396

will commit fornication, the flesh commits it; but if it acquires self-control, the flesh is no longer flesh, but the flesh has been changed into spirit, as the Apostle also says that "He who from the beginning joined the two" said, "For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh; as he who is joined to a prostitute is one body, and he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit." Therefore, he who commits fornication has become flesh; not only the flesh itself, but also everything, both soul and the rest, becomes flesh. For having been joined to the prostitute, he became flesh, and being carnal is called entirely flesh. "But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit," that is, body and soul and everything, whatever is in man, is one spirit in the Lord. And legislating about this, the same Apostle says, "God placed all the members in the body, each as He willed." And see how he confesses God as the maker of the body and the placer of the members in us, and as He willed in His own wisdom and goodness. Then again, instead of the example of our body * of Christ, saying, "as we are also the body of Christ and members of a member," and "the church of God, which is the body of Christ." If, therefore, the church is the body of God, joined3.130 to the spirit, that is, to the Lord, it is one spirit, therefore, he who sins from it, having fallen from the spirit, has become entirely flesh, in soul and body and whatever is in him. For how could a part be handed over to Satan and a part not be handed over? For he did not say to hand over the flesh to Satan, but to hand over "such a one." But he who says "such a one," has handed over the entire man, with soul and all that is human. And if he has handed over the whole, he has declared the whole to be flesh; but he signified the spirit to be saved on the day of the Lord, so that the church might not come under blame for the error of the man who erred, and the whole church be defiled by the transgression of the one; wherefore he says, "Hand over the one who has erred, so that the spirit, that is, the whole church, may be saved." 87. But, he says, it is written, "flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of God," and he thinks he is saying something with this. And for in truth fornication cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven, nor adultery nor licentiousness nor idolatry, that is, flesh and blood. But if you think this is about flesh and blood, being the flesh itself, how is what is said still fulfilled: "And as many as received him, to them he gave power to become children of God, who were born not of bloods, nor of flesh, but of God"? Who in the world has been born without flesh? But since their minds were changed, for not the natures of those born from mothers and fathers of flesh and blood, and they were born the second birth, that of being born from the Lord through spirit and fire, he gave them power to become children of God. As therefore here they were born of flesh and of blood, * and the birth is no longer reckoned of flesh and blood because of the change of righteousness, and yet in flesh and blood * as he says, "for though walking in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh"; therefore there is 3.131 flesh not warring according to the flesh; and for this reason he says flesh and blood do not inherit the kingdom of heaven, not speaking about this flesh that has labored, that has been sanctified, that has pleased God, but about that which has been tested in sins; since how would what is said be fulfilled, "for this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality"? And the same apostle signifying this more clearly. So that some may not be led astray and, instead of for their wicked deeds, despair of the body's creation at the resurrection, he says, "Mortify the members that are on the earth, which are fornication, adultery, licentiousness," and so on * but hear also those who appeared to the Galileans and said that "this Jesus whom you have seen from you

