of us is given grace according to the measure ** He ascended up on high, He led captivity
218 THE WORKS OF ST. AUGUSTIN. [Book XV.
as that He received in men. He gave to men, as the head to His own members: He to drink," and she had answered that the Jews '' have no dealings" with the Samaritans, Jesus answered and said unto her, "* If thou hadst known the gift of God, and who it is that says to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water, The woman saith unto Him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: whence then hast thou this living water, etc.? Jesus answered and said unto her, Every one that drinketh of this water shall thirst again; but whoso shall drink of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him, shall be in him a fountain of water springing up unto eternal life." * Because this living water, then, as the evangelist has explained to us, is the Holy Spirit, without doubt the Spirit is the gift of God, of which the Lord says here, "'If thou hadst known the gift of God, and who it is that saith unto thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water.'' For that which is in the one passage, °' Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water," is in the other, "shall be in him a fountain of water springing up unto eternal life."
Himself that gave, received in men, no doubt as in His own members; on account of which, namely, His own members, He cried from heaven, 'Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?'?4 And of which, namely, His own members, He says, '* Since ye have done it to one of the least of these that are mine, ye have done it unto me."5 Christ Himself, therefore, both gave from heaven and received on earth. And further, both prophet and apostle have said gzf¢s for this reason, because many gifts, which are proper to each, are divided in common to all the members of Christ, by the Gift, which is the Holy Spirit. For each severally has not all, but some have these and some have those; although all have the Gift itself by which that which is proper to each is divided to Him, z.e. the Holy Spirit. For elsewhere also, when he had mentioned many gifts, ** All these," he says, *'worketh that one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to each severally as He will.'?® And this word is found also in the Epistle to the Hebrews, where it is written, '' God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts? of the Holy Ghost."® And so here, when he had said,
34. Paul the apostle also says, '' To each of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ;'' and then, that he might show that by the gift of Christ he meant the Holy Spirit, he has gone on to add,
He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, He gave gifts to men,"' he says further, °' But that He ascended, what is it but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all things. And He gave some apostles, some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and doctors.'? (This we see is the reason why gifts are spoken of; because, as he says elsewhere,
Wherefore He saith, He hath ascended up on high, He hath led captivity captive, and hath given gifts to men.''? And every one knows that the Lord Jesus, when He had ascended into heaven after the resurrection from the dead, gave the Holy Spirit, with whom they who believed were filled, and spake with the tongues of all nations. And let no one object that he says gifts, not gift: for he quoted the text from the Psalm. And in the Psalm it is read thus, '* Thou hast ascended up on high, Thou hast led captivity captive, Thou hast received gifts in men.''3 For so it stands in many Mss., especially in the Greek mss,, and so we have it translated from the Hebrew. The apostle therefore said gzf¢s, as the prophet did, not gift. But whereas the prophet said, ** Thou hast received gifts in men," the apostle has preferred saying, '' He gave gifts to men:"' and this in order that the fullest sense may be gathered from both expressions, the one prophetic, the other apostolic; because both possess the authority of a divine utterance. For both are true, as well that He gave to men,
Are all apostles? are all prophets?''® etc.) And here he has added, '"' For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ." » This is the house which, as the Psalm sings, is built up after the captivity; since the house of Christ, which house is called His Church, is built up of those who have been rescued from the devil, by whom they were held captive. But He Himself led this captivity captive, who conquered the devil. And that he might not draw with him into eternal punishment those who were to become the members of the Holy Head, He bound him first by the bonds of righteousness, and then by those of might. The devil himself, there-
4 Acts ix. 4. 6 x Cor, xii. 11. 8 Heb. ii. 4. 10 Eph. iv. 7-12.
5 Matt. xxv. 40. 7 Drstributtontbus. 9 1 Cor. xii. 29.
2 Eph. iv. 7, 8. x Tohn lv. 7-14. 3 Ps, Ixviii. 18.
11 Ps. cxxvi. 1.