All our good comes through Christ. He is our peace.
He putteth them in minde of their vnvvorthines before they vvere Christians: that al the praise may be giuen to the grace of God: 11 and of the enmitie that vvas th•• betvvene the Ievv and the Gentil: 〈◊〉 vntil nevv that Christ by his Crosse hath made both one, taking avvay the ceremonies of the Lavv, and making one body, and building one holy Temple, of al, in his Catholike Church.
1And you, when you were dead in your offences and sins,Ed a voi (diè vita) quando eravate morti pe' delitti, e peccati vostri,AND you vvhen you vvere dead by your offenses & sinnes,Et vos, cum essetis mortui delictis et peccatis vestris, 2Wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of this air, of the spirit that now worketh on the children of unbelief:Ne' quali voi viveste una volta secondo il costume di questo mondo, secondo il principe, che esercita potestà sopra di quest'aria, spirito, che adesso domina ne' figliuoli dell'incredulità,vvherein sometime you vvalked according to the course of this vvorld, according to the prince of the povver of this aire, of the spirit that novv vvorketh on the childrē of diffidence,in quibus aliquando ambulastis secundum sæculum mundi hujus, secundum principem potestatis aëris hujus, spiritus, qui nunc operatur in filios diffidentiæ, 3In which also we all conversed in time past, in the desires of our flesh, fulfilling the will of the flesh and of our thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest:Trai quali anche tutti noi siamo una volta vissuti a seconda de' desiderj della nostra carne, facendo i voleri della carne, e degli appetiti, ed eravam per natura figliuoli dell'ira, come tutti gli altri:in vvhom also vve al conuersed sometime in the desires of our flesh, doing the vvil of the flesh and of thoughtes, and vvere by nature the children of vvrath as also the rest:in quibus et nos omnes aliquando conversati sumus in desideriis carnis nostræ, facientes voluntatem carnis et cogitationum, et eramus natura filii iræ, sicut et ceteri: 4But God (who is rich in mercy) for his exceeding charity wherewith he loved usMa Dio, che è ricco in misericordia, per la eccessiva sua carità, con cui ci amò,but God (vvhich is riche in mercie) for his exceding charitie vvhervvith he loued vs,Deus autem, qui dives est in misericordia, propter nimiam caritatem suam, qua dilexit nos, 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together in Christ (by whose grace you are saved)Essendo noi morti per li peccati, ci convivificò in Cristo, (per la grazia del quale siete stati salvati)euen vvhen vve vvere dead by sinnes, quickened vs together in Christ, (by vvhose grace you are saued,)et cum essemus mortui peccatis, convivificavit nos in Christo (cujus gratia estis salvati), 6And hath raised us up together and hath made us sit together in the heavenly places, through Christ Jesus.E con lui ci risuscito, e ci fece sedere ne' cieli in Cristo Gesù:and raised vs vp vvith him, and hath made vs sit vvith him in the celestials in Christ IESVS,et conresuscitavit, et consedere fecit in cælestibus in Christo Jesu:
7That he might shew in the ages to come the abundant riches of his grace, in his bounty towards us in Christ Jesus.Affin di mostrare a' secoli susseguenti le abbondanti ricchezze della sua grazia per mezzo della benignità sua sopra di noi per Cristo Gesù.that he might shevv in the vvorldes succeding, the aboundant riches of his grace, in bountie vpon vs in Christ IESVS.ut ostenderet in sæculis supervenientibus abundantes divitias gratiæ suæ, in bonitate super nos in Christo Jesu. 8For by grace you are saved through faith: and that not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God.Imperocché per grazia siete stati salvati mediante la fede, e questo non (vien) da voi: imperocché è dono di Dio;For by grace you are saued through faith (and that not of your selues, for it is the gift of God)Gratia enim estis salvati per fidem, et hoc non ex vobis: Dei enim donum est: 9Not of works, that no man may glory.Non in virtù delle opere, affinchè nissuno si glorj.not of vvorkes, that no man glorienon ex operibus, ut ne quis glorietur. 10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus in good works, which God hath prepared that we should walk in them.Imperocché di lui siamo fattura, creati in Cristo Gesù per le buone opere preparate da Dio, affinché in esse camminiamo.For vve are his vvorke, created in Christ IESVS in good vvorkes, vvhich God hath prepared that vve should vvalke in them.Ipsius enim sumus factura, creati in Christo Jesu in operibus bonis, quæ præparavit Deus ut in illis ambulemus. 11For which cause be mindful that you, being heretofore gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by that which is called circumcision in the flesh, made by hands:Per la qual cosa abbiate a memoria, che voi una volta Gentili di origine, che eravate detti incirconcisi da quegli, che circoncisi s'appellano secondo la carne per la manofatta circoncisione,For the vvhich cause be mindeful that sometime you vvere Gentils in the flesh, vvho vvere called prepuce, of that vvhich is called circumcision in the flesh, made vvith hand:Propter quod memores estote quod aliquando vos gentes in carne, qui dicimini præputium ab ea quæ dicitur circumcisio in carne, manu facta: 12That you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the conversation of Israel and strangers to the testament, having no hope of the promise and without God in this world.Eravate in quel tempo senza Cristo, alieni dalla società di Israele, stranieri rispetto ai testamenti, senza speranza di promessa, e senza Dio in questo mondo.vvho vvere at that time vvithout Christ, alienated from the conuersation of Israël, and strangers of the testaments, hauing no hope of the promis, and vvithout God in this vvorld.quia eratis illo in tempore sine Christo, alienati a conversatione Israël, et hospites testamentorum, promissionis spem non habentes, et sine Deo in hoc mundo.
13But now in Christ Jesus, you, who some time were afar off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ.Ma adesso in Cristo Gesù voi, che eravate una volta lontani, siete diventati vicini mercé del sangue di Cristo.But novv in Christ IESVS, you that sometime vvere farre of, are made nigh in the bloud of Christ.Nunc autem in Christo Jesu, vos, qui aliquando eratis longe, facti estis prope in sanguine Christi. 14For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and breaking down the middle wall of partition, the enmities in his flesh:Imperocché egli è nostra pace, egli, che delle due cose ne ha fatta una sola, annullando la parete intermedia di separazione, le nimistà, per mezzo della sua carne:For he is our peace, vvho hath made both one, and dissoluing the middle vvall of the partition, the enmities in his flesh:Ipse enim est pax nostra, qui fecit utraque unum, et medium parietem maceriæ solvens, inimicitias in carne sua, 15Making void the law of commandments contained in decrees: that he might make the two in himself into one new man, making peace.Abolendo co' suoi precetti la legge dei riti, per formare in se stesso dei due un solo uomo nuovo, facendo pace,euacuating the lavv of cōmaundements in decrees: that he may create the tvvo in him self into one new man, making peace,legem mandatorum decretis evacuans, ut duos condat in semetipso in unum novum hominem, faciens pacem: 16And might reconcile both to God in one body by the cross, killing the enmities in himself.Per riconciliargli ambedue in un sol corpo con Dio per mezzo della croce, distruggendo in se stesso le nimistà.and may reconcile both in one body to God by the crosse, killing the enmities in him self.et reconciliet ambos in uno corpore, Deo per crucem, interficiens inimicitias in semetipso. 17And coming, he preached peace to you that were afar off: and peace to them that were nigh.È venne ad evangelizzare la pace a voi, che eravate lontani, e pace a' vicini:And comming he euangelized peace to you that vvere farre of, and peace to them that vvere nigh.Et veniens evangelizavit pacem vobis, qui longe fuistis, et pacem iis, qui prope. 18For by him we have access both in one Spirit to the Father.Conciossiaché per lui abbiamo e gli uni, e gli altri accesso al Padre mediante un medesimo Spirito.For by him vve haue accesse both in one Spirit to the Father.Quoniam per ipsum habemus accessum ambo in uno Spiritu ad Patrem. 19Now therefore you are no more strangers and foreigners: but you are fellow citizens with the saints and the domestics of God,Voi non siete adunque più ospiti, e peregrini, ma siete concittadini de' santi, e siete della famiglia di Dio:Novv then you are not strangers and forreiners: but you are citizens of the sainctes, and the domesticals of God,Ergo jam non estis hospites, et advenæ: sed estis cives sanctorum, et domestici Dei, 20Built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone:Edificati sopra il fondamento degli Apostoli, e de' profeti, pietra maestra angolare essendo lo stesso Cristo Gesù.built vpon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, IESVS Christ him self being the highest corner stone:superædificati super fundamentum apostolorum, et prophetarum, ipso summo angulari lapide Christo Jesu:
21In whom all the building, being framed together, groweth up into an holy temple in the Lord.Sopra di cui l'edificio tutto insieme connesso si innalza in tempio santo del Signore:in vvhom al building framed together, grovveth into an holy temple in our Lord,in quo omnis ædificatio constructa crescit in templum sanctum in Domino, 22In whom you also are built together into an habitation of God in the Spirit.Sopra di cui voi pare siete insieme edificati in abitacolo di Dio mediante lo Spirito.in vvhom you also are built together into an habitation of God in the holy Ghost.in quo et vos coædificamini in habitaculum Dei in Spiritu.
2:1
Witham
He enlivened you, when you were dead. These words, he enlivened or restored to life, are necessary to express the literal sense and construction, as appears from the following fifth verse. by what is here translated offences, are commonly understood trespasses less grievous than by the word sins. (Witham)
2:2
Witham
According to the course of this world, (that is, the customs of this wicked corrupt world) according to the prince of the power of this air, of the spirit, etc. meaning the devils, who are permitted to exercise their power upon the earth, or in the air. See John 12:10.; 14:30.; 16:11. (Witham)
Calmet
Secundum soeculum mundi hujus: according to the custom of this world. You were dead to the eyes of God, but you live in the eyes of the world: and how do you live? according to the maxims of the world, in idolatry, in crime, in corruption of manners. Corrumpi et corrumpere saeculum est. (Tacitus) (Calmet)
2:3
Among whom, etc. St. Jerome (p. 3) refers it to trespasses or sins.
Were by nature; not by nature according to the state of man's first creation in paradise, but by nature infected with original sin by the fall of our first parents.
Witham
Even as the rest; that is, all mankind. (Witham)
2:4
etc. But God....hath raised us up together, both Gentiles and Jews, to life in Christ, remitting our sins by faith in him, and by the grace of our merciful Redeemer, by his pure mercy, not by any works of ours, nor merely by the works of the former law.
Witham
Hath made us in a condition to sit together in heavenly places, to be hereafter crowned in heaven. (Witham)
2:5
St. Augustine upon St. John
Quickened us together in Christ. Faith, baptism, and grace, are pledges of our future resurrection and glorification in heaven. Our present conversion is also a kind of resurrection. The time is come, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear shall live. (St. Augustine upon St. John, No. 7.)
2:8
Bristow
Faith is the beginning, foundation, and root of justification, and the first of all other virtues, without which it is impossible to please God. (Bristow)
2:9
Challoner
Not of works, as of our own growth, or from ourselves: but as from the grace of God. (Challoner)
2:10
Witham
For we are his workmanship, not only as to our body and soul, but by a new creation in Christ Jesus, with a new heart by his grace. (Witham)
St. Jerome
St. Paul now compares our conversion to creation, to shew that we had been called and justified without preceding merit. In the same manner as the things which God has drawn out of nothing, cannot glory as if they had contributed any thing to their existence. (St. Jerome, hic [on this place].)
2:11
Witham
Be mindful that as for you, who were Gentiles, who were called an uncircumcised people by the circumcised Jews, that you were without Christ, without the hopes or expectation of the Messias, alienated from the conversation of those who were God's elect people, and from the promises particularly made to them, that the Messias should be of their race: without God in this world, that is without the knowledge and the worship of God. But now by Christ, by believing in him, you who seemed to be afar off, are made near by his blood, (ver. 13) by him who died for all; for he hath brought peace to all men, breaking down by his incarnation and death that wall of partition, that enmity betwixt the Jews and Gentiles, making them but one; abolishing that former law, of so many ordinances,[Ver. 11-12. Legem mandatorum decretis evacuans, ton nomon ton entolon dogmasi (dogmatibus) katargesas; that is says St. Jerome, (p. 344) praecepta legalia Evangelicis dogmatibus commutavit. See St. Chrysostom, p. 879. Latin edit. in Savil. p. 787.] precepts, and ceremonies, by decrees, (which may signify by his divine decrees; or rather, as St. Jerome expounds it by the Greek, abolishing the old law and its precepts by the precepts and doctrine of the new law) that he might reconcile to God both the Jews and Gentiles, that now they might be one mystical body, to wit, the Church of Christ, of which he is the head. Remember then that you are no longer strangers and foreigners, as you were when the Jews were the only elect people of God: now, by faith and hope, you are fellow-citizens with the saints and with all the elect people of God: you are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, (ver. 20) who, by their prophecies concerning the Messias, and by their teaching and preaching of the gospel, are as it were subordinate foundation-stones under Christ, the chief founder and the chief corner-stone of his Church; in whom you also (Christians, at Ephesus, and all the faithful) are built up together, (ver. 22) as parts of a spiritual edifice or temple, where God inhabits. (Witham)
2:14
Calmet
Christ destroyed the enmity which, like a wall of separation, stood between Jew and Gentile, and united them into one people. He did this in his flesh, by his own blood, or the sacrifice he made of his flesh on the cross. (Calmet)
2:19
Calmet
You are no longer strangers with regard to God and his holy alliance. You are no longer travellers and vagabonds, without a God, as you were before your conversion; not knowing to whom you belonged, nor finding in paganism either solid foundation or truth, neither hopes for this nor consolation for future life. But now you are become citizens of the same city as the saints, and domestics of the house of God. (Calmet)
2:20
The Church is in this place said to be built upon the apostles and prophets; why not then upon St. Peter?
2:9
Not of works.... as of our own growth, or from ourselves; but as from the grace of God.
2:2
Concordance Eph. 6, 12.
2:8
•. By grace you are saued through faith.] Our first iustificatiō of mere grace, & faith the foundatiō therof. Our first iustification is of Gods grace, and not of our deseruings: because none of al our actions that vvere before our iustification, could merite or iustly procure the grace of iustification. Againe, he saith, through faith: for that faith is the beginning, foundation, and roote of al iustification, and the first of al other vertues, vvithout which it is impossible to please God.
2:9
It is said, not of workes as thine, of thy self being vnto thee, but as those in which God hath made, formed, and created thee. Aug. de gr. & lib. arbit. c. 8. & seq.
2:11
1. reg. 17, 26. Ezec 44, 7.
Concordance Ro. 9, 4.
2:15
〈Greek〉.
2:17
Concordance Ro. 5, 2.
In the liturgy The Epistle for S. Thomas the Apostle. Decemb. 21.
2:19
〈Greek〉
2:20
20. Built vpon the foundation.] The Church builded vpon Christ, and yet vpon the Apostles also. Note against the Heretikes that thinke it dishonorable to Christ, to attribute his titles or callings to mortal men, that the faithful (though builded first, principally, and properly vpon Christ) yet are said here to be built also vpon the Apostles and Prophets. Vvhy may not the Church then be builded vpon Peter?
2:1
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.17
… I suppose, forsooth, we find Him, when he speaks of such as “were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein they had walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, who worketh in the children of disobedience.”
Tertullian † AD 220 Five Books in Reply to Marcion 2
Dead fates. The Gospel, four in number, one
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 13.12
… among whom we also had our conversation in times past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Acts or Disputation Against Fortunatus the Manichaean 1.16
… And He came and preached peace unto you that were far off, and peace to them that were nigh. For through Him we both have our access in one Spirit unto the Father."
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins, and on the Baptism of Infants 1.46
… and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ; by whose grace ye are saved.”
2:2
St Ignatius of Antioch † AD 108 Epistle to the Philadelphians: Shorter and Longer Versions 6
… All such persons are but monuments and sepulchres of the dead, upon which are written only the names of dead men. Flee, therefore, the wicked devices and snares of the spirit which now worketh in the children of this world,
St Ignatius of Antioch † AD 108 Epistle to the Smyrnæans: Shorter and Longer Versions 7
… author of all evil, who led Adam, by means of his wife, to transgress the commandment, who slew Abel by the hands of Cain, who fought against Job, who was the accuser of Joshua the son of Josedech, who sought to “sift the faith” of the apostles, who stirred up the multitude of the Jews against the Lord, who also now “worketh in the children of disobedience;
St Ignatius of Antioch † AD 108 Epistle to the Philippians 4
And indeed, before the cross was erected, he (Satan) was eager that it should be so; and he “wrought” [for this end] “in the children of disobedience.”
St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 5.24.4
… so likewise also the devil, being one among those angels who are placed over the spirit of the air, as the Apostle Paul has declared in his Epistle to the Ephesians,
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.17
… the world, none to God. He, moreover, who is the Prince of the power of the ages must not be thought to be called the prince of the power of the air; for He who is chief over the higher powers derives no title from the lower powers, although these, too, may be ascribed to Him. Nor, again, can He possibly seem to be the instigator
Tertullian † AD 220 A Strain of the Judgment of the Lord 1
180 And deeply moved are the high air’s powers,
Origen † AD 254 Origen De Principiis 2.11.5
… Then, if that atmosphere which is between heaven and earth is not devoid of inhabitants, and those of a rational kind, as the apostle says, “Wherein in times past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now worketh in the children of disobedience.”
Origen † AD 254 Origen Against Celsus 7.52
… henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness.” And each of us runs “not as uncertain,” and he so fights with evil “not as one beating the air,” but as against those who are subject to “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.”
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on Matthew 13.8
… But you will consider if, as he delivered up the property of Job to those who took them captive, and to the horsemen, so also he delivered them up to a certain power, subordinate to “the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience,”
Archelaus † fl. AD 278 The Acts of the Disputation with the Heresiarch Manes 44
… and here, the Lord Jesus, when he was on the sea, rose and gave His commands to the winds and the sea. There, Moses, when he was assailed, stretched forth his hands and fought against Amalek; and here, the Lord Jesus, when we were assailed and were perishing by the violence of that erring spirit who works now in the just,
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 On the Incarnation of the Word 24
… And once more, if the devil, the enemy of our race, having fallen from heaven, wanders about our lower atmosphere, and there bearing rule over his fellow-spirits, as his peers in disobedience, not only works illusions by their means in them that are deceived, but tries to hinder them that are going up (and about this
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Life of Antony. (Vita Antoni.) 65
… Then forgetful of eating, he remained the rest of the day and through the whole of the night groaning and praying. For he was astonished when he saw against what mighty opponents our wrestling is, and by what labours we have to pass through the air. And he remembered that this is what the Apostle said, ‘according to the prince of the power of the air
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Festal and Personal Letters of Athanasius 60
… It was at any rate a bodily hand that the Word stretched out to raise her that was sick of a fever : a human voice that He uttered to raise Lazarus from the dead ; and, once again, stretching out His hands upon the Cross, He overthrew the prince of the power of the air, that now works
St Basil the Great † AD 379 The Letters 46.2
… Why tell of your fellowship with virgins, your progress with them, your being greeted by them with praises on account of virginity, eulogies of virgins, letters written as to a virgin? Now, nevertheless, at a little blast from the spirit of the air, “that now worketh in the children of disobedience,”
St Basil the Great † AD 379 The Letters 210
… Every dream is not a prophecy, as says Zechariah, “The Lord shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain,…for the idols have spoken vanity and the diviners have told false dreams.” Those who, as Isaiah says, dream and love to sleep in their bed forget that an operation of error is sent to “the children of disobedience.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 1.5
36. They say that the Son of God had a beginning in time, whereas He Himself is the source and ordainer of time and all that therein is.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 10.42
… For they, being exalted, sought Thee by the pride of learning, thrusting themselves forward rather than beating their breasts, and so by correspondence of heart drew unto themselves the princes of the air,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Concerning the Nature of Good, Against the Manichæans 33
… As when the Apostle Paul calls those evil angels, against whom as enemies by living piously we contend, "spiritual things of wickedness in heavenly places." That this may not be understood of the upper heavens, he plainly says elsewhere: "According to the presence of the prince of this air, who now worketh in the sons of disobedience."
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise Against Two Letters of the Pelagians 3.4
… since they belonged to him of whom the apostle says, “According to the prince of the power of the air, who now worketh in the children of unbelief.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 21.19
… But the first “gift” is that which is concerned with the remission of sins; by which blessing “we are delivered from the power of darkness;” and the prince of this world, who worketh in the children of disobedience”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 93.5
5. Nor let the world excuse itself by this, that it is hindered by the devil from believing on Christ. For to believers the prince of the world is cast out, that he work no more in the hearts of men whom Christ hath begun to possess by faith; as he worketh in the children of unbelief;
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 24.10
10. “Who is this King of glory?” What! dost thou too, prince of the power of this air,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 68.13
… He hath bound him by the Sacrament of His Incarnation, because though finding nothing in Him deserving of death, yet he was permitted to kill: and from him so bound He took away his vessels as though they were spoils. For he was working in the sons of disobedience,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 68.24
… What is this? Of whom saith he this? Did that captivity, before it passed into a good captivity, show whence it was an evil captivity? For through not believing they were possessed by the enemy, “that worketh in the sons of unbelief: among whom ye were sometime, while ye were living among them.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 72.7
… He humbled him also thus; because when in Him the devil, that is, the prince of this world, had found nothing, he slew Him by the false accusations of the Jews, whom the false-accuser made use of as his vessels, working in the sons of unbelief.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 78.26
… he did confound the malice of the devil, forasmuch as he knew who it was that was making use thereof to prove him. In the sons then of unbelief like as it were in his own slaves, he doth work,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 78.28
… For when God is said to make this most iniquitous and malignant obstinacy, He maketh it not by suggesting and inspiring, but by forsaking, so that they work in the sons of unbelief that which God doth duly and justly permit.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 83.6
6. And as if to point out the cause why they are enemies of God’s people, he adds, “For Assur came with them.” Now Assur is often used figuratively for the devil, “who works in the children of disobedience,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 104.29
… 22 ). More and more as the Sun riseth, so that Christ is recognised by the round world, and glorified therein, do the lion’s whelps get them away together; those devils recede from the persecution of the Church, who instigated men to persecute the house of God, by working in the sons of unbelief.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 118.3
… But are men, then, the only enemies that the Church hath? What is a man devoted to flesh and blood, save flesh and blood? But the Apostle saith, “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against,”…he saith, “spiritual wickedness in high places;” that is, the devil and his angels; that devil whom elsewhere he calleth “the prince of the power of the air.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 119.8
… “The bands of the ungodly have surrounded me: but I have not forgotten Thy law” ( ver. 61 ). “The bands of the ungodly” are the hindrances of our enemies, whether spiritual, as the devil and his angels, or carnal, the children of disobedience, in whom the devil worketh.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 142.7
… “Deliver me from them that persecute me.” From whom thinkest thou that he prayeth to be delivered? From men who persecuted him? Is it so? are merely men our enemies? We have other enemies, invisible, who persecute us in another way. Man persecuteth, that he may slay the body; another persecuteth, that he ensnare the soul.
Pseudo-Clement The First Epistle of the Blessed Clement, the Disciple of Peter the Apostle 11
… their talkativeness and their frivolous teaching they teach natural wisdom and the “frivolous error of the plausible words of the wisdom of men,” “according to the will of the prince of the dominion of the air, and of the spirit which works in those men who will not obey, according to the training of this world, and not according to the doctrine of Christ.”
2:3
Tertullian † AD 220 A Treatise on the Soul 16
… He permits us likewise to feel indignation. How should he not, when he himself experiences the same? “I would,” says he, “that they were even cut off which trouble you.” In perfect agreement with reason was that indignation which resulted from his desire to maintain discipline and order. When, however, he says, “We were formerly the children of wrath,”
Tertullian † AD 220 A Treatise on the Soul 21
… nor to make a generation of vipers bring forth fruits of repentance.” And if so, the apostle too was in error when he said in his epistle, “Ye were at one time darkness, (but now are ye light in the Lord:)” and, “We also were by nature children of wrath;”
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.17
… To be sure, if he had not existed, we might then possibly have applied these descriptions to the Creator. But the apostle, too, had lived in Judaism; and when he parenthetically observed of the sins (of that period of his life), “in which also we all had our conversation in times past,”
Tertullian † AD 220 On Modesty 17
… Similarly, too, (when writing) to the Ephesians, while recalling past (deeds), he warns (them) concerning the future: “In which we too had our conversation, doing the concupiscences and pleasures of the flesh.”
Origen † AD 254 Origen Against Celsus 4.72
… “We were by nature children of wrath, even as others.”
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 3.6
… He who contends on behalf of our adversaries will perhaps say that the name of “Son,” or “product of generation,” does not by any means establish the fact of kindred in nature. For in Scripture the term “child of wrath
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 60
… but considering what our own state was once, let us now be gentle and kind. What then was our state? Hear Paul say; “For we ourselves also were sometime foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, hateful, and hating one another” ( Tit. iii. 3 ); and again, “We were by nature children of wrath.” (
Rufinus of Aquileia † AD 411 The Apology of Rufinus. Addressed to Apronianus, in Reply to Jerome's Letter to Pammachius 1.38
Again, as to the opinion that it is because of their being in this body of humiliation or body of death that men are called children of wrath, he says, in commenting on the words
St Jerome † AD 420 Against Jovinianus 1.38
… And he who sows to the flesh (the words are not mine, but the Apostle’s) reaps corruption. God the Father chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we might be holy and without spot before Him.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 13.14
… and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God;” His “word is a lamp unto my feet.” Hope and endure until the night,—the mother of the wicked,—until the anger of the Lord be overpast, whereof we also were once children who were sometimes darkness,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Enchiridion 33
… “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” He does not say it will come, but it “abideth on him.” For every man is born with it; wherefore the apostle says: “We were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on Faith and the Creed 10
… whence it is said, “With the mind I serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.” And this custom has been turned into a nature, according to mortal generation, by the sin of the first man. Consequently it is also written in this wise, “And we were sometime by nature the children of wrath,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins, and on the Baptism of Infants 1.29
Now there is much significance in that He does not say, “The wrath of God shall come upon him,” but “ abideth on him.” For from this wrath (in which we are all involved under sin, and of which the apostle says, “For we too were once by nature the children of wrath, even as others”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins, and on the Baptism of Infants 2.15
… of carnal generation is from the transgression of original sin, when, treating of his own sins, he shows, as it were, their causes, and says that “man that is born of a woman hath but a short time to live, and is full of wrath.” Of what wrath, but of that in which all are, as the apostle says, “by nature,” that is, by origin, “children of wrath,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on Nature and Grace 3
… Accordingly, criminal nature has its part in most righteous punishment. For, if we are now newly created in Christ, we were, for all that, children of wrath, even as others,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on Nature and Grace 76
He quotes also John, bishop of Constantinople, as saying “that sin is not a substance, but a wicked act.” Who denies this? “And because it is not natural, therefore the law was given against it, and because it proceeds from the liberty of our will.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on Nature and Grace 81
… and in another sense as that nature in which we are born ignorant and carnally minded, owing to the penalty of condemnation, after the manner of the apostle, ‘We ourselves likewise were by nature children of wrath, even as others.’”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise Concerning Man’s Perfection in Righteousness 3
… or accidental? If natural, it is not sin; if accidental, it is separable; and if it is separable, it can be avoided; and because it can be avoided, man can be without that which can be avoided.” The answer to this is, that sin is not natural; but nature (especially in that corrupt state from which we have become by nature “children of wrath”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Grace of Christ, and on Original Sin 1.55
… Beyond question, this runs counter to this man’s will and inclination, although it does not contravene the truthful confession of the apostle, wherein he says: “We too were once by nature the children of wrath, even as others.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Marriage and Concupiscence 2.20
… and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ; by whose grace we are saved.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 21.3
… And that no man might say, “My own righteousness,” he says, “What hast thou, that thou didst not receive?” And on this point he says of himself also, “We also once were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 14.13
… If He partook with us of the wrath of God, are we slow to partake with Him the grace of God? He, then, that will not believe the Son, on the same “the wrath of God abideth.” What wrath of God? That of which the apostle says, “We also were by nature the children of wrath, even as the rest.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 44.1
… For if unbelief is blindness, and faith enlightenment, whom did Christ find a believer at His coming? seeing that the apostle, belonging himself to the family of the prophets, says: “And we also in times past were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.”
John Cassian † AD 435 The Conferences of John Cassian 3.7
… And so when we have succeeded in this, we shall be able to arrive at the third as well, in which we go forth from the house of our former parent, (who, as we know well, was our father from our very birth, after the old man, when we were “by nature children of wrath, as others also,”
John Cassian † AD 435 The Conferences of John Cassian 5.4
… Of which the blessed Apostle says: “In which also we all walked in time past in the desires of our flesh, fulfilling the will of the flesh and of our thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath even as the rest.”
2:4
St Ignatius of Antioch † AD 108 Epistle to the Trallians: Shorter and Longer Versions 8
… Do ye therefore, clothing yourselves with meekness, become the imitators of His sufferings, and of His love, wherewith
Aphrahat † AD 346 Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations 1.8
… Surely because from the beginning He was with His Father. And again that he spoke of love, it was because when He came into the world, He said thus to His disciples:— This is My commandment, that ye love one another . And again He said:— I have called you My friends (lovers). And the blessed Apostle said thus:— God loved as in the love of His Son.
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Festal and Personal Letters of Athanasius 10
… As the blessed Paul saith in a certain place, when describing the incomprehensible riches of Christ: ‘But God, being rich in mercy, for the great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in follies and sins, quickened us with Christ
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 18.35
… in whom we have our redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our sins, according to the riches of His grace, wherein He abounded towards us , and what follows; and again, But God being rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, when we were dead through our trespasses, quickened us together with Christ
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 4
Ver. 4 . “But God, being rich in mercy.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 5
… On this account it is that he says, “Wherefore remember.”—“Wherefore.” Why, “wherefore?”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Colossians 7
… i. 20 .); on this account he says that “He suffered for us”; that “He loved us.” ( 1 Pet. ii. 21 .) And besides in this very same thing, moreover, they were elevated afresh. And he said not “introduction by,” but “worshiping of” Angels. “Intruding into things he hath not seen.” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Reply to Faustus the Manichæan 11.8
… And to show that it is still future, in case it should be thought that what is spoken of as accomplished in hope has been accomplished in reality, he adds, "that He might show in the ages to come the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness towards us in Christ Jesus."
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on Nature and Grace 3
… Accordingly, criminal nature has its part in most righteous punishment. For, if we are now newly created in Christ, we were, for all that, children of wrath, even as others, “but God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, by whose grace we were saved.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 111.2
… Because of the same blessed hope the apostle also says: “But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ; by whose grace we are saved; and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
Pope St Leo I the Great † AD 461 Sermons 21
Let us then, dearly beloved, give thanks to God the Father, through His Son, in the Holy Spirit , Who “for His great mercy, wherewith He has loved us,” has had pity on us: and “when we were dead in sins, has quickened us together in Christ
2:5
St Basil the Great † AD 379 De Spiritu Sancto 14
… The sea slew the enemy in itself: and in baptism too dies our enmity towards God. From the sea the people came out unharmed: we too, as it were, alive from the dead, step up from the water “saved” by the “grace” of Him who called us.
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 5.14
180. It is written, thou sayest, that “when we were dead in sins, He hath quickened us in Christ, by Whose grace ye are saved, and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles 32
… i. 24 .) For to show that this is the meaning, observe what he adds, “Put no difference between us and them.” When he has mentioned the testimony borne to them, then he utters that great word, the same which Paul speaks, “Neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision.” ( 1 Cor. vii. 19 .) “That he may make the twain one in Himself.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 4
Ver. 5 . “Even when we were dead through our trespasses He quickened us together with Christ.”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 133.9
… Do you too, then, condescend to remain ignorant of that into which you inquire. Leave to God His power over what is His own; He does not need you to justify His actions. I am the hapless being against whom you ought to direct your insults, I who am for ever reading the words: “by grace ye are saved,”
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 Dialogues. The “Eranistes” or “Polymorphus” of the Blessed Theodoretus, Bishop of Cyrus 2
“‘And when we were dead in sins He quickened us together in Christ;’
2:6
St Hippolytus † AD 235 The Discourse on the Holy Theophany 8
… The Father of immortality sent the immortal Son and Word into the world, who came to man in order to wash him with water and the Spirit; and He, begetting us again to incorruption of soul and body, breathed into us the breath (spirit) of life, and endued us with an incorruptible panoply. If, therefore, man has become immortal, he will also be God.
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on Matthew 10.14
… me, my heart shall not fear.” And so neither can thieves in regard to whom the Saviour said, “All that came before Me are thieves and robbers,” break through those things which are treasured up in heaven, and through the heart which is in heaven and therefore says, “He raised us up with Him, and made us to sit with Him in the heavenly places in Christ,”
Aphrahat † AD 346 Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations 6.10
… For when Gabriel made announcement to the Blessed Mary who bore Him, the word from on high set out and came, and the word became flesh and dwelt in us. And when He returned to Him that sent Him, He took away, when He went, that which He had not brought, as the Apostle said:— He has taken us up and seated us with Himself in the heavens .
St Basil the Great † AD 379 De Spiritu Sancto 28
… For the height of folly is reached if we through the faith in Christ which is in the Spirit hope that we shall be raised together with Him and sit together in heavenly places,
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 5.14
… But neither in one nor the other have we any natural fellowship with the heavenly Generation of Christ, nor is there any subjection of the Godhead in Christ. But as the Apostle has said that on Him through that flesh which is the pledge of our salvation, we sit in heavenly places,
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Three Homilies Concerning the Power of Demons 1
… But God made the gain greater than the loss, and brought our nature to the royal throne. Wherefore Paul cries out and says, “He raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him, on his right hand in the heavenly places, that in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness towards us.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians the-argument
… as when he says, “To the intent that now unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places might be made known through the Church the manifold wisdom of God.” ( Eph. iii. 10 .) And again; “He raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in heavenly places.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 4
Ver. 6 . “He raised us up with Him and made us sit with Him.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 9
… Ye were called as His body, it is said. Ye have Christ as your head; and though you were “enemies,” and had committed misdeeds out of number, yet “hath He raised you up with Him and made you to sit with Him.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 11
… He hath bestowed nothing upon one more than upon another. To all He hath freely given immortality, to all eternal life, to all immortal glory, to all brotherhood, to all inheritance. He is the common Head of all; “He hath raised all” up, “and made them sit with Him.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Colossians 6
… “As in a head.” But why does he say the same thing over again? “And ye are made full in Him.” What then does it mean? That ye have nothing less than He. As it dwelt in Him, so also in you. For Paul is ever straining to bring us near to Christ; as when he says, “Hath raised us up with Him, and made us to sit with Him” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on 1 Timothy 15
… I rule Angels, He says, and so dost thou, through Him who is the First-fruits. ( 1 Cor. xv. 23 .) I sit on a royal throne, and thou art seated with Me in Him who is the First-fruits. As it is said, “He hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (
Rufinus of Aquileia † AD 411 A Commentary on the Apostles' Creed 29
… Whence also the Apostle says, “Who hath raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places.”
Rufinus of Aquileia † AD 411 A Commentary on the Apostles' Creed 46
… But this also the holy Apostle adds, speaking either of himself or of others of his own place or merit, “He will raise us up together with Christ and make us sit together in the heavenly places.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Letters of St. Augustin 55.3
… as the apostle hath said, “Our old man is crucified with Him;” and we have risen with Him, for “He hath raised us up together, and made us sit with Him in heavenly places.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Baptism, Against the Donatists 1.4
… Thou didst exalt me on a rock." But the rock was Christ, in whom the apostle says that we are now raised up, and set together in heavenly places, though not yet actually, but only in hope.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Baptism, Against the Donatists 5.10
… those who were baptized by him received the expectation of the remission of their sins, the actual remission taking place in the baptism of the Lord,—just as the resurrection which is expected at the last day is fulfilled in hope in us, as the apostle says, that "He hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus;"
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 3.9
… “But Thou, O Lord, art my taker;” in Christ of course. For into that flesh the Church too hath been taken by the Word, “who was made flesh, and dwelt in us;” for that “In heavenly places hath He made us to sit together with Him.”
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 Dialogues. The “Eranistes” or “Polymorphus” of the Blessed Theodoretus, Bishop of Cyrus 1
… Then the predictions of the prophets have no fulfilment. Then vain is our preaching, vain our faith and vain the hope of the resurrection for the Apostle, it appears, lies when he says “and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 Dialogues. The “Eranistes” or “Polymorphus” of the Blessed Theodoretus, Bishop of Cyrus 2
“But God made the gain greater than the loss, and exalted our nature to the royal throne. So Paul exclaims ‘And have raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places’
St John of Damascus † AD 749 An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith 3.6
… not that all the persons of men have risen from the dead and taken their seat at the right hand of the Father, but that this has happened to the whole of our nature in the subsistence of Christ . Verily the divine Apostle says, God hath raised us up together and made us sit together in Christ
2:7
St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 4.5.1
… who made the things of time for man, so that coming to maturity in them, he may produce the fruit of immortality; and who, through His kindness, also bestows [upon him] eternal things, “that in the ages to come He may show the exceeding riches of His grace;”
Origen † AD 254 Origen De Principiis 2.3.5
… Now that after this age, which is said to be formed for the consummation of other ages, there will be other ages again to follow, we have clearly learned from Paul himself, who says, “That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness towards us.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Three Homilies Concerning the Power of Demons 1
3. But look, with me, too, at the wisdom of Paul, how many expressions he seeks for, so as to present to us the lovingkindness of God. For he did not speak merely the word grace, nor riches, but what did he say? “The exceeding riches of his grace in kindness.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 4
Ver. 7 . “That in the ages to come, He might show the exceeding riches of His grace, in kindness towards us, in Christ Jesus.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Hebrews 4
… This indeed also is [a token] of His loving-kindness, but the other far more. And [the Apostle] himself also pointing out this very thing, says, “That in the ages to come He might show forth the exceeding riches of His goodness, He both raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (
Rufinus of Aquileia † AD 411 The Apology of Rufinus. Addressed to Apronianus, in Reply to Jerome's Letter to Pammachius 1.34
… and this I will do. In this same book he declares his belief that, in the end of the age, Christ and his saints will have their throne above the demons in such a way that the demons themselves will act according to the will of Christ and his saints who reign over them. In commenting upon the passage where the Apostle says,
St Jerome † AD 420 Jerome's Apology for Himself Against the Books of Rufinus 1.24
24. A third passage with which he finds fault is that in which I gave a threefold interpretation of the Apostle’s words:
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 Dialogues. The “Eranistes” or “Polymorphus” of the Blessed Theodoretus, Bishop of Cyrus 2
… Consider too Paul’s wisdom and how many terms he searches for that he may set forth the love of Christ to men, for he does not say simply the grace, nor yet simply the riches, but the ‘exceeding great riches of His grace in His kindness.’”
2:8
St Polycarp † AD 155 Epistle to the Philippians 1
… forth fruit to our Lord Jesus Christ, who for our sins suffered even unto death, [but] “whom God raised from the dead, having loosed the bands of the grave.” “In whom, though now ye see Him not, ye believe, and believing, rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory;” into which joy many desire to enter, knowing that “by grace ye are saved, not of works,”
St Peter of Alexandria † AD 311 Fragments from the Writings of Peter 2
Since certainly “grace and truth came by Jesus Christ,” whence also by grace we are saved, according to that word of the apostle, “and that not of yourselves, nor of works, lest any man should boast;”
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 43.72
… and cleansed the people, not with temporary sprinklings, but with eternal purifications: What is the special excellence of Joshua? His generalship, and the distribution of the inheritance, and the taking possession of the Holy Land. And was not Basil an Exarch? Was he not a general of those who are saved by faith?
