ACC ~ Matthew 7 v25

PERSECUTIONS ACCOMPLISH NOTHING

ORIGEN: “For neither death nor life nor angels nor other things can separate us from the love of Christ.” [1] Neither can the flooding of rivers, as in the lands of Egypt and Assyria, do harm. Only those are harmed who build on sand, who practice the wisdom of the world. [2] The winds that blow are like the false prophets. All these, coming together in one place, “beat upon” the house. If it is founded on rock, they do no harm. “The way of a snake upon a rock” is not to be found. [3] But in the form of temptations and persecutions, which may mount into a flood, they beat upon even the one who seems to be well-founded. The house falls if it does not have Christ as its basis and foundation. But the truly wise person builds one’s house “upon a rock.” This is the way the Lord builds his church—upon the rock, with steadfastness and strength. This is why “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” [4] All the persecutions that fall upon that house accomplish nothing. The house is founded upon the rock. FRAGMENT 153. [5]

[1] Rom 8:38-39.

[2] The rivers of Egypt and Assyria symbolize the wisdom of the world, an enemy of Christ. The sons of Abraham who build precariously on the sand are the Jews, based on the connection of the sand in Matthew 7:26 to the sand in Genesis 22:17; the descendants of Abraham would be as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore.

[3] Prov 30:19.

[4] Mt 16:18.

[5] GCS 41.1:76.

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