Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 22
22 Chapter V. 24–30 PL 35, 1574
Upon the discourses delivered yesterday and the day before, follows the Gospel lesson of to-day, which we must endeavor to expound in due course, not indeed proportionably to its importance, but according to our ability: both because you take in, not according to the bountifulness of the gushing fountain, but according to your moderate capacity; and we too speak into your ears, not so much as the fountain gives forth, but so much as we are able to take in we convey into your minds,—the matter itself working more fruitfully in your hearts than we in your ears. For a great matter is treated of, not by great masters, nay, rather by very small; but He who, being great, for our sakes became small, gives us hope and confidence. For if we were not encouraged by Him, and invited to understand Him; if He abandoned us as contemptible, since we were not able to partake His divinity if He did not partake our mortality and come to us to speak His gospel to us; if He had not willed to partake with us what in us is abject and most small,—then we might think that He who took on Himself our smallness, had not been willing to bestow on us His own greatness. This I have said lest any should blame us as over-bold in handling these matters, or despair of himself that he should be able to understand, by God’s gift, what the Son of God has deigned to speak to him. Therefore what He has deigned to speak to us, we ought to believe that He meant us to understand. But if we do not understand, He, being asked, gives understanding, who gave His Word unasked.
2. Lo, what these secrets of His words are, consider well. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whoso heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath eternal life.” Surely we are all striving after eternal life: and He saith, “Whoso heareth my word, and believeth Him that sent me, hath eternal life.” Then, would He have us hear His word, and yet would He not have us understand it? Since, if in hearing and believing is eternal life, much more in understanding. But the action of piety is faith, the fruit of faith understanding, that we may come to eternal life, when there will be no reading of Gospel to us; but after all pages of reading and the voice of reader and preacher have been removed out of the way, He, who has at this time dispensed to us the gospel, will Himself appear to all that are His, now present with Him with purged heart and in an immortal body never more to die, cleansing and enlightening them, now living and seeing how that “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.” Therefore let us consider at this time who we are, and ponder whom we hear. Christ is God, and He is speaking with men. He would have them to apprehend Him, let Him make them capable; He would have them see Him, let Him open their eyes. It is not, however, without cause that He speaks to us, but because that is true which He promises to us.
3. “Whoso heareth my words,” saith He, “and believeth Him that sent me, hath eternal life, and shall not come into judgment, but is passed from death unto life.” Where, when do we come from death to life, that we come not into judgment? In this life there is a passing from death to life; in this life, which is not yet life, there is a passing hence from death unto life. What is that passing? “Whoso heareth my words,” He said, “and believeth Him that sent me.” Observing these, thou believest and passest. And does a man pass while standing? Evidently; for in body he stands, in mind he passes. Where was he, whence he should pass, and whither does he pass? He passes from death to life. Look at a man standing, in whom all that is here said may happen. He stands, he hears, perhaps he did not believe, by hearing he believes: a little before he did not believe, just now he believes; he has made a passage, as it were, from the region of unbelief to the region of faith, by motion of the heart, not of the body, by a motion into the better; because they who again abandon faith move into the worse. Behold, in this life, which, just as I have said, is not yet life, there is a passing from death to life, so that there may not be a coming into judgment. But why did I say that it is not yet life? If this were life, the Lord would not have said to a certain man, “If thou wilt come into life, keep the commandments.” For He saith not to him, If thou wilt come into eternal life; He did not add eternal, but said only life. Therefore this life is not to be named life, because it is not a true life. What is true life, but that which is eternal life? Hear the apostle speaking to Timothy, when he says, “Charge them that are rich in this world, not to be high-minded, nor to trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us all things richly to enjoy; let them do good, be rich in good works, ready to distribute, to communicate.” Why does he say this? Hear what follows: “Let them lay up in store for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold of the true life.” If they ought to lay up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, in order to lay hold of the true life, surely this in which they were is a false life. For why shouldest thou desire to lay hold of the true, if thou hast the true already? Is the true to be laid hold of? There must then be a departing from the false. And by what way must be the departing? Whither? Hear, believe; and thou makest the passage from death into life, and comest not into judgment.
4. What is this, “and thou comest not into judgment”? And who will be better than the Apostle Paul, who saith, “We must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, that every one may there receive what he has done in the body, whether it be good or evil”? Paul saith, “We must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ;” and darest thou promise to thyself that thou shalt not come into judgment? Be it far from me, sayest thou, that I should dare promise this to myself. But I believe Him that doth promise. The Saviour speaks, the Truth promises, Himself said to me, “Whoso heareth my words, and believeth Him that sent me, hath eternal life, and makes a passage from death unto life, and shall not come into judgment.” I then have heard the words of my Lord, and I have believed; so now, when I was an unbeliever, I became a believer; even as He warned me, I passed from death to life, I come not into judgment; not by my presumption, but by His promise. Does Paul, however, speak contrary to Christ, the servant against his Lord, the disciple against his Master, the man against God; so that, when the Lord saith, “Whoso heareth and believeth, passeth from death to life,” the apostle should say, “We must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ”? Otherwise, if he comes not into judgment who appears before the judgment-seat, I know not how to understand it.