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Holy Spirit 2.6
… And as the Father creates, so too does the Son create, and so too the Holy Spirit creates, as we read in the words of Paul: “For it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any one should boast. For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus in good works.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles 30
Let us imitate them: let us think nothing our own, seeing even faith itself is not our own, but more God’s (than ours). “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and this,” saith he, “not of ourselves; it is the gift of God.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on First Corinthians 1
… for ye did not first draw near, but were called; so that not even this small matter is yours altogether. However, though you had drawn near, accountable as you are for innumerable wickednesses, not even so would the grace be yours, but God’s. Hence also, writing to the Ephesians, he said, (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Commentary on Galatians 3
For the Law requires not only Faith but works also, but grace saves and justifies by Faith. (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 4
Ver. 8 . “For by grace,” saith he “have ye been saved.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Enchiridion 30
… said, “If the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed?” And before this redemption is wrought in a man, when he is not yet free to do what is right, how can he talk of the freedom of his will and his good works, except he be inflated by that foolish pride of boasting which the apostle restrains when he says, “By grace are ye saved, through faith.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Enchiridion 31
And lest men should arrogate to themselves the merit of their own faith at least, not understanding that this too is the gift of God, this same apostle, who says in another place that he had “obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful,” here also adds: “and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Of Holy Virginity 41
… But you, an elect race, and among the elect more elect, virgin choirs that follow the Lamb, even you “by grace have been saved through faith; and this not of yourselves, but it is the gift of God: not of works, lest haply any be elated. For we are His workmanship, created in Jesus Christ in good works, which God hath prepared, that in them we may walk.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Patience 18
… believing this to come which we believe come: and they themselves by grace were saved through faith, not of themselves, but by the gift of God, not of works, lest haply they should be lifted up.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins, and on the Baptism of Infants 1.46
… by whose grace ye are saved.” Again, a little afterwards, he says: “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Spirit and the Letter 56
… “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Grace of Christ, and on Original Sin 1.24
… Well, now, how is that grace which is not gratuitously conferred? How can it be grace, if it is given in payment of a debt? How can that be true which the apostle says, “It is not of yourselves, but it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise Against Two Letters of the Pelagians 2.12
… and that not of yourselves, but it is the gift of God; not of works, lest perchance any one should be lifted up,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on Grace and Free Will 17
… This he very expressly teaches us when he says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on Grace and Free Will 20
… “Without me ye can do nothing.” And the apostle himself, after saying, “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on Grace and Free Will 28
… “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Predestination of the Saints 1.12
… And he says that a man is justified by faith and not by works, because faith itself is first given, from which may be obtained other things which are specially characterized as works, in which a man may live righteously. For he himself also says, “By grace ye are saved through faith; and this not of yourselves; but it is the gift of God,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 81.5
… At no distant time. As soon as thou art proud, thou losest at once what thou hadst received. As though man terrified by all this were to say, “What shall I do then?” It follows, “Blessed are all they that trust in Him:” not in themselves, but in Him. “By grace are we saved, not of ourselves, but it is the gift of God.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 68.9
… whereof in another Psalm is sung, “The Heavens are telling forth the glory of God.” … So here also, “the Heavens dropped;” but “from the face of God.” For even these very persons have been “saved through faith, and this not of themselves, but God’s gift it is, not of works, lest perchance any man should be lifted up. For of Himself we are the workmanship,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 138.13
… I fear lest, when Thou shalt look into them, Thou find more sins in them than deserts. Behold in me Thy Work, not mine: for mine if Thou seest, Thou condemnest; Thine, if Thou seest, Thou crownest. For whatever good works there be of mine, from Thee are they to me; and so they are more Thine than mine.
John Cassian † AD 435 The Conferences of John Cassian 13.9
… things of the land,” and how it is “not of him that willeth or runneth, but of God that hath mercy?” What too is this, that God “will render to every man according to his works;” and “it is God who worketh in you both to will and to do, of His good pleasure;” and “this is not of yourselves but it is the gift of God: not of works, that no man may boast?”
Pope St Leo I the Great † AD 461 Letters 1
… for the blessed Apostle says, “by grace ye have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves but it is the gift of God ; not of works lest any should perchance be exalted. For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus in good works, which God prepared that we should walk in them
2:9
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on Grace and Free Will 17
… Therefore, the apostle having said, “Ye are saved through faith,” added,” And that not of yourselves, but it is the gift of God.” And again, lest they should say they deserved so great a gift by their works, he immediately added, “Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Predestination of the Saints 1.19
… But we say, by divine grace or predestination. Further, between grace and predestination there is only this difference, that predestination is the preparation for grace, while grace is the donation itself. When, therefore the apostle says, “Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus in good works,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 111.3
… for he loveth most, to whom most is forgiven. This is the glorious work of the Lord: for “where sin abounded, there did grace much more abound.” But perhaps a man would deserve justification from works. “Not,” saith he, “of works, lest any man boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 143.6
… “meditate upon the works of His hands,” for the righteousness too which is in thee, thou wilt find to pertain to His hand. Hear the Apostle teaching thee this, “not of works,” he saith, “lest any should boast.” Have we no good works? Plainly we have: but see what follows; “for we are His workmanship,”
2:10
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.17
… It is manifest that sins, and lusts of the flesh, and unbelief, and anger, are ascribed to the common nature of all mankind, the devil however leading that nature astray, which he has already infected with the implanted germ of sin. “We,” says he, “are His workmanship, created in Christ.”
Tertullian † AD 220 On Baptism 8
… Shall it be granted possible for human ingenuity to summon a spirit into water, and, by the application of hands from above, to animate their union into one body with another spirit of so clear sound; and shall it not be possible for God, in the case of His own organ,
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 2.20
… as, for instance, as receiving instruction from Him as from a teacher . And it being so with us, sin has not lost its reign over the flesh, being inherent and not cast out of it. But the Apostle opposes such a doctrine a little before, when he says, ‘For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 2.21
… Psalm, ‘The generation to come shall declare unto the Lord, and they shall declare His righteousness, unto a people that shall be born whom the Lord made .’ For we shall no more hear, ‘In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die ,’ but ‘Where I am, there ye’ shall ‘be also;’ so that we may say, ‘We are His workmanship, created unto good works
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 2.1
… For God , according to the Preacher, made man upright, and they have themselves sought out many inventions . For we are His workmanship , says the Apostle, created unto good works, which God afore prepared, that we should walk in them
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 39.5
… This is the meaning of their persecution of the creature. For this God’s Image was outraged; and as we did not like to keep the Commandments, we were given over to the independence of our error. And as we erred we were disgraced by the objects of our worship. For there was not only this calamity, that we who were made for good works
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 3.6
45. Just as the works, then, are the expression of the will and power of God the Father, so are they of Christ’s, even as we read: “Created in Christ in good works;”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Second Corinthians 7
… not by being taught [them,] for so the similitude holdeth not good. Also the working as He willeth showeth His authority and lordship. This transformeth us. This suffereth not to be conformed to this world; for such is the creation of which This is the Author. For as he saith, “Created in Christ Jesus,” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 4
… He did not reject us as having works, but as abandoned of works He hath saved us by grace; so that no man henceforth may have whereof to boast. And then, lest when thou hearest that the whole work is accomplished not of works but by faith, thou shouldest become idle,
Rufinus of Aquileia † AD 411 The Apology of Rufinus. Addressed to Apronianus, in Reply to Jerome's Letter to Pammachius 1.38
“And observe carefully that he does not say, ‘We are his forming and fashioning, but
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 13.23
… In Thy Church, therefore, O our God, according to Thy grace which Thou hast accorded unto it, since we are Thy workmanship created in good works,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Enchiridion 31
… “and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” And lest it should be thought that good works will be wanting in those who believe, he adds further: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Two Letters Written by Augustin to Valentinus and the Monks of Adrumetum 1.1
… so that, when the Lord shall come to render unto every man according to his works, He shall find those works of ours good which God has prepared in order that we may walk in them.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Two Letters Written by Augustin to Valentinus and the Monks of Adrumetum 2.6
… And, therefore, how is to be understood the passage, “The ways which are on the right hand the Lord knoweth,” except in the sense that He made those ways Himself,—even “the paths of the righteous,” which no doubt are “those good works that God,” as the apostle tells us, “hath before ordained that we should walk in them”?
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on Grace and Free Will 20
… and again, the possibility of men’s boasting of their good works, as if they were of themselves capable of performing them. To meet, therefore, these opinions on both sides, he immediately added, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 82.1
… And by whom are we so made, but by Him whose mercy hath forestalled us? For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 90.16
… “Look upon Thy servants, and upon Thy works” ( ver. 16 ). For Thy servants themselves are Thy works, not only inasmuch as they are men, but as Thy servants, that is, obedient to Thy commands. For we are His workmanship, created not merely in Adam, but in Christ Jesus, unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them:
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 92.6
… and I will rejoice in giving praise for the operations of Thy hands” ( ver. 4 ). Ye see what he saith. Thou hast made me living well, Thou hast formed me: if by chance I do aught of good, I will rejoice in the work of Thy hands: as the Apostle saith, “For we are His workmanship, created unto good works.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 104.42
… they shall have the Spirit of God. Such were our Lord’s words to the future martyrs: “It is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.” Attribute not your courage to yourselves. If it is yours, He saith, and not Mine, it is obstinacy, not courage. “For we are His workmanship,” saith the Apostle, “created unto good works.”
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Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.17
… “Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by that which has the name of circumcision in the flesh made by the hand—that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Reply to Faustus the Manichæan 22.89
… and that He might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: and that He might come and preach peace to them that are far off, and to them that are nigh," that is, to the Gentiles and to the Jews; "for He is our peace, who hath made of both one;"
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Reply to Faustus the Manichæan 32.13
… did on that occasion require Christians to abstain from the blood of animals, and not to eat of things strangled, they seem to me to have consulted the time in choosing an easy observance that could not be burdensome to any one, and which the Gentiles might have in common with the Israelities, for the sake of the Corner-stone, who makes both one in Himself;
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Harmony of the Gospels 3.4
… to indicate thereby, that in sustaining this sorrow He bore the part of His body, which is the Church, of which He has been made the corner-stone, and which comes to Him [in the person of disciples gathered] partly out of the Hebrews, to whom He refers when He says “Abba,” and partly out of the Gentiles, to whom He refers when He says “Pater” [Father].
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 15.26
… Understand that wall to which another is joined, that they may be joined together, resting on the corner-stone, which is Christ. For there is one wall from the Jews, another from the Gentiles; these walls are far apart, only until they are united in the Corner. Now the aliens were strangers and foreigners from the covenants of God.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 47.5
… Listen further: “They shall hear my voice.” See here also, it is He Himself who speaks by His servants, and it is His voice that is heard in those whom He sends. “That there may be one fold, and one shepherd.” Of these two flocks, as of two walls, is the corner-stone formed.
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Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.11
… In it he tells them to remember, that at the time when they were Gentiles they were without Christ, aliens from (the commonwealth of) Israel, without intercourse, without the covenants and any hope of promise, nay, without God, even in his own world,
Tertullian † AD 220 To His Wife 2.2
… for this reason, to be sure, in order that no one, after attaining to faith, should think that he must turn away from a woman who is now in some sense an “alien” and “stranger.”
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John 10.18
… Mark and Luke say that the two disciples, acting on their Master’s instructions, found a foal tied, on which no one had ever sat, and that they loosed it and brought it to the Lord. Mark adds that they found the foal tied at the door, outside on the road. But who is outside? Those of the Gentiles who were strangers
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on Matthew 10.16
… save in his own country.” And if anyone thinks of Jesus Christ, “a stumbling-block to the Jews,” among whom He is persecuted even until now, but proclaimed among the Gentiles and believed in,—for His word has run over the whole world,—he will see that in His own country Jesus had no honour, but that among those who were “strangers from the covenants,”
St Basil the Great † AD 379 De Spiritu Sancto 10
… And whoever does not always and everywhere keep to and hold fast as a sure protection the confession which we recorded at our first admission, when, being delivered “from the idols,” we came “to the living God,” constitutes himself a “stranger” from the “promises”
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 On Virginity 4
… It passes through life, but its gaze is fixed on heaven; it is the good steersman directing the bark to some landmark there. But the grosser mind looks down; it bends its energies to bodily pleasures as surely as the sheep stoop to their pasture; it lives for gorging and still lower pleasures ; it is alienated from the life of God
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Reply to Faustus the Manichæan 12.24
… But observe what follows: "Now then;" he says, "ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner-stone."
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins, and on the Baptism of Infants 1.46
… for to make in Himself of twain one new man, so making peace; and that He might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having in Himself slain the enmity; and He came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 29.8
8. “The Voice of the Lord moving the wilderness” ( ver. 8 ). The Voice of the Lord moving to the faith the Gentiles once “without hope, and without God in the world;”
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St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 3.18.3
… “Destroy not him with thy meat for whom Christ died.” And again: “But now, in Christ, ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.”
St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 5.14.3
… the Lord has reconciled man to God the Father, in reconciling us to Himself by the body of His own flesh, and redeeming us by His own blood, as the apostle says to the Ephesians, “In whom we have redemption through His blood, the remission of sins;” and again to the same he says, “Ye who formerly were far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ;”
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.17
… Surely, without Him to whom the commonwealth of Israel belonged, and the covenants and the promise. “But now in Christ,” says he, “ye who were sometimes far off are made nigh by His blood.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 5
Ver. 13–15 . “But now, in Christ Jesus, ye that once were far off, are made nigh in the blood of Christ. For He is our peace, who made both one, and brake down the middle wall of partition, having abolished in His flesh the enmity.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Hebrews 5
… It is derived from the figure of persons pursuing those who turn away from them, and doing everything to overtake them as they flee, and to take hold of them as they are bounding away. For when human nature was fleeing from Him, and fleeing far away (for we “were far off”—
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 Dialogues. The “Eranistes” or “Polymorphus” of the Blessed Theodoretus, Bishop of Cyrus 3
… by man came death by man came also the resurrection of the dead,’ and on all occasions in reference to the passion, the manhood and the dissolution of the Lord, he uses the name of Christ as in the text, ‘Destroy not him with thy meat for whom Christ died,’ and again, ‘But now in Christ ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh in the blood of Christ,’
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Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.17
… “They who were far off from me have come to my righteousness.” For the Creator’s righteousness no less than His peace was announced in Christ, as we have often shown already. Therefore he says: “He is our peace, who hath made both one”
St Hippolytus † AD 235 On Daniel 2.15
… “Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world!” And in like manner Gabriel says: “To blot out transgressions, and make reconciliation for sins.” But who has blotted out our transgressions? Paul the apostle teaches us, saying, “He is our peace who made both one;”
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John 1.30
… and that the man whom He assumed, formed and moulded by that nature, according to righteousness, is the King’s Son. I am the more led to think that this is so, because the two beings are here brought together in one sentence, and are spoken of as if they were not two but one. For the Saviour made both one,
St Gregory Thaumaturgus † AD 270 Four Homilies 3
… for all that are tossed and tempest-beaten, the Anchor and the Port undisturbed by storm. For the servants in irreconcilable enmity has been born the Lord; and One has sojourned with us to be the bond of peace and the Redeemer of those led captive, and to be the peace for those involved in hostility. For He is our peace;
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 On the Incarnation of the Word 24
… 2. For if He came Himself to bear the curse laid upon us, how else could He have “become a curse,” unless He received the death set for a curse? and that is the Cross. For this is exactly what is written: “Cursed is he that hangeth on a tree.” 3. Again, if the Lord’s death is the ransom of all, and by His death “the middle
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 2.20
… And that this is the sense of the Scriptures, we may learn from the Apostle, who says in Ephesians, ‘Having broken down the middle wall of partition between us, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances, to create in Himself of twain one new man, so making peace
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 2.117
117. Such is my defence: its reasonableness I have set forth: and may the God of peace, Who made both one,
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 5
… might he hath uttered his voice, saying, “Now all this was done.” For when he saw the sea and the abyss of the love of God towards man, and that actually come to pass which never had been looked for, and nature’s laws broken, and reconciliations made, Him who is above all come down to him that is lower than all, and “the middle walls of partition broken,”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Colossians 3
… He brought these first down hither, and then he took up man to them; earth became heaven, because that heaven was about to receive the things of earth. Therefore when we give thanks, we say, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will to men.” Behold, he saith, even men appeared well-pleasing to Him thereafter. What is “good will”? (
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 123.13
… it was only to Rebekah that the Lord revealed Himself in the hour of childbirth and she alone went of herself to enquire of the Lord. What shall I say of Tamar who bore twin sons, Pharez and Zarah? At their birth was broken down that middle wall of partition which typified the division existing between the two peoples;
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Reply to Faustus the Manichæan 22.76
… The prophets, however, could even in those times die for the truth, as the Lord Himself says, "From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zacharia; and in these days, since the commencement of the fulfillment of what is prophesied in the psalm of Christ, under the figure of Solomon, which means the peacemaker, as Christ is our peace,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Answer to the Letters of Petilian, the Donatist 2.71
… But when the prophet says to you, "Peace, peace; and where is there peace?" what will you show? Will you show the party of Donatus, unknown to the countless nations to whom Christ is known? It is surely not the city which cannot be hid; and whence is this, except that it is not founded on the mountain? "For He is our peace, who hath made both one,"
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 38.10
… “I was unknown,” he says, “by face unto the Churches of Judæa which were in Christ. But they heard only that he which persecuted us in times past, now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed, and they glorified God in me.” So again Christ is called the “Corner Stone who made both one.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 39.4
… the head of the corner, is the Head of the Church. Why is the Church the Corner? Because she has called the Jews from one side, and the Gentiles from another, and these two walls as it were coming from different quarters, and meeting together in one, she has bound together by the grace of her peace. For, “He is our peace, who hath made both one.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 9.17
… Scripture mentions these two classes of people, and leaves out no kind of men, when it says, “Circumcision and uncircumcision;” in these two appellations thou hast all nations: they are the two metretæ apiece. In these two walls, meeting from different quarters, “Christ became the corner-stone, in order to make peace in Himself.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 20.7
… Hast thou lost the foundation? But they that are “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner-stone,” are brought into a state of peace in Christ;
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 77.3
… And what is it He leaveth with us, when ascending from us, save His own presence, which He never withdraweth? For He Himself is our peace who hath made both one.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 48.3
… one of the Jews, the other of the Gentiles: no longer adverse, although diverse, because from different sides, now in the corner not even diverse. “For He is our peace, who hath made both one.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 79.3
… “For Himself is our peace, who hath made both one, that He might build two into Himself, making peace, and might unite together both in one Body unto God:
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 120.8
… God will judge afterwards of the wicked and the good…This we also say: Love ye peace, love ye Christ. For if they love peace, they love Christ. When therefore we say, Love ye peace, we say this, Love ye Christ. Wherefore? For the Apostle saith of Christ, “He is our peace, who hath made both one.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 125.10
… What shall we possess? What is our heritage? what is our country: what is it called? Peace. In this we salute you, this we announce to you, this the mountains receive, and the little hills receive as righteousness. Peace is Christ: “for He is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 127.1
… Did not Adam fall in Paradise? Did not an angel fall from heaven, and become the devil? We are thereby taught, that no hope must be placed in any among men.…The name of Solomon is interpreted to mean peacemaker: now Christ is the True Peacemaker, of whom the Apostle saith, “He is our Peace, who hath made both one.”
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 Letters of the Blessed Theodoret, Bishop of Cyprus 152
… A little while ago we were of one mind and one tongue and now are divided into many tongues. But, O Lord our God, give us Thy peace which we have lost by setting Thy commandments at naught. O Lord we know none other than Thee. We call Thee by Thy name. ‘Make both one and break down the middle wall of the partition,’
Pope St Leo I the Great † AD 461 Sermons 26
… They that are re-modelled after one pattern must have a spirit like the model. The birthday of the Lord is the birthday of peace: for thus says the Apostle, “He is our peace, who made both one
Anonymous The Teaching of Addæus the Apostle 1
… and about the glorious mysteries of His coming, which He spake of in the world; and about the unerring truth of His preaching; and how and for what cause He abused Himself, and humbled His exalted Godhead by the manhood which He took, and was crucified, and descended to the place of the dead, and broke through the enclosure
Ecumenical Councils The Imperial Sacra 1
He is that good Shepherd who, bearing on his own shoulders that wandering sheep—fallen man, hath brought him back to his own peculiar folds—that is, the party of angelic and ministering powers (
2:15
St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 5.14.3
… redeeming us by His own blood, as the apostle says to the Ephesians, “In whom we have redemption through His blood, the remission of sins;” and again to the same he says, “Ye who formerly were far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ;” and again, “Abolishing in His flesh the enmities, [even] the law of commandments [contained] in ordinances.”
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.17
… Therefore he says: “He is our peace, who hath made both one” —that is, the Jewish nation and the Gentile world. What is near, and what was far off now that “the middle wall has been broken down” of their “enmity,” (are made one) “in His flesh.”
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 2.19
… denote the essence and mode of generation, David shews in the Psalm, ‘This shall be written for another generation, and the people that is created shall praise the Lord ;’ and again, ‘Create in me a clean heart, O God ;’ and Paul in Ephesians says, ‘Having abolished the law of commandments contained in ordinances, for to create in Himself of two one new man
St Basil the Great † AD 379 The Letters 265.2
… an offering of jealousy when they neither marry nor are given in marriage; shew-bread after the Bread from heaven; burning lamps after the true Light. In a word, if the law of the Commandments has been done away with by dogmas, it is plain that under these circumstances the dogmas of Christ will be nullified by the injunctions of the law.
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 2.13
… and in the Gospel of S. John, by liberating the soul also from its own malady after He had given health to the body, where He saith, “Thou art made whole, sin no more ,” thou, that is, who hast been cured in both, I mean in soul and in body. For so too does S. Paul speak, “for to make in Himself of twain one new man
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Selections from the Letters of St. Ambrose 20.21
… Thou sawest armed men coming to Thy temple; on the one hand the people wailing and coming in throngs so as not to seem to surrender the Basilica of God, on the other hand the soldiers ordered to use violence. Death was before my eyes, lest madness should gain any footing whilst things were thus. Thou, O Lord, didst come between, and madest of twain one.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on First Corinthians 20
… But when he saith, “and we unto Him,” he speaks of the word of faith and mutual appropriation ( οἰκειώσεως ), as also he said before ( 1 Cor. i. 30 .), “but of Him are ye also in Christ Jesus.” In two ways we are of Him, by being made when we were not, and by being made believers. For this also is a creation: a thing which he also declares elsewhere; (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 6
Mark, how he knits it all together, and represents Him at one time, as holding down the whole body from above, and welding it together; at another time, as supporting the building from below, and being, as it were, a root, or base. And whereas he had used the expression, “He created in Himself of the twain one new man;” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 60
Which same thing also Paul declared, saying, “For to make in Himself of twain one new man.” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 5.9
… For none of these things hadst Thou forgiven me in Christ, neither had He “abolished” by His cross “the enmity”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 118.16
16. But who is this whom we speak of? “The Stone which the builders rejected” ( ver. 22 ); for “It hath become the head Stone of the corner” to “make in Himself of twain one new man, so making peace; and that He might reconcile both unto God in one body;”
Socrates Scholasticus † AD 440 The Ecclesiastical History of Socrates Scholasticus 2.21
… the word “creates” being used instead of “sends down,” or appoints; and thunder in another figure implying the preaching of the Gospel. Again he that says, “Create in me a clean heart, O God,” said not this as if he had no heart; but prayed that his mind might be purified. Thus also it is said,
2:16
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.17
… “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus ”), “one new man, making peace” (really new, and really man—no phantom—but new, and newly born of a virgin by the Spirit of God), “that He might reconcile both unto God” (even the God whom both races had offended—both Jew and Gentile), “in one body,” says he, “having in it slain the enmity by the cross.”
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 12.1
… it was impossible that our life, which had been estranged from God, should of itself return to the high and heavenly place, for this cause, as saith the Apostle, He Who knew no sin is made sin for us , and frees us from the curse by taking on Him our curse as His own , and having taken up, and, in the language of the Apostle, “slain” in Himself “the enmity
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 5
Ver. 16 . “And might reconcile them both in one body unto God through the Cross.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 11
… For this is that love which produces great and glorious fruits. Hence he saith, there is “one body”; one, both by sympathy, and by not opposing the good of others, and by sharing their joy, having expressed all at once by this figure. He then beautifully adds, “and one Spirit,” showing
2:17
St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 3.5.3
… He, appearing in these last times, the chief cornerstone, has gathered into one, and united those that were far off and those that were near;
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.17
… in whom ye believed, and were sealed with His Holy Spirit of promise.” Of what promise? That which was made through Joel: “In the last days will I pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh,” that is, on all nations. Therefore the Spirit and the Gospel will be found in the Christ, who was foretrusted, because foretold. Again, “the Father of glory”
St Hippolytus † AD 235 The Refutation of All Heresies 5.3
… For the name, he says, of Papa belongs simultaneously to all creatures —celestial, and terrestrial, and infernal—who exclaim, Cause to cease, cause to cease the discord of the world , and make “peace for those that are afar off,” that is, for material and earthly beings; and “peace for those that are near,”
St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews 2.28
… he that is not obedient in word to the Son hath not life; but the wrath of God shall abide upon him.” Also Paul to the Ephesians: “And when He had come, He preached peace to you, to those which are afar off, and peace to those which are near, because through Him we both have access in one Spirit unto the Father.”
Rufinus of Aquileia † AD 411 The Apology of Rufinus. Addressed to Apronianus, in Reply to Jerome's Letter to Pammachius 1.38
… For instance. We are to condemn as a pestilent assertion that the nature of human souls and of angels is the same. But let us see what his own opinion is on this point as given in the books which he specially puts before us as containing the pattern of his profession and his rule of faith. Turn to the passage,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 85.8
… for he sought it of Him who had made all things. And God, who was far from the Gentiles, was near unto them: yet He had regard even to those who were afar off, and to those who were near, as the Apostle said: “And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off, and to them that were near.”
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St Basil the Great † AD 379 De Spiritu Sancto 25
… You may indeed find each of these clauses separately,
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 11
… For this is that love which produces great and glorious fruits. Hence he saith, there is “one body”; one, both by sympathy, and by not opposing the good of others, and by sharing their joy, having expressed all at once by this figure. He then beautifully adds, “and one Spirit,” showing
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St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Festal and Personal Letters of Athanasius 11
… to the end that, as he surpassed the conversation of men, he should be exalted above men. And when he descended, he preached to every man; ‘We know in part, and we prophesy in part; here I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known .’ For, in truth, he was known to those saints who are in heaven, as their fellow-citizen
St Basil the Great † AD 379 De Spiritu Sancto 8
… For by saying “through whom we have received grace and apostleship,” he declares the supply of the good gifts to proceed from that source; and again in saying “through whom we have had access,” he sets forth our acceptance and being made “of the household of God”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Concerning Repentance 2.3
… For which reason the Apostle says: “Therefore now ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints and of the household of God.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 87.2
… “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, and are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets.”
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St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 4.25.1
… which had pertained to him, when he was yet in uncircumcision, so that in him both covenants might be prefigured, that he might be the father of all who follow the Word of God, and who sustain a life of pilgrimage in this world, that is, of those who from among the circumcision and of those from among the uncircumcision are faithful, even as also “Christ
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 4.39
… In short, as he says, “they roll as sacred stones,” and not like soldiers fight. Stones are they, even foundation stones, upon which we are ourselves edified—“built,” as St. Paul says, “upon the foundation of the apostles,”
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.17
… He feared, no doubt, that our building was to stand in Christ upon the foundation of the ancient prophets, since the apostle himself never fails to build us up everywhere with (the words of) the prophets. For whence did he learn to call Christ “the chief corner-stone,”
Origen † AD 254 Origen Against Celsus 8.19
… Accordingly, Peter says, “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ;” and Paul also says, “Being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ our Lord being the chief cornerstone.”
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John 10.20
… He fittingly gave the answer about the sign connected with the temple, and not about signs unconnected with the temple. Now, both of these two things, the temple and the body of Jesus, appear to me, in one interpretation at least, to be types of the Church, and to signify that it is built of living stones, a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, built
St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 The Epistles of Cyprian 68.8
… Thou hast the word of eternal life; and we believe, and are sure, that Thou art the Son of the living God.” Peter speaks there, on whom the Church was to be built,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 5.8
… I will enter into Thine house:” as a stone into a building, I suppose, is the meaning. For what else is the house of God than the Temple of God, of which it is said, “for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are”? Of which building He is the cornerstone,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 45.29
… her children have been made “princes over all the earth:” her children have been appointed instead of the “fathers.” Let those who are cut off own the truth of this, let them come to the One Body: let them be led into the Temple of the King. God hath established His Temple everywhere: hath laid everywhere “the foundations of the Prophets and Apostles.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 48.5
5. “For, lo, the kings of the earth are gathered together” ( ver. 3 ). Behold now those sides of the North, see how they come, see how they say, “Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord: and He will teach us His way, and we will walk in it.” “And have come together in one.” In what one, but that “corner-stone”?
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 59.2.7
… “But if they shall not be filled, they shall murmur.” Because above also he had spoken of the murmur of them, saying, “For who hath heard?” “And Thou, O Lord,” he saith, “shall deride them, saying, Who hath heard?” Wherefore? Because, as nothing Thou shall count all nations. Let the Psalm be concluded. See ye the Corner
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 77.16
… now exalted, as we see; inasmuch as there hath been fulfilled in Him, “There shall adore Him all kinds of the earth, all nations shall serve Him.” Therefore Joseph is the people of the Gentiles, but Israel the people of the Hebrew nation. God hath redeemed His people, “the sons of Israel and of Joseph.” By means of what? By means of the corner stone,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 82.4
… whence he says to the Ephesians, “Ye are built upon the foundation of Apostles and Prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the chief corner stone.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 87.2
… telling them how they were returning, and being, as it were, framed together into the holy structure, “built,” he says, “upon the foundations of the Apostles and Prophets:” and because neither the Apostles nor Prophets, upon whom the foundations of that city rest, could stand by their own power, he adds, “Jesus Christ Himself being the head comer stone.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 95.10
10. Therefore, “To-day if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts” ( ver. 8 ). O my people, the people of God! God addresses His people: not only the people of His which He shall not cast off, but also all His people. For He speaketh in the corner stone
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 97.1
1. …This Psalm is entitled, “A Psalm of David’s, when his land was restored.” Let us refer the whole to Christ, if we wish to keep the road of a right understanding: let us not depart from the corner stone,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 102.16
… now that they have pitied her dust; so that man is formed, or rather re-formed, in life out of dust; hence preaching hath increased among the heathen: let the heathen fear Thy Name, let another wall approach also from the heathen, let the Corner Stone
Pope St Leo I the Great † AD 461 Letters 28
… Whereupon blessed Peter, whose divinely inspired confession was destined to profit all nations, said, “Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God .” And not undeservedly was he pronounced blessed by the Lord , drawing from the chief corner-stone
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St Barnabas † AD 61 The Epistle of Barnabas 6
… For, my brethren, the habitation of our heart is a holy temple to the Lord.
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St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 2.97
97. Who is the man who has never beheld, as our duty is to behold it, the fair beauty of the Lord, nor has visited His temple, or rather, become the temple of God, and the habitation of Christ in the Spirit?
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1. And you, when you were dead in trespasses and sins. — Supply, "hath quickened together with Christ, hath raised us up together, and hath made us sit together in the heavenly places," as he says in verses 5 and 6; for there, after a long parenthesis (in which Paul, as is his custom, digresses and is carried away by the force of the Spirit and abundance of matter, as I said in Chapter 38), he returns and completes the sentence begun in verse 1, though changing the second person to the first; for "you" he says "us." When you were dead (deprived of the life of grace) in trespasses and sins, — by your trespasses and sins. Thus St. Jerome. You may ask how trespasses and sins are distinguished. St. Jerome responds that trespasses are sins begun in thought; sins are when they are completed in deed. But the Apostle, versed in the law, had regard entirely to it; for in the law, Leviticus VII, 7 and 37, trespass is distinguished from sin, and a threefold offering for trespass from an offering for sin. Where the Rabbis of the Jews explain the Hebrew חטאת (chattat), which the Septuagint renders ἁμαρτίαν, and our translator renders "sin," to be that which is committed against the precepts of the affirmative law, which they number as many as there are bones in the human body, namely 248; and אשם (ascam), which the Septuagint renders πλημμέλειαν, that is, error, and our translator renders "trespass," to be that which is committed against the negative precepts, which they number as many as there are days in a year, namely three hundred and sixty-five. Second, on the contrary, St. Augustine, Question XX on Leviticus, Lyra, Abulensis and others understand by "sin" the guilt of commission; by "trespass," of omission. But it seems more true that "sin," when distinguished from trespass (for they are often confused, as appears in Leviticus V, 5 and 6), is that which is committed knowingly against the law; "trespass," that which is committed unknowingly or through forgetfulness, especially of law and precept. Thus from Procopius and St. Jerome, according to Ribera, book IV On the Temple, chapter V. And this is proved because for trespass the Septuagint renders πλημμέλειαν, that is, error, and ἀγνόημα, that is, ignorance. Second, because thus our translator renders Leviticus chapter V, last verse: "Because he hath sinned by error against the Lord," where in Hebrew it is אשם (ascam), that is, trespass. Third, this is evident from Psalm XVIII, 13: "Who can understand sins? from my secret ones cleanse me." Behold, he calls trespasses such as are not understood, not known, and are hidden, as if, namely, they were committed through ignorance or forgetfulness. And Psalm LXVIII, 6: "O God, thou knowest my foolishness, and my offences are not hidden from thee." Therefore trespasses are those which, committed through foolishness, that is, imprudence and inadvertence, are hidden from us, but not from God. And this is suggested by the Greek παράπτωμα, which the Apostle uses here, which our translator renders "trespass": for the Greek παρά signifies "beside," when namely someone beside his intention, incidentally, inadvertently stumbles, falls and offends. Against this, St. James, chapter IV, verse 17, calls "sin" that which is committed knowingly: "To him, he says, who knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."
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2. In which at some time you walked, — you conducted yourselves, as the following verse explains; for walking signifies the repetition and habit of sin. Whence he adds: According to the course of this world, — that is, according to the custom of worldly men, who live worldly and in a mundane manner in this world. According to the prince of the power of the air. — as if to say, According to the will and impulse of the prince, who exercises his power in this air: or rather, who is the prince of power, that is of demons, who are called power, because they exercise power in this air; for power, as it is the name of an order of angels who exercise power on earth, so it is also of demons, who retain the same power which they had when they were angels, now that they have become demons, but for evil, so as to harm men. This is evident from chapter I, verse 21; and chapter VI, verse 12; Colossians I, 16. Note: This prince is Lucifer, or another demon, who under him presides over the powers, that is, the demons who rule in this air. Secondly, it is said "power of the air," because he in the air mingles winds, thunder, lightning and storms, by which he harms crops, beasts and men; or rather, because in the air, that is in this world (so that it be a synecdoche) among men he exercises his power, tempting them, vexing them, and harming them in every way. Thus St. Thomas. Whence the Fathers teach that this air until the day of judgment is full of demons, who exercise men, so that the good may be proved and perfected, the wicked hardened, and with the demons on the day of judgment be thrust down to the common damnation in Tartarus. Most excellently St. Augustine in the Sentences, number 130: "When a man," he says, "lives according to himself, not according to God, he is like the devil: for neither should an angel live according to an angel, but according to God, so that he might stand in truth, and speak truth from His, not from his own lie. Whence not without reason is it said that all sin is a lie: because one does not sin except with that will which is contrary to truth, that is to God." Spirit. — In Greek it is πνεύματος, that is, spirit in the genitive, which some by apposition, so that air may cohere with spirit, thus explain: "According to the prince of the power of the air," which namely air is spirit. But this is opposed by what follows: "Who worketh in the children of disobedience;" for neither does air work in them. Secondly, Erasmus thus arranges it: "According to the prince whose power is both of the air and of the spirit," that is, both in the air and also in the spirit, "who worketh in the children of disobedience." Thirdly, Adamus refers it to air, as if to say, According to the prince of this air, in which dwell spirits, that is demons: for this prince in the air as it were in spirit dwells as a spirit, says Theophylactus. Fourthly, Vatable refers it to prince, as if to say, According to the prince of spirits, that is of spirits, namely of demons. But all these ought to supply the copula and, or something similar. Fifth therefore, plainly and simply, by apposition and epexegesis, spirit is referred to power: for it explains what power of the air is, namely it says that it is a spirit, "who worketh in the children of disobedience," that is, to be a spirit (there is an enallage of number; for the singular is put for the plural), namely to be demons, "who," as it were by their malign impulse and breath "worketh," that is, exercise force, energy (for in Greek it is ἐνεργοῦντος) and their malignity (namely by inciting and impelling to gluttony, excess, fornication, pride, vengeance, heresy, and all wickedness) "in the children of disobedience," in Greek ἐν τοῖς υἱοῖς τῆς ἀπειθείας, which you may translate more clearly, in the children of unbelief, unpersuadability and disobedience, that is, the unbelieving, unteachable, rebellious. Thus the Syriac; for ἀπείθεια is unpersuadability, when someone is intractable, stubborn, unwilling to be ruled by discipline, but is carried according to his own will wherever he pleases. Whence St. Basil, or rather his interpreter in the Brief Rules, Rule 268, translates children of stubbornness, this is, he says, he who exercises works which are of stubbornness, or who does the will and works of the devil: for he is the prince and father of stubbornness, so that it may justly be called stubbornness itself. Moreover, the same are the child of stubbornness and child of wrath. For Christ says: "He who is stubborn toward the Son shall not see eternal life, but the wrath of God abideth upon him" — thus far St. Basil. Our translator renders it disobedience, because such do not trust in God, that is, do not believe, practically namely, that is, do not obey: for he who believes the one speaking easily obeys him, and trusts him, and allows himself to be ruled by him. Hence to believe in Scripture by metonymy often signifies to obey, as in Psalm 118:66, and consequently not to believe signifies not to obey. It can secondly be taken properly as disobedience, because such on account of their disobedience and vices distrust God and salvation, and despair of it. Note: The word son, when joined to a genitive of vice or virtue, signifies addiction to vice or virtue: thus it is said child of disobedience, that is, addicted, devoted to disobedience, as if born from it, and as if he were to imitate it as a mother, that is, plainly disobedient and rebellious. But when son is joined to a genitive of punishment or reward, it is the same as worthy: as child of death, child of hell, child of resurrection, that is, worthy of death, hell, resurrection.
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3. In whom (among whom) we also all at some time conversed. Doing the will of the flesh. — In Greek θελήματα, that is, wills, as if to say, fulfilling the appetites and desires of concupiscence, or those things which pleased the flesh, that is, carnal concupiscence, thought and imagination, and which concupiscence willed, that is, desired. Note: "Will" here signifies appetite, not merely rational, but also sensual, animal, carnal and brutal; for the flesh, that is, concupiscence, resides in both the rational and the animal appetite, as I said in Galatians V, 17. Note secondly: For "thoughts" in Greek is διανοιῶν, which Ambrose translated as "counsels"; St. Jerome as "minds": because, he says, some sins are of the flesh, such as gluttony, lust; others of the mind, such as heresies, sects, envies, etc. But we shall take flesh more simply for any concupiscence whatsoever, whether carnal or mental; thoughts for imagination itself, which imagines, conceives, fashions various species and modes of concupiscence: for those who desire, just like those who love, fashion dreams for themselves. And we were by nature children of wrath. — Because, says Illyricus, original sin, which makes us children of wrath, is not an accident, but the form, substance and nature of us. But this is as foolish and contrary to Aristotle and all philosophers as it is impious: for if the sin of Adam is substance, then since all substance is created by God, it will follow that sin is created by God and by Him alone, and was implanted in Adam and his posterity. I say therefore: "we were by nature children of wrath," not in itself and in its own substance, as it was created by God, but in its natural quality and condition, as it was corrupted through Adam and original sin: for then vice grew in like nature, says St. Augustine. Secondly, "by nature," that is, from birth, and from the origin of nature: thus Chrysostom, St. Thomas. Thirdly, "by nature," that is, by natural disposition, character, propensity, by which from childhood we are as it were naturally inclined to evil. Thus Jerome. For the Greek φύσις signifies, first, nature; secondly, birth, origin, generation; thirdly, natural character and propensity. Hence fourthly, adverbially, τῷ φύσει, that is, by nature, is the same as plainly, entirely by metonymy; for what is such by nature, this is plainly and entirely such. Hence conversely what is entirely such is said to be such by nature: and thus a man wholly given over to drunkenness is said by his nature, that is, entirely, to be drunken. Paul therefore says: "We were by nature," that is, from the corruption and propensity of our nature, so were we devoted to the flesh and concupiscences, that "by nature," that is, entirely, we were sinners and children of wrath. Thus Jerome, the Syrian and others. Here is the full sense of the Apostle: for it regards not only the corruption of nature in Adam, but also and much more what followed from it, namely that each one born from Adam serves the flesh and sins almost as it were naturally, and thus is a child of wrath, until freed and reformed by the grace of Christ: for he speaks of actual sins, as is evident from what precedes. Children of wrath, — that is, worthy and liable to the wrath and vengeance of God. See what is said at the end of verse 2; for thus is said "son of death," that is, worthy of death. Where note the Hebrew prosopopoeia: for death, as it were a mother, is imagined to have begotten such a sinner, who is worthy of death, unto death, so as to communicate itself to him, and bring death upon him, so that the death of the sinner is born from death, as it were from a mother; and death seems to embrace him as its own son whom it begets and leads to death. Otherwise Chrysostom and Theophylactus, "We were children of wrath," that is, we were the very wrath of God, and nothing else: for thus the son of man is nothing other than man. Others thirdly, in Jerome, "children of wrath," that is, of the devil, who is called death and wrath on account of the savagery which he exercises upon men. But the first sense is the simplest, and best answers the idiom of the Hebrews. Beautifully St. Bernard, sermon 1 On the Purification of the Blessed Mary: "We were," he says, "and we children of wrath; children of whose wrath? namely children of ignorance, sloth, captivity. The ignorance of the woman seduced had blinded us; the weakness of the man drawn away and enticed by his own concupiscence had enervated us; the malice of the devil had justly held us captive by God. Thus therefore we are all born first indeed wholly ignorant of the way of the city of habitation; then weak and slothful, so that, even if the way of life were known to us, we would nevertheless be hindered and held back by our own inertia; finally captive under the worst and most cruel tyrant, so that, although we were prudent and strong, we would nevertheless be held by the condition of miserable servitude itself."
