Romans 8

Romans 8:1

Ambrosiaster: It is true that there will be no damnation for those who are Christians serving the law of God with a devout mind. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Augustine of Hippo: There is no condemnation just because carnal desires exist; it is only if we give in to them and sin that we are condemned. — AUGUSTINE ON Romans 47

Diodorus of Tarsus: Paul shows here that those who are under the law, because they live according to the flesh, are under sin and condemnation. But those who are in Christ are not under condemnation because they do not walk according to the flesh. — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Gennadius of Constantinople: Look how great Christ’s grace is in that he has set us free from condemnation. — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

John Chrysostom: Then as the fact that many fall into sin even after baptism presented a difficulty, he consequently hastened to meet it, and says not merely “to them that are in Christ Jesus,” but adds, “who walk not after the flesh;” so showing that all afterward comes of our listlessness. For now we have the power of walking not after the flesh, but then it was a difficult task. Then he gives another proof of it by the sequel. — Homily on Romans 13

Origen of Alexandria: After having taught what conflict there is in those who are caught in the struggle between a mind which lives according to the law of God and the desires of the flesh which lead them into sin, Paul now goes on to talk not about those who are partly in the flesh and partly in the Spirit but about those who are wholly in Christ. He declares that there is nothing in them worthy of condemnation. — COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Pelagius: There is nothing which deserves condemnation in those who have been crucified to the works of the flesh. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Thomas Aquinas: After showing that we are freed from sin [n. 406] and the Law [n. 518] through Christ’s grace, the Apostle now shows that through the same grace we are freed from damnation. First he shows that through the grace of Christ we are freed from the damnation of guilt; secondly, from the damnation of punishment, there [v.10; n. 628] at And if Christ. In regard to the first he does two things. 296 First, he sets forth his intention; secondly, he proves his proposition, there [v.2; n. 600] at For the law of the spirit of life. 596. In regard to the first he does two things: first, he mentions the benefit which grace confers, drawing his conclusion from the foregoing in this way: The grace of God through Jesus Christ has freed me from the body of this death and in this consists our redemption. Therefore, now that we have been freed through grace, there is no damnation left, because the damnation has been removed both as regards guilt and as regards punishment: “It is he himself who grants peace, who is there who will condemn?” (Job 34:29). Secondly, he shows to whom this benefit is granted and he mentions two conditions required for it. He sets out the first when he says for those who are in Christ Jesus, i.e., incorporated in him by faith and love and the sacrament of faith: “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27); “As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me” (John 15:4). But to those who are not in Christ damnation is due. Hence John (15:6) continues: “If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered together, thrown into the fire and burned.” Then he sets out the second condition, saying who do not walk according to the flesh, i.e., do not follow the desires [concupiscentia] of the flesh: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not make war according to the flesh” (2 Corinthians 10:3). 597. From these words some want to infer that in unbelievers who are not in Christ Jesus the first movements [of desire] are mortal sins, even though they do not 297 consent to them, and that this is what is meant by walking according to the flesh. For regarding those who do not walk according to the flesh, if the fact that they serve the law of sin in their flesh through the first movements of desire is not damnable for them precisely because they are in Christ Jesus, it follows from the contrary sense, that for those who are not in Christ Jesus [the first movements of desire] are damnable. They also give this argument. They say that an act is necessarily damnable which proceeds from the habit of a damnable sin. But original sin is damnable, because it deprives man of eternal life, and its habit remains in the unbeliever whose original sin has not been remitted. Therefore, any movements of desire that arise from original sin are a mortal sin in their case. 598. First, it is necessary to show that this position is false. For the reason why the first movement [of desire] is not a mortal sin is because it does not reach reason, in which the notion of sin is completed. But this reason is present even in unbelievers; therefore, the first stirrings in unbelievers cannot be mortal sins. Furthermore, in the same type of sin a believer sins more gravely than an unbeliever: “How much more punishment do you think will be deserved by the man who has spurned the Son of God and profaned the blood of the covenant?” (Hebrews 10:29). Therefore, if the first stirrings in unbelievers were mortal sins, all the more so in believers. 599. Secondly, it is necessary to respond to their reasons. For, first of all, they cannot derive this position from the words of the Apostle. For the Apostle does not say that the only thing not damnable for those who are in Christ Jesus is that in the flesh they serve the law of sin according to the movements of desire, but that there is no 298 condemnation at all for them. But for those who are not in Christ Jesus, this very fact is damnable. Furthermore, if this passage refers to first movements [of desire] experienced by those not in Christ Jesus, such stirrings are damnable according to the condemnation due to original sin, which still remains in them and from which those in Christ Jesus have been freed. But this does not mean that a new condemnation is added on account of such stirrings. Neither does their second argument conclude of necessity to what they intend. For it is not true that any act proceeding from the habit of a damnable sin is itself damnable, but only when it is a act perfected by the consent of reason. For if the habit of adultery is present in a person, the stirring of adulterous desire, which is an imperfect act, is not a mortal sin for that person, but only the perfect motion that exists by the consent of reason. Furthermore, an act proceeding from such a habit does not have a new reason for condemnation added to the reason for condemning the habit. Accordingly, the first stirrings in unbelievers, inasmuch as they proceed from original sin, do not receive the condemnation due to mortal sin but only to original sin. 600. Then when he says For the law, he proves what he had said. And first, in regard to the first condition that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus; secondly, in regard to the second condition, i.e., for those who do not walk according to the flesh, there [v. 4b; n. 612] at who walk not according to the flesh. In regard to the first he does two things. First, he presents a proof; 299 secondly, he manifests his presupposition through its cause, there [v. 3; n. 606] at For what was impossible for the Law. 601. In regard to the first he presents this argument. The law of the spirit frees man from sin and death; but the law of the spirit is in Christ Jesus. Therefore, by the fact that one is in Christ Jesus, he is freed from sin and death. That the law of the spirit frees from sin and death he proves thus: The law of the spirit is the cause of life; but sin and death, which is an effect of sin, are excluded by life, for sin itself is spiritual death for the soul. Therefore, the law of the spirit frees man from sin and death. But damnation is only through sin and death. Therefore, nothing of damnation exists in those who are in Christ Jesus. This, therefore, is what he says: The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death. 602. In one way this law can be the Holy Spirit, so that the law of the spirit means the law which is the Spirit. For a law is given in order that through it men may be led to the good; hence, the Philosopher says in Ethics II that the intention of the lawgiver is to make citizens good. Human law does this by merely indicating what ought to be done; but the Holy Spirit dwelling in the mind not only teaches what is to be done by instructing the intellect but also inclines the affection to act aright: “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things,” as to the first, “and suggest to you all things,” as to the second, “all that I have said to you” (John 14:26). 300 24 This citation from 1John does not precisely match the Vulgate or modern editions. 603. In another way the law of the spirit can be the proper effect of the Holy Spirit, namely, faith working through love. This faith teaches what is to be done: “His anointing teaches you about everything” (1 John 2:27) and inclines the affections to act: “The love of Christ controls us” (2 Cor 5:l4). And this law of the spirit is called the new law, which is the Holy Spirit himself or something which the Holy Spirit produces in our hearts: “I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts” (Jeremiah 31:33). But when he spoke about the old law [n. 557] he said only that it is spiritual, i.e., given by the Holy Spirit. 604. And so, considering what has been said, we find four laws mentioned by the Apostle: first, the law of Moses, about which he says: “I delight in the law of God in my inmost self”; secondly, the law of inclination to sin [fomes]: “I see in my members another law”; thirdly, the natural law in one sense of the term, concerning which he adds, “at war with the law of my mind”; fourthly, the new law, when he says: the law of the spirit. 605. He adds, of life, because just as the natural spirit makes the life of nature, so the divine Spirit makes the life of grace: “It is the Spirit that gives life” (John 4:63); “The Spirit of life was in the wheels” (Ezekiel 1:2). He adds, in Christ Jesus, because this Spirit is given only to those who are in Christ Jesus. For just as the natural spirit does not reach a member not connected to the head, so the Holy Spirit does not reach a man not joined to Christ, the head: “By this we know that he abides in us, because he gave us of his own Spirit” (1 John 3:24);24 “The Holy Spirit whom God has given those who obey him” (Acts 5:32). 301 This law, I say, since it is in Christ Jesus, has set me free: “If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:38). Free from the law of sin, i.e., from the law of evil inclinations [fomes] which inclines to sin. Or from the law of sin, i.e., from consenting to and committing sin, which holds man bound after the manner of a law. For sin is remitted by the Holy Spirit: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven” (John 20:22). And of death, not only spiritual but also bodily, as will be proved below. And this because he is the Spirit of life: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain that they may live” (Ezekiel 37:9). 606. Then when he says For what was impossible, he manifests what he had said, namely, that the law of life, which is in Christ Jesus, frees man from sin; for it will be proved later that it frees from death. He proves this by an argument taken from the resurrection of Christ. In regard to this he mentions three things. First, the need for the Incarnation [n. 611]; secondly, the mode of the Incarnation, there [v. 3b; n. 607] at God, sending his own son; thirdly, the fruit of the Incarnation, there [v. 3c; n. 609] at and of sin. To make the explanation easier we shall take the second point first, then the third, and finally the first, in this way. 607. I am correct in saying that the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus frees from sin, for God, the Father, sending his own Son, i.e., his own consubstantial and co-eternal Son: “He said to me, ‘You are my son; this day I have begotten you’” (Psalms 2:7) – sending, i.e., not creating or making him but as already existing he sent him: “Afterward 302 25 The Hebrew text says only “I have walked,” but the Vulgate rendering, ingressus sum, carries the note of entrance. he sent his son to them” (Matthew 21:37). He sent him not to exist where he previously did not exist, because as it says in John 1(:10), “He was in the world,” but to exist in a way in which he did not exist in the world, i.e., visibly by means of the flesh he assumed; hence in the same passage (John 1:14): “And the Word became flesh…..and we have beheld his glory”; “Afterwards he appeared upon earth” (Bar 3:37). 608. Therefore he adds in the likeness of sinful flesh. This should not be taken to mean that he did not have true flesh but only the likeness of flesh, as though it were imaginary, as the Manicheans say, since the Lord himself says: “A spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have” (Luke 24:40). Hence, he does not merely say in the likeness of flesh, but in the likeness of sinful flesh. For he did not have sinful flesh, i.e., conceived with sin, because his flesh was conceived by the Holy Spirit who takes away sin: “That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:20). Hence Psalms 25(:11) says, “I have entered in my innocence,“25 namely entered into the world. But he had the likeness of sinful flesh, i.e., he was like sinful flesh in the fact that he was able to suffer. For man’s flesh before sin was not subject to suffering: “Therefore, he had to be made like his brethren, so that he might be made merciful” (Hebrews 2:17). 609. Then he mentions the two effects of the Incarnation, the first of which is removal of sin, which he sets out when he says and of sin has condemned sin in the flesh. This can be read: of sin [de peccato], i.e., for the sin [pro peccato] committed against the flesh of Christ by his executioners at the devil’s instigation, he condemned, i.e., destroyed, sin; because since the devil conspired to deliver over to death an innocent 303 person over whom he had no rights, it was just that he lose his power. Therefore, by his passion and death he is said to have destroyed sin: “He disarmed,” namely, on the cross, “the principalities and powers, triumphing over them in him” (Colossians 2:15). But it is better to say that he condemned sin in the flesh, i.e., weakened the inclination to sin [fomes] in our flesh, of sin, i.e., through the power of his passion and death, which is called sin on account of its likeness to sin or because through it he was made a victim for sin. For in sacred scripture such a victim is called sin: “They feed on the sin of my people” (Hosea 4:8). Hence it says in 2 Cor 5(:21), “Him who did not know sin for our sake God made to be sin,” i.e., a victim for sin. And so by satisfying for our sin, he took away the sins of the world: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). 610. He sets out the second effect when he says that the justification of the law, i.e., the justice which the Law promised and which some hoped to obtain from the Law, might be fulfilled, i.e., made perfect, in us, who exist in Christ Jesus: “The Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained the righteousness which is through faith” (Romans 9:30); and in 2 Cor 5(:21) after saying, “Him who did not know sin for our sake he made to be sin,” he adds, “so that in him we might be made the justice of God.” 611. The only way this could be done was through Christ. Therefore, he prefaced this passage by saying that he was able to condemn sin in the flesh and to enact justification, which the law could not do: “For the law made nothing perfect” (Hebrews 7:19). Now the reason why the Law could not do this was not due to a shortcoming in the Law, but because it was weakened by the flesh, i.e., because of a weakness of the flesh, a weakness which was in man due to the corruption of inclination [fomes], with the 304 result that in spite of the Law man was overcome by sinful desire [concupiscentia]: “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). “I am speaking in natural terms on account of the weakness of the flesh” (Romans 6:19). From this it is clear that it was necessary for Christ to be incarnated; for it says in Galatians 2(:21), “If justification were through the law, then Christ died gratis,” i.e., for no reason. Therefore it was necessary that Christ be incarnated, because the Law could not justify. 612. Then when he says who walk not according to the flesh, he proves his point in regard to the second condition and shows that in order to avoid condemnation it is necessary that one not walk according to the flesh. In regard to this he does three things. First, he states his proposition; secondly, he proves it, there [v. 5; n. 614] at For those who are according to the flesh; thirdly, he clarifies something he had presupposed in the proof, there [v. 7; n. 619] at Because the wisdom of the flesh. 613. First, therefore, he says: We have stated that the justification of the Law is fulfilled in us who not only are in Christ Jesus but also walk not according to the flesh but according to the spirit, i.e., who do not follow the desires [concupiscentias] of the flesh but the prompting of the Spirit: “walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16). 614. Then when he says For those who [walk] according to the flesh, he proves what he had said. 305 And he brings in two syllogisms. One is on the side of the flesh, and runs like this: All who follow the prudence of the flesh are brought to death; but those who walk according to the flesh follow the prudence of the flesh. Therefore, all who walk according to the flesh are brought to death. He sets out the other syllogism on the side of the spirit, and it runs like this: All who follow the prudence of the spirit obtain life and peace; but those who walk according to the spirit follow the prudence of the spirit. Therefore, all who walk according to the spirit obtain life and peace. And so it is clear that those who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the spirit, are freed from the law of sin and death. 615. First, therefore, he states the minor of the first syllogism, saying: For those who are according to the flesh, that is, who obey the flesh as though subject to it, “such men serve not the Lord but their own belly” (Romans 16:18). Savor [sapiunt] the things of the flesh—as if to say: they have the wisdom [sapientia] of the flesh. For to savor the things of the flesh is to approve and judge as good that which is according to the flesh: “You savor not the things of God but of men” (Matthew 16:23); “They are skilled in doing evil” (Jeremiah 4:22). 616. Secondly, he states the minor of the second syllogism, saying: but those who are according to the spirit, i.e., who follow the Holy Spirit and are led according to him, in accord with Galatians 5(:18), “If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law,” sense the things of the spirit, i.e., have a right sense in spiritual matters: “Think [sentite] concerning the Lord with uprightness” (Wis 1:1). 306 The reason for these facts, as the Philosopher says in Ethics III, is that as a person is, so the end seems to him. Hence a person whose soul is invested with a good habit or a bad habit, judges about his goal according to the demands of that habit. 617. Thirdly, he states the major of the first syllogism, saying: for the prudence of the flesh is death. To understand this it should be noted that prudence is right reason concerning the doable, as the Philosopher says in Ethics IV. But right reason concerning things to be done presupposes one thing and does three things. For it presupposes a goal which functions as a principle in human actions, just as the speculative reason presupposes principles from which it proceeds to demonstration. But right reason concerning the doable does three things: first, it plans correctly; secondly, judges correctly about plans; thirdly, it correctly and firmly commands what was planned. Hence, for prudence of the flesh it is required that a person presuppose as his goal a pleasure of the flesh and that he plan and judge and command what leads to this end. That is why such prudence is death, i.e., the cause of eternal death: “He who sows in the flesh will from the flesh reap corruption” (Galatians 6:8). 618. Fourthly, he states the major of the second syllogism, saying: but the prudence of the spirit is life and peace. Now according to what has just been said, there is prudence of the spirit when someone, presupposing a spiritual good as the goal, plans and judges and commands the things which are suitably ordered to that goal. Hence such prudence is life, i.e., the cause of grace and glory: “He who sows in the spirit will from the spirit reap eternal life” (Galatians 6:8); and it is peace, i.e., the cause of peace, for peace is caused by the Holy Spirit: 307 “Great peace have those who love thy law” (Psalms 119:165); “The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace….” (Galatians 5:22).

Romans 8:2

Ambrosiaster: Paul holds out security for us by the grace of God, so that we should not be tempted by the suggestions of the devil as long as we reject them.… We shall instead be rewarded if we repel the counsels of that sin which remains in us, for it demands great skill to avoid the tricks of the enemy within. “The law of the Spirit of life is the law of faith.” For even the law of Moses is spiritual in that it forbids us to sin, but it is not the law of life. It has no power to pardon those who are guilty of the sins which merit death and thus to bring them back to life.… Therefore it is the law in Christ Jesus, that is to say, through faith in Christ, which frees the believer from the law of sin and death. The law of sin, which Paul says dwells in our members, tries to persuade us to sin, but the law of Moses is a law of death, because it puts sinners to death. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Clement of Alexandria: And again (for he does not become in the least weary of being helpful) he does not hesitate to add, “For the law of the Spirit has set me free from the law of sin and death,” since by his Son “God condemned sin in the flesh that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.” — The Stromata Book 3

Cyril of Alexandria: I think it is necessary for an accurate explanation of the meanings which are found here, to say this: Paul calls the lusts of the flesh which lead us into all kinds of wickedness “the law of sin and death.” So also he calls the spiritual will, that is, the inclination of the mind to do what is right, “the law of the Spirit of life.” … This law has not set us free by itself; rather it has restored us to freedom by the merits of Christ. Just as those who have sinned under the law have necessarily been trapped by the snares of death as well, so it is necessary also that those who are not under the law but who have been set free by Christ should lead lives of holiness and show themselves to be above corruption, because they are no longer under the law of death. — EXPLANATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

Gennadius of Constantinople: We have been made heirs of a pain-free and immortal life by the free gift of the Spirit and have all become spiritual, being set free from sin and the death which it causes. — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

John Chrysostom: It is the Spirit he is here calling the law of the Spirit. For as he calls sin the law of sin, so he here calls the Spirit the law of the Spirit. And yet he named that of Moses as such, where he says, “For we know that the Law is spiritual.” What then is the difference? A great and unbounded one. For that was spiritual, but this is a law of the Spirit. Now what is the distinction between this and that? The other was merely given by the Spirit, but this even furnisheth those that receive it with the Spirit in large measure. Wherefore also he called it the law of life in contradistinction to that of sin, not that of Moses. For when he says, It freed me from the law of sin and death, it is not the law of Moses that he is here speaking of, since in no case does he style it the law of sin: for how could he one that he had called “just and holy” so often, and destructive of sin too? but it is that which warreth against the law of the mind. For this grievous war did the grace of the Spirit put a stop to, by slaying sin, and making the contest light to us and crowning us at the outstart, and then drawing us to the struggle with abundant help. And as it is ever his wont to turn from the Spirit to the Son and the Father, and to reckon all our estate to lean upon the Trinity, so doth he here also. — Homily on Romans 13

Methodius of Olympus: “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death; “so that “He that raised up Jesus from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you; “having “condemned sin “which is in the body to its destruction; “that the righteousness of the law” — Methodius From the Discourse on the Resurrection

Origen of Alexandria: The law of the Spirit of life is the same thing as the law of God.… For to serve the law of God and to be under the law of the Spirit is to serve Christ. To serve Christ is to serve wisdom, which is to serve righteousness, which is to serve truth and all related virtues. — COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Pelagius: Note that Paul calls the law “grace.” — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Tertullian: For even if he has affirmed that “good dwelleth not in his flesh,” yet (he means) according to “the law of the letter,” in which he “was: “but according to “the law of the Spirit,” to which he annexes us, he frees us from the “infirmity of the flesh. — On Modesty

Tertullian: “For the law,” he says, “of the Spirit of life hath manumitted thee from the law of sin and of death.” For albeit he may appear to be partly disputing from the standpoint of Judaism, yet it is to us that he is directing the integrity and plenitude of the rules of discipline,-(us), for whose sake soever, labouring (as we were) in the law, “God hath sent, through flesh, His own Son, in similitude of flesh of sin; and, became of sin, hath condemned sin in the flesh; in order that the righteousness of the law,” he says, “might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to flesh, but according to (the) Spirit. — On Modesty

Theodore of Mopsuestia: The apostle says that the resurrection takes place by the working of the Spirit. … Paul calls the Spirit the “Spirit of life” because the Spirit is the firstfruits of the eternal life which we shall then enjoy. The Spirit has been given to us in the hope of immortality, and faith in Christ has permitted us to enjoy him, because he has set us free from death and sin. Clearly Paul is using the things which are to come as evidence for what has been promised to us in Christ. — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Romans 8:3

Ambrosiaster: For whom was this impossible? For us of course, because we could not fulfill the commandment of the law, since we were subject to sin. For this reason God sent his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. It is the likeness of our flesh because, although it is the same as ours is, it was sanctified in the womb and born without sin, neither did he sin in it. Therefore the womb of a virgin was chosen for the divine birth so that the divine flesh might differ from ours in its holiness. It is like ours in origin but not in sinfulness. For this reason Paul says that it is similar to our flesh, since it is of the same substance, but it did not have the same birth, because the body of the Lord was not subject to sin. The Lord’s flesh was sanctified by the Holy Spirit in order that he might be born in the same kind of body as Adam had before he sinned. By sending Christ God used sin to condemn sin.… For Christ was crucified by sin, which is Satan; hence sin sinned in the flesh of the Savior’s body. In this way, God condemned sin in the flesh, in the very place where it sinned. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Augustine of Hippo: Here Paul clearly teaches that the precepts of the law were not fulfilled (though they should have been) because those who had the law before grace were given over to worldly goods, from which they were trying to get happiness. Nor did they have any fear except when adversity threatened these goods, and when that happened they easily withdrew from the precepts of the law. Therefore the law grew weaker as its commands went unheeded. This was not the fault of the law but came about through the flesh, because those who went after worldly goods did not love the righteousness of the law but put temporal advantage ahead of it.And so our deliverer, the Lord Jesus Christ, took on mortal flesh and came in the likeness of the flesh of sin. For death is the reward due to the flesh of sin. Of course the Lord’s death was voluntary and not something which he owed. Yet nevertheless the apostle calls the assumption of mortal flesh “sin” even if it was sinless, because when the Savior died he was made sin, so to speak. But “he condemned sin in the flesh,” for the Lord’s death ensured that death would not be dreaded, that worldly goods would not be sought and that worldly evils would not be feared by those who had previously been wise in the ways of the world and thus unable to fulfill the commands of the law. — AUGUSTINE ON Romans 48

Augustine of Hippo: The reason why grace was bestowed on us through our mediator is that we who were polluted by sinful flesh might be purified by the “likeness of sinful flesh.” — City of God 10.22

Augustine of Hippo: What does sinful flesh have? Death and sin. What does the likeness of sinful flesh have? Death without sin. If it had sin it would be sinful flesh; if it did not have death it would not be the likeness of sinful flesh. As such he came—he came as Savior. He died but he vanquished death. In himself he put an end to what we feared; he took it upon himself and he vanquished it—as a mighty hunter he captured and slew the lion. — SERMONS FOR EASTER SEASON, HOMILY 233.3

Bede: He who came in the likeness of sinful flesh—not in sinful flesh—did not turn away from the remedy by which sinful flesh was ordinarily made clean.… Not from necessity but by way of example he submitted to the water of baptism, by which he wanted the people of the new law of grace to be washed from the stain of sin. — Homilies on the Gospels 1.11

Caesarius of Arles: By taking upon himself flesh from a sinful substance while remaining without sin, Christ fulfilled all righteousness and condemned sin in the body. This is proved by his conflict with the spirit in the desert, for the devil is overcome not by sheer divine majesty but by a reminder of the commandment, by fasting and by a legal reply. — SERMON 11.3

Cyril of Alexandria: God forbid that Paul should ever say that Christ’s body was made of sinful flesh! Rather, it was in the likeness of sinful flesh, for although it was similar to our bodies it can scarcely be compared with them in the sense that it could not be ill with carnal uncleanness. Even from the womb Christ’s body was a holy temple, and no one is afraid to state that in so far as it was flesh, when it attained the age of reason it behaved in the way flesh normally does. Nevertheless, because the Word which sanctifies all things dwelt in his body, the potential for sin was condemned so that the fruit of this blessing might come across into us as well. For we have been transformed into his likeness, not only in spirit but in body also. When Christ dwells in us by the Holy Spirit and the sacramental blessing, then the law of sin is really condemned in us. So it is truly said that what was impossible for the law, which had been weakened by the flesh, became possible through Christ, who condemned and destroyed sin in the flesh so that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us. — EXPLANATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

Eusebius of Caesarea: Because God has done what the law could not do, we reject Jewish customs on the ground that they were not meant for us and that it is impossible to accommodate them to the needs of the Gentiles, while we gladly accept that the Jewish prophecies contain predictions about ourselves. — PROOF OF THE GOSPEL 1.7

Irenaeus: For he who holds, without pride and boasting, the true glory regarding created things and the Creator, who is the Almighty God of all, and who has granted existence to all; such an one, continuing in His love and subjection, and giving of thanks, shall also receive from Him the greater glory of promotion, looking forward to the time when he shall become like Him who died for him, for He, too, “was made in the likeness of sinful flesh,” to condemn sin, and to cast it, as now a condemned thing, away beyond the flesh, but that He might call man forth into His own likeness, assigning him as His own imitator to God, and imposing on him His Father’s law, in order that he may see God, and granting him power to receive the Father. — Irenaeus Against Heresies Book 3

John Chrysostom: Again, he seems indeed to be disparaging the Law. But if any one attends strictly, he even highly praises it, by showing that it harmonizes with Christ, and gives preference to the same things. For he does not speak of the badness of the Law, but of “what it could not do;” and so again, “in that it was weak,” not, “in that it was mischievous, or designing.” And even weakness he does not ascribe to it, but to the flesh, as he says, “in that it was weak through the flesh,” using the word “flesh” here again not for the essence and subsistency itself, but giving its name to the more carnal sort of mind. In which way he acquits both the body and the Law of any accusation. Yet not in this way only, but by what comes next also. For supposing the Law to be of the contrary part, how was it Christ came to its assistance, and fulfilled its requisitions, and lent it a helping hand by condemning sin in the flesh? For this was what was lacking, since in the soul the Lord had condemned it long ago. What then? is it the greater thing that the Law accomplished, but the less that the Only-Begotten did? Surely not. For it was God that was the principal doer of that also, in that He gave us the law of nature, and added the written one to it. Again, there were no use of the greater, if the lesser had not been supplied. For what good is it to know what things ought to be done, if a man does not follow it out? None, for it were but a greater condemnation. And so He that hath saved the soul it is, Who hath made the flesh also easy to bridle. For to teach is easy, but to show besides a way in which these things were easily done, this is the marvel. Now it was for this that the Only-Begotten came, and did not depart before He had set us free from this difficulty. But what is greater, is the method of the victory; for He took none other flesh, but this very one which was beset with troubles. So it is as if any one were to see in the street a vile woman of the baser sort being beaten, and were to say he was her son, when he was the king’s, and so to get her free from those who ill treated her. And this He really did, in that He confessed that He was the Son of Man, and stood by it (i.e. the flesh), and condemned the sin. However, He did not endure to smite it besides; or rather, He smote it with the blow of His death, but in this very act it was not the smitten flesh which was condemned and perished, but the sin which had been smiting. — Homily on Romans 13

Origen of Alexandria: In my opinion, Paul here as in many other passages divides the law of Moses into two parts, one of which is carnal and the other spiritual. Moreover, he calls the literal observance of the law its carnal meaning.… This observance is both impossible and inadequate. For what is more impossible than observance of the sabbath according to the letter of the law? For it is commanded that no one should go outside his house, nor move away from his place, nor carry any burden. When the Jews, who observed the letter of the law, realized that these things were impossible, they glossed the law in silly and ridiculous ways.… And what can I say about the system of sacrifices, which is now totally impossible to observe since there is no temple, no altar and no place to perform the sacrifices? In these instances I would say that the law is not just impossible or inadequate; it is dead!Paul shows that Jesus had the likeness of sinful flesh but not that he had sinful flesh in the same way we do. For we are all human beings who have been born from the seed of a man who has slept with a woman, and we can only say, along with David, that: “In sin my mother conceived me.” But the one who was born without contact with a male but only because the Holy Spirit came upon a virgin and covering her with the power of the Most High gave birth to a spotless body which had the same nature as ours but without the corruption of sin which is passed on by the act of conception. — COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Pelagius: The law was weakened in the flesh, not in itself. In saying “God sent his Son” Paul counters Photinus, who denied the Son’s existence before the incarnation.… The Son took flesh like that of the rest of humanity and “he condemned sin in the flesh,” i.e., he overcame like by like. Just as the sacrificial victims which the Jews offered under the law were given in the name of sin, although they had no sin themselves … so also Christ’s flesh, which was offered for our sins, took the name of sin. Some people say that by the sin of the Jews, whereby they killed the Lord, Christ condemned in his humanity the sin of the devil, by which the devil had deceived mankind, as Paul says to the Hebrews: “so that through death he might destroy him who has the power of death.” Or it may mean that through the substance of that flesh which previously was a slave to sin, Christ conquered sin by never sinning himself, and in his flesh he condemned sin to show that it was the will which was on trial, not human nature, which God created in such a way that it could avoid sinning. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Tertullian: If the Father “sent his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh,” it must not be said that the flesh in which he appeared was illusory.… The Son was sent in the likeness of sinful flesh in order to redeem our sinful flesh by a like substance, even a fleshly one, which bore a resemblance to sinful flesh although it was itself free from sin. — AGAINST MARCION 5.14

Tertullian: If the Father “sent His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh,” it must not therefore be said that the flesh which He seemed to have was but a phantom. — Against Marcion Book V

Tertullian: The likeness, therefore, will have reference to the quality of the sinfulness, and not to any falsity of the substance. Because he would not have added the attribute “sinful,” if he meant the “likeness” to be so predicated of the substance as to deny the verity thereof; in that case he would only have used the word “flesh,” and omitted the “sinful. — Against Marcion Book V

Tertullian: Now in another sentence he says that Christ was “in the likeness of sinful flesh,” not, however, as if He had taken on Him “the likeness of the flesh,” in the sense of a semblance of body instead of its reality; but he means us to understand likeness to the flesh which sinned, because the flesh of Christ, which committed no sin itself, resembled that which had sinned,-resembled it in its nature, but not in the corruption it received from Adam; whence we also affirm that there was in Christ the same flesh as that whose nature in man is sinful. — On the Flesh of Christ

Tertullian: Accordingly, in the judgment it will be held to be a servant (even though it may have no independent discretion of its own), on the ground of its being an integral portion of that which possesses such discretion, and is not a mere chattel. And although the apostle is well aware that the flesh does nothing of itself which is not also imputed to the soul, he yet deems the flesh to be “sinful; " lest it should be supposed to be free from all responsibility by the mere fact of its seeming to be impelled by the soul. So, again, when he is ascribing certain praiseworthy actions to the flesh, he says, “Therefore glorify and exalt God in your body,” -being certain that such efforts are actuated by the soul; but still he ascribes them to the flesh, because it is to it that he also promises the recompense. — On the Resurrection of the Flesh

Tertullian: “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and through sin condemned sin in the flesh " -not the flesh in sin, for the house is not to be condemned with its inhabitant. — On the Resurrection of the Flesh

Tertullian: For they who walk according to flesh are sensible as to those things which are the flesh’s, and they who (walk) according to (the) Spirit those which (are) the Spirit’s.” Moreover, he has affirmed the “sense of the flesh” to be “death; " hence too, “enmity,” and enmity toward God; and that “they who are in the flesh,” that is, in the sense of the flesh, “cannot please God: " and, “If ye live according to flesh,” he says, “it will come to pass that ye die. — On Modesty

Theodoret of Cyrus: Christ came “in the likeness of sinful flesh” because, although he took on human nature, he did not assume human sinfulness.… For although he had the same nature as we have, he did not have the same outlook or the same thoughts. For although the law could not accomplish its purpose on account of the weakness of those to whom it was given (for they had a mortal and passible nature), the only begotten Word of God broke the power of sin by taking on human flesh and fulfilled all righteousness, not giving in to the temptations of sin in any way. — INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

