Against Celsus 2.66

Summary: Just as Paul gave the Corinthians only what they could receive, and God appeared to Abraham only at times, so the risen Christ appeared by divine judgment only to those fitted to see him.

Greek text · Koetschau 1:188

Καὶ μὴ θαύμαζε, εἰ μὴ πάντες βλέπουσιν οἱ πεπιστευκότες ὄχλοι τῷ Ἰησοῦ τὴν ἀνάστασιν αὐτοῦ· ὅτε ὡς μὴ χωροῦσι πλείονα Κορινθίοις ὁ Παῦλος γράφων φησίν· „ἐγὼ δὲ ἔκρινα μηδὲν εἰδέναι ἐν ὑμῖν εἰ μὴ Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν καὶ τοῦτον ἐσταυρωμένον.“ τοιοῦτον δέ ἐστι καὶ τό· „οὔπω γὰρ ἐδύνασθε· ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ ἔτι νῦν δύνασθε, ἔτι γὰρ σαρκικοί ἐστε.“ οὕτω τοίνυν πάντα κρίσει θείᾳ ποιῶν ὁ λόγος ἀνέγραψε περὶ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, πρὸ μὲν τοῦ πάθους ἁπαξαπλῶς φανέντος τοῖς πλείοσι καὶ τοῦτο οὐκ ἀεὶ. μετὰ δὲ τὸ πάθος οὐκέτι ὁμοίως ἐπιφαινομένου ἀλλὰ μετά τινος κρίσεως ἑκάστῳ μετρούσης τὰ δέοντα. ὥσπερ δʼ ἀναγέγραπται τὸ „ὤφθη ὁ θεὸς τῷ Ἀβραὰμ“ ἤ τινι τῶν ἁγίων, καὶ τὸ „ὤφθη“ τοῦτο οὐκ ἀεὶ ἐγίνετο ἀλλʼ ἐκ διαλειμμάτων, καὶ οὐ πᾶσιν ἐφαίνετο· οὕτω μοι νόει καὶ τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ ὦφθαι τῇ παραπλησίᾳ περὶ ἐκείνων εἰς τὸ ὦφθαι αὐτοῖς τὸν θεὸν κρίσει.

English · Claude translation

And do not be surprised if not all the crowds who have believed in Jesus see his resurrection, since Paul, writing to the Corinthians as to people unable to receive more, says: “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Of the same kind is this: “For you were not yet able; indeed, even now you are not able, for you are still fleshly.” So the Word, doing all things by divine judgment, recorded of Jesus that before the passion he appeared in general to the many, and not even that always, but after the passion no longer appeared in the same way, but with a certain judgment that measured to each what was fitting. And just as it is recorded that “God appeared to Abraham” or to one of the saints, and this “appearing” did not happen continually but at intervals, and he did not appear to everyone, so understand that the Son of God too appeared by a judgment like that by which God appeared to them.

About this passage

Source

Koetschau 1:188 · Paul Koetschau, ed., Origenes Werke 1–2: Gegen Celsus, GCS 2–3 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1899) · Greek text: P. Koetschau, Origenes Werke 1–2 (GCS 2–3, 1899), digitized by the Perseus Digital Library and published by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0

Text

As printed in Koetschau, GCS 2–3. Manuscript variants and the editor's apparatus are not reproduced; no textual problem is noted in this passage.

Translation

Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Koetschau, GCS 2–3; made independently of existing English translations.

Compare

Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 4 (1885) (an older public-domain English translation, whole volume at CCEL; checked against ours only after ours was made)

Scripture

1 Cor 2:2 · quotation, high confidence
1 Cor 3:2 · quotation, high confidence
1 Cor 3:3 · quotation, high confidence
Gen 12:7 · quotation, high confidence

Topics

Christology

Cite this passage

Origen, Cels. 2.66 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/2/66/).

Plain text

Origen, Cels. 2.66 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/2/66/).

Greek text · Koetschau 1:188

English · Claude translation

About this passage

Notes

Translation notes

Cite this passage