Earliest Church Father's View of God

[FutureAndAHope]

I am starting this thread for anyone who may be interested in whether they taught free will or predestination. I am going to read every church father within the first 150 years or so, those close to the early church. Chapter by chapter. And honestly appraise what they taught regarding the free will / predestination debate.

Please if you are commenting on this thread try not to quote mine. Follow through the thread logically chapter by chapter with us. To start this I am going to begin with Irenaeus [A.D. 120-202] because he is known to have made comments on this subject, where many of the church fathers have just written general epistles.

• Irenaeus (read/completed)
• Justin Martyr (read/completed)
• St. Clement (read/completed)
• Ignatius (read/completed)
• Polycarp (read/completed)
• Mathetes (read/completed)
• Barabus (read/completed)
• Papias (read/completed)

After Reading a book I will put a summary here:

Irenaeus [A.D. 120-202]

Taught that God gives enlightenment to all people, that the law is not hidden from them, that it is understood by all. That man has it in his own power to either accept or reject God, that God does not coerce or force salvation or damnation on any. Anyone willing to follow God can, for God has made man a free agent from the beginning. The cross restored communion with God for all. But man to his own hurt can reject God, but it is man who blinds himself not God. God has no responsibility for the apostacy of the damned.

As for foreknowledge nothing can come to pass that God does not know. In the present time, God foreknows who will not believe [in that generation]. God has also predetermined the number of people He desires to be saved*.

In a similar way to the following (but regarding corporate salvation):

Rev 6:11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

Justin Martyr [AD 110-165]

Justin Martyr believed that those who imitate God’s excellences will be saved, but those who resort to the lower nature damned. He believed that man was a free agent, having free will to choose how to live, free to choose his own salvation. He believed that God desires the repentance, not damnation of the sinner. Those who do the works of God shall be saved. He believed men are rational and contemplative, with the power of thought, with this mind can choose to do good or evil. He taught that men are not controlled by any kind of fatalism, but will be judged according to their own, self-chosen deeds. He stated if this were not so man could not be held responsible for actions either good, or evil. He said the blame for damnation is not with God. That even those known to be unrighteous could repent, had the opportunity to do so. He said both angles and men have been given free will, which makes them capable of vice or virtue. He saw repentance as essential for salvation. He said the one who opposes God’s salvation to man is the devil, it is not God opposing man.

Like Iranaeus he believed that God has ordained a number of people that He wishes to be saved.

St. Clemont [A.D. 30-100]
Saw right living, righteousness to be the gate through which salvation comes. That it saves all those who walk in it. Although he did say the blessing is received not by our works but by God’s will. He said the innocent or righteous are God’s elect. He said that God desires nothing but confession from everyone. God was said to have prepared his gifts for us before we were born. Also like Irenaeus and Justin Martyr he stated “[that] the number of God’s elect might be saved”.

Ignatius [A.D. 30-107.]

Started one of his epistles with:

[to the church ] predestinated before the beginning of time, that it should be always for an enduring and unchangeable glory, being united and elected through the true passion by the will of the Father

As for his beliefs regarding individual salvation. He stated there is hope of repentance in other men. That God desires repentance not the death of the wicked. That sinners set a naught God, those who receive the power of distinguishing but reject the knowledge given them shall be judged. That Jesus is the savior of all men. We gain life with observance of God’s precepts, everyone will be judged according to the choice they make. He states “ I do not mean to say that there are two different human natures” and “ he is a man of the devil, made such, not by nature, but by his own choice”. That all of them that repent have salvation.

Polycarp [A.D. 65-100-155]
Said "If we please Him in this present world, we shall receive also the future world, according as He has promised to us that He will raise us again from the dead, and that if we live worthily of Him, “we shall also reign together with Him,” (2Ti_2:12) provided only we believe".

Mathetes [AD 130]
Stated that God truely loves man, that he gives HIs knowledge to all, the privilege of looking to himself. Stating: "He rendered subject all the things that are in it [the world], to whom He gave reason and understanding, to whom alone He imparted the privilege of looking upwards to Himself"

Barabus [AD 100]

Spoke of love, and righteousness being needful for salvation. Also stated "This means that the man perishes justly, who, having a knowledge of the way of righteousness, rushes off into the way of darkness".

