III. HOMIL. lie is of the Truth. Consequently, all who lie are not yet | of Christ. He hath not said that some lie is of the Truth, and some lie not of the Truth. Mark the sentence. Do not fondle yourselves, do not flatter yourselves, do not deceive yourselves, do not cheat yourselves: No lie is of the Truth. Let us see then how antichrists lie, because there is more than one kind of lying. Who is a liar, but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? One is the meaning of the word Jesus, other the meaning of the word Christ: though it be one Jesus Christ our Saviour, yet Jesus is His proper name. Just as Moses was so called by his proper name, as Elias, as Abraham: so as His proper name our Lord hath the name 1 sacra- Jesus: but Christ is the name of His 'sacred character. As menti. when we say, Prophet, as when we say, Priest; so by the name Christ we are given to understand the Anointed, in whom should be the redemption of the whole people. The coming of this Christ was hoped for by the people of the Jews: and because He came in lowliness, He was not acknowledged; because the stone was small, they stumbled at it and were Dan. 2, broken. But the stone grew, and became a great mountain; and what saith the Scripture? Whosoever shall stumble at con- this stone shall be broken; and on whomsoever this stone quassashall come, it will grind him to powder. We must mark the difference of the words: it saith, he that stumbleth shall be broken; but he on whom it shall come, shall be ground to powder. At the first, because He came small, men stumbled at Him: because He shall come lofty to judgment, on whomsoever He shall come, He will grind him to powder. But not that man will He grind to powder at His future coming, whom He broke not when He came. He that stumbled not at the Lowly, shall not dread the Lofty. Briefly ye have heard it, brethren: he that stumbled not at the Lowly, shall shall not dread the Lofty. For to all bad men is Christ a stone of stumbling; whatever Christ saith is bitter to them. 35. 2 bitur. 7. For hear and see. Certainly all who go out from the Church, and are cut off from the unity of the Church, are antichrists: let no man doubt it: for the Apostle himself hath marked them, They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us. Therefore, whoso continue not with us, but go out from us, it is manifest that they are anti II. 22. v. 22. num sacra All heretics confess in words that Jesus is the Christ. 1131 christs. And how are they proved to be antichrists? By 1 JOHN lying. And who is a liar, but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? Let us ask the heretics: where do you find a heretic that denies that Jesus is the Christ? See now, my beloved, a great mystery'. Mark what the Lord God' magmay have inspired us withal, and what I would fain work into your minds. Behold, they went out from us, and mentum, §. 13. turned Donatists: we ask them whether Jesus be the Christ; note (c). they instantly confess that Jesus is the Christ. If then that person is an antichrist, who denies that Jesus is the Christ, neither can they call us antichrists, nor we them; therefore, neither they went out from us, nor we from them. If then we have not gone out one from another, we are in unity: if we be in unity, what means it that there are two altars in this city? what, that there are divided houses, divided marriages? that there is a common bed, and a divided Christ? He admonishes us, he would have us confess what is the truth-either they went out from us, or we from them. But let it not be imagined that we have gone out from them. For we have the testament of the Lord's inheritance, we recite it, and there we find, I will give Thee the nations Ps. 2, 8. for Thine inheritance, and for Thy possessions the ends of the earth. We hold fast Christ's inheritance; they hold it not, for they do not communicate with the whole earth, do not communicate with the 'universal body redeemed by the univerblood of the Lord. We have the Lord Himself rising from the dead, Who presented Himself to be felt by the hands of the doubting disciples: and while they yet doubted, He said to them, It behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from Luke24, the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name -Where? which way? to what persons?-through all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Our minds are set at rest concerning the unity of the inheritance! Whoso does not communicate with this inheritance, is gone out. sitate 46. 47. 8. But let us not be made sad: They went out from us, v. 19. but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us. If then they went out from us, they are antichrists; if they are antichrists, they are liars; if they are liars, they deny that Jesus is the Christ. 1132 But in their deeds they deny Him. HOMIL. Once more we come back to the difficulty of the question. III. Ask them one by one; they confess that Jesus is the Christ. The difficulty that hampers us comes of our taking what is said in the Epistle in too narrow a sense. At any rate ye see the question; this question puts both us and them to a stand, if it be not understood. Either we are antichrists, or they are antichrists; they call us antichrists, and say that we went out from them; we say the like of them. But now this Epistle has marked out the antichrists by this cognizance: Whosoever denies that Jesus is the Christ, that same is an antichrist. Now therefore let us enquire who denies; and let us mark not the tongue, but the deeds. For if all be asked, all with one mouth confess that Jesus is the Christ. Let the tongue keep still for a little while, ask the life. If we shall find this thing, if the Scripture itself shall tell us that denial is a thing done not only with the tongue, but also with the deeds, then assuredly we find many antichrists, who with the mouth profess Christ, and in their manners dissent from Christ. Where find we this in Scripture? Hear Paul the Tit. 1, Apostle; speaking of such, he saith, For they confess that they know God, but in their deeds deny Him. Consequently we find these also to be antichrists: whosoever in his deeds denies Christ, is an antichrist. I listen not to what he says, but I look what life he leads. Works speak, and do we require words? For where is the bad man that does not Mat. 12, wish to talk well? But what saith the Lord to such? Ye hypocrites, how can ye speak good things, while ye are evil? Your voices ye bring into Mine ears: I look into your thoughts. I see an evil will there, and ye make a show of false fruits. I know what I must gather, and whence; I do Id. 7, 16. not gather figs of thistles, I do not gather grapes of thorns; for every tree is known by its fruit. A more lying antichrist is he who with his mouth professes that Jesus is the Christ, and with his deeds denies Him. A liar in this, that he speaks one thing, does another. 