{"author":null,"canonical_references":[],"database_sha256":"8cfbe7284c6936871d57c02dc6aa63ebbdfd4722422d539dd9f716e46e91112e","date_end":null,"date_start":null,"edition_year":null,"id":"sermonindex-ecf-298","native_reference":{"book_number":530,"chapter_from":2,"chapter_to":2,"system":"MyBible module coordinates (mapping unverified)","verse_from":9,"verse_to":9},"public_import_allowed":false,"record_kind":"verse-keyed-module-record","review_required":["English edition and exact text","author/work attribution","dating","verse mapping and citation kind","reuse and attribution","split author quotations and deduplicate"],"review_status":"unreviewed","source_html":"<p><b>Alexander of Alexandria</b>: Wherefore I do not think that he is to be reckoned amongst the pious who presumes to inquire into anything beyond these things, not listening to this saying: \"Seek not out the things that are too hard for thee, neither search the things that are above thy strength.\" For if the knowledge of many other things that are incomparably inferior to this, are hidden from human comprehension, such as in the apostle Paul, \"Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.\" As also God said to Abraham, that \"he could not number the stars;\" and that passage, \"Who can number the sand of the sea, and the drops of rain?\" How shall any one be able to investigate too curiously the subsistence of the divine Word, unless he be smitten with frenzy?<br/><i>— Epistles on the Arian Heresy - To Alexander, Bishop of the City of Constantinople</i></p><p><b>Ambrosiaster</b>: These words were expressed somewhat differently by Isaiah, and they are also found in the apocryphal Apocalypse of Elijah. Paul uses them to refer to the incarnation of Christ, which not only goes against human perception but is beyond the understanding of heavenly powers as well.<br/><i>— COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES</i></p><p><b>Apostolic Constitutions</b>: For in the last days false prophets shall be multiplied, and such as corrupt the word; and the sheep shall be changed into wolves, and love into hatred: for through the abounding of iniquity the love of many shall wax cold. For men shall hate, and persecute, and betray one another. And then shall appear the deceiver of the world, the enemy of the truth, the prince of lies, [2 Thessalonians 2:3-12] whom the Lord Jesus \"shall destroy with the spirit of His mouth, who takes away the wicked with His lips; and many shall be offended at Him. But they that endure to the end, the same shall be saved. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven;\" [Isaiah 11:4; Matthew 24:1-51] and afterwards shall be the voice of a trumpet by the archangel; and in that interval shall be the revival of those that were asleep. And then shall the Lord come, and all His saints with Him, with a great concussion above the clouds, with the angels of His power, [Matthew 16:27] in the throne of His kingdom, to condemn the devil, the deceiver of the world, and to render to every one according to his deeds. \"Then shall the wicked go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous shall go into life eternal,\" [Matthew 25:46] to inherit those things \"which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, such things as God has prepared for them that love Him;\" [1 Corinthians 2:9] and they shall rejoice in the kingdom of God, which is in Christ Jesus.<br/><i>— Apostolic Constitutions (Book VII), Section 2, XXXII</i></p><p><b>Clement of Alexandria</b>: Nor could there be any better ornament for the ears than true instruction, which finds its way naturally into the passages of hearing. And eyes anointed by the Word, and ears pierced for perception, make a man a hearer and contemplator of divine and sacred things, the Word truly exhibiting the true beauty \"which eye hath not seen nor ear heard before.\"<br/><i>— The Instructor Book 2</i></p><p><b>Clement of Alexandria</b>: \"If ye shall hear me, ye shall eat the good of the land,\" the Instructor again says, calling by the appellation \"the good of the land,\" beauty, wealth, health, strength, sustenance. For those things which are really good, are what \"neither ear hath heard, not hath ever entered into the heart\" respecting Him who is really King, and the realities truly good which await us. For He is the giver and the guard of good things. And with respect to their participation, He applies the same names of things in this world, the Word thus training in God the feebleness of men from sensible things to understanding.<br/><i>— The Instructor Book 3</i></p><p><b>Clement of Alexandria</b>: \"Lo, I make new things,\" saith the Word, \"which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man.\" With a new eye, a new ear, a new heart, whatever can be seen and heard is to be apprehended, by the faith and understanding of the disciples of the Lord, who speak, hear, and act spiritually.<br/><i>— The Stromata Book 2</i></p><p><b>Clement of Alexandria</b>: Wherefore he adds, \"But we preach, as it is written, what eye hath not seen, and ear hath not heard, and hath not entered into the heart of man, what God hath prepared for them that love Him. For God hath revealed it to us by the Spirit. For the Spirit searcheth all things, even the deep things of God.