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On the Flesh of Christ

Tertullian

Chapter 20

About this work

Author: Tertullian

Chapter XX.—Christ Born of a Virgin, of Her Substance. The Physiological Facts of His Real and Exact Birth of a Human Mother, as Suggested by Certain Passages of Scripture.

But to what shifts you resort, in your attempt to

‹ Chapter 19 Chapter 21 ›

rob

the

syllable

ex

(

of

)

of

its

proper

force

as

a

preposition

,

and

to

substitute

another

for

it

in

a

sense

not

found

throughout

the

Holy

Scriptures

!

You

say

that

He

was

born

through

a

virgin

,

not

of

a

virgin

,

and

in

a

womb

,

not

of

a

womb

,

because

the

angel

in

the

dream

said

to

Joseph

,

“

That

which

is

born

in

her

”

(

not

of

her

)

“

is

of

the

Holy

Ghost

.

”

But

the

fact

is

,

if

he

had

meant

“

of

her

,

”

he

must

have

said

“

in

her

;

”

for

that

which

was

of

her

,

was

also

in

her

.

The

angel’s

expression

,

therefore

,

“

in

her

,

”

has

precisely

the

same

meaning

as

the

phrase

“

of

her

.

”

It

is

,

however

,

a

fortunate

circumstance

that

Matthew

also

,

when

tracing

down

the

Lord’s

descent

from

Abraham

to

Mary

,

says

,

“

Jacob

begat

Joseph

the

husband

of

Mary

,

of

whom

was

born

Christ

.

”

But

Paul

,

too

,

silences

these

critics

when

he

says

,

“

God

sent

forth

His

Son

,

made

of

a

woman

.

”

Does

he

mean

through

a

woman

,

or

in

a

woman

?

Nay

more

,

for

the

sake

of

greater

emphasis

,

he

uses

the

word

“

made

”

rather

than

born

,

although

the

use

of

the

latter

expression

would

have

been

simpler

.

But

by

saying

“

made

,

”

he

not

only

confirmed

the

statement

,

“

The

Word

was

made

flesh

,

”

but

he

also

asserted

the

reality

of

the

flesh

which

was

made

of

a

virgin

.

We

shall

have

also

the

support

of

the

Psalms

on

this

point

,

not

the

“

Psalms

”

indeed

of

Valentinus

the

apostate

,

and

heretic

,

and

Platonist

,

but

the

Psalms

of

David

,

the

most

illustrious

saint

and

well

-

known

prophet

.

He

sings

to

us

of

Christ

,

and

through

his

voice

Christ

indeed

also

sang

concerning

Himself

.

Hear

,

then

,

Christ

the

Lord

speaking

to

God

the

Father

:

“

Thou

art

He

that

didst

draw

me

out

of

my

mother’s

womb

.

”

Here

is

the

first

point

.

“

Thou

art

my

hope

from

my

mother’s

breasts

;

upon

Thee

have

I

been

cast

from

the

womb

.

”

Here

is

another

point

.

“

Thou

art

my

God

from

my

mother’s

belly

.

”

Here

is

a

third

point

.

Now

let

us

carefully

attend

to

the

sense

of

these

passages

.

“

Thou

didst

draw

me

,

”

He

says

,

“

out

of

the

womb

.

”

Now

what

is

it

which

is

drawn

,

if

it

be

not

that

which

adheres

,

that

which

is

firmly

fastened

to

anything

from

which

it

is

drawn

in

order

to

be

sundered

?

If

He

clove

not

to

the

womb

,

how

could

He

have

been

drawn

from

it

?

If

He

who

clove

thereto

was

drawn

from

it

,

how

could

He

have

adhered

to

it

,

if

it

were

not

that

,

all

the

while

He

was

in

the

womb

,

He

was

tied

to

it

,

as

to

His

origin

,

by

the

umbilical

cord

,

which

communicated

growth

to

Him

from

the

matrix

?

Even

when

one

strange

matter

amalgamates

with

another

,

it

becomes

so

entirely

incorporated

with

that

with

which

it

amalgamates

,

that

when

it

is

drawn

off

from

it

,

it

carries

with

it

some

part

of

the

body

from

which

it

is

torn

,

as

if

in

consequence

of

the

severance

of

the

union

and

growth

which

the

constituent

pieces

had

communicated

to

each

other

.

But

what

were

His

“

mother’s

breasts

”

which

He

mentions

?

No

doubt

they

were

those

which

He

sucked

.

Midwives

,

and

doctors

,

and

naturalists

,

can

tell

us

,

from

the

nature

of

women’s

breasts

,

whether

they

usually

flow

at

any

other

time

than

when

the

womb

is

affected

with

pregnancy

,

when

the

veins

convey

therefrom

the

blood

of

the

lower

parts

to

the

mamilla

,

and

in

the

act

of

transference

convert

the

secretion

into

the

nutritious

substance

of

milk

.

Whence

it

comes

to

pass

that

during

the

period

of

lactation

the

monthly

issues

are

suspended

.

But

if

the

Word

was

made

flesh

of

Himself

without

any

communication

with

a

womb

,

no

mother’s

womb

operating

upon

Him

with

its

usual

function

and

support

,

how

could

the

lacteal

fountain

have

been

conveyed

(

from

the

womb

)

to

the

breasts

,

since

(

the

womb

)

can

only

effect

the

change

by

actual

possession

of

the

proper

substance

?

But

it

could

not

possibly

have

had

blood

for

transformation

into

milk

,

unless

it

possessed

the

causes

of

blood

also

,

that

is

to

say

,

the

severance

(

by

birth

)

of

its

own

flesh

from

the

mother’s

womb

.

Now

it

is

easy

to

see

what

was

the

novelty

of

Christ’s

being

born

of

a

virgin

.

It

was

simply

this

,

that

(

He

was

born

)

of

a

virgin

in

the

real

manner

which

we

have

indicated

,

in

order

that

our

regeneration

might

have

virginal

purity

,

—

spiritually

cleansed

from

all

pollutions

through

Christ

,

who

was

Himself

a

virgin

,

even

in

the

flesh

,

in

that

He

was

born

of

a

virgin’s

flesh

.

Notes

1
Indicating the material or ingredient, “out of.”
2
Per.
3
Ex.
4
Matt. i. 20.
5
Matt. i. 16.
6
Grammaticis.
7
Gal. iv. 4.
8
John i. 14.
9
Avulsisti.
10
Ps. xxii. 9.
11
Vers. 9, 10.
12
Ver. 10.
13
i.e. of His flesh.
14
Concarnatus et convisceratus: “united in flesh and internal structure.”
15
Sentinam illam inferni sanguinis.
16
Lactiorem.
17
Avulsionem.