Two Houses

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

SUMMARY: Only those who believe in Him and do His will are the sons of God. We have power over our own will; we carry within ourselves the causes either of our salvation or of our ruin. Therefore, we should stand firm on His words; we should learn and do whatever He both taught and did. The most devoted person was found to be like the rock on which the house was built, with the strongest foundations. When the rain came down, and the floods and the winds burst in and beat on that house, it stood firm. It stood firm because it had been built on the strongest and unmovable foundations. The Lord made known the future destruction in the Gospel. His word was the power of God; His divine message gave both power and grace. It built up, rather than tore down, the substance of the law and the prophets. Irenaeus: For this purpose, the Father revealed the Son, so that through His work, the Son might be made known to all. He might also receive into incorruption and everlasting enjoyment those righteous ones who believe in Him. Now, to believe in Him is to do His will. But He will rightly shut out into the darkness they have chosen for themselves those who do not believe, and who therefore avoid His light. Therefore, the Father has revealed Himself to all by making His word visible to all. And in the same way, the Word has declared the Father and the Son to all, since He has become visible to all. And therefore the righteous judgment of God will fall on all who, like others, have seen but have not, like others, believed.

IRENAEUS: But when it comes to obedience and teaching, we are not all God's children. Only those are God's children who believe in Him and do His will. And those who do not believe and do not obey His will are children and angels of the devil, because they do the works of the devil. So by nature, they are His children, because they were created by Him. But when it comes to their actions, they are not His children. Here is what I mean: among people, sons who disobey their fathers and are disinherited are still their sons by nature, but by law they are disinherited, because they do not become the heirs of their natural parents. In the same way it is with God: those who do not obey Him are disinherited by Him, and they have stopped being His sons.

TATIAN: every person who comes to me and hears my sayings and does them, I will show you what he is like. He is like the wise man who built a house; he dug and went deep and laid the foundation on a rock. Then the rain came down, and the rivers overflowed, and the winds blew and shook that house. But it did not fall because its foundation was laid on rock, and everyone who hears my words and does not do them is like the foolish man who built his house on sand without a foundation. Then the rain came down, and the rivers overflowed, and the winds blew and struck that house, and it fell, and its fall was great.

ORIGEN: He says, "Everyone who hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like. He is like a wise man who built his house on a rock," and so on. He also says, "Whoever hears these things and does not do them is like a foolish man who built his house on the sand," and so on. Even the words spoken to those on his right hand: "Come to me, all you blessed of my father," and so on. And, "For I was hungry, and you gave me food; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink," clearly show that it depended on them. Either they would deserve praise for doing what was commanded and for receiving what was promised, or others would deserve condemnation. These are the ones who heard or received the opposite, and to them it was said, "Depart, you cursed, into everlasting fire." Let us also notice that the Apostle Paul speaks to us as people who have power over our own will. He speaks as if we have within ourselves the causes either of our salvation or of our ruin. Do you despise the riches of His goodness and of His patience and of His long-suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But according to your hardness and impenitent heart, you are treasuring up for yourself wrath on the day of judgment and of the revelation of the just judgment of God, who will render to everyone according to His work, to those who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and immortality, eternal life, while to those who are contentious and do not believe the truth but who believe iniquity, anger, indignation, tribulation, and distress, on every soul of man that works evil, on the Jew first and afterwards on the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone that does good, to the Jew first and afterwards to the Greek. You will also find countless other passages in Holy Scripture that clearly show we have freedom of will; otherwise, it would not make sense for commandments to be given to us. By obeying them, we may be saved, and by breaking them, we may be condemned. That would be unfair if the ability to keep them was not placed in us.

ORIGEN: Is it the rock on which Christ builds the church, or is the rock the church? The phrase is unclear, or is it as if the rock and the church are one and the same thing? I think this is true: the gates of Hades will not prevail against the rock on which Christ builds the church, and they will not prevail against the church either. It is like the way of a serpent upon a rock, which, according to what is written in the Proverbs, cannot be found. Now, if the gates of Hades prevail against anyone, that person cannot be a rock on which Christ builds the church. That person also cannot be the church that Jesus builds on the rock. The rock cannot be reached by the serpent. The rock is stronger than the gates of Hades that oppose it. Because of its strength, the gates of Hades do not prevail against it. But the church is a building of Christ. He built His own house wisely on the rock, so the church cannot let in the gates of Hades. Those gates prevail against every person who is outside the rock and the church, but they have no power against it.

ORIGEN: The Lord also says in the Gospel, "He who believes in me keeps my commands," and again, "He who hears these words of mine and does them." And likewise, "Why do you say to me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?" You see then that everywhere faith is joined with works; works are united with faith.