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On account of his exceeding charity. — The Greek διὰ τὴν πολλὴν, on account of much charity: and thus Jerome and Ambrose read it, much, that is great, by enallage, by which discrete quantity is put for continuous, that is multitude for magnitude: great, I say, by emphasis, that is immense and excessive. It is called excessive with respect to men so miserable and unworthy, not with respect to God: for God, who is himself uncreated goodness itself, it befits to have this immense communication of himself and excessive charity toward men. Thus King Agesilaus, when he gave a huge gift to a certain plebeian, and he from shame refused it, saying this was too great for him: But, said the king, it is not too great for Agesilaus.
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5. And he quickened us together in Christ. — The conjunction and connects what follows; for he says: "And he quickened us together, and he raised us up together, and he made us sit together:" for by anadiplosis he redoubles and for emphasis. Second, "he quickened us together," that is he gave us, in the likeness of Christ, a common spiritual life with him. Third, "in Christ," that is with Christ, or, after the manner of Christ. Whence the Greek and Latin texts have much only in Christ.
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6. And he made us sit together in the heavenly places, — because us, that is our flesh, Christ brought into the heavens in his body. Thus Chrysostom. But because the Apostle speaks of our resurrection and sitting, we who were dead through sins, hence secondly, it is more aptly said that Christ brought us into the heavens, and placed us there and made us sit by hope, affection, striving toward heavenly life, by which in reality after death he will bring us into the heavens, and make us sit with him: for this past tense "he made us sit," signifies partly past, partly future: "he made," namely, that is both he made and he will make. In a similar way the Prophets speak of future things in the past tense on account of their certainty, as if they were already done: for although they are future in reality, yet in God's foreknowledge they are already done. God therefore has begun to make us sit with Christ in the heavens, because he has already prepared a place and a throne there for us, and directs us to it by his grace, so that with certain hope we may claim that place for ourselves, vindicate it, as if we were already occupying it, and sitting there; he will perfectly and properly make us sit when he transfers us from this life into heaven. Thus Jerome. Why therefore do we here like moles gape after the earth and earthly things, when a house and a seat is prepared for us in heaven, and there we already sit with Christ as if beside him? St. Gregory notes, in book VI of the Morals, chapter VIII, that Paul, although bound with a chain in prison, yet on account of the certainty of hope and courage said that he and we sit with Christ in the heavenly places. "The holy men therefore," he says, "are despised outwardly, and as if unworthy endure all things; but confident that they are worthy of the heavenly seats, they await with certainty the glory of eternity; and when they labor outwardly under the adversity of persecution, they have recourse inwardly to the fortified citadel of the mind, and from there they despise all things beneath them, among which they see themselves passing through bodily: they do not fear threats, because by enduring torments they despise them. Hence through Solomon it is said: The just man is confident as a lion; and: Nothing that happens will sadden the just man." In Christ Jesus, — with Christ. For the Hebrew ב, that is in, sometimes has the same force as עם, that is with.
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7. That he might show in the ages to come (in the times following) the abundant riches (that is the excellent exuberance) of his grace, in goodness (in Greek ἐν χρηστότητι, that is through benignity, supply, which he showed) toward us (that is, toward us), in Christ Jesus, — that is, through Christ Jesus.
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8. By grace you are saved (that is, you are freely justified) through faith (for justice is salvation begun, just as full and perfect salvation is justice consummated: as I said Rom. XI, 5), and this not of yourselves. — The pronoun this points to, not τὸ you are saved, but τὸ through faith, as if to say: That you are saved through faith, this is not of yourselves, because faith is not of yourselves, but is a gift of God. Whence Vatablus interrupts these by a parenthesis in this way: (and this is not of yourselves, for it is a gift of God); then indeed the following antithesis, "not of works," coheres most excellently, so that it does not become redundant, but opposes works to faith, as if to say: You are justified through faith, not through works, "that no one may glory" in having obtained and merited justice and salvation by his own works. Hence it is clear that the Apostle here excludes not the works of faith and those which flow from faith, such as acts of hope, penance, charity, etc., but those which are without faith and opposed to faith, just as nature is opposed to grace; that is, he excludes works done by the proper powers of nature, in which the Philosophers and Gentiles gloried, as if done and accomplished by their own strength. See chapters 2 and 3.
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10. For we are His workmanship. — In Greek ποίημα, that is, as Ambrose says, a fashioning; Vatable, a creature; Erasmus, a work. He speaks not of the first creation of man, by which we were all created in Adam; but of the second, which he explains by adding: "Created in Christ Jesus." Although Nazianzen, as cited by Theophylactus, thus expounds it, "through Christ, who is the Word," that is, through Christ not as man, but as God, in Adam we were created in grace: yet others more rightly understand Christ as man; for here he is called Jesus, as if to say, Through Christ the Redeemer we are again, as it were, created, because in baptism regenerated by the spirit of Christ and as it were created, we have become brothers of Christ, a new creation, sons of God and citizens of the Saints. Note: The justification of the impious is called a creation, not physical, because it is not made from nothing; but moral, because it comes to the impious through no merit or work of his own. Secondly, because it is wholly attributed to the merits of Christ, just as creation is wholly attributed to the omnipotence of God. Thus Chrysostom. The just man therefore, through the newness of life and the sublimity of grace, is, as it were, a new mountain, says Jerome, nay, as it were a new world of virtues, created and established by Christ. Beza argues here: the pronoun his, when the Apostle says, "We are His workmanship," namely of God, excludes others: therefore those are deceived who imagine that nature is aided by grace in choice and free will; for hence we learn, he says, that good works are wholly owed to God and to the grace of God. But it is remarkable that Beza does not notice that the Apostle speaks of justification: for by this we become a new workmanship and creature of God; not, however, of the works which follow justification. Whence, just as according to nature we are the workmanship and work of God alone, who created us, and yet, having received nature from God, we freely perform many natural and moral works, both good and evil: so precisely in justification, the justice by which we are recreated and become, as it were, a new creature, we receive infused by God alone; yet having received it, through the same we freely perform the works of faith, hope, charity and Christian justice. Add that we are created in one way, recreated or renewed in another way through justification. "He who created you without you," says St. Augustine, "will not save," and consequently will not justify, "you without you:" because, namely, he requires from you your cooperation and free disposition, by which you prepare yourself for justice through the acts of faith, hope and penance. Created in Christ Jesus in good works (in, that is, for the doing of good works: whence follows) which God hath prepared, that we should walk in them. — For if God prepares good works, if we walk in them: therefore God does not create them in us, but only destines and directs us to them, that we may freely exercise ourselves in them; for this is what the word walk signifies. Thus Chrysostom, the Syrian, Oecumenius, nay even Beza, Vatable and Erasmus. For the Hebrews often take ב bet, that is in, for hamed, that is for; thus in 1 Cor. VII, 15: "In peace," that is, for peace, "God hath called us." Similar passages are James IV, 1; Colossians III, 23, and 1 Cor. VII, 15. And the Greek ἐπί ἔργοις ἀγαθοῖς can be translated both for good works and in good works; for ἐπί with the dative often signifies for, as Budaeus testifies: thus Isocrates says, ἐπί θάνατον ἁρπάζειν, that is, to snatch for death; and Homer, ἐπίπτονται ἐπ᾽ ἄνθεσιν, that is, they fly forth for flowers. Chrysostom notes that the Apostle adds this, lest anyone from the fact that he excluded works from salvation and justice, saying: "Not of works," should think he likewise wished to exclude them from the Christian life, as if faith alone suffices for the Christian. He says therefore that we are created for good works, as if to say, We have become Christians, not that we should thereafter live an idle and epicurean life in leisure or in carnal pleasures of gluttony and lust; but that we should apply ourselves to good works: for this is what the word walk signifies, namely, that it is not enough to begin and start good works, but we ought to be assiduous and continuous in them, that we may walk in them, not for two or three years, but throughout the whole way and course of our life. For this is what the Greek περιπατήσωμεν signifies, that is, walk about, says Theophylactus and Chrysostom. Who adds in his moral homily 5: "Not," he says, "that we perform one only, but that we perform all, he commands. For just as we have five senses, which we ought to use all according to the exigency of things, so likewise all virtues ought to be used." Which God hath prepared. — Note: God prepares good works for us, when He prepares and gives us grace, both habitual and actual, namely when He instils pious impulses and movements into the will, and pious illuminations into the intellect: for by these the intellect and will are prepared, bent, and incited to undertake good works; thus effects are prepared when their cause is prepared and established: thus the harvest is prepared when seed is cast into the earth; war is prepared when soldiers prepare the arms by which war is to be waged. Hence secondly, by hypallage God prepares good works for us, that is, He prepares us ourselves, namely the intellect and will, for good works by the modes already mentioned. Thirdly, God prepares good works for us when He sets before us good companions, teachers, confessors, preachers, holy examples, and other incentives and occasions of acting well, for example, when He sets before a merciful rich man a poor beggar and a sick person, He prepares for him the matter and object inviting him to the act of almsgiving. Whence the Greek οἷς προητοίμασεν can properly be translated, to which, namely good works, God hath prepared, supply the matter, occasion, cause, or way, as if to say God hath made straight the way of good works, so that in this way of good works, and consequently in the good works themselves, we may walk and conduct ourselves. Yet Our Author translates it more aptly, which hath prepared: for just as a way is said to be prepared for a king so that he may walk in it, so God is said to prepare good works for us so that we may walk in them; they themselves therefore are the way to heaven, nor is a way made by works unless you say a way is made to a way; just as a way is made to a garden so that the king may walk in it, so God makes for us a way and entrance to good works so that we may walk in them. Finally, all these things mentioned are not so much prepared by God when in time He actually and really gives and suggests them, but also in His mind He prepared them from eternity, when He foreordained and predestined to give and exhibit them to each man in his own time. How wise and blessed is he who carefully observes, notices, embraces, and carries out these occasions of good works, ways, modes, graces and impulses which God prepares and suggests to him day by day!
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11. For which cause be mindful, — as if to say, Because God hath wrought and shown you such great redemption and grace through Christ, hence I exhort you, O Ephesians, that ye be mindful of it your whole life, especially that He hath called you from gentilism, idolatry and all wickedness to this grace of Christianity, so that ye may render Him such thanks and praises as ye are able. Ye were Gentiles in the flesh. — He opposes "Gentiles in the flesh" to "circumcision in the flesh," that is, to Jews: since therefore it is established that Jews are called circumcision in the flesh, because they had the flesh, that is the foreskin of the flesh, circumcised, it follows that Gentiles are called "Gentiles in the flesh," because, as Vatablus says, they had the foreskin gentile and uncircumcised, and consequently lived as it were as Gentiles and Pagans uncircumcised, living after the flesh in idolatry, gluttony, lust, etc. Whence follows: "Who are called the uncircumcision," that is, the uncircumcised, "by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh, made by hands," that is, by the Jews, who are called circumcision on account of the flesh of the foreskin circumcised. Note: Just as we metonymically call a wicked man wickedness, so to greater contempt and detestation, the Jews called the Gentiles uncircumcised, called them the uncircumcision; but they themselves, exalting in being circumcised, called themselves the circumcision. Secondly, by the phrase made by hands does not refer to flesh, but to circumcision; for this was made by hands. This is evident from the Greek. He adds made by hands so that he may distinguish it from spiritual circumcision, which is made by the Spirit and grace of Christ. Concerning which, to Romans II, last verse. Thus Jerome. Note: Circumcision among the Jews was the greatest honour and glory, just as the foreskin was the greatest shame and ignominy. Whence also among the Egyptians, who are neighbours to the Jews, circumcision was granted to none but priests, wise men and nobles. "Among the Egyptians," says Origen in chapter II on Romans, "no one investigated the secrets of geometry, astronomy and genealogy, than which they think nothing more divine, unless he had undergone circumcision. Every priest among them, every soothsayer, or minister of any sacred rites, or, as they call him, Prophet, is wholly circumcised. The sacred letters also, which they call hieroglyphics, no one learned unless circumcised. Every hierophant, every prophet, every initiate and knower of the mysteries of heaven (as they think) and the underworld among them is not believed to be such unless he has been circumcised."
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12. Because you were (thus it should be read with Ambrose, Jerome and the Greeks, not who, or that you were: for it gives the reason why the Ephesians and other Gentiles both were, and were called uncircumcision, and Gentiles in the flesh: "because" namely "you were") without Christ (that is, without knowledge of Christ, law, grace, religion, life, that is without Christianity), alienated from the conversation of Israel. — In Greek τῆς πολιτείας, that is, first, from the citizenship, or from the commonwealth of Israel, says Erasmus. Second, the Syrian, from the governance of Israel; for politia signifies the very administration and governance of the commonwealth, by which namely God here governed Israel as his people with holy laws, ceremonies and prophecies. Third and better, Ours, from conversation, that is, from the manner and norm of living of the Israelites, fathers and patriarchs, especially Jacob, who was called Israel, from whom the Israelites descend, who worshipped one God holily, and lived holily according to his law, whereas you worshipped idols, and were without law and followed the impulse and drive of concupiscence: for the Greek πολιτεύεσθαι signifies to converse. Thus Budaeus and others. Strangers to the testaments, — that is, foreigners, or aliens and estranged from the testaments, that is from the covenants, which God made with the Jews: for testament signifies any covenant, as I said I Corinthians XI, 25. He alludes to the commonwealth and conversation of Israel already mentioned. Whence he calls "strangers" those alien from the right of citizens, of the city and of the commonwealth. Having no hope of the promise. — Chrysostom, Theophylactus, Oecumenius, refer the word promise to the preceding testaments, as if to say: You were strangers and aliens from the testaments and covenants of promise, that is promissory, which promise goods to Israel. But far more fully and fittingly the Roman Bibles and other more correct ones divide this by a comma, so that "promise" is connected with what follows, having no hope. By promise he understands resurrection and blessed and eternal life, as Paul explains himself before King Agrippa, Acts xxvi, 6: "And now, he says, in hope, which is made to our fathers by the promise from God, I stand subject to judgment; into which our twelve tribes, serving night and day, hope to attain, concerning which hope I am accused by the Jews, O king. What is judged incredible among you, if God raises the dead?" Whence he calls this hope "the hope of Israel," Acts chapter xxviii, verse 20: "For the hope, he says, of Israel, I am bound with this chain," as if Paul said: You, O Gentiles, had no hope of the beatitude promised to the Jews in paganism. Without God — truly. For you worshipped idols and false gods; many also among you were atheists, who removed divinity from the world.
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13. Now but in Christ Jesus (through Christ Jesus) you who were sometime far off (from God, from hope of promised beatitude, from the testaments and covenants, from the commonwealth and conversation of Israel, from Christ finally and salvation), are made nigh (that is, near to Christ, to the Israelites, to beatitude and to God) in the blood (that is, through the blood, namely through the merits of the passion and death) of Christ.
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For He Himself is our peace. — "Peace," that is, making peace, as the following verse explains, and in Colossians I, 20: "Making peace," it says, "through the blood of His cross, whether things on earth or things in heaven." By metonymy, therefore, the effect is put for the cause. Hence you may see in what sense and by what figure the Apostle says that Christ is our justice, wisdom, redemption, in the same manner namely as he here says Christ is our peace, not formal, as is evident, but causal. Whence explaining this he adds: Verse 14. Who made both one, — that is, both peoples, the Jewish and the Gentile, he reconciled and united in His Church. Thus Jerome. Note: He does not say both in the masculine, but both in the neuter, because, as is evident from what follows, this verse and verse 20 refer to the metaphor of a house, or city and commonwealth and polity, as I said at verse 12, and its twin members, parts and walls: ἀμφότερα therefore, that is both, tacitly refers to τείχη (which in Greek is of neuter gender), that is walls and partitions, as if to say: There are two symbolic walls, namely Jews and Gentiles, once separated by a wall, whom Christ, having broken down the wall that was in the middle, joined together in one house, namely the Church. Hence it follows: And the middle wall of partition, — In Greek μεσότοιχον τοῦ φραγμοῦ, that is, as Vatablus says, the space of the partition, that is the fence, hedge or wall, namely the fence or wall that was in the middle and divided one wall from the other. Properly, however, a partition is a fence, or space made from a heap of stones or wood, which in Hebrew is called גדר geder. Thus in the Comic poet Micio orders the partition to be torn down, so that there may be one house. Breaking down, — that is, Christ broke down and destroyed: for the Hebrews lack the indicative, and use the participle in its place. See Canon 29. You ask, what is this wall and middle wall, or the space of the partition separating Jews from Gentiles, which Christ broke down and destroyed? First, St. Jerome and Chrysostom answer that it is sins and enmity between God and men, whether Jews or Gentiles. But because it follows: "That He might make the two," namely peoples, "into one in Himself," hence others more commonly understand the discord that was between Jews and Gentiles. Hence secondly, Ambrose and Jerome answer that this space was the dissimilar faith, law, and worship of Jews and Gentiles: namely idolatry on the part of Gentiles; but on the part of Jews, confidence in their law and ceremonies. Thirdly, Theodoret and Anselm wish this space to have been the Mosaic law, which the Jews embraced and the Gentiles rejected. Fourthly and most rightly, Vatablus, Adam, Erasmus and others answer that the Apostle explains this middle wall when immediately by apposition and epexegesis he adds "enmities," as if to say: The middle wall dividing Jews from Gentiles was mutual enmities, mutual contempt, and hatred by which Jews despised and rejected all Gentiles as idolaters and uncircumcised; Gentiles in turn hated Jews as abhorring the common law, rite and life of Gentiles, just as other birds hate and pursue the owl. These hatreds, these enmities Christ dissolved and abolished "in His flesh," dying for both, and breathing into both a common law and spirit of charity, removing the occasion of enmities, namely the law of commandments. For first the law commanded circumcision, which the Gentiles mocked, and from this they called Jews "verpos, cut-off, apellas." Hence that saying: "Swear to me by Anchialus:" and, "Let the Jew Apella believe, not I." On the contrary, Jews despised Gentiles as profane, because uncircumcised. Again, Gentiles relying on the law of nature and reason mocked Jews as trusting in written law and tablets of stone, saying they had law not in stone but in the mind. Thus Ambrose. On the contrary, Jews despised Gentiles as living without law, indeed those who in many things were ignorant of and violated the Decalogue. Finally, Gentiles mocked so many rites, baptisms, abstinences, ceremonies and sacred observances of the Jews. Jews execrated Gentiles because they ate pork and other foods unclean by the law of Moses, and contaminated themselves with many other uncleannesses forbidden by the same law.
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15. The law of commandments in decrees making void. — Note: The Law of Moses is called "of commandments," because it contains nothing except commandments, and very many of them, nor did it confer aid and grace for fulfilling them. "The law" therefore of the commandments, that is, of precepts, is the same as an imperious law, commanding, nor conferring grace: for thus the Hebrews express by two nouns what we express by a noun and an adjective, or epithet; thus they call "temple of holiness" a holy temple, "men of mercy" merciful men, "vessels of war" warlike arms. This law Christ "making void," that is, made void and abolished, "in decrees," that is, through other decrees: because he changed that law by Evangelical decrees and dogmas (for this is what the Greek δόγμασι means), says Jerome, Chrysostom, Theophylactus, Oecumenius. Note secondly: In Greek it is ἐν δόγμασι. Whence Vatablus and Erasmus translate, the law of commandments situated in decrees abrogating; but better Our author with Chrysostom, Theophylactus and the Greeks expounds in decrees, that is through decrees, namely of the Gospel. Note thirdly: The Greek δόγμασι is the same as the Latin dogmatibus. Whence Chrysostom, Theophylactus and Oecumenius understand faith and the doctrine of faith, as if the Apostle said: Christ abolished the law of Moses through faith, because he joined righteousness to faith, not to the law. Secondly, as Jerome: "The law of commandments was subverted in dogmas, after circumcision and sabbatism, which was left to the people of God, and the passover, and pentecost, and not appearing empty before God, are understood otherwise than they sound, and departing from the letter from the west we began to follow the life-giving spirit," as if God made void the carnal commandments of the law through their spiritual understanding, or through the dogmas of the Gospel. But note, that dogmata to the Greeks signify not only teachings and doctrine, but also precepts and decrees; and thus the Apostle takes it in Colossians II, 14 and 20, which passage is similar to this: for the law is light and dogma. "A lamp, says the Psalmist, to my feet is thy word, and a light to my paths." He calls therefore the precepts of the Gospel not commandments, but dogmas, because they illuminate Christians, and teach how they ought to know God through faith, through hope, charity and religion to worship and invoke him, and to serve and live for him. That he might make the two in himself into one new man, — that is, that he might insert and incorporate the two peoples, namely the Jewish and the Gentile, as it were two men, into himself and his body, that is, his Church, of which he is the head, and might make this one man, that is people, as it were a certain new man walking in newness of life. Whence for make is in Greek κτίσῃ, that is, create. Note: Here he explains the metaphor of the preceding walls, fence and house, by another metaphor, namely of man and the human body: for indeed the Gentiles are as it were two men, who incorporated in Christ coalesced into one mystical man, that is, into one Christian people. Whence from the neuter gender, which he used in the preceding verse, he passes here to the masculine, because the thing signified, namely man and people, is of masculine gender.
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Verse 16. And reconciled both (namely men, that is peoples, namely of the Jews and of the Gentiles) in one body (mystical namely, that is the Church, united), as if to say: That both these peoples, now made one mystical body, that is, one commonwealth and Church, he might "reconcile" to God through the cross, destroying (that is utterly destroying) the enmities (which were between Jews and Gentiles; and again all those which were between both and God) in himself, — that is through himself, namely through the cross and his passion. It is the same as what he said in the preceding verse: "In his flesh." Our interpreter reads in Greek ἐν αὐτῇ with rough spirit; but St. Jerome, Erasmus, Vatablus, read with smooth spirit, and translate in it, namely the cross; for the cross is masculine gender to the Greeks: whence it aptly corresponds to the masculine pronoun αὐτῷ. Hence the Syriac translator renders, and by his cross he slew hatred. But the sense comes to the same thing, whether you refer it to Christ or to the cross: for Christ did these things through the cross. From this place morally St. Leo teaches, sermon 6 On the Nativity, that Christians everywhere ought to cultivate peace, and offer it to God as it were a most pleasing victim. "Those therefore, he says, who are born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God, let them offer to the Father the concord of peaceful children, and in the firstborn of the new creation, etc., let all the members of adoption come together: for the grace of the Father adopted not discordant, nor dissimilar, but those thinking one thing, and loving one thing, as heirs. The Nativity of the Lord is the nativity of peace. For he himself is our peace, who made both one," etc.
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17. And coming he evangelized peace to you (Gentiles) who were far off (from God, Christ and salvation), and peace to those who were near, — namely the Jews; for by this circumlocution taken from Isaiah, chapter LVII, 19, he describes the Jews and Gentiles. See the things said at verses 12 and 13. He alludes to the voice of the angel to the shepherds at the nativity of Christ: "Behold I evangelize to you a great joy, etc.: glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will," Luke II.
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18. For through him (namely Christ) we have access (προσαγωγήν, that is, as Vatable and Erasmus say, entrance, introduction) to God the Father, both (namely both Jews and Gentiles) in one Spirit — that is, through the same Spirit as guide and impeller. Second, in one and unanimous spirit, that is, in will and zeal of faith, religion and Christian charity, so that we may have one heart and one soul. Thus Anselm. He alludes to kings, to whom access is not open except through princes, who are to the king from the bedchamber, and who carry the golden key of the royal bedchamber, and who procure for those entering a guide and instructor, so that they may know in what gesture, reverence, form and manner they ought to address and speak to the king. Thus here the king is God the Father, the prince preparing the entrance is Christ, the guide is the Holy Spirit.
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Verse 19. Now you are not (as you were in paganism) strangers and sojourners, — ξένοι καὶ πάροικοι, foreigners and dwellers, or sojourners, who namely coming from elsewhere migrated into a foreign city and province, whom the Romans called Colonists: for from one city, for example Rome, they led out colonies into other regions: just as Agrippina, the mother of Nero, ordered a colony of veterans to be led out to the Rhine near the Ubii, where she was born, which from then on is still called Colonia Agrippina, a city renowned for wealth and religion. Such among the Jews were Proselytes, or sojourners, who as if foreigners, being of Gentile origin, converted to Judaism, and were joined to the Jews and the Church of God. As if to say: Now you are not proselytes, but inhabitants of the Church, as follows: But you are fellow-citizens (συμπολῖται, fellow-citizens) of the saints (both of the angels, and more properly of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, or of Israel, and of his descendants the holy Israelites, such as David, Samuel, Isaiah and other Prophets, from whom in paganism you were estranged and alienated, as he said at verse 12) and members of the household of God. — As if to say: You are of the house and family of God, namely of the Church of God, from which you were before Christ exiled; you are of the family of the king Messiah, who is both God and man, and of the Christian commonwealth, in which you have the right of citizens to the Sacraments of the Church, and all the goods of Christ and Christians, and you are enrolled as citizens and heirs of the same heavenly city, namely Jerusalem. Thus Chrysostom, Anselm, Theophylactus. And this the Apostle beautifully explains in Hebrews xii, 22: "You have come," he says, "to Mount Sion, and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to the company of many thousands of angels, and to the Church of the firstborn, who are written in the heavens, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the just made perfect, and to the mediator of the new testament Jesus, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better than Abel." Hear also St. Augustine in the Sentences, number 156: "The citizens of the earthly city are brought forth by nature vitiated by sin, who are vessels of wrath: but the citizens of the heavenly fatherland are brought forth by grace liberating nature from sin, who are vessels of mercy."
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20. Built upon (he returns to the metaphor of building and house, of which verse 14: for this house sacred to God, or temple, is the Church, which has been built) upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets,—that is, upon the Apostles and Prophets, who are the foundation of the Church: for upon the faith, doctrine, preaching, and institution of the Apostles and Prophets, as upon a foundation, the Church rests, as if to say, The Apostles have been placed as the foundation of the Church; you Ephesians and other Christians have been built upon them, and you complete the remaining structure of his house and temple. Thus Chrysostom, Theophylactus, Oecumenius, and beautifully Augustine on that passage of Psalm LXXXVI, "The foundations thereof in the holy mountains." Otherwise Anselm: "Upon a foundation," he says, that is upon Christ, who is the foundation of the Apostles, Prophets, and the whole Church, which Beza eagerly seizes upon and follows. It is, he says, an antichristian voice to lay down another foundation: "for no one can lay another foundation besides that which has been laid, which is Christ Jesus." But St. Augustine responds above, that Christ is the foundation of foundations, or the first, upon which the Apostles themselves and the whole Church rest; but the Apostles are after Christ a secondary foundation: just as in the foundations of a house, there is its own breadth, so that one foundation is the lowest under the earth, another is higher on the very surface of the earth, and this second does not hinder or conflict with the first. For that the Apostles are here called foundations, but not Christ, is evident, because Christ is called the cornerstone of the foundation, upon which the foundation rests. This is clearer in the Greek: "Upon the foundation of the Apostles, with Jesus Christ himself being the cornerstone": that genitive of Christ cannot refer to foundation (which is in the dative), but to cornerstone in the genitive, that is to the corner stone, not however to the foundation, as if to say, The Apostles are the foundation, but the cornerstone of the foundation is Christ. Thus also in Revelation xxi, St. John seeing "the holy city, the new Jerusalem, descending out of heaven," that is the Church of Christ, adds verse 14: "And the wall of the city having twelve foundations, and in them the twelve names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb." You see the foundations of the Church are twelve, the twelve Apostles; therefore John saw the name of each inscribed under the foundation, or under the foundation stone, so that he might know that these twelve foundations signify the twelve Apostles. Thus in Matthew xvi, 18, Christ says to Peter: "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church." If Peter is this rock, therefore he is the foundation of the Church: for the rock, upon which the Church is built, can be no other than the foundation rock of the Church. With Christ Jesus himself the very chief cornerstone (being present).—as if to say, Christ as a very strong cornerstone holds together the foundation and the whole structure of the Church, and both its walls, namely Jews and Gentiles, he himself as it were in the middle unites and joins them together as it were in the corner in the kiss of peace. Thus Jerome, Augustine, Bede. You will say: A foundation is placed at the bottom; how then does he here say the cornerstone is at the top? Villalpando, in Ezekiel, in the structure of the temple, page 477, admits that the highest stone is here understood to be that which on the eastern face covers, adorns, and contains the whole building at its apex, which we call the front. Whence Psalm CXVII, to which the Apostle here alludes, is called the head of the corner; if the head, therefore it is at the top, not at the bottom. But to the contrary it makes, that the Apostle here says that the Ephesians and the Church are built upon this stone, and the construction built grows into a holy temple in the Lord: therefore he does not understand the highest stone, which closes the building, but the lowest, which sustains the foundation and the whole fabric, and from which as it were the firmest the whole structure of the Church begins. Hence by the Psalmist it is called rosch pinna, that is, head of the corner, by metaphor; because just as the remaining members and the whole body depend from the head, so the whole building depends from the cornerstone, but in a different position: for the head holds the highest place in the body, but the cornerstone in the house holds the lowest; but in the lowest it performs for the building what the head performs in the highest for the body, and therefore it is called the head. Whence reshit in Hebrew, and head in Latin, signifies that which in each thing is first and principal. Secondly, therefore St. Augustine responds in Psalm LXXXVI, and from him Anselm, that this cornerstone is at the top, because this structure and house of the Church is not corporeal, but spiritual and heavenly: for it is, as St. John says, Apocalypse xxi, the new Jerusalem descending from heaven; therefore its foundation and cornerstone is at the top, namely in heaven. "If we were to build toward the earth," says Augustine, "our foundation would have to be placed at the bottom; but now, because our structure is heavenly, our foundation has gone before to the heavens," namely because the origin and principle of the Church is from heaven. But this is symbolic and mystical. I say therefore: For the top cornerstone in Greek it is ἀκρογωνιαίῳ, that is, extremely angular, that is, at the bottom, or lowest: for the extreme in a building and foundation is the bottom, or lowest part of the foundation; for ἄκρον in Greek signifies extreme, whether it be the highest or the lowest. But that the lowest ought to be understood here is evident from the foundation which this angular stone sustains. Thus in Latin, the high or top sea signifies the deep or bottom. Paul alludes to those great and very hard rocks, which from rubble or other stone like a mass are placed at the bottom of the foundation, and are immediately laid under solid earth, to which then builders throw other stones, rubble, bricks, and bind them with lime, to a height of four, six, or even ten feet, according as the mass and height of the house requires a greater or lesser foundation: those first great stones are called here the top stone, that is, the bottom of the foundation, and it is angular, so that it may sustain and bind both walls, and therefore it ought to be stronger than the others, and is primary and principal in the structure. Note: St. Jerome in that passage of Isaiah XIX, "They have deceived Egypt, the corner of peoples": "It is an idiom," he says, "of Holy Scripture, that they put corner for kingdom and prince, because it contains peoples, and because it is the strongest in the whole house." Since therefore corners are made from larger and more solid stones, hence princes or leaders of peoples are called corners, just as we in common speech call the leaders and republics of the Swiss Cantons (as it were corners). Thus Zechariah, chapter x, verse 4, says: "From him shall come forth a corner," that is, from Judah shall come forth Christ the cornerstone, and prince of Jews and Gentiles. And Jeremiah, chapter li, verse 26, says of Babylon soon to be overthrown: "They shall not take from thee a stone for a corner," that is, as the Chaldean translates it, they shall not take from thee a king for a kingdom, and a prince for a principality. Thus Psalm cxvii (to which Paul here alludes) it is said of Christ: "The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner." Where Lyra and Abulensis think it is alluded to a true stone, which at first by the Jews as useless was rejected from the structure of the temple, but afterwards was received, fitted, and placed in the most honorable place, namely at the head of the corner. But this is a commentary of the Jews, says Burgensis. It is therefore a metaphor, drawn from the corners of buildings, of which I have already spoken: for what the corner is, especially the foundational one, in a building, this is the king in a kingdom, namely Christ in the Church. In a similar phrase and sense Christ said to Peter, Matthew xvi, 18: "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church."
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21. In whom (by whom, namely Christ, who went before) all (the whole) building (edifice, structure) framed together (συναρμολογουμένη, that is, as Jerome says, compacted; as Ambrose, joined together; as Vatablus and Erasmus, cemented) groweth into a holy temple (into the Church, which is the holy house and temple of God) in the Lord,—through the Lord; or rather "in the Lord," that is of the Lord, that ye may be a holy temple of the Lord: for the Hebrew beth, that is in, often signifies the government of the genitive. See Canon 25.
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22. In whom (by whom, namely Christ already mentioned, or "in which," namely the temple) and you are built together into a habitation of God (into the temple of the Church already mentioned, in which, as in His own house, God dwells) in the Holy Spirit, — by the Holy Spirit. Note: "In the Holy Spirit" is not in the Greek, nor in the Roman edition, but in the Plantin edition, and it is understood in the Greek. For the Spirit here is the grace which the Holy Spirit breathes into the Saints, that is to say, the Church is the house and temple of God, whose foundation are the Apostles, the cornerstone is Christ, the walls are the Jews and Gentiles, who daily rise up as more from the Jews and Gentiles are inserted into and built into Christ and the Church. You therefore, O Ephesians, together with other Christians are built into this structure, so that you may be stones, parts and members of this temple, so that it may rise higher day by day and grow, and become a great temple and habitation of God, and this by the Holy Spirit, because by His grace and charity, as by glue and mortar, He binds together and cements all the faithful, so that they make one wall, one house, one Church. St. Ignatius, however, in his letter to the Ephesians, bringing forward the same metaphor of a building, compares the Holy Spirit to a plumb line: "Jesus Christ," he says, "founded you upon a rock, as chosen stones, fit for the divine building of the Father, lifted up on high by Christ, who was crucified for us, using the plumb line of the Holy Spirit, but supported by faith, and lifted up from the earth to heaven by charity." Tropologically, St. Jerome: "When we shall be living stones hewn on every side, smooth, polished, having no roughness (of vices), we shall be built into a temple, and we shall become a habitation for God, and the ark of the covenant shall be placed in us, the keeper of the law of the Lord, and the multitude of the Cherubim of knowledge, so that the interior of our heart may pass into a new name, and we may be called Debir, that is, an oracle, or the speaking place and utterance of God." Blessed Dorotheus also, in volume III of the Library of the Holy Fathers, teaching 14, thus instructs his followers regarding the building or restoration of a spiritual house: "First," he says, "the foundations must be laid; which is faith, without which it is impossible to please God. Then establish upon the foundation a most excellent building. Does obedience fail? add the stone of obedience. Are you angry with a brother from whom you have received an injury? let the virtue add another stone of patience; then each virtue added will be a single stone. Charity will bind wall to wall. Bitumen is humility, which makes the other virtues such as they are. The roof is the love of God. The crown, which is commanded to be placed above the roof in the law, lest little ones fall, is prudence. In building this edifice our industry must toil, so that we may have the Holy Spirit dwelling in it." He will preserve the house, unless we ourselves are idle, lest it suddenly fall to the ground from the winds of the world breathing from the four corners. Again, St. Augustine in Psalm LXXXVI. We have approached the Church as if we ought to be squared to fit a heavenly structure, so that we may be built into it, and consequently each Christian ought to be like a squared stone. "In every," he says, "temptation of his, a Christian does not fall, even if he is pushed, and if he turns in any way, he does not fall. For a squared stone, whichever way you turn it, stands. The Martyrs seemed to fall when they were struck: but what did the voice of Psalm XXXVI say? When he shall fall, he shall not be bruised, because the Lord supports His hand under him. So therefore be squared for all temptations, prepared for whatever may push, let it not overturn you. Let every accident find you standing."
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
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Supra enumeravit apostolus beneficia humano generi per Christum communiter exhibita, hic apostolus commemorat eadem per comparationem ad eorum statum praeteritum. Status autem eorum praeteritus dupliciter considerari potest. Primo quidem quantum ad statum culpae; secundo quantum ad statum gentilitatis eorum. Apostolus ergo duo facit, quia primo commemorat beneficia quantum ad primum statum eis exhibita; secundo commemorat ea per comparationem ad statum secundum, ibi propter quod memores estote, et cetera. Prima iterum in duas, quia primo recitat apostolus statum culpae ipsorum; secundo beneficium gratiae iustificationis, ibi Deus autem, qui dives est, et cetera. Prima iterum in duas, quia primo commemorat statum culpae quantum ad gentiles; secundo quantum ad Iudaeos, ibi in quibus et nos, et cetera. Prima iterum in duas, quia primo praemittit beneficii generalitatem; secundo subdit huius necessitatem, ibi cum essemus mortui, et cetera. Dicit ergo: dico quod Deus magnifice operatur in fidelibus secundum operationem potentiae virtutis eius, quam operatus est in Christo, et hoc quia suscitavit illum a mortuis; secundum hanc ergo operationem ad huius operationis exemplum convivificavit nos, vita scilicet gratiae de morte peccati. Os. VI, 3: vivificabit nos post duos dies, in die tertia suscitabit nos, et cetera. Col. III, v. 1: si consurrexistis cum Christo, quae sursum sunt quaerite, et cetera. Necessitatem vero huius beneficii ostendit, cum dicit cum essetis mortui, et cetera. Ubi optime describit eorum culpam. Primo quantum ad multitudinem, quia cum essetis mortui, scilicet morte spirituali, quae pessima est. Ps. XXXIII, 22: mors peccatorum pessima. Peccatum enim mors dicitur, quia per ipsum homo a domino, qui est vita, separatur. Io. XIV, 6: ego sum via, veritas, et vita. Mortui, inquam, in delictis et peccatis vestris, ecce multitudo. In delictis quidem quantum ad omissa, Ps. XVIII, 13: delicta quis intelligit, etc., et peccatis quantum ad commissa. In quibus aliquando ambulastis, quod ideo dicit, ut multitudinem peccatorum exaggeret. Nam aliqui si ad horam mortui sunt in peccatis et in delictis, cessant tamen aliquando, et peccare desistunt; sed isti, de malo in peius procedentes et ambulantes, proficiebant. Simile habetur Phil. III, 18: multi enim ambulant, quos saepe dicebam vobis, nunc autem et flens dico, et cetera. Ier. II, 5: ambulaverunt post vanitatem suam, et vani facti sunt. Secundo describit eorum culpam quantum ad causam quae ponitur duplex. Una ex parte huius mundi, quia alliciebantur a rebus mundi. Et quantum ad hoc dicit secundum saeculum mundi huius, id est secundum saecularem vitam rerum mundanarum, quae vos alliciunt. I Io. II, 15: si quis diligit mundum, non est charitas patris in eo. Propter quod praemittit: nolite diligere mundum. Alia causa est ex parte Daemonum, quibus serviebant, de quibus dicitur Sap. XIV, v. 27: infandorum idolorum cultura, omnis mali causa est et initium. Et quantum ad hoc dicit et secundum principem potestatis. Quam quidem causam describit tripliciter. Primo quidem quantum ad potestatem, dicens secundum principem potestatis, id est, potestatem exercentem, non quod habeat eam naturaliter, cum nec dominus, nec creator sit ex natura, sed inquantum dominatur hominibus qui se ei peccando subiiciunt. Io. XII, v. 31: nunc princeps huius mundi eiicietur foras. Et XIV, 30: venit princeps huius mundi, et in me non habet quidquam. Secundo quantum ad habitationem, quia aeris huius, id est qui habet potestatem in hoc aere caliginoso. Ubi sciendum est quod de istis Daemonibus duplex est opinio apud doctores. Quidam enim dixerunt Daemones qui ceciderunt, non fuisse de supremis ordinibus, sed de inferioribus, qui praesunt corporibus inferioribus. Constat autem totam creaturam corporalem administrari a Deo, ministerio Angelorum. Et haec est opinio Ioannis Damasceni, scilicet quod primus eorum qui ceciderunt, praeerat ordini terrestrium, quod forte sumptum est ex dicto Platonis, qui ponebat quasdam substantias caelestes seu mundanas. Et secundum hoc exponitur hoc quod dicit aeris huius, id est ad hoc creati, ut praesiderent aeri huic. Alii vero volunt, et melius, quod fuerint de supremis ordinibus, ita quod hoc quod dicit aeris huius, sit ad ostendendum ipsum aerem esse habitationem ipsorum in poenam eorum. Unde Iudas in sua canonica dicit: Angelos vero qui non servaverunt suum principatum, sed dereliquerunt suum domicilium, in iudicium Dei magni, vinculis aeternis sub caligine reservavit. Ratio autem quare non statim post eorum casum retrusi sunt in Infernum, sed dimittuntur in aere, est, quia Deus noluit quod ipsis peccantibus eorum creatio totaliter frustraretur, et ideo dedit eos hominibus in exercitium quo bonis praepararent coronam, malis autem aeternam mortem. Et quia usque ad diem iudicii est nobis tempus belli et merendi, ideo usque tunc in aere permanebunt; post diem vero iudicii retrudentur in Infernum. Advertendum etiam quod una littera habet spiritus, et sic est genitivi casus, et ponitur singulare pro pluralibus, quasi dicat: spirituum. Alia littera habet spiritum, et tunc est accusativi casus, ut dicatur: secundum principem spiritum, id est, qui princeps est spiritus.