Papias [A.D. 70-155.]
Nothing to report.

This concludes the writers from the First Century. May do the Second Century over time. Hopefully, this gives a good over view of the Early Church View.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Iranaeus - Against Heresies - Book 1 Chapter 1- 6

this the true Light who enlighteneth every man this the Creator of the world, this He that came to His own, this He that became flesh and dwelt among us

Iranaeus - Against Heresies - Book 1 Chapter 7- 12

so also the preaching of the truth shineth everywhere, and enlightens all men that are willing to come to a knowledge of the truth.

So far in the first 12 chapters, he speaks of God's enlightenment being for all men. I will continue to read tomorrow.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Iranaeus - Against Heresies - Book 1 Chapter 13- 18

Iranaeus - Against Heresies - Book 1 Chapter 19- 28

Iranaeus - Against Heresies - Book 1 Chapter 29- End

This Book has nothing remarkable to report. Just talk of heretical beliefs.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Iranaeus - Against Heresies - Book 2 Chapter 1- 7

predestinating all things, formed them as He pleased, bestowing harmony on all things, and assigning them their own place, and the beginning of their creation.

for as soon as God formed a conception in His mind, that was also done which He had thus mentally conceived.

And all things are to be spoken of as having been so prepared by God beforehand, that they should be made as they have been made;

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Iranaeus - Against Heresies - Book 2 Chapter 8- 14
Iranaeus - Against Heresies - Book 2 Chapter 15- 20

Nothing remarkable all just talk of heresies.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Iranaeus - Against Heresies - Book 2 Chapter 21- 27

...forsaking Him who by His plain announcements freely imparts gifts to all who come to Him ...

...Since, therefore, the entire Scriptures, the prophets, and the Gospels, can be clearly, unambiguously, and harmoniously understood by all, although all do not believe them;...

..those persons will seem truly foolish who blind their eyes to such a clear demonstration, and will not behold the light of the announcement [made to them]; but they put fetters upon themselves, and every one of them imagines, by means of their obscure interpretations of the parables, that he has found out a God of his own.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Iranaeus - Against Heresies - Book 2 Chapter 28- 32

Nothing remarkable.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Iranaeus - Against Heresies - Book 2 Chapter 33- End

And therefore, when the number [fixed upon] is completed, [that number] which He had predetermined in His own counsel, all those who have been enrolled for life [eternal] shah rise again, having their own bodies, and having also their own souls, and their own spirits, in which they had pleased God. Those, on the other hand, who are worthy of punishment, shall go away into it, they too having their own souls and their own bodies, in which they stood apart from the grace of God. Both classes shall then cease from any longer begetting and being begotten, from marrying and being given in marriage; so that the number of mankind, corresponding to the fore-ordination of God, being completed, may fully realize the scheme formed by the Father.

And therefore he who shall preserve the life bestowed upon him, and give thanks to Him who imparted it, shall receive also length of days for ever and ever. But he who shall reject it, and prove himself ungrateful to his Maker, inasmuch as he has been created, and has not recognised Him who bestowed [the gift upon him], deprives himself of [the privilege of] continuance for ever and ever.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Iranaeus - Against Heresies - Book 3 Chapter 1- 9

pertaining to the truth: so that every man, whosoever will, can draw from her the water of life.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Iranaeus - Against Heresies - Book 3 Chapter 10 - 11

the Son of the Most High God, who promised by the law and the prophets that He would make His salvation visible to all flesh;

Iranaeus - Against Heresies - Book 3 Chapter 12 - 15

“The place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness” to every one that was willing to believe.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Iranaeus - Against Heresies - Book 3 Chapter 16 - 20

2. For as it was not possible that the man who had once for all been conquered, and who had been destroyed through disobedience, could reform himself, and obtain the prize of victory; and as it was also impossible that he could attain to salvation who had fallen under the power of sin, — the Son effected both these things, being the Word of God, descending from the Father, becoming incarnate, stooping low, even to death, and consummating the arranged plan of our salvation,

For He is a most holy and merciful Lord, and loves the human race...7. Therefore, as I have already said, He caused man (human nature) to cleave to and to become, one with God. For unless man had overcome the enemy of man, the enemy would not have been legitimately vanquished. And again: unless it had been God who had freely given salvation, we could never have possessed it securely. And unless man had been joined to God, he could never have become a partaker of incorruptibility. For it was incumbent upon the Mediator between God and men, by His relationship to both, to bring both to friendship and concord, and present man to God, while He revealed God to man.93 For, in what way could we be partaken of the adoption of sons, unless we had received from Him through the Son that fellowship which refers to Himself, unless His Word, having been made flesh, had entered into communion with us? Wherefore also He passed through every stage of life, restoring to all communion with God.

