Shepherd of Hermas:
He pointed out to me some men sitting on a seat, and one man sitting on a chair. And he says to me, “Do you see the persons sitting on the seat?” “I do, sir,” said I. “These,” says he, “are the faithful, and he who sits on the chair is a false prophet, ruining the minds of the servants of God. It is the doubters, not the faithful, that he ruins. These doubters then go to him as to a soothsayer, and inquire of him what will happen to them; and he, the false prophet, not having the power of a Divine Spirit in him, answers them according to their inquiries, and according to their wicked desires, and fills their souls with expectations, according to their own wishes. For being himself empty, he gives empty answers to empty inquirers; for every answer is made to the emptiness of man. Some true words he does occasionally utter; for the devil fills him with his own spirit, in the hope that he may be able to overcome some of the righteous. As many, then, as are strong in the faith of the Lord, and are clothed with truth, have no connection with such spirits, but keep away from them; but as many as are of doubtful minds and frequently repent, betake themselves to soothsaying, even as the heathen, and bring greater sin upon themselves by their idolatry. For he who inquires of a false prophet in regard to any action is an idolater, and devoid of the truth, and foolish. For no spirit given by God requires to be asked; but such a spirit having the power of Divinity speaks all things of itself, for it proceeds from above from the power of the Divine Spirit. But the spirit which is asked and speaks according to the desires of men is earthly, light, and powerless, and it is altogether silent if it is not questioned.”
“How then, sir,” say I, “will a man know which of them is the prophet, and which the false prophet?” “I will tell you,” says he, “about both the prophets, and then you can try the true and the false prophet according to my directions. Try the man who has the Divine Spirit by his life. First, he who has the Divine Spirit proceeding from above is meek, and peaceable, and humble, and refrains from all iniquity and the vain desire of this world, and contents himself with fewer wants than those of other men, and when asked he makes no reply; nor does he speak privately, nor when man wishes the spirit to speak does the Holy Spirit speak, but it speaks only when God wishes it to speak. When, then, a man having the Divine Spirit comes into an assembly of righteous men who have faith in the Divine Spirit, and this assembly of men offers up prayer to God, then the angel of the prophetic Spirit, who is destined for him, fills the man; and the man being filled with the Holy Spirit, speaks to the multitude as the Lord wishes. Thus, then, will the Spirit of Divinity become manifest. Whatever power therefore comes from the Spirit of Divinity belongs to the Lord. – Shepherd of Hermas, Commandment 11
“Hear, then,” says he, “in regard to the spirit which is earthly, and empty, and powerless, and foolish. First, the man who seems to have the Spirit exalts himself, and wishes to have the first seat, and is bold, and impudent, and talkative, and lives in the midst of many luxuries and many other delusions, and takes rewards for his prophecy; and if he does not receive rewards, he does not prophesy. Can, then, the Divine Spirit take rewards and prophesy? It is not possible that the prophet of God should do this, but prophets of this character are possessed by an earthly spirit. Then it never approaches an assembly of righteous men, but shuns them. And it associates with doubters and the vain, and prophesies to them in a corner, and deceives them, speaking to them, according to their desires, mere empty words: for they are empty to whom it gives its answers. For the empty vessel, when placed along with the empty, is not crushed, but they correspond to each other. When, therefore, it comes into an assembly of righteous men who have a Spirit of Divinity, and they offer up prayer, that man is made empty, and the earthly spirit flees from him through fear, and that man is made dumb, and is entirely crushed, being unable to speak. For if you pack closely a storehouse with wine or oil, and put an empty jar in the midst of the vessels of wine or oil, you will find that jar empty as when you placed it, if you should wish to clear the storehouse. So also the empty prophets, when they come to the spirits of the righteous, are found [on leaving] to be such as they were when they came. This, then, is the mode of life of both prophets. Try by his deeds and his life the man who says that he is inspired.
Irenaeus:
Apostolic Constitutions:
It is not therefore necessary that every one of the faithful should cast out demons, or raise the dead, or speak with tongues; but such a one only who is vouchsafed this gift, for some cause which may be advantage to the salvation of the unbelievers, who are often put to shame, not with the demonstration of the world, but by the power of the signs; that is, such as are worthy of salvation: for all the ungodly are not affected by wonders; and hereof God Himself is a witness, as when He says in the law: With other tongues will I speak to this people, and with other lips, and yet will they by no means believe. – Apostolic Constitutions, Book 8, Section 1
Eusebius:
There is said to be a certain village called Ardabau in that part of Mysia, which borders upon Phrygia. There first, they say, when Gratus was proconsul of Asia, a recent convert, Montanus by name, through his unquenchable desire for leadership, gave the adversary opportunity against him. And he became beside himself, and being suddenly in a sort of frenzy and ecstasy, he raved, and began to babble and utter strange things, prophesying in a manner contrary to the constant custom of the Church handed down by tradition from the beginning.
Some of those who heard his spurious utterances at that time were indignant, and they rebuked him as one that was possessed, and that was under the control of a demon, and was led by a deceitful spirit, and was distracting the multitude; and they forbade him to talk, remembering the distinction drawn by the Lord and his warning to guard watchfully against the coming of false prophets. Matthew 7:15 But others imagining themselves possessed of the Holy Spirit and of a prophetic gift, were elated and not a little puffed up; and forgetting the distinction of the Lord, they challenged the mad and insidious and seducing spirit, and were cheated and deceived by him. In consequence of this, he could no longer be held in check, so as to keep silence.
Thus by artifice, or rather by such a system of wicked craft, the devil, devising destruction for the disobedient, and being unworthily honored by them, secretly excited and inflamed their understandings which had already become estranged from the true faith. And he stirred up besides two women, and filled them with the false spirit, so that they talked wildly and unreasonably and strangely, like the person already mentioned. And the spirit pronounced them blessed as they rejoiced and gloried in him, and puffed them up by the magnitude of his promises. But sometimes he rebuked them openly in a wise and faithful manner, that he might seem to be a reprover. But those of the Phrygians that were deceived were few in number.
