Calling the Nations: God's New People:
86 - All that the prophets foretold about the Son of God, that he would appear on earth, that is, in a specific place and how and under what circumstances he would appear, all these things were fulfilled in the person of our Lord. Therefore our faith in him rests on unshakable foundations, since the tradition of preaching is true and true, which is the testimony of the apostles whom the Lord sent, and who preached throughout the world, that the Son of God came to earth and endured suffering in order to destroy death and give us life.(96)For having abolished the enmity that sin had created between us and God, he reconciled us to God and made us beloved to Him.(97).
“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of peace”:
This is what the prophets predicted: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of peace and bring glad tidings of good things.”(98)Then Isaiah prophesies about the apostles that they will come out of Judea and Jerusalem to proclaim to us the word of God, which is our law, saying: “For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”(99)And David says, they will preach throughout the whole world: “Their line has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.”(100).
The Lord's judgment is in all the earth:
87 - Isaiah also prophesies that people will not be under the yoke of the precepts of the law, but will live in the simplicity of faith and love: “He has decreed an end, and he will make an end, with justice. For the Lord God of hosts will make an end and judgment in all the earth.”(101)Therefore, the Apostle Paul says: “For he who loves another has fulfilled the law. Love is the fulfillment of the law.”(102)And also when the Lord was asked about the greatest commandment, he answered: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”(103)By our faith in Him, our love for God and our neighbor increased, and He made us pious, righteous, and good. For this reason, the Lord made “judgment throughout the earth.”
They are called by a new name.
88 - Isaiah indicates that after his ascension he will be glorified above all and there will be no one to compare with him: “Who has a case against me, let him come forward against me? Who is he who walks justified, let him draw near to the Son of God! Woe to you, for all will grow old like a garment; the moth will eat them.”(104)And also, “The haughtiness of man will be humbled, and the loftiness of men will be brought low, and the Lord alone will be exalted.”(105)Isaiah indicates that in the end, those who serve God will be saved in His name, saying, “And those who serve me will be called by a new name: and he who blesses himself on earth will be blessed by the God of truth.”(106)Finally, it is He Himself and in His person that this prophecy is fulfilled. He redeems us with His blood, as Isaiah says: “There is no intercessor, nor an angel, but the Lord Himself, for He saved them and loved them, and had compassion on them, and redeemed them with His own hand.”(107).
“Behold, I do a new thing”:
89 - And also Isaiah informs us that the Lord does not want believers to return to the Law of Moses, because the Law was fulfilled in Christ, but through faith and love toward the Son of God we are saved in newness of life with the help of the Word, saying: “Do not remember the former things, nor meditate on them of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it shall spring forth; will you not know it? I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert. The beasts of the field, the wolves and the ostriches, will glorify me. For I have made water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen ones. This people I formed for myself, they will declare my excellencies.”(108)Before the call of the nations, their life was like a barren desert, because Word He had not come to them, nor had the Holy Spirit given them drink. The word He who paved a new way for piety toward God and righteousness, also made the rivers (grace) flow abundantly and the Holy Spirit be poured out abundantly upon the earth, as He promised through the prophets that He would pour out the Holy Spirit in the last days upon the earth.(109).
Write my law on their hearts:
90 - Our calling, then, is in “the newness of the Holy Spirit, not in preserving the oldness of the letter.”(110)“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, when they broke my covenant, and I cast them off,” saith the LORD. “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the LORD: I will put my law within them, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall no longer teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for all shall know me, from the greatest of them to the least of them; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”(111).
"Man trusts his maker":
91 - Isaiah had already indicated that the nations would be called to inherit these promises and take a place in the new covenant, saying: “In that day man will trust his Maker, and his eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel. He will not look to the altars the work of his hands, nor look to what his fingers have made.”(112)These words were clearly spoken of those who abandoned idolatry and believed in God our Creator, the Holy One of Israel. And the Holy One of Israel is Christ, who appeared to mankind, and to whom our eyes look, for we trust neither in the sacrifices of idols nor in the works of our hands.
“I became apparent to those who did not ask about me”:
92 - The Word Himself preached through Isaiah that He would appear among us, that He Himself was the Son of God, that He would become the Son of Man, and that He would be found among us who did not yet know Him, saying: “I was made manifest to those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. I said, Here I am, to a nation that did not call upon My name.”(113).
