, οἱονεί ἐξ ἑνός σώματος τοῦ ἐκ ταύτης ἐκ πολλῶν μελῶν εἰς ἕνα λαόν οἰκοδομηθέντος, τήν ἑαυτοῦ μερίδα λαβών ὁ Θεός ἀκέραιον ἑαυτῷ ταύτην διατηρήσει· τό δέ λοιπόν σῶμα, ἤτοι τό ἐκ τῆς μερίδος ταύτης ἀποσπασθέν μέρος καί εἰς εἰδωλολατρείαν ἐκκλῖναν, ἐκ τοῦ παραδείσου τούτου, τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος δηλονότι τῆς μερίδος αὐτοῦ, ἀπώσεται καί ἐξώσει αὐτό· ἀπό δέ τῆς κατ᾿ ἐκλογήν πίστεως καί μερίδος αὐτοῦ, τῆς οὔσης ἀπό τῆς πλευρᾶς τοῦ Ἀδάμ, ὡς ὀλίγου τινός προσλαβόμενος σπέρματος, ὁ Θεός Λόγος γένηται ἄνθρωπος, ἤγουν, ἵνα πάλιν εἴπω, Ἀδάμ δεύτερος τοῦ πρώτου υἱός ὡς ἐκ τῆς πλευρᾶς αὐτοῦ δίχα συνουσίας καί ῥεύσεως γεννηθῇ καί τηνικαῦτα εὐλογηθῇ ὅλον τό σῶμα καί τά μέλη τοῦ πρώτου Ἀδάμ, αὐτός δηλαδή ὁ ἐξωσθείς λαός τῶν ἐθνῶν, διά τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ τοῦ θεανθρώπου ἀνδρός ἑνωθείς ἐκ πίστεως τῷ λήμματι τῷ ἐκ τῆς πλευρᾶς τοῦ Ἀδάμ.

Τοῦτο οὖν ἐστιν ὅ καί Παῦλος ὁ θεῖος πρό αἰώνων ὁρισθέν καί προγνωσθέν λέγει ἀπό τοῦ τά πάντα προειδότος Θεοῦ, ἵνα πάντα τά ἔθνη ἀπό ἀνατολῶν καί μέχρι δυσμῶν προσκληθῶσι καί ὅσοι μέν πιστεύσουσι κολληθῶσι (127) τῷ ἐκ τῆς πλευρᾶς τοῦ πατρός αὐτῶν σαρκωθέντι Χριστῷ τῷ Θεῷ, τῷ Υἱῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ καί υἱῷ τοῦ Ἀδάμ· καί οὕτως γενήσονται οἱ ἀμφότεροι ἕν, σύσσωμοι δηλονότι καί συμμέτοχοι καί ἀδελφοί καί συγκληρονόμοι Χριστοῦ, αὐτός ὁ Χριστός, καί τά μακράν ἀποικισθέντα καί διασπαρέντα ἔθνη· ὅσοι δέ ἀπιστήσουσι, μείνωσιν ἔξω μετά τῶν ἐκ τοῦ λήμματος τῆς πίστεως, αὐτῶν δή τῶν Ἰουδαίων φημί, τῶν διά ἀπιστίαν ἐκβληθέντων καί ἀπωσθέντων. Καί τοῦτο ἐκ τῶν εὐαγγελικῶν ῥημάτων δῆλόν ἐστι τοῖς ἀκούουσι· φησί γάρ ὁ Κύριος πρός τούς αὐτοῦ μαθητάς· "Ἐδόθη μοι πᾶσα ἐξουσία ἐν οὐρανῷ