"Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it" (8:11-12-13). I say that the early Church Fathers understood these phrases in their furthest meanings—the meanings of embodiment. At their forefront was Saint Clement of Alexandria, who lived between (150–200 AD) and was among the most prominent preachers. In his book Exhortation to the Heathen, he said regarding pre-existence: "We existed in the eye of God, for it is our destiny to live in God, we the divine rational creatures. Therefore, we have existed from the beginning, for in the beginning was the Word. God did not show us His kindness for the first time when we were on our travels upon the Earth; rather, He has shown us kindness since the very beginning."

Then, his student Saint Origen (185–254 AD) adopted this creed from him. Most of Origen's intellectual works have been lost, the most significant being his ten-volume work Stromata. The reason for the disappearance of these writings is attributed to the Church's subsequent opposition to Origen’s call for reconciliation between Christianity and the philosophies of Pythagoras, Plato, and Empedocles. Nevertheless, in his remaining legacy, we can read the doctrine of reincarnation explicitly and clearly; it complements faith in God, and indeed, faith in the justice of God—Exalted is His Might—cannot be established except through belief in it.