"Give them a heart of flesh":
93 - And that this people will be a holy people is what Hosea, who is one of the twelve prophets, prophesied: “I will call those who were not my people, ‘My people,’ and those who were not beloved, ‘Beloved.’ And it shall come to pass that in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called sons of the living God.”(114)John the Baptist also said the same thing: “God is able to raise up children for Abraham from stones.”(115)For our hearts have been freed from idolatry and we have been raised by faith to the vision of God, and thus we have become the sons of Abraham, who was justified by faith. Therefore God says through the mouth of Ezekiel: “And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.”(116).
94- So, through the new call, the hearts of the nations were changed by Word Who became man and dwelt among us, as his disciple John says: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”(117)That is why the Church includes a large number of those who are saved, because the one who saves us is not an intercessor like Moses, nor an angel (messenger) like Elijah, but rather the Lord Himself.(118)And He is the One who gave the Church more children than the children of the (Jewish) synagogue, as Isaiah says: “Sing, O barren woman who did not bear; break forth into singing, O you who did not travail; for more are the children of the desolate than of the married woman, says the Lord.”(119)“The barren woman who did not bear” is the church that did not have children before, and for this reason the prophecy applies to her: “Shout and cry, you who are not in labor, for more children will be born to the desolate than to her who has a husband.”(120)As for the old council, it has a husband, which is the law.
“I will anger you with a stupid nation”
95 - And Moses says in the Book of Deuteronomy that the nations will become the “head,” and the unbelieving people will become the “tail.”(121)He adds: “They have made me jealous with what is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities; so I will provoke them to anger with what is not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.”(122)In fact, the Jews abandoned the existing God in order to worship foreign, non-existent gods. They killed the prophets and prophesied through Baal.(123), to whom the Canaanites offer idols, dishonoring the Son of God, who is, and denying Him, and preferring to Him Barabbas, who was a robber convicted of murder, they rejected the eternal kingdom, that they might proclaim a temporary king, Caesar. For this reason it pleased God to grant that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, who did not belong to God and did not know who God was. And since God gave life by this calling and granted us the faith of Abraham, we should not fall back to the old law, as long as we have accepted the Son of God, who is the Lord of the law. And by faith in Him He taught us to love God with all our hearts and our neighbor as ourselves. But love of God is far from all sin, and love of neighbor does no harm to his neighbor.(124).
“The law was our tutor”:
96 - Therefore we do not need the law as an educator.(125)We are children in evil, but strong in all righteousness and purity, and here we stand before the Father and talk with Him. The law cannot say, “Do not commit adultery” to one who does not even desire another’s wife.(126), or “Thou shalt not kill” for him who has removed from his heart all feeling of anger and enmity, and “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s field, or his ox, or his ass” for those who do not care for earthly things, but lay up treasures in heaven. Nor can He say “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” for him who has never had an enemy, but regards all as brothers, and therefore it is impossible for him to raise his hand to take revenge. The law will not demand tithes from him who has dedicated all his goods to God and has left father and mother, brothers and sisters, to follow WordThe law will not require that a certain day be kept for him, who for him every day is like the Sabbath and lives in the temple of God, which is the human body, busy with the worship of God and practicing righteousness. For God says: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”(127)As for the person who transgresses the law, “He who slaughters an ox for me is like one who slaughters a dog, and he who offers a grain offering is like one who offers the blood of a pig.”(128)But “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”(129).
Jesus Christ our salvation:
“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”(130) It is the name of Jesus, the Son of God to whom even demons, evil spirits, and hostile forces are subject.
