The Friendship of God
From the treatise Against Heresies by Saint Irenaeus, bishop (125-202)
The friendship of God
Narrated by Frank Dugan, Huntington Beach, California
Our Lord, the Word of God, first drew men to God as servants, but later he freed those made subject to him. He himself testified to this: I do not call you servants any longer, for a servant does not know what his master is doing. Instead I call you friends, since I have made known to you everything that I have learned from my Father. Friendship with God brings the gift of immortality to those who accept it.
In the beginning God created Adam, not because he needed man, but because he wanted to have someone on whom to bestow his blessings. Not only before Adam but also before all creation, the Word was glorifying the Father in whom he dwelt, and was himself being glorified by the Father. The Word himself said: Father, glorify me with that glory that I had with you before the world was. Nor did the Lord need our service. He commanded us to follow him, but his was the gift of salvation. To follow the Savior is to share in salvation; to follow light is to enjoy the light. Those who are in the light do not illuminate the light but are themselves illuminated by the light. They add nothing to the light; rather, they are beneficiaries, for they are enlightened by the light.
The same is true of service to God: it adds nothing to God, nor does God need the service of man. Rather, he gives life and immortality and eternal glory to those who follow and serve him. He confers a benefit on his servants in return for their service and on his followers in return for their loyalty, but he receives no benefit from them. He is rich, perfect and in need of nothing.
The reason why God requires service from man is this: because he is good and merciful he desires to confer benefits on those, who persevere in his service. In proportion to God’s need of nothing is man’s need for communion with God. This is the glory of man: to persevere and remain in the service of God. For this reason the Lord told his disciples: You did not choose me but I chose you. He meant that his disciples did not glorify him by following him, but in following the Son of God they were glorified by him. As he said: I wish that where I am they also may be, that they may see my glory.
Source: The Liturgy of the Hours – Office of Readings
St. Irenaeus (125-202) was born is Asia Minor, probably at Smyrna. He was well educated and probably knew and was influenced by men who knew the Apostles, especially St. Polycarp, who had been a pupil of St. John the evangelist. According to Gregory of Tours, Polycarp sent Irenaeus as a missionary to Gaul, where he was a priest under St. Pothinus at Lyons. Irenaeus was sent to Rome in 177 with a letter from his fellow Christians to Pope St. Eleutherius pleading for leniency to the Montanists in Phrygia. In Irenaeus’ absence a violent persecution of Christians broke out at Lyons, claiming Pothinus as one of its martyrs. Irenaeus was named Bishop of Lyons on his return in 178. He was the first great Catholic theologian. Irenaeus wrote in Greek and two of his profound works survived in tact. His five-book treatise against the heresy of Gnosticism constitutes an invaluable source of information on Church Christ established from its beginnings to the end of the second century. His work also conveys the apostolic tradition in it and is a powerful testimony to the primacy of the Pope.