John Chrysostom, On "If anyone is in Christ, a new creation"

For such is the treasure of the Scriptures; not by the multitude of words, but by the power of the thoughts do they show you their richness. What then says the tentmaker, the mouth filled with holiness, the tongue terrible to death? what does that right hand write, the one adorned with a chain and clothed in bonds, and raising the dead? what does it write; what does the tongue say? what does the right hand write? But we, even if we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him no longer. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. Pay attention, we are descending into the depth. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation; old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new, and all things are of God. A treasure indeed is hidden, but let us dig up also the depths toward the depth; for it is not an abyss having darkness, but an abyss gushing with light. Even if the saying is obscure, yet I will try to make it easy for the layman and the poor man and the servant and the cook and the sailor and the woman and the free man and the slave. For the things of God are set before all in common, overshadowed by obscurity, but by interpretation they become easy to understand. And if there is any slowness, by the ease of the teaching; I will make the table clearer; only give me 64.29 a focused mind, and do not be at all fainthearted 64.29 for I have had experience of your obedience in thought. Therefore I have also often attempted difficult thoughts, not expecting them to be easy to grasp, but from the earnestness of your hearing I have seen the difficult things become easy. Let the mind be sober, and nothing is difficult, a focused intent, and all things are clear.

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things have passed away. Reading these things, the Greeks laugh and mock us; such things, he says, Paul says: If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. You are boasting, O Paul (I say their words), puffing us up with hopes; you have lifted up our mind, you fill our ears with a new concept; If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. Learn first not to be simply blinded; you are throwing yourself into a pit. For do you not know what you have heard? For the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit; for they are foolishness to him. For do you not know the treasure? the treasure has thorns and stones on top, but when it is dug up, pearls are found below. Do not give me the words simply, but the meanings; not the words to me; with certainty learn what "a new creation" is, learn what "in Christ" is; learn and descend into light; since even a child often sees a king passing by and laughs, and the king sees and does not care; for the blame is not the king's, but it is the defect of an imperfect age. Come, let me lead you into the inner sanctuary; do not simply gaze from the gateway; come, I will uncover for you every secret of the mysteries. And what, he says, do you have to tell me? Did he not say that there is a "new creation" among Christians? Absolutely.

Show me then, he says, a new creation; show me that a new heaven has come to be, that before Christ came it was one, and after these things it became another; that the sea is another, that seeds are other, that nature is other, that fruit is other, that rivers are other, that winds are other; for all these things are old, and you say that it is a new creation? Bear with me, do not be mad; the more you contradict, so much the more the excellence of the truth gushes forth. Am I not mad? he says, am I not contradicting? behold, I am quiet. Be quiet; I will ask you. Ask. He says, before Christ came, was the heaven another, and after he came did it become another? and before he came according to the flesh the heaven was the same, and after he came the same heaven and earth and sea and the air and the winds remained, What then, he says, does Paul boast in saying: If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new? I, he says, see nothing new. For you do not have eyes that you might see; come, I will make eyes for you and you will see. And you make eyes? Absolutely. And you are a creator? Absolutely. Have you lost your mind? No.