\"<br/><i>— The Stromata Book 5</i></p><p><b>Clement of Alexandria</b>: But on the other side hear the Saviour: \"I regenerated thee, who wert ill born by the world to death. I emancipated, healed, ransomed thee. I will show thee the face of the good Father God. Call no man thy father on earth. Let the dead bury the dead; but follow thou Me. For I will bring thee to a rest of ineffable and unutterable blessings, which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of men; into which angels desire to look, and see what good things God hath prepared for the saints and the children who love Him.\" I am He who feeds thee, giving Myself as bread, of which he who has tasted experiences death no more, and supplying day by day the drink of immortality. I am teacher of supercelestial lessons. For thee I contended with Death, and paid thy death, which thou owedst for thy former sins and thy unbelief towards God.<br/><i>— Who is the Rich Man that Shall Be Saved?</i></p><p><b>Cosmas Indicopleustes</b>: Things which eye saw not, and ear heard not, and which entered not into the heart of man, whatsoever things God prepared for them that love him.<br/><i>— The Christian Topography, Book 5</i></p><p><b>Hippolytus of Rome</b>: But the righteous will remember only the righteous deeds by which they reached the heavenly kingdom, in which there is neither sleep, nor pain, nor corruption, nor care, nor night, nor day measured by time; nor sun traversing in necessary course the circle of heaven, which marks the limits of seasons, or the points measured out for the life of man so easily read; nor moon waning or waxing, or inducing the changes of seasons, or moistening the earth; no burning sun, no changeful Bear, no Orion coming forth, no numerous wandering of stars, no painfully-trodden earth, no abode of paradise hard to find; no furious roaring of the sea, forbidding one to touch or traverse it; but this too will be readily passable for the righteous, although it lacks no water. There will be no heaven inaccessible to men, nor will the way of its ascent be one impossible to find; and there will be no earth unwrought, or toilsome for men, but one producing fruit spontaneously in beauty and order; nor will there be generation of wild beasts again, nor the bursting substance of other creatures. Neither with man will there be generation again, but the number of the righteous remains indefectible with the righteous angels and spirits. Ye who believe these words, O men, will be partakers with the righteous, and will have part in these future blessings, which \"eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.\" To Him be the glory and the power, for ever and ever. Amen.<br/><i>— Against Plato, on the Cause of the Universe</i></p><p><b>Irenaeus</b>: John, therefore, did distinctly foresee the first \"resurrection of the just,\" [Luke 14:14] and the inheritance in the kingdom of the earth; and what the prophets have prophesied concerning it harmonize [with his vision]. For the Lord also taught these things, when He promised that He would have the mixed cup new with His disciples in the kingdom. The apostle, too, has confessed that the creation shall be free from the bondage of corruption, [so as to pass] into the liberty of the sons of God. [Romans 8:21] And in all these things, and by them all, the same God the Father is manifested, who fashioned man, and gave promise of the inheritance of the earth to the fathers, who brought it (the creature) forth [from bondage] at the resurrection of the just, and fulfils the promises for the kingdom of His Son; subsequently bestowing in a paternal manner those things which neither the eye has seen, nor the ear has heard, nor has [thought concerning them] arisen within the heart of man. For there is the one Son, who accomplished His Father's will; and one human race also in which the mysteries of God are wrought, \"which the angels desire to look into;\" and they are not able to search out the wisdom of God, by means of which His handiwork, confirmed and incorporated with His Son, is brought to perfection; that His offspring, the First-begotten Word, should descend to the creature, that is, to what had been moulded, and that it should be contained by Him; and, on the other hand, the creature should contain the Word, and ascend to Him, passing beyond the angels, and be made after the image and likeness of God.<br/><i>— Against Heresies (Book V, Chapter 36)</i></p><p><b>Isaac of Nineveh</b>: When it says \"which eye hath not seen, nor ear hath heard\" and the rest, Scripture has declared to us that the good things to come are incomprehensible and have no similarity to any thing here.<br/><i>— ASCETICAL HOMILIES 2</i></p><p><b>John Chrysostom</b>: \"But as it is written, Things which eye saw not and ear heard not, and which entered not into the heart of man, whatsoever things God prepared for them that love Him.