Romans 8:4

Ambrosiaster: Paul says that sin has been condemned in order that the righteousness of the law given by Moses might be fulfilled in us. For once removed from the power of the law we become the law’s friends. Those who have been justified are friends of the law. For how is this righteousness fulfilled in us unless the forgiveness of sins is given to us, so that once we have been justified by the removal of our sins we might serve the law of God with our minds? This is what it means to walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh. The devotion of the mind, which is the spirit, will not succumb to the desire of sin, which sows lusts in the soul by means of the flesh because sin dwells in it. But if sin has been condemned, how can it be indwelling?Sin has been condemned by the Savior in three different ways. In the first place, he condemned sin in that a person should turn away from it and not sin. Next, sin is said to have been condemned on the cross, because it enacted sin itself. The power by which it held people in hell because of Adam’s sin was then taken away. After that it would no longer dare to hang onto anyone who had been signed with the sign of the cross. In the third place, God condemned sin by canceling it out in the case of those who had received forgiveness for their sins. For although a sinner ought to be condemned for his sin, God forgave him and condemned the sin in him instead. So if we follow our Savior’s example and do not sin, we are condemning sin. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Augustine of Hippo: But since this worldly wisdom has been destroyed and removed in the Lord made man, the righteousness of the law is fulfilled when a man walks not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Whence it is most rightly said: “I came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it. For love is the fulfilling of the law.” Love belongs to those who walk according to the Spirit. For love belongs to the grace of the Holy Spirit. When there was no love of righteousness but only fear, the law was not fulfilled. — AUGUSTINE ON Romans 48

John Chrysostom: What meaneth this word, righteousness? Why, the end, the scope, the well-doing. For what was its design, and what did it enjoin? To be without sin. This then is made good to us now through Christ. And the making a stand against it, and the getting the better of it, came from Him. But it is for us to enjoy the victory. Then shall we never sin henceforth? We never shall unless we have become exceedingly relaxed and supine. And this is why he added, “to them that walk not after the flesh. For lest, after hearing that Christ hath delivered thee from the war of sin, and that the requisition of the Law is fulfilled in thee, by sin having been “condemned in the flesh,” thou shouldest break up all thy defences; therefore, in that place also, after saying, “there is therefore no condemnation,” he added, “to them that walk not after the flesh;” and here also, “that the requisition of the Law might be fulfilled in us,” he proceeds with the very same thing; or rather, not with it only, but even with a much stronger thing. For after saying, “that the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us that walk not after the flesh,” he proceeds, “but after the Spirit.” So showing, that it is not only binding upon us to keep ourselves from evil deeds, but also to be adorned with good. For to give thee the crown is His; but it is thine to hold it fast when given. For the righteousness of the Law, that one should not become liable to its curse, Christ has accomplished for thee. Be not a traitor then to so great a gift, but keep guarding this goodly treasure. For in this passage he shows that the Font will not suffice to save us, unless, after coming from it, we display a life worthy of the Gift. And so he again advocates the Law in saying what he does. — Homily on Romans 13

Pelagius: Although the law could not be fulfilled in those in whom carnal habit fights back, at least it can be fulfilled in us, who have mortified the flesh according to Christ’s example. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Romans 8:5

Ambrosiaster: Paul says this because whoever obeys the temptation which comes through the flesh knows what the things of the flesh are.… Those who live according to the Spirit are those who have stomped on the lusts of the flesh by attacking sin. They have put the world behind them and although they still walk in the flesh they do not struggle according to the flesh. Their glory is not from men but from God. Dwelling in these spiritual works, they know what the things of the Spirit of God are and walk in his commandments. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Clement of Alexandria: It is possible to think of those who have just recently been instructed in the faith and who are still little ones in Christ as carnal, for he calls those who have already believed by the Holy Spirit “spiritual” and those newly taught and not yet purified “carnal.” He speaks of these latter as carnal with good reason, for like the pagans they still mind the things of the flesh. — The Instructor Book 1

John Chrysostom: Yet even this is no disparaging of the flesh. For so long as it keeps its own place, nothing amiss cometh to pass. But when we let it have its own will in everything, and it passes over its proper bounds, and rises up against the soul, then it destroys and corrupts everything, yet not owing to its own nature, but to its being out of proportion, and the disorder thereupon ensuing. “But they that are after the Spirit do mind the things of the Spirit.” — Homily on Romans 13

Origen of Alexandria: Those who live according to the flesh are the Jews, whom Paul says are Israel according to the flesh. They know what belongs to the law of the flesh because they interpret the law according to the flesh. Those who live according to the Spirit are the people whom Paul calls Jews in spirit, not in the letter. — COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Pelagius: Man is composed of spirit and flesh. When a man performs carnal deeds he is called “flesh,” but when he performs spiritual deeds he is called “Spirit.” For when one of these substances brings the other under its control, the subordinate substance in effect loses both its power and its name. For each substance desires what is connected and related to it. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Tertullian: Now although the flesh is sinful, and we are forbidden to walk in accordance with it, and its works are condemned as lusting against the spirit, and men on its account are censured as carnal, yet the flesh has not such ignominy on its own account. — A Treatise on the Soul

Tertullian: The apostle, however, himself here comes to our aid; for, while explaining in what sense he would not have us “live in the flesh,” although in the flesh-even by not living in the works of the flesh -he shows that when he wrote the words, “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,” it was not with the view of condemning the substance (of the flesh), but the works thereof; and because it is possible for these not to be committed by us whilst we are still in the flesh, they will therefore be properly chargeable, not on the substance of the flesh, but on its conduct. — Against Marcion Book V

Tertullian: For so, too, does the apostle say, that “to savour according to the flesh is death, but to savour according to the spirit is life eternal in Jesus Christ our Lord.” Again, through the holy prophetess Prisca the Gospel is thus preached: that “the holy minister knows how to minister sanctity. — On Exhortation to Chastity

Romans 8:6

Ambrosiaster: The wisdom of the flesh is death because sin is serious and it is through sin that this death comes. It is called wisdom, even though it is a foolish thing, because to worldly people sins against the law of God which are conceived, whether in thought or in deed, on the basis of what is visible appear as wisdom, especially because those who sin are full of energy and cleverness. The fact that they take so much trouble over it makes them appear wise, even though there is nothing more foolish than sinning. Moreover, there is yet another wisdom of the flesh which, puffed up as it is by earthly reasoning, denies the possibility of miracles. Therefore it laughs at the virgin birth and at the resurrection of the flesh. The wisdom of the Spirit, on the other hand, is true wisdom which leads to life and peace.… Paul did not say that the flesh is hostile but rather that “the wisdom of the flesh” is. “The wisdom of the flesh” means, in the first place, any argument about the unknown which men have come up with and, in the second place, a preference for what can be seen. Both these things are hostile to God because they make the Lord of the elements and the Creator of the world equal to what he has made and assert that nothing can happen unless there is a rational cause for it. For this reason they deny that God made a virgin give birth or that he raises the bodies of the dead. They say that it is absurd that God should do anything beyond what man can understand, and therefore he did not do it.… These people are so blinded that they do not see how greatly they are insulting God, for the work which he was pleased to do in order that his praise should be proclaimed they condemn and claim is unbelievable and absurd. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Gaius Marius Victorinus: “To set the mind on the Spirit is life.” For error, imprudence and ignorance are impassioned, self-rebellious, self-contradictory. And because of this “to set the mind on the flesh,” which is imprudence, is death, because it does not know God. Therefore, “to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” — AGAINST ARIUS 3.c.1

Gennadius of Constantinople: “Death” is estrangement and punishment from God; “life” is immortality and “peace” is fellowship with him. — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Irenaeus: Animal men, again, are instructed in animal things; such men, namely, as are established by their works, and by a mere faith, while they have not perfect knowledge. We of the Church, they say, are these persons. — Against Heresies Book I

John Chrysostom: He does not speak of the nature of the flesh, or the essence of the body, but of being carnally “minded,” which may be set right again, and abolished. And in saying thus, he does not ascribe to the flesh any reasoning power of its own. Far from it. But to set forth the grosser motion of the mind, and giving this a name from the inferior part, and in the same way as he often is in the habit of calling man in his entireness, and viewed as possessed of a soul, flesh. “But to be spiritually minded.” Here again he speaks of the spiritual mind, in the same way as he says further on, “But He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the spirit”; and he points out many blessings resulting from this, both in the present life, and in that which is to come. For as the evils which being carnally minded introduces, are far outnumbered by those blessings which a spiritual mind affords. And this he points out in the words “life and peace.” The one is in contraposition to the first-for death is what he says to be carnally minded is. And the other in contraposition to the following. For after mentioning peace, he goes on… — Homily on Romans 13

Origen of Alexandria: Whoever interprets the law according to the flesh, i.e., according to the letter, does not come to Christ, who is life. — COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Pelagius: Paul says elsewhere that it is human wisdom to repay evil for evil. Such wisdom obtains death because it transgresses the commandment. But the wisdom of the Spirit enjoys peace now because it does not repay in kind, and in the future it will obtain eternal life. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Tertullian: But the condemnation of sin is the acquittal of the flesh, just as its non-condemnation subjugates it to the law of sin and death. In like manner, he called “the carnal mind” first “death,” and afterwards “enmity against God; " but he never predicated this of the flesh itself. — On the Resurrection of the Flesh

Romans 8:7

Augustine of Hippo: Paul explains why he said “hostile” so that no one should think that there is some nature derived from an opposing principle which God did not create and which fights against him. An enemy of God is one who does not submit to his law and who behaves this way because of the wisdom of the flesh. This means that he seeks worldly goods and is afraid of worldly evils. The normal definition of wisdom is to seek what is good and avoid what is evil. Therefore the apostle is right to describe the wisdom of the flesh as the longing for “goods” which do not remain with a man and when there is a fear for losing those things which one day will have to be left behind anyway. Wisdom of this kind cannot submit to the law of God. It must be destroyed so that the wisdom of the Spirit, which does not place its hope in worldly goods nor is afraid of worldly evils, may take its place. For the one nature of the soul has both the wisdom of the flesh when it follows lower things and the wisdom of the Spirit when it chooses higher things, just as the one nature of water freezes in the cold and melts in the heat. — AUGUSTINE ON Romans 49

Gregory of Nyssa: As long as the flesh lives … it is not possible for the pleasing and perfect will of God to be done expeditiously in the life of the believer. — ON PERFECTION

John Chrysostom: “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God:” and this is worse than death. Then to show how it is at once death and enmity; “for it is not subject to the Law of God,” he says, “neither indeed can be.” But be not troubled at hearing the “neither indeed can be.” For this difficulty admits of an easy solution. For what he here names “carnal mindedness” is the reasoning that is earthly, gross, and eager-hearted after the things of this life and its wicked doings. It is of this he says “neither yet can” it “be subject” to God. And what hope of salvation is there left, if it be impossible for one who is bad to become good? This is not what he says. Else how would Paul have become such as he was? how would the (penitent) thief, or Manasses, or the Ninevites, or how would David after falling have recovered himself? How would Peter after the denial have raised himself up? How could he that had lived in fornication have been enlisted among Christ’s fold? How could the Galatians who had “fallen from grace” have attained their former dignity again? What he says then is not that it is impossible for a man that is wicked to become good, but that it is impossible for one who continues wicked to be subject to God. Yet for a man to be changed, and so become good, and subject to Him, is easy. For he does not say that man cannot be subject to God, but, wicked doing cannot be good. As if he had said, fornication cannot be chastity, nor vice virtue. And this it says in the Gospel also, “A corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit,” not to bar the change from virtue to vice, but to say how incapable continuance in vice is of bringing forth good fruits. For He does not say that an evil tree cannot become a good one, but that bring forth good fruit it cannot, while it continues evil. For that it can be changed, He shows from this passage, and from another parable, when He introduces the tares as becoming wheat, on which score also He forbids their being rooted up; “Lest,” He says, “ye root up also the wheat with them”; that is, that which will spring from them. — Homily on Romans 13

Pelagius: The flesh is not in itself hostile to God, as the Manichaeans say, but the carnal mind is. For everything which is not subject is hostile, and anyone who wants to clear himself may sometimes go beyond the limit of the old law. Paul says that this carnal wisdom can never be subject to the law of God in order to call men back from the desires of the flesh. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Thomas Aquinas: In the preceding section [n. 612] the Apostle had presupposed that the prudence of the flesh is death, and here he intends to prove this. And first, he proves it; 308 secondly, he shows that the believers to whom he writes are immune to such prudence, there [v. 9; n. 625] at But you are not in the flesh. In regard to the first he does two things. First, he proves his statement about prudence of the flesh in the abstract; secondly, he applies what he had said about prudence of the flesh to those who follow prudence of the flesh, there [v. 8; n. 624] at And those who are in the flesh. In regard to the first he sets out three middle [terms], each of which proves the one before it. 620. Using the first middle, he proves something stated earlier [n. 617], namely, that the prudence of the flesh is death, in the following way: He that is hostile to God incurs death: “But as for those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them before me” (Luke 19:27); and this because God is our life: “For he is your life” (Deuteronomy 30:20). And so, he that is hostile to God incurs death; but the wisdom of the flesh is hostile to God. Therefore, the prudence of the flesh is the cause of death. 621. Here it should be noted that what he earlier called the prudence of the flesh he now calls the wisdom of the flesh, not because prudence and wisdom are absolutely the same but because wisdom in human matters is prudence: “Wisdom is prudence to a man” (Proverbs 10:23). To understand this it should be recognized that one who knows the highest cause on which all things depend is called wise in the strict sense. But the supreme cause absolutely of all things is God. Therefore, wisdom in the strict sense is knowledge of divine things, as Augustine says in The Trinity: “Yet among the mature we do impart 309 wisdom” (1 Corinthians 2:6). Now one who knows the highest cause in a particular genus is said to be wise in that genus. For example, in the art of building it is not the man who knows how to cut wood and stones but the one who conceives and plans the house who is called wise; for the entire building depends on him. Hence the Apostle says in 1 Cor 3(:10), “As a wise architect I have laid the foundation.” Thus, therefore, one is called wise in human matters who has a good understanding about the goal of human life and regulates the whole of human life accordingly, which pertains to prudence. And thus the wisdom of the flesh is the same as the prudence of the flesh, about which James 3(:15) says that it is “not such as comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish.” This wisdom is said to be hostile to God, because it inclines a man against God’s law: “Running stubbornly against him with a thick-bossed shield” (Job 15:26). 622. To prove this he uses another middle, adding: it is not subject to the law of God. For a person cannot hate God according to what he is in himself, since God is the very essence of goodness; but a sinner hates God inasmuch as some precept of the divine law is contrary to his will, as an adulterer hates God inasmuch as he hates the precept: “You shall not commit adultery.” And so all sinners, inasmuch as they are unwilling to submit to God’s law, are hostile to God: “Should you love those who hate the Lord?” (2 Chronicles 19:2). Hence, he has satisfactorily proved that the prudence or wisdom of the flesh is hostile to God, because it is not subject to the law of God. 310 623. He proves this [argument] through a third middle [term], saying: nor can it be. For the prudence of the flesh is a form of vice, as is clear from what has been said. But although a person subject to a vice can be freed from it and submit to God, as it says above (6:18): “Having been set free from sin, you have become slaves of righteousness,” the vice itself cannot submit to God, since the vice itself is a turning away from God or from God’s law; just as something black can become white, but the blackness itself can never become white: “An evil tree cannot bear good fruit” (Matthew 7:18). From this it is clear that the Manicheans were not correct in using these words to support their error, for they wished by these words to show that the nature of the flesh is not from God, since it is hostile to God and cannot be subject to God. For the Apostle is not dealing here with the flesh, which is a creature of God, but of the prudence of the flesh, which is a human vice, as has been said. 624. Then when he says And those who are in the flesh, he applies what he had said about prudence of the flesh to men whom the prudence of the flesh rules, saying: Those who are in the flesh, i.e., who follow the desires of the flesh by the prudence of the flesh, so long as they are this way cannot please God, because, as it says in Psalms 147(:11), “The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him.” Hence those who do not submit to him cannot please him, so long as they remain such. But they can cease to be in the flesh according to the manner described and then they will be pleasing to God. 625. Then when he says But you, he shows that those to whom he is speaking are immune from the prudence of the flesh. In regard to this he does three things. First, he 311 describes the state of believers, saying: But you are not in the flesh. This makes it clear that he is not speaking about the nature of the flesh. For the Romans, to whom he was speaking, were mortal men clothed in flesh. Rather, he is taking flesh for the vices of the flesh, as in 1 Cor 15(:50), “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.” Hence he says You are not in the flesh, i.e., you are not in the vices of the flesh as though living according to the flesh: “Living in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh” (2 Corinthians 10:3). But in the spirit, i.e., you follow the spirit: “I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day” (Revelation 1:10). 626. Secondly, he appends a condition, saying: if the Spirit of God dwells in you, namely, through love: “You are God’s temple, and God’s Spirit dwells in you” (1 Corinthians 3:16). He appends this condition because, even though they received the Holy Spirit in baptism, they might through a later sin have lost the Holy Spirit. Concerning this it says in Wis 1(:5) that [the Holy Spirit] “will not abide when iniquity comes in.” 627. Thirdly, he shows that this condition should be found in them, saying: Now if anyone does not have not the Spirit of Christ, he is not his. For just as that is not a bodily member which is not enlivened by the body’s spirit, so he is not Christ’s member who does not have the Spirit of Christ: “By this we know that we abide in him, because he has given us of his own Spirit” (1 John 4:13). It should be noted that the Spirit of Christ and of God the Father is the same; but he is called the Spirit of God the Father inasmuch as he proceeds from the Father, and the Spirit of Christ inasmuch as he proceeds from the Son. Hence the Lord always ascribes him to both, as in John 14(:26), “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father 312 will send in my name” and again: “When the Counselor comes whom I will send to you from the Father” (John 15:26). 628. Then [n. 595] when he says But if Christ, he shows that through the grace of Christ or through the Holy Spirit we are freed from punishment. And first, he shows that we are freed by the Holy Spirit in the future from bodily death; secondly that in the meantime the Holy Spirit helps us against the infirmities of the present life, there [v. 26; n. 686] at Similarly the Spirit; Concerning the first he does three things. First, he sets out what he intends; Secondly, he draws a corollary from this, there [n. 631] at Therefore, brethren; Thirdly, he proves his proposition, there [v. 14; n. 634] at For all who are led. In regard to the first it should be recalled that above he mentioned the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ, although it is one and the same Spirit. First, therefore, he shows what we obtain from the Spirit inasmuch as he is the Spirit of Christ; secondly, inasmuch as he is the Spirit of God the Father, there [v. 11; n. 630] at And if the Spirit of him. 629. He says, therefore: We have said that if one does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him; hence, since you belong to Christ, you have the Spirit of Christ and Christ himself dwelling in you through faith: “That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (Ephesians 3:17). But if Christ is thus in you, you should be conformed to Christ. 313 Now Christ so came into the world that as far as the Spirit was concerned, he was full of grace and truth, but as for the body, he had the likeness of sinful flesh, as was stated above. Hence this should also be in you, that your body indeed, because of sin which still remains in your flesh is dead, i.e., subject to the necessity death: “In whatsoever day you eat it, you shall die the death” (Genesis 2:17), i.e., subject to the necessity of death; but the spirit lives, being recalled from sin: “Be renewed in the spirit of your minds” (Ephesians 4:23); it lives with the life of grace because of justification, through which it is justified by God: “The life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of sod” (Galatians 2:20); “The just man lives by faith” (Romans 1:17). 630. Then when he says And if the Spirit, he shows what we obtain from the Holy Spirit inasmuch as he is the Spirit of the Father, saying: If the Spirit of him, namely, of God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you: “But do thou, O Lord, be gracious to me and raise me up” (Psalms 41:10); “Him God raised from the dead” (Acts 3:14). Although Christ rose by his own power, because the power of the Father and of the Son is the same, it follows that what God the Father did in Christ, he can also do in us. And this is what he says: He who raised Jesus Christ from the dead will enliven your mortal bodies. He does not say “dead” but “mortal,” because in the resurrection there will be taken away from our bodies not only that they are dead, i.e., necessarily having to die, but also that they are mortal, i.e., capable of dying, as was Adam’s body before sin. For after the resurrection our bodies will be wholly immortal: “Thy dead shall live, their bodies shall rise” (Isaiah 26:19); “After two days he will revive us” (Hosea 6:2). 314 And this because of his indwelling Spirit in you, i.e., in virtue of the Spirit dwelling in you: “Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live” (Ezekiel 37:5). And this is because of his indwelling Spirit, i.e., on account of the dignity our bodies have from being receptacles of the Holy Spirit: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit?” (1 Corinthians 6:19). Those indeed whose bodies were not temples of the Spirit will also rise, but their bodies will be able to suffer. 631. Then when he says Therefore, brethren, he draws a corollary from the foregoing. And first, he sets out a conclusion; secondly, he gives the reason, there [v. 13; n. 633] at For if. First, therefore, he says: We have said that many benefits flow to us through the Holy Spirit and that from the prudence of the flesh follows death; therefore, we are debtors, not to the flesh, but to the Holy Spirit on account of the benefits received from him, to live according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh: “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). 633. Then when he says For if you live according to the flesh, he gives the reason for the above conclusion. And first, as to the flesh, saying: If you live according to the flesh, namely, by following the desires of the flesh, you will die, namely, the death of guilt in the present and the death of damnation in the future: “She who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives” (1 Timothy 5:6). 315 Secondly, he gives a reason as to the spirit, saying: but if by the Spirit you mortify the deeds of the flesh, i.e., deeds which flow from the desires of the flesh, you will live, namely, the life of grace in the present and the life of glory in the future: “Put to death what is earthly in you” (Colossians 3:5); “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24).

Romans 8:8

Ambrosiaster: The wise of this world are in the flesh because they cling to their wisdom, by which they reject God’s law. For whatever goes against the law of God is of the flesh, because it is of the world. For the whole world is flesh and every visible thing is assigned to the flesh. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Augustine of Hippo: In the same way, snow cannot tolerate heat. For when snow is heated it melts; it becomes warm as water, but no one can then call it snow. — AUGUSTINE ON Romans 49

Irenaeus: The apostle does not reject the substance of flesh but shows that the Spirit must be infused into it. — AGAINST HERESIES 5.10.2

Jerome: If all who are carnal cannot please God, how does Paul himself, the speaker, please God? How do Peter and the other apostles and saints, whom we cannot deny were carnal, please him?… It is because they—and we—do not live according to the flesh. We … walk about on the earth, it is true, but we are hastening on our way to heaven, for here we do not have a lasting place, but we are wayfarers and pilgrims, like all our fathers. — HOMILIES 63

John Chrysostom: Why is this? Is not the speaker himself clad in flesh? Paul does not mean that those clad in flesh are incapable of pleasing God but rather those who put no store by virtue, whose thoughts are totally carnal and who are caught up in pleasures of that kind, paying no attention to their soul, which is incorporeal and intellectual. — HOMILIES ON Genesis 24.6

John Chrysostom: What then? Are we, it will be said, to cut our bodies in pieces to please God, and to make our escape from the flesh? and would you have us be homicides, and so lead us to virtue? You see what inconsistencies are gendered by taking the words literally. For by “the flesh” in this passage, he does not mean the body, or the essence of the body, but that life which is fleshly and worldly, and uses self-indulgence and extravagance to the full, so making the entire man flesh. For as they that have the wings of the Spirit, make the body also spiritual, so do they who bound off from this, and are the slaves of the belly, and of pleasure, make the soul also flesh, not that they change the essence of it, but that they mar its noble birth. And this mode of speaking is to be met with in many parts of the Old Testament also, to signify by flesh the gross and earthly life, which is entangled in pleasures that are not convenient. For to Noah He says, “My Spirit shall not always make its abode in these men, because they are flesh.” And yet Noah was himself also compassed about with flesh. But this is not the complaint, the being compassed about with the flesh, for this is so by nature, but the having chosen a carnal life. Wherefore also Paul saith, “But they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” — Homily on Romans 13

Pelagius: This proves that Paul did not find fault with the flesh itself but with the works of the flesh, because those to whom he was writing were undoubtedly living in the flesh in the physical sense. Once one has given himself over to the flesh (in the spiritual sense) it is impossible to avoid sin. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Tertullian: In these and in similar statements it is not the substance of the flesh which is censured but its actions. — ON THE RESURRECTION OF THE FLESH 10

Tertullian: In other passages also he is accustomed to put the natural condition instead of the works that are done therein, as when he says, that “they who are in the flesh cannot please God.” Now, when shall we be able to please God except whilst we are in this flesh? There is, I imagine, no other time wherein a man can work. — Against Marcion Book V

Tertullian: For although he says that “in his flesh dwelleth no good thing; " although he affirms that “they who are in the flesh cannot please God,” because “the flesh lusteth against the Spirit; " yet in these and similar assertions which he makes, it is not the substance of the flesh, but its actions, which are censured. — On the Resurrection of the Flesh

Tertullian: For when he actually declares that “they who are in the flesh cannot please God,” he immediately recalls the statement from an heretical sense to a sound one, by adding, “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit.” Now, by denying them to be in the flesh who yet obviously were in the flesh, he showed that they were not living amidst the works of the flesh, and therefore that they who could not please God were not those who were in the flesh, but only those who were living after the flesh; whereas they pleased God, who, although existing in the flesh, were yet walking after the Spirit. — On the Resurrection of the Flesh

Tertullian: Openly let us vindicate our disciplines. Sure we are that “they who are in the flesh cannot please God; " not, of course, those who are in the substance of the flesh, but in the care, the affection, the work, the will, of it. — On Fasting

Theodoret of Cyrus: Paul is not telling us to leave the body but to be set free from the wisdom of the flesh. What this means, he tells us in the following verses. — INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

Romans 8:9

Ambrosiaster: Those who are said to be in the Spirit are not in the flesh if they agree with the apostle John and do not love the world. … Paul speaks somewhat ambiguously because those who have been inducted into the law do not yet have a perfect faith, although Paul saw a hope of perfection in them. For this reason he sometimes speaks to them as if they are perfect and sometimes as if they are yet to become perfect. This is why sometimes he praises them and sometimes he warns them, so that if they maintain the law of nature according to what has been said above they will be said to be in the Spirit, because the Spirit of God cannot dwell in anyone who follows carnal things.Here Paul says that the Spirit of God is the Spirit of Christ, for everything which belongs to the Father belongs to the Son as well. Therefore he says that whoever is subject to the abovementioned sins does not belong to Christ. Such a person does not have the Spirit of God, even if he has accepted that Christ is God’s Son. For the Holy Spirit abandons people for one of two reasons, either because they think carnally or because they act carnally. Therefore he exhorts them to good behavior by the things which he commands. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Clement of Alexandria: Wherefore also he has added, “neither yet are ye now able, for ye are still carnal “minding the things of the flesh,-desiring, loving, feeling jealousy, wrath, envy. “For we are no more in the flesh”. To whom speaks the Lord? To those who reject as far as possible all that is of man. And the apostle says, “For ye are not any longer in the flesh, but in the Spirit.” — The Instructor Book 1

Gregory the Dialogist: In Holy Writ flesh is named in one way according to nature, and in another way according to sin or corruption. For there is flesh according to nature, as where it is written, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.” And, “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” But there is flesh according to sin, as where it is written, “My Spirit shall not always abide in those men, for that they are flesh.” And as the Psalmist saith; “For He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.” Whence too Paul said to the disciples; “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the spirit.” For it was not that these persons were not in the flesh, to whom he was sending letters, but for that they had subdued the motions of carnal passions, henceforth, free through the efficacy of the Spirit, they ‘were not in the flesh.’ Therefore in respect to what Paul says, that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,” he would have flesh to be understood as applied to sin, not flesh as applied to nature. Hence directly afterwards that he was speaking of flesh after sin he makes plain, by adding; “Neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.” Therefore in that glory of the heavenly kingdom there will be flesh according to nature, but not flesh according to the desire of the passions; in that the sting of death being overcome, it will reign in eternal incorruptibility. — Morals on the Book of Job, Book 14

Irenaeus: “For ye “he declares, “are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.”. And again he declares, “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.” — Against Heresies Book V

John Chrysostom: “You are not in the flesh” not because you are not clad in flesh but because in spite of being clad in flesh you rise above the thinking of the flesh. — HOMILIES ON Genesis 22.10

John Chrysostom: Here again, he does not mean flesh absolutely, but such sort of flesh, that which was in a whirl and thraldom of passions. Why then, it may be said, does he not say so, nor state any difference? It is to rouse the hearer, and to show that he that liveth aright is not even in the body. For inasmuch as it was in a manner clear to every one that the spiritual man was not in sin, he states the greater truth that it was not in sin alone, that the spiritual man was not, but not even in the flesh was he henceforward, having become from that very moment an Angel, and ascended into heaven, and henceforward barely carrying the body about. Now if this be thy reason for disparaging the flesh, because it is by its name that he calls the fleshly life, at this rate you are also for disparaging the world, because wickedness is often called after it, as Christ also said to His disciples, “Ye are not of this world;” and again to His brethren, He says, “The world cannot hate you, but me it hateth.” And the soul too Paul must afterwards be calling estranged from God, since to those that live in error, he gives the name of men of the soul. But this is not so, indeed it is not so. For we are not to look to the bare words, but always to the sentiment of the speaker, and so come to a perfectly distinct knowledge of what is said. For some things are good, some bad, and some indifferent. Thus the soul and the flesh belong to things indifferent, since each may become either the one or the other. But the spirit belongs to things good, and at no time becometh any other thing. Again, the mind of the flesh, that is, ill-doing, belongs to things always bad. “For it is not subject to the law of God.” If then thou yieldest thy soul and body to the better, thou wilt have become of its part. If on the other hand thou yield to the worse, then art thou made a partaker of the ruin therein, not owing to the nature of the soul and the flesh, but owing to that judgment which has the power of choosing either. “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ.” He does not say, if ye have not, but he brings forward the distressing word, as applied to other persons. “He is none of His.” he says. — Homily on Romans 13

Oecumenius: The Spirit is common to the Father and the Son. — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Origen of Alexandria: Is the Spirit of God somehow different from the Spirit of Christ, or are the two one and the same? As far as I can follow the logic of this passage, not to mention what the Savior says of the Holy Spirit in the Gospel, viz., that “he proceeds from the Father” and “he receives of me,” to which he adds by way of explanation: “Father, everything which is mine is yours, and everything which is yours is mine; wherefore I said, that he receives of me.” When, I say, I consider the logic of this unity between the Father and the Son, it seems to me that the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ are one and the same Spirit.We can understand this to mean that someone who is not of such a character as to deserve to have the Spirit of Christ is not recognized as belonging to him.… It may also be understood to mean that anyone who does not act in the Spirit, who is not prepared for righteousness, for truth, for the proclamation of the Word of God, for the preaching of the kingdom of heaven, for rejecting the letter of the law and for opening up its spirit, for resisting sin, for everything which will prevent him from coming to death, is not Christ’s disciple. — COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Pelagius: You are in the Spirit because you are occupied with spiritual things. The Spirit of God dwells in those in whom his fruit is manifest, as Paul says to the Galatians: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, etc.” The Spirit of Christ, who loved his enemies and prayed for them, is the Spirit of humility, patience and all the virtues. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Pseudo-Clement: For, if a man be only in name called holy, he is not holy; but he must be holy in everything: in his body and in his spirit. And those who are virgins rejoice at all times in becoming like God and His Christ, and are imitators of them. For in those that are such there is not “the mind of the flesh.” In those who are truly believers, and “in whom the Spirit of Christ dwells” [Romans 8:9] — in them “the mind of the flesh” cannot be: which is fornication, uncleanness, wantonness; idolatry, sorcery; enmity, jealousy, rivalry, wrath, disputes, dissensions, ill-will; drunkenness, revelry; buffoonery, foolish talking, boisterous laughter; backbiting, insinuations; bitterness, rage; clamour, abuse, insolence of speech; malice, inventing of evil, falsehood; talkativeness, babbling; threatenings, gnashing of teeth, readiness to accuse, jarring, disdainings, blows; perversions of the right, laxness in judgment; haughtiness, arrogance, ostentation, pompousness, boasting of family, of beauty, of position, of wealth, of an arm of flesh; quarrelsomeness, injustice, eagerness for victory; hatred, anger, envy, perfidy, retaliation; debauchery, gluttony, “overreaching (which is idolatry),” [Colossians 3:5] “the love of money (which is the root of all evils);” [1 Timothy 6:10] love of display, vainglory, love of rule, assumption, pride (which is called death, and which “God fights against”). — Two Epistles on Virginity

Severian of Gabala: By “Spirit of God” Paul here refers to the spiritual gifts of the New Testament. — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Tertullian: Since, however he has declared of men which are yet alive in the flesh, that they “are not in the flesh,” meaning that they are not living in the works of the flesh, you ought not to subvert its form nor its substance, but only the works done in the substance (of the flesh), alienating us from the kingdom of God. — On the Resurrection of the Flesh