5. The Lord our God then reveals it, and by His Scriptures puts us in mind how it may be understood when judgment is spoken of. I exhort you, therefore, to give attention. Sometimes judgment means punishment, sometimes it means discrimination. According to that mode of speech in which judgment means discrimination, “we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ that” a man “may there receive what things he has done in the body, whether it be good or ill.” For this same is a discrimination, to distribute good things to the good, evil things to the evil. For if judgment were always to be taken in a bad sense, the psalm would not say, “Judge me, O God.” Perhaps some one is surprised when he hears one say, “Judge me, O God.” For man is wont to say, “Forgive me, O God;” “Spare me, O God.” Who is it that says, “Judge me, O God”? Sometimes in the psalm this very verse even is placed in the pause, to be given out by the reader and responded by the people. Does it not perhaps strike some man’s heart so much that he is afraid to sing and to say to God, “Judge me, O God”? And yet the people sing it with confidence, and do not imagine that they wish an evil thing in that which they have learned from the divine word; even if they do not well understand it, they believe that what they sing is something good. And yet even the psalm itself has not left a man without an insight into the meaning of it. For, going on, it shows in the words that follow what kind of judgment it spoke of; that it is not one of condemnation, but of discrimination. For saith it, “Judge me, O God.” What means “Judge me, O God, and discern my cause from an unholy nation”? According to this judgment of discerning, then, “we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ.” But again, according to the judgment of condemnation, “Whoso heareth my words,” saith He, “and believeth Him that sent me, hath eternal life, and shall not come into judgment, but makes a passage from death to life.” What is “shall not come into judgment?” Shall not come into condemnation. Let us prove from the Scriptures that judgment is put where punishment is understood; although also in this very passage, a little further on, you will hear the same term judgment put for nothing else than for condemnation and punishment. Yet the apostle says in a certain place, writing to those who abused the body, what the faithful among you know; and because they abused it, they were chastised by the scourge of the Lord. For he says to them, “Many among you are weak and sickly, and deeply sleep.” For many therefore even died. And he went on: “For if we judged ourselves, we should not be judged by the Lord;” that is, if we reproved ourselves, we should not be reproved by the Lord. “But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.” There are therefore those who are judged here according to punishment, that they may be spared there; there are those who are spared here, that they may be the more abundantly tormented there; and there are those to whom the very punishments are meted out without the scourge of punishment, if they be not corrected by the scourge of God; that, since here they have despised the Father that scourgeth, they may there feel the Judge that punisheth. Therefore there is a judgment into which God, that is, the Son of God, will in the end send the devil and his angels, and all the unbelieving and ungodly with him. To this judgment, he who, now believing, passes from death unto life, shall not come.
6. For, lest thou shouldest think that by believing thou art not to die according to the flesh, or lest, understanding it carnally, thou shouldest say to thyself, “My Lord has said to me, Whoso heareth my words, and believeth Him that sent me, is passed from death to life: I then have believed, I am not to die;” be assured that thou shalt pay that penalty, death, which thou owest by the punishment of Adam. For he, in whom we all then were, received this sentence, “Thou shalt surely die;” nor can the divine sentence be made void. But after thou hast paid the death of the old man, thou shalt be received into the eternal life of the new man, and shalt pass from death to life. Mean while, make the transition of life now. What is thy life? Faith: “The just doth live by faith.” The unbelievers, what of them? They are dead. Among such dead was he, in the body, of whom the Lord says, “Let the dead bury their dead.” So, then, even in this life there are dead, and there are living; all live in a sense. Who are dead? They who have not believed. Who are living? They who have believed. What is said to the dead by the apostle? “Arise, thou that sleepest.” But, quoth an objector, he said sleep, not death. Hear what follows: “Arise, thou that sleepest, and come forth from the dead.” And as if the sleeper said, Whither shall I go? “And Christ shall give thee light.” Christ having enlightened thee, now believing, immediately thou makest a passage from death to life: abide in that to which thou hast passed, and thou shalt not come into judgment.
7. Himself explains that already, and goes on, “Verily, verily, I say unto you.” In case, because He said “is passed from death to life,” we should understand this of the future resurrection, and willing to show that he who believes is passed, and that to pass from death to life is to pass from unbelief to faith, from injustice to justice, from pride to humility, from hatred to charity, He saith now, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour cometh, and now is.” What more evident? “And now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live.” We have already spoken of these dead. What think we, my brethren? Are there no dead in this crowd that hear me? They who believe and act according to the true faith do live, and are not dead. But they who either do not believe, or believe as the devils believe, trembling, and living wickedly, confessing the Son of God, and without charity, must rather be esteemed dead. This hour, however, is still passing. For the hour of which the Lord spoke will not be an hour of the twelve hours of a day. From the time when He spoke even to the present, and even to the end of the world, the same one hour is passing; of which hour John saith in his epistle, “Little children, it is the last hour.” Therefore, is now. Whoso is alive, let him live; whoso was dead, let him live; let him hear the voice of the Son of God, who lay dead; let him arise and live. The Lord cried out at the sepulchre of Lazarus, and he that was four days dead arose. He who stank in the grave came forth into the air. He was buried, a stone was laid over him: the voice of the Saviour burst asunder the hardness of the stone; and thy heart is so hard, that Divine Voice does not yet break it! Rise in thy heart; go forth from thy tomb. For thou wast lying dead in thy heart as in a tomb, and pressed down by the weight of evil habit as by a stone. Rise, and go forth. What is Rise, and go forth? Believe and confess. For he that has believed has risen; he that confesses is gone forth. Why said we that he who confesses is gone forth? Because he was hid before confessing; but when he does confess, he goes forth from darkness to light. And after he has confessed, what is said to the servants? What was said beside the corpse of Lazarus? “Loose him, and let him go.” How? As it was said to His servants the apostles, “What things ye shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven.”
8. “The hour cometh, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live.” From what source shall they live? From life. From what life? From Christ. How do we prove that the source is Christ the life? “I am,” saith He, “the way, the truth, and the life.” Dost thou wish to walk? “I am the way.” Dost thou wish not to be deceived? “I am the truth.” Wouldest thou not die? “I am the life.” This saith thy Saviour to thee: There is not whither thou mayest go but to me; there is not whereby thou mayest go but by me. Therefore this hour is going on now, this act is clearly taking place, and does not at all cease. Men who were dead, rise; they pass over to life; at the voice of the Son of God they live; from Him they live, while persevering in the faith of Him. For the Son hath life, whence He has it that they that believe shall live.