16. 34. 9. Now therefore, brethren, if deeds are to be questioned, not only do we find many antichrists gone out; but many not yet manifest, who have not gone out at all. For as many as the Church hath within it that are perjured, male- defrauders, 'addicted to black arts, consulters of fortune ficos Bad men in the Church do this, and are antichrists. JI. 22. man 1133 tellers, adulterers, drunkards, usurers, 'boy-stealers, and all 1 JOHN the other vices that we are not able to enumerate, these things are contrary to the doctrine of Christ, are contrary to gones the word of God. Now the Word of God is Christ: whatever is contrary to the Word of God is in Antichrist. For Antichrist means, contrary to Christ.' And would ye know how openly these resist Christ? Sometimes it happens that they do some evil, and one begins to reprove them; because they dare not blaspheme Christ, they blaspheme His ministers by whom they are reproved: but if thou shew them that thou speakest Christ's words, not thine own, they endeavour themselves all they can to convict thee of speaking thine own words, not Christ's: if however it is manifest that thou speakest Christ's words, they go even against Christ, they begin to find fault with Christ: 'How,' say they, and why did He make us such as we are?' Do not persons say this every day, when they are convicted of their deeds? Perverted by a depraved will, they accuse their Maker. Their Maker cries to them from heaven, (for the Same made us, Who new-made us :) What made I thee? I made man, not avarice; I made man, not robbery; I made man, not adultery. Thou hast heard that My works praise Me. Out Song of of the mouth of the Three Children, it was the very hymn Holy that kept them from the fires. The works of the Lord Chilpraise the Lord, the heaven, the earth, the sea, praise Him; praise Him all things that are in the heaven, praise Him Angels, praise Him stars, praise Him lights; praise Him whatever swims, whatever flies, whatever walks, whatever creeps; all these praise the Lord. Hast thou heard there that avarice praises the Lord? Hast thou heard that drunkenness praises the Lord? That luxury praises, that frivolity praises Him? Whatever thou hearest not in that hymn give praise to the Lord, the Lord made not that thing. Correct what thou hast made, that what God made in thee may be saved. But if thou wilt not, and lovest and embracest thy sins, thou art contrary to Christ. Be thou within, be thou without, thou art an antichrist; be thou within, be thou without, thou art chaff. But why art thou not without? Because thou hast not fallen in with a wind to carry thee away. Ex ore trium puerorum ipse hymnus erat qui ab ignibus defendebat. thethree dren. II. v. 23. 1134 Endure all things, in hope of the reward: HOMIL. 10. These things are now manifest, my brethren. Let no man say, I do not worship Christ, but I worship God His Father. Every one that denieth the Son, hath neither the Son nor the Father; and he that confesseth the Son, hath both the Son and the Father. He speaks to you that are grain: and let those who were chaff, hear, and become grain. Let each one, looking well to his own conscience, if he be a lover of the world, be changed; let him become a lover of Christ, that he be not an antichrist. If one shall tell him that he is an antichrist, he is wroth, he thinks it a wrong done to him; perchance, if he is told by him that strives with him1 gante that he is an antichrist, he threatens an action at law. Christ 2inscriptionem saith to him, Be patient; if thou hast been falsely spoken 1 liti v.24.25. of, rejoice with Me, because I also am falsely spoken of by the antichrists: but if thou art truly spoken of, come to an understanding with thine own conscience; and if thou fear to be called this, fear more to be it. 11. Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. And this is the promise that He hath promised us. For haply thou mightest ask about the wages, and say, Behold, that which I have heard from the beginning I keep safe in me, I comply therewith; perils, labours, temptations, for the sake of this continuance, I bear up against them all: with what fruit? what wages? what will He hereafter give me, since in this world I see that I labour among temptations? I see not here that there is any rest: Wisd. very mortality weigheth down the soul, and the corruptible body presseth it down to lower things: but I bear all things, that that which I have heard from the beginning may remain Psa. 17, in me; and that I may say to my God, Because of the words 4. LXX. of Thy lips have I kept hard ways. Unto what wages then? & Vulg. 9, 15. Omnis qui negat Filium, nec Filium nec Patrem habet: et qui confitetur Filium, Filium et Patrem habet. S. Cyprian. Testimon. adv. Jud. ii. 27. Qui negat Filium, neque Patrem habet: qui confitetur Filium, et Filium et Patrem habet: and just so S. Hilar. de Trin. vi. 42. For the Greek, the clause ὁ ὁμολογῶν τὸν υἱὸν καὶ τὸν Taτépa Exer is abundantly authenticated by numerous Mss., Vers. Syr. and Aeth., S. Cyril. Al. in Joann, ix. §. 40: and the omission by some Mss. and Ecumen. Theophyl. is sufficiently explained by the similar ending of this and the former clause. The addition et Filium in the latter clause seems to be peculiar to the Latin, and nee Filium in the former to Augustine's copies. |