And the arrogant spirit taught them to revile the entire universal Church under heaven, because the spirit of false prophecy received neither honor from it nor entrance into it.
For the faithful in Asia met often in many places throughout Asia to consider this matter, and examined the novel utterances and pronounced them profane, and rejected the heresy, and thus these persons were expelled from the Church and debarred from communion.
Having related these things at the outset, and continued the refutation of their delusion through his entire work, in the second book he speaks as follows of their end:
Since, therefore, they called us slayers of the prophets because we did not receive their loquacious prophets, who, they say, are those that the Lord promised to send to the people, Matthew 23:34 let them answer as in God’s presence: Who is there, O friends, of these who began to talk, from Montanus and the women down, that was persecuted by the Jews, or slain by lawless men? None. Or has any of them been seized and crucified for the Name? Truly not. Or has one of these women ever been scourged in the synagogues of the Jews, or stoned? No; never anywhere.
But by another kind of death Montanus and Maximilla are said to have died. For the report is that, incited by the spirit of frenzy, they both hung themselves; not at the same time, but at the time which common report gives for the death of each. And thus they died, and ended their lives like the traitor Judas. – Church History, book 5, chapter 16
AGAINST the above-mentioned heresy of the Phrygians, that power which is the defender of the truth, raised up a powerful weapon and antagonist in Apollinaris of Hierapolis, whom we mentioned before, and in many other eloquent men with him; of whom, also, most abundant matter has been left us for our history. One of them, in the very beginning of his work against them, first intimates that he would meet and refute them by open argument. For thus he commences his work: “As for a long and very considerable time, O beloved Avircius Marcellus, I have been urged by thee to write a discourse against the heresy which is called after Miltiades, I have been somewhat in doubt until now, not indeed for want of argument to refute the false doctrine, or to bear witness to the truth, but because fearful and apprehensive, lest I should appear to give any new injunctions, or to add any thing to the doctrine of the New Testament, which it is impossible that any resolved to live according to the gospel, should add to or diminish. Lately, however, having been at Ancyra, a city of Galatia, and having understood that the church in Pontus was very much agitated by this new prophecy, as they call it, but which, as shall be shown, with divine assistance, deserves rather the name of false prophecy, I discoursed many days in the church, both respecting these matters and others that were proposed; so that the church, indeed, rejoiced and was strengthened in the truth; but the adversaries were put to flight, and the opponents were cast down. But as the presbyters of the place requested that we should leave some account of those things that we said, in opposition to the enemies of the truth, Zoticus Otrenus also being present, who was our fellow-presbyter; this, indeed, I did not perform, but I promised writing thither, and to send it as soon as possible, if the Lord permitted.” This, and other matters, he states in the beginning of his work, premising the cause of the mentioned heresy, as follows: “Their combination, therefore, and recent heretical severance from the church, had for its origin the following cause:—There is said to be a certain village of Mysia in Phrygia, called Ardaba. There, they say, during the proconsulship of Cratus in Asia, one of those who was but a recent convert, Montanus by name, in the excessive desire of his soul to take the lead, gave the adversary occasion against himself, so that he was carried away in spirit, and wrought up into a certain kind of frenzy and irregular ecstasy, raving, and speaking, and uttering strange things, and proclaiming what was contrary to the institutions that had prevailed in the church, as handed down and preserved in succession from the earliest times. But of those that happened then to be present, and to hear these spurious oracles, some being indignant, rebuked him as one under the influence of demons and the spirit of delusion, and only exciting disturbances among the multitude. These bore in mind the distinction and the warning given by our Lord, when he cautioned them to be vigilantly on their guard against false prophets. Others again, elated as if by the Holy Spirit, and the prophetic gift, and not a little puffed up; and forgetting the caution given by our Lord; challenged this insidious, flattering, and seducing spirit, and were themselves captivated and seduced by his influence, so that they were no longer able to silence him. Thus, by an artifice, or rather by a certain crafty process, the devil having devised destruction against those that disobeyed the truth, and thus excessively honoured by them, secretly stimulated and fired their understandings, already wrapt in insensibility, and wandering away from the truth. He also excited two others, females, and filled them with the spirit of delusion, so that they spake like the former, in a kind of frenzy, out of all propriety, and in a manner strange and novel. They rejoiced and gloried in the spirit who thus pronounced them happy and puffed them up by the greatness of his promises. Sometimes also he pointedly and deservedly condemned them, so that he might seem a chastising spirit. Those few that were deceived were Phrygians; and the same arrogant spirit taught them to revile the whole church under heaven, because it gave neither access nor honour to this false spirit of prophecy. The faithful, therefore, held frequent conferences in many places throughout Asia on this account, and having examined these novel doctrines, pronounced them vain, rejected them as heresy, and expelled and prohibited from communion with the church those who held them.” After relating these facts in the beginning of his work, and introducing the refutation of it throughout, he adds the following remarks in the second book, respecting the end of those just described. “Therefore,” says he, “since they call us slayers of the prophets, because we did not promptly receive these talkative teachers, pretending that they were those whom the Lord promised to send to his people, let them tell us in the name of God, O friends, which of these who began prating from Montanus and his women, is there that suffered persecution, or was slain by the impious? None. Not even one of them has been seized and crucified for the name (of Christ). None at all. Not one of their women was ever scourged in the synagogues of the Jews, or stoned. No, never.
“Montanus and Maximilla, indeed, are said to have died another death than this, for at the instigation of that mischievous spirit, the report is, that both of them hung themselves, not, indeed, at the same time, but at the particular time of each one’s death, as the general report is; and thus they died and terminated their life like the traitor Judas. Thus, also, the general opinion is, that Theodotus, one of the first that was carried away by their prophecy, as it was called, and who became a kind of patron of the delusion, as if he should at some time be taken up and received into the heavens, and who falling into trances, gave himself up to the spirit of deception, was finally tossed by him like a quoit in the air, and thus miserably perished. They say this happened as we have stated. But, my friend, we do not presume to know anything certain of these matters, unless we had seen them. For perhaps both Montanus and Theodotus, and the above-mentioned woman, may have died in this way, or they may not.” He mentions also in the same book, that the holy bishops of that time attempted to refute the spirit in Maximilla, but were prevented by others who manifestly co-operated with the spirit. His statement is as follows: “And let not, as is said in the same work of Asterius Urbanus, let not the spirit of Maximilla say, ‘I am chased like a wolf from the flock; I am no wolf. I am utterance, spirit, and power.’ But let him show the power in the spirit effectually, and prove it. And let him by the spirit face those that were present at the time, to examine and argue with the babbling spirit, men who were eminent, and bishops of the church, Zoticus of Comana, Julian of Apamea, whose tongues the followers of Themison bridled, and prevented them from refuting the false and seducing spirit.”