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Tertio quantum ad operationem, ibi, cum dicit qui nunc operatur in filios diffidentiae, id est in illos qui a se repellunt fructum passionis Christi, qui erant filii diffidentiae. Vel quia de aeternis non habent fidem, nec spem salutis per Christum: et in talibus princeps potestatis aeris huius libere operatur, ducens eos quo vult: de quibus infra IV, 19, dicitur: qui desperantes semetipsos tradiderunt impudicitiae, in operationem immunditiae. Vel diffidentiae, id est de quibus eis est diffidendum, id est qui ex malitia peccant, in quibus princeps huius mundi etiam operatur ad nutum. De his enim qui ex ignorantia et infirmitate peccant, non est diffidendum, nec in eis princeps iste operatur ad nutum. Sed contra. De nemine est desperandum quamdiu vivit. Respondeo. Dicendum est quod de aliquo potest esse duplex spes. Una ex parte hominis, alia ex parte divinae gratiae. Et sic de aliquo potest desperari ex parte sua, de quo tamen desperandum non est ex parte Dei, sicut desperandum erat de Lazaro iacente in sepulcro, quod resurgeret ex parte sua, de quo tamen desperandum non erat ex parte Dei, a quo resuscitatus est. De illis ergo, qui ex malitia sunt multum in peccatis demersi, si attendatur eorum virtus, desperari potest, Ps. LXVIII, 3: infixus sum in limo profundi, et non est substantia, non tamen si attendatur virtus divina. De istis autem filiis diffidentiae dicitur infra V, 6: nemo vos seducat inanibus verbis. Propter hoc enim venit ira Dei in filios diffidentiae. Deinde cum dicit in quibus et nos omnes, etc., commemorat apostolus statum culpae quantum ad Iudaeos, ostendens eos omnes in peccato fuisse, secundum illud Rom. III, 9: causati sumus Iudaeos et Graecos omnes sub peccato esse. Attendenda est tamen differentia circa hoc, quia apostolus, agens de culpa gentilium, assignavit duas causas culpae fuisse. Unam scilicet ex parte mundi, aliam ex parte Daemonum, quos colebant. Quia ergo Iudaei erant similes gentilibus in statu culpae, quantum ad primam causam, non autem quantum ad secundam, ideo apostolus non facit mentionem de culpa eorum, nisi quantum ad causam quae est ex parte mundi. Circa quod tria facit. Primo commemorat eorum culpam quantum ad peccatum cordis; secundo quantum ad peccatum operis; tertio quantum ad peccatum originis. Peccatum vero cordis insinuat per desideria carnis, et quantum ad hoc dicit in quibus, scilicet peccatis seu delictis, nos omnes, scilicet Iudaei, aliquando conversati sumus, agentes vitam nostram, in desideriis carnis nostrae, id est, carnalibus. Tit. III, 3: eramus enim aliquando et nos insipientes et increduli, errantes et servientes desideriis et voluptatibus variis, et cetera. Rom. XIII, 14: carnis curam ne feceritis in desideriis. Peccatum vero operis nihil aliud est quam expressio interioris concupiscentiae. Est autem quaedam concupiscentia carnis, sicut sunt concupiscentiae naturales, puta cibi per quam conservatur individuum, et venereorum per quam conservatur species; et quantum ad hoc dicit facientes voluntatem, etc., id est, ea in quibus caro delectatur. Rom. VIII, 8: qui autem in carne sunt, Deo placere non possunt. Quaedam vero est concupiscentia cognitionis, eorum scilicet quae non veniunt ex desideriis carnis, sed ex ipso appetitu animae, ut honoris ambitio et propriae excellentiae, et huiusmodi; et quantum ad hoc dicit et cogitationum, id est exequentes illas concupiscentias, quae causantur ex instinctu cogitationum nostrarum.
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Peccatum vero originis insinuat dicens et eramus natura filii irae. Quod quidem peccatum ex primo parente non solum in gentiles, sed etiam in Iudaeos transfunditur. Rom. V, 12: sicut per unum hominem in hunc mundum peccatum intravit, et per peccatum mors; ita et in omnes homines mors pertransivit, in quo omnes peccaverunt. Et sicut homines per Baptismum mundantur a peccato originali solum quantum ad personas proprias, unde generant filios baptizandos, ita circumcisio mundabat ab originali personas solum, sed generabant adhuc circumcidendos. Et hoc est quod dicit eramus natura, id est per originem naturae, non quidem naturae ut natura est, quia sic bona est et a Deo, sed naturae ut vitiata est, filii irae, id est vindictae, poenae et Gehennae, et hoc sicut et caeteri, id est gentiles.
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Postquam exaggeravit apostolus statum culpae inficientis, hic commendat beneficium gratiae iustificantis. Circa quam duo facit. Primo ipsum beneficium ponit; secundo seipsum exponit, ibi gratia enim estis, et cetera. Beneficium autem illud describit quantum ad tres causas. Primo quantum ad causam efficientem; secundo quantum ad causam formalem, seu exemplarem; tertio quantum ad causam finalem. Efficiens autem causa beneficii divini iustificantis, est charitas Dei. Et quantum ad hoc dicit Deus autem qui dives est in misericordia, propter nimiam charitatem. Dicit autem propter nimiam charitatem, quia dilectionis divinae possumus considerare quadruplicem bonitatem et efficientiam. Primo quia nos in esse produxit. Sap. XI, 25: diligis enim omnia quae sunt, et nihil odisti eorum quae fecisti, et cetera. Secundo quia ad imaginem suam nos fecit, et capaces beatitudinis suae. Deut. XXXIII, 2-3: cum eo sanctorum millia, in dextra illius ignea lex, dilexit populos, omnes sancti in manu illius sunt. Tertio quia homines per peccatum corruptos reparavit. Ier. XXXI, 3: in charitate perpetua dilexi te, et ideo, et cetera. Quarto quia pro salute nostra filium proprium dedit. Io. III, 16: sic Deus dilexit mundum, ut filium suum unigenitum daret. Unde Gregorius: o inaestimabilis dilectio charitatis. Ut servum redimeres, filium tradidisti. Dicit autem qui dives est in misericordia, quia cum amor hominis causetur ex bonitate eius qui diligitur, tunc homo ille qui diligit, diligit ex iustitia, inquantum iustum est quod talem amet. Quando vero amor causat bonitatem in dilecto, tunc est amor procedens ex misericordia. Amor autem quo Deus amat nos, causat in nobis bonitatem, et ideo misericordia ponitur hic quasi radix amoris divini. Is. LXIII, 7: largitus est in eis secundum indulgentiam suam, et secundum multitudinem misericordiarum suarum. Ibidem: multitudo viscerum tuorum et miserationum tuarum super me. Dicitur autem Deus dives in misericordia, quia habet eam infinitam et indeficientem, quod non habet homo. In tribus enim homo miseretur cum termino et limitatione. Primo quidem largiendo beneficia temporalia, et haec misericordia est finita, non excedens limites propriae facultatis. Tob. IV, 8: quomodo potueris, ita esto misericors; sed Deus dives est etiam in omnes qui invocant illum, ut dicitur Rom. X, 12. Secundo est finita misericordia hominis quia non remittit nisi offensam propriam, et in hoc etiam modus esse debet, ut scilicet non sic passim remittat, ut ille cui remittit efficiatur procacior, pronior et facilior ad iterum offendendum. Eccle. VIII, 11: etenim quia non profertur cito contra malos sententia, absque timore ullo filii hominum perpetrant mala. Deo autem nihil nocere potest, et ideo potest omnem offensam remittere. Iob c. XXXV, 6: si peccaveris, quid ei nocebis? Et parum post: porro si iuste egeris, quid donabis ei? Tertio, homo miseretur poenam remittendo, et in hoc etiam est modus servandus, scilicet ut non facias contra legis superioris iustitiam: Deus autem poenam omnium remittere potest, cum non obstringatur aliqua superioris lege. Iob XXXIV, 13: quem constituit alium super terram, et quem posuit super orbem quem fabricatus est? Sic ergo misericordia Dei est infinita, quia non coarctatur angustiis divitiarum, neque timore nocumenti restringitur, et neque lege superioris. Causa vero exemplaris beneficii est, quia in Christo collata est.
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Et quantum ad hoc dicit cum essemus mortui peccatis, convivificavit nos in Christo, et cetera. Ubi tangit triplex beneficium, id est: iustificationis, resurrectionis a mortuis, et ascensionis in caelum, per quae tria Christo assimilamur. Dicit ergo quantum ad primum, ut legatur littera suspensive, Deus autem, qui dives est, etc., cum essemus mortui peccatis, convivificavit nos in Christo, id est simul vivere fecit cum Christo. Os. VI, 3: vivificabit nos post duos dies, et cetera. Convivificavit, inquam, hic scilicet per viam iustitiae. Ps. LXV, v. 9: qui posuit animam meam ad vitam. Et hoc in Christo, id est per gratiam Christi, cuius, scilicet Christi, gratia estis salvati. Rom. VIII, 24: spe enim salvi sumus. Quantum vero ad secundum dicit et conresuscitavit nos cum Christo, quantum ad animam in re, et spe quantum ad corpus. Rom. VIII, 11: qui suscitavit ipsum a mortuis, vivificabit et mortalia corpora nostra, et cetera.
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Quantum vero ad tertium dicit et consedere fecit in caelestibus in Christo Iesu, scilicet nunc per spem, et tandem in futuro in re, quia, ut dicitur Io. XII, 26: ubi ego sum, illic et minister meus erit, et cetera. Item Apoc. III, v. 21: qui vicerit, dabo ei sedere mecum in throno meo, sicut et ego vici, et sedi cum patre meo in throno eius. Utitur autem in his apostolus praeterito pro futuro, enuntians tamquam iam factum quod futurum est, pro certitudine spei. Sic ergo convivificavit quantum ad animam, tandem resuscitavit quantum ad corpus, consedere fecit quantum ad utrumque. Consequenter cum dicit ut ostenderet, etc., ostendit causam finalem collati beneficii. Quod quidem potest dupliciter legi, quia saecula supervenientia vel possunt accipi in vita ista, vel in vita futura. Si enim accipiantur in vita ista, tunc saeculum est quaedam mensura temporis et periodus unius generationis, ut dicatur sic: dico quod nos, qui sumus primitiae dormientium, convivificavit in Christo, et hoc ut ostenderet in saeculis supervenientibus, id est his qui futuri sunt post nos, abundantes divitias gratiae suae, et hoc non meritis nostris, sed bonitate sua, quae est scilicet super nos in Christo Iesu, id est per Christum Iesum. I Tim. I, 15 s.: Iesus Christus venit in hunc mundum peccatores salvos facere, quorum primus ego sum. Sed ideo misericordiam consecutus sum, ut in me ostenderet Christus omnem patientiam ad informationem illorum qui credituri sunt illi in vitam aeternam. Sic ergo Deus largitus est sanctis primitivis abundantia dona gratiae, ut posteri facilius convertantur ad Christum. Vel potest aliter accipi saeculum, scilicet in alia vita, de quibus dicitur Eccli. XXIV, 14: et usque ad futurum saeculum non desinam.
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Sed licet ibi sit unum saeculum, quia ibi est aeternitas, dicit tamen in saeculis supervenientibus, propter multitudinem sanctorum participantium aeternitatem: ut dicantur ibi tot saecula, quot sunt aeternitates participatae. De his saeculis dicitur in Ps. CXLIV, 13: regnum tuum regnum omnium saeculorum. Dicit ergo secundum hunc sensum: dico quod vivificavit nos in spe, scilicet per Christum, vel in gratia, ut ostenderet in saeculis supervenientibus, id est in alia vita compleret, abundantes divitias gratiae suae, id est abundantem gratiam, quam etiam in hoc mundo, dum multa dimittit peccata et maxima dona concedit, dicit: quae quidem superabundat in vita alia, quia ibi indeficienter habetur. Io. X, 10: ego veni ut vitam, scilicet gratiae, habeant in hoc mundo, et abundantius habeant, scilicet gloriae in patria. Et hoc in bonitate sua. Ps. LXXII, 1: quam bonus Israel Deus. Thren. III, 25: bonus est dominus sperantibus in eum, animae quaerenti illum. Et hoc supra nos, id est supra nostrum desiderium, supra nostrum intellectum, et supra capacitatem nostram. Is. LXIV, 4: oculus nos vidit, Deus, absque te, quae praeparasti expectantibus te. Et hoc in Christo Iesu, id est, per Christum Iesum, quia sicut gratia nobis confertur per Christum, ita et gloria consummata. Ps. LXXXIII, 12: gratiam et gloriam dabit dominus. Per ipsum enim beatificamur, per quem iustificamur. Dicit autem ut ostenderet, quia thesaurus gratiae in nobis est occultus, quia habemus ipsum in vasis fictilibus, ut dicitur II Cor. IV, 7; et I Io. III, 1: videte qualem charitatem dedit nobis pater: ut filii Dei nominemur et simus. Et parum post: nunc filii Dei sumus, et nondum apparuit, et cetera. Sed ille thesaurus occultus, quia nondum apparuit, in saeculis supervenientibus ostenditur, quia in patria omnia erunt nobis aperta, quae ad manifestam sanctorum gloriam pertinent. Rom. VIII, 18: non sunt condignae passiones huius temporis ad futuram gloriam, quae revelabitur in nobis.
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Supra commemorans apostolus beneficium Dei quo liberati sumus a peccato, interposuerat quod gratia Christi eramus salvati, nunc autem illud probare intendit. Circa quod duo facit. Primo enim proponit intentionem suam; secundo manifestat propositum, ibi et hoc non ex vobis, et cetera. Dicit ergo primo: bene dixi cuius gratia estis salvati; et certe adhuc dico secure, enim, pro quia, estis salvati gratia. I Cor. XV, 10: gratia Dei sum id quod sum. Rom. III, 24: iustificati gratis per gratiam ipsius. Idem enim est salvari et iustificari. Salus enim importat liberationem a periculis; unde perfecta salus hominis erit in vita aeterna, quando ab omnibus periculis immunis erit, sicut navis dicitur esse salvata, quando venit ad portum. Is. LX, 18: occupabit salus muros tuos, et portas tuas laudatio. Huius autem salutis spem suscipiunt homines, dum in praesenti iustificantur a peccato, et secundum hoc dicuntur salvati esse, secundum illud Rom. VIII, 24: spe enim salvati sumus. Haec autem salvatio gratiae est per fidem Christi. Concurrit enim ad iustificationem impii, simul cum infusione gratiae, motus fidei in Deum in adultis. Lc. VIII, 48: vade in pace, fides tua te salvum fecit. Rom. V, 1: iustificati enim ex fide, pacem habeamus. Deinde cum dicit et hoc non ex vobis, etc., manifestat quod dixerat, et primo quantum ad fidem quae est fundamentum totius spiritualis aedificii; secundo quantum ad gratiam, ibi ipsius enim sumus factura, et cetera. Circa primum excludit duos errores, quorum primus est: quia dixerat quod per fidem sumus salvati, posset quis credere quod ipsa fides esset a nobis et quod credere in nostro arbitrio constitutum est. Et ideo hoc excludens, dicit et hoc non ex vobis. Non enim sufficit ad credendum liberum arbitrium, eo quod ea quae sunt fidei, sunt supra rationem. Eccli. III, 25: plurima supra sensum hominis ostensa sunt tibi. I Cor. c. II, 11: quae Dei sunt nemo novit, nisi spiritus Dei, et cetera. Et ideo quod homo credat, hoc non potest ex se habere, nisi Deus det, secundum illud Sap. IX, 17: sensum autem tuum quis sciet, nisi ut dederis sapientiam, et miseris spiritum sanctum tuum de altissimis? Propter quod subdit Dei enim donum est, scilicet ipsa fides. Phil. I, 29: vobis autem donatum est pro Christo non solum ut in eum credatis, sed ut etiam pro eo patiamini, et cetera. I Cor. XII, 9: alii enim datur fides in eodem spiritu. Secundo excludit alium errorem. Posset enim aliquis credere quod fides daretur nobis a Deo merito operum praecedentium, et, ad hoc excludendum, subdit non ex operibus, scilicet praecedentibus, hoc donum meruimus aliquando, quod salvati sumus, quoniam hoc ex gratia, ut supra dictum est, secundum illud Rom. XI, 6: si autem gratia, iam non ex operibus, alioquin gratia iam non est gratia.
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Subdit autem rationem quare Deus salvat homines per fidem, absque meritis praecedentibus, ut ne quis glorietur in seipso, sed tota gloria in Deum referatur. Ps. CXIII, 1: non nobis, domine, non nobis, et cetera. I Cor. c. I, 29: ut non glorietur omnis caro in conspectu eius, ex ipso autem vos estis in Christo Iesu. Deinde cum dicit ipsius enim factura sumus, etc., manifestat quod dixerat quantum ad gratiam. Circa quod duo facit. Primo manifestat gratiae infusionem; secundo declarat gratiae praedestinationem, ibi quae praeparavit Deus, et cetera. Duo autem ad rationem gratiae pertinent, quae etiam iam dicta sunt, quorum primum est ut id quod est per gratiam, non insit homini per seipsum, vel a seipso, sed ex dono Dei. Et quantum ad hoc dicit ipsius enim factura sumus, quia scilicet quidquid boni nos habemus, non est ex nobis ipsis, sed ex Deo faciente. Ps. XCIX, 3: ipse fecit nos, et non ipsi nos. Deut. XXXII, v. 6: nonne ipse est pater tuus, qui possedit, fecit et creavit te? Et continuatur immediate cum praecedenti, ut dicatur: ne quis glorietur, quia scilicet ipsius factura sumus. Vel potest continuari cum eo quod supra dixerat: gratia enim salvati sumus. Secundo, pertinet ad rationem gratiae, ut non sit ex operibus praecedentibus, et hoc exprimitur in hoc quod subdit creati. Est enim creare, aliquid ex nihilo facere, unde quando aliquis iustificatur sine meritis praecedentibus, dici potest creatus, quasi ex nihilo factus. Haec autem actio, scilicet creatio iustitiae, fit virtute Christi, spiritum sanctum dantis. Propter quod subdit in Christo Iesu, id est per Christum Iesum. Gal. ult.: in Christo enim Iesu neque circumcisio aliquid valet, neque praeputium, sed nova creatura. Ps. CIII, 30: emitte spiritum tuum, et creabuntur. Ulterius, non solum datur nobis habitus virtutis et gratiae sed interius per spiritum renovamur ad bene operandum. Unde subdit in operibus bonis, quia scilicet ipsa bona opera sunt nobis a Deo. Is. XXVI, 12: omnia enim opera nostra operatus es in nobis. Et quia quos praedestinavit hos et vocavit, scilicet per gratiam, ut dicitur Rom. VIII, 30, ideo subdit de praedestinatione, dicens quae, scilicet bona opera, praeparavit Deus. Nihil enim aliud est praedestinatio, quam praeparatio beneficiorum Dei, inter quae beneficia computantur et ipsa bona opera nostra. Dicitur autem Deus nobis aliqua praeparare, inquantum disposuit se nobis daturum. Ps. LXIV, 10: parasti cibum illorum, et cetera.
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Sed ne aliquis intelligeret bona opera sic esse nobis praeparata a Deo, ut nihil ad illa per liberum arbitrium cooperaremur, ideo subdit ut in illis ambulemus, quasi dicat: sic nobis ea praeparavit, ut ea nos ipsi nobis per liberum arbitrium impleremus. Dei enim adiutores sumus, ut dicitur I Cor. III, 9. Propter quod dicebat de seipso apostolus I Cor. c. XV, 10: gratia eius in me vacua non fuit, sed abundantius omnibus laboravi, non ego autem, sed gratia Dei mecum. Signanter autem dicit ambulemus, ut designet boni operis profectum, secundum illud Io. XII, 35: ambulate, dum lucem habetis. Infra V, 8: ut filii lucis ambulate.
Prosecuto beneficio Dei gentilibus exhibito quantum ad liberationem a peccato, hic recitat apostolus beneficium eis exhibitum a liberatione a statu gentilitatis. Circa quod duo facit. Primo commemorat conditionem status praeteriti; secundo recitat beneficia eis exhibita in statu praesenti, ibi nunc autem in Christo Iesu, et cetera. Circa primum duo facit. Primo commemorationis status praeteriti ponit exhortationem; secundo ipsemet status praeteriti declarat conditionem, ibi quia aliquando, et cetera. Dicit ergo propter quod, ut scilicet advertere possitis, quod omnia sint nobis data ex Dei gratia, memores estote. Deut. IX, 7: memento et ne obliviscaris quomodo ad iracundiam provocaveris dominum Deum tuum, et cetera. Deut. XVI, 3: memineris diei egressionis tuae de Aegypto, omnibus diebus vitae tuae. Secundo cum dicit quia aliquando commemorat praeteriti status conditionem et primo quantum ad mala quae habebant; secundo quantum ad bona quibus privabantur, ibi qui eratis illo in tempore, et cetera. Circa primum ponit tria mala.
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Primo gentilitatis crimen, quo idolis serviebant, cum dicit quia aliquando vos gentes eratis. I Cor. XII, 2: scitis quoniam cum gentes essetis, ad simulacra muta prout ducebamini euntes. Quidam vero libri habent: vos qui gentes eratis, et tunc pendet constructio usque ibi nunc autem in Christo Iesu, et cetera. Secundo recitat eorum carnalem conversationem, cum dicit in carne, id est carnaliter viventes. Rom. VIII, 8: qui autem in carne sunt, Deo placere non possunt. Tertio recitat contemptus eorum vilipensionem, qua a Iudaeis vilipendebantur. Unde dicit qui dicebamini praeputium, id est incircumcisio, ab ea, scilicet circumcisione, quae dicitur circumcisio manufacta in carne, id est a Iudaeis tali circumcisione circumcisis. Et dicit manufacta ad differentiam circumcisionis spiritualis, de qua dicitur Col. II, v. 11: in quo circumcisi estis circumcisione non manufacta in expoliatione corporis carnis, sed in circumcisione Christi consepulti ei in Baptismo. Et sequitur parum post: vos cum mortui essetis in delictis et praeputio carnis vestrae, convivificavit cum illo, condonans vobis omnia, et cetera. Deinde cum dicit qui eratis illo in tempore, etc., commemorat bona quibus privabantur, et primo participatione sacramentorum; secundo Dei cognitione, ibi et sine Deo in hoc mundo. Circa primum ponit tria sacramenta, quorum participatione privabantur.
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Primo Christi dignitatem; unde dicit qui eratis illo in tempore sine Christo, id est sine promissione Christi, quae facta est Iudaeis. Ier. XXIII, 5: suscitabo David germen iustum, et cetera. Zach. IX, 9: exulta satis, filia Sion, iubila, filia Ierusalem, ecce rex tuus venit tibi iustus et salvator. Secundo tangit societatem sanctorum, qua privabantur quamdiu in gentilitate permanebant, cum dicit alienati a conversatione Israel, quia scilicet Iudaeis cum gentibus non erat licitum conversari. Deut. VII, 2-3: non inibis cum eis foedus, non misereberis eorum, neque sociabis cum eis coniugia, et cetera. Io. IV, v. 9: non enim coutuntur Iudaei Samaritanis. Et quantum ad illos qui in Iudaismo recipiebantur contemptibiliter cum fiebant proselyti. Unde subditur et hospites testamentorum, quasi dicat: huiusmodi proselyti, quando convertebantur ad Iudaeos et fiebant proselyti, non sicut cives sed sicut hospites recipiebantur ad percipiendum testamenta Dei. Dicit autem testamentorum in plurali; quia Iudaeis vetus testamentum erat exhibitum, et novum erat promissum; quia, ut dicitur Eccli. XLIV, 25: testamentum suum confirmavit super caput Iacob; quod potest intelligi de veteri testamento. Promiserat enim Deus dare aliud testamentum. Bar. II, 35: statuam illis testamentum alterum sempiternum. Hoc autem reddidit illis, quorum adoptio est filiorum Dei et gloria et testamentum, ut dicitur Rom. IX, 4. Ponit etiam aliud beneficium quo privabantur, scilicet spem futurorum bonorum, cum dicit promissionis spem non habentes; quia, ut dicitur Gal. III, 16, Abrahae dictae sunt promissiones, et semini eius. Ulterius ponit summam damnificationem qua damnificantur, scilicet ob Dei ignorantiam, ibi et sine Deo in hoc mundo, id est sine cognitione Dei. Ps. LXXV, 2: notus in Iudaea Deus: non autem gentibus, ut dicitur I Thess. IV, 5: non in passione desiderii, sicut et gentes, quae ignorant Deum; quod tamen intelligitur de cognitione quae est per fidem. Nam de cognitione naturali dicitur Rom. I, 21: qui cum cognovissent Deum, non sicut Deum glorificaverunt, et cetera.
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Consequenter cum dicit nunc autem in Christo, etc., commemorat beneficia eis exhibita in statu conversionis per Christum. Circa quod duo facit, quia primo ostendit quomodo facti sunt participes bonorum quibus ante privabantur; secundo ostendit quod ad illa bona non sicut hospites, sed sicut cives recipiuntur, ibi ergo non estis hospites, et cetera. Prima iterum in duas, quia primo commemorat huiusmodi beneficia in generali; secundo in speciali, ibi in ipso enim est pax nostra, et cetera. Dicit ergo primo: dixi quod in illo tempore eratis sine Christo, alienati a conversatione Israel, nunc autem, id est postquam conversi estis ad Christum, vos qui estis in Christo, id est qui ei adhaeretis per fidem et charitatem. I Io. IV, 16: qui manet in charitate, in Deo manet, et Deus in eo. Gal. ult.: in Christo enim Iesu neque circumcisio aliquid valet, neque praeputium, sed nova creatura. Vos, inquam, qui aliquando eratis longe, id est elongati a Deo, non loco, sed merito, Ps. CXVIII, 155: longe a peccatoribus salus, et a conversatione sanctorum et participatione testamentorum, ut dictum est, iam facti estis prope, Deo scilicet et sanctis eius, et testamentis. Is. LX, 4: filii tui de longe venient, et cetera. Mc. VIII, 3: quidam enim ex eis, scilicet gentibus, de longe venerunt, scilicet de regione dissimilitudinis et statu gentilitatis. Vos autem modo facti estis prope, scilicet in sanguine Christi, id est per sanguinem eius, quo vos Christus attraxit. Io. XII, 32: ego si exaltatus fuero a terra, omnia traham ad meipsum. Et hoc propter nimiam charitatem, quae potissime in morte crucis manifestatur. Ier. XXXI, 3: in charitate perpetua dilexi te, ideo attraxi te miserans.
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Commemoratis beneficiis collatis ipsis Ephesiis in generali per Christum, hic ea commemorat in speciali. Circa quod duo facit. Primo ostendit qualiter appropinquaverunt populo Iudaico; secundo qualiter propinquiores facti sunt Deo, ibi ut reconciliet ambos, et cetera. Prima iterum in tres, quia primo ostendit causam appropinquationis, secundo modum, tertio finem. Secunda ibi et medium parietem, et cetera. Tertia ibi ut duos, et cetera. Causa autem appropinquationis est Christus, propter quod dicit ipse enim est pax nostra, et cetera. Et est emphatica locutio ad maiorem rei expressionem, quasi dicat: bene dico quod facti estis prope, sed hoc factum est per Christum, quia ipse est pax nostra, id est causa pacis nostrae. Unde dicebat Io. XIV, 27: pacem meam do vobis. Hic autem modus loquendi fieri consuevit, quando totum quod est in effectu dependet ex causa, sicut cum dicimus de Deo quod ipse est salus nostra, quia quidquid salutis est in nobis causatur a Deo. Quia ergo quidquid pacis est in nobis causatur a Christo, et per consequens quidquid appropinquationis, quia homo quando pacificatus est cum alio, secure potest ambulare seu appropinquare ad ipsum, ideo dicit quod est pax nostra. Nam in eius nativitate Angeli annuntiaverunt pacem. Lc. II, 14: gloria in altissimis Deo, et in terra pax, et cetera. Ipso etiam Christo in corpore existente, mundus maximam pacem habuit, qualem ante non habuerat. Ps. LXXI, v. 7: orietur in diebus eius iustitia, et cetera. Ipse etiam resurgens pacem annuntiavit. Lc. ult.: dixit eis: pax vobis. Sequitur qui fecit utraque unum, quia scilicet Christus utrumque populum, videlicet Iudaeorum colentium Deum verum et gentilium, ab huiusmodi Dei cultura alienatorum, coniunxit in unum. Io. X, 16: alias oves habeo quae non sunt ex hoc ovili, etc., usque ibi: et fiet unum ovile et unus pastor. Ez. c. XXXVII, 22: rex unus erit omnibus imperans, et cetera. Modus autem appropinquationis ostenditur cum subdit et medium parietem, et cetera. Hic autem modus est per remotionem eius quod dividebat. Debemus autem ad intellectum litterae imaginari unum magnum campum, et multos homines ibi congregatos, in quo quidem per medium protendatur et elevetur unus paries dividens eos, ita quod non videatur populus unus, sed duo. Quicumque ergo removeret parietem, coniungeret illorum hominum congregationem in turbam unam, et efficeretur populus unus. Sic intelligendum est quod hic dicitur. Mundus enim iste est sicut ager, Matth. XIII, 38: ager est mundus; hic autem ager, scilicet mundus, plenus est hominibus, Gen. I, 28: crescite, et multiplicamini, et replete terram. In isto autem agro est paries, quia quidam sunt ex una parte, quidam ex alia; hic autem paries potest dici lex vetus secundum carnales observantias, in qua Iudaei conclusi custodiebantur, ut dicitur Gal. c. III, 23: sub lege custodiebamur conclusi in eam fidem, quae revelanda erat. Cant. II, v. 9: ipse stat post parietem nostrum; quia videlicet Christus per veterem legem figurabatur. Christus autem hunc parietem removit, et ita cum nullum remaneret interstitium, factus est populus unus Iudaeorum et gentium. Et hoc est quod dicit: dico quod fecit utraque unum, hoc modo scilicet solvens medium parietem. Parietem dico maceriae, non muri. Tunc enim est paries maceriae, quando lapides in eo non conglutinantur cemento, nec ad hoc erigitur, ut duret in perpetuum, sed usque ad tempus praefinitum. Vetus ergo lex est paries maceriae propter duo. Primo quia non conglutinabatur charitate, quae est quasi cementum conglutinans singulos sibi invicem, et omnes simul Christo. Infra IV, 3: solliciti servare unitatem spiritus in vinculo pacis. Vetus enim lex est lex timoris, inducens homines per poenas et comminationes ad observantias mandatorum. Et si qui, illo tempore legis, eam ex charitate observabant, iam pertinebant ad novum testamentum, ut dicit Augustinus, quod est lex amoris. Rom. VIII, 15: non enim accepistis spiritum servitutis iterum in timore, et cetera. Secundo, vetus lex est paries maceriae quia non fuit data ut perpetuo duraret, sed usque ad tempus praefinitum. Gal. IV, 1 ss.: quanto tempore haeres parvulus est, nihil differt a servo, cum sit dominus omnium, sed sub tutoribus et actoribus est usque ad praefinitum tempus a patre: ita et nos cum essemus, et cetera. Sed hic incidit quaestio quia dicit parietem maceriae solvens, contrarium dicitur Matth. V, 17: non veni solvere legem, sed adimplere. Respondeo. Dicendum est, quod in veteri lege erant praecepta moralia et caeremonialia. Moralia quidem praecepta Christus non solvit, sed adimplevit, superaddendo consilia, et exponendo ea quae Scribae et Pharisaei male intelligebant. Unde dicebat Matth. V, 19: nisi abundaverit iustitia vestra plus quam Scribarum, et cetera. Et iterum: dictum est antiquis: diliges proximum tuum, et odio habebis inimicum tuum. Ego autem dico vobis: diligite inimicos vestros, et cetera. Caeremonialia vero praecepta solvit quidem quantum ad eorum substantiam, sed adimplevit quantum ad illud quod figurabant, adhibens figuratum figurae. Est ergo intelligendum quod hic dicit solvens, scilicet quantum ad observantiam legis carnalis. Et solvere hoc, scilicet parietem maceriae, est solvere inimicitias quae erant inter Iudaeos et gentiles: quia isti volebant legem servare, illi vero minime, ex quo oriebatur inter eos ira et invidia. Sed certe has inimicitias Christus solvit in carne sua assumpta. Nam in eius nativitate statim pax hominibus annuntiata est. Lc. II, v. 14. Vel in carne sua, scilicet immolata, quia, ut dicitur infra V, 2: tradidit semetipsum pro nobis oblationem et hostiam Deo. In quo quidem sacrificio impleta sunt omnia illa sacrificia, et cessaverunt. Hebr. X, 14: una enim oblatione consummavit in sempiternum sanctificatos. Quid autem sit iste paries insinuat, dicens quod est lex mandatorum, quasi dicat: solvens parietem, hoc est legem mandatorum, et cetera. Dicitur autem lex vetus lex mandatorum, non quia aliae leges mandatis careant; nova enim lex mandata habet. Io. XIII, 34: mandatum novum do vobis. Sed propter duo: primo quidem propter magnum numerum mandatorum legalium, intantum quod ab hominibus servari non possunt, secundum illud Act. XV, 10: hoc est onus quod neque nos, neque patres nostri portare potuimus. Iob XI, v. 6: quod multiplex sit lex eius, et cetera. Vel dicitur mandatorum, id est, factorum. Rom. III, 27: ubi est ergo gloriatio tua? Exclusa est. Per quam legem? Factorum? Non, sed per legem fidei. Unde sicut Baptismus Ioannis dicitur Baptismus aquae, quia tantum exterius mundabat, interius autem non sanctificabat: ita et lex vetus dicitur lex factorum, quia praecipiebat tantum quid facere deberent, sed non conferebat gratiam, per quam ad legem implendam iuvarentur. Lex vero nova dirigit in agendis, praecipiendo, et iuvat ad implendum, gratiam conferendo. Evacuans dico, sicut imperfectum evacuatur per perfectum, et umbra per veritatem. I Cor. XIII, 10: cum autem venerit quod perfectum est, evacuabitur quod ex parte est, scilicet imperfectio et umbra veteris legis, de qua Hebr. X, 1: umbram enim habens lex futurorum bonorum, et cetera. Et hoc decretis, id est, praeceptis novi testamenti, per quae excluditur lex. Lev. XXVI, v. 10: comedetis vetustissima veterum, id est, praecepta legis naturae simul cum nova lege; et, praeceptis eius susceptis, vetera proiicietis, id est caeremonialia praecepta veteris legis quantum ad eorum substantiam, ut dictum est.
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Finem vero appropinquationis ostendit, dicens ut duos condat in se, et cetera. Qui quidem finis est ut dicti duo populi efficiantur unus populus. Quae autem uniuntur, oportet uniri in aliquo uno, et quia lex dividebat, non poterant in lege uniri; Christus autem in lege succedens, et fides eius (sicut veritas figurae) eos in semetipso condidit. Io. XVII, 22: ut sint unum, sicut et nos unum sumus. Matth. XVIII, 20: ubi enim sunt duo vel tres congregati in nomine meo, ibi ego sum in medio eorum. Et hoc in uno novo homine faciens pacem, id est in semetipso Christo, qui dicitur novus homo propter novum modum suae conceptionis. Ier. XXXI, 22: creavit dominus novum super terram, foemina circumdabit virum. Item propter novitatem gratiae quam contulit. Gal. ult.: in Christo enim Iesu neque circumcisio aliquid valet, neque praeputium, sed nova creatura. Infra IV, 23: renovamini spiritu mentis vestrae, et induite novum hominem, qui, et cetera. Item propter nova mandata quae attulit. Io. XIII, 34: mandatum novum do vobis, ut diligatis invicem, et cetera. Et licet ista videatur esse intentio apostoli, tamen in Glossa paries duplicatur: quia ex parte Iudaeorum ponitur lex quasi obstaculum, ex parte vero gentium est idololatria.
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Consequenter cum dicit ut reconciliet ambos, etc., ostendit qualiter Deo appropinquaverunt. Circa quod duo facit. Primo manifestat eorum reconciliationem ad Deum; secundo ponit manifestationem reconciliationis, ibi et veniens evangelizavit, et cetera. Sciendum est quod dilectio proximi est via ad pacem Dei; quia ut dicitur I Io. IV, 20: qui enim non diligit fratrem suum quem videt, Deum quem non videt quomodo potest diligere? Et Augustinus dicit quod nullus putet habere pacem cum Christo, si discors fuerit cum Christiano. Primo ergo ponit pacem hominum invicem factam per Christum, et exinde pacem hominum ad Deum. Propter quod dicit ut reconciliet ambos, iam unitos, in uno corpore Ecclesiae, scilicet in Christo. Rom. XII, 5: multi unum corpus sumus in Christo. Reconciliet, inquam, Deo per fidem et charitatem. II Cor. V, 19: Deus erat in Christo mundum reconcilians sibi. Et hoc fecit per crucem, interficiens inimicitias in semetipso, quia Iudaeorum et gentilium, quae erant per legem, inimicitias interfecit, implens figuras veteris testamenti; sed inimicitias quae erant inter Deum et homines per peccatum interfecit in semetipso, quando per mortem crucis delevit peccatum. Gal. I, v. 4: qui dedit semetipsum pro peccatis nostris. Hebr. IX, 28: Christus semel oblatus est ad multorum exhaurienda peccata. Dicit ergo: interficiens inimicitias, id est peccata, in semetipso, in immolatione corporis sui. Col. I, 20: pacificans per sanguinem crucis eius, sive quae in caelis, sive quae in terris sunt. Rom. V, 10: cum inimici essemus, reconciliati sumus Deo per mortem filii eius. Item Col. I, 19: in Christo complacuit omnem plenitudinem habitare, et per eum reconciliare omnia in ipso. Quia ergo Christus satisfecit sufficienter pro peccatis nostris, consequens fuit ut soluto pretio fieret reconciliatio.
