Gaius Marius Victorinus

“Moses says what was said by God: "Let us make man according to our image and likeness." God says that. He says "let us make" to a co-operator, necessarily to Christ. And he says "according to the image." Therefore man is not the image of God, but he is "according to the image." For Jesus alone is the image of God, but man is "according to the image," that is, image of the image. But he says "according to our image." Therefore both Father and Son are one image.”

“Christ is that spring of which the prophet says, "It irrigates and waters the whole earth." But Christ irrigates the whole universe, both visible and invisible; with the spring of life he waters the substance of everything that exists. Yet insofar as he is life, he is Christ; insofar as he waters, he is the Holy Spirit; insofar as he is the power of vitality, he is Father and God; but the whole is one God.”

“No one sees the power itself alone, for "no one has ever seen God." And since power is life in repose and knowledge in repose but life and knowledge are actions, if someone were to see God he must die, because the life and knowledge of God remain in themselves and are not in act. But every act is exterior. Indeed, for us to live is to live externally [in a body]; to see God is therefore a death. "No one," says the Scripture, "has ever seen God and lived." Indeed, like is seen by like. External life therefore must be forgotten, knowledge must be forgotten, if we wish to see God, and this for us is death.”

“Would a man who was only a man say this of himself? For if a person says this, he blasphemes, and "God does not hear sinners." But indeed Christ says that God hears him. He is therefore neither sinner nor mere man. It has also been said, "Vain is the hope in man." And it is said, "As for us we hope in our God."Christ is therefore God, not coming from any other substance; "the Father is living, and I live because of the Father," and, "I am the bread of life; the one who eats this will live for all time." All the statements signify one substance. And that is why Jesus says that he is from above who says this: "If therefore you will see the Son of man ascending, where was he before?"”

“If Christ is Son, Christ is certainly after God. But after God there is nothing comparable to him. Christ is therefore not comparable to God; or if he is not after God, certainly he is with God; for in no way can he be before God; therefore he is consubstantial (homoousion) … substance as substance, especially if it is a homogeneous substance that is realized in two or more individuals, which is said to be identical substance, not similar.”

“Those who do not understand the manner of begetting may mislead you when they say, "Who can speak of the birth of the Lord?" First, "who" or still more "no one" does indeed seem to signify men. Only the Holy Spirit can grasp or explain this manner of begetting. That is why we ourselves with the permission of God the Father and of Jesus Christ our Lord have set it forth. Certainly it is not a hopeless enterprise, but we have described it as by a miracle. Next, supposing that the manner of begetting is unknown, we speak of substance when we say that the Father and Son are of the same essence (homoousios).”

“What if these formulas also are scriptural, and of these two formulas, one is used with such clearness that one knows it has not been invented by me but has already been authorized by sacred Scripture? David, who sings hymns in the book of Psalms, which is called the key of all the mysteries, in the thirty-fifth psalm chants a psalm to God, sings praise to God in this way: "For in you is the source of life. In your light we shall see the light." Do we think that that is addressed to God or to Christ or to both? Because to both, it is rightly addressed, for in the Father is the Son, and in the Son is the Father. But if it is addressed to God the Father, it will be this: "If they had stood in my substance, they would have also seen my Word." But if it is addressed to the Son, it will be this: "Whoever has seen me, has seen the Father also."”

“Therefore God is also Being, both existing and substance, although he is above all that because he is the Father of all. We should not be afraid to use the word substance of God, because when words are lacking to describe the highest realities, it is not inappropriate for us to take terms borrowed from what we do know and understand and use them in this special sense.”

“His reason for saying "through Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead" is that what God does he does through Christ. And so that people would not say, "How did you learn from Christ?" since Paul had not previously been a follower of Christ and Christ was dead, he said that God raised Christ from the dead. By this he implies that it is Christ himself, who taught him, who has been raised from the dead—raised, that is, by the power of God the Father.”

“Whereas he was accustomed to call himself simply Paul the apostle to the Romans and Corinthians, in order to startle the Galatians and reprove them for a grave error he has joined with himself all the brothers who were with him, saying that they themselves were writing to the Galatians, making them feel the shame of thinking contrary to everyone, so as to give more weight to his own injunctions and the gospel that he preaches.”

“Possibly because the Savior himself is not a man [merely], as some think. Nor because he is sent in the form of a man is he therefore a man but God in a mystery taking flesh to overcome the flesh.… If "from a man" means one thing, "after the manner of man" will mean another. And again if "I did not receive from a man" is one thing. "not after the manner of man" will be another. Therefore "after the manner of man" can be understood to mean "so that you may understand in a corporeal manner," seeing that the argument received is that "which I did not receive from man."”

“For if the foundation of the church was laid in Peter, to whom all was revealed, as the gospel says, Paul knew that he ought to see Peter. When he speaks of seeing Peter, it is as one to whom Christ had committed so much authority, not as one from whom he was to learn anything.… "How," [he implies], "could I learn this great knowledge of God from Peter in such a short time?"”

“By "glorified God in me" he means they called him great. For what is so magnificent as to have your own opinion turned around and receive the one whom you previously assailed? This being so, you also should follow nothing else than the gospel preached to you by the one who is a miracle among the Gentiles, because he preaches the faith of Christ.”

“That is, those through whom the commandments and gospel of God were being handed down, such as apostles and the rest. "To these men," he says, "I privately explained my gospel, which I preach among the Gentiles, so that if there was anything that they were handing on otherwise, they could correct it or could emend anything that I myself was handing on otherwise. This therefore was the cause of my going up to Jerusalem, and for this reason it was revealed to me that I should go up, so that it might be more readily known that my gospel to the Gentiles and their gospel to the Jews were the same." Now the purpose of his expounding it privately was that shame might be taken from among them, and they might communicate to one another the mysteries that they knew. Since they all shared one opinion and one gospel, what was it that he labored to persuade them of? That they should not add anything new or join anything to it. That is the cause of the present sin of the Galatians in following Judaism and the practice of circumcision, the sabbath and other things.”

“[He means] those who have sprung from those same pseudoapostles but nonetheless "are something," that is, have undergone change and now follow the gospel. Even if they have sprung from these phonies they are now whole, for that is what it is truly to be something. "It is nothing to me," he says, "what kind of people they were before, at some past time." And he adds the reason: God shows no partiality but looks at one's mental attitude and faith. Whether one be Greek or Jew, whether one was anything, is not what God accepts, but what one is and whether one has received faith and the gospel.”

“That is, those who supported the church were like pillars supporting roofs and other things. "These men, then," he says, "being of such quality and so great, gave me their right hands, that is, joined in friendship, peace and steadfastness and declared that they had only one gospel. In view of this accord, Galatians, you are sinning and follow neither my gospel nor that of Peter, James and John, who are the pillars of the church, when you add things that are not approved by any of them."”

“When Paul and Barnabas were having these discussions with John and Peter and James, the gospel was accepted and established in the way that Paul describes. The only thing that they did not hear willingly in this dispute was that works were not part of salvation. Their sole injunction, however, was that they should be mindful of the poor. Thus they agree on this point also, that the hope of salvation does not reside in the activity of doing works for the poor, but they simply enjoin—what?—that we be mindful of the poor. Not that we should spend all our efforts on it but that we should share with those who have not what we are able to have. We are instructed simply that we should be mindful of the poor, not that we should place our care and thought upon our own capacity to hold on to our salvation by this means. Thus he is almost corrected and admonished in this matter, but this is not all Paul says. "That we should be mindful," he says, not "that we should do this" but "that we should keep them in mind," which is less than putting our work into this and fulfilling this alone. He adds that he took thought even for this matter outside the gospel that he preached, which consisted in being mindful of the poor and bestowing whatever he could upon them. In truth, indeed, no one is poor if, simply keeping faith and trusting in God, he awaits the riches of his salvation.”

