Against Heresies: Book IV
Chapter 14: If God requires obedience from humans, if He created them, summoned them and placed them under laws, it was purely for the benefit of humans; not because God needed humans, but because He generously bestowed upon them His blessings in every possible way
In the beginning, God created Adam, not because He needed man, but so He could bestow His benefits on someone. Before creating Adam and everything else, the Word glorified His Father, remaining in Him, and was glorified by the Father. As He Himself declared, “Father, glorify Me with the glory I had with You before the world began.” He didn’t require our service when He asked us to follow Him; instead, He granted us salvation. Following the Savior is sharing in salvation, and following the light is receiving light.
Those who are in the light do not illuminate the light themselves, but are illuminated and revealed by it, contributing nothing to it, but benefiting by being illuminated. Similarly, serving God does not benefit God, nor does God need human obedience; but He grants life, incorruption, and eternal glory to those who follow and serve Him, benefiting them because they serve and follow Him, but He doesn’t gain anything from them: for He is rich, perfect, and needs nothing.
God requires service from people so that, as a good and merciful being, He can benefit those who continue serving Him. As God needs nothing, man needs fellowship with God. This is the glory of man: to continue and remain permanently in God’s service.
Therefore, the Lord said to His disciples, “You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you,” showing that they did not glorify Him by following Him; rather, in following the Son of God, they were glorified by Him.
And again, “I will that where I am, they also may be, that they may behold My glory,” not boasting in vain from this, but wanting His disciples to share His glory. Isaiah also says, “I will bring your descendants from the east, and gather you from the west; and I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Do not hold back: bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the ends of the earth; all who have been called in My name: for in My glory I have prepared, formed, and made them.” Since “wherever the body is, there the eagles will gather,” we do share in the glory of the Lord, who has formed and prepared us for this, so that when we are with Him, we may share in His glory.
God created man initially because of His generosity. He chose the patriarchs for their salvation, prepared a people in advance, teaching the stubborn to follow God, and raised up prophets on earth, getting humanity used to bearing His Spirit and communicating with God. God, needing nothing, granted communion with Himself to those who needed it, designing the plan of salvation for those who pleased Him. He guided those who did not see Him in Egypt, and for those who became disobedient in the desert, He gave a law suitable for them. He gave a noble inheritance to the people who entered the good land and celebrated those who returned to the Father, presenting them with the finest robe. Thus, in various ways, He adjusted humanity to align with salvation. This is also why John declares in the Apocalypse, “And His voice as the sound of many waters.” For the Spirit of God is truly like many waters, since the Father is rich and great. The Word, passing through all these individuals, generously bestowed benefits upon His followers by providing a law that was adapted and applicable to every group among them.
Thus, He also commanded the Jewish people to construct the tabernacle and build the temple, choose the Levites, and perform sacrifices, offerings, legal warnings, and all other service required by the law. He truly doesn't need any of these things, for He is always full of all good and possessed all the fragrance of kindness and every scent of sweet-smelling aromas even before Moses existed. Moreover, He guided the people, who were inclined to turn to idols, by repeatedly urging them to persevere and serve God, directing them to important matters through less significant ones; that is, to real things through symbolic ones; and from the temporary to the eternal; and from the physical to the spiritual; and from the earthly to the heavenly; as was also said to Moses, “You shall make all things according to the pattern you saw on the mount.” For forty days, he was learning to remember the words of God, the celestial patterns, and spiritual images, and the types of things to come; as Paul also says: “For they drank from the rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.” And again, after first mentioning what is found in the law, he says: “Now all these things happened to them as examples, but they were written for our instruction, upon whom the end of the ages has come.” Through these examples, they learned to fear God and remain dedicated to His service.