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THAT divine teacher of the Churches when in writing to the Romans he
was reproving or rather lamenting the unbelief of the Jews, i.e., of his
own brethren, made use of these words: "I wished myself," said he, "to be
accursed from Christ, for my brethren, who are my kinsmen according to the
flesh, who are Israelites, to whom belongeth the adoption as of children,
and the glory, and the testaments, and the giving of the law, and the
service of God, and the promises: whose are the fathers, of whom is Christ
according to the flesh, who is over all things, God blessed for ever."
O, the love of that most faithful Apostle, and most kindly kinsman! who in
his infinite charity wished to die--as a kinsman for his relations, and as
a master for his disciples. And what then was the reason why he wished to
die? Only one; viz., that they might live. But in what did their life
consist? Simply in this, as he himself says, that they might recognize a
Divine Christ born according to the flesh, of their own flesh. And
therefore the Apostle grieved the more, because those who ought to have
loved Him the more as sprung from their own stock, failed to understand
that He was born of Israel. "Of whom," said he, "is Christ according to the
flesh, who is over all things, God blessed for ever." Clearly he lays down
that from them according to the flesh, was born that Christ who is over
all, God blessed for ever. You certainly cannot deny that Christ was born
from them according to the flesh. But the same Person, who was born from
them, is God. How can you get round this? How can you shuffle out of it?
The Apostle says that Christ who was born of Israel according to the flesh,
is God. Teach us, if you can, at what time He did not exist. "Of whom," he
says, "is Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God." You see
that because the Apostle has united and joined together these, "God" cannot
possibly be separated from "Christ." For just as the Apostle declares that
Christ is of them, so he asserts that God is in Christ. You must either
deny both of these statements, or you must accept both. Christ is said to
be born of them according to the flesh: but the same Person is declared by
the Apostle to be "God in Christ." Whence also he says elsewhere: "For God
was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself." It is absolutely
impossible to separate one from the other. Either deny that Christ sprang
from them, or admit that there was born of the virgin God in Christ, "who
is," as he says, "over all, God blessed for ever."
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