Τοιοῦτος γὰρ ὁ θησαυρὸς τῶν Γραφῶν· οὐ τῷ πλήθει τῶν ῥημάτων, ἀλλὰ τῇ δυνάμει τῶν νοημάτων τὴν εὐπορίαν ὑμῖν ἐνδείκνυνται. Τί οὖν φησιν ὁ σκηνοποιὸς, τὸ στόμα τῆς ἁγιωσύνης ἐμπεπλησμένον, ἡ γλῶττα ἡ τῷ θανάτῳ φοβερά; τί γράφει ἡ δεξιὰ ἐκείνη ἡ ἁλύσει καλλωπιζομένη καὶ δεσμὰ περιβεβλημένη, καὶ νεκροὺς ἐγείρουσα; τί γράφει· τί λέγει ἡ γλῶττα; τί γράφει ἡ δεξιά; Ἡμεῖς δὲ, εἰ καὶ ἐγνώκαμεν κατὰ σάρκα Χριστὸν, ἀλλὰ νῦν οὐκέτι γινώσκομεν. Ὥστε εἴ τις ἐν Χριστῷ, καινὴ κτίσις. Πρόσεχε, εἰς βάθος καταβαίνομεν. Ὥστε εἴ τις ἐν Χριστῷ, καινὴ κτίσις· τὰ ἀρχαῖα παρῆλθεν, ἰδοὺ γέγονε τὰ πάντα καινὰ, τὰ δὲ πάντα ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Θησαυρὸς μὲν οὖν κεκρυμμένος, ἀλλ' ἀνορύττωμεν καὶ τὰ βάθη πρὸς τὸ βάθος· οὐ γάρ ἐστι βυθὸς ζόφον ἔχων, ἀλλὰ βυθὸς φῶς βρύων. Εἰ καὶ ἀσαφὴς ὁ λόγος, ἀλλὰ πειράσομαι αὐτὸν εὔκολον ποιῆσαι καὶ ἰδιώτῃ καὶ πένητι καὶ οἰκέτῃ καὶ μαγείρῳ καὶ ναύτῃ καὶ γυναικὶ καὶ ἐλευθέρῳ καὶ δούλω. Τὰ γὰρ τοῦ Θεοῦ κοινῇ πρόκειται πᾶσιν ἀσαφείᾳ συσκιαζόμενα, ἀλλὰ τῇ ἑρμηνείᾳ εὐκατάληπτα γιγνόμενα. Εἰ δέ τίς ἐστι βραδύτης, τῇ εὐκολίᾳ τῆς διδασκαλία· σαφεστέραν ποιήσομαι τὴν τράπεζαν· μόνον μοι παρά 64.29 σχετε διάνοιαν συντεταμένην, καὶ μηδὲν μαλακίζεσθε 64.29 πεῖραν γὰρ ἔλαβον ὑμῶν τῆς ὑπακοῆς τῆς κατὰ τὴν διάνοιαν. ∆ιὸ καὶ πολλάκις δυσκόλοις ἐπεχείρησα νοήμασιν, οὐ προσδοκήσας αὐτὰ εὔληπτα ἔσεσθαι, ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς σπουδῆς τῆς κατὰ τὴν ἀκρόασιν ἰδὼν τὰ δύσκολα ῥᾴδια γενόμενα. Νήφουσα ἔστω ἡ διάνοια, καὶ οὐδὲν δύσκολον, συντεταμένη γνώμη, καὶ πάντα σαφῆ.

Ὥστε εἴ τις ἐν Χριστῷ, καινὴ κτίσις· τὰ ἀρχαῖα παρῆλθε. Ταῦτα ἀναγινώσκοντες Ἕλληνες γελῶσι καὶ κωμῳδοῦσιν ἡμᾶς· τοιαῦτα, φησὶ, Παῦλος λέγει· Εἴ τις ἐν Χριστῷ, καινὴ κτίσις. Κομπάζεις, ὦ Παῦλε (τὰ ἐκείνων λέγω), φύσας ἡμᾶς ταῖς ἐλπίσιν· ἐπῆρες ἡμῶν τὴν διάνοιαν, καινῆς ἐννοίας τὰς ἀκοὰς ἡμῶν πληροῖς· Εἴ τις ἐν Χριστῷ, καινὴ κτίσις. Μάθε πρῶτον μὴ ἁπλῶς τετυφλῶσθαι· εἰς βάραθρον ἐμβάλλεις σαυτόν. Μὴ γὰρ οἶδας τί ἤκουσας· Ψυχικὸς γὰρ ἄνθρωπος οὐ δέχεται τὰ τοῦ πνεύματος· μωρία γὰρ αὐτῷ ἐστι. Μὴ γὰρ οἶδας τὸν θησαυρόν; ὁ θησαυρὸς ἄνωθεν ἀκάνθας ἔχει καὶ λίθους, ἀλλ' ὅταν διασκαφῇ, κάτω μαργαρῖται εὑρίσκονται. Μή μοι τὰ ῥήματα ἁπλῶς, ἀλλὰ τὰ νοήματα· μή μοι τὰ ῥήματα· μετὰ ἀσφαλείας μάνθανε τί ἐστι Καινὴ κτίσις, μάνθανε τί Ἐν Χριστῷ· μάθε καὶ κατάβηθι εἰς φῶς· ἐπεὶ καὶ παιδίον πολλάκις ὁρᾷ βασιλέα παριόντα καὶ γελᾷ, καὶ ὁρᾷ βασιλεὺς καὶ οὐ μέλει αὐτῷ· οὐ γὰρ τοῦ βασιλέως ὁ ψόγος, ἀλλὰ τοῦ ἀτελοῦς τῆς ἡλικίας τὸ ἐλάττωμα. ∆εῦρο εἰσαγάγω σε εἰς τὰ ἄδυτα· μὴ ἁπλῶς ἀπὸ τῶν προπυλαίων θεώρει· δεῦρο ἀνακαλύψω σοι πᾶν τὸ ἀπόῤῥητον τῶν μυστηρίων. Καὶ τί μοι, φησὶν, ἔχεις εἰπεῖν; οὐκ εἶπεν ὅτι Καινὴ κτίσις ἐστὶ παρὰ Χριστιανοῖς; Πάνυ.

