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Against Heresies
Irenaeus of Lyons
Book 4 · Chapter 37 About this work A five-book account and refutation of competing Christian movements that also develops Irenaeus’s positive theology of creation, Scripture, apostolic tradition, incarnation, salvation, and recapitulation in Christ.
Author Irenaeus of Lyons
Date c. AD 175–185
Origin Lyons, Gaul
Genre Heresiology Men are possessed of free will, and endowed with the faculty of making a choice. It is not true, therefore, that some are by nature good, and others bad. Section 1 1 . This expression [ of our Lord ]
‹ Book 4 · Chapter 36 Book 4 · Chapter 38 ›,
“
How
often
would
I
have
gathered
thy
children
together
,
and
thou
wouldest
not
,
”
set
forth
the
ancient
law
of
human
liberty
,
because
God
made
man
a
free
[
agent
]
from
the
beginning
,
possessing
his
own
power
,
even
as
he
does
his
own
soul
,
to
obey
the
behests
(
ad
utendum
sententia
)
of
God
voluntarily
,
and
not
by
compulsion
of
God
.
For
there
is
no
coercion
with
God
,
but
a
good
will
[
towards
us
]
is
present
with
Him
continually
.
And
therefore
does
He
give
good
counsel
to
all
.
And
in
man
,
as
well
as
in
angels
,
He
has
placed
the
power
of
choice
(
for
angels
are
rational
beings
)
,
so
that
those
who
had
yielded
obedience
might
justly
possess
what
is
good
,
given
indeed
by
God
,
but
preserved
by
themselves
.
On
the
other
hand
,
they
who
have
not
obeyed
shall
,
with
justice
,
be
not
found
in
possession
of
the
good
,
and
shall
receive
condign
punishment
:
for
God
did
kindly
bestow
on
them
what
was
good
;
but
they
themselves
did
not
diligently
keep
it
,
nor
deem
it
something
precious
,
but
poured
contempt
upon
His
super
-
eminent
goodness
.
Rejecting
therefore
the
good
,
and
as
it
were
spuing
it
out
,
they
shall
all
deservedly
incur
the
just
judgment
of
God
,
which
also
the
Apostle
Paul
testifies
in
his
Epistle
to
the
Romans
,
where
he
says
,
“
But
dost
thou
despise
the
riches
of
His
goodness
,
and
patience
,
and
long
-
suffering
,
being
ignorant
that
the
goodness
of
God
leadeth
thee
to
repentance
?
But
according
to
thy
hardness
and
impenitent
heart
,
thou
treasurest
to
thyself
wrath
against
the
day
of
wrath
,
and
the
revelation
of
the
righteous
judgment
of
God
.
”
“
But
glory
and
honour
,
”
he
says
,
“
to
every
one
that
doeth
good
.
”
God
therefore
has
given
that
which
is
good
,
as
the
apostle
tells
us
in
this
Epistle
,
and
they
who
work
it
shall
receive
glory
and
honour
,
because
they
have
done
that
which
is
good
when
they
had
it
in
their
power
not
to
do
it
;
but
those
who
do
it
not
shall
receive
the
just
judgment
of
God
,
because
they
did
not
work
good
when
they
had
it
in
their
power
so
to
do
.
Section 2 2 . But if some had been made by nature bad , and others good , these latter would not be deserving of praise for being good , for such were they created ; nor would the former be reprehensible , for thus they were made [ originally ] . But since all men are of the same nature , able both to hold fast and to do what is good ; and , on the other hand , having also the power to cast it from them and not to do it , — some do justly receive praise even among men who are under the control of good laws ( and much more from God ) , and obtain deserved testimony of their choice of good in general , and of persevering therein ; but the others are blamed , and receive a just condemnation , because of their rejection of what is fair and good . And therefore the prophets used to exhort men to what was good , to act justly and to work righteousness , as I have so largely demonstrated , because it is in our power so to do , and because by excessive negligence we might become forgetful , and thus stand in need of that good counsel which the good God has given us to know by means of the prophets .
Section 3 3 . For this reason the Lord also said , “ Let your light so shine before men , that they may see your good deeds , and glorify your Father who is in heaven . ” And , “ Take heed to yourselves , lest perchance your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting , and drunkenness , and worldly cares . ” And , “ Let your loins be girded about , and your lamps burning , and ye like unto men that wait for their Lord , when He returns from the wedding , that when He cometh and knocketh , they may open to Him . Blessed is that servant whom his Lord , when He cometh , shall find so doing . ” And again , “ The servant who knows his Lord’s will , and does it not , shall be beaten with many stripes . ” And , “ Why call ye me , Lord , Lord , and do not the things which I say ? ” And again , “ But if the servant say in his heart , The Lord delayeth , and begin to beat his fellow - servants , and to eat , and drink , and to be drunken , his Lord will come in a day on which he does not expect Him , and shall cut him in sunder , and appoint his portion with the hypocrites . ” All such passages demonstrate the independent will of man , and at the same time the counsel which God conveys to him , by which He exhorts us to submit ourselves to Him , and seeks to turn us away from [ the sin of ] unbelief against Him , without , however , in any way coercing us .