Iranaeus - Against Heresies - Book 3 Chapter 21 - End

For if man, who had been created by God that he might live, after losing life, through being injured by the serpent that had corrupted him, should not any more return to life, but should be utterly [and for ever] abandoned to death, God would [in that case] have been conquered, and the wickedness of the serpent would have prevailed over the will of God. But inasmuch as God is invincible and long-suffering, He did indeed show Himself to be long-suffering in the matter of the correction of man and the probation of all, as I have already observed; and by means of the second man did He bind the strong man, and spoiled his goods...but man, who had been led captive, was loosed from the bonds of condemnation.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Iranaeus - Against Heresies - Book 4 Chapter 1 - 8

But as many as feared God, and were anxious about His law, these ran to Christ, and were all saved. For He said to His disciples: “Go ye to the sheep of the house of Israel, (Mat_10:6) which have perished.” And many more Samaritans, it is said, when the Lord had tarried among. them, two days, “believed because of His words, and said to the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying, for we ourselves have heard [Him], and know that this man is truly the Saviour of the world.” (Joh_4:41) And Paul likewise declares, “And so all Israel shall be saved;” (Rom_11:26) but he has also said, that the law was our pedagogue [to bring us] to Christ Jesus. (Gal_3:24) Let them not therefore ascribe to the law the unbelief of certain [among them]. For the law never hindered them from believing in the Son of God; nay, but it even exhorted them (Num_21:8) so to do, saying5 that men can be saved in no other way from the old wound of the serpent than by believing in Him who, in the likeness of sinful flesh, is lifted up from the earth upon the tree of martyrdom, and draws all things to Himself, (Joh_12:32, Joh_3:14) and vivifies the dead.

3. He is therefore one and the same God, who called Abraham and gave him the promise. But He is the Creator, who does also through Christ prepare lights in the world, [namely] those who believe from among the Gentiles. And He says, “Ye are the light of the world;” (Mat_5:14) that is, as the stars of heaven. Him, therefore, I have rightly shown to be known by no man, unless by the Son, and to whomsoever the Son shall reveal Him. But the Son reveals the Father to all to whom He wills that He should be known; and neither without the goodwill of the Father nor without the agency of the Son, can any man know God. Wherefore did the Lord say to His disciples, “I am the way, the truth, and the life and no man cometh unto the Father but by Me. If ye had known Me, ye would have known My Father also: and from henceforth ye have both known Him, and have seen Him.” (Joh_14:6, Joh_14:7) From these words it is evident, that He is known by the Son, that is, by the Word.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Iranaeus - Against Heresies - Book 4 Chapter 9 - 16

Nothing to report.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Iranaeus - Against Heresies - Book 4 Chapter 17 - 20

Nothing to report

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Iranaeus - Against Heresies - Book 4 Chapter 21 - 29

The history of Isaac, too, is not without a symbolical character. For in the Epistle to the Romans, the apostle declares: “Moreover, when Rebecca had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac,” she received answer72 from the Word, “that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of Him that calleth, it was said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people are in thy body; and the one people shall overcome the other, and the elder shall serve the younger.” (Rom_9:10-13; Gen_25:23) From which it is evident, that not only [were there] prophecies of the patriarchs, but also that the children brought forth by Rebecca were a prediction of the two nations; and that the one should be indeed the greater, but the other the less; that the one also should be under bondage, but the other free; but [that both should be] of one and the same father. Our God, one and the same, is also their God, who knows hidden things, who knoweth all things before they can come to pass; and for this reason has He said, “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.” (Rom_9:13; Mal_1:2)
3. If any one, again, will look into Jacob’s actions, he shall find them not destitute of meaning, but full of import with regard to the dispensations. Thus, in the first place, at his birth, since he laid hold on his brother’s heel, (Gen_25:26) he was called Jacob, that is, the supplanter — one who holds, but is not held; binding the feet, but not being bound; striving and conquering; grasping in his hand his adversary’s heel, that is, victory. For to this end was the Lord born, the type of whose birth he set forth beforehand, of whom also John says in the Apocalypse: “He went forth conquering, that He should conquer.” (Rev_6:2) In the next place, [Jacob] received the rights of the first-born, when his brother looked on them with contempt; even as also the younger nation received Him, Christ, the first-begotten, when the elder nation rejected Him, saying, “We have no king but Caesar.” (Joh_19:15) But in Christ every blessing [is summed up], and therefore the latter people has snatched away the blessings of the former from the Father, just as Jacob took away the blessing of this Esau.

