Chapter 13. Christ Removed the Bondage of the Old Law, without Abrogating Its Natural Precepts, to Free Men for Serving
Chapter 13
1. The Lord did not abrogate the natural precepts of the Law by which man was justified <and> that those who were justified by faith and pleased God observed also before the giving of the Law. Rather, he set an example for it and fulfilled it. One can show this from his own words: For it was said to men of old, he said, “You shall not commit adultery.” But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. And again, It was said, “You shall not kill!” But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother without cause, shall be liable to judgment. And, It was said, “You shall not swear falsely.” But I say to you, Do not swear at all; But let your speech be, “Yes, yes; No, no!” And many other such statements. Now, all these statements do not contain an opposition to or an abrogation of the past [commandments], as the followers of Marcion loudly shout, but a fulfillment and an amplification, as Christ himself said, Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. What was this “exceeds”? First, not merely to believe in the Father, but also in the Son who was already revealed; for he is the one who leads man into communion and union with God. Second, not merely to talk, but also to do. These men were wont to talk but did nothing. And not merely to abstain from wicked works, but also from the desire of them. Now, he was not teaching these things as opposed to the Law but as fulfilling the Law, and as implanting in us the justification of the Law. It would have been contrary to the Law, if he had commanded his disciples to do what the Law had forbidden. To command them not only not to abstain from the works forbidden by the Law but also from the desire of them is not opposed to it, as we have said. Nor is it the part of one who abrogates the Law, but of one who fulfills and extends it.
2. For the Law, set up as it was for slaves, instructed the soul by corporeal means that were extrinsic to the soul, and as if by a chain drew it on to obedience of the commandments, so that man might learn to serve God. The Word, however, freed the soul and taught that through it the body must be cleansed willingly. When this happened, it was necessary to take off the bonds of servitude to which man had already become accustomed and to follow God without bonds; moreover, to extend the laws of liberty and to increase submissiveness to the King, so that no one should turn back and appear unworthy of him who freed him. Now reverence and obedience toward the householder is the same for servants as for children; but the children have greater confidence, because the energy of liberty is greater and more glorious than the obedience rendered in servitude.
3. For this reason, too, instead of, You shall not commit adultery, the Lord commanded us not to have lustful desires; and instead of You shall not kill, not even to get angry, and instead of giving tithes, to give all things to the poor; and to love not merely the neighbors but also the enemies; and not merely to be generous givers and benefactors, he says, but also to forgive gratuitously those who take away what belongs to us. And from him who takes away your cloak do not withhold your coat as well, and of him who takes away your goods, do not ask them again. And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them. The effect should be that we should not be saddened as those who are unwilling to be robbed, but may rejoice as those who give willingly, rather bestowing a favor upon neighbors than constrained by need. And if any one, he says, forces you to go one mile, go with him two. For so you do not follow as a slave but may lead as a free man and offer yourself as helpful and useful to your neighbor in all things, not having regard to their evil, but perfecting your goodness, making yourself like to the Father, who makes his sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.
Now all these laws, as we have said, are not the part of one who abrogates the Law, but of one who fulfills and extends it among us. That is as if one would say that the greater energy of liberty has implanted in us a fuller submissiveness and affection for the liberator. To be sure, he did not free us in order that we might depart from him—for no one who is set outside the reach of the Lord’s goods can acquire for himself the nourishment of salvation—but that we might love him more, having obtained more grace. And the more we love him, the greater the glory we will receive from him when we are always in the Father’s presence.
4. Since, therefore, all the natural precepts are common to us and to them [of the Old Law], they had in those the beginning and origin, but in us they have growth and the extension. To assent to God and follow his Word, and to love him above all things, and one’s neighbor as oneself—man is man’s neighbor—and to abstain from all evil activity, and whatever other [precepts] are common to both [covenants], manifest one and the same God. And this is Our Lord, the Word of God, who first drew the servants to God, but afterward freed those who were submissive to him, as he himself tells his disciple: No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. Now when he says, No longer do I call you servants, he very clearly points out that he is the one who first established for men the servitude toward God through the Law and afterward granted them liberty. When he says, for the servant does not know what the master is doing, he manifests by his coming the ignorance of the slave people. When he calls his disciples God’s friends, he clearly shows that he is the Word of God whom also Abraham, having become God’s friend, followed willingly, not with bonds, in the generosity of his faith. But the Word of God did not acquire the friendship with Abraham because of a need [on his part], perfect as he was from the beginning; rather, inasmuch as he is good, he gave eternal life to Abraham, because God’s friendship bestows imperishability on those who strive for it.