Chapter 13

§ 1.

And that the Lord did not abolish, but extend and fulfil, the natural precepts of the Law,¹ by which man is justified—which even before the giving of the Law were kept by such as were justified by Faith, and pleased God:—this is shewn from His Discourses.² For, It was said, saith He, to them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say unto you, that every one who shall have looked on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And again,³ It was said, Thou shalt not kill. But I say unto you, Every one who is angry with his brother without a cause, shall be in danger of the judgment.⁴ And, It is said, Thou shalt not forswear thyself.⁵ But I say unto you, not to swear at all.⁶ But let your speech be, Yea yea, nay nay; and whatever there is of the same kind. For all these places involve no contrariety or abolition of things past (which is the cry of Marcion’s school), but the fulness and expansion thereof:⁷ as He saith Himself, Except your righteousness abound more than that of the Scribes and pharisees,⁸ ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Now what was this more? First, to believe not in the Father only, but in His Son also, who was now revealed: for He it is Who brings man into communion and union with God.⁹ In the next place, not only to say, but also to do: for they used to say without doing; and to abstain, not only from evil works, but also from the desires of the same.

And these things He taught, not as contrary to the Law, but as fulfilling the Law, and rooting within us the means whereby the Law maketh righteous. But that would have been contrary to the Law, if whatever the Law had forbidden to be done, the same He had bidden His disciples to do. And this maxim of His in particular, to abstain not only from things forbidden by the Law, but also from the desires of the same, is not contrary, as we have said: nor is it for one who would abolish the Law, but rather who would fulfil, draw out, and widen it.

§ 2.

And that because the Law, as being appointed for slaves, trained up the soul by outward and bodily things,¹⁰ drawing her as by a chain to the obedience of its precepts, that man might learn to serve God: But the Word, delivering the soul, taught also how through it the body might be voluntarily cleansed. Whereupon it followed of course that the chains of slavery should be taken away, to which man had now become accustomed, and that without chains he should follow God; that on the other hand the enactments of liberty should be greatly drawn out, and our submission to our King enhanced; that no person turning backwards, might shew himself unworthy towards his deliverer. Further, that while the same Piety and Obedience towards the Father of the Family, belongs both to the slaves and the children, yet the children have more entire trust, because the working of Liberty is greater and more glorious, than the obedience which goes along with slavery.

§ 3.

And therefore the Lord in place of the saying,¹¹ Thou shalt not commit adultery, commanded not even to desire:¹² and in place of, Thou shalt not kill, not even to be angry:¹³ and in place of paying tithe, to distribute all our goods to the Poor; and to love not only our neighbours, but also our enemies; and not only to be good at giving and imparting, but also to meet with free gifts those who take away what is our own.¹⁴ Thus, To him, saith He, that taketh away thy coat spare him also thy cloke: and of him that taketh what is thine ask it not again:¹⁵ and as ye would that men should do to you,¹⁶ do ye unto them, that ye be not sad as persons unwilling to be imposed upon: but let us rejoice as though we had given willingly; rather bestowing a free favour on our neighbours, than serving them by compulsion. And if any man, saith He,¹⁷ compel thee to go a mile, go with him two more; that you may not follow as a slave, but go before as a free man: not considering their badness, but perfecting thine own goodness: conforming thyself to the Father Who maketh His sun to rise on evil and good,¹⁸ and raineth on just and unjust.

Now all these, as we said before, are sayings of one not abolishing the Law, but fulfilling it, and expanding it, and giving it wider scope in us: as though one should say that the working of Liberty is greater, and that we have deeply set in us a fuller submission and affection towards our deliverer. For He did not deliver us to the end we should depart from Him; since no one, if put beyond the reach of the Lord’s blessings, can obtain for himself the nourishment of salvation: but that we should love Him more, the more we obtain of His grace. And the more we love Him, the more glory shall we receive of Him; since we are always in the Father’s sight.

§ 4.

All the natural precepts,¹⁹ then, being common to us and them, in them they had their beginning and source, but in us they received their increase and completion. For to assent unto God and to follow His Word, and to love Him above all things, and one’s neighbour as oneself (and man is man’s neighbour), and to abstain from every evil work, and all such precepts as are common to both, demonstrate one and the same God. And this is our Lord, the Word of God; Who first indeed drew men as slaves to God, but afterwards liberated those who are subject unto Him: as He Himself saith to His disciples;²⁰ I will not now call you servants, for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth. But I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of the Father I have made known. You see that in the phrase, I will not now call you servants, He most clearly implied that it was Himself, Who first ordained to men by the Law how they should be in servitude to God, afterwards again gave them Liberty. And in that He saith, For the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth, He manifests by His advent the ignorance of the servile people. But in that He calls His disciples Friends of God, He evidently shews Himself to be the Word of God, whom Abraham also followed spontaneously and without any bonds, because of the nobleness of his faith,²¹ and so became the Friend of God.²² Not that the Word of God for any need took to Himself the friendship of Abraham, being as He is, perfect from the beginning:²³ For before Abraham was, saith He, I am: but in order that He, being good, might bestow on Abraham himself everlasting life, because the friendship of God is that which gives immortality to all who endeavour after it.