2. For it was not merely for those who believed on Him in the time of Tiberius Caesar that Christ came, nor did the Father exercise His providence for the men only who are now alive, but for all men altogether, who from the beginning, according to their capacity, in their generation have both feared and loved God, and practised justice and piety towards their neighbours, and have earnestly desired to see Christ, and to hear His voice.

Chap. XXIX. — Refutation of the Arguments of the Marcionites, Who Attempted to Show That God Was the Author of Sin, Because He Blinded Pharaoh and His Servants.
1. “But,” say they, “God hardened the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants.” (Exo_9:35) Those, then, who allege such difficulties, do not read in the Gospel that passage where the Lord replied to the disciples, when they asked Him, “Why speakest Thou unto them in parables?” — “Because it is given unto you to know the mystery of the kingdom of heaven; but to thorn I speak in parables, that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not hear, understanding they may not understand; in order that the prophecy of Isaiah regarding them may be fulfil leading, Make the heart of this people gross and make their ears dull, and blind their eyes. But blessed are your eyes, which see the things that ye see; and your ears, which hear what ye do hear. (Mat_13:11-16; Isa_6:10) For one and the same God [that blesses others] inflicts blindness upon those who do not believe, but who set Him at naught; just as the sun, which is a creature of His, [acts with regard] to those who, by reason of any weakness of the eyes cannot behold his light; but to those who believe in Him and follow Him, He grants a fuller and greater illumination of mind. In accordance with this word, therefore, does the apostle say, in the Second the] to the Corinthians: “In whom the this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ should shine [unto them].” (2Co_4:4) And again, in that to the Romans: “And as they did not think fit to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up to a reprobate mind, to do those things that are not convenient.” (Rom_1:28) Speaking of antichrist, too, he says clearly in the Second to the Thessalonians: “And for this cause God shall send them the working of error, that they should believe a lie; that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but consented to iniquity.” (2Th_2:11)

2. If, therefore, in the present time also, God, knowing the number of those who will not believe, since He foreknows all things, has given them over to unbelief, and turned away His face from men of this stamp, leaving them in the darkness which they have themselves chosen for themselves, what is there wonderful if He did also at that time give over to their unbelief, Pharaoh, who never would have believed, along with those who were with him? As the Word spake to Moses from the bush: “And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, unless by a mighty hand.” (Exo_3:19) And for the reason that the Lord spake in parables, and brought blindness upon Israel, that seeing they might not see, since He knew the [spirit of] unbelief in them, for the same reason did He harden Pharaoh’s heart; in order that, while seeing that it was the finger of God which led forth the people, he might not believe, but be precipitated into a sea of unbelief, resting in the notion that the exit of these [Israelites] was accomplished by magical power, and that it was not by the operation of God that the Red Sea afforded a passage to the people, but that this occurred by merely natural causes (sed naturaliter sic se habere).

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Iranaeus - Against Heresies - Book 4 Chapter 30 - 34

Nothing remarkable.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Iranaeus - Against Heresies - Book 4 Chapter 35 - 38

Chap. XXXVII. — Men Are Possessed of Free Will, and Endowed with the Faculty of Making a Choice. It Is Not True, Therefore, That Some Are by Nature Good, and Others Bad.