“Perhaps indeed he would at this point have kept silent about the sin that he says he reproved in Peter, for it was enough that Peter had been corrected by popular reproof and Paul's open accusation. But it is profitable and extremely requisite for this letter. He has two reasons for relating the incident. First, his own gospel was not reproved, and he himself, when he reproved Peter, heard no reproof from Peter. Next, this too, as I said, was extremely pertinent: it is because the Galatians thought that they needed to add to the principles of the gospel to obtain life … that this letter is being written to them. Hence it is very good to tell the story, because it is this very fault that was reproved by Paul in Peter and by the people also. In this way it follows that the Galatians too are sinning.”

“But in what way was Peter sinning? He had not adopted this ruse to bring in the Jews, meeting them on their own terms (which Paul himself had done and glories in having done, meeting the Jews on their own terms but for their profit). Rather, the sin of Peter lay in the fact that he withdrew, through fear of those who were of the circumcision.”

“What then should we understand by "their insincerity"? Even Peter and Barnabas and the other Jews had not truly gone to the length of living their lives according to Jewish practice. They even pretended to do so as an ad hoc measure, because of the fears of those around them. And therefore, he says, even Barnabas acquiesced in their insincerity.”

“Suppose that we, after receiving faith in Christ, do in Christ what the Jews do. Suppose we have received faith in Christ and wish to be justified in it. Suppose we have understood that a man is not justified by the works of the law. Would we not then, by observing the works of the law, be made sinners? Then it would be the case that Christ, whom we received in order not to sin, would himself become a minister of sin. Now, when after receiving him we return to sin—that is, to the old covenant—is Christ made a minister of sin? Let this possibility, Paul says, be far from us. One ought not to think in this way and act so as to make Christ a minister of sin, when he suffered in order that sin might perish.”

“Now it is possible to see Paul as speaking of two laws—one of Moses, the other of Christ—so that he is saying he is dead to that law, which was given to the Jews, through the law that was given through Christ … that is, "I am dead through the law of Christ to the law formerly given to the Jews." But Paul may also be seen as doing what both he and the Savior himself often do, so that he speaks of two laws because it is itself, as it were, twofold: one thing when it is understood carnally another when understood spiritually.… Thus the sense will be "For I through the law," which is now spiritually understood, "am dead to the law"—that law obviously which is understood carnally. And since this is so, "I am dead to the carnal law" because I understand the law spiritually, "so that I live to God." For what it means for someone to live to God is that he understands those precepts contained in the law not carnally but spiritually, that is, what it is to be truly circumcised and what the true sabbath is.”

“Such a subtle comment requires patience to understand. It both negatively reprimands and positively admonishes. He reprimands them by saying "You have suffered so much in vain." At the same time he admonishes them by saying "you have suffered so much," aware that they withstood many things with fortitude when they received faith.”

“Lest he should seem to despair needlessly, he has corrected his own reprimand by saying "if indeed it is in vain." For they could be corrected. If so, what they have suffered will not be without meaning. The meaning they will have will be perseverance in faith, the prize and the confirmation of promises derived from faith in Christ.”

“After confirming that they have suffered and consequently that the Spirit has been given to them, he rightly goes on to ask whether God worked virtues in them from the works of the law or from the hearing of faith. "Obviously not from works," [he says], "for it was not from yourselves that any works proceeded, but you heard in faith and were attentive to faith. And for this reason God worked virtues in you; and if he worked, he gave you the Spirit."”

“Every mystery which is enacted by our Lord Jesus Christ asks only for faith. The mystery was enacted at that time for our sake and aimed at our resurrection and liberation, should we have faith in the mystery of Christ and in Christ. For the patriarchs prefigured and foretold that man would be justified from faith. Therefore, just as it was reckoned as righteousness to Abraham that he had faith, so we too, if we have faith in Christ and every mystery of his, will be sons of Abraham. Our whole life will be accounted as righteous.”

“From his saying "works of the law" we are to understand that there are also good works in the Christian life, especially those that the apostle frequently commends, such as that we should be mindful of the poor and the other precepts for living that are contained in this very letter. The fulfillment of all these works is the calling of every Christian. The cursed works of the law referred to here are therefore other things: obviously observations [of days,] sacrifices of lambs and other such works that they perform concerning circumcision and the choice of foods. But now the paschal feast has been consummated through Christ.”

“Since God gave the law, it is not plausible that that same law should be seen as having been given against the promises. It is certainly against the promises if it embroils us in other things, namely, that we should fulfill the works required by the law and not expect from faith what is promised, that we should obtain through faith an inheritance in God. But let us see what is his answer to this. He first denies it unequivocally: "Certainly not!" That is, it is not right that God should make the giving of the law contrary to the promises.… And next he adds the reason.”

“We have said that the law given by Moses teaches nothing but sins, admonishing us what sins are and how they are to be avoided. And Scripture draws no other conclusion but lays down all its precepts in the light of and with reference to sin.… It is not given so that life may be sought from it but is given so that by its written form it may both include all sins in its teaching and show that they should be avoided. Therefore righteousness is not from the law; that is, justification and salvation come not from the law but from faith, as is promised.”

“The law was not empty or against the promises. How does he say it was necessary? Because it looked forward to the faith that was to be, and the promise came through faith. "First," he says, "before the law came we were under a tutor; that is, under the law as a sort of custodian and guardian we lived a life that was pure through the avoidance of and repentance for sins, so that when Christ came we, being as it were confined for the purpose of that faith which was to come, should expect his coming; and being prepared through the law, should have faith in him; and, as we avoided sin and did the works of the law, should easily be able to have what was promised from his advent, namely, faith in Christ."”

“The metaphor of inheritance refers to receiving eternal life. But how does this come about? By faith in Jesus Christ, when we believe in him, that he is the Son of God and that he himself saves us and that he has accomplished every mystery on our behalf. All these things are reported in the gospel. But what should be noticed here is that, while Paul is stating this fact, he addresses it to their persons, offering incentives to persuade them more readily. "You all," he says, "are sons of God." Before, he had said, "We are under a custodian." Now as it were he names them anew, saying "You are sons of God"—but sons from faith in Christ Jesus.”

“The elements of the world were thought to have in themselves at the same time their own motions and, as it were, certain necessary consequences of the motion of other beings, such as stars, by whose revolution human life was brought under necessity. And so humans served the elements as the stars ordained and the course of the world required.”

“As there is a fullness in things, so there is in times. For each thing has its fullness in a full and copious perfection that abounds in everything. Christ is the fullness of things. The fullness of times is the consummation of freedom. So that his fullness may be whole and perfect Christ collects his members who are scattered, and in this way his fullness is achieved. So in the same way the fullness of times was achieved when all had become ripe for faith and sins had increased to the utmost, so that a remedy was necessarily sought in the judgment of all things. Hence Christ came when the fullness of time was completed.”

“Because he is brought forth from a woman he can be said to be made, but made for this temporary purpose: to be subject to the law.… The Galatians were to understand from this that they had fallen into error, for the Savior himself, in whom they believed, was made subject to the law though he remained the Lord of the law.”

“Since the law by its precepts held people bound, as it were, only to decency of life but not to the hope of deliverance and eternity, God sent his own Son. He sent him subject to the law, that is, the law of Israel, that he might redeem those who were there and lived under the law. Now this is a great thing, that he says [Christ came] not merely to show them the way of life or to stir them up toward eternity with harsh commands but to redeem them. This is the mystery of what he performed, the redemption of all who believed in him, that they might become sons by adoption. When, therefore, such a great benefit came from Christ, nothing was to be added beside this. The law was no longer a matter of servitude.”

