Origen was
able to summon numerous citations from Scripture to support his emphasis on
human moral responsibility, (Mi. 6:8; Dt. 30:15, 19; Is. 1:19, 20; Ps 81:13,
14; Mt. 5.39, 22, 28; 7:24; 26; 25:34-35, 41; Rom 2:4-10) but he also
acknowledged passages where Scripture appears to contradict his argument,
notably in the case of God’s hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, (Ex. 4:21; 7:3;
9:12; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10, 14.4) and in Paul’s apparent denials of free will
and assertions that all is finally in the hands of God. (Rom. 9:16, 18-21;
Phil. 2:13) With regards to these difficult passages, Origen insisted that
Scripture was not denying the validity of human agency. Instead, it was
affirming the complexity of the interaction of divine grace and human agency.
It was witnessing to the reality that although grace is indispensable for
salvation, its operation is manifold, never compelling its object but always
fitting to the receptive capacity of the person to whom it comes. (Benjamin
Drewery, Origen and the Doctrine of Grace [London: Epworth Press, 1960],
15-16, 86) God alone has complete knowledge of all the individual souls and of
the means most suitable for their case and oversight. (De princ. 3.1.14)
Origen employed medical and pedagogical imagery to reinforce the notion of the
individualized divine care of souls. God adapts the method of teaching or
healing to the particular case. (De princ. 3.1.19) Origen also used
navigational imagery to indicate that although human efforts are necessary, the
“greater part” of human perfection is dependent upon factors which, like the
wind and water, are subject to divine, not to human direction. (De princ.
3.1.19) The emphasis both on human responsibility and on the variegated
operation of grace would become important notions for Cassian, as well. (Rebecca
Harden Weaver, Divine Grace and Human Agency: A Study of the Semi-Pelagian
Controversy [Patristic Monograph Series 15; Macon, Ga.: Mercer University
Press, 1996], 80)
Commenting on Pharaoh’s heart being hardened:
Origen had
spoken of God’s withholding correction until the time is ripe for repentance.
(Rebecca Harden Weaver, Divine Grace and Human Agency: A Study of the
Semi-Pelagian Controversy [Patristic Monograph Series 15; Macon, Ga.:
Mercer University Press, 1996], 219)
Reference is made to De princ. 3.1.7-13:
7. But,
seeing there are found in the sacred Scriptures themselves certain expressions
occurring in such a connection, that the opposite of this may appear capable of
being understood from them, let us bring them forth before us, and, discussing
them according to the rule of piety, let us furnish an explanation of them, in
order that from those few passages which we now expound, the solution of those
others which resemble them, and by which any power over the will seems to be
excluded, may become clear. Those
expressions, accordingly, make an impression on very many, which are used by
God in speaking of Pharaoh, as when He frequently says, “I will harden Pharaoh’s
heart.” For if he is hardened by God,
and commits sin in consequence of being so hardened, the cause of his sin is
not himself. And if so, it will appear
that Pharaoh does not possess freedom of will; and it will be maintained, as a
consequence, that, agreeably to this illustration, neither do others who perish
owe the cause of their destruction to the freedom of their own will. That expression, also, in Ezekiel, when he
says, “I will take away their stony hearts, and will give them hearts of flesh,
that they may walk in My precepts, and keep My ways,” may impress some,
inasmuch as it seems to be a gift of God, either to walk in His ways or to keep
His precepts, if He take away that stony heart which is an obstacle to the
keeping of His commandments, and bestow and implant a better and more
impressible heart, which is called now a heart of flesh. Consider also the nature of the answer given
in the Gospel by our Lord and Saviour to those who inquired of Him why He spoke
to the multitude in parables. His words
are: “That seeing they may not see; and
hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest they should be converted, and
their sins be forgiven them.” The words, moreover, used by the Apostle Paul,
that “it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that
showeth mercy;” in another passage also, “that to will and to do are of God:”
and again, elsewhere, “Therefore hath He mercy upon whom He will, and whom He
will He hardeneth. Thou wilt say then
unto me, Why doth He yet find fault? For
who shall resist His will? O man, who
art thou that repliest against God?