1. This expression [of our Lord], “How often would I have gathered thy children together, and thou wouldest not,” (Mat_23:37) set forth the ancient law of human liberty, because God made man a free [agent] from the beginning, possessing his own power, even as he does his own soul, to obey the behests (ad utendum sententia) of God voluntarily, and not by compulsion of God. For there is no coercion with God, but a good will [towards us] is present with Him continually. And therefore does He give good counsel to all. And in man, as well as in angels, He has placed the power of choice (for angels are rational beings), so that those who had yielded obedience might justly possess what is good, given indeed by God, but preserved by themselves. On the other hand, they who have not obeyed shall, with justice, be not found in possession of the good, and shall receive condign punishment: for God did kindly bestow on them what was good; but they themselves did not diligently keep it, nor deem it something precious, but poured contempt upon His super-eminent goodness. Rejecting therefore the good, and as it were spuing it out, they shall all deservedly incur the just judgment of God, which also the Apostle Paul testifies in his Epistle to the Romans, where he says, “But dost thou despise the riches of His goodness, and patience, and long-suffering, being ignorant that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But according to thy hardness and impenitent heart, thou treasurest to thyself wrath against the day of wrath, and the revelation of the righteous judgment of God.” “But glory and honour,” he says, “to every one that doeth good.” (
Rom_2:4, Rom_2:5, Rom_2:7) God therefore has given that which is good, as the apostle tells us in this Epistle, and they who work it shall receive glory and honour, because they have done that which is good when they had it in their power not to do it; but those who do it not shall receive the just judgment of God, because they did not work good when they had it in their power so to do.

2. But if some had been made by nature bad, and others good, these latter would not be deserving of praise for being good, for such were they created; nor would the former be reprehensible, for thus they were made [originally]. But since all men are of the same nature, able both to hold fast and to do what is good; and, on the other hand, having also the power to cast it from them and not to do it, — some do justly receive praise even among men who are under the control of good laws (and much more from God), and obtain deserved testimony of their choice of good in general, and of persevering therein; but the others are blamed, and receive a just condemnation, because of their rejection of what is fair and good. And therefore the prophets used to exhort men to what was good, to act justly and to work righteousness, as I have so largely demonstrated, because it is in our power so to do, and because by excessive negligence we might become forgetful, and thus stand in need of that good counsel which the good God has given us to know by means of the prophets.

3. For this reason the Lord also said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good deeds, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Mat_5:16) And, “Take heed to yourselves, lest perchance your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and worldly cares.” (Luk_21:34) And, “Let your loins be girded about, and your lamps burning, and ye like unto men that wait for their Lord, when He returns from the wedding, that when He cometh and knocketh, they may open to Him. Blessed is that servant whom his Lord, when He cometh, shall find so doing.” (Luk_12:35, Luk_12:36) And again, “The servant who knows his Lord’s will, and does it not, shall be beaten with many stripes.” (Luk_12:47) And, “Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luk_6:46) And again, “But if the servant say in his heart, The Lord delayeth, and begin to beat his fellow-servants, and to eat, and drink, and to be drunken, his Lord will come in a day on which he does not expect Him, and shall cut him in sunder, and appoint his portion with the hypocrites.” (Luk_12:45, Luk_12:46; Mat_24:48, Mat_24:51) All such passages demonstrate the independent will151 of man, and at the same time the counsel which God conveys to him, by which He exhorts us to submit ourselves to Him, and seeks to turn us away from [the sin of] unbelief against Him, without, however, in any way coercing us.

4. No doubt, if any one is unwilling to follow the Gospel itself, it is in his power [to reject it], but it is not expedient. For it is in man’s power to disobey God, and to forfeit what is good; but [such conduct] brings no small amount of injury and mischief. And on this account Paul says, “All things are lawful to me, but all things are not expedient;” (1Co_6:12) referring both to the liberty of man, in which respect “all things are lawful,” God exercising no compulsion in regard to him; and [by the expression] “not expedient” pointing out that we “should not use our liberty as a cloak of maliciousness,” (1Pe_2:16) for this is not expedient. And again he says, “Speak ye every man truth with his neighbour.” (Eph_4:25) And, “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor scurrility, which are not convenient, but rather giving of thanks.” (Eph_4:29) And, “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord; walk honestly as children of the light, not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in anger and jealousy. And such were some of you; but ye have been washed, but ye have been sanctified in the name of our Lord.” (1Co_6:11) If then it were not in our power to do or not to do these things, what reason had the apostle, and much more the Lord Himself, to give us counsel to do some things, and to abstain from others? But because man is possessed of free will from the beginning, and God is possessed of free will, in whose likeness man was created, advice is always given to him to keep fast the good, which thing is done by means of obedience to God.

