187

it is possible to see and not see, and to hear and not hear. How, tell me? I will tell you quickly: all who live according to the flesh, all who see the things here and with fleshly ears only listen to the divine words, these are all spiritually deaf, blind and dead indeed. For they have not been born of God at all, so that they might even live, but neither have they received the Spirit, nor have they lifted up their eyes, (332) they have not beheld the divine light: and since this was not perceived, they remained completely deaf. But such men, tell me, how should they be called Christians? Listen to the divine Paul, who makes these things clear to you, or rather, to Christ speaking: The first man from the earth was certainly created of dust, but the second man came down from heaven. Pay attention to what is being said: as, therefore, the first one is of dust, so also all those from him are born of dust; and as Christ the Lord is heavenly, so also are all who have believed in him heavenly, having been born from above, and likewise having been baptized in the all-holy Spirit; as is the one who begets, truly God, so also are those born of him of such a kind, indeed gods by adoption from God and all sons of the most high, as the divine mouth says. Have you heard the words of God, have you heard how he separates the faithful from the others, (333) how he has given a sign and a mark to his servants, so that they may not be led astray by the words of foreign teachers?

187

ἔστι βλέποντα μή βλέπειν μηδ᾿ ἀκούοντα ἀκούειν. Πῶς, εἰπέ μοι; Λέξω τάχος˙ ὅσοι ζῶσι κατά σάρκα, ὅσοι βλέπουσι τά τῇδε καί ὠσί σαρκίνοις μόνοις θείων λόγων ἀκροῶνται, οὗτοι κατά πνεῦμα πάντες κωφοί, τυφλοί καί νεκροί γε. Οὐδέ γάρ ἐκ Θεοῦ γεγέννηνται ὅλως, ἵνα καί ζῶσί γε, ἀλλ᾿ οὐδ᾿ ἔλαβον τό Πνεῦμα οὐδ᾿ ἀνέβλεψαν τάς κόρας, (332) οὐ κατεῖδον φῶς τό θεῖον˙ τούτου δέ μή γνεομένου ἔμειναν κωφοί εἰς ἅπαν. Οἱ τοιοῦτοι δέ, εἰπέ μοι, πῶς Χριστιανοί κληθῶσιν; Ἄκουε τοῦ θείου Παύλου ταῦτά σοι σαφῶς δηλοῦντος, μᾶλλον δέ Χριστοῦ λαλοῦντος˙ Ἄνθρωπος ἐκ γῆς ὁ πρῶτος χοϊκός ἐκτίσθη πάντως, ἄνθρωπος ὁ δεύτερος δέ ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν κατῆλθε. Πρόσεχε τοῖς λεγομένοις˙ οἷος οὖν ὁ πρῶτος πέλει χοϊκός καί οἱ ἐκ τούτου πάντες χοϊκοί γεννῶνται˙ οἷος δέ Χριστός ὑπάρχει ἐπουράνιος ∆εσπότης, ἐπουράνιοι καί πάντες οἱ αὐτῷ πεπιστευκότες, ἄνωθεν δέ γεννηθέντες, βαπτισθέντες δέ ὡσαύτως Πνεύματι τῷ Παναγίῳ˙ οἷον ἔστι τό γεννῆσαν Θεός ὄντως, ἐξ αὐτοῦ τε οἱ γεννώμενοι τοιοῦτοι ἐκ Θεοῦ θεοί θετοί γε καί υἱοί ὑψίστου πάντες, ὥς φησι τό θεῖον στόμα. Ἤκουσας Θεοῦ τούς λόγους, ἤκουσας πῶς ἐκ τῶν ἄλλων (333) τούς πιστούς ἀναχωρίζει, πῶς σημεῖον γνώρισμά τε δέδωκε τοῖς αὐτοῦ δούλοις, ἵνα μή πλανῶνται λόγοις ἀλλοτρίων διδασκάλων;