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In the midst of all this, Origen was immensely productive, teaching, preaching, traveling, and writing scholarly works concerning theology, philosophy, apologetics, and the Bible.

He was significantly aided in his literary output by Ambrose, a wealthy convert impressed by Origen's intellectual abilities. Ambrose provided Origen with a trained staff of stenographers, copyists, and calligraphers, as well as funds for the publication of his works. The stenographers wrote down Origen's words in shorthand as he lectured and turned their notes over to the copyists, who produced a manuscript for him to revise. The calligraphers then reproduced as many copies as were needed in a clear and elegant hand.

Ambrose constantly exerted pressure on Origen to make full use of the resources he had provided, leading Origen to refer to his patron as "God's taskmaster" in his life. This patronage and "encouragement" enabled Origen to compose rapidly, and he authored hundreds of manuscripts, becoming one of the most prolific writers of the ancient world. Unfortunately, the majority of these works have not survived.

Among his many extant works, two are of particular importance. On First Principles is a systematic account of Origen's theological and philosophical positions concerning God, creation, Jesus Christ, the Logos of God, and salvation. One of the great classics of Christian thought, it constitutes both a philosophical discussion on the relation of God to the world and an attempt to develop a coherent set of theological teachings. It may be the first formal attempt at systematic theology in the history of the church.

The second work, Against Celsus, is a detailed defense of Christian faith against the critique of the Roman philosopher Celsus, in which Origen attempts to demonstrate the superiority of the teachings of the Bible versus Greek philosophy. This thorough point-by-point response to Celsus made an important contribution to the growing cogency and respectability of Christian faith in the ancient world. These works effectively refuted the contention that Christianity was simply another superstitious folk religion and helped to establish the intellectual credentials of the faith.

While Origen appreciated a great deal of Plato and the Greek philosophical tradition, he argued that at its best it merely anticipated the fullness of truth that was to be found in divine revelation.

Further, he maintained that for all the benefits of philosophy, it could not finally lead to a true and proper knowledge of God, since it was contaminated with too much false and erroneous teaching. In spite of his reservations concerning philosophy, Origen believed that Christian faith itself was a kind of divine philosophy that, while surpassing and superceding all other philosophies, could make use of them by leading persons to a true knowledge of God and to salvation.

Thus, Christians may profitably study Greek philosophy or other pagan learning, "borrowing" truth from these sources in order to explain the Christian faith. In the same way that the Israelites took the property of the Egyptians with them in the exodus, said Origen, so the people of God are permitted to make use of the truths of pagan culture and philosophy, the "spoils of the Egyptians," in the work of theology and biblical interpretation.

This willingness to make use of Greek thought is perhaps nowhere more evident than in Origen's spiritual or allegorical approach to interpreting Scripture. He maintained that the Bible contained three levels of meaning, corresponding to the three aspects of a human being—body, soul, and spirit—derived from Platonic philosophy and the writings of Paul.

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