as alive from the dead — " and your members as instruments of righteousness."® And again: "As ye have yielded your members servants of uncleanness, and of iniquity unto iniquity, even so now yield your members servants of righteousness unto holiness; for whilst ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things of which ye are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now, being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. "9 Thus throughout this series of passages, whilst withdrawing our members from unrighteousness and sin, and applying them to righteousness and holiness, and trans- ferring the same from the wages of death to the donative of eternal life, he undoubtedly promises to the flesh the recompense of sal- vation. Now it would not at all have been consistent that any rule of holiness and right- ^Evacuetur: Ka.Tapyy)9rj. A. V. destroyed, i.e. deprived of all activity, Rom. vi. 6.
3 Rom. vi. 6. TertuUian's reading literally is, " that thus far (and no further) we should be servants o£ sin."
SVer. II. 6 Ver. II.
eousness should be especially enjoined for tlie flesh, if the reward of such a discipline were not also within its reach; nor could even bap- tism be properly ordered for the flesh, if by its regeneration a course were not inaugurated tending to its restitution; the apostle himself suggesting this idea: " Know ye not, that so many of us as are baptized into Jesus Christ, are baptized into His death? We are therefore buried with Him by baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised up from the dead, even so we also should walk in newness of life."'° And that you may not suppose that this is said merely of that life which we have to walk in the newness of, through baptism, by faith, the apostle with superlative fore- thought adds: " For if we have been planted together in the likeness of Christ's death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrec- tion."" By a figure we die in our baptism, but in a reality we rise again in the flesh, even as Christ did, "that, as sin has reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness unto life eternal, through Jesue Christ our Lord." '- But how so, unless equally in the flesh? For where the death is, there too must be the life after the death, be- cause also the life was first there, where the death subsequently was. Now, if the domin- ion of death operates only in the dissolution of the flesh, in like manner death's contrary, life, ought to produce the contrary effect, even the restoration of the flesh; so that, just as death had swallowed it up in its strength, it also, after this mortal was swallowed up of immortality, may hear the challenge pro- nounced against it: "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"'3 For in this way " grace shall there much more abound, where sin once abounded." "* In this way also " shall strength be made perfect in weakness," '5 — saving what is lost, reviving what is dead, healing what is stricken, curing what is faint, redeeming what is lost, freeing what is enslaved, recalling what has strayed, raising what is fallen; and this from earth to heaven, where, as the apostle teaches the Philippians, "we have our citizenship,'* from whence also we look for our Saviour Jesus Christ, who shall change our body of humilia- tion, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body " '^ — of course after the resur- rection, because Christ Himself was not glori- fied before He suffered. These must be " the bodies" which he " beseeches " the Romans »6 Municipatum.
CHAP. XLVin.J ON THE RESURRECTION OF THE 1-LESH.
v8i to " present " as " a living sacrifice, holy, ac- ceptable unto God." ' But how a living sac- rifice, if these bodies are to perish? How a lioly one, if they are profanely soiled? How acceptable to God, if they are condemned? Come, now, tell me how that passage (in the Epistle) to the Thessalonians — which, because of its clearness, I should suppose to have been written with a sunbeam — is understood by our heretics, who shun the light of Scripture: ''And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly." And as if this were not plain enough, it goes on to say: "And may your whole body, and soul, and spirit be preserved blameless unto the coming of the Lord." - Here you have the entire substance of man destined to salvation, and that at no other time than at the coming of the Lord, which is the key of the resurrection. ^ CHAP. XLVIII. SUNDRY PASSAGES IN THE GREAT CHAPTER OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD EXPLAINED IN DEFENCE OF OUR DOCTRINE.
But "flesh and blood," you say, "cannot inherit the kingdom of God." * We are quite aware that this too is written; but although our opponents place it in the front of the bat- tle, we have intentionally reserved the objec- tion until now, in order that we may in our last assault overthrow it, after we have re- moved out of the way all the questions which are auxiliary to it. However, they must contrive to recall to their mind even now our preceding argumetits, in order that the occa- sion which originally suggested this passage may assist our judgment in arriving at its meaning. The apostle, as I take it, having set forth for the Corinthians the details of their church discipline, had summed up the substance of his own gospel, and of their be- lief in an exposition of the Lord's death and resurrection, for the purpose of deducing therefrom the rule of our hope, and the groundwork thereof. Accordingly he sub- joins this statement: "Now if Christ be preached that He rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resur- rection of the dead? If there be no resurrec- fim of the dead, then Christ is not risen: and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He raised not up, if so be that the dead rise mt. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: and if Christ be not ' Rom. xii. i.
