236 WORKS OF ST. CHRYSOSTOM. [HOMILY XI. and without faith it is impossible to know Him. Why how? Through it we must "know the power of His resurrection." For what reason can demonstrate to us the Resurrection ? None, but faith only. For if the resurrection of Christ, who was according to the flesh, is known by faith, how can the generation of the Word of God be comprehended by reasoning? For the resurrection is less than the generation. Why? Because of that there have been many exam ples, but of this none ever ; for many dead arose before Christ, though after their resurrec tion they died, but no one was ever born of a virgin. If then we must comprehend by faith that which is inferior to the generation accord ing to the flesh, how can that which is far greater, immeasurably and incomparably greater, be comprehended by reason? These things make the righteousness ; this must we believe that He was able to do, but how He was able we cannot prove. For from faith is the fellow ship of His sufferings. But how? Had we not believed, neither should we have suffered : had we not believed, that " if we endure with Him, we shall also reign with Him" (2 Tim. ii. 12), we should not have endured the sufferings. Both the generation and the resurrection is compre hended by faith. Seest thou, that faith must not be absolutely, but through good works ; for he especially believes that Christ hath risen, who in like sort gives himself up to dangers, who hath fellowship with Him in His sufferings. For he hath fellowship with Him who rose again, with Himwho liveth ; wherefore he saith, " And may be found in Him, not having a righteous ness of mine own, even that which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith : that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrec tion, and the fellowship of His . sufferings, be coming conformed unto His death ; if by any means I may attain unto the resurrection from the dead." He saith, being made conformable unto His death, i.e. having fellowship ; whereas He suffered from men, thus I too ; wherefore he said, " becoming conformed " and again in another place, "and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh." (Col. i. 24.) That is, these persecu tions and sufferings work the image of His death, for He sought not His own, but the good of many. Therefore persecutions, and afflictions, and straits, ought not to disturb you, but ought even to make you glad, because through them we are "conformed to His death." As 1 if he had said, We are molded to His likeness ; as he says in "having" as repeated before "that which" (comp. Meyer). Not seeing this, and feeling the grammatical difficulty of the other con nection, Chrys. quite fancifully joins them with the words that fol low, and proceeds to say some very striking things. J. A. B.] another place, where he writeth, " bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus." (2 Cor. iv. 10.) And this too comes from great faith. For we not only believe that He arose, but that after His resurrection also He hath great power : wherefore we travel the same road which He travelled, i.e. we become brethren to Him in this respect also. As if he had said, We become Christs in this respect. O how great is the dignity of sufferings ! We believe that we be come " conformed to His death " through suffer ings ! For as in baptism,we were " buried with the likeness of His death," so here, with His death. There did he rightly say, " The likeness of His death" (Rom. vi. 4, 5), for there we died not entirely, we died not in the flesh, to the body, but to sin. Since then a death is spoken of, and a death ; but He indeed died in the body, whilst we died to sin, and there the Man died which He assumed, who was in our flesh, but here the man of sin ; for this cause he saith, " the like ness of His death," but here, no longer the like ness of His death, but His death itself. For Paul, in his persecutions, no longer died to sin, but in 1 his very body. Wherefore, he endured the same death. " If by any means," saith he, " I may attain unto the resurrection from the dead." What sayest thou? All men will have a share in that. " For we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed" (i Cor. xv. 51), and shall all share not only in the Resurrection, but in incorruption. Some indeed to honor, but others as a means of punishment. If therefore all have a share in the Resurrection, and not in the Resurrection only, but also in incorruption, how said he, " If by any means I may attain," as if about to share in some especial thing? " For this cause," saith he, " I endure these things, if by any means I may attain unto the resurrection from the dead." For if thou hadst not died, thou wouldest not arise. What is it then? Some great thing seems here to be hinted at. So great was it, that he dared not openly assert" it, but saith, " If by any means." I have believed in Him and His resurrection, nay, moreover, I suffer for Him, yet I am unable to be confident concerning the Resurrection. What resurrection doth he here mention? That which leads to Christ Himself. I said, that I believed in " Him, and in the power of His res urrection," and that I " have fellowship with His sufferings," and that I " become conformed to His death." Yet after all these things I am by no means confident ; as he said elsewhere, " Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall." (i Cor. x. 12.) And again, "I fear lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected." (i Cor. ix. 27.) 1 or to.