In the same work, after stating other matters in refutation of the false predictions of Maximilla, he likewise indicates the time that he wrote this, and mentions also, her declarations in which she foretold that there would be wars and political convulsions. The falsity of which is evinced by him as follows: “And has not,” says he, “the falsehood of this been made obvious? For it is now more than thirteen years since the woman died, and neither has there been a partial nor a general war, but rather, by the mercy of God, continued peace to the Christians.” This he writes in the second book. I shall also subjoin some extracts from the third book, in which he speaks as follows, against those who boasted that there were many of their number that had suffered martyrdom: “But,” says he, “since they are at a loss what to reply to the refutation of their errors, they fly for refuge to their martyrs, saying they have many martyrs, and that this is one sure evidence of the power of that spirit which they call prophetical. But this, as it appears, is not the more true on that account. For some of the other heresies also have a vast number of martyrs, but neither do we the more on that account agree with them, nor acknowledge that they have truth on their side. Indeed, they who are called Marcionites, say that they had vast numbers that were martyrs for Christ. But they do not confess Christ in truth.” And a little after he adds: “Hence, whenever those that are called martyrs by the church, on account of enduring martyrdom for the true faith, happen to fall in with those called martyrs of the Phrygian heresy, they always separate from them and undergo death, having no communion with them, because they do not assent to the spirit of Montanus and the women; and that all this is true, and happened in our own times at Apamea on the Menander, is manifest from those who suffered martyrdom with Caius and Alexander of Eumenia.” – Church History, book 5, chapter XVI
Cyril of Jerusalem:
“…And when he rose to prominence, he began to make promises beyond what man can do. The son of the king of Persia became ill, and the best physicians were present. But Manes [a heretic] claimed that he would heal him through prayer, pretending to be a holy man. The physicians withdrew, and the child’s life departed with them. The man’s wickedness was exposed. And so this so-called philosopher was thrown into prison — not because he had rebuked the king for the sake of truth, not because he had overthrown idols, but because he had promised to heal and lied. Or rather, to speak the truth plainly, because he had committed murder. For the one who could have been healed through medical care was killed by Manes, who drove away the doctors and brought about his death through negligence. – Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 6, Concerning Heresies
Basil the Great:
Even if a man seem to confess the Lord and hear His words, but does not obey His commands, he is condemned, even though, by some divine concession, he be vouchsafed an endowment of spiritual gifts. Matthew: “Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have not we prophesied in thy name and cast out devils in thy name and done many miracles in thy name? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity.” Luke: “And why call you me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” Titus: “They profess that they know God: but in their works they deny him; being abominable, and incredulous, and to every good work reprobate.” – Basil the Great, The Morals, Rule 7
Macarius Magnes:
Clearly, then, [Christ] says that these signs invisibly accompany believers, who drink poison in faith and are not at all harmed Mark 16:17-18, but in truth also impose hands upon the sick. 10. Which, taken figuratively, has an evident deeper meaning: for “hands” figuratively indicate nothing other than practical actions, while he names the change of seasons “sickness,” from their unevenness of rains and from the great disorder they effect in life, the radical changes that come upon the earth and sea. Often, then, the season is “sick” with drought, it is ill with deluges and snow beyond measure. Thus the seasons often appear “sick” when the air is troubled by the battle of the elements. Believers, therefore, applying themselves in these conditions, do not lack efficacy in their actions, nor do they fall short of their expectations. For example, Polycarp, who managed the episcopacy of the Smyrnaeans, when the season of the harvest was greatly ill since the sky, hiding not even the smallest cloud, sent unquenchable flame from the air, scorching beyond measure from above the land lying below, up to the point where it dried the moisture from the springs, that divinely inspired man, as the distress was pressing down upon men, arriving and seeing the residents so wasted and applying his hands through prayer to the season that was in a way “sick,” suddenly made all well. But again, when the land was choked by rain and the inhabitants were wailing piteously, the same man, again projecting his hands into the air, relieved the danger, “healing” the hateful situation. And indeed, before he was bishop, while he was managing the affairs of a widow, whenever he applied his hand, all was well. What need is there for me to point out to you the manly deeds of Irenaeus of Lyon, of Fabian of Rome, or Cyprian of Carthage? But leaving them aside, I will give an account of those of our time. How many—we know not how—by extending their hands in prayer to the Overseer, have invisibly healed the invisible distempers of passion that terribly oppress men’s souls. How many, placing their hands upon catechumens enflamed by the ancient bruises or distempers of sin, have made them well by having them pass through the mystical and divine bath into the new grace of health? For to drive away bodily affections is not the most pressing concern of believers, since these are wont to teach a man rather than to trouble the constitution of his soul; when anything, on the other hand, is wont to harm the discursive faculty and enslaves the thinking power of the rational faculty, it is the driving away of this by counsel and persuasion that is of benefit to the soul. – Macarius Magnes, Apocriticus 3.24.9-14
John Chrysostom:
… Thus we too ought to stand, offering Him such doxology with fear and trembling, and as though beholding that very One with the eyes of the mind. For He is certainly present here, and is confined by no place, and He records the voices of all. Therefore, sending up praise in this way with a broken heart and a humbled spirit, let us make it acceptable to Him and send it up to heaven like fragrant incense. For, he says, “A broken and humbled heart God will not despise” (Psalm 51:17). But, you say, the prophet urges that doxology be made with shouting: “For make a joyful shout to the Lord, all the earth” (Psalm 100:1). But we do not forbid such a shout; rather, we forbid the senseless yelling—not the voice of praise, but the voice of disorder, the wranglings against one another, the hands flung up into the air idly and to no purpose, the stamping feet, the indecent and distorted behavior, which are the antics of those who waste their time in theaters and hippodromes. From there these destructive lessons are smuggled in among us; from there come these irreverent and vulgar voices, from there the disorder of the hands, the quarrels, the wranglings, the unruly manners. For nothing so trains a man to despise the oracles of God as the excitements of those spectacles. That is why I have often exhorted that none of those who come here, and enjoy the divine teaching, and partake of the fearful and mystical sacrifice, should go off to those theaters and mingle the divine mysteries with demonic things. – John Chrysostom, Homily 1 on “I saw the Lord”. (Translated from Greek)