3 [Note Tertullian's summary of the text, in harmony with the Tripartite philosophy of humanity.]
raised, your faith is vain, because ye are yet- in your sins, and they which have fallen asleep in Christ are perished." s Now, what is the point which he evidently labours hard to make us believe throughout this passage? The resurrection of the dead, you say, which was denied: he certainly wished it to be believed on the strength of the example which he ad- duced— the Lord's resurrection. Certainly, you say. Well now, is an example borrowed from different circumstances, or from like ones? From like ones, by all means, is your answer. How then did Christ rise again? In the flesh, or not? No doubt, since you are told that He " died according to the Scrip- tures,"^ and "that He was buried according to the Scriptures,'' ^ no other\vise than in the flesh, you will alsoallow that itwas in the flesh that He was raised from the dead. For the very same body which fell in death, and which lay in the sepulchre, did also rise again; (and it was) not so much Christ in the flesh, as the flesh in Christ. If, therefore, we are to rise again after the exatnple of Christ, who rose in the flesh, we shall certainly not rise according to that example, unless we also shall ourselves rise again in the flesh. " For," he says, "since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead."* (This he says) in order, on the one hand, to distin- guish the two authors — Adam of death, Christ of resurrection; and, on the other hand, to make the resurrection operate on the same substance as the death, by comparing the authors themselves under the designation man. For if "as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive," ^ their vivifi- cation in Christ must be in the flesh, since it is in the flesh that arises their death in Adam. " But every man in his own order," '° because of course // will be also every man in his own body. For the order will be arranged sever- ally, on account of the individual merits. Now, as the merits must be ascribed to the body, it must needs follow that the order also should be arranged in respect of the bodies, that it may be in relation to their merits. But inasmuch as " some are also baptized for the dead," " we will see whether there be a good reason for this. Now it is certain that they adopted this (practice) with such a pre- sumption as made them suppose that the vica- rious baptism (in question) would be beneficial to the flesh of another in anticipation of the resurrection; for unless it were a \)0^\\y re sur- ON THE RESURRECTION OF THE FLESH.
[chap. xlix.
rection, there would be no pledge secured by this process of a corporeal baptism. "Why are they then baptized for the dead," ' he . asks, unless the bodies rise again which are thus baptized? For it is not the soul which is sanctified by the baptismal bath:* its sanc- tification comes from the " answer. "^ "And why," he inquires, "stand we in jeopardy every hour?" -^ — meaning, of course, through the flesh. "I die daily," s (says he); that is, undoubtedly, in the perils of the body, in which " he even fought with beasts at Ephe- sus,"* — even with those beasts which caused him such peril and trouble in Asia, to which he alludes in his second epistle to the same church of Corinth: " For we would not, breth- ren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed above measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life." ' Now, if I mis- take not, he enumerates all these particulars in order that in his unwillingness to have his conflicts in the flesh supposed to be useless, he may induce an unfaltering belief in the resurrection of the flesh. For useless must that conflict be deemed (which is sustained in a body) for which no resurrection is in prospect. " But some man will say. How are the dead to be raised? And with what body will they come?" ^ Now here he discusses the qualities of bodies, whether it be the very same, or different ones, which men are to re- sume. Since, however, such a question as this must be regarded as a subsequent one, it will in passing be enough for us that the resurrection is determined to be a bodily one even from this, that it is about the quality of bodies that the inquiry arises.
CHAP. XLIX. — THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. WHAT DOES THE APOSTLE EXCLUDE FROM THE DEAD? CERTAINLY NOT THE SUBSTANCE OF THE FLESH.
We come now to the very gist' of the whole question: What are the substances, and of what nature are they, which the apostle has disinherited of the kingdom of God? The preceding statements give us a clue to this point also. He says: "The first man is of the earth, earthy" — that is, made of dust, that is, Adam; "the second man is from heaven " '° — that is, the Word of God, which is Christ, in no other way, however, 7nan (als Lavatione. sComp. I Pet. iii. 21.