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Manifestationem vero huius reconciliationis ponit, dicens: et veniens evangelizavit, et cetera. Ponit autem primo pacis seu reconciliationis Annuntiationem; secundo pacis causam et rationem, ibi: quoniam per ipsum habemus accessum et cetera. Est ergo manifesta Dei reconciliatio ad hominem per Christum, quia ipse Christus non solum reconciliavit nos Deo, et interfecit inimicitias, sed etiam veniens, scilicet in carne, evangelizavit, id est annuntiavit, pacem. Vel veniens post resurrectionem, quando stetit in medio discipulorum, et dixit eis: pax vobis, Lc. ult., Is. LXI, 1: ad annuntiandum mansuetis misit me, et cetera. Et Is. LII, 7: quam pulchri pedes supra montes annuntiantis et praedicantis pacem, annuntiantis bonum, praedicantis salutem, et cetera. Evangelizavit, inquam, non uni populo tantum, sed vobis gentibus qui longe fuistis, quibus etsi non in persona propria, tamen per apostolos suos annuntiavit pacem. Matth. ult.: euntes ergo docete omnes gentes, baptizantes, et cetera. Is. XXXIII, 13: audite, qui longe estis, quae fecerim, et cognoscite, et cetera. Et pacem his qui prope, supple annuntiavit Christus in persona propria. Rom. XV, 8: dico enim Christum Iesum ministrum fuisse circumcisionis propter veritatem Dei, ad confirmandas promissiones patrum. Is. LIV, 15: ecce, accola veniet qui non erat mecum, advena quondam tuus adiungetur tibi.
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Causam autem pacis et formam ostendit dicens quoniam per ipsum habemus accessum ambo, id est, duo populi, in uno spiritu, id est, uniti unione spiritus sancti. Infra IV, 3: solliciti servare unitatem spiritus, et cetera. I Cor. XII, 11: haec autem omnia operatur unus atque idem spiritus, et cetera. Sic autem habemus accessum ad patrem per Christum, quoniam Christus operatur per spiritum sanctum. Rom. VIII, 9: si quis autem spiritum Christi non habet, hic non est eius. Et ideo quidquid fit per spiritum sanctum, etiam fit per Christum. Per hoc etiam quod dicit, ad patrem, intelligendum est quod etiam pertinet ad totam Trinitatem, quia propter essentiae unitatem in patre est filius et spiritus sanctus, et in spiritu sancto est pater et filius. Ideo cum dicit ad patrem, specialiter ostendit quod quidquid filius habet, a patre habet, et ab eo etiam se habere recognoscit.
Ostenso supra quod ad spiritualia beneficia simul admissae sunt gentes cum Iudaeis hic ostendit quod in illis beneficiis gentiles non sunt minoris dignitatis quam sunt ipsi Iudaei, sed aeque plenarie ad Christi beneficia sint admissi. Circa quod duo facit, quia primo proponit intentum, secundo manifestat propositum per exemplum, ibi superaedificati, et cetera. Circa primum duo facit. Primo excludit id quod erat in statu praeterito a statu praesenti; secundo concludit id quod competit praesenti statui, ibi sed estis cives, et cetera. Quia ergo apostolus concludendo inducit hoc quod dicit ergo iam, etc., considerandum est, quod similitudo sequitur ex praemissis: primo quidem ex hoc quod ambo coniuncti, sunt Deo reconciliati; secundo quod ambo habent accessum in uno spiritu ad patrem. Quia ergo simul sunt configurati toti Trinitati: patri ad quem habent accessum, filio per quem, spiritui sancto in quo uno accedunt, in nullo ergo deficiunt a spiritualium bonorum participatione. Ad intellectum autem litterae sciendum est, quod collegium fidelium quandoque in Scripturis vocatur domus, secundum illud I Tim. III, 15: ut scias quomodo in domo Dei oporteat te conversari, quae est Dei Ecclesia. Quandoque autem vocatur civitas, secundum illud Ps. CXXI, 3: Ierusalem quae aedificatur ut civitas. Civitas enim habet collegium politicum: domus autem oeconomicum, inter quae quidem duplex differentia invenitur. Nam qui sunt de collegio domus communicant sibi in actibus privatis; qui vero sunt de collegio civitatis, communicant sibi in actibus publicis. Item, qui sunt in collegio domus, reguntur ab uno qui vocatur paterfamilias; sed qui sunt in collegio civitatis reguntur a rege. Ita enim est paterfamilias in domo, sicut rex in regno. Sic igitur collegium fidelium aliquid habet de civitate, et aliquid de domo. Sed si consideretur rector collegii, pater est Matth. VI, v. 9: pater noster, qui es in caelis, et cetera. Hier. c. III, 19: patrem vocabis me, et post me ingredi non cessabis; et sic collegium est domus. Si vero ipsos subditos consideres, sic civitas est, quia communicabant sibi in actibus praecipuis, scilicet fidei, spei et charitatis. Et hoc modo si fideles considerentur in se, est collegium civitatis; si vero rector collegii attendatur, est collegium domus. Et ideo apostolus duo verba ponit hic, scilicet hospites et advenae. Hoc enim sunt hospites ad domum, quod advenae ad civitatem. Hospes enim dicitur quasi extraneus a domo. Eccli. XXIX, 31: vita nequam, hospitandi de domo in domum. Advena vero est qui extraneus venit ad civitatem. Ac si dicat apostolus: olim eratis extranei a collegio fidelium, sicut hospites a domo, et advenae ad civitatem, quemadmodum et proselyti ad legem veterem; sed nunc non est ita, quia iam non estis hospites, et cetera. Is. LIV, 15: ecce accola veniet qui non erat mecum, advena quondam tuus adiungetur tibi.
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Consequenter cum dicit sed estis cives sanctorum, etc.; concludit quod convenit statui praesenti, dicens sed estis cives sanctorum, etc., quasi dicat: quia collegium fidelium dicitur civitas in comparatione ad subditos, et domus in comparatione ad rectorem, collegium, ad quod vocati estis, est civitas sanctorum et domus Dei. Ps. LXXXVI, v. 3: gloriosa dicta sunt de te, civitas Dei. Unde Augustinus: duas civitates faciunt duo amores. Nam amor Dei usque ad contemptum sui, scilicet hominis amantis, facit civitatem Ierusalem caelestem, amor vero sui usque ad contemptum Dei, facit civitatem Babylonis. Quilibet ergo vel est civis sanctorum, si diligit Deum usque ad contemptum sui, Prov. ult.: omnes domestici eius vestiti sunt duplicibus, si vero diligit se usque ad contemptum Dei, est civis Babylonis. Consequenter cum dicit superaedificati, etc., manifestat propositum. Consuetum est in Scripturis quod in figura, quae metonymia dicitur, continens ponatur pro contento, sicut quandoque domus pro his qui sunt in domo: secundum hunc ergo modum loquitur apostolus de his qui sunt in domo Dei, scilicet de fidelibus, sicut de una domo, et comparat eos aedificio. Et circa hoc duo facit, quia primo proponit intentum, secundo ostendit quod huius aedificii participes facti sunt ipsi Ephesii, ibi in quo et vos coaedificamini, et cetera. Circa primum duo facit. Primo proponit huius aedificii fundamentum; secundo ipsius constructionem seu complementum, ibi in quo omnis aedificatio constructa, et cetera. Fundamentum autem ponit duplex: unum secundarium, et aliud principale. Secundarium quidem fundamentum sunt apostoli et prophetae. Et quantum ad hoc dicit eos non esse hospites, sed cives, qui iam pertinent ad aedificium spirituale, utpote superaedificati supra fundamentum apostolorum et prophetarum, id est, qui sunt apostoli et prophetae, id est, super doctrinam eorum. Vel aliter: supra fundamentum apostolorum et prophetarum, id est, supra Christum qui est fundamentum apostolorum et prophetarum; quasi dicat: in eodem fundamento superaedificati estis in quo apostoli et prophetae sunt aedificati, qui ex Iudaeis fuerunt. Hae autem expositiones duae tantum quo ad verba differunt; sed prima convenientior est, quia si alia convenientior esset, tunc pro nihilo adiungeret ipso summo angulari lapide Christo Iesu, cum ipse Iesus sit summum fundamentum. Secundum ergo primum modum magis consonat, ita tamen quod praecipuus lapis et summum fundamentum sit Christus. Quantum vero ad sententiam nihil differunt, quia idem est dicere Christum esse fundamentum, et doctrinam apostolorum et prophetarum, cum Christum tantum, non seipsos, praedicaverint; unde accipere eorum doctrinam est accipere Christum crucifixum. I Cor. I, 23: nos autem praedicamus Christum crucifixum idest I Petr. I, 12: quibus revelatum est, quia non sibi ipsis, et cetera. Item I Cor. II, 16: nos autem sensum Christi habemus. Notandum est quod apostoli dicuntur fundamenta. Ps. LXXXVI, 1: fundamenta eius in montibus sanctis. Is. LIV, 11: fundabo te in sapphiris, id est, in caelestibus viris. Expresse autem dicuntur fundamenta Apoc. XXI, 14: murus civitatis habens fundamenta duodecim, et in ipsis nomina duodecim apostolorum. Qui intantum dicuntur fundamenta, inquantum eorum doctrina Christum annuntiant. Matth. XVI, 18: super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam.
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Dicit autem apostolorum et prophetarum, ut designet, quod utraque doctrina est necessaria ad salutem. Matth. XIII, 52: Scriba doctus in regno caelorum similis est homini patrifamilias, qui profert de thesauro suo nova et vetera. Item ut ostendat concordiam inter utramque, alterius ad alteram, dum idem est utriusque fundamentum. Nam quod prophetae praedixerunt futurum, apostoli praedicaverunt factum. Rom. I, 1 s.: Paulus servus Iesu Christi, vocatus apostolus, segregatus in Evangelium Dei, quod ante promiserat per prophetas suos. Principale vero fundamentum tantum est Christus Iesus, et quantum ad hoc dicit ipso summo, et cetera. Ubi tria dicit de eo, scilicet quod sit lapis, quod angularis, et quod summus. Lapis quidem est propter fundamenti firmitatem. Unde dicitur Matth. VII, 25, quod domus quae fundata erat supra petram, firmiter aedificata erat, intantum quod nec pluvia, nec flumina, nec venti potuerunt eam destruere. Non sic autem de domo fundata super arenam. Dan. II, 45: lapis abscissus de monte sine manibus. Angularis autem dicitur propter utriusque coniunctionem; nam ut in angulo duo parietes uniuntur, sic in Christo populus Iudaeorum et gentium uniti sunt. Ps.: lapidem quem reprobaverunt aedificantes, hic factus est in caput anguli. Act. IV, 11 s.: hic est lapis qui reprobatus est a vobis aedificantibus, qui factus est in caput anguli, et non est in aliquo alio salus. Et hoc idem de se introducit Matth. XXI, 42: numquid legistis in Scripturis: lapidem quem reprobaverunt aedificantes, hic factus est in caput anguli, et cetera. Summus autem dicitur propter dignitatis celsitudinem. Is. XXVIII, 16: ecce ego mittam in fundamentis Sion lapidem angularem, probatum, pretiosum, in fundamento fundatum. Sed non est idem de fundamento in aedificio spirituali et in aedificio materiali. Materiale namque aedificium fundamentum habet in terra, et ideo oportet ut principalius fundamentum sit magis infimum. Spirituale vero aedificium fundamentum habet in caelo, et ideo oportet quod fundamentum quanto est principalius, tanto sit sublimius: ut sic imaginemur civitatem quamdam descendentem de caelo, cuius fundamentum in caelo existens, et aedificium demissum ad nos, videatur inferius; secundum illud Apoc. XXI, v. 2: vidi civitatem sanctam Ierusalem descendentem de caelo, et cetera.
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Consequenter cum dicit in quo omnis aedificatio, etc., agit de constructione aedificii. In qualibet autem aedificii constructione quatuor requiruntur. Primo aedificii fundatio, secundo constructio, tertio augmentatio, quarto consummatio: quae quidem breviter tangit. Primum, cum dicit in quo, scilicet fundamento, qui Christus est principaliter, et doctrina apostolorum et prophetarum secundario, quia, ut dicitur I Cor. III, 11: fundamentum aliud nemo potest ponere praeter id, et cetera. Secundo vero tangit secundum, cum dicit omnis aedificatio constructa. Et quidem si intelligatur allegorice, designat ipsam Ecclesiam, quae tunc construitur quando homines ad fidem convertuntur. Si autem moraliter intelligatur, significat animam sanctam, et tunc eiusmodi aedificatio construitur, quando bona opera superaedificantur super Christum. Prov. XIV, 1: sapiens mulier aedificat domum suam. I Cor. III, 10: unusquisque videat quomodo superaedificet. In hoc ergo fundamento, scilicet Christo, omnis aedificatio spiritualis construitur, Iudaeorum vel gentilium, a Deo per auctoritatem. Ps. CXXVI, 1: nisi dominus aedificaverit domum, et cetera. Hebr. III, v. 4: omnis namque domus fabricatur ab aliquo, qui autem omnia creavit, Deus est. Sed instrumentaliter construitur aedificium vel ab homine qui seipsum aedificat, vel a praelatis. Tertium tangit cum dicit crescit in templum, etc.; quod quidem fit quando multiplicantur qui salvi fiunt. Act. VI, 7: verbum domini crescebat, et multiplicabatur numerus discipulorum in Ierusalem valde. Crescit etiam quando homo crescit in bonis operibus, et in gratia crescit quantum ad hoc, quod fit templum sanctum. Templum enim a Deo inhabitatur, et ideo oportet quod sit sanctum. Ps. XLV, 5: sanctificavit tabernaculum suum altissimus. Et quia nos debemus inhabitari a Deo, ut Deus in nobis habitet, ad hoc nos parare debemus, ut sancti simus. I Cor. III, 16: nescitis quia templum Dei estis, et spiritus Dei habitat in vobis; Apoc. c. XXI, 3: ecce tabernaculum Dei cum hominibus, et habitabit cum eis. Sed numquid statim a principio, cum charitatem habemus, templum Dei sumus? Respondeo. Dicendum est quod sic. Et quanto magis proficimus, tanto magis Deus habitat in nobis. Et ideo ad hoc aedificium, quarto, requiritur perfectio et consummatio, quod ostendit, cum dicit in domino. Consequenter cum dicit in quo et vos, etc., ostendit quomodo gentiles facti sunt participes huius aedificii, dicens in quo, scilicet aedificio, non solum superaedificantur Iudaei, sed etiam vos Ephesii coaedificamini, id est ad similitudinem aliorum aedificamini. I Petr. II, 4 s.: ad quem accedentes lapidem vivum, ab hominibus quidem reprobatum, a Deo autem electum et honorificatum, et ipsi tamquam lapides vivi superaedificamini domus spiritualis.
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Et ideo subdit in habitaculum Dei, ut scilicet Deus in vobis inhabitet per fidem. Infra III, 17: habitare Christum per fidem in cordibus vestris. Hoc autem non potest fieri sine charitate, quia qui manet in charitate, in Deo manet, etc., I Io. IV, 16. Charitas autem datur nobis per spiritum sanctum. Rom. V, 5: charitas Dei diffusa est in cordibus nostris per spiritum sanctum qui datus est nobis. Ideo subdit in spiritu sancto.
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1. Et vos, cum essetis mortui delictis et peccatis vestris. In Graeco vestris non legitur. Est autem oratio perpetua cum superioribus; ubi cum dixisset, quid in Christo Deus operatus sit, hic jam, continuato sermone, declarat, quid in nobis, qui membra Christi sumus, per gratiam suam operetur. Pronomen vos, Graece ujxaq, quarti casus est; cui demum, post longum hyperbaton, pronomine repetito, sed in primam personam mutato, redditur suum verbum, a quo regatur, imo verba: convivificavit et conresuscitavit, et consedere fecit. Et quidem in quibusdam codicibus MSS. atque in textu Pelagii verbum convivificavit huc translatum est, et vos convivificavit etc. Caeterum hujus tanti hyperbati causa non tam in scriber.di imperitiam, quam in vehementiam Spiritus Apostolici referenda est; quo compulsus est multa interponere, priusquam ad exprimendum verbum, a quo pendebat initium periodi, perveniret. Td quod etiam magnis oratoribus contingit. Porro cum Apostolus alibi vocabulis delicti et peccati promiscue utatur, hic tamen, quia utrumque posuit, discernere ea videtur. Testatur autem Hieronymus, Graecum TrapaitTCJua, quo delictum significatur, proprie verbum esse scripturarum. Idem inter delicta et peccata putat hoc interesse, quod delicta quasi initia peccatorum sint, cum cogitatio tacita subrepit, nobis quidem aliqua ex parte ccnniventibus, necdum tamen impellens ad ruinam: peccata vero, dum cogitatio pervenit ad opus. Intellige quoad consp.nsuin. Augustin. quaest. 20. super Levit. ita destinguit, ut peccatum sit perpetratio mali, delictum, desertio boni. Postea vero: Potest, inquit, etiam videri illud esse delictum, quod imprudenter (id est, ignoranter), illud peccatum, quod ab scimte committitur. Atque hoc discrimen deinde probat ex Psalmis 18. et 68., nec non ex illis Apostoli verbis Galat. 6. Si quis praeoccupatus fuerit in aliquo delicto. Quod cum ita sit, verisimile est, etiam Apostolum hoc loco discrimen hujusmodi spectasse. Nam certe Hieronymi distinctio ncn convenit; non solum quia dicit Apostolus mortui delictis, de quo mox agemus; sed quoniam, ut sequentia probant, de peccatis loquitur pleno consensu perpetratis; cujusmodi fere erant omnia infidelium peccata. Jam quaeritur, qui dicantur Apostolo mortui delictis et peccatis. Neque enim sic accipi posse videtur haec phrasis, quemadmodum in illa sententia Rom. 6. Qui mortui sumus peccato, quomodo adhuc vivemus in illo? cum res magis hic exigat contrarium sensum. Proinde quidam sic exponunt, cum essetis morte digni propter peccata. Alii vero plerique tam Latini quam Graeci hoc modo: cum essetis Spiritu mortui in delictis et peccatis, sive per delicta et peccata; nimirum ut causam lormalem mortis vestrae spiritualis. Peccatum enim mors est animae. Quam expositionem confirmant ex altero loco, qui huic simillimus est Coloss. 2. Et vos cum mortui essetis in delictis et praeputio carnis vestrae, convivificavit cum illo. Nam et hoc loco nomina delictis et peccatis accipiunt ablativo casu, non dativo; tametsi quae in Graeco respondent, dativi casus sint. Graeci quippe dativo pro ablativo, quo penitus carent, ad causam significandam utuntur, non addita praepositior.e in; nisi ubi Hebraismus retinetur. Nam quod habetur Col. 2. in delictis, Graece cum praepositione legitur. Verumtamen sciendum est, hoc loco Graeca sic habere: xai Gjxag ovtac vsxpoog. Similiter infra post hyperbatum, xal ovxac TJ/lac; vsxpoug. Qui sermo praesens tempus significare videri queat, ut Latine sic vertas: Et vos cum sitis mortui, vel potius: et vos qui estis mortui. Sic enim paulo inferius: 6 0s6q TtXouatoe; cov sv sAesi, Deus qui dives est in misericordia. Proinde sensum arbitrari quis posset hunc esse: et vos, qui jam estis mortui peccatis et dolictis vestris, id est, non amplius iis viventes, nihilque commercii cum illis amplias habentes (hoc enim est Apostolo, peccatis mortuos esse), convivificavit Christo etc., ut infra vers. 5. Significatur autem ordo naturae inter haec duo, peccato mortuum esse, et Christo convivificari: estque allusio ad baptismicaeremoniam, in qua prius estimmergi, id est, mystice mori peccato; posterius emergere, id est, ad vitam justitiae exsurgere; quemadmodum philosophatur Apostolus Roman. 6. Itaque videtur, posse istam phrasim, mortuum esse peccatis, hic accipi, quemadmodum illic, ubi dicitur, qui mortui sumus peccato etc. Quin potius hic locus ex iis, quae loco memorato ad Romanos a Paulo disseruntur, exponendus et illustrandus videbitur; speciatim ex illa sententia versus 11. Ita et vos existimate, vos mortuos quidem esse (vsxpooc; |isv slvai) peccato, viventes autem Deo in Christo Jesu Domino nostro. Sensum hunc, etsi verbis obscuricribus, tradit Cajetanus; qui licet probabilitatem habeat ex his, quao allata sunt, tamen non facile a communi Graecorum et Latinorum expositione prius data recedendum est. Nam quod in duobus hujus capitis locis reperitur participium praesentis temporis ovxaq, id nihil urget. Extenditur enim ad tempus praeteritum, propter verbum principale propositionis, quod illius temporis est; sicut cum dicitur in Evangelio: Gfferebant ti paralyticum jacentem in lecto. Nec enim jacebat in lecto tunc, quum hoc scripsit Evangelista, sed tunc, quando offerebatur Domino. Ita et his locis non est necesse accipi, istos fuisse mortuos peccatis tunc, quando ista scripsit Apostolus (quod haec Cajetani expositio praesupponit), sed tunc, quando eos Deus per Christum vivificavit, et Christo conresuscitavit. Ideoque non est necesse, haec loca accipi ad eum modum, quo illa, quae sunt ad Rom. c. 6. v. 11. Nam communi hujus loci expositioni quadrat, quod legitur ad Coloss. c. 2. v. 13. et probe cohaeret quod sequitur:
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2. In quibus aliquando ambulastis secundum saeculum mundi hujus. Ac si dicat: mortuos peccatis et delictis, in quibus aliquando vixistis. Hoc enim est, in quibus aliquando ambulastis, conversati estis, vitam vestram praeteritam egistis, idque secundum praesens saeculum, hoc est, tantum sectantes hujus saeculi bona; scilicet temporalia et carnalia, nec ullam habentes curam, imo nec notitiam bonorum futuri saeculi. Quod utrumque nominat saeculum et mundum, cum sufBceret, alterum dixisse. Nam in scriptura novi Testamenti passim pro eodem sumuntur haec duo. Itaque pleonasmus est Hebraeis usitatus, qualis infra cap. 6. In potentia virtutis ejus. Item: mundi hujus, scilicet qui totus in maligno positus est, Joan. 5. Sequitur enim de maligno:
Secundum principem potestatis aeris hujus. Id est, secundum instinctum, suggestionem, voluntatem diaboli, qui est princeps potestatum aeris hujus caliginosi, nobis proximi: hoc enim est, quod infra cap. ult. dicit, tenebrarum harum; et iterum, in coelestibus. Qui sensus eo loco plenius explicabitur. Sciendum tamen, in Graeco non addi demonstrativum hujus; ideo fortasse, q.iod scriptura nusquam de alio aere loquatur, quam de eo, in quo nos versamur. Graecae lectioni consonat Hieronymi textus. Potestatem, Graece s$oooiav, ad personam referimus; sic enim et superiori cap. in enumeratione ordinum angelicorum sumebatur, et rursus ult. cap., nec non Col. 1. et 2. idque nunc singulari numero, nunc plurali expressum. Quocirca non placet, quod Erasmus paraphrastice vertit: juxta principem, cui potestas est aeris. An autem, et qua ratione daemones in aerem et inferiorem hunc mundum potestatem habeant, alibi disputandum.
Spiritus, qui nunc operatur in filiis diffidentiae. Spiritus genitivum est, Graece: toD 7tvsuu,aTog. Quod nonnulli appositive jungunt cum dictione aeris hoc sensu: Qui aer est Spiritus; siquidem in scriptura venti Spiritus vocantur, a spirando. Sed repugnat, quod sequitur: Qui nunc operatur in filiis diffidentiae. Hoc enim in aerem nullo modo competit, sed in daemones, qui et cap. ultimo vocantur spiritualia nequitiae in coelestibus. Alii proinde posteriorem genitivum regi putant a priori, Spiritus ab aeris; ut aer Spiritus seu Spirituum dicatur, quod in eo degant Spiritus maligni; quomodo vocatur terra barbarorum, in qua barbari degunt, et coelum beatorum, in quo beati. Sane probabilius existimo (quod indicat B. Thom.), genitivum Spiritus ad eandem dictiunem regentem oportere referri, ad quam genitivus potestatis; ut tam in posteriori genitivo quam in priore £it heterosis numeri, et posterior pars sit prioris expositio; videlicet hoc modo: Secundum principem potestatum aerearum, id est, principem Spirituum malignorum, qui nunc operantur in filiis diffidentiae; hoc est, efficaces sunt (Graece svspyouvTSc), magnum habent successum suarum tentationum ac suggesticnum ad omne peccatorum genus in hominibus 22 • incredulis, qui fidei contumaciter resistunt, nec persuasionem ejus admittunt. Hos enim Hebraea phrasi vocat filios diffidentiae; aTcetftetac, quam interpres Rom. 11. et alibi vertit increduKtatem, cum Graeca vox sonet impersuasibilitatem. Cyprianus legit, in filiis contumacibus. Addit autem Apostolus tempoiis adverbium nunc; vel ad designandum tempus hujus saeculi, vel potius, quia ante praedicationem evangelii locum non habebat hujusmodi incredulitas seu contumacia, Domino dicente Joan. 15. Si non venissem et locutus fuissem eis, peccatum non haberent. Caeterum caute legendus hoc loco commentarius Cajetani, qui ex occasione praesentis loci male intellecti, nescio qua temeritate et doctrinae inconstantia, recedens ab eo, quod olim super summam theologicam S. Thomae docuerat, quodque, ut ita dicam, tota ecclesia tenet, ita scribit: Crediderim ego, daemones esse Spiritus aereos; et id consonare verae philosophiae rationi; ut quemadmodum invenitur vegetativum sine sensitivo; et sensitivum, sine secundum locum motivo, et intellectivum sine secundum locum motivo: ita inveniatur secundum locum motivum sine sensitivo; quod est ponere hujusmodi aereos Spiritus, constantes exintellectivo et secundum locum motivo, et est sermo, inquit, de motu progressivo absque sensitivo. Et sententiam suam explicans subjungit: Verum appellatione aeris non intelligo elementum aeris, sed subtile corpus nostris sensibus ignotum, corpus simplex ac incorruptibile, natum moveri localiter ab anima, ad omnes differentias positionis, absque repugnantia aliqua ex natura corporis; sicut corpus coeleste natum est moveri circulariter in ea velocitate, qua a sua anima movetur, absque aliqua repugnantia, ut Peripatetici tradunt. Haec ille. Quae nobis hic adscripsisse sufficiat; nam rerutare vero Philosopho et Theologo non est difficile.
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3. In quibus et nos omnes aliquando conversati sumus in desideriis carnis nostrae. In quibus verti potest, inter quos, quemadmodum habet Ambrosianus, idque secutus est in sua versione Erasmus. Hoc modo sensus est: inter quos filios diffidentiae nos omnes aliquando fuimus conversati, nempe quotquot etiam ex Judaeis ad Christi fidem conversi sumus, quasi dicat: Nos etiam aliquando ex illorum numero fuimus. Verum non apparet, filios diffidentiae juxta superiorem expositionem tam late patere, ut dici possit, in eorum numero omnes aliquando fuisse; pauci enim fidelium ante conversionem restiterant evangelio contumaciter. Itaque longe probabilius est, eo sensu nunc dicere Apostolum, in quibus aliquando conversati sumus, quo paulo ante dixerat: In quibus aliquando ambulastis, scilicet in delictis et peccatis; cujus explicatio est quod sequitur: in desideriis carnis nostrae. Neque argumentum Joannis Gaignaei, quod huic expositioni opponit, sumptum ex genere, movere nos debet: quia ev olc, refertur per syllepsin ad utrumque simul, toT<; TiapaTiTOJjjiaot xat xaTc d/iapxtaic. Tale igitur est, quod Apostolus dicit: Quum dico, vos in peccatis aliquando ambulasse, non excludo me aut meae gentis homines: nam et nos omnes tam Judaei quam Graeci, priusquam veniremus ad Christum, in delictis et peccatis vitam egimus, sequentes desideria carnis, id est, pr&vae concupiscentiae nostrae. Sic Rom. 3. concludit, Judaeos et Graecos omnes sub peccato esse, juxta quod scriptum est: Omnes declinaverunt: et Titi 3. Eramus, inquit, aliquando et nos insipientes, increduli, errantes, servientes desideriis et voluptatibus variis etc. Eodem pertinet adhuc, quod sequitur.
Facientes voluntatem carnis et cogitationum. Graece voluntates plurali numero; id quod in nonnullis etiam Latinis MSS. reperitur. Atque ita legunt Hieronymus et Primasius, quorum ille eam lectionem etiam in commentario inculcat. Voluntates autem intellige cupiditates ac desideria. Pro genitivu cogitationum, Graece Siavouov, idem Hieronymus legit mentium, tametsi fatetur, in Latinis codicibus haberi cogitationum; atqui textus Ambrosianus habet, consiliorum ejus, scilicet carnis. Sed hoc Graecae scripturae non est consentaneum. Est autem idem in Graeco vocabulum, quod in cantico Virginis, dispersit superbos mente cordis sui; quod alii clarius vertunt, cogitatione cordis eorum. Distinguunt autem Hieronymus et Graeci inter voluntates carnis et mentium, quod carnis voluntates dicantur, quae incitant ad carnalia peccata, gulam, ebrietatem, impudicitiam etc. Mentium autem voluntates, quae pariunt peccata spiritualia; ut invidiam, superbiam vindictam, haereses et alia hujusmodi. Sensum hunc facile etiam nostra lectio recipit, si cum S. Thoma voluntates cogitationum distiuguamus contra voluntates carnis; ut nimirum illae cogitationes intelligantur, quae non ex sensibus carnis ortum habent, sed soltim ex ipso appetitu intellectivo; cujusmodi est cogitatio honoris, aut excellentiae consequendae, et aliorum, quae supra dicta sunt.
Et eramus natura filii irae, sicut et caeteri. Illud natura quidam verterunt prorsus, sive omnino, quemadmodum affirmat Jlieronymus. Caeterum Theophylactus et Oecumenius volunt idem esse, quod vere ac germane. Caeterum Augustinus aliique Latini eum secuti, naturam intelligunt nativitatem, vel, quod eodem redit, naturam ipsam, non qualis in primo homine condita est, sed qualis per ejus transgressionem facta, a singulis nascendo accipitur. Unde et hunc Apostoli locum volunt unum esse ex praecipuis, quibus doceatur, omnem hominem nasci in peccato originali. Augustini loca sunt: Serm. 14. de verbis Apost., lib. 1. Retract. cap. 10. et 15. et passim contra Pelag. Sic et Prosper lib. 1. de vocat. gent. cap. 18. et Fulgentius de fide ad Petrum cap. 26. et Beda in collect. super banc epist., ubi ex Augustino complura testimonia depromit. Sed et Hieronymus in commentario sensum hunc late prosequitur. Nec vero alius intellectus magis congruit. Primum, quia in Graeco non est vocabulum, quod proprie filios significet, tanquam filii irae dicantur homines irritantes, id est, iram Dei provocantes; sicut paulo ante dicti sunt filii diffidentiae, id est, homines increduli: sed Graece est T£xva_, quae vox nativitatem seu partum expressius importat. Deinde, quia Graeci textus hic est ordo: Et eramus filii natura irae, quasi dicat filii (quod ad naturam attinet) irae, id est, filii naturales irae; ut filios natura opponat Apostolus iis, qui filii dicuntur adoptione, quales fiunt homines post nativitatem. Adde, quod Apostolus haec scribit in persona Judaeorum, quorum plerique jactabant se esse semen sanctum, utpote filios Abrahae, sicut habemus Matth. 3. et Joan. 8., Gentiles vero, quod ex parentibus idololatris essent progeniti, tanquam ex nativitate peccatores et immundos aspernabantur. Unde et illi caeco, quasi gentili, maledicebant, dicentes: in peccatis natus es totus, Joan. 9., utique reputantes sese non esse natos in peccatis. Igitur ad hujusmodi fastum reprimendum, aptissime dicit in eorum persona Apostolus: Eramus natura filii irae, sicut et caeteri, ubi supplendum ex superiori parte signum universale omnes; ut sensus sit: et nos Judaei perinde ut caeteri homines, quos prae nobis contemnere solemus ob generis nostri sanctitatem, omnes eramus aliquando irae divinae obnoxii, et quidem ex ipsa nativitatis origine, qua naturam a parentibus acce* pimus. Iram hanc divinam ita explicat Augustinus, tractatu 44. in Joannem: Si filii irae, ergo filii vindictae, filii poenae, filii gehennae. Porro quoniam justa est ira Dei, manifeste jam consequens est ex hoc loco, omnes hcminesin peccato nasci; non enim irascitur Deus nisi peccato.
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4. Deus autem, qui dives est in misericordia. Orationem huc usque suspensam colligere jani incipit, ac paulo post absolvit. Itaque Hieronymus conjunctio nem autem existimat redundare. Deum Apostolus divitem in misericordia vocat, quia thesaurus bonitatis ac misericordiae ejus inexhaustus est, etiam quoad effectum: nunquam enim obliviscitur misereri. Potest autem etiam sic verti ex Graeco: Deus autem, cum dives esset in misericordia; ut clarius signincetur causa beneficii praestiti, non ex parte nostra, sed Dei; sicut apertius significatur in eo, quod sequitur:
Propter nimiam charitatem suam, qua dilexit nos. Nimiam Graece multam. Et sic legunt Hieronymus et Ambrosianus. Porro Dei charitas, per se immensa, vocatur in scripturis magna aut multa propter magnitudinem vel multitudinem beneficiorum, quae ab illa immensitate charitatis Dei in nos profluunt: praecipue vero Dei charitas erga nos in eo commendatur, quod sicut Rom. 5. docet Apostolus, cum peccatores et inimici essemus, nos sibi per mortem fiJii sui reconciliaverit. Idem docet verbis hic sequentibus:
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5. Et cum essemus mortui peccatis. Graece, delictis. Quod quia hic solum ponitur, accipiendum non ut a peccatis distinguitur, quemadmodum supra, sed generali significatione. Conjunctio et non est superflua, nt cuipiam videri potest. Nam, secundum eos, qui mortuos peccatis interpretantur de morte animae per peccata, vult Apostolus commendare misericordiam Dei dupliciter, et ex parte ipsius Dei multum nos diligentis, et ex parte nostra, qui jacebamus mortui et sepulti in peccatis. Juxta sensum vero superius versu 1. a nobis ex Cajetano allatum, et pro inquam positum est. Repetit enim post hyperbaton id, quod illic dicere coeperat, ac si dicat: Nos, inquam, mortuos jam peccatis per baptismum. Haeret utrivis intellectui id quod sequitur:
Convivificavit nos in Christo. Graece tantum est, convivificavit Christo. Nam pronomen nos paulo ante^expressum est. Multa vero Latina exemplaria legunt absque praepositione, convivificavit nos Christo } quibus et volunt Hieronymus ac Primasius. Et Hieronymus quidem clare sic exponit, vivificavit nos cum Christo. Sic etiam legitur Col. 2. convivificavit cum illo, nempe Christo: ut sensus sit: una cum Christo vivere fecit. Quod intellige de vita justitiae, quae nobis peccato mortuis datur in baptismo; quaeque per Christum ex morte redivivum fuit quodammodo repraesentata. Hoc enim est in typo ac mysterio convivificari Christo (quemadmodum id luculente declarat Apostolus Rom. 6.), ut quomodo Christus surrexit a mortuis, ita et nos in novitate vitae ambulemus. Nam, inquit, si mortui sumus cum Christo: credimus quia simul etiam vivemus cum Christo. Ac rursum exemplo mortis et resurrectionis Christi proposito: Ita et vos, existimate vos mortuos quidem esse peccato; viventes autem Deo in Christo Jesu. Nonnull; partem hanc de vita gloriae, quam in spe jam habemus, exponunt, sed de vita justitiae sensus potiorest: quem et locus exigit huic similis Col. 2., eundemque confirmat quod sequitur:
(Cujus gratia estis salvati.) Cujus in Graeco non additur, nec est apud Hieronymum; eoque magis haec sententia parenthetica est; quam ut ait Theophylactus ex affectu in medium Apostolus protulit, derairatus ineffabile donum Dei. Ssd de hoc plura paulo inferius, ubi plenior habetur eadem sententia. Cur autem dixit, estis salvati, non sumus; cum caetera in prima persona loqueretur, Cajetanus rationem dat ex eo, quod Rom. 13. Paulus docet, Christum fuisse ministrum circumcisionis, propter veritatem Dei, ad confirmandas promissir nes patrum; gentes autem super misericordia honorare Deum; quasi per hoc gentium salus magis gratuita sit quam Judaeorum, utpote non promissa. Verum quia panlo post Apostolus suam sententiam ita explicat, ut sit omnibus, qui salvantur, communis: idcirco potius hasc repentina personae mutatio tribuenda videtur affectui ipsius Apostoli erga Ephesios, quibus, ut discipulis suis, singulariter commendatum esse voluit beneficium gTatiae Dei.
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6. Ei conresuscitavit, et consedere fecit in coelestibus in Christo Jesu. Id est, una cum Christo nos resuscitavit: et simul cum eo sedero fecit in coelestibus locis; idque per Christum Jesum. Est enim notandum, quod praeter extremam particulam, in Christo Jesu, dativus Christo hic repetendns est ex membro superiori sic: et conresuscitavit Christo, et consedere fecit Christo. Caeterum haec conresuscitatio et consessio nostra cum Christo bifariam exponitur: aut de resuscitatione et ssssione spirituali, quam consequimur in hac vita, ut sensussit: Sicut Christum resuscitavit a morte ad vitam, et collocavit in coelestibus: ita et nos a morte peccati revocavit ad vitam justitiae, et fecit, ut conversatio nostra in coelis sit, Philip. 3. Aut de resurrectione corporum et habitatione coelesti, quam in consummatione saeculi exspectamus. Ita sensus est, Deum nos una cum Christo, qui jam resurrexit a mortuis et sedet ad dexteram Patris, resuscitas.se ad vitam illam immortalem et in coelo collocasse; quia data nobis arrha haereditatis, id est, Spiritu sancto, certissimam spem fecit, aliquando futurum, ut in utroque Christi consortes simus, tanquam membra capitis. Qui sensus, praeterquam quod illa sententia Apostoli confirmatur ad Rom. 8. Qui suscitavit Jesum a mortuis, vivificabit et mortalia corpora vestra; etiam opportunior videtur ad explicatioaem ejus, quod superiori capite dixit: et quae sit supereminens magnitudo virtutis ejus in nos qui credimus, secundum operationem potentiae virtutis ejus, quam operatus est in Christo etc. Quod enim ibi dixit, virtutis ejus in nos; hic jam tandem explicat. Utramque expositionem legere est apud Hieronymum. Sunt autem, qui utrumque sensum conjungunt: quod non videbitur improbabile, si e.onsiderentur diversa Apostoli loca, quibus in allegoria mortis ac resurrectionis Christi modo huc, modo illuc respicit, ut Rom. 6. et 8. et Col. 2. et 3. Obiter obstrva, non dixisse Apostolum: et consedere fecit ad dexteram suam, sicut supra superiori capite de Christo dixerat; sed tantummodo: consedere fecit in coelestibus. Sedere enim ad dexteram patris Christo proprium est, nec cuiquam alteri communicatur: tametsi in throno Christi dicantur sessuri, qui vicerint. Apoc. 4. in fine.