“…. For this reason you utter this saying not only when he comes up, nor only when he speaks with you, nor only when he prays for you, but when he stands at this holy table, when he is about to offer that mystical sacrifice—for those who have been initiated know what is being said—he does not touch the things set forth before he has first prayed for you that grace may be given from the Lord, and you answer him, “And with your spirit,” by that response reminding yourselves that the one who is present does nothing of himself, and that the gifts lying before us are not accomplishments of human nature, but the grace of the Spirit, being present and descending upon all, prepares that mystical sacrifice. For though the man standing there is indeed a man, yet it is God who works through him. Do not, then, fix your attention on the nature of what is seen, but consider the invisible grace. There is nothing human in the things that take place upon this sacred platform. If the Spirit were not present, the Church would not have been established; and if the Church is indeed established, it is plain that the Spirit is present. Why then, he says, do signs not happen now? Here attend to me with exactness, for I hear this from many people, and it is asked continually and constantly: why was it that then all who were baptized spoke with tongues, but now no longer? Let us first learn what it means to speak with tongues, and then we shall also state the reason. What then is speaking with tongues? The one being baptized immediately spoke in the language of the Indians, of the Egyptians, of the Persians, of the Scythians, of the Thracians, and one man received many tongues; and if these men now living had been baptized then, you would at once have heard them speaking in different languages. For Paul too, he says, found certain men who had been baptized with the baptism of John, and he says to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They said to him, “No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit” (Acts 19:2). And immediately he ordered them to be baptized. “And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they all spoke with tongues” (Acts 19:6). For what reason, then, has this grace now been restrained and taken away from men? Not because God is dishonoring us, but because He is greatly honoring us. How? I will tell you. At that time men were in a more foolish condition, having only recently been delivered from idols, and their understanding was still more gross and more dull of perception; they were panic-stricken and gaping after everything bodily, and as yet they had no conception whatever of incorporeal gifts, nor did they know what intelligible grace is, a grace perceived by faith alone. For this reason signs were taking place. For among the spiritual gifts, some are invisible and are grasped by faith alone, while others also display a perceptible sign for the full assurance of unbelievers. Let me say what I mean. The remission of sins is an intelligible reality, an invisible gift; for we do not see with the eyes of the flesh how our sins are cleansed away. Why is this? Because it is the soul that is being cleansed, and the soul is not seen by bodily eyes. The cleansing of sins, then, is an intelligible gift which cannot be made visible to the eyes of the body; but speaking in different tongues is itself also the work of the Spirit’s intelligible operation, yet it provides a perceptible sign as well, something plainly visible even to unbelievers. For the outward tongue that is heard is a kind of manifestation and proof of the inward working that takes place in the soul—I mean that invisible working. For this reason Paul also says, “But to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for what is profitable” (1 Corinthians 12:7). As for me, I now have no need of signs. For what reason? Because I have learned to believe the Master even without the pledge of a sign. For the one who does not believe needs a guarantee; but I, since I believe, have no need of a guarantee or of a sign. Even if I do not speak with a tongue, I know that I have been cleansed from my sins. But those people then would not believe unless they received a sign; for this reason signs were given to them, like a pledge of the faith which they embraced. So then, signs were given not as to believers, but as to unbelievers, in order that they might become believers. Thus Paul also says, “Signs are not for those who believe, but for those who do not believe” (1 Corinthians 14:22). Do you see that the restraining of the display of signs comes not from God dishonoring us, but from His honoring us? For wishing to show our faith—that we believe Him without guarantees and signs—He has done this. For those people, unless they first received a sign and a pledge, would not have believed Him concerning invisible things; but I, even without this, show forth full faith. This, then, is the reason why signs do not happen now.” – John Chrysostom, On Holy Pentecost 1:4
“But the Spirit Itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” This statement is not clear, owing to the cessation of many of the wonders which then used to take place. Wherefore I must needs inform you of the state of things at that time, and in this way the rest of the subject will be cleared. What therefore was the state of things then? God did in those days give to all that were baptized certain excellent gifts, and the name that these had was spirits. For the spirits of the Prophets, it says, are subject to the prophets. 1 Corinthians 14:32 And one had the gift of prophecy and foretold things to come; and another of wisdom, and taught the many; and another of healings, and cured the sick; and another of miracles, and raised the dead; another of tongues, and spoke different languages. And with all these there was also a gift of prayer, which also was called a spirit, and he that had this prayed for all the people. For since we are ignorant of much that is profitable for us and ask things that are not profitable, the gift of prayer came into some particular person of that day, and what was profitable for all the whole Church alike, he was the appointed person to ask for in behalf of all, and the instructor of the rest. Spirit then is the name that he gives here to the grace of this character, and the soul that receives the grace, and intercedes to God, and groans. For he that was counted worthy of such grace as this, standing with much compunction, and with many mental groanings falling before God, asked the things that were profitable for all. And of this the Deacon of the present day is a symbol when he offers up the prayers for the people. This then is what Paul means when he says, the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered. – John Chrysostom, Homily 14 on Romans