9 Ad camem et sanguinem revera.
though " from heaven "), than as being Him- self flesh and soul, just as a human being is, just as Adam was. Indeed, in a previous passage He is called "the second Adam,"" deriving the identity of His name from His participation in the substance, because not even Adam was flesh of human seed, in which Christ is also like Him." "As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy; and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heav- enly. ' ' '3 Such (does he mean), in substance; or first of all in training, and afterwards in the dignity and worth which that training aimed at acquiring? Not in substance, however, by any means will the earthy and the heavenly be separated, designated as they have been by the apostle once for all, as men. For even if Christ were the only true "heavenly," nay, super-celestial Being, He is still man, as com- posed of body and soul; and in no respect is He separated from the quality of " earthi- ness," owing to that condition of His which makes Him a partaker of both substances. In like manner, those also who after Him are heavenly, are understood to have this celestial quality predicated of them not from their present nature, but from their future glory; because in a preceding sentence, which originated this distinction respecting difference of dignity, there was shown to be "one glory in celestial bodies, and another in terrestrial ones," '■♦ — " one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for even one star differeth from another star in glory, " 's although not in substance. Then, after having thus premised the differ- ence in that worth or dignity which is even now to be aimed at, and then at last to be enjoyed, the apostle adds an exhortation, that we should both here in our training follow the example of Christ, and there attain His emi- nence in glory: "As we have borne the image of the earthy, let us also bear the image of the heavenly." '* We have indeed borne the image of the earthy, by our sharing in his trangression, by our participation in his death, by our banishment from Paradise. Now, al- though the image of Adam is here borne by is in the flesh, yet we are not exhorted to put off the flesh; but if not the flesh, it is the con- versation, in order that we may then bear the image of the heavenly in ourselves, — no longer indeed the image of God, and no longer the image of a Being whose state is in heaven; but after the lineaments of Christ, by our walking here in holiness, righteousness, and '2 See De Came Christi. ch. xvi.
CHAP. L.]
ON THE RESURRECTION OF THE FLESH.
truth. And so wholly intent on the inculca- tion of moral conduct is he throughout this passage, that he tells us we ought to bear the image of Christ in this flesh of ours, and in this period of instruction and discipline. For when he says ''let us bear" in the im- perative mood, he suits his words to the pres- ent life, in which man exists in no other sub- stance than as flesh and soul; or if it is another, even the heavenly, substance to which this faith (of ours) looks forward, yet the promise is made to that substance to which the injunction is given to labour earnestly to merit its reward. Since, therefore, he makes the image both of the earthy and the heavenly consist of moral conduct — the one to be ab- jured, and the other to be pursued — and then consistently adds, "For this I say" (on ac- count, that is, of what I have already said, be- cause the conjunction "/^/-"connects what fol- lows with the preceding words) " that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,"' — he means the flesh and blood to be understood in no other sense than the before-mentioned " image of the earthy; " and since this is reck- oned to consist in "the old conversation,"^ which old conversation receives not the kingdom of God, therefore flesh and blood, by not receiving the kingdom of God, are re- duced to the life of the old conversation. Of course, as the apostle has never put the sub- stance for the works of man, he cannot use such a construction here. Since, however, he has declared of men which are yet alive in the flesh, that they " are not in the flesh," ^ meaning that they are not living in the works of the flesh, you ought not to subvert its form nor its substance, but only the works done in the substance (of the flesh), aUenating us from the kingdom of God. It is after dis- playing to the Galatians these pernicious works that he professes to warn them before- hand, even as he had " told them in time past, that they which do such things should not in- herit the kingdom of God,"-* even because they bore not the image of the heavenly, as they had borne the image of the earthy; and so, in consequence of their old conversation, they were to be regarded as nothing else than flesh and blood. But even if the apostle had abruptly thrown out the sentence that flesh and blood must be excluded from the king- dom of God, without any previous intimation of his meaning, would it not have been equally our duty to interpret these two substances as the old man abandoned to mere flesh and blood — in other words, to eating and drink- « I Cor. XV. so.
3 Rom. viii. g.
ing, one feature of which would be to speak against the faith of the resurrection: " Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die."^ Now, when the apostle parenthetically inserted this, he censured flesh and blood because of their enjoyment in eating and drinking.
