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On the Resurrection of the Flesh

Tertullian

Chapter 11

About this work

Author: Tertullian

Chapter XI.—The Power of God Fully Competent to Effect the Resurrection of the Flesh.

Thus far touching my eulogy of the flesh, in

‹ Chapter 10 Chapter 12 ›

opposition

to

its

enemies

,

who

are

,

notwithstanding

,

its

greatest

friends

also

;

for

there

is

nobody

who

lives

so

much

in

accordance

with

the

flesh

as

they

who

deny

the

resurrection

of

the

flesh

,

inasmuch

as

they

despise

all

its

discipline

,

while

they

disbelieve

its

punishment

.

It

is

a

shrewd

saying

which

the

Paraclete

utters

concerning

these

persons

by

the

mouth

of

the

prophetess

Prisca

:

“

They

are

carnal

,

and

yet

they

hate

the

flesh

.

”

Since

,

then

,

the

flesh

has

the

best

guarantee

that

could

possibly

accrue

for

securing

to

it

the

recompense

of

salvation

,

ought

we

not

also

to

consider

well

the

power

,

and

might

,

and

competency

of

God

Himself

,

whether

He

be

so

great

as

to

be

able

to

rebuild

and

restore

the

edifice

of

the

flesh

,

which

had

become

dilapidated

and

blocked

up

,

and

in

every

possible

way

dislocated

?

—

whether

He

has

promulgated

in

the

public

domains

of

nature

any

analogies

to

convince

us

of

His

power

in

this

respect

,

lest

any

should

happen

to

be

still

thirsting

for

the

knowledge

of

God

,

when

faith

in

Him

must

rest

on

no

other

basis

than

the

belief

that

He

is

able

to

do

all

things

?

You

have

,

no

doubt

amongst

your

philosophers

men

who

maintain

that

this

world

is

without

a

beginning

or

a

maker

.

It

is

,

however

,

much

more

true

,

that

nearly

all

the

heresies

allow

it

an

origin

and

a

maker

,

and

ascribe

its

creation

to

our

God

.

Firmly

believe

,

therefore

,

that

He

produced

it

wholly

out

of

nothing

,

and

then

you

have

found

the

knowledge

of

God

,

by

believing

that

He

possesses

such

mighty

power

.

But

some

persons

are

too

weak

to

believe

all

this

at

first

,

owing

to

their

views

about

Matter

.

They

will

rather

have

it

,

after

the

philosophers

,

that

the

universe

was

in

the

beginning

made

by

God

out

of

underlying

matter

.

Now

,

even

if

this

opinion

could

be

held

in

truth

,

since

He

must

be

acknowledged

to

have

produced

in

His

reformation

of

matter

far

different

substances

and

far

different

forms

from

those

which

Matter

itself

possessed

,

I

should

maintain

,

with

no

less

persistence

,

that

He

produced

these

things

out

of

nothing

,

since

they

absolutely

had

no

existence

at

all

previous

to

His

production

of

them

.

Now

,

where

is

the

difference

between

a

thing’s

being

produced

out

of

nothing

or

out

of

something

,

if

so

be

that

what

existed

not

comes

into

being

,

when

even

to

have

had

no

existence

is

tantamount

to

having

been

nothing

?

The

contrary

is

likewise

true

;

for

having

once

existed

amounts

to

having

been

something

.

If

,

however

,

there

is

a

difference

,

both

alternatives

support

my

position

.

For

if

God

produced

all

things

whatever

out

of

nothing

,

He

will

be

able

to

draw

forth

from

nothing

even

the

flesh

which

had

fallen

into

nothing

;

or

if

He

moulded

other

things

out

of

matter

,

He

will

be

able

to

call

forth

the

flesh

too

from

somewhere

else

,

into

whatever

abyss

it

may

have

been

engulphed

.

And

surely

He

is

most

competent

to

re

-

create

who

created

,

inasmuch

as

it

is

a

far

greater

work

to

have

produced

than

to

have

reproduced

,

to

have

imparted

a

beginning

,

than

to

have

maintained

a

continuance

.

On

this

principle

,

you

may

be

quite

sure

that

the

restoration

of

the

flesh

is

easier

than

its

first

formation

.

Notes

1
Carnes. [To explain the state of mind in which this sentence is written, let the reader kindly turn back to Vol. II. p. 4, the paragraph, “As Eusebius informs us, etc.”]
2
Licentiam.
3
Oehler explains “devoratum” by “interceptum.”