Therefore, after saying, “My word and my preaching were not in persuasive words of human wisdom,” he added, “but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (1 Corinthians 2:4). Do you see how the foolish thing of God is wiser than men, and the weak thing stronger? For unlearned men, preaching such things while bound and driven about, overcame those who were driving them out. From where did this come? Was it not from giving the faith that is through the Spirit? For this too is an acknowledged proof. For tell me, who, seeing the dead raised and demons cast out, would not have been persuaded? But since there are also deceptive powers, like those of sorcerers, he removed this suspicion as well. For he did not simply say, of power, but first of the Spirit, and then of power, showing that the things being done were spiritual. Therefore it is no diminishment that the preaching was not proclaimed through wisdom, but rather its greatest adornment. This above all, then, shows that it is divine and has its roots from above, from heaven; therefore he also added, “that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:5). Do you see how clearly, in every way, he has shown the great profit of lack of worldly learning, and the great harm of wisdom? For that wisdom was busy emptying the cross of its force, but this simplicity was proclaiming the power of God. That wisdom, besides failing to discover the things that ought to be known, also trained men to boast in themselves; but this made them not only receive the truth, but also glory in God. Again, human wisdom would have persuaded many to suspect that the doctrine was something merely human; but this plainly proved that it was divine and had come down from heaven. For when proof is produced in wisdom of words, often even worse men overcome better men, simply because they are more skillful in speaking, and falsehood drives truth aside. But here it is not so. “For the Holy Spirit does not enter into an unclean soul,” nor, once He has come, can He ever be defeated, even if all the force of eloquence should come against Him. For the proof that comes through deeds and signs is far clearer than the proof that comes through words. But perhaps one of those men might say, If the preaching is to prevail, and it has no need of words lest the cross be emptied, why then have signs now been restrained? For what reason? Are you saying this as one who disbelieves, and who does not even admit that such things happened in the time of the apostles, or as one truly seeking to learn? For if you speak in unbelief, I will first take my stand against that. If signs did not happen then, how did men who were driven out and persecuted and trembling and bound, and made the common enemies of the whole inhabited world, and exposed before all to suffer evil, and having nothing attractive from their own side—not argument, not distinction, not wealth, not city, not nation, not family, not occupation, not reputation, nor anything else of that kind, but everything opposite to these: lack of learning, lowliness, poverty, hatred, hostility—and standing against whole populations while proclaiming such things, persuade anyone? For the commandments involved much toil, and the doctrines much danger; and those who were listening and were about to be persuaded had been brought up in luxury and drunkenness and great wickedness. From where then did they persuade? Tell me. From where did they get what was credible? For as I said before, if they persuaded without signs, the wonder appears far greater. Do not, then, make the fact that signs do not happen now a proof that they did not happen then. For even then they were happening usefully, and now it is useful that they do not happen. Nor does the fact that men are now persuaded by word alone force us to say that the preaching is now grounded in wisdom. For those who from the beginning sowed the word were unlearned and untaught, and they spoke nothing from themselves, but what they received from God, these things they spread through the whole inhabited world. And we ourselves now also bring in nothing of our own, but what we received from them, these things we speak to all. Nor even now do we persuade by reasonings, but from the divine Scriptures and from the signs that took place then we provide the faith of what we say. And those men then did not persuade by signs alone, but also by reasoning; yet it was the signs and the testimonies from the Old Scripture that made their words appear stronger, not any cleverness in what they said. How then, he says, were signs useful then, but are not useful now? Let us suppose for the sake of argument—for at present my contest is with the Greek; that is why I speak by way of hypothesis of what will certainly come to pass—let us suppose, then, for the sake of argument, and let the unbeliever agree to believe, if only hypothetically, what is being said: for example, that Christ will come. When then Christ comes, and all the angels with Him, and He is shown to be God and all things are subjected to Him, will not even the Greek then believe? It is plain that he will both worship and call Him God, even if he is ten thousand times stubborn. For who, seeing the heavens opened, and Him Himself coming upon the clouds, and the whole multitude of the powers above poured out around Him, and rivers of fire being drawn forth, and all standing there and trembling, would not worship and reckon Him to be God? Tell me then, will that worship and that knowledge be counted to the Greek as faith? Not at all. Why not? Because that is not faith; for necessity brought this about, and the manifest force of the things seen, and the matter is not one of free choice, but the movements of the mind were dragged along by the greatness of what appeared. Therefore, the more evident and compelling the things that happen are, the more the things of faith are diminished. For this reason signs do not happen now. And that this is so, hear what He says to Thomas: “Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed” (John 20:29). Therefore, the more plainly the sign is shown, the more the reward of faith is lessened. So then, even if signs were happening now, the same thing would have followed. For Paul made it clear that then we shall no longer know Him by faith when he said, “For now we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). Just as then, when the matter is made manifest to you, it is not counted to you as faith because of its plainness, so also it would be now if signs like those of old were taking place. For when we accept things that cannot at all be discovered by reasonings, then that is faith. For this reason Gehenna has been threatened, but is not shown; since if it were shown, the same thing would happen again. And besides, if you seek signs, you will see signs even now, though not of that kind: the countless prophecies concerning countless matters, the conversion of the inhabited world, the philosophy of the barbarians, the change of savage ways, the increase of reverence. And what prophecies? he says. For all the things previously mentioned were written after these events. When, and where, and by whom? Tell me. And how many years before? Do you mean fifty years before, or a hundred? Then before a hundred years they had no written record at all. How then did the whole inhabited world hold fast the doctrines and all the other things as well, if memory was not enough? And from where did they know that Peter was crucified? And from where did it come to those who came later to foretell such things—for example, that the Gospel would be preached everywhere in the whole inhabited world, that the Jewish order would cease and not return again? And how could those who gave up their souls for the preaching have endured to see the preaching corrupted? And how would the writers have been believed after the signs had ceased? And how would the things written have reached even to the lands of the barbarians and of the Indians, and to the very ends of the ocean, if those speaking were not trustworthy? And who were the writers, and when, and where? And for what reason were they writing? Was it to win glory for themselves? Then why did they inscribe the books with the names of others? Or was it because they wanted to establish the doctrine? Was it as something true, or as something false? For if they held to it as false, it was not even likely that they would approach it; but if as true, then there was no need of inventions, as you say. And besides, the prophecies themselves are of such a kind that even up to the present time the things spoken cannot be forced by time. For the destruction of Jerusalem happened many years ago. But there are also other prophecies stretching from that time until His coming, and test these