97 - In the name of Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate.(131)The devil flees from men. Jesus Christ comes and drives the devil away from men wherever they are. And since they believe in Him, keep His will, and call upon His name, He is present with them and hears their supplications and requests addressed to Him with a pure heart. He who, in His infinite and ineffable wisdom, saved us and preached salvation to us from heaven, by His coming among us, that is, the grace of His incarnation. Men cannot obtain this grace by themselves, but what is impossible for men is possible for God. Therefore Jeremiah cries out: “Who has ascended to heaven and taken hold of it, and brought it down from the clouds? Who has crossed the sea and found it, and obtained it in pure gold? No one knows the way thereof, nor desires its path; but He who knows all things knows it and has found it with His understanding. He is the One who has prepared the earth for ever, and has filled it with four-footed beasts. He who sends forth the light, and they go forth calling, and they obey Him trembling. The stars shone in their watchtowers and rejoiced. He called to them, and they said: Here I am “And she shone forth rejoicingly for him that made her. This is our God, and no jealousy is imputed toward him. He has guided us into every way of knowledge, and has given it to Jacob his servant, and to Israel his beloved. Afterward she was seen on the earth and lived among men. She is the book of God’s commandments and the law that stands forever. All who hold fast to her will live, but those who forsake her will die.”(132)By Jacob and Israel he means the Son of God who received from the Father the authority to come down to earth to bring us life and to accompany people who are far from the Father. He united the Spirit of God with God’s creation so that man remains in the image and likeness of God (i.e. resembling God).(133).
Conclusion
98 - Dear friend, this is the preaching of the truth, this is the law of our salvation, and this is the way of life. This truth was foretold by the prophets, confirmed by Christ, transmitted to us by the apostles, and presented by the Church to her children.(134)We should keep it with great care, pleasing God with good works and a sound mind.
99 - It should not be understood that there is another god other than God our Creator, as the heretics think.(135)...who despise God, the Being, and make false gods out of idols, and cling to another “Father” who is higher than our Creator. All these are impious and blaspheme their Creator and Father, as we have also demonstrated in our book “Critique and Refutation of False Knowledge.”(136).And other heretics deny the coming of the Son of God and the plan of his incarnation, this faith which was handed down through the apostles and prophesied by the prophets for the salvation of mankind, as we have briefly explained here.(137)Others also did not accept the gifts of the Holy Spirit and denied the prophetic gift, through which man becomes a bearer of divine life as a fruit. These are the ones to whom Isaiah says: “For you will be like an oak whose leaf withers, and like a garden that has no water.”(138)These are of no benefit to God, for they bear no fruit.
100 - So, the error related to the distorted understanding of the basic articles of our baptism(139), leading many away from the truth, because they either despise the Father or do not accept the Son, rejecting the dispensation of His incarnation, or do not accept the Holy Spirit, that is, they despise prophecy. In any case, we must beware of these heretics and flee from their ideas and fellowship with them, if we are to truly please God and obtain salvation.
End of the manuscript
Commentary on the Apostolic Preaching of Irenaeus
Glory to the Holy Trinity, and to the one God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the defender of all, forever and ever. Amen.
Memorial in the Lord of the Saint and Triune Blessed
Archbishop John(140),
The owner of this manuscript
And the brother of Saint Basil
And also my contempt for the writer.
(96) Saint Cyril of Alexandria says: [The Son has truly become salvation and righteousness from God the Father for our sake, for He is the Truth, and He is the One by whom we were justified because He conquered death, which had possessed us since ancient times, and restored us to immortality, and reshaped us to the state in which our nature was from the beginning] Shining Comments (Glafira), the previous reference, the Monthly Book, April 2005, p. 20.
(97) Saint Irenaeus explains the concept of this reconciliation as establishing communion between God and man, when he said: [The Lord redeemed us with His blood and gave Himself for our souls, and His body for our bodies, and sent us the Spirit of the Father to establish unity and communion between God and man] AH5:1:1,10.
(98) Isaiah 52:7. See Romans 15:10.
(99) Isaiah 3:2.
(100) Psalm 4:19.
(101) Isaiah 22:10-23
(102) Romans 8:13,10.
(103) Matthew 22:37-40. St. Irenaeus emphasizes that the New Testament law came to complete and fulfill the Old Testament law, and that the God in whom we believe is the God of both Testaments: [Since the first and greatest commandment = = in both the Law and the Gospel, is to love God with all your heart, and the second is like it, to love your neighbor as yourself, it shows that the author of the Law and the Gospel is one. Since the principles of perfect life are the same in both Testaments, it points to one God, who undoubtedly commanded specific commandments appropriate to each Testament, while giving his own approval to the greater and more important commandments without which there can be no salvation for anyone in both Testaments] (AH4:12:3).
(104) Isaiah 50:8-9, 11:2.