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7. Ut ostenderet in saeculis supervenientibus abundantes divitias gratiae suae. Quidam hoc de saeculis vitae futurao interpretantur, ubi perfectissime declarabitur et cognoscetur magnitudo gratiae Dei in electos; sed magis est ex mente Apostoli, ut de saeculis vitae praesentis intelligatur. Comparat enim hujus saeculi tempora futura et praesentia cum praeteritis, quoad manifestationem mysteriorum Christi et ostensionem gratiae ejus, sicut et facit capite sequenti, ubi lcquens de mysterio Christi, quod, inquit, aliis generationibus non est agnitum filiis hominum, sicut nunc revelatum est sanctis Apostolis ejus. Et Ool. 1. Mysterium, quod absconditum fuit a saeculis et generationibus; nunc autem manifestatum est sanctis ejus, quibus voluit Deus 7iotas facere divitias gloriae sacramenti hujus in gentibus. Sensus igitur est: Deum ea, quae dicta sunt, oraestitisse ac praestare, ut his extremis ac venturis temporibus manifestaret hominibus abundantes, Graece supereminentes, Augustinus contra Faustum lib. 11. cap. 8. superabundantes divitias gratiae suae, id est, excellentem et exuberantem beneficentiam suam; utque ea manifestata ipse glorificetur; hic enim est finis omnium operum Dei. ln bonitate super nos in Christo Jesu. Graece m benignitate, quomodo et Augustinus lib. 11. contra Faustum cap. 8. Declarat Apostolus, quo opere Deus vo luerit ostendere supereminentes divitias gratiae suae, nimirum opere bonitatis seu benignitatis suae nobis impenso per Christum. Quo breviter comprehenditur universa justificatio, redemptio et salus nostra, quae tota et omni parte eat a Deo per Christum. Hanc gratiam plenius explicant sequentia verba.
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8. Gratia enim estis salvati per fidem. Id est, tota salus vestra ab initio usque ad finem est ex beneficentia Dei, quam gratis omnino impendit. Addit autem, per fidem, intellige Christi; quia fides, qua in Christum creditur, hujus salutis initium est et fundamentum, et per eam tota reliqua salus impetratur; idque ex ordinatione divina, qua constitutum est, neminem salvum fieri, nisi primum omnium credat in Christum, et ea fide, per modum cujusdam meriti, salutem assequatur. Quod non ita accipiendum est, quasi Deus ante omnia fidem a nobis exigat, ut per eam nobis incipiat gratiae suae munera conferre; sicque gratiam fides praeveniat, quemadmodum quidam male Apostolum intellexerunt, existimantes, fidem non esse ponendam inter beneficia gratiae Christi, propterea quod gratia salvemur per fidem: quae doctrina prorsus erronea est. Sed mens Apostoli est, totam salutem nostram, citra exceptionem, esse ex gratia: et eandem salutem haberi per fidem, sed cum exceptione ipsius fidei, quae salutis initium est, et per se ipsam haberi non potest. Quomodo dictum est a poeta: Tegit omnia coelum • et, ut aptius exemplum proferam, quomodo dicitur artifex aliquis totam domum aedificasse super bono fundamento. Hoc enim postremum addendo non negatur, ipsum fundamentum ab eodem artifice aedificatum esse; neque rursum significatur, ipsum quoque fundamentum super fundamento collocatum esse, sed reliquas aedificii partes super illo esse constructas. Denique perversae illi intelligentiae Paulus ipse continuo obviat. Nam ne quis dicat: si per fidem; quomodo gratia? subjungit:
Et hoc non ex vobis. Id est, hoc quod dixi per fidem, non ita volo accipi, quasi ipsrvm fidem a gratia excipiam; nam et hoc ipsum, scilicet credere, non est ex vobis, hoc est ex viribus naturae seu liberi vestri arbitrii; quippe cum circa ea versetur, quae rationem naturalem excedunt, et inter ea bona sit, quibus ad salutem homines ordinantur. Itaque credere, nostrum est quidem, quatenus actus est partim intellectus nostri, partim liberae nostrae voluntatis, sed non est ex nobis.
Dei enim donum est. In Graeco tantum legitur: Dei donum, sed sensum explere voluit interpres. Hic locus est eorum, ex quibus Patres docent, fidem esse Dei donum, nominatim Augustinus sub initium lib. de dono persev., epist. 107. ad Vital. et alibi. Prosper lib. 1. de vocat. gent. cap. 23. et in epist. ad Rufin. et Arausican. Concil. 2. can. ult. Quam doctrinam non tantum de habitu fidei, sed etiam de actu accipiendam esse, certissime constat, cum ex verbis Patrum, inter quos Anselmus fidem non partim, sed pure Dei donum nominat, et ex canone jam citato, quo dicitur, quod credere in Deum nemo possit, nisi gratia eum et misericordia divina praevenerit; tum ex ipsis Scripturis, quae fere de actu fidei loquuntur, ut Joan. 6. Hoc est opus Dei, ut credatis in eum, quem misit ille. Et Phil. 1. Vobis donatum est pro Christo, non solum ut in eum credatis etc. Quocirca Graecorum hoc loco commentarii, qui non satis plene de dono fidei loqui videntur, caute legendi sunt ac benigne exponendi; ut qui contra Manichaeum pro libero arbitrio diligentius, quam contra Pelagium postea exortum pro gratia Dei vigilaverint.
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9. Non ex operibus. Pars haec respicit praecedentem: gratia estis salvati per fidem. Inde enim sequitur istuu: non ex operibus. Quomodo et Rom. 11. ratiocinatur Apostolus: Si gratia, jam non ex operibus, alioqui gratia jam non est gratia. Itaque verba media (et hoc non exvobis, Dzi enim donum est), quae de fide dicta sunt, recte in plerisque codicibus parenthesi clauduntur; tametsi nonnulli interpretes etiam illa non de sola fide, sed de universa salute nostra exposuerint. Verum contextui potius congruit expositio superius dicta, maxime propter duas voculas et hoc, quae alioqui viderentur redundare ac plano sensui obstrepere. Quod ait: Non ex operibus, ad totam salutem sive salvationem dostram, fide etiam comprehensa, referendum est: quae tota non ex ullis operibus est, id est, non ex meritis, sed tantum ex gratia; scilicet ad eum sensum, quo secundum Scripturas Ecclesia docet, homines non praedestinari ex meritis, sed ex solo Dei beneplacito. Proinde non est necesse interpretari hanc partem de operibus, quae quis habeat ex seipso, vel quae fiJem praecedunt; absolute enim sententia vera est, salutem nostram non esse ex operibus. Nam si qua sint bona opera, ea sub salute nostra, quae tota est ex gratia, comprehenduntur. Non igitur negat Apostolus, vitam aeternam ex operum merito justis provenire, quod haeretici negant; sed ipsa etiam opera, quibus vitam aeternam merentur, gratiae refert accepta, dum totam nostram salutem gratiae adscribit: idque sequentia manifeste declarant. Utitur autem Apostolus praeteriti temporis verbo salvati estis; tum quia jam inchoata per justificationem erat illorum salus, tum quia certa spe perficienda exspectabatur. Unde dicit Rom 8. spe salvi facti sumus.
Ut ne quis glorietur: in seipso, in viribus naturae ac liberi arbitrii; sed, inquit Thomas, ut tota gloria in Deum referatur • juxta illud Psalmi: Non nobis Domine, non nobis, sed nomini tuo da gloriam. Hic enim finis spectatur ab Apostolo, quasi dicat: Haec vobis scribo et inculco, ne quis in se glorietur. Non enim sensus est, ut quidam volunt, ideo non ex operibus salvare voluit vos Deus, sed ex fide, ne si operibus usus esset ad communicandara vobis salutem, sicut usus est fide, gloriaremini in operibus tanquam merito vestrae salutis. Non est, inquam, hic sansus. Nam et ipsa fines opus quoddam est: de quo proinde gloriari quis potest, sed in Deo. Et, si Deo visum fuisset ex operibus sine fide salvare hominem, sicutimaginanturpotuisse; tum de operibus gloriari posset homo, non tamen nisi in Deo, qui dedisset opera. Sic enim etiam illa opera sub beneficio justificationis comprehenderentur sicut ea, de quibus sequitur:
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10. Ipsius enim sumus factura, creati in Christo Jesu in operibus bonis. Occupatio est secundum Chrysostomum. Ne enim dicendo, non ex operibus, videretur opera bona exclusisse; docet, quem locum illa habeant in negotio salutis ac justificationis nostrae: nimirum ea non causam esse gratiae, sed effectum; et proinde non salvari nos ex operibus, sed opera partem esse salutis, quae tota ex gratia est. Factura, graece Tzoir^a, pro quo legit Ambrosianus figmentum, aliis placet creatura. Quomodo et Syriaca dictio nobis reddita est. Vocat autem nos Apostolus facturam, figmentum, creaturam Dei, non quatenus homines sumus, id enim hic non agitur, sed quatenus Christiani, nempe quoad universum justificationis ac salutis nostrae negotium; ut patet ex parte sequenti: Creati in Christo Jesu in operibus bonis etc. Priorem partem ita explicat S. Thomas: Ipsius, inquit, factura sumus, quia quidquid boni nos habemus, non est ex nobis ipsis, sed ex Deo faciente; secundum illud Psalm. 99. Ipse fecit nos, et non ipsi nos. Quem Psalmi versiculum Augustinus quoque serm. 11. de verbis Apost. et Ench. 31. in eundem sensum adducit. Similiter creati dicimui in Christo Jesu in operibus bonis, non ad opera bona, ut vertit Erasmus, quasi causa finalis significetur, sed in operibus bonis, tanquam effectis Dei creantis. Sensus enim est: creati a Deo per meritum Jesu Christi quantum ad opera bona, quia scilicet ipsa bona opera fiunt in nobis a Deo: juxta illud Jesaiae 26. Omnia opera nostra operatus es nobis. Nec vero per hoc subtrahuntur opera nostra bona libero arbitrio; quemadmodumjdocent haeretici: sed quidquid boni libero arbitrio agimus, totum Deo auctori, factoii, creatori tribuitur, ut ne quis glorietur. Unde Augustinus in explan. Psalm. 144. tractans hunc Apost. locum: Quid ergo? inquit, nos bene non operamur? Imo operamur, sed quomodo? Ipso in nobis et per nos operante; ipsius enim sumus figmentum etc. Et infra: Merita tua nusquam jactes, quia et ipsa tua merita Dei dona sunt. Videatur idem Augustinus lib. de gratia et lib. arb. cap. 8. et seq. Non ergo propterea dicimur a Deo creati in operibus bonis, quod sicut mundus ad sui creationem nihil operatus est, ita nec nos ad bona opera quidquam cooperemur: sed quia tam vere, proprie et efficaciter Deus in nobis opera bona producit, nihil quod ex nobis sit praerequirens; quam vere, proprie et efficaciter mundum ex nihilo produxit.
Quae praeparavit Deus, ut in illis ambulemus. Kef ert opera nostra ad efficaciam divinae praedestinationis, quam vocat praeparationem, sicut et Dominus Matth. 25. possidete paratum, id est, praedestinatum, vobis regnum a constitutione mundi. Nam praedestinatio non aliud est, inquit Thomas Augustinum secutus, quam praeparatio beneficiorum Dei, inter quae computantur et ipsa bona opera. Dicitur autem Deus nobis illa praeparasse, in quantum disposuit, se nobis ea daturum. Sed ne quis existimet, bona opera sic nobis a Deo praeparari, ut ipsi per liberum arbitrium nihil agamus, idcirco addidit, ut in illis ambulemus, id est, ut nos ea per liberum arbitrium exerceamus. Hoc ipsum enim sgit in nobis gratia Dei, dicente Doiniuo per Prophetam: Faciam, ut in praeceptis meis ambuletis, et judicia mea custodiatis et operemini, Ezech. 36. Porro totus hic locus continens egregiam gratiae Dei commendationem, sicut haeresim Pelagianam, quae gratiam aut negabat, aut ex meritis quaerebat, penitus destruit: ita et nostri quoque temporis haereticorum dcgmata quaedam elidit. Si eniui sumus factura Dei, quoad justi ficationem; igitur faciente Deo vere justi simras, et non tantum imputative. Et, si creati sumus in operibus bonis, quae Deus praeparavit; igitur falsum est, omnia, etiam justificatorum, opera esse peccata. Neque enim bona opera peccata sunt, neque peccata nobis Deus praeparavit. Denique, si nos in illis ambulamus, igitur vere nostra sunt, a voluntate et libero arbitrio profecta.
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11. Propter quod memores estote, quod aliquando vos eratis gentes in carne, qui dicebamini praeputium ab ea, quae dicitur circumcisio in carne, manu fccta, qui eratis illo in tempore sine Christo. Totus hic locus in Latinis codicibus tam impressis quam MSS. varie legitur. Facile est autem veram lectionem deprehendere tum ex Graecis exemplaribus, tum ex Latinis castigatioribus et veterum commentariis. Graeca ad verbum sic habent: Propterea mementote, quod vos aliquando gentes in carne, dicti praeputium, a dicta circumcisione in carne, manu facta, quod eratis in tempore illo sine Christo. Igitur verbum eratis priori loco redundat: neque illud Hieronymus et Primasius agnoscunt, et in nornullis abest MSS., nec apparet Ambrosianum legisse. Quod autem in quibusdam codicibus pro eo legitur, qui eratis, cujus lectionis etiam S. Thomas meminit in commentario, recte se habet; est enim explicatio Graecae lectionis. Posteriori autem loco, ubi nostri codices habent, qui eratis; legendum, quod eratis, ut habent multa MSS., vel quia eratis, ut habet Primasius; vel quoniam eratis, uti legitur apud Eieronymumet Ambrosianum; haec enim tria idem valent. Jam pro verbo dicebamini in aliis est dicimini, quomodo mox idem noster interpres vertit in praesenti, nam participium Graecum temporis est praesentis, licet interdum, ubi res postulat, per verbum praeteriti imperfecti sit interpretandum. Veram igitur lectionem hujus loci putamus eam esse, quam nobis exhibet editio Clementina, quae sic habet: Propter quod memores estote, quod aliquando vos gentes in carne, qui dicimini praeputium ab ea, quae dicitur circumcisio in carne, manufacta, quia eratis illo in tempore sine Christo Quibus verbis ac sequentibus revocat Apostolus Ephesios ad considerationem pristini sui status, ut ejus comparatione intelligant et agnoscant magnitudinem gratiae praesentis per Christum sibi praestitae: tanquam breviter eis dicat, semper meminisse debetis, et quid aliquando fueritis, et qaid nunc facti sitis. Agit hoc Apostolus toto capite reiiouo, ut proinde illud memores estote ad omnia, quae sequuntur usque ad finem capitis, referendum videatur. Porro verborum Apostoli haec est explicatio. Quoniam ad tantam gratiam, sicut jam exposui, sine ullis meritis vestris vocati estis: idcirco memores estote, et gratis animis recolite, quod vos aliquando, qui estis, sive eratis gentes in carne, idest, secundum carnalem generationem gentiles, utpote ex gentilibus progeniti; quique, quod carne incircumcisi sitis, non sine contemptu vocamini sive vocabamini praeputium, idque a Judaeis, qui vocantur aut vocabantur circumcisio, nimirum ob circumcisionem manibus factam, quam gestant in carne: quod, inquam, vos illo tempore eratis sine Christo, id est, sine notitia Christi redemptoris, quem Judnei exspectabant. Non dicit ergo Apostolus, memores estote, vos aliquando fuisse gentes in cr.me etc, sed vos, qui eratis gentes in carne, quique dicebamini praeputimn, fuisse tunc sine Christo. Non enim revera grave erat aut probrosum, esse gentes secundum carnem et vocari praeputium, sed esse sine Christo, et quae sequuntur, quemadmodum hic a Graecis aunotatum est. Observandum quoque, illud quod aliquando suspendi per verba sequentia, gentes in ca*ne etc., ac demum ad absolvendam sententiam repeti, ubi dicitur quia vel quod, in illo tempore. Quam rem nos in sensu reddendo expressimus. Erit autem oratio clarior, si media verba parenthesi claudantur, et post eam quadam iteratione legatur: quod, inquam, eratis illo im tempore sine Christo.
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12. Alienati a conversatione Israel. Graece: abalienati a politia Israelis. IIoAtT£''av Erasmas et Theophylacti interpretes vertunt rempublicam. Verum Graeca vox, etsi rempublicam significet, non raro tamen accipitur pro vitae ratione et instituto, quod noster interpres nomine conversationis designare voluit, in qua significatione TiOAiTSiav usurpavit Basilius lib. de vita solitaria, item Gregorirs Nazian., Epiphanius, Chrvsostomus. De quo vide etiam Budaeum in comment. ling. Graecae. Sensus igitur est: Abalienali, id est, prorsus alieni ab instituto vitaeque ratione populi Israelitici, non modo quoad ceremonias religionis, verum etiam quoad ipsam religionem ac Dei cultum: nam illi verum Deum colebant, quem vos ignorantes, idola colebatis.
Et hospites testamentorum, promissionis spem non habentes. Hujus partis varia est distinctio. Nam genitivum promissionis, Hieronymus et Graeci interpretes ad praecedentia refemnt, Ambrosianus ad sequentia. Sic enim distincte legit: Ethospites testamentorum, et promissionis eorum spem non habentes. Eadem est distinctio apud Primasium et alios Latinos, tam veteres quam recentiores. Quae et nobis magis probatur, quia promissio satis in nomine testamenti continetur, tum quia Apostolus etiam alibi testamenta scripsit absolute, nt Rom. 9., postea subjungens promissa, tum denique quod genitivus promissionis cum vocabulo sequente, secundum Scripturam, melius cohaereat. Nam testamenta promissionis nusquam legimus, spem autem et exspectationem promissionis legimus Act. 1. et 26. et 2 Petr. 3., nec dubium, quin spes Theologica sit rerum promissarum, et promissio pro re pr«>missa in Scripturis saepissime ponatur. Dicit ergo, Ephesios fuisse hospites, si ve ut legit Hieronymus, peregrinos testamentorum, id est, extraneos a pactis, quae Deus pepigit cum Israelitico populo, quae quidem multa orant, sed illa praecipua, ouae promissiones novi testamenti continebant. Hoc declarans, addit, promissionis spem non habentes, id est, bona, quae Deus illi populo promisit, minime sperantes, utpote quibus illorum nulla facta esset promissio. Qtias autem promissiones potissimum expendat Apostolus, satis docent Epistolae ad Rom. et ad Galatas.
Et sine Deo in hoc mundo. Graece, et athei in mundo. Nam et quaedam Latina MSS. pronomen non addunt, ut nec Hieronymus nec Syriaca editio. Atheos hic vocat Apostolus, non qui nullum esse Deum credunt, quales etiam apud ethnicos infames erant ac detesta biles, sed qui verum Deum ignorant; tales enim licet multos colant Deos, revera sine Deo sunt in mundo, id est, sine Dei notitia et cultu; cum non sit aliud Deus et verus Deus.
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13. Nunc autem in Christo Jesu vos, qui aliquando eratis longe, facti estis prope, in sanguine Christi. Vel, ut Ambrosiauus legit, per sanguinem Christi. Memores estote, inquit Apostolus, quod, cum vos, ut jam dixi, tam longinqui atque remoti fueritis a Deo ac religione populoque ejus, ut quibus cum illis nihil esset commune, nunc per Christum Jesum facti estis propinqui, utpote adducti ad Dei notitiam et populo ejus in unum corpus Ecclesiae conjuncti; idque per sanguinem Christi, id est, per meritum passionis ejus. Quod ergo dicit, in sanguine Christi, repetitio est et declaratio ejus, quod dixerat in Christo Jesu. Quidam sic ordinant et exponunt: vos in Christo Jesu, id est, vos Christiani, sed Graeco textui parum convenienter.
2:14
14. Ipse enim est pax nostra. Christum metonymice vocat pacem nostram, id est, pacificatorem; non ideo solum, quod reconciliaverit nos Deo, sed (quod hic Apostolus praecipue considerat), quia duos populos, Judaeorum et gentium, antea inter se mutuo dissidentes, in unum populum redegit, unamque Ecclesiam fecit. Hoc autem sequitur priorem illam reconciliationem, quae cum Deo est. Hunc sensum explicant sequentia.
Qui fecit utraque unum. Id est, ex duobus populis unum fecit, nimirum juxta Prophetiam Ezechielis 37., qua sub nomine duorum regnorum Juda et Ephraim hanc Judaeorum cum gentibus unionem praenuntiat, dicens: £t faciam eos in gentem unam, et rex unus erit omnibus imperans, et non erunt ultra duae gentes, nec dividentur amplius in duo regna; et pastor unus erit omnium eorum. Quod ipsum et Christus Joan. 10. facturum se promisit, illis verbis: Et alias oves habeo, quae non sunt ex hoc ovili; et illas oportet me adducere, et vocem meam audient; et fict unum ovile et unus pastor.
Et medium parietem maceriae solvens, inimicitias in carne sua; legem mandatorum decretis evacuans. Multi codices habent inimicitiam numero singulari, quemadmodum et Hieronymus legit, Graeco et Syriaco textu suffragante; nec Graece est decretis, sed in decretis, sive ut est apud Hieronymum Graeca voce retenta: in dogmatibus. Pro quo rursum commentarius Ambrosio inscriptus, et ipse Ambrosius lib. 2. de Abraham cap. 6. sine praepositione legunt edictis. Sciendum quoque participia solvens et evacuans in Graeco temporis esse praeteriti, sicut et illud praecedens, quod interpres resolvit in verbum, qui fecit. Quod si et in participio solvens factum fuisset, plus lucis haberet oratio, qui fecit et qui solvit. Caeterum edicta, seu decreta, seu dogmata, hoc loco tam Graeci quam Latini commentatores, magno consensu, interpretantur praecepta novi testamenti, quae sunt de fide, charitate et moribus, quae nimirum Christus in Evangelio tradidit. Unde et Syriacus interpres vertit in praeceptis suis. Hanc expositionem valde probabilem faciunt alia loca Apostoli, quibus docet nos per Christi legem veteri legi mortuos esse, ut Rom. 7. Mortificati estis legi per corpus Christi, et Gal. 2. Ego per legem legi mortuus sum. Quo etiam pertinet, quod Rom. 3. gloriationem, quae erat in lege factorum, exclusam esse dicit per legem fidei; haec autem est lex gratiae, non ntida continens agendorum praecepta, sed etiam et maxime, amplissima tam gratiae quam gloriae promissa, quae utraque novi testamenti sunt propria. At vero nonnulli recentiores, ut Faber, Erasmus et Cajetanus malunt illud, quod in Graeco legitur, in decretis, connectere cum eo, quod praecedit legem mandatorum, et ita exponere, legem mandatorum in decretis sitam, id est, legem Mosis, qua parte comprehendebat multitudinem decretorum seu praeceptorum ceremonialium. Movet illos auctores praepositio in, quae sensum hujusmodi videatur postulare. Sed mirum est, eos non animadvertisse proprietatem Hebraici sermonis, quo passim ablativum instrumenti, et, in genere, causae efficientis, exprimunt praefixa praepositione in, ut Luc. 22. Domine num percutimus in gladio? Sensus igitur est: Et qui medium parietem maceriae, vel ut Theophylacti vertit interpres, obturationis, id est, septum medium, quo obstruebatur accessus unius ad alterum, nempe inimicitiam, hoc est inimicitiae causam, solvit ac diruit in carne sua; hoc est, per passionem et crucem, quam in carne sua sustinuit. Solvit, inquam, evacuata et abrogata lege Mosaica constante innumerabilibus praeceptis; idque per evangelica decreta sive praecepta, quae ipse in locum Mosaicae legis substituit. Pro hac expositione illius particulae decretis, facit etiam locus Col. 2., ubi dicitur Christus delevisse, quod adversus nos erat chirographum decretis (sic enim et ibi legitur in Graeco), id est per decreta. Quomodo locum illum antiqui interpretes exponunt. Quapropter Erasmi temeritatem, qua suam conjecturam Scripturae miscuit, ita vertens: legem mandatorum in decretis sitam, merito reprehendunt Adamus Sasboldus in commentario, et Barth. Medina 1. 2. q. 107. art. 2. Ac sane mirum est, doctissimum virum Hentenium tantum Erasmo tribuisse, ut hanc ejus versionem in transferendis Oecumenii commentariis sequendam sibi putaverit; cum satis appareat, eam esse ab Oecumenii mente, sicut et Chrysostomi, quem ille sequitur, alienam. Qr.aeritur, quis Apostolo sit medius i paries maceriae, quo gentil-es a Judaeis i dividebantur; utrumne inimicitia, an lex mandatorum, haec enim duo nominat. Respondeo, secundum datam expositionem ac mentem Apostoli legem mandatorum esse inimicitiam, id est, causam inimicitiae ac dissensionis; ac proinde nihil diversum dici, sive inimicitiam, sive legem mandatorum interpretemur parietem medium. Sunt autem, qui medium parietem duplicent; alterum statuentes ex parte Judaeorum, scilicet legem; alterum ex parte gentium, scilicet idololatriam; tam enim idololatria gentium offendebat Judaeos, quam legis jugum gentiles, ne coirent in unum populum. Verum haec imaginatio gemini parietis, Aquinate teste, praeter intentionen est Apostoli, qui unius tantum meminit, nempe legis mandatorum, quae Judaeos a gentilibus etiam ab idololatria conversis ita devidebat, ut illa stante non posset ex utroque populo unum Ecclesiae corpus constitui.
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15. Ut duos condat in semetipso in unum novum hominem, faciens pacem. Condat, Graece creet; ne quis condat pro abscondat dictum existimet. Idcirco, inquit, medium parietem solvit, id est, legem evacuavit, ut duos homines in semetipso, velut centro quodam, ad quod ex diversis partibus lineae concurrunt, aut velut in capite, a quo diversa membra corporis unitatem accipiunt, conderet seu crearet in unum novum hominem, id est, non ut ex Judaeo gentilem aut ex gentili Judaeum faceret, sed ut ex utroque componeret unum hominem, faciens inter eos pacem, dissidii causa sublata. De duobus populis Apostolus quasi de duobus hominibus loquitur, veluti conflatis in unum novum hominem, volens significare, quod ita fiat unus populus ex duobus, ut Christo, qui est novus Adam, incorporati, sint etiam ipsi novus homo: Christus quidem, in quem nihil ex veteri Adam transiit, perfectissime novus homo; membra autem ejus in tantum novus homo, in quantum ex vetusta, in qua nati sunt, per Christum novum Adam reformantur. Sicut enim vetustas corruptionis et vitii significationem habet; ita novitas integritatis et virtutis. Maluit autem dicere in unum hominem, quam in unum populum, quia etiam iu uno populo sunt hominum inter se dissidia, quod in uno eodemque homine non contingit.
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16. Et reconciliet ambos in uno corpore Deo, per crucem^ interficiens inimicitias in semetipso. Rursus hic inimicitiam singulari numero legunt Graeca, Syra, Hieronymus, et cum his Primasius ac multi Latini codices MSS. Illud autem in semetipso, Graece Iv auTtp in ipso, vel ad Christum, vel ad corpus, vel ad crucem, quae Graece oxaupo^, masculino genere dicitur, referri potest. Ad crucem si referatur, vertendum erit in ipsa vel in ea3 et hoc pacto legit et legi vult Hieronymus. Syri quoque ad crucem referunt. At praeter Hieronymum Latini omnes in semetipso legunt, et de Christo exponunt, ut hic sermo, interficiens inimicitiam in semetipso, conveniat cum illo superiori, solvens inimicitiam in carne sua. Secundum hos igitur sensus est: Et ut ambos homines unum corpus effectos reconciliaret Deo per crucem, id est, restitueret in gratiam et amicitiam Dei patris sui, per meritum suae passionis, videlicet perempta et extincta in semetipso, hoc est, in carne sua sive per carnem suam passioni expositam, etiam illa inimicitia, quae ex peccato erat inter Deum et homines. Nec tamen minus commodus aut multum diversus esset sensus, si in ea, id est, in cruce, legeretur: quin potius eodem recideret. Per crucem enim, hoc est, per passionem suam, quam in cruce pertulit, Christus nos Deo reconcilians, uti^ue per eandem crucem interemit inimicitiam, qua separati eramus a Deo.
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17. Et veniens evangelizavit pacem vobis, qui longe fuistis, et pacem iis, qui prope. Graece pacem vobis, qui longe, et iis, qui prope. Id interpres, supplendo verbum et repetendo pacem, dilucidius reddere voluit; cum nec in Ambrosiano textu verbum exprimatur. Sensus: Et cum venisset in mundum per incarnationem, etiam verbo seu doctrina annuntiavir pacem futuram, vobis, qui longe eratis a Deo, sicut supra dictum est, id est, gentilibus; et iis, qui prope erant, id est, Judaeis Deo propinquis per ejus notitiam et legem ab eo acceptam, qua in Dei cultu continebantur. Pacem intclliga reconciliationem cum Deo, et coEsensum mutuum inter ipsos, scilicet Judaeos et gentiles. Utriusque enim pacis in praecedentibus meminit Apostolus, et utramque Christus evangelizavit etiam iis, qui longe erant, non quidem praedicando gentilibus Evangelium (quantum ad hoc enim circumcisionis tatitnm minister fuit Rom. 1.), sed annuntiando, tam gentiles quam Judaeos per fidem ipsius Deo reconciliaudos, et utrumoue populum in unam Ecclesiam congregandum. Priorem pacem annuntiavit etiam gentilibus eo sensu, quem dedi, quando dixit, multos ab Oriente et Occidente venturos et recubituros cum Abrahem et Isaac et Jacob in regno coelorum Matth. 8., et quando dixit, praedicandum esse Evangelium regni in universo orbeMatth. 24., et quando occasione gentilium, qui videre eum cupiebant, dixit: Ego, si exaltatus fuero a terra, omnia traham ad meipsum. Joan. 12. Denique, quando post resurrectionem praecepit Apostolis docere omnes gentes, Malth. ult., seu praedicare Evangelium omni creaturae, Marci ult., vel praedicare in ipsius nomine poenitentiam et remissionem peccatorum, quae est reconciliatio cum Deo, in omnes gentes, Lucae ultimo. Posteriorem autem pacem annuntiavit utrisque, quando loquens de ovibus ex gentilitato adducendis dixit: Et fiet unum ovile et unus pastor Joan. 10., et quando dixit: Lapidem, quem reprobaverunt aedificantes, hic factus est in caput anguli. Matth. 21. Porro alii interpretantur, Christum iis, qui longe erant, evangelizasse, non in sua persona, sed per Apostolos, quibus ut evangelizarent praecepit. Sic Ambrosianus et glossa interlinealis, eamque secuti S. Thomas, Liranus et Cajetanus. Quem sensum etsi non improbamus, illud tamen, quod prias dixi, quodque ab Anselmo bene explicatum reperio, probabilius apparet. Postremo, non est praetereundum, quod Hierjnymus admonet, Apostolum hic usum esse verbis Jesaiae Prophetae tanquam suis, quibus ille pacem hanc utriusque populi praenuntiavit. Sic enim apud Jesaiam legitur cap. 57. Creavi fructum labiorum pacem ei, qui longe est, et qui prope, dicit Dominus.
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18. Quoniam per ipsum habemus accessum ambo in uno spiritu ad patrem. Exponit modum reconciliationis. Quoniam, inquit, per ipsum tanquam mediatorem et pacificatorein nostrum, ambo, scilicet vos, qui longe fuistis, et nos, qui prope, habemus aditum ad patrem, ut recepti ab eo in gratiam et pro filiis agniti, clamemus oiantes, Abba, pater, et dicere audeamus: Pater noster, qui in coelis, idque in uno Spiritu sancto, qui non solum Spiritus est pacis et concordiae, qua inter nos uniti simus, verum etiam Spiritus adoptionis filiorum, qua Deo ut patri conjungimur. Graeca dictio TcpooayojY^v, quam interpretes accessum vel aditum vertunt, proprie significat adductionem sive intrcductionem; est enim allusio ad mores principum, ad quos aditus non patet, nisi per aliquem illis amicum et familiarem quis introducatur.
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19. Ergo jam non estis hospites et adrenae. Graece: Igitur non amplius estis peregrini et accolae. Hieronymus quoque peregrinos et accolas legit. Ambrosianus ordine commutato, advenas et peregrinos. Neque enim Graecum vocabulum, quod interpres vertit hospites, videtur aliter accipiendum hoc loco, quam superius, ubi dictum est, hospites testamentorum. Concludit Apostolus ex praecedentibus, gentiles, et in his Ephesios, jam non esse, quod olim, scilicet peregrinos sive extraneos a promissis, populo, civitate ac domo Dei, neque accolas, subaudi ex eo, quod sequitur, sanctorum quod alii vertunt incolas, id est, juxta vel inter cives domicilium habentes, sed ita, ut ad eorum numerum non pertineant. Hoc modo peregrinum et incolam conjunxit Cicero lib. 1. Offic., ubi peregrini atque incolae officium esse dicit, nihil praeter suum negotium agere, nihil de alieno inquirere, minimeque essem aliena republica curiosum, et hanc Graecae vocis significationem esse constat. Non ergo videntur Apostoli mentem explicare, qui partem hanc, et advenae, putant additam propter gentiles proselytos, qui per circumcisionem transibant in rempublioam et legem Judaeorum, praesertim cum tales pauci essent, iidemque nullo pariete medio divisi a Jadaeis. Sed accolas fuisse dicit gentiles, quatenus multi ex illis morabantur inter Judaeos, ac vicissim Judaei inter illos, non tamen iisdem legibus aut moribus aut religione utentes.
Sed estis cives sanctorum et domestici Dei. Cives, Graece concives, tametsi bene vertit interpres, et quidem melius, quam Erasmus ac caeteri, qui transtulerunt concives. Siquidem Latine civis ad civem refertur, sicut popularis ad popularem, aut frater ad fratrem, concivis autem non est Latimvm, uti nec confraier. Sanctos plerique intelligunt coelestis patriae civet>, sive angelos, sive patriarchas et prophetas, ut locus hic similis sit illi Heb. 12. Accessistis ad civitatem Dei viventis, Jerusalem coelestem, et multorum millium angelorum frequentiam, et ecclesiam primitivorum, qui conscripti sunt in coelis, et spiritus justorum perfectorum. Quibus verbis utique significatur accessus et conjunctio cum ecclesia, quae triumphat in coelis. Verum contextus magis exigit, ut sancti in genere intelligantur, quicunque per baptismum mundati sunt a peccatis, ut sunt omnes fideles, qui passim in omnibus epistolis Paulinis sancti vocantur. Vult enim doceve Apostolus, gentiles suscepto Christi Evangelio jam non esse peregrinos et alienos a civitate ac domo Dei, in qua Judaei fideles erant, sed esse eorum cives, id est, in eandem cum illis civitatem adscriptos, ac Dei domesticos, id est, una eum illis pertinentes ad domum, cujus paterfamilias est Deus. Hunc sensum tradunt Ambrosianus et Anselmus. Quod vero ex epist. ad Heb. adferebatur, non est huic loco simile, nam illic ad Judaeos est sermo, qui a sensu carnali revocandi erant ad spem bonorum coelestium: hic vero agitur de conjunctione gentilium cum Judaeis in unum collegium fidelium, ut S. Thomas loquitur, id est, in unam ecclesiam, quae est civitas sanctorum, et domus Dei. Qua autem ratione et civitas et domus vocetur ecclesia, docte idem sanctus Doctor explicat.
2:20
20. Superaedificati super fundamentum apostolorum et prophetarum: sive ut cives sanctorum, 6ive ut domestici Dei, nam et civitas et domus super fundamento exstruitur. Non potest hoc loco per fundamentum Apostolorum et Prophetarum ipse Christus intelligi, de quo 1 Cor. 3. Fundamentum aliud nemo potest ponere, praeter id quod positum est, quod est Christus Jesus. Verbis enim sequentibus Christum vocat summum angularem lapidem, tanquam ab hoc fundamento diversum. Igitur fundamentum Apostolorum et Prophetarum intransitive exponendum, id est, fundamentum, quod sunt Apostoli et Prophetae. Unde et Apoc. 21. duodecim Apostoli vocantur duodecim fundamenta coelestis Jerusalem. Nec pugnant hae scripturae cum illa ad Cor., quae negat aliud a Christo fundamentum poni posse, nam, ut eo loco declaravimus, aliter Christus, aliter Apostoli et Prophetae fundamentum vocantur. ille primiarium fundamentum: isti, secundarium. Christus enim fundamentum est ecclesiae, quatenus per ejus fidem in fundamento collocatam solidatur et sustentatur universum ecclesiae aedificium. Quod quidem soli Christo competit, quia non est in alio aliquo salus; nec enim aliud nomen est sub coelo datum hominibus, in quo oporteat salvos fieri Act. 4. Apostoli vero et Prophetae sunt fundamenta, vel, ut hic dicitur fundamentum, ejusdem ecclesiae, per suum ministerium, quatenus doctrinam salutis, quae in solo Christo est, divinitus acceptam hominibus annuntiarunt, Prophetae quidem obscurius, Apostoli autem manifestius ac plenius. A quorum numero minime removemus Apostolum Paulum, ut qui et ipse Christum vidit jam immortalem, 1 Cor. 9. et 15., et per ejus revelationem evangelium suum accepit et didicit Gal. 1. Porro, quamvis Apostoli et Prophetae multi fuerint, non tamen hic dicuntur plurali numero fundamenta, sicutin Apoc, sed fundamentum, quasi unum, ut per hoc consensus et concordia doctrinae Apostolicae cum ea, quam olim tradiderant prophetae, significaretur. Quod enim nonnulli prophetas hic intelligunt novi testamenti, quales fuere de quibus Act. 13. et 1 Cor. 12. et 14., sumpto fortassis argumento ex eo, quod Prophetae post Apostolos nominantur, praesertim cum et in hac ipsa epist. cap. 3. et 4. legamus eodem ordine Apostolos et Prophetas, ubi sane Prophetas novi testamenti, saltem quarto capite, constat intelligi: illud, inquam, prorsus improbabile est; nam super hujusmodi prophetarum doctrina fundatam esse ecclesiam, nusquam legitur, quin potius talium prophetiae juxta regulam Apostolicae et propheticae doctrinae ab ecclesia dijndicandae erant, secundum illud 1 Cor. 14. Prophetae duo aut tres dicant, et caeteri dijudicent. Quod profecto de Apostolis a Christo missis, qui hic cum prophetis junguntur, non diceretur. Quare dubium non est, veteris testamenti prophetas, utpote praenuntios ejusdem Evangelii, quod Apostoli praedicaverunt, hic intelligi, nimirum eos, de quibus Paulus Rom. 1. Vocatus Apostolus, inquit, segregatus in Evangelium Dei, quod ante promiserat per Prophetas suos in scripturis sanctis, et de quibus Petrus 2. epist. 1. Habeiis firmiorem propheticum sermonem, cui bene facitis attendentes. Nominantur autem Apostoli ante Prophetas, non temporis, sed dignitatis habita ratione, eaque multiplici. Primum, quia Apostoli Christum praesentem ac docentem viderunt et audierunt, quod prophetis etsi desiderantibus non fuit concessum, Domino dicente ad suos Apostolds: Multi prophetae et justi cupierunt videre, quae videtis, et non viderunt, et audire, quae auditis, et non audierunt, Matth. 13. Deinde, quia Apostoli dona gratiae majora, quam prophetae acceperunt, adeo ut B. Thomas lect. 3. super cap. 1. hujus epist. reprehendat eorum temeritatem, ut non dicam, inquit, errorem, qui praesumunt, aliquos sanctos post Christum et Virginem Matrem, comparare cum Apostolis, in gratia et gloria. Denique, quod ad rem praesentem maxime facit, quia Apostoli sunt fundamenta ecclesiae propinquiora, ut qui non tantum doctrinam verae fidei, qua fundaretur ecclesia, post se reliquerunt, sicut Prophetae, sed et eua praedicatione multitudines ex Judaeis et gentibus convertendo, fundarunt et aedificarunt ecclesiam secundum statum novi testamenti. Hinc est, quod ab illis, tanquam ejusmodi fundatoribus et plantatoribus, ecclesia in Symbolo fidei vocatur apostolica, non item a Prophetis, prophetica. Verumtamen sicut solus Christus est primarium ecclesiae fundamentum, ita soli Apostoli et Prophetae, ratione doctrinae traditae ac fide tenendae, agnoscuntur ab ecclesia ut fundamentum ejus secundarium. Unde consequens est, fidem Christianam et catholicam, etsi per alios ecclesiae praelatos et doctores explicari possit ac debeat, augeri tamen omnino non posse, sicut nec minui.