Shall the thing formed say to him who hath formed it, Why hast thou made
me thus? Hath not the potter power over
the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another to
dishonour?” —these and similar declarations seem to have no small influence in
preventing very many from believing that every one is to be considered as
having freedom over his own will, and in making it appear to be a consequence
of the will of God whether a man is either saved or lost.
8. Let us
begin, then, with those words which were spoken to Pharaoh, who is said to have
been hardened by God, in order that he might not let the people go; and, along
with his case, the language of the apostle also will be considered, where he
says, “Therefore He hath mercy on whom He will, and whom He will He hardeneth.”
For it is on these passages chiefly that the heretics rely, asserting that
salvation is not in our own power, but that souls are of such a nature as must
by all means be either lost or saved; and that in no way can a soul which is of
an evil nature become good, or one which is of a virtuous nature be made
bad. And hence they maintain that Pharaoh,
too, being of a ruined nature, was on that account hardened by God, who hardens
those that are of an earthly nature, but has compassion on those who are of a
spiritual nature. Let us see, then, what
is the meaning of their assertion; and let us, in the first place, request them
to tell us whether they maintain that the soul of Pharaoh was of an earthly
nature, such as they term lost. They
will undoubtedly answer that it was of an earthly nature. If so, then to believe God, or to obey Him,
when his nature opposed his so doing, was an impossibility. And if this were his condition by nature,
what further need was there for his heart to be hardened, and this not once,
but several times, unless indeed because it was possible for him to yield to
persuasion? Nor could any one be said to
be hardened by another, save him who of himself was not obdurate. And if he were not obdurate of himself, it
follows that neither was he of an earthly nature, but such an one as might give
way when overpowered by signs and wonders.
But he was necessary for God’s purpose, in order that, for the saving of
the multitude, He might manifest in him His power by his offering resistance to
numerous miracles, and struggling against the will of God, and his heart being
by this means said to be hardened. Such
are our answers, in the first place, to these persons; and by these their
assertion may be overturned, according to which they think that Pharaoh was
destroyed in consequence of his evil nature. And with regard to the language of
the Apostle Paul, we must answer them in a similar way. For who are they whom
God hardens, according to your view? Those, namely, whom you term of a ruined
nature, and who, I am to suppose, would have done something else had they not
been hardened. If, indeed, they come to
destruction in consequence of being hardened, they no longer perish naturally,
but in virtue of what befalls them. Then, in the next place, upon whom does God
show mercy? On those, namely, who are to
be saved. And in what respect do those
persons stand in need of a second compassion, who are to be saved once by their
nature, and so come naturally to blessedness, except that it is shown even from
their case, that, because it was possible for them to perish, they therefore
obtain mercy, that so they may not perish, but come to salvation, and possess
the kingdom of the good. And let this be
our answer to those who devise and invent the fable of good or bad natures,
i.e., of earthly or spiritual souls, in consequence of which, as they say, each
one is either saved or lost.
9. And now we must return an answer also to
those who would have the God of the law to be just only, and not also good; and
let us ask such in what manner they consider the heart of Pharaoh to have been
hardened by God—by what acts or by what prospective arrangements. For we must
observe the conception of a God who in our opinion is both just and good, but
according to them only just. And let
them show us how a God whom they also acknowledge to be just, can with justice
cause the heart of a man to be hardened, that, in consequence of that very
hardening, he may sin and be ruined. And
how shall the justice of God be defended, if He Himself is the cause of the
destruction of those whom, owing to their unbelief (through their being
hardened), He has afterwards condemned by the authority of a judge? For why does He blame him, saying, “But since
thou wilt not let My people go, lo, I will smite all the first-born in Egypt,
even thy first-born,” and whatever else was spoken through Moses by God to
Pharaoh? For it behoves every one who maintains the truth of what is recorded
in Scripture, and who desires to show that the God of the law and the prophets
is just, to render a reason for all these things, and to show how there is in
them nothing at all derogatory to the justice of God, since, although they deny
His goodness, they admit that He is a just judge, and creator of the
world. Different, however, is the method
of our reply to those who assert that the creator of this world is a malignant
being, i.e., a devil.
