Θεοσέβεια δέ, ἐξομοιοῦσα
τῷ θεῷ κατὰ τὸ δυνατὸν τὸν ἄνθρωπον, κατάλληλον ἐπιγράφεται διδάσκαλον θεὸν τὸν
καὶ μόνον ἀπεικάσαι κατʼ ἀξίαν δυνάμενον ἄνθρωπον θεῷ. ταύτην ὁ ἀπόστολος τὴν
διδασκαλίαν θείαν ὄντως ἐπιστάμενος “σὺ δέ, ὦ Τιμόθεε,” φησίν, “ἀπὸ βρέφους ἱερὰ
γράμματα οἶδας, τὰ δυνάμενά σε σοφίσαι εἰς σωτηρίαν διὰ πίστεως ἐν Χριστῷ.” ἱερὰ
γὰρ ὡς ἀληθῶς τὰ ἱεροποιοῦντα καὶ θεοποιοῦντα γράμματα, ἐξ ὧν γραμμάτων καὶ
συλλαβῶν τῶν ἱερῶν τὰς συγκειμένας γραφάς, τὰ συντάγματα, ὁ αὐτὸς ἀκολούθως ἀπόστολος
“θεοπνεύστους” καλεῖ, “ὠφελίμους οὔσας πρὸς διδασκαλίαν, πρὸς ἔλεγχον,
πρὸς ἐπανόρθωσιν, πρὸς παιδείαν τὴν ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ, ἵνα ἄρτιος ᾖ ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ ἄνθρωπος
πρὸς πᾶν ἔργον ἀγαθὸν ἐξηρτημένος.” οὐκ ἄν τις οὕτως ἐκπλαγείη τῶν ἄλλων ἁγίων
τὰς προτροπὰς ὡς αὐτὸν τὸν κύριον τὸν φιλάνθρωπον· οὐδὲν γὰρ ἀλλʼ ἢ τοῦτο ἔργον
μόνον ἐστὶν αὐτῷ σῴζεσθαι τὸν ἄνθρωπον. βοᾷ γοῦν ἐπείγων εἰς σωτηρίαν αὐτὸς “ἤγγικεν
ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν”· ἐπιστρέφει τοὺς ἀνθρώπους πλησιάζοντας τῷ φόβῳ. ταύτῃ
καὶ ὁ ἀπόστολος τοῦ κυρίου παρακαλῶν τοὺς Μακεδόνας ἑρμηνεὺς γίνεται τῆς θείας
φωνῆς, “ὁ κύριος ἤγγικεν” λέγων, “εὐλαβεῖσθε μὴ καταληφθῶμεν κενοί.” (The
Exhortation to the Greeks, 9, in Clement of Alexandria: Greek Text, ed.
T. E. Page et al. [The Loeb Classical Library; Harvard: Harvard University Press,
1960], 192)
"Godliness, which causes a man to imitate God as far
as he is able, is rightly designated as the teacher of God—the only man,
according to his worth, capable of reverencing God. This divine teaching is
truly grasped by the apostle, who declares, ‘But you, O Timothy, you have known
the sacred letters from childhood—letters that have the power to instruct you
toward salvation through faith in Christ.’ For indeed the sacred
letters—namely, the writings and formulas composed of the holy letters and syllables
of the sacred texts—are likewise called “God-inspired” by the apostle,
being useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for education in
righteousness, so that the man of God may be fully equipped for every good
work. No one should be so amazed by the exhortations of the other saints as by
that compassionate Lord; for nothing else but this is his work—to save man. For
he, hastening toward salvation himself, proclaims, “The kingdom of heaven is
near,” and he turns people, drawing them near by means of reverence. Moreover,
the apostle of the Lord—while exhorting the Macedonian interpreters—becomes the
interpreter of the divine voice, saying, “The Lord is near; be careful that we
do not end up empty-handed.”
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