Romans 8:10

Ambrosiaster: Paul asserts that the bodies of those whom the Holy Spirit has abandoned because of sin are dead, nor does the feeling of their murder touch him, i.e., the Spirit. For the Spirit of God cannot sin. He is given for righteousness in order to make people righteous by his assistance.If a believer returns to the life of the flesh, the Holy Spirit will leave him and he will die in his unrighteousness. In saying “the body” Paul means that the whole person will die because of sin. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Augustine of Hippo: Paul calls the body “dead” because it is mortal. Furthermore, it is because of this mortality that the lack of earthly things troubles the soul and arouses certain desires, to which the man who serves the law of God in his mind does not submit and sin. — AUGUSTINE ON Romans 50

Augustine of Hippo: Paul shows that both life and death exist in a man living in his body—death in his body, life in his spirit. — City of God 20.15

Clement of Alexandria: “The body is dead because of sin,” indicating that if it is not the temple, it is still the tomb of the soul. For when it is dedicated to God, he adds, “the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, who shall also make alive your mortal bodies through his Spirit dwelling in you.” — The Stromata Book 3

Irenaeus: But if the Spirit of Him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies, because of His Spirit dwelling in you.” — Against Heresies Book V

John Chrysostom: Again, what is good he applies to them, and the distressing part was short and parenthetic. And that which is an object of desire, is on either side of it, and put at length too, so as to throw the other into shade. Now this he says, not as affirming that the Spirit is Christ, far from it, but to show that he who hath the Spirit not only is called Christ’s, but even hath Christ Himself. For it cannot but be that where the Spirit is, there Christ is also. For wheresoever one Person of the Trinity is, there the whole Trinity is present. For It is undivided in Itself, and hath a most entire Oneness. What then, it may be said, will happen, if Christ be in us? “The body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” You see the great evils that come of not having the Holy Spirit; death, enmity against God, inability to satisfy His laws, not being Christ’s as we should be, the want of His indwelling. Consider now also what great blessings come of having the Spirit. Being Christ’s, having Christ himself, vying with the Angels (for this is what mortifying the flesh is), and living an immortal life, holding henceforward the earnests of the Resurrection, running with ease the race of virtue. For he does not say so little as that the body is henceforth inactive for sin, but that it is even dead, so magnifying the ease of the race. For such an one without troubles and labors gains the crown. Then afterward for this reason he adds also, “to sin,” that you may see that it is the viciousness, not the essence of the body, that He hath abolished at once. For if the latter had been done, many things even of a kind to be beneficial to the soul would have been abolished also. This however is not what he says, but while it is yet alive and abiding, he contends, it is dead. For this is the sign of our having the Son, of the Spirit being in us, that our bodies should be in no respect different from those that lie on the bier with respect to the working of sin. But be not affrighted at hearing of mortifying. For in it you have what is really life, with no death to succeed it: and such is that of the Spirit. It yieldeth not to death any more, but weareth out death and consumeth it, and that which it receiveth, it keepeth it immortal. And this is why after saying “the body is dead,” he does not say, “but the Spirit `liveth,’” but, “is life,” to point out that He (the Spirit) had the power of giving this to others also. Then again to brace up his hearer, he tells him the cause of the Life, and the proof of it. Now this is righteousness; for where there is no sin, death is not to be seen either; but where death is not to be seen, life is indissoluble. — Homily on Romans 13

Pelagius: If you imitate Christ the carnal mind offers no resistance, because it is effectively dead. The spirit lives in order to produce righteousness, for the aim is not just to stop doing carnal things but to start doing spiritual ones. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Tertullian: Likewise, if “the body indeed is dead because of sin” (from which statement we see that not the death of the soul is meant, but that of the body), “but the spirit is life because of righteousness,” it follows that this life accrues to that which incurred death because of sin, that is, as we have just seen, the body. — Against Marcion Book V

Theodoret of Cyrus: Paul makes something which was doubtful clear and demonstrates that he is not attacking the flesh but sin. For he decreed that the body was dead to sin, i.e., that it should not sin. But here he calls the soul spirit, because it has already become spiritual. He commands it to follow after righteousness, whose fruit is the hope of eternal life. — INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

Romans 8:11

Ambrosiaster: Paul repeats here what he has just said. Once again, the word body stands for the whole person. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Augustine of Hippo: Paul now explains the fourth of the four states which we mentioned above. But this state is not attained in this life. It belongs to the hope by which we await the redemption of our body, when this corruptible matter will put on incorruption and immortality. Then there will be perfect peace, because the soul will no longer be troubled by the body, which will be revived and transformed into a heavenly substance. — AUGUSTINE ON Romans 51

Augustine of Hippo: This is a very explicit witness to the resurrection of the body, and it is sufficiently clear that as long as we are in this life there will be no lack of both the annoyances occasioned by the mortal flesh and some excitations arising from carnal pleasures. For although he who is established under grace serves the law of God with his mind and does not yield, nevertheless, with the flesh he continues to serve the law of sin. — QUESTIONS 66.7

Diodorus of Tarsus: Having already mentioned the Spirit of Christ, Paul refers to him once more, calling him “the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead.” By saying that the Spirit of Christ is also the Spirit of the Father, Paul teaches clearly that the Spirit of the Son partakes of the Father’s divinity and that their power is one, because they share the same essence as the Father. — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Hippolytus of Rome: Concerning this (Logos) they have a great question amongst them-an occasion both of divisions and dissension. And hence the doctrine of these has become divided: and one doctrine, according to them, is termed Oriental, and the other Italian. They from Italy, of whom is Heracleon and Ptolemaeus, say that the body of Jesus was (an) animal (one). And on account of this, (they maintain) that at his baptism the Holy Spirit as a dove came down-that is, the Logos of the mother above, (I mean Sophia)-and became (a voice) to the animal (man), and raised him from the dead. This, he says, is what has been declared: “He who raised Christ from the dead will also quicken your mortal and natural bodies.” For loam has come under a curse; “for,” says he, “dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” The Orientals, on the other hand, of whom is Axionicus and Bardesianes, assert that the body of the Saviour was spiritual; for there came upon Mary the Holy Spirit-that is, Sophia and the power of the highest. This is the creative art, (and was vouchsafed) in order that what was given to Mary by the Spirit might be fashioned. — Hippolytus Refutation of All Heresies Book VI

Hippolytus of Rome: Let us look next at the apostle’s word: “Whose are the fathers, of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever.” This word declares the mystery of the truth rightly and clearly. He who is over all is God; for thus He speaks boldly, “All things are delivered unto me of my Father.” He who is over all, God blessed, has been born; and having been made man, He is (yet) God for ever. For to this effect John also has said, “Which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” And well has he named Christ the Almighty. For in this he has said only what Christ testifies of Himself. For Christ gave this testimony, and said, “All things are delivered unto me of my Father; " and Christ rules all things, and has been appointed Almighty by the Father. And in like manner Paul also, in setting forth the truth that all things are delivered unto Him, said, “Christ the first-fruits; afterwards they that are Christ’s at His coming. Then cometh the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule, and all authority, and power. For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For all things are put under Him. But when He saith, All things are put under Him, it is manifest that He is excepted which did put all things under Him. Then shall He also Himself be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.” If, therefore, all things are put under Him with the exception of Him who put them under Him, He is Lord of all, and the Father is Lord of Him, that in all there might be manifested one God, to whom all things are made subject together with Christ, to whom the Father hath made all things subject, with the exception of Himself. And this, indeed, is said by Christ Himself, as when in the Gospel He confessed Him to be His Father and His God. For He speaks thus: “I go to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God.” If then, Noetus ventures to say that He is the Father Himself, to what father will he say Christ goes away according to the word of the Gospel? But if he will have us abandon the Gospel and give credence to his senselessness, he expends his labour in vain; for “we ought to obey God rather than men.” — Hippolytus Dogmatical and Historical Fragments

Irenaeus: For, as himself foreseeing, through the Spirit, the subdivisions of evil teachers . And again to the Romans he says, “But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies.” — Against Heresies Book V

John Chrysostom: Again, he touches the point of the Resurrection, since this was the most encouraging hope to the hearer, and gave him a security from what had happened unto Christ. Now be not thou afraid because thou art compassed about with a dead body. Let it have the Spirit, and it shall assuredly rise again. What then, shall the bodies which have not the Spirit not rise? How then must “all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ?” or how will the account of hell be trustworthy? For if they that have not the Spirit rise not, there will not be a hell at all. What then is it which is said? All shall rise, yet not all to life, but some to punishment and some to life. This is why he did not say, shall raise up, but shall quicken. And this is a greater thing than resurrection, and is given to the just only. And the cause of this honor he adds in the words, “By His Spirit that dwelleth in you.” And so if while here thou drive away the grace of the Spirit, and do not depart with it still safe, thou wilt assuredly perish, though thou dost rise again. For as He will not endure then, if he see His Spirit shining in thee, to give thee up to punishment, so neither will He allow them, if He see It quenched, to bring thee into the Bride-chamber, even as He admitted not those virgins. Suffer not thy body then to live in this world, that it may live then! Make it die, that it die not. For if it keep living, it will not live: but if it die, then shall it live. And this is the case with resurrection in general. For it must die first and be buried, and then become immortal. But this has been done in the Font. It has therefore had first its crucifixion and burial, and then been raised. This has also happened with the Lord’s Body. For that also was crucified and buried and rose again. This then let us too be doing: let us keep continually mortifying it in its works. I do not mean in its substance-far be it from me-but in its inclinations towards evil doings. For this is a life too, or rather this only is life, undergoing nothing that is common to man, nor being a slave to pleasures. — Homily on Romans 13

Origen of Alexandria: If the Spirit of Christ dwells in you, it seems essential that his dwelling place (i.e., your body) will be given back to him and his temple restored.This is how you can know whether you have the Spirit of Christ or not. Christ is wisdom, so if you are wise according to Christ and know what is his, then by this wisdom you have the Spirit of Christ. Likewise, Christ is righteousness; therefore, if you have the righteousness of Christ, by that righteousness you have the Spirit of Christ. Christ is peace; if you have Christ’s peace in you, then through the Spirit of peace you have the Spirit of Christ. So it goes with love, with sanctification and with all that belongs to Christ. The one who has these things may be confident of having the Spirit of Christ in him and can hope that his mortal body will be restored to life on account of the Spirit of Christ dwelling in him. — COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Pelagius: God will not allow the temple of his Spirit to perish. In the same way as he raised Jesus from the dead he will also restore your body. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Tertullian: The resurrection of the dead implies the resurrection of their bodies. — AGAINST MARCION 5.14

Tertullian: He accordingly subjoins: “He that raised up Christ from the dead, shall also quicken your mortal bodies.” In these words he both affirmed the resurrection of the flesh (without which nothing can rightly be called body, nor can anything be properly regarded as mortal), and proved the bodily substance of Christ; inasmuch as our own mortal bodies will be quickened in precisely the same way as He was raised; and that was in no other way than in the body. — Against Marcion Book V

Tertullian: In these words he both affirmed the resurrection of the flesh (without which nothing can rightly be called body, nor can anything be properly regarded as mortal), and proved the bodily substance of Christ; inasmuch as our own mortal bodies will be quickened in precisely the same way as He was raised; and that was in no other way than in the body. I have here a very wide gulf of expunged Scripture to leap across; however, I alight on the place where the apostle bears record of Israel “that they have a zeal of God”-their own God, of course-“but not according to knowledge. — Against Marcion Book V

Tertullian: But why am I resorting to knotty arguments, when the apostle treats the subject with perfect plainness? “For if,” says he, “the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Jesus from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies, because of His Spirit that dwelleth in you; " so that even if a person were to assume that the soul is “the mortal body,” he would (since he cannot possibly deny that the flesh is this also) be constrained to acknowledge a restoration even of the flesh, in consequence of its participation in the selfsame state. — On the Resurrection of the Flesh

Tertullian: And once for all, that we may not wander through every passage, He “who raised up Christ from the dead, and is also to raise up our mortal bodies,” must certainly be, as the quickener, different from the dead Father, or even from the quickened Father, if Christ who died is the Father. — Against Praxeas

Romans 8:12

Ambrosiaster: It is right and clear that we are not obliged to follow Adam, who lived according to the flesh, and who by being the first to sin left us an inheritance of sin. On the contrary, we ought rather to obey the law of Christ who, as was demonstrated above, has redeemed us spiritually from death. We are debtors to him who has washed our spirits, which had been sullied by carnal sins, in baptism, who has justified us and who has made us children of God. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Cyprian: Vices and carnal sins must be trampled down, beloved brethren, and the corrupting plague of the earthly body must be trodden under foot with spiritual vigour, lest, while we are turned back again to the conversation of the old man, we be entangled in deadly snares, even as the apostle, with foresight and wholesomeness, forewarned us of this very thing, and said: “Therefore, brethren, let us not live after the flesh; for if ye live after the flesh, ye shall begin to die; but if ye, through the Spirit, mortify the deeds of the flesh, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the sons of God.” If we are the sons of God, if we are already beginning to be His temples, if, having received the Holy Spirit, we are living holily and spiritually, if we have raised our eyes from earth to heaven, if we have lifted our hearts, filled with God and Christ, to things above and divine, let us do nothing but what is worthy of God and Christ, even as the apostle arouses and exhorts us, saying: “If ye be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God; occupy your minds with things that are above, not with things which are upon the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. But when Christ, who is your life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.” Let us, then, who in baptism have both died and been buried in respect of the carnal sins of the old man, who have risen again with Christ in the heavenly regeneration, both think upon and do the things which are Christ’s, even as the same apostle again teaches and counsels, saying: “The first man is of the dust of the earth; the second man is from heaven. Such as he is from the earth, such also are they who are froth the earth and such as He the heavenly is, such also are they who are heavenly. As we have borne the image of him who is of the earth, let us also bear the image of Him who is from heaven.” But we cannot bear the heavenly image, unless in that condition wherein we have already begun to be, we show forth the likeness of Christ. — Treatise X. On Jealousy and Envy.

John Chrysostom: After showing how great the reward of a spiritual life is, and that it maketh Christ to dwell in us, and that it quickeneth our mortal bodies, and wingeth them to heaven, and rendereth the way of virtue easier, he next fitly introduces an exhortation to this purpose. “Therefore” we ought “not to live after the flesh.” But this is not what he says, for he words it in a much more striking and powerful way, thus, “we are debtors to the Spirit.” For saying, “we are debtors not to the flesh,” indicates this. And this is a point he is everywhere giving proof of, that what God hath done for us is not matter of debt, but of mere grace. But after this, what we do is no longer matter of free-will offering, but of debt. For when he saith, “Ye are bought with a price, be not ye the servants of men”; and when he writes, “Ye are not your own”; and again in another passage he calls these selfsame things to their mind, in these words, “If One died for all, then all died that they should not henceforth live unto themselves.” And it is to establish this that he says here also, “We are debtors;” then since he said we are “not” debtors “to the flesh,” lest you should again take him to be speaking against the nature of the flesh, he does not leave speaking, but proceeds, “to live after the flesh.” For there are many things which we do owe it, as giving it food, warmth, and rest, medicine when out of health, clothing, and a thousand other attentions. To prevent your supposing then that it is this ministration he is for abrogating when he says, “We are not debtors to the flesh,” he explains it by saying, “to live after the flesh.” For the care that I am for abrogating is, he means, that which leadeth to sin, as I should be for its having what is healing to it.

You see that it is not the essence of the body whereof we are discoursing, but the deeds of the flesh. For he does not say, “if ye through the Spirit do mortify” the essence “of the body,” but “the deeds of” it, and these not all deeds, but such as are evil. And this is plain in what follows: for if ye do this, “ye shall live,” he says. And how is it in the nature of things for this to be, if it was all deeds that his language applied to? for seeing and hearing and speaking and walking are deeds of the body; and if we mortify these, we shall be so far from living, that we shall have to suffer the punishment of a manslayer. What sort of deeds then does he mean us to mortify? Those which tend toward wickedness, those which go after vice, which there is no other way of mortifying save through the Spirit. For by killing yourself you may put an end to the others. And this you have no right to do. But to these you can put an end by the Spirit only. For if This be present, all the billows are laid low, and the passions cower under It, and nothing can exalt itself against us. — Homily on Romans 14

Origen of Alexandria: God did not make us in his image in order for us to be bound to the service of the flesh but rather that our soul, serving its Creator, might make use of the service and ministry of the flesh for that purpose. — COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Pelagius: The force of this whole argument is to show that the law, which was given for the carnally minded, is not necessary for those who are spiritual. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Theodoret of Cyrus: Since we have obtained salvation from Christ the Lord and have received the grace of the Spirit, we are obliged to serve him. — INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

Romans 8:13

Ambrose of Milan: It is not strange that one who puts to death the deeds of the flesh will live, since one who has the Spirit of God becomes a son of God. It is for this reason that he is a son of God, so that he may receive not the spirit of slavery but the spirit of the adoption of sons, inasmuch as the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are sons of God. — LETTER 52

Ambrosiaster: Nothing is truer than this, that if we live according to Adam we shall die. For by sinning Adam was consigned to the flesh and sold himself to sin, for all sin is oriented to the flesh.… The body wants to be governed by the law of the spirit, which is why Paul shows that if we are led by the Holy Spirit the acts and desires of the flesh, which are made up by the instigation of the powers of this world, are repressed so as to be unable to act. Then we shall enjoy eternal life. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Augustine of Hippo: That we should mortify the deeds of the flesh by the Spirit is required of us, but that we may live is offered to us.… Shall we therefore agree to say that the mortification of the flesh is not a gift of God and not confess it to be a gift of God, since we hear that it is required of us, with life offered as a reward to us if we have done it? — PREDESTINATION OF THE SAINTS 11.22

Augustine of Hippo: When by our spirit we put to death the works of the flesh we are impelled by the Spirit of God, which grants the continence by which we restrain, master and overcome concupiscence. — On Continence 5.12

Augustine of Hippo: I have quoted this passage so that I might make use of the apostle’s words to deter your free will from evil and to exhort it to what is good. Nor should you on this account glory in man, i.e., in yourselves and not in the Lord. You are not living according to the flesh but are putting the deeds of the flesh to death by the Spirit. — GRACE AND FREE WILL 11.23

CS Lewis: You must be prepared for the unpleasant things and the discomforts… When you are training soldiers in maneuvers, you practice in blank ammunition because you would like them to have practice before meeting the real enemy. So we must practice in abstaining from pleasures which are not in themselves wicked. If you don’t abstain from pleasure. you won’t be good when the time comes along. It is purely a matter of practice. — ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ON CHRISTIANITY, from God in the Dock

Irenaeus: And again he says, in the Epistle to the Romans, “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die.” — Against Heresies Book V

Irenaeus: Paul does not prevent them from living their lives in the flesh, for he was himself in the flesh when he wrote to them, but he cuts away the lusts of the flesh which bring death upon a man. — AGAINST HERESIES 5.10.2

Origen of Alexandria: Putting to death the deeds of the body works like this: Love is a fruit of the Spirit, but hate is an act of the flesh. Therefore hate is put to death and extinguished by love. Likewise, joy is a fruit of the Spirit, but sadness is of this world, and because it brings death it is a work of the flesh. Therefore it is extinguished if the joy of the Spirit dwells in us. Peace is a fruit of the Spirit, but dissension or discord is an act of the flesh; however, it is certain that discord can be eliminated by peace. Likewise the patience of the Spirit overcomes the impatience of the flesh, goodness wipes out evil, meekness does away with ferocity, continence with intemperance, chastity with license and so on.By “death” and “life,” Paul does not mean physical death and life but the death of sin and eternal life, which everyone who is mature in the Spirit and who has put to death the works of the flesh will attain. But we must also realize that this mortification of the deeds of the flesh comes through patience—not suddenly but step by step. At first they start to wilt in those who have been converted, but then, as they progress in their faith and become more dedicated, the deeds of the flesh not only wilt, they start to die out. But when they reach maturity to the point that there is no longer any trace in them of any sinful thought, word or deed, then they may be reckoned to have completely mortified the deeds of the flesh and passed from death to life. — COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Pelagius: Carnal people cannot preserve righteousness. But you will live if you have replaced the works of the flesh with spiritual deeds. Note that it is the works which are condemned, not the substance of the flesh. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Theodoret of Cyrus: Paul does not say that we should mortify the flesh but “the deeds of the flesh,” that is, the wisdom of the flesh, the attacks of the passions. For we have the grace of the Spirit to help us. Eternal life is the fruit of victory. — INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

Romans 8:14

Cyprian: If we are the sons of God, if we have already begun to be his temples, if (after receiving the Holy Spirit) we live holily and spiritually, if we have lifted up our eyes from the earth toward heaven, if we have raised our hearts, full of God and Christ, to supernal and divine things, let us do nothing which is not worthy of God and Christ, as the apostle arouses and urges us. — Treatise X. On Jealousy and Envy 14

Gregory the Dialogist: For in the Law God held the rod, in that He said, ‘If any man do this or that, let him die the death.’ But in His Incarnation He removed the rod, in that He shewed the paths of life by mild means. Whence it is said to Him by the Psalmist, “Set forward, go forth prosperously and rejoice, because of truth, and meekness, and righteousness.” For He had no mind to be feared as God, but put it into our hearts that as a Father He should be loved; as Paul clearly delivers; “For ye have not received the Spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have received the Spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” Hence too it is fitly added here, “Then would I speak, and not fear Him.” For the holy man, because he beholds the Redeemer of the world coming in meekness, does not assume fear towards a Master, but affection towards a Father. And he looks down on fear, in that through the grace of adoption he rises up to love. Hence John says; “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear.” — Morals on the Book of Job, Book 9

John Chrysostom: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Now this is again a much greater honor than the first. And this is why he does not say merely, As many as live by the Spirit of God, but, “as many as are led by the Spirit of God,” to show that he would have Him use such power over our life as a pilot doth over a ship, or a charioteer over a pair of horses. And it is not the body only, but the soul itself too, that he is for setting under reins of this sort. For he would not have even that independent, but place its authority also under the power of the Spirit. For lest through a confidence in the Gift of the Font they should turn negligent of their conversation after it, he would say, that even supposing you receive baptism, yet if you are not minded to be “led by the Spirit” afterwards, you lose the dignity bestowed upon you, and the pre-eminence of your adoption. This is why he does not say, As many as have received the Spirit, but, “as many as are led by the Spirit,” that is, as many as live up to this all their life long, “they are the sons of God.”

Then since this dignity was given to the Jews also, for it says, “I said ye are Gods, and all of you children of the Most High”; and again, “I have nourished and brought up children”; and so, “Israel is My first-born”; and Paul too says, “Whose is the adoption” - he next asserts the great difference between the latter and the former honor. For though the names are the same, he means, still, the things are not the same. — Homily on Romans 14

Origen of Alexandria: The Spirit of God is the same as the Spirit of Christ and the same as the Holy Spirit. But he is also called the Spirit of adoption, as the apostle makes clear in this passage. David spoke of this Spirit also when he said: “Take not thy Holy Spirit from me.” There are many sons of God, as Scripture says: “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you,” … but only one is the Son by nature, the only begotten of the Father, through whom all the rest are called sons. Likewise there are many spirits but only one who truly proceeds from God himself and who bestows on all the others the grace of his name and his sanctification. — COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Pelagius: This applies to all who are worthy to be governed by the Holy Spirit, just as (on the contrary) those who sin are moved by the spirit of the devil, who was a sinner from the beginning. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Prosper of Aquitaine: Since the Lord prepares the will, he also touches the hearts of his children with fatherly inspirations so that they might do good.… Consequently, we do not think that our free will is lacking, nor do we doubt that, in each and every movement of man’s free will, his help is the stronger force. — GRACE AND FREE WILL 5.3

Theodore of Mopsuestia: It is clear that these people will live the blessed life with their Father. — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Thomas Aquinas: After stating that through the Holy Spirit will be given to us the life of glory, which will exclude all mortality from our bodies [n. 628], the Apostle now proves this: first, he shows that this glorious life is given by the Holy Spirit; secondly, why it is deferred [v. 17b; n. 650]. In regard to the first he presents this argument: All who are sons of God obtain the inheritance of a glorious life; but those who are ruled by the Holy Spirit are sons of God. Therefore, all who are ruled by the Holy Spirit obtain the inheritance of a glorious life. First, therefore, he posits the minor of this proof; 316 secondly, the major [v. 17; n. 646]. In regard to the first he does two things; first, he states his proposition; secondly, he proves it [n. 637]. 635. In regard to the first there two things to consider. First, how some are led by the Spirit of God. This can be understood in the following way: All who are led by the Spirit of God, i.e., ruled as by a leader and director, which the Spirit does in us, inasmuch as he enlightens us inwardly about what we ought to do: “Let thy good spirit lead me” (Psalms 143:10). But because one who is led does not act on his own, whereas the spiritual man is not only instructed by the Holy Spirit regarding what he ought to do, but his heart is also moved by the Holy Spirit, it is necessary to get a better understanding of what is meant by all who are led by the Spirit of God. For those are led who are moved by a higher instinct. Hence we say that animals do not act but are led, because they are moved to perform their actions by nature and not from their own impulse. Similarly, the spiritual man is inclined to do something not as though by a movement of his own will chiefly, but by the prompting of the Holy Spirit, as it says in Is (59:19): “He will come like a rushing stream, which the wind of the Lord drives,” and in Lk (4:1): “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.” However, this does not mean that spiritual men do not act through will and free choice, because the Holy Spirit causes the very movement of the will and of free choice in them, as it says in Phil (2:13): “God is at work in you both to will and to work.” 317 636. Secondly, we must consider how those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. This is clarified by a likeness to natural children, who are produced by the natural seed coming from the father. But the spiritual seed proceeding from the Father is the Holy Spirit. Therefore, through this seed some men are born as sons of God: “No one born of God commits sin, because the seed of God abides in him” (1 John 3:9). 637. Then (v.15) he proves that men who receive the Holy Spirit are sons of God; and this in three ways. First, by distinguishing the gifts of the Holy Spirit; secondly, by our own testimony [v. 15b; n. 644]; thirdly, by the testimony of the Spirit [v. 16; n. 645]. 638. In regard to the first it should be noted that the Holy Spirit produces two effects in us: one is fear: “His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord” (Isaiah 11:3); the other is love: “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us” (Romans 5:5). But fear makes slaves; love does not. To realize this it is necessary to consider that fear bears on two things, namely, the evil from which someone flees through fear, and whatever seems to be the source of that evil. For a person is said to fear being killed and the king who has the power to kill. But sometime it happens that the evil from which someone recoils is contrary to a bodily or temporal good which a person sometimes loves inordinately and recoils from having it injured or destroyed by a mere man. This is human or worldly fear and is not from the Holy Spirit. Indeed, the Lord forbids such fear: “Do not fear those who kill the body” (Matthew 10:28). 318 639. There is a second type of fear which recoils from an evil contrary to created nature, namely, the evil of being punished, and shrinks from having this evil inflicted by a spiritual cause, namely, by God. Such fear is praiseworthy at least in one respect, namely, that it fears God: “Oh that they had such a mind as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments” (Deuteronomy 5:29). In this respect it is from the Holy Spirit. But insofar as such fear does not recoil from an evil opposed to ones spiritual good, namely, sin, but only punishment, it is not praiseworthy. It has this shortcoming not from the Holy Spirit but from man’s guilt; just as deformed faith is from the Holy Spirit, inasmuch as it is faith but not its deformity. Hence, even if a person does something good under the influence of such fear, he does not act well, because he does not act spontaneously but compelled by fear of punishment – and this is characteristic of slaves. Therefore, this fear is properly called servile, because it makes a man act as a slave does. 640. There is a third type of fear which recoils from evil opposed to a spiritual good, namely, from sin or separation from God, which a person fears to incur from the just vengeance of God. Thus it bears on spiritual goods, but with an eye on punishment. This is called initial fear, because it is usually found in men at the beginning of their conversion. For it fears punishment due to past sins and it fears separation from God through sin because of grace infused with charity. This is the fear mentioned in Psalms 111 (v.10): “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” 641. The fourth type of fear has its eye entirely on spiritual things, because it fears nothing except separation from God. This is holy fear which endures forever,” as it says in Psalms 19 (v.9). But just as initial fear is caused by imperfect love, so this fear is caused by 319 perfect love: “Perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). For this reason initial fear and chaste fear are not distinguished against charity’s love which is the cause of both, but the fear of punishment is; because just as this fear produces slavery, so charity’s love produces the freedom of sons. For it makes a man act voluntarily for the honor of God – which is characteristic of sons. 642. Now the Old Law was given in fear which was signified by the thunder and things of that sort which occurred when it was given, as it says in Exodus 19 and in Heb (12:21): “So terrifying was the sight that Moses said, ‘I tremble with fear.” So the Old Law, which induced men to obey God’s commandments by inflicting punishments, was given in a spirit of slavery; hence it says in Gal (4:24): “One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery.” 643. Therefore, he says here: It was correct to say that “all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” For in the New Law you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, namely, of punishments; but you have received the Spirit of sonship, by which we are adopted as children of God: “That we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:5). This does not mean that there is one spirit and another spirit, but that it is the same spirit, who produces servile fear in some and love in others. 644. Then (v.15b) he manifests the same thing by our confession. For we confess that we have God as our Father, when we follow the -Lord’s instruction to pray: “Our Father, who art in heaven” (Matthew 6:9). And since it is suitable not only for the Jews but also for Gentiles to say this, he uses two words to signify “Father,” namely, “Abba,” which is Hebrew, and “Pater,” which can be Latin or Greek. Even the 320 Lord himself says: Father, all things are possible to you” (Mark 14:36); “You will call me, My Father” (Jeremiah 3:19). We say this not so such with the sound of our voice as with the intention of our heart, an intention so strong that it is called a cry, as with Moses to whom it was said: “Why do you cry to me? (Exodus 14:15), namely, with the intention in your heart. But the great strength of this intention comes from the feeling of filial fear which he produces in us. Therefore, he says: In which, namely, the Holy Spirit, we cry: Abba, Father. Hence it says in Is (6:3) that the seraphim, burning with the fire of the Holy Spirit, “cried one to another: Holy, holy, holy…”. 645. Then (v.16) he manifests the same thing through the testimony of the Holy Spirit, to show that we are not deceived in our confession; hence he says: The reason I say that “we cry, Abba, Father” in the Holy Spirit is that the Spirit himself is bearing witness to our spirit that we are children of God. He bears this testimony not with external words that reach men’s ears, as the Father gave testimony to his own Son in Mt (3:17), but through the effect of filial love he produces in us. Therefore, he says that he bears testimony not to our ears but to our spirit. 646. Then (v.17) he posits the major. First he shows that to children is owed the inheritance, saying: If some are children, namely, through the Spirit, it follows that they are heirs, because the inheritance is owed not only to the natural child but also to the adopted: “We have been born anew to an inheritance which is imperishable” (1 Peter 1:4); “Yea, I have a goodly heritage” (Psalms 16:6). 647. Secondly, he shows what that inheritance is. 321 First he describes it in relation to God the Father, saying: heirs of God. Now one’s heir is a person who receives or gets his chief goods and not some small gifts, as we read in Gen (25:15) that Abraham gave all his possessions to Isaac, but to the sons of his concubines he bestowed gifts. Now the chief good by which God is rich is himself. For he is rich of himself and not in virtue of something else, because he does not need the goods others have, as it says in Psalms 15 (v.2): “You do not need my goods.” Hence the children of God obtain God himself as their inheritance: “The Lord is my chosen portion” (Psalms 16:5); “The Lord is my portion, says my soul” (Lamentations 3:24). 648. But since the child does not obtain the inheritance unless the Father dies, it seems that man cannot be an heir of God, who never dies. The answer is that this applies to temporal goods which cannot be possessed by many at the same time; hence one must die, if another is to inherit. But spiritual goods can be held by many at the same time; therefore, it is not necessary that the Father die in order that the children become heirs. Yet it can be said that God dies for us inasmuch as he is in us by faith. 649. Secondly, he describes this inheritance on the part of Christ, saying: fellow heirs with Christ, because just as he is the chief Son with whom we share sonship, so he is the chief heir, to whom we are united in the inheritance: “This is the heir” (Matthew 21:38). 650. Then (v.17b) he shows why this glorious life is delayed: first, he gives the reason concerned with suffering; secondly, the preeminence of glory over suffering [v. 18; n. 652]. 651. In regard to the first it must be recalled that Christ, the principal heir, attained to the inheritance, of glory through suffering: “Was it not necessary that the 322 Christ should suffer these things and enter his glory?” (Luke 24:26). But we must not expect to obtain the inheritance by an easier way. Therefore, it is necessary that we attain to that inheritance through suffering: “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). For we do not receive an immortal and unsuffering body at once, in order that we might suffer along with Christ. Hence he says, provided we suffer with him, i.e., along with Christ endure the tribulations of this world patiently, in order that we may also be glorified with Christ: “If we have died with him, we shall also reign with him” (2 Timothy 2:11).