5. And not merely in works, but also in faith, has God preserved the will of man free and under his own control, saying, “According to thy faith be it unto thee;” (Mat_9:29) thus showing that there is a faith specially belonging to man, since he has an opinion specially his own. And again, “All things are possible to him that believeth;” (Mat_9:23) and, “Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.” (Mat_8:13) Now all such expressions demonstrate that man is in his own power with respect to faith. And for this reason, “he that believeth in Him has eternal life while he who believeth not the Son hath not eternal life, but the wrath of God shall remain upon him.” (Joh_3:36) In the same manner therefore the Lord, both showing His own goodness, and indicating that man is in his own free will and his own power, said to Jerusalem, “How often have I wished to gather thy children together, as a hen [gathereth] her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Wherefore your house shall be left unto you desolate.” (Mat_23:37, Mat_23:38)

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Iranaeus - Against Heresies - Book 4 Chapter 39 - End

3. If, however, thou wilt not believe in Him, and wilt flee from His hands, the cause of imperfection shall be in thee who didst not obey, but not in Him who called [thee]. For He commissioned [messengers] to call people to the marriage, but they who did not obey Him deprived themselves of the royal supper. The skill of God, therefore, is not defective, for He has power of the stones to raise up children to Abraham; (Mat_3:9) but the man who does not obtain it is the cause to himself of his own imperfection. ...Those persons, therefore, who have apostatized from the light given by the Father, and transgressed the law of liberty, have done so through their own fault, since they have been created free agents, and possessed of power over themselves.

4. But God, foreknowing all things, prepared fit habitations for both, kindly conferring that light which they desire on those who seek after the light of incorruption, and resort to it; but for the despisers and mockers who avoid and turn themselves away from this light, and who do, as it were, blind themselves, He has prepared darkness suitable to persons who oppose the light, and He has inflicted an appropriate punishment upon those who try to avoid being subject to Him. Submission to God is eternal rest, so that they who shun the light have a place worthy of their flight; and those who fly from eternal rest, have a habitation in accordance with their fleeing. Now, since all good things are with God, they who by their own determination fly from God, do defraud themselves of all good things; and having been [thus] defrauded of all good things with respect to God, they shall consequently fall under the just judgment of God. For those persons who shun rest shall justly incur punishment, and those who avoid the light shall justly dwell in darkness. For as in the case of this temporal light, those who shun it do deliver themselves over to darkness, so that they do themselves become the cause to themselves that they are destitute of light, and do inhabit darkness; and, as I have already observed, the light is not the cause of such an [unhappy.] condition of existence to them; so those who fly from the eternal light of God, which contains in itself all good things, are themselves the cause to themselves of their inhabiting eternal darkness, destitute of all good things, having become to themselves the cause of [their consignment to] an abode of that nature.

1. Inasmuch as the Lord has said that there are certain angels, [viz. those] of the devil, for whom eternal fire is prepared; and as, again, He declares with regard to the tares, “The tares are the children of the wicked one,” (Mat_13:38) it must be affirmed that He has ascribed all who are of the apostasy to him who is the ringleader of this transgression. But He made neither angels nor men so by nature.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Iranaeus - Against Heresies - Book 5 Chapter 1 - 10

Nothing to report.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Iranaeus - Against Heresies - Book 5 Chapter 11 - 19

But now, by means of communion with Himself, the Lord has reconciled man to God the Father, in reconciling us to Himself by the body of His own flesh, and redeeming us by His own blood, as the apostle says to the Ephesians, “In whom we have redemption through His blood, the remission of sins;”

And therefore in the last times the Lord has restored us into friendship through His incarnation, having become “the Mediator between God and men;” (1Ti_2:5) propitiating indeed for us the Father against whom we had sinned, and cancelling (consolatus) our disobedience by His own obedience; conferring also upon us the gift of communion with, and subjection to, our Maker.

2. For the Father bears the creation and His own Word simultaneously, and the Word borne by the Father grants the Spirit to all as the Father wills.29 To some He gives after the manner of creation what is made;30 but to others [He gives] after the manner of adoption, that is, wh