The Law, Knowledge, and the Spirit
I will write them upon their mind, and no longer shall each one teach his neighbor, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for all shall know me from the least to the greatest of them, that I will be propitiatory toward their sins; this is done by promising the energy of the Spirit in these, through which also a propitiation is made by God, the lifting up of the thoughts of sin according to the law, while the spiritual unselfishness allows the propitiation to enter. And indeed, through Ezekiel, He promises to give a new heart and a new spirit for the fulfillment of our own wills.
Thus, the apostle rightly defines the life according to Christ in the things presented, saying that not in the letter is the power of sin against us made weak (Rom 7,8), since the Spirit does not come for the sake of its knowledge and its condemnation through this, but for the removal of sin and the energy of righteousness, which is not human but divine, just as it was said in the beginning that the righteousness of God is being revealed through the gospel. For those who have not heard the law, the knowledge of this approaches them, just as it was previously said that the Gentiles, not having the law, do the things of the law by nature, showing the work of the law written in their own hearts (Rom 2:15); but for those under the law, the letter of the law and the natural meaning stir up the thoughts, being convicted by the teacher so that they might be able to discern the good and the bad for themselves.
So understand this for me, he says, lest the law had been placed first, as now it is not possible for those who are still infants to understand, and there is no condemnation there (Rom 7,10); for ignorance is not subject to punishment. After these things, behold the commandment coming; there sin is astonished against us, the knowledge having come and the anger no longer dismissing itself against those things happening. In this way, sin indeed lives, gaining power and strength, but the man dies, being judged according to knowledge, and the command of the law, which gives life, stands around as a pretext for death; for without it, it is not possible for sin to be sin, nor to condemn man with death, because of this, the guilt of wickedness and the penalty of punishment are established.
All, he says, creation waits for us, and the time when we shall be seen in the glory due to us, as if nothing were more brilliant than the glory that will be about us (Rom 8). But creation falls to the sons of God, being God's possession; for the slave follows the free, and the possession is subject to the son because of his nobility. And the appropriation toward the Father subjects the slave to the sons. It is evident, then, that having grace, the sons are of God.
Greek