“When he introduces the "beggarly elements of this world," this seems rather to concern the pagans, who make gods for themselves even from the elements of this world.… Since, however, the whole of his discourse and the whole of this treatise were undertaken to reprimand the Galatians for their conversion to Judaism, and all these things are to be understood of the Jews, how do we understand "you are turned again to the weak"? When therefore he says "the beggarly elements" of this world, he means those who, understanding the law carnally, have clung to the contingent elements of this world. For the flesh is always hungering. It yearns for the sustenance of food and drink and objects of desire, all of which, however, are weak.”

“So that he may be seen to say this to Jews and about Jews—that is, to the Galatians, who combine the Jews' way of life with theirs—he adds, "You observe days and months and seasons and years." … For it is one thing to observe days, as for example to rest on the sabbath, another to observe months, as for example to observe new moons, … another to observe years, another again [to observe] seasons such as fasting, the Passover, the feast of unleavened bread and other things of this kind.”

“The weakness in my body was no obstacle for you, but you received me as an angel of God, that is, as a messenger, a preacher sent from God (for that is an angel of God); and you received me like Christ Jesus, whom I was preaching to you. And so you truly received Christ Jesus, if you received me as an angel of God, in the same way you received Christ Jesus.”

“Since emulate signifies two things—one when someone emulates what he finds pleasing because it is good and another when people are emulators because they feel envy—these people, he says, emulate you in a bad way, by which he means that they are imitators through envy.… When he adds the phrase "so that you may emulate them" [meaning] "that you may follow them," he has thus used the double sense of emulation in different places, since emulation is imitation, and especially when it is also directed to what is good.… [He continues: ] "Emulate therefore better gifts—not those of Jewish law, which are not gifts and are not better; but emulate those things which are good and better gifts. That is, whatever belongs to faith and love, emulate that with regard to Christ and follow it. It is always good to emulate better things. Emulation as such is not good, but the emulation of better things is always good, and not only when I am present."”

“Sons are spoken of in many senses, sometimes as by love, sometimes as by nature, sometimes as by blood, sometimes even as by religion. This is what Paul means now by "my sons," either because when the new birth occurs through faithful baptism, he who guides the baptized toward maturity or receives them when fully ready is called their father, or because when he calls them back into Christ he makes them his own sons.”

“All the virtue of the one who believes in Christ is by the grace of God. Grace is not from merits but from readiness to believe God. Therefore [Paul writes] "You have already fallen from grace if you place your justification in the law, because (for example) you serve works, because you observe the sabbath or on account of your circumcision. If you believe that you are justified by this, "you have fallen from grace and been made void of Christ." You no longer have your faith from Christ nor hope for grace for yourselves from his passion and resurrection, if you believe that justification comes from the law."”

“Everywhere he says that faith in the gospel of Christ accords no value to rank or sex or works done with regard to the body or from the body or for the sake of the body, such as circumcision, works and other things of this kind. None of these, he says, has saving value in Christ. Circumcision is therefore vain, nor by uncircumcision do we gain value in Christ. Because we have conceived faith in him and because we have believed his promises and because through his resurrection we too rise and have suffered all things with him and rise to life with him but also through him, our faith is sure. Through this faith comes works fitting to salvation. This comes about through the love that we have for Christ and God and thus toward every human being. For it is these two relationships above all that set life straight and fulfill the whole sense of the law. They contain all the commands in the Decalogue—if it follows necessarily that he who keeps faith will also keep love, since these two fulfill all the precepts of the law of Christ.”

“All leaven corrupts the bread, and the corrupted bread is flour. When the mass of flour is left, it sours, and then comes the leavening. Now when a small amount of the leaven is put into the mass, the mass is corrupted. "You," he says, "must be unleavened bread. Therefore that little addition of yours, which you thought a small amount, namely, your observing of circumcision and the rest, because it is corrupt, corrupts the mass of o ur gospel. If so, you do not have full hope in Christ, and neither does Christ regard you as his own or people whose hope depends on him. For it is faith that sets free, and, as I have said, he has no faith who hopes for any sort of help apart from Christ, even along with Christ."”

“The whole work of the law is fulfilled by this one command: love. For one who loves another neither murders nor commits adultery nor steals.… Now Paul himself adds a text: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." But we ought to understand by "neighbor" every human being and then constantly view Christ as our neighbor. "And you too must love one another but in the spirit." Here he now seems, as if neglecting the previous question and discussion, to urge them to avoid discord. And this can happen if you love one another in the Spirit, not in the flesh nor for the works of the flesh nor in natural observances. For he who loves another feels no envy, nor steals from another, nor despises or abuses him.”

“The whole essence of the gospel is to think according to the Spirit, to live according to the Spirit, to believe according to the Spirit, to have nothing of the flesh in one's mind and acts and life. That means also having no hope in the flesh. "Walk, then," he says, "in the Spirit"—that is, "Be alive. If you do so you will not consummate the desire of the flesh. You will admit into consciousness no sin, which is born of the flesh."”

“He adds another principle which is generally stated but is relevant to what he said above to prevent their following anything beside the gospel (that is, adding also a legalistic way of life and works). Do not err, he says, for all those things which are grounded apart from the gospel are error-prone. And he has added the force of necessity to his precept: "God," he says, "is not mocked." He does not say, "God knows all," lest they should hope for some sort of cheap pardon for their error or for something that might be hidden. Rather "God is not mocked," and Paul clarifies what will happen to those who err and those who hold fast to worldly life.”

“Some Galatians, who thought that they ought to adopt the Jewish way of life, so as to observe the sabbath and undergo circumcision and do other things of this sort in their carnal understanding, could have hope in the flesh and from the flesh. Anyone, therefore, who has hope in the flesh and sows his own hope in the flesh will have a harvest from the flesh, that is, fruit from the flesh. But what fruit? Corruption, he says; for indeed the flesh is corrupted, and this is its end, that it grows corrupt and putrid. It perishes and dies. All things, then, that are of the flesh grow putrid and suffer corruption.… Therefore it is better to have hope in the Spirit, so that we may have hope [in what comes] from the Spirit: the hope and the fruit of the Spirit. This is what it means to sow in the Spirit—eternal life. For this present life indeed is life but not life eternal. But the one who lives here in the Spirit and acts according to the Spirit and does nothing corrupt sows for himself eternal life. And this will be his harvest, that on departing he will receive eternal life.”

“It is not enough that we do good; for our goodness will not be recognized straight away by God if we do good, but only if we "do not grow weary in doing good." Many begin, many in a way persevere, yet later they give up, either tired or led astray. He justly warns them that they should not grow weary in any way, lest by their weariness they leave off what they began when they began to do well.”

“Hence we are to work, and we are to work good and to work it to all so that there is no partiality toward persons. We are to do nothing except do good and good to all. For indeed if love edifies and every person is beloved, then every good that we work we ought to work on behalf of all.… However, he makes the distinction that the good that we work on behalf of all is to be worked most of all on behalf of the household of faith, that is, those who have come to believing trust in Christ and God. He comes to the climax of his argument in urging this. It was particularly germane to the Galatians. For they, by making certain additions to faith from Judaism, were not acting out of faith. They believed that they would gain fruit from works and mere ritual observance. Therefore he adds, "Let us above all do good to the household of faith, because they have adopted faith in the gospel only, that is, in Christ and God."”

“When Paul writes that the cross is glory, he means obviously "the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." When in that mystery his body hung from the cross and in it crushed the power of this world, the whole world was crucified through him. In the cross he identified with every person in the world. In doing so, he made everything that he suffered universal, that is, he caused all flesh to be crucified in his death. Therefore I too am fixed to the cross and to the world. I means the one who was living carnally, whose thoughts were of the flesh. Such a one is now "nailed to the world," that is, the worldly things in him are subjected to death.”