Romans 8:15

Ambrosiaster: Paul says this because once we have received the Holy Spirit we are delivered from all fear of evil deeds, so that we might no longer act in such a way as to be afraid once more. Beforehand we were under fear, because once the law was given everyone was considered guilty. Paul called the law “the spirit of fear” because it made people afraid on account of their sins. But the law of faith, which is what is meant by “the Spirit of sonship,” is a law of assurance, because it has delivered us from fear by pardoning our sins and thus giving us assurance.Set free by the grace of God from fear, we have received the Spirit of sonship so that, considering what we were and what we have become by the gift of God, we might govern our life with great care lest the name of God the Father be disgraced by us and we incur all the things we have escaped from.… We have received such grace that we can dare to say to God: “Abba! Father!” For this reason, Paul warns us not to let our trust degenerate into pride. For if our behavior does not correspond to our voice when we cry, “Abba! Father!” we insult God by calling him Father. Indeed, God in his goodness has indulged us with what is beyond our natural capacity. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Athanasius of Alexandria: Christ is the true Son, and so when we receive the Spirit, we are made sons. For it says; ‘you did not receive the spirit of slavery leading you back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adopted sonship’ (Romans 8:15). But when we are made sons in the Spirit, it is clear that we are called children of God in Christ… And when the Spirit is given to us-the Saviour said: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’ [John 20:22]- God [The Father] is in us… But when God is in us, the Son is also in us. For the Lord Himself said: ‘I and the Father will come and make our home with him’ [John 14:23]. Next, the Son is life-for He said: ‘I am the life’ [John 14:6]- and so we are said to be given life in the Spirit… But when we are given life in the Spirit, Christ Himself is said to live in us. For it says: ‘I am crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.’ [Galatians 2:19-20]. - “Letters to Separion On the Spirit, Letter 1, Chapter 19”

Augustine of Hippo: The dispensations of the two Testaments are clearly different. The Old Testament is one of fear; the New Testament is one of love. But, you may ask, what is this spirit of slavery? If the spirit of our adoption as sons is the Holy Spirit, then the spirit of slavery to fear is the one which has the power of death. It is because of this fear that those who lived under the law and not under grace were condemned to slavery for their entire lives. Nor is it surprising that those who went after worldly goods received the spirit of slavery by divine providence … for this spirit of slavery has nobody in its power unless he has been handed over by the command of divine providence, since God’s righteousness gives every man his due. — AUGUSTINE ON Romans 52

Augustine of Hippo: The fear of slaves, although it renders belief to the Master, contains no love of righteousness but only the fear of damnation. The cry of sons is “Abba, Father!”—two words, one of which belongs to the circumcision and the other to the uncircumcision. — THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER 56

Augustine of Hippo: Paul is speaking of the fear which was inspired in the Old Testament, lest the temporal be lost which God had promised to those who were not yet his sons under grace but still servants under the law. — On Holy Virginity 38.39

Bede: Through the grace of baptism men can by receiving the Holy Spirit be changed from sons of the devil into sons of God. — Homilies on the Gospels 1.12

Clement of Alexandria: We have received the Spirit to enable us to know the one to whom we pray, our real Father, the one and only Father of all, that is, the one who like a Father educates us for salvation and does away with fear. — The Stromata Book 3

Cyril of Alexandria: We have been enriched with God’s Spirit, for his Spirit has come to dwell in our hearts, and we have taken our place among the children of God and yet have not lost being what we are. For we are men according to nature, even though we cry: “Abba! Father!” — LETTER 1.35

Diodorus of Tarsus: In reality, the spirit of slavery and the spirit of sonship were one and the same Spirit, who was given to people according to what they deserved, whether it was good or evil. — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Irenaeus: Neither do we receive another Holy Spirit, besides Him who is with us, and who cries, “Abba, Father; “. For those to whom he was writing were not without flesh, but they were those who had received the Spirit of God, “by which we cry, Abba, Father.” — Against Heresies Book V

John Chrysostom: “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear.” Then not staying to mention that which stands in contradistinction to bondage, that is, the spirit of freedom, he has named what is far greater, that of adoption, through which he at the same time brings in the other, saying, “But ye have received the Spirit of adoption.”

But this is plain. But what the spirit of bondage may be, is not so plain, and there is need of making it clearer. Now what he says is so far from being clear, that it is in fact very perplexing. For the people of the Jews did not receive the Spirit. What then is his meaning here? It is the letter he giveth this name to, for spiritual it was, and so he called the Law spiritual also, and the water from the Rock, and the Manna. “For they did eat,” he says, “of the same spiritual meat, and all drank of the same spiritual drink.” And to the Rock he gives this name, when he says, “For they drank of that spiritual Rock which followed them.” Now it is because all the rites then wrought were above nature that he calls them spiritual, and not because those who then partook of them received the Spirit.

And in what sense were those letters; letters of bondage? Set before yourself the whole dispensation, and then you will have a clear view of this also. For recompenses were with them close at hand, and the reward followed forthwith, being at once proportionate, and like a kind of daily ration given to domestic servants, and terrors in abundance came to their height before their eyes, and their purifications concerned their bodies, and their continency extended but to their actions. But with us it is not so, since the imagination even and the conscience getteth purged out. For He does not say, “Thou shalt do no murder,” only, but even thou shalt not be angry: so too, it is not, “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” but thou shalt not look unchastely. So that it is not to be from fear of present punishment, but out of desire towards Himself, that both our being habitually virtuous, and all our single good deeds are to come. Neither doth he promise a land flowing with milk and honey, but maketh us joint-heir with the Only-Begotten, so making us by every means stand aloof from things present, and promising to give such things especially as are worth the acceptance of men made sons of God, nothing, that is, of a sensible kind or corporeal, but spiritual all of them.

And with them He discoursed through the intervention of others, with us by Himself. And all that they did was through the impulse of fear, but the spiritual act through a coveting and a vehement desire. And they show by the fact of their overstepping the commandments. They, as hirelings and obstinate persons, so never left murmuring: but these do all for the pleasing of the Father. So too they blasphemed when they had benefits done them: but we are thankful at being jeoparded. And if there be need of punishing both of us upon our sinning, even in this case the difference is great. For it is not on being stoned and branded and maimed by the priests, as they were, that we are brought round. But it is enough for us to be cast out from our Father’s table, and to be out of sight for certain days.

And with the Jews the honor of adoption was one of name only, but here the reality followed also, the cleansing of Baptism, the giving of the Spirit, the furnishing of the other blessings. And there are several other points besides, which go to show our high birth and their low condition. After intimating all these then by speaking of the Spirit, and fear, and the adoption, he gives a fresh proof again of having the Spirit of adoption. Now what is this? That “we cry, Abba, Father.” And how great this is, the initiated know, being with good reason bidden to use this word first in the Prayer of the initiated.

What then, it may be said, did not they also call God Father? Dost thou not hear Moses, when he says, “Thou desertedst the God that begot thee?” Dost thou not hear Malachi reproaching them, and saying, that “one God formed you,” and there is “one Father of you all?” Still, if these words and others besides are used, we do not find them anywhere calling God by the name, or praying in this language. But we all, priests and laymen, rulers and ruled, are ordered to pray herein. And this is the first language we give utterance to, after those marvellous throes, and that strange and unusual mode of labor. If in any other instances they so called Him, that was only of their own mind. But those in the state of grace do it through being moved by the in-working of the Spirit. — Homily on Romans 14

Nicetas of Remesiana: If he is the Spirit of adoption and makes men sons of God, how can he be considered a slave, since no slave can legitimately make another free? — POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT 4

Origen of Alexandria: It is certain that whoever will become a son of God by the Spirit of adoption will first become a servant of God by the spirit of slavery. For the beginning of service to God is to be filled with the spirit of fear when still a little child [= new convert], since “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” … As long as we remain children in the inner man we hold the Spirit in fear, until we reach the point at which we can rightfully receive the Spirit of adoption as sons and become like the Son and Lord of all. For Paul says: “Everything is yours,” and God has given us everything together with Christ. This is why Paul says that, after we have died together with Christ and after his Spirit comes into us, we no longer receive the spirit of slavery in fear (that is, we do not return to the state of children, and we have completed the first stages of faith), but rather like perfect people we have received the Spirit of adoption, in whom we cry: “Abba! Father!” — COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Pelagius: The Jews received a spirit which constrained them into service by means of fear. For it is the nature of slaves to fear and of sons to love, as it is written: “The slave shall fear his master, and the son shall love his father.” Those who were not willing to work out of the desire of love are compelled by the constraint of fear, but let us perform all things willingly so that we may show that we are sons. He who calls to his father declares himself a son. He ought therefore to resemble his father in character, lest he incur a greater penalty for having assumed the name of his father in vain. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Theodore of Mopsuestia: The text should be read like this: “You have not received the Spirit; instead you are again in fear of slavery.” … The slavery in question is slavery to the law. — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Romans 8:16

Ambrosiaster: The witness of children is that by the Spirit they should be seen to bear the sign of the Father. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Diodorus of Tarsus: Paul showed by this that he called the soul “spirit” when it was spiritual, and the gift of the Spirit “Spirit.” — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

John Chrysostom: “The Spirit Itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” For it is not from the language merely, he says, that I make my assertion, but from the cause out of which the language has its birth; since it is from the Spirit suggesting it that we so speak. And this in another passage he has put into plainer words, thus: “God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba Father.” And what is that, “Spirit beareth witness with spirit?” The Comforter, he means, with that Gift, which is given unto us. For it is not of the Gift alone that it is the voice, but of the Comforter also who gave the Gift, He Himself having taught us through the Gift so to speak. But when the “Spirit beareth witness” what farther place for doubtfulness? For if it were a man, or angel, or archangel, or any other such power that promised this, then there might be reason in some doubting. But when it is the Highest Essence that bestoweth this Gift, and “beareth witness” by the very words He bade us use in prayer, who would doubt any more of our dignity? For not even when the Emperor elects any one, and proclaims in all men’s hearing the honor done him, does anybody venture to gainsay. — Homily on Romans 14

Origen of Alexandria: The Spirit of adoption … bears witness and assures our spirits that we are children of God after we have passed from the spirit of slavery and come under the Spirit of adoption, when all fear has departed. We no longer act out of fear of punishment but do everything out of love for the Father. It is right too that the Spirit of God should be said to bear witness with our spirits and not with our souls, because the spirit is our better part. — COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Pelagius: The evidence of our adoption is that we have the Spirit, through whom we pray in the manner mentioned above; for only sons could receive such a pledge. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Theodoret of Cyrus: Paul uses the word spirit in two senses. The first is the Spirit of God, the second is our spirit, i.e., through the grace which we have been given. — INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

Romans 8:17

Ambrosiaster: Since there is no way that God the Father can be said to have died and Christ the Son is said to have died because of his having become flesh. How is it that he who died is always said to be the heir of the life, when heirs are normally heirs of the dead? But of course Christ died in his humanity, not in his divinity. For with God, which is where our inheritance lies, the Father’s gift is poured into his obedient children, so that one who is alive may be the heir of the Living One by his own merit and not by reason of death.… What it means to be a fellow heir with Christ we are taught by the apostle John, for among other things he says: “We know that when he appears we shall be like him.” …To suffer together with Christ is to endure persecutions in the hope of future rewards and to crucify the flesh with its evils and lusts, i.e., to reject the pleasures and pomp of this world. For when all these things are dead in a man, then he has crucified this world, believing in the life of the world to come in which he believes that he will be a fellow heir with Christ. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Augustine of Hippo: By spiritual regeneration we therefore become sons and are adopted into the kingdom of God, not as aliens but as his creatures and offspring. — SERMON ON THE MOUNT 23.78

Cyril of Alexandria: Good works can hardly be done without suffering, yet the suffering of the saints is nourished by a great hope. For nothing earthly is promised but rather eternal glory. — EXPLANATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

Diodorus of Tarsus: Here “suffer with him” does not mean that we should sympathize and come to the aid of the sufferer, as it usually does in everyday parlance. Christ did not suffer in order to get attention, nor did he undergo weakness in order to gain the sympathy of those who felt sorry for him. To suffer with Christ means to endure the same sufferings that he was forced to suffer by the Jews because he preached the gospel.… If we suffer with him we shall be worthy to be glorified with him as well. This glory is the reward of our sufferings and is not to be regarded as a free gift. The free gift is that we have received remission of our former sins. — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Hippolytus of Rome: But give me now your best attention, I pray you, for I wish to go back to the fountain of life, and to view the fountain that gushes with healing. 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. And if he is made God by water and the Holy Spirit after the regeneration of the layer he is found to be also joint-heir with Christ after the resurrection from the dead. Wherefore I preach to this effect: Come, all ye kindreds of the nations, to the immortality of the baptism. I bring good tidings of life to you who tarry in the darkness of ignorance. Come into liberty from slavery, into a kingdom from tyranny, into incorruption from corruption. And how, saith one, shall we come? How? By water and the Holy Ghost. This is the water in conjunction with the Spirit, by which paradise is watered, by which the earth is enriched, by which plants grow, by which animals multiply, and (to sum up the whole in a single word) by which man is begotten again and endued with life, in which also Christ was baptized, and in which the Spirit descended in the form of a dove. — Hippolytus Dogmatical and Historical Fragments

Ignatius of Antioch: I give you these instructions, beloved, assured that ye also hold the same opinions [as I do]. But I guard you beforehand from those beasts in the shape of men, whom you must not only not receive, but, if it be possible, not even meet with; only you must pray to God for them, if by any means they may be brought to repentance, which, however, will be very difficult. Yet Jesus Christ, who is our true life, has the power of [effecting] this. But if these things were done by our Lord only in appearance, then am I also only in appearance bound. And why have I also surrendered myself to death, to fire, to the sword, to the wild beasts? But, [in fact, ] he who is near to the sword is near to God; he that is among the wild beasts is in company with God; provided only he be so m the name of Jesus Christ. I undergo all these things that I may suffer together with Him, He who became a perfect man inwardly strengthening me. — Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans

John Chrysostom: “And if children, then heirs.” Observe how he enhances the Gift by little and little. For since it is a possible case to be children, and yet not become heirs (for it is not by any means all children that are heirs), he adds this besides-that we are heirs. But the Jews, besides their not having the same adoption as we, were also cast out from the inheritance. For “He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out the vineyard to other husbandmen”: and before this, He said that “many shall come from the East and from the West, and shall sit down with Abraham, but the children of the Kingdom shall be cast out.”

But even here he does not pause, but sets down something even greater than this. What may this be then? That we are heirs of God; and so he adds, “heirs of God.” And what is more still, that we are not simply heirs, but also “joint heirs with Christ.” Observe how ambitious he is of bringing us near to the Master. For since it is not all children that are heirs, he shows that we are both children and heirs; next, as it is not all heirs that are heirs to any great amount, he shows that we have this point with us too, as we are heirs of God. Again, since it were possible to be God’s heir, but in no sense “joint heir with” the Only-Begotten, he shows that we have this also.

And consider his wisdom. For after throwing the distasteful part into a short compass, when he was saying what was to become of such as “live after the flesh,” for instance, that they “shall die,” when he comes to the more soothing part, he leadeth forth his discourse into a large room, and so expands it on the recompense of rewards, and in pointing out that the gifts too are manifold and great. For if even the being a child were a grace unspeakable, just think how great a thing it is to be heir! But if this be great, much more is it to be “joint heir.”

Then to show that the Gift is not of grace only, and to give at the same time a credibility to what he says, he proceeds, “If so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together.” If, he would say, we be sharers with Him in what is painful, much more shall it be so in what is good. For He who bestowed such blessings upon those who had wrought no good, how, when He seeth them laboring and suffering so much, shall he do else than give them greater requital? Having then shown that the thing was a matter of return, to make men give credit to what was said, and prevent any from doubting, he shows further that it has the virtue of a gift. The one he showed, that what was said might gain credit even with those that doubted, and that the receivers of it might not feel ashamed as being evermore receiving salvation for nought; and the other, that you might see that God outdoeth the toils by His recompenses. And the one he has shown in the words, “If so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together.” — Homily on Romans 14

Origen of Alexandria: The Son of God says to his fellow heirs: “You will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Thus Christ leads his fellow heirs not only into a part of the inheritance but into a sharing of his power. — COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Pelagius: He who is worthy to be a son is worthy to be made an heir of the Father and a coheir with the true Son. This happens if we are ready when it becomes necessary to suffer for him as he suffered for us. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Tertullian: So also he says elsewhere: “If so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together; for I reckon that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.” Here again he shows us that our sufferings are less than their rewards. — On the Resurrection of the Flesh

Tertullian: For I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” And therefore he afterward says: “Who shall separate us from the love of God? Shall tribulation, or distress, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (As it is written: For Thy sake we are killed all the day long; we have been counted as sheep for the slaughter, ) Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors, through Him who loved us. — Scorpiace

Theodoret of Cyrus: As not every son is an heir of the one who procreated him, St. Paul rightly adds heredity to the adoption of sons. And given that a friend may often receive some inheritance from the Lord, Paul does not omit the word son but even adds that we are “fellow heirs with Christ,” thereby revealing his ineffable love for mankind. For not all those who have been blessed with saving baptism enjoy these good things, but only those who accept the fellowship of the Lord’s sufferings as well. — INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

Romans 8:18

Ambrosiaster: This exhortation relates to what we have just read, in which Paul shows that the things which we might suffer at the hands of the wicked here below are small in comparison with the reward which awaits us in the next life. Therefore we ought to be prepared for every eventuality, because the rewards which are promised to us are so great so that our mind may be consoled in tribulation and grow in hope. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Augustine of Hippo: The humble and holy servants of God who suffer doubly when temporal evils befall them, because they suffer with the wicked as well as at their hands, have their own consolations and the hope of the world to come. — LETTER 111

Bede: When we see such extraordinary heirs of the heavenly kingdom suffering so greatly during the time of their mortal exile, what remains for us to do under these circumstances … except to humble ourselves all the more in the sight of our benevolent Maker and Redeemer, as we become more clearly aware that we cannot follow them by imitating either their lives or their deaths? — Homilies on the Gospels 2.23

Cyprian: Oh, what and how great will that day be at its coming, beloved brethren, when the Lord shall begin to count up His people, and to recognise the deservings of each one by the inspection of His divine knowledge, to send the guilty to Gehenna, and to set on fire our persecutors with the perpetual burning of a penal fire, but to pay to us the reward of our faith and devotion! What will be the glory and how great the joy to be admitted to see God, to be honoured to receive with Christ, thy Lord God, the joy of eternal salvation and light-to greet Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the patriarchs, and prophets, and apostles, and martyrs-to rejoice with the righteous and the friends of God in the kingdom of heaven, with the pleasure of immortality given to us-to receive there what neither eye hath seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man! For the apostle announces that we shall receive greater things than anything that we here either do or suffer, saying, “The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come hereafter which shall be revealed in us.” When that revelation shall come, when that glory of God shall shine upon us, we shall be as happy and joyful, honoured with the condescension of God, as they will remain guilty and wretched, who, either as deserters from God or rebels against Him, have done the will of the devil, so that it is necessary for them to be tormented with the devil himself in unquenchable fire. — Epistle LV.10

Cyprian: What now must be the vigour, beloved brethren, of your victorious consciousness, what the loftiness of your mind, what exultation in feeling, what triumph in your breast, that every one of you stands near to the promised reward of God, are secure from the judgment of God, walk in the mines with a body captive indeed, but with a heart reigning, that you know Christ is present with you, rejoicing in the endurance of His servants, who are ascending by His footsteps and in His paths to the eternal kingdoms! You daily expect with joy the saving day of your departure; and already about to withdraw from the world, you are hastening to the rewards of martyrdom, and to the divine homes, to behold after this darkness of the world the purest light, and to receive a glory greater than all sufferings and conflicts, as the apostle witnesses, and says, “The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.” And because now your word is more effectual in prayers, and supplication is more quick to obtain what is sought for in afflictions, seek more eagerly, and ask that the divine condescension would consummate the confession of all of us; that from this darkness and these snares of the world God would set us also free with you, sound and glorious; that we who here are united in the bond of charity and peace, and have stood together against the wrongs of heretics and the oppressions of the heathens, may rejoice together in the heavenly kingdom. I bid you, most blessed and most beloved brethren, ever farewell in the Lord, and always and everywhere remember me. — Epistle LXXVI

Cyprian: Nor let anything now be revolved in your hearts and minds besides the divine precepts and heavenly commands, with which the Holy Spirit has ever animated you to the endurance of suffering. Let no one think of death, but of immortality; nor of temporary punishment, but of eternal glory; since it is written, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints; " and again, “A broken spirit is a sacrifice to God: a contrite and humble heart God doth not despise.” And again, where the sacred Scripture speaks of the tortures which consecrate God’s martyrs, and sanctify them in the very trial of suffering: “And if they have suffered torments in the sight of men, yet is their hope full of immortality; and having been a little chastised, they shall be greatly rewarded: for God proved them, and found them worthy of Himself. As gold in the furnace hath He tried them, and received them as a sacrifice of a burnt-offering, and in due time regard shall be had unto them. The righteous shall shine, and shall run to and fro like sparks among the stubble. They shall judge the nations, and have dominion over the people; and their Lord shall reign for ever.” When, therefore, you reflect that you shall judge and reign with Christ the Lord, you must needs exult and tread under foot present sufferings, in the joy of what is to come; knowing that from the beginning of the world it has been so appointed that righteousness should suffer there in the conflict of the world, since in the beginning, even at the first, the righteous Abel was slain, and thereafter all righteous men, and prophets, and apostles who were sent. To all of whom the Lord also in Himself has appointed an example, teaching that none shall attain to His kingdom but those who have followed Him in His own way, saying, “He that loveth his life in this world shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” And again: “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Paul also exhorts us that we who desire to attain to the Lord’s promises ought to imitate the Lord in all things. “We are,” says he, “the sons of God: but if sons, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” Moreover, he added the comparison of the present time and of the future glory, saying, “The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the coming glory which shall be revealed in us.” Of which brightness, when we consider the glory, it behoves us to bear all afflictions and persecutions; because, although many are the afflictions of the righteous, yet those are delivered from them all who trust in God. — Epistle LXXX.2

Cyprian: That we receive more as the reward of our suffering than what we endure here in the suffering itself, the blessed Apostle Paul proves; who by the divine condescension, being caught up into the third heaven and into paradise, testifies that he heard unspeakable words, who boasts that he saw Jesus Christ by the faith of sight, who professes that which he both learnt and saw with the greater truth of consciousness, and says: “The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the coming glory which shall be revealed in us.” Who, then, does not with all his powers labour to attain to such a glory that he may become the friend of God, that he may at once rejoice with Christ, that after earthly tortures and punishments he may receive divine rewards? If to soldiers of this world it is glorious to return in triumph to their country when the foe is vanquished, how much more excellent and greater is the glory, when the devil is overcome, to return in triumph to paradise, and to bring back victorious trophies to that place whence Adam was ejected as a sinner, after casting down him who formerly had cast him down; to offer to God the most acceptable gift-an uncorrupted faith, and an unyielding virtue of mind, an illustrious praise of devotion; to accompany Him when He shall come to receive vengeance from His enemies, to stand at His side when He shall sit to judge, to become co-heir of Christ, to be made equal to the angels; with the patriarchs, with the apostles. with the prophets, to rejoice in the possession of the heavenly kingdom! Such thoughts as these, what persecution can conquer, what tortures can overcome? The brave and stedfast mind, founded in religious meditations, endures; and the spirit abides unmoved against all the terrors of the devil and the threats of the world, when it is strengthened by the sure and solid faith of things to come. In persecutions, earth is shut up, but heaven is opened; Antichrist is threatening, but Christ is protecting; death is brought in, but immortality follows; the world is taken away from him that is slain, but paradise is set forth to him restored; the life of time is extinguished, but the life of eternity is realized. What a dignity it is, and what a security, to go gladly from hence, to depart gloriously in the midst of afflictions and tribulations; in a moment to close the eyes with which men and the world are looked upon, and at once to open them to look upon God and Christ! Of such a blessed departure how great is the swiftness! You shall be suddenly taken away from earth, to be placed in the heavenly kingdoms. It behoves us to embrace these things in our mind and consideration, to meditate on these things day and night. If persecution should fall upon such a soldier of God, his virtue, prompt for battle, will not be able tO be overcome. Or if his call should come to him before, his faith shall not be without reward, seeing it was prepared for martyrdom; without loss of time, the reward is rendered by the judgment of God. In persecution, the warfare,-in peace, the purity of conscience, is crowned. — Treatise XI. Exhortation to Martyrdom, Addressed to Fortunatus

Cyprian: That what we suffer in this world is of less account than is the reward which is promised. In the Epistle of Paul to the Romans: “The sufferings of this present time are not worthy of comparison with the glory that is to come after, which shall be revealed in us.” Of this same thing in the Maccabees: “O Lord, who hast the holy knowledge, it is manifest that while I might be delivered from death, I am suffering most cruel pains of body, being beaten with whips; yet in spirit I suffer these things willingly, because of the fear of thine own self.” Also in the same place: “Thou indeed, being powerless, destroyest us out of this present life; but the King of the world shall raise us up who have died for His laws into the eternal resurrection of life.” Also in the same place: “It is better that, given up to death by men, we should expect hope from God to be raised again by Him. For there shall be no resurrection to life for thee.” Also in the same place: “Having power among men, although thou art corruptible, thou doest what thou wilt. But think not that our race is forsaken of God. Sustain, and see how His great power will torment, thee and thy seed.” Also in the same place: Do not err without cause; for we suffer these things on our own accounts, as sinners against our God. But think not thou that thou shalt be unpunished, having undertaken to fight against God.” — Treatise XII. Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews

Cyprian: For Abraham also thus pleased God, in that he, when tried by God, spared not even his own son, in behalf of whom perhaps he might have been pardoned had he hesitated to slay him. A religious devotion armed his hands; and his paternal love, at the command of the Lord who bade it, set aside all the feelings of affection. Neither did it shock him that he was to shed the blood of his son, nor did he tremble at the word; nevertheless for him Christ had not yet been slain. For what is dearer than He who, that you might not sustain anything unwillingly in the present day, first of all Himself suffered that which He taught others to suffer? What is sweeter than He who, although He is our God and Lord, nevertheless makes the man who suffers for His sake His fellow-heir in the kingdom of heaven? Oh grand-I know not what!-whether that reason scarcely bears to receive that consciousness, although it always marvels at the greatness of the rewards; or that the majesty of God is so abundant, that to all who trust in it, it even offers those things which, while we were considering what we have done, it had been sin to desire. Moreover, if only eternal salvation should be given, for that very perpetuity of living we should be thankful. But now, when heaven and the power of judging concerning others is bestowed in the eternal world, what is there wherein man’s mediocrity may not find itself equal to all these trials? If you are assailed with injuries, He was first so assailed. If yon are oppressed with reproaches, you are imitating the experience of God. Whence also it is but a little matter whatever you undergo for Him, seeing that you can do nothing more, unless that in this consists the whole of salvation, that He has promised the whole to martyrdom. Finally, the apostle, to whom all things were always dear, while he deeply marvelled at the greatness of the promised benefits, said, “I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that is to follow, which shall be revealed in us.” Because he was musing in his own mind how great would be the reward, that to him to whom it would be enough to be free from death, should be given not only the prerogative of salvation, but also to ascend to heaven: to heaven which is not constrained into darkness, even when light is expelled from it, and the day does not unfold into light by alternate changes; but the serene temperature of the liquid air unfolds a pure brightness through a clearness that reddens with a fiery glow. — Pseudo-Cyprian On the Glory of Martyrdom

Cyprian: Who then does not labor in every way to arrive at such a glory as to become a friend of God, as to rejoice at once with Christ, as to receive the divine rewards after earthly torments and punishments? — Treatise XI. Exhortation to Martyrdom, TO FORTUNATUS 13

Ignatius of Antioch: But I, O thou blessed woman, not being now so much my own master as in the power of others, am driven along by the varying wills of many adversaries, being in one sense in exile, in another in prison, and in a third in bonds. But I pay no regard to these things. Yea, by the injuries inflicted on me through them, I acquire all the more the character of a disciple, that I may attain to Jesus Christ. May I enjoy the torments which are prepared for me, seeing that “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” — Epistle of Pseudo-Ignatius to Mary at Neapolis

Jerome: Do you dread poverty? Christ calls the poor blessed. Does toil frighten you? No athlete is crowned but in the sweat of his brow. Are you anxious as regards food? Faith fears no famine. Do you dread the bare ground for limbs wasted with fasting? The Lord lies there beside you. Do you recoil from an unwashed head and uncombed hair? Christ is your head. Does the boundless solitude of the desert terrify you? In the Spirit you may walk always in paradise. Do but turn your thoughts there and you will be no more in the desert. Is your skin rough and scaly because you no longer bathe? He that is once washed in Christ has no need to wash again. To all your objections the apostle gives this one brief answer: “The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us.” — LETTER 14.10

John Chrysostom: Even if each day we suffer death, something which nature could not endure even if mind overcomes matter … what we endure is nothing compared to the good things we are destined to receive or the glory due to be revealed on our behalf. — HOMILIES ON Genesis 25.23

John Chrysostom: In what went before, he requires of the spiritual man the correcting of his habits, where he says, “Ye are not debtors to live after the flesh,” that such an one, for instance, should be above lust, anger, money, vainglory, grudging. But here having reminded them of the whole gift, both as given and as to come, and raised him up aloft with hopes, and placed him near to Christ, and showed him to be a joint-heir of the Only-Begotten; he now leads him forth with confidence even to dangers. For to get the better of the evil affections in us, is not the same thing with bearing up under those trials, scourges, famine, plunderings, bonds, chains, executions. For these last required much more of a noble and vigorous spirit. And observe how he at once allays and rouses the spirit of the combatants. For after he had shown that the rewards were greater than the labors, he both exhorts to greater efforts, and yet will not let them be elated, as being still outdone by the crowns given in requital. And in another passage he says, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory”: it being the deeper sort of persons he was then speaking to. Here, however, he does not allow that the afflictions were light; but still he mingles comfort with them by the compensation which good things to come afford, in the words, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared,” and he does not say, with the rest that is to come, but what is much greater, “with the glory which is to come.” For it does not follow, that where rest is there is glory; but that where glory is there is rest, does follow: then as he had said that it is to come, he shows that it already is. For he does not say, that which is to be, but “which shall be revealed in us,” as if already existing but unrevealed. As also in another place he said in clearer words, “Our life is hid with Christ in God.” Be then of a good heart about it. For already hath it been prepared, and awaiteth thy labors. — Homily on Romans 14

Origen of Alexandria: There is nothing which is worthy of comparison with the future glory. For how can what is mortal be compared to what is immortal, what is visible to what is invisible, what is temporal to what is eternal or what is perishable to what is everlasting? — COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Pelagius: Paul wants to commend future glory so that we may bear present afflictions more easily. Indeed, no human being could ever suffer anything equal to heavenly glory, even if that glory were comparable to this present life. For whatever a man might suffer in dying is no more that what he already deserved to suffer for his sins. But now his sins are forgiven, and in the future he will be granted eternal life, fellowship with the angels, the splendor of the sun and the other things which we have read have been promised for the saints. At the moment, though, this future glory is “hidden with Christ in God,” and “it does not yet appear what we shall be.” — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Tertullian: Even the apostle ought not to be known for any one statement in which he is wont to reproach the flesh. For although he says that “in his flesh dwelleth no good thing; " although he affirms that “they who are in the flesh cannot please God,” because “the flesh lusteth against the Spirit; " yet in these and similar assertions which he makes, it is not the substance of the flesh, but its actions, which are censured. — On the Resurrection of the Flesh