CHAP. L. — IN WHAT SENSE FLESH AND BLOOD ARE EXCLUDED FROM THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
Putting aside, however, all interpretations of this sort, which criminate the works of the flesh and blood, it may be permitted me to claim for the resurrection these very sub- stances, understood in none other than their natural sense. For it is not the resurrection that is directly denied to flesh and blood, but the kingdom of God, which is incidental to * the resurrection (for there is a resurrec- tion of judgment' also); and there is even a confirmation of the general resurrection of the flesh, whenever a special one is excepted. Now, when it is clearly stated what the condi- tion is to which the resurrection does not lead, it is understood what that is to which it does lead; and, therefore, whilst it is in considera- tion of vmis merits that a difference is made in their resurrection by their conduct in the flesh, and not by the substance thereof, it is evident even from this, that flesh and blood are excluded from the kingdom of God in re- spect of their sin, not of their substance; and although in respect of their natural condi- tion^ they will rise again for the judgment, because they rise not for the kingdom. Again, I will say, "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; " ^ and justly (does the apostle declare this of them, considered) alone and in themselves, in order to show that the Spirit is still needed (to quaUfy them) for the kingdom." For it is " the Spirit that quick- eneth" us for the kingdom of God; "the flesh profiteth nothing."" There is, however, something else which can be profitable there- unto, that is, the Spirit; and through the Spirit, the works also of the Spirit. Flesh and blood, therefore, must in every case rise again, equally, in their proper quality. But they to whom it is granted to enter the king- dom of God, will have to put on the power of an incorruptible and immortal life; for with- out this, or before they are able to obtain it, they cannot enter into the kingdom of God. With good reason, then, flesh and blood, as we have already said, by themselves fail to 6 Obvenit.
J" This must be the meaning of the dative lUi. Ji John vi. 63.
ON THE RESURRECTION OF THE FLESH.
[chap. LI.
obtain the kingdom of God. But inasmuch as "this corruptible (that is, the flesh) must put on incorruption, and this mortal (that is, the blood) must put on immortality,"' by the change which is to follow the resurrection, it will, for the best of reasons, happen that flesh and blood, after that change and inves- titure,* will become able to inherit the king- dom of God — but not without the resurrec- tion. Some will have it, that by the phrase " flesh and blood," because of its rite of cir- cumcision, Judaism is meant, which is itself too alienated from the kingdom of God, as being accounted "the old or former conver- sation," and as being designated by this title in another passage of the apostle also, who, "when it pleased God to reveal to him His Son, to preach Him amongst the heathen, immediately conferred not with flesh and blood," as he writes to the Galatians,^ (mean- ing by the phrase) the circumcision, that is to say, Judaism.
CHAP. LI. THE SESSION OF JESUS IN HIS INCAR- NATE NATURE AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD A GUARANTEE OF THE RESURRECTION OF OUR FLESH.
That, however, which we have reserved for a conchiding argument, will now stand as a plea for all, and for the apostle himself, who in very deed would have to be charged with extreme indiscretion, if he had so abruptly, as some will have it, and as they say, blindfold, and so indiscriminately, and so uncondition- ally, excluded from the kingdom of God, and indeed from the court of heaven itself, all flesh and blood whatsoever; since Jesus is still sitting there at the right hand of the Father,'' man, yet God — the last Adam,^ yet the pri- mary Word — flesh and blood, yet purer than ours — who " shall descend in like manner as He ascended i7ito heaven " ^ the same both in substance and form, as the angels affirmed,'' so as even to be recognised by those who pierced Him.^ Designated, as He is, "the Mediator 9 between God and man," He keeps in His own self the deposit of the flesh which has been committed to Him by both parties — the pledge and security of its entire perfection. For as " He has given to us the earnest of the Spirit," '° so has He received from us the 2 We have kept this word to suit the last Scripture guotation; but TertuUian's word, both here and in the quotation, is " devo- rata,'' swallowed up.
•♦Mark xvi. iq.
^ Zech. xii. 10; John xix. 37; Rev. i. 7.
9 I Tim. ii. 5. TertuUian's word is " sequester," the guardian of a deposit.
earnest of the flesh, and has carried it with Him into heaven as a pledge of that complete entirety which is one day to be restored to it. Be not disquieted, O flesh and blood, with any care; in Christ you have acquired both heaven and the kingdom of God. Otherwise, if they say that you are not in Christ, let them also say that Christ is not in heaven, since they have denied you heaven. Likewise " neither shall corruption," says he, " inherit incorrup- tion." This he says, not that you may take flesh and blood to be corruption, for they are themselves rather the subjects of corruption, — I mean through death, since death does not so much corrupt, as actually consume, our flesh and blood. But inasmuch as he had plainly said that the works of the flesh and blood could not obtain the kingdom of God, with the view of stating this with accumulated stress, he deprived corruption itself — that is, death, which profits so largely by the works of the flesh and blood — from all inheritance* of incorruption. For a little afterwards, he has described what is, as it were, the death of death itself: " Death," says he, " is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin " — here is the corruptiati; "and