“Paul's point is this: "All that Christ experienced on the cross—the imprint of the nails, the spear thrust in his side, the other marks of the crucifixion—I bear in my own body. I too have suffered. Therefore you too ought to endure much—indeed all—adversity, since you will be with Christ if you suffer with Christ and begin by your own act, in the face of adversaries, to suffer what Christ suffered." Through these words Paul reveals what he himself was suffering, how much he shared with Christ and what we also ought to suffer if we wish to live in Christ.”

“When Jesus Christ elected Paul and made him an apostle, he elected him through the Spirit by the will of God or the power through whom God works his will. Let us therefore understand, as I often say, that the will of God is the very power, greatness and substance of the whole divine plenitude. Christ—that is, God's Word which was in Christ—is the will of God. Those who consider this more closely will find that God and his will are inseparable.”

“In other letters when he writes to a church and its people he does not add "to the saints and the faithful." But now, because he desires to keep them loyal to the holy Name, so that being sanctified they will not add anything superficially in excess of the Name, he calls them simply by this name: they are the faithful "in Christ."”

“Both grace and peace remove contention. They convey the will of God. Since therefore they were in the grip of error, grace was first sought on their behalf, in order that they should know God and fully obey God and Christ, putting all trust in Christ and nothing else.… Then he also adds "peace from God." The one who wills ungraciously creates severe discord.”

“God in his love has predestined us to adoption through Christ. How could God possibly have Christ for his Son by adoption?… We speak of ourselves as heirs of God the Father and heirs through Christ, being sons through adoption. Christ is his Son, through whom it is brought about that we become sons and fellow heirs in Christ.”

“We, being such as we are, are surrounded and held fast by vice and libidinous sin. When we are set free by him, acquitted of sin and pardoned for our sins, we are also adopted as his sons. All this is therefore to the praise of his glory and grace—his glory because he can do so much, and his grace because he offers this to us freely.”

“It is not all things indifferently that are restored but all things that are in Christ—both those that are in heaven and those that are on the earth but only those that are in Christ. Others are strange to him. Whatever things then are in Christ, it is these that are revitalized and rise again, whether in heaven or in earth. For he is salvation, he is renewal, he is eternity.”

“He now moves on to specific exhortations for the Ephesians, and at the same time he warns them not to entertain contrary ideas. He first expresses himself generously: "having heard," he says, "of your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ." For this is the sum of things, this is virtue, this is the mystery, that there should be faith in Christ Jesus. This faith also encourages one to love all the saints, all who have faith in Christ and have been sanctified through him. Thus one who is faithful in Christ loves the saints.… "Therefore I also, having heard of your faith, love you."”

“Let us understand that we arrive at the full mystery of God by two routes: We ourselves by rational insight may come to understand and discern something of the knowledge of divine things. But when there is a certain divine self-disclosure God himself reveals his divinity to us. Some may directly perceive by this revelation something remarkable, majestic and close to truth.… But when we receive wisdom we apprehend what is divine both through our own rational insight and through God's own Spirit. When we come to know what is true in the way this text intends, both these ways of knowing correspond.”

“Because he is the fount and the origin and the principle in everything that moves, Christ was therefore set "above all authority and above all power." Authority is one thing, power another. Authority is expressed in action. Power is expressed in the capacity to act. A potential act may exist not as present fact but as the present possibility of something. But since Christ is himself the origin of all and is in all that is possible, he is "above all power." Since he is the source of all acts and authority is expressed in actions, he is therefore said to be "above all authority."”

“All names are secondary inventions. They primarily point to that which is in the created order, whether it be angels, human beings or temporal powers. By contrast, only that is eternal in essence which has existence without dependency upon something else that exists, which lives by its own power. That which is eternal has no name in itself. Such "names" are added by us with our vocabulary and language. Christ receives these names from us (Son of God, divine, Spirit), yet he is still more than whatever these names convey.… Among names, the name that holds the chief place and that from which all names come is that which the Greeks call Being itself. But Christ is above this very being and is therefore above every name.”

“Christ is the fullness of the church. This entire fullness is in process of being filled up. At one stage everything which is being filled is made empty. So Christ was emptied or emptied himself. Having recovered all things again through the mystery of salvation and saved the full number of souls, Christ is filling all in all.”

“All these statements about the magnificence and power of Christ have this purpose: To prove that nothing further is to be received, no other thought required to complete the revelation. The Ephesians are therefore in error if they add anything further and introduce anything from the teaching of the Jews or of the world.”

“Light and dark are two things, as are truth and falsehood, goodness and wickedness. But they are not to be imagined as equal, for it is not pious to compare anything to God, even by contraries. So we are to understand that there are two spirits, one of faith and one of disobedience. Satan and his devils have their substance from air, that is, from material reality. They derive their power in that same way, over those who think materially. The prince of that power which is in the air works through matter. He is therefore that spirit now at work through material means among the children of disobedience. He possesses their minds and has dominion over them. Therefore the one who lives "according to the course of this world lives according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit who is now at work in the children of disobedience."”

“The fact that you Ephesians are saved is not something that comes from yourselves. It is the gift of God. It is not from your works, but it is God's grace as God's gift, not from anything you have deserved. Our works are one thing, what we deserve another. Hence he distinguishes the two phrases "not from yourselves" and "not from works." Remember that there are faithful works that ought to be displayed daily in services to the poor and other good deeds.”

“Christ, he says, "is our peace." Elsewhere Paul calls him mediator. He interposed himself of his own accord between divided realms. Souls born of God's fountain of goodness were being detained in the world. There was a wall in their midst, a sort of fence, a partition made by the deceits of the flesh and worldly lusts. Christ by his own mystery, his cross, his passion and his way of life destroyed this wall. He overcame sin and taught that it could be overcome. He destroyed the lusts of the world and taught that they ought to be destroyed. He took away the wall in the midst. It was in his own flesh that he overcame the enmity. The work is not ours. We are not called to set ourselves free. Faith in Christ is our only salvation.”

“Their souls have thus been reconciled to the eternal and the spiritual, to all things above. The Savior, through the Spirit, indeed the Holy Spirit, descended into souls. He thereby joined what had been separated, spiritual things and souls, so as to make the souls themselves spiritual. He has established them in himself, as he says, "in a new person." What is this new person? The spiritual person, as distinguished from the old person, who was soul struggling against flesh.”

“He distinguishes "those who are far off" from "those who are near." This refers to the Gentiles and Jews. For the Jews are obviously close and the Gentiles far off. Yet the Savior himself has brought the gospel to the Gentiles. Paul here mentions first that Christ by his advent has truly preached peace also to those who are far off, that is, the Gentiles, as is shown by many evidences. For those who come to belief from Gentile backgrounds ironically have a greater claim to be called sons than those from Jewish backgrounds. And yet, so that it may not be denied to the latter, he adds "and those who are near."”

“Both Jews and Gentiles "have access to the Father" through Christ himself. But how? "In one Spirit." For the Spirit, who is one with Christ, enters into us when we believe in Christ. We then feel God's presence, know God and worship God. Thus we come to the Father in that same Spirit through Christ. No one, whether Jew or Gentile, comes to the Father except through Christ.”

“What are we to understand by "fellow citizens with the saints?" It implies a distinction between citizens and saints. But if this is so, who are the saints and who are the citizens? Saints refers to the apostles, prophets and all who formerly experienced God or spoke divinely through the Spirit dwelling within them. They in some way beheld God's presence, as did Abraham, either through the flesh, through the Spirit or through both flesh and Spirit, as with all the apostles. Those who have later believed in Christ without any such special means are "fellow citizens with the saints and members of God's household."”

