{"id":538,"date":"2017-03-18T23:43:03","date_gmt":"2017-03-19T07:43:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/readingthechurchfathers.wordpress.com\/?p=538"},"modified":"2017-03-18T23:43:03","modified_gmt":"2017-03-19T07:43:03","slug":"clement-of-alexandria-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/clement-of-alexandria-faith\/","title":{"rendered":"Clement Of Alexandria: Faith"},"content":{"rendered":"

Faith and Knowledge<\/strong><\/p>\n

In order to believe truly in the Son, we must believe that He is the Son, and that He came, and how, and for what, and respecting His passion; and we must know who is the Son of God. Now neither is knowledge without faith, nor faith without knowledge. Nor is the Father without the Son; for the Son is with the Father. And the Son is the true teacher respecting the Father; and that we may believe in the Son, we must know the Father, with whom also is the Son. Again, in order that we may know the Father, we must believe in the Son, that it is the Son of God who teaches; for from faith to knowledge by the Son is the Father. And the knowledge of the Son and Father, which is according to the gnostic rule\u2014that which in reality is gnostic\u2014is the attainment and comprehension of the truth by the truth.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor I desire to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, in order that ye may be strengthened; that is, that I may be comforted in you, by the mutual faith of you and me.\u201d(Rom. 1:11-12) And further on again he adds, \u201cThe righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.\u201d(Rom. 1:17) The apostle, then, manifestly announces a twofold faith, or rather one which admits of growth and perfection; for the common faith lies beneath as a foundation. To those, therefore, who desire to be healed, and are moved by faith, He added, \u201cThy faith hath saved thee.\u201d But that which is excellently built upon is consummated in the believer, and is again perfected by the faith which results from instruction and the word, in order to the performance of the commandments. Such were the apostles, in whose case it is said that \u201cfaith removed mountains and transplanted trees.\u201d Whence, perceiving the greatness of its power, they asked \u201cthat faith might be added to them;\u201d(Luke 17:5) a faith which salutarily bites the soil \u201clike a grain of mustard,\u201d and grows magnificently in it, to such a degree that the reasons of things sublime rest on it.
\nThe Stromata Bk. V. Ch. I.<\/p>\n

Faith and Grace<\/strong><\/p>\n

And He who communicated to us being and life, has communicated to us also reason, wishing us to live rationally and rightly. For the Word of the Father of the universe is not the uttered word (\u03bb\u03cc\u03b3\u03bf\u03c2 \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c6\u03bf\u03c1\u03b9\u03ba\u03cc\u03c2), but the wisdom and most manifest kindness of God, and His power too, which is almighty and truly divine, and not incapable of being conceived by those who do not confess\u2014the all-potent will. But since some are unbelieving, and some are disputatious, all do not attain to the perfection of the good. For neither is it possible to attain it without the exercise of free choice; nor does the whole depend on our own purpose; as, for example, what is defined to happen. \u201cFor by grace we are saved:\u201d not, indeed, without good works; but we must, by being formed for what is good, acquire an inclination for it. And we must possess the healthy mind which is fixed on the pursuit of the good; in order to which we have the greatest need of divine grace, and of right teaching, and of holy susceptibility, and of the drawing of the Father to Him.
\nThe Stromata Bk. V. Ch. I.<\/p>\n

It is not without eminent grace that the soul is winged, and soars, and is raised above the higher spheres, laying aside all that is heavy, and surrendering itself to its kindred element… Wisdom which is God-given, as being the power of the Father, rouses indeed our free-will, and admits faith, and repays the application of the elect with its crowning fellowship.<\/p>\n

The Stromata Bk. V Ch.XIII<\/p>\n

Active Faith<\/strong><\/p>\n

Faith, then, we say, we are to show must not be inert and alone, but accompanied with investigation. For \u201cSearch, and thou shalt find.”<\/p>\n

But we ought to direct the visual faculty of the soul aright to discovery, and to clear away obstacles; and to cast clean away contention, and envy, and strife, destined to perish miserably from among men.<\/p>\n

For they who seek Him after the true search, praising the Lord, shall be filled with the gift that comes from God, that is, knowledge. And their soul shall live;…And \u201cGod,\u201d who is known to those who love, \u201cis love,\u201d as \u201cGod,\u201d who by instruction is communicated to the faithful, \u201cis faithful;\u201d and we must be allied to Him by divine love: so that by like we may see like, hearing the word of truth guilelessly and purely, as children who obey us. \u201cExcept ye become as these little children, ye shall not enter,\u201d it is said, \u201cinto the kingdom of heaven.\u201d
\nThe Stromata Bk. V. Ch. I.<\/p>\n

Generative Faith<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the Symposium [Plato] says, \u201cThat there is instilled into all the natural love of generating what is like, and in men of generating men alone, and in the good man of the generation of the counterpart of himself. But it is impossible for the good man to do this without possessing the perfect virtues, in which he will train the youth who have recourse to him.\u201d And as he says in the The\u0153tetus,\u201cHe will beget and finish men. For some procreate by the body, others by the soul;\u201d since also with the barbarian philosophers to teach and enlighten is called to regenerate; and \u201cI have begotten you in Jesus Christ,\u201d(1 Cor. 4:15) says the good apostle somewhere.<\/p>\n

The Stromata Bk. V. Ch. II.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Faith and Knowledge In order to believe truly in the Son, we must believe that He is the Son, and that He came, and how, and for what, and respecting His passion; and we must know who is the Son of God. Now neither is knowledge without faith, nor faith without knowledge. Nor is the Father without the Son; for the Son is with the Father. And the Son is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7],"tags":[69,82],"class_list":["post-538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-clement-of-alexandria","tag-faith","tag-grace"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":555,"url":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/clement-of-alexandria-the-perfect-man\/","url_meta":{"origin":538,"position":0},"title":"Clement of Alexandria: The Perfect Man","author":"Nemo","date":"January 1, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The perfect man, who is incapable of exercising courage: for neither does he meet what inspires fear, as he regards none of the things that occur in life as to be dreaded; nor can aught dislodge him from this\u2014the love he has towards God. 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So the high priest, putting off his consecrated robe (the universe, and the creation in the universe, were consecrated by Him assenting that, what\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Clement of Alexandria"","block_context":{"text":"Clement of Alexandria","link":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/category\/clement-of-alexandria\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":369,"url":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/clement-of-alexandria-faith-and-reason\/","url_meta":{"origin":538,"position":3},"title":"Clement Of Alexandria: Faith And Reason","author":"Nemo","date":"February 23, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Everything that is contrary to right reason is sin. Accordingly, therefore, the philosophers think fit to define the most generic passions thus: lust, as desire disobedient to reason; fear, as weakness disobedient to reason; pleasure, as an elation of the spirit disobedient to reason. 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