Clement Of Alexandria
He it was who changed the setting into a rising, and crucified death into life; who having snatched man out of the jaws of destruction raised him to the sky, transplanting corruption to the soil of incorruption, and transforming earth to heaven. [...] Let us obey God when He exhorts us; let us learn about Him, that He may be gracious; let us render Him (though he is in need of nothing) a recompense of gratitude for His blessings, as a kind of rent paid to God for our dwelling here below.
Clement of Alexandria, Exhortation to the Greeks (LCL vol. 92, p. 245.)