10. But
since we acknowledge the God who spoke by Moses to be not only just, but also
good, let us carefully inquire how it is in keeping with the character of a
just and good Deity to have hardened the heart of Pharaoh. And let us see whether, following the example
of the Apostle Paul, we are able to solve the difficulty by help of some
parallel instances: if we can show,
e.g., that by one and the same act God has pity upon one individual, but
hardens another; not purposing or desiring that he who is hardened should be
so, but because, in the manifestation of His goodness and patience, the heart
of those who treat His kindness and forbearance with contempt and insolence is
hardened by the punishment of their crimes being delayed; while those, on the
other hand, who make His goodness and patience the occasion of their repentance
and reformation, obtain compassion. To show more clearly, however, what we
mean, let us take the illustration employed by the Apostle Paul in the Epistle
to the Hebrews, where he says, “For the earth, which drinketh in the rain that
cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is
dressed, will receive blessing from God; but that which beareth thorns and
briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing, whose end is to be burned.” Now from those words of Paul which we have
quoted, it is clearly shown that by one and the same act on the part of
God—that, viz., by which He sends rain upon the earth—one portion of the
ground, when carefully cultivated, brings forth good fruits; while another,
neglected and uncared for, produces thorns and thistles. And if one, speaking as it were in the person
of the rain, were to say, “It is I, the rain, that have made the good fruits,
and it is I that have caused the thorns and thistles to grow,” however hard the
statement might appear, it would nevertheless be true; for unless the rain had
fallen, neither fruits, nor thorns, nor thistles would have sprung up, whereas
by the coming of the rain the earth gave birth to both. Now, although it is due to the beneficial
action of the rain that the earth has produced herbs of both kinds, it is not
to the rain that the diversity of the herbs is properly to be ascribed; but on
those will justly rest the blame for the bad seed, who, although they might
have turned up the ground by frequent ploughing, and have broken the clods by
repeated harrowing, and have extirpated all useless and noxious weeds, and have
cleared and prepared the fields for the coming showers by all the labour and
toil which cultivation demands, have nevertheless neglected to do this, and who
will accordingly reap briers and thorns, the most appropriate fruit of their
sloth. And the consequence therefore is,
that while the rain falls in kindness and impartiality equally upon the whole
earth, yet, by one and the same operation of the rain, that soil which is
cultivated yields with a blessing useful fruits to the diligent and careful
cultivators, while that which has become hardened through the neglect of the
husbandman brings forth only thorns and thistles. Let us therefore view those signs and
miracles which were done by God, as the showers furnished by Him from above;
and the purpose and desires of men, as the cultivated and uncultivated soil,
which is of one and the same nature indeed, as is every soil compared with
another, but not in one and the same state of cultivation. From which it follows that every one’s will,
if untrained, and fierce, and barbarous, is either hardened by the miracles and
wonders of God, growing more savage and thorny than ever, or it becomes more
pliant, and yields itself up with the whole mind to obedience, if it be cleared
from vice and subjected to training.
11. But, to establish the point more clearly, it
will not be superfluous to employ another illustration, as if, e.g., one were
to say that it is the sun which hardens and liquefies, although liquefying and
hardening are things of an opposite nature.
Now it is not incorrect to say that the sun, by one and the same power
of its heat, melts wax indeed, but dries up and hardens mud: not that its power operates one way upon mud,
and in another way upon wax; but that the qualities of mud and wax are
different, although according to nature they are one thing, both being from the
earth. In this way, then, one and the
same working upon the part of God, which was administered by Moses in signs and
wonders, made manifest the hardness of Pharaoh, which he had conceived in the
intensity of his wickedness but exhibited the obedience of those other Egyptians
who were intermingled with the Israelites, and who are recorded to have quitted
Egypt at the same time with the Hebrews.