however you wish: for example, “I am with you always, even to the consummation of the age” (Matthew 28:20); “Upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18); “This Gospel shall be preached to all the nations” (Matthew 24:14); “Wherever the Gospel shall be preached, what this woman has done also shall be spoken of” (Matthew 26:13); and many others besides these. From where then comes the truth of this prophecy, if it was an invention? How have the gates of Hades not prevailed against the Church? How is Christ always with us? For if He were not with us, the Church would not have prevailed. How has the Gospel spread everywhere throughout the whole inhabited world? And even those who spoke against us are enough to bear witness to the antiquity of the books—those around Celsus, and the Bithynian after him; for they were certainly not contradicting books composed after their own time. And besides, the whole inhabited world also bears witness, having with one voice received it. Now if this were not the grace of the Spirit, such harmony would never have come to pass from one end of the earth to the other; rather, those inventing such things would quickly have been caught, and so many mighty achievements would never have arisen from fabrications and falsehood. Or do you not see the whole inhabited world having come over? error extinguished? the philosophy of the monks shining brighter than the sun? the choirs of virgins? reverence flourishing among the barbarians? all men serving under one yoke? Nor were these things foretold by us alone, but from of old also by the prophets. For surely you will not attack their prophecies as well; the books are in the hands of our enemies, and through Greeks who took pains over the matter they were translated into the Greek tongue. These men too spoke much beforehand about these things, showing that the One who was to come would be God. How then is it that not all believe now? Because things have gone on to a worse condition, and we are the cause of it; for from this point the argument is directed against us also. For surely even then men did not believe only because of signs, but many of those who came near were also drawn in by their way of life. “Let your light so shine before men,” He says, “that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). At that time, then, “the heart and soul of all were one,” and not one of them said that anything he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common, and distribution was made to each as anyone had need, and they lived an angelic life (Acts 4:32, 35). And if this were to happen even now, we would turn the whole inhabited world around even without signs. But for the present, let those who wish to be saved give heed to the Scriptures; for there they will find these things also, and achievements greater than these. For the teachers themselves surpassed those men, living in hunger and thirst and nakedness. But we want to enjoy much luxury and rest and security. Not so those men; rather, they cried out, “Even unto this present hour we both hunger and thirst and are naked and are buffeted and have no certain dwelling place” (1 Corinthians 4:11). One ran from Jerusalem as far as Illyricum, another to the land of the Indians, another to the land of the Moors, another to other regions of the inhabited world; but we do not even dare to go out from our own country, and instead we seek luxury and splendid houses and every other abundance. For which one of us has ever hungered because of the word of God? Which one has lived in a desert? Which one has undertaken a journey to a far country? Which one of the teachers, living by the work of his own hands, has helped others? Which one has endured daily death? From this it also comes about that those who are with us grow more slack. – John Chrysostom, Homily 6 on 1 Corinthians, Migne PG 61.49-53
There would be no Heathen, if we were such Christians as we ought to be. If we kept the commandments of Christ, if we suffered injury, if we allowed advantage to be taken of us, if being reviled we blessed, if being ill-treated we did good 1 Corinthians 4:12; if this were the general practice among us, no one would be so brutal as not to become a convert to godliness. And to show this; Paul was but one man, yet how many did he draw after him? If we were all such as he, how many worlds might we not have drawn to us? Behold, Christians are more numerous than Heathens. And in other arts, one man can teach a hundred boys together; but here, where there are many more teachers, and many more than the learners, no one is brought over. For those who are taught, look to the virtue of their teachers: and when they see us manifesting the same desires, pursuing the same objects, power and honor, how can they admire Christianity? They see our lives open to reproach, our souls worldly. We admire wealth equally with them, and even more. We have the same horror of death, the same dread of poverty, the same impatience of disease, we are equally fond of glory and of rule. We harass ourselves to death from our love of money, and serve the time. How then can they believe? From miracles? But these are no longer wrought. From our conversation? It has become corrupt. From charity? Not a trace of it is anywhere to be seen. Therefore we shall have to give an account not only of our own sins, but of the injury done by them to others. – John Chrysostom, Homily 10 on 1 Timothy
Let us also, my beloved, become “strangers”; that God may “not be ashamed of us”; that He may not be ashamed, and deliver us up to Hell. Such were they who said, “Lord, have we not prophesied in Your Name, and in Your Name have done many wonderful works!” Matthew 7:22 But see what Christ says to them: “I know you not:”the very thing which masters would do, when wickedslaves run to them, wishing to be rid of the disgrace. “I know you not,” He says. How then dost Thou punish those whom You know not? I said, “I know not,” in a different sense: that is, “I deny you, and renounce you.”But God forbid that we should hear this fatal and terrible utterance. For if they who cast out demons and prophesied, were denied, because their life was not suitable thereto; how much more we! 8. And how (you ask) is it possible that they should be denied, who have shown prophetic powers, and wrought miracles, and cast out demons? Is it probable they were afterwards changed, and became wicked; and therefore were nothing benefited, even by their former virtue. For not only ought we to have our beginnings splendid, but the end also more splendid still. For tell me, does not the Orator take pains to make the end of his speech splendid, that he may retire with applause? Does not the public officer make the most splendid display at the close of his administration? The wrestler, if he do not make a more splendid display and conquer unto the end, and if after vanquishing all he be vanquished by the last, is not all unprofitable to him? Should the pilot have crossed the whole ocean, yet if he wreck his vessel at the port, has he not lost all his former labor? And what [of] the Physician? If, after he has freed the sick man from his disease, when he is on the point of discharging him cured, he should then destroy him, has he not destroyed everything? So too in respect of Virtue, as many as have not added an end suitable to the beginning, and in unison and harmony with it, are ruined, and undone. Such are they who have sprung forth from the starting place bright and exulting, and afterwards have become faint and feeble. Therefore they are both deprived of the prize, and are not acknowledged by their master. Let us listen to these things, those of us who are in love of wealth: for this is the greatest iniquity. “For the love of money is the root of all evil.” 1 Timothy 6:10 Let us listen, those