\"</p><p>Where are these words written? Why, it is said to have been \"written,\" then also, when it is set down, not in words, but in actual events, as in the historical books; or when the same meaning is expressed, but not in the very same words, as in this place: for the words, \"They to whom it was not told about Him shall see, and they who have not heard shall understand,\" are the same with \"the things which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard.\" Either then this is his meaning, or probably it was actually written in some books, and the copies have perished. For indeed many books were destroyed, and few were preserved entire even in the first captivity. And this is plain, in those which remain to us. For the Apostle saith \"From Samuel and the Prophets which follow after they have all spoken concerning Him:\" and these their words are not entirely extant. Paul, however, as being learned in the law and speaking by the Spirit, would of course know all with accuracy. And why speak I of the captivity? Even before the captivity many books had disappeared; the Jews having rushed headlong to the last degree of impiety: and this is plain from the end of the fourth book of Kings, for the book of Deuteronomy could hardly be found, having been buried somewhere in a dunghill.</p><p>And besides, there are in many places double prophecies, easy to be apprehended by the wiser sort; from which we may find out many of the things which are obscure.</p><p>What then, hath \"eye not seen what God prepared?\" No. For who among men saw the things which were about to be dispensed? Neither then hath \"the ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man.\" How is this? For if the Prophets spoke of it, how saith he, \"Ear hath not heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man?\" It did not enter; for not of himself alone is he speaking, but of the whole human race. What then? The Prophets, did not they hear? Yes, they heard; but the prophetic ear was not the ear \"of man:\" for not as men heard they, but as Prophets. Wherefore he said, \"He hath added unto me an ear to hear,\" meaning by \"addition\" that which was from the Spirit. From whence it was plain that before hearing it had not entered into the heart of man. For after the gift of the Spirit the heart of the Prophets was not the heart of man, but a spiritual heart; as also he saith himself, \"We have the mind of Christ\" as if he would say, \"Before we had the blessing of the Spirit and learnt the things which no man can speak, no one of us nor yet of the Prophets conceived them in his mind. How should we? since not even angels know them. For what need is there to speak,\" saith he, \"concerning 'the rulers of this world,' seeing that no man knew them, nor yet the powers above?\"<br/><i>— Homily on 1 Corinthians 7</i></p><p><b>Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius</b>: For, having left God, the parent and founder of all things, men began to worship the senseless works of their own hands. And what were the effects of this corruption, or what evils it introduced, the subject itself sufficiently declares. For, turning away from the chief good, which is blessed and everlasting on this account, because it cannot be seen, or touched, or comprehended, and from the virtues which are in agreement with that good, and which are equally immortal, gliding down to these corrupt and frail gods, and devoting themselves to those things by which the body only is adorned, and nourished, and delighted, they sought eternal death for themselves, together with their gods and goods relating to the body, because all bodies are subject to death.<br/><i>— The Divine Institutes Book 4</i></p><p><b>Martyrdom Of Polycarp</b>: And, looking to the grace of Christ, they despised all the torments of this world, redeeming themselves from eternal punishment by [the suffering of] a single hour. For this reason the fire of their savage executioners appeared cool to them. For they kept before their view escape from that fire which is eternal and never shall be quenched, and looked forward with the eyes of their heart to those good things which are laid up for such as endure; things \"which ear hath not heard, nor eye seen, neither have entered into the heart of man,\" but were revealed by the Lord to them, inasmuch as they were no longer men, but had already become angels.<br/><i>— MARTYRDOM OF POLYCARP 2</i></p><p><b>Origen of Alexandria</b>: From this we may gain an idea of how great the splendor, the beauty and the brightness of a spiritual body is.<br/><i>— ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 3.6.4</i></p><p><b>Philoxenus of Mabbug</b>: Whosoever receiveth not the teaching of Christ and groweth not in virtues, his loss is the kingdom of heaven, and the happiness and delight which are sealed and preserved for the chosen of God, and that which the eye hath not seen, nor the ear heard, and which hath not gone up in the heart of man, and that intercourse which the perfect will have with Christ, and for the sake of which Christ Himself even came down from heaven to earth, and in the end this man's loss is his own person, together with the good things which are above nature.