“Jesus Christ and his teachings are the foundation for the apostles. The edifice built on this foundation consists in life and character and one's conduct and discipline. The primary foundation is for life; the rest of the edifice is for its adornment and edification. The primary foundation, I say, is to believe in Christ, hope in him and trust in God. This foundation is the teaching of the apostles, which is also heard in the word of the prophets. Note the order of this distinction, first apostles and then prophets. The apostles beheld [God incarnate]; the prophets received the Spirit. These are the saints mentioned above: those who saw and those who were inhabited by the Spirit. Hence the teachings of the apostles and prophets are indeed the teachings of Christ, which proclaim the foundation of all eternal hope.”

“He called this stone a cornerstone not merely because it is at the corner but because it is the first and most important stone. From it begins the foundation of the corner which joins and couples two things to make them one. Souls above already with Christ are united together with those that live in holiness and receive Christ in a mystery that is present. Souls below that are Christ's, including those of the Gentiles, are also joined by that cornerstone, Jesus Christ.”

“As he does so often, he brings the argument back to individuals, that is, to the Ephesians. They themselves have been built into that same temple cornerstone. Here he cleverly adjusts his language to form an exhortation. They have not yet fully entered into this unity but are still being built up. There is a deficiency, and therefore he warns and exhorts them.”

“It remains, after he has stated the truth that all their hope is in Christ and thus they are all being built up together in the Spirit to be the dwelling place of God—it remains, I say, that he should teach them who he himself is and whether he himself is contributing to building them up together through the gospel and can give a reason for his own authority so that they may believe him.”

“Paul indicates that this mystery was made known to him through revelation. From this passage it is evident that a Christian, and a very excellent Christian at that, can be brought into being solely by grace.… Nevertheless, the power of God dispenses grace in many ways. Others come to faith by teaching, wherein by a legitimate training process and through the commandments of the Savior a person is reborn through the Spirit and water, so as to receive the spirit of Christ, in a teaching process that is mediated from human beings and through human beings. But what happened to Paul came to him by the grace of God through revelation. Although he, in my judgment, was the only one who received this particular revelation, God is able to reveal himself in this form or in other ways to others.”

“Everywhere Paul reminds us that we receive God's gifts not by our own merit but by grace. Grace belongs to the giver, not to the recipient. And by adding "according to the working of his power," he also ascribes this to God, so that "if I do any work, it is God's power. For it is not my power that works in me but God's."”

“Was work given before grace? Or did grace come before any works? That which is working is God's power. So grace had already been given. When it is said that Paul was made a minister according to the gift of God, we understand that the gift of being a minister was given before his working to make him a minister, and his being a minister is the gift and grace of God.”

“Christ is the only begotten Son of God, and through him all the rest are created. Through him the works of God are created, as God works in and through him. All ages of time are subsequent to Christ, being made by Christ.… Therefore, even though God is acknowledged as the Creator, God is nonetheless Creator through Christ. The term Creator therefore does not pertain simply to God as such but pertains to Christ and through Christ to God. Christ who was eternally begotten created all things in time. God worked and created all things through Christ.”

“Paul briefly touches on all the parts of the mystery that we have spoken of above when he speaks of the "manifold wisdom of God," whether this be that he sent his Son or that such great majesty assumed the form of a slave or that greater gifts were given. The promises are so great: the forgiveness of sins, the promise of heaven, eternal life, glorification and our inheritance together with the same Christ in his resurrection after death and even his death itself. This is what makes up the manifold wisdom of God.”

“From this we see what it means to say that the mystery was concealed in God, for he adds "according to the purpose of the ages." This means that, after certain ages had reached their destined end, the mystery was to appear through the presence of the Lord in whom it had been concealed. For it was proper for it to be revealed through the One in whom it was concealed.”

“When some hear that Paul suffers tribulations, they may grow faint in faith. To prevent this he argues, in effect: "I pray on account of what has been revealed to me that you should not grow faint through my tribulations. These tribulations I am suffering are not due to anything I have caused but rather because you are either weak in faith or now wavering, or because you are making some unnecessary additions to the faith. That is the reason I endure these trials. I am now hoping to recall you to true discipline and observance so that you will not depart from Christ, having your hope in Christ alone. For this is your glory."”

“What are these "riches of the glory of God?" They are "being strengthened with might through his Spirit," so that they may be strong against the sinful nature, the desires of the flesh and the dreadful powers of this world. This strengthening happens through the Spirit of God. But how are persons strengthened and made firm through the Spirit of God? By "Christ's dwelling in the inner man," he says. For when Christ begins to dwell in the inner citadel of the soul, persons are made strong by might through the Spirit. In this way everything of a hostile nature is evicted.”

“Since he has taught that three things tend toward maturity in Christ—faith, understanding and love—he here brings them all into a brief compass. He is now praying that God will bestow all these gifts upon the Ephesians. Note the sequence he has followed: He spoke first of faith, "that you may have Christ dwelling in the inner man in your hearts through faith." Now he speaks of understanding by saying "so that you may comprehend with all the saints the breadth, length and depth." Again he adds with regard to love, "to know the love that surpasses knowledge."”

“God is through all and in all, and is all things and the source of all, through whom all things come and over all. In this aspect the task of understanding is to note and know what "the breadth, the length, the height and the depth" of divine grace. How all these exist together or may be understood to exist in God and according to these aspects requires another, higher comprehension.… Hence he prays finally that the Ephesians may understand them all together. And so that they will not despair through their inability to comprehend them together, he adds: "so that you may be able to comprehend with all the saints." Therefore the saints comprehend these things together and can expound them.”

“He says in effect: "I pray that you will do these things and understand these things. If, however, anyone is able to do more and more abundantly and go beyond these things—that is, beyond what I ask or understand—praise be to him. Yet whoever does more abundantly will receive this ability through the same power that works within us all, namely, through the power of God and Christ our Lord."”

“He speaks of several forms of forbearance, each of which prevents them from being carried away or proud. Lowliness is first, then meekness. Lowliness consists in having a humble mind. Meekness is a curb on pride and cruelty. Patience consists in bearing any adverse circumstance that may befall them. With lowliness and meekness they learn not to be afraid to suffer. With patience they learn how to respond if they must suffer.”

“In counseling humility, meekness, etc., he sets forth the reason why each person is called to patience and forbearance. Grace has been given to each of us according to the measure in which Christ grants it. Since therefore different people have different gifts, there is no cause for envy or refusal. One should not grieve over what another has, nor should any refuse to give what grace he has received. If therefore Christ grants according to the measure of the grace given to each, we should all embrace one another in love, bearing everything with forbearance and patience, with meekness and humility.”

“Nothing in the cosmos is left untouched by Christ. He indeed descended to the lower parts of the earth and ascended above all the heavens. What heavens? Some say three, some more … but what does it matter? Christ, who ascended, ascended above all the heavens, however many. For eternity is now presently reigning in heaven and incorruptible life. All things there live by the Spirit. This reordering did not occur, however, until the descent of Christ. Once the mystery [of the cross] had been accomplished, all these received salvation after the passion and ascent of Christ and have been perfected. For this is what he means by "so that he might fulfill all," that is, make them perfect and full, with nothing lacking.… Surely this could not be understood to infer that he fulfilled his mission on earth but set nothing right in the heavens and perfected nothing there.”

“The name prophets is given to those who, having received the Spirit of God, spoke beforehand of Christ and his advent. These were the prophets who "were until Christ." But after he arrived, was there no reason for any further prophecy? What prophets does Paul speak of here? It is obviously those who being full of the Spirit spoke of God after his coming, continuing to expound the divine teaching.”