διάνοιαν αὐτῶν ἐπιγράψω αὐτούς, καὶ οὐ μὴ διδάξωσιν ἕκαστος τὸν πλησίον αὐτοῦ λέγον τες, γνῶθι τὸν κύριον, ὅτι πάντες εἰδήσουσίν με ἀπὸ μικροῦ ἕως μεγάλου αὐτῶν, ὅτι ἵλεως ἔσομαι ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις αὐτῶν· τὴν τοῦ πνεύματος ἐν τούτοις ἐνέρ 65 γειαν εἰς καρδίας ἐπαγγελλόμενος, δι' ἧς καὶ ἱλασμὸς παρὰ θεοῦ γίνεται, τῶν μὲν τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἐκλογισμῶν τῶν κατὰ τὸν νόμον ἀνιεμένων, τῆς δὲ πνευματικῆς ἀνεξικακίας τὸν ἱλασμὸν ἐπιχωρούσης. καὶ μὴν καὶ διὰ τοῦ Ἐζεκιὴλ δώσιν καρδίαν καινὴν καὶ πνεῦμα καινὸν ἐπαγγέλλεται εἰς τὴν τῶν ἰδίων θελημάτων ἐν ἡμῖν πλήρωσιν. ὥστε καλῶς καὶ ἐν τοῖς προκειμένοις ὁ ἀπόστολος τὴν κατὰ Χριστὸν ζωὴν ὁριζόμενος, οὐκ ἐν γράμματι καὶ τὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας παραλύεσθαί φησι καθ' ἡμῶν ἰσχυρόν, ἅτε δὴ τοῦ πνεύμα τος οὐκ εἰς γνῶσιν αὐτῆς καὶ τὴν διὰ ταύτης κατάκρισιν ἐπιδημοῦντος, ἀλλ' εἰς ἀναίρεσιν μὲν ἁμαρτίας, δικαιοσύνης δὲ ἐνέργειαν οὐκ ἀν θρωπίνης ἀλλὰ θεϊκῆς, ὡς καὶ ἐν ἀρχῇ δικαιοσύνην θεοῦ διὰ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου εἶπεν ἀποκαλύπτεσθαι. Rom 7,8 Τοῖς μὲν οὐκ ἀκούσασι νόμον φυσικῶς ἡ τούτου γνῶσις ἐγγίνεται, καθὰ καὶ πρότερον εἴρηκεν ἔθνη τὰ μὴ νόμον ἔχοντα φύσει τὰ τοῦ νόμου ποιοῦντα, γραπτὸν ἐνδείκνυσθαι τὸ ἔργον τοῦ νόμου ἐν ταῖς ἑαυτῶν καρδίαις· τοῖς δὲ ὑπὸ νόμον τὸ τοῦ νόμου γράμμα καὶ τὴν φυσικὴν ἔννοιαν ἀνακινεῖ, κατη χουμένοις ὑπὸ τοῦ διδασκάλου πρὸς τὸ καὶ συνιέναι τὸ καλὸν καὶ τὸ φαῦλον ἀφ' ἑαυτῶν δύνασθαι. Rom 7,10 Νόει γοῦν μοι, φησί, μὴ τεθέντα πρῶτον νόμον, ὡς νῦν οὐ πάρεστι τοῖς ἔτι νηπίοις καὶ συνιέναι μὴ δυναμένοις, ἐνταῦθα οὐκ ἔστιν ἐπιτίμησις· ἄγνοια γὰρ ἀνεύθυνον κόλασιν οὐχ ὑπόκειται. μετὰ ταῦτα ἐπεισιοῦσαν θεώρει τὴν ἐντολήν· ἐνταῦθα κατεξανίσταται καθ' ἡμῶν ἡ ἁμαρτία, προσγενομένης τῆς γνώσεως καὶ μηκέτι τῆς ἀγνοίας τὴν ὀργὴν ἀφιστάσης τὴν ἐπὶ τοῖς γινομένοις. οὕτω δὲ ζῇ μὲν ἡ ἁμαρτία δύναμιν καὶ ἰσχὺν λαμβάνουσα, ἀποθνήσκει δὲ ὁ ἄνθρωπος τῇ γνώσει κατα δικαζόμενος, καὶ περιίσταται τὸ ζωοποιοῦν ἀγαθὸν ἡ τοῦ νόμου πρόσταξις εἰς θανάτου πρόφασιν· ἧς γὰρ ἄνευ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν οὐχ οἷόν τε ἁμαρτίαν εἶναι, οὐδὲ καταδικάζειν θανάτῳ τὸν ἄνθρωπον, διὰ ταύτης δήπου καὶ τὸ τῆς πονηρίας ἔγκλημα καὶ τὸ τῆς κολάσεως ἐπι τίμιον συνίσταται. Rom 8, Πᾶσα, φησίν, ἡμᾶς ἡ κτίσις ἀναμένει καὶ τὸν καιρὸν ὁπότε ἐπὶ τῆς προσηκούσης ἡμῖν δόξης ὀφθησόμεθα ποθεῖ, ὡς μηδὲν εἶναι λαμπρότερον τῆς περὶ ἡμᾶς ἐσομένης εὐδοξίας. ἀκόλουθον δὲ υἱοῖς 66 θεοῦ τὴν κτίσιν ἕπεσθαι, κτῆμα οὖσαν θεοῦ· ἐλευθέρῳ γὰρ τὸ δοῦλον ἀκολουθεῖ, καὶ υἱῷ τὸ κτῆμα διὰ τὴν εὐγένειαν ὑποτέτακται. καὶ ἡ πρὸς τὸν πατέρα οἰκείωσις τοῖς υἱοῖς ὑποτάττει τὸ δοῦλον. δῆλον δὲ ὅτι κατὰ χάριν ἔχοντες τὸ υἱοὶ εἶναι θεοῦ
About this text
Apollinaris of Laodicea on Romans (catena fragments).
Catalogue & scope
Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG (Khazarzar) (Greek)
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