Complete Works XVIII: Against Celsus I-IV (Lommatzsch)

written words of Celsus, that which appeared to us original: "ἡμῖν" to be a refutation original: "ἀνατρεπτι-κόν" of his words, which are unable to shake any believer. And may no one be found who has received such a love of God in Christ Jesus that he is shaken in his resolve by the words of Celsus, or any of those like him. But Paul, while listing ten thousand things that usually separate one from the love of Christ and the love of God in Christ Jesus—all of which the love in him was superior to—did not categorize a mere argument among those things that separate. For pay attention, that first he says: "Who original: "τίς" shall separate us from the love of Christ? original: "ἀγάπης τοῦ Χριστοῦ;" Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (As it is written: "For original: "ὅτι" for your sake we are killed all the day long; we were counted as sheep for the slaughter.") But in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." And second, setting forth another rank of those things that are prone to separate the unstable in piety, he says: "For I am persuaded original: "πέπεισμαι" that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate original: "χωρίσαι" us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."