“There are five ways of speaking about the Scriptures: speaking in tongues, speaking in revelation, speaking in knowledge, speaking in prophecy, speaking in teaching.… But there is another thing apart from these. It is being an evangelist. This means to relate what Christ did and announce that Christ himself is to be worshiped.”

“He is calling us to live as one whose thoughts come from the Spirit, who is himself once again becoming the spiritual man created by God. We are to live in the likeness of God, just as God intended when he said: "Let us make humanity in our own image and likeness." Admittedly God has no face or physical aspect. God is Spirit. So we too have been created according to God, to think according to the Spirit and thus to allow nothing to drag us down to worldly and unworthy thoughts.”

“Sin does not consist in simply committing sin but persisting in it. If so, there is always a place for repentance. There is a place for correction. So the apostle says: "let the one who has stolen not steal again." This should be applied not only to stealing but also to all sin. Anyone who has sinned in any way is now called not to sin again.”

“He adds five terms briefly at the end—bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander. Then at the very end he has added the summarizing phrase with all malice. Bitterness consists in envying and speaking ill of others and similar actions. Wrath consists in the lust for vengeance and punishment. Anger is the impulse of a mind boiling over and upheaving beyond what is reasonable. Clamor is a kind of insane, uncontrolled utterance. And blasphemy is wicked thought or speech that attacks God and is primarily directed against God.”

“Having instructed them also to counsel all those who are doing ill, he next shows what a great service this is. For admonition makes those sins manifest. It puts them in the light. For the one who admonishes shows how important is the behavior he illumines. In doing this he is in effect illuminating the evil to show its consequences. When the one who commits evil understands this, the shadows are dispelled and he enters the light.”

“Here we take "the church" to mean every believer and everyone who has received baptism. The believer is brought to faith by the washing in water and the invocation of the Word. But how is this applied to a husband's conduct toward his wife? This is not entirely clear. One possible view is that the mystery of baptism is being rehearsed in this metaphor. On the other hand, if we refer this to the endurance of the husband, which entails his giving himself for the wife and bearing and suffering all that is hers, even sharing in all that she endures, she is being cleansed with water and the Word—that is, she is being purified in the Lord's sight when he renders her pure and by his endurance makes her ready to be sanctified by washing and the Word.”

“Already he has given instructions generally to men concerning their wives and to women concerning their husbands. He now applies the same principles specifically to the Ephesians.… He has added the connecting word however. This shows that even as Christ and the church are one body, so are husband and wife one flesh. The husband's maxim is to love his wife as if she were his own flesh.”

“Faith lives in righteousness. Faith remains the fountain of all the virtues, as Paul has often stated. Righteousness is not as strong as faith because "righteousness lives by faith." But the effect of righteousness is accomplished by faith. So in this battle we must strive toward righteousness. Faith is proven to be true faith when we live righteously. Then faith is seen to be useful to us, as the righteousness that accompanies faith is useful.”

“He returns to that capital virtue, the shield of faith. It contains all the other virtues and brings them all to fulfillment. Unless we are armed with this shield we will not have the strength to battle courageously and resist all these deadly powers. But with the protection of faith we repel all these blows and whatever attacks come from the whole host of powers.”

“It is Christ indeed who is the author of salvation. He is our head. He descended to us and redeemed us by his own mystery. It is he indeed who guards the heads of the faithful. Therefore he is the "helmet of salvation." He is the Word by which the adverse powers are overcome and taken captive.… Christ, who is the Word of God, was sent to overcome all corruption and wickedness and even death itself. It is in this sense that Paul refers to "the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God."”

“This means that we should not say or utter particular words or recite them in our prayers as though they were premeditated or written down. We are to pray "in the spirit" and "at all times." Let your deep affections enter into your praying. The inner spirit, that is, the inner man, is making his prayer with intense desire. He is praying all the time, so that even when he is not praying aloud he is still praying in the spirit.”

“Some might think that the phrase at all times means only the daytime. But, so that he could amplify the force of "at all times," what does he say? "With all perseverance." This calls us to a certain persistent disposition of the mind. We do not pray as if we were asleep. This is what some sound like who pray by reciting or reading familiar phrases or uttering them routinely from memory.”

“The saints themselves, with the bishops and apostles and elders, are called to pray on behalf of the faithful and the catechumens and all the other members of the body. It is typical of Paul to make mention of the whole people of God in prayer. He also calls upon the whole people of God to pray on behalf of their leaders, bishops and saints, and then he adds: "Pray for me too."”

“Isn't this wonderful? From those whom he himself has just now admonished, those whom he has instructed, to whom he has preached the gospel, he now asks for help. He is asking them for their prayers. He goes on to explain what he is asking them to pray for: "that utterance may be given to me." His prayer is definite and specific, that a particular profit may accrue.”

“The last part of the letter is a petition. His prayer and desire is for peace to the brethren, also love and then faith. For above he has already noted that there was discord among them. Now he adds thanks to those who display faith and who love our Lord Jesus Christ. Thus all is concluded with peace against discord, love eliciting concord and faith in God.”

“Some preach Christ "from envy" because of their malice and contentiousness. What they feel is simply envy. They do not preach Christ in a holy and decent manner but merely in order to heap up grief upon me and increase my trial and sorrow. They want to flaunt their delight in my bondage.… Others preach not with the motive of adding further grief to my bonds but to claim the glory of preaching for themselves. Meanwhile the faithful preach Christ "through good will" in sincere belief, not out of envy but because what they believe is good. It is the gospel. So while some are preaching Christ in insolence, to bring punishment and tribulation on me, others are preaching from love. They remain dear to me. They do not insult me because I am in this state for the defense of the gospel.”

“The outcome is very welcome to me: They preach about Christ. They speak Christ's name. They confess that he is God and the Son of God, even if in a different spirit. For by this celebration, exertion and activity, Christ is proclaimed by all. So I too obtain my wish, which is that Christ should be proclaimed. And if that is so, they are wrong to imagine that they have cast me into grief.”

“It may seem that he had been rather rash and daring in his willing and joyful acceptance of the fact that Christ was being proclaimed in any fashion, even by the unscrupulous, even through insolence and envy. But in all this he was relying on the assurance and benevolence of God, confident of what will come to be by the grace of Christ through his Spirit.”

“"Christ is being magnified in my body, now as always, even when my body, subjected to all punishments, bears them all and preaches Christ unceasingly, not terrified by punishments and not giving way under all the tribulations." He explains the alternatives before him by adding: "Whether by life or by death: If I overcome my trials by endurance, Christ will be proclaimed. Or if I die under my punishments, he will be proclaimed all the more. All will recognize that I was not terrified by punishments or by death. In the gospel I will either live out my life beyond these punishments or bear these punishments right up to death. In any case I will have persevered in the preaching of the gospel."”

“It is not death itself that is gain, but to die in Christ. Life is Christ. The one who has hope in him is always alive, both now and forever.… Therefore they achieve nothing, whether they hand me over to death or to tortures in life. Neither alternative harms me. Life under torments is no punishment for me, since Christ is my life. And if they kill me, that too is no punishment for me, since Christ for me is life and to die is gain.”

“He said above "Christ is life for me," but it was not clear then what life he meant, whether in the flesh or life after death. So now he adds these words pointing directly to this life in the flesh: "If it is to be life in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me." "What is this fruit of my labor? My labor is the gospel I preach. Its fruit is to bring many to the hope of life and salvation as they in due course begin to have hope in Christ and put faith in the gospel."”

“Truly like a father, like a servant of God, he has renounced that one of his two desires which was to be more profitable to himself alone, namely, that he should now depart and be with Christ.… He says "I shall remain," and he adds the stronger form "I shall continue." This means: "I shall stay until the completion, that is, the completion of your progress, so that you may obtain grace. Thus when you present your faith, you may receive grace from God."”

