272 WORKS OF ST. CHRYSOSTOM. [HOMILY III. Firstfruits, the Firstborn from the dead, that in all things He might have the preeminence," showing that the rest also are such as He ; but in the former place it is not the " Firstfruits " of creation. 1 And it is there, "The Image of the invisible God," and then, " Firstborn." Ver. 19, 20. "For it was the good pleasure of the Father, that in Him should all the fullness dwell. And having made peace through the Blood of His Cross, through Him to reconcile all things unto Himself, whether things upon the earth, or things in the heavens." Whatsoever things are of the Father, these he saith are of the Son also, and that with more of intensity, because that He both became " dead " 2 for, and united Himself to us. He said, " Firstfruits," as of fruits. He said not " Resurrection," but " Firstfruits," showing that He hath sanctified us all, and offered us, as it were, a sacrifice. The term " fullness " some use of the Godhead, like as John said, " Of His fullness have all we received." That is, what ever was the Son, the whole Son dwelt there, not a sort of energy, but a Substance. He hath no cause to assign but the will of God : for this is the import of, " it was the good pleasure ... in Him. And . . . through Him to reconcile all things unto Himself." Lest thou shouldest think that He undertook the office of a minister only, he saith, " unto Him self." 3 (2 Cor. v. 18.) And yet he elsewhere says, that He reconciled us to God, as in the Epistle he wrote to the Corinthians. And he well said, "Through Him to make an end of reconciling" ; 4 for they were alreadyreconciled ; but completely, he says, and in such sort, as no more to be at enmity with Him. How ? For not only the reconciliation was set forth, but also the manner of the reconciliation. " Having made peace through the Blood of His Cross." The word " reconcile," shows the enmity ; the words " having made peace," the war. " Through the Blood of His Cross, through Him self, whether things upon the earth, or things in the heavens." A great thing indeed it is to rec oncile ; but that this should be through Himself too, is a greater thing ; and a greater still, how through Himself? Through His Blood. Through His Blood ; and he said not simply His Blood, but what is yet greater, through the Cross. So that the marvels are five : He reconciled us ; to God; through Himself; through Death; through the Cross. Admirable again ! How he has mixed them up ! For lest thou shouldest think that it is one thing merely, or that the Cross is anything of itself,5 he saith " through Himself." How well he knows that this was a great thing. Because not by speaking words, but by giving Himself up for the reconciliation, He so wrought everything. But what is " things in the heavens " ? For with reason indeed is it said, " the things upon the earth," for those were filled with enmity, and manifoldly divided, and each one of us was utterly at variance with himself, and with the many ; but how made He peace amongst " the things in the heavens"? Was war and battle there also? How then do we pray, saying, "Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth" ? (Matt, vi. 10.) What is it then? The earth was di vided from heaven, the Angels were become ene mies to men, through seeing the Lord insulted. " To sum up," he saith, " all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth." (Eph. i. 10.) How? The things in heaven indeed in this way : He translated Man thither, He brought up to them the enemy, the hated one. Not only made He the things on earth 6 to be at peace, but He brought up to them him that was their enemy and foe. Here was peace profound. Angels again appeared on the earth thereafter, because that Man too had appeared in heaven. And it seems to me that Paul was caught up on this account (2 Cor. xii. 2), and to show that the Son also had been re ceived up thither. For in the earth indeed, the peace was twofold ; with the things of heaven, and with themselves ; but in heaven it was sim ple. For if the Angels rejoice over one sinner that repenteth, much more will they over so many. All this God s power hath wrought. Why then place ye confidence in Angels? 7 saith he. For so far are they from bringing you near, that they were ever your enemies, except God Himself had reconciled you with them. Why then run ye to them? Wouldest thou know the hatred which the Angels had against us, how great it was ; and how averse to us they always were ? They were sent to take vengeance in the cases of the Israelites, of David, of the Sodomites, of the Valley of weeping.8 (Ex. xxiii. 20.) Not so however now, but, on the contrary, they sang upon the earth 11 (2 Sam. xxiv. 16) with exceed- But this reading is clearly wrong, and vitiates the following state ments of Chrys. For the meaning of " beginning " here, see Light- foot. J. A. B.] 1 The same MSS. add, " but only the Firstborn, and not even this in the first place, but after saying, Who is the Image," " &c. 2 veicpos YE-yo^e, alluding to the expression, TTPOJTOTOKOS e/c vficputv.3 [" The reconciliation is always represented as made to the Father. The reconciler is sometimes the Father Himself, sometimes the Son." Lightfoot. J. A. B.]4 airoKo.TaAAacu as aTroAurpoxris, above? [The compound verb may mean to reconcile completely or finally. J. A. B.j 5 Or "by itself" (eavrb), i.e. separate from the Divine Person, as it would be if there had been a several Human Personality. (Cat. and Bodl. eavrbi . ) 6 Bodl. Extr. [Catena], "He made not him staying on earth," &c. 7 [Chrys. shows no suspicion of that combination of the Jewish (Essene) doctrine of angels with the Gnostic doctrine of aeons, which we now know to have prevailed at Colossae (see Lightfoot on Col., Int. II.). J. A. B.] 8 Judg. ii. 5 ; see Ps. Ixxxiv. 6(2 Sam. v. seemshardly applicable) . a Downes conjectures, " Peace on earth." Luke ii. 13.