With respect to the statement that the heart of Pharaoh was subdued by
degrees, so that on one occasion he said, “Go not far away; ye shall go a three
days’ journey, but leave your wives, and your children, and your cattle,” and
as regards any other statements, according to which he appears to yield
gradually to the signs and wonders, what else is shown, save that the power of
the signs and miracles was making some impression on him, but not so much as it
ought to have done? For if the hardening
were of such a nature as many take it to be, he would not indeed have given way
even in a few instances. But I think
there is no absurdity in explaining the tropical or figurative nature of that
language employed in speaking of “hardening,” according to common usage. For those masters who are remarkable for
kindness to their slaves, are frequently accustomed to say to the latter, when,
through much patience and indulgence on their part, they have become insolent
and worthless: “It is I that have made
you what you are; I have spoiled you; it is my endurance that has made you good
for nothing: I am to blame for your
perverse and wicked habits, because I do not have you immediately punished for
every delinquency according to your deserts.” For we must first attend to the
tropical or figurative meaning of the language, and so come to see the force of
the expression, and not find fault with the word, whose inner meaning we do not
ascertain. Finally, the Apostle Paul, evidently treating of such, says to him
who remained in his sins: “Despisest thou the riches of His goodness, and
forbearance, and long-suffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth
thee to repentance? but, after thy hardness and impenitent heart, treasurest up
unto thyself wrath on the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment
of God.” Such are the words of the
apostle to him who is in his sins. Let
us apply these very expressions to Pharaoh, and see if they also are not spoken
of him with propriety, since, according to his hardness and impenitent heart,
he treasured and stored up for himself wrath on the day of wrath, inasmuch as
his hardness could never have been declared and manifested, unless signs and
wonders of such number and magnificence had been performed.
12. But if
the proofs which we have adduced do not appear full enough, and the similitude
of the apostle seem wanting in applicability, let us add the voice of prophetic
authority, and see what the prophets declare regarding those who at first,
indeed, leading a righteous life, have deserved to receive numerous proofs of
the goodness of God, but afterwards, as being human beings, have fallen astray,
with whom the prophet, making himself also one, says: “Why, O Lord, hast Thou made us to err from
Thy way? and hardened our heart, that we should not fear Thy name? Return, for Thy servants’ sake, for the
tribes of Thine inheritance, that we also for a little may obtain some
inheritance from Thy holy hill.” Jeremiah also employs similar language: “O Lord, Thou hast deceived us, and we were
deceived; Thou hast held (us), and Thou hast prevailed.” The expression, then,
“Why, O Lord, hast Thou hardened our heart, that we should not fear Thy name?”
used by those who prayed for mercy, is to be taken in a figurative, moral
acceptation, as if one were to say, “Why hast Thou spared us so long, and didst
not requite us when we sinned, but didst abandon us, that so our wickedness
might increase, and our liberty of sinning be extended when punishment
ceased?” In like manner, unless a horse
continually feel the spur of his rider, and have his mouth abraded by a bit, he
becomes hardened. And a boy also, unless
constantly disciplined by chastisement, will grow up to be an insolent youth,
and one ready to fall headlong into vice.