“The summing up of one's whole life for a Christian is this, to conduct oneself according to Christ's gospel, to announce his grace steadily both to oneself and others, to have hope in him, to do all that one does according to his commands. For this is what it means to "conduct oneself in a manner that is worthy of Christ's gospel." A person can live honestly and uprightly, but this is not adequate to Paul's meaning. Rather we are to conduct ourselves according to Christ's gospel regardless of what happens and to do so in a worthy manner, living according to Christ's precepts and doing what Christ wants.”

“There is one Spirit that prevails when we believe the gospel wisely and live in accordance with it. This is why he calls them to "stand firm in one Spirit." The soul's task is to overcome contrary feelings in the body. Therefore he in effect is calling them to "stand in one Spirit and fight together with one soul with the faith of the gospel."”

“This work of fearlessness is part of his explanation of what it means to conduct oneself worthily according to Christ's gospel: Never be terrified, whether by adversaries or anything else.… For this very condition of being courageous tends toward our salvation. It deals a death blow to our adversaries. Yet this too is a work of God, lest we should think it part of our own work that our not being terrified should be a cause of our salvation. "For this too is of God," he says, "just as I have often told you that all things come about through the will, the mercy and the grace of God."”

“This is our struggle. This is our contest, our contention and our goal. This it is that leads to the crown and the palm of victory: To do all things for him, to suffer all things for him and not to turn away. You, he says, are now "engaged in the same conflict which you saw and now hear to be mine." It is a conflict that implies chains, prison and all the deadly hazards that Paul has suffered. "So my sufferings," he says, "are confirmed in you by two things: what you hear and what you see."”

“When we are in the midst of ills and labor under the ills of the world, if we have mutual love for one another, God will be our "consolation in love." "If, therefore," he says, "there is this consolation in love, so that, because I love you, you console me in the midst of my ills, make my joy complete." … He has done well to put [the Spirit] third. For the first is to be called in Christ, the next to have love. But when both are true and they have already been called in Christ and enjoy the consolation of loving and being loved, without doubt the fellowship of the Spirit is there.… The church becomes one body when those who have been called are bound to one another in the love of Christ, when they are bound also in the Spirit and have the same "affection and sympathy." The affection corresponds to the calling in Christ and the fellowship of the Spirit, the sympathy to the consolation of love.”

“Remember that God is one, his Son is one and his Holy Spirit is one, and all three are one. If so, then we too ought to be one in our thoughts, so as to "be of the same mind" with the one God. Then it follows that we are to "have the same love." To be of the same mind pertains to knowledge, while to have the same love pertains to discipline, to the conduct of life.”

“What does he mean by "the same love"? That you should have the same love for another that the other has for you, not a divided love but a love embedded in life in Christ. Then he adds "in full accord and of one mind." He seems to me to be underscoring what he has said above but in a reversed order. "In full accord" corresponds to "the same love. Of one mind" refers to the previous phrase: "being of the same mind." Yet there is something more nuanced in this pair than in the previous one. For "being of the same mind" and "of one mind" differ only slightly. Both pertain to knowledge. "Being of the same mind" suggests a knowledge that is not yet established, yet its capacity of knowing may be seen to be the same.… "Being of the same mind" seems to be still a continuing process. It is the way to life. But "having the same love" is the way of life to which that knowing leads.”

“"Do nothing," he says, "through ambition." For many are either prone toward ambitiousness of their own accord or moved toward ambitiousness through others. All these kinds of ambition are to be banished. There is to be no inordinate ambition, whether voluntary or constrained, since both are vicious. Some rush into this ambition through speculation; others are naturally of such temper as to be ambitious. So he advises: "do nothing through ambition."”

“If we think only of ourselves, we may act for our own benefit and bother only with our own affairs, our hope, our own deliverance. But this is not enough. We are truly acting for ourselves if we also have a concern for others and strive to be of benefit to them. For since we are all one body, we look out for ourselves when we look out for others.”

“Above he has given two injunctions, first that they should delight in humility, then that they should think not only of their own affairs but of those of others. Then he says, "Have this mind among yourselves that was in Christ Jesus." Which of these two then do we take to have been manifested in Christ Jesus? One or the other or both? For the first, his humility, is manifest, since Christ humbled himself and assumed the character of a slave. But the second injunction could be here as well, since he bore this for others and thought of others rather than of himself.”

“God is the very principle of life. God is being itself. God contains life as a principle of life and so also understanding. But life and understanding are in a sense the form and image of what exists. What most truly exists is God. God is being itself, as many agree, and more so that which is above existence. The form of existence is motion, understanding and life.… Christ is said to be "the form of God" because Christ is life, consciousness and understanding.”

“What does this mean—"being equal to God"? It means that he [the Son] is of the very same power and substance [as the Father]. … It is in this sense therefore that Christ was equal to God. Note that Paul did not say Christ was "similar to God," for that would imply that Christ possessed some accidental likeness to the substance of God but not that he was substantially equal. … Thus Christ is the form of God. The form of God is the substance of God. The form and image of God is the Word. The Word is forever with God. The Word is of one substance with the Father, with whom from the beginning it remains forever the Word.”

“It would be a kind of robbery if two things were not equal by nature but were forced to be made equal or made equal through some accident. It therefore shows great confidence and bespeaks the very nature of divinity when Paul says of Christ that he did not think it robbery to be equal with God yet did not consider this equality something he had to fortify.”

“We must understand this "emptying himself" to consist not in any loss or privation of his power but in the fact that he lowered himself to the basest level and condescended to the meanest tasks. By fulfilling these he momentarily emptied himself of his power. Assuming flesh and human form and likeness, he suffered, died and fulfilled all the things that belong to humanity.”

“How could he possibly have taken only human form and not human substance? For he put on the flesh and was in the flesh and suffered in the flesh. This is the mystery and the means of our salvation.… What therefore does it mean, "he emptied himself?" That the universal Logos was not universal in his actual being as the logos of the flesh and becoming flesh. Therefore he did not merely pretend to become a man but became a man.”

“It is not as though Paul was in the slightest uncertain about Christ's identity that he said Christ was "found in human likeness." He did not say "in human likeness" as though our Lord maybe was not truly a man but a phantom. Rather he was found in human likeness while still being God yet at the same time being truly a man in the flesh, with a physical human body that he had assumed.”

“He received "the name that is above every name." He received this name because of his saving word, because of the mystery of his passion, where death was vanquished by the very death of Christ. Through this grace he received the name. It was at that point that the name rightly accrued to him. But the reality to which the name pointed was already given before. The Word, the very power of God, did not become real for the first time only when it entered flesh. Rather it possessed its reality as the power, wisdom, action and work of God from the outset, when it was called the Word and when it indeed was the Word. It is that same Word that has now put on flesh … that has received the title of Son, which title is above every name.”

“To the charge being given to Timothy as one "who is faithfully anxious on your behalf" he adds this explanation: The others "seek after their own interests"; that is, they are anxious to protect and keep what is theirs and in this are not Christians. For what is it to be a Christian? To seek rather in every companion and brother that which is Christ's.”

“He commends the character of Epaphroditus by calling him "my brother and fellow soldier." He is a brother in the law and a fellow soldier in the camp and in the work of the gospel. And he is called "your apostle." Note that he calls Epaphroditus an apostle. Everyone who is sent on account of the gospel can rightly be called an apostle.”

“Why does Paul add the phrase "and I may be less anxious?" Because he has already said that Epaphroditus had ministered to his needs. He did not want it to appear as though he was sad to be sending him. Since Epaphroditus desired to be with them and since they are going to be glad if they see him, Paul could then be "less anxious."”