∆εῖξον οὖν μοι, φησὶ, καινὴν κτίσιν· δεῖξόν μοι ὅτι καινὸς οὐρανὸς ἐγένετο, ὅτι πρὸ μὲν τοῦ παραγενέσθαι τὸν Χριστὸν ἄλλος ἦν, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἄλλος ἐγένετο· ὅτι θάλαττα ἄλλη, ὅτι σπέρματα ἄλλα, ὅτι φύσις ἄλλη, ὅτι καρπὸς ἄλλος, ὅτι ποταμοὶ ἄλλοι, ὅτι ἄνεμοι ἄλλοι· ταῦτα γὰρ πάντα ἀρχαῖα, καὶ σὺ λέγεις ὅτι καινὴ κτίσις; Ἀνάσχου, μὴ μαίνου· ὅσῳ ἀντιλέγεις, τοσοῦτον μᾶλλον βρύει τῆς ἀληθείας ἡ ὑπερβολή. Μὴ μαίνομαι; φησὶ, μὴ ἀντιλέγω; ἴδε ἡσυχάζω. Ἡσύχασον· ἐρωτήσω σε. Ἐρώτησον. Λέγει, πρὶν ἢ παραγενέσθαι τὸν Χριστὸν, ἄλλος ἦν ὁ οὐρανὸς, μετὰ δὲ τὸ παραγενέσθαι ἄλλος ἐγένετο; καὶ πρὶν ἢ παραγενέσθαι αὐτὸν κατὰ σάρκα ὁ αὐτὸς οὐρανὸς ἦν, καὶ μετὰ τὸ παραγενέσθαι αὐτὸν ὁ αὐτὸς ἔμεινεν οὐρανὸς καὶ γῆ καὶ θάλασσα καὶ ὁ ἀὴρ καὶ οἱ ἄνεμοι, Τί οὖν, φησὶ, κομπάζει Παῦλος λέγων· Εἴ τις ἐν Χριστῷ, καινὴ κτίσις· τὰ ἀρχαῖα παρῆλθεν, ἰδοὺ γέγονε καινὰ τὰ πάντα; Ἐγὼ, φησὶ, καινὸν οὐδὲν βλέπω. Οὐ γὰρ ἔχεις ὀφθαλμοὺς ἵνα ἴδῃς· δεῦρο, ποιήσω σοι ὀφθαλμοὺς καὶ ὁρᾷς. Καὶ ὀφθαλμοὺς ποιεῖς; Πάνυ. Καὶ δημιουργὸς εἶ; Πάνυ. Σὺ ἀπονενόησαι; Οὐχί.