Thomas Aquinas: After proving that we are freed through the grace of Christ [n. 650], the Apostle now assigns the cause of the postponement of immortal life, which is the 323 inheritance of the children of God, namely, that it is necessary for us to suffer with Christ in order to reach the fellowship of his glory. But because someone might say that such an inheritance is burdensome, since it cannot be obtained except by enduring suffering, he shows the superiority of future glory over the sufferings of the present life: first he states his proposition; secondly, he proves it [v.19; n. 656]. 653. First, therefore, he says: It has been stated that it is necessary for us to suffer in order to be glorified, and that we should not reject sufferings, if we would have glory. For I, who have experienced both, consider: “A man of much experience will speak with understanding” (Si 34:9). He endured many sufferings: “with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings” (2 Corinthians 11:23) and was a beholder of future glory: “Caught up into Paradise, he heard things that cannot be told” (2 Corinthians 12:3). This I consider, namely, that the sufferings of this time are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 654. Herein he mentions four things to show the excellence of that glory. First, he designates its eternity when he says: the glory that is to be, namely, after the present time; but there is nothing after the present time except eternity. Hence that glory surpasses the sufferings of this time as the eternal surpasses the temporal: “For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17). Secondly, he designates its dignity when he says: glory, which suggests a splendor of dignity: “Let the faithful exult in glory” (Psalms 149:5). 324 Thirdly, he designates how it will be manifested when he says: to be revealed. For the saints have glory now, but it is hidden in their conscience: “Our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience” (2 Corinthians 1:12). But later that glory will be revealed in the sight of all, both good and bad, about whom Wis (5:2) says: “They will be amazed at his unsuspected salvation.” Fourthly, he designates its truth when he says: in us. For the glory of this world is vain, because it is based on things outside a person, namely, in the trappings of wealth and in the opinion of men: “They boast of the abundance of their riches” (Psalms 49:6). But that glory will be based on something within a man, as it says in Lk (17:21): “The kingdom of God is within you.” 655. Thus, the sufferings of this life, if they are considered in themselves, are slight in comparison to the quantity of this glory: “For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion I will gather you” (Isaiah 54:7). But if these sufferings are considered insofar as they are voluntarily endured for God out of love, which the Holy Spirit produces in us, then man merits eternal life ex condigno through them. For the Holy Spirit is a fountain whose waters, i.e., effects, well up to eternal life, as it says in Jn (4:14). 656. Then (v.19b) he proves his proposition by the excellence of that glory: first, by the eager longing of the creature; secondly, by the eager longing of the apostles [v. 23; n. 675]. In regard to the first he does two things: first, he mentions the eager longing of the creature; secondly, he manifests it [v. 20; n. 661]. 325 657. First, therefore, he says: It has been stated that future glory exceeds present sufferings. Yet this is obvious, for the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God: “We are God’s children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be” (1 John 3:2). For the dignity of divine sonship is hidden in the saints on account of the things they suffer outwardly; but that dignity will be revealed later, when they receive immortal and glorious life, and when the wicked will say: “Behold how they have been numbered among the sons of God” (Wis 5:5). And he says that the eager longing eagerly longs to designate by such repetition the intensity of the eager longing, in accord with Psalms 39:1, “Eagerly longing I have eagerly longed for the Lord.” 658. It should be noted that creation or “creature” can be interpreted in three ways here. In one way for just men, who are called God’s creature in a special way, either because they continue in the good in which they were created, or on account of their excellence, because every creature somehow serves them: “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures” (James 1:18). But this creature, i.e., the just man, waits for the revealing of the sons of God as a reward promised him: “Awaiting the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God” (*** 2:23). 659. Secondly, the creature can be human nature itself, which is the substratum of the goods of grace. In the unrighteous this nature is not yet sanctified but is as though without form. 326 In the men who have already been justified it is partially formed now with grace, but it is still, as it were, without form and awaits the final form which comes through glory. Thus, therefore, this creature, i.e., we ourselves, in virtue of our human nature wait for the revealing of the sons of God. We also wait for this in virtue of the grace received into our nature, as we might say that matter waits for its form or colors wait for the completed picture: “All the days of my service I would wait till my release should come” (Job 14:14). In a third way it can be understood of the visible creature, as are the elements of this world: “From the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator” (Wis 13:5) [n. 665, 668]. This sort of creature waits for something in two ways, for the eager longing of a sensible creature, according as it has its origin in God, is ordered to some end. And this happens in two ways. In one way, inasmuch as God endows this creature with a natural form and powers that incline it to some natural end. Thus we might say that a tree waits for is fruit to be produced or that fire waits for its higher natural place. In another way the visible is ordained by God to an end which transcends its natural form. For just as the human body will be clothed with the form of supernatural glory, so all visible creation in that glory of the children of God will itself obtain a new glory: “I saw a new heaven and a new earth” (Revelation 21:1). In this way the visible creature waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 661. Then (v.20) he explains this waiting: 327 first, the need to wait; secondly, its terminus [v. 21; n. 66]; thirdly, the sign of waiting [v. 22; n. 670]. 662. Now the need to wait is due to a defect to which the creature is subject. For a thing subject to no defect has no need to wait for something. He shows the creature’s defect when he says: for the creature was subjected to vanity. 663. If by creature is understood the just man, he is understood to be subject to vanity, i.e., to those bodily things which are changeable and inclined to fail. Hence they are called vain: “Vanity of vanities. All is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:2). But it is subjected to them, because the needs of the present life require that he occupy himself with them, not of his own will, because he does not love such temporal things as those do against whom it is said in Psalms 4 (v.3): “How long will you love vanity and seek after lies?” But this creature is subjected to such vanity by the will of him, i.e., by God’s ordinance, who subjected it, i.e., the just man, to these visible creatures; but in hope, name1y, that at some time he will be freed from such occupation “in the resurrection” when “they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels in heaven” (Matthew 22:30). 664. If by creature is understood human nature itself [n. 659], then such a creature is subjected to vanity, i.e., to changeableness; “Every man stands as a mere breath” (Psalms 39:5). Not of its own will, because such vanity is inflicted on human nature as a punishment; but punishment is involuntary just as guilt is voluntary. But human nature is subjected to such sufferings by the will of him, i.e., by the sentence of God, who subjected 328 it, namely, human nature, to defects, but nevertheless in hope of the time when such sufferings will be avoided: “The thresher shall not thresh it forever” (Isaiah 28:28). 665. But if by creature is understood the sensible creation [n. 660], then such creation was subjected to futility, i.e., to changeability, but not of its own will. For the defects which follow on changeableness, such as aging and ceasing to be and the like, are contrary to the particular nature of this or that thing which seeks self-preservation, although they are in keeping with the general nature of things. Nevertheless, the visible creature is subjected to such vanity by the ordinance of God who subjected it in hope, i.e., in expectation of a glorious renewal a was stated above. 666. Then (v.21) he indicates the terminus of this waiting. For its waiting or hope is not in vain, because the creature itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God. If by creature is meant the just man, its bondage to decay means his care in seeking food and clothing and the other things which serve our mortal life. This is a form of slavery from which the saints are freed, as they struggle toward the liberty of the children of God. Although they have the liberty of righteousness by which they are released from the slavery of sin, they do not yet have the liberty of glory, which is release from the slavery of misery: “Who has let the wild ass go free?” (Job 39:5). 667. If by creature is meant human nature, it will be set free from its bondage to decay, i.e., from suffering and decay, and tend toward the glorious liberty of the children of God, which is freedom not only from guilt but from death, as it says in 1 Cor (15:54): “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 329 668. But if it is taken for the visible creature, then that creature will be set free from its bondage to decay, i.e., changeableness: because in every change there is an element of decay, as Augustine says and the Philosopher too in Physics VIII this will contribute to the glorious liberty of the children of God, because just as they will be renewed, so will their dwelling place be renewed: “I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things will not be remembered,” i.e., the former changeableness of the creature (Is 65:l7). 669. But he says, the creation itself will be set free from its bondage. According to one sense it means not only we Apostles, but also the other just. In the second sense it means not only the just but human nature, too. In a third sense: not only men but other creatures. 670. Then (v.22) he presents the sign of this waiting, saying: We know, namely, the apostles instructed by the Holy Spirit and also by experience, that every creature has been groaning in travail together until now. 671. If this is understood of the visible creature, it presents two difficulties. First, because he says, groans in travail, for this seems to fit only the rational creature. But this can be explained so that “groan” is the same as the previous expression, “not of its own will.” For we groan against things repugnant to our will. Therefore, inasmuch as the defects of the visible creature are contrary to the natural desire of a particular nature, the visible creature is said to groan. When he says, in travail, it is the same as the previous expression, “awaits.” For travail is part of the process of producing offspring. 330 672. The second difficulty lies in the fact that he says, every creature, because that would include the heavenly bodies; hence a Gloss says that the sun and moon do not complete their assigned span without labor. But this must be explained in such a way that labor is taken for motion, just as rest is sometimes taken for cessation from work, as God is said to have rested on the seventh day. Accordingly, by groaning is understood decay, which is an element of local motion, inasmuch as a body ceases to be in one place and begins to be in another. By travail is understood the destiny of heavenly bodies to be renewed. 673. But if it is understood of men, then human nature is said to be every creature, because it shares something with every creature: with the spiritual creature it shares intellect, with the animal it shares bodily life, with the corporeal creature it shares bodily existence. Therefore, this creature, i.e., man, groans, partly because of the evils it suffers and partly because of the good things it hopes for but are delayed: “Many are my groans” (Lamentations 1:22). It is in travail, because it endures with affliction of soul the postponement of the glory it awaits: “Hope deferred makes the heart sick” (Proverbs 13:12); “A woman in travail has sorrow” (John 16:21); “Anguish as of a woman in travail” (Psalms 48:6). 674. He says, until now, because this groaning was not removed when we were made righteous, but it remains until now, i.e., until death. Or until now, i.e., even though those in glory have been set free, the rest of us still remain. Or until now, because not only the ancient fathers who lived before Christ, but we also who did not live until the time of grace, suffer the same things. In 2 Pt (3:4) scoffers are described as saying: “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things have continued as they were from the beginning of creation.” 331 It should be noted that “God’s creature” can mean everything under God. Hence some try to explain the above words about every creature in such a way as to include angels. But it is quite awkward to suppose that they are subjected to futility or that they groan or are in travail, because they already have the glory, the likeness of which we await, for it says in Mt (22:30): “They will be as the angels in heaven.” Therefore, ours is a more suitable explanation.

Romans 8:19

Cyril of Alexandria: The creation is waiting for the revelation of the sons of God at some point in the future which is still unknown. Who can know when this will be? But by the secret plan of God, which orders all things for the best, it will come to this end. For when the sons of God, who have lived a righteous life, have been transformed into glory from dishonor and from what is corruptible into what is incorruptible, then the creation too will be transformed into something better. — EXPLANATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

Diodorus of Tarsus: The Scriptures often suggest that the visible creation is animate and that the universe has a rational sensibility. — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Hippolytus of Rome: When, therefore, according to these (heretics), the entire world and super-mundane entities were finished, and (when) nothing exists labouring under deficiency, there still remains in the (conglomeration of) all germs the third Sonship, which had been left behind in the Seed to confer benefits and receive them. And it must needs be that the Sonship which had been left behind ought likewise to be revealed and reinstated above. And His place should be above the Conterminous Spirit, near the refined and imitative Sonship and the Non-Existent One. But this would be in accordance with what has been written, he says: “And the creation itself groaneth together, and travaileth in pain together, waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God.” Now, we who are spiritual are sons, he says, who have been left here to arrange, and mould, and rectify, and complete the souls which, according to nature, are so constituted as to continue in this quarter of the universe. “Sin, then, reigned from Adam unto Moses,” as it has been written. For the Great Archon exercised dominion and possesses an empire with limits extending as far as the firmament. And He imagines Himself alone to be God, and that there exists nothing above Him, for (the reason that) all things have been guarded by unrevealed Siope. This, he says, is the mystery which has not been made known to former generations; but in those days the Great Archon, the Ogdoad, was King and Lord, as it seemed, of the universe. But (in reality) the Hebdomad was king and lord of this quarter of the universe, and the Ogdoad is Arrhetus, whereas the Hebdomad is Rhetus. This, he says, is the Archon of the Hebdomad, who has spoken to Moses, and says: “I am the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and I have not manifested unto them the name of God” (for so they wish that it had been written)-that is, the God, Arrhetus, Archon of the Ogdoad. All the prophets, therefore, who were before the Saviour uttered their predictions, he says, from this source (of inspiration). Since, therefore, it was requisite, he says, that we should be revealed as the children of God, in expectation of whose manifestation, he says, the creation habitually groans and travails in pain, the Gospel came into the world, and passed through every Principality, and Power, and Dominion, and every Name that is named. And (the Gospel) came in reality, though nothing descended from above; nor did the blessed Sonship retire from that Inconceivable, and Blessed, (and) Non-Existent God. Nay, (far from it;) for as Indian naphtha, when lighted merely from a considerably long distance, nevertheless attracts fire (towards it), so from below, from the formlessness of the conglomeration (of all germs), the powers pass upwards as far as the Sonship. For, according to the illustration of the Indian naphtha, the Son of the Great Archon of the Ogdoad, as if he were some (sort of) naphtha, apprehends and seizes conceptions from the Blessed Sonship, whose place of habitation is situated after that of the Conterminous (Spirit). For the power of the Sonship which is in the midst of the Holy Spirit, (that is,) in, the midst of the (Conterminous) Spirit, shares the flowing and rushing thoughts of the Sonship with the Son of the Great Archon. — Hippolytus Refutation of All Heresies Book VII

Hippolytus of Rome: When, therefore, he says, the entire Sonship shall have come, and shall be above the conterminous spirit, then the creature will become the object of mercy. For (the creature) groans until now, and is tormented, and waits for the manifestation of the sons of God, in order that all who are men of the Sonship may ascend from thence. When this takes place, God, he says, will bring upon the whole world enormous ignorance, that all things may continue according to nature, and that nothing may inordinately desire anything of the things that are contrary to nature. But (far from it); for all the souls of this quarter of creation, as many as possess the nature of remaining immortal in this (region) only, continue (in it), aware of nothing superior or better (than their present state). And there will not prevail any rumour or knowledge in regions below, concerning beings whose dwelling is placed above, lest subjacent souls should be wrung with torture from longing after impossibilities. (It would be) just as if a fish were to crave to feed on the mountains along with sheep. (For) a wish of this description would, he says, be their destruction. All things, therefore, that abide in (this) quarter are incorruptible, but corruptible if they are disposed to wander and cross over from the things that are according to nature. In this way the Archon of the Hebdomad will know nothing of superjacent entities. For enormous ignorance will lay hold on this one likewise, in order that sorrow, and grief, and groaning may depart from him; for he will not desire aught of impossible things, nor will he be visited with anguish. In like manner, however, the same ignorance will lay hold also on the Great Archon of the Ogdoad, and similarly on all the creatures that are subject unto him, in order that in no respect anything may desire aught of those things that are contrary to nature, and may not (thus) be overwhelmed with sorrow. And so there will be the restitution of all things which, in conformity with nature, have from the beginning a foundation in the seed of the universe, but will be restored at (their own) proper periods. And that each thing, says (Basilides), has its own particular times, the Saviour is a sufficient (witness ) when He observes, “Mine hour is not yet come.” And the Magi (afford similar testimony) when they gaze wistfully upon the (Saviour’s) star. For (Jesus) Himself was, he says, mentally preconceived at the time of the generation of the stars, and of the complete return to their starting-point of the seasons in the vast conglomeration (of all germs). This is, according to these (Basilidians), he who has been conceived as the inner spiritual man in what is natural (now this is the Sonship which left there the soul, not (that it might be) mortal, but that it might abide here according to nature, just as the first Sonship left above in its proper locality the Holy Spirit, (that is, the spirit) which is conterminous),-(this, I say, is he who has been conceived as the inner spiritual man, and) has then been arrayed in his own peculiar soul. — Hippolytus Refutation of All Heresies Book VII

Irenaeus: For the creature has been subjected to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope; since the creature itself shall also be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the sons of God.” — Against Heresies Book V

Irenaeus: God is rich in all things, and everything is his. It is therefore fitting that the creation itself, having been restored to its primeval condition, should without restraint be under the dominion of the righteous. — AGAINST HERESIES 5.32.1

John Chrysostom: “For the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth,” he says, “for the revelation of the sons of God. For the creation was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope.”

And the meaning is something of this kind. The creation itself is in the midst of its pangs, waiting for and expecting these good things whereof we have just now spoken. For “earnest expectation” implies expecting intensely. And so his discourse becomes more emphatic, and he personifies this whole world as the prophets also do, when they introduce the floods clapping their hands, and little hills leaping, and mountains skipping, not that we are to fancy them alive, or ascribe any reasoning power to them, but that we may learn the greatness of the blessings, so great as to reach even to things without sense also. The very same thing they do many times also in the case of afflicting things, since they bring in the vine lamenting, and the wine too, and the mountains, and the boardings of the Temple howling, and in this case too it is that we may understand the extremity of the evils. It is then in imitation of these that the Apostle makes a living person of the creature here, and says that it groaneth and travaileth: not that he heard any groan conveyed from the earth and heaven to him, but that he might show the exceeding greatness of the good things to come; and the desire of freedom from the ills which now pervaded them.

“For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same.” What is the meaning of, “the creation was made subject to vanity?” Why that it became corruptible. For what cause, and on what account? On account of thee, O man. For since thou hast taken a body mortal and liable to suffering, the earth too hath received a curse, and brought forth thorns and thistles. But that the heaven, when it is waxen old along with the earth, is to change afterwards to a better portion hear from the Prophet in his words; “Thou, O Lord, from the beginning hast founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of Thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment, and as a cloak shalt Thou fold them up, and they shall be changed.” Isaiah too declares the same, when he says, “Look to the heaven above, and upon the earth beneath, for the heavens are as a firmament of smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall perish in like manner.”

Now you see in what sense the creation is “in bondage to vanity,” and how it is to be freed from the ruined state. For the one says, “Thou shalt fold them up as a garment, and they shall be changed;” and Isaiah says, “and they that dwell therein shall perish in like manner,” not of course meaning an utter perishing. For neither do they that dwell therein, mankind, that is, undergo such an one, but a temporary one, and through it they are changed into an incorruptible state, and so therefore will the creature be. — Homily on Romans 14

Methodius of Olympus: Itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.”

Origen of Alexandria: Paul says this in order to indicate how great and wonderful is the glory which will be revealed both in him and in those who have shared his sufferings. — COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Pelagius: Different interpreters expound this passage in different ways. Some say that the whole creation awaits the time of the resurrection, because then it will be changed into something better. Others say that this refers only to the angelic, rational creation. Still others say that “creation” refers specifically to Adam and Eve, because they did not sin by themselves but at the temptation of the serpent, who long ago made them subject to corruption when they were exposed to deception in the hope of divine existence. These interpreters say that Adam and Eve will be set free so that they are no longer subject to corruption. But the “whole creation,” say these same interpreters, means all those who were righteous up to the coming of Christ, because they too have not yet received and are waiting until God provides something better for us. Not only they, however, but we also, in whom these things have been fulfilled, do not yet hold it in our grasp but endure in hope, although we have seen things which many righteous people have longed to see. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Tertullian: But if, on the other hand, there is to be an end of evil, when the chief thereof, the devil, shall “go away into the fire which God hath prepared for him and his angels” -having been first “cast into the bottomless pit; " when likewise “the manifestation of the children of God” shall have “delivered the creature” from evil, which had been “made subject to vanity; " when the cattle restored in the innocence and integrity of their nature shall be at peace with the beasts of the field, when also little children shall play with serpents; when the Father shall have put beneath the feet of His Son His enemies, as being the workers of evil,-if in this way an end is compatible with evil, it must follow of necessary that a beginning is also compatible with it; and Matter will turn out to have a beginning, by virtue of its having also an end. — Against Hermogenes

Theodore of Mopsuestia: Paul is referring here to the resurrection on the last day. — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Romans 8:20

Ambrose of Milan: But the creature itself also shall be delivered from the servitude of corruption, into the liberty of the glory of the children of God, when the grace of divine recompense shall shine forth. — The Six Days of Creation (Book 1)

Ambrosiaster: The subjection of the creation is not for its benefit but for ours. What does it mean to be subject to futility but that what it produces is worthless? For the creation works in order to bring forth corruptible fruit. Corruption therefore is itself futility. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Cyril of Alexandria: The visible and tangible creation knows nothing of the promises which have been made to us because it has no understanding of them. For if it should ever happen that the creation acquired some understanding of these things, it would hardly endure such base servitude, nor would it want to be subject to or be on friendly terms with those whose lives bear no good fruit. Nevertheless, Paul says that the creation is subject in hope, for one day the saints and the elect will be saved, and then the yoke which has been imposed on it by God will be removed.… In the meantime, the creation groans and in some sense labors and grieves, and if it had any awareness of our works, probably it would burst out crying. — EXPLANATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

Origen of Alexandria: What is this futility to which the creation is said to be subject? It seems to me that this is said about the material and corruptible substance of the body. Likewise with the decay mentioned [in the next verse]. — COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Origen of Alexandria: The moon and the stars have been compelled against their will to be subject to futility, as a result of causes long past; yet in the hope of a future reward they do not do their own will but the will of the Creator, by whom they have been appointed to these duties. — ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 2.8.3

Origen of Alexandria: What is the futility to which the creation was subjected? My own opinion is that this is nothing else than the possession of bodies. Even though the bodies of the stars are composed of ether they are nevertheless material. This, it seems to me, is the reason why Solomon arraigns the whole universe as being in a way burdensome: “Vanity of vanities, says the preacher.… All is vanity.” — ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 1.7.5

Pelagius: “Futility” means everything which will someday come to an end. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Tertullian: But if, on the other hand, there is to be an end of evil, when the chief thereof, the devil, shall “go away into the fire which God hath prepared for him and his angels” -having been first “cast into the bottomless pit; " when likewise “the manifestation of the children of God” shall have “delivered the creature” from evil, which had been “made subject to vanity; " when the cattle restored in the innocence and integrity of their nature shall be at peace with the beasts of the field, when also little children shall play with serpents; when the Father shall have put beneath the feet of His Son His enemies, as being the workers of evil,-if in this way an end is compatible with evil, it must follow of necessary that a beginning is also compatible with it; and Matter will turn out to have a beginning, by virtue of its having also an end. — Against Hermogenes

Theodoret of Cyrus: “Futility” means corruption. Paul teaches this a little further on when he says that the creation itself will be set free from corruption. He also teaches that all the visible creation has been condemned to mortality because the Creator of all things foresaw the sin of Adam and that he would sentence him to death. — INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

Romans 8:21

Ambrose of Milan: Paul shows that the grace of the soul is no small thing, for by its strength and power the human race rises to the adoption of sons of God, having in itself that which was given to it in the image and likeness of God. — LETTER 51

Ambrosiaster: Because the creation cannot contradict its Creator it is subjected because of him, but not without hope. For in its travail it has this comfort, that it will have rest when all those who will believe and for whose sake it was subjected in the first place will have come to faith. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Apostolic Constitutions: Meditate on these things, brethren; and the Lord be With you upon earth, and in the kingdom of His Father, who both sent Him, and has “delivered us by Him from the bondage of corruption into His glorious liberty; " — CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES

Irenaeus: The apostle, too, has confessed that the creation shall be free from the bondage of corruption, — Against Heresies Book V

Jerome: When the children of God attain glory, creation itself will be delivered from its slavery. — HOMILIES ON THE Psalms 58

John Chrysostom: “That the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption.” Now what is this creation? Not thyself alone, but that also which is thy inferior, and partaketh not of reason or sense, this too shall be a sharer in thy blessings. For “it shall be freed,” he says, “from the bondage of corruption,” that is, it shall no longer be corruptible, but shall go along with the beauty given to thy body; just as when this became corruptible, that became corruptible also; so now it is made incorruptible, that also shall follow it too. And to show this he proceeds. “Into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” That is, because of their liberty. For as a nurse who is bringing up a king’s child, when he has come to his father’s power, does herself enjoy the good things along with him, thus also is the creation, he means.

You see how in all respects man takes the lead, and that it is for his sake that all things are made. See how he solaces the struggler, and shows the unspeakable love of God toward man. For why, he would say, dost thou fret at thy temptations? thou art suffering for thyself, the creation for thee. Nor does he solace only, but also shows what he says to be trustworthy. For if the creation which was made entirely for thee is “in hope,” much more oughtest thou to be, through whom the creation is to come to the enjoyment of those good things. Thus men also when a son is to appear at his coming to a dignity, clothe even the servants with a brighter garment, to the glory of the son; so will God also clothe the creature with incorruption for the glorious liberty of the children. — Homily on Romans 14

Pelagius: Creation will no longer serve those who have corrupted the image of God. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Tertullian: But if, on the other hand, there is to be an end of evil, when the chief thereof, the devil, shall “go away into the fire which God hath prepared for him and his angels” -having been first “cast into the bottomless pit; " when likewise “the manifestation of the children of God” shall have “delivered the creature” from evil, which had been “made subject to vanity; " when the cattle restored in the innocence and integrity of their nature shall be at peace with the beasts of the field, when also little children shall play with serpents; when the Father shall have put beneath the feet of His Son His enemies, as being the workers of evil,-if in this way an end is compatible with evil, it must follow of necessary that a beginning is also compatible with it; and Matter will turn out to have a beginning, by virtue of its having also an end. — Against Hermogenes

Romans 8:22

Ambrose of Milan: The moon labors for you, and is subject to the will of God. For vanity, the creature is subject not willingly, but because of the one who subjected it in hope. Therefore, she is not changed willingly: you are changed willingly. She groans and endures in her own change: you do not understand, and you often rejoice. She frequently awaits your redemption, so that she may be freed from the common servitude of all creation: you bring hindrance to both your redemption and her liberty. Therefore, it is your, not her, foolishness that while you wait and do not convert, she is still changing. — The Six Days of Creation

Ambrosiaster: To groan in travail is to grieve.… The elements themselves show forth their works with care, for both the sun and the moon fill the spaces allotted to them not without travail, and the spirit of the animals demonstrates its servitude by loud groanings. All these are waiting for rest and to be set free from their servile labor. Now if this service were of any benefit to God the creation would be rejoicing, not grieving. But every day it watches its labor disappear. Every day its work appears and vanishes. Therefore it is right to grieve, because its work leads not to eternity but to corruption. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Augustine of Hippo: This is not to be understood simply as meaning that trees, vegetables, stones and the like sorrow and sigh—this is the error of the Manichaeans—nor should we think that the holy angels are subject to vanity or that they will be set free from the slavery of death, since they are immortal. Here “the creation” means the human race. — AUGUSTINE ON Romans 53

Augustine of Hippo: Every creature is represented in man, not because all the angels … are in him, nor the heaven, earth, sea and all that is in them, but because the human creature is partly spirit, partly soul and partly body. — QUESTIONS 67.5

John Chrysostom: “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” Observe, how he shames the hearer, saying almost, Be not thou worse than the creation, neither find a pleasure in resting in things present. Not only ought we not to cling to them, but even to groan over the delay of our departure hence. For if the creation doth this, much more oughtest thou to do so, honored with reason as thou art. But as this was not yet enough to force their attention, he proceeds. — Homily on Romans 14

Origen of Alexandria: We must understand this in the same way as we understand Paul’s groaning on account of the gospel for those whom he has brought to the light by faith in Christ, or as he said elsewhere: “My little children, with whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you!” — COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Pelagius: Just as the angels rejoice over those who repent, so they grieve over those who are unwilling to repent. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Shepherd of Hermas: Those which are budding are the righteous who are to live in the world to come; for the coming world is the summer of the righteous, but the winter of sinners. When, therefore, the mercy of the Lord shines forth, then shall they be made manifest who are the servants of God, and all men shall be made manifest. — Shepherd of Hermas, Similitude 4

Theodore of Mopsuestia: How did the whole creation suffer this? The invisible creatures did it by thinking and feeling; the visible creatures did it by sharing in the thing itself. — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Theophilus of Antioch: But those who do not know nor worship God, are like birds which have wings, but cannot fly nor soar to the high things of God. Thus, too, though such persons are called men, yet being pressed down with sins, they mind grovelling and earthly-things. And the animals are named wild beasts, from their being hunted, not as if they had been made evil or venomous from the first-for nothing was made evil by God,39 but all things good, yea, very good,-but the sin in which man was concerned brought evil upon them. For when man transgressed, they also transgressed with him. For as, if the master of the house himself acts rightly, the domestics also of necessity conduct themselves well; but if the master sins, the servants also sin with him; so in like manner it came to pass, that in the case of man’s sin, he being master, all that was subject to him sinned with him. When, therefore, man again shall have made his way back to his natural condition, and no longer does evil, those also shall be restored to their original gentleness. — Theophilus to Autolycus, Book II, Chapter XVII

Romans 8:23

Ambrose of Milan: This adoption of sons is the redemption of the whole body, when he who is to be the son of God by adoption shall see face to face that Divine and Eternal Good; for there is the adoption of sons in the Church of God, when the Spirit cries, Abba, Father, as it is written to the Galatians. But this will be perfected when all shall rise again in incorruption power and glory who are counted worthy to see the Face of God, for then the human race will judge itself to be truly redeemed. — Letter 35

Ambrosiaster: For Christians, this world is like the ocean. For just as the sea is whipped up by adverse winds and produces storms for sailors, so also this world, moved by the scheming of wicked men, disturbs the minds of believers. And the enemy does this in so many different ways that it is hard to know what to avoid first, for sources of tribulation are by no means wanting. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Augustine of Hippo: Paul now speaks about those of us who already believe. For although we serve the law of God with our spirit (i.e., our mind), our flesh still serves the law of sin for as long as we suffer mortal pains and anxieties.… Adoption is already guaranteed for those who believe, but it has been accomplished only spiritually, not physically. The body has not yet received its heavenly transformation, although the spirit, which has turned from its errors to God, has already been changed through the reconciliation of faith. Therefore even believers still await the revelation which will come in the resurrection of the body. This is the fourth state, when everything will be in perfect peace at eternal rest, completely free of malignant corruption or nagging torment. — AUGUSTINE ON Romans 53

Cyril of Alexandria: The corruptible body weighs down the soul, and the earthly body pulls down a mind full of cares. For as soon as the Spirit comes to dwell in us and turns us to the study of virtue, the love of the flesh jumps up to combat it, and the law in our members, which is prone to silly lusts, begins a bitter struggle. That is why we groan waiting for the liberation of our bodies as a result of the adoption. — EXPLANATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

John Chrysostom: “And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves.” That is, having had a taste of the things to come. For even if any should be quite stone hard, he means what has been given already is enough to raise him up, and draw him off from things present, and to wing him after things to come in two ways, both by the greatness of the things that are given, and by the fact that, great and numerous as they are, they are but first-fruits. For if the first-fruits be so great that we are thereby freed even from our sins, and attain to righteousness and sanctification, and that those of that time both drave out devils, and raised the dead by their shadow or garments, consider how great the whole must be.

And if the creation, devoid as it is of mind and reason, and though in ignorance of these things, yet groaneth, much more should we. Next, that he may give the heretics no handle, or seem to be disparaging our present world, we groan, he says, not as finding fault with the present system, but through a desire of those greater things. And this he shows in the words, “Waiting for the adoption.” What dost thou say, let me hear? Thou didst insist on it at every turn, and didst cry aloud, that we were already made sons, and now dost thou place this good thing among hopes, writing that we must needs wait for it? Now it is to set this right by the sequel that he says, “to wit, the redemption of our body.” That is, the perfect glory.