Section 4 4 . No doubt , if any one is unwilling to follow the Gospel itself , it is in his power [ to reject it ] , but it is not expedient . For it is in man’s power to disobey God , and to forfeit what is good ; but [ such conduct ] brings no small amount of injury and mischief . And on this account Paul says , “ All things are lawful to me , but all things are not expedient ; ” referring both to the liberty of man , in which respect “ all things are lawful , ” God exercising no compulsion in regard to him ; and [ by the expression ] “ not expedient ” pointing out that we “ should not use our liberty as a cloak of maliciousness , ” for this is not expedient . And again he says , “ Speak ye every man truth with his neighbour . ” And , “ Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth , neither filthiness , nor foolish talking , nor scurrility , which are not convenient , but rather giving of thanks . ” And , “ For ye were sometimes darkness , but now are ye light in the Lord ; walk honestly as children of the light , not in rioting and drunkenness , not in chambering and wantonness , not in anger and jealousy . And such were some of you ; but ye have been washed , but ye have been sanctified in the name of our Lord . ” If then it were not in our power to do or not to do these things , what reason had the apostle , and much more the Lord Himself , to give us counsel to do some things , and to abstain from others ? But because man is possessed of free will from the beginning , and God is possessed of free will , in whose likeness man was created , advice is always given to him to keep fast the good , which thing is done by means of obedience to God .
Section 5 5 . And not merely in works , but also in faith , has God preserved the will of man free and under his own control , saying , “ According to thy faith be it unto thee ; ” thus showing that there is a faith specially belonging to man , since he has an opinion specially his own . And again , “ All things are possible to him that believeth ; ” and , “ Go thy way ; and as thou hast believed , so be it done unto thee . ” Now all such expressions demonstrate that man is in his own power with respect to faith . And for this reason , “ he that believeth in Him has eternal life while he who believeth not the Son hath not eternal life , but the wrath of God shall remain upon him . ” In the same manner therefore the Lord , both showing His own goodness , and indicating that man is in his own free will and his own power , said to Jerusalem , “ How often have I wished to gather thy children together , as a hen [ gathereth ] her chickens under her wings , and ye would not ! Wherefore your house shall be left unto you desolate . ”
Section 6 6 . Those , again , who maintain the opposite to these [ conclusions ] , do themselves present the Lord as destitute of power , as if , forsooth , He were unable to accomplish what He willed ; or , on the other hand , as being ignorant that they were by nature “ material , ” as these men express it , and such as cannot receive His immortality . “ But He should not , ” say they , “ have created angels of such a nature that they were capable of transgression , nor men who immediately proved ungrateful towards Him ; for they were made rational beings , endowed with the power of examining and judging , and were not [ formed ] as things irrational or of a [ merely ] animal nature , which can do nothing of their own will , but are drawn by necessity and compulsion to what is good , in which things there is one mind and one usage , working mechanically in one groove ( inflexibiles et sine judicio ) , who are incapable of being anything else except just what they had been created . ” But upon this supposition , neither would what is good be grateful to them , nor communion with God be precious , nor would the good be very much to be sought after , which would present itself without their own proper endeavour , care , or study , but would be implanted of its own accord and without their concern . Thus it would come to pass , that their being good would be of no consequence , because they were so by nature rather than by will , and are possessors of good spontaneously , not by choice ; and for this reason they would not understand this fact , that good is a comely thing , nor would they take pleasure in it . For how can those who are ignorant of good enjoy it ? Or what credit is it to those who have not aimed at it ? And what crown is it to those who have not followed in pursuit of it , like those victorious in the contest ?
Section 7 7 . On this account , too , did the Lord assert that the kingdom of heaven was the portion of “ the violent ; ” and He says , “ The violent take it by force ; ” that is , those who by strength and earnest striving are on the watch to snatch it away on the moment . On this account also Paul the Apostle says to the Corinthians , “ Know ye not , that they who run in a racecourse , do all indeed run , but one receiveth the prize ? So run , that ye may obtain . Every one also who engages in the contest is temperate in all things : now these men [ do it ] that they may obtain a corruptible crown , but we an incorruptible . But I so run , not as uncertainty ; I fight , not as one beating the air ; but I make my body livid , and bring it into subjection , lest by any means , when preaching to others , I may myself be rendered a castaway . ” This able wrestler , therefore , exhorts us to the struggle for immortality , that we may be crowned , and may deem the crown precious , namely , that which is acquired by our struggle , but which does not encircle us of its own accord ( sed non ultro coalitam ) . And the harder we strive , so much is it the more valuable ; while so much the more valuable it is , so much the more should we esteem it . And indeed those things are not esteemed so highly which come spontaneously , as those which are reached by much anxious care . Since , then , this power has been conferred upon us , both the Lord has taught and the apostle has enjoined us the more to love God , that we may reach this [ prize ] for ourselves by striving after it . For otherwise , no doubt , this our good would be [ virtually ] irrational , because not the result of trial . Moreover , the faculty of seeing would not appear to be so desirable , unless we had known what a loss it were to be devoid of sight ; and health , too , is rendered all the more estimable by an acquaintance with disease ; light , also , by contrasting it with darkness ; and life with death . Just in the same way is the heavenly kingdom honourable to those who have known the earthly one . But in proportion as it is more honourable , so much the more do we prize it ; and if we have prized it more , we shall be the more glorious in the presence of God . The Lord has therefore endured all these things on our behalf , in order that we , having been instructed by means of them all , may be in all respects circumspect for the time to come , and that , having been rationally taught to love God , we may continue in His perfect love : for God has displayed long - suffering in the case of man’s apostasy ; while man has been instructed by means of it , as also the prophet says , “ Thine own apostasy shall heal thee ; ” God thus determining all things beforehand for the bringing of man to perfection , for his edification , and for the revelation of His dispensations , that goodness may both be made apparent , and righteousness perfected , and that the Church may be fashioned after the image of His Son , and that man may finally be brought to maturity at some future time , becoming ripe through such privileges to see and comprehend God .
