Thomas Aquinas

After the Apostle has shown that grace was dispensed to him with respect to the knowledge of the divine mysteries, here he shows this same thing with respect to the execution of these mysteries. And concerning this he does two things. First, he recalls the help of grace given to him for carrying it out; second, he shows the office of ministry committed to him, at the words to me, the least of all the saints, etc. The first is divided into two. First he touches on the execution of the divine ministries; second he shows the help given to him for carrying it out, at the words according to the gift of grace, etc.

Now the execution of the divine things was committed to him by way of ministry, and as to this he says: I say that this ministry has been committed to me, namely, that the Gentiles are fellow-heirs through the Gospel, through which the Gentiles are made partakers of the promise of God in Christ Jesus, of which I, Paul, was made a minister, etc.; as if to say: I do not fulfill or carry this out as from myself or as my own, but as a ministry that is God's. Acts 9:15: this man is a vessel of election to me, etc. Hence the Apostle says in 1 Corinthians 4:1: let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ, and the dispensers of the mysteries of God.

Then when he says according to the gift of grace, etc., he touches on the help given to him for the execution of the ministries. Now this help was twofold. One indeed was the very faculty of carrying it out, the other was the very operation, or actuality. Now God gives the faculty by infusing power and grace, through which a man is made capable and apt for acting; but he confers the operation itself inasmuch as he works within us, moving and instigating us interiorly toward the good.

And therefore, receiving this from God, the Apostle says as to the first: I say that I was made a minister, but certainly not by my own merits, nor by my own power, but according to the gift of the grace of God which was given to me, namely, because I, who was formerly a persecutor, am made fit for the execution of the divine mysteries. 1 Corinthians 15:10: I have labored more abundantly than all of them; yet not I, but the grace of God with me. As to the second he says according to the operation, which God effects, inasmuch as his power works in us both to will and to accomplish, according to good will.

But this can be explained otherwise according to the Gloss, so that what has just been said is referred back to the preceding words — namely, that it should be said that the fact that the Gentiles are fellow-heirs and of the same body, and co-partakers of his promise (that is, of God the Father), this gift indeed God gave to the Gentiles in Christ, that is, through Christ, and this according to the operation of his power, that is, through the fact that he worked powerfully in raising Christ from death.

Consequently, when he says for to me, the least of the saints, etc., he shows the office committed to him, the grace of which commission is indeed commended on three counts. First indeed from the condition of his own person; second from the greatness of the things committed, at the words to preach the unsearchable, etc.; third from the usefulness of the fruit, at the words that it might be made known, etc.

He commends, then, the office committed to him from the condition of his person. For if some king were to commit some great office to some great and excellent prince, he would not thereby show him much grace, as far as concerns this great man, if he placed him in a great office; but if he should commit a great and most arduous office to some small man, he greatly magnifies him and shows him great grace, and the more so, the more the excellence of the office exceeds the man himself. According to this manner, then, Paul commends the grace of the office committed to him, saying: for to me, the least of all the saints, is given this grace. And he calls himself the least, not from the power committed to him, but from consideration of his former state. 1 Corinthians 15:9: I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God. Isaiah 60:22: the least shall become a thousand, and the little one a very strong nation. And this among the Gentiles, that is, among the nations. Galatians 2:8-9: for he who worked in Peter for the apostleship of the circumcision worked also in me among the Gentiles. And when they had known the grace of God that was given to me among the Gentiles, etc.

Second, the grace of this commission is commended from the greatness of the office, which is to reveal and make manifest the secrets of God, which are great and hidden — namely, concerning the greatness of Christ and concerning the salvation of the faithful accomplished through him. Now the whole Gospel concerns these two things.

As to the first he says to preach the gospel, etc., as if to say: this grace was given to me that I might announce the good. 1 Corinthians 1:17: Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel. And in the same place, 9:16: for woe is to me if I do not preach the gospel. And this good, namely, the unsearchable riches of Christ, which are the true riches. Above, chapter 2:4: but God, who is rich in mercy, etc. Romans 2:4: or do you despise the riches of his goodness, and patience, and long-suffering? etc. Romans 10:12: rich unto all that call upon him. As if to say: these riches are truly unsearchable, because his mercy is so great that it cannot be understood or searched out. Isaiah 33:6: the riches of salvation are wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is his treasure — namely, of Christ, because in Christ the fear of the Lord was most abundant. Isaiah 11:3: the spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill him. For in Christ are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden, Colossians 2:3, and these are unsearchable, because the wisdom and knowledge of Christ cannot be perfectly searched out. Job 11:7: perhaps you will find the footsteps of God, and will you find out the Almighty perfectly? As if to say: no. For through creatures, in which the footstep of the Creator shines forth, one cannot arrive at perfect knowledge of him. Now the Apostle, marveling in astonishment at riches of this kind, says, Romans 11:33: O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how, etc. Ecclesiasticus 1:3: who shall search out the wisdom of God that goes before all things?

As to the second, that is, as to making manifest the salvation coming to the faithful from Christ, he says and to enlighten all, not only the Jews, but also the Gentiles, through preaching and miracles. Ecclesiasticus 24:45: I will enlighten all who hope in the Lord. Acts 9:15: he is a vessel of election, etc. Matthew 5:14: you are the light of the world. To enlighten, I say, as far as it is in me, all — namely, those willing to believe. 1 Timothy 2:4: who wills all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth. To this end, namely, that they may understand what is the dispensation of the mystery, because these things avail nothing unless they are dispensed; as if to say: concerning this I will enlighten, namely, how wonderful, and out of how great a love, the fulfillment of the secret redemption was accomplished. Now riches of this unsearchable kind have been dispensed to you through Christ.

But because it could be said: that which you say, even though it is great, yet everyone knows it — therefore to this the Apostle responds, saying that it is not so, because it has been hidden from the ages. Here it must be known that all things that exist in effect lie hidden potentially in their causes, just as in the power of the sun are contained all things that exist among generable and corruptible things. But yet among these, some things are hidden, some manifest. For heat is manifestly in fire; but the rationale of certain things, which it produces in a hidden manner, lies hidden in it. Now God is the efficient cause of all things, but he produces certain things whose rationale can be manifest — namely, those which he produces by means of secondary causes. But certain things are hidden in him — namely, those which he produces immediately through himself. And because God worked the mystery of human redemption through himself, therefore this mystery is hidden in him alone. And this is what he says: hidden from the ages in God, that is, in the knowledge of God alone. Now to search out the secrets of the first cause is the greatest thing.

1 Corinthians 2:6: we speak wisdom among the perfect; yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, who are brought to nothing; but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, which is hidden, which God predestined before the ages. Who, I say, created all things.