(105) Isaiah 11:2c.
(106) Isaiah 65:15-16
(107) Isaiah 63:9 Q. St. Cyril explains to us how Christ redeemed us with His blood, that is, with the sacrifice of Himself, saying: [He exercises the priesthood, transcending the law, because He Himself is the sacrifice and the true lamb, and He is also the same High Priest who is blameless and blameless, who does not minister for His own sins because He is God above sin, but ministers in order to nullify the sins of the world. He Himself, then, became the priest who ministers by the sacrifice of Himself] Interpretation of the Epistle to the Hebrews 1:3, PG74: 969-972.
(108) Isaiah 43:18-20
(109) See Joel 2:28-29; Acts 2:17-18.
(110) Romans 6:7.
(111) Jeremiah 31:31-34, Hebrews 8:8-12. St. Justin emphasizes the new law, saying: [There is no salvation (through) Moses or the law like you, but as you read in the divine books, there will be a new and eternal law (law) which is the end or perfection of the old law (law), and it will be a covenant that surpasses the previous covenant, this covenant calls all people to hold fast to it, because it will make God Himself the inheritance. As for the law that was announced on Mount Horeb, it is old and concerns you only (the Jews), and you know that the law that succeeds an old law cancels the old law, and so it also applies to the covenant. As for the law and the eternal covenant, it is what Christ gave us, and it is a new covenant by acceptance and faith in it, and there is no law or commandments or statutes after it] His dialogue with Trypho the Jew 10.
(112) Isaiah 7:17-8.
(113) Isaiah 65:1, see Romans 10:20.
(114) Romans 9:25-26, see Hosea 2:1, 25.
(115) Matthew 19:3.
(116) Ezekiel 19:11-20.
(117) John 14:1.
(118) Saint Cyril expresses this concept by saying: [When He became man - according to what John says, the Word became flesh - then He was made an apostle for us and a high priest for our confession, to present to the Father our confession of faith] The Treasure in the Trinity: 21.
(119) Isaiah 1:54.
(120) Galatians 4:27.
(121) See Deuteronomy 44:28.
(122) Deuteronomy 21:32. See Romans 19:10.
(123) See Jeremiah 8:2.
(124) See Romans 10:13.
(125) Here, Saint Irenaeus explains the extent to which the law of the New Testament (grace) is superior to the law of the Torah. He never calls for the abolition of the Torah and its moral commandments, for they are the minimum – in his opinion – compared to the spiritual life in Christ.
(126) See Exodus 20:13, and Matthew 5:27, 28.
(127) Hosea 6:6. See Matt 13:9, 7:12.
(128) Isaiah 3:66.
(129) Acts 21:2.
(130) Acts 12:4.
(131) See Justin, Second Apology 6:6.
(132) This text also appears in (AH5:35,1) It is found in the Book of Baruch (29:3-104) and this text is a praise of wisdom.
(133) See paragraphs 22 and 55. The goal of incarnation according to Irenaeus is to gather all in Christ.”anakefalaiwsij“And bringing man to the first state before the fall. And everything that man lost in Adam, that is, “resemblance” to God, he can gain in Christ and through Christ. Thus, “according to the image” and “according to the example” are based, according to Irenaeus, on Christology (i.e., the teaching about Christ), and Irenaeus emphasizes that “according to the example” is achieved by the action of the Holy Spirit.
(134) See St. Athanasius the Apostolic: Letters on the Holy Spirit by Bishop Serapion, op. cit., First Letter: 28.
(135) The heretics Irenaeus meant were the Gnostics, among whom Marcion certainly belonged.
(136) The book is in Greek under the name Elegcoj kai anatrop” t?j yeudwn?mou gnèsewjKnown as the book “Against Heresies”.
(137) Here it is understood that Irenaeus wanted to talk in his book (Against Heresies) about theology, that is, the teaching about God. (qeolog…a) As for his current work, “Explanation of the Apostolic Preaching,” on Christology,cristolog…an “That is, teaching about Christ.
(138) Isaiah 30:1.
(139) It refers to the creed that the person about to be baptized professes when he faces the east.
(140) He means Archbishop John, the elder brother of Basil of Cilicia Hetum (1226-1270), who became bishop in 1259 and died in 1289.