{"collection":"chr","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/chr/ecf/106/1060303.htm","path":"chr/ecf/106/1060303.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/chr/ecf/106/1060303.htm","text":"On the words of the Gospel, John viii. 31, \u201cIf ye abide in my word, then are ye truly my disciples,\u201d etc.\n1. Ye know well, Beloved, that we all have p. 510 One Master, and are fellow disciples under Him. Nor are we your masters, because we speak to you from this higher spot; but He is the Master of all, who dwelleth in us all. He just now spake to us all in the Gospel, and said to us, what I also am saying to you; but He saith it of us, as well of us as of you. \u201cIf ye shall continue in My word,\u201d not of course in my word who am now speaking to you; but in His who spake just now out of the Gospel. \u201cIf ye shall continue in My word,\u201d saith He, \u201cye are My disciples indeed.\u201d 3998 To be a disciple, it is not enough to come, but to continue. He doth not therefore say, \u201cIf ye shall hear My word;\u201d or, \u201cIf ye shall come to My word;\u201d or, \u201cIf ye shall praise My word;\u201d but observe what He said, \u201cIf ye shall continue in My word, ye are My disciples indeed, and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall free you.\u201d 3999 What shall we say, Brethren? To continue in the word of God, is it toilsome, or is it not? If it be toilsome, look at the great reward; if it be not toilsome, thou receivest the reward for nought. Continue we then in Him who continueth in us. We, if we continue not in Him, fall; but He if He continue not in us, hath not on that account lost an habitation. For He skilleth to continue in Himself, who never leaveth Himself. But for man, God forbid that he should continue in himself who hath lost himself. So then we continue in Him through indigence; He continueth in us through mercy.\n2. Now then seeing it hath been set forth what we ought to do, let us see what we are to receive. For He hath appointed a work, and promised a reward. What is the work? \u201cIf ye shall continue in Me.\u201d A short work; short in description, great in execution. \u201cIf ye shall build on the Rock.\u201d 4000 O how great a thing is this, Brethren, to build on the Rock, how great is it! \u201cThe floods came, the winds blew, the rain descended, and beat upon that house, and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock.\u201d 4001 What then is to continue in the word of God, but not to yield to any temptations? The reward, what is it? \u201cYe shall know the truth, and the truth shall free you.\u201d Bear with me, for ye perceive that my voice is feeble; 4002 assist me by your calm 4003 attention. Glorious reward! \u201cYe shall know the truth.\u201d Here one may haply say, \u201cAnd what doth it profit me to know the truth?\u201d \u201cAnd the truth shall free you.\u201d If the truth have no charms for you, let freedom have its charms. In the usage of the Latin tongue, the expression, \u201cto be free,\u201d is used in two senses; and chiefly we are accustomed to hear this word in this sense, that whosoever is free may be understood to escape some danger, to be rid of some embarrassment. But the proper signification of \u201cto be free,\u201d is \u201cto be made free;\u201d just as \u201cto be saved,\u201d is \u201cto be made safe;\u201d \u201cto be healed,\u201d is, \u201cto be made whole;\u201d so \u201cto be freed,\u201d is \u201cto be made free.\u201d Therefore I said, \u201cIf the truth have no charms for you, let freedom have its charms.\u201d This is expressed more evidently in the Greek language, nor can it be there understood in any other sense. And that ye may know that in no other sense can it be understood; when the Lord spake, the Jews answered, \u201cWe were never in bondage to any man; how sayest thou the Truth shall free you?\u201d 4004 That is, \u201cthe Truth shall make you free,\u201d how sayest thou to us, who were never in bondage to any man? \u201cHow,\u201d say they, \u201cdost Thou promise them freedom, who as Thou seest never bare the hard yoke of bondage?\u201d\n3. They heard what they ought; but they did not what they ought. What did they hear? Because I said, \u201cThe truth shall free you;\u201d ye turned your thoughts upon yourselves, that ye are not in bondage to man, and ye said, \u201cWe were never in bondage to any man. Every one,\u201d Jew and Greek, rich and poor, the man in authority and private station, the emperor and the beggar, \u201cEvery one that committeth sin is the servant of sin.\u201d 4005 \u201cEvery one,\u201d saith He, \u201cthat committeth sin is the servant of sin.\u201d If men but acknowledge their bondage, they will see from whence they may obtain freedom. Some free-born man has been taken captive by the barbarians, from a free man is made a slave; another hears, and pities him, considers how that he has money, becomes his ransomer, goes to the barbarians, gives money, ransoms the man. And he has indeed restored freedom, if he have taken away iniquity. But what man has ever taken away iniquity from another man? He who was in bondage with the barbarians, has been redeemed by his ransomer; and great difference there is between the ransomer and the ransomed; yet haply are they fellow-slaves under the lordship of iniquity. I ask him that was ransomed, \u201cHast thou sin?\u201d \u201cI have,\u201d he says. I ask the ransomer, \u201cHast thou sin?\u201d \u201cI have,\u201d he says. So then neither do thou boast thyself that thou hast been ransomed, nor thou uplift thyself that thou art his ransomer; but fly both of you to the True Deliverer. It is but a small part of it, that they who are under sin, are called servants; they are even called dead; what a man is afraid of captivity bringing upon him, iniquity has brought on him already. For what? because they seem to be alive, was He then mistaken who said, \u201cLet the dead bury their dead\u201d? 4006 So p. 511 then all under sin are dead, dead servants, dead in their service, servants in their death.