<br/><i>— 13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 5 -- Second Discourse on Simplicity</i></p><p><b>Philoxenus of Mabbug</b>: Do not thou then, O thou who hast denied the things which are seen, ask what kind of riches thou wilt receive in exchange for thy poverty, but be thou in earnest only to forsake thy poverty, and to hasten to possess them. Now what these riches are, and unto what they are like, Paul explaineth not unto thee, nor of what kind they are, for there is nothing which can be compared with them, nor how much they are, because they cannot be measured. \"That which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, and what hath not gone up in the heart of man, is what God hath prepared for them that love Him\"; and the greatness of the reward is made manifest by these and such like words.<br/><i>— 13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 9 -- Second Discourse on Poverty</i></p><p><b>Pseudo-Clement</b>: Let us therefore serve God with a pure heart, and we shall be righteous; but if we do not serve Him, because we believe not the promise of God, we shall be miserable. For the prophetic word also declares, \"Wretched are those of a double mind, and who doubt in their heart, who say, All these things have we heard even in the times of our fathers; but though we have waited day by day, we have seen none of them accomplished. Ye fools! compare yourselves to a tree; take, for instance, the vine. First of all it sheds its leaves, then the bud appears; after that the sour grape, and then the fully-ripened fruit. So, likewise, my people have borne disturbances and afflictions, but afterwards shall they receive their good things.\" Wherefore, my brethren, let us not be of a double mind, but let us hope and endure, that we also may obtain the reward. For He is faithful who has promised that He will bestow on every one a reward according to his works. If, therefore, we shall do righteousness in the sight of God, we shall enter into His kingdom, and shall receive the promises, \"which ear hath not heard, nor eye seen, neither have entered into the heart of man.\" [1 Corinthians 2:9]<br/><i>— Second Epistle To The Corinthians (Pseudo-Clement)</i></p><p><b>Pseudo-Hippolytus</b>: But come into the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; enjoy for ever and ever that which is given you by my Father in heaven, and the holy and quickening Spirit. And what mouth then will be able to tell out those blessings which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love Him?<br/><i>— On the End of the World</i></p><p><b>Severian of Gabala</b>: One should not think that God has indiscriminately revealed the mystery to some and allowed the rest to perish in ignorance. Rather one should know and be persuaded that by the foreknowledge of his power God prepared the right thing for each person according to his deserts, for he foresees what each one will choose even before it happens.<br/><i>— PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH</i></p><p><b>Tertullian</b>: If indeed it will be thought that both these passages were pronounced simply of the element earth, how can it be consistent that it should shake and melt at the presence of the Lord, at whose royal dignity it before exulted? So again in Isaiah, \"Ye shall eat the good of the land,\" the expression means the blessings which await the flesh when in the kingdom of God it shall be renewed, and made like the angels, and waiting to obtain the things \"which neither eye hath seen, nor ear heard, and which have not entered into the heart of man.\" Otherwise, how vain that God should invite men to obedience by the fruits of the field and the elements of this life, when He dispenses these to even irreligious men and blasphemers; on a general condition once for all made to man, \"sending rain on the good and on the evil, and making His sun to shine on the just and on the unjust!\" Happy, no doubt, is faith, if it is to obtain gifts which the enemies of God and Christ not only use, but even abuse, \"worshipping the creature itself in opposition to the Creator!\" You will reckon, (I suppose) onions and truffles among earth's bounties, since the Lord declares that \"man shall not live on bread alone!\" In this way the Jews lose heavenly blessings, by confining their hopes to earthly ones, being ignorant of the promise of heavenly bread, and of the oil of God's unction, and the wine of the Spirit, and of that water of life which has its vigour from the vine of Christ.<br/><i>— On the Resurrection of the Flesh</i></p><p><b>Theophilus of Antioch</b>: Seek immortality, He will give life everlasting, joy, peace, rest, and abundance of good things, which neither hath eye seen, nor ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive.<br/><i>— Theophilus to Autolycus, Book I, Chapter XIV</i></p>","source_html_sha256":"6e7c0ae9829c8d410fa3856f7ea2149df490259a693b08b9d8566194bbc07ef7","source_module":"ECF","source_row_id":298,"source_url":"https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/ecf/","text_sha256":"d4cd65142268abba972e6d6e60ba0ae8b7e1bf809a7e91e1a5f813306536633b","translator":null,"work":null}