Origen of Alexandria, On First Principles 4

Since human senses and common understanding are not sufficient for discussing matters so great and weighty, nor for pronouncing visibly, as it were, on invisible things, we must also call upon the testimonies of divine Scripture to prove what we say. So that these testimonies may carry certain and undoubted authority both in what we are about to say and in what has already been said, it seems necessary first to show that the Scriptures themselves are divine — that is, inspired by the Spirit of God. Therefore we will briefly indicate this also from the divine Scriptures themselves, which have moved us convincingly — namely, from Moses, the first lawgiver of the Hebrew people, and from the words of Jesus Christ, the author and head of the Christian religion and doctrine.

Many lawgivers have arisen among Greeks and barbarians, and innumerable teachers and philosophers have claimed to proclaim the truth. Yet we recall no lawgiver who managed to instill in foreign nations any affection or zeal that would lead them either to receive his laws willingly or to defend them with all their heart. No one could so insinuate his perceived truth into even a single nation, let alone many, that knowledge or belief in it would reach everyone. And yet it cannot be doubted that lawgivers would have wished their laws to be observed by all people if it were possible, and teachers would have wished the truth they saw to be known to all. But knowing this was utterly impossible, and that no virtue of theirs was great enough to compel foreign nations to observe their laws or teachings, they did not even dare to try or begin, lest they be marked as imprudent for an ineffective and hopeless enterprise.

By contrast, in the whole world, in all Greece, and among all foreign nations, there are innumerable and vast multitudes who have abandoned their ancestral laws and the gods they once revered, and have given themselves to the observance of the law of Moses and the discipleship of Christ. They have done this despite the great hatred stirred up against them by those who venerate idols, so that they are frequently afflicted with torments and sometimes even put to death. Yet they embrace and guard the word of Christ's teaching with all their affection. It is evident how this religion has grown in a short time, advancing through the punishments and deaths of its adherents, and through the plundering of their goods and the endurance of every kind of suffering. And it is all the more remarkable that not even the teachers themselves are sufficiently numerous or qualified: yet 'the word is preached in the whole world' (Ps. 18:5 / Rom. 10:18), so that 'Greeks and barbarians, wise and unwise' (Rom. 1:14) receive the religion of Christian doctrine. From this there is no doubt that this is 'not by human strength or resources' (Ps. 43:4 / 44:3) that the word of Christ Jesus grows strong with all power and credibility in the minds and hearts of all.

For it is clear that these things were foretold by him and confirmed by divine responses. He said, 'You will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, as a testimony to them and to the nations' (Matt. 10:18). Again: 'This gospel will be preached in all nations' (Matt. 24:14). And again: 'Many will say to me on that day: Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name? And I will say to them: Depart from me, you workers of iniquity, for I never knew you' (Matt. 7:22-23). If these things had been spoken by him but had not come to pass, they might seem less true and would lack authority. But now, since the things he foretold have come to pass with such great power and authority, it is most clearly declared that God truly exists — the One who, becoming human, handed down saving precepts to humanity.

What, then, must we say about the fact that the prophets foretold beforehand that 'the scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs, and to whom the expectation of the nations belongs' (Gen. 49:10)? It is most evident from history itself and from what is seen today that from the time of Christ onward there have been no kings among the Jews. Moreover, all those Jewish boasts — in which they took great pride and exultation, whether about the temple's splendor, the altar's insignia, or all the priestly ornaments and pontifical vestments — have been utterly destroyed. For the prophecy has been fulfilled: 'For many days the children of Israel shall sit without a king, without a prince, without sacrifice, without an altar, without priesthood, without an ephod' (Hos. 3:4). We cite these testimonies against those who claim that what Jacob said in Genesis about Judah still holds — that a prince from the tribe of Judah, whom they call the patriarch, still endures, and that his line will not fail until the coming of the Christ whom they expect. But if the prophet's word is true — that 'the children of Israel shall sit for many days without a king, without a prince; there shall be no sacrifice, no altar, no priesthood' (Hos. 3:4) — and indeed since the temple was overthrown no sacrifices are offered, no altar is found, no priesthood exists, then it is most certain that the princes of Judah have failed, as it is written, and the ruler from his loins, until he comes to whom the kingdom belongs. It is therefore established that 'he has come to whom the kingdom belongs, and in whom the expectation of the nations is' (Gen. 49:10). This is plainly seen fulfilled in the multitude of those who from diverse nations have believed in God through Christ.

Again, in the Song of Deuteronomy, the election of a foolish nation is foretold as a future consequence of the prior people's sins — and this is none other than the election accomplished through Christ. For it says: 'They provoked me with their idols; I will provoke them with a foolish nation, I will anger them with a stupid people' (Deut. 32:21). It is therefore sufficiently clear to recognize how the Hebrews, who are said to have provoked God with those who are not gods and to have angered him with their idols, have themselves been provoked to jealousy by the 'foolish nation' which God chose through the coming of Christ Jesus and his disciples. For the apostle says: 'Consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to the flesh, not many powerful, not many noble; but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are' (1 Cor. 1:26-28). Therefore 'fleshly Israel' has no ground for boasting; for as the apostle calls it: 'Let no flesh boast in the presence of God' (1 Cor. 1:29).