9. And how hath He? Even as the Father hath. Hear Himself saying, “For as the Father hath life in Himself, so also hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself.” Brethren, I shall speak as I shall be able. For these are those words that perplex the puny understanding. Why has He added, “in Himself”? It would suffice to say, “For as the Father hath life, so also hath He given to the Son to have life.” He added, “in Himself:” for the Father “hath life in Himself,” and the Son hath life in Himself. He meant us to understand something in that which He saith, “in Himself.” And here a secret matter is shut up in this word; let there be knocking, that there may be an opening. O Lord, what is this that Thou hast said? Wherefore hast Thou added, “in Himself”? For did not Paul the apostle, whom Thou madest to live, have life? He had, said He. As for men that were dead to be made alive, and at Thy word to pass unto life by believing; when they shall have passed, will they not have life in Thee? They shall have life; for I said also a little before, “Whoso heareth my words, and believeth Him that sent me, hath eternal life.” Therefore those that believe in Thee have life; and Thou hast not said, “in themselves.” But when Thou speakest of the Father, “even as the Father hath life in Himself;” again, when Thou speakest of Thyself, Thou saidst, “So also hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself.” Even as He hath, so gave He to have. Where hath He? “In Himself.” Where gave He to have? “In Himself.” Where hath Paul life? Not in himself, but in Christ. Where hast thou, believer? Not in thyself, but in Christ. Let us see whether the apostle says this: “Now I live; but not I, but Christ liveth in me.” Our life, as ours, that is, of our own personal will, will be only evil, sinful, unrighteous; but the life in us that is good is from God, not from ourselves; it is given to us by God, not by ourselves. But Christ hath life in Himself, as the Father hath, because He is the Word of God. With Him, it is not the case that He liveth now ill, now well; but as for man, he liveth now ill, now well. He who was living ill, was in his own life; he who is living well, is passed to the life of Christ. Thou art made a partaker of life; thou wast not that which thou hast received, but wast one who received: but it is not so with the Son of God as if at first He was without life, and then received life. For if thus He received life, He would not have it in Himself. For, indeed, what is in Himself? That He should Himself be the very life.
10. I may perhaps declare that matter more plainly still. One lights a candle: that candle, for example, so far as regards the little flame which shines there—that fire has light in itself; but thine eyes, which lay idle and saw nothing, in the absence of the candle, now have light also, but not in themselves. Further, if they turn away from the candle, they are made dark; if they turn to it, they are illumined. But certainly that fire shines so long as it exists: if thou wouldst take the light from it, thou dost also at the same time extinguish it; for without the light it cannot remain. But Christ is light inextinguishable and co-eternal with the Father, always bright, always shining, always burning: for if He were not burning, would it be said in the psalm, “Nor is there any that can hide himself from his heat?” But thou wast cold in thy sin; thou turnest that thou mayest become warm; if thou wilt turn away, thou wilt become cold. In thy sin thou wast dark; thou turnest in order to be enlightened; if thou turnest away, thou wilt become dark. Therefore, because in thyself thou wast darkness, when thou shalt be enlightened, thou wilt be light, though in the light. For saith the apostle, “Ye were once darkness, but now light in the Lord.” When he had said, “but now light,” he added, “in the Lord.” Therefore in thyself darkness, “light in the Lord.” In what way “light”? Because by participation of that light thou art light. But if thou wilt depart from the light by which thou art enlightened, thou returnest to thy darkness. Not so Christ, not so the Word of God. But how not? “As the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given also to the Son to have life in Himself;” so that He lives, not by participation, but unchangeably, and is altogether Himself life. “So hath He given also to the Son to have life.” Even as He hath, so has He given. What is the difference? For the one gave, the other received. Was He already in being when He received? Are we to understand that Christ was at any time in being without light, when Himself is the wisdom of the Father, of which it is said, “It is the brightness of the eternal light?” Therefore what is said, “gave to the Son,” is such as if it were said, “begat the Son;” for by begetting He gave. As He gave Him to be, so He gave Him to be life, so also gave Him to be life in Himself. What is that, to be life in Himself? Not to need life from elsewhere, but to be Himself the plenitude of life, out of which others believing should have life while they lived. “Hath given Him,” then, “to have life in Himself.” Hath given as to whom? As to His own Word, as to Him who “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.”
11. Afterwards, because He was made man, what gave He to Him? “And hath given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of man.” In that He is the Son of God, “As the Father hath life in Himself, so also hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself;” in that He is the Son of man, “He hath given Him authority of executing judgment.” This is what I ex plained to you yesterday, my beloved, that in the judgment man will be seen, but God will not be seen; but after the judgment, God will be seen by those who have prevailed in the judgment, but by the wicked He will not be seen. Since, therefore, the man will be seen in the judgment in that form in which He will so come as He ascended, for that reason He had said above, “The Father judgeth not any man, but hath given all judgment to the Son.” He repeats the same thing also in this place, when He says, “And hath given Him authority of executing judgment, because He is the Son of man.” As if thou wert to say, “hath given Him authority of executing judgment.” In what way? When He had not that authority of executing judgment? Since “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God;” since “all things were made by Him,” did He not already have authority of executing judgment? Yes, but according to this, I say, “He gave Him authority of executing judgment, because He is the Son of man:” according to this, He received authority of judging “because He is the Son of man.” For in that He is the Son of God, He always had this authority. He that was crucified, received; He who was in death, is in life: the Word of God never was in death, but is always in life.
12. Now, therefore, as to a resurrection, perhaps some one of us was saying: Behold, we have risen; he who hears Christ, and believes, and is passed from death to life, also will not come into judgment. The hour cometh, and now is, that whoso heareth the voice of the Son of God shall live: he was dead, he has heard; behold, he doth rise. What is this that is said, that there is to be a resurrection afterwards? Spare thyself, do not hasten the sentence, lest thou hurry after it. There is, indeed, this resurrection which comes to pass now; unbelievers were dead, the unrighteous were dead; the righteous live, they pass from the death of unbelief to the life of faith. But do not thence believe that there will not be a resurrection afterwards of the body; believe that there will be a resurrection of the body also. For hear what follows after the declaration of this resurrection which is by faith, lest any should think this to be the only resurrection, or fall into that desperation and error of men who perverted the thoughts of others, “saying that the resurrection is past already,” of whom the apostle saith, “and they overthrow the faith of some.” For I believe that they were saying to them such words as these: “Behold, when the Lord saith, And he that believeth in me is passed from death unto life;” the resurrection has already taken place in believing men, who were before unbelievers: how can a second resurrection be meant?” Thanks to our Lord God, He supports the wavering, directs the perplexed, confirms the doubting. Hear what follows, now that thou hast not whereof to make to thyself the darkness of death. If thou hast believed, believe the whole. What whole, sayest thou, am I to believe? Hear what He saith: “Marvel not at this,” namely, that He gave to the Son authority of making judgment. I say, in the end of the world, saith He. How in the end? “Do not marvel at this; for the hour cometh.” Here He has not said, “and now is.” In reference to that resurrection of faith, what did He say? “The hour cometh, and now is.” In reference to that resurrection which He intimates there will be of dead bodies, He said, “The hour cometh;” He has not said, “and now is,” because it is to come in the end of the world.
13. And whence, sayest thou, dost thou prove to me that He spoke about the resurrection itself? If thou hear patiently, thou wilt presently prove it to thyself. Let us go on then: “Marvel not at this; for the hour cometh, in which all that are in the graves.” What more evident than this resurrection? A while ago, He had not said, “they that are in the graves,” but, “The dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live.” He has not said, some shall live, others shall be damned; because all who believe shall live. But what does He say concerning the graves? “All that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth.” He said not, “shall hear and live.” For if they have lived wickedly, and lay in the graves, they shall rise to death, not to life. Let us see, then, who shall come forth. Although, a little before, the dead by hearing and believing did live, there was no distinction there made: it was not said, The dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and when they shall have heard, some shall live, and some shall be damned; but, “all that hear shall live:” because they that believe shall live, they that have charity shall live, and none of them shall die. But concerning the graves, “They shall hear His voice, and come forth: they that have done well, to the resurrection of life; they that have done ill, to the resurrection of judgment.” This is the judgment, that punishment of which He had said a while before, “Whoso believeth in me is passed from death to life,” and shall not come into judgment.
14. “I cannot of myself do anything; as I hear I judge, and my judgment is just.” If as Thou hearest Thou judgest, of whom dost Thou hear? If of the Father, yet surely “the Father judgeth not any man, but hath given all judgment to the Son.” When dost Thou, being in a manner the Father’s herald, declare what Thou hearest? I speak what I hear, because what the Father is, that I am: for, indeed, speaking is my function; because I am the Father’s Word. For this Christ says to thee. Thereupon, of thine. What is “As I hear I judge,” but “As I am”? For in what manner does Christ hear? Let us inquire, brethren, I beg of you. Does Christ hear of the Father? How doth the Father speak to Him? Undoubtedly, if He speaks to Him, He uses words to Him; for every one who says something to any one, says it by a word. How doth the Father speak to the Son, seeing that the Son is the Father’s Word? Whatever the Father says to us, He says it by His Word: the Word of the Father is the Son; by what other word, then, doth He speak to the Word Himself? God is one, has one Word, contains all things in one Word. What does that mean, then, “As I hear, I judge?” Just as I am of the Father, so I judge. Therefore “my judgment is just.” If Thou doest nothing of Thyself, O Lord Jesus, as carnal men think; if Thou doest nothing of Thyself, how didst Thou say a while before, “So also the Son quickeneth whom He will”? Just now Thou sayest, Of myself I do nothing. But what does the Son declare, but that He is of the Father? He that is of the Father is not of Himself. If the Son were of Himself, He would not be the Son: He is of the Father. That the Father is, is not of the Son; that the Son is, is of the Father. Equal to the Father; but yet the Son of the Father, not the Father of the Son.
15. “Because I seek not my own will, but the will of Him that sent me.” The Only Son saith, “I seek not my own will,” and yet men desire to do their own will! To such a degree does He who is equal to the Father humble Himself; and to such a degree does He extol Himself, who lies in the lowest depth, and cannot rise except a hand is reached to Him! Let us then do the will of the Father, the will of the Son, the will of the Holy Ghost; because of this Trinity there is one will, one power, one majesty. Yet for that reason saith the Son, “I came not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me;” because Christ is not of Himself, but of the Father. But what He had that He might appear as a man, He assumed of the creature which He himself formed.
Nudiustertiani et hesterni diei sermones redditos vobis sequitur hodierna evangelica lectio, quam ex ordine pertractemus, non pro ejus dignitate, sed pro viribus nostris: quia et vos non pro inundantis fontis largitate, sed pro vestro modulo capitis. Et nos non tantum dicimus in aures vestras, quantum ipse fons manat; sed quantum capere possumus, quod in vestros sensus trajiciamus, abundantius operante ipso in cordibus vestris, quam nobis in auribus vestris. Res enim magna tractatur, et non a magnis, imo multum parvis: spem tamen et fiduciam dat nobis, qui magnus propter nos factus est parvus. Si enim ab illo non exhortaremur, nec invitaremur ad eum intelligendum, sed desereret nos tanquam contemptibiles; quia capere non possumus divinitatem ipsius, si non caperet ipse mortalitatem nostram, et perveniret ad nos ut loqueretur nobis Evangelium; si quod in nobis abjectum et minimum est, noluisset communicare nobiscum; putaremus eum noluisse nobis dare magnum suum, qui suscepit parvum nostrum. Haec dixi, ne quis vel nos reprehendat ista tractantes, quasi multum audaces; vel de se desperet quod possit capere dono Dei, quod illi dignatus est loqui Filius Dei. Ergo quod loqui nobis dignatus est, debemus credere, quia voluit ut intelligamus. Sed si non possumus, praestat intellectum rogatus, qui verbum praestitit non rogatus.
Ecce quae verborum ista secreta sint, attendite. Amen, amen dico vobis, quia qui verbum meum audit, et credit ei qui misit me, habet vitam aeternam. Ad vitam certe aeternam omnes tendimus; et ait, Qui verbum meum audit, et credit ei qui misit me, habet vitam aeternam. Numquid ergo audire nos voluit verbum suum, et intelligere noluit? Quandoquidem si in audiendo et credendo vita aeterna est, multo magis in intelligendo. Sed gradus pietatis est fides, fidei fructus intellectus, ut perveniamus ad vitam aeternam, ubi non nobis legatur Evangelium; sed ille qui nobis modo Evangelium dispensavit, remotis omnibus lectionis paginis, et voce lectoris et tractatoris, appareat omnibus suis purgato corde assistentibus, et in corpore immortali jam nunquam morituris, mundans eos, et illuminans viventes, et videntes quod in principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum . Nunc ergo qui sumus attendamus, et quem audiamus cogitemus. Deus est Christus, et cum hominibus loquitur: capi se vult, faciat capaces; videri se vult, aperiat oculos. Non tamen sine causa loquitur nobis, nisi quia verum est quod promittit nobis.
Verba mea, inquit, qui audit, et credit ei qui me misit, habet vitam aeternam, et in judicium non veniet, sed transiit a morte ad vitam. Ubi, quando venimus de morte ad vitam, ut non in judicium veniamus? In hac vita transitur a morte ad vitam; in hac vita quae nondum est vita, hinc transitur a morte ad vitam. Quis est ille transitus? Qui audit verba mea, dixit, et credit ei qui misit me. Servans ista credis, et transis. Et est qui stando transit? Plane est: stat enim corpore, transit mente. Ubi erat, unde transiret, et quo transit? Transit a morte ad vitam. Vide unum hominem stantem, in quo agatur totum hoc quod dicitur. Stat, audit; forte non credebat, audiendo credit: paulo ante non credebat, modo credit; quasi de regione infidelitatis ad regionem fidei transitum fecit, moto corde, non moto corpore, moto in melius: quia iterum qui deserunt fidem, moventur in deterius. Ecce in hac vita, quae, sicut dixi, nondum est vita, transitur a morte ad vitam, ut in judicium non veniatur. Quare autem dixi quia nondum est vita? Si vita esset ista, non diceret Dominus cuidam, Si vis venire ad vitam, serva mandata . Non enim ait illi, Si vis venire ad vitam aeternam; non addidit aeternam, sed tantum dixit, vitam. Ergo ista nec vita nominanda est, quia non est vera vita. Quae est vera vita, nisi quae est aeterna vita? Audi Apostolum dicentem ad Timotheum: Praecipe divitibus hujus saeculi, non superbe sapere, neque sperare in incerto divitiarum; sed in Deo vivo, qui praestat nobis omnia abundanter ad fruendum: bene faciant, divites sint in operibus bonis, facile tribuant, communicent. Utquid hoc? Audi quod sequitur: Thesaurizent sibi fundamentum bonum in futurum, ut apprehendant veram vitam . Si debent sibi thesaurizare fundamentum bonum in futurum, ut apprehendant veram vitam; profecto ista in qua erant, falsa vita est. Nam utquid velis apprehendere veram, si jam tenes veram? Apprehendenda est vera? migrandum est a falsa. Et qua migrandum? quo? Audi, crede; et transitum facis a morte ad vitam, et in judicium non venis.
Quid est hoc, Et in judicium non venis? Et quis melior erit Paulo apostolo, qui ait: Oportet nos exhiberi omnes ante tribunal Christi, ut illic recipiat unusquisque quae per corpus gessit, sive bonum sive malum ? Paulus dicit, Oportet nos exhiberi omnes ante tribunal Christi; et tu tibi audes promittere quia in judicium non venies, Absit, inquis, ut ego mihi hoc promittere audeam: sed credo promittenti. Salvator loquitur, Veritas pollicetur, ipse dixit mihi, Qui audit verba mea, et credit ei qui me misit, habet vitam aeternam, et transitum facit de morte in vitam, et in judicium non veniet. Ego ergo audivi verba Domini mei, credidi; jam infidelis cum essem, factus sum fidelis: sicut me monuit, transii a morte ad vitam, ad judicium non venio; non praesumptione mea, sed ipsius promissione. Paulus autem contra Christum loquitur, servus contra Dominum, discipulus contra magistrum, homo contra Deum, ut cum Dominus dicat quia qui audit et credit, transit a morte ad vitam, et in judicium non veniet, dicat Apostolus, Oportet nos omnes exhiberi ante tribunal Christi? Aut si ad judicium non venit qui ad tribunal exhibetur, nescio quomodo intelligam.
Revelat ergo Dominus Deus noster, et per Scripturas suas admonet nos quomodo intelligatur, quando dicitur judicium. Hortor ergo ut attendatis. Aliquando judicium poena dicitur: aliquando judicium discriminatio dicitur. Secundum illum modum quo dicitur judicium discriminatio, oportet nos omnes exhiberi ante tribunal Christi, ut illic recipiat homo quae per corpus gessit, sive bonum sive malum: ipsa est enim discriminatio, ut bonis bona, malis mala distribuantur. Nam si judicium semper in malo acciperetur, non diceret Psalmus, Judica me, Deus. Audit forte aliquis dicentem, Judica me, Deus, et miratur. Solet enim homo dicere, Ignoscat mihi Deus; Parce mihi, Deus: quis est qui dicat, Judica me, Deus? Et aliquando in Psalmo versus ipse in diapsalmate ponitur, qui praebeatur a lectore, et respondeatur a populo. Non forte alicui cor percutitur, et timet cantare Deo et dicere, Judica me, Deus? Et tamen cantat populus credens, nec putat se male optare quod didicit a divina lectione: et si parum intelligit, credit aliquid boni esse quod cantat. Et tamen et ipse Psalmus non dimisit hominem sine intellectu. Secutus enim, verbis posterioribus ostendit quale judicium diceret; quia non est damnationis, sed discretionis. Ait enim, Judica me, Deus. Quid est, Judica me, Deus? Et discerne causam meam a gente non sancta. Ergo secundum hoc judicium discretionis, oportet nos omnes exhiberi ante tribunal Christi. Secundum judicium autem damnationis, Qui audit verba mea, inquit, et credit ei qui misit me, habet vitam aeternam, et in judicium non veniet, sed transitum facit a morte ad vitam. Quid est, in judicium non veniet? In damnationem non veniet. Probemus de Scripturis quia dictum est judicium ubi poena intelligitur: quanquam et in hac ipsa lectione paulo post audietis ipsum verbum judicii non positum nisi pro damnatione et poena . Tamen Apostolus dicit quodam loco, scribens ad eos qui Corpus quod fideles nostis, male tractabant; et propter quod male tractabant, corripiebantur flagello Domini: ait enim illis, Propterea multi in vobis infirmi et aegroti dormiunt sufficienter. Multi enim propterea etiam moriebantur. Et secutus est, Si enim nos ipsos judicaremus, a Domino non judicaremur: hoc est, si nos ipsos corriperemus, a Domino non corriperemur. Cum judicamur autem, a Domino corripimur, ne cum hoc mundo damnemur . Sunt ergo secundum poenam qui judicantur hic, ut parcatur illis ibi; sunt quibus parcitur hic, ut abundantius torqueantur ibi: sunt autem quibus distribuuntur ipsae poenae sine flagello poenae, si flagello Dei correcti non fuerint; ut cum hic contempserint patrem verberantem, ibi sentiant judicem punientem. Ergo est judicium quo missurus est Deus, id est Filius Dei, in fine diabolum et angelos ejus, et omnes infideles et impios cum eo: ad hoc judicium non veniet, qui modo credens transitum facit a morte ad vitam.
Etenim ne putares credendo te non moriturum secundum carnem, et accipiendo carnaliter diceres tibi, Dominus meus mihi dixit, Qui audit verba mea, et credit ei qui misit me, transiit a morte ad vitam; ergo ego credidi, non sum moriturus: scias te mortem quam debes supplicio Adam, persoluturum: accepit enim ille, in quo tunc omnes fuimus, Morte morieris ; nec potest evacuari divina sententia. Sed cum persolveris mortem veteris hominis, suscipieris in vitam aeternam novi hominis, et transitum facies a morte ad vitam. Modo interim fac transitum vitae. Quae est vita tua? Fides: Justus ex fide vivit . Infideles quid? Mortui sunt. Inter tales mortuos erat ille corpore, de quo dicit Dominus: Dimitte mortuos, sepeliant mortuos suos . Ergo et in hac vita sunt mortui, sunt vivi, et quasi omnes vivunt. Qui sunt mortui? Qui non crediderunt. Qui sunt vivi? Qui crediderunt. Quid dicitur mortuis ab Apostolo? Surge, qui dormis. Sed somnum, inquit, dixit, non mortem. Audi sequentia: Surge, qui dormis, et exsurge a mortuis. Et quasi diceret, Quo ibo? Et illuminabit te Christus . Jam cum te credentem illuminaverit Christus, transitum facis a morte ad vitam: mane in eo quo transisti, et non venies ad judicium.
Exponit illud jam ipse, et sequitur: Amen, amen dico vobis. Ne forte quia dixit, transiit a morte ad vitam, intelligamus hoc in futura resurrectione, ostendere volens quomodo transit qui credit; et hoc esse transire de morte ad vitam, transire ab infidelitate ad fidem, ab injustitia ad justitiam, a superbia ad humilitatem, ab odio ad charitatem: nunc ait, Amen, amen dico vobis, quia venit hora, et nunc est. Quid evidentius? Jam certe aperuit quod dicebat, quia modo fit quo nos Christus hortatur. Venit hora. Quae hora? Et nunc est, quando mortui audient vocem Filii Dei, et qui audierint vivent. Jam de his mortuis locuti sumus. Quid putamus, fratres mei? in ista turba quae me audit, nulline sunt mortui? Qui enim credunt et secundum veram fidem agunt, vivunt et mortui non sunt: qui autem vel non credunt, vel sicut daemones credunt, trementes et male viventes, Filium Dei confitentes et charitatem non habentes, mortui potius deputandi sunt. Et tamen agitur adhuc hora ista. Non enim hora de qua locutus est Dominus, una erit hora de duodecim horis unius diei. Ex quo locutus est usque ad hoc tempus, et usque ad finem saeculi, ipsa una hora agitur, de qua dicit in Epistola sua Joannes, Filioli, novissima hora est . Ergo nunc est. Qui vivit, vivat: qui mortuus erat, vivat; audiat vocem Filii Dei qui mortuus jacebat, surgat, et vivat. Clamavit Dominus ad sepulcrum Lazari, et quatriduanus mortuus resurrexit. Qui putebat, in auras processit; sepultus erat, lapis superpositus erat, vox Salvatoris irrupit duritiam lapidis: et cor tuum ita durum est, ut nondum illa vox divina te rumpat! Surge in corde tuo, procede de sepulcro tuo. Etenim mortuus in corde tuo tanquam in sepulcro jacebas, et tanquam saxo malae consuetudinis gravabaris. Surge, et procede. Quid est, Surge, et procede? Crede, et confitere. Qui enim credidit, surrexit; qui confitetur, processit. Quare processisse diximus confitentem? Quia antequam confiteretur, occultus erat; cum autem confitetur, procedit de tenebris ad lucem. Et cum confessus fuerit, quid dicitur ministris? Quod dictum est ad funus Lazari, Solvite illum, et sinite abire . Quomodo? Dictum est ministris Apostolis, quae solveritis in terra, soluta erunt et in coelo .
Venit hora, et nunc est, quando mortui audient vocem Filii Dei, et qui audierint vivent. Unde vivent? De vita. De qua vita? De Christo. Unde probamus quia de vita Christo? Ego sum, inquit, via, veritas et vita . Ambulare vis? ego sum via. Falli non vis? ego sum veritas. Mori non vis? ego sum vita. Hoc dicit tibi Salvator tuus: Non est quo eas, nisi ad me; non est qua eas, nisi per me. Nunc ergo ista hora agitur, hoc et agitur plane, et omnino non cessatur. Surgunt homines qui mortui erant, transeunt ad vitam, ad vocem Filii Dei vivunt, de illo, perseverantes in fide ipsius. Habet enim Filius vitam, unde vivant credentes habet.
Et quomodo habet? Sicut habet Pater. Audi ipsum dicentem, Sicut enim Pater habet vitam in semetipso, sic dedit et Filio vitam habere in semetipso. Fratres, ut potero dicam. Haec sunt enim illa verba quae parvum intellectum perturbant. Quare addidit, in semetipso? Sufficeret ut diceret, Sicut enim Pater habet vitam, sic dedit et Filio habere vitam. Addidit, in semetipso: habet enim in semetipso Pater vitam, habet et Filius in semetipso. Aliquid intelligere nos voluit, in eo quod ait, in semetipso. Et hic secretum in verbo hoc clausum est: pulsetur, ut aperiatur. O Domine, quid est quod dixisti? In semetipso, quare addidisti? Etenim Paulus apostolus quem vivere fecisti, non habebat vitam? Habebat, inquit. Quantum homines mortui ut reviviscant, et ad verbum tuum credendo transeant: cum transierint, non in te habebunt vitam? Habebunt; nam et ego paulo ante dixi, Qui audit verba mea, et credit ei qui me misit, habet vitam aeternam. Ergo illi qui in te credunt, habent vitam: et non dixisti, in semetipsis. Cum autem de Patre loquereris, Sicut Pater habet vitam in semetipso: rursus, cum de te loquereris, dixisti, sic et Filio dedit habere vitam in semetipso. Sicut habet, sic dedit habere. Ubi habet? In semetipso. Ubi dedit habere? In semetipso. Paulus ubi habet? Non in semetipso, sed in Christo. Tu fidelis ubi habes? Non in temetipso, sed in Christo. Videamus si hoc dicit Apostolus: Vivo autem jam non ego, vivit vero in me Christus . Vita nostra tanquam nostra, id est, de voluntate propria nostra, non erit nisi mala, peccatrix, iniqua: vita vero bona de Deo in nobis est, non a nobis; a Deo nobis datur, non a nobis. Christus autem in semetipso habet vitam sicut Pater, quia Verbum Dei. Non modo male vivit, et modo bene vivit: homo autem, modo male, modo bene. Qui male vivebat, in vita sua erat: qui bene vivit, ad vitam Christi transiit. Particeps factus vitae, non eras quod accepisti, et eras qui acciperes: Filius autem Dei non quasi primo fuit sine vita, et accepit vitam. Si enim sic illam acciperet, non eam haberet in semetipso. Quid est enim, in semetipso? Ut ipsa vita ipse esset.
Adhuc aliud planius fortasse dicam. Lucernam quisque accendit: exempli gratia, lucerna illa quantum pertinet ad flammulam quae ibi lucet, ignis ille habet lucem in semetipso; oculi autem tui qui lucerna absente jacebant et nihil videbant, jam et ipsi habent lucem, sed non in semetipsis. Proinde si se a lucerna averterint, tenebrantur; si se converterint, illuminantur. At vero ille ignis quamdiu est, lucet: si volueris illi lucem tollere, simul et ipsum exstinguis; nam sine luce non potest remanere. Sed lux Christus inexstinguibilis et coaeternus Patri, semper candens, semper lucens, semper fervens: nam si non ferveret, numquid diceretur in Psalmo, Nec est qui se abscondat a calore ejus ? Tu autem in peccato tuo frigidus eras, converteris ut fervescas: si recesseris, frigescis. In peccato tuo tenebrosus eras, converteris ut illumineris: si averteris te, obscuraberis. Proinde quia in te tenebrae eras, cum illuminaberis, non eris lumen, quamvis sis in lumine. Ait enim Apostolus: Fuistis aliquando tenebrae; nunc autem lux in Domino . Cum dixisset, nunc autem lux: addidit, in Domino. In te ergo tenebrae, lux in Domino. Lux quare? Quia participatione lucis illius lux es. Si autem a luce qua illuminaris recesseris, ad tenebras tuas redis. Non sic Christus, non sic Verbum Dei. Sed quomodo? Sicut habet Pater vitam in semetipso, sic dedit et Filio habere vitam in semetipso: ut non participatione vivat, sed incommutabiliter vivat; et omnino ipse vita sit. Sic dedit et Filio habere vitam. Sicut habet, sic dedit. Quid interest? Quia ille dedit, iste accepit. Numquid jam erat quando accepit? Numquid intelligimus Christum aliquando fuisse sine luce, cum ipse sit Sapientia Patris, de qua dictum est, Candor est lucis aeternae ? Ergo quod dicitur, dedit Filio, tale est ac si diceretur, genuit filium: generando enim dedit. Quomodo dedit ut esset, sic dedit ut vita esset, et sic dedit ut in semetipso vita esset. Quid est, in semetipso vita esset? Non aliunde vita indigeret, sed ipse esset plenitudo vitae, unde credentes alii viverent dum viverent. Dedit ergo illi habere vitam in semetipso: dedit tanquam cui? Tanquam Verbo suo, tanquam ei qui in principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum.
Deinde quia homo factus, quid illi dedit? Et potestatem dedit ei judicium facere, quoniam filius hominis est. Secundum quod Filius Dei est, sicut habet Pater vitam in semetipso, sic et dedit Filio vitam habere in semetipso: secundum autem quod filius hominis est, potestatem dedit ei judicium faciendi. Hoc est quod hesterno die exposui Charitati vestrae, quia in judicio homo videbitur, Deus autem non videbitur: sed post judicium videbitur Deus ab his qui vicerint in judicio; ab impiis autem non videbitur Deus ( In superiori Tractatu). Quia ergo homo videbitur in judicio forma illa, qua sic veniet sicut ascendit, ideo supra dixerat: Pater non judicat quemquam, sed omne judicium dedit Filio Hoc etiam in isto loco repetit, cum dicit, Et potestatem dedit ei judicium faciendi, quoniam filius hominis est. Tanquam diceres tu, Potestatem dedit ei judicium faciendi, quare? Quando non habuit istam potestatem judicium faciendi? Quando in principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum, quando omnia per ipsum facta sunt numquid non habebat potestatem judicium faciendi? Sed secundum hoc dico, Potestatem dedit ei judicium faciendi, quia filius hominis est: secundum hoc accepit potestatem judicandi, quia filius hominis est. Nam secundum quod Dei Filius est, semper habuit hanc potestatem. Accepit qui crucifixus est. Qui fuit in morte, est in vita: Verbum Dei nunquam in morte, semper in vita.
Jam ergo de resurrectione forte aliquis nostrum dicebat: Ecce resurreximus; qui audit Christum, qui credit, et transit de morte ad vitam et in judicium non veniet; venit hora, et nunc est, ut qui audit vocem Filii Dei, vivat; mortuus erat, audivit, ecce resurgit: quid est quod dicitur postea resurrectio futura? Parce tibi, noli praecipitare sententiam, ne pergas post illam. Est quidem ista resurrectio quae fit nunc: mortui erant infideles, mortui erant iniqui; vivunt justi, transeunt a morte infidelitatis ad vitam fidei: sed noli inde credere nullam futuram postea resurrectionem corporis, crede futuram et resurrectionem corporis. Audi enim quid sequatur post commendatam resurrectionem istam quae fit per fidem, ne quis putaret istam solam esse, et incideret in illam desperationem et errorem hominum, qui pervertebant aliorum sensus, dicentes resurrectionem jam factam esse, de quibus dicit Apostolus, Et fidem quorumdam pervertunt . Credo enim quia talia verba illis dicebant: Ecce Dominus ubi ait, Et qui credit in me, transiit a morte ad vitam; jam facta est resurrectio in hominibus fidelibus qui fuerant infideles: quomodo altera dicitur resurrectio? Gratias Domino Deo nostro; fulcit nutantes, dirigit haesitantes, confirmat dubitantes. Audi quid sequitur, quia non habes unde tibi facias caliginem mortis. Si credidisti, totum crede. Quid totum, inquis, credo? Audi quid dicit: Nolite mirari hoc, quia dedit potestatem Filio faciendi judicii. In fine dico, ait. Quomodo in fine? Nolite mirari hoc; quia venit hora. Hic non dixit, et nunc est. In illa resurrectione fidei quid dixit? Venit hora, et nunc est. In ista resurrectione quam commendat futuram corporum mortuorum, Venit hora, dixit; non dixit, nunc est; quia in fine saeculi ventura est.
Et unde, inquis, mihi probas quia de ipsa resurrectione dixit? Si patienter audias, tu ipse tibi modo probabis. Sequamur ergo: Nolite mirari hoc; quia venit hora, in qua omnes qui in monumentis sunt. Quid evidentius ista resurrectione? Jam dudum non dixerat, qui in monumentis sunt; sed, mortui audient vocem Filii Dei; et qui audierint, vivent. Non dixit, alii vivent, alii damnabuntur; quia omnes qui credunt vivent. De monumentis autem quid dicit? Omnes qui sunt in monumentis, audient vocem ejus, et procedent. Non dixit, audient et vivent. Si enim male vixerunt et jacebant in monumentis, ad mortem surgent, non ad vitam. Ergo videamus qui procedent. Licet paulo ante mortui audiendo et credendo vivebant, non ibi facta est discretio; non dictum est, Audient mortui vocem Filii Dei, et cum audierint, alii vivent, alii damnabuntur; sed, Omnes qui audierint, vivent: quia qui credunt vivent, qui habent charitatem vivent, et nemo morietur. De monumentis autem, audient vocem, et procedent qui bene fecerunt, ad resurrectionem vitae; qui male fecerunt, ad resurrectionem judicii. Hoc est judicium, poena illa de qua paulo ante dixerat, Qui credit in me, transiit a morte ad vitam, et in judicium non veniet.
Non possum ego a meipso facere quidquam: sicut audio judico, et judicium meum justum est. Si sicut audis judicas, a quo audis? Si a Patre, certe Pater non judicat quemquam, sed omne judicium dedit Filio. Quando tu quodammodo praeco Patris, quod audis, hoc dicis? Quod audio hoc dico, quia quod est Pater, hoc sum: dicere enim meum esse est; quia Verbum Patris sum. Hoc enim tibi dicit Christus. Inde de tuo. Quid est, Sicut audio, ita judico, nisi, Sicut sum? Quomodo enim audit Christus? Fratres, quaeramus, rogovos. Audit Christus a Patre? Quomodo illi dicit Pater? Utique si dicit illi, verba ad illum facit: omnis enim qui aliquid alicui dicit, verbo dicit. Quomodo Pater Filio dicit, quando Filius Verbum Patris est? Quidquid nobis Pater dicit, Verbo suo dicit: Verbum Patris Filius est, ipsi Verbo quo alio verbo dicit? Unus est Deus, unum Verbum habet, in uno Verbo omnia continet. Quid est ergo, Sicut audio, ita judico? Sicut de Patre sum, ita judico. Ergo judicium meum justum est. Nam si nihil facis ex te, o Domine Jesu, quomodo sentiunt carnales; si nihil facis ex te, quomodo paulo ante dixisti, Sic et Filius quos vult vivificat? Modo dicis, Ex me facio nihil. Sed quid commendat Filius, nisi quia de Patre est? Qui est de Patre, non est de se. Si de se Filius esset, non esset Filius: de Patre est. Pater ut sit non est de Filio, Filius ut sit de Patre est. Aequalis Patri; sed tamen iste de illo, non ille de isto.
Quia non quaero voluntatem meam, sed voluntatem ejus qui misit me. Filius unicus dicit, Non quaero voluntatem meam; et homines volunt facere voluntatem suam! Ille tantum se humiliat qui aequalis est Patri; et tantum se extollit qui in imo jacet, et nisi ei manus porrigatur, non surgit! Faciamus ergo voluntatem Patris, voluntatem Filii, voluntatem Spiritus sancti; quia Trinitatis hujus una voluntas, una potestas, una majestas est. Ideo tamen dicit Filius, Non veni facere voluntatem meam, sed voluntatem ejus qui misit me; quia Christus non est de se, sed de Patre suo est. Quod autem habuit ut homo appareret, de creatura assumpsit quam ipse formavit.