382 As Adam's death,so Xt's life,passes tous,bybirthof Himin Baptism, entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men. Therefore also the righteousness of Christ must needs pass over to the whole race; and as Adam by sin destroyed his race, so must Christ by righteousness give life to all His race. This the Apostle urges, saying, Rom. 5, For as by the disobedience

of one, many were made sinners, 19. 21. so by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous. That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life.

7. Some one will here object. "But the sin of Adam deservedly passed on his posterity, because they were born of him. And are we then born of Christ, that we can be saved for His sake?" Cease to have carnal thoughts. And now shall ye see in what wise we are born of Christ as of our parent. In these last days Christ took a soul with the flesh from Mary. This He came to save. This He left not in hell. This He joined to His Spirit and made His own. And this is the marriage of the Lord, joined together to one Eph. 5, flesh, that according to that great sacrament, might be these

32.

1 Cor. 15, 45.

15.

two in one flesh, Christ and the Church. From this marriage is born the Christian people, the Spirit of the Lord coming from above; and straightway the heavenly seed being poured upon and mingled with the substance of our souls, we grow in the bowels of our mother, and coming forth from her womb are made alive in Christ. Whence the Apostle, The first Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening Spirit. Thus Christ begetteth 1 Cor. 4, in the Church by His Priests, as says the same Apostle, For in Christ Jesus have I begotten you. And so the seed of Christ, that is, the Spirit of God produces, by the hands of the Priests, the new man conceived in the womb of our Mother, and received at the birth of the font, faith presiding over the marriage rite. For neither will he seem to be engrafted into the Church, who hath not believed, nor he to be born again of Christ, who hath not himself received the Spirit. We must believe therefore that we can be born. Acts 8, For so saith Philip, If thou believest . . . thou mayest. Christ therefore must be received that He may beget, for

37.

i against the Arians who, as well as a human soul. see Petav. de Inc. i. 5. Apollinaris, denied that our Lord had 5. and add ib. v. 11.

that living new lives in Him, we may die no more, but live in death. 383

12.

4.

thus saith the Apostle John, As many as received Him, to John 1, them gave He power to become the sons of God. But these things cannot otherwise be fulfilled except by the Sacrament of the Laver, and of the Chrism, and of the Bishop'. For by the Laver sins are washed away, by Chrism the Holy Spirit is poured out, but both these we obtain at the hand and the mouth of the Bishop. And so the whole man is born again and renewed in Christ, that like as Christ was Rom. 6, raised up from the dead, even so we also should walk in newness of life; that is, that having laid aside the errors of our former life, the serving of idols, cruelty, fornication, wantonness, and all other vices of flesh and blood, we should through the Spirit follow new ways in Christ, faith, modesty, innocence, chastity. And as we bore the image of the earthy, 1 Cor. 15, 47. so also should we bear His, Who is from Heaven, for the first man is of the earth, earthy; the Second from heaven, heavenly. This if we do, most beloved, we shall die no more. Although we be dissolved in this body, we shall live in Christ, as He Himself saith, He that believeth in Me, Johnll, though he were dead, yet shall he live. We are sure indeed, and that on the testimony of the Lord, that both Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the Saints of God are alive. For of these very men saith the Lord, They all live unto Matt. Him, for God is not the God of the dead but of the living. And the Apostle saith of himself, For to me to live is Christ, Phil. 1, and to die is gain; I could wish to depart and be with Christ. And again, Whilst we are at home in the body, we 2 Cor. 5, are absent from the Lord; for we walk by faith, not by sight.

25.

22, 32.

21.

6.7.

8. This is what we believe, dearly beloved. But if in this life only we have hope, then are we of all men the most miserable. The life of this world, cattle, and wild beasts, and birds, as yourselves see, have in common with us, or even longer. That is peculiar to man, which Christ hath given through His Spirit, that is, life eternal; yet only if we now sin no more. For as death is gained by wickedness, is avoided by goodness; so life is lost by wickedness, is retained by goodness. For the wages of sin is death; but Rom. 6, the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Before all other things, my little ones, remember, that once (as we said above) all nations were given over to the princes k see Bingham, 12. 1. 4. and ab. on S. Cypr. Ep. 72. init. p. 240. n. b.

23.

2, 14.

15.

7,8.

14. 15.

1 The

Cross in

384 Renewed bondage deeper, rewards of faithfulness boundless.

and powers of darkness, now are set free through the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ. He it is, He it is Who redeemed Coloss. us, forgiving us all sins, as saith the Apostle, blotting out the hand-writing of disobedience that was against us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His Cross, putting off the flesh', He made a shew of the powers openly, triumphing over them in Himself. He set them free, who were bound, and burst Ps. 146, our chains in sunder, as David had said; The Lord raiseth them that are cast down. The Lord looseth the prisoners, the Lord giveth sight to the blind. And again, Ps. 116, Thou hast broken my bonds in sunder. I will offer to Thee the Sacrifice of thanksgiving. Freed therefore from our bonds, when through the Sacrament of Baptism we come unto the Sign' of the Lord, we renounce the Devil and all his Baptism angels, whom before we served, that we should now serve them no longer, being delivered by the Blood and Name of Christ. But if after this any one forgetful of himself and ignorant of Col. 2, his redemption, return again to the serving of Angels, and to the weak and beggarly elements of the world; he shall be bound again by his old fetters and chains, that is, by the bonds of sin, and his last state shall be worse than his first. For the Devil shall bind him more strongly, as if overtaken in flight, and Christ shall not now be able to suffer for him; Rom. 6, for, Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more. Therefore, dearly beloved, we are washed once, once are set free, are once admitted into the kingdom of heaven; once is that, Ps. 32, blessed is he whose unrighteousness is forgiven, and whose sin is covered. Hold mightily what ye have received; keep it blessedly, sin no more. Preserve yourselves pure and unspotted from that time even to the Day of the Lord. Great and boundless are the rewards granted unto the faithful, which 1 Cor.2, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have they entered into the heart of man. These rewards that ye may receive, obtain by the labours of righteousness and spiritual vows! Amen.

18.

Gal. 4,

9.

Col. 2,8.

Lukell,

26.

9.

1.

2.

INDEX

EPISTLES OF S. CYPRIAN.

The Roman numerals refer to the Epistles, the Arabic to the sections. C. stands
for Conc. Carth. p. 286-303.

C C

INDEX TO EPISTLES OF S. CYPRIAN.