Word of truth and gospel seal; earnest of inheritance (Eph 1:13–14)
heard, and you also, having heard the word of truth—which word of truth is the gospel of your salvation—in which also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. As to the phrasing, the second “in which” will seem redundant, and that has also caused the appearance that, with the thought hanging, the subordinate clause was not brought in. It is not so. Someone before us used to say that from much love toward Jesus Paul mentions him most continually and as it were redundantly, as one can also see in “in which also having believed” according to the “in which.” And it is very fitting for the Ephesians, who have shared in secret words with Paul as guide, to hear “in which you also, having heard the word of truth.” For I do not think that those who have heard only the preaching, and have not received the words of the realities in narrative and clear unfolding, hear the word of truth. For the word differs from the preaching, as Paul also teaches elsewhere when he says, “and my word and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom but in demonstration of Spirit and power”; and there too one must note that he says his word is other than his preaching. One must also examine whether in another letter it is said that some have heard the word of truth, so that the observation may appear more precisely according to Paul’s intent. But where “gospel” is named must be watched, and also the words added to it—for example “according to my gospel,” or “beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ,” or “eternal gospel,” or “gospel of the salvation of the Ephesians,” or simply “gospel,” as when Paul says of Luke, “whose praise is in the gospel through all the churches.”
And everyone who has heard the word of truth, which is the gospel of the hearer’s salvation, and has believed, is sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise; so that if one heard but did not believe, one would not be sealed. Another will say that even if one believed, yet did not advance so far as to hear the word of truth, one would still not contain the seal of the Holy Spirit of promise, which is truly an imprint and clarification of the things that ought to be imprinted and clarified by the Holy Spirit of promise. One must also ask whether “Holy Spirit of promise” is said anywhere, and what to take for the Holy Spirit of promise. I think, then, that just as the Holy Spirit, when it comes upon someone, makes holy, and the spirit of wisdom makes wise, and the spirit of understanding makes understanding, so also the spirit of promise is somehow already in the promise.
Ephesians 1:14: “who is the earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of the possession, unto the praise of his glory.” You will ask whether everyone who shares in the Holy Spirit shares in the spirit of promise, or only the one who has heard a word of truth that is a gospel of salvation and believed receives the Holy Spirit of promise; and further we should notice whether everyone who somehow shares in Holy Spirit has the earnest of the inheritance. Better to understand that, just as with those who buy something and give an earnest the earnest is given in proportion to the quantity of the whole silver, so according to the proportion of the goods each holy one is foreknown to receive, the earnest of the inheritance is given, so that from the earnest one able to discern differences of earnest-power and earnest could already declare a greater or lesser inheritance laid up for Christ’s fellow-heirs. And just as the earnest of the inheritance is not something outside us—for in each is the Holy Spirit of promise, the earnest of the promise—so the inheritance is not outside the heir, but in the
Greek
ἀκούσασι καὶ ὑμεῖς ἀκούσαντες τὸν τῆς ἀληθείας λόγον, ὅσπερ ἀληθείας λόγος τὸ εὐαγγέλιόν ἐστι τῆς σωτηρίας ὑμῶν, <ἐν ᾧ> καὶ πιστεύσαντες ἐσφραγίσθητε τῷ πνεύματι τῆς ἐπαγγελίας τῷ ἁγίῳ. δόξει δέ, ὡς πρὸς τὴν φράσιν, τὸ δεύτερον ἐν ᾧ παρέλκειν, ὅπερ καὶ αἴτιον γεγένηται τοῦ δοκεῖν ὅτι, κρεμαμένου τοῦ διανοήματος, ἡ ὑποτακτικὴ φράσις οὐκ ἐπενήνεκται. οὐχ οὕτω δὲ ἔχει· ἔλεγε δή τις τῶν πρὸ ἡμῶν, ἀπὸ τῆς πολλῆς περὶ τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἀγάπης τὸν Παῦλον συνεχέστατα αὐτοῦ μεμνῆσθαι καὶ ὡσπερεὶ παρελκόντως, ὥσπερ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐν ᾧ καὶ πιστεύσαντες ἔστιν ἰδεῖν κατὰ τὸ ἐν ᾧ. πάνυ δὲ κατὰ τοὺς Ἐφεσίους ἐστί, κεκοινωνηκότας ἀπορρήτων λόγων ὑφηγουμένου τοῦ Παύλου, τὸ ἀκούειν ἐν ᾧ καὶ ὑμεῖς ἀκούσαντες τὸν λόγον τῆς ἀληθείας. οὐκ οἶμαι γὰρ τοὺς τοῦ κηρύγματος μόνου ἀκηκοότας, καὶ τοὺς λόγους τῶν πραγμάτων μὴ παρειληφότας ἐν διηγήσει καὶ τραν<εῖ> ἀναπτύξει, ἀκούειν τὸν λόγον τῆς ἀληθείας. διαφέρει γὰρ ὁ λόγος καὶ τὸ κήρυγμα, ὡς καὶ ἐν ἄλλοις ὁ Παῦλος διδάσκει λέγων, καὶ ὁ λόγο μου καὶ τὸ κήρυγμά μου οὐκ ἐν πειθοῖ οφία λόγοι ἀλλ' ἐν ἀποδείξει πνεύματο καὶ δυνάμεω · κἀκεῖ γὰρ παρατηρητέον ὅτι ἕτερον λέγει εἶναι τὸν λόγον ἑαυτοῦ τοῦ κηρύγματος ἑαυτοῦ. ἐξεταστέον δὲ καὶ <εἰ> ἐν ἄλλῃ ἐπιστολῇ κεῖται τὸ ἀκηκοέναι τινὰς τὸν λόγον τῆ ἀληθεία , ἵνα τὸ παρατήρημα ἀκριβέστερον κατὰ τὸ βούλημα τοῦ Παύλου φανῇ. ἀλλὰ ποῦ τὸ μὲν «εὐαγγέλιον» ὀνομάζεται παρατηρητέον, <παρατηρητέον> δὲ καὶ τὰς προστιθεμένας αὐτῷ λέξεις, οἷον κατὰ τὸ εὐαγγέλιόν μου, ἢ ἀρχὴ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου Ἰη οῦ Χρι τοῦ, ἢ εὐαγγέλιον αἰώνιον, ἢ εὐαγγέλιον τῆς σωτηρίας τῶν Ἐφεσίων· ἢ ἁπλῶς «εὐαγγέλιον,» ὥσπερ ὅταν λέγῃ περὶ τοῦ Λουκᾶ ὁ Παῦλος, οὗ ὁ ἔπαινο ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ διὰ πα ῶν τῶν ἐκκλη ιῶν. σφραγίζεται δὲ τῷ πνεύματι τῆς ἐπαγγελίας τῷ ἁγίῳ πᾶς ὁ ἀκούσας τὸν τῆς ἀληθείας λόγον, ὄντα εὐαγγέλιον τῆς σωτηρίας τοῦ ἀκούοντος καὶ πιστεύοντος· ὡς εἰ ἀκούσαι μέν, μὴ πιστεύσαι δέ, οὐκ ἂν σφραγισθείη. ἄλλος δέ τις ἐρεῖ ὅτι εἰ καὶ πιστεύσαι μέν, μὴ ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον δὲ προκόπτοι ὡς ἀκούειν τὸν λόγον τῆς ἀληθείας, οὐδ' οὕτως ἂν χωρήσαι τὴν τοῦ πνεύματος ἐπαγγελίας τοῦ ἁγίου σφραγῖδα, <ἥ>τις ἐστὶν ἀληθῶς ἐκτύπωσις καὶ τράνωσις τούτων ἃ πρέπει ἐκτυποῦσθαι καὶ τρανοῦσθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ τῆς ἐπαγγελίας ἁγίου πνεύματος. ζητητέον δὲ καὶ εἴ που εἴρηται πνεῦμα ἐπαγγελίας ἅγιον, καὶ τί ἐκδεκτέον εἰς τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἐπαγγελίας τὸ ἅγιον. οἶμαι τοίνυν ὅτι ὥσπερ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, γενόμενον ἐπί τινι, ἅγιον ποιεῖ, καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς οφία σοφόν, καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς υνέ εω συνετόν, οὕτω καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἐπαγγελίας εἶναι πως ἤδη ἐν τῇ ἐπαγγελίᾳ. [i 14] ὅ ἐστιν ἀρραβὼν τῆς κληρονομίας ἡμῶν, εἰς ἀπολύτρωσιν τῆς περιποιήσεως, εἰς ἔπαινον τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ. ζητήσεις εἰ πᾶς ὁ μετέχων ἁγίου πνεύματος μετέχει τοῦ πνεύματος τῆς ἐπαγγελίας, ἢ μόνος ὁ ἀκούσας λόγου ἀληθείας, ὄντος εὐαγγελίου σωτηρίας, καὶ πιστεύσας, οὗτος λαμβάνει τὸ τῆς ἐπαγγελίας πνεῦμα ἅγιον· ἔτι δὲ καὶ τούτοις ἐπιστήσωμεν, εἰ πᾶς ὁ μετέχων ὁπώσποτε πνεύματος ἁγίου ἔχει τὸν ἀρραβῶνα τῆς κληρονομίας. βέλτιον δὲ νοεῖν ὅτι, ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῶν συνωνουμένων τι καὶ διδόντων ἀρραβῶνα κατὰ τὴν ἀναλογίαν τῆς ποσότητος τοῦ ὅλου ἀργυρίου δίδοται ἀρραβών, οὕτως κατὰ τὴν ἀναλογίαν τῶν ἑκάστου προεγνωσμένων ἁγίου μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν δίδοται ἀρραβὼν τῆς κληρονομίας, ὡς ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀρραβῶνος τὸν δυνάμενον κατανοεῖν διαφορὰς τῆς δυνάμεως τοῦ ἀρραβῶνος καὶ ἀρραβῶνος ἤδη ἂν ἀποφήνασθαι περὶ πλείονος καὶ ἐλάττονος κληρονομίας τῆς ἀποκειμένη τοῖς Χριστοῦ συγκληρονόμοις. ὥσπερ δὲ ὁ ἀρραβὼν τῆς κληρονομίας οὐχὶ ἔξω τι ἡμῶν ἐστιν (ἐν γὰρ ἑκάστῳ τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἐπαγγελίας ἐστὶ τὸ ἅγιον, ὁ ἀρραβὼν τῆς ἐπαγγελίας), οὕτως ἡ κληρονομία οὐκ ἔξωθέν ἐστι τοῦ κληρονομοῦντος, ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ
About this text
Origen of Alexandria, Fragmenta ex commentariis in epistulam ad Ephesios (Greek).
Catalogue & scope
Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG 14 (Khazarzar) (Greek)
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