Epistle of Barnabas 1

1All hail, ye sons and daughters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who loved us in peace. Seeing that the divine fruits of righteousness abound among you, I rejoice exceedingly and above measure in your happy and honoured spirits, because ye have with such effect received the engrafted spiritual gift. Wherefore also I inwardly rejoice the more, hoping to be saved, because I truly perceive in you the Spirit poured forth from the rich Lord of love. Your greatly desired appearance has thus filled me with astonishment over you. I am therefore persuaded of this, and fully convinced in my own mind, that since I began to speak among you I understand many things, because the Lord hath accompanied me in the way of righteousness. I am also on this account bound by the strictest obligation to love you above my own soul, because great are the faith and love dwelling in you, while you hope for the life which He has promised. Considering this, therefore, that if I should take the trouble to communicate to you some portion of what I have myself received, it will prove to me a sufficient reward that I minister to such spirits, I have hastened briefly to write unto you, in order that, along with your faith, ye might have perfect knowledge. The doctrines of the Lord, then, are three: the hope of life, the beginning and the completion of it. For the Lord hath made known to us by the prophets both the things which are past and present, giving us also the first-fruits of the knowledge of things to come, which things as we see accomplished, one by one, we ought with the greater richness of faith and elevation of spirit to draw near to Him with reverence. I then, not as your teacher, but as one of yourselves, will set forth a few things by which in present circumstances ye may be rendered the more joyful.

XAIPETE, υἱοὶ καὶ θυγατέρες, ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου τοῦ ἀγαπήσαντος ἡμᾶς, ἐν εἰρήνῃ. Μεγάλων μὲν ὄντων καὶ πλουσίων τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ δικαιωμάτων eis ὑμᾶς, ὑπέρ τι καὶ καθ᾽ ὑπερβολὴν ὑπερευ- φραίνομαι ἐπὶ τοῖς μακαρίοις καὶ ἐνδόξοις ὑμῶν πνεύμασιν" οὕτως ἔμφυτον τῆς δωρεᾶς πνευματικῆς χάριν εἰλήφατε. διὸ καὶ μᾶλλον συνχαίρω ἐμαυτῷ ἐλπίζων σωθῆναι, ὅτι ἀληθῶς βλέπω ἐν ὑμῖν ἐκκεχυμένον ἀπὸ τοῦ πλουσίου τῆς πηγῆς Κυρίου πνεῦμα ἐφ᾽ ὑμᾶς. οὕτω με ἐξέπληξεν ἐπὶ ὑμῶν ἡ ἐπιποθήτη ὄψις ὑμῶν. πεπεισμένος οὖν τοῦτο καὶ συνειδὼς ἐμαυτῷ, ὅτι ἐν ὑμῖν λαλήσας πολλὰ ἐπίσταμαι ὅτι ἐμοὶ συνώδευσεν ἐν ὁδῷ δικαιοσύνης Κύριος, καὶ πάντως ἀναγκάζομαι κἀγὼ εἰς τοῦτο, @yaTray ὑμᾶς ὑπὲρ τὴν ψυχήν μου" ὅτι μεγάλη πίστις καὶ ἀγάπη ἐγκατοικεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν ἐλπίδι ζωῆς αὐτοῦ ς. λογισάμενος οὖν τοῦτο, ὅτι ἐὰν μελήσῃ μοι περὶ ὑμῶν τοῦ μέρος τι μεταδοῦναι ἀφ᾽ οὗ ἔλαβον, ὅτι ἔσται μοε τοιούτοις πνεύμασιν ὑπηρετήσαντι εἷς μισθόν, ἐσπούδασα κατὰ μικρὸν ὑμῖν πέμπειν, ἵνα μετὰ τῆς πίστεως ὑμῶν τε- λείαν ἔχητε τὴν γνῶσιν. Τρία οὖν δόγματά ἐστιν Kuplov’ {ζωῆς ἐλπίς, ἀρχὴ καὶ τέλος πίστεως ἡμῶν᾽ καὶ δικαιοσύνη, κρίσεως ἀρχὴ καὶ τέλος" ἀγάπη εὐφροσύνης καὶ ἀγαλλιάσεως, ἔργων δικαιοσύνης μαρτυρία. ἐγνώρισεν γὰρ ἡμῖν ὁ δεσπότης διὰ τῶν προφητῶν τὰ παρεληλυθότα καὶ τὰ ἐνε- στῶτα, καὶ τῶν μελλόντων δοὺς ἀπαρχὰς ἡμῖν γεύσεως. ὧν τὰ xa’ ἕκαστα βλέποντες ἐνεργούμενα, καθὼς ἐλάλησεν, ὀφείλομεν πλουσιώτερον καὶ ὑψηλότερον προσάγειν τῷ φόβῳ αὐτοῦ. ἐγὼ δὲ οὐχ ὡς διδάσκαλος ἀλλ᾽ ὡς εἷς ἐξ ὑμῶν ὑποδείξω ὀλίγα, δι᾽ ὧν ἐν τοῖς παροῦσιν εὐφρανθήσεσθε.