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The evil demon, however, being unable to tear certain others from
their allegiance to the Christ of God, yet found them susceptible in
a different direction, and so brought them over to his own purposes.
The ancients quite properly called these men Ebionites, because they
held poor and mean opinions concerning Christ. For they considered
him a plain and common man, who was justified only because of his
superior virtue, and who was the fruit of the intercourse of a man with
Mary. In their opinion the observance of the ceremonial law was
altogether necessary, on the ground that they could not be saved by
faith in Christ alone and by a corresponding life. There were
others, however, besides them, that were of the same name, but
avoided the strange and absurd beliefs of the former, and did not deny
that the Lord was born of a virgin and of the Holy Spirit. But
nevertheless, inasmuch as they also refused to acknowledge that he
pre-existed, being God, Word, and Wisdom, they turned aside into
the impiety of the former, especially when they, like them,
endeavored to observe strictly the bodily worship of the law. These
men, moreover, thought that it was necessary to reject all the
epistles of the apostle, whom they called an apostate from the law;
and they used only the so-called Gospel according to the Hebrews and
made small account of the rest. The Sabbath and the rest of the
discipline of the Jews they observed just like them, but at the same
time, like us, they celebrated the Lord's days as a memorial of the
resurrection of the Saviour. Wherefore, in consequence of such a
course they received the name of Ebionites, which signified the
poverty of their understanding. For this is the name by which a poor
man is called among the Hebrews.
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