Our lot indeed is at present uncertainty to our last breath, since many of us that were sons have become dogs and prisoners. But if we decease with a good hope, then is the gift unmovable, and clearer, and greater, having no longer any change to fear from death and sin. Then therefore will the grace be secure, when our body shall be freed from death and its countless ailments. For this is full redemption, not a redemption only, but such, that we shall never again return to our former captivity. For that thou mayest not be perplexed at hearing so much of glory without getting any distinct knowledge of it, he partially exposes to thy view the things to come, setting before thee the change of thy body, and along with it the change of the whole creation. — Homily on Romans 14

Origen of Alexandria: Even though because of the fact that we believe in Christ our salvation is assured, nevertheless it still remains something to be hoped for; it has not yet been realized.There are different ways of interpreting “the first fruits of the Spirit.” Just as the first fruits of the threshing floor and the wine press are of the same substance as what follows, is it not also true that the Holy Spirit is the first and best of a multitude of other spirits? So to have the first fruits of the Spirit means to have the Holy Spirit, as opposed to a host of other ministering spirits. The first fruits may also refer to the many gifts of the Spirit. … We apostles, says Paul, have the first fruits of the Spirit, because we were chosen to groan in travail as the Spirit himself does. There is no creature so free of sorrows and sighings that we, who have received the highest and choicest gifts of the Spirit, are not obliged to grieve and sigh over, awaiting the adoption of sons, that is, the perfection of those whom we have been sent to teach and instruct until we see them making enough progress that they deserve to be adopted as sons. A third possibility is that the first fruits of the Spirit refers to Christ himself, since he is the first born of every creature. — COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Pelagius: Not only do the angels, who are kinder than we are, grieve over these unrepentant people, but we who have the Holy Spirit groan for such people. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Thomas Aquinas: After showing the excellence of future glory from the longing of the creature [n. 656], the Apostle now shows the same from the longing of the apostles. For that cannot be a trifle which is desired so anxiously by great men. In regard to this he does two things: 332 first, he states his proposition; secondly, he proves it [v. 24; n. 681]. 676. In regard to the first he does three things [n. 679, 680]. First, he describes the dignity of those longing when he says: And not only the creature awaits the glory of the sons of God, but we ourselves, namely, the apostles, who have the first fruits of the spirit, namely, because the apostles had the Holy Spirit before others and more abundantly than others, just as earthly fruit which ripens earlier is richer and more delicious: “Israel was holy to the Lord, the first fruits of his harvest” (Jeremiah 2:3); “You have come to the assembly of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven” (Hebrews 12:23). From this it is clear that the apostles are greater than all other saints no matter what their credentials, whether virginity or learning or martyrdom, because they have the Holy Spirit more fully. 677. But someone might say that some other saints have endured more torture and greater austerities for Christ than the apostles. But it should be recognized that the amount of one’s merit depends principally and in respect to essential reward on charity. For the essential reward consists in the joy one has in God. But it is plain that one who loves God more will enjoy Him more. Hence, the Lord promises that blessed vision to those who love: “He who loves me will be loved by my Father and I will love him and manifest myself to him” (John 14:21). But according to the quantity of his works man merits an accidental reward which is joy taken in those works. Therefore, the apostles performed the works they did with greater charity, which made their hearts prepared for much greater ones, if it had been opportune. 333 678. But if it is said: Someone can try so hard that he will have charity equal to that of the apostles the answer is that a man’s charity is not derived from himself but from God’s grace, which is given to each “according to the measure of Christ’s gift” (Ephesians 4:7). Now he gives to each the grace proportionate to his calling. Thus, the most excellent grace was given to Christ, because he was called to have his human nature taken into the unity of his divine person; after him the greatest fullness of grace was conferred on blessed Mary, who was called to be the mother of Christ. Among the rest, however, the apostles were called to a greater dignity than all others, for they received from Christ himself the things that pertain to salvation and the commission to deliver them to others. Hence, the Church is in a sense founded on them, as it says in Rev (21:14): “The wall of the city had twelve foundations and on them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” Therefore, God gave them a greater abundance of grace than the rest. 679. Secondly, he mentions the anxiety with which they wait, when he says, we groan inwardly. This groaning indicates the distress caused by the postponement of something desired with great longing, as it says in Pr (13:12); “Hope deferred makes the heart sick”; “I am weary with my moaning” (Psalms 6:6). This groaning, however, is more internal than external, because it proceeds from the hidden fee1ings of the heart and because it is concerned with internal goods. Hence he says, we groan inwardly: “My groans are many” (Lamentations 1:22). 680. Thirdly, he mentions what is awaited, saying: as we wait for adoption as sons, i.e., for the completion of this adoption. For this adoption was begun by the Holy 334 Spirit justifying the soul: “You have received the spirit of adoption as sons” (Romans 8:15). But it will be brought to fulfillment, when the body is glorified: “We rejoice in the hope of sharing the glory of the children of God” (Romans 5:2). And that is why he adds: the redemption of our bodies, so that as our spirit has been redeemed from sin, so our body might be redeemed from corruption and death: “I shall ransom them from death”(Hosea 13:14); “He will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body” (Philippians 3:21). 681. Then when he says, For in this hope, he proves what he had said with the following reason: Hope is concerned with things not seen in the present but awaited in the future. But we have been saved through hope; therefore, we wait for the completion of salvation as something future. 682. First, therefore, he presents the minor, saying: For we, the apostles and the rest of the believers, were saved in hope, namely, because we hope for our salvation: “We have been born anew to a living hope” (1 Peter 1:3); “Hope in him at all times, O people” (Psalms 62:8). 683. Secondly, he presents the major, saying: Now hope, i.e., the thing hoped for, which is seen, as though possessed at present, is not hope, i.e., not something hoped for, but something possessed. For hope is the expectation of something future: “Wait for me, for the day when I arise” (Zephaniah 3:8). 684. Thirdly, he presents proof of the major, saying: For who hopes for what he sees? As if to say: Hope implies a movement of the soul toward something not possessed. But when something is already possessed, there is no need for one to be moved toward it. 335 And it should be noted that because hope somehow springs from faith, he attributes to hope something that belongs to faith, namely, that it is concerned with something not seen: “Faith is the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). 685. Fourthly, he presents the conclusion, saying: But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it in patience. Hence it should be noted that patience, properly speaking, inclines one to tolerate tribulation with a certain evenness of mind: “Be patient in tribulation” (Romans 12:12). But because the postponement of something good has an aspect of evil, even the continued wait for absent goods with evenness of mind is attributed to patience, although they pertain more to long-suffering; “Be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord” (James 5:7). But patience is taken in both ways here, because the apostles awaited glory with evenness of mind, along with the delay and tribulation. 686. Then [v. 26; n. 628] he shows how we are helped by the Holy Spirit in the defects of the present life: first, for the fulfillment of desires; secondly, for the direction of external events [v. 28; n. 695]. In regard to the first he does two things: first, he states his proposition; secondly, he clarifies it [v. 26b; n. 688]. 687. First, therefore, he says: It has been stated that our mortal bodies will be vivified by the Holy Spirit, when our weakness shall be removed from us. Likewise in the present life in which we are still subject to weakness the Spirit helps us in our weakness, even though he does not take it away entirely: “The Spirit lifted me up and 336 took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heart of my spirit,” as though weakness was not yet entirely removed, “for the hand of the Lord was with me, strengthening me” (Ez 3:14); and in this way he helped me: “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). 688. Then (v. 26b) he clarifies what he had said: first, he shows the need for the Spirit’s help, which pertains to a weakness of the present life; secondly, he indicates the way he helps [v. 26c; n. 692]; thirdly, he shows the efficacy of the help [v. 27; n. 694]. 689. First, therefore, he says: I am correct in saying that the Spirit helps our weakness, for in this we suffer a weakness that we do not know how to pray as we ought: “Why does God surround with darkness the man whose way is hid?” (Job 3:23). 690. And it should be noted that the Apostle says there are two things we do not know, namely, what we should ask for in prayer and the manner in which we ought to ask [n. 691]. But both seem to be false. For in the first place we know what we should ask for, because the Lord taught us in Mt (6:9): “Hallowed be thy name.” The answer is that we can know in a general way what it is suitable to pray for, but we cannot know this in particular. First of all, if we desire to perform a virtuous deed, which is to fulfill God’s will on earth as it is in heaven, it can happen that the virtuous deed does not befit this or that person. For example, the quiet of contemplation is not expedient for a person who can press onward usefully in action, as Gregory says in 337 Morals on Job 5:26: “You shall come to your grave in ripe old age.” Hence it says in Pr (14:12): “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” Secondly, a person desires a temporal good to sustain life, which is to seek one’s daily bread, but it puts him in danger of death. For many have perished because of riches: “Riches were kept by their owner to his hurt” (Ecclesiastes 5:13). Thirdly, a person desires to be freed from a bothersome trial which, nevertheless, is for him a guardian of humility. For example, St. Paul sought the removal of a thorn of the flesh, but it had been given him to keep him from being too elated by the abundance of revelations, as it says in 2 Cor (12:7). 691. Likewise, it also seems that we know how to pray as we ought, since it says in Jas (1:6): “Let him ask in faith, with no doubting.” Here, too, the answer is that we can know in general, but we cannot discern exactly the special motive; for example, whether we are asking from anger or from a zeal for justice. Hence in Mt (20:20) the petition of the sons of Zebedee was refused because, although they seemed to be asking to share in divine glory, their petition proceeded from vain glory or from elation. 692. Then (v.26c) he tells the way the Holy Spirit helps when he says: but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too keep for words. This statement seems to support the error of Arius and Macedonius, who held that the Holy Spirit is a creature and lower than the Father and Son. For intercession is the role of a lesser person. But if from the fact that he is said to intercede we understand that he is a creature subject to suffering and inferior to the Father, then from the fact that he intercedes with sighs, we should 338 suppose that he is a creature subject to suffering and not yet enjoying beatitude – which no heretic has ever said. For a sigh proceeds from pain which pertains to wretchedness. Consequently we must explain intercedes [asks], i.e., makes us ask; as in Gen (22:12): “Now I know that you fear God,” i.e., I have made you know. 693. For the Holy Spirit makes us ask, inasmuch as he causes right desires in us, because to ask is to make desires known. Now right desires arise from the ardor of love, which he produces in us: “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us” (Romans 5:5). But with the Holy Spirit directing and inciting our heart, our desires can not but be profitable to us: “I am the Lord who teaches you to profit” (Isaiah 48:17); therefore, he adds: for us. But when we desire something strongly and pray for it longingly, we suffer its delay with pain and sighing; therefore, he adds: with sighs, which he causes in our heart, inasmuch as he inspires us to desire heavenly things which are postponed for the soul. These are the sighs or moanings of the dove, which the Holy Spirit causes in us: “Moaning like doves” (Nahum 2:7). They are indescribable: either because they concern an indescribable thing, namely, heavenly glory: “He heard things that cannot be told” (2 Corinthians 12:4); or because those movements of the heart cannot be sufficiently described, inasmuch as they proceed from the Holy Spirit: “Who can explain the wisdom of the heavens?” (Job 38:37). 694. Then (v. 27) he shows the efficacy of the help with which the Holy Spirit aids us, saying: He who searches the hearts, i.e., God, who alone searches the heart: “Thou who tried the minds and hearts” (Psalms 7:9). 339 But God is said to search hearts, not as though He investigates the secrets of the heart, but because he knows clearly the hidden things of the heart: “I will search Jerusalem with lamps” (Zephaniah 1:12). God, I say, searches the hearts and knows, i.e., approves, what is the mind of the Spirit, i.e., what he makes us desire: “All my desires are known to you” (Psalms 38:9). But the desires which the Holy Spirit causes in the saints are accepted by God, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints, i.e., makes them ask according to the will of God, i.e., for things pleasing to God: The desire of the righteous ends in all good (Proverbs 11:23). As an example of this the Lord said to the Father: “Not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39).

Romans 8:24

Ambrosiaster: By hoping for what God has promised to us in Christ, we have made ourselves worthy of deliverance. Therefore we have been set free in the hope that what is coming in the future is no different from what we believe. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Clement of Alexandria: You see that martyrdom for love’s sake is taught. And should you wish to be a martyr for the recompense of advantages, you shall hear again. “For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.” — The Stromata Book 4

Cyprian: It is the wholesome precept of our Lord and Master: “He that endureth,” saith He, “unto the end, the same shall be saved; " and again, “If ye continue,” saith He, “in my word, ye shall be truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” We must endure and persevere, beloved brethren, in order that, being admitted to the hope of truth and liberty, we may attain to the truth and liberty itself; for that very fact that we are Christians is the substance of faith and hope. But that hope and faith may attain to their result, there is need of patience. For we are not following after present glory, but future, according to what Paul the apostle also warns us, and says, “We are saved by hope; but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he hope for? But if we hope for that which we see not, then do we by patience wait for it.” Therefore, waiting and patience are needful, that we may fulfil that which we have begun to be, and may receive that which we believe and hope for, according to God’s own showing. Moreover, in another place, the same apostle instructs the righteous and the doers of good works, and them who lay up for themselves treasures in heaven with the increase of the divine usury, that they also should be patient; and teaches them, saying, “Therefore, while we have time, let us labour in that which is good unto all men, but especially to them who are of the household of faith. But let us not faint in well-doing, for in its season we shall reap.” He admonishes that no man should impatiently faint in his labour, that none should be either called off or overcome by temptations and desist in the midst of the praise and in the way of glory; and the things that are past perish, while those which have begun cease to be perfect; as it is written, “The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in whatever clay he shall transgress; " and again, “Hold that which thou hast, that another take not thy crown.” Which word exhorts us to persevere with patience and courage, so that he who strives towards the crown with the praise now near at hand, may be crowned by the continuance of patience. — Treatise IX On the Advantage of Patience

Cyril of Alexandria: We believe that our bodies also will overcome corruption and death. For the time being this is a hope, because it is not yet present, but it is a future certainty. — EXPLANATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

John Chrysostom: “For we are saved by hope,” he says. Now since he had dwelt upon the promise of the things to come, and this seemed to pain the weaker hearer, if the blessings are all matter of hope; after proving before that they are surer than things present and visible, and discoursing at large on the gifts already given, lest we should seek our all in this world, and be traitors to the nobility that faith gives us, he says, “For we are saved by hope.” And this is about what he means. We are not to seek our all in this life, but to have hope also. For this is the only gift that we brought in to God, believing Him in what He promised shall come, and it was by this way alone we were saved.

If then we lose this hope, we have lost all that was of our own contributing. For I put you this question, he would say, Wert thou not liable for countless sins? wert thou not in despair? wert thou not under sentence? were not all out of heart about thy salvation? What then saved thee? It was thy hoping in God alone, and trusting to Him about His promises and gifts, and nothing besides hadst thou to bring in. If it was this then that saved thee, hold it fast now also. For that which afforded thee so great blessings, to a certainty will not deceive thee in regard to things to come.

For in that it found thee dead, and ruined, and a prisoner, and an enemy, and yet made thee a friend, and a son, and a freeman, and righteous, and a joint-heir, and yielded such great things as no one ever expected even, how, after such munificence and attachment, will it betray thee in what is to follow? Say not to me, hopes again! expectations again! faith again! For it is in this way thou wert saved from the beginning, and this dowry was the only one that thou didst bring in to the Bridegroom. Hold it then fast and keep it: for if thou demandest to have everything in this world, thou hast lost that well-doing of thine, through which thou didst become bright, and this is why he proceeds to say, “But hope that is seen is not hope; for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?” — Homily on Romans 14

Origen of Alexandria: I have already spoken in general terms about hope, but here I would add only that Paul teaches us not to expect that in the future life we shall possess any of the things which we can see here and now, for all these things will pass away. — COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Pelagius: We have not yet seen the things that we were promised, but we live in hope. What we see is not hoped for, but we own it if it belongs to us. Christians have no hope in what can be seen, for we have been promised not what is present but what is to come in the future. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Romans 8:25

Ambrosiaster: Patience is greatly approved of by God, for by daily waiting it desires the coming of the kingdom of God and does not doubt just because it delays. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Augustine of Hippo: Patience trains up the longing. Wait, for he waits. Walk on steadfastly that you may reach the end. He will not leave that place to which you are moving. — HOMILIES ON 1 John 4.7

Bede: The certainty of our hope is prefigured by the egg. No offspring is as yet discernible in the egg, but the birth of the bird to come is hoped for. The faithful do not yet look upon the glory of the fatherland on high in which they believe at the present time, but they await its coming in hope. — Homilies on the Gospels 11.14

Cyprian: Patient waiting is necessary that we may fulfill what we have begun to be and, through God’s help, that we may obtain what we hope for and believe. — Treatise IX. On the Advantage of Patience 13

John Chrysostom: “But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.” That is, if thou art to be looking for everything in this world, what need is there for hope? What is hope then? It is feeling confidence in things to come. What great demand then doth God make upon thee, since He Himself giveth thee blessings quite entire from His own stores? One thing only, hope, He asks of thee, that thou too mayest have somewhat of thine own to contribute toward thy salvation. And this he intimates in what he proceeds with: “For if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.” As then God crowneth him that undergoes labors, and hardnesses, and countless toils, so doth He him that hopeth. For the name of patience belongs to hard work and much endurance. Yet even this He hath granted to the man that hopeth, that He might solace the wearied soul. — Homily on Romans 14

Pelagius: The reward for faith with patience is great, because we believe what we do not yet see, and we are as sure of what we have not yet received as if we have already received it. As Paul says to the Hebrews: “You have need of endurance, so that you may do the will of God and receive what is promised.” — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Romans 8:26

Ambrosiaster: Our prayers are weak because they ask for things contrary to reason, and for this reason Paul shows that this weakness in us is helped by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. The Holy Spirit helps because he does not allow anything we ask for before the proper time or against God’s wishes to happen.Paul says that the Spirit intercedes for us not with human words but according to his own nature. For when what comes from God speaks with God, it is obvious that he will speak in the same way as the one from whom he comes speaks. For the Spirit given to us overflows with our prayers in order to make up for our inadequacy and lack of foresight by his actions and to ask God for the things which will be of benefit to us. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Augustine of Hippo: It is clear from what follows that Paul is speaking here about the Holy Spirit.… “We do not know how to pray as we ought” for two reasons. First, it is not yet clear what future we are hoping for or where we are heading, and second, many things in this life may seem positive but are in fact negative, and vice versa. Tribulation, for example, when it comes to a servant of God in order to test or correct him may seem futile to those who have less understanding.… But God often helps us through tribulation, and prosperity, which may be negative if it traps the soul with delight and the love of this life, is sought after in vain.The Spirit sighs by making us sigh, arousing in us by his love a desire for the future life. “The Lord your God tempts you so that he might know whether you love him,” that is, to make you know, for nothing escapes God’s notice. — AUGUSTINE ON Romans 54

Augustine of Hippo: The Spirit that intercedes is nothing but the same charity which the Spirit has wrought in you.… Charity itself groans in prayer, and he who gave it cannot shut his ears to its voice. Cast away care, let charity make request, and the ears of God are ready to listen. The answer comes—not what you want but what is to your advantage. — HOMILIES ON 1 John 6.8

Augustine of Hippo: The Holy Spirit, who intercedes with God on behalf of the saints, does not groan as if he were in need and experiencing distress. Rather he moves us to pray when we groan, and thus he is said to do what we do when he moves us. — AGAINST THE MANICHAEANS 1.22.34

Augustine of Hippo: We must not deduce from this that either the apostle or those to whom he spoke were unacquainted with the Lord’s Prayer. We think that the reason Paul says that we do not know how we should pray … was because temporal trials and troubles are often useful for curing the swelling of pride or for proving and testing our patience, and by this proving and testing winning for it a more glorious and precious reward; or for chastising and wiping out certain sins, while we, ignorant of these benefits, wish to be delivered from all trouble. — LETTER 130

Clement of Alexandria: If he but form the thought in the secret chamber of his soul, and call on the Father “with unspoken groanings,” He is near, and is at his side, while yet speaking. — The Stromata Book 7

Gregory the Dialogist: He is called advocate because he intercedes with the justice of the Father for the error of sinners. He who is of one substance with the Father and the Son is said to entreat for sinners, because those whom he has filled, he makes into those who entreat. Hence Paul also says: For the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered. But he who entreats is less than he who is entreated; how then is the Spirit said to entreat, who is not less? But the Spirit himself entreats because he inflames those whom he has filled to entreat. — Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 30

John Chrysostom: It is not possible, says Paul, for us human beings to have a precise knowledge of everything. So we ought to yield to the Creator of our nature and with joy and great relish accept those things which he has decided on and have an eye not to the appearance of events but to the decisions of the Lord. After all, he knows better than we do what is for our benefit, and he also knows what steps must be taken for our salvation. — HOMILIES ON Genesis 30.16

John Chrysostom: “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities.” For the one point is thy own, that of patience, but the other comes of the Spirit’s furnishings, Who also cherisheth thee unto this hope, and through it again lighteneth thy labors. Then that thou mightest know that it is not in thy labors only and dangers that this grace standeth by thee, but even in things the most easy seemingly, it worketh with thee, and on all occasions bears its part in the alliance, he proceeds to say, “For we know not what we should pray for as we ought.”

And this he said to show the Spirit’s great concern about us, and also to instruct them not to think for certainty that those things are desirable which to man’s reasonings appear so. For since it was likely that they, when they were scourged, and driven out, and suffering grievances without number, should be seeking a respite, and ask this favor of God, and think it was advantageous to them, by no means (he says) suppose that what seem blessings to you really are so. For we need the Spirit’s aid even to do this. So feeble is man, and such a nothing by himself. For this is why he says, “For we know not what we should pray for as we ought.” In order that the learner might not feel any shame at his ignorance, he does not say, ye know not, but, “we know not.”

And that he did not say this merely to seem moderate, he plainly shows from other passages. For he desired in his prayers unceasingly to see Rome. Yet the time when he obtained it was not at once when he desired it. And for “the thorn” that was given him “in the flesh,” that is the dangers, he often besought God, and was entirely unsuccessful. And so was Moses, who in the Old Testament prays to see Palestine, and Jeremiah when he made supplication for the Jews, and Abraham when he interceded for the people of Sodom.

“But the Spirit Itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” This statement is not clear, owing to the cessation of many of the wonders which then used to take place. Wherefore I must needs inform you of the state of things at that time, and in this way the rest of the subject will be cleared. What therefore was the state of things then? God did in those days give to all that were baptized certain excellent gifts, and the name that these had was spirits. For “the spirits of the Prophets,” it says, “are subject to the prophets.” And one had the gift of prophecy and foretold things to come; and another of wisdom, and taught the many; and another of healings, and cured the sick; and another of miracles, and raised the dead; another of tongues, and spoke different languages. And with all these there was also a gift of prayer, which also was called a spirit, and he that had this prayed for all the people. For since we are ignorant of much that is profitable for us and ask things that are not profitable, the gift of prayer came into some particular person of that day, and what was profitable for all the whole Church alike, he was the appointed person to ask for in behalf of all, and the instructor of the rest. Spirit then is the name that he gives here to the grace of this character, and the soul that receiveth the grace, and intercedeth to God, and groaneth. — Homily on Romans 14

Novatian: The Holy Spirit importunes the divine ears on our behalf “with sighs too deep for words,” thereby discharging his duties as advocate and rendering his services in our defense. He has been given to dwell in our bodies and to bring about our sanctification. — THE TRINITY 29.16

Origen of Alexandria: Just as a sick man does not ask the doctor for things which will restore him to health but rather for things which his disease longs for, so likewise we, as long as we are languishing in the weakness of this life, will from time to time ask God for things which are not good for us. This is why the Spirit has to help us.The weakness which the Spirit helps us with is our flesh.… Whenever the Holy Spirit sees our spirit struggling with the flesh and being drawn to it, he stretches out his hand and helps us in our weakness. — COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Pelagius: The Spirit helps us in accordance with the hope we have, so that we may request not earthly things but heavenly ones. For our ability is weak unless it is helped by the Holy Spirit. We still see through a glass darkly, and often what we judge to be helpful is actually harmful. Therefore our requests may not be granted by divine providence, as Paul says elsewhere. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Tertullian: Herein also you ought to recognise the Paraclete in His character of Comforter, in that He excuses your infirmity from (the stringency of) an absolute continence. — On Monogamy

Theodoret of Cyrus: Do not think that you will be set free by things which are harmful. You do not know what is good for you in the way that God does. Therefore, give yourselves to him who holds the key to the universe. For even if you ask nothing but merely groan under the impulse of the grace which dwells in you, he handles your affairs wisely and will ensure that you get what you need. — INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

Romans 8:27

Ambrosiaster: It is clear that the prayer of every spirit is known to God, from whom nothing is secret or hidden. How much more then should [the Father] know what the Holy Spirit, who is the same essence as himself, is saying? — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Caesarius of Arles: By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in silence, the shouting of the saints is heard in the presence of God. — SERMON 97.2

John Chrysostom: “But He that searcheth the hearts.” You see that it is not about the Comforter that he is speaking, but about the spiritual heart. Since if this were not so, he ought to have said, “He that searcheth” the Spirit. But that thou mayest learn that the language is meant of a spiritual man, who has the gift of prayer, he proceeds, “And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit,” that is, of the spiritual man.

“Because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” Not (he means) that he informs God as if ignorant, but this is done that we may learn to pray for proper things, and to ask of God what is pleasing to Him. For this is what the “according to God” is. And so this was with a view to solace those that came to Him, and to yield them excellent instruction. For He that furnished the gifts, and gave besides blessings without number, was the Comforter. Hence it says, “all these things worketh one and the self-same Spirit.” And it is for our instruction that this takes place, and to show the love of the Spirit, it condescendeth even to this. And it is from this that the person praying getteth heard, because the prayer is made “according to the will of God.”

You see from how many points he instructs them in the love that was shown them and the honor that was done them. And what is there that God hath not done for us? The world He hath made corruptible for us, and again for us incorruptible. He suffered His Prophets to be ill-treated for our sake, sent them into captivity for us, let them fall into the furnace, and undergo ills without number. Nay, He made them prophets for us, and the Apostles also He made for us. He gave up for us His Only-Begotten, He punisheth the devil for us, He hath seated us on the Right Hand, He was reproached for us. “For the reproaches of them that reproached thee,” it says, “fell upon me.” — Homily on Romans 14

Origen of Alexandria: Paul shows here that God pays less attention to the words we use in prayer than he does to what is in our heart and mind. — COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Pelagius: Paul has called a gift of the Spirit “the Spirit.” … He makes us request with groans which cannot be described, just as God is said to tempt us in order to know, i.e., in order to make us know, what kind of people we are. Even in popular usage the master is said to accomplish what he orders to be done by others, as in statements like “he built a house” or “he wrote a book,” though he neither built nor wrote. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Philoxenus of Mabbug: You see that all the good promptings which bring us to repentance result from the activity of the Spirit, and pure prayer, which brings all these good promptings to completion, is also stirred up in our soul as the result of the Spirit’s activity. He too, in a hidden way, initially arouses us to groans at the memory of our sins. — ON THE INDWELLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Theodoret of Cyrus: “Spirit” here does not mean the substance of the Spirit but rather the grace which is given to believers. By this grace we are encouraged to struggle, we are inflamed to pray more earnestly, and with ineffable sighings we implore God the Savior. The holy apostle wrote this out of the experience of his own suffering. For he himself had asked to be set free from evils, not once or twice but three times, but he did not get what he asked for. Rather, he heard God say: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” But when he learned this, he willingly embraced the things which he had asked to be set free from and said: “I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” — INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

Romans 8:28

Ambrosiaster: It is not that God, knowing the intention of their heart and their ignorance, gives them the opposite of what they ask for. Rather he teaches them what ought to be given to people who love God. This is what the Lord says in the Gospel: “For your Father knows what you need, even before you ask him.” Those who are called according to the promise are those whom God knew would believe in the future. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Augustine of Hippo: There is, in the foreknowledge of God, a predetermined limit and number of saints who love God as he has given them to do through the Holy Spirit poured forth in their hearts, and for them everything works together for good. — LETTER 186

Clement of Alexandria: And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to the purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren. And whom He did predestinate, them He also called; and whom He called, them He also justified; and whom He justified, them He also glorified. — The Stromata Book 4

Cyril of Alexandria: To be called according to God’s purpose is to be called according to the will. But is this the will of the one who calls or the will of those who are called? Naturally, every impulse which leads to righteousness comes from God the Father. Christ himself once said: “No one can come to me unless the Father draws him.” Nevertheless it is not wrong to say that some are called according to God’s purpose and according to their own intentions as well. — EXPLANATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

Jerome: When Job lost all his wealth, when he lost his sons, everything seemed to militate against him, but since he loved the Lord, the evils that befell him worked together for his good. The vermin of his body were preparing for him the crown of heaven. Before the time he is tempted, God has never spoken to him; after he is tempted, however, God comes to him and speaks familiarly with him, as a friend with his friend. Let calamity strike, let every kind of disaster fall, as long as after the catastrophe Christ comes. — HOMILIES ON THE Psalms 6

John Chrysostom: Even opposition and disappointment are turned into good, which is exactly what happened with this remarkable man, the apostle Paul. — HOMILIES ON Genesis 67.19

John Chrysostom: Here he seems to me to have mooted this whole topic with a view to those who were in danger; or, rather, not this only, but also what was said a little before this. For the words, “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us;” and those, that “the whole creation groaneth;” and the saying, that “we are saved by hope;” and the phrase, “we with patience wait for;” and that, “we know not what we should pray for as we ought;” are all of them said to these. For he instructs them not to choose just what they may think, themselves, to be useful, but what the Spirit may suggest; for many things that seem to one’s self profitable, do sometimes even cause much harm.

Now when he speaks of “all things,” he mentions even the things that seem painful. For should even tribulation, or poverty, or imprisonment, or famines, or deaths, or anything else whatsoever come upon us, God is able to change all these things into the opposite. For this is quite an instance of His unspeakable power, His making things seemingly painful to be lightsome to us, and turning them into that which is helpful to us. And so he does not say, that “them that love God,” no grievance approacheth, but, that it “works together for good,” that is to say, that He useth the grievous things themselves to make the persons so plotted against approved. And this is a much greater thing than hindering the approach of such grievances, or stopping them when they have come.