of us who wish to make our present possessions greater, let us listen and sometime cease from our covetousness, that we may not hear the same things as they [will hear]. Let us listen to them now, and be on our guard, that we may not hear them then. Let us listen now with fear, that we may not then listen with vengeance: “Depart from Me” (He says); “I never knew you” Matthew 7:23, no not even then (He means) when you made a display of prophesyings, and were casting out demons. It is probable that He also here hints at something else, that even then they were wicked; and from the beginning, grace wrought even by the unworthy. For if it wrought through Balaam, much more through the unworthy, for the sake of those who shall profit [by it]. But if even signs and wonders did not avail to deliver from punishment; much more, if a man happen to be in the priestly dignity: even if he reach the highest honor, even if grace work in him to ordination, even if unto all the other things, for the sake of those who need his leadership, he also shall hear, “I never knew you,” no, not even then when grace wrought in you. O! How strict shall the search be there as to purity of life! How does that, of itself, suffice to introduce us into the kingdom? While the absence of it gives up the man [to destruction], though he have ten thousand miraclesand signs to show. For nothing is so pleasing to God as an excellent course of life. “If you love Me” John 14:15, He declares; He did not say, “work miracles,” but what? “Keep My commandments.” And again, “I call you friends”John 15:14, not when you cast out demons, but “if you keep My words.” For those things come of the gift of God: but these after the gift of God, of our own diligence also. Let us strive to become friends of God, and not remain enemies to Him. These things we are ever saying, these exhortations we are ever giving, both to ourselves and to you: but nothing more is gained. Wherefore also I am afraid. And I would have wished indeed to be silent, so as not to increase your danger. For when a person often hears, and even so does not act, this is to provoke the Lord to anger. But I fear also myself that other danger, that of silence, if when I am ap pointed to the ministering of the word, I should hold my peace. What shall we then do that we may be saved? Let us begin [the practice of] virtue, as we have opportunity: let us portion out the virtues to ourselves, as laborers do their husbandry; in this month let us master evil-speaking, injuriousness, unjust anger; and let us lay down a law for ourselves, and say, Today let us set this right. Again, in this month let us school ourselves in forbearance, and in another, in some other virtue: And when we have got into the habit of this virtue let us go to another, just as in the things we learn at school, guarding what is already gained, and acquiring others. After this let us proceed to contempt for riches. First let us restrain our hands from grasping, and then let us give alms. Let us not simply confound everything, with the same hands both slaying and showing mercy forsooth. After this, let us go to some other virtue, and from that, to another. “Filthiness and foolish talking and jesting, let it not be even named among you.” Ephesians 5:4 Let us be thus far in the right way. – John Chrysostom, Homily 24 on Hebrews
Augustine:
In the earliest times, the Holy Ghost fell upon them that believed: and they spoke with tongues, which they had not learned, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:4 These were signs adapted to the time. For there behooved to be that betokening of the Holy Spirit in all tongues, to show that the Gospel of God was to run through all tongues over the whole earth. That thing was done for a betokening, and it passed away. In the laying on of hands now, that persons may receive the Holy Ghost, do we look that they should speak with tongues? Or when we laid the hand on these infants, did each one of you look to see whether they would speak with tongues, and, when he saw that they did not speak with tongues, was any of you so wrong-minded as to say, These have not received the Holy Ghost; for, had they received, they would speak with tongues as was the case in those times? If then the witness of the presence of the Holy Ghost be not now given through these miracles, by what is it given, by what does one get to know that he has received the Holy Ghost? Let him question his own heart. If he love his brother the Spirit of God dwells in him. Let him see, let him prove himself before the eyes of God, let him see whether there be in him the love of peace and unity, the love of the Church that is spread over the whole earth. Let him not rest only in his loving the brother whom he has before his eyes, for we have many brethren whom we do not see, and in the unity of the Spirit we are joined to them. What marvel that they are not with us? We are in one body, we have one Head, in heaven. Brethren, our two eyes do not see each other; as one may say, they do not know each other. But in the charity of the bodily frame do they not know each other? For, to show you that in the charity which knits them together they do know each other; when both eyes are open, the right may not rest on some object, on which the left shall not rest likewise. Direct the glance of the right eye without the other, if you can. Together they meet in one object, together they are directed to one object: their aim is one, their places diverse. If then all who with you love God have one aim with you, heed not that in the body you are separated in place; the eyesight of the heart you have alike fixed on the light of truth. Then if you would know that you have received the Spirit, question your heart: lest haply you have the sacrament, and have not the virtue of the sacrament. Question your heart. If love of your brethren be there, set your mind at rest. There cannot be love without the Spirit of God: since Paul cries, The love of God is shed abroad in your hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us. Romans 5:5 – Augustine, Homily 6 on the first epistle of John, Chapter 10
John Cassian:
Finally the Author Himself of all miracles and mighty works, when He called His disciples to learn His teaching, clearly showed what those true and specially chosen followers ought chiefly to learn from Him, saying: Come and learn of Me, not chiefly to cast out devils by the power of heaven, not to cleanse the lepers, not to give sight to the blind, not to raise the dead: for even though I do these things by some of My servants, yet man’s estate cannot insert itself into the praises of God, nor can a minister and servant gather hereby any portion for himself there where is the glory of Deity alone. But learn this of Me, He says, for I am meek and lowly of heart. Matthew 11:28-29 For this it is which it is possible for all men generally to learn and practise, but the working of miracles and signs is not always necessary, nor good for all, nor granted to all. Humility therefore is the mistress of all virtues, it is the surest foundation of the heavenly building, it is the special and splendid gift of the Saviour. For he can perform all the miracles which Christ wrought, without danger of being puffed up, who follows the gentle Lord not in the grandeur of His miracles, but in the virtues of patience and humility. But he who aims at commanding unclean spirits, or bestowing gifts of healing, or showing some wonderful miracle to the people, even though when he is showing off he invokes the name of Christ, yet he is far from Christ, because in his pride of heart he does not follow his humble Teacher. For when He was returning to the Father, He prepared, so to speak, His will and left this to His disciples: A new commandment, said He, give I unto you that you love