\n4. Who then freeth from death and from bondage, save He, who is \u201cFree among the dead\u201d? 4007 Who is \u201cFree among the dead,\u201d save He who among sinners is without sin? \u201cLo, the prince of the world cometh,\u201d saith our Redeemer Himself, our Deliverer, \u201cLo, the prince of the world cometh, and shall find nothing in Me.\u201d 4008 He holds fast those whom he hath deceived, whom he hath seduced, whom he hath persuaded to sin and death; \u201cin Me shall he find nothing.\u201d Come, Lord, Redeemer come, come; let the captive acknowledge thee, him that leadeth captive flee thee; be Thou my Deliverer. Lost as I was, He hath found me in Whom the devil findeth nothing that cometh of the flesh. The prince of this world findeth in Him Flesh, he findeth it but what kind of Flesh? A mortal Flesh, which he can seize, which he can crucify, which he can kill. Thou art mistaken, O deceiver, the Redeemer is not deceived; thou art mistaken. Thou seest in the Lord a mortal Flesh, it is not flesh of sin, it is the likeness of flesh of sin. \u201cFor God sent His Son in the likeness of flesh of sin.\u201d True Flesh, mortal Flesh; but not flesh of sin. \u201cFor God sent His Son in the likeness of flesh of sin, that by sin He might condemn sin in the Flesh.\u201d 4009 \u201cFor God sent His Son in the likeness of flesh of sin;\u201d in Flesh, but not in flesh of sin; but \u201cin the likeness of flesh of sin.\u201d For what purpose? \u201cThat by sin,\u201d of which assuredly there was none in Him, \u201cHe might condemn sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.\u201d 4010\n5. If then it was \u201cthe likeness of flesh of sin,\u201d not flesh of sin, how, \u201cThat by sin He might condemn sin in the flesh\u201d? So a likeness is wont to receive the name of that thing of which it is a likeness. The word man is used for a real man; but if you show a man painted on the wall, and enquire what it is, it is answered, \u201cA man.\u201d So then Flesh having the likeness of flesh of sin, that it might be a sacrifice for sin, is called \u201csin.\u201d The same Apostle says in another place, \u201cHe made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin.\u201d 4011 \u201cHim who knew no sin:\u201d Who is He who knew no sin, but He That said, \u201cBehold the prince of the world cometh, and shall find nothing in me? 4012 Him who knew no sin, made He sin for us;\u201d even Christ Himself, who knew no sin, God made sin for us. What does this mean, Brethren? If it were said, \u201cHe made sin upon Him,\u201d or, \u201cHe made Him to have sin;\u201d it would seem intolerable; how do we tolerate what is said, \u201cHe made Him sin,\u201d that Christ Himself should be sin? They who are acquainted with the Scriptures of the Old Testament recognise what I am saying. For it is not an expression once used, but repeatedly, very constantly, sacrifices for sins are called \u201csins.\u201d A goat, for instance, was offered for sin, a ram, anything; the victim itself which was offered for sin was called \u201csin.\u201d A sacrifice for sin then was called \u201csin;\u201d so that in one place the Law says, \u201cThat the Priests are to lay their hands upon the sin.\u201d 4013 \u201cHim\u201d then, \u201cwho knew no sin, He made sin for us;\u201d that is, \u201cHe was made a sacrifice for sin.\u201d Sin was offered, and sin was cancelled. The Blood of the Redeemer was shed, and the debtor\u2019s bond was cancelled. This is the \u201cBlood, That was shed for many for the remission of sins.\u201d 4014\n6. What meaneth this then thy senseless exultation, O thou that didst hold me captive, for that my Deliverer had mortal Flesh? See, if He had sin; if thou hast found anything of thine in Him, hold Him fast. \u201cThe Word was made Flesh.\u201d 4015 The Word is the Creator, the Flesh His creature. What is there here of thine, O enemy? And the Word is God, and His Human 4016 Soul is His creature, and His Human Flesh His creature, and the Mortal Flesh of God is His creature. Seek for sin here. But what art thou seeking? The Truth saith, \u201cThe prince of this world shall come, and shall find nothing in Me.\u201d 4017 He did not therefore not find Flesh, but nothing of his own, that is, no sin. Thou didst deceive the innocent, thou madest them guilty. Thou didst slay the Innocent; thou destroyedst Him from whom thou hadst nothing due, render back what thou didst hold fast. Why then didst thou exult for a short hour, because thou didst find in Christ mortal Flesh? It was thy trap: whereupon thou didst rejoice, thereby hast thou been taken. Wherein thou didst exult that thou hadst found something, therein thou sorrowest now that thou hast lost what thou didst possess. Therefore, brethren, let us who believe in Christ, continue in His word. For if we shall continue in His word, we are His disciples indeed. For not those twelve only, but all we who continue in His word are His disciples indeed. And \u201cwe shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall free us;\u201d that is, Christ the Son of God who hath said, \u201cI am the Truth,\u201d 4018 shall make you free, that is, shall free you, not from barbarians, but from the devil; not from the captivity of the body, but from the iniquity of the soul. It is He Only who freeth in such wise. Let no one call himself free, lest he remain a slave. Our soul shall not remain in bondage, for that day by day our debts are forgiven.\nLev. iv. 29, Sept.\n511:4014 511:4015 511:4016 511:4017 511:4018","title":"Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Vol. VI: Sermons on Selec...","type":"page"}