And this is why He did even with the furnace at Babylon. For He did not either prevent their falling into it, or extinguish the flame after those saints were cast into it, but let it burn on, and made them by this very flame greater objects of wonder, and with the Apostles too He wrought other like wonders continually. For if men who have learnt to be philosophic can use the things of nature to the opposite of their intention, and appear even when living in poverty in easier circumstances than the rich, and shine through disgrace: much more will God work for those that love Him both these and also greater things by far. For one needs only one thing, a genuine love of Him, and all things follow that. — Homily on Romans 15

Pelagius: Whatever we do or suffer out of love for God will grow into a reward for us. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.12;

Theodore of Mopsuestia: We must not worry if we find that things which we expect to turn out for our good are unexpectedly evil in the present life, because we know that in the end everything works together for good for those who love God. — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Theodoret of Cyrus: This is not true of everyone but only of believers. Nor do things simply work together—they work together for good. If someone asks for something which will not contribute to his good, he will not get it, because it is not good for him to get it. — INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

Thomas Aquinas: Having shown that the Holy Spirit helps us in the weaknesses of the present life in regard to fulfilling our desires [n. 686], the Apostle now shows how he helps us in relation to external events by directing them to our good. First, he states his proposition; secondly, he proves it [v. 29; n. 701]; thirdly, he draws a conclusion [v. 35; n. 721]. 696. In regard to the first there are two things to consider [cf. n. 699]. First, the greatness of the benefit conferred on us by the Holy Spirit, namely, that all things work together for good. To realize this we should consider that whatever happens in the world, even if it be evil, accrues to the good of the universe; because, as Augustine says in Enchiridion: “God is so good that he would permit no evil, unless he were powerful enough to draw some good out of any evil.” However, the evil does not always accrue to the good of that in which it is. Thus, the death of one animal accrues to the good of the universe, inasmuch as by the destruction of one thing something else begins to be, although it does not accrue to the good of that which ceases to be; because the good of the universe is willed by God according to itself and to this good all the parts of the universe are ordained. 697. The same seems to apply to the relationship of the noblest parts to the other parts, because the evil affecting the other parts is ordained to the good of the noblest parts. But whatever happens to the noblest parts is ordained only to their good, because his care for them is for their sake, whereas his care for the others is for the sake of the noblest: as a physician allows a malady in the foot that he might cure the head. 341 But the most excellent parts of the universe are God’s saints to each of whom applies the word of Mt (25:23): “He will set him over all his goods.” Therefore, whatever happens to them or to other things, it all accrues to the benefit of the former. This verifies the statement in Pr (11:20): “The fool will be servant to the wise,” namely, because even the evil of sinners accrues to the good of the just. Hence, God is said to exercise a special care over the just, as it says in Psalms 34 (v.15): “The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous,” inasmuch as he takes care of them in such a way as to permit no evil to affect them without converting it to their good. This is obvious in regard to the penal evils which they suffer, hence it says in the Gloss [of Lombard, col. 1488 D] that “because in their weakness humility is exercised, in affliction patience, in contradictions wisdom and in hatred good will.” Hence it says in 1 Pt (3:14): “If you suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed.” It might be asked whether their sins also work together for their good. Some say that sins are not included when he says, all things, because according to Augustine: “Sin is nothing and men become nothing, when they sin.” But contrary to this a Gloss says: “God makes all things work together for their good to the extent that if they deviate and stray from the path, he even makes this contribute to their good.” Hence it says in Psalms 37 (v.24): “Though the righteous man fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord is the stay of his hand.” But according to this it seems that they always arise with greater love, because man’s good consists in love in such a way that without it the Apostle says that he is nothing (1 Corinthians 13:2). 342 The answer is that man’s good consists not only in the amount of love but especially in his perseverance until death, as it says in Mt (24:13): “He who endures to the end will be saved.” Furthermore, because he has fallen, he rises more cautious and more humble; hence, the Gloss adds that this makes them progress, because they return to themselves more humble and wiser; for they fear extolling themselves or trusting in their powers to persevere. 699. Secondly, we consider the recipients of this benefit and see something on God’s part and on man’s part. He indicates what is involved on man’s part when he says: for those who love God. For the love of God is in us through the indwelling Spirit. But it is the Holy Spirit who directs us in the right path; hence it says in 1 Pt (3:13): “Who is there to harm you, if you are zealous for what is right?” and in Psalms 119 (v. 165): “Great peace have they who love your law; nothing can make them stumble.” And this is reasonably so, because, as it says in Pr (8:17): “I love those who love me.” To love is to will good to the beloved; but for God to will is to accomplish, for “whatever the Lord wills he does” (Ps. 135:6). Therefore, God turns all things to the good of those who love him. 700. Then he considers what is involved on God’s part who, first of all, predestined believers from all eternity; secondly, calls them in time; thirdly, sanctifies them. He touches on these three things when he says: Who are called according to his purpose, i.e., the predestined, the called and the sanctified; “purpose” here refers to predestination which, according to Augustine, is the resolve to be merciful: “according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will” 343 (Ephesians 1:11). “Called” refers to calling: “He called him to follow him” (Isaiah 41:2). “Saints” refers to sanctification: “I am the Lord who sanctifies you” (Leviticus 21:8). The Apostle says that he knows this, saying: we know: “He gave him knowledge of holy things” (Wis 10:10). This knowledge arises from experience and from considering the efficacy of love: “Love is as strong as death” (S of S 8:6) and of eternal predestination: “My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose” (Isaiah 46:10). 701. Then (v.29) he proves what he had said with the following proof: No one can harm those whom God advances; but God advances the predestined who love him. Therefore, nothing can harm them, but everything works for their good. First, therefore, he proves the minor, namely, that God advances them; secondly, the major [v. 31; n. 710]. In regard to the first he does two things: first, he mentions things that refer to advancement of the saints from all eternity; secondly, those that occur in time [v. 30; n. 707]. 702. First, therefore, he presents two things, namely, foreknow1ede and predestination when he says: Those whom he foreknew he also predestined. Now some say that predestination is taken here for the preparation which occurs in time, during which God prepares the saints for grace. They say this in order to distinguish foreknowledge from predestination. But closer examination shows that both are eternal and that they differ in notion. For, as was stated above, predestination implies the mental preordaining of things which a person intends to do. But from all eternity God has predestined the benefits which he intends to give his saints. Hence, predestination is eternal. But foreknowledge differs 344 conceptually from predestination; because foreknowledge implies only the knowledge of future things, whereas predestination implies causality in regard to them. Consequently, God has foreknowledge even of sins, but predestination bears on salutary goods. Hence The Apostle says in Eph (1:5): “Predestined according to the purpose of his will, to the praise and glorious grace which he freely bestowed.” 703. Regarding the order between foreknowledge and predestination some say that foreknowledge of good and of evil merits is the reason for predestination and reprobation, in the sense that God predestines certain ones, because he foresees that they will act well and believe in Christ. According to this the present text reads: “Those whom he foreknew to be conformed to the image of his Son, he also predestined.” This interpretation would be reasonable, if predestination were restricted to eternal life which is bestowed for merits. But under predestination falls every salutary benefit prepared for man from all eternity by God; hence all the benefits he confers on us in time he prepared for us from all eternity. Hence, to claim that some merit on our part is presupposed, the foreknowledge of which is the reason for predestination, is nothing less than to claim that grace is given because of our merits, and that the source of our good works is from us and their consummation from God. Hence, it is more suitable to interpret the present text as stating that those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son. Then this conformity is not the reason for predestination, but its terminus or effect. For the Apostle says: “He destined us to be his adopted sons through Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 1:5). 704. For the adoption as sons is nothing more than that conformity, because a person adopted into the sonship of God is conformed to his true Son. 345 First, in the right to the inheritance, as was stated above (v. 17): If sons, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.” Secondly, in sharing his splendor. For he is begotten of the Father as the splendor of his glory (Hebrews 1:3). Hence by enlightening the saints with the light of wisdom and grace, he makes them be conformed to himself. 705. The phrase, to the image of his Son, can be interpreted in two ways: in one way so that it means: conformed to the image of his Son, who is an image: “He is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). In another way so that the sense is this: He predestined us to be conformed to his Son in the fact that we bear his image: “Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:49). He says, those whom he foreknew he also predestined not because he predestines all the foreknown, but because he could not predestine them, unless he foreknew them: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” (Jeremiah 1:5). 706. Then he indicates what follows from this predestination, when he says: in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren. For just as God willed to communicate His natural goodness to others by imparting to them a likeness of his goodness, so that he is not only good but the author of good things, so the Son of God willed to communicate to others conformity to his sonship, so that he would not only be the Son but the first-born among sons. Thus, he who is the only-begotten through an eternal origin, as it says in Jn (1:18): “The only Son who is in the bosom of the Father,” is the first-born among many brethren by the bestowal of grace: “He is the first-born of the dead, and ruler of kings on earth” (Revelation 1:5). 346 Therefore, Christ has us as brothers, both because he communicated to us a likeness of his sonship and because he assumed the likeness of our nature, as it says in Heb (2:17): “He had to be made like his brethren in every respect.” 707. Then (v. 30) he mentions what happens on the part of the saint as a consequence of predestination. First, he mentions the call, when he says: Those whom he predestined he also called. For predestination cannot be voided: “The Lord of hosts has sworn, ‘As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand” (Isaiah 14:24). Predestination begins to be carried out with the person’s being called. This call is twofold: one is external and is made by the mouth of a preacher: “She has sent out her maids to call from the highest places” (Proverbs 9:3). In this way God called Peter and Andrew, as it says in Mt (4:18). The other call is internal and is nothing less than an impulse of the mind whereby a man’s heart is moved by God to assent to the things of faith or of virtue: “Who stirred up one from the east and called him to follow?” (Isaiah 41:2). This call is necessary, because our heart would not turn itself to God, unless God himself drew us to him: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44); “Turn us to thyself, O Lord, that we may be turned” (Lamentations 5:21). Furthermore, this call is efficacious in the predestined, because they assent to the call: “Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me” (John 6:45). 708. Hence secondly, he mentions justification when he says: those whom he called he also justified by infusing grace: “They are justified by his grace as a gift” (Romans 3:24). 347 Although this justification is frustrated in certain persons, because they do not persevere to the end, in the predestined it is never frustrated. 709. Thirdly, he mentions glorification, when he adds: and those he also glorified and this in two ways, namely, by growth in virtue and grace and by exaltation to glory: “In all things, O Lord, thou hast exalted and glorified thy people” (Wis 19:22). He uses the past for the future, either because the future is certain, or because what is future in some is already fulfilled in others. 710. Then (v. 31) he clarifies the major premise, namely, that nothing can harm those advanced by God: first, he shows that they cannot suffer any loss through the evil of punishment; secondly, nor through the evil of guilt [v. 33; n. 715]. 711. The evil of punishment is twofold: one consists in the imposition of evils, the other in the removal of good things. First he shows that those who are advanced by God do not suffer harm from the efforts of persecutors, saying: What then shall we say? As if to say: since God bestows so many good things on his elect, what can be said against this, so as to nullify it? As if to say: Nothing. “No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel, can avail against the Lord” (Proverbs 21:30). Or: What shall we say? For one is struck with amazement, when he considers these things: “I considered thy works and became terrified” (Habakkuk 3:2). Or: What shall we say to this? i.e., what return could we make to God for such great blessings: “What shall I render to the Lord for all his bounty to me” (Psalms 116:12). Then he continues, If God is for us by predestining, calling, justifying and glorifying, who is against us, i.e., successfully? “Let us stand up together, who is my 348 adversary?” (Isaiah 50:8); “Place me next to you, and let anyone’s hand fight against me” (Job 17:3). 712. Secondly, he shows that God’s holy ones cannot suffer loss by the removal of good things, saying: He who did not spare his own Son. But whereas he spoke earlier about adopted sons, he separates this Son from all others, saying: his own Son, i.e., not adopted, as heretics pretend, but natural and co-eternal: “That we may be in his true son, Jesus Christ” (1 John 5:20) of whom the Father says in Mt (3:17): “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” 713. He says, did not spare, to indicate that he did not exempt him from punishment. For there was no guilt in him to forgive: “He who spares the rod hates his son” (Pr l3:24). However, God the Father did not spare his Son, as though to add something to him who is in all things perfect God; rather he subjected him to the passion for our benefit. And this is what he adds: but gave him up for us all, i.e., in expiation for our sins: “He was put to death for our trespasses” (Romans 3:25); “The Lord put on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). God the Father gave him up to death by appointing him to become incarnate and suffer and by inspiring his human will with such love that he would willingly undergo the passion. Hence he is said to have given himself over: “He gave himself up for us” (Ephesians 5:2). Judas, too, and the Jews gave him up, as was explained at the end of ch. 4. 714. It should be noted that in saying, He did not spare his own Son, it is as though he were saying: He not only exposed other holy men to tribulation for their 349 salvation: “I have hewn them by the prophets” (Hosea 6:5); “If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation” (2 Corinthians 1:6), but even his own Son. But in the Son of God all things exist as in their primordial and preoperative cause: “He is before all things and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17). Therefore, when he was given up for us, all things were given to us; hence he adds: how has not had also, with him, given us all things, the highest things, namely, the divine persons to enjoy, rational spirits to live with, all lower things to use, not only prosperity but adversity as well: “All are yours and you are Christ’s and Christ is God’s” (l Cor 3:23). Hence, it is clear that, as it says in Psalms 34 (v.9): “Those who fear him have no want.”

Romans 8:29

Ambrosiaster: Those whom God foreknew would believe in him he chose to receive the promises. But those who appear to believe yet do not persevere in the faith are not chosen by God, because whoever God chooses will persevere.Christ is rightly called the “firstborn” because he was not made before the rest of creation but begotten, and God has chosen to adopt men as his children following Christ’s example. He is the firstborn in the regeneration of the Spirit, in the resurrection from the dead and in the ascension into heaven. Therefore, the firstborn in all things is said to be our brother, because he chose to be born as a man, but he is also Lord, because he is our God. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Augustine of Hippo: Not all who are called are called according to God’s purpose, for the purpose relates to God’s foreknowledge and predestination. God only predestined those whom he knew would believe and follow the call. Paul refers to them as the “elect.” For many do not come, even though they have been called, but no one comes who has not been called.We should understand our Lord as “only begotten” in one sense and as “firstborn” in another. Christ is called “only begotten” because he has no brothers and is the Son of God by nature, the Word in the beginning by whom all things were made. But by his assumption of humanity and by the dispensation of the incarnation, through which even we who are not sons by nature have been called into the adoption of sons, he is said to be the “firstborn” of many brothers. For before him there was no resurrection of the dead … but now after him comes the resurrection of many saints, whom he does not hesitate to call “brothers” because he shares in their common humanity. — AUGUSTINE ON Romans 55

Augustine of Hippo: There are some who think that in the resurrection all will be men and that women will lose their sex. This view springs from this text and Ephesians: “Until we all attain to perfect manhood.” … For my part, I think that those who believe that there will be two sexes in the resurrection are more sensible. — City of God 19.22.17

Cyril of Alexandria: If as the only begotten he became the “firstborn among many brethren” and yet remains the only begotten, what is the paradox if, although suffering in the flesh according to his humanity, he is known to be impassible according to his divinity? — LETTER 55.33

Diodorus of Tarsus: This text does not take away our free will. It uses the word foreknew before predestined. Now it is clear that “foreknowledge” does not by itself impose any particular kind of behavior. What is said here would be clearer if we started from the end and worked backwards. Whom did God glorify? Those whom he justified. Whom did he predestine? Those whom he foreknew, who were called according to his plan, i.e., who demonstrated that they were worthy to be called by his plan and made conformable to Christ. — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Gregory of Nyssa: For when the Arians say that the “only begotten” God, the Creator of all, … is the work and creation and product of God and therefore interpret the phrase “firstborn of every creature” to mean that he is the brother of every creature, taking precedence because of the rights of primogeniture, as Reuben did over his brothers, and that he is placed first not because of his nature but because of the rights of the eldest, this must be said to them first of all—it is not possible for the same person to be the only begotten and the firstborn as well. — ON PERFECTION

John Chrysostom: “For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the Image of His Son.” See what superb honor! for what the Only-begotten was by Nature, this they also have become by grace. And still he was not satisfied with this calling of them conformed thereto, but even adds another point, “that He might be the first-born.” And even here he does not come to a pause, but again after this he proceeds to mention another point, “Among many brethren.” So wishing to use all means of setting the relationship in a clear light. Now all these things you are to take as said of the Incarnation. For according to the Godhead He is Only-begotten. See, what great things He hath given unto us! Doubt not then about the future. For he showeth even upon other grounds His concern for us by saying, that things were fore-ordered in this way from the beginning. For men have to derive from things their conceptions about them, but to God these things have been long determined upon, and from of old He bare good-will toward us, he says. — Homily on Romans 15

Origen of Alexandria: We know that Christ was in the form of God and took on himself the form of a servant also. Which of these two is it that the believer is to be conformed to?… In my opinion, new converts are conformed to the image of the servant, and as they progress in the faith, they become conformed to that image which is the image of God.In Scripture, words like foreknew and predestined do not apply equally to both good and evil. For the careful student of the Bible will realize that these words are used only of the good.… When God speaks of evil people, he says that he “never knew” them. … They are not said to be foreknown, not because there is anything which can escape God’s knowledge, which is present everywhere and nowhere absent, but because everything which is evil is considered to be unworthy of his knowledge or of his foreknowledge. — COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Pelagius: God’s purpose is his plan to save by faith alone those whom he had known in advance would believe, and those whom he freely called to salvation he will glorify all the more as they work toward it. To predestine is the same as to know in advance. Those whom God foresaw would be conformed in life he intended to be conformed in glory so that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Severian of Gabala: Paul says “the image of the Son” meaning the Holy Spirit, because just as the Son is the immutable image of the Father, so the Spirit is of the Son. For those who have been made worthy by the Holy Spirit live according to the Spirit and are conformed to the Spirit, who is the image of the Son. — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Symeon the New Theologian: Now, if someone does not wish, whether like the sinful woman to embrace the feet of Christ [Luke 7:38], or like the prodigal son to run back to Him with burning repentance [Luke 15:11ff], or like the woman with a hemorrhage and bowed with infirmity [Luke 8:43 and 13:11] even to approach Him, why does he then make excuses for his sins by saying, “Those whom He foreknew, them also“-and them alone!-“He called“?

One may perhaps reasonably reply to the person so disposed that “God, Who is before eternity and Who knows all things before creating them, also knew you beforehand, knew that you would not obey Him when He called, that you would not believe in His promises and in His words, yet still, even while knowing this, He “bowed the heavens and came down” [Psalms 18:19] and became man, and for your sake has come to the place where you lie prone. Indeed, visiting you many times every day, sometimes in His own Person and sometimes as well through His servants, He exhorts you to get up from the calamity in which you lie and to follow Him Who ascends to the Kingdom of Heaven and enter it together with Him. But you, you still refuse to do it. - “Second Ethical Discourse”

Theodoret of Cyrus: God did not simply predestine; he predestined those whom he foreknew. Paul says everything precisely and writes “conformed to the image of his Son” and not just “conformed to his Son.” … For our body is not conformed to Christ’s divinity but to his glorified body. It is as a man that Christ is the firstborn; as God he is the only begotten. Nor does Christ as God have brothers. It is as a man that he calls all men his brothers. — INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

Romans 8:30

Ambrosiaster: To “call” is to help somebody who is already thinking about faith or else to address him firmly in the knowledge that he will listen. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Augustine of Hippo: Are all those who are called justified? “Many are called, but few are chosen.” But since the elect have certainly been called, it is obvious that they have not been justified without being called. But not everyone is called to justification; only those “who are called according to his purpose.” — AUGUSTINE ON Romans 55

Augustine of Hippo: God elected believers in order that they might believe, not because they already believed. — PREDESTINATION OF THE SAINTS 17.34

Clement of Alexandria: “For if we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” “He that soweth to his flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” But to those miserable men, witness to the Lord by blood seems a most violent death, not knowing that such a gate of death is the beginning of the true life; and they will understand neither the honours after death, which belong to those who have lived holily, nor the punishments of those who have lived unrighteously and impurely… “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory which shall be revealed in us. If we suffer with Him, that we also may be glorified together as joint-heirs of Christ. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to the purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren. And whom He did predestinate, them He also called; and whom He called, them He also justified; and whom He justified, them He also glorified.” — The Stromata Book 4

Cyril of Alexandria: Jesus said: “Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” He calls everyone to himself, and no one is lacking in the grace of his calling, for when he says everyone he excludes nobody. But those whom he long ago foresaw would come into being he predestined to participate in the future blessings and called them to receive justification by faith in him and not to sin again. — EXPLANATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

John Chrysostom: “Moreover whom He did pre-destinate, them He also called; and whom He called, them He also justified.” Now He justified them by the regeneration of the layer. “And whom He justified, them He also glorified” by the gift, by the adoption. — Homily on Romans 15

Pelagius: Those whom God knew in advance would believe, he called. A call gathers together those who are willing to come, not those who are unwilling.… Paul says this because of the enemies of the faith, in order that they may not judge God’s grace to be arbitrary. They are called to believe through preaching and are justified through baptism when they believe, and are glorified with spiritual powers now or in the resurrection to come. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Symeon the New Theologian: On the Saying “Those Whom He Foreknew, The Same He Also Predestined”

I have heard many people say: “Because the Apostle says; ‘Those whom God foreknew, the same He also predestined; and those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, the same also glorified‘ [Romans 8:29-30] what good is it to me if I throw myself into many labors, if I give proof of repentance and conversion, when I am neither foreknown nor predestined by God to be saved and conformed to the glory of God His Son?”

We are naturally obliged to state our opinion clearly to such people, and to reply: O, you! Why do you reason to your own perdition rather than your salvation? And why do you pick out for yourselves the obscure passages of inspired Scripture and then tear them out of context and twist them in order to accomplish your own destruction? Do you not hear the Savior crying out every day: “As I live … I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live” [Ezekiel 33:11]? Do you not hear Him Who says: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” [Matthew 3:2]; and again: “Just so, I tell you, there is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents” [Luke 15:7, adapted]? Did He ever say to some: “Do not repent for I will not accept you,” while to others who were predestined: “But you, repent! because I knew you beforehand”? Of course not! Instead, throughout the world and in every church He shouts: “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” [Matthew 11:28]. Come, He says, all you who are burdened with many sins, to the One Who takes away the sin of the world; come all who thirst to the fountain which flows and never dies.

Does He distinguish and separate anyone out, calling one to Himself as foreknown while sending the other away as not predestined? Never! Therefore, “you should not make excuses for your sins” [Psalms 140:4, LXX], nor should you want to make the Apostle’s words an occasion for your own destruction, but should run, all of you, to the Master Who calls you. For even if someone is a publican, or a fornicator, an adulterer, a murderer, or whatever else, the Master does not turn him away, but takes away the burden of his sins immediately and makes him free. And how does He take away the other’s burden? Just as He once took away that of the paralytic when He said to the latter: “My son, your sins are forgiven” [Matthew 9:2], and the man was immediately relieved of his burden and, in addition, received the cure of his body.

So then, let everyone who wants approach Him, and let the one say: “Son of David, have mercy on me“; and, if he hears, “What do you want Me to do for you?” let him say quickly, “Lord, let me receive my sight,” and right away he will hear, “So I desire. Receive your sight” [Luke 18:38-42]. Let another say, “Lord, my daughter“-i.e. my soul-“is severely possessed by a demon” [Matthew 15:22], and he will hear: “I will come to heal her” [Matthew 8:7]. If someone is hesitant and does not wish to approach the Master, even if He comes to him and says, “Follow Me” [Matthew 9:9], then let him follow Him as the publican once did, abandoning his counting tables and his avarice, and, I am sure, He shall make of him, too, an evangelist rather than a tax collector. If someone else is a paralytic, lying for years in sloth, carelessness, and love of pleasure, and if he should see another, be it the Master Himself or one of His disciples, come to him and ask, “Do you want to be healed?” [John 5:2-7], let him receive the word joyfully and reply immediately: “Yes, Lord, but I have no man to put me into the pool of repentance.” And then if he should hear, “Rise, take up your bed, and follow me,” let him get up right away and run after the footsteps of the One Who has called him from on high.

Now, if someone does not wish, whether like the sinful woman to embrace the feet of Christ [Luke 7:38], or like the prodigal son to run back to Him with burning repentance [Luke 15:11ff], or like the woman with a hemorrhage and bowed with infirmity [Luke 8:43 and 13:11] even to approach Him, why does he then make excuses for his sins by saying, “Those whom He foreknew, them also“-and them alone!-“He called“?

One may perhaps reasonably reply to the person so disposed that “God, Who is before eternity and Who knows all things before creating them, also knew you beforehand, knew that you would not obey Him when He called, that you would not believe in His promises and in His words, yet still, even while knowing this, He “bowed the heavens and came down” [Psalms 18:19] and became man, and for your sake has come to the place where you lie prone. Indeed, visiting you many times every day, sometimes in His own Person and sometimes as well through His servants, He exhorts you to get up from the calamity in which you lie and to follow Him Who ascends to the Kingdom of Heaven and enter it together with Him. But you, you still refuse to do it.

Then tell me, who is responsible for your perdition and disobedience? You, who refuse to obey and who will not follow your Master, or God Himself Who made you, Who knew beforehand that you would not obey Him, but would instead abide in your hardened and impenitent heart? I think that you will certainly say, “He is not responsible, but I am myself,” because God’s forbearance is not the cause of our hardness, Rather, it is our own lack of compliance.

For God knows all things beforehand, both past and present at once, and everything which is going to happen in the future up to the end of the world. He sees them as already present, because in and through Him all things hold together [Colossians 1:17]. Indeed, just as today the emperor takes in with a glance those who race and who wrestle in the area, but does not thereby make himself responsible for the victory of the winners or the failure of the losers-the zeal, or in other cases the slackness, of the contestants being cause of their victory or defeat-understand with me that it is just so with God Himself. When He endowed us with free will, giving commandments to teach us instead how we must oppose our adversaries, He left it to the free choice of each either to oppose and vanquish the enemy, or to relax and be miserably defeated by him. Nor does He leave us entirely to ourselves-for He knows the weakness of human nature-but rather is present Himself with us and, indeed, allies Himself with those who choose to struggle, and mysteriously imbues us with strength, and Himself, not we, accomplishes the victory over the adversary. This the earthly emperor is unable to do, since he is himself also a man, and is rather in need himself of assistance, just as we require it, too.

God, on the other hand, Who is mighty and invincible, becomes, as we just said, an ally of those who willingly choose to do battle with the enemy, and He establishes them as victors over the cunning of the devil. He does not, however, compel any who do not so choose to this war, in order that He not destroy the power of choice which is proper to our reasoning nature, made according to His own image, and bring us down to the level of unreasoning brutes. Thus God, as we have explained, sees us all at once as if in an arena, just like the earthly emperor looks down on the athletes in competition. But, while the latter does not know who will lose and who will win until he sees the outcome of their contest and, though he may prepare the victors’ crowns beforehand, he still does not know to whom he is going to present them; the King of Heaven, on the other hand, knows from before the ages exactly who the victors and vanquished are going to be. This is why He said to those who asked Him if they could sit at His right hand and His left in His glory: “It is not mine to give to you” [Matthew 20:23], but that it will be given instead to those for whom it was prepared.

This therefore what Paul himself also knew when he said rightly:

Those whom God foreknew, the same He also predestined; and those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, the same He also glorified. [Romans 8:29-30]

It is not God’s foreknowledge of those who, by their free choice and zeal, will prevail which is the cause of their victory, just as, again, it is not His knowing beforehand who will fall and be vanquished which is responsible for their defeat. Instead, it is the zeal, deliberate choice, and courage of each of us which effects the victory. Our faithlessness and sloth, our irresolution and indolence, on the other hand, comprise our defeat and perdition. So, while reclining on our bed of worldly affection and love of pleasure, let us not say: “Those whom God fore-knew, them also He predestined,” without perceiving just what it is we are saying. Yes, indeed, He truly knew you beforehand as inattentive and disobedient and lazy, but this is certainly not because He ordered or foreordained it that you should have no power to repent yourself nor, if you will it, to get up and obey. You, though, when you say this, are clearly calling God a liar. While He says, “I came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” [Matthew 9:13], you, lazy and unwilling to turn around and repent of your evil, contradict Him, as it were, and call Him a liar Who never lies, when you make such excuses as these. “Those who are going to repent”, you say, “were predestined, but I am not one of them. So, let them repent therefore whom God clearly foreknew, and whom He also predestined.” O what a lack of feeling! O shamelessness of soul and worse than the demons themselves! When did anyone ever hear of one of them saying such a thing? Where was it ever heard that a demon blamed God for its own damnation? Let us then not blame the demons, for here there is a human soul which thinks up blasphemies even worse than theirs.

So tell me, where did you learn that you did not belong to those who are foreknown and predestined to become conformed to the image of God’s glory? Tell me, who told you this? Was it, maybe, God Who announced this to you, Himself, or by one of His prophets, or through an angel? “No,” you say, “but I do suppose that I am not predestined to salvation, and that all my effort would be in vain.” And why do you not believe instead with all your soul that God has sent His only-begotten Son on the earth for your sake alone, and for your salvation, that He knew you beforehand and predestined you to become His brother and co-heir? Why are you not eager to love Him with all your heart and to honor His saving commandments? Why do you not rather believe that, having been slaughtered for your sake, He will never abandon you, nor allow you to perish? Do you not hear Him saying: “Can a woman forget her suckling child . . . yet I will not forget you” [Isaiah 49:15]? So, if by anticipation you judge yourself unworthy, and willfully separate yourself from the flock of Christ’s sheep, you should understand that it is none other than you who are the cause of your own damnation.

Therefore, casting out of our souls all faithlessness, sloth, and hesitation, let us draw near with all our heart, with unhesitating faith and burning desire, like slaves who have been newly purchased with precious blood. Indeed, with reverence for the price paid on our behalf, and with love for our Master Who paid it, and as having accepted His love for us, let us recognize that, if He had not wished to save by means of Himself us who have been purchased, He would not have come down to earth, nor would He have been slain for our sake. But, as it is written, He has done this because He wills that all should be saved. Listen to Him say it Himself: “I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world” [John 12:17]. - “Second Ethical Discourse”

Symeon the New Theologian: It is not God’s foreknowledge of those who, by their free choice and zeal, will prevail which is the cause of their victory, just as, again, it is not His knowing beforehand who will fall and be vanquished which is responsible for their defeat. Instead, it is the zeal, deliberate choice, and courage of each of us which effects the victory. Our faithlessness and sloth, our irresolution and indolence, on the other hand, comprise our defeat and perdition. So, while reclining on our bed of worldly affection and love of pleasure, let us not say: “Those whom God fore-knew, them also He predestined,” without perceiving just what it is we are saying. Yes, indeed, He truly knew you beforehand as inattentive and disobedient and lazy, but this is certainly not because He ordered or foreordained it that you should have no power to repent yourself nor, if you will it, to get up and obey. You, though, when you say this, are clearly calling God a liar. While He says, “I came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” [Matthew 9:13], you, lazy and unwilling to turn around and repent of your evil, contradict Him, as it were, and call Him a liar Who never lies, when you make such excuses as these. “Those who are going to repent”, you say, “were predestined, but I am not one of them. So, let them repent therefore whom God clearly foreknew, and whom He also predestined.” O what a lack of feeling! O shamelessness of soul and worse than the demons themselves! When did anyone ever hear of one of them saying such a thing? Where was it ever heard that a demon blamed God for its own damnation? Let us then not blame the demons, for here there is a human soul which thinks up blasphemies even worse than theirs. - “Second Ethical Discourse”

Theodoret of Cyrus: Those whose intention God foreknew he predestined from the beginning. Those who are predestined, he called, and those who were called, he justified by baptism. Those who were justified, he glorified, calling them children: “To all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God.” Let no one say that God’s foreknowledge was the unilateral cause of these things. For it was not foreknowledge which justified people, but God knew what would happen to them, because he is God. — INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

Romans 8:31

Ambrosiaster: Who would dare attack us when the Judge himself has foreknown us and pronounced us to be suitable? — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

John Chrysostom: “What shall we then say to these things?” As if he should say, Let me then hear no more about the dangers and the malicious devices from every quarter. For even if some disbelieve the things to come, still they have not a word to say against the good things that have already taken place; as, for instance, the friendship of God towards thee from the first, the justifying, the glory. And yet these things He gave thee by means seemingly distressing. And those things which you thought to be disgracing, the Cross, scourges, bonds, these are what have set the whole world aright. As then by what Himself suffered, though of aspect forbidding in man’s eye, even by these He effected the liberty and salvation of the whole race; so also is He wont to do in regard to those things which thou endurest, turning thy sufferings unto glory and renown for thee.

“If God be for us, who can be against us?” Why, it may be said, who is there that is not against us? Why the world is against us, both kings and peoples, both relations and countrymen. Yet these that be against us, so far are they from thwarting us at all, that even without their will they become to us the causes of crowns, and procurers of countless blessings, in that God’s wisdom turneth their plots unto our salvation and glory. See how really no one is against us! For it was this which gave new lustre to Job, the fact that the devil was in arms against him. For the devil moved at once friends against him, his wife against him, and wounds, and servants, and a thousand other machinations. And it turned out that none of them was against him on the whole.

And yet this was no great thing to him, though it was great in itself, but what is a far greater thing is, that it turned out that they were all for him. For since God was for him, even things seemingly against him all became for him. And this happened with the Apostles also, inasmuch as both the Jews, and they of the Gentiles, and false brethren, and rulers, and peoples, and famines, and poverty, and ten thousand things were against them; and yet nothing was against them. — Homily on Romans 15

Origen of Alexandria: How God can be for us is made clear by what Paul has expounded in the preceding verses. It is because the Spirit of God dwells in us and because the Spirit of Christ, or Christ himself, is in us … because we act in the power of God’s Spirit, because we have received the Spirit of adoption, because we are children of God, heirs and fellow heirs of Christ. — COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Pelagius: Paul wants to show that nobody can keep those who love God and who are loved by God from attaining the glory which has been promised, because the perfect love which is in them casts out every reason for mortal fear. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Romans 8:32

Alexander of Alexandria: Paul has declared, who thus speaks of God: “Who spared not His own Son, but for us “who were not His natural sons, “delivered Him up.”