one another; as I have loved you, so also love one another: and at once He subjoined: By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love to one another. John 13:34-35 He says not: if you do signs and miracles in the same way, but if you have love to one another; and this it is certain that none but the meek and humble can keep. Wherefore our predecessors never reckoned those as good monks or free from the fault of vainglory, who professed themselves exorcists among men, and proclaimed with boastful ostentation among admiring crowds the grace which they had either obtained or which they claimed. But in vain, for he who trusts in lies feeds the winds: and the same runs after birds that fly away. Proverbs 10:4 For without doubt that will happen to them which we find in Proverbs: As the winds and clouds and rain are very clear so are these who boast of a fictitious gift. Proverbs 25:14 And so if any one does any of these things in our presence, he ought to meet with commendation from us not from admiration of his miracles, but from the beauty of his life, nor should we ask whether the devils are subject to him, but whether he possesses those features of love which the Apostle describes. – John Cassian, Conferences 15, 7
And in truth it is a greater miracle to root out from one’s own flesh the incentives to wantonness than to cast out unclean spirits from the bodies of others, and it is a grander sign to restrain the fierce passions of anger by the virtue of patience than to command the powers of the air, and it is a greater thing to have shut out the devouring pangs of gloominess from one’s own heart than to have expelled the sickness of another and the fever of his body. Finally it is in many ways a grander virtue and a more splendid achievement to cure the weaknesses’ of one’s own soul than those of the body of another. For just as the soul is higher than the flesh, so is its salvation of more importance, and as its nature is more precious and excellent, so is its destruction more grievous and dangerous. – John Cassian, Conferences 15, 8
Theodoret of Cyrus:
“In former times those who accepted the divine preaching and who were baptized for their salvation were given visible signs of the grace of the Holy Spirit at work in them. Some spoke in tongues which they did not know and which nobody had taught them, while others performed miracles or prophesied. These Corinthians also did these things, but they did not use the gifts as they should have done. They were more interested in showing off than in using them for the edification of the church…Even in our time grace is given to those who are deemed worthy of holy baptism, but it may not take the same form as it did in those days.” – Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on 1 Corinthians 12
Gregory the Great:
“These are the signs that will follow those who will believe: they will cast out demons in my name, they will speak with new tongues, they will pick up snakes, and if they drink a deadly thing, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick who will recover” (Mark 16:17–18). Do you not believe, my friends, because you do not perform these signs? These things were necessary at the Church’s beginning. For the faith of believers to increase it had to be nourished with miracles. When we plant trees, we water them until we see that they have taken root in the ground; once they have taken root we stop watering them. This is why Paul said: Tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers (1 Corinthians 14:22). There is something about these signs and powers we ought to consider more deeply. Holy Church does daily in a spiritual way what it did then materially through the apostles. When its priests impose their hands on believers through the gift of exorcism, and forbid the evil spirits to dwell in their hearts, what else are they doing but casting out demons? And what are believers doing who give up the secular words of their former life and speak of the sacred mysteries, and describe as far as they can the praise and power of their Creator, speaking with new tongues? When they remove malice from the hearts of others by their good words of exhortation, they are picking up snakes, and when then they hear dangerous advice but are not drawn toward wicked deeds, they are indeed drinking something deadly, but it will not harm them. As often as they catch sight of their neighbors faltering in their good works, and they gather round them in all their strength, and by the example of their own deeds fortify their wavering lives, what are they doing but laying their hands on the sick to heal them? Surely these miracles are all the greater to the extent that they are spiritual; they are all the greater to the extent that it is not bodies but souls which are being raised up. And so, dearly beloved, you perform these signs, if you wish to, by God’s power. Those external signs cannot produce life, but it can come from those who do them. Material miracles sometimes demonstrate holiness but they do not create it, whereas the spiritual actions performed in the soul do not make the power of life evident to the senses but create it. Even the wicked perform the former; none but the good can perform the latter. Hence Truth said of some people: “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons in your name, do many mighty deeds in your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I do not know you; depart from me you workers of iniquity’” (Matthew 7:22–23). Dearly beloved, do not love signs which the wicked too can perform; love those miracles of love and devotion, which I have just now spoken of. The more they are hidden, the safer they are; and the less glory that comes from humans, the greater will be our recompense in the eyes of God.- Gregory the Great, Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 29
Isidore of Seville:
“Even if the power of miraculous signs was given to the apostles for the sake of nourishing the faith of the other nations, the power of works has been given to the Church to provide for its own faith, and even in the apostles themselves the power of works was more extraordinary than the power of miraculous signs. Thus now also in the Church it is better to live well than to produce miraculous signs. Now the Church does not produce those miraculous things that it was producing under the apostles, for the reason that then it was better for the world to believe by miracles, whereas now, already believing, it is better to shine by good works. Thus at that time the signs were produced externally so that the faith might be strengthened internally. Whoever, already in the faith, demands miracles, seeks vain-glory so that he might be praised. For it is written, “Tongues, then, are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers” (1 Cor 14:22). Behold, a miraculous sign is not necessary for the faithful who already have believed, but for the nonbelievers so that they might be converted. Thus Paul, because of the lack of faith of the nonbelievers, cured the father of Publius from the infirmity of his fevers (cf. Acts 28:8) by his powers; however, he moderated the sickness of the believing Timothy not by prayer but medicinally (cf. 1 Tim 5:23), so that you would know that miracles are performed for the unbelievers, not for those who believe. Before the antichrist will appear, powers and miraculous signs will cease in the Church, and thus he will proceed against it boldly as though it were rejected. Miracles and powers will cease in the Church under the antichrist for this benefit: that through this, patience might shine in the saints, mercy might be extended to the reprobates who will be scandalized, and the audacity of those persecuting might be shown more ferociously.” – Isidore of Seville: De Ecclesiasticis Officiis 1.24