God accordingly abandons and neglects those whom He has judged
undeserving of chastisement: “For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth
every son whom He receiveth.” From which we are to suppose that those are to be
received into the rank and affection of sons, who have deserved to be scourged
and chastened by the Lord, in order that they also, through endurance of trials
and tribulations, may be able to say, “Who shall separate us from the love of
God which is in Christ Jesus? shall tribulation, or anguish, or famine, or
nakedness, or peril, or sword?” For by all these is each one’s resolution
manifested and displayed, and the firmness of his perseverance made known, not
so much to God, who knows all things before they happen, as to the rational and
heavenly virtues, who have obtained a part in the work of procuring human
salvation, as being a sort of assistants and ministers to God. Those, on the other hand, who do not yet offer
themselves to God with such constancy and affection, and are not ready to come
into His service, and to prepare their souls for trial, are said to be
abandoned by God, i.e., not to be instructed, inasmuch as they are not prepared
for instruction, their training or care being undoubtedly postponed to a later
time. These certainly do not know what
they will obtain from God, unless they first entertain the desire of being benefited;
and this finally will be the case, if a man come first to a knowledge of
himself, and feel what are his defects, and understand from whom he either
ought or can seek the supply of his deficiencies. For he who does not know beforehand of his
weakness or his sickness, cannot seek a physician; or at least, after
recovering his health, that man will not be grateful to his physician who did
not first recognise the dangerous nature of his ailment. And so, unless a man has first ascertained
the defects of his life, and the evil nature of his sins, and made this known
by confession from his own lips, he cannot be cleansed or acquitted, lest he
should be ignorant that what he possesses has been bestowed on him by favour,
but should consider as his own property what flows from the divine liberality,
which idea undoubtedly generates arrogance of mind and pride, and finally
becomes the cause of the individual’s ruin.
And this, we must believe, was the case with the devil, who viewed as
his own, and not as given him by God, the primacy which he held at the time
when he was unstained; and thus was fulfilled in him the declaration, that
“every one who exalteth himself shall be abased.” From which it appears to me
that the divine mysteries were concealed from the wise and prudent, according
to the statement of Scripture, that “no flesh should glory before God,” and
revealed to children—to those, namely, who, after they have become infants and
little children, i.e., have returned to the humility and simplicity of
children, then make progress; and on arriving at perfection, remember that they
have obtained their state of happiness, not by their own merits, but by the
grace and compassion of God.
13. It is therefore by the sentence of God that
he is abandoned who deserves to be so, while over some sinners God exercises
forbearance; not, however, without a definite principle of action. Nay, the
very fact that He is long-suffering conduces to the advantage of those very
persons, since the soul over which He exercises this providential care is
immortal; and, as being immortal and everlasting, it is not, although not
immediately cared for, excluded from salvation, which is postponed to a more
convenient time. For perhaps it is
expedient for those who have been more deeply imbued with the poison of
wickedness to obtain this salvation at a later period. For as medical men sometimes, although they
could quickly cover over the scars of wounds, keep back and delay the cure for
the present, in the expectation of a better and more perfect recovery, knowing
that it is more salutary to retard the treatment in the cases of swellings
caused by wounds, and to allow the malignant humours to flow off for a while,
rather than to hasten a superficial cure, by shutting up in the veins the
poison of a morbid humour, which, excluded from its customary outlets, will
undoubtedly creep into the inner parts of the limbs, and penetrate to the very
vitals of the viscera, producing no longer mere disease in the body, but
causing destruction to life; so, in like manner, God also, who knows the secret
things of the heart, and foreknows the future, in much forbearance allows
certain events to happen, which, coming from without upon men, cause to come
forth into the light the passions and vices which are concealed within, that by
their means those may be cleansed and cured who, through great negligence and
carelessness, have admitted within themselves the roots and seeds of sins, so
that, when driven outwards and brought to the surface, they may in a certain
degree be cast forth and dispersed. And thus, although a man may appear to be
afflicted with evils of a serious kind, suffering convulsions in all his limbs,
he may nevertheless, at some future time, obtain relief and a cessation from
his trouble; and, after enduring his afflictions to satiety, may, after many
sufferings, be restored again to his (proper) condition. For God deals with
souls not merely with a view to the short space of our present life, included
within sixty years or more, but with reference to a perpetual and never-ending
period, exercising His providential care over souls that are immortal, even as
He Himself is eternal and immortal. For He made the rational nature, which He
formed in His own image and likeness, incorruptible; and therefore the soul,
which is immortal, is not excluded by the shortness of the present life from
the divine remedies and cures. (ANF 4:306-14)