396

ἐργάσεται πορνείαν, ἡ σὰρξ ἐργάζεται· ἐὰν δὲ κτήσηται ἐγκράτειαν, οὐκέτι ἡ σὰρξ σάρξ ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ ἡ σὰρξ μεταβέβληται εἰς πνεῦμα, ὡς καὶ ὁ ἀπόστολος λέγει ὅτι «ὁ ἀπ' ἀρχῆς συζεύξας τὰ ἀμφότερα» εἶπεν, «ἀντὶ τούτου καταλείψει ἄνθρωπος τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ, καὶ κολληθήσεται τῇ γυναικὶ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔσονται οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν· ὡς ὁ κολλώμενος τῇ πόρνῃ ἓν σῶμά ἐστι καὶ ὁ κολλώμενος τῷ κυρίῳ ἓν πνεῦμά ἐστιν». ἄρα οὖν ὁ τὴν πορνείαν ἐργαζόμενος σὰρξ γεγένηται· οὐ μόνον αὐτὴ ἡ σάρξ, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάντα, καὶ ψυχὴ καὶ τὰ ἄλλα, σὰρξ γίνεται. κολληθεὶς γὰρ τῇ πόρνῃ σὰρξ ἐγένετο, καὶ ὢν σαρκικὸς σὰρξ ὅλως καλεῖται. «ὁ δὲ κολλώμενος τῷ κυρίῳ ἓν πνεῦμά ἐστι», τουτέστι σῶμα καὶ ψυχὴ καὶ πάντα εἴ τι ἔστιν ἐν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ, ἓν πνεῦμα ἐν τῷ κυρίῳ. καὶ περὶ τούτου νομοθετῶν ὁ αὐτὸς ἀπόστολός φησιν «ὁ θεὸς ἔθετο ἐν σώματι πάντα τὰ μέλη, ἕκαστον καθὼς ἠθέλησε». καὶ ὅρα πῶς ὁμολογεῖ τὸν θεὸν ποιητὴν τοῦ σώματος καὶ θέτην τῶν ἐν ἡμῖν μελῶν, καὶ καθὼς ἠθέλησε τῇ ἰδίᾳ σοφίᾳ καὶ ἀγαθότητι. εἶτα πάλιν ἀντὶ τοῦ παραδείγματος τοῦ ἡμετέρου σώματος * τοῦ Χριστοῦ λέγων «ὡς καὶ ἡμεῖς σῶμα Χριστοῦ ἐσμεν καὶ μέλη ἐκ μέλους», καὶ «ἡ ἐκκλησία τοῦ θεοῦ, ἥτις ἐστὶ σῶμα Χριστοῦ». εἰ σῶμα τοίνυν θεοῦ ἡ ἐκκλησία, κεκολλη3.130 μένη δὲ τῷ πνεύματι τουτέστι τῷ κυρίῳ, ἓν πνεῦμά ἐστιν, ὁ ἀπ' αὐτῆς τοίνυν ἁμαρτάνων πνεύματος ἐκπεσὼν σὰρξ γεγένηται ὅλως, ψυχῇ καὶ σώματι καὶ εἴ τι ἔστιν ἐν αὐτῷ. ἐπεὶ πῶς ἐδύνατο μέρος παραδοθῆναι τῷ σατανᾷ καὶ μέρος μὴ παραδοθῆναι; οὐ γὰρ εἶπε παραδοθῆναι τὴν σάρκα τῷ σατανᾷ, ἀλλὰ παραδοῦναι «τὸν τοιοῦτον». ὁ δὲ λέγων «τὸν τοιοῦτον», ὁλοσχερῆ ἄνθρωπον σὺν ψυχῇ καὶ παντὶ τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ παραδέδωκεν. εἰ δὲ ὅλον παραδέδωκεν, ὅλον σάρκα ἀπεφήνατο· τὸ πνεῦμα δὲ ἐδήλου σῴζεσθαι εἰς τὴν ἡμέραν κυρίου, ἵνα μὴ ὑπὸ αἰτίαν γένηται ἡ ἐκκλησία τοῦ σφάλματος τοῦ σφαλέντος ἀνθρώπου καὶ μολυνθῇ ὅλη ἡ ἐκκλησία τῷ παραπτώματι τοῦ ἑνός· διὸ λέγει «παράδοτε τὸν σφαλέντα. ἵνα τὸ πνεῦμα, τουτέστιν ὅλη ἡ ἐκκλησία, σωθῇ.» 87. Ἀλλά, φησί, γέγραπται, «σὰρξ καὶ αἷμα βασιλείαν θεοῦ οὐ κληρονομήσουσι», καὶ νομίζει ἐν τούτῳ λέγειν τι. καὶ γὰρ τῷ ὄντι οὐ δύναται πορνεία κληρονομεῖν βασιλείαν οὐρανῶν, οὐδὲ μοιχεία οὐδὲ ἀσέλγεια οὐδὲ εἰδωλολατρεία, τουτέστι σὰρξ καὶ αἷμα. εἰ δὲ περὶ σαρκὸς καὶ αἵματος τοῦτο νομίζεις, εἶναι αὐτὴν τὴν σάρκα, πῶς ἔτι πληροῦται τὸ εἰρημένον «καὶ ὅσοι ἔλαβον αὐτόν, ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἐξουσίαν τέκνα θεοῦ γενέσθαι, οἳ οὐκ ἐξ αἱμάτων, οὐδὲ ἐκ σαρκὸς ἐγεννήθησαν, ἀλλ' ἐκ θεοῦ»; τίς ἐν κόσμῳ γεγέννηται ἄνευ σαρκός; ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ μετεβλήθησαν αἱ γνῶμαι, οὐ γὰρ αἱ φύσεις τῶν γεννωμένων ἀπὸ μητέρων καὶ πατέρων σαρκὸς καὶ αἵματος καὶ ἐγεννήθησαν τὴν δευτέραν γέννησιν τὴν τῆς ἀπὸ τοῦ κυρίου γεννήσεως διὰ πνεύματος καὶ πυρός, ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἐξουσίαν τέκνα θεοῦ γενέσθαι. ὡς οὖν ἐνταῦθα ἐκ σαρκὸς ἐγεννήθησαν καὶ ἐξ αἵματος, * καὶ οὐκέτι λογίζεται ἐκ σαρκὸς καὶ αἵματος ἡ γέννησις διὰ τὴν μεταβολὴν τῆς δικαιοσύνης, καίτοι γε ἐν σαρκὶ καὶ αἵματι * ὡς λέγει «ἐν σαρκὶ γὰρ περιπατοῦντες οὐ κατὰ σάρκα στρατευόμεθα»· ἄρα οὖν ἔνι 3.131 σὰρξ οὐ κατὰ σάρκα στρατευομένη· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο λέγει σάρκα καὶ αἷμα μὴ κληρονομεῖν βασιλείαν οὐρανῶν, οὐ περὶ τῆς σαρκὸς ταύτης λέγων τῆς καμούσης, τῆς ἁγιασθείσης, τῆς τῷ θεῷ εὐαρεστησάσης, ἀλλὰ περὶ τῆς ἐν ἁμαρτίαις ἐξετασθείσης· ἐπεὶ πῶς ἂν πληροῦται τὸ εἰρημένον «δεῖ γὰρ τὸ φθαρτὸν τοῦτο ἐνδύσασθαι ἀφθαρσίαν καὶ τὸ θνητὸν τοῦτο ἐνδύσασθαι ἀθανασίαν»; τηλαυγέστερον δὲ περὶ τούτου ὁ αὐτὸς ἀπόστολος σημαίνων. ἵνα μή τινες πλανηθῶσι καὶ ἀντὶ τῶν φαύλων ἔργων τὴν τοῦ σώματος πλάσιν ἀπελπίσωσιν ἐκ τῆς ἀναστάσεως, λέγει «νεκρώσατε τὰ μέλη τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ἅτινά ἐστι πορνεία μοιχεία ἀσέλγεια» καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς * ἀλλ' ἄκουε καὶ τοὺς ὀφθέντας τοῖς Γαλιλαίοις καὶ λέγοντας ὅτι «τοῦτον τὸν Ἰησοῦν ὃν ἑωράκατε ἀφ' ὑμῶν