Ambrose of Milan: Who can grieve because a security especially dear to him has been taken away, when for our comfort the Father delivered his only Son to death for us? — On the Death of Satyrus 1.4

Ambrosiaster: Paul urges us to rest assured on account of our faith by showing us that God gave up his Son to death on our behalf even before we had ceased being sinners, because he knew in advance that we would believe. He says that God long ago decided that all those who believed in Christ would be rewarded. Thus if God is prepared to give us the greatest things, even to the point of sacrificing his own Son on our behalf, how can we not believe that he will give us the lesser things as well? For the believer’s rewards are already waiting. Giving them to us is not nearly as difficult as handing Christ over to death for our sake. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Ignatius of Antioch: Now I write these things unto you, not that I know there are any such persons among you; nay, indeed I hope that God will never permit any such report to reach my ears, He “who spared not His Son for the sake of His holy Church.” But foreseeing the snares of the wicked one, I arm you beforehand by my admonitions, as my beloved and faithful children in Christ, furnishing you with the means of protection against the deadly disease of unruly men, by which do ye flee from the disease [referred to] by the good-will of Christ our Lord. Do ye therefore, clothing yourselves with meekness, become the imitators of His sufferings, and of His love, wherewith He loved us when He gave Himself a ransom for us, that He might cleanse us by His blood from our old ungodliness, and bestow life on us when we were almost on the point of perishing through the depravity that was in us. Let no one of you, therefore, cherish any grudge against his neighbour. For says our Lord, “Forgive, and it shall be forgiven unto you.” Give no occasion to the Gentiles, lest “by means of a few foolish men the word and doctrine [of Christ.] be blasphemed.” For says the prophet, as in the person of God, “Woe to him by whom my name is blasphemed among the Gentiles.” — Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallians

John Chrysostom: Up to this point there was shadow, but now the truth of things is shown to be more excellent. This rational Lamb, you see, was offered for the whole world; he purified the whole world; he freed human beings from error and led them forward to the truth; he made earth into heaven, not by altering the nature of the elements but by transferring life in heaven to human beings on earth. Through him all worship of demons is made pointless; through him people no longer worship wood and stone, nor do those endowed with reason bow down to material things—instead, all error has been abolished and the light of truth has shone brightly on the world. Do you see the superiority of the truth? Do you see what shadow is, on the one hand, and truth on the other? — HOMILIES ON Genesis 47.14

John Chrysostom: “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” And here the words he uses are high-wrought and exceedingly warm, to show his love. How then is He to neglect us, in whose behalf “He spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all? For reflect what goodness it is not to spare even His own Son, but to give Him up, and to give Him up for all, and those worthless, and unfeeling, and enemies, and blasphemers. “How then shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? What he means then is much as follows; If He gave His own Son, and not merely gave Him, but gave Him to death, why doubt any more about the rest, since thou hast the Master? why be dubious about the chattels, when thou hast the Lord? For He that gave the greater thing to His enemies, how shall He do else than give the lesser things to His friends? — Homily on Romans 15

Origen of Alexandria: The Father gave up his Son not only for the holy and the great but also for the least and for all everywhere who are members of the church. Therefore anyone who offends the conscience of even the least and weakest of these is said to be sinning against Christ, because he is scandalizing a soul for whom Christ died. — COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Pelagius: God allowed Christ to be handed over in order to preserve the freedom of choice of those who handed him over and to set us an example of patience. How can God have anything dearer to offer us? He offered us his only Son. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Tertullian: This verity the apostle also perceived, when he writes to this effect: “If the Father spa. red not His own Son.” This did Isaiah before him likewise perceive, when he declared: “And the Lord hath delivered Him up for our offences. — Against Praxeas

Tertullian: The apostle also knows what kind of God he has ascribed to us, when he writes: “If God spared not His own Son, but gave Him up for us, how did He not with Him also give us all things? " You see how divine Wisdom has murdered even her own proper, first-born and only Son, who is certainly about to live, nay, to bring back the others also into life. — Scorpiace

Tertullian: Why, in this very standing of yours there was a fleeing from persecution, in the release from persecution which you bought; but that you should ransom with money a man whom Christ has ransomed with His blood, how unworthy is it of God and His ways of acting, who spared not His own Son for you, that He might be made a curse for us, because cursed is he that hangeth on a tree, -Him who was led as a sheep to be a sacrifice, and just as a lamb before its shearer, so opened He not His mouth; but gave His back to the scourges, nay, His cheeks to the hands of the smiter, and turned not away His face from spitting, and, being numbered with the transgressors, was delivered up to death, nay, the death of the cross. — On Flight in Persecution

Theodoret of Cyrus: Would God give us the greater thing but not the lesser? Would he sacrifice his Son but withhold his possessions from us? Note too that there is one person of the Son. His human nature was given for us by his divinity. — INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

Romans 8:33

Ambrosiaster: It is clear that nobody would dare or be able to override the judgment and foreknowledge of God. For who could reject what God has approved, given that nobody is equal to God? — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Ambrosiaster: Paul says that we cannot accuse God, because he justifies us, nor can we condemn Christ, because he loved us to the point of dying for us and rising again to intercede for us with the Father. Christ’s prayers on our behalf are not to be despised, because he sits at God’s right hand, that is to say, in the place of honor, because he is himself God. So let us rejoice in our faith, secure in the knowledge of God the Father and of his Son, Jesus Christ, who will come to judge us.… The Son is said to intercede because, although he controls everything and is equal to God the Father, we are not to think that the Father and the Son are one and the same person. The Scriptures speak of the distinction of the persons in such a way as to convey the message that the Son is not inferior and that the Father is so called because he is the Father of the Son and because everything comes from him. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

John Chrysostom: “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect?” Here he is against those who say, that faith is no profit, and will not believe the complete change. And see how swiftly he stops their mouths, by the worthiness of Him that elected. He does not say, “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s” servants? or of God’s faithful ones? but “of God’s elect?” And election is a sign of virtue. For if when a horse-breaker has selected colts fit for the race, no one can find fault with them, but he would get laughed at who should find fault; much more when God selecteth souls are they that “lay any charge against” them deserving of laughter.

“It is God that justifieth.” — Homily on Romans 15

Origen of Alexandria: It seems to me that this must refer to the devil, for apart from Christ, who knew no sin, there is nobody so elect or so great that the devil would not dare to attack.Note that Paul does not talk about those whom God has called but about God’s elect. For unless you are elect and unless you show yourself approved by God in all things, you will have an accuser. For if your case is bad, if your crime restricts you, what can an advocate do for you, even if it is Jesus who intercedes on your behalf? For Jesus is the truth, and the truth cannot lie on your behalf. The advocate can help you only as long as you do not give the accuser grounds for attacking you, so that your previous sins, which were washed away in baptism, will not be imputed to you. But if afterward you sin again and do not wash the sin away by any tears of repentance, you will be giving your accuser grounds to incriminate you, and although Jesus intercedes on our behalf, even he would not call darkness light, or bitterness sweet. — COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Pelagius: Who will dare to charge believers whom God has chosen and shown to be righteous by signs and wonders for previous sins or for disregard of the law’s commands? — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Thomas Aquinas: After showing that the holy ones God advances can suffer no loss, as though from the evil of punishment [n. 710], the Apostle now shows that they can suffer no loss as though from the evil of guilt. First, he presents his proposition; secondly, he excludes an opposite view [v. 34; n. 718]. In regard to the first it should be noted that a person suffers injury for guilt from two sources: first, from an accusation; secondly, from the judge who condemns [n. 717]. First, therefore, he shows that no accusation can harm God’s holy ones, and this by reason of divine election. For whoever chooses a person seems by that very fact to approve him. But the saints are chosen by God: “He chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy” (Ephesians 1:4). On the other hand, whoever accuses, disapproves of the one accused. Therefore he says: Who shall bring any charge, i.e., successfully, against the elect, i.e., against those God has chosen to be saints; hence it says in Rev (12:10): “For the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down.” 717. Secondly, he shows that no accusation can be harmful to the saints. He shows this by referring to another of God’s benefits, namely, that God justifies us. This benefit is mentioned when he says: It is God who justifies us, in keeping with what he had said above (v.30): “Those whom he called he also justified”; “You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 6:11) But condemnation finds a place against the unjust: Who, then, is to condemn those justified by God: “When he is quiet, who can condemn” (Job 34:29). 351 718. Then (v. 34b) he excludes an opposite view. For someone could fear that a person might be accused by Jesus Christ as a violator of Christ’s commandment in the same way as the Lord says of Moses: “It is Moses who accuses you, on whom you set your hope” (John 5:45); and also that he might be condemned by him, for “He is the one ordained by God to judge the living and the dead” (Acts 10:42). Furthermore, he is immune to sin: “Who did no sin” (1 Peter 2:22); consequently, he seems qualified to accuse and condemn, as it says in Jn (8:7): “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And so he says, Christ Jesus. As if to say: Will Christ Jesus make accusations against God’s elect or even condemn them? And he says, not so; because even according to his human nature he confers great benefits on the saints, just as he also does according to his divinity. 719. Then he mentions four benefits from his humanity. First, from his death, when he says: he died, namely, for our salvation: “For Christ also died for sins once for all” (1 Peter 3:18). Secondly, from his resurrection, through which he vivifies us both with spiritual life now and with bodily life later. Hence he adds: yes, who rose from the dead. He says, yes, because it is preferable to commemorate him now for the power of his resurrection and for the weakness of his passion: “He was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God” (2 Corinthians 13:4). Thirdly, from his sitting with the Father when he says: who is at the right hand of God, i.e., equal to God the Father according to the divine nature and recipient of his choicest blessings according to his human nature. And this is also for our glory because, 352 as it says in Eph (2:6): “He made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” For inasmuch as we are his members, in him we sit with God the Father: “He who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne” (Revelation 3:21). Fourthly, from his intercession when he says: who indeed intercedes for us as our advocate: “We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ” (1 John 2:1). But an advocate’s duty is not to accuse or condemn, but to repel an accuser and prevent condemnation. 720. Christ is said to intercede for us in two ways. In one way by praying for us, as it says in Jn (17:20): “I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word.” But now his intercession for us is his will that we be saved: “Father, I desire that they also may be with me where I am” (John 17:24). In another way he intercedes by presenting to his Father’s gaze the human nature assumed for us and the mysteries celebrated in it: “He entered into heaven itself to appear in the presence of God on our behalf” (Hebrews 9:24). 721. Then he draws the conclusion [n. 695]. But because this conclusion does not seem credible to the inexperienced, he presents it in the form of a question. Hence he does three things: first, he presents the question; secondly, he shows the need for this question [v. 36; n. 724]; thirdly, he presents the solution [n. 725]. 722. This question can be derived in two ways from the foregoing. 353 One way is this: So many and such powerful benefits have been conferred on us by God that no one can count them. Furthermore, they all tend toward one thing, namely, “that we be rooted and grounded in love” (Ephesians 3:17). Who, then, shall separate us from the love of Christ? i.e., the love by which we love Christ and neighbor as he commanded: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another” (John 13:34). Another way is this: God bestows great benefits on his holy ones, and when we consider them, such love of Christ burns in our hearts that nothing can quench it: “Many waters cannot quench love” (S of S 8:7). 723. He mentions the evils which might induce one to abandon love of Christ. And first, those that refer to life; secondly, the one which refers to death. In regard to those which threaten us in the course of our lives, he mentions present evils and evils to come. In regard to present evils he mentions evils to be endured; secondly, the loss of good things. Evils to be endured can be considered in two ways. In one way as they are present in the sufferer who is afflicted by them in two ways: first, externally in the body. Hence he says: tribulation. This word is related to “tribulus,” a prickly herb: “Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth to you” (Genesis 3:18). But the just are not overcome by them: “Many are the tribulations of the just, and the Lord frees them from all of these” (Psalms 34:19). A person is also afflicted by them internally in the form of mental anxiety, when he does not know where to go or which way to turn. In regard to this he says: or distress: “I am hemmed in on every side, and I do not know what to choose” (Daniel 13:21). 354 26 Augustine, Ennarationes in Ps. 34, sermon 2, n. 13. Again such evils can be considered as they are present in the one inflicting them. In this respect he says: or persecution, For although persecution in the strict sense would imply pursuit of someone to make him flee: “If they persecute you in one city, flee to another” (Matthew 10:23), yet in a general sense it can mean the infliction of any injury. Then he mentions the evils which consist in the removal of good things necessary for life, namely, food and clothing: “If we have food and clothing, with these we shall be content” (1 Timothy 6:8). In regard to the removal of food he says: or famine; of clothing: or nakedness: “To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are ill-clad” (1 Corinthians 4:11). In regard to future evils he adds: or peril, threatening at any moment: “In danger from rivers, danger from robbers…” (2 Corinthians 11:26). In regard to death he says: or sword: “They were killed with the sword” (Hebrews 11:37). 724. Then (v. 36) he shows the importance of this question, inasmuch as he says that all these things lie at hand to be suffered by the saints for the love of Christ. And he quotes the words of the Psalmist as though spoken by the martyrs. These words mention, first of all, the cause of the suffering: “For it is not the suffering but the cause that makes the martyr,” as Augustine says.26 Hence he says: for thy sake: “He who loses his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 10:39); “Let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief; yet if one suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed” (1 Peter 4:15). One suffers for Christ by suffering not only for the faith of Christ but for any righteous deed done for the love of Christ: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake” (Matthew 5:10). 355 Secondly, he mentions the severity of the suffering when he says: we are being killed, i.e., handed over to death: “For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed” (Esther 7:4). Thirdly, the duration of the persecution when he says: all the day long, i.e., during the whole period of life; “While we live we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake”(2 Corinthians 4:11). Fourthly, the persecutor’s readiness to kill when he says: we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered, i.e., marked to be killed in the meat market. So, too, the saints are intentionally killed: “The hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God” (John 16:2); “Feed the flock doomed to slaughter” (Zechariah 11:4). 725. Then (v. 37) he answers the question. First he gives the answer saying: No, in all these things, namely, the evils mentioned above, we overcome, as long as we preserve our love unsullied: “In his arduous contest she gave him the victory” (Wis 10:12). But we do not succeed by our own strength but through Christ’s help; hence he adds: through him who loved us, i.e., on account of his help or on account of the affection we have for him; “not as though we first loved him, but because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19); “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57). 726. Secondly, he clarifies the solution, showing that the saints’ love is insuperable. First he shows that it cannot be separated by creatures that exist; secondly, nor by creatures that do not exist but could [v. 39b; n. 733]. 356 727. In regard to the first he does two things. First he mentions things that exist in man, saying: I am sure that neither death, which is the first among things we fear, nor life, which is first among things we desire, can separate us from the love of God: “If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord” (Romans 14:8). In these two are included all the ones previously mentioned. For six evils previously mentioned refer to life; but one, namely, the sword, refers to death. 728. Then he mentions things outside of man. Among these are, first, spiritual creatures; hence he says: nor angels, i.e., the lower ones assigned to guard individual men: “He will give his angels charge of thee” (Psalms 91:11). Nor principalities, i.e., those assigned to guard nations: “Now I will return to fight against the prince of Persia; and when I am through with him, the prince of Greece will come. And there is none who contends by my side against these except Michael” (Daniel 10:20). He adds: nor powers, which is the highest order of ministering angels: “The powers of heaven will be shaken” (Luke 21:26). This can be understood in two ways: in one way of wicked angels, who struggle against the saints: “Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers” (Ephesians 4:12). In another way it can refer to the good. Here Chrysostom in his book On Compunction of Heart says that the Apostle said this, not that the angels would at some time try to separate him from Christ; rather, these impossible things would be more possible, so to speak, than for him to be separated from the love of Christ. He speaks this way to show how great in him is the strength of divine love, and to lay everything out in the open. For this is the way of lovers, that they cannot hide their love 357 in silence but assert and bare it to their friends and to the beloved, and they cannot confine the flames within their heart. They speak of them frequently, so that by constantly recounting their love they may gain some relief, some cooling of the tremendous burning within them. In just this way blessed [Paul] here acts as an outstanding lover of Christ: he gathers up in one sentence all things that are and that were, everything that can be and even those that cannot. It is similar to what is said in Galatians chapter 1(:8), “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach to you another gospel than that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed.” 729. Then he mentions visible creatures, and he sets out two distinctions. First according to time, by which they are distinguished according to present and future. Hence he says: nor things present, whether they cause pain or pleasure: “We look not to the things that are seen” (2 Corinthians 4:18). Then he adds: nor things to come. Whether we fear them or desire them, they cannot separate us from the love of Christ. Hence it says in Ac (21:13): “For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 730. Then he distinguishes visible creatures on the basis of magnitude: first he touches on magnitude of strength when he says: nor power, i.e., no strong creature, such as a raging fire or sea, can separate me from the love of Christ, because “love is as strong as death” (S of S 8:6). 731. Secondly, he mentions magnitude of dimension, describing them by what properly belongs to bodies, namely height and depth. Hence he says: nor height, from which someone might threaten to cast me headlong, as in Lk (4:29): “They led Jesus to the brow of the hill, that they might throw 358 him down headlong”; nor depth, in which someone might submerge me: “I sink in deep mire” (Psalms 69:2). These three things can also be referred to the ways a person could turn a man away from God: in one way by the force of power: but as it says in 1 Sam (2:2): “No one is strong as our God.” Secondly, by the lofty height of one’s authority; but “God is the highest of the kings of the earth” (Ps. 89:27). Thirdly, by the depth of one’s wisdom; but God’s knowledge is deeper: “Deeper than Sheol – what can you know?” (Job 11:8). 732. These two, height and depth, can be referred to adversity and prosperity, according to 2 Cor (6:7): “With the weapons of righteousness for the right and for the left.” 733. With regard to creatures which do not exist but could, he says: nor anything else in all creation. According to Chrysostom, he says this about the things that are not, as though all things that are do not suffice, but he must so to speak challenge to battle even the things that are not. None of them, he says, will be able to separate us from the love of God: “Love never falls away” (1 Corinthians 13:8). This love of God is in Christ Jesus our Lord, because it was given to us through him, inasmuch as he gave it to us through the Holy Spirit: “I have come to cast fire on the earth and what will I but that it be kindled” (Luke 12:49). 734. But since it says in Ec (9:1): “A man does not know whether he is worthy of love or hatred, but all things are kept uncertain,” why does the Apostle say that he is certain that nothing can separate him from the love of God? One can answer that the Apostle is not speaking of himself personally but is spokesman for all the predestined, about whom he declares that nothing can separate 359 them from the love of God because of the certainty of predestination. This certainty can be caused by the power of charity which, considering its nature, cannot be separated from certain persons, since it loves God above all things. Hence if a person falls away from love, it is not on account of a shortcoming in this virtue but on account of a defect in one’s free choice. But if Paul is speaking for himself, he could be certain of it only by a revelation, because it was said to him: “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Corinthians 12:9). For as to the outcome of free choice he says elsewhere: “Lest while speaking to others, I myself become a castaway” (1 Corinthians 9:27).

Romans 8:34

Irenaeus: He declares in the plainest manner, that the same Being who was laid hold of, and underwent suffering, and shed His blood for us, was both Christ and the Son of God, who did also rise again, and was taken up into heaven, as he himself — Against Heresies Book III

Leo the Great: If the true high priest does not atone for us, using the nature proper to us, and the true blood of the spotless Lamb does not cleanse us, then a true priesthood and true sacrifices do not exist in any other way in God’s church, which is the body of Christ. Although he is seated at the right hand of the Father, he performs the sacrament of the atonement in the same flesh which he assumed from the Virgin Mary. — LETTER 80

Pelagius: Paul speaks of Jesus according to the form of the man he assumed, who died and rose again. Now he intercedes for us so that we may go to be with him where he is. The Arians are in the habit of stirring up false accusations on the basis of Christ’s intercession, claiming that the one to whom intercession is made is greater than the one who does the interceding. To this one must answer that God does not forget and so does not need to be constantly reminded of those whom he himself chose. Christ intercedes when, as a true and eternal High Priest, he constantly presents and offers as our guarantee to the Father, the man whom he received. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Severian of Gabala: The context shows that there is one person who intercedes and another who receives the plea. Nor is it improper for the Son to ask and for the Father to grant the request, for thus the complementary relationship between the two persons is maintained.… This text teaches us that there is a distinction between the Father and the Son which must not be confused. — PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Romans 8:35

Ambrosiaster: This means: “Who will turn us away from the love of Christ, who has given us such great and innumerable gifts?” No torments will overcome the love of a mature Christian. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Augustine of Hippo: Paul is exhorting his hearers to not be broken by persecution, for perhaps they had been living according to the wisdom of the flesh. — AUGUSTINE ON Romans 57

Caesarius of Arles: Good Christians are not separated from Christ even by torture. Tepid and careless ones however, are sometimes separated from him by idle tales; if they suffer even a slight loss they are immediately scandalized, dare to murmur against God and return to their impious, detestable omens. — SERMON 54.2

Clement of Alexandria: Let us bear about a deep love for the Creator; let us cleave to Him with our whole heart; let us not wickedly waste the substance of reason, like the prodigal. Let us obtain the joy laid up, in which Paul exulting, exclaimed, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” [Romans 8:35] To Him belongs glory and honour, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, world without end. Amen. — Fragments Found in Greek Only in the Oxford Edition

John Chrysostom: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” And he does not say of God, so indifferent is it to him whether he mentions the Name of Christ or of God. “Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” Observe the blessed Paul’s judgment. For he does not mention the things that we are daily getting taken by, love of money and desire of glory and the thraldom of anger, but things that are far more enthralling than these, and of power to put a force upon nature itself, and to wrench open the sternness of the resolution many times even against our will, are what he puts down here, tribulations and distresses.

For even if the things mentioned are easy to tell up, still each single word has in it thousands of lines of temptation. For when he says, tribulation, he mentions prisons and bonds, and calumnies, and banishments, and all the other hardships, so in one word running through an ocean of dangers without stint, and exhibiting to us, in fact by a single word, all the evils that men meet with. Yet still he dares them all! Wherefore he brings them forward in the shape of questions, as if it was incontrovertible that nothing could move a person so beloved, and who had enjoyed so much providence over him. — Homily on Romans 15

Origen of Alexandria: Paul says this about those who have been united to Christ in all the ways mentioned above. When tribulation comes, we shall say to God: “Thou hast given me room when I was in distress.” If we have distress in the world, arising from the needs of the body, we shall call on the breadth of God’s wisdom and knowledge, in which the world cannot distress us. For I shall return to the wide fields of the holy Scriptures and look for the spiritual meaning of God’s Word, and there no distress will take hold of me.… If I suffer persecution and confess Christ before men, I am certain that he will confess me also before his Father, who is in heaven. Famine cannot disturb me, for I have the bread of life which comes down from heaven and refreshes weary souls; nor can that bread ever be wanting, for it is perfect and eternal. Nakedness does not confound me, because I am clothed with the Lord Jesus Christ. … I shall not fear peril, because “God is my light and my salvation; whom then shall I fear?” The earthly sword cannot frighten me because I have “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” — COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Pelagius: After so many and such splendid benefits and promises, what affliction could be so heavy that it might tear us away from love for Christ? In saying “us” Paul is saying that we should all be the sort of Christians that even dangers cannot separate from Christ. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Tertullian: For we are persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor power, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” But further, in recounting his own sufferings to the Corinthians, he certainly decided that suffering must be borne: “In labours, (he says, ) more abundant, in prisons very frequent, in deaths oft. — Scorpiace

Romans 8:36

Clement of Alexandria: As it is written, “Because for Thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors, through Him that loved us.” — The Stromata Book 4

Hippolytus of Rome: Christ, he means, the wisdom and power of God the Father, hath builded His house, i.e., His nature in the flesh derived from the Virgin, even as he (John) hath said beforetime, “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.” As likewise the wise prophet testifies: Wisdom that was before the world, and is the source of life, the infinite “Wisdom of God, hath builded her house” by a mother who knew no man,-to wit, as He assumed the temple of the body. “And hath raised her seven pillars; “that is, the fragrant grace of the all-holy Spirit, as Isaiah says: “And the seven spirits of God shall rest upon Him,” But others say that the seven pillars are the seven divine orders which sustain the creation by His holy and inspired teaching; to wit, me prophets, the apostles, the martyrs, the hierarchs, the hermits, the saints, and the righteous. And the phrase, “She hath killed her beasts,” denotes the prophets and martyrs who in every city and country are slain like sheep every day by the unbelieving, in behalf of the truth, and cry aloud, “For thy sake we are killed all the day long, we were counted as sheep for the slaughter.” And again, “She hath mingled her wine” in the bowl, by which is meant, that the Saviour, uniting his Godhead, like pure wine, with the flesh in the Virgin, was born of her at once God and man without confusion of the one in the other. “And she hath furnished her table: “that denotes the promised knowledge of the Holy Trinity; it also refers to His honoured and undefiled body and blood, which day by day are administered and offered sacrificially at the spiritual divine table, as a memorial of that first and ever-memorable table of the spiritual divine supper. And again, “She bath sent forth her servants: “Wisdom, that is to say, has done so-Christ, to wit-summoning them with lofty announcement. “Whoso is simple, Let him turn to me,” she says, alluding manifestly to the holy apostles, who traversed the whole world, and called the nations to the knowledge of Him in truth, with their lofty and divine preaching. And again, “And to those that want understanding she said”-that is, to those who have not yet obtained the power of the Holy Ghost-“Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled for you; “by which is meant, that He gave His divine flesh and honoured blood to us, to eat and to drink it for the remission of sins. — Fragments from Commentaries on Various Books of Scripture - On Prov. IX. 1

Irenaeus: This present time, in which men are called and saved by the Lord, is properly understood to be denoted by “the acceptable year of the Lord;” and there follows on this “the day of retribution,” that is, the judgment. And the time thus referred to is not called “a year” only, but is also named “a day” both by the prophet and by Paul, of whom the apostle, calling to mind the Scripture, says in the Epistle addressed to the Romans, “As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long, we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.” But here the expression “all the day long” is put for all this time during which we suffer persecution, and are killed as sheep. As then this day does not signify one which consists of twelve hours, but the whole time during which believers in Christ suffer and are put to death for His sake, so also the year there mentioned does not denote one which consists of twelve months, but the whole time of faith during which men hear and believe the preaching of the Gospel. — Against Heresies Book 2.22.2

Irenaeus: Here the expression “all the day long” means all the time in which we suffer persecution and are killed as sheep. — AGAINST HERESIES 2.22.2

John Chrysostom: “For Thy sake we are killed all the day long, we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” That is, we are exposed to all to be evil entreated of them. But yet against so many and so great dangers and these recent horrors, the object of our conflicts is given as a sufficient consolation, or rather not sufficient only, but even much more. For it is not for men, nor for any other of the things of this life that we suffer, but for the King of the universe.

But this is not the only crown, for he encircles them with another besides, and that varied and manifold. Since then, as they were men they could not have deaths without number to undergo, he shows that in this way the prize is none the less. For even if by nature it were fated to die once, by choice God hath granted us to suffer this every day, if we be so minded. Whence it is plain that we shall depart with as many crowns as we have lived days, or rather with many more. For it is possible in a day to die not once alone or twice, but many times. For he who is always ready unto this, keeps continually receiving a full reward.

This then is what the Psalmist hints at, when he says, “all the day.” And for this reason the Apostle also brought him before them to rouse them up the more. For if, he means, those in the old dispensation, who had the land as their reward, and the other things which come to a close along with this life, did so look down upon the present life and the temptations and dangers of it, what pardon should we find if we deal so languidly after the promise of Heaven, and the Kingdom above, and its unutterable blessings, so as not to come even up to the same measure as they? — Homily on Romans 15

Origen of Alexandria: It is not enough for me to die or be crucified with Christ at one time only but “all the day long,” i.e., throughout my entire life. — COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Pelagius: We suffer not for any crime but for the sake of him who said: “Blessed are you when men shall persecute you, etc.” This is especially fulfilled in Christians, for we are not permitted to defend ourselves but must endure all attacks with the greatest patience, according to the example of our Lord and teacher, who was led like a sheep to the slaughter. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Romans 8:37

Basil of Caesarea: He conquers who does not yield to those who lead on by force, but he is more than conqueror who voluntarily invites sorrows for a demonstration of his endurance. — HOMILIES 22

John Chrysostom: “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.” For what is indeed wonderful is this, not that we are conquerors only, but that we are so by the very things meant as plots against us. And we are not merely conquerors, but we are “more than conquerors,” that is, are so with ease, without toil and labor. For without undergoing the real things, by only setting our mind aright, we raise our trophies against our enemies. And with good reason. For it is God that striveth together with us.

Do not then be doubtful, if though beaten we get the better of our beaters, if driven out we overcome our persecutors, if dying we put the living to flight. For when you take the power and also the love of God into account, there is nothing to prevent these wondrous and strange things from coming to pass, and that victory the most advantageous should shine upon us. For they did not merely conquer, but in a wondrous way, and so that one might learn that those who plotted against them had a war not against men, but against that invincible Might.

See the Jews then with these among them, and at a loss quite, and saying, “What are we to do to these men?” For it is marvellous indeed, that though they had hold of them and had got them liable to their courts, and imprisoned them and beat them, they were yet at a loss and in perplexity, as they got overcome by the very things whereby they expected to conquer. And neither kings nor people, nor ranks of demons, nor the devil himself, had power to get the better of them, but were all overcome at a very great disadvantage, finding that all they planned against them became for them. And therefore he says, “we are more than conquerors.” For this was a new rule of victory for men to prevail by their adversaries, and in no instance to be overcome, but to go forth to these struggles as if they themselves had the issue in their own hands. — Homily on Romans 15

Origen of Alexandria: As long as we rely on God’s love, we suffer no feeling of pain. For his love, by which he loved us and drew us to him, makes us not feel the pain and crucifixion of the body. In all these things we are more than conquerors. The bride in the Song of Songs says something similar: “I am wounded with love.” In the same way our soul, once it has received Christ’s wound of love, will not feel the wounds of the flesh, even if it gives the body over to the sword. — COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Pelagius: All these troubles we count as nothing because of him who loved us so much that he even dies for us. And we especially triumph when we die for his name, since it is a light thing to suffer what the Lord first suffered for others. — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Romans 8:38

Ambrosiaster: These are all the things which have come upon us since we were abducted by the devil. Paul lists them in order to steel us against them if they should appear so that, confident of the hope and help of Christ and armed with faith, we might be able to fight against them. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Augustine of Hippo: Paul says that he is sure, not merely that he is of the opinion … that neither death nor the promise of temporal life nor any of the other things he lists can separate the believer from God’s love. No one can separate the believer from God; not someone who threatens death, because he who believes in Christ shall live even if he dies, nor someone who offers earthly life, because Christ gives us eternal life. An angel cannot separate us, because “if an angel comes down from heaven and tells you something other than what you receive, let him be anathema.” Nor can a principality, i.e., an opposing power, because Christ has … vanquished them in himself. — AUGUSTINE ON Romans 58

Clement of Alexandria: “For I am persuaded that neither death,” through the assault of persecutors, “nor life” in this world, “nor angels,” the apostate ones, “nor powers” (and Satan’s power is the life which he chose, for such are the powers and principalities of darkness belonging to him), “nor things present,” amid which we exist during the time of life, as the hope entertained by the soldier, and the merchant’s gain, “nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature,” in consequence of the energy proper to a man,-opposes the faith of him who acts according to free choice. “Creature” is synonymous with activity, being our work, and such activity “shall not be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” You have got a compendious account of the gnostic martyr. — The Stromata Book 4

John Chrysostom: “For I am persuaded, that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” And here the words he uses are high-wrought and exceedingly warm, to show his love. And what he means is somewhat as follows. Why speak, he means, of things present, and evils inherited in this life? For even if a person were to tell me of things to come, and of powers; of things, such as death and life; of powers, such as angels and archangels, and all the superior orders of beings; even these would be little to me compared with the love of Christ.

For even if a person were to threaten me with that future death to which there is no death, to separate me from Christ, nor if he promised the life without end, would I agree to it. Why mention kings here below and consuls? and this one or that? for if you tell me of angels, or all the powers above, or all existing things, or all that are to come, they are all small to me, both those in the earth, and those in heaven, and those under the earth, and those above heaven, compared to this charm.

Then as though these were not enough to set before them the strong desire which he had, he gives a being to others again of like magnitude, and says, “nor any other creation.” And what he means is nearly this, even if there were any other creation as great as the visible, and as great as the intelligible, none of them could part me from that love. This he says not as if the Angels attempted it, or the other Powers, far from it, but as wishing to show quite to the utmost the charm he had toward Christ. For Christ he loved not for the things of Christ, but for His sake the things that were His, and to Him alone he looked, and one thing he feared, and that was falling from his love for Him. For this thing was in itself more dreadful than hell, as to abide in it was more desirable than the Kingdom. — Homily on Romans 15

Origen of Alexandria: Here we pass from human temptations to superhuman trials. Of the former Paul says that we can overcome them, but although he does not say this of the latter—for only Christ can conquer them—nevertheless even here there is reason to speak of victory, since even with all the forces of the enemy ranged against us, nothing can separate us from the love of God.“Death” here refers primarily to the death which separates the soul from the love of God, rather than what we usually think of as death, which merely separates the soul from the body. “Life” here presumably refers to the life of sin, which is constantly trying to separate us from the love of God. “Angels” and “principalities” must refer to the devil and his hosts, against whom we have to struggle. “Things present” are the desires of this world, and “things to come” are the trials and temptations which may yet afflict us in this life. The “powers” are spiritual beings rather like angels, who must, however, be distinguished from them. They also fight to separate us from the love of God, but they cannot prevail if that love is rooted and grounded in us. — COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Romans 8:39

Augustine of Hippo: Often vain curiosity about things which are unknowable … whether in heaven or in hell separates us from God, unless love triumphs. For love calls us to certain spiritual knowledge not by the vanity of external things but by an inner light.“Nor anything else in all creation” can be understood in two ways. First, as a visible creature.… By this interpretation Paul means that no other creature, i.e., no love of bodies, separates us from God. Or surely it may also mean that no other creature … stands between us and God, opposing us and keeping us from God’s embrace. For beyond human minds, which are rational, there is no other creature—only God himself. — AUGUSTINE ON Romans 58

Caesarius of Arles: Spiritual souls are not separated from Christ by torments, but carnal souls are sometimes separated by idle gossip. The cruel sword cannot separate the former, but carnal affections remove the latter. Nothing hard breaks down spiritual men, but even flattering words corrupt the carnal. — SERMON 82.2

Origen of Alexandria: “Height” and “depth” attack us, as David said: “Many fight against me from on high,” and “Out of the deep have I called unto thee, O Lord.” — COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Origen of Alexandria: Human nature cannot by itself maintain the struggle against angels and heights and depths and any other creature; but when it has felt the Lord to be present and dwelling within, it will say in the confidence of receiving divine help: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” — ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 3.2.5

Pelagius: I am sure that even if someone threatens us with death, or promises life, or says he is an angel sent from the Lord, or pretends to be the prince of the angels, or gives us some honor in this present life, or holds out the glory of things to come, or works wonders, or promises heaven and staves off hell, or tries to persuade us with deep learning—I am sure that he will never be able to cut us off from the love of Christ.Paul loved God in Christ. Love for Christ means keeping his commandments. Christ established that brotherly love is an imitation of his own love when he said: “By this will all men know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” So John also says: “If you do not love a brother whom you see, how can you love God, whom you do not see?” — PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS