Aphrahat Search This Resource     in this Authorin this Sectionin all Sections   Navigator (Page 1 of 13) Previous Next   Page2   Letter of an Inquirer. I. Beloved, I send thee inquiries and questions, for I am compelled to seek further instruction of thee on many points. Do not thou refuse to hear me. My spirit urges me to warn thee about many topics(1) that thou mayest unfold for me the spiritual perceptions of thy mind, and mayest show me of all that thou hast apprehended from the holy books, that so my deficiency may be supplied by thee and my hunger satisfied by thy doctrine, and that thou mayest assuage my thirst from the fountain of thine instruction. Yet though many things are set in my thought to ask thee, they all are notwithstanding reserved with me, that when I come to thee, thou mayest instruct me on all subjects. 2. But before all things I desire that thou wouldst write and instruct me concerning this that straitens me, namely, concerning our faith; how it is, and what its foundation is, and on what structure it rises, on what it rests, and in what way is its fulfilment and consummation, and what are the works required for it. For I of myself firmly believe that God is one, Who made the heavens and the earth from the beginning; that He adorned the world by His handiwork; that He made man in His image; He it is that accepted the offering of Abel. He translated Enoch because of his excellence. He preserved Noah because of his righteousness. He chose Abraham because of his faith. He spake with Moses on account of his meekness. He it is that spake in all the prophets, and furthermore He sent His Christ into the world. Since then, my brother, I thus believe in these things that so they are, I therefore, brother, request of thee that thou wouldest write and show me what are the works required for this our faith, that so thou mayest set me at rest. The "Demonstrations" OF Aphrahat. Demonstration I.-Of Faith. §1. I have received thy letter, my beloved, and when I read it, it greatly gladdened me that thou hast turned thy thoughts to these investigations. For this thing that thou hast asked of me shall be freely granted,(1) for freely it was received. And whosoever has, and desires to withhold from him that seeks, whatsoever he withholds shall be taken away from him. Whoever of free grace receives, of free grace also does it behove him to give. And so, my beloved, as to that which thouhast asked of me, so far as my insignificance has apprehended, I will write to thee. And also whatsoever thou hast not sought of me, invoking God, I will explain to thee. Hear then, my beloved, and open the inward ears of thy heart unto me, and the spiritual perceptions of thy mind to that which I say unto thee. §2. Faith is compounded of many things, and by many kinds is it brought to perfection. For it is like a building that is built up of many pieces of workmanship and so its edifice rises to the top. And know, my beloved, that in the foundations of the building stones are laid, and so resting upon stones the whole edifice rises until it is perfected. Thus also the true Stone, our Lord Jesus Christ, is the foundation of all our faith. And on Him, on [this] Stone faith is based. And resting on faith all the structure rises until it is completed. For it is the foundation that is the beginning of all the building. For when any one is brought nigh unto faith, it is laid for him upon the Stone, that is our Lord Jesus Christ. And his building cannot be shaken by the waves, nor can it be injured by the winds. By the stormy blasts it does not fall, because its. structure is reared upon the rock of the true Stone. And in this that I have called Christ the Stone, I have not spoken, of my own thought, but the Prophets beforehand called Him the Stone. And this I shall make clear to thee. §3. And now hear concerning faith that is based upon the Stone, and concerning the structure that is reared up upon the Stone. For first a man believes, and when he believes, he loves. When he loves, he hopes. When he hopes, he is justified. When he is justified, he is perfected. When he is perfected, he is consummated. And when his whole structure is raised up, consummated, and perfected, then he becomes a house and a temple for a dwelling-place of Christ, as Jeremiah the Prophet said:-The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are ye, if ye amend your ways and your works.(2) And again He said through the Prophet:-I will dwell in them and walk in them.(3) And also the Blessed Apostle thus said:-Ye are the temple of God and the spirit of Christ dwelleth in you.(4) And also our Lord again thus said to His disciples:-Ye are in Me and I am in you.(5) §4. And when the house has become a dwelling-place, then the man begins to be anxious as to that which is required for Him Who dwells in the building. Just as if a king or an honourable man, to whom a royal name is given, should lodge in the house, there would be required for the King all the appurtenances of royalty and all the service that is needed for the King's honour. For in a house that is void of all good things, the King will not lodge, nor will he dwell in the midst of it; but all that is choicest in the house is required for the King and that nothing in it be deficient. And if anything be deficient there in the house in which the King lodges, the keeper of the house is delivered over to death, because he did not make ready the service for the King. So also let the man, who becomes a house, yea a dwelling-place, for Christ, take heed to what is needed for the service of Christ, Who lodges in him, and with what things he may please Him. For first he builds his building on the Stone, which is Christ. On Him, on the Stone, is faith based, and on faith is reared up all the structure. For the habitation of the house is required pure fasting, and it is made firm by faith. There is also needed for it pure prayer, and through faith is it accepted. Necessary for it too is love, and with faith is it compounded. Furthermore alms are needed, and through faith are they given. He demands also meekness, and by faith is it adorned. He chooses too virginity, and by faith is it loved. He joins with himself holiness, and in faith is it planted. He cares also for wisdom, and through faith is it acquired. He desires also hospitality, and by faith does it abound. Requisite for Him also is simplicity, and with faith is it commingled. He demands patience also, and by faith is it perfected. He has respect also to long-suffering, and through faith is it acquired. He loves mourning also, and through faith is it manifested. He seeks also for purity, and by faith is it preserved. All these things does the faith demand that is based on the rock of the true Stone, that is Christ. These works are required for Christ the King, Who dwells in men that are built up in these works. §5. And if perchance thou shouldest say:-If Christ is set for the foundation, how does Christ also dwell in the building when it is completed? For both these things did the blessed Apostle say. For he said:-I as a wise architect have laid the foundation.(6) And there he defined the foundation and made it clear, for he said as follows:-No man can lay other foundation than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.(7) And that Christ furthermore dwells in that building is the word that was written above-that of Jeremiah who called men temples and said of God that He dwelt in them. And the Apostle said:-The Spirit of Christ dwelleth in you.(8) And our Lord said:-I and My Father are one.(9) And therefore that word is accomplished, that Christ dwells in men, namely, in those who believe on Him, and He is the foundation on which is reared up the whole building. 6. But I must proceed to my former statement that Christ is called the Stone in the Prophets. For in ancient times David said concerning Him:-The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the building.(10) And how did the builders reject this Stone which is Christ?(11) How else than that they so rejected Him before Pilate and said-This man shall not be King over us.(12) And again in that parable that our Lord spake that a certain nobleman went to receive kingly power and to return and rule over them; and they sent after Him envoys saying:-This man shall not be King over us.(13) By these things they rejected the Stone which is Christ. And how did it become the head of the building? How else than that it was set up over the building of the Gentiles and upon it is reared up all their building. And who are the builders? Who but the priests and Pharisees who did not build a sure building, but were overthrowing everything that he was building, as is written in Ezekiel the Prophet:-He was building a wall of partition, but they were shaking it, that it might fall.(14) And again it is written:-I sought amongst them a man who was closing the fence and standing in the breach over the face of the land, that I might not destroy it and I did not find.(15) And furthermore Isaiah also prophesied beforehand with regard to this stone. For he said:-Thus saith the Lord, Behold I lay in Zion a chosen stone in the precious corner, the heart of the wall of the foundation.(16) And he said again there:-Every one that believeth on it shall not fear.(17) And whosoever falleth on that stone shall be broken, and every one on whom it shall fall, it will crush.(18) For the people of the house of Israel fell upon Him, and He became their destruction for ever. And again it shall fall on the image and crush it.(19) And the Gentiles believed on it and do not fear. 7. And He shows thus with regard to that stone that it was laid as head of the wall and as foundation. But if that stone was laid as the foundation, how did it also become the head of the wall? How but that when our Lord came, He laid His faith in the earth like a foundation, and it rose above all the heavens like the head of the wall and all the building was finished with the stones, from the bottom to the top. And with regard to the faith about which I said that He laid His faith in the earth, this David proclaimed beforehand about Christ. For He said:-Faith shall spring up from the earth.(20) And that again, it is above, he said:-Righteousness looked down from the heavens. 8. And again Daniel also spoke concerning this stone which is Christ. For he said:-The stone was cut out from the mountain, not by hands, and it smote the image, and the whole earth was filled with it.(21) This he showed beforehand with regard to Christ that the whole earth shall be filled with Him. For lo! by the faith of Christ are all the ends of the earth filled, as David said:-The sound of the Gospel of Christ has gone forth into all the earth.(22) And again when He sent forth His apostles He spake thus to them:-Go forth, make disciples of all nations and they will believe on Me.(23) And again the Prophet Zechariah also prophesied about that stone which is Christ. For he said:-I saw a chief stone of equably and of love.(24) And why did he say "chief"? Surely because from the beginning(25) He was with His Father. And again that he spoke of love, it was because when He came into the world, He said thus to His disciples:-This is My commandment, that ye love one another.(26) And again He said:-I have called you My friends(lovers).(27) And the blessed Apostle said thus:-God loved as in the love of His Son.(28) Of a truth Christ loved us and gave Himself for us.(29) §9. And definitely did He show concerning this stone:-Lo! on this stone will I open seven eyes.(30) And what then are the seven eyes that were opened on the stone? Clearly the Spirit of God that abode on Christ with seven operations, as Isaiah the Prophet said:-The Spirit of God shall rest and dwell upon Him, (a spirit) of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and of courage, of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.(31) These were the seven eyes that were opened upon the Stone, and these are the seven eyes of the Lord which look upon all the earth.(32) §10. And also with reference to Christ was this (which follows) said. For he said that He was given as a light to all the Gentilesas the Prophet Isaiah said:-I have given Thee as a light to all the Gentiles, that Thou shouldest be My redemption to the ends of the earth.(33) And furthermore David also said;-Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my paths.(34) And also the word and discourse of the Lord is Christ, as is written in the beginning of the Gospel of our Saviour:-In the beginning was the Word.(35) And withregard to the light there again he bore witness:-The light was shining in the darkness and the darkness comprehended it not.(36) What then is this:-The light was shining in the darkness and the darkness comprehended it not? Clearly Christ, Whose light shone in the midst of the people of the house of Israel, and the people of the house of Israel did not comprehend the light of Christ, in that they did not believe on Him, as it is written:-He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.(37) And also our Lord Jesus called them darkness, for He said to His disciples;-Whatsoever I say unto you in the darkness, that speak ye in the light,(38) namely, let you light shine among the Gentiles;(39) because they received the light of Christ, Who is the Light of the Gentiles. And He said again to His Apostles:-Ye are the light of the world.(40) And again He said unto them;-Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.(41) And again He showed with regard to Himself that He is the light, for He said to His disciples:-Walk while the light is with you, ere the darkness overtake you.(42) And again He said to them:-Believe on the light that ye may be children of light.(43) And again He said:-I am the light of the world.(44) And again He said:-No man lighteth a lamp and putteth it under a bushel or under a bed, or putteth it in a hidden place, but putteth it upon the lamp-stand that every one may see the light of the lamp.(45) And the shining lamp is Christ, as David said;-Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my paths.(46) §11. And furthermore the Prophet Hosea also said:-Light you a lamp and seek ye the Lord.(47) And our Lord Jesus Christ said:-What woman is there who has ten drachmos and shall lose one of them, and will not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek her drachma that she lost?(48) What then does this woman signify? Clearly the congregation of the house of Israel, to which the ten commandments were given. They lost the first commandment-that in which He warned them saying:-I am the Lord your God, Who brought you up from the land of Egypt.(49) And when they had lost this first commandment, also the nine which are after it they could not keep, because on the first depend the nine. For it was an impossibility that while worshipping Baal, they should keep the nine commandments. For they lost the first commandment, like that woman who lost one drachma from the ten. So the Prophet cried unto them:-Light you a lamp and seek ye the Lord.(50) And furthermore the Prophet Isaiah also said:-Seek ye the Lord and when ye shall have found Him, call upon Him; and when He is near let the sinner abandon his way and the wicked man his thought.(51) For that lamp shone and they did not by it seek the Lord their God. And its light shone in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it. And the lamp was set up on the lamp-stand and those who were in the house did not see its light. And what then means this, that the lamp was set up on the lamp-stand? Clearly His being raised up upon the cross. And by this all the house was made dark over them. For when they crucified Him, the light was darkened from them, and shone amongst the Gentiles, because that from the time of the sixth hour (of the day) on which they crucified Him even unto the ninth hour there was darkness in all the land of Israel. And the sun set in midday and the land was darkened in the shining daytime, as is written n Zechariah the Prophet:-It shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, I will cause the sun to set in midday, and will make dark the land in the shining daytime.(52) §12. Now I must proceed to my former subject of faith, that on it are reared up all the good works of the building. And again, in what I said with regard to the building, it was in no strange fashion that I spoke, but the blessed Apostle wrote in the first Epistle to the Corinthians, saying;-I as a wise master-builder have laid the foundation, but every one buildeth on it.(53) One builds silver and gold and goodly stones; another builds reed and straw and stubble. In the last day that building shall be tried by fire; for the gold and silver and goodly stones shall be preserved in the midst of the fire, because they are a firm building. But as for the straw and reed and stubble, the fire shall have power upon them and they shall be burned. And what is the gold and silver and goodly stones by which the building is raised up? Clearly the good deeds of faith, which shall be preserved in the midst of the fire; because Christ dwells in that secure building, and He is its preserver from the fire. And let us consider and understand (this) from the example that God has given us also in the former dispensation, because the promises of that dispensation will abide sure for us. Let us then understand from (the case of) those three righteous men who were cast into the midst of the fire and were not burned, namely, Hananiah, Azariah and Misael, over whom the fire had no power, because they built a secure building and rejected the commandment of Nebuchadnezzar the king and did not worship the image that he made. And as for those who transgressed the commandment of God, the fire at once prevailed over them and burned them, and they were burned without mercy. For the Sodomites were burned like straw and reed and stubble. Furthermore, Nadab and Abihu were burned, who transgressed the commandment of God. Again, two hundred and fifty men were burned, who were offering incense. Again, two princes and a hundred who were with them were burned, because they approached the mountain on which Elijah was sitting, who ascended in a chariot of fire to heaven. The calumniators also were burned because they dug a pit for righteous men. Accordingly, beloved, the righteous shall be tried by the fire, like gold and silver and goodly stones, and the wicked shall be burned in the fire like straw and reed and stubble, and the fire shall have power upon them and they shall be burned; even as the Prophet Isaiah said:-By fire shall the Lord judge and by it shall He try all flesh.(54) And again he said:-Ye shall go out and see the carcases of the men who offended against Me, whose worm shall not die, nor shall their fire be quenched, and they shall be an astonishment to all flesh.(55) FOOTNOTES: The beginning to this point is lost in the Syriac but has been preserved in the Armenian translation. We have borrowed it thence through the Latin translation of Graffin (Patrologia Syriaca, Tom. I.). S. Matt x. 8. Jer. vii. 4, 5. Levit. xxvi. 12. 1. Cor. iii. 16, etc. John, xiv. 20. 1 Cor. iii. 10. 1 Cor. iii. 11. 1 Cor. iii.16. John x. 30. Ps. cxviii. 22. Luke xix. 14. John xix. 25. Luke xix. 13, 14. Ez. xiii. 10. Ez. xxii. 30. Is. xxviii. 16. Is. xxviii. 16. Matt. xxi. 44. Dan. ii. 34. Ps. lxxxv. 12. Dan. ii 34, 35. Ps. xix. 4. Matt. xxviii. 19. Zach. iv. 2. The words for chief and for beginning are almost identical in the Syriac. John xv. 12. John xv. 15. Cf. Eph. ii. 4. 5. Cf. Eph. v.2. Zech. iii. 9. Is. xi. 1, 2. Zech. iv. 10. Is. xlix. 6. Ps. cxix. 105. John i. 1. John i.5. John i. 11. Matt. x. 27. Cf. Matt. v. 16. Matt. v. 14. Matt. v. 16. John xii. 35. John xii. 36. John viii. 12. Matt. v.15; Mark iv. 21; Luke viii. 16. Ps. cxix. 105. Hos. x. 12. Luke xv. 8. Ex. xx. 2. Hos. x. 12. Is. lv. 6,7. Am. viii. 9.(Cf. the commentary ascribed toEphrem in loco.) Cf. Zech. xiv. 6, 7. 1 Cor. iii 10, 12, sqq. Is. lxvi. 16. Is. lxvi. 24.