Ipso summo angulari lapide Christo Jesu. Graece, existente summo angu- flalL Sstil Cemm. Tom. II lari, scilicet lapide, ipso Jesu Christo: ut pronomen ipso adjungatur ad Jesum Christum. Sensus est: Ita superaedificati estis super Apostolos et Prophetas tanquam fundamentum, ut tamen summus sive extremus angularis lapis, qui illi ipsi fundamento firmitatem praestat, sit ipse Christus, et non alius. Summus angularis lapis, quem Graeci uno vocabulo nuncupant axpGfoJVtatov, quasi dicas summangularem, is dicitur, qui in extremo angulo fundamenti positus duos parietes ex diverso venientes conjungit et continet. Itaque per hujus nominis metaphoram non solum significat Apostolus, Christum esse praecipuum fundamentum totius Ecclesiae, verum etiam, in illo velut in angulari lapide conjungi duos populos, Judaicum et gentilem, eosque sic conjunctos consurgere in r.num aedificium Ecclesiae. Respicit autem haud dubie Apostolus ad illud Psalm. 117. Lapidem, quem reprobaverunt aedificantes, hic factus est in caput anguli. Quem locum et Christus ipse citat Matth. 21. et Petrus 1. epist. 2.
2:21
21. In quo omnis aedificatio constructa crescit in templum sanctum in Domino. Constructa, Graeceparticipium est praesentis temporis, significat autem id, quod congruenter et apte certaque ratione construitur aut coagmentatur. Hieronymus legit compaginata: Ambrosianus compacta, quomodo et noster vertit infra cap. 4. Sensus est: Super quo summangulari lapide totum aedificium congruenter apteque constructum, id est, dum super eo construitur, crescit et in altum consurgit, ita ut fiat templum sanctum in Domino, id est, domus Deo sanctificata, quaeque omnem sanctitatem habeat ex Christi Domini merito. Vel, crescit in Domino, quia omnis ejus profectus est ex Christo. Minus recte verterunt Erasmus et Hentenius: In quo quaecunque structura coagmentatur, ea crescit in templum sanctum in Domino. Non tantum enim dicere vult Apostolus, omnem structuram, quaecunqne superstruitur Christo lapidi angulari, crescere in templum sanctum, sed, totam Ecclesiae structuram super illo lapide rite construi et componi: atque ita totam et universam crescere in templum sanctum. Nam omne, pro toto, perfecto, universo, frequens est in sacris literis. Atque hoc modo non solum a nostro interprete, verum etiam ab Erasmo et aliis exponitur infra cap. 4., ubi haec sententia diversis verbis et sub alia metaphora reperitur. Ex quo, inquit, totum corpus compactum etc., pro eo, quod Graece est, omne corpus. Construitur autem hoc aedificium fide, spe et charitate, atque earundem virtutum profectu crescit, quemadmodum loco memorato aperte significatur, nominatim de charitate. At dices, si totum aedificium Ecclesiae construitur et crescit charitate: mali igitur, qui charitatem non habent, ad aedificium Ecclesiae non pertinent. Respondeo, totum non complecti omnes omnino, qui quocumque modo sint partes Ecclesiae, sed eos tantum, qui plene participant rationem partium hujusmodi, utpote professioni suae ac nomini respondentes: tales autem soli sunt boni. Cum enim omnes, qui in Ecclesia sunt, vitam Christianam profiteantur, aut professi sint: soli boni eam praestant. Responsionem hanc confirmat et exigit locus jam citatus cap. 4. hujus epist.
2:22
22. In quo et vos coaedificamini in habitaculum Dei in Spiritu sancto. Hoc est, super quo lapide angulari, tamquam diversos parietes conjungente, etiam vos Ephesii, qui gentiles estis, una cum fidelibus, qui ex Judaeis sunt, aedificamini, ipsaque aedificatione efficimini habitaculum Dei, id est, templum, in quo Deus habitet, idque per operationem Spiritus sancti. Graece quidem tantum legitur in spiritu: consentientibus Latinis Hieronymo, Ambrosiano et Primasio, sed per spiritum non alius, quam Spiritus sanctus est intelligendus, sicut et paulo inferius, ubi dicit, mysterium Christi revelatum esse Apostolis ejus et Prophetis in spiritu. Illud observandum est, hanc toto cap., imo passim tota epistola inculcationem Christi, dum toties repetit: Ipso Christo, in Christo, in quo, esse contra Simonis magi scholam, de qua in argumento epistolae dictum est.
2:1
donum est, 9. non ex operibus, ut ne quis | bpv, «oU tò Bàoov, 9. oix èë £gyow, iva glorietur; 10. ipsius enim sumus factura, | uh xi xavyýontar 10. avtoð ydo écus creati in Christo Iesu in operibus bonis, | roínua ztishéyteç èv Xototà [noot iri čoyor quae praeparavit Deus, ut in illis ambu- | àyalors ol; roonzoiuxoss 0 Oeds iva èv ad lemus. tote TEPITATÍSWPEV. Bene monet Hier. hac in parte ante omnia ordinem lectionis esse reddendum, scil. illud primum eż vos variis interpositis demum in v. 5 suum accipere complementum convévificavit in Christo et conresuscitavit, etc.:; et eodem modo advertit Thph. ad v. 5 covsGoonotnscv esse apodosin sententiae ab initio inceptae, cetera esse interiecta. Atque paucissimis exceptis hodie xat $v.3; eadem ratione supplent et iungunt. Neque enim ullo pacto fieri potest, ut xæ} pic referatur vel ad żysípxç 1,20 vel ad 7Xnpouuivoo 4,23. Praeterea omnis alia coniunctio ipsa serie cogilalionum excluditur. Huius autem tanti hyperbati causam advertit Est. non tam in scribendi imperitiam, quam in vehementiam spiritus apostolici referendam esse, quo compulsus sit multa interponere, priusquam ad exprimendum verbum, a quo pendebat initium periodi, perveniret. Et cum in iis sermonem ab iis quibus scribebat transtulisset et extendisset ad fideles alios quoque (v. 3.4 nos) non prius illud vos in v. 5 reassumit, sed pergit in ratione loquendi interea usurpata. Et in hae quidem parte continuatur argumentum ab 1,18 et sq. traclatum. Ibi enim petit apostolus a Deo, ut bene intelligant et maxime aestiment quae sit spes vocationis et quae divitiae gloriae hereditatis Dei. Ut autem et magnificentiam et certitudinem huius spei et harum promissionum sibi intime persuaderent, apostolus eis perpendendum proposuit, quid Deus pro supereminente magnitudine potentiae suae iam praestitisset pro gloria et exaltatione Christi, cuius gloria et exaltatio, utpote capitis ecclesiae, simul argumentum est ac pignus pro gloria fidelium, ergo pro magnitudine, excellentia, certitudine spei illis divinitus exhibitae. In conditione igitur et exaltatione Christi illis ostenditur primum argumentum et firmissimum fundamentum spei; ad hoc accedit alterum, quod, quia proxime adiacet et illos ipsos quam maxime respicit et ipsorum experienlia conlinetur, eo magis aptum et idoneum est ad spem beatam et firmam gignendam. Hoc autem in eo consistit, quod Deus iam pro ipsis fecerit. Quale autem sit hoc opus Dei in ipsis iam apparens, quo melius perspiciatur, apostolus pristinum describit statum miserrimum, ex quo erepti sunt, eique opponit fastigium quoddam honoris ac dignitatis, ad quod iam elevati sunt et quidem simili quadam ostensione potentiae Dei, quia, utpote mortui, gratia Dei in Christo ad vitam et ad parlem donorum coelestium translati sunt. Unde in illis iam relucet forma quaedam ac similitudo Christi. Exposuit apostolus 4,20-23 quid Deus pro Christo fecisset, quod primum est argumentum pro spe hoc loco expositum ; transit ad alterum, quid pro ipsis praestiterit; quare simplici particula eż vos sermonem continuat, cum essetis mortui üvcac vsxpoús, cum allusione ad 1,20 éyeígas , gòròy èx wexpóv ad opus Dei in Christo, nam cogitatione supplendum est : et vos mortuos convivificavit. Quali autem morte prostrati iacuerint, declaratur delictis et peccatis vestris; cf. Col. 2,13, mortui coram Deo, privati illa vita iustitiae quam Deus animis inesse vult, et quae est inchoatio quaedam vitae beatae coelestis (cf. Rom. 6,2-11). Multitudo et varietas peccatorum duabus illis expressionibus designatur, zzpxz70 pata, proprie lapsus, prolapsiones. Eius mortis et peccatorum. gravitatem et causas tangit apostolus in sequentibus,
2:2
v. 2 in quibus aliquando ambulastis, vilam degistis, conversati estis; iterationem ac consuetudinem vario modo peccandi indicat, Dein causas et fontes ostendit, ex quibus larga illa peccatorum copia exorta sit secundum saeculum mundi huius, xarà vbv dióvx secundum tempus mundi huius, mundus autem consideratur tamquam adversarius et inimicus Dei; unde tempus mundi est periodus illa qua indoles mundana, Deo inimica, ergo consuetudo peccandi dominatur. Quare sensum bene declarat Kuth. ò «iov Aéqeva * tot, vita mundi, vita mundana 9x, nihil habens spirituale designatur, et Thph.: oi tà toù xócwov QpovoUvces, temporalia solum appelentes. Censet Chrys. apostolum mansuetudinem exhibere, ne accusatione nimis gravarentur; nam ipsa tempora moresque hominum illam peccandi consuetudinem secum ferebant. Et insuper «ne eos valde gravaret, dedit eis adiutorem, ne existimaretur totum eis esse imputandum, et quidem adiutorem fortem, diabolum » (Chrys.) seeundum principem potestatis aeris huius, praeter mundum et homines peccatores in mundo etiam princeps huius mundi (Ioan. 14,30) vel deus huius saeculi (2 Cor. 4,4) copiam illam et consuetudinem peccatorum promovit; est alia causa externa peccatorum infesta hominibus mundi. Disputatur de notione zz &£ovsízc hoc loco; ô &pyov tis &££oucía; toù Goog potest significare : princeps, cui competit potestas aeris, cuius quasi dominium et imperium est in aere, qui habet potestatem in hoc aere, ita ut regio in qua versatur et unde suam exercet potestatem sit aer (Hier. Thom. Ew.). Sed quamvis secundum 6,12 aer dici possit regio ubi versantur daemones, tamen aerem esse regnum diaboli seu regionem eius potestatis ac dominii nequit assumi. Manet altera notio é£oucía, quae 1,21 et 6,12 nobis suggeritur, nomen esse collectivum et dicere uti 4,21 ordinem angelorum, ita hic ordinem quendam vel classem daemonum (ita Lap. Est. Nat. Bels. Henle, Hpt.). Unde 6 Xoyov vis &eouctzc exhibebit notionem, sicut Beelzebub, princeps daemoniorum. Quod vulg. habet aeris huius, tortou profertur a paucis (FG, Tert. Ambr.); aeris, ea yoce declaratur regio, ubi versantur daemones, uli Thph. dicit, « principem potestatis aeris appellat, non veluti in aerem dominetur, absit! sed quod in eo demoretur ». Nam ut homines perducere possint ad peccata, tam quam spiritus prope homines in aere versari facile cogitantur. Attamen explicatio proposita subiacet dubio. Nam non est omnino certum ifoucíay posse accipi nomen collectivum. Nam ubi ita adhibetur, ei apponitur zsa, vel legitur in plurali (Eph. 4,21. Col. 2,10. 13). Quare ab aliis negatur ifoucíav notione illa collectiva accipi posse (cf. Abb. Ew.). Neque valet analogia, Ul: coppxyía i. e. cópuayorn OSovActa 1. e. GoUAot, xosodsia i. e. noícde, nam éi£ousía aliter se habet, quia é£ovcía: seu zsa é£o»six totum illum ordinem designat. Inde alii retinent notionem potestatis et explicant locutionem : principem potestatis cuius sedes sit in aere. Fortasse phrasis etiam concipi potest : principem potentem aeris, eodem sensu. Alii tentarunt explicare ex Col. 1,13 principem potestatis tenebrarum; at &ígog certe non idem est ac oxóxov;; neque si aer distinguitur ab aethere, continuo sequitur aerem poni pro tenebris. Singularis est opinio Ephr.: princeps est super aera ad accipiendam ab eo similitudinem formae visibilis (ad h. 1.). Notat Thom. aliam litteram (lectionem variantem) habere : spiritum qui nunc operatur ; secundum quam leclionem constructio est obvia : secundum principem potestatis, secundum spiritum, et appositione explicatur iste princeps.Verum legitur toù. xveóuxcoc, spiritus, qui genitivus perse dependere potesl ab Ze;ovzx, ita ut spiritus qui nunc operatur ab altiore quodam principe missus eique inserviens exhibeatur. Sed ille ad i£ovsízc, appositionis et explicationis loco; nomen collectivum dé turba daemonum seu 4 i&£ovcíx toù &épo; declaratur esse tò mveüpa sensu generico. Et quantam stragem potestas daemoniaca efficiat, habetur «o9 v3» i£vseyoUvvoc, magna exhibetur efficacia et funestus cernitur effectus eliam nunc apud eos qui eius dominationi subsunt £y toig vioig ^7 à&meUsíac, Scil. filii inobedientiae, noto hebraismo, ii sunt qui indole moribusque contumaces sibi persuaderi non patiuntur et obedientiam detrectant, Deo fidem et obedientiam denegant. Peccali autem natura est inobedientia, est rebellio ; daemon autem qui inobedientia et rebellione factus est daemon, pro sua natura et indole quam efficacissime operatur in animos cognatos. Quare qui in delictis et peccatis ambulant, quam maxime agunt secundum daemonem. Quam efficaciter iste spiritus agat et quam potens auxilium reperiat in illis ipsis quos oppugnat, describitur in v. 3; indicatur simul accedere ad impugnationem externam mundi (hominum perversorum) et diaboli causam aliam ipsi homini internam, naturam scil. ipsam hominis corruptam. Ne autem illos solos quibus epistola legitur arguere tamquam peccatores videatur (Vict. Euth.) modum loquendi generalem de omnibus fidelibus adhibet
2:3
v. 3 in quibus et nos omnes, nota quam frequenter apostolus ab allocutione (vos) transeat ad locutionem generalem (nos), vide 4,12.13.14.18.19 et 2,3.5.7.8.10; quare hic quoque neuliquam cerni potest transitus ab ethnico-christianis ad iudaeo-christianos. Quod dicitur in quibus iv oic explicatur ab aliis: in quibus delicus (Hier. Thom. Est. Nat.), ab aliis: inter quos (ita Chrys., ut videtur, Just. Lap. Bels. Henle, Hpt. Ew.), quod proxime adiacet et ipso sensu commendatur : nos omnes aliquando in numero filiorum inobedientiae conversati sumus, nos omnes eramus peccatores. Fontem autem omnibus internum peccatorum assignat ; nam vivebamus, agebamus in desideriis carnis nostrae, quae desideria ad mala opera erant efficacia facientes xà Üskiuara tis c«oxoc, malos impulsus et incitamenta carnis nostrae seculi ea operibus expressimus et complevimus ; itemque cà Üs)üuava tõv davov cogitationum, mentium, i.e. pro sua quisque mente, indole, animi dispositione et affectu impellitur ad peccata, ad superbiam, invidiam, iram, vindictam etc. In homine ipso duo fontes desideriorum et appelituum designantur: unus ex parte naturae humanae inferiore, ex carne ; alter ex parte superiore, ex mente. In quam miseram conditionem pervenerint, depingitur sententia absolute adiecta : et eramus natura filii irae, quotquot nunc sumus fideles, antea eramus sicut et ceteri, repetitur quoad sensum et cum emphasi quod antea dictum est : in quibus et nos omnes etc. Verum status ille ante fidem susceptam describitur ratione habita Dei, et natura et malitia peccati depingitur ex Dei de eo iudicio et ex supplicio peccatori debito, peda céxvz qócet ópy zc eramus obnoxii secundum naturam, per naturam, irae divinae. Ratione habita Dei peccatum provocat indignationem, iram Dei; Deus maxima aversione et indignatione prosequitur peccatum, quae ira Dei in poenis et suppliciis de peccatis manifestatur. Et in tali conditione eramus oósci, ipsa nostra natura nos fecit obnoxios irae, illa scil. natura corrupta, cuius desideria et appetitus et impulsus in parte inferiore ac superiore modo descripta sunt. Vim vocisnon attigerunt qui teste Mier. verterunt prorsus, sive omnino, neque Thph. Oec. explicantes : &i«066, yyncíws vere, germane. Nota oppositionem ad id quod nunc ex gralia facti sunt. muniter ibi nveniunt hanc doclrinam expressam. Ita S. Augustinus (varios eius locosrecenset Est.) Thom. « peccatum vero originis insinuat » et Est. « nec vero alius intellectus magis congruit » similiter Nat. « peccatores, inquam, nati eramus, sicut et. gentiles », et Just. « recte dixit Chrysostomus, quemadmodum ex homine natus, natura ipsa homo est, ita nos una cum natura peccati labem contrahimus » (tam aperte quidem s. Doctor non loquitur : sicut qui est filius hominis, natura homo est, ita nos quoque irae filii eramus, sicut et ceteri, hoc est, nemo liber erat, sed omnes fecimus &£x ópyzc quae iram merentur) et Lap. plenum apostoli sensum esse ait, ut non solum corruptio naturae in Adamo spectetur, sed etiam et multo magis quod ex ea secutum est; de peccato originali etiam explicant Zenle, Belser, et aliqui recentiores acatholici. Negant autem A?bott, Hpt. Ew. Quaestio dependet a ratione qua sententia : et eramus natura filii irae, concipitur in hoc contextu; scil. estne consecutio seu sequela ex antecedentibus seu continuatio descriptionis illius &veszoXeyev conversati sumus, facientes... et eramus (ergo) natura iudicio obnoxii, seu filii irae; an haec sententia capi debet eo sensu, ut ex re quadam anlecedenter facta inferatür causa, cur tam male. conversati simus, sic ut explicari debeat ita : nam eramus natura iudicio obnoxii ? Si ipsa constructio sententiae spectatur, ad &vsezoígruev additur descriptionis causa zotoivzsc, sensu lemporis praeteriti : cum faceremus; si nune assumitur apostolum relicta construcüione participali xo 2vcsc téxva úcet ópync Verbis xoi 7jus0« inferre conclusionem, seu effectum ex ġveotptonuey moto)ytsce, lum utique per se non statim inferri potest peccatum originale, et oúse: exhibet (quod Caz. hoc loco vult) pronitatem naturalem, fomitem, i. e. refertur ad desideria carnis nostrae, quae ex ipsa natura oriantur. Ex altera parte autem potest dici, si solum effectus describeretur, potius erat exspectandum : et facti sumus natura (indole naturae) iudicio, irae obnoxii. Potest itaque urgeri : e£ eramus, iam eramus, ila conversati sumus facientes, quia eramus ipsa natura iudicio obnoxii; dein necessario oóse: notionem culpae seu peccati includit, quia obnoxium esse irae non ad solum fomitem, sed ad culpam pertinet. Apostolus conditionem ante susceptam fidem describens proposuit ultimo loco fastigium miseriae ex peccatis exortae, iram (Dei). Quid ergo exspectare debuerunt ? nihil, nisi supplicia et condemnationem. Quare efficaci oppositione eo magis effertur et elucet Dei misericordia, caritas, gratia et status ille vitae et exallationis in quem translati sunt (v. 4-140). Dum apostolus depingebat luctuosam illam conditionem eiusque causas externas el internas pluribus recenseret, oblitus est initium sententiae xal $j3c övraç vexgosc, unde pergit solum respiciens ultimam sententiam x«t ?jus0x et ei opponens quid ex sua parle Deus fecerit
2:4
v. 4 Deus autem ó òè Geác, quare 3: hoc loco positum bene intelligitur, neque opus est ullo pacto subtili illa sententiarum traiectione, qua Orig. (cat. 134) et Mier. particulam removere conati sunt. De illa conditione ante fidem quam maxime valuit illud : vidit Dominus et misertus est super magnitudinem mali {4 Par. 21,43); Deus autem nXoóctoc iv £v. £Met, cum esset dives, « ut clarius significetur causa beneficii praestiti, non ex parte nostra sed ex parte Dei »(Est.), et Chrys : non dicit simpliciter 8Ae(uov, Sed zàoúctos, sicut et alibi : in multitudine misericordiae tuae (Ps. 68,14.17) et miserere mei secundum magnam misericordiam tuam (Ps.80,1). Bene primoloco mentio fit abundantiae misericordiae Dei, qua Deus non iram (quam merueramus), sed miserationem summam tristi illi statui obtulit et exhibuit. Et notat TAdM. : « resumpsit ilerum illud in . illa narratione donationis Dei, ultra non dicens vos, sed nos, ut ostendat quoniam et malitiam aestimat esse communem, et gratiam similiter ». In coniungendis membris varietas quaedam deprehenditur, 9i «mv voyy &YXx"v etc. nectitur iam apud Thom. cum antecedente membro ; « quando amor causat bonitatem in dilecto, tuné est amor procedens ex misericordia; amor autem quo Deus amat nos, causatinnobis bonitatem et ideo misericordia ponitur hic quasi radix amoris » ; eandem coniunctionem cum antecedente servant aliqui recentiores (cf. Mpt.); alii tamen referunt ad subsequentia (Bels. Henle, Ew.). Etiam illud in v. 5 xa övtaæs fuc vexpoùs ży t. m. trahitur ad sententiam relativam ; ita Nat. « Deus, cuius misericordiae etbonitatis inexhaustus est thesaurus, propter immensam caritatem suam qua nos dilexit, etiam cum essemus mortui morte peccati, nos participes fecit vitae Christi »; eodem modo explicat et iungit Fw. (mit der er uns liebte auch als wir...). Sed plerique eam partem melius trahunt ad subsequentia. Nam xo övtas tjus v. . 5 ita dicitur, ut facile appareat verba xai övtaç óudc in v.4 quasi iterum assumi, ergo debent iungi cum verbo primario covstooxoíqosv, suadetur oppositione : imo mortuos peccatis convivificavit, in qua locutione aperta continetur allusio ad 1,20 suscitans illum a mortuis, quae allusio el similitudo cum iis quae Deus Christo fecit nobisque in Christo et cum Christo praestat, etiam magis proponitur in v.6 : conresuscitavit et consedere fecit. Praeterea sententia relativa completur plane 3j qY*meoey huäs, cur iterum repeleretur hps xa óvcac uds vexpoúc? Si ad sententiam relativam haec pars adiuncta esset, omnino suffecit xoà ?2vzze vexpobe, accedit quod ad eonvivificavit et obiectum *uXc et conditio illa vexpodc, prorsus aple congruit; explica participium : imo quamvis essemus mortui nos ad vitam revocavit. | Uti supra ad spem nostram confirmandam nobis operatio ' potentiae virtutis Dei est proposita, ità hoc loco effertur ubertas misericordiae eius ei multitudo caritatis et gratia, secundum quam ex morte spirituali educti ad intimum cum Christo consortium elevati sumus, ex quo: consortio pariter nobis praebetur argumentum et pignus ad divitias gloriae hereditatis suo tempore adipiscendas (1,18). Quare quae Deus iam in nobis effecit, solamen sunt, incitamentum et fundamentum spei sublimioris. Quamvis enim essemus mortui delictis, nos non solum ab hac morte liberavit, sed etiam cvvetworolnssy Xpwco fecil nos conviventes Christo, nova vita qua vitae Christi participes sumus nos donavit (cf. Rom.6,4;8,11) scil. perregenerationem spiritualem in baptismo acceptam. Haec autem liberatio a morte et haec novitas vitae, qua complantati sumus cum Christo, est salus nostra gratia Dei nobis collata — quare additur yéti èste cecwsuévot, beneficium declaratur in praesenti iam exhibitum — sententia est parenthetica, quam ex affectuapostolusin medium protulit admiratus Dei donum (TAph.) et eos ad quos dirigit epistolam (estis salvati) ad huius gratiae agnitionem et aestimationem provocans. Haec nova vita quam eum Christo accepimus alia quoque dona et pignora nobis attulit v.6 et conresuscitavit et consedere fecit in coelestibus in Christo Iesu, quae facta sunt Christo ad nos pertinent; in Christo, utpote intime cum eo iuncti tamquam membra capiti adnexa, in Christo resuscitato et in gloria collocato etiam nos iam sumus resuscitali et in coelo adscripti. Apte explicat TAd M. : illis quae dixit de Christo nos ait communicasse per illam quae apud eum est coniunctionem (Swete ]. c. p. t45); et vide Col. 2,412.13; 3,1; Rom. 8,10; et Dam. iam sumus in coelo, quatenus sumus in Christo. Cum emphasi ponitur £v Xprotă "Inso?, quia tota vis sententiae et tota probatio asserlionum harum duarum colligitur ex eo, quod in Iesu nos fecit Deus conresuscitari et consedere. In consilio enim divino et in consideralione, qua Christus in habitudine sua ad fideles respicitur (vi operis redemptionis et vi vitae a Christo communicatae unionisque cum iustis) Christus glorificatus nequit concipi nisi cum redemptis glorificatis. Quare in eo haec, uti irrevocabiliter decreta, ita iam facta esse perhibentur. Modus autem loquendi idem est quem etiam in verbis Christi haud semel deprehendimus : qui credit in Filium, habet vitam aeternam; qui credit.ei qui misit me, habet vitam aeternam; qui manducat meam carnem habet vitam aeternam, vivet in aeternum; ego do eis vitam aeternam etc. (Joan. 3,6; 5,24; 6,40.55;10,28). Aeque breviter ac clare ait Chrys : «(cz yàp xegakms xaÜ0stou.évins xal vb có coyxéðnta, sedente enim capite corpus quoque sedet (item Thph., alii). Addunt alii: nos una cum Christo resuscitavit ad vitam immortalem data spe et pignore futurae resurrectionis; nos cum Christo sedere fecit in coelo data nobis arrha coelestis hereditatis (Zust. Est. Nat.). Quibusdam placet, apostolum loquitempore praeterito more prophetarum utpote de re certissima (Lap. Bels.). Ad quid tota haec oratio tendat, manifestum est : demonstratur enim ex omnibus istis quae Deus iam pro nobis fecit nobisque proposuit : quae sit spes vocationis Dei et quae divitiae gloriae hereditatis eius (1,18); id quod hoc loco etiam in memoriam revocat Chrys.: « vidisti supereminentem magnitudinem potentiae eius in nos credentes? vidisti. gloriam hereditatis eius? » Unde simul apparela contextu et mente apostoli alienam esse explicationem illam spiritualem, nos suscitatos esse a morle peccati et revocatos ad vitam iustitiae. Haec enim vita nova spiritualis iam clare exprimitur in v. convivificavit — gratia salvati — neque dici potest utramque explicationem esse coniungendam. Refertur quidem resuscitatio Chrisli ad vitam spiritualem Rom. 6,4 : ut quomodo Christus surrexit a mortuis, ita et nos in novitate vilae ambulemus; at eo loco ponitur significatio et effectus baptismi; hoc autem nostro loco magis effertur, nos revera iam esse cives regionis coelestis (Phil. 3,20 graece) el nos iam accessisse ad lerusalem coelestem et multorum millium angelorum frequentiam et ecclesiam primitivorum, qui conscripti sunt in coelis (Hebr. 12,22; cf. Gal. 4,26); haec enim est argumentatio et hic status quaestionis nostro in loco et contextu. Nec obstat Col. 2,12; 3,1; nam ibi proxime sermo est de effectu baptismi; quod autem dicitur Col 2,13 idem est quod enuntiatur in nostra epistola 2,5. Porro subditur finis seu scopus totius huius operationis virtutis Dei erga nos
2:7
v. 7 ut ostenderet in saeculis supervenientibus abundantes divitias gratiae suae «b bmspBd)Xov mAoUvoc (cf. 1, 18.19), uti 1,6.12.14 ter enuntiatus est finis salutiferae operationis Dei in laudem gloriae gratiae eius, ita hoc loco spectatur pariter manifestatio et exhibitio gloriae gratiae et quidem ita ut per aeterna saecula omnibus in gloria constitutis Deus ostendat abundantes divitias gloriae quas fidelibus contulit; hac autem ostensione continetur laus et gloria Dei, et cum Deus hunc finem velle et in effectum deducturus esse dicalur, simul novum quoque proponitur argumentum pro sententia 1, 18 enuntiata, scil. pro magnitudine et certitudine spei. Haec ostensio erit ¿v «oic «iðcıv «oig &xspyopévorc, in alia vita, uli Thom. dicit, in saeculis vitae futurae. De notione èzépyeo0a: vide Is. 41,22 «à imspyópueva quae ventura sunt, nuntiate nobis; 42,93; 45,11. Luc. 21,26. Ostendentur abundantes divitiae gratiae, « thesaurus nunc occultus quia nondum apparuit, sed ostenditur in saeculis supervenientibus, quia in patria omnia nobis erunt aperta, quae ad manifestam sanctorum gloriam pertinent » ( Thom.). Additur ad ydp:tos «ùro determinatio duplex in bonitate erga nos scil. quo animo, quo affectu erga nos Deus gratiam dederit, £v yensczóraz in benignitate; dein in Christo, quatenus omnis gratia a Deo collata habet fontem, causam in Christo et ob eius meritum datur. Haec duo pertinent ad gratiam plene cognoscendam et aestimandam et in illa ostensione pariter manifestabuntur. Addi autem eiusmodi determinationes, uti hic ad «7 y&orcoc, sine repetitione articuli salis frequenter usuvenit (cf. Blass § 47,8). Addi porro ad graliam eiusmodi determinationem inde patet, quia ostensio non fit in bonitate neque in Christo, sed ostensio est divitiarum. Quo magna illa quae Deus in nobis operetur melius aestimentur, iterato monet apostolus haec omnia ad unum favorem Dei, ad gratiam, ad beneficium prorsus gratuitum esse referenda neque quidquam nobis ipsis posse attribui. Explicatur itaque opus Dei
2:8
v. 8 gratia enim «7, 74ov« (cf. v. T). estis salvati (cf. v. 5) per fidem, est enim fides initium, fundamentum et radix omnis salulis seu iustificalionis, e£ hoe non ex vobis, « ne fides quidem, inquit, est ex nobis; nam si non venisset, si non vocasset, quomodo potuissemus credere? ne beneficiorum magnitudo te extollat, vide quomodo te coercet et comprimit » (CArys.). Unde a fortiori esse salvatum per fidem, non est a nobis, et ad totam sententiam refertur illud xxi toŭto. Cum epitasi additur «o3 tò õöpov, dictio ipsa sua brevitate fortiot est graeca quam latinum Dei enim donum est; cf. Rom. 4,16 : ideo ex fide, ut secundum gratiam ; nam v. 9 non ec operibus, ita explicatur magis illud : non ex vobis, non vestris meritis seu laboribus, ut ne quis glorietur « in seipso, sedtota gloria in Deum referatur » ( Thom.); si autem ex gratia, iam non ex operibus; alioquin gratia iam non est gratia (Rom. 11,6). Illud non ez operibus declaratur et suppletur addita sententia wý tıs xx»y701:2:; $1 enim Abraham ex operibus iustificatus est, habet gloriam (xzóy.x, materiam gloriandi, Rom. 4,2) ; cf. 4 Cor. 4,29. Et pergitur in explicatione verborum : et hoc non ex vobis. Ad unum enim Deum eiusque gratiam cuncta esse referenda, ulterius declaratur v. 40 ipsius enim factura sumus motna, eius opus, eius creatura sumus nos fideles, in quantum sumus fideles; tota haec nova vita uni Deo effectori est adscribenda; et qualis sit haec creatura et ad quas operationes sit condita, docemur in sequentibus : creati in Christo Iesu, haec creatio in ordine gratiae tota fundatur et innititur in Christo, in eius meritis, et ipsa haec nova creatura unitur Christo et tolam suam vitam habet in Christo et vires suas haurit ex Christo. Ad quid autem proxime haec nova creatura a Deo in Christo sit effecta, exponitur énl Éoyore daooic 1. e. particula ¿m assignatur finis : ad bona opera (uti Lap. bene graecum vertit). Illi non ez operibus opponitur innova hac creatura et ex vita illa accepta v. 6 munus et officium operum bonorum, « necum audieris, non ex operibus sed fide totum gestum.esse, otiosus maneas » (Chrys.). Ad quae opera pariter auxilio divino indigemus quae praeparavit Deus, ois (per atiractionem ad £eyou) mpontoíwacev antea. praeparavit scil. quatenus iam antea voluit et destinavit, ut fierent, et quatenus antea subsidia providit, ut recte fierent, scil. praeparat et dat nobis gratiam excitantem, pios instinctus et impulsus, illuminationes, auxilia potentia ad bene operandum, ut in illis ambulemus, ut in illis faciendis vitae nosirae rationem et tempus impendamus, ut in illis assidue versemur; est scil. plane alia vivendi ratio et conversatio abilla prioris vitae secundum saeculum mundi huius (v. 2,3). Non sufficit inchoare; ambulare innuit « nos esse debere assiduos et continuos, non per duos vel tres annos, sed per omnem vitae nostrae viam et cursum » (Lap.); vel, ut Thom. concipit : sic nobis ea praeparavit, ut ea nos ipsi nobis per liberum arbitrium impleremus; et ex toto contextu infert Ca?.: « excluduntur merita operum nostrorum antecedenter respectu fidei, et asseruntur consequentia ad fidem. » Et haec ipsa opera bona Deum eiusque gratiam habent auctorem, uti Deus iam per prophetam dixit : faciam ut in praeceptis meis ambuletis et iudicia mea custodiatis et operemini (Ez. 36,27 ;
2:11
2,41. Propter quod memores estote, quod 2,11. Ai pyruoveóeze, ÖTt rotè pels ck Hoc tandem loco sermo aperte et directe transfertur ad ethnico-christianos, quos apostolus alloquitur et quorum conditionem pristinam a foedere et regno Dei alienam pluribus describit, quo redemptio Christi et beneficia collata clarius apprehendantur. Unde simul sufficienter indicari videtur, in antecedentibus nusquam ethnico-christianos interpellatos. esse tamquam distinctos a Iudaeo-christianis, verum apostolum per vos sermonem direxisse ad omnes eos quibus epistolam destinavit, et adhibendo nos generatim eum extendisse ad fideles omnes vel usum esse modo loquendi tali ut sese et illos qui cum ipso erant simul includeret. In hac parte exponitur, quomodo per Christi redemptionem (sanguinem, crucem) ethnico-christiani omni prorsus discrimine inter gentes et ludaeos natione sublato ad plenam dignitatem civium regni Dei assumpli sint. Etiam hac expositione continuatur argumentum a 1,18 inceptum. Eadem excellentia et magnitudo spei valet etiam pro ethnicochristianis, quia eodem ordine sunt cum reliquis fidelibus; sicut (2,1-40) in antecedentibus sublimitas et certitudo spei nobis cognoscenda proponitur ex iis quae Deus generatim pro fidelibus iam praestiterit, ita eodem modo in hac parte eadem magnificentia et certitudo spei nobis colligenda exhibetur ex illis quae speciali ratione pro gentibus qua gentibus efficienda erant. De constructione sententiarum adverte, illud ór: quod v. 11, repeti óxc quia in v. 12, et ita in v. 12 enuntiari quid considerandum sit seu cuius conditionis. memores esse debeant; illud zotè aliquando v. 44, reassumi
2:12
v. 12 illo in tempore et ei opponi in
2:13
v. 13 vov 8€ nunc autem, quae sententia, quamvis quoad sensum necessario pertineat ad pvnuoveeve ôte memores estote et hanc sententiam compleat, tamen absolute ponitur. Disceptatur, ad quid referatur ?:6 propter quod; ex Marcione et Victorino sequi videtur nullam particulam olim lectam esse, id quod placet Ew. ob difficullatem aptum inveniendi nexum. Parliculam Chrys. adiungit ad sententiam immediate antecedentem, scil. nos esse creatos. ad bona opera. Melius connectunt alii cum doctrina enuntiata de salute ex mera gratia Dei concessa et quidem ita ut ad totam partem (v. 1-10) respiciatur (Zpt.) vel ad ultimas sententias (Est. Henle), aut cum Car. mus, quid apostolus ex 1,18 continuo ob oculos habeat et ex Dei opere el ex beneficiis collatis prosecutus in tuto collocatum velit, nexus proxime adiacens mihi esse videlur, ut. fiat transitus ab eo quod modo dictum est : ipsius enim sumus factura v. 10. Vult itaque apostolus ut memores sint i. e. non solum ut recordentur, sed multo magis ut bene considerent quantum pro ipsis Deus iam praestiterit. Omnes quidem sunt zofnua Dei, creati in Christo; id autem conditione gentium specialiter perpensa potiore quodam iure iis in mentem revocari debet : ideo memores estote, diligenter expendite ; iste autem imperativus non solum pertinet ad v. 11.12, ubi clare ex grammalica adscribitur, verum logice seu ex intentione apostoli totam hanc epistolae parlem tangit et in ea quasi dominatur. Illos iubet considerare, quod aliquando vos, completur sententia in v. 42 : eratis sine Christo ec. ; apponitur ad vos «X £0v« &v cxoxí gentes in carne, natione sunt et manent gentes, secundum carnalem generationem sunt non-israelitae, ratione carnis habita, in carne sunt «à £0vr el pertinent ad eos qui a Iudaeis per irrisionem vocantur ġxpoßvotía, dum ipsi Iudaei se ipsos vocant zeerrov, in qua superbe vident suam electionem a Deo et signum foederis quod Deus iniit cum eorum patribus (Gen. 17,10 sq.). Deusu horum nominum vide Rom. 2,26 (si praeputium iustitias legis custodit) 3,30 (Deus iustificat circumcisionem ex fide, praeputium per fidem) 15,8; Gal. 2,7 (creditum est mihi evangelium praeputii, sicul et Petro circumcisionis). Verum circumcisionem per se nihil spirituale conferre, sed versari solum in re corporali externa declarat apostolus addens £v e«ox! — en gentes in carne et Iudaei in carne — unde simul apparet utroque loco in carne simili modo de re corporali concipi debere; neque gentes in carne explicari posse : vivere gentes carnaliter, vitiose. Etiam in modo quo circumcisio fit, nihil reperitur quo effectus spiritualis innuatur, cuncta sunt corporalia; manu facta, sine caerimoniis seu precibus, quibus animi ad coelestia cogitanda eyehantur. Quare Iudaei in vanum iactant neorow t,» et gentes nihili faciunt, si vocantur ab iis appellatione &xeofvczía. Sed gentes revera fuisse in inferiore quadam conditione et caruisse emolumentis religiosis quibus Iudaei praediti erant, exponitur v. 12, antea, ante fidem susceptam illo in tempore, quando erant sine Christo, quando adhuc vitam ducebant sine cognitione Christi in gentilitate, erant, alienati a conversatione Israel ñ zohteta administratio, respublica- Israel erat theocralia; ea institulione servabatur cognitio veri Dei, cultus eius et doctrina recta morum; hisce emolumentis carebant gentes; vero aliquo sensu erant eo tempore alienati, abalienati a conversatione Israel, scil. a religioso instituto, quatenus idololatria per se est aliena a vera religione eique inimica; eius oppositum habetur v. 19 cujxoAizo: töv &yíow. Debet autem morei accipi non de civili administratione, verum de republica Israel religiosa, quatenus religiosum institutum consideratur ; enumerantur enim etiam in subsequentibus subsidia religiosa, quibus olim carebant, nunc autem fide suscepta fruuntur; 4 moAtcsíx toù "Icoan) erat autem pro ratione temporis regnum Dei (cf. Ex. 19,5 eritis mihi in peculium, in regnum sacerdotale). Porro erant Aospites &&vo:, alieni, peregrini ( Zzer.), extranei a foederibus paetisque seu dispositionibus promissionis quibus Israel praeditus erat, 8rx0-nxGOv ts énayysàlas, varia foedera quibus promissiones adnexae erant vide Gen. 15,18; 17,7.8; 26,3 sq. 28,13 sq. hisce promissionibus enata est spes messiana, per prophetas declarata et exculta, qua populus in calamitatibus confortatus et erectus regnum Dei et florentem reipublicae statum nunquam non laetis animis praestolabatur. Graeci, Hier. Ephr. recentiores «7; ix«yqysM ac referunt ad 9ix0nxóv, latini et Dam. quoque iungunt promissionis spem non habentes, Ambrst. distincte legit et promissionis spem, quae dislinctio ab Est. commendatur, « tum quia promissio satis in nomine testamenti continetur, tum quia apostolus etiam alibi testamenta scripsit absolute, ut Rom. 9,4, postea subiungens promissa, tum denique quod genitivus promissionis cum vocabulo sequente secundum Scripturam melius cohaereat; nam testamenta promissionis nusquam legimus, spem autem et exspectationem promissionis Act. 4 et 26 et 2 Petr. 3 ». Legitur utique Acl. 26,6 én’ ¿àrid cc enayyehias, aliis locis coniungitur promissio cum verbo exspectandi zeeipévev. Act. 1,4 et b ènáyyshua mpocboxüv 2 Petr., 3, 43. Nihilominus prior sententia est praeferenda. Nam vox 2:x90/x1 sola non dicit per se bona promissa neque ea includit, sicut nec pactum seu foedus; neque fide suscepta participes facti sumus pacti seu foederis olim cum patriarchis seu cum populo conclusi, sed solum promissionis ilis foederibus annexae. Deinde in v. 12 talia enumerantur quibus nunc potiuntur; non potiuntur foederibus vel pactis, quibus tandem lex caerimonialis mosaica esl adiuncta. Insuper hac distinctione retenta habetur magna concinnitas inter duo membra priora et duo ultima. Subtiliter explicat Ep/r. : alienati estis nona promissione, sed a testamento promissorum. Etiam maior quaedam destitutio eorum conditionis pristinae declaratur: spem non habentes ; sine ulla spe vitam degere et intimo animo id senlire (wh žzovtes, uti. distinguitur ab ox čyovtes) sane triste est « atque aliam spem non habebatis, quia ignorabatis promissionem » (Ephr.) et tamquam ph čyovtes ¿ània gentes describit apostolus 4 Thess. 4,12. Et insuper erant sine Deo, 40co:, unum enim et verum Deum nec cognoscebant, nec colebant; quos venerabantur non erant dii, vel omnino non exsistebant, uti idola, aut forle manes seu umbrae. mortuorum. Deus autem concipitur fons et origo omnium bonorum, ergo Deum non habere idem est ac destitui omni bono, versari in summa egestate et miseria ; idque ¿v «à xósp.o, dum seil. vitam agunt. Plane diversa est praesens eorum conditio v. 13 nunc autem; uli antea temporis ratio designabatur yog Xoto?, ita nunc fide suscepta declaratur iy Xpıor& "Iso? in unione cum Christo, eo scil. tempore quando év XpwzQ iam vivunt fideles; vos qui aliquando eratis longe scil. longe remoti et separati a Christo, a regno Dei, a bonis promissis, a spe laeta, a Deo largitore omnium bonorum ; woody alludit ad Is. 57,19 pacem ei qui longe est (qui a centro theocratiae et a populo Dei separatus est, in regione aliena versatur), et talis conditio exhibetur in v. 42; fact? estis prope, nacti estis omnia illa bona quibus antea caruistis — sieut y«glc Xotoxo) causa est malorum et indigentiae, ita àv Xeioco9 cuncta bona spiritualia nobis obveniunt. Per quid autem facti estis prope indicatur, cum dicat apostolus in sanguine Christi, in Christi sacrificio; sanguinis enim notio et mentio iam ex vetere testamento statim connotat oblationem, hostiam, sacrificium, vide Lev. 17,11 anima carnis in sanguine est et ego illum dedi vobis, ut super altare in eo expietis pro animabus vestris et sanguis pro animae piaculo sit, et vide Hebr. 9,22; 13,12. Quod hic dicitur in sanguine, postea declaratur dictione in carne sua w.14, per crucem: v. 16. Haec ultima sententia magis declaratur per singula in sequentibus ; et primo quidem, quomodo per Christum ad illa bona pervenerint ;