ORIGEN: Long ago we heard Jesus' words. It is now far in the past that we were made disciples of the Gospel, and each of us built a house for ourselves. The present struggle will show where we have built. It will show whether we dug deep and set the foundation on the rock, or whether we built on sand with no foundation. A storm is about to come. It will bring rain and rivers and winds, or, as Luke says, floodwater. When these crash against the house, one of two things will happen: either they will not be able to shake it, and the house will not fall because it is built on the rock, on Christ. Or they will reveal the weakness of the building, and it will fall under the blows of the storm. May this never happen to our buildings. A fall by apostasy is very great. Or, as Luke says, great is the ruin of the building that has no foundation. Therefore, let us pray that we may be like the wise man who built his house on the rock. Against such a house, rain may come from the spiritual powers of evil in the heavens, or rivers may come from the world rulers of this darkness, or floodwater may come from the spirits beneath the earth. Let them smash themselves against our building, which is founded on the rock. Let this happen not only so that the house will not fall, but so that it will not be shaken at all. Let it be that they, not we, suffer from their attack. Let each one of us say, as he strikes the hostile powers, "So I fight, but not as a man beating the air." Exhortation to Martyrdom.

CYPRIAN: We have been given an example, so we will avoid the path of the old self. We are to walk in the footsteps of Christ who conquered. Then we will not carelessly be turned back again into the nets of death. Instead, seeing the danger ahead, we can hold on to the immortality we have received. But how can we hold on to immortality unless we keep the commands of Christ? By these commands, death is driven out and defeated. Christ himself warns us and says, "If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments." And again, "If you do the things that I command you, from now on I do not call you servants, but friends." In the end, he calls these people strong and steady. He says they are built in solid safety on the rock. They are set with firm strength that cannot be moved or shaken, even against all the storms and hurricanes of the world. Whoever, he says, hears my words and does them, I will compare him to a wise man that built his house on a rock. The rain came down, the floods came, the winds blew, and beat against that house, and it did not fall, for it was founded on a rock. Therefore, we should stand firm on his words. We should learn and do everything he both taught and did. But how can someone say he believes in Christ if he does not do what Christ commanded him to do? How will he reach the reward of faith if he will not keep the faith that comes from the commandment? He must, of necessity, wobble and wander. Caught up by a spirit of error, he will be like dust shaken by the wind and blown around. He will make no progress in his walk toward salvation because he does not hold to the truth of the way of salvation.

CYPRIAN: in Solomon, in Ecclesiasticus: "Do not be quick to speak, and in your actions do not be useless and careless." And Paul, in the First to the Corinthians: "The kingdom of God is not in word, but in power." Also to the Romans: "Not the hearers of the law are righteous before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified." Also in the Gospel according to Matthew: "He who shall do and teach so shall be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Also in the same place: "Everyone who hears my words and does them, I will compare him to a wise man who built his house on a rock." The rain came down, the floods came, the winds blew, and beat against that house, and it did not fall, because it was built on a rock. And everyone who hears my words and does not do them, I will compare him to a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain came down, the floods came, the winds blew, and beat against that house, and it fell, and its ruin was great.

ARCHELAUS: I now take the place of Diodorus. This is not because anything impossible is connected to him; it is because I knew this man here earlier. At that time, he came with his wicked plans into the region where I live. He came by the favor of Marcellus, a man with an honored name. This man tried to turn Marcellus away from our doctrine and faith. His goal was to make Marcellus a strong supporter of this godless teaching. Even so, in spite of all his convincing speeches, he could not move Marcellus. He could not turn him away from the faith in even one point. Marcellus, who was very devoted, was found to be like the rock on which the house was built with the strongest foundations. When the rain came down and the floods and the winds rushed in and beat against that house, it stood firm. It stood firm because it had been built on the strongest and unmovable foundations.

ORIGEN: For neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor other things can separate us from the love of Christ. Neither can the flooding of rivers, as in the lands of Egypt and Assyria, do harm. Only those are harmed who build on sand. These are the people who practice the wisdom of the world. The winds that blow are like the false prophets. All these things, coming together in one place, beat upon the house. If the house is founded on rock, they do no harm. The way of a snake upon a rock is not to be found. But temptations and persecutions can come in a form that may rise into a flood. Then they beat upon even the one who seems to be well-founded. The house falls if it does not have Christ as its basis and foundation. But the truly wise person builds one's house upon a rock. This is the way the Lord builds His church. He builds it upon the rock with steadiness and strength. This is why the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. All the persecutions that fall upon that house accomplish nothing. The house is founded upon the rock.

TERTULLIAN: but they were all astonished at his teaching. Of course they were. Luke says, "His word was with power." But that was not because he taught against the law and the prophets. No doubt, his divine message gave both power and grace. It built up the substance of the law and the prophets instead of tearing it down. Otherwise, instead of astonishment, they would have felt horror. It would not have been admiration, but quick and certain dislike that they would have given to someone who destroyed the law and the prophets. And such a person would also be a greater teacher only because of a rival god, as a natural result, because he could not teach anything that put down the law and the prophets, and so also the Creator, without first teaching the doctrine of a different and rival divinity. So then, since Scripture says nothing else about the matter except that the simple strength and power of his word produced astonishment, it more naturally shows that his teaching agreed with the Creator. It does this by not denying that it agreed. It does not show that his teaching was against the Creator, because it does not state that as a fact. And so he will either have to be acknowledged as belonging to the one with whom his teaching agreed, or else he will have to be judged a deceiver, since he taught in agreement with one whom he had come to oppose.