“Divine Scripture speaks of dogs which are of use and are defenders of the church, as David teaches in Psalm 68, saying that these dogs are sated with the blood of enemies in the temple of God. And here he speaks of the opposite kind of dogs, who are obviously the Jews, because they are "workers" and "evil workers." For works are the sole exercise of their lives, without any knowledge of God, and from their works they hope for salvation.”

“It is because Paul is still persevering in the fellowship of suffering, which is very similar to death itself, that he says "that if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead." There can be no doubt of his attaining to the resurrection. But what is this attaining to the resurrection of the dead? It is the perfect and full life of every individual which is elicited from the fellowship of Christ's sufferings by every means, which will appear clearly at that end time when the resurrection from the dead occurs, that is, when the dead come back to life.”

“Christ by his sufferings has set free all who follow him. He embraces everyone, but especially those who follow. The one who wants to follow and embrace Christ is bound to follow Christ in all his sufferings. Only in this way may he embrace Christ as Christ embraces him. For if Christ set everyone free by his sufferings, he embraces everyone in his sufferings.”

“If they compared themselves with Paul, the Philippians would understand how far they were from the blessings of freedom. How frequently had he shared in so many of Christ's sufferings: He had been beaten, imprisoned, thrown to wild beasts and burdened with other evils. Nonetheless even he did not think that he had already taken hold of Christ, as long as he was alive.”

“Here then are two precepts for the one who is going to live the rest of life walking in the Christian way. First, the one who is still living under divine governance, however well and rightly he has acted in the past, should not think about all the actions he has already done as though he deserved to obtain something by them. Rather he should cast them into oblivion, always seeking the new tasks that remain. Second, he should nonetheless keep living under the divine rule, continually "pressing on" toward these things and observing the rule of Christ, even to death.”

“Assuming that this statement is complete and self-contained and need not be linked to his subsequent words, I think it must be understood as follows: "If there is anything in what I have said that you construe or understand in a different way, I allow your understanding to develop." Remember that he is speaking of the perfect, for so he says so: "we who are perfect." … "In due time 'God will reveal this to you,' since both what you understand and what I have said are fitting."”

“There are two types of misunderstanding of Christ, or rather one class of two descriptions, who are enemies of Christ. For some in their carnal thoughts deride the cross of Christ, thinking of Christ merely as a man raised onto a cross.… These pay attention to nothing but the flesh. To them "their god is a belly" and their "glory is in filthiness." These are the ones who "think earthly thoughts" and whose end is death. On the other hand, there are those who think of Christ only as a spirit. They do not think of him as incarnate or crucified. They too are enemies to the cross of Christ, having death as their end.”

“Love, the sum of every virtue for the Christian, does not fittingly come to pass if the faithful do not stand united as one, thinking in harmony. This is what Paul means here by "Stand firm in the Lord, my beloved." We may understand that he wants them to be united in understanding from the fact that he calls them [literally] "most beloved brethren." Mutual love is the result of thinking in unison and standing together in Christ. When all have equal faith in Christ all of us stand together in him.”

“I have said above that he promised that Epaphroditus would come to Philippi, and then I showed that Paul sent him when he said "and so I sent him in haste." Therefore this is now, so to speak, added so that he may give him a command in the letter, praying and beseeching him to tell those women, Euodia and Syntyche, to have a common understanding in the Lord.… And that Epaphroditus is the one to whom he gives this command to help the aforesaid women to reach a common understanding can be perceived from the fact that he says, "I pray and beseech you, brother and yokefellow," whereas above he said, "I thought Epaphroditus needful, my brother and fellow soldier."”

“This means that the consequence of having unity in understanding and faith is that they rejoice in the Lord and are always dear to one another. "Rejoice," he says "in the Lord"—this is too little: "again I say rejoice." For when you are joined in heart you rejoice in the Lord, and when you rejoice in the Lord you are joined in heart and stand together in the Lord.”

“Forbearance is individual patience that observes due measure without straining beyond its station. When we live among strangers and live in a way commensurate with our lowliness, God will lift us up. So it is here; we do well to recognize our lowliness. "Therefore let your moderation," he says, "be known to all." Why does he tell us this? So that we may make a pleasing show here? No, but so that when Christ comes he may raise up our lowliness and exalt our moderation.”

“When the peace of God has come upon us, we shall understand God. There will be no discord, no disagreement, no quarrelsome arguments, nothing subject to question. This is hardly the case in worldly life. But it shall be so when we have the peace of God, wherein all understanding shall be ours. For peace is the state of being already at rest, already secure.”

“"Whatever is true"—What are these true things? They are set out in the gospel: Jesus Christ is the Son of God and all that goes with that good news. When your thoughts are true, it follows that they will be honorable. What is true is not corrupted, which means that it is honorable. What is not corrupted is true. Then what is true and honorable will also be just, for it is made just or justified. And what is made just is pure since it receives sanctification from God. All that is just, honorable, true and pure is lovable and also gracious. For who does not love these saintly virtues? Who does not speak and think well of them?… Of this list some items pertain to true virtue in itself, while the later ones pertain to the fruit of virtue. To virtue it belongs to love truth, honor, justice and purity. To the fruit of virtue belongs that which is lovely and gracious.”

“In saying "if there be any excellence, any praise," he takes good note of the nature of things. For all things happen by the grace of God, who governs and rules through the Spirit that he sends into us. We count on nothing of our own, but on grace alone. This is why he speaks conditionally: "if any excellence," for the virtues being nurtured in us are not from us but from God's grace. So not even the praise is ours. Therefore he also says "if there is anything worthy of praise."”

“Then he points to the blessing, as he has before: Do this and "the God of peace will be with you." This is what the Philippians needed most, that there should be no discord, that all should think as one. Thus there will be peace in their church. The God of peace, who is the Father, with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, will impart peace to every soul that is intimate with God.”

“"I am not in want," Paul says, "nor do I ask for these things out of my own need. But you ought to practice benevolence simply in order that your abundance of benevolence may be for me the fruit of your good deeds.… When I either ask God on your behalf or give him thanks on your account, there is fruit for me in my prayer on your account, so long as I know that you are abounding in benevolence."”

“Many apparently have believed even from Caesar's household. These are people who would otherwise have walked proudly and thought of nothing but Caesar. The power of the gospel has been revealed to these people. Many others who have believed are humble people. He equally greets them all, humbly and affably, wherever they are. The word "especially" in relation to "those of Caesar's household" makes it apparent that they are taking pains to be pleasing in service.”

“He knew that the Philippians, unlike those addressed in his other letters, held to correct teaching. They had not been seduced by false apostles. He is here writing only a short letter of exhortation. He prays that "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit." For if the Spirit dwells within them, they will respond rightly.”

“The Greeks call "to be" ousian (substance) or hypostasin; we call it in Latin by one term, substance; and a few Greeks use ousian (substance) and rarely; all use hypostasin (hypostasis). Certainly one differs from the other, but for the moment let us omit this.The divine Scripture has often used hypostasin in Greek, substance in Latin. And it has said of the substance of God in the prophet Jeremiah "that if they had stood in the substance of the Lord they would have seen my word." But what is it "to stand in the substance"? To know the substance of God, which is "true light," which is infinite Spirit. If they had known that, they would have known the Logos of the Lord; that is, "they would have seen the word" of the Lord. And shortly after, the same Jeremiah uses the same words. David says, "And my substance is in the lower regions of the earth." He speaks also of God and says "substance." And it is clear what this is. The apostle says to the Hebrews, "He who is the character of his substance." He said that Christ is the character of the substance of God. There are many other examples. But what is the point of all this? To show that the word substance is in Scripture and is used of the substance of God.”