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v. 14 ipse enim. est pax nostra, cf. Mich. 3,8 et erit iste pax : « est emphatica locutio ad maiorem rei expressionem ; hic autem modus loquendi fieri consuevit, quando totum quod est in effectu dependet a causa, sicut cum dicimus de Deo quod ipse est salus nostra, quia quidquid salutis est in nobis, causatur a Deo; quia ergo quidquid pacis est in nobis causatur a Christo, ideo dicit quod est pax nostra » (Thom.);sententia, ut est plane generalis, ita notione generali est intelligenda. Christus est auctor et largitor pacis nostrae. Cum in antecedenlibus omnino nihil innuatur de inimicitiis inter gentes et Iudaeos, immerito aliqui stalim pacem explicant de inimicitiis illis sublatis. Quam interpretationem nimis arctam esse, elucet ex v. 16, et ea nullatenus commendatur appositione seu declaratione 6 xorícac tà dwgórtepæ ëv ex duobus unum, unitatem effecit, unum condidit populum Dei; non ait concordiam, populum concordem effecit, id quod exspectaremus, si statim de inimicitiis sermo fieret (id quod volunt Est. Bels, Henle, alii ; Graeci de inimicitiis contra Deum et Iudaeorum et gentium inter se explicant). Quare Thom. ad unum fecit bene nos remittit ad Ioan. 10,16 unum ovile. Quomodo autem wLraque effecerit unum, altero membro appositionis (ô mowsxs xat Xóss; una determinatione eodem articulo comprehensa) indicatur; dum scil. solveret seu removeret id quo illi duo inter se disiungebantur medium parietem tò wecótoryov «oU ppayuoŭ Aósac: medius paries seu paries intergerivus (Scheidewand) zoù opxyuo?, consistebat in sepe illa qua populus Israel tota sua institulione, caerimoniis, legibus, vivendi ratione a reliquis gentibus separabatur; Israel quasi saepto quodam eral circumdatus et istud. saeptum formabat quasi parietem separationis. a reliquis; hunc parietem abstulit Christus et eo ablato uterque populus eoaluit in unum. Vox latina maceria apte quoque est selecta, quia potissimum dicitur de muro quo hortus vel vinea obsaepitur; unde notionem saepti praebet. Sequitur maior quaedam explicatio quomodo Christus solverit parietem medium et qua ratione sit pax nostra (v. 15-18). Duobus participiis cum suis delerminalionibus modus declaratur: xecxeyíoxs evacuans, àxoxvetvac interficiens, scil. cum evacuaret, interficeret. Et ad prius spectant verba : inimicitias in carne sua, v. 45 legem, etc. Tij» £/0ozv, quaeri debet de notione thy £70exv : estne sermo de inimicitiis inter Iudaeos et gentes, an de inimicitiis utrorumque in Deum? si respicitur v. 16, haec posterior explicatio videtur commendari (cf. Dam. ); videtur etiam suaderi, quia statim habetur plena explicatio, quomodo "Christus sit pax nostra, ablatis scil. duobus impedimentis : inimicitiis in Deum et lege vetere, faciens pacem ; verum tum in v. 16 non videtur assignari nisi fere repetitio eiusdem novo quodam modo facta, scil. reconciliatio utrorumque cum Deo. Quare inimicitias priore loco fortasse potius de illa mutua inter se aversione Iudaeorum ac gentium explicabimus. Quanta autem-haec fuerit, neminem latet; orta est ex speciali illa institutione populi electi eiusque a reliquis distinclione ac separalione, et propterea commemorato antea illo pariete medio iam facile inducitur haec notio inimicitiarum. Aliquam earum speciem habes delineatam verbis ipsius apostoli : confidis teipsum (Iudaeum) esse ducem caecorum (gentium), lumen eorum qui in tenebris sunt, eruditorem insipientium, magistrum infantium (Rom. 2,19). Et quanto in gentes odio Iudaei flagraverint, exempla legimus sat tristia in Act. Ap. (13,45; 14,18; 17,5; 48,12; cf. 4 Thess. 2,13.16.). Cum igitur tanta exstiterit aversio, profecto conveniens erat, ut eius ablationis explicita fieret mentio. Haec explicatio inimicitiarum alio quoque modo suadetur. Nam «v ty0oxv eliam iungi potest tamquam appositio ad antecedens vel tamquam. explicatio, et hanc coniunctionem multi assumunt (Chrys. Theod. ThdM. Thph. Oec. Ambr. Thom. Lap. Cai. Est. Nat. Bels. Henle); imo aliqui volunt ipsum parietem maceriae seu septum esse inimicitias (Chrys. Oec. Nat. Lap.), easque in Deum cum allusione ad Is. 59,2; iniquitates vestrae diviserunt inter vos et Deum (Chrys. Thph.). Sed pariele medio seu septo tamen clare indicatur causa quaedam separationis inter Iudaeos et gentes; quare in ea iunctione de significatione inimicitiarum dubium moveri non potest. Sensus idem est, utrum £/0pzv £v «7j capx} aùtoð referatur ad Aósac, an ad xatæoyńcas, in carne Christi facta est ablatio, solutio inimicitiarum, seu evacuatio et remotio earum, in morle eius posita est causa ablationis; in carne comparandum est cum alia dictione in sanguine v. 13, per crucem v. 16. Inimicitias primum dissolvit carnem suam dans pretium (TAeod.). Aliquibus placet in carne sua proxime iungere cum sequentibus, ita ut evacuatio legis directe referatur ad effectum morte Christi productum. Porro aliud impedimentum unionis consistebat in variis ordinationibus legis,
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v. 18 /egem mandatorum decretis evacuans ¿y óypasıy : describitur lex consistens mandatis, seu præceptis variis (lex mandatorum), quae mandata àv 3óyuactv, in decretis, in particularibus ordinationibus, in variis statutis et praeseriptionibus exhibebantur. Cogita de mandatis circa animalia immunda, circa purificaliones, circa expiationes, circa decimas, circa lepram etc.; quot in istis évvo^«i; singularia $6vpxca praescribuntur! Ex latinis interpretibus rem bene concepit Cai. : « evacuavit legem consistentem in decretis mandatorum, hoc est legem mosaicam; haec enim sicut in epistola ad Rom. appellatur lex factorum, ita hic appellatur in decretis mandatorum, ad differentiam legis spiritus quae est lex Christi ». Ergo tale institutum erat evacuandum, abolendum, quod Christus in carne sua praestitit, ut duos condat in semetipso in unum novum hominem, non ex Graeco fecit Iudaeum, nec ex Iudaeo Graecum, sed ambos evexit ad statum meliorem (Chr. Oec. Thph.); £y «ut& conditur, seu creatur novus homo in Christo, quatenus in baptismo Christo inseritur et in Christo etiam novam vitam spiritualem accipit, cf. v. 10. Hac autem creatione (xtíon) Christus simul ostenditur faciens pacem et revera cognoscitur tamquam pax nostra, quia sublatis inimicitiis, separatione abolita, obstaculis unionis remotis, pacem suam nobis dat. Facta abolitione legis veteris tandem ex variis gentibus et. nationibus unus populus christianus exortus est; hanc legis evacualionem factam esse in morte Christi, vide Gal. 3,13; 9,19. Alius effectus mortis Chrisli recensetur in
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v. 16 et reconciliet ambos | dn uno corpore, in uno corpore mystico unitos; unum corpus tale potuit solum effici abolitione legis; quare recte haec pars adiungitur post mentionem de legis abrogatione factam, quamvis causa abolitionis et reconciliationis simul in una Christi morte sit posita, uti hic de reconciliatione eadem causa directe designatur: Deo per crucem; meruit Chrisius pro peccatoribus, ut in graliam et amicitiam Dei restituerentur interficiens ànoxtsivas dum occideret inimicitias, causas inimicitiarum : peccata delevit, quia morte sua Deo praebens satisfactionem nobis veniam peccalorum promeruit et Deum placavit, ita interemit inimiciliam qua separati eramus a Deo; in semetipso, dum seipsum sacrificium el oblationem Deo sisteret, in sua passione et morte; ¿v «xà potest fortasse referri ad 3i «o9 ctavpoŭ, uli Hier. monet, in ea scil. in cruce, esse scribendum ex graeco; syrus : el in cruce sua occiditinimicitiam. Est igitur hae reconcilialione facta ipse pax nostra, mediator et auctor pacis; et cum haec mediatio Christi adeo efferatur ubique, satius erit, £v xoxo de Christo explicare. Quod Christus morte sua praestilitet omnibus promeruit, id explicite quoque annuntiavit et eo quidem modo, ut exhibeatur descriptio illius : ipse pax nostra; ergo opere et verbo se nobis proponit tamquam largitorem omnium bonorum ;
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v. 17 et veniens xoi 2006» cum advenisset is qui ul żoyóuevoç exspectabatur, vel in adventu suo, ingressus in mundum, evangelizavit pacem vobis tois waxpv gentibus (cf. v. 13) et pacem «oic £Yvós Iudaeis qui quasi iure nalivitatis iam erant in regno Dei veteris foederis, heredes promissionum; erant prope, iis enim perferebaiur nuntius messianus primo propter veritatem Dei ad confirmandas promissiones patrum, deinde gentibus, longe a foedere Dei positis, super misericordia (uti Rom. 15,8.9 discrimen vocationis amborum indicatur). Disüncle ponitur pacem nuntiatam esse illis, pacem hisce; non igitur de pace inter eos mutua restituta, sed pax messiana, cuncta bona messiana, omnia beneficia redemptionis ambobus eodem modo annuntiantur et proponuntur. Ulterius declaratur v. 44 ipse est pax nostra. Ut autem explicemus, quando et quomodo Christus evangelizaverit, non opus est cum recentioribus nonnullis recurrere ad modum illum spiritualem, quo Christus in gloria constitutus ad nos venire, in nobis esse, habitare, vivere dicitur (Ioan. 14,18.23; 15,4. Rom. 8,9. 10. 2 Cor. 13,3. 5. Gal. 2,20) neque ad praedicationem apostolorum, per quos ipse evangelizaverit. Nam apud apostolum £57:50z« non dicitur de spirituali Christi adventu (cf. 1 Cor. 4,5; 11,26. 1 Thess. 5,2. 2 Thess. 1,10. 4 Tim. 1,15). Ipse quippe adventus Messiae iam est evangelium pro omnibus tum ex vaticiniis prophetarum quibus regnum Dei et salus omnibus gentibus annuntiatur, tum ex ipsa missione Filii Dei, Verbi incarnati in mundum (loan. 3,17 ut salvetur mundus per ipsum; 4,42; 6,52; 8,12. 1 Tim. 1,15.16 etc.). Praeterea idem Christus quoque clare professus est : et alias oves habeo quae non sunt ex hoc ovili et illas oportet me adducere (Ioan. 10.16); multi ab oriente et occidente venient et recumbent in regno coelorum (Matth. 8,11) et dabitur regnum Dei genti facienti fructus eius; el praedicabitur hoc evangelium regni in universo orbe (Matth. 24,43; 24,11); si exaltatus fuero a terra, omnia traham ad meipsum (Ioan. 12,32; cf. 3,15) et in mandatis : docete omnes gentes, praedicate evangelium omni creaturae; oportet praedicari poenitentiam et remissionem peccatorum in omnes gentes; eritis mihi testes usque ad ultimum terrae (Matth. 28,49. Marc. 16,15. Lue. 24,47. Act. 1,8). Ponitur autem priore loco üpiv «oic paxpdv, non ac si illis nuntius prius esset allatus, sed quia a v. 11 sq. eos alloquitur et quia ita ipso contextu a v. 13 sq. exigitur. Atque Christum revera utrisque evangelizasse pacem, ipsa re experimur
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v. 18 quoniam per ipsum habemus accessum posae» adductionem ambo in uno spiritu ad Patrem ; brevi repetuntur et colliguntur singula ex antecedenter exposilis in unam sententiam, 93i'a5co?, unus ille est in quo et per quem (in sanguine, carne, cruce eius) habemus reconciliationem, pacem, aditum ad Patrem (v. 16) et quidem pari ratione. ambo sublato omni pristino discrimine, et praediti et animati nova vita spirituali (v. 45) ¿v-v mvsógos, ita ut in uno spiritu, in una animorum dispositione versemur et contineamur, accepto spiritu adoplionis filiorum in quo clamamus : abba Pater (Rom. 8,15); ad Patrem : nam per Christum edocti sumus de Patre nostro coelesti, per ipsum filii eius effecti (cf. Matth. 5,45; 6,4. 6. 8. 9. 45 etc, Rom. 8,16. Gal. 3,26. 27; 4,5. 6). In adductione seu introductione cernunt allusionem ad mores principum, ad quos aditus non patet nisi per aliquem familiarem seu deprecalorem (Tust. Est.); ceterum ipse Christus : nemo, inquit, venitad Patrem nisi per me (Ioan. 14,6; cf. Hebr. 10,19. Rom. 5,2). Nexum sententiae cum antecedenti apte designat Thom.. : causam autem et rationem et formam pacis ostendit. Ceterum per se posset. ôr considerari ut ôr: recitativum, ut aiunt, seu explicativum, ita ut in v. 48 indicaretur ipsum argumentum quod Christus annuntiasset, scil. nos habere accessum etc; in qua acceptione ¿v év} xveóp.act cum Thom. de Spiritu sancto facilius explicabitur, quia de eo Christus multa annuntiavit (loan. 3,5; 7,39; 14,17. 25 etc.), quamvis cur hoc loco accurate unus Spiritus sanctus efferatur, difficile declarabitur. Intelligitur autem, si de una mente sermo fit quae ¿v ¿v copar: (v. 16) in uno corpore mystico, in ecclesia, vivit ac dominatur ex una scil. doctrina exorta. Hanc unam mentem inspirari ac foveri a Spiritu sancto, nemo negaverit neque tamen statim diei poterit. Spiritus sanctus, prout unum spiritum concipiunt Lap. Est. Tust. Nat. Bels. Henle; cf. 4,4. tatis est in illo addito; subito apparet 5 fy0po, neque dicitur cuius sit; neque redditur ratio, cur septum seu paries medius simpliciter dicatur f, yos, quae obscuritas manet, sive parietem explicaveris de particulari conditione Israel, qua separetur a gentibus, sive dixeris parietem nihil aliud esse nisi thv 5y0poy. Nam in utroque casu non perspicitur, cur specialis illa conditio statim dicatur h ty9e«, vel quomodo paries tali oppositione declarari possit. Iterum apparet 5$ €y8p« in v. 16. Ibi mentione facta reconciliationis cum Deo, necessario videtur intelligi debere de peccatorum conditione qui sunt inimici Dei. Iam vero hoc sensu capi vox non potest in v. 14 et durum videtur eandem vocem in tam brevi contextu alio et alio sensu accipere. Accedit quod de inimicitiis inter Iudaeos et gentes in hac epistola nullum apparet indicium (in v. 13 designantur solum ut oi óvcec paxpdy) nisi forte in v. 11 ipsa appellatione àxgofvoría. Quod legitur in v. 16 reconciliet ambos in uno corpore, Graeci et Ephr. accipiunt de corpore Christi eo modo quo dictum estin sanguine Christi, in carne sua. Sed quia statim sequitur ad designandam mortem et oblationem Christi per erucem, iam a priore verisimile fit non idem bis exprimi. Insuper non intelligeretur, cur de corpore Christi diceretur in uno corpore; bene iam explicavit Thom. : ambos unitos in uno corpore ecclesiae, et Est. ambos homines unum corpus effectos, et similiter alii. Et in uno corpore explica : reconciliavit eos ita, utin unum corpus coalescerent et coniuncti in uno corpore manerent. Effectus perdurans qui consequitur ex reconciliatione exprimitur. Cum sollemni affirmatione infertur conclusio Ze« ov, fideles ex gentibus iam esse dignitatis plane aequalis eadem ratione cum fidelibus ex Iudaeis; hac formula solet apostolus summam rem ex antea disputalis inducere; cf. Rom, 5,18; 7,3.25; 8,12; 9,18; 14,19. Gal. 6,10. 1 Thess. 3,6 etc. Breviter revocat statum pristinum : iam non estis hospites &&vot extranei, peregrini, alieni, cf. v. 12; et advenae mágoxo:, inquilini, meque redacli sunt in conditionem similem, in qua erant alienigenae habitantes in terra Israel cum populo electo, neque tamen fruentes iisdem iuribus, verum exclusi a dignitate et iuribus Israelitarum. Hoc fortasse additur contra illos Iudaeos qui fideles ex gentibus quasi in secundo dignitatis gradu ponere volebant vel putabant eos posse consummari, ad maiorem pervenire perfectionem et demum veros constitui filios Abraham circumcisione assumpta; tales quippe Iudaeos apostolus oppugnat in epistola ad Galatas (cf. 3,9.7.9.29). Antea erant alieni cz nohrelas toù "IooxfA, NUNC cupmoAicat töv &yíov concives eorum qui Deo sunt consecrati, utentes eadem civitate, iisdem iuribus. Ipsa voce cuuxoAiczt declaratur eos iam plene pertinere ad thy zoX«veíov Israel ; unde aliquo vero sensu dicere licet cum Chrys. : « vides quod in sanciorum ac magnorum virorum, nempe Abraham, Moysis, Eliae eandem adscripti sumus civitatem etin illa apparemus? » ita Lap. quoque censet, a qua sententia non videtur esse alienum, si apostolus fideles vocat semen Abraham, filios Abraham, Israel Dei (Gal. 3,7.29; 6,16), vel matrem nostram lerusalem (Gal. 4,26. Hebr. 12,22). Antea erant spem non habentes, &6c«, Deum non habentes, nunc domestici Dei, pertinentes ad familiam Dei, ad domum Dei, proin parlicipes bonorum ac beneficiorum domus Dei seu eorum qui Dei familiam constituunt; ergo nunc facti sunt prope (v. 13) et tamquam domestici Dei ad familiare commercium admissi sunt; patrem familias habent Deum. Dum apostolus eos vocat domesticos Dei oixsíouc, parat sibi transitum ad domum vel aedificium Dei, cuius aedificii ipsi iam sint pars :.
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v. 20 superaedificati super fundamentum apostolorum et prophetarum, cy dxoczóAoy xo xooor zov, articulo semel posito designantur unum ordinem seu calegoriam constituentes, qui simul iuncti sunt fundamentum (Chrys. Oec. Thph. Iust. Est. Lap. Bels. Hpt. Ew. eic.). Statim enim dicitur Christum esse lapidem angularem, ergo simili modo concipi debet quod antecedit, apostolos et prophetas esse fundamenlum, esse murum fundamentalem, cui fideles tamquam lapides superaedificati sint. Genilivus töv &xoct:ó^ov explicari debet genitivus appositionis; non potest esse sensus :fundamentum quod posuerunt apostoli, nec fundamentum quod ipsi apostoli habent, qua acceptione imago aedificii hoc loco assumpta plane destrueretur : lapis angularis est Christus, fundamentum sunt apostoli et prophetae, aedificatio quae superstruitur sunt fideles. Sermo est enim de personis, et in hac ipsa: serie enumerationis simul exprimitur ratio temporis fundatae ecclesiae. idem quod 3,5 et 4,11 enuntiatur. Dicuntur autem fundamentum, quia ipsi sunt primi illi qui Christo adhaeserunt et per quos alii fideles ad. Christum sunt adducti. Alia plane est consideratio 4 Cor. 3,10.11, uti statim declarabitur, et facile patet, quia sermo ibi instituitur de praedicatoribus (aedificatoribus), qui aliud fundamentum quam Christum ponere nequeunt. Simili modo dicitur Apoc. 21,14 : etmurus civitatis habens fundamenta duodecim et in ipsis duodecim nomina duodecim apostolorum. In ipsa forma £zo:xo9owr0évcsc alluditur ad rem olim gestam : dum aedificaremini super fundamentum; ergo secundum considerationem quae hoc loco instituitur, lapis angularis huius structurae positus est Christus; eo posito fundamentum construitur et hoc fundamentum sunt apostoli et prophetae; tale fundamentum formavit et posuit ipse Christus, uti postea dicitur : et ipse dedit quosdam quidem apostolos, quosdam autem prophetas 4,11; et hoc fundamento ecclesiae posito fideles quasi lapides vivi superaedificantur (cf. 4 Petr. 2,5). Contra quam explicationem immerito obiicitur 4 Cor. 3,11 : fundamentum aliud nemo potest ponere praeter id quod positum est quod est Christus Iesus; unde sequi videtur esse audacius nomen hoc fundamenti quod soli Christo conveniat transferre ad apostolos et prophetas; quare explicandum esse super fundamentum, in quo stent apostoli et ex quo nostram efficiant aedificationem spiritualem ; hoc fundamentum esse accipiendum cum Thom. doctrinam eorum (Henle). At nostro loco consideratio proponitur plane alia ac 4 Cor. 3,11. Ibi sermo est de praedicatoribus qui sane aliud fundamentum ponere non possunt, sed totam suam praedicationem fundare debent in Christo ; hic autem Christus dicitur lapis angularis, per quem directio aedificii in longitudinem et latitudinem determinatur; lapide hoc posito necesse est ponatur fundamentum, quod a lapide angulari omnino distinctum secundum directionem eius ponitur, ut ei lapides superstruantur. Lapis angularis esl persona, qui superaedificantur sunt personae, quid ergo de fundamento? etiam fundamentum sunt personae. Christus per apostolos et prophetas vocavit fideles. Veteres quidem generatim intelligunt prophetas antiqui foederis (ita quoque Just. Est. Nat.), solum in Commentario Pelagii (in mantissa operum Zier. M. 30) prophetae novi testamenti designantur, quos etiam Tertullianus intellexit; scribit enim contra Marcionem (5,17 in fine) : abstulit haereticus (Marcion in nostro hoc textu) « et prophetas » oblitus Dominum posuisse in ecclesia sicut apostolos, ita et prophetas. Et de hisce vocem esse explicandam! merito censent Cai. et recentiores, idque suadetur in ipsa hac epistola, in qua bis prophetae commemorantur 3,5 et 4,11 ; praeterea Christus revera posuit in ecclesia sua primum apostolos, secundo prophetas, uti 4 Cor. 12,28 dicitur et ipse Christus : ecce ego, inquit, mitto ad vos prophelas (Matth. 23,34), et erant in ecclesia antiochena prophetae (Act. 13,1), nominatur Agabus propheta (Act. 94,10); horum prophetarum munus describit apostolus (4 Cor. 14,94.95; cf. Act. 11,27; 15,32). Uti uno fundamenti nomine designantur, ita graece uno articulo «óv comprehenduntur. Apostolorum est fundare et regere coetus fidelium, prophetarum est singulari impulsu Spiritus sancti coetibus iam fundatis loqui ad aedificationem, exhortationem et consolationem et infideles convincere (1 Cor. 14,9.24). Cum: itaque et nomine et munere statuatur discrimen, neutiquam apostoli hoc loco iidem censendi qui prophetae quoque appellentur. Porro ipso ordine quo nominantur' iam satis indicatur non de prophetis veteris testamenti fieri mentionem, qui insuper neutiquam simili modo quo apostoli fundamentum vocari possunt, ergo ingereretur in ea acceplione notio fundamenti prorsus aequivoca, qui est loquendi abusus. Fideles superaedificabantur super fundamentum čvros dxgoywviaíov gòto Xorotoù "Inco9, dum ipse Christus Iesus est (extremus) lapis angularis; verti 'etiam potest, ut Lap. recte notat, dum Christus esi lapis angularis eius scil. fundamenti; verum cum in tota hac parte magna emphasi efferatur Christus, prior acceptio sua emphasi commendatur. Sed quid sibi vult lapis angularis? Pervulgata est explicatio quam dat Chrys.: significat Christum omnia continere, b «5 x&v cuvéyov &oxlv b Xoicóc, lapis enim angularis et parietes continet, cov£ye:, et fundamenta ; similiter Theod. coniungi lapide angulari duos parietes, scil. Iudaeos et fideles ex gentibus; alia quoquelapidi angulari attribuuntur, tribui firmitatem fundamento, esse praecipuum fundamentum tolius ecclesiae (Just. Est. Lap.). Sed nescio, num revera lapisangularis (Eckstein) praebeat robur, firmitatem fundamento, vel sit ipse fundamentum; neque proprie iungit duos parietes, sed potius ab angulari lapide excurrunt in contrarias directiones. Sufficietergo illud affirmare, quod lapis angularis revera praestat; nam, uti supra iam dictum est, positus dat direclionem in quam secundum longitudinem ac latitudinem fundamenta murique aedificanda sint. Neque lapis angularis videtur esse idem ac lapis fundamentalis. — Placet notare, quam opportune ad hanc partem Chrys. adverlat : ioù 4 ¿Amis «hc xXesec, ecce spes vocationis! Nam EPH. 2,91-29. 9t quae hic dicuntur, praeclare inserviunt ad ostendendam excellentiam et firmitatem illius spei, de qua 1,18 et sq. mentio facta est. Superaedificari fideles docuit apostolus v. 20, sed quid tandem in singulis ex illo opere quo aedificantur effici debebit, ad quid tendit seu dirigitur illa aedificatio? Ad hoc respondet apostolus prius in universum v. 21 zn quo i. e. in Christo (Just. Lap. Henle), uti patet, nam im lapide angulari (Est. Nat.! non crescit aedificatio, sed in unione cum Christo, omnis aedificatio ïs oixoàowf, quaevis aedificatio, quidquid aedificatur, cvvæppohoyovuévņ apte coagmentatur seu coniungitur et ita crescit in templum sanctum in Domino, ex illo opere aedificandi exsurgere debet templum sacrum in Domino; metaphora relicta docet apostolus, fideles singulos quidquid agant agere debere in Christo, consistentes et manentes in coniunctione cum Christo; ila opera eorum fore bene compacta, Deo grata et accepta quasi sanctuarium ei dedicatum. Etiam facilius sententia haec explicatur de fidelibus; nam fideles sunt Dei aedificatio, O«o3 oixo2ow ¿cte (1 Cor. 3,9). Haec aedificatio optimo modo continuari, erigi, in melius exornari debet, donec evadat sacrum Dei templum; fideles oportet crescere fide et caritate, debent. enim esse Dei templum (cf. 1 Cor. 3,16; 6,19; 2 Cor. 6,16). Non polest «sx oixoBopn explicari de ecclesia, neque enim graecum recte vertitur totum aedificium (uti vertunt. Tust. Est. Lap. Nat.) et lectio mex h oixo8oy. est dubia; ergo critice retineri debet quaevis aedificalio : quae expressio ad ecclesiam quamvis particularem applicari posse. videtur, scil. ad quemvis coetum fidelium (cf. 4. Cor. 1,2; 7,47. 2 Cor. 1,1; 8,1, 18,19. Gak ete.). Quod in v. 21 in universum dictum est vel de quavis ecclesia particulari, iam enuntiatur speciali modo de iis quibus epistola dirigitur, vel potius ex v. 11 seq. peculiari ratione de fidelibus ex gentibus:
2:22
v. 22 im quo, uti v. 91 in Christo, cum eo complantali per baptismum (Rom. 6,5) et in eo manentes et fructum afferentes (Ioan. 15,4, 5) et vos coaedi-- ficamini cum ceteris fidelibus in eadem dignitate filiorum Dei constituti in habitaculum Dei, ut efficiamini templum Dei, templum Deo dignum, èy myeópazt in spiritu; Deus quasi in habitaculo spirituali zvsupocixó in vobis habitat, explicat Chrys.; opinatur Zust. dici in spiritu i. e. habitadibus, ligno constat; de tali autem oppositione hoc loco nemo cogitaverit. Alii iungunt, uti in v. 21 templum, quod est sanctum in Domino; ita habitaculum Dei in spiritu i. e. fit in spiritu, dum Deus per Spiritum sanctum in nobisinbabitat (Lap. Nat.); similiter Thom. Deus non habitat in nobis sine caritate, caritas autem datur per Spiritum sanctum, ideo subdit : in Spiritu sancto. Sed melius ¿v nveúpart: refertur ad coaedificamint, uti Theod. ThdM. iam indicarunt : aedificationem facit gratia Spiritus sancti; et bene eliam Est. ait, nos effici habitaculum Dei per operationem Spiritus sancti et Cai. : sed quomodo fiat ista coaedificatio, adiungit : in spiritu sancto, eodemque modo Henle, dum Bels. in oppositione ad templum lapideum Iudaeorum et habitaculum materiale Dei acquiescit, uti Hpt. Ew. quoque'.
2:1
… XII Patr., Levi 3), of the spirit that now works in the rebels" (Eph. 2:1). His innumerable host includes "the principalities (al āp̄zā), the powers (al ēbōnōn), the rulers of this world of darkness, the spirits of wickedness (that fly) in the lower atmosphere …
2:2
"Satan." The Syrians explained Beliar as "lord of the air," from bél and 'ojar (ἀφρ): cf. Eph. 2, 2; St. Jerome "cocca angustia, sive coecum lumen vel filius praevurications" (Nom. hebr. 76: PL 23, 853 ff.). …
Satan extends his dominion not only over "his angels" (Mt. 25:41; Apoc. 12:7), but over all men infested by evil, "sons of rebellion" (Eph. 2:2; 5:6), "all enclosed in unfaithfulness, under sin" (Rom. 11:32; Gal. 3:22); "all are under sin," "the whole world is debtor of punishment to God" (Rom. 3:9, 19). In this "kingdom" …
2:3
… that, having been transformed almost into certainty by means of the Messenger of Heaven, the prophecy of the imminent coming of the Veltro, having reached the hell of evil wrath, of which through the donation of Constantine we have again become children (Eph. 2, 3), he has Virgil point out to him in that stream of horrifying redness the most « notable » thing of the sights up to that point. …
… In the expression "we were by nature (φύσει), like the others, children of wrath" (Eph. 2, 3), actual sins are in question; φύσει emphasizes the idea of a property inherent in, essential to, man deprived of Grace, without accenting a sin of nature. …
… The Apostle starts from the consideration of original sin, which is transmitted from Adam to all humanity (Rom. 5:12), making it the object of God's wrath and curse (Eph. 2:3). But God in his infinite wisdom and mercy freely decrees the Redemption of the human race through his incarnate Son and carries out his design in the fullness of time (Gal. 4:4). …
2:4
… Justice and mercy (cf. Ps. 36:11; Is. 56:1; Jer. 23:6; Dan. 9:7; Cor. 1:3; Eph. 2:4) belong to God in a proper, formal, and eminent sense, identifying the apparent antinomy of their concepts in the higher unity of the Godhead. …
The substance of reparation (whether actual or formal) is the "superabundant" charity (Eph. 2:4), compensatory, victorious, which from the opened heart of the Divine Redeemer pours itself into the whole structure of ecclesial life, in order to form it upon the consummate exemplar …
2:5
… This assertion is confirmed by many other expressions of St. Paul and of the New Testament in general, in which the Christian life is described as beginning and unfolding in union with Jesus (cf. Eph. 2:5-7; Col. 2:20; 3:3; 1 Pt. 3:21; Phil. 3:10, etc.). …
2:8
… As St. Paul says (Eph. 2:8): "faith is a gift of God." Normally it is united to charity, or the love of God above all things, and is then called "living faith," but it also exists without charity in many Christians …
… So great a richness is not the fruit of human industry and efforts, but a gratuitous gift of God: « Gratia enim estis salvati per fidem et hoc non ex vobis: Dei enim donum est » (Eph. 2, 8). This grace, which commits man to collaborate with God, is viaticum for eternal life, indeed is already eternal life anticipated: « Gratia autem Dei vita aeterna in Christo Iesu Domino …
2:10
… The Christian as such is the effect not of an evolution brought about in his conduct, but of a creation (II Cor. 5:17; Eph. 2:10, 13 [ἐκτίζω], Gal. 6:15), of a regeneration: "(God) saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, which he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ …
2:11
… He envelops it, hovering in the air, whence he governs all commands (Eph. 2:11; 6:12). This will last until the final restoration, when Christ victorious will hand over the kingdom to God the Father "after having destroyed every principality and every authority …
2:12
… sin: a conception taken up again by St. Paul, who sees in the nefarious vices of paganism God's punishment for the sin of idolatry (Rom. 1, 18) and reminds the new converts that formerly they were «without hope and without God (ἔθεσι) in this world» (Eph. 2, 12) and that the Gentiles do not know God (τὰ ἔθνη τὰ μὴ εἰδότα τὸν θεόν; I Thess. 4, 6). Men, however, even in paganism could have risen to God from the creatures in which he had manifested …
… If for all of us he did not spare his Son, how will he not give us all things with him? (Rom. 8:32). In Christ we have been saved (Rom. 5:10; cf. also Eph. 2:12 ff.; 2 Cor. 5:18 ff.). …
2:13
… cross" (I Cor. 1:17; Gal. 6:12; Phil. 3:18), "the sufferings" (II Cor. 1:5 and Col. 1:24; cf. Act. 3:18; 17:3; 26:23), Ἰάγιπτη (Rom. 8:35; II Cor. 5:14; Eph. 3:19), "the Blood" and "the Body" of his sacrifice (I Cor. 10:16; Rom. 7:4; Eph. 2:13; τοῦ Κυρίου in I Cor. 11:27). The equivalence Σωτήρ = Χριστός is openly affirmed in Lk. 2:11. Even the "C." of Jn. 4:29 is equivalent to "the savior of the world" of Jn. 4:42. …
2:14
… The messianic Kingdom is the kingdom of full peace (Is. 9:6-7; 11:6-9; 24:10; Ex. 34:25). Christ inaugurated peace and is "our peace" (Eph. 2:14-15; Col. 1:20 εἰρηνοποιήσας), he brought to the world the gospel of peace (Eph. 6:15). Prerogative of these meek soldiers of the "prince of peace": "they will be called" (and they will …
… Lagrange); but Jesus eliminated the ancient barrier (Eph. 2:14) and called all ethnics to his kingdom (cf. Mt. 28:19; Mk. 16:15; Lk. 24:47;
… Jesus redeemed them, removing every distinction of race (Eph. 2:14); Paul dedicated his prodigious apostolate to them (Acts 9:15).
… raised level (10 cubits wide) on which stood the wall that enclosed the temple; one ascended to it by 14 steps, it was 10 cubits wide and ran all around the temple; the gentiles and the impure could not penetrate it (cf. Acts 21:29-30, perhaps also Eph. 2:14). On the enclosing wall of the temple (25 cubits high on the inside) Herod hung the war trophies taken from the conquered peoples and his personal offerings as anathema. …
2:15
… in the Mosaic law it is found in Jewish Hellenism (III Mach. 1, 3; Josephus, Apologia, 1, 24). In the New Testament the sense is that of ordinance, decree, whether imperial (Lk. 2, 1; Acts 17, 7), or of the Apostles (Acts 16, 4), or Mosaic (Eph. 2, 15; Col. 2, 14). All the preceding meanings are encountered
2:16
… battezzare, ma ad evangelizzare; e non in sapienza di parole, ma perché non sia resa vana la C. del Cristo » (I Cor. 1, 17); « Non giudicai di sapere tra di voi alcuna cosa, se non Gesù Cristo, e questo crocifisso » (I Cor. 2, 2; cf. Gal. 2, 19; 5, 11; Eph. 2, 16; Col. 1, 20; 2, 14). The Holy Fathers followed the same path.
2:19
who are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God (Eph. 2, 19-22). It is therefore the city walled upon the mountain, the mysterious fortress, which rises above the waves of the sea of life, amid the agitations of men, a beacon to navigators and …
… pagan world (Wis. 18:3; Hab. 3:16: παρενία is a synonym of x.), every Christian is and must feel himself a "stranger" (ξένος) and a "foreigner" (παρενός): 1 Pt. 1:1; 2:11; Heb. 11:13; 13:14); his homeland is the city of God and of the saints (Eph. 2:19; Phil. 3:20). Many ascetics of antiquity practiced voluntary x., wandering ceaselessly. …
2:20
Apostles (Gr. Ἀπόστολος "Sent One", from ἀποστέλλω)
The mission of the founders of the Church is illustrated, among others, by the following texts of Sacred Scripture: Mt. 16:18: "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church"; Eph. 2:20: "You are... built upon the foundation of the apostles... …
In the list of charisms, in the early Church, the prophets hold the place of honor, after the Apostles: I Cor. 12:28 ff.; 14:1-5, 24, 29, 31 f.; Eph. 2:20; 3:5; 4:11; several times, in the New Testament, these interpreters of God appear, giving predictions, reading the secrets of hearts; bearers of the divine word (Acts 11:27; 19:6; …
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Rheims 1582), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.