CREATION

Proof of the Apostolic Preaching

Op.: The newly-discovered work of St. Irenaeus of Lyons, "Proof of the Apostolic Preaching." Translated by N. Sagarda. St. Petersburg: M. Merkushev Printing House, 1907.

1. Since I have learned, my dear Marcian, your inclination to walk in worship of God – and this alone leads a man to eternal life – I share with you your joy, so I beseech you with unshakable firmness in faith to be pleasing to God, your Creator. Oh, that we could be constantly together, and mutually benefit and facilitate the life of this world, by spending it in unceasing common conversation on useful subjects! But since at present we are bodily separated from each other, I would like not to miss the opportunity to speak to you in writing, and to set forth in brief words the preaching of the truth, in order to strengthen your faith. I send you this (work) as an important written reminder, so that you may receive much in little, and in small things you may know all the members of the body of truth, and in brief you may hear the proofs of the divine. For in this way your salvation will also be fruitful, and you will cause the eyes of all false believers to be downcast, and to anyone who wants to know, you will resolutely expound our sound and irreproachable word (cf. Titus. II, 8). For there is one way, accessible to all who see, which is illuminated by heavenly light; but the paths of those who do not see are numerous and obscure and opposite, and the former leads to the heavenly kingdom, uniting man with God, while these bring down to death, separating man from God. Therefore, both you and all those who are concerned about your own salvation must unswervingly and firmly and confidently carry out your walk in faith, so that, having become careless and unsettled, you will not be left to wallow in material lusts, or even lose your way if you go astray.

2. Since man is a living being, consisting of soul and body, it is necessary and proper for him to observe both in a good state; and since sins arise from both of them, the purity of the body serves as a precautionary measure, by which people refrain from everything harmful and from all unrighteous deeds, and the purity of the soul is a means of keeping faith in God intact, without adding or cutting off anything from it. For godliness, through the defilement and defilement of the body, becomes gloomy and sorrowful; it is distorted and defiled and no longer remains intact if falsehood penetrates the soul; on the contrary, it is preserved in beauty and in its measure, if truth in the spirit and purity in the heart remain steadfast. For what is the use of knowing the truth in words, and defiling the body and doing evil deeds? Or, on the other hand, what good can purity of the body be at all, if there is no truth in the soul? For these (i.e., the truth and the soul) both rejoice together with each other, and are united, and are partners in the struggle to set man before God. And therefore the Holy Spirit said through David: "Blessed is the man who does not go into the counsel of the ungodly" (Ps. I, 1); this is the mood of those tribes that do not know God. For these godless are those who do not worship the really existing God. And therefore the Word said to Moses, "I am that I am" (Exod. III, 14). Consequently, those who do not worship the Eternal God are godless. "And he does not stand in the way of sinners," and sinners are those who have knowledge of God, but do not keep His commandments, i.e., they are despising scorns. "And he does not sit in the seat of the scornful," and the corrupters are those who, by their deceitful and perverse teaching, corrupt not only themselves, but also others, for the seat is a symbol for the pulpit (of the teacher). Such are all heretics: they sit in the seat of the corrupters and corrupt those who accept the poison of their teaching.

3. Therefore, in order not to endure this, we must keep the rule of faith and keep the commandments of God undamaged, believing in God and fearing Him, since He is Lord, and loving Him, since He is the Father. Work proceeds from faith, for "if you do not believe," says Isaiah, "you will not understand" (VII, 9); but faith is brought by truth, for faith is built on that which truly exists, so that we may believe in what is (ta onta) as it is; And since faith is the constant guardian of our salvation, it is necessary and worthy to apply much care to it in order to attain a true understanding of what is. It is faith that produces this in us, as the presbyters, the disciples of the apostles, handed down to us. First of all, it teaches us to remember that we have been baptized for the remission of sins in the name of God the Father, and in the name of Jesus Christ, the incarnate and dead and risen Son of God, and in the Holy Spirit of God; and that this baptism is the seal of eternal life, and has been regenerated into God, that we may not be children of dead men, but of the eternal and unchanging God; that the eternal and immutable might be made God, and that He might stand high above every one of the beings that had come into being, and all things should be subject to Him, and that those who were subject to Him might all become His own, that God might rule and be Lord, not over anything else (foreign), but over His own, (reminds) that all things are God's, and that therefore God is the Almighty, and all things are from God.

4. For it is necessary that we who have come into existence should have the beginning of our being from some great cause; and God is the beginning of all things, for He Himself did not come from anything, but from Him all things came. And therefore it is necessary and worthy first of all to confess that He is the one God, the Father, Who created and formed all things, and brought into being that which does not exist, and while He embraces all things, He alone does not comprehend. Between all (what has happened) there is also this world of ours and man in the world; therefore, this world was also created by God.

5. Therefore the matter is as follows: God, the Father, who did not come into being, invisible, the Creator of all things, over whom there is no other God, and after whom there is no other God; and since God is a rational being, therefore He created things by the Word; and since God is a Spirit, He adorned all things with the Spirit, as the prophet says: "By the word of the Lord the heavens are established, and by His Spirit all their power" (Psalm 32:6). Inasmuch as the word affirms, that is, it is the product of the body and gives the essence of emanation, and the spirit orders and forms the distinctions of powers, then in all justice the Word is called the Son, and the Spirit is called the Wisdom of God. Paul, His Apostle, also says appropriately (on this occasion): "There is one God the Father, Who is over all, and with all, and in all of us" (Eph. IV, 6). For the Father is above all, and the Word is with all, since through Him all things came from the Father, and in all of us is the Spirit, Who cries: "Abba Father" (Gal. IV, 6), and prepares man for the likeness of God. The Spirit shows the Word, and therefore the prophets proclaimed the Son of God; but the Word gives an image to the Spirit, and therefore He Himself is the inspirer of the prophets and leads man to the Father.