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Ignatius
Nor is He a mere man, by whom and in whom all things were made; for “all things were made by Him.”[1196] “When He made the heaven, I was present with Him; and I was there with Him, forming [the world along with Him], and He rejoiced in me daily.”[1197] And how could a mere man be addressed in such words as these: “Sit Thou at My right hand?”[1198] And how, again, could such an one declare: “Before Abraham was, I am?”[1199] And, “Glorify Me with Thy glory which I had before the world was?”[1200] What man could ever say, “I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me?”[1201] And of what man could it be said, “He was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world: He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not?”[1202] How could such a one be a mere man, receiving the beginning of His existence from Mary, and not rather God the Word, and the only-begotten Son? For “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,[1203] and the Word was God.”[1204] And in another place, “The Lord created Me, the beginning of His ways, for His ways, for His works. Before the world did He found Me, and before all the hills did He beget Me.”[1205]
And that our bodies are to rise again, He shows when He says, “Verily I say unto you, that the hour cometh, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live.”[1206] And [says] the apostle, “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”[1207] And that we must live soberly and righteously, he [shows when he] says again, “Be not deceived: neither adulterers, nor effeminate persons, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor fornicators, nor revilers, nor drunkards, nor thieves, can inherit the kingdom of God.”[1208] And again, “If the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised; our preaching therefore is vain, and your faith is also vain: ye are yet in your sins. Then they also that are fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. If the dead rise not, let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die.”[1209] But if such be our condition and feelings, wherein shall we differ from asses and dogs, who have no care about the future, but think only of eating, and of indulging[1210] such appetites as follow after eating? For they are unacquainted with any intelligence moving within them.
May I have joy of you in the Lord! Be ye sober. Lay aside, every one of you, all malice and beast-like fury, evil-speaking, calumny, filthy speaking, ribaldry, whispering, arrogance, drunkenness, lust, avarice, vainglory, envy, and everything akin to these. “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.”[1211] Ye presbyters, be subject to the bishop; ye deacons, to the presbyters; and ye, the people, to the presbyters and the deacons. Let my soul be for theirs who preserve this good order; and may the Lord be with them continually!
Ye husbands, love your wives; and ye wives, your husbands. Ye children, reverence your parents. Ye parents, “bring up your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”[1212]<page 109> Honour those [who continue] in virginity, as the priestesses of Christ; and the widows [that persevere] in gravity of behaviour, as the altar of God. Ye servants, wait upon your masters with [respectful] fear. Ye masters, issue orders to your servants with tenderness. Let no one among you be idle; for idleness is the mother of want. I do not enjoin these things as being a person of any consequence, although I am in bonds [for Christ]; but as a brother, I put you in mind of them. The Lord be with you!
May I enjoy your prayers! Pray ye that I may attain to Jesus. I commend unto you the Church which is at Antioch. The Churches of Philippi,[1213] whence also I write to you, salute you. Philo, your deacon, to whom also I give thanks as one who has zealously ministered to me in all things, salutes you. Agathopus, the deacon from Syria, who follows me in Christ, salutes you. “Salute ye one another with a holy kiss.”[1214] I salute you all, both male and female, who are in Christ. Fare ye well in body, and soul, and in one Spirit; and do not ye forget me. The Lord be with you!
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