Chapter VIII.—Apelles and His Followers, Displeased with Our Earthly Bodies, Attributed to Christ a Body of a Purer Sort. How Christ Was Heavenly Even in His Earthly Flesh.

These passages alone, in which Apelles and Marcion seem to place their chief reliance when interpreted according to the truth of the entire uncorrupted gospel, ought to have been sufficient for proving the human flesh of Christ by a defence of His birth. But since Apelles’ precious set118    Isti Apelleiaci. lay a very great stress on the shameful condition119    Ignominiam. of the flesh, which they will have to have been furnished with souls tampered with by the fiery author of evil,120    Ab igneo illo præside mali: see Tertullian’s de Anima. xxiii.; de Resur. Carn. v.; Adv. Omnes Hæres. vi. and so unworthy of Christ; and because they on that account suppose that a sidereal substance is suitable for Him, I am bound to refute them on their own ground. They mention a certain angel of great renown as having created this world of ours, and as having, after the creation, repented of his work. This indeed we have treated of in a passage by itself; for we have written a little work in opposition to them, on the question whether one who had the spirit, and will, and power of Christ for such operations, could have done anything which required repentance, since they describe the said angel by the figure of “the lost sheep.” The world, then, must be a wrong thing,121    Peccatum. according to the evidence of its Creator’s repentance; for all repentance is the admission of fault, nor has it indeed any existence except through fault. Now, if the world122    Mundus is here the universe or entire creation. is a fault, as is the body, such must be its parts—faulty too; so in like manner must be the heaven and its celestial (contents), and everything which is conceived and produced out of it. And “a corrupt tree must needs bring forth evil fruit.”123    Matt. vii. 17. The flesh of Christ, therefore, if composed of celestial elements, consists of faulty materials, sinful by reason of its sinful origin;124    Censu. so that it must be a part of that substance which they disdain to clothe Christ with, because of its sinfulness,—in other words, our own. Then, as there is no difference in the point of ignominy, let them either devise for Christ some substance of a purer stamp, since they are displeased with our own, or else let them recognise this too, than which even a heavenly substance could not have been better. We read in so many words:125    Plane. “The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven.”126    1 Cor. xv. 47. This passage, however, has nothing to do with any difference of substance; it only contrasts with the once127    Retro. “earthy” substance of the flesh of the first man, Adam, the “heavenly” substance of the spirit of the second man, Christ. And so entirely does the passage refer the celestial man to the spirit and not to the flesh, that those whom it compares to Him evidently become celestial—by the Spirit, of course—even in this “earthy flesh.” Now, since Christ is heavenly even in regard to the flesh, they could not be compared to Him, who are not heavenly in reference to their flesh.128    Secundum carnem. If, then, they who become heavenly, as Christ also was, carry about an “earthy” substance of flesh, the conclusion which is affirmed by this fact is, that Christ Himself also was heavenly, but in an “earthy” flesh, even as they are who are put on a level with Him.129    Ei adæquantur.

CAPUT VIII.

Solis istis capitulis, quibus maxime instructi sibi videntur Marcion et Apelles, secundum veritatem integri et incorrupti Evangelii interpretatis, satis esse debuerat ad probationem carnis humanae in Christo per defensionem nativitatis. Sed quoniam et isti Apelleciani carnis ignominiam praetendunt maxime, quam volunt ab igneo illo praeside mali sollicitatis animabus adstructam , et idcirco indignam Christo, et idcirco de sideribus illi substantiam competisse, debeo illos de sua paratura repercutere. Angelum quemdam inclytum nominant, 0769B qui mundum hunc instituerit, et instituto eo poenitentiam admiscuerit . Et hoc suo loco tractavimus: nam est nobis adversus illos libellus , an qui spiritum et voluntatem et virtutem Christi habuerit ad ea opera, dignum aliquid poenitentia fecerit, cum angelum etiam de figura erraticae ovis interpretentur. Teste igitur poenitentia institutoris sui, delictum erit mundus; siquidem omnis poenitentia confessio est delicti , quia locum non habet nisi in delicto. Si mundus delictum est quia corpus et membra, delictum erit proinde et coelum, et coelestia cum coelo. Si coelestia , et quicquid inde conceptum prolatumque est, mala arbor malos 0770A fructus edat necesse est (Matth. VIII). Caro igitur Christi de coelestibus structa, de peccati constitit clementis, peccatrix de peccatorio censu , et par jam erit ejus substantiae, id est nostrae, quam ut peccatricem Christo dedignantur inducere . Ita si nihil de ignominia interest, aut aliam purioris notae materiam excogitent Christo, quibus displicet nostra, aut eamdem agnoscant , qua etiam coelestis melior esse non potuit. Legimus plane (I Cor. XV): Primus homo de terrae limo; secundus homo de coelo. Non tamen ad materiae differentiam spectat, sed tantum terrenae retro substantiae carnis primi hominis, id est Adae, coelestem de spiritu substantiam opponit secundi hominis, id est Christi. Et adeo ad spiritum, non ad carnem, coelestem 0770B hominem refert: ut quos sic comparat, constet in hac carne terrena coelestes fieri, spiritu scilicet. Quod si secundum carnem quoque coelestis Christus, non compararentur illi non secundum carnem coelestes. Si ergo qui fiunt coelestes, qualis et Christus, terrenam carnis substantiam gestant; hinc quoque confirmatur, ipsum etiam Christum in carne terrena fuisse coelestem, sicut sunt qui ei adaequantur.