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On the Flesh of Christ

Tertullian

Chapter 15

About this work

Author: Tertullian

Chapter XV.—The Valentinian Figment of Christ’s Flesh Being of a Spiritual Nature, Examined and Refuted Out of Scripture.

Valentinus, indeed, on the strength of his heretical system

‹ Chapter 14 Chapter 16 ›

,

might

consistently

devise

a

spiritual

flesh

for

Christ

.

Any

one

who

refused

to

believe

that

that

flesh

was

human

might

pretend

it

to

be

anything

he

liked

,

forasmuch

as

(

and

this

remark

is

applicable

to

all

heretics

)

,

if

it

was

not

human

,

and

was

not

born

of

man

,

I

do

not

see

of

what

substance

Christ

Himself

spoke

when

He

called

Himself

man

and

the

Son

of

man

,

saying

:

“

But

now

ye

seek

to

kill

me

,

a

man

that

hath

told

you

the

truth

;

”

and

“

The

Son

of

man

is

Lord

of

the

Sabbath

-

day

.

”

For

it

is

of

Him

that

Isaiah

writes

:

“

A

man

of

suffering

,

and

acquainted

with

the

bearing

of

weakness

;

”

and

Jeremiah

:

“

He

is

a

man

,

and

who

hath

known

Him

?

”

and

Daniel

:

“

Upon

the

clouds

(

He

came

)

as

the

Son

of

man

.

”

The

Apostle

Paul

likewise

says

:

“

The

man

Christ

Jesus

is

the

one

Mediator

between

God

and

man

.

”

Also

Peter

,

in

the

Acts

of

the

Apostles

,

speaks

of

Him

as

verily

human

(

when

he

says

)

,

“

Jesus

Christ

was

a

man

approved

of

God

among

you

.

”

These

passages

alone

ought

to

suffice

as

a

prescriptive

testimony

in

proof

that

Christ

had

human

flesh

derived

from

man

,

and

not

spiritual

,

and

that

His

flesh

was

not

composed

of

soul

,

nor

of

stellar

substance

,

and

that

it

was

not

an

imaginary

flesh

;

(

and

no

doubt

they

would

be

sufficient

)

if

heretics

could

only

divest

themselves

of

all

their

contentious

warmth

and

artifice

.

For

,

as

I

have

read

in

some

writer

of

Valentinus

’

wretched

faction

,

they

refuse

at

the

outset

to

believe

that

a

human

and

earthly

substance

was

created

for

Christ

,

lest

the

Lord

should

be

regarded

as

inferior

to

the

angels

,

who

are

not

formed

of

earthly

flesh

;

whence

,

too

,

it

would

be

necessary

that

,

if

His

flesh

were

like

ours

,

it

should

be

similarly

born

,

not

of

the

Spirit

,

nor

of

God

,

but

of

the

will

of

man

.

Why

,

moreover

,

should

it

be

born

,

not

of

corruptible

[

seed

]

,

but

of

incorruptible

?

Why

,

again

,

since

His

flesh

has

both

risen

and

returned

to

heaven

,

is

not

ours

,

being

like

His

,

also

taken

up

at

once

?

Or

else

,

why

does

not

His

flesh

,

since

it

is

like

ours

,

return

in

like

manner

to

the

ground

,

and

suffer

dissolution

?

Such

objections

even

the

heathen

used

constantly

to

bandy

about

.

Was

the

Son

of

God

reduced

to

such

a

depth

of

degradation

?

Again

,

if

He

rose

again

as

a

precedent

for

our

hope

,

how

is

it

that

nothing

like

it

has

been

thought

desirable

(

to

happen

)

to

ourselves

?

Such

views

are

not

improper

for

heathens

and

they

are

fit

and

natural

for

the

heretics

too

.

For

,

indeed

,

what

difference

is

there

between

them

,

except

it

be

that

the

heathen

,

in

not

believing

,

do

believe

;

while

the

heretics

,

in

believing

,

do

not

believe

?

Then

,

again

,

they

read

:

“

Thou

madest

Him

a

little

less

than

angels

;

”

and

they

deny

the

lower

nature

of

that

Christ

who

declares

Himself

to

be

,

“

not

a

man

,

but

a

worm

;

”

who

also

had

“

no

form

nor

comeliness

,

but

His

form

was

ignoble

,

despised

more

than

all

men

,

a

man

in

suffering

,

and

acquainted

with

the

bearing

of

weakness

.

”

Here

they

discover

a

human

being

mingled

with

a

divine

one

and

so

they

deny

the

manhood

.

They

believe

that

He

died

,

and

maintain

that

a

being

which

has

died

was

born

of

an

incorruptible

substance

;

as

if

,

forsooth

,

corruptibility

were

something

else

than

death

!

But

our

flesh

,

too

,

ought

immediately

to

have

risen

again

.

Wait

a

while

.

Christ

has

not

yet

subdued

His

enemies

,

so

as

to

be

able

to

triumph

over

them

in

company

with

His

friends

.

Notes

1
John viii. 40.
2
Matt. xii. 8.
3
Isa. liii. 3, Sept.
4
Jer. xvii. 9, Sept.
5
Dan. vii. 13.
6
1 Tim. ii. 5.
7
Acts ii. 22.
8
Vice præscriptionis.
9
Animalis.
10
Factiuncula.
11
Informatam.
12
Volutabant: see Lactantius, iv. 22.
13
De nobis probatum est: or, perhaps, “has been proved to have happened in our own case.”
14
Ps. viii. 6, Sept.
15
Ps. xxii. 6.
16
Isa. liii. 